Chapter V #2
“After our return to London,” said Mr. Darcy, “Miss Bingley attempted to push them together, hoping for an agreement, even an informal one. As Georgiana became uncomfortable, I stepped in to put a stop to it.”
“Oh dear,” replied Elizabeth. “That could not have been a comfortable conversation.”
“It was not,” agreed Mr. Darcy. “But it was necessary. In truth, I have considered the possibility of Bingley and Georgiana myself, not because of her sentiments, but because I think Bingley would be good for my sister. Georgiana is only sixteen, and will not be ready for marriage for at least two years.”
“Then you do not disapprove of Mr. Bingley joining your family,” said Elizabeth, injecting a teasing note into her voice to avoid appearing judgmental.
“Not at all,” replied Mr. Darcy, not bothered in the slightest. “Bingley is an excellent friend—should they wish it, I would welcome him as a brother without a second thought.”
“And your titled relations?” asked Elizabeth out of curiosity. “Would they accept it?”
Mr. Darcy considered this for a moment. “My uncle might not appreciate it, but he would not interfere. My aunt, Lady Catherine, would deplore her choice, but I am not in the habit of listening to her ladyship’s squawking.”
“I am certain she would be most disappointed to hear it, Mr. Darcy.”
The visit concluded soon thereafter, and the Darcys rose to depart. As he had promised, Miss Darcy extended an invitation for the Gardiners and their nieces for dinner at Mr. Darcy’s house, and Mrs. Gardiner accepted at once. When they left the room, Mrs. Gardiner turned to her nieces.
“Well, girls, what do you think?”
“Miss Darcy is an agreeable young lady,” said Jane. “I cannot think there is anyone who would disagree.”
“She is shy,” added Elizabeth. “I would not have expected it from a Darcy.”
“Wealth and standing do not preclude reticence,” said Mrs. Gardiner.
“No, they do not.”
“What I cannot understand,” said Jane, “is how this has all come about. Did Caroline not speak of her certainty that Miss Darcy and Mr. Bingley would make a match?”
“That is a mystery I can resolve,” said Elizabeth.
Elizabeth explained what she had heard from Mr. Darcy, and when she was finished, Mrs. Gardiner shook her head.
“While I would have expected nothing less from Mr. Darcy, it does not explain what is happening now.”
“No, it does not,” said Elizabeth. “It is a piece in the puzzle, not the one piece that will make it all clear.”
“You must remain observant,” said Mrs. Gardiner. “In time, you will understand.”
“Yes, I suppose we will,” replied Elizabeth.
Later in her room, Elizabeth considered the conversation with Mr. Darcy, feeling a little unsettled.
Mr. Wickham’s comments about Miss Darcy had proven untrue, Mr. Darcy had ended Miss Bingley’s assurance about a connection between her brother and Miss Darcy, and Mr. Darcy was almost a different man from what he had been in Hertfordshire.
The uncomfortable realization that she might have misjudged something would not leave her, and she knew she had no hope of untangling anything except by gathering the strings of this mystery and weaving them together when she had them all.
Though impatient, Elizabeth knew she had no choice but to wait.
Over the next days, the patterns Elizabeth was seeing remained difficult to understand.
Miss Bingley was much in evidence, always friendly, always pressing, but never breaching propriety, never pushing past what was acceptable.
Though Mr. Bingley’s attentions to Jane were agreeable to her, Elizabeth could not forget what she had learned from Mr. Darcy.
Mr. Darcy was also more present than Elizabeth had ever expected when they had come to London.
The gentleman was ever his reticent self.
He was not a verbose man, which made his words when he did open his mouth more noteworthy.
Yet Elizabeth suspected the gentleman was taking great care to say only what he meant to say and nothing more.
One alteration that Elizabeth could see was the changed circumstances between Jane and Mr. Bingley, though that was among the most difficult factors for Elizabeth to understand.
Mr. Bingley was attentive, and his pleasure when he was with Jane was genuine, but Elizabeth sensed his manner was not as open as it had been.
There was a measure of . . . Elizabeth could not determine what it was, but she observed that Mr. Bingley listened more than he had previously, watching Jane more than he engaged.
It was as if he measured something he could not yet define.
Jane’s feelings on the subject were more readily understandable, and that was not only because Jane did not hide anything from Elizabeth.
“I am meeting him as an equal now, Lizzy,” said Jane when Elizabeth mentioned something on the subject.
“You were not an equal before?” asked Elizabeth, bemused by her sister’s comment.
“Do you not recall how we interacted before?” asked Jane. “Mr. Bingley always made for my side at once in Hertfordshire, and he spoke much more than he listened. But I no longer quietly wait for him—if Mr. Bingley does not choose to speak to me, there are others with whom I may converse.”
“Yes, I had noted that,” agreed Elizabeth. She hesitated, then said: “That is perhaps healthier, Jane. After he left Hertfordshire, you pined for him. Now you have met him again, you no longer give that impression.”
Jane smiled and squeezed Elizabeth’s hand. “That is well, for I do not wish others to believe I am pining.”
“But you still consider Mr. Bingley the most agreeable man of your acquaintance.”
“Perhaps,” said Jane, a little coy.
For a moment, Elizabeth was tempted to press further, but she decided against it, contenting herself with what Jane had told her.
The most important factor was Jane’s excellent state of mind.
Elizabeth had worried about her sadness in the wake of Mr. Bingley’s departure—it eased her concern to see Jane approaching the situation with greater maturity.
There was another who was much in evidence, and Elizabeth did not know what to make of him, any more than the other moving parts in this situation. Curious, Elizabeth asked her aunt if she knew anything about the man.
“Edward is acquainted with Mr. Harrington,” said her aunt. “We do not know him so well as we do Mr. Darcy, but Mr. Harrington is a pleasant man.”
“I saw nothing amiss with him,” replied Elizabeth, considering all the times she had seen him of late.
“What have you seen?” asked her aunt.
Elizabeth could only reply with a helpless shrug. “To own the truth, I do not know. Mr. Harrington is often present, but his manner is steady. He does not press, does not flatter, and does not attempt to compete.”
“And Jane?” asked Mrs. Gardiner.
“She appears to be growing easier in his company,” replied Elizabeth. “There is no expectation or uncertainty—it is simply pleasant.”
“Then perhaps that is all it is for the moment.”
Elizabeth did not reply, but she did not stop thinking about it either.
Elizabeth was not the only one who had noted Mr. Harrington’s recent presence. Darcy watched the same with interest, and not only because his friend had asked him about Miss Bennet.
Though Harrington was a friend, he was not as close as Bingley.
Darcy knew Harrington to be an upright man, one who had no patience for nonsense and an unerring sense about what was right.
He was also not yet master of his estate, for his parents were still among the living and appeared healthy.
The Harrington wealth was not on the order of that enjoyed by the Darcys, but they were not paupers either.
Ashleigh Downs, the Harrington estate, was perhaps a quarter smaller than Pemberley, and the Harringtons had no noble relations of note.
But they were a respectable, solid family.
“Tell me, Darcy,” said Harrington one evening while they were standing together, “what do you know of Miss Bennet and her sister?”
Darcy was about to suggest that Harrington’s interest was more in the elder, but his friend, seeing his expression, laughed.
“You need not say it, Darcy. Yes, I am more interested in the elder, but Miss Elizabeth is an excellent sort. I understand from Bingley that you met the Bennets when you were staying at his estate in Hertfordshire.”
“We did,” agreed Darcy, wondering what he should say. “Miss Bennet is exactly as you see her—there is no pretension in her, for she does not have the temperament for it. For a man looking for an angel, I dare say she might be the perfect choice.”
Harrington gave him a shrewd look. “And you are not? Perhaps you prefer the younger sister.”
“Come now, Harrington,” said Darcy, ignoring his comment about Miss Elizabeth, “can you see Miss Bennet and me together? She is reticent, and I am grave—should we marry, I doubt more than twenty words would pass between us in a day.”