By Jane Austen

Chapter 21

The discussion of Mr. Collins's  offer was now nearly at an end, and 

Elizabeth had only to suffer from the  uncomfortable feelings necessarily 

attending it, and occasionally  from some peevish allusions of her 

mother. As for the gentleman  himself, _his_ feelings were chiefly 

expressed, not by embarrassment or  dejection, or by trying to avoid her, 

but by stiffness of manner and resentful  silence. He scarcely ever spoke 

to her, and the assiduous attentions  which he had been so sensible of 

himself were transferred for the  rest of the day to Miss Lucas, whose 

civility in listening to him was a  seasonable relief to them all, and 

especially to her friend.

The morrow produced no abatement  of Mrs. Bennet's ill-humour or ill 

health. Mr. Collins was also in the  same state of angry pride. Elizabeth 

had hoped that his resentment might  shorten his visit, but his plan did 

not appear in the least affected by  it. He was always to have gone on 

Saturday, and to Saturday he meant to stay.

After breakfast, the girls walked  to Meryton to inquire if Mr. Wickham 

were returned, and to lament over his  absence from the Netherfield ball. 

He joined them on their entering  the town, and attended them to their 

aunt's where his regret and vexation,  and the concern of everybody, was 

well talked over. To Elizabeth,  however, he voluntarily acknowledged 

that the necessity of his  absence _had_ been self-imposed.

"I found," said he, "as the time  drew near that I had better not meet 

Mr. Darcy; that to be in the same  room, the same party with him for so 

many hours together, might be more  than I could bear, and that scenes 

might arise unpleasant to more than myself."

She highly approved his forbearance,  and they had leisure for a full 

discussion of it, and for all the  commendation which they civilly 

bestowed on each other, as Wickham  and another officer walked back with 

them to Longbourn, and during the  walk he particularly attended to 

her. His accompanying them was a  double advantage; she felt all the 

compliment it offered to herself,  and it was most acceptable as an 

occasion of introducing him  to her father and mother.

Soon after their return, a letter  was delivered to Miss Bennet; it came 

from Netherfield. The envelope  contained a sheet of elegant, little, 

hot-pressed paper, well covered with  a lady's fair, flowing hand; and 

Elizabeth saw her sister's countenance  change as she read it, and saw 

her dwelling intently on some  particular passages. Jane recollected 

herself soon, and putting the letter away,  

tried to join with her usual cheerfulness in the general conversation;  

but Elizabeth felt an anxiety on the subject which drew off her  

attention even from Wickham; and no sooner had he and his companion  

taken leave, than a glance from Jane invited her to follow her up stairs.  

When they had gained their own room, Jane, taking out the letter, said:

"This is from Caroline Bingley; what  it contains has surprised me a good 

deal. The whole party have left  Netherfield by this time, and are on 

their way to town--and without any  intention of coming back again. You 

shall hear what she says."

She then read the first sentence  aloud, which comprised the information 

of their having just resolved to  follow their brother to town directly, 

and of their meaning to dine in  Grosvenor Street, where Mr. Hurst had a 

house. The next was in these words:  "I do not pretend to regret anything 

I shall leave in Hertfordshire, except  your society, my dearest friend; 

but we will hope, at some future  period, to enjoy many returns of that 

delightful intercourse we have  known, and in the meanwhile may 

lessen the pain of separation by a  very frequent and most unreserved 

correspondence. I depend on you  for that." To these highflown 

expressions Elizabeth listened with  all the insensibility of distrust; 

and though the suddenness of their  removal surprised her, she saw 

nothing in it really to lament;  

it was not to be supposed that their absence from Netherfield would prevent  

Mr. Bingley's being there; and as to the loss of their society,  

she was persuaded that Jane must cease to regard it, in the enjoyment of his.

"It is unlucky," said she, after a  short pause, "that you should not be 

able to see your friends before they  leave the country. But may we not 

hope that the period of future  happiness to which Miss Bingley looks 

forward may arrive earlier than she  is aware, and that the delightful 

intercourse you have known as friends  will be renewed with yet greater 

satisfaction as sisters? Mr.  Bingley will not be detained  

in London by them."

"Caroline decidedly says that  none of the party will return into 

Hertfordshire this winter. I will read it to you:"

"When my brother left us yesterday,  he imagined that the business which 

took him to London might be concluded  in three or four days; but as we 

are certain it cannot be so, and at  the same time convinced that when 

Charles gets to town he will be in  no hurry to leave it again, we have 

determined on following him thither,  that he may not be obliged to spend 

his vacant hours in a comfortless  hotel. Many of my acquaintances are 

already there for the winter; I  wish that I could hear that you, my 

dearest friend, had any intention  of making one of the crowd--but of 

that I despair. I sincerely hope  your Christmas in Hertfordshire may 

abound in the gaieties which that  season generally brings, and that your 

beaux will be so numerous as to  prevent your feeling the loss of the 

three of whom we shall deprive you."

"It is evident by this," added  Jane, "that he comes back no  

more this winter."

"It is only evident that Miss Bingley  does not mean that he _should_."

"Why will you think so? It must  be his own doing. He is his own 

master. But you do not know _all_.  I _will_ read you the passage which 

particularly hurts me. I will  have no reserves from _you_."

"Mr. Darcy is impatient to see his  sister; and, to confess the truth, 

_we_ are scarcely less eager to meet  her again. I really do not think 

Georgiana Darcy has her equal for  beauty, elegance, and accomplishments; 

and the affection she inspires in  Louisa and myself is heightened into 

something still more interesting,  from the hope we dare entertain of 

her being hereafter our sister. I  do not know whether I ever before 

mentioned to you my feelings on this  subject; but I will not leave the 

country without confiding them, and  I trust you will not esteem them 

unreasonable. My brother admires  her greatly already; he will have 

frequent opportunity now of seeing  her on the most intimate footing; 

her relations all wish the connection  as much as his own; and a sister's 

partiality is not misleading me,  I think, when I call Charles most 

capable of engaging any woman's heart.  

With all these circumstances to favour an attachment,  

and nothing to prevent it, am I wrong, my dearest Jane, in indulging the hope of an event which will  

secure the happiness of so many?"

"What do you think of _this_ sentence,  my dear Lizzy?" said Jane as she 

finished it. "Is it not clear enough?  Does it not expressly declare that 

Caroline neither expects nor wishes  me to be her sister; that she is 

perfectly convinced of her brother's  indifference; and that if she 

suspects the nature of my feelings  for him, she means (most kindly!) to 

put me on my guard? Can there be  any other opinion on the subject?"

"Yes, there can; for mine is totally  different. Will you hear it?"

"Most willingly."

"You shall have it in a few words.  Miss Bingley sees that her brother is 

in love with you, and wants him to  marry Miss Darcy. She follows him 

to town in hope of keeping him there,  

and tries to persuade you that he does not care about you."

Jane shook her head.

"Indeed, Jane, you ought to believe  me. No one who has ever seen you 

together can doubt his affection.  Miss Bingley, I am sure, cannot. She 

is not such a simpleton. Could she  have seen half as much love in Mr. 

Darcy for herself, she would have  ordered her wedding clothes. But the 

case is this: We are not rich enough  or grand enough for them; and she 

is the more anxious to get Miss Darcy  for her brother, from the notion 

that when there has been _one_  intermarriage, she may have less trouble 

in achieving a second; in which there  is certainly some ingenuity, and 

I dare say it would succeed, if Miss  de Bourgh were out of the way. But, 

my dearest Jane, you cannot seriously  imagine that because Miss Bingley 

tells you her brother greatly admires  Miss Darcy, he is in the smallest 

degree less sensible of _your_ merit  than when he took leave of you on 

Tuesday, or that it will be in her  power to persuade him that, instead 

of being in love with you, he is  very much in love with her friend."

"If we thought alike of Miss  Bingley," replied Jane, "your 

representation of all this might  make me quite easy. But I know the 

foundation is unjust. Caroline is  incapable of wilfully deceiving 

anyone; and all that I can hope in  this case is that she is deceiving 

herself."

"That is right. You could not have  started a more happy idea, since you 

will not take comfort in mine. Believe  her to be deceived, by all means. 

You have now done your duty by  her, and must fret no longer."

"But, my dear sister, can I be  happy, even supposing the best, in 

accepting a man whose sisters and  friends are all wishing him to marry 

elsewhere?"

"You must decide for yourself,"  said Elizabeth; "and if, upon mature 

deliberation, you find that the misery  of disobliging his two sisters is 

more than equivalent to the  happiness of being his wife,  

I advise you by all means to refuse him."

"How can you talk so?" said Jane,  faintly smiling. "You must know that 

though I should be exceedingly  grieved at their disapprobation,  

I could not hesitate."

"I did not think you would;  

and that being the case, I cannot consider your situation with much compassion."

"But if he returns no more this  winter, my choice will never be 

required. A thousand things  may arise in six months!"

The idea of his returning no more  Elizabeth treated with the utmost 

contempt. It appeared to her  merely the suggestion of Caroline's 

interested wishes, and she could  not for a moment suppose that those 

wishes, however openly or artfully spoken,  

could influence a young man so totally independent of everyone.

She represented to her sister as  forcibly as possible what she felt 

on the subject, and had soon the  pleasure of seeing its happy effect. 

Jane's temper was not desponding,  and she was gradually led to hope, 

though the diffidence of affection  sometimes overcame the hope, that 

Bingley would return to Netherfield  and answer every wish of her heart.

They agreed that Mrs. Bennet should  only hear of the departure of the 

family, without being alarmed on the  score of the gentleman's conduct; 

but even this partial communication  gave her a great deal of concern, 

and she bewailed it as exceedingly  unlucky that the ladies should happen 

to go away just as they were all  getting so intimate together. After 

lamenting it, however, at some length,  she had the consolation that Mr. 

Bingley would be soon down again and  soon dining at Longbourn, and the 

conclusion of all was the comfortable  declaration, that though he had 

been invited only to a family dinner,  

she would take care to have two full courses.

Chapter 22

The Bennets were engaged to dine  with the Lucases and again during the 

chief of the day was Miss Lucas so  kind as to listen to Mr. Collins. 

Elizabeth took an opportunity of  thanking her. "It keeps him in good 

humour," said she, "and I am more  obliged to you than I can express." 

Charlotte assured her friend of her  satisfaction in being useful, and 

that it amply repaid her for the  little sacrifice of her time. This was 

very amiable, but Charlotte's kindness  extended farther than Elizabeth 

had any conception of; its object  was nothing else than to secure her 

from any return of Mr. Collins's  addresses, by engaging them towards 

herself. Such was Miss Lucas's  scheme; and appearances were so 

favourable, that when they parted  at night, she would have felt almost 

secure of success if he had not  been to leave Hertfordshire so very 

soon. But here she did injustice  to the fire and independence of his 

character, for it led him to escape  out of Longbourn House the next 

morning with admirable slyness,  and hasten to Lucas Lodge to throw 

himself at her feet. He was anxious  to avoid the notice of his cousins, 

from a conviction that if they saw  him depart, they could not fail to 

conjecture his design, and he was  not willing to have the attempt known 

till its success might be known  likewise; for though feeling almost 

secure, and with reason, for Charlotte  had been tolerably encouraging,