Caroline left the room in order to write her letter.
Louisa and her husband went, too, and Bingley and I were left alone.
‘A Christmas to look forward to, and a New Year to look forward to even more,’ said Bingley.
‘You like Miss Bennet,’ I observed.
‘I have never met a girl I liked half so well.’
I sat down, and Bingley sat down opposite me.
‘And yet I am not sure she would make you a good wife,’ I said pensively.
‘What do you mean?’ he asked, surprised.
‘Her low connections –’
‘I do not intend to marry her connections!’ said Bingley with a laugh.
‘An uncle who is an attorney, another who lives in Cheapside. They can add nothing to your consequence, and will, in the end, diminish it.’
Bingley’s smile faded.
‘I cannot see that it matters. What need have I of consequence?’
‘Every gentleman needs consequence. And then there are the sisters.’
‘Miss Elizabeth is a charming girl.’
He had hit me at my weakest spot, but I was firm with myself and rallied.
‘Her sisters are, for the most part, ignorant and vulgar.
The youngest is a hardened flirt.’
‘There will be no need for us to see them,’ said Bingley.
‘My dear Bingley, you cannot live at Netherfield and not see them. They will always be there. So will her mother.’
‘Then we will not live at Netherfield. I have not yet bought the estate. It is only rented. We will settle elsewhere.’
‘But would Jane consent to it?’
His face fell.
‘If she felt a strong attachment to you, perhaps she might be persuaded to leave her neighbourhood,’ I said.
‘You think she does not feel it?’ asked Bingley uncertainly.
‘She is a delightful girl, but she showed no more pleasure in your company than in any other man’s.’
He chewed his lip.
‘I thought…she seemed pleased to talk to me…seemed pleased to dance with me…I rather thought she seemed more pleased with me than any other man. When we danced together –’
‘You danced but twice at each ball, and she danced twice with other men.’
‘She did,’ he admitted, ‘but I thought that was just because it would have been rude to refuse.’
‘Perhaps it would have been rude of her to refuse you.’
‘You think she only danced with me to be polite?’ he asked in consternation.
‘I would not go so far. I think she enjoyed dancing with you, and talking to you, and flirting with you. But I think she enjoyed it no more than with other men, and now that you are not in Hertfordshire –’
‘I must go back,’ he said, standing up. ‘I knew it.’
‘But if she is indifferent, you will only give yourself pain.’
‘If she is indifferent. You do not know that she is.’
‘No, I do not know it, but I observed her closely, and I could see no sign of particular regard.’
‘You observed her?’ he asked in surprise.
‘Your singling her out was beginning to attract attention. Others had noticed besides myself. If it had been gone on much longer, you would have been obliged to have made her an offer.’
‘I would have liked to have made her an offer,’ he corrected me, then faltered. ‘Do you think she would have accepted?’
‘Of course. It would have been a good match for her.
You have a considerable income, and a beautiful house.
She would have been settled near her family. There is no question of her refusing. But should you like to be married for those reasons?’
He looked doubtful.
‘I would rather be married for myself,’ he conceded.
‘And so you will be, one day.’
He sat down again.
‘She was too good for me,’ he said morosely.
‘Hardly that, but if her affections are not engaged, what is the point of marriage? You will meet another girl, as sweet as Miss Bennet, but one who can return your feelings in full measure. London is full of young ladies.’
‘But I have no interest in other young ladies.’
‘In time, you will have.’
Bingley said nothing, but I was easy in my mind. He will have forgotten her before the winter is over.
I am pleased he has expressed a desire to see Georgiana again. He has known her very much longer than he has known Miss Bennet, and a new acquaintance cannot be expected to hold the same place in his affections as an old, particularly when he sees how much Georgiana has grown. The match would be welcome on both sides, and I flatter myself that it would be a happy one.
December
Bingley came to dine with me today. He has been busy this last week, but he arrived punctually this evening and was very much taken with Georgiana.
‘She is turning into a beauty,’ he said to me. ‘And she is so accomplished,’ he added, when she played for us after dinner.
She is. I had almost forgotten what it is to listen to excellent playing, and I could not help an inward shudder when I thought of Mary Bennet’s playing and compared it to Georgiana’s. Elizabeth’s playing was sweet, it is true, though it was not so accomplished as my sister’s, but there was still a quality about it that made me want to listen.
Caroline called to see Georgiana this morning, and I entertained her until my sister’s music lesson was over.
‘Charles was very taken with Georgiana last night,’ she remarked. ‘He said that Georgiana was one of the most beautiful and accomplished young women of his acquaintance.’
I was well pleased. Caroline seemed pleased, too. I think she would not be averse to a marriage between them.
‘Are you going to visit your aunt in Kent before Christmas?’ she asked.
‘No, I think not, though I will probably visit her at Easter.’
‘Dear Lady Catherine,’ said Caroline, removing her gloves. ‘How I long to meet her. Rosings is a fine house, by all accounts.’
‘Yes, it is, very fine indeed.’
‘Such a pleasant part of the country.’
‘It is.’
‘I suggested to Charles that he should look for a house there. I would be happy to live in Kent. But he felt Hertfordshire was better placed. A pity. He would have avoided certain entanglements if he had settled elsewhere.’
‘He is free of them now, however.’
‘Yes, thanks to your intervention. He is lucky to have such a friend. I would find it a great comfort to know that such a friend was looking after me,’ she said, looking up at me.
‘You have your brother.’
She smiled. ‘Of course, but Charles is still a boy. One does so need a man at times, someone of depth and maturity, who is used to the ways of the world and knows how to live in it.’
‘Have you no plans to marry?’
‘I would, if I met the right gentleman.’
‘Now that you are in London you will have more chance of meeting people. Bingley means to arrange some balls, I know. I have encouraged it. The more pretty faces he sees over the next few weeks the better. And for you, it will extend your social circle.’
‘It is not so very constrained. We dine with more than four-and-twenty families, you know,’ she remarked satirically.
I was reminded of the Bennets, as she intended I should be, but if she knew the exact form of my thoughts I doubt she would have been so pleased. No matter what I do, every conversation seems to remind me of them in some fashion. It is fortunate that I have stopped thinking about Elizabeth, otherwise the Bennets would never be out of my mind.
Bingley occupies himself with business and is in good spirits, though now and then I catch a wistful look in his eye.