When Jane and Elizabeth were finally alone, Jane admitted how much she liked Mr. Bingley.
She had been careful not to say too much about him earlier, but now she felt comfortable speaking honestly to her sister.
“He is exactly the kind of young man a woman could hope to meet,” Jane said.
“He is sensible, cheerful, friendly, and so easy to talk to.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone with such natural and pleasant manners.”
“And he is handsome too,” Elizabeth replied.
“A young man should be handsome if he can manage it.”
“That certainly completes the picture.”
“I was really flattered that he asked me to dance a second time.”
“I honestly didn’t expect him to.”
“You didn’t?” Elizabeth laughed.
“I did.”
“But that’s one of the many differences between us.”
“Compliments always surprise you. They never surprise me.”
“What could be more natural than him asking you to dance again?”
“He couldn’t possibly have failed to notice that you were about five times prettier than every other woman in the room.”
“Although I suppose we can’t give him too much credit for noticing something that obvious.”
“Still, he is certainly very pleasant.”
“So, Lizzy officially gives you permission to like him.”
“You’ve liked much less intelligent men before.”
“Dear Lizzy!”
“Oh, you know perfectly well that you’re too ready to like everyone.”
“You never seem to notice anything wrong with people.”
“As far as you’re concerned, everyone in the world is kind and pleasant.”
“I honestly can’t remember ever hearing you say anything bad about anyone.”
“I don’t like judging people too quickly,” Jane said.
“But I always say what I truly think.”
“I know you do.”
“And that’s exactly what amazes me.”
“With all your good sense, how can you be so completely blind to other people’s foolishness?”
“Lots of people pretend to be honest and fair-minded. You see that everywhere.”
“But you actually are fair-minded.”
“You look for the good in everyone, make their good qualities seem even better, and simply ignore the bad ones.”
“No one does that quite like you.”
“So, I suppose you like Mr. Bingley’s sisters too?”
“They aren’t nearly as pleasant as he is.”
“Not at first,” Jane admitted.
“But once you actually talk to them, they’re quite pleasant.”
“Miss Bingley is going to stay with her brother and manage his household.”
“I have a feeling she’ll turn out to be a very charming neighbor.”
Elizabeth listened but wasn’t convinced.
She had noticed how Mr. Bingley’s sisters behaved at the ball.
They had not exactly made a good impression.
Elizabeth was quicker to notice people’s faults than Jane.
She was also less willing to overlook bad behavior simply because someone was friendly toward her.
The Bingley sisters were certainly elegant women.
When they wanted to be pleasant, they could be charming enough.
But they were also proud and self-important.
They were fairly attractive and had received an excellent education at one of the best private schools in London.
They were wealthy, with about twenty thousand pounds between them.
They were accustomed to spending freely and mixing with wealthy and influential people.
All of this had convinced them that they had every reason to think highly of themselves and look down on others.
Their family came from a respectable part of northern England.
They were particularly proud of their family’s social position.
They preferred not to think too much about the fact that their brother’s fortune, as well as much of their own money, had originally come from business.
Mr. Bingley himself had inherited nearly one hundred thousand pounds from his father.
His father had planned to buy a large country estate but died before he could do so.
Mr. Bingley also wanted to own an estate one day.
He had even considered several areas where he might buy one.
But for now, he had a comfortable home at Netherfield and the rights that came with the property.
Because he was so easygoing, people who knew him well wondered whether he might simply remain at Netherfield for the rest of his life.
Perhaps he would leave the job of buying an estate to the next generation.
His sisters strongly wanted him to own a property of his own.
But Miss Bingley was perfectly happy to run her brother’s household while he remained a tenant.
Mrs. Hurst felt much the same way.
She had married Mr. Hurst, a man with plenty of social connections but considerably less money.
Whenever it suited her, she was more than happy to treat her brother’s house as her own.
Mr. Bingley had only been an adult for about two years when someone recommended Netherfield House to him.
He went to see it.
After spending about half an hour looking around the property, he liked the location and the main rooms.
The owner spoke so highly of the house that Bingley was easily persuaded.
He rented it immediately.
Despite being very different people, Bingley and Darcy had become close friends.
Their friendship was remarkably strong.
Darcy was drawn to Bingley’s open, cheerful, and flexible personality.
Bingley was almost the complete opposite of him.
Yet Darcy never seemed bothered by the differences between them.
Bingley trusted Darcy completely.
He had enormous respect for his friend’s judgment and relied heavily on his advice.
When it came to intelligence, Darcy was clearly the stronger of the two.
Bingley was certainly not stupid.
But Darcy was exceptionally clever.
Unfortunately, he was also proud, quiet, and extremely picky about the people he spent time with.
His manners were perfectly respectable, but they were not warm or inviting.
Bingley had a huge advantage in that respect.
Almost everyone liked Bingley the moment they met him.
Darcy, on the other hand, seemed to offend people without even trying.
The difference between them became obvious when they discussed the ball at Meryton.
Bingley couldn’t stop talking about how wonderful the people had been.
“I’ve never met so many pleasant people or so many pretty girls in my life,” he said.
“Everyone was so friendly and welcoming.”
“There was none of that stiff, formal behavior you sometimes see at these events.”
“I felt as though I knew almost everyone in the room before the evening was over.”
“And Miss Bennet—she was incredibly beautiful.”
“I honestly can’t imagine anyone more beautiful.”
Darcy saw the same evening very differently.
“To me, it was simply a room full of people with little beauty and even less fashion,” he said.
“I wasn’t interested in any of them.”
“None of them caught my attention.”
“And I certainly didn’t receive anything from them that I enjoyed.”
“As for Miss Bennet, I admit that she is pretty.”
“But she smiles far too much.”
Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley agreed that Jane smiled a great deal.
Even so, they still liked her.
“She really is a sweet girl,” they said.
“And we wouldn’t mind getting to know her better.”
With that approval from his sisters, Mr. Bingley felt even more justified in thinking highly of Jane.
As far as he was concerned, there was no reason not to like her.