With a Love Like This by P. O. Dixon

Author:P. O. Dixon
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Regents and Cotswold Book Group

Chapter 13 ~ An Excellent Point

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single woman of seven and twenty, who is perceived by society in general, as well as by herself to be rather plain looking, will seize upon any, and every, opportunity to secure a husband, even one whom others may perceive as utterly ridiculous if it means escaping a fate of spinsterhood, forever reliant upon the generosity of family and friends.

Miss Charlotte Lucas, having received what she elected to consider as tacit permission from her closest friend to pursue Mr. William Collins, set off on the path to Longbourn, the neighboring village.

Truth be told, Elizabeth had not exactly recommended her cousin to her friend, but instead, she had made it perfectly clear that she had no interest in the ridiculous man. Indeed, Elizabeth had stated in no uncertain terms that she would not wish for an alliance with such a man upon her worst enemy. It would suit her just fine if the man would simply go away from Hertfordshire and never be heard from again.

“Dearest Eliza,” Charlotte had cried in response to Elizabeth’s harsh edict, “the gentleman is the probable heir of Longbourn—your family’s home. Surely that must count for something.”

“It counts to my mother, but as for myself, I truly do not care,” her friend had declared.

Elizabeth’s words were Charlotte’s steady companions on her way to Longbourn. Servants talk, and word had gotten out that Elizabeth had spurned Mr. Collins’s offer of marriage earlier that morning and, in so doing, had caused quite an uproar in the Longbourn household.

Stepping up her pace, Charlotte’s intentions were twofold. First, she wanted to offer comfort to her intimate friend, who would surely need it should she persist in her refusal, for Mrs. Bennet most likely would not have it any other way with the future of Longbourn and by consequence her own lasting domestic tranquility at stake.

Second of all, there were three other single Bennet daughters that Mrs. Bennet might put forth by way of a compromise to the jilted heir. Four, if one were to count the eldest, and why would one not? While it was Mrs. Bennet’s favorite wish that her new neighbor, Mr. Charles Bingley, would offer his hand to her eldest daughter, Jane, he had not done so theretofore. What with his scheduled return to London, as rumor had it on business, who was to say with any degree of certainty that Mrs. Bennet might sit and wait patiently for his return?

No. Charlotte knew that if she were to stand a chance of garnering the vicar’s notice, she must throw herself directly in his path. But first, she needed to see her friend to make sure that Elizabeth would stay steadfast in her determination to refuse a respectable man’s offer of marriage.

Charlotte did not make it so far as the manor house. As fate would have it, she espied a somewhat distraught Mr. Collins just up ahead in the lane. His head was held low. Indeed, Charlotte could honestly say she had never seen the proud man appear so forsaken.

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