Wedding bells are ringing!
Author Note: This is part of a mini-series of scenes telling the story of Charlotte Lucas’ other romance. Here are the previous parts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8
January 9, 1812
Charlotte had never been one to have romantic dreams about a perfect wedding. She knew she would never be a beautiful bride that women would cry over, and there was not even to be a wedding breakfast, since she and Mr. Collins were to leave for Kent from the church door. Lady Catherine apparently felt he had been absent from his post a bit too often in these last months, so naturally Mr. Collins was determined to return at the earliest possible moment. It was going to be a very long day, especially with a wedding night at the end where she would need to have all of her acting skills at their best.
The ceremony went smoothly, which was all Charlotte had hoped for. The only shock came when she walked back down the aisle with her new husband and saw some unexpected faces in the pews. Judge Braxton sat between his young nephew and Mr. Robinson.
She allowed her eyes to rest on Mr. Robinson for just a moment. He gave her a slight smile—not a happy one, but neither was it completely false—and then she was past his pew. She wondered at his presence, but he could not be planning to cause difficulties if he was with the judge.
The newlyweds were surrounded by well-wishers at the church door. Charlotte could hear Mr. Collins droning on to someone or other in his usual manner with frequent references to Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Rosings Park while she was bidding her final farewells to her family and friends. She could not keep herself from glancing around every few minutes in search of Mr. Robinson, oddly embarrassed at what he would think of her new husband.
When she saw him, it was a worse shock. He was actually being introduced to Mr. Collins. Her social smile firmly plastered in place, she hurried to Mr. Collins’s side, hoping that her interest looked like nothing more than the eagerness of a devoted bride to be with her new husband.
“Yes, of course, near Rosings Park,” said Mr. Robinson smoothly. “I remember it well. My father was a great friend of Sir Lewis de Bourgh, and during that gentleman’s lifetime, we often called at Rosings. He and my father were both devotees of chess and whiled away many an afternoon with one match after another.”
“If you have met the family, then you comprehend the great honor I feel in having the opportunity to be Lady Catherine’s most humble servant.” Mr. Collins showed the same eagerness to impress that he had when meeting Mr. Darcy at the Netherfield Ball.
“Indeed I do. I recall standing quite in awe of Lady Catherine. Rosings Park is, of course, among the finest houses in the county. I am sure there are many who are envious of your position.” His eyes momentarily slid toward Charlotte with a very different message about his envy.
As Mr. Collins thanked him at length for his great condescension, Charlotte wondered what on earth he was about. It certainly had not taken him long to take the measure of Mr. Collins’s nature, and he was playing to it beautifully.
“I was delighted to hear that Miss Lucas—Mrs. Collins—would be taking up residence in Hunsford. She is just the sort of practical, dependable lady to be a perfect clergyman’s wife. In fact, I was hoping you would not object if I introduced my younger sister to her acquaintance. This was to have been Mary’s first Season until my father became ill, and she is disappointed to be spending it in the country instead. I believe Mrs. Collins would be an excellent steadying influence on her, with your permission, of course.”
Mr. Collins turned to Charlotte, rubbing his hands together with every evidence of pleasure. “We would be delighted, would we not, Mrs. Collins?”
Charlotte curtsied slightly. “I would be very happy to meet a new friend in Kent.” She was not certain whether she was more amused or horrified at his initiative in asking her husband for permission to call on her.
He bowed. “In that case, I will look forward to seeing you again very soon, Mrs. Collins, but I will not keep you from your other guests any longer.”
She offered him her hand, and he bowed over it deeply, giving her fingers a little squeeze as he did so. It was as if a little spark passed from him to her, but she felt no urge for anything more. Today was not the day to be thinking of him.
She was relieved when the hired carriage pulled away from the church and she was alone with Mr. Collins. She listened absently as he talked on at length about what a success the day had been and how pleased Lady Catherine would be that Judge Braxton himself had condescended to attend the ceremony. “She will be glad to hear that you are already acquainted with one of our neighbors, but I must admit I did not quite catch his name—was it Rogers, my dear?”
“You refer to Mr. Robinson?”
“Ah, yes, Robinson, that was it. And to think his father had the honor of knowing Sir Lewis de Bourgh! I will have to tell Lady Catherine about him. How did you come to meet him?”
“Judge Braxton is a friend of Mr. Robinson’s father, and is acting as a mentor of sorts to the son. Mr. Robinson attended many of the social occasions in Meryton during his visit to the judge.” She was pleased by the apparent detachment in her voice. “But I hope you will tell me more about what I should expect to find in Hunsford and at Rosings Park. One can never be too prepared, after all.”
As she hoped, that sent him off into a long monologue of praise, waxing eloquent about every detail of Rosings. It was rather soothing, actually, since he required so little from her apart from the appearance of attention. She was used to this sort of effusive behavior from her father, so it did not trouble her greatly.
She folded her hands in her lap and made herself as comfortable as one could be in a coach with fewer springs than might be wished for. She had no complaints, though. Today was evidence enough for her that she had made the correct decision. She might feel an attraction to Mr. Robinson that she did not for Mr. Collins, and she would certainly enjoy his company more, but her pleasure in their time together did not prevent her from noticing that today he had shown himself once again to be a skilled liar with a talent for manipulation. His willingness to involve his sister in the situation did not speak well for him, either. If she were married to him, she would always have doubts about his motives and his veracity, and if he could lie so easily and disguise what must be serious dislike for his rival, it was quite possible he could fool her about other things.
No, Mr. Robinson would not have made the kind of husband she could depend on. She remembered him with pleasure, and looked forward more than she might like to admit to their next meeting, but she knew where she stood with Mr. Collins. If his effusiveness bordered on embarrassing, she could learn to ignore it. She would finally have an establishment of her own, a comfortable income, and hopefully children to raise.
“Is something the matter, my dearest Charlotte? Is the motion of the carriage too much for you?”
“I am a little tired, perhaps, but quite well,” she said, patting his hand. “I do hope Lady Catherine will approve of me.”
That was enough to distract him, and he was off again on his monologue, leaving her with the quite satisfactory thought that Mr. Willoughby would be most distressed if he knew how much she had benefited from his attempt at revenge. Without him she would not have made the desperate attempt to attract Mr. Collins’s attention when he hoped to marry one of the Bennet sisters, and she would still be an aging spinster destined to be dependent on her brothers forever. Instead, thanks to Willoughby, she had a new home, the prospect of someday being mistress of Longbourn, a husband to provide for her, and an admirer to remind her that there was more to her than the practical, dependable Charlotte everyone else knew. Yes, she had a great deal for which to be thankful.
2 comments
She’s so obviously content with her situation now. I must agree with her regarding her doubts as to whether Mr Robinson would have made a good husband. Mr Collins is hardly ideal but at least she knows where she is with him. She just needs to cultivate her selective deafness and coping with him and Lady Catherine will be a breeze.
Wow, now that ending is proof indeed of Charlotte’s admirable pragmatism! There’s not many women who would be able to look at a broken heart and loveless marriage with so good an attitude! Also, she’s very perceptive to worry about Mr. Robinson. As much as I was previously rooting for a second chance romance between them (after Mr. Collins’ untimely but painless death, of course), Charlotte is right that Robinson proved himself to be manipulative in the end. This was quite an alternate story arc you created for Charlotte. Brava!