Pride and Premeditation (Jane Austen Murder Mystery #1)(45)

Charlotte relaxed, and Lizzie knew that she had done the right thing—which made asking Collins to dinner so her mother could maneuver a marriage proposal out of him all the more awkward.

“Well,” Collins said, “but very, very busy. I suppose you’ve come to visit Miss Lucas, as I believe your father expressly forbade you from interfering with casework.”

Lizzie clamped her mouth shut but was gratified to see Charlotte wince slightly. “Actually, I’ve come to speak to you.”

Collins stared for a moment, his mouth agape in surprise. Lizzie looked to Charlotte, and her best friend raised her eyebrow in curiosity. When she glanced back at Collins, Lizzie mistrusted the satisfied expression that had replaced his shock. “Of course, Miss Elizabeth. Step into my office.”

“Oh, no need—”

“I insist!” Collins reached out to take Lizzie’s arm, and Lizzie took a small step back to avoid his touch. Collins’s hand caught the strap of her reticule, yanking it off Lizzie’s arm. It fell to the floor, spilling Lizzie’s sketchbook and her pencil, a handkerchief, and the small amount of coin she possessed. “Oh, my apologies!”

He knelt down to help her pick up her things, and Lizzie dove for the sketchbook. Unfortunately, Collins got to it first. Lizzie snatched up her reticule and said, “No harm done, Mr. Collins,” and held out her hand for her sketchbook.

But Mr. Collins was oblivious. “I did not take you for an artist, Miss Elizabeth!”

“Oh no, I’m not! Please don’t—”

But to her horror, he was already opening the sketchbook to inspect the pages. Lizzie cast a frantic look in Charlotte’s direction, and Charlotte jumped. “Mr. Collins, you’re embarrassing her! A lady’s sketchbook should not be viewed without express permission.”

Collins looked up from Lizzie’s sketchbook and toward Charlotte. “Oh! I didn’t mean . . .” And to Lizzie’s shock, he closed the sketchbook and handed it back. Lizzie did her best not to snatch it from his hands.

“My apologies, Miss Elizabeth. Shall we?” He gestured toward his office door and Lizzie looked to Charlotte. She didn’t want to be alone with him. But Charlotte smiled encouragingly. It was a smile that said, Thank you for being polite. And, It’ll be fine.

I’m being kind for Charlotte, Lizzie thought. She followed Collins, and he shut the door behind her. Lizzie resolved to get this over as quickly as possible. “I have simply come to extend an invitation to dinner. From my mother.”

Collins’s face registered mild surprise, quickly overtaken by joy. “Miss Elizabeth, your mother is too kind. For her to think of me, when I’m just a lowly solicitor . . .”

Lizzie rolled her eyes. “Nonsense.”

Collins ignored Lizzie’s less than civil attitude and pulled out a chair for Lizzie to sit down. “I’ve worked for your father for many months now, and during this time I thought that surely your family must resent me. Not your father—he’s been very gracious. But of course, there’s no one else to take up the mantle.”

“No one indeed,” Lizzie replied, but her sarcasm was lost on Collins. She ignored his gesture to sit, not wanting to find herself trapped.

Collins didn’t seem to take notice. “I worried about the opinion of your mother and sisters, naturally. Ladies rarely see things the same way men do. Why, in your eyes, I’m taking the business that is your only source of income, and when your father passes—hopefully not for a good many years—you shall have nothing but a modest settlement to live on.”

Lizzie had simply come to ask him to dinner, not for her family’s dismal prospects to be thrown in her face. “I assure you my mother means you no ill will, and says that Monday would—”

“That’s a reassurance.” Collins’s face took on a peculiar look, as if he were weighing a hefty thought. It was that expression that caused Lizzie to pause a moment, and her hesitation allowed Collins an opening. “May I speak frankly, Miss Elizabeth?”

Lizzie would prefer he not but said, “I hardly have the authority to ask you not to.”

“Your modesty is commendable,” he said. “You may guess what I have to say. From the moment your father took me on and the future of his estate was made known to me, I knew that my duties extended beyond simply inheriting your father’s legacy.”

Lizzie had not the slightest clue what he was talking about, but her instincts told her nothing good. She cast a look at the closed door and wished she could run for it.

“Almost as soon as I set foot in this building, I singled you out as my future life companion. Before I run away with my feelings, perhaps it would be useful for me to state my reasoning?”

Of all the things that Collins had just said, it was the idea of him running away with his feelings that caused a swell of feeling in Lizzie’s chest. She was so close to laughter that it was all she could do not to let it out, and thus she missed her chance to interrupt him.

“I believe it’s important for me, as a gentleman, to marry. Your father has set a fine example, and I would like to follow suit. The second reason has to do with my benefactress. Before I came to London, she told me to make every effort to establish myself in society, and I believe that marriage shall accomplish that.”

Lizzie felt light-headed. Was this really happening? “Mr. Collins—”