In fact, he found that he liked Jane Bennet's smile quite very much.
Caroline Bingley found herself with nothing to do for the whole afternoon. The weather, though bright and warm, offered no solace for her unoccupied mind and she found herself wandering through the garden in Netherfield. Her plan had been to spend the whole day in the company of Mr. Darcy and so, she had refused Mr. Hurst's invitation to accompany him and her sister to see the countryside. But Mr. Darcy had outwitted her again, as she couldn't find him in the whole building and neither could Charles who was busy with some correspondence in the little room beside his bedroom—a room which he conveniently called his library, despite the obviousness that the room was not intended for something more than a store.
Caroline decidedly ignored any thoughts about the temptation to continue her dwelling on Mr. Darcy. Since they moved in, he always had one or more private business to attend and her curiosity was increasingly piqued by his continual absence in the house.
Sighing at the pain of her reflections, she turned her mind to the occupation with less aching matters. The more she thought about Mr. Darcy's indifference to her, the more she might allow it to hurt her fragile heart and ruin a perfectly good day—he must know that she liked him immensely. Why, she even had a good dowry to offer him though not much compared to his younger sister's, but it would do him good and he and her brother were good friends. It was a wonder, indeed, how he couldn't deem to ask her hand in marriage considering that she was very well pleasing to the eye, rich enough and highly fashionable to provide him with good company and children. She did not even want to think about how her immense accomplishments and travels could benefit him should they become tied in marriage.
Perhaps if Mrs. Bingley wasn't so conceited in her thoughts about herself and with a little affectedness in her behaviour, Mr. Darcy might bestow a pleasing glance in her favour, but alas, there was nobody to inform her of this. The young miss forgot that her riches and that of her brother were derived through trade and had nothing to do with title and such. Mrs. Hurst and she had so taken it into their heads and think themselves above all without at least equal or above their earnings in a year. Sadly, her air of arrogance was not so endearing to men in her acquaintance; not to Mr. Darcy especially.
Again, Caroline bid herself not to think about Mr. Darcy at all.
With much effort, she turned her mind to the Meryton assembly the day before. For all intent and purpose, she thought, the ball was the most dreadful thing she had ever attended in her life. Of course, she had danced every dance and rightly so—a handsome fashionable lady of substance such as herself cannot be left without partners for even a single dance. It would be the height of insubordination on the part of the gentlemen present and she was glad that at the very least, they knew their manners. As to the rest, she could only sigh in resignation. The music could be regarded as insipid at best and the company, dull. A tiny voice at the back of her mind reminded her that she could have had as much fun at the assembly had she allowed herself be drawn into conversation by the eager gentlemen and friendly ladies at the assembly but she assiduously ignored the errant voice and continued recounting to herself how much she despised the assembly.
Her thoughts flowed to Miss Bennet and she agreed a little that perhaps, the assembly hadn't gone for aught. For a girl in such a place, Caroline thought her exceedingly well behaved and adequately beautiful enough to wait on her. More so, it seemed as if Mr. Darcy was not favourable to her and for Caroline; that in itself was a reason enough to like her better. That her brother was highly inclined towards her was of no consequence; it was all simply to pass the time at Netherfield. Making up her mind to go in pursuit of this new interest, she decided to invite Mrs. Bennet to tea at Netherfield. On a charitable thought, Caroline decided that she might as well include the entire Bennet ladies.
Chapter Four
Elizabeth couldn't disagree with her sister more.
Just as there was a discussion about the Bennets at Netherfield that noon, she and Jane were holding their own private counsel about the Bingley party. Jane was of the unaffected opinion that the Bingley party was very much agreeable and pleasant. To her, her sister was always too exceeding in praises of everyone and never saw a fault in others except that it were glaring to the world; and that even, she would never deign to speak.
"Miss Bingley is to live with her brother, and keep his house; and I am much mistaken if we shall not find a very charming neighbour in her," Jane summarised most convincingly.
If Elizabeth knew her sister less than she did, she would think that perhaps Jane was being deliberately sarcastic with her remark to which they can both enjoy a good laugh. However, she knew that her sister spoke what she thought. What with all the haughtiness and disdain evident upon the persons of the two Bingley women all through the ball, Elizabeth was of the opinion that the two women would certainly not make charming neighbours as her sister declared.
The brother though was a different person altogether and there; she consented with Jane's opinion of the man. He was gentle, open, agreeable and likewise handsome—she was contented with her sister's liking of him and already gave her the leave to do so as much as she wished—unlike his friend, Mr. Darcy.
Quite strange to Elizabeth was the sense of familiarity that she felt upon looking into the face of the man when Mr. Bingley was making an endeavour to solicit a dance with him on her unwilling behalf. Somehow, she felt as though she had met with the man most recently but for the life of her, she knew that there was no circumstance by which they could have happened upon each other before the assembly. His first gaze upon herself had been one of initial surprise before it gave way to disdain and coldness and therein laid Elizabeth's curiosity; she dearly wanted to know what opinion the man could have formed of her to bring forth such instant dislike and refusal of her company for a dance. Just then, he had made that statement to slight her and his silliness had impressed upon her—he wasn't worthy of her attention in the least.
"You are not listening to a thing I say, are you?" Jane cried despondently, having at last noticed that Elizabeth had stopped commenting to her lengthy flow of words about the assembly.
Elizabeth immediately expressed her contriteness for allowing her mind to wander off her sister's exuberant praises of the Bingley party.
"I daresay that we should tell mama to impress it upon papa, so that we could all go visiting at Netherfield. Wouldn't it be interesting to converse about the assembly with them all and know their opinions about the assembly from their very mouths?" Jane said.
Elizabeth thought it a wonderful plan. She realized that perhaps, she was too quick to judge the Bingley sisters, but not the arrogant Mr. Darcy- to her; he had absolutely no point of redemption.
The entire Bennet ladies had removed themselves from their home to pay a visit to Netherfield Park upon informing the master of the house and obtaining a favourable response. Of all the faults with the Bennet ladies, perhaps what could be said about their personalities in general was that there was no ounce of artifice or pretence in a single bone of their slight bodies. Upon waiting upon Bingley and his companions, they exuded no show of what they were not and acted exactly as they were.
Mrs. Bennet was prone to speaking out of turn and particularly in praises of Jane's beauty and Lydia's rightness in all things. Elizabeth showed her cleverness in a wide array of topics and soon found herself engaged in a friendly discussion with Mr. Bingley, all the while pointedly ignoring his friend, Mr. Darcy. Jane was good companion to the ladies and their likeness for her pleasing person was evident in the attention they paid her whilst they ignored the rest of the Bennet ladies the entire afternoon. Mary took one look at the grand pianoforte set in the corner of the drawing room and established herself there to the exclusion of all. Kitty and Lydia amused themselves by asking Mr. Darcy about the town from whence they came to be in Netherfield and about the estate he owned.
Mr. Darcy gracefully answered the girls though in
a manner that depicted his irritation and that he would rather be left to his own devise.
By the time the Bennets took their leave of Netherfield, each party had their own opinions about the other and decided to stand firm upon it. Their varying opinions were discussed thus:
"Why, don't you think Mrs. Bennet quite insufferable?" asked Mrs. Hurst of her sister as they made their way back into the house after waving off the Bennets with much smiles.
"I thought so too myself, but the second daughter, Elizabeth, irritated me the most- whatever could she mean by acting way too intelligent for her own good and striking that conversation with Charles about the economy of the country?" Caroline declared. "I do not think I like her very much."
They had sufficiently warmed up to the topic by the time they reached back into the drawing room and took their seats. The men had promptly made themselves scarce for exactly the reason that the two sisters were now thoroughly engaged.
"What about Mary?" Mrs. Hurst asked.
At this, Caroline snorted most unladylike. "As accomplished as she is, I would say she is too plain and involved with her own accomplishments to be worth any mention at all; and dear sister, I would swoon if you mention the two youngest at all. They are the most ridiculous set of imps I have ever been ill-opportune to encounter- why-ever did they have to bother Mr. Darcy in that tiresome manner?"
Mrs. Hurst gave a thoroughly exaggerated sigh of weariness and yawned. "The visit is bad for my nerves, I think I will retire to my room," she said though she made no effort to hoist herself off the seat.
"I think the only single light about the visit was Jane Bennet," Caroline continued as if her sister had not spoken at all. "I despair that such handsome, well mannered girl could be born into such family."
The Bingley sisters decided harmoniously that Jane Bennet would most definitely serve as a good companion during their stay in the country and that she deserved another invitation- though of course, in the exclusion of her family. They both decided, too, that the other sister, Elizabeth could also be permitted to join- as long as she withheld her outlandish propensity to act so impertinent.
Bingley could be no more delighted with Jane Bennet and this was what was on his mind as he made his way to the stables for a ride around the estate. She was the epitome of grace and ease and though they never spoke more than a few words to each other- and that only during lunch, he found himself enchanted by her and wished to know more about her. As for her family, he found them interesting and diverse enough, especially the second sister. Like his friend, Fitzwilliam, she had a good head on her shoulders. For her wit alone, he wished that his friend would design it upon himself to engage her in a spur of words. Regrettably, the two hadn't even spared each other more than one or two disdainful glances that got him wondering most curiously. He decided to pursue the matter with his friend right after his ride.
Mr. Darcy's opinion had been surmised from his survey of the family from the very first night, and it remained firmly. He allowed that there were slight changes in those opinions though he could scarcely regard the lot as close acquaintances. He found that Jane Bennet was as good as unpretentious as anyone could be and that Elizabeth Bennet was a slight sight more handsome than he had allowed her at the assembly. Still, the memory of her meeting with a man in a tavern would not leave his mind and he decided that he could not forgive her for this even though he found himself increasingly drawn to the intelligence in her gaze and the liveliness with which she approached matters. He only wished she wasn't as wanton as he had met her to be and perhaps, he would have deemed her fit of his attentions. As it were, her silly younger sisters had taken it upon themselves to trouble him to no end while he amused himself with her on the pretence of ignoring Elizabeth and Charles.
Mr. Hurst didn't think of them at all. His presence in the house during their visit had gone entirely unnoticed as all he did was eat when lunch was served and doze on the chair all day. None thought of him and he, of none.
As for the Bennet family, well, their opinions could be none other than as could be expected for their personalities.
"I tell you my dear Mr. Bennet, Mr. Bingley greatly approves of Jane," she told her husband that night. "He was most gentlemanly towards her; asking her if she would like more tea and held the door for her and all sorts. Indeed, I was flattered myself and couldn't imagine any such other gentleman with such perfect manners."
As for the rest of the party- Mr. Darcy; Mr. and Mrs. Hurst Miss Bingley, they simply faded into nothingness as far as Mrs. Bennet was concerned and she made no mention of them.
Needless, perhaps, to say was that Jane's opinions about the family remained unchanged- she thought they were all delightful in their own way and held Mr. Bingley, as being especially warm; though of course, she gave no indication that she was partial towards him- it would, after all be too presumptuous of her.
Mary was like Mr. Hurst- despite her prolonged performance at the pianoforte, she made no impression upon anybody as nobody made upon her
The two youngest deemed it unnecessary to hold an opinion or another about their hosts. It was after only another afternoon spent passing time with neighbours and since there were no eligible men to their liking, it would be a total waste of time to spend time in analysis of the character of the individuals they encountered upon the visit.
Elizabeth was afraid that her opinions about the Bingley sisters would have to remain unmoved as it were. Despite her good intentions to be of the best modest character and as such see Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst in the best of light for her sister's sake, the women continually imposed upon her dislike and disregard to the extent that Elizabeth knew that she could not bring herself to care for them in one way or the other. With as little interaction with Mr. Darcy as she had at Netherfield, she could surmise his many flaws and she was sure they would fill an entire writing paper were she to list them one after the other. Of them all, Mr. Bingley remained the most agreeable and an infinitely better person; an opinion she believed to be deeply impressed upon her mind from the intelligent conversation they had. Most men his caliber would deride the knowledge of women but he had listened to her without an offense.
All Elizabeth's opinions, she mentioned to Charlotte Lucas, her best friend, in the entire country. The Lucases were the Bennets' only family friend and it was not strange for both families to exchange visits and wait upon each other. The morning after the visit, Charlotte had made haste to Longbourn to hear about the family's visit to Netherfield. She was the eldest daughter of Sir William Lucas, a man whose recent knighthood made him quit his former trade to establish himself and his family in his own estate; Lucas Lodge, some walking distance away from Longbourn, from where his family came to know the Bennets.
Charlotte expressed her encouragement about the attraction between Jane and Mr. Bingley most favourably but with some reserve as to the inadequate attention that Jane paid the man. It was her thought that a woman must help a man to like her while ensnaring him in her wiles but Elizabeth couldn't wholly agree about that either.
"But she does help him on, as much as her nature will allow." Elizabeth protested, "If I can perceive her regard for him, he must be a simpleton, indeed, not to discover it too."
Her friend shook her head, smiling mildly at Elizabeth's supposition. "Remember, Lizzy, that he does not know Jane's disposition as you do," she amended.
They argued the topic for the better part of half an hour until Charlotte decided that she might as well express her heartfelt wishes about the matter. To her, if the target was marriage, it should be done with practicality of mind and little of emotions. Her most recent experience with a man had taught her just so.
"Well, I wish Jane success with all my heart," Charlotte concluded, "and if she were married to him tomorrow, I should think she had as good a chance of happiness as if she were to be studying his character for a twelvemonth. Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. If the dispositions of the parties are ever so well k
nown to each other or ever so similar beforehand, it does not advance their felicity in the least. They always continue to grow sufficiently, unlike afterwards to have their share of vexation; and it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life."
To this, Elizabeth had a trifling feeling of unease. She knew of her friend's recent escape from a drastic fate in the hands of a man and she reasoned that the experience was yet to leave her friend's consciousness.
"You make me laugh, Charlotte," she said as a way of tease, "but it is not sound. You know it is not sound, and that you would never act in this way yourself."
Charlotte wasted no time in refuting the statement on the spot, "Indeed, I will, my dear friend. Lizzy as you well know that I do not have the luxury of time for frivolities such as emotions to dwell upon were a man to seek my hand in marriage in this instant."
The statement was declared with such heartfelt honesty that Elizabeth was certain there could be no mistaking the bitterness disguised within. Charlotte's hurts still lingered in her words and thoughts, Elizabeth saw; and she was helpless to help her friend. She opened her mouth to say something about the recent happening but she decided against such.
Perhaps, it was yet too soon to presume Charlotte to forget the rake who almost ruined her irreparably were it not for Elizabeth's intervention in the matter. Elizabeth decided that she would wait for some time before she broached the matter with her friend again. There was no better antidote for matters of the heart than time, she had learnt.
Chapter Five
"Damnation!"
Fitzwilliam Darcy muttered the expletive with all the frustration of a man who did not know what he was about. For the second time in the week, he found himself at the tavern for another clandestine meeting. However, the meeting as with the preceding one was the last item on his insane mind. Aye, his mind must be going insane if the first thing it concerned itself with was to wander about the tavern in search of a lady with comely eyes, quick wit and rapturous laughter.
When Mr. Darcy Met Lizzy Page 3