Sir William stayed at Hunsford for only a week.
That was long enough for him to become convinced that Charlotte was very happily settled.
He was also certain that she had an excellent husband and an unusually good neighbor.
While Sir William was there, Mr. Collins spent his mornings driving him around in his carriage and showing him the surrounding countryside.
Once Sir William left, everything returned to normal.
Elizabeth was relieved to discover that Mr. Collins did not spend more time with them simply because the household was smaller.
Most mornings, he kept himself busy in the garden.
At other times, he stayed in his study, reading, writing, or watching the road from his window.
The ladies usually sat in a room at the back of the house.
At first, Elizabeth wondered why Charlotte did not use the larger dining room instead.
It had more space and a much better view.
But she soon understood Charlotte’s reason.
If they spent their time in a room with a pleasant view of the road, Mr. Collins would probably spend far less time in his own study.
Elizabeth silently gave Charlotte full credit for the clever arrangement.
From the ladies’ room, they could not see anything happening on the lane.
So they depended on Mr. Collins to tell them whenever a carriage passed.
He was especially careful to announce whenever Miss de Bourgh drove past in her phaeton.
This happened almost every day.
Miss de Bourgh sometimes stopped at the parsonage and spoke with Charlotte for a few minutes.
But she almost never got out of her carriage.
Mr. Collins walked to Rosings on most days.
His wife also felt obliged to go there quite often.
At first, Elizabeth could not understand why they were willing to spend so many hours there.
Then she remembered that Lady Catherine might eventually have another church position to offer.
That made the Collinses’ constant attention seem much easier to explain.
Lady Catherine occasionally visited the parsonage herself.
Whenever she came, nothing escaped her attention.
She wanted to know exactly what Charlotte and Elizabeth were doing.
She inspected their work and told them how they could do it better.
She criticized the way the furniture was arranged.
She noticed even the smallest mistake made by the maid.
And if she accepted any food or drink, she somehow managed to find another fault.
Once, she decided that the pieces of meat Charlotte served were far too large for such a small family.
Elizabeth soon realized that Lady Catherine behaved like the unofficial ruler of the entire village.
Mr. Collins brought every little local problem to her attention.
If any villager argued with a neighbor, complained about something, or seemed too poor, Lady Catherine personally went to deal with the situation.
She settled their arguments, silenced their complaints, and scolded them until they behaved as she thought they should.
Dinner at Rosings happened about twice a week.
Without Sir William and with only one card table in the evening, these visits were almost exactly the same as the first one.
There were few other social activities.
The people in the area generally lived too grandly for the Collinses to keep up with them.
Elizabeth did not mind at all.
She was actually quite comfortable with the quiet life.
She enjoyed spending peaceful half-hours talking with Charlotte.
The weather was also unusually pleasant for the season, so Elizabeth often enjoyed long walks outside.
Her favorite place was a quiet path through the trees along the edge of Rosings Park.
It was sheltered and peaceful.
No one else seemed particularly interested in it.
That suited Elizabeth perfectly.
There, she felt safely beyond Lady Catherine’s endless curiosity.
In this quiet way, the first two weeks of Elizabeth’s visit passed quickly.
Easter was approaching.
The week before Easter was expected to bring an important addition to the Rosings household.
In such a small social circle, the arrival of a new guest was a major event.
Elizabeth had already heard that Mr. Darcy was expected to arrive within a few weeks.
She was not exactly looking forward to seeing him.
Still, his arrival would at least give her someone new to observe during the Rosings gatherings.
She was particularly curious to see how he would behave toward his cousin, Miss de Bourgh.
Lady Catherine clearly wanted Darcy to marry her.
She spoke of his expected visit with great excitement.
She praised him constantly and seemed almost annoyed that Miss Lucas and Elizabeth had already met him several times.
Elizabeth also thought it might be amusing to see how unsuccessful Miss Bingley’s efforts to attract Darcy would prove to be.
The news of Darcy’s arrival reached the parsonage almost immediately.
Mr. Collins had spent the entire morning watching the road near the entrance to Rosings Park.
He wanted to be the first person to see Darcy’s carriage arrive.
The moment he spotted it, he bowed deeply as it passed through the gates.
Then he hurried home with the important news.
The following morning, Mr. Collins rushed to Rosings to pay his respects.
Darcy had not come alone.
Lady Catherine had two nephews visiting her.
One was Mr. Darcy.
The other was Colonel Fitzwilliam, the younger son of Darcy’s uncle.
To everyone’s surprise, Mr. Collins returned to the parsonage with both gentlemen.
Charlotte had seen them crossing the road from her husband’s study.
She immediately ran to tell Elizabeth and Maria.
“You have me to thank for this, Eliza.”
“Mr. Darcy would never have come here so quickly to visit me if you were not staying with us.”
Elizabeth barely had time to deny that she deserved any credit.
The doorbell rang.
A moment later, the three gentlemen entered the room.
Colonel Fitzwilliam came in first.
He was around thirty years old.
He was not especially handsome, but everything about him—his appearance, manners, and way of speaking—was that of a polished gentleman.
Darcy looked exactly as Elizabeth remembered him from Hertfordshire.
He politely greeted Mrs. Collins.
Whatever he might have been feeling about Elizabeth, he behaved as though nothing unusual had happened.
Elizabeth simply gave him a small curtsy.
She said nothing.
Colonel Fitzwilliam immediately began talking.
He was relaxed, friendly, and easy to speak with.
His conversation was pleasant and natural.
Darcy, on the other hand, was much quieter.
After making a brief comment to Mrs. Collins about the house and garden, he sat silently for several minutes.
Eventually, he made an effort to be polite.
He turned to Elizabeth.
“How is your family?”
“They are all very well, thank you.”
There was a short silence.
Elizabeth then decided to test him.
“My eldest sister has been in London for the past three months.”
“Have you happened to see her there?”
Elizabeth already knew the answer.
She was not asking because she expected Darcy to have met Jane.
She wanted to see whether he would show any sign that he remembered what had happened between Jane and the Bingleys.
For a moment, Darcy seemed slightly uncomfortable.
“No.”
“I have never had the pleasure of meeting Miss Bennet in London.”
Elizabeth said nothing more.
The subject was dropped.
Soon afterward, the three gentlemen left the parsonage.