“It is, it is,” Elizabeth was saying. “I had not looked at it before, but it is.”
“What is?” Darcy asked.
“This wasmycopy of Milton’s book,” Mr. Bennet said. “You can see the pattern of wear on the cover, and this dogear—and these notes writtenin that odd spelling of more than a hundred years ago in the margin next to the ‘sing Heav’nly muse’. I recall being enormously charmed by reading that fellow’s course of thoughts on the poem when I first purchased it—I sold a good part of my library to fund the first purchase of consols when I began to take seriously providing dowries for the girls.”
Darcy took the book and looked at the faded pencil notes. He laughed and shook his head. “How odd, and yet not odd at all.”
“No, not at all,” Elizabeth said grinning.
“Do you wish me to return it as a gift?” Darcy asked Mr. Bennet.
“What?” He laughed. “No, not at all. Not at all. I am quite satisfied that it will one day be in the library of my grandchild. That is quite as good as having it myself. But it is such a delightful coincidence.”
“Do you perhaps know what Mr. Bingley meant to say in his letter? His handwriting is usually atrocious, but this was a particularly bad specimen.” Darcy handed the letter to Elizabeth, wondering if she would have better luck with it.
She stared at the page. “Good God. You understand any of this? You must convince him to dictate—do you know if he meant to write anything besides simply informing us that he and Jane are to make a match of it?”
“Yes,” Mr. Bennet said with some pleasure. “They hope that you will all come south to be present at the wedding—they even offer to have the ceremony in January so it will be more convenient around your habitual Christmas plans and travel for the season.”
“Well,” Darcy said, “if my friend desires that much for me to be present at his wedding, I must be there.”
“That’s the spirit!” Mr. Bennet said.
“But how didyouend up as the messenger,” Elizabeth said. There was rather a tone of suspicion in her voice.
Mr. Bennet grinned. “Bingley denied needing any sort of dowry for Jane. And while I, of course, am very happy to put most of the money I’ve collected into the dowries for the other girls—I thought that I might do akindness to Mrs. Bennet and give her a substantial sum of money to purchase Jane’s wedding clothes.”
“You need say no more. I understand everything,” Elizabeth said.
Darcy enjoyed watching the interplay between Elizabeth and her father. “I am afraid I do not.”
“Mama is very enthused by the search for clothes, is she not?” Elizabeth asked.
“The house was far noisier than I like,” Mr. Bennet agreed. “And then the notion came to me that if I came up for a visit, I could save the money for postage.”
Elizabeth laughed.
Georgiana, who listened to the story with clear delight, asked, “But how did it happen! I saw that they liked each other’s look very much, but for them to be engaged so quickly, how did they fall in love?”
“Dancing, I believe,” Mr. Bennet said. “And talking over cards and dinner. In any case, Miss Bingley had invited Jane to dine with her and Mrs. Hurst one day while the gentlemen were dining with the officers, and Jane fell sick with the flu, and stayed for several days while recovering.”
“Oh, no,” Elizabeth said with concern.
“Well, she is perfectly healthynow,” Mr. Bennet said. “In any case, by the time she was recovered sufficiently for my wife to think it possible to move her to home, Bingley had made his decision, found his opportunity, and received his happy answer.”
“Aww,” Georgiana sighed. “That is so romantic.”
Mr. Bennet laughed. “I suppose it is, but despite that, I have not a doubt of them doing very well together. Their tempers are by no means unlike. They are each of them so complying, that nothing will ever be resolved on; so easy, that every servant will cheat them; and so generous, that they will always exceed their income.”
Elizabeth laughed at that description. “I do hope they both have sufficient examples of imprudence before them to avoidthaterror.”
“That is what Jane says; she replies every time I say that, ‘imprudence in money matters would be unpardonable inme.’ And then she looks at me in such a way.”
Elizabeth laughed.
“I will say for Bingley,” Darcy offered, quite amused but also wishing to defend the honor of his friend, “that while at university he would frequently loan more to friends than he could safely afford to, but he has learned better over time. I have more than once heard him to say that he could not help a fellow more than a little when an unreasonable request was made. He generally puts a few hundred aside each quarter—though now that he has an estate and a wife that may be more difficult.”
Mr. Bennet shrugged. “I still insist they will be so complying that if they have an argument about what to do, the difficulty will be that both strive to be the one to give the other what they wish?”
