Free B00BKPAH8O EBOK by Shannon Winslow

choice against him, though, Mrs. Bennet.”
    “No indeed,
sir, for one does not like to think ill of the dead. I am only saying that it
was an excellent notion and surely one which would have satisfied the wishes of
all concerned, had it come to pass.”
    Feeling
uncomfortable with the direction her mother had carried the conversation, Mary
interrupted. “Mr. Collins, you must be tired from your travels. Perhaps you
would like to rest before supper. If so, you must not allow us to keep you
sitting here talking.”
    “How kind you
are, Miss Bennet. Yes, I think I would like that.”
    “Hill,” Mary
called out. “There you are, Mrs. Hill. Kindly show Mr. Collins to the guest
room.”
    “Of course,
Miss Mary,” said Mrs. Hill. Then turning to Mr. Tristan Collins, she added,
“This way, if you please, sir.”
    The gentleman
was barely out of earshot when Mrs. Bennet began relating her opinion of him to
her daughter: what a fine figure of a man he was; not ill-looking either; and
so much more refined than expected of someone who had spent so many years away
from all good society.
    “And did you
notice the expensive cut of his clothes?” she continued. “He must be a man of
some fortune after all. What an excellent thing for Kitty! Yes, he will do very
well. Was not it clever of me, Mary, to drop him that hint, just to get him
thinking? Though he may never before have had any idea of finishing what his
brother started, I daresay he will now, especially once he sets eyes on our Kitty.”
    Mrs. Bennet,
well satisfied with this good beginning, took Mary’s suggestion likewise,
retiring to her own apartment until supper.
    At last, Mary
was alone with her thoughts and with the lively state of her emotions. She was
by no means displeased with what she had thus far seen of her cousin. In truth,
she agreed with her mother’s assessment of his many advantages, excepting
perhaps the idea that Kitty should necessarily be the beneficiary of them.
After all, had not Kitty declared most emphatically that she wanted no part of
Mr. Tristan Collins?

 
     
     
    9
    Mr. Tristan
     
    Mary was still
in the sitting room an hour later when Mr. Tristan returned. “Ah, there you
are, Miss Bennet. I found that I was not so very tired after all. May I join
you?”
    “I should be
glad if you would, Mr. Collins,” said Mary, laying aside her book again. “I
hope you find your room comfortable. You may, of course, have your choice of
any in the house. It is your home now.”
    “Nonsense, no
need to throw your well-organized household into upheaval on my account,” he
said, sitting down across from her. “I am very happily installed in the guest
quarters, and there I shall remain until everything is settled.”
    Mary reflected
a moment on his words before choosing to take the next logical step. “If I may
be so bold, sir, may I ask what are your future plans for this house? It is not
so much for myself that I wish to know; I reside primarily at Netherfield, an
estate near here where I hold the position of governess. But provision will
need to be made for my mother and my younger sister. With your coming sooner
than expected, I am afraid no firm arrangements are yet in place.”
    “I appreciate
your straightforwardness, Miss Bennet. We are all in a very awkward situation
here, and we had best acknowledge it openly. As for my plans, I hardly know
them myself. My life has been in America, as you are aware, and I still hold
interests there – personal as well as business,” he said thoughtfully. Mr.
Collins then rose from his seat, stepped to the window, and gazed out at the
western horizon before continuing. “I have been happy there… for the most part…
yet I cannot say when, or even if, I shall ever return.”
    Mary felt
certain there was more to the story, which perhaps her cousin would disclose in
due course. For the time being, however, she had to be content with
generalities. “What is it like… in America, I mean? One hears