“My sister is not of an age to marry, and I will never marry your sister, Bingley.”
“I know that; I only wish that Caroline did.”
“Let us be off, then, Bingley. You will know no peace until we pay this visit.”
Shortly thereafter, the two gentlemen were being welcomed into Longbourn’s parlour. Mr. Darcy performed the introductions, and he had the great pleasure of seeing Mr. Bingley’s eyes widen upon meeting Miss Bennet. Mr. Bingley immediately found a seat beside Miss Bennet, and was soon speaking to her most earnestly; causing her to blush most becomingly.
Mrs. Bennet was occupied in watching Mr. Bingley with Miss Bennet, thereby allowing Mr. Darcy to sit beside Miss Elizabeth without being noticed.
“This is the first time you have dared approach me, I believe,” she said.
“It is indeed, and I dare now only because your mother’s attention is elsewhere occupied,” he replied.
She nodded approvingly. “She sees what I see, which is that Mr. Bingley is already quite taken with my lovely sister.”
“I told him that I thought he and your sister would make an excellent match.”
Her brows rose. “Did you indeed! I find this most surprising, Mr. Darcy.”
“And why is that?”
“Because it is not rational. Mr. Bingley is, we are told, a wealthy man. He could do better than a poor country girl with no dowry or connections.”
“It is indeed rational, Miss Elizabeth. What she lacks in some areas, she more than makes up for in others. She has exactly the looks that Mr. Bingley finds attractive, but her manner and character are far superior to the other such ladies that he has met. In addition, I suspect she has been trained to run an estate.”
“She has, of course. She and I have been visiting the tenants of Netherfield as well as Longbourn for some time now, as there was no one else to do it. We hope that Mr. Bingley’s sisters will be willing to take that on.”
Mr. Darcy shook his head. “You will be disappointed in that hope, I fear; neither of his sisters will have any interest in the so-called lower classes. It speaks well of both of you that you do not share that viewpoint. Mr. Bingley would be disappointed in a wife with a poor-spirited or mean character.”
“Jane has not a mean bone in her body,” Elizabeth declared.
“Precisely, and nor does Bingley. I rather envy him, in truth.”
“But why?”
“He can marry as he pleases; only his sister has expectations of him, and he can easily defy her wishes has he a mind to do so.”
“And you are not in a similar situation?”
“Alas, no; I have been raised to believe it my solemn duty to shore up the family’s importance by marrying a young lady of wealth and connections.”
“So no unimportant country miss in your future, then?” She was teasing him, clearly; it was just as well that he could not read her thoughts.
“No.” He gazed at her steadily, wishing she could understand him.
But if shedidunderstand him, she chose not to admit it nor to refer to it, for she only said, “Be advised that my sister will marry your Mr. Bingley only if she loves him.”
It was Mr. Darcy’s turn to be surprised. “Is his wealth and good character not enough?”
“No; she and I have both vowed to marry only for the deepest love.”
Too many novels, Mr. Darcy thought, but he said nothing.
Elizabeth said, “You are now thinking that we have read too many novels.”
His look of surprise had her laughing.
“I do not read minds, Mr. Darcy; it is just that this is what a rational mind would conclude. But, in fact, our stance is completely rational, though it does not sound so.”
