CHAPTER V
Every object in the next day's journey was new and interesting to Edward; and his spirits were in a state of enjoyment; for he had seen his sister looking so well as to banish all fear for her health, and the prospect of his northern tour was a constant source of delight.
When they left the high road for the lane to Hunsford, every eye was in search of the Parsonage, from which the humble abode of Mr. and Mrs. Lucas was separated only by a lane; and every turning was expected to bring it in view. The palings of Rosings Park was their boundary on one side. Edward smiled at the recollection of all that he had heard of its inhabitants.
At length it was discernible. The garden sloping to the road, the house standing in it, the green pales, and the laurel hedge, every thing declared they were arriving. Mr. and Mrs. Lucas appeared at the door of their own abode as they turned into the lane, and the carriage stopped at the small gate, which led by a short gravel walk to the house, amidst the nods and smiles of the whole party. In a moment they were all out of the chaise, rejoicing at the sight of each other. Charles Lucas welcomed his friend with the liveliest pleasure, and Edward was more and more satisfied with coming when he found himself so affectionately received. He saw instantly that his cousin's manners were not altered by her marriage; her formal civility was just what it had been, and she detained him some minutes at the gate to hear and satisfy her inquiries after all his family. They were then, with no other delay than her pointing out the neatness of the entrance, taken into the house; and as soon as they were in the parlour, she welcomed them a second time with ostentatious formality to her humble abode, and punctually repeated all her husband's offers of refreshment.
Edward was prepared to see her in her glory; and he could not help in fancying that in displaying the good proportion of the room, its aspect and its furniture, she addressed herself particularly to him, as if wishing to make him feel what he had lost in rejecting her proposals. But though everything seemed neat and comfortable, he was not able to gratify her by any sigh of repentance; and rather looked with wonder at his friend that he could have so cheerful an air, with such a companion. When Mrs. Lucas said any thing of which her husband might reasonably be ashamed, which certainly was not unseldom, Edward involuntarily turned his eye on Charles. Once or twice he could discern a faint blush; but in general Charles wisely did not hear. After sitting long enough to admire every article of furniture in the room, from the sideboard to the fender, to give an account of their journey, and of all that had happened in London, Mrs. Lucas invited them to take a stroll to the Parsonage and its garden, which was large and well laid out, and to the cultivation of which she attended herself. To work in this garden was one of her most respectable pleasures; and Edward admired the command of countenance with which Charles talked of the healthfulness of the exercise, and owned he encouraged it as much as possible.
Though it seemed not particularly larger than the Lucas's own abode, the Parsonage spoke more boastfully of its patroness than even Mrs. Lucas could manage, and was altogether the picture of Hunsford that Edward had come to expect. As his cousin showed them through the house, she explained to them why the proportions of its rooms, its aspect and all its furniture were superior to those of their own abode; and concluded that it was perfectly suited to the respectable position of a clergyman.
'And are we to have the honour of meeting Mr. Collins today?' asked Edward, though he had little wish to do so.
'My dear cousin!' replied Mrs. Lucas, 'you are all goodness to enquire after my brother. Alas, he has been called away, and I fear will not find it within his power to return, while you are in the country. It is very unfortunate, and a most severe inconvenience to Lady Catherine.'
'Indeed it must be,' said Edward, fully supposing Mr. Collins's absence to be self-imposed. For all Mrs. Lucas's schemes, it appeared to him that his cousin was no more inclined to shew favour to his family now than he ever had been; and he found that he was as little vexed by the implacability of Mr. Collins as ever.
Having been introduced to the many wonders of the Parsonage, they were shewn into the garden. Here, leading the way through every walk and cross walk, and scarcely allowing them an interval to utter the praises Mrs. Lucas asked for, every view was pointed out with a minuteness which left beauty entirely behind. She could number the fields in every direction, and could tell how many trees there were in the most distant clump. But of all the views which the garden, or which the country or kingdom could boast, none were to be compared with the prospect of Rosings, afforded by an opening in the trees that bordered the park nearly opposite the front of the house. It was a handsome modern building, well situated on rising ground.
From the garden, they would have been led round the two meadows; but Maria Lucas, not having shoes to encounter the remains of a white frost, turned back; and while Sir William accompanied Mrs. Lucas, Charles returned with his sister and friend to their house, extremely well pleased, probably, to have the opportunity of shewing it without his wife's help. It was rather small, but well built and convenient; and every thing was fitted up and arranged with a neatness and consistency of which Edward gave Charles all the credit. When Mrs. Lucas could be forgotten, there was really an air of great comfort throughout, and by Charles's evident enjoyment of it, Edward supposed his wife must be often forgotten.
He had already learnt that Lady Catherine was still in the country. It was spoken of again while they were at dinner, when Mrs. Lucas joining in, observed,
'Yes, cousin, you will have the honour of seeing Lady Catherine de Bourgh on the ensuing Sunday at church, and I need not say you will be delighted with her. She is all affability and condescension, and I doubt not but you will be honoured with some portion of her notice when service is over. I have scarcely any hesitation in saying she will include you and Maria in every invitation with which she honours us during your stay here. Her behaviour to my dear Charles is charming. We dine at Rosings twice every week, and are never allowed to walk home. Her ladyship's carriage is regularly ordered for us. I should say, one of her ladyship's carriages, for she has several.'
'Lady Catherine is a very respectable, sensible woman indeed,' added Charles, 'and a most attentive neighbour.'
'Very true, my dear, that is exactly what I say. She is the sort of woman whom one cannot regard with too much deference.'
The evening was spent chiefly in talking over Hertfordshire news, and telling again what had already been written; and when it closed, Edward in the solitude of his chamber had to meditate upon Charles's degree of contentment, to understand his address in guiding, and composure in bearing with his wife, and to acknowledge that it was all done very well. He had also to anticipate how his visit would pass, the quiet tenor of their usual employments, the vexatious interruptions of Mrs. Lucas, and the gaieties of their intercourse with Rosings. A lively imagination soon settled it all.
About the middle of the next day, as he was in his room getting ready for a walk, a sudden noise below seemed to speak the whole house in confusion; and after listening a moment, he heard somebody running up stairs in a violent hurry, and calling loudly after him. He opened the door, and met Maria in the landing place, who, breathless with agitation, cried out,
'Oh, my dear Edward! pray make haste and come into the dining-room, for there is such a sight to be seen! I will not tell you what it is. Make haste, and come down this moment.'
Edward asked questions in vain; Maria would tell him nothing more, and down they ran into the dining-room, which fronted the lane, in quest of this wonder; it was two ladies stopping in a low phaeton at the gate.
'And is this all?' cried Edward. 'I expected at least that the pigs were got into the garden, and here is nothing but Lady Catherine and her daughter.'
'La!' said Maria, quite shocked at the mistake, 'it is not Lady Catherine. The old lady is Mrs. Jenkinson, who lives with them; the other is Miss de Bourgh. Only look at her. She is quite a little creature. Who would have thought that she could be so thin and small?'
'She is abominably rude to keep your brother and sister out of doors in all this wind. Why does she not come in?'
'Oh! Charles says, she hardly ever does. It is the greatest of favours when Miss de Bourgh comes in.'
'I like her appearance,' said Edward, struck with other ideas. 'She looks sickly and cross.—Yes, she will do for him very well. She will make him a very proper wife.'
Mr. and Mrs. Lucas were both standing at the gate in conversation with the ladies; and Sir William, to Edward's high diversion, was stationed in the doorway, in earnest contemplation of the greatness before him, and constantly bowing whenever Miss de Bourgh looked that way.
At length there was nothing more to be said; the ladies drove on, and the others returned into the house. Mrs. Lucas no sooner saw Edward and Miss Lucas than she began to congratulate them on their good fortune, which Charles explained by letting them know that the whole party was asked to dine at Rosings the next day.
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