Wickham seemed completely satisfied with his conversation with Elizabeth.
After that, he never brought up the subject again. Elizabeth was relieved that she had said enough to make him keep quiet.
Before long, the day came for Wickham and Lydia to leave.
Mrs. Bennet had to accept that her daughter was going away.
Her husband had refused to go along with her plan of having the whole family travel to Newcastle, so the separation would probably last at least a year.
“Oh, my dear Lydia,” Mrs. Bennet cried. “When will I see you again?”
“Oh, who knows?” Lydia replied. “Maybe not for two or three years.”
“Write to me often, my dear.”
“I’ll write whenever I can. But married women don’t have much time for letters.”
“My sisters can write to me instead. They have nothing better to do.”
Wickham’s farewell was much warmer.
He smiled, looked handsome as ever, and said all the right things to everyone.
As soon as the couple had left the house, Mr. Bennet watched them disappear.
“He is quite a remarkable fellow,” he said.
“I have never seen anyone better at smiling, flattering people, and making everyone feel important.”
“I am extremely proud of him.”
“I doubt even Sir William Lucas could produce a more impressive son-in-law.”
Mrs. Bennet was miserable for several days after Lydia left.
“I often think there is nothing worse than saying goodbye to people you love,” she complained.
“Everything feels so empty when they are gone.”
Elizabeth smiled.
“That is what happens when a daughter gets married, Mama.”
“Perhaps it will make you appreciate the fact that your other four daughters are still unmarried.”
“That is nonsense!”
“Lydia isn’t leaving because she is married. She is leaving because her husband’s regiment is so far away.”
“If his regiment were closer, she would still be here.”
Fortunately, Mrs. Bennet’s sadness did not last forever.
A new piece of news soon gave her something else to think about.
The housekeeper at Netherfield had received instructions to prepare the house.
Mr. Bingley was returning.
He planned to arrive within the next day or two and stay for several weeks to go shooting.
Mrs. Bennet immediately became restless.
She looked at Jane.
Then she smiled.
Then she shook her head.
A moment later, she repeated the whole performance.
Mrs. Philips had been the one to bring the news.
“Well, well,” Mrs. Bennet said.
“So Mr. Bingley is coming back, is he?”
“Well, that is perfectly fine.”
“Not that I care, of course.”
“He means nothing to us anymore.”
“And I certainly don’t want to see him.”
“But if he wants to stay at Netherfield, he is welcome to do so.”
“Who knows what might happen?”
“But that has nothing to do with us.”
“You remember, sister, that we agreed a long time ago never to mention the matter again.”
“So, is he definitely coming?”
“You can be certain of it,” Mrs. Philips replied.
“Mrs. Nichols was in Meryton last night.”
“I happened to see her, and I went out specifically to ask her about the rumor.”
“She said it was absolutely true.”
“He will arrive on Thursday at the latest, and perhaps even Wednesday.”
“She was going to the butcher’s to order meat for Wednesday.”
“And she had already arranged for three pairs of ducks to be ready.”
Jane could not hear this news without showing some emotion.
She became visibly pale.
It had been many months since she had even mentioned Bingley’s name to Elizabeth.
But once the two sisters were alone, Jane finally spoke.
“I noticed you looking at me earlier, Lizzy, when Aunt Philips told us that Mr. Bingley was coming.”
“I know I must have looked upset.”
“But please don’t think it was because I still have some foolish hope.”
“I was only embarrassed because I knew everyone would be watching me.”
“I promise you, his return gives me neither pleasure nor pain.”
“There is only one thing that makes me glad.”
“He is coming alone.”
“That means we will have less reason to see him.”
“I’m not afraid of my own feelings.”
“What I cannot bear is what everyone else will say.”
Elizabeth did not quite know what to think.
If she had not met Darcy in Derbyshire, she might have believed that Bingley was simply returning to Netherfield for the reason everyone knew.
But Elizabeth still believed that Bingley had feelings for Jane.
She could not decide whether he had come back with Darcy’s approval or whether he had finally found the courage to return without his friend’s permission.
Still, she felt sorry for him.
“It is rather unfair,” she thought.
“Why shouldn’t a man return to a house he has legally rented without everyone immediately imagining a marriage?”
“I will leave him alone.”
Although Jane sincerely believed that Bingley’s return did not affect her, Elizabeth could see that it did.
Jane’s mood became noticeably unsettled.
She was more nervous and changeable than Elizabeth had seen her in a long time.
The old subject between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet soon returned.
“As soon as Mr. Bingley arrives, you will visit him, of course,” Mrs. Bennet told her husband.
“No, I won’t.”
“You forced me to visit him last year.”
“You promised that if I went, he would marry one of our daughters.”
“And what happened?”
“Nothing.”
“I won’t be sent on another foolish mission.”
“But surely you understand how important it is for you to visit him.”
“Every respectable gentleman in the neighborhood will call on him when he returns.”
“I don’t care about that kind of etiquette,” Mr. Bennet replied.
“If Mr. Bingley wants our company, he knows where to find us.”
“I refuse to spend my time chasing after neighbors every time they leave home and return.”
“Well, I can tell you one thing.”
“It will be extremely rude if you don’t visit him.”
“But that won’t stop me from inviting him to dinner.”
“I have already decided.”
“We can invite Mrs. Long and the Gouldings too.”
“That will make thirteen people altogether.”
“There will be exactly one place left at the table for Mr. Bingley.”
That decision comforted Mrs. Bennet somewhat.
At least she would be able to invite Bingley herself.
Still, she was annoyed that other neighbors might visit him before her husband did.
As Bingley’s arrival drew closer, Jane became increasingly anxious.
“I almost wish he weren’t coming at all,” she admitted to Elizabeth.
“It wouldn’t really matter if I saw him.”
“I could behave perfectly calmly.”
“But I cannot stand hearing everyone talk about him all the time.”
“Mother means well.”
“She simply has no idea how much her comments hurt me.”
“I will be extremely happy when his stay at Netherfield is finally over.”
“I wish I could say something that would make you feel better,” Elizabeth replied.
“But I don’t know what to say.”
“You will simply have to endure it.”
“And normally I would tell you to be patient.”
“But you have always had far more patience than I do.”
Then Mr. Bingley arrived.
Mrs. Bennet had made sure she received the news as early as possible.
She wanted to know the exact moment he entered Netherfield.
The waiting had already made her nervous, and she counted the days until she could invite him to dinner.
She had almost given up hope of seeing him before then.
But on the third morning after his arrival, she suddenly saw him from her dressing-room window.
He was riding across the paddock toward the house.
Mrs. Bennet immediately called for her daughters.
“Come quickly!”
“You must see this!”
Jane stayed firmly in her seat.
Elizabeth went to the window simply to please her mother.
She looked outside.
Then she froze.
Darcy was riding with Bingley.
Elizabeth quietly returned to her sister.
“There is another gentleman with him,” Kitty said.
“Who could it be?”
“Probably some friend of his,” Mrs. Bennet replied.
“I have no idea.”
Kitty looked more closely.
“Wait!”
“Doesn’t he look like that man who used to be with Mr. Bingley?”
“What was his name?”
“The tall, proud one.”
Mrs. Bennet suddenly recognized him.
“Oh, goodness!”
“Mr. Darcy!”
“Yes, that is definitely him.”
“Well, any friend of Mr. Bingley’s is welcome here.”
“But I must admit, I hate seeing that man.”
Jane immediately looked at Elizabeth.
She knew very little about what had happened between Elizabeth and Darcy in Derbyshire.
She could therefore understand how uncomfortable this visit must be for her sister.
Elizabeth felt uncomfortable too.
The two sisters looked at each other with concern.
Each was worried about the other.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Bennet continued talking about how much she disliked Darcy and how she intended to be polite to him only because he was Bingley’s friend.
Neither sister was really listening.
Elizabeth had reasons for her anxiety that Jane knew nothing about.
She still had not shown Jane Mrs. Gardiner’s letter.
She had also never told Jane how much her feelings toward Darcy had changed.
To Jane, Darcy was simply the man whose marriage proposal Elizabeth had rejected.
Jane knew that Elizabeth had once thought very poorly of him.
But Elizabeth now knew much more.
Darcy was the man who had saved Lydia and protected the entire Bennet family from disgrace.
The whole family owed him an enormous debt.
Elizabeth’s feelings for him were no longer based on the old prejudice she had once held.
Her surprise at seeing him return to Hertfordshire was almost as great as her surprise at discovering his changed behavior in Derbyshire.
For a moment, the color returned strongly to her face.
Her eyes brightened.
She felt a sudden rush of happiness.
Perhaps Darcy’s feelings for her had not changed after all.
Perhaps he had come back because he still wanted her.
But she refused to trust that hope.
“First I need to see how he behaves,” she told herself.
“Only then can I allow myself to expect anything.”
She sat down and concentrated on her sewing.
She tried not to look up.
But when she heard the servant approaching the door, curiosity finally overcame her.
She looked at Jane.
Jane was a little paler than usual.
But she seemed calmer than Elizabeth had expected.
When the two gentlemen entered, Jane’s face became slightly flushed.
Still, she welcomed them politely.
She showed neither resentment nor excessive enthusiasm.
Elizabeth was equally careful.
She said as little as politeness required.
Then she returned to her sewing with unusual concentration.
She had only dared to look at Darcy once.
He appeared serious, as he usually did.
But he seemed more like the Darcy Elizabeth had known in Hertfordshire than the warmer man she had seen at Pemberley.
Perhaps he simply could not behave naturally while Mrs. Bennet was present.
Elizabeth found that possibility painful.
But it seemed reasonable.
She had also caught a brief glimpse of Bingley.
He looked both pleased and embarrassed.
Mrs. Bennet, however, treated Bingley with exaggerated warmth.
The difference between her behavior toward Bingley and her cold politeness toward Darcy made Elizabeth uncomfortable.
She knew something her mother did not.
Darcy was the person who had protected Lydia from complete disgrace.
Yet Mrs. Bennet was treating him almost like an enemy.
Elizabeth found the injustice deeply embarrassing.
Darcy asked Elizabeth how Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner were doing.
The question caught her off guard, and she answered awkwardly.
After that, he said very little.
Perhaps it was because he was not sitting near her.
But Elizabeth remembered how different he had been in Derbyshire.
There, even when he could not speak freely to Elizabeth, he had talked to her aunt and uncle.
Now several minutes passed without Elizabeth hearing his voice.
Whenever she looked up, she often found him looking at Jane.
At other times, he was simply staring at the floor.
He seemed more thoughtful than before.
He also seemed much less interested in trying to please anyone.
Elizabeth felt disappointed.
Then she immediately scolded herself for feeling that way.
“Why did I expect him to behave differently?”
“But if he has no reason to come here, why did he come at all?”
She wanted to speak to Darcy more than anyone else in the room.
Yet she could barely bring herself to say anything to him.
The only thing she managed was to ask about his sister.
Then she fell silent again.
Mrs. Bennet, meanwhile, turned her attention to Bingley.
“It has been a very long time since you left us, Mr. Bingley.”
“It certainly has,” he agreed.
“I began to think you would never come back.”
“People were saying that you planned to leave Netherfield permanently at Michaelmas.”
“I hope that isn’t true.”
“A great many things have changed around here since you left.”
“Miss Lucas is married now.”
“And one of my own daughters is married too.”
“I suppose you have heard about that.”
“You must have seen it in the newspapers.”
“It was in both the Times and the Courier.”
“Although they certainly did not print it properly.”
“They simply wrote, ‘Recently, George Wickham, Esq., married Miss Lydia Bennet.’”
“They didn’t even mention her father, where the family lived, or anything useful.”
“My brother Gardiner prepared the announcement himself.”
“I cannot imagine why he made such a poor job of it.”
“Did you see the notice?”
“Yes,” Bingley replied.
“And I offer my congratulations.”
Elizabeth kept her eyes down.
She was too embarrassed to look at Darcy and wonder what he thought.
Mrs. Bennet continued.
“It is certainly wonderful when a daughter makes a good marriage.”
“But it is also terribly hard to have her taken away.”
“They have gone to Newcastle.”
“That is very far north.”
“I have no idea how long they will stay there.”
“Wickham’s regiment is stationed there.”
“I suppose you heard that he left his old regiment and joined the regular army.”
“Thank goodness he still has some friends.”
“Perhaps not as many as he deserves.”
Elizabeth knew exactly who that last remark was aimed at.
She was so embarrassed that she could hardly remain seated.
Yet the discomfort forced her to speak.
She turned to Bingley.
“How long do you plan to stay in the country?”
“Several weeks, I believe.”
“When you have finished shooting all your own birds,” Mrs. Bennet said, “you must come here and shoot on Mr. Bennet’s land.”
“I am sure my husband will be delighted to let you.”
“He will save the best birds for you.”
Elizabeth wanted to disappear.
Her mother’s excessive attention was becoming unbearable.
A year ago, everyone had hoped that Bingley’s return might lead to Jane’s marriage.
Now Elizabeth feared that the same thing might happen again.
She felt certain that if Jane and Bingley were brought together in the same way, the whole painful situation would begin again.
For a moment, Elizabeth thought:
“I never want to sit in a room with either of them again.”
“No happiness could make up for the humiliation I am feeling now.”
But her misery did not last long.
She soon noticed the effect Jane was having on Bingley.
When he first arrived, he had spoken to Jane only a little.
But every few minutes, his attention seemed to return to her.
He clearly found her just as beautiful as he had the year before.
He also seemed to admire her gentle and natural manner.
Jane was quieter than she had once been, but that was because her mind was too occupied to notice how often she fell silent.
She was trying desperately to behave as though nothing had changed.
She genuinely believed she was talking as much as usual.
But her thoughts were so busy that she often forgot when she had stopped speaking.
Eventually, the gentlemen stood up to leave.
Mrs. Bennet remembered her plan to be especially welcoming.
“You must come to dinner with us in a few days, Mr. Bingley.”
“And you too, Mr. Darcy, of course.”
“You owe us a visit, Mr. Bingley.”
“When you went to London last winter, you promised that you would dine with us as soon as you returned.”
“I haven’t forgotten that promise.”
“I was very disappointed when you failed to come back and keep it.”
Bingley looked slightly embarrassed.
He gave some explanation about having been prevented by business.
Then the two gentlemen left.
Mrs. Bennet had strongly wanted to invite them to dinner that very day.
But although she always provided a good meal, she did not think an ordinary dinner would be impressive enough.
If Mr. Bingley was going to become her son-in-law, she wanted everything to be perfect.
A man with an income of ten thousand pounds a year deserved nothing less.