"When my brother left us yesterday, he imagined that the business which took him to London
might be concluded in three or four days; but as we are certain it 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 on following him thither, that he may not be obliged to spend his vacant hours in a
comfortless hotel. Many of my acquaintances are already there for the winter; I wish that I could
hear that you, my dearest friend, had any intention of making one of the crowd—but of that I
despair. I sincerely hope your Christmas in Hertfordshire may abound in the gaieties which that
season generally brings, and that your beaux will be so numerous as to prevent your feeling the
loss of the three of whom we shall deprive you."
"It is evident by this," added Jane, "that he comes back no more this winter."
"It is only evident that Miss Bingley does not mean that he SHOULD."
"Why will you think so? It must be his own doing. He is his own master. But you do not know
ALL. I WILL read you the 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. I really do not think Georgiana Darcy has her equal for beauty, elegance, and
accomplishments; and the affection she inspires in Louisa and myself is heightened into
something still more interesting, from the hope we dare entertain of her being hereafter our
sister. I do not know whether I ever before mentioned to you my feelings on this subject; but I
will not leave the country without confiding them, and I trust you will not esteem them
unreasonable. My brother admires her greatly already; he will have frequent opportunity now of
seeing her on the most intimate footing; her relations all wish the connection as much as his own;
and a sister's partiality is not misleading me, I think, when I call Charles most capable of
engaging any woman's heart. With all these circumstances to favour an attachment, and nothing
to prevent it, am I wrong, my dearest Jane, in indulging the hope of an event which will secure
the happiness of so many?"
"What do you think of THIS sentence, my dear Lizzy?" said Jane as she finished it. "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; and that if she suspects the
nature of my feelings for him, she means (most kindly!) to put me on my guard? Can there be
any other opinion on the subject?"
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"Yes, there can; for mine is totally different. Will you hear it?"
"Most willingly."
"You shall have it in a few words. Miss Bingley sees that her brother is in love with you, and
wants him to marry Miss Darcy. She follows him to town in hope of keeping him there, and tries
to persuade you that he does not care about you."
Jane shook her head.
"Indeed, Jane, you ought to 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 in Mr. Darcy for herself, she would have ordered her wedding clothes. But the case
is this: We are not rich enough or grand enough for them; and 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; in which there is certainly some ingenuity, and I
dare say it would succeed, if Miss de Bourgh were out of the way. But, my dearest Jane, you
cannot seriously imagine that because Miss Bingley tells you her brother greatly admires Miss
Darcy, he is in the smallest degree less sensible of YOUR merit than when he took leave of you
on Tuesday, or that it will be in her power to persuade him that, instead of being in love with
you, he is very much in love with her friend."
"If we thought alike of Miss Bingley," replied Jane, "your representation of all this might make
me quite easy. But I know the foundation is unjust. Caroline is incapable of wilfully deceiving
anyone; and all that I can hope in this case is that she is deceiving herself."
"That is right. You could not have started a more happy idea, since you will not take comfort in
mine. Believe her to be deceived, by all means. You have now done your duty by her, and must
fret no longer."
"But, my dear sister, can I be happy, even supposing the best, in accepting a man whose sisters
and friends are all wishing him to marry elsewhere?"
"You must decide for yourself," said Elizabeth; "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, I advise you by all means to refuse him."
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"How can you talk so?" said Jane, faintly smiling. "You must know that though I should be
exceedingly grieved at their disapprobation, I could not hesitate."
"I did not think you would; and that being the case, I cannot consider your situation with much
compassion."
"But if he returns no more this winter, my choice will never be required. A thousand things may
arise in six months!"
The idea of his returning no more Elizabeth treated with the utmost contempt. It appeared to her
merely the suggestion of Caroline's interested wishes, and she could not for a moment suppose
that those wishes, however openly or artfully spoken, could influence a young man so totally
independent of everyone.
She represented to her sister as forcibly as possible what she felt on the subject, and had soon the
pleasure of seeing its happy effect. Jane's temper was not desponding, and she was gradually led
to hope, though the diffidence of affection sometimes overcame the hope, that Bingley would
return to Netherfield and answer every wish of her heart.
They agreed that Mrs. Bennet should only hear of the departure of the family, without being
alarmed on the score of the gentleman's conduct; but even this partial communication gave her a
great deal of concern, and she bewailed it as exceedingly unlucky that the ladies should happen
to go away just as they were all getting so intimate together. After lamenting it, however, at
some length, she had the consolation that Mr. Bingley would be soon down again and soon
dining at Longbourn, and the conclusion of all was the comfortable declaration, that though he
had been invited only to a family dinner, she would take care to have two full courses.
Chapter 22
The Bennets were engaged to dine with the Lucases and again during the chief of the day was
Miss Lucas so kind as to listen to Mr. Collins. Elizabeth took an opportunity of thanking her. "It
keeps him in good humour," said she, "and I am more obliged to you than I can express."
Charlotte assured her friend of her satisfaction in being useful, and that it amply repaid her for