“Then he has,” Charlotte said sharply. “There is no possible chance that you might have allowed yourhopesto move in front of yourexpectations.Youare not the sort of woman who might play the fool for a man, dangling her string out in front of him, when it is wholly unwanted.”
There was a flash of something angry, and a bit ugly on Caroline’s face, and Elizabeth felt that anxiety go through her that she always seemed to have when her two best friends were in the same conversation together.
Why couldn’t Caroline and Charlotte like each other more?
No doubt it was because Elizabeth liked both of them quite well enough for two people.
Throwing her arm around Caroline’s shoulder, Elizabeth said, “There can be no doubt thatanyman whoanyof us thought worthy would eventually come to love us.”
“I assure you for my part, that is not—” Charlotte began.
“Any case, we are friends. Our goal is to encourage each other. Not discourage each other.”
“I am as sensible of the importance of a good marriage to an eligible man as any woman possibly could be,” Charlotte said in a manner that said clearly that she looked down on both of her younger, prettier, and richer friends who were likely to be immune to the travailsshehad experienced in her pursuit of a husband. “But we must besensible.”
“Oh!” Elizabeth forced a laugh. “That! Ah that is all you mean. Lina, I must inform you that Mr. Darcy isnotin fact sensible.”
Caroline half smiled. “You know I’d prefer you not to call me Lina.”
“You’ll never guess what he said to me about Jane when we danced. His judgement, in a word: She smiles too much.”
Charlotte rolled her eyes.
But Caroline leaned forward wide eyed. “No! He said that? About Jane?” With a frown she added, “Janey does smile a great deal. Doesn’t she? And she appeared particularly happy at the assembly.”
Elizabeth laughed. “You have missed the point. It was a totally absurd thing for a man to say.”
“Do I smile too much?” Caroline pressed her hands nervously against her face. “Is that why he has not returned my attentions? Because I smile too much?”
“You certainly do not,” Charlotte replied snappishly. “An excess of smiling will strike no one as one ofyourdefects.”
“But if Mr. Darcy does not like to see women smile… I smile a great deal when I am near him, and—”
“It would shock me astonishingly if Mr. Darcy has simply waited for marriage because he wished to find a woman who principally frowns at him,” Charlotte replied. “But yes, yes — the way you look now. Yes, frown at himjustlike that.Justthat way. It will have a salutary effect on his matrimonial tendencies.”
Caroline glared at Charlotte. For a moment Elizabeth was frightened that she would snarl at Charlotte in her own drawing room.
Instead Caroline gritted her teeth, coldly inclined her head, and walked away to stand in a corner of the room and pretend to study the bookcase.
Charlotte shook her head, and glanced over to where Mr. Darcy stood across the room, speaking to Sir Lucas.
He seemed to be glancing in their direction, but looked away immediately upon them noticing him noticing them.
“Sheis most fortunate that the travails she shall go through will be of her own making. But I think she’ll manage to find them — you can see as well as I do that Mr. Darcy shows no sign of preference for Miss Bingley.”
Elizabeth glanced back at the gentleman.
His eyes had returned to them, and he once more withdrew them to pay attention to Sir Lucas.
Perhaps he’d watched something of their conversation — a conversationabouthim. There ought to be a rule which required women to at least on occasion discourse about some subjectotherthan the men and their hopes of marriage — those discussions always ended in disaster when there was any chance for disaster to end them.
“I think,” Elizabeth said sharply, “that he is merely shy, and has difficulty displaying his true feelings for all the world — like Jane. That was unkind of you, how you spoke to Caroline.”
Charlotte sighed, and turned her hands over in a way that seemed to say,What do you expect of me, but yes, it was unkind.
With a nod Elizabeth went over to the corner where Caroline stood, making every pretense of studying a bookcase. Elizabeth squeezed her arm. “With Charlie’s library you must be desperate to find something to read, but I can lend you one from my own fine stock.”
No reply, just a grunt.
