The next morning brought a very different scene at Longbourn.
Mr. Collins had decided that there was no reason to waste time. His visit would end the following Saturday, so he wanted to propose to Elizabeth as soon as possible.
He was not nervous in the slightest.
After breakfast, he found Mrs. Bennet, Elizabeth, and one of the younger girls together.
He turned to Mrs. Bennet.
“Mrs. Bennet, may I ask for your help? I would like to speak privately with Miss Elizabeth sometime this morning.”
Before Elizabeth could recover from her surprise, her mother answered enthusiastically.
“Oh, yes, of course! Lizzy will be delighted. I’m sure she won’t object at all.
“Come along, Kitty. I want you to come upstairs with me.”
Mrs. Bennet gathered her sewing things and started to leave.
“Mother, please don’t go!” Elizabeth cried. “You don’t need to leave us. Mr. Collins can’t possibly have anything to say to me that needs to be kept secret.
“Actually, I’ll leave instead.”
“No, no, nonsense, Lizzy. You are staying right here.”
When Elizabeth looked as though she really intended to escape, Mrs. Bennet became firm.
“Lizzy, I insist that you stay and listen to Mr. Collins.”
Elizabeth had no choice but to obey.
After thinking about it for a moment, she decided that the easiest thing was simply to let Mr. Collins say whatever he wanted and get it over with.
She sat down again and tried to keep herself busy so that nobody would notice how embarrassed—and slightly amused—she was.
Mrs. Bennet and Kitty left the room.
As soon as they were gone, Mr. Collins began his speech.
“My dear Miss Elizabeth, please don’t be embarrassed. Your modesty only makes you more attractive.
“In fact, I might have thought less of you if you had shown no hesitation at all.
“But let me assure you that I have your mother’s permission to speak to you about this matter.
“I believe you already know what I am going to say. My interest in you has been obvious.
“Almost from the moment I arrived at Longbourn, I decided that you were the woman I wanted to marry.
“But before I become too carried away by my feelings, perhaps I should explain why I want to marry and why I came to Hertfordshire intending to find a wife.”
Elizabeth nearly laughed at the idea of Mr. Collins being carried away by his feelings.
She barely had time to react before he continued.
“I have three reasons for wanting to marry.
“First, I believe that a respectable clergyman like myself should set a good example to his parish by getting married.
“Second, I am sure marriage will greatly increase my happiness.
“And third, and perhaps most importantly, my noble patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, strongly advised me to marry.
“She has actually given me this advice twice, even though I never asked for it.
“Just before I left Hunsford, she said to me, ‘Mr. Collins, you must marry. A clergyman in your position ought to have a wife. Choose a respectable woman, both for my sake and for your own. She should be practical, useful, and sensible with money. Find such a woman as soon as possible, bring her to Hunsford, and I will visit her.’
“I must also point out that having Lady Catherine as a friend is one of the greatest advantages I can offer you.
“She is a remarkable woman, and I am sure your intelligence and lively personality would please her, especially if you remember to be quiet and respectful because of her rank.
“That explains why I want to marry in general.
“Now I should explain why I came to Longbourn instead of looking for a wife closer to Hunsford.
“The reason is simple. I will inherit this estate after your father dies, although I sincerely hope he will live for many more years.
“Because I will eventually inherit Longbourn, I felt it would only be fair to choose my wife from among his daughters.
“That way, when your father eventually dies, my marriage to one of his daughters might soften the loss of their family home.
“That is my main reason for choosing Longbourn, and I hope it will make you think well of me.
“Now all that remains is for me to tell you how strongly I admire you.
“As for money, you don’t need to worry. I will not ask your father for anything.
“I know very well that he could not afford to give you much.
“You are only entitled to a small amount of money after your mother’s death, so I promise never to complain about your financial situation after we are married.”
Elizabeth could no longer let him continue.
“Mr. Collins, you are going much too fast. You seem to have forgotten that I haven’t answered you yet.
“Let me answer now.
“Thank you for the honor you have shown me, but I must refuse your proposal.”
Mr. Collins raised one hand with great confidence.
“I am well aware that young ladies often refuse a man’s first proposal even when they secretly intend to accept him later.
“Sometimes they even refuse twice or three times.
“So I am not discouraged by your answer. I am confident that I shall eventually have the pleasure of leading you to the altar.”
“Honestly, Mr. Collins, that’s a remarkable conclusion to reach after what I just said.
“I assure you, I am not one of those women who refuse a proposal simply to encourage a man to ask again.
“I am completely serious.
“You could never make me happy, and I am equally certain that I could never make you happy.
“Even Lady Catherine, if she knew me well, would probably decide that I was completely unsuitable for you.”
Mr. Collins considered this very seriously.
“If I were certain that Lady Catherine would think so, I might be concerned.
“But I cannot imagine that she would disapprove of you.
“When I see her again, I shall speak very highly of your modesty, your ability to manage money, and your other excellent qualities.”
“Mr. Collins, you don’t need to praise me to Lady Catherine.
“You must allow me to make my own decision, and you must believe what I am telling you.
“I sincerely hope you become very happy and very wealthy.
“By refusing you, I am actually doing everything I can to make sure you achieve both.
“You wanted to marry one of my father’s daughters partly because you felt guilty about eventually inheriting Longbourn.
“Now that you have made the offer, you have done what you believe is your duty.
“So you can inherit the estate someday without feeling guilty about it.
“There’s nothing more to discuss. Consider the matter settled.”
Elizabeth stood up, intending to leave.
But Mr. Collins was still not finished.
“When I speak to you about this again, I hope your answer will be more favorable.
“Of course, I don’t blame you for refusing me now.
“It is simply the normal behavior of young women to reject a man’s first proposal.
“Perhaps you have already said enough to encourage me while still maintaining the modest behavior expected of a respectable young lady.”
Elizabeth stared at him in disbelief.
“Mr. Collins, you really are confusing me.
“If everything I’ve said sounds like encouragement to you, I have no idea how I could possibly make my refusal any clearer.”
“You must allow me to believe, my dear cousin, that your refusal is only a formality.
“I have several reasons for thinking so.
“First, I don’t believe my position is at all unworthy of you.
“I can offer you a comfortable and respectable home.
“I have an excellent position in society, a connection with the De Bourgh family, and a relationship with your own family.
“These are all advantages in my favor.
“You should also remember that although you are certainly attractive and charming, there is no guarantee that another man will ever propose to you.
“Your financial situation is unfortunately so limited that it may prevent your beauty and good qualities from attracting another suitable husband.
“So I prefer to believe that you aren’t truly rejecting me.
“Perhaps you simply want to make me love you more by keeping me uncertain for a while, as elegant young ladies sometimes do.”
“Mr. Collins, I assure you that I have absolutely no desire to play that sort of game.
“I would much rather you simply believe that I am telling you the truth.
“Thank you again for the honor of your proposal, but accepting it is completely impossible.
“My feelings make it impossible.
“Can I make myself any clearer?
“Please stop thinking of me as some clever young woman trying to tease and torment you.
“I am simply a sensible person telling you honestly how I feel.”
“You are charming in every possible way!” Mr. Collins replied awkwardly.
“And I am sure that once your excellent parents give their formal approval, they will accept my proposal on your behalf.”
Elizabeth realized that there was no point saying anything more.
Mr. Collins was determined to misunderstand her no matter how clearly she spoke.
She quietly left the room.
If he continued to treat her repeated refusals as encouragement, she would have to ask her father to intervene.
Mr. Bennet would certainly give Mr. Collins a refusal so clear that even he could not possibly mistake it for flirtation.