As soon as Bingley and Darcy had left, Elizabeth went outside to clear her head.
At least, that was what she told herself.
In reality, she wanted to think about Darcy without anyone interrupting her.
His behavior had confused and irritated her.
“If he only came here to sit there looking serious and distant, why did he come at all?” she wondered.
She could not find an answer that satisfied her.
“He was perfectly friendly with Aunt and Uncle Gardiner when he was in London.”
“So why can’t he be friendly with me?”
“If he is afraid of me, why did he come here?”
“And if he no longer cares about me, why does he say so little?”
“Honestly, what an irritating man.”
“I am not going to think about him anymore.”
Her determination lasted only until Jane joined her.
Jane looked much happier than Elizabeth expected.
“Now that our first meeting is over, I feel completely calm,” Jane said.
“I know I can control myself.”
“I won’t feel embarrassed simply because he happens to visit again.”
“And I am actually glad that he is coming to dinner on Tuesday.”
“Then everyone will see that we can meet like ordinary acquaintances without any awkward feelings.”
“Yes,” Elizabeth said with a laugh.
“Very ordinary acquaintances indeed.”
“Oh, Jane, be careful.”
“My dear Lizzy, surely you don’t think I am still so weak that I am in danger?”
“I think you are in serious danger.”
Jane looked surprised.
“Of what?”
“Of making Mr. Bingley fall in love with you all over again.”
The sisters did not see the gentlemen again until Tuesday.
In the meantime, Mrs. Bennet allowed herself to dream about every possible future.
Bingley’s short visit had been enough to bring all her old hopes back to life.
By Tuesday, Longbourn was full of guests.
Bingley and Darcy arrived on time, just as one would expect from men who cared about hunting.
When everyone went into the dining room, Elizabeth watched Bingley carefully.
She wanted to know whether he would sit beside Jane, as he had done at their previous gatherings.
Mrs. Bennet was watching for the same thing.
For once, however, she wisely said nothing.
When Bingley entered the room, he hesitated.
Then Jane happened to look at him.
She smiled.
That was enough.
Bingley immediately went over and took the seat beside her.
Elizabeth felt a rush of triumph.
She glanced at Darcy.
He showed no reaction at all.
He seemed completely calm.
For a moment, Elizabeth almost imagined that Darcy had given Bingley permission to pursue Jane.
Then she noticed Bingley looking toward Darcy with a slightly nervous, almost amused expression.
Elizabeth understood.
Bingley clearly still cared about what his friend thought.
Throughout dinner, Bingley’s attention toward Jane made his feelings obvious.
He was more careful than he had been before, but he clearly admired her.
Elizabeth began to believe that if Bingley were allowed to follow his own wishes, Jane’s happiness—and his own—would soon be secured.
She did not dare assume that it would really happen.
But seeing his behavior still made her happy.
Unfortunately, she had very little reason to be cheerful otherwise.
Darcy was sitting almost as far away from her as possible.
He was seated on the other side of her mother.
Elizabeth knew that neither Darcy nor her mother would enjoy such an arrangement.
She could not hear what they were saying.
But she could see how rarely they spoke.
And whenever they did speak, their manner was formal and uncomfortable.
Mrs. Bennet’s coldness toward Darcy made Elizabeth feel even worse.
She knew how much the whole family owed him.
At times, she desperately wished she could tell him that his kindness had not gone unnoticed.
She wanted him to know that his efforts had mattered.
She hoped that later in the evening there would be some opportunity for the two of them to speak privately.
She could not bear the thought of the entire visit passing with nothing more than a polite greeting between them.
Before the gentlemen joined the ladies in the drawing room, Elizabeth was so anxious that the waiting felt unbearable.
She kept looking toward the door.
She knew that whatever happiness she had that evening depended almost entirely on Darcy.
“If he doesn’t come and speak to me tonight,” she thought, “I will give up on him completely.”
At last, the gentlemen entered.
For one brief moment, Elizabeth thought Darcy might actually come toward her.
But her hopes were immediately ruined.
All the women had gathered around the tea table.
Jane was preparing the tea, while Elizabeth was serving coffee.
They were packed so closely together that there was no empty chair anywhere near Elizabeth.
One of the younger women moved even closer to her and whispered:
“The men aren’t going to separate us.”
“I refuse to let them.”
“We don’t need them anyway, do we?”
Darcy had already walked away to another part of the room.
Elizabeth watched him from across the room.
She envied everyone who had a chance to speak with him.
She was so distracted that she could hardly concentrate on serving coffee.
Then she became annoyed with herself.
“This is ridiculous,” she thought.
“A man who has already been rejected by me—how could I possibly expect him to try again?”
“Would any man willingly risk such humiliation?”
“Surely no man would make a second proposal to the same woman after being refused once.”
Elizabeth tried to put the thought out of her mind.
Then Darcy came back to return his coffee cup.
She immediately took the opportunity to speak to him.
“Is your sister still at Pemberley?”
“Yes,” Darcy replied.
“She will stay there until Christmas.”
“Is she completely alone?”
“Have all her friends left?”
“Mrs. Annesley is still with her.”
“The others left for Scarborough about three weeks ago.”
Elizabeth could think of nothing else to say.
She hoped that perhaps Darcy would continue the conversation himself.
He remained beside her for several minutes.
But he said nothing.
Then the young woman beside Elizabeth whispered something to her again.
Darcy quietly walked away.
Elizabeth watched him go.
She could not understand him.
When the tea things were cleared away, card tables were brought into the room.
The ladies stood up.
Elizabeth hoped that Darcy might finally come over and speak with her.
But her hopes disappeared almost immediately.
Mrs. Bennet had one goal in mind: finding enough players for a game of whist.
Before Elizabeth could do anything, Darcy had been pulled into one of the card games.
He sat down with the others.
Elizabeth gave up.
They would spend the rest of the evening at separate tables.
The only comfort she could find was that Darcy kept looking toward her from time to time.
Perhaps, she thought, he was just as distracted as she was.
Perhaps he would play as badly as she did.
Mrs. Bennet had originally planned to keep both Bingley and Darcy for supper.
Unfortunately, their carriage had been ordered earlier than the others.
She had no chance to persuade them to stay.
Once the gentlemen had left, Mrs. Bennet immediately began talking to her daughters.
“Well, girls, what did you think of today?”
“I think everything went wonderfully.”
“The dinner was excellent.”
“I don’t think I have ever seen venison cooked so perfectly.”
“Everyone said it was the finest piece they had ever seen.”
“And the soup was at least fifty times better than what we had at the Lucases’ last week.”
“Even Mr. Darcy admitted that the partridges were extremely well prepared.”
“I imagine a man like him must have two or three French cooks at home.”
“And Jane, my dear, you looked absolutely beautiful today.”
“Mrs. Long said so too.”
“I even asked her whether she thought you looked especially pretty.”
“And do you know what she said?”
“She said, ‘Mrs. Bennet, surely we shall finally have her at Netherfield!’”
“She actually said that.”
“I think Mrs. Long is one of the nicest women alive.”
“And her nieces are such well-behaved girls.”
“They aren’t beautiful, but I like them very much.”
Mrs. Bennet was delighted.
She had seen enough of Bingley’s behavior toward Jane to convince herself that the marriage would happen eventually.
Her imagination immediately ran far ahead of reality.
She was therefore deeply disappointed when Bingley did not return the very next day to propose to Jane.
Jane, however, seemed much calmer.
“It was a very pleasant day,” she told Elizabeth.
“Everyone seemed to get along so well.”
“I hope we can all meet like this again soon.”
Elizabeth smiled.
Jane noticed.
“Lizzy, please don’t smile like that.”
“You mustn’t think I am secretly hoping for something.”
“It embarrasses me.”
“I promise you, I have learned to enjoy Mr. Bingley’s company simply because he is a pleasant and intelligent young man.”
“I don’t want anything more than that.”
“From the way he behaved today, I am completely convinced that he has no intention of trying to win my affection again.”
“He is simply naturally kind.”
“And he has a stronger desire than most men to make everyone around him comfortable.”
“You are being very cruel,” Elizabeth replied.
“You won’t even let me smile.”
“And every time I try not to tease you, you give me another reason to do it.”
Jane sighed.
“It is strange how difficult it can be to convince people of what we truly feel.”
“And sometimes it is impossible to convince them of what we don’t feel.”
“Why are you so determined to make me believe that I have stronger feelings for him than I admit?”
Elizabeth laughed.
“That is a difficult question.”
“We all enjoy giving advice.”
“The unfortunate thing is that we usually only teach people things they don’t need to know.”
“Forgive me.”
“But if you really intend to remain indifferent to Mr. Bingley, then please don’t make me your secret keeper.”