FIRST A WEDDNG, THEN A COURTSHIP

Another Pride and Prejudice Variation

1.

At dinner one evening, Mr. Bennet surprised his family when he announced the impending visit of his distant cousin, William Collins. As the Bennets had no sons, only five daughters, Mr. Collins was the heir presumptive of the Bennet estate of Longbourn as the estate was entailed to the male line. Mr. Bennet had never met Collins as their fathers had had a dispute that had never been resolved. Collins had sent a letter to Mr. Bennet saying that he wished to make amends for the differences that had existed between the two branches of the family and stated that he wanted to extend an olive branch to the family to end their estrangement.

Mr. Bennet was an indolent man who had a wry sense of humour, preferring to watch the foibles of friends and especially his family, rather than attempt to correct their behaviour. He had long regretted marrying his wife, whose intellect did not match his own. She had been an attractive and vivacious young woman from a family in trade who had succeeded in marrying a landed gentleman from Hertfordshire. He was proud of his oldest two daughters, but not the other three. The oldest, Jane, was beautiful, with a mild temper who never saw anything but the best in every person she met. The second, Elizabeth, or Lizzy, was the most intelligent of them all, by far. She was also quite attractive and had her father's wit and was very outgoing. She was her mother's least favourite as she considered Elizabeth to be too impertinent with men ever to find one who would accept her. The third, Mary, was studious and religious, the least attractive of the five. The second youngest, Catherine, or Kitty, was a follower who unfortunately followed her younger sister, Lydia, who was only 15 and completely spoiled by her mother and who had never been upbraided for her wild ways. All the girls were out in society as their mother was desperate to see them married before her husband died and they lost the estate. They had never been prudent and had no savings that could be used when they lost the estate; the women would be homeless and destitute.

Mr. Bennet did not expect to find Collins to be very intelligent from the wording of his letter, and was not disappointed in his expectations when he arrived. Collins was a clergyman who showed himself to be excessively dependent on and devoted to his esteemed patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who controlled his living of Hunsford in Kent. His pomposity, loquaciousness, and lack of sense were exceeded only by his praises of his patroness and himself. Mr. Bennet was delighted with his ridiculousness, but his daughters were not impressed, to say the least. To Mrs. Bennet's delight and her daughters' horror, he announced that he had been ordered by his patroness to find a wife, preferably from among his cousins. To Mrs. Bennet, this meant that Longbourn would remain in the family after her husband's death and they would not be thrown out into the hedgerows without a penny. Her daughters, with the possible exception of Mary, knew that the life of Mr. Collins's wife would be a fate worse than death.

Collins immediately set his sights on Jane as the oldest and most beautiful. Fortunately for her, she had become enamoured of Charles Bingley, who had recently leased the neighbouring estate of Netherfield Park and had an income of some 5,000 pounds per year. Bingley had immediately been attracted to her beauty and was now besotted with her. When compared to the Longbourn return of only 2,000 pounds per annum, this was a fortune worth pursuing. Mrs. Bennet did not want to do anything that might lose this worthy prospect, so she told Collins that she expected Jane would soon be betrothed, but that Elizabeth was available.

Elizabeth was aghast at his attentions. She and Jane had long decided they would marry only when they felt the deepest love for their husbands, and Elizabeth knew she would feel nothing but disgust for her cousin. With her temperament, she knew her life would be a living hell if married to him, and that she would make him miserable in turn. As a wife became virtually the personal property of her husband when she married, she would be subject to his idiocies until death did them part. She vowed that she would never consent to marry him and expected that her father would not force her to marry him as she was his favourite daughter and understood her intelligence and lively personality. As she was only 20 years of age, her father had complete control over her until she reached the legal age of 21 and could order her to do whatever he decided, so his support was critical when she refused any offer made by Collins.

A ball was held at Netherfield by Bingley, which was attended by the whole Bennet family, including Mr. Collins. Collins insisted on dancing the important first set with Elizabeth, much to her embarrassment at his clumsiness and to the discomfort of her trodden toes. Her dance with Fitzwilliam Darcy, Bingley's friend, while not desired in the slightest, proved the sublime enjoyment that could be achieved from dancing with an accomplished partner who was pleasingly tall, very handsome, and had an income of some 10,000 pounds per year. However, Darcy had publicly insulted her at a previous assembly held in the nearby village of Meryton, when he refused to dance with her, calling her merely 'tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me.' She had also heard disquieting tales of his previous wrongdoings from one George Wickham, who was an officer of the militia regiment that was stationed near Meryton. As Wickham was also tall and handsome, with a glib tongue, easy smiles, and pleasing manners, these misdeeds were not discredited by her. Darcy's manners contrasted strongly with Wickham's, as he was seen as haughty and aloof, with a manner that made him appear to feel himself to be above everyone in Hertfordshire. While every young lady was pleased to receive attention from Wickham, Darcy was universally seen in a much more negative manner.

Despite Elizabeth's attempts to avoid Collins, her mother insisted that he be granted a private interview with her the day after the Netherfield ball. As Elizabeth had feared, Collins was effusive in his compliments to his patroness for her orders to him to find a wife from among his Bennet cousins. He said that soon after his arrival at Longbourn, he had settled upon Elizabeth to be his choice for a companion for life. Elizabeth protested that he would not be happy with her as she could not make him happy and that he definitely could not make her happy. She refused his offer, which he said only made her more attractive to him as that meant only that she was too modest to accept his first offer. She finally managed to escape and Collins reported her refusal to her mother, much to her displeasure. Mrs. Bennet insisted that Elizabeth would marry her cousin, but she still refused even to consider accepting him.

When Mrs. Bennet burst into her husband's library, where he normally hid out, he was not happy to see her as he knew that meant trouble. His wife reported the offer and refusal and insisted that Elizabeth be forced to accept Mr. Collins or they would be forced out penniless into the hedgerows upon his demise. Mr. Bennet, upon escorting his wife out of his library, said, "Mrs. Bennet, calm yourself, I will speak to Lizzy and take care of this. Send her in to me."

When Elizabeth entered the library, he said, "Lizzy, I understand that Mr. Collins made you an offer of marriage and that you have refused him. Is that correct?"

"Yes, Father, I did. I could never be happy with that ridiculous man. I could never love him and I want to marry only for the deepest love. You know what I am like. Our life together would not be pleasant for either of us. He would likely end up locking me in my bedroom, feeding me only bread and water. We would both end up miserable; at least I know that I would. Please do not insist that I even consider accepting his offer."

"Lizzy, you are my favourite daughter and I had the highest hopes for your future. With your intelligence, beauty, and wit, you should have been able to find a man who would make you happy. You know that we have not been prudent with our resources and that we have virtually no savings. Upon my death, your mother will have no income and you girls will have only your small dowries for support. You will have no home. If you refuse this offer, I am sure that Collins will be so upset that he will not hesitate to evict you from here as soon as he can and that his esteemed patroness will insist on his doing this.

"What you do not know is that I have begun to have pains in my chest, arms, and legs. I consulted the doctor and he said these are likely signs that my heart is not working right and may give out on me at any time. I have not told anyone about this as I do not want anyone to worry about what will happen. Lizzy, I probably do not have much longer on this earth and am desperately worried what will happen to you all when I succumb. Much as I hate to say it, this offer from Mr. Collins could be our only chance to save our family. Now I know I should have been more prudent about our spending the whole of our income as soon as it came in, but it is too late now.

"Lizzy, my dear, much as I hate to say it, you will have to accept Mr. Collins to save your family. You are their only hope."

Elizabeth was horrified to hear the news about her beloved father's health. She could not imagine losing him; he had taught her everything she knew and had been her constant companion in the library where he took personal control of her education. The shock of hearing about his heart made her forget what that meant about Mr. Collins. "No, Father, that cannot be true! Is it really so serious? I do not want to lose you!"

"Yes, my dear, it is true. I have known this for several weeks now, and have finally had to accept my fate. I understand completely what you are saying about your lack of suitability for Mr. Collins, but I am asking you to accept him to save your family. You will just have to learn to accept him; perhaps you will be able to change him with time."

"He is not intelligent enough to change and I am too set in my ways to behave any differently. I am what you made me. Please do not ask this of me; I just cannot do it. Perhaps we can get him to settle on someone else; Mary might suit him."

"Lizzy, he decided on you. This is the most difficult decision I have ever made in my whole life, but you will have to marry him. You are not yet of age and I can force you if you will not do it willingly. You have to accept your fate. Now, go and think about this. Please send Collins in to me and I will tell him what I have decided."

Lizzy found her cousin still with her mother, who was insisting that he should not worry as Lizzy would marry him. Lizzy said, "Mr. Collins, my father would like to speak to you in the library." When he left, she said to her mother, "Father is insisting that I must marry him to save the family. Mother, please do not force me to do this. I could not make him happy and he certainly can never make me happy."

"Nonsense! You have to marry him to save us. Just be quiet and do it. Do you want to see us all thrown out penniless into the hedgerows? Think of me! Think of your sisters."

Elizabeth went out to think. She had not said she would ever marry that person and knew she just could not force herself to do it. She had such high hopes for her life and she could not waste it on such a despicable man as her cousin. She did not agree that she was the only one who could save her family. She knew how much Jane loved Mr. Bingley, and, when she married him, he would have the resources to help them find a place to live and survive. She also knew that until she reached the age of legal age of 21, her father could insist on her marrying him and she would have no choice but to obey. Her birthday was not for months, so too long to stall until then.

She was not sure what she could do. To marry Mr. Collins would be a fate worse than death. To refuse her father's demands would be pointless until she was 21. She could run away, but where would she go and how would she live? She would rather find work as a governess or a lady's companion than marry him, but she had no idea how one found such positions. She had very little money to support herself for long and she knew that being in London would be the best way to find such a position although it would be expensive to live there. However, she did not know London well as the only people she knew there were her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner, who was her mother's brother, where a search for her would surely begin. Her confidence in her ability to survive was great, so the thought of escaping from her family began to seem to be the only option available to her. She knew she would have to act very soon before it was too late.