“Yes, I haveno attachment! Jane, my heart is not at all touched by Mr. Bingley. I would be happy – nay, delighted! – were you and he to marry one another. But my fear is that if I release him, he will dash off before marrying either of us, and that would be a disaster for our family.”
The two sisters stared at one another for a long minute, and then together, with one voice, they said, “What are we to do?”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Caroline begged – or perhaps instructed – her sister to give a dinner party for the Bennets, and Mrs. Hurst was glad enough to do so. The plans were soon set and the invitations sent out. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet were invited, as were Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth and Miss Mary. There were two younger sisters, of course, but they were obviously not ‘out’ and therefore need not be invited.
Caroline decided she would observe both Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth, and then she would point Charles in whichever direction best suited her own needs. She had no hesitation in sharing her plan with Louisa.
“But does not Charles have a say in this?” Mrs. Hurst asked, wringing her hands together.
“Of course he does,” Miss Bingley said. “But if he cannot decide which sister is best for him, then it is our duty as his family to make the right decision for him.”
Mrs. Hurst had her doubts, but she kept them to herself.
***
At Longbourn, Elizabeth and Jane helped one another prepare for the dinner at Netherfield.
“Jane, I have given this situation a good deal of thought…”
Then they both began to giggle, helplessly, as they had both thought of nothing but this particularsituation. Finally, Jane said, “And have you reached a conclusion?”
“I have. At least, I think I have. I need to know what you think first.”
“Well, I must hear your conclusion in order to know what I think. You are simply delaying, Lizzy. What is it?”
“It seems to me that Mr. Bingley is as confused as we are. He was interested in me until he saw you, and then he – well, I think he got muddled. Does he want the eldest Miss Bennet? Or does he want the second daughter?”
“Assuming you are correct in this conclusion, what do we do?”
“I think we begin by seeing if he can unravel this tangle himself. We both remain warm, welcoming, everything to encourage his affections. Surely, at some point, he will be satisfied as to which one of us he prefers. Tonight, however, you should make an effort to sit beside him. He has known me for some weeks now, and he needs to be allowed some time to get to know you.”
“Very well,” Jane agreed, after the briefest of hesitations.
Elizabeth continued, “And we must agree, you and I, that there will be no jealousy, no ill feelings between us!”
“Of course there will not be,” Jane agreed at once.
“And we are also agreed that whichever of us receives an offer, that offer will be accepted, regardless of any – well, affection or lack thereof. Right?”
“Right.”
They solemnly shook hands on it.
***
In the warm drawing room, the visitors were welcomed, enquiries as to health were made, and seats were chosen.
Mr. and Mrs. Bennet found themselves near the Hursts. Mr. Hurst was interested in obtaining the receipt for the pheasant he had so enjoyed at their home, and so actually bestirred himself to enter into a conversation.
Mr. Bingley was sitting on a sofa he usually favoured. With a warm smile, Jane went to sit beside him, as she had agreed to do.
Elizabeth, hoping to stay out of Mr. Bingley’s way and thereby give him a chance to know her sister better, deliberately took the chair furthest from the others.
Mary hesitated, standing back while the others found their seats; at the end, she had a choice between sitting near Mr. Darcy or Miss Bingley. It was a difficult choice for her to make, as they were both rather terrifying personages to shy Mary, but knowing that Mr. Darcy was the nephew of her betrothed’s patroness made her want to know more of him; she took the seat beside his chair.
Mr. Darcy was taken by surprise when Miss Mary chose to sit beside him but, knowing her to be as shy as his own sister, he exerted himself to be agreeable. “I am happy to have this opportunity to congratulate you on your betrothal, Miss Mary,” he began.
