Love Happens - a pride and prejudice fanfiction

An arrival(of a rival)

The Bennets received two missives the next day. One announced the arrival of Mr. Bennet's cousin, Mr. Collins, and the other, an invitation to the ball at Stanfield on the coming Tuesday.

Mrs. Bennet was in a flurry with all the news. She had a lot of planning to do.

"Are you sure that Mr. Collins is coming tomorrow?" she asked Mr. Bennet, excitedly.

"Very sure, my dear. Why, are you planning to marry one of our girls off to him?"

"You know me really well, Thomas. He is a man of cloth, you say?" At his nod, she said," Then Mary would like marrying him. She would make a good wife for him."

"Undoubtedly so. But is our dear Mary having any say in it?"

"Of course not, Mr. Bennet. Why would she have any objections, anyway? It is not as if anyone else would want to marry her for she is so plain! And she could be the mistress of Longbourn! What more could a girl want?"

"How about her right to voice her opinion? "

"She will marry him, and that's final" Mrs. Bennet said firmly.

Mr. Bennet kept quiet and let Mrs. Bennet continue her ranting about telling Lady Anne all about it.

Unbeknownst to both, Mary had other plans. She was in love with the younger Mr. Simmons and so was he. Their love for music had first brought them together, and that attraction had eventually turned into love. They were planning to tell about their secret engagement as soon as one of the eldest Bennet sisters would get married. And unbeknownst to the two lovers, Mrs. Bennet was deciding Mary's fate.

The next day marked the arrival of Mr. Collins. He was a short, a bit stout and a comical looking man with light brown eyes and a hoarse voice. He seemed to like each and everything. What a beautiful house, such a wonderful garden, what splendid cooking, what lovely daughters, to name a few.

It was disgust at first sight for Lizzy. She hated simpering men. A man should be manly. He shouldn't simper like an idiot. He should rise up to a challenge. Yes, she liked men who took up a challenge. There are a very few of them in our society, she thought. Why, she could only think about one man in particular, Willia- stop, William? Why am I thinking about that Darcy? I must be going mad.

She decided to put the matter behind her, and watched the scene unfolding before her.

Mrs. Bennet was praising Mary in front of Collins. Mary was staring suspiciously at her mother and then suddenly she understood. Mama wants me to marry this odious man, she thought. I must inform James about this.

Mrs. Bennet was trying very hard to make Mr. Collins notice Mary, but her tries were futile as Mr. Collins had found out his to be wife- Lizzy.

He found Lizzy to be very attentive to his rambling, though I must say he was sorely mistaken. She was just nodding her head for courtesy sake and trying to make him ignore Lydia and Kitty's giggling. And unfortunately, he mistook it to be an interest in his talking. Having decided to court Lizzy, he resumed his praises about one Lady Catherine deBourgh and even managed to throw in a few praises for Lizzy.

Lizzy was in a blissful ignorance until she was addressed by Mr. Collins.

"Miss Elizabeth, your mother tells me that there is a ball on Tuesday. May I have the first dance?"

Shocked, she answered, "I am sorry Mr. Collins, but I am already engaged for the first set."

"The second one then?"

She couldn't refuse him again, and so decided to accept. "Yes, Mr. Collins, I will look forward to it." she said, sighing. It is not going to matter, she thought. She bowed, and then made her escape from Mr. Collins.

She was followed out by Jane, who took the opportunity to tease Lizzy.

"Mr. Collins seems taken with you, like Lizzy. So does John Simmons. My, you must be good at stealing hearts!" she said, laughing.

Lizzy made a face and said, " So says the person who has captured one Mr. Bingley's heart."

"Oh, he is a very good man, Lizzy. He is so amiable and always good humoured. He-"

"He is very handsome and rich too. Which I am sure you don't consider a fault, do you, dear Jane?"

Jane blushed and said,

"No, I won't deny the fact that he is handsome. But don't change the subject, Lizzy. I heard mama saying to Lady Anne that you might receive a proposal from Mr. Simmons soon."

"I did not hear anything of that sort. And don't make me like him that way, you know I won't."

"Understand, Lizzy. He simply adores you. Maybe you prefer Mr. Collins by any chance?" Jane said, teasingly.

"Jane, do not tease me so. I am afraid that if you continue, I will be forced to tease you, and you won't like that, I am sure."

"I know you very well, dear sister. I will tease you no more. I will leave it to you to decide which suitor you like best."

"That's the problem, Jane. Like, I may, but what is necessary is love. And that is not what one prepares oneself for, it is something that happens. Yes Jane, love happens."

Jane just nodded her head and smiled. She left her sister in deep contemplation and walked through the woods, daydreaming about Mr. Bingley.

Back at Pemberly, another soul was daydreaming, Charles Bingley.

And yet another soul, no doubt William's, was trying to read his own mind.

Why had he interrupted Lizzy and John's conversation? Yet again, why did he feel it essential to hear what they were saying? He didn't get an answer to it.

But maybe, just maybe, he didn't want to get an answer to it.