Fragment VII
The group of four departed in two carriages the next morning. Charlotte, Elizabeth and Mr Darcy traveled in one carriage and Mr. Collins had a carriage all to himself, which was understandable, as he was determined to take his herrings with him on the journey.
The goings were slow, as there was unpleasant and stormy weather, which meant the roads were of an appalling quality and they had to stop twice to change horses, as they tired rather quickly. The second time they stopped was somewhere in Lincolnshire on a rather lonely inn next to the road. The inn was named “Ye Olde Marineate”, which was due to an unfortunate sign-making error and was doubly unfortunate, because the word is actually verb.
Inside the inn was a lonely female innkeeper, who seemed excessively bored and utterly indifferent about the arrival of the guests. Mr. Darcy ended up having to harness the horses for both of the carriages, as Mr. Collins was unable to do so for his carriage.
Just as they were about to leave, the innkeeper seemed to awaken, “Are you heading on that foolish adventure, everyone else seems to be going on these days?”
Despite the vague question, Elizabeth immediately understood what the innkeeper was referring to. “Yes, why?” she inquired.
“I warn you! That adventure is not what it seems to be, however if you pay me a large sum of gold, I will cast a spell on you, which will protect you from all the potential dangers of the adventure." the old woman replied.