"It is by no means certain that another offer of marriage may ever be made you." Mr. Collins reiterated his words in a great bitterness of spirit, promising that no succor would be offered to any of the Bennet family when he finally obtained control of the estate of Longbourn.
However, not only was the gentleman wrong about Elizabeth's marriage prospects, but he was also spectacularly incorrect, for another gentleman of much greater consequence was intent on paying his addresses. And while Elizabeth disliked Mr. Darcy, he was certainly not as personally repugnant as the detestable Mr. Collins.
And what of Mrs. Bennet? After having been denied her fondest dream of seeing a daughter married, could she allow this second opportunity to slip away? Mr. Collins's unthinking and uncharitable words set off a series of events no one could expect, and Elizabeth and Mr. Collins both soon learn that words spoken in anger can have greater consequences than the speaker intended.
