Second Glances: A Tale of Less Pride and Prejudice Continues (Tales of Less Pride and Prejudice) (18 page)

“Do you not yet know that I will pursue you anywhere?” he said meaningfully. Had they been left to their own devices, they would surely have come to an understanding in a few short minutes, but Mary was almost instantly upon them.

“Kitty! Are you alright?” she cried out in true terror, even more concerned by her sister and the strange gentleman’s humor at such a moment than for either’s safety.

“Perfectly hale, my dear Mrs. Collins!” cried Mr. Bennet as he brought his horse to a halt before the church. “Have you never witnessed a courtship before? I admit your Mr. Collins did not go about it with quite Sir James’ flare, but the behavior is, nonetheless, unmistakable.”

“Papa!” she replied in bewilderment, kissing him instinctively. “However came you here?”

“Someone had to escort Kitty’s young man,” he explained, noting the parishioners that were now pouring from the church. “You do not mind the disruption to your Easter service, do you?”

Mary was stymied. She knew not how to uphold those strictures upon daughterly behavior so recently expressed, and which she herself had helped to pen, without being guilty of falsehood. Fortunately, Lady Catherine now appeared on the scene, relieving her of the need to respond.

“Mr. Bennet! Am I never to be informed of your arrival ahead of time? It is most inconvenient, sir!” she admonished with a smile, Mr. Bennet being a great favorite with her, and one whose company she enjoyed even more than a game of quadrille. His appearance in the company of the very gentleman she most wanted to see did much to further her good will.

“Sir James,” she commanded imperiously. “If I were not so pleased to see you, your highly exceptional appearance would not be overlooked – I assure you of that – but Miss Bennet has been in the mopes ever since she arrived, and all due to your bungling of what should have been a most commonplace courtship.” Kitty’s coloring turned exceedingly red. “You always were reckless,” continued Lady Catherine, “and I always said it would get you into trouble, did I not?”

“Indeed you did, Lady Catherine,” he promptly agreed.

“Do not think such goings on will be tolerated at Rosings, where I imagine you presume to stay, so you had best make it up to the lady as you escort her home. I have shared my thoughts on your situation with Miss Bennet,” whose complexion now entered the realm of magenta, “and sincerely hope there is no need to repeat them to you. You understand me?” she questioned, interrogating the young couple with her eyes.

“Yes, Lady Catherine,” both replied in unison.

“Good! Entirely too much has been said on the subject already. I cannot conceive what Mr. Collins hoped to achieve in barraging everyone with his disappointments. I for one always suspected Sir James would appear to make all right. It is best we say no more of the matter.” This being clearly perceived as an official end to the Easter services, all the congregation began to make its way homeward.

Mr. Darcy shook Sir James’ hand while administering a brotherly pat to his shoulder, “We daren’t disobey my aunt you know, Sir James! You have no objections to walking back to the Park, do you, Miss Bennet?”

Kitty shook her head negatively, but did not utter a sound. She suddenly felt cripplingly shy. Her father kissed her in greeting, saying softly, “You know, my dear, he will not tease you if you do not like it, but I think you are a clever enough girl to enjoy a battle of wits now and again.” She looked at him in surprise as he chucked her chin affectionately, “I am very proud of you, Kitty,” and he turned to accept the gracious bows of Mr. Collins, who, being of easier temper than his wife, saw the entire incident as a personal gift from heaven. His sister had her opportunity to rectify her wrongs, and he had the gratification of a grandparent’s appreciative admiration for all the new skills young William had recently mastered. Blessings in such abundance could only be his just rewards! He hurried his father-in-law towards the rectory, Mary and his household in tow. Soon the churchyard was almost as empty as when Kitty found it; only a few unknown stragglers, a handful of frolicking children, and Kitty and Sir James remained. The sunlight still danced, but now Kitty saw it as a scene worthy of Eden. Never had a lady been so pleased to confront an unhappy end at the hands of her lover.

He offered her his arm, which she gradually took, still averting her gaze from him, and they began their trek across the park. It wasn’t until he helped her through the gate to the grove that lined the parameter of the pleasure grounds that he spoke, taking advantage of the opportunity to retain her hand.

She stopped, inspecting the appearance of her own hand in his, and gazed up into his eyes. So accustomed to find humor there, she was dismayed to see his pained look. Instinctively, she acted to cheer him. “Will nothing ever cure you of your presumption, Sir James?” she asked with a slight, teasing smile.

The words were a balm to Sir James’ blistered soul. “You have a lifetime to try, should you want it,” he responded, placing her arm upon his and resuming their walk towards the house. “May I hope?”

“I fear you have a great deal of explaining to do before I can respond.”

“You believe my explanations might suffice!” he declared with a hint of his increasing glee. “That is already far more than I had expected.”

“Do you not think I ought to know the extent of the task you offer me before committing myself to its undertaking?”

He laughed – a sound to Kitty like music – and agreed wholeheartedly, describing to her amazement his adventures with Mr. Bennet and Mr. Wickham.

“Dear me! Lydia said something threatening in her letter, but I never believed she would really run away! I should have spoken to Mr. Darcy about it immediately, but I was so upset with you that I never even thought of it again!”

“There is no harm done! Besides, Mr. Beaumont really had no intention of following through with it, though I do wonder to imagine how he planned to resist her in the very end. You sister certainly will have the upper hand in the marriage.”

“From what you say, I rather think it is Miss Beaumont who will rule the roost.”

“You are probably right, clever lady that you are.”

Kitty began to protest, but he would not hear it. “I have Mrs. Rivers’ word on it, you know, and your father told me you had almost no music at all less than two years ago! Do you not know that it is much more difficult to acquire such a skill at your age? Almost any child can be taught to play decently, but an adult must have a very good ear and sharp mind to learn. You are a prodigy!”

She blushed, knowing how ill-suited such praise was to her meager talents, but offered no more excuses for herself. If Sir James insisted on placing her upon a pedestal, then she might as well begin to make her perch comfortable. Quite unconsciously, she laced her free hand into the one resting on his arm, so as to give it a gentle hug. His contentment soared to previously unknown heights as he, in turn, put his hand upon hers, and they smiled into each other’s eyes as they wandered, quietly, the remaining distance to Rosings.

Entering the house was like being released from a spell. Lady Catherine immediately called for them to appear before her in the drawing room, where all the household was assembled. In the glare of all her family, Kitty dropped Sir James’ arm ashamedly, backing away from him with all the modesty that she had so recently forgotten.

“Do not play coy now, Miss Bennet!” reprimanded Lady Catherine. “The time is quite past. Your father is with the Collins’, but I will represent his interests at this moment! I assume you are engaged?”

“N-n-no, ma’am,” she stammered.

“Then you should not be clinging to Sir James as you were! Darcy, tell her she must marry him.”

“I will not coerce Miss Bennet, Aunt Catherine, nor will I allow you to do so,” he firmly relied.

“Excuse me,” interrupted Elizabeth, addressing the young lovers, “but it does seem that you two have made amends, have you not?” Timidly, they both assented. “Perhaps you have not yet had the opportunity to discuss your future plans?”

“Quite right, Mrs. Darcy,” affirmed Sir James, seizing the opportunity provided. “Miss Bennet, you never did answer my question, though I met your demands. Will you not undertake the task of curing my presumption?”

“If you will pardon me for first presuming that you have already obtained my father’s permission?”

He grinned. “That was the reason for our falling out, was it not?”

“Then yes, Sir James, I believe I will. After all, someone must!”

He kissed her hand, and Georgiana hurrahed. Colonel Fitzwilliam, Miss de Bourgh, and the Darcys offered their congratulations, while a disgusted Lady Catherine declared: “Is that how you propose these days! Darcy was certainly more courtly. I was not there, of course, but this must be a freak of Sir James’. Wait until your Aunt Westingham hears of your antics!”

“Oh! That reminds me, Lady Catherine, that I have a message from her to deliver to you ...”

--

Despite all omens to the contrary, it was a merry Easter at Rosings Park that year after all. The excitement of an engagement to celebrate, and then another to announce, and then yet another to anticipate, once Mr. Brooks could be summoned, lent distinction enough to the party to satisfy even Mrs. Westingham. Never did conversation struggle, all shared good spirits, and an ample supply of champagne did much to add to the general air of merriment.

“Lady Catherine, if I might be so bold, I think it behooves me to say a few words on this celebratory occasion,” Mr. Collins addressed the table, glass aloft. “As a man of the cloth, matrimony is my particular interest, you know, and further, since the betrothed lady is my very own sister, to whose childhood home I am heir, I think it particularly incumbent upon me to speak on the subject. Being happily married myself does give me some additional authority, too, – do you not think so, Mrs. Collins?”

“I certainly do, Mr. Collins,” Mary readily agreed. “Few could be better prepared for such a task then a Rector, nor would the words of others carry such resonance, especially now that you speak with the added weight of a patriarch.”

“Indeed! My point precisely, my dear! Now that I know something further of not just the marital state, but the parental state too, I feel particularly well placed to make just such a speech as this occasion warrants.”

“You must get on with it then, Mr. Collins!” cried Lady Catherine, her patience with her rector quite gone. “We cannot be about this all night!”

“But who better to listen to on such a subject, Lady Catherine? Surely we gain much through rapt attention to Mr. Collins’ words, so eloquently chosen as they are!” Mr. Bennet said with humor, the antics of his heir being one of his greatest amusements. However, Mr. Collins had been quelled, satisfying himself with thanking Mr. Bennet for his kind compliment, who was left to be entertained by Lady Catherine. She was very interested, having suggested it herself, in the progress of a new drainage system he was attempting at Longbourn. It was a subject of particular felicity to both, for it was one on which Mr. Collins could have nothing to say.

“Simon told me that Mr. Collins was something of a character,” said Sir James quietly to Kitty, customary laughter in his eyes. “Apparently, you would not have hesitated to accept him, had he asked you to marry rather than your sister, yet you repeatedly rejected me. Am I so inferior to Mr. Collins?”

“That is
not
at all what I said to Mr. Brooks,” she replied with a giggle, “nor do I believe he told the tale in the manner in which you represent.”

“No one’s words ever were more easily misrepresented than Simon’s.”

She smiled playfully. “You know very well you are a thousand times the man my poor cousin is, and I will not be tricked into feeding your vanity.”

“Of course you will not!” he declared fervently, and both laughed, at perfect peace with the world and each other. It was one of the happiest evenings, amongst many happy evenings, in their long life together.

“Had you told me just a year ago that Kitty would make such a triumphant match, I never would have believed it,” laughed Elizabeth to Darcy after they had said goodnight to the rest of the company.

“Are you the only Bennet permitted ‘a triumphant match’?” asked Darcy teasingly.

“Certainly not, but I would not have thought that Kitty would be the one to make it, or myself, for that matter. Jane was always the beautiful one.”

“Jane is a very handsome woman,” Darcy conceded, “but men look for different things in women, you know. Her looks are classic, and she wears them with the passivity of a statue. I like a more dynamic lady: someone with spirit. Kitty is like you in that way, you know – matching beauty with substance.”

“This is no time to criticize my sweet Jane, Fitzwilliam,” she said seriously.

“I did not mean to appear so censorial,“ he cried, much struck. “Mrs. Bingley is one of the most admirable women I know, and just right for Charles, but she would not work for someone such as myself, let alone Sir James.”

“So a thinking man of great fortune may be depended upon to choose a challenging wife? Why seek peace and serenity when one might have stormy tribulation?”

“Now it is you who are being unfair to Charles, Elizabeth! I know you are concerned for your sister, but let it not soil this happy night,” he took her hands and laid them under his upon her expanding middle, adding with significance, “Let us instead concentrate on how very fortunate we are.”