Bennet sent them word that they could not possibly have the carriage
before Tuesday; and in her postscript it was added, that if Mr
Bingley
and his sister pressed them to stay longer, she could spare them very
well
Bingley’s carriage immediately, and at
length it was settled that their original design of leaving Netherfield
that morning should be mentioned, and the request made
The communication excited many professions of concern; and enough was
said of wishing them to stay at least till the following day to work on
Jane; and till the morrow their going was deferred
Miss Bingley was
then sorry that she had proposed the delay; for her jealousy and dislike
of one sister much exceeded her affection for the other
Darcy it was welcome intelligence: Elizabeth had been at
Netherfield long enough
She attracted him more than he liked; and Miss
Bingley was uncivil to _her_ and more teasing than usual to himself
On Sunday, after morning service, the separation, so agreeable to almost
all, took place
Elizabeth took leave of
the whole party in the liveliest spirits
They were not welcomed home very cordially by their mother
Bennet
wondered at their coming, and thought them very wrong to give so much
trouble, and was sure Jane would have caught cold again
But their
father, though very laconic in his expressions of pleasure, was really
glad to see them; he had felt their importance in the family circle
The
evening conversation, when they were all assembled, had lost much of its
animation, and almost all its sense, by the absence of Jane and
Elizabeth
They found Mary, as usual, deep in the study of thorough bass and human
nature; and had some new extracts to admire and some new observations of
threadbare morality to listen to
Catherine and Lydia had information
for them of a different sort
[Illustration]




CHAPTER XIII


[Illustration]

“I hope, my dear,” said Mr
I know of nobody that is coming, I am sure,
unless Charlotte Lucas should happen to call in; and I hope _my_ dinners
are good enough for her
I do not believe she often sees such at home.”

“The person of whom I speak is a gentleman and a stranger.”

Mrs
Why, Jane--you never dropped a word of this--you sly
thing
Well, I am sure I shall be extremely glad to see Mr
there is not a bit of fish to be got
to-day
I must speak to Hill this
moment.”

“It is _not_ Mr
Collins, who,
when I am dead, may turn you all out of this house as soon as he
pleases.”

“Oh, my dear,” cried his wife, “I cannot bear to hear that mentioned
Pray do not talk of that odious man
They had often attempted it before: but it was a subject on which Mrs
“It certainly is a most iniquitous affair,” said Mr
Bennet; “and
nothing can clear Mr
Collins from the guilt of inheriting Longbourn
Bennet, as he folded up the letter
“He must be an oddity, I think,” said she
There
is something very pompous in his style
And what can he mean by
apologizing for being next in the entail
We cannot suppose he would
help it, if he could
Can he be a sensible man, sir?”

“No, my dear; I think not
I have great hopes of finding him quite the
reverse
There is a mixture of servility and self-importance in his
letter which promises well
I am impatient to see him.”

“In point of composition,” said Mary, “his letter does not seem
defective
The idea of the olive branch perhaps is not wholly new, yet I
think it is well expressed.”

To Catherine and Lydia neither the letter nor its writer were in any
degree interesting
It was next to impossible that their cousin should
come in a scarlet coat, and it was now some weeks since they had
received pleasure from the society of a man in any other colour
Collins’s letter had done away much of her ill-will,
and she was preparing to see him with a degree of composure which
astonished her husband and daughters
Collins was punctual to his time, and was received with great
politeness by the whole family
Bennet indeed said little; but the
ladies were ready enough to talk, and Mr
Collins seemed neither in need
of encouragement, nor inclined to be silent himself
He was a tall,
heavy-looking young man of five-and-twenty
His air was grave and
stately, and his manners were very formal
He had not been long seated
before he complimented Mrs
This
gallantry was not much to the taste of some of his hearers; but Mrs
Bennet, who quarrelled with no compliments, answered most readily,--

“You are very kind, sir, I am sure; and I wish with all my heart it may
prove so; for else they will be destitute enough
Things are settled so
oddly.”

“You allude, perhaps, to the entail of this estate.”

“Ah, sir, I do indeed
It is a grievous affair to my poor girls, you
must confess