“It makes me wonder. Now I can recognise the particular expression in a man who has been betrayed in the worst possible way but is forced back into society before he is ready.”
“As I said, a useful skill.”
Jane looked at her intently. “Consider this. When I described a man suffering a recentbetrayalof theworstkind but forced into society, who did I use as an example?”
Elizabeth stared at her in confusion until she made the connection.
Jane got up from the sofa. “We shall probably never meet Mr Darcy again, but if we do, we might have more to think about. He had the look, Lizzy… he had the look.”
Little Boxes
The March sun was warm and inviting as the group set out for the nearby park. The Gardiner children were boisterous, running, laughing, and skipping ahead. As they approached the duck pond, they ran off with bags of bread, followed by their maid and Jane.
Walking beside Elizabeth, Mr Jameson smiled as Jane bounded away.
“It seems it is just us, Miss Elizabeth. I presume this is some sort of intervention?”
“Perhaps… but only if you deem it acceptable.”
“I am at your disposal. I confess I find the operation of large families interesting, and sisters perplexing. I had only one brother, and he joined the Navy at an early age. He found himself in the Americas and liked it enough to stay. Tell me, do different sisters take on different responsibilities in the Bennet family?”
Elizabeth noticed he sounded nervous and wondered what he thought of the arrangement. She would be nervous in his position as well; it fell to her to relieve his anxiety, though not too much.
“Yes sir, we all have our assigned roles. I have been appointedMistress of Awkward Conversations.”
“I thought as much. So, Miss Bennet has confided in you about our… ah… confusion, I presume.”
Elizabeth sighed. What was she doing here, wishing herself anywhere else—except Longbourn, of course? Mr Jameson seemed a good man, but he still called JaneMiss Bennetafter two months, and his nerves over a quiet conversation with hersister, in broad daylight, in a public park, did not bode well for the state of whatever they shared.
Still, Elizabeth was not ready to give up; hardheaded Bennets required some consideration.
She replied as honestly as she could. “At some level, yes. She is a very private person. I am her confidant, but she always keeps a little back from me, and almost everything from everyone else.”
“Does she expect you to be… helpful in some way?”
“Much to my chagrin, I intervened for my sister Mary, and it turned out well… very well. Unfortunately, that has convinced two of my sisters that I have some skill in the dark arts of courtship, while I maintain I was lucky once.”
The gentleman walked in thoughtful silence for a time. “You know I earn my bread through alliances and negotiations?”
“I am aware. I respect your skill.”
“In trade, one must constantly calculate risk versus rewards. It can become convoluted, but you essentially want to balance the two. For example, investing your last pound, you would happily take a certain reward of 10%, over a 50% chance of making 70%.”
“Rudimentary arithmetic and risk management.”
“If you are investing £1 out of £10,000, then the latter bet would be better. If you could find a dozen different bets with a 50% chance of triple the benefit, you should take all of them.”
“I can see that.”
“Now we come to the crux of the matter. It is all in the estimate of the chance of success. They say, past is prologue. The best predictor of future success is the past. If I ally myself with another, I prefer those with a record to be defended. Someone who has succeeded a dozen times is obviously better thansomeone who has never done so, or only once or twice… would you agree?”
“That is only common sense.”
“Suppose you have a choice between someone who has succeededonceand someone who has succeedednever?”
Embarrassment warmed Elizabeth’s cheeks, but not enough to make her back down. “Logically, I imagine you take what you can get, but exercise caution due to the paucity of positive evidence in its favour.”
“We understand each other. Your record is outstanding compared to mine or your sister’s. I shall take you as an expert. What shall we talk about?”
