Chapter 16
Elizabeth had hoped to speak with Jane about her experience with Mr. Bingley, but she did not have the chance. The very moment their guests were gone, a new group of guests was announced. This group consisted of three gentlemen, two of whom were here to see Jane, and one to see Elizabeth.
The gentleman Elizabeth was speaking with was one of the more pleasant gentlemen she had danced with at the ball, so she was not displeased. Jane, however, seemed far less animated than she had been while speaking with Mr. Bingley.
When this group of gentlemen left, Lady Esther said, “I must warn you, my dears, that all three of those young men are in rather dire financial straits.”
Elizabeth said, “I would never have guessed such from his open and friendly manners.” At the same time, however, she saw Jane sigh in relief. She must not have liked her callers very much.
“Mr. Littleton is indeed a charming young man,” said Lady Esther.
“It is entirely likely that he genuinely enjoys your company as well. In fact, I don’t necessarily assume his primary interest is your fortune.
I only warn you of the fact because it means that he doesn’t handle his money particularly well, which could bode ill for your long-term happiness. ”
Lady Esther then turned to Jane. “As for your young men, they likely are fortune hunters. Unless you strongly object, I will recommend that your father prevent them from calling here in the future.”
“I do not object,” said Jane.
“Of course, that does not apply to Mr. Bingley or Mr. Darcy,” said Lady Esther.
“The two of them have practically perfect reputations. Neither is in debt. Neither drinks to excess. Neither is known for any form of cruelty or temper. The only unpleasant thing I’ve ever heard about either of them is that Mr. Darcy is occasionally cold and rude, especially to overly forward young ladies, but in his private life, he is apparently kindness itself.
If you wish to get married, it is likely you will not find better men than them. ”
Given how much Jane had enjoyed Mr. Bingley’s company both last night and this morning, Elizabeth expected her sister to smile or at the very least to be relieved to hear such praise, but Jane’s expression did not change, nor did she say anything.
Elizabeth said, “I am glad to hear it. Not that I am considering matrimony. I fully agree with our father that we would be best served if we wait for some time before considering such a step. I am only glad to know that there are good men in the world.”
~~~~~
With such a successful debut into London society, it did not take long for the Bennet sisters’ schedules to gradually fill up, so much so that Mary began to complain about the lack of opportunity to study.
Jane, too, began to lose some of her sparkle, and if she had been any less kind, Elizabeth was certain she would have complained.
Elizabeth, however, had never enjoyed herself more.
Every ball, every party, every soiree presented opportunities to make new friends and observe existing ones.
Each time, she found much to muse over and much to enjoy.
She had inherited her father’s sense of the absurd, and while she never openly mocked anyone, she took a keen internal delight at noticing the follies and inconsistencies of those around her.
She noticed when the eldest Miss Smith deliberately tripped herself in such a way that Lord Morton was forced to catch her. She noticed when Colonel Fitzroy claimed to be the best hunter in all of England when everyone knew he couldn’t keep his seat on a galloping horse for more than half a minute.
She very much noticed when the cat escaped from the scullery during Lady Ponder’s soiree. Though many ladies complained that such a mongrel was loose, those same ladies were seen giving the cat bits of their salmon tarts before the footman finally took the creature away.
Additionally, there were several among her acquaintance who were increasingly interesting to talk with. Among these was Mr. Darcy. Though he still had bouts of silence where he couldn’t seem to think of anything to speak of, when he did speak, he inevitably held her attention captive.
Elizabeth was vaguely aware that it wasn’t just his words which held her attention. His dark, intense gaze and his very handsome features weren’t exactly unpleasant, and the way his lips moved when he spoke occasionally sent a shiver of pleasure down her spine.
Even so, she had no intention of singling him out.
There were other gentlemen whose conversation was just as pleasant and who were nearly as handsome as Mr. Darcy.
Besides, despite her growing popularity, Elizabeth was determined to follow her initial determination of waiting for at least a few years before considering matrimony.
Over the following month, Mr. Bingley continued to call on Jane multiple times each week, nearly every day that they stayed at home in the morning. Sometimes, Mr. Darcy and Miss Bingley joined him, and sometimes he arrived alone, but every time he managed to hold Jane’s attention captive.
Miss Bingley was a mystery to Elizabeth.
Any time Mr. Darcy accompanied Mr. Bingley to the Bennets’ home, she was there by his side, but she never came on her own or with only her brother.
While there, she made it a point to interrupt and disrupt the flow of Elizabeth’s conversation with Mr. Darcy as much as possible.
At first, Elizabeth thought the young lady might be naturally empty-headed, for many of her comments made no sense. She often reminded Elizabeth of how her own mother reacted when Mr. Bennet tried to speak of the news.
This assumption was quickly corrected. At parties, she was friendly and pleasant to speak with. She could tell a tale with wit and enthusiasm. She could even discuss the newspaper as well as novels and even a few bits of more esoteric literature.
Elizabeth began to wonder if Miss Bingley and Mr. Darcy had some kind of understanding between them, and Miss Bingley’s interruptions were made out of a sense of possessiveness toward the gentleman.
Try as she might, however, Elizabeth could not find any rumors to corroborate this idea, and Mr. Darcy himself did not seem to hold Miss Bingley in any particular regard.
As far as Elizabeth could tell, Miss Bingley did indeed feel some kind of possessiveness toward Mr. Darcy, but it was fueled by nothing more than the simple fact that Mr. Darcy was such close friends with her brother. This seemed to be the primary motivation for Miss Bingley’s odd behavior.
In the end, Elizabeth resolved to put up with the young lady’s behavior simply for the opportunity to enjoy Mr. Darcy’s company.
As the month wore on, Elizabeth began to believe that Jane’s feelings were becoming quite warm toward Mr. Bingley.
No other man could elicit such smiles from Jane as Mr. Bingley could.
In fact, she gradually began turning away any other suitor, either subtly through her lack of response to them or more directly by asking their father to keep them away.
By the end of April, Elizabeth was convinced that Jane would be the next of their sisters to go to the altar, and she was certain the gentleman who would take her there was Mr. Bingley.
One day, toward the end of April, Elizabeth attempted to verify her assumption. While they were sitting alone in the parlor one morning, she said to Jane, “I assume you are looking forward to Mr. Bingley proposing.”
Saying it in such a straightforward way seemed to shock Jane. She dropped her sewing and stared at Elizabeth with her mouth slightly open. When she could speak, she said, “Whatever gave you that idea, Lizzy?”
“Well, you certainly seem more cheerful in his company than in any other gentleman’s,” said Elizabeth.
“I suppose that is true, though I hadn’t really thought about it,” said Jane. “He is a pleasant, cheerful, even humorous young man.”
Elizabeth was certain there was more to Jane’s response to Mr. Bingley than she was letting on. It was just Jane’s way to keep her feelings to herself.
“And handsome as well,” said Elizabeth, teasing Jane. She was hoping to get a blush out of her older sister, but such hopes were disappointed.
In complete seriousness, Jane said, “He is, indeed. In fact, in most ways, he is just what a gentleman ought to be. His manners are excellent, his conversation lively, and his appearance is pleasing. I am certain he shall make a wonderful husband for some lady someday.”
Though Jane had not even hinted at a hope that the lady in question might be herself, Elizabeth interpreted her sister’s words as expressing a desire to marry Mr. Bingley, and she supported such an intention wholeheartedly.
He would make an excellent addition to the family, and he was certain to take good care of Jane.
Surprisingly, it was in the week following this conversation that the gentleman suddenly stopped appearing.
The last week in April, he did not call at the Bennets’ home at all, nor did he appear at any of the parties they attended. At first, Elizabeth thought he must have been called out of town on business, but this assumption was challenged when she saw Miss Bingley at a dinner party in early May.
She didn’t get a chance to speak with Miss Bingley until the ladies retired to the drawing room after dinner, but once they were there, Elizabeth immediately made her way over to Miss Bingley.
“Good evening, Miss Bingley,” said Elizabeth. “I hope you have been well. It has been some time since we’ve seen each other.”
“Merely a week, Miss Elizabeth. No need to be so maudlin,” replied the lady with a bit of acid in her voice.
Elizabeth pushed through the lady’s resistance, however, and said, “I was certain you and your brother must be out of town. We’ve been so used to seeing him a few times a week. When neither of you called on us, I thought that would be the only explanation.”
“Perhaps we didn’t call because we didn’t wish to call,” said Miss Bingley with increased asperity.
“Of course, you have every right to call on whomever you choose to see,” said Elizabeth.
She was certain she couldn’t make this conversation last for long with Miss Bingley’s clear reluctance to speak with her, but she was desperate to elicit some form of explanation.
“I was only wondering if there was some specific reason you and your brother broke such a longstanding pattern of behavior.”
It was forward, nearly to the point of being rude, but Miss Bingley hadn’t exactly been polite, so Elizabeth tried not to feel overly guilty.
Miss Bingley just stared at Elizabeth for a few moments.
Eventually, she spoke, and her answer shocked Elizabeth to her core.
“A little more than a week ago, the very afternoon after our last call at your home, Mr. Darcy visited my brother. They were closeted away for over an hour, but when they emerged, my brother announced that he would no longer be calling on your sister.”
“Mr. Darcy,” said Elizabeth. Her voice came out breathy with shock, little more than a whisper. “Are you telling me that Mr. Darcy convinced your brother to stop courting my sister?”
“It certainly seems to be the case,” said Miss Bingley. “I suppose it is possible that Charles simply fell out of love with Miss Bennet. He has done so before easily enough with other young ladies. In this case, however, I think it highly unlikely.”
“I see,” said Elizabeth, severe disappointment making her unable to say anything else.
“Now, if you will excuse me, Miss Elizabeth,” said Miss Bingley, “I believe I would like to end this very uncomfortable conversation.”
Elizabeth watched in silence as Miss Bingley crossed the room to speak with someone else. As she gradually began to fully comprehend what had happened, her main emotion was sorrow for her sister’s inevitable heartbreak when she realized Mr. Bingley would never return to her side.
Her second emotion was a mixture of confusion and fury. Mr. Darcy had never struck her as overly proud, at least not towards her or her sisters, and he didn’t seem to be so cold and calculating that he could ruin the happiness of such a kind lady as Jane for no reason whatsoever.
Yet, it seemed clear that he had done just that.
Elizabeth could only conclude that Mr. Darcy must be much colder than she had given him credit for. In fact, he must be the most unfeeling man on Earth for him to be capable of ruining the happiness of such an angelic lady as Jane.
Such a conclusion confused Elizabeth a great deal. She had grown quite fond of him and had looked forward to his company whenever she went out. Now, however, the pleasure she had felt in his presence was completely overshadowed by fury on behalf of her beloved sister.
In fact, as she continued to ponder the situation, the feeling that he had betrayed her expectations, that he had not been the man she had come to know and like, fueled the fire of her fury, pushing it to even greater heights than it might have been had Mr. Bingley been influenced by a complete stranger.
As the certainty of Mr. Darcy’s culpability in Jane’s unhappiness gained weight within her mind, Elizabeth’s final emotion surfaced, that of relief.
She was relieved that Mr. Darcy was not present at this dinner party, for she was not certain she would have been able to prevent herself from venting her anger on that insufferably cold man, which would have caused quite an uncomfortable scene.