“Without a doubt.”
“Will he offer for her?”
“That I cannot know. I hope he does, as he claims to have an extensive library and I would very much like to see it, but I do not pretend to see the future. Close the door as you leave, will you, Mrs. Bennet?”
She left, closing the door behind her as directed. If the door made a bit more of a bang than was required as it closed, that was not to be mentioned.
Chapter Sixteen
Charlotte! How glad I am to see you. It has been ages, I think,” Elizabeth said, delighted to see her friend.
“Well, a week or so, anyway,” replied practical Charlotte. “Mama sent me to get your cook’s recipe for apple cake, which I now have in my hand. I hope Jane is recovered?”
“I am,” Jane replied. “Thanks to Lizzy!”
“I do not wish to take more credit than is my due,” Elizabeth said. “But it is well that I went there. Do you know, Charlotte, that Miss Bingley had Jane put into the room just to the left of the staircase?”
“Is it possible she did not know that to be the coldest room in the house?” Charlotte asked, brow wrinkled.
“Surely she did; I would think one would just need to enter it to immediately know that this was not a fit room for someone who was already ill,” Elizabeth protested.
“I suppose you are right; you had Jane moved?”
“Immediately.”
“And did Mr. Bingley pay her a good deal of attention?”
“Well, she was confined to her room until our last evening there, but he asked after her every day.”
Jane added, “And Mr. Darcy paid Lizzy a good deal of attention! She will not confess it, but it is true. He has called on her already!”
Charlotte stared. “Really! Well, it sounds like I have a good deal to catch up on. Pray, go on, Jane, do tell me everything, for you know Eliza will not. I did hear that Mr. Bingley had a friend visiting, but I know very little about him.”
“Oh, he is quite good-looking and very rich, and utterly enamoured with Lizzy,” Jane said, eyes twinkling at the opportunity to tease her sister.
“Jane!”
“Eliza, I see by your pink complexion that Jane is near the mark.”
“We did speak a good deal while at Netherfield,” Elizabeth admitted.
“Is he as eligible as Jane indicates?”
“I do not know him well at all, Charlotte. A few conversations over the course of three days can hardly allow anyone to become sufficiently familiar with a gentleman to know if he would be a good marriage partner.”
“Very well, but Jane describes him as good-looking and wealthy. Is that correct?”
“He is certainly good-looking. He has an estate in Derbyshire, so I guess he cannot be poor. And he certainly dresses like a wealthy gentleman, for his coats fit him perfectly and his cravats are expertly tied. More importantly, he is well-read, well-spoken and well-mannered.”
Charlotte gaped at her. “I have never heard you speak so well of anyone.”
Elizabeth blushed heavily.
“And he has already called on you?” Charlotte enquired.
“Yesterday. And what Jane has not told you is that she herself had two callers who accompanied Mr. Darcy.”
“Two! Mr. Bingley and…?”
