Chapter 16 Country Life 10 A Trip to Meryton
The next day before dinner, Mr. Collins arrived punctually as mentioned in the letter.
He is not short and there is nothing wrong with his facial features. When he is silent, he looks like a decent gentleman.
But he rarely did not speak. From the moment he appeared, he had taken on more than 60% of the speaking volume. Only Mrs. Bennett had the ability to interrupt, but she was not very willing to talk too much with the person who had robbed Mr. Bennett of his property.
Mr. Collins spoke a lot and densely, and most of it was meaningless compliments and courtesy, making it difficult to extract any useful information.
Heather felt that if he were born in the 21st century, he would definitely be an excellent anchor. He was quite talented as he could speak so many non-repetitive lines continuously without looking at the script or preparing the lines.
Mr. Collins's manner was far more offensive than his affected words.
He took the furniture and servants of the house for granted as his own, and he patrolled his territory as if Mr. Bennett's time was numbered.
Even more infuriating was the fact that he had apparently identified several cousins of suitable age as marriage candidates and was planning to choose the most suitable one as atonement for taking over their property.
Mr. Collins certainly coveted Heather's beauty, but he was "generously and considerately" limited his choice of spouse to the Bennett family to ensure that it would benefit Mr. Bennett's descendants.
Besides, he felt that his benefactor, Lady Catherine, would not like a widow remarrying, so he soon stopped staring at her.
But this made life difficult for the young ladies of the Bennet family, especially Jane and Elizabeth. It was not easy to deal with Mr. Collins.
Heather decided to take her nieces to Meryton to relax. After all, without her aunt who was supposed to marry into Meryton, their chances of going to town were greatly reduced.
It so happened that one of Hazel's childhood friends had married a squire in Meryton.
Mrs. Jenny Jones, who had rented several houses in the town to the stationed officers, and two of them happened to be attending the Netherfield ball, wrote to invite Heather to come when she learned of her return.
When Heather told her nieces the news, they were all very happy. Meryton's shops and officers had great appeal to the girls in the nearby villages.
However, they did not succeed in getting rid of Mr. Collins, because Mr. Bennet suggested that he go to Meryton with him for the sake of peace and quiet, and he gladly accepted it.
Mrs. Jones is a very lively woman. Although her husband has little say, she is the most popular person in Meryton.
Because she knew almost all the officers of a certain rank here, and all the wives with unmarried daughters.
On the day that Heather and his group came to visit, Mrs. Jones was also planning to invite several officers to her home for dinner.
She embraced Hazel with great warmth, declaring her many times more beautiful than when she had left Meryton at the age of fifteen.
But Heather wasn't sure if she really remembered what she looked like back then, because she said something like "You are more beautiful than when I saw you as a child" to every young lady in the Bennett family.
Mrs. Jones also kindly praised Mr. Collins, saying that he was a rare young talent in the neighborhood. However, her vocabulary was obviously not as good as Mr. Collins's, and he immediately responded with more colorful words.
After they were all seated, Mrs. Jones told Heather that several officers would come to the house for lunch at noon.
Heather wasn't very interested, but Kitty and Lydia immediately started screaming with excitement.
They squeezed Mrs. Jones in between, one on each side, and begged her coquettishly to invite more officers, especially Mr. Wickham, whom they had met before, because he was more likable than any other officer.
Mrs. Jones herself loved society and was very fond of these lively and boisterous girls.
She immediately agreed and stopped two officers passing by, asking them to invite a few more friends to come over for lunch at noon. She would prepare roast lamb legs today and asked the servants to go to the market to buy some good fish.
She made a point of inviting Lieutenant Wickham, who had been in the limelight recently, and told them that she had the Miss Bennetts from Longbourn as guests today.
As a result, more people came to the lunch party at noon than expected. There were nearly ten officers alone, and the whole room was filled with people in red uniforms.
Several other young ladies came over after hearing the news. Heather thought they were probably fans of Wickham because they all crowded around Wickham as soon as they came in.
Because there were so many people, we didn't sit at the table like a formal banquet. Instead, we took our food and sat in any corner, sitting with whoever we wanted.
Mrs. Jones was very good at organizing this kind of dinner party. Although the portions of lamb legs and fish were a bit tight, fortunately she was experienced enough to ask the chef to prepare a lot of beef pies and almond meringue cakes.
Heather felt that today's lunch was quite appetizing. After taking a lot of fish, asparagus and a large spoonful of mashed potatoes, she took the plate to find a quiet spot near the window near the back garden to enjoy the meal.
She was not used to such a noisy environment, but fortunately, the young men and women were all talking together, and no one paid attention to Heather who had been deliberately staying in the corner, allowing her to observe them carefully in this quiet place.
Mr. Wickham is indeed the hottest figure in Meryton now, and he has the most people around him.
Heather thought it was understandable. Every era had its fair share of uniform enthusiasts, and anyone with good looks would look considerably more handsome in that stylish uniform. Furthermore, objectively speaking, Mr. Wickham was already considered the most handsome of the group, and his demeanor and manners also added a lot to his appearance.
However, Heather felt that he did not look like a soldier, but more like a pretty boy without any signs of training. He was thin and had a delicate hairstyle. People would definitely believe that he was a law student at Lincoln College.
At this moment, Wickham politely responded to the ladies around him and took the initiative to sit next to Elizabeth. Heather kept an eye on this and that area and immediately noticed that Elizabeth's face was blushing with pride.
As expected, she is still a young girl who is just beginning to fall in love. No matter how smart and sharp she is, she will be deceived by a scumbag who looks good on the surface.
Heather was putting the lamb leg into her mouth, and she kept sighing in her heart.
Suddenly a voice sounded beside her, breaking her self-entertainment.
"Are you looking at George Wickham too?"
Heather was frightened by the sudden sound and her hand trembled. A hand next to her quickly reached out to hold the plate and put it on the coffee table.
It was an officer in a red uniform who quickly apologized: "I'm sorry, Mrs. Lawrence, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm really sorry."
It was an officer whom Hazel did not recognize, but except for Mr. Wickham, the center of the crowd, and one officer of unusual bulk, she could hardly distinguish any of the other officers.
Heather feels that she has a bit of face blindness when it comes to Westerners, especially when they are dressed similarly and have similar body shapes.
However, this unnamed officer in front of him was a little different from the others. For example, his cuffs had an extra gold line than Wickham's, and the style of his epaulettes was also different from others.
Heather guessed he was an officer of a higher rank, for he did not look very young.
The man noticed that Heather was observing his attire and took the initiative to introduce himself: "I am Henry Brown, Major of the local militia. I apologize for the intrusion."
He was so polite that Heather had to put down her fork and talk to him.
"Hello, but how do you know my name?" Mrs. Jones clearly didn't concentrate on introducing everyone to each other just now.
"After the Netherfield Ball, many officers in Meryton knew this name, and I was one of them."
He politely added some tea to Heather's and continued, "When Danny went to call Mr. Wickham today, I and his superior happened to be there. I heard that the Miss Bennetts were also at Mrs. Jones's, so I took the liberty of coming here to try my luck."
Heather felt a little puzzled. She wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin and asked, "Why are you trying your luck?"
Major Brown paused, not answering the question. Then he said, "I noticed your wife had been looking in Wickham's direction. If you want to speak to him, I can introduce you. After all, I'm his direct superior."
Heather refused decisively: "No, Major, I have absolutely no such idea. I just want to see who my niece is talking to."
Major Brown glanced over there and said, "Oh, of course, of course. I also don't think someone like Mrs. Lawrence would be interested in him."
He hesitated, as if undecided about whether to speak or not, but still whispered, "Wickham isn't as upright as he appears. A simple lady like your niece would be best advised to avoid excessive contact with him. His peers may not be fully aware of this, but I've heard rumors from his superiors that he may have some remaining debts elsewhere, and there are also some negative rumors regarding his dealings with women."
Major Brown was afraid that Heather wouldn't believe him, so he added, "Mrs. Lawrence, perhaps you doubt what I just said because of his appearance. Please don't misunderstand that I am hostile to him. I am purely respectful to you and hope to help your niece avoid some unnecessary trouble."
Heather couldn't understand where his respect came from. Was it because her ex-husband was an earl?
However, she immediately stated that she would never misunderstand the matter, saying, "I completely believe every word you just said, and I don't think he is someone worthy of trust. It's very common for people to be two-faced."
Please, she knew Wickham better than anyone else. What he had done to Miss Darcy and what he would do to Lydia in the future was unforgivable.
However, after hearing this, Major Brown felt sincerely happy about reaching a consensus with Hessel.
He said solemnly: "It is a great honor for me to have the trust of Mrs. Lawrence."
Is this considered trust...? Heather felt like her brain was muddled by the greasy lamb shank, and she couldn't understand the major's honor at all.
However, the fact that he was willing to risk being questioned to remind a stranger seemed to indicate that he was a pretty good person.
But it wasn't long before Heather realized she seemed to have made a mistake.
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