Mr. Collins was not a particularly intelligent man.
His education had done little to improve him. He had spent most of his childhood under the strict control of a father who was both uneducated and extremely careful with money.
Although Mr. Collins had attended university, he had done little more than complete the required period of study. He had made no useful friends and gained very little from the experience.
His father had raised him to be extremely obedient and humble.
But after leaving home, that humility had gradually been replaced by something quite different.
Mr. Collins had a very high opinion of himself, even though he was not especially clever. Living alone and suddenly becoming financially comfortable had made him even more self-important.
His good fortune had begun when Lady Catherine de Bourgh recommended him for the position at Hunsford.
He was deeply impressed by her wealth and social position, and he worshipped her as his patron.
At the same time, he had a very high opinion of himself, especially of his importance as a clergyman and his authority as the rector.
The result was a strange mixture of pride and submission.
He could be extremely self-important one moment and excessively humble the next.
Now that he had a comfortable house and a good income, Mr. Collins decided that it was time for him to marry.
His visit to Longbourn was not simply an attempt to make peace with the Bennet family.
He already had another plan in mind.
If the Bennet daughters really were as beautiful and pleasant as everyone said, he intended to marry one of them.
In his mind, this was the perfect way to make up for eventually inheriting their father’s estate.
He considered the idea extremely generous.
After all, he would be doing the family a great favor by marrying one of the daughters.
When he first met the Bennet sisters, his plan seemed easy.
Jane immediately caught his attention.
Her beauty confirmed everything he had heard, and because she was the eldest daughter, he felt she was the most appropriate choice.
For the first evening, Jane was clearly the woman he intended to marry.
But the next morning, everything changed.
Mr. Collins happened to have a private conversation with Mrs. Bennet before breakfast.
They began by discussing his house at Hunsford.
Naturally, the conversation soon turned to marriage.
“I hope,” Mr. Collins hinted, “that I may eventually find a suitable wife to take care of my home.”
Mrs. Bennet immediately understood what he meant.
She smiled warmly.
“I’m sure you will, Mr. Collins.”
Then she remembered Jane.
“There is just one thing I should perhaps mention.”
Mr. Collins listened carefully.
“As for my younger daughters, I really couldn’t say.”
“But Jane…”
Mrs. Bennet paused.
“I feel I ought to tell you that Jane may soon be engaged.”
Mr. Collins understood the hint immediately.
Jane was no longer available.
Fortunately, Elizabeth was standing next in line.
She was almost as beautiful as Jane, and she was the next oldest daughter.
Mr. Collins quickly transferred his attention from Jane to Elizabeth.
Mrs. Bennet was delighted with the result.
She had begun the previous day unable to tolerate the thought of Mr. Collins.
Now she was hoping he might marry one of her daughters.
If everything went well, she might soon have two daughters married.
Meanwhile, Lydia had not forgotten about her plan to walk to Meryton.
Every sister except Mary agreed to go with her.
Mr. Collins was asked to accompany them.
Mr. Bennet was more than happy to send him along.
After breakfast, Mr. Collins had followed Mr. Bennet into his library.
He had opened one of the largest books on the shelves and pretended to read.
In reality, he spent most of his time talking to Mr. Bennet about his house and garden at Hunsford.
Mr. Bennet was becoming increasingly irritated.
The library had always been his quiet place.
He could tolerate foolishness and vanity everywhere else in the house, but he expected peace and quiet in his library.
So he quickly suggested that Mr. Collins accompany the young ladies to Meryton.
Mr. Collins was actually much better suited to walking than reading.
He happily closed the enormous book and joined the sisters.
The walk passed pleasantly enough.
Mr. Collins talked constantly about unimportant things, while his cousins politely listened.
But as soon as they reached Meryton, the younger girls stopped paying attention to him.
Their eyes immediately began searching the street for the officers.
Only a particularly fashionable bonnet or a beautiful new dress in a shop window could distract them for more than a moment.
Then something much more interesting caught everyone’s attention.
A young man they had never seen before was walking down the opposite side of the street with an officer.
He was extremely handsome and had the polished appearance of a gentleman.
The officer was Mr. Denny, the very man Lydia had been hoping to ask about.
Mr. Denny saw them and gave them a friendly bow.
Kitty and Lydia immediately wanted to know who the stranger was.
They crossed the street, pretending they needed something from a shop.
Luckily, the two men turned around at exactly the right moment and came back toward them.
Mr. Denny greeted the young ladies.
“Allow me to introduce my friend, Mr. Wickham.”
“He arrived in town with me yesterday from London.”
“And I’m pleased to say that he has accepted a commission in our regiment.”
The sisters were delighted.
The new uniform would only make Mr. Wickham more attractive.
Even without it, he was already remarkably handsome.
He had an attractive face, a strong figure, and an easy, pleasant manner.
More importantly, he was extremely good at conversation.
He spoke confidently without seeming arrogant, and he was polite without being stiff.
Within moments, everyone was enjoying his company.
Then they heard the sound of horses approaching.
Darcy and Bingley were riding down the street.
When they noticed the group of ladies, they immediately rode over.
Bingley was the first to speak.
“I was actually on my way to Longbourn to ask how Miss Bennet is doing.”
He smiled at Jane.
Mr. Darcy gave a polite nod, confirming Bingley’s explanation.
He was trying very hard not to look at Elizabeth.
Then he saw Mr. Wickham.
Darcy and Wickham looked directly at each other.
Elizabeth noticed their expressions immediately.
Something was clearly wrong.
Both men suddenly changed color.
Darcy became pale.
Wickham turned red.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Wickham touched his hat in a brief greeting.
Darcy barely returned the gesture.
Elizabeth was completely confused.
What had just happened between them?
Why did they look at each other like that?
She desperately wanted to know.
A moment later, Bingley said goodbye.
He acted as though he had noticed nothing unusual.
Then he and Darcy continued riding down the street.
Mr. Denny and Mr. Wickham walked with the Bennet sisters to the home of Mr. Philips.
At the door, they said goodbye.
Lydia immediately protested.
“Why don’t you come inside with us?”
She tried several times to persuade them.
Even Mrs. Philips opened the parlor window and called out to them.
“Yes, do come in!”
But the two young men politely declined and continued on their way.
Mrs. Philips was always delighted to see her nieces.
Jane and Elizabeth were especially welcome because they had been away from home recently.
“My goodness, I was so surprised to hear that you had come back!”
She looked at them curiously.
“I only found out because I happened to see Mr. Jones’s shop assistant in the street.”
“He told me not to send any more medicine to Netherfield because the Bennet girls had already left.”
Then Jane introduced Mr. Collins.
Mrs. Philips turned her attention to him.
“Mr. Collins, how very pleased I am to meet you.”
Mr. Collins immediately responded with an elaborate apology.
“I hope you will forgive me for entering your home without having had the pleasure of meeting you before.”
“But I hope my relationship with these young ladies gives me some excuse to introduce myself.”
Mrs. Philips was almost overwhelmed by his formal manners.
She had never encountered anyone who apologized so much.
But her attention soon returned to the more interesting stranger.
“What can you tell us about that young man?”
Mrs. Philips shook her head.
“Unfortunately, I don’t know much more than you do.”
“Mr. Denny brought him back from London.”
“He’s supposed to receive a lieutenant’s commission in the regiment.”
She had been watching him walk up and down the street for nearly an hour.
“If he had appeared again, Kitty and Lydia would probably still be standing here watching him.”
She glanced out the window.
“But now hardly anyone is passing by except the officers.”
“And after seeing Mr. Wickham, they all seem terribly dull.”
Mrs. Philips smiled.
“Some of the officers are coming here for dinner tomorrow.”
“I’ll have my husband call on Mr. Wickham and invite him as well.”
She looked at her nieces.
“If you girls come over tomorrow evening, we can all spend the evening together.”
Everyone agreed.
“Oh, we’ll have a wonderful time,” Mrs. Philips promised.
“We can play a few rounds of lottery tickets, make plenty of noise, and have some hot food afterward.”
The girls were delighted by the plan.
Everyone left in a cheerful mood.
As Mr. Collins prepared to leave, he once again apologized for having imposed on Mrs. Philips.
She assured him, just as politely as before, that there was absolutely no need for him to apologize.
On the walk home, Elizabeth told Jane about the strange encounter between Darcy and Wickham.
Jane listened carefully.
“If either of them behaved badly, I would certainly defend the other,” she said.
“But I honestly have no idea what happened.”
Elizabeth agreed.
“Neither do I.”
When Mr. Collins returned home, he immediately impressed Mrs. Bennet with his praise of Mrs. Philips.
“I have rarely met a woman so elegant and polite.”
“In fact, apart from Lady Catherine and her daughter, I don’t think I have ever met anyone with such excellent manners.”
Mrs. Bennet looked pleased.
“She received me with extraordinary kindness, even though she had never met me before.”
“And she personally included me in her invitation for tomorrow evening.”
Mr. Collins shook his head in amazement.
“I can only assume that some of her kindness comes from her connection with your family.”
“Still, I have never received so much attention from a stranger in my entire life.”
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