Miss Bennet & Mr Bingley (17 page)

Jane read an extract from the letter and Elizabeth was astonished.

‘They are going to Grosvenor Street, where Mr Hurst has a house? They
have all followed Mr Bingley to town? It hardly seems possible, Jane.’

‘There is more, Lizzy. Let me read it to you.

‘I do not pretend to regret anything I shall
leave in Hertfordshire accept your society, my dearest friend; I will hope that
at some future period we shall enjoy many returns of the delightful intercourse
we have known, and in the meanwhile may lessen the pain of separation by very
frequent and most unreserved correspondence. I depend on you for that.’

Elizabeth was not convinced. ‘The fact that Miss Bingley and her sister
wish to remain in London, is nothing to the gentleman, Jane. I do not suppose
that their absence from Netherfield will prevent Mr Bingley’s being there. And
although I know you will miss their society, as long as you have his, that is
all that matters, surely?’

Jane was not so sanguine. ‘But Lizzy, Mr Bingley will not wish to be
apart from his family at Christmas time. He must stay in London with them at
least until the New Year.’ She stared down at the letter still not quite
comprehending how things had come to such a pass. Had she imagined the
closeness she and Charles had shared over the past few weeks?

‘You must not fret about it, Jane. I am sure that Bingley will not be
detained in London by his sisters, it is only a short drive after all.’

‘Caroline is quite clear that none of the party will return in to
Hertfordshire this winter. I shall read that part to you.

‘When my brother left us, he imagined that the
business which took him to London might be concluded in three or four days, as
we are certain that cannot be so, and at the same time convinced that when
Charles gets to town he will be in no hurry to leave it again, we have determined
to follow him there so that he may not be obliged to spend his vacant hours
alone. I sincerely hope your Christmas in Hertfordshire may give you the gaiety
this season generally brings, and that your beau will be so numerous so as to
not allow you to feel the loss of the three, of whom we shall deprive you.’

Jane looked at Elizabeth. ‘It is evident by this that he comes back no
more this winter.’

‘No, Jane, it is only evident that Miss Bingley does not mean that he
should.’

‘Why would you think so? It must be his own doing. He is his own master
after all. But you still do not do not know all of it. I will read a passage
which particularly hurts me. I will have no reserves from you.’

‘Mr Darcy is impatient to see his sister, and
to confess the truth, we are scarcely less eager to meet her again. We do not
think Georgiana Darcy has her equal for beauty, elegance and accomplishment;
and the affection she inspires between Louisa and myself is heightened into
something still more interesting, in the hope that we dare to entertain of her
being hereafter our sister. My brother admires Miss Darcy already, and he will
have frequent opportunity now of seeing her on the most intimate footing; her
relations all wish the connection as much as I. And a sister’s partiality is
not misleading, I think, when I call Charles most capable of engaging any
woman’s heart. My dearest Jane, in indulging the hope of an event which will
secure the happiness of so many, I am sure you will concur.’

Jane lowered the letter; her eyes filled, how could she have been so
mistaken as to believe that he returned her regard? She swallowed and attempted
to regain her composure.

‘What think you of this sentence then, my dear Lizzy? Is it not clear
enough? Does it not expressly declare that Caroline neither expects, nor wishes
me to be her sister; that she is perfectly convinced of her brother’s
indifference, that she suspects the nature of my feelings to him? She means
most kindly to put me on my guard. Can there be any other opinion on the
subject?’

Elizabeth leant over and removed the letter from her slack fingers and
read the contents for herself. This gave Jane time to recover, but she was
aware that the letter did not please Elizabeth any more than it had done her.

‘Oh, Jane, I think you are reading too much into this. I have a totally
different opinion. Do you wish to hear it?

Jane nodded. ‘Most willingly.’

‘You shall have it in few words. Miss Bingley sees that her brother is
in love with you, but wants him to marry Miss Darcy. She follows him to town in
the hope of keeping him there, and then tries to persuade you that he does not
care about you.’

 
Jane shook her head. Caroline
Bingley was her friend, she could not be so devious.

 
‘Indeed, Jane, you must believe
me. No one who has ever seen you together can doubt his affection. Miss
Bingley, I am sure, cannot. She is not such a simpleton. Could she have seen
half as much love from Mr Darcy for herself, she should have ordered her
wedding clothes already. But the case is this. We are not rich enough, or grand
enough for them; she is the more anxious to get Miss Darcy for her brother from
the notion that when there has been one intermarriage, she may have less
trouble in achieving a second.

 
But, my dearest Jane, you cannot
seriously imagine that because Miss Bingley tells you her brother greatly
admires Miss Darcy you are the smallest degree less certain of
your
merit? When he took leave of you on Tuesday I cannot believe it was within her
power to persuade him that, instead of being in love with you, he is very much
in love with her friend.’

‘If I viewed Miss Bingley as you do then your supposition might make me
quite easy. But I know the foundation is unjust. Caroline is incapable of
willfully deceiving anyone; all I can hope in this case is, that she is
deceived herself.’

‘That is right. You could not have started a more happy idea, since you
are not to take comfort in mine. Believe her to be deceived by all means. You
have now done your duty by her, I must fret no longer.’ Elizabeth tossed the
letter to one side and began to pace the room.

‘Lizzy, my dear sister, can I be happy even supposing the best,
accepting a man whose sisters and friends are all wishing him to marry
elsewhere?’

‘You must decide yourself, and if upon mature deliberation you find that
the misery of disobliging his two sisters is more than equivalent to the
happiness of being his wife, then by all means you must refuse him.’

Now Elizabeth was being nonsensical. Jane found herself faintly smiling.
‘Lizzy! How can you talk so? You must know that though I should be exceedingly
grieved at their disapprobation, I could not hesitate to accept him if he
offered.’

‘I did not think you would not; and that being the case, I cannot
consider your situation with out compassion. It shall all come out the way you
wish, my dear Jane. You must not despair.’

‘As Mr Bingley is not to return any more this winter, my choice will
never be required. A thousand things may arise in six months.’

‘Now
you
are being nonsensical, Jane. If Bingley cares for you as
much as I believe he does, then it would take considerably more than six months
for him to change his mind. Good heavens, Jane, he is a man of independent
means. He has no need to listen to his sisters or to take their advice, he can
follow his own wishes in this matter.’

Jane joined her and they walked to the window to stare out across the
park in companionable silence. Could Elizabeth be correct? Would it make no
difference if Charles was away from home for a few months? Perhaps she was
dwelling too much on the matter.

 
She must remember how she had
felt when in his company, how much he had said to her, how his eyes had looked
into hers in such a way as to make their meaning clear. ‘I am not sure, Lizzy.
But maybe you are correct that Caroline is mistaken about Miss Darcy. I shall
not despair of seeing Bingley here again. After all, as you say, it is only a
short drive from London to Netherfield.’

‘Of course it is, Jane. Mr Bingley shall be here before Christmas and
shall answer every wish of your heart. However, I think it might be wise in the
present circumstances not to tell my mother of the true contents of this
letter. She has not yet recovered from my refusal to marry Mr Collins. A
further setback in her matrimonial plans might be disastrous for her nerves.’

Jane was forced to smile. She knew exactly to what her sister referred.
They would all have a wretched time of it, if that was the case. ‘Well, she
knows that I have received the letter, I had better tell her that they have
gone to London for the Christmas period, but Mr Bingley should be back in the
New Year and living at Netherfield.’

She did not like to deceive her dear mother; but she had no wish for any
other member of her family to be distressed by what had happened. It was going
to be wearisome, waiting for him to return. She walked back to pick up the
letter but Elizabeth was there before her.

 
‘I am going to burn this, Jane;
you do not wish to keep re-reading it and making more of it than it rates.’
Before she could protest, the paper was on the fire. As it turned into ashes
she hoped that her love for Charles would not suffer the same fate.

The days dragged miserably. Jane was determined to keep her distress
hidden from the rest of her family. Even Elizabeth should not know how much she
feared she had been mistaken, that Caroline’s interpretation of the situation
was the correct one, that Charles was not returning to Netherfield and would
not be making her an offer.

 
They were sitting together in the
drawing-room when Sir William Lucas arrived for an unexpected visit. Jane
listened in astonishment to him telling her mother that Charlotte was to marry
Mr Collins.

Lydia, always unguarded and often uncivil, boisterously exclaimed. ‘Good
Lord! Sir William, how can you tell such a story? Do you not to know that Mr
Collins wants to marry Lizzy?’

Sir William did not respond angrily to her sister’s rudeness but took it
in good part and merely repeated that he had just given his permission for
Charlotte to become betrothed to Mr Collins. It was then Elizabeth spoke up.

 
‘I beg your pardon, ma’am, but
Charlotte told me this herself. It is the truth, she and Mr Collins are to be
married.’ Elizabeth turned to Sir William. ‘I must offer my congratulations to
you, Sir William. I am delighted that Charlotte is to marry Mr Collins. I
honestly hope that they shall be happy together.’

Jane had now recovered from the shock and knew that she must add her
good wishes. ‘And I, Sir William, I wish them every happiness. Mr Collins is a
man of excellent character, and Charlotte will be happy in the union, I am
sure.’

It wasn’t until Sir William had left that her mother gave vent to her
feelings. It took a considerable time to convince her that the information was
indeed correct, that Mr Collins had indeed changed his allegiance from
Elizabeth to Charlotte within three days. Next Mrs Bennet declared that she
hoped they would never be happy together and that the match might be broken
off.

‘It is entirely your fault, Lizzy. If you have not refused him in the
first place, then it should be we that are celebrating. I cannot bear to think
of it. I shall not forgive you for your part in this, do not think I shall.’

Later, in the privacy of their sitting room, Jane was able to discuss
the matter with her sister. ‘I am a little surprised at the match, Lizzy, but I
do hope they shall be happy. Did not Charlotte say to us a few weeks ago that
she viewed matrimony quite differently? That as long as she was comfortable
then she should be happy without having her affections engaged.’

‘I cannot accept that someone I considered to be a good friend could
make such a poor choice in a husband. She is not lacking in sense, Jane, how
could she bear to be in permanent contact with that man? He is a pompous
conceited…’

‘Lizzy, you must not speak so of him. He is a good man, admittedly he
has rather a lot to say on most subjects, but his heart is true. You did not
wish to have him for yourself, so you must not deny Charlotte and Mr Collins
happiness together.’

Lady Lucas appeared rather more often than usual, over the next days, to
discuss the forthcoming marriage and Jane could not help but notice her mother
was finding the whole situation difficult. Elizabeth’s disappointment in
Charlotte had produced a restraint between the friends, pushing them apart. She
was sad to see it when they had been such bosom bows before.

She could not have got through the week since Charles had left without a
word to her if it hadn’t been for the constant support of her sister. Jane had
sent Caroline an early answer to her letter, and was now counting the days to
when she might reasonably hope to hear again.

Even Mrs Bennet began to think there was something decidedly odd about
Mr Bingley’s continued absence. Day followed day without bringing any other
tidings of him, other than a report which shortly prevailed in Meryton, as to
him coming no more to Netherfield the whole winter. This report highly incensed
their mother, and she never failed to contradict it as the most scandalous
falsehood.