A Chance at Happiness by Meg Osborne

Author:Meg Osborne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Love, Elizabeth and Darcy, Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen, Jane Austen Fan Fiction, JAFF, Regency Historical Romance
Publisher: Meg Osborne
Published: 2018-05-10T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

The old house creaked and settled, and Charlotte was awake to hear it all. Every sigh of every beam, every tree branch knocking against a window, every snore that emanated from the rooms along the hall. Charlotte sighed. At least somebody was sleeping tonight. She had given up hope of being able to sleep, herself, and was instead lying still, patiently awaiting the dawn. The blackness of the night suggested that was still some hours away, and in desperation, she wriggled into a sitting position. What a disaster their evening had been! Charlotte would place at least half the blame for it at her husband’s door. His snore reached her ears again and she frowned, wondering if he had even moved from his study to sleep, or whether he was unconscious at his desk, as she had found him once or twice before. At least previously his unusual sleeping practice could be put down to his work, to his commitment to delivering a wise and insightful sermon. His concern usually sprang from Lady Catherine’s dismissal, in whole or in part, of the words he had already put together, leading to him working late into the night in order to re-draft and begin again.

Charlotte sighed. He had no such excuse this evening, and if he slept at his desk she hoped, self-righteously, that it would be uncomfortable. Drinking! She had never known Mr Collins to drink more than a very little on occasions of celebration, or in place of medicine. What had possessed him to accept Colonel Fitzwilliam’s offer that evening? Or to return to the refill his glass so often? She shuddered. It had been an embarrassment, the way his words had increased in volume and fervour, and ending in his thrusting her into the centre of attention at the piano. As if she, with her mediocre skills, could ever hope to compare to the true talent that Anne de Bourgh possessed! It was cruel, and she had never, before that evening, thought her husband cruel. Silly, yes. Too prone to enthusiasms that were not shared by others, indeed. He tried too hard to make people like him and seemed to alienate them further in the trying. Even that, Charlotte could have sympathy for, and she hoped that as they knew each other longer, Mr Collins might take some security in their solid union and begin to relax his striving nature. Being around Lady Catherin did not help, of course, for she encouraged him in his feeling inferior, indeed, she seemed to encourage whatever it was in Mr Collins’ personality that made him hang on her every word, and flood her sitting room with praise and admiration.

Shuffling her feet to the floor, Charlotte stood, reaching for her wrap. She felt her way to the door and slipped quietly into the hallway, gingerly feeling her way down the stairs in darkness. Hunsford Rectory was not large, fortunately, and she had spent so much time indoors that already she knew the house well, and could find her way easily even without the luxury of light to see by.

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