On Saturday morning, Elizabeth and Mr. Collins happened to be alone at breakfast for a few minutes.
Mr. Collins took the opportunity to give her the long farewell speech he believed was necessary.
“I am not sure whether Mrs. Collins has already thanked you for coming to stay with us, Miss Elizabeth.”
“But I am certain she would never let you leave without expressing her gratitude.”
“We have truly appreciated having you here.”
“We know there is not much to attract a young woman to our modest home.”
“Our simple way of living, our small rooms, our few servants, and our quiet life must have made Hunsford rather dull for you.”
“But I hope you will believe that we are very grateful for the honor of your visit.”
“And we have certainly done everything we could to make your stay pleasant.”
Elizabeth quickly thanked him and assured him that she had enjoyed herself.
She had spent six weeks with Charlotte and had been very happy.
Charlotte’s company had been a great pleasure, and Elizabeth had appreciated the kindness she had received from everyone.
Mr. Collins was delighted to hear this.
“I am extremely pleased that you did not find your stay unpleasant.”
“We certainly did our best to make you comfortable.”
“And fortunately, we have been able to introduce you to some very respectable people.”
“Our connection with Rosings has also given us many opportunities to escape the quiet life of this parsonage.”
“So I think we can honestly say that your visit to Hunsford could not have been completely boring.”
“Our relationship with Lady Catherine’s family is an extraordinary privilege.”
“Few people could hope for such an advantage.”
“You have seen for yourself how close we are to them.”
“You have seen how often we are invited to Rosings.”
“In fact, despite all the disadvantages of this small parsonage, I do not think anyone who shares our friendship with Rosings has any reason to feel sorry for us.”
Mr. Collins was so pleased with himself that words were hardly enough.
He began walking around the room while Elizabeth tried to give him a polite answer without saying anything untrue.
“You will be able to give my family a very good report of us when you return to Hertfordshire, my dear cousin.”
“At least, I hope you will.”
“You have seen every day how much attention Lady Catherine gives Mrs. Collins.”
“I trust you do not think your friend has made an unfortunate marriage.”
He paused.
“But perhaps it is better not to discuss that subject.”
“Let me simply say, Miss Elizabeth, that I sincerely hope you will be just as happy in your own marriage.”
“My dear Charlotte and I agree on almost everything.”
“We have remarkably similar personalities and opinions.”
“It is almost as if we were made for each other.”
Elizabeth could safely agree that it was a great blessing when a husband and wife were so perfectly suited.
She could also honestly say that she believed Charlotte was happy and comfortable in her marriage.
Fortunately, however, she did not have to listen to Mr. Collins describe their happiness for much longer.
Charlotte entered the room.
Poor Charlotte!
Elizabeth could not help feeling sorry for her friend when she thought about having to live with Mr. Collins.
But Charlotte had chosen this life knowingly.
She had understood exactly what she was getting into.
And although she was clearly sorry to see Elizabeth and Maria leave, she did not seem to want anyone’s sympathy.
She was still pleased with her home.
She enjoyed managing the household.
She cared about the parish.
She was interested in her chickens and all the small matters connected with running her home.
For now, those things were enough to keep her satisfied.
Soon the carriage arrived.
Their trunks were loaded, and their smaller packages were placed inside.
Everything was ready.
Elizabeth said a warm goodbye to Charlotte.
Mr. Collins accompanied her through the garden to the carriage.
As they walked, he asked her to give his best wishes to everyone at Longbourn.
“Please remember me to your whole family.”
“And do not forget to thank them again for the kindness they showed me when I visited Longbourn during the winter.”
“Please also give my compliments to Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner.”
“Although I have never had the pleasure of meeting them.”
He helped Elizabeth into the carriage.
Maria followed her.
The door was about to close when Mr. Collins suddenly looked alarmed.
“One moment!”
“We have completely forgotten to send our respects to the ladies at Rosings.”
“You will certainly want to give them our humble regards.”
“And please express our sincere thanks for all the kindness they have shown you during your stay.”
Elizabeth had no objection.
The carriage door was closed.
A moment later, they drove away.
For several minutes, neither Elizabeth nor Maria spoke.
Then Maria broke the silence.
“Good gracious!”
“It seems as if we only arrived a day or two ago.”
“And yet so many things have happened!”
“A great many things,” Elizabeth replied with a sigh.
Maria began counting their visits.
“We had dinner at Rosings nine times.”
“And we went there for tea twice.”
“I am going to have so much to tell everyone when we get home!”
Elizabeth kept her private thoughts to herself.
“And I am going to have so much to keep secret.”
The journey was quiet and uneventful.
They did not talk very much.
Less than four hours after leaving Hunsford, they arrived at Mr. Gardiner’s house in London.
They planned to stay there for a few days.
Jane looked well when Elizabeth saw her.
Because their aunt had arranged several activities for them, Elizabeth did not have much time to observe her sister’s mood.
But Jane would soon return home with her.
Once they were back at Longbourn, Elizabeth would have plenty of time to understand how Jane was really feeling.
Even so, Elizabeth found it difficult to wait that long before telling Jane about Darcy’s proposal.
She knew she had something that would shock Jane completely.
At the same time, it would probably satisfy the small amount of vanity Jane still possessed.
Elizabeth was tempted to tell her everything immediately.
But she could not decide exactly how much of Darcy’s proposal she should reveal.
She was also afraid that once she started talking about Darcy, she might accidentally bring up Bingley.
That could make Jane’s pain even worse.
So Elizabeth kept the secret to herself for the moment.