The discussion about Mr. Collins’s proposal was finally coming to an end.
Elizabeth still had to deal with the awkwardness of the situation and her mother’s occasional angry comments.
Mr. Collins was not embarrassed or heartbroken. Instead, he became stiff and offended.
He barely spoke to Elizabeth for the rest of the day.
All the attention he had previously given her was now directed toward Charlotte Lucas. Charlotte was happy enough to listen to him, and her patience was a relief to everyone, especially Elizabeth.
The next day, Mrs. Bennet was still in a terrible mood and complained constantly about her health.
Mr. Collins was just as proud and resentful as before.
Elizabeth had hoped that his wounded pride might make him leave early, but it did not.
He had originally planned to stay until Saturday, and he still intended to stay until Saturday.
After breakfast, Jane, Elizabeth, and the younger girls walked to Meryton.
They wanted to find out whether Wickham had returned and to talk about how disappointing it had been that he missed the Netherfield ball.
As soon as they entered the town, they met Wickham.
He walked with them to their aunt’s house, where everyone discussed how sorry they were that he had missed the ball.
But Elizabeth was surprised when Wickham admitted that his absence had actually been his own choice.
“As the ball got closer, I realized that it would be better if I didn’t see Mr. Darcy.”
“Spending several hours in the same room with him would have been more than I could stand.”
“I was afraid something unpleasant might happen, and other people could have been affected too.”
Elizabeth thought he had made the right decision.
They spent plenty of time discussing Darcy and Wickham’s situation, and both of them happily exchanged compliments.
Another officer walked with Wickham and the girls back to Longbourn.
Wickham paid particular attention to Elizabeth along the way.
She enjoyed the attention, of course.
She was also pleased that he was coming home with them because it gave her a chance to introduce him to her parents.
Soon after they returned, a letter arrived for Jane.
It was from Netherfield.
Jane opened it immediately.
The letter was written in Caroline Bingley’s elegant handwriting.
Elizabeth noticed Jane’s expression change as she read.
Jane seemed especially troubled by several parts of the letter.
After a moment, she composed herself and put the letter away.
She tried to take part in the family conversation as usual, but Elizabeth could tell that something was wrong.
Even Wickham could no longer hold her attention.
As soon as Wickham and the other officer left, Jane gave Elizabeth a look that silently asked her to follow.
They went upstairs to their room.
Jane took out the letter again.
“This is from Caroline Bingley.”
“Some of what she says has surprised me.”
“The whole party has already left Netherfield and gone to London.”
“And it seems they do not intend to come back.”
“I’ll read it to you.”
Jane began with Caroline’s explanation.
The Bingley sisters had suddenly decided to follow their brother to London.
They planned to have dinner that evening at their brother-in-law Mr. Hurst’s house in Grosvenor Street.
Jane continued reading.
Caroline said she would miss Jane terribly, although she hoped they could continue their friendship through frequent letters.
Elizabeth listened with little trust.
She found Caroline’s warm expressions of friendship difficult to believe.
The sudden departure surprised her, but she did not think it was a disaster.
After all, Mr. Bingley was still in London only temporarily.
There was no reason to believe that his sisters leaving Netherfield meant he would never return.
Elizabeth smiled.
“It is unfortunate that you won’t get to say goodbye to your friends before they leave.”
“But perhaps the happy future Caroline talks about will come much sooner than she expects.”
“Maybe you will see them again as sisters rather than just friends.”
“Mr. Bingley certainly does not have to stay in London just because his sisters are there.”
Jane shook her head.
“Caroline says very clearly that none of them will return to Hertfordshire this winter.”
“I’ll read that part to you.”
Jane continued with the letter.
Caroline explained that when Bingley left for London, he had expected his business to take only a few days.
But now his sisters were convinced that he would be staying much longer.
They had therefore decided to follow him.
They did not want him to spend his free time alone in a hotel.
Caroline also mentioned that many of her friends were already spending the winter in London.
She wished Jane were going too, although she did not really expect her to come.
She ended by hoping that Jane would have plenty of entertainment in Hertfordshire and enough admirers to make up for the loss of Bingley and his sisters.
Jane looked at Elizabeth.
“You see? He isn’t coming back this winter.”
“No,” Elizabeth replied. “All we know is that Caroline doesn’t want him to come back.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Surely this must be Bingley’s own decision. He is free to do whatever he wants.”
“But you haven’t heard the worst part.”
“This is the passage that really bothers me.”
“I don’t want to keep anything from you, so I’ll read it.”
Jane continued.
Caroline said that Darcy was eager to see his sister, Georgiana, and that she and Louisa were equally excited to see her.
She praised Georgiana’s beauty, elegance, and accomplishments.
She also said that she and Louisa hoped Georgiana would eventually become their sister.
Caroline then explained that Bingley already admired Georgiana.
Now that they were all in London, he would have many opportunities to spend time with her.
She pointed out that Georgiana’s family wanted the two of them to marry.
Caroline even suggested that Bingley was the kind of man who could win any woman’s heart.
With everything apparently working in Georgiana’s favor, she asked whether it was unreasonable for her to hope that Bingley and Georgiana would marry.
Jane finished reading and looked at Elizabeth.
“What do you think of that?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“She is clearly telling me that she does not expect or want me to become her sister.”
“She believes her brother has no real feelings for me.”
“And if she has noticed that I care about him, she is very kindly trying to warn me not to expect anything.”
“Can you really interpret her letter any other way?”
“Yes,” Elizabeth said.
“I see the situation completely differently.”
“Really?”
“Then tell me.”
“It’s very simple.”
“Caroline knows that her brother is in love with you.”
“She wants him to marry Miss Darcy instead.”
“That is why she has followed him to London.”
“She hopes to keep him there and convince you that he doesn’t care about you.”
Jane shook her head.
“You really should believe me, Jane.”
“Anyone who has seen the two of you together knows that Bingley cares about you.”
“Caroline certainly knows it too. She is not stupid.”
“If she had seen even half as much affection from Mr. Darcy toward herself, she would already have bought her wedding dress.”
“The real problem is that we are not rich or important enough for Caroline and her family.”
“She wants Miss Darcy to marry her brother.”
“She probably thinks that if the Bingley and Darcy families become connected through one marriage, another marriage between them will be easier.”
“That is actually quite clever.”
“And I imagine it would work if Lady Catherine’s daughter, Miss de Bourgh, were not already standing in the way.”
“But Jane, you cannot seriously believe that because Caroline says Bingley admires Miss Darcy, he suddenly cares less about you.”
“Nor can you believe she has the power to make him stop loving you and start loving Miss Darcy.”
Jane answered quietly.
“If we both thought the same way about Caroline, I might feel better.”
“But I know she would never deliberately deceive anyone.”
“So the only thing I can hope is that she has been deceived herself.”
“That’s a much better way of looking at it.”
“Since you refuse to accept my explanation, believe that Caroline is mistaken.”
“You have been fair to her.”
“Now stop worrying about it.”
Jane looked troubled.
“But even if Caroline is wrong, how can I be happy marrying a man whose sisters and friends all want him to marry someone else?”
“That is something you must decide for yourself,” Elizabeth said.
“If, after thinking carefully about it, you decide that upsetting his sisters would make you more unhappy than being his wife would make you happy, then you should refuse him.”
Jane gave her a faint smile.
“How can you say that?”
“You know very well that I would be deeply hurt if his sisters disliked me.”
“But that would never stop me from accepting him.”
“I thought so.”
“And if that is your decision, I cannot feel too sorry for you.”
Jane sighed.
“But if Bingley really does not return this winter, none of this will matter.”
“A thousand things could happen in six months.”
Elizabeth had no patience for the idea that Bingley would never return.
She believed Caroline was simply saying what she wanted to happen.
Bingley was an independent man.
Elizabeth could not imagine that Caroline’s plans, no matter how cleverly she presented them, could control his decisions.
She explained her thoughts to Jane as strongly as she could.
Soon she was pleased to see Jane feeling more hopeful.
Jane was not naturally pessimistic.
Little by little, she began to believe that Bingley might return to Netherfield after all and that everything might still work out as she wished.
The sisters agreed that Mrs. Bennet should only be told that the Bingley sisters had left.
They decided not to tell her anything that might make her think Bingley had lost interest in Jane.
Even this small piece of news upset Mrs. Bennet.
She complained bitterly that the ladies had chosen exactly the wrong time to leave, just when everyone had become so friendly.
After complaining for quite some time, however, she found something to comfort herself.
She decided that Bingley would surely return soon.
And when he did, he would naturally come to Longbourn for dinner.
Mrs. Bennet then announced her final plan with great confidence.
“Even though he was only invited to an ordinary family dinner, I’ll make sure we serve two full courses when Mr. Bingley comes.”