Chapter Ninety
Mr. Bingley, once he emerged from their post-wedding bliss, felt strongly that Mr. and Mrs. Rochester should be permitted to move into Netherfield Park as soon as may be.
Mr. Bingley had a legal right to inhabit Netherfield Park for the duration of his one-year lease, but he felt that he had no moral right.
Before he could discuss this with Mr. Rochester, however, he knew he must first consult with his wife.
Thus, about two weeks into married life, he looked at his wife across the breakfast table. She looked lovely in her morning gown, her golden hair piled on top of her head. Not as lovely as when that same golden hair was raining down her back, but still quite lovely. “Jane,” he began.
She looked at him, smiling. “Yes, Charles?”
“Does it feel right to you that we are living in the Rochesters’ house, while they are at Purvis Lodge, waiting for the lease to expire?”
She exhaled slowly, while he waited in some anxiety. “Not at all right,” she declared. “I have been thinking much the same. But where would we go?”
Relieved that they felt the same on this issue, as they did on so many others, he ticked off their options on his fingers.
“We could simply trade with them and move into Purvis Lodge. Or we could move to Longbourn, as I think your mother finds the house rather empty with three of her daughters gone. Or we could go to London and live in my town house.”
Jane looked down. “None of those sound particularly appealing, if I am honest.”
“I concur, of course, but what else can we do?”
“Let me think on it, Charles.”
He agreed hastily, glad to leave the matter with her.