Darcy for London, three letters arrived, two to Miss Elizabeth Bennet at Hunsford parsonage and one to Mr. Darcy at Rosings. Elizabeth was breakfasting with the Collinses when she received hers.“One is from Papa and the other from Jane. Oh, dear, Jane has written the direction very ill indeed. Charlotte, could you please excuse me so I might read them in the garden?”“Of course, Lizzy,” Charlotte said while Mr. Collins mumbled his agreement through a mouthful of breakfast. She watched from the rear parlour window as her friend pored over the letters.Jane’s was the longest, so Elizabeth chose to read it first. It started with the typical greetings and contained a commentary much like letters do: a mention that she and Mary missed Elizabeth’s company dreadfully and lamented the distance between them, a brief history of the antics of the Gardiner children, the goings-on and parties attended, good wishes sent from the other inmates at Gracechurch Street, and a polite inquiry as to the good health of Elizabeth and the rest of their friends in Kent.
