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Chapter 1 – Netherfield Hall Is Let At Last

Posted on 2009-07-10

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a young man in possession of a large fortune that had been acquired by his late father in trade, would naturally be seeking to establish himself amongst the landed gentry.

However little known the actual views or notions of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this notion is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families who prided themselves on belonging to the landed gentry, that he is considered as seeking an entry into their midst.

"My dear sir," the lady of Longbourn Park said to her husband one day, "have you heard that Netherfield Hall is let at last?"

Her husband replied that he had not.

"But it is," returned the lady, "for Lady Lucas has just been here, and she told me all about it."

The master of Longbourn made no answer.

"Do you not want to know who has taken it?" cried his lady crossly.

"You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it."

This was invitation enough.

"As the principal landowner in the neigbourhood, you should have taken more interest in the affairs of your neighbours, then you would have known what Lady Lucas has told me, that Netherfield is taken by a young man whose late father had acquired a good fortune in trade, so of course he wishes to lease or purchase an estate of his own, so that he can now fancy himself to be a member of the landed gentry. He came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it – I daresay he has never really stayed at a country estate before – that he agreed with Mr Morris immediately. He is to take possession before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week."

"What is his name?"

"Bingley, his late father was a partner in the trading house of Darcy and Bingley."

"Is he married or single?'

"Oh, he is single, and of course Lady Lucas is quite excited that a single man of four or five thousand a year is settling down in the neighbourhood. She thinks it could be a fine thing for her girls."

"How so? How can it affect them?"

"She is thinking of the possibility of his marrying one of her daughters of course, and considering that Sir William himself had made his fortune in trade, and only retired from his business after receiving his knighthood, it would certainly be a good match for either Charlotte or Maria Lucas."

"Is that his design in settling here?"

"Design! Nonsense, how can you talk so! In fact, I am a little uneasy – I daresay he is a very respectable young man, but his fortune is of very recent origin, and his father had never purchased any landed property, and he is now established only as a tenant of Netherfield after all. I daresay you will be obliged to call on him eventually, but you need not be in a hurry about it, and as he has no wife, I don't think there is any need for me to condescend to call at Netherfield. But we will be likely to meet him at the assembly balls at Meryton, and Jane is so good-looking and so good-natured that he might take a fancy to her – like that absurd young man in London who wrote poetry to her last year. And Elizabeth is sometimes so lively and friendly – she does not seem to have any sense of rank or distinction – that she might encourage him to – at least, Anne is of a serious disposition and is very well-behaved, and she is only just out, I'm hardly uneasy about her, except that it is rather unfortunate that she is not quite as handsome as her sisters, otherwise she might well have the best chance of marrying into the nobility. We need not worry about Lydia yet of course, as she is only fifteen, and she knows that she is not coming out until she is seventeen, as all her elder sisters came out at that age, and Jane is only one and twenty after all, we need not give up the hope of her marrying into the nobility. You know how disappointed I was last year when my eldest nephew got married, for he would have been such a good, eligible match for Jane, and I'm sure she would have made an excellent viscountess and future countess. But I could hardly complain over his choice, since she is the daughter of a viscount."

"Perhaps he does not consider the daughter of a baronet to be sufficiently well-born for such an exalted rank."

"Well, but considering that I am his aunt, and that our daughters are the granddaughters of an earl as well as the daughters of a baronet, I'm sure that they are good enough to marry into the nobility. Not that I'm unreasonable, and I don't expect all four of our daughters to marry into the nobility, but I certainly hope that at least one of them will manage to do so, and I would be quite satisfied if the others will marry into respectable, honourable and ancient, even though untitled families."

"So this Mr Bingley does not qualify as a young man from a respectable, honourable and ancient family?"

"My dear Sir Bennet! How can you be so provoking! He is a tradesman's son! I daresay his father was a very respectable tradesman, but you know very well that is not the kind of respectability that I mean."

"And what of his fortune? A tradesman's money is as equally good currency as a nobleman's money after all."

"Well, I am not unaware of the fact that some impoverished members of good or even aristocratic families have been obliged to marry the sons or daughters of wealthy tradesman, but we have not been reduced to such straits, our daughters won't be penniless even though they have no brother to inherit Longbourn."

"Yes, when I am gone, the title and estate will go to my nephew."

"But we will have those thirty thousand pounds that have been settled on me and the girls, although it won't be a large sum of money once it is divided between the four girls, still we are not so desperate that you need to consider giving your daughters away to the sons of wealthy tradesmen. By the way, when is your nephew coming again for a visit? He and the girls have always got along so well together."

"Yes indeed, they are like a brother and his sisters."

"A brother and his sisters! Nonsense! I mean, surely not a brother to all the girls, but if he marries one of them, then the other three will certainly be his sisters."

"My dear Lady Catherine, I have a feeling that he regards all his four cousins as his sisters, and has his eye elsewhere on a possible wife."

"You are always provoking me, Sir Bennet."

"If you remember, I did warn you not to get your hopes up regarding your nephew, my dear, and I now caution you not to get your matrimonial hopes up regarding my nephew either."

Sir Bennet de Bourgh was an odd mixture of quick parts, keen observation, sarcastic humour, reserve and caprice, while his wife Lady Catherine was a rather overbearing woman, and very proud of the fact that she was the daughter of an earl who had condescended to marry a baronet – after all, a baronet, despite the hereditary title, was not, strictly speaking an aristocrat, unlike a duke, marquis, earl, viscount or baron. The fact that no duke, marquis, earl, viscount or even baron had ever asked her to marry them she kept to herself, and that she had accepted Sir Bennet all those years ago when her only choices had been either him or a completely untitled country squire.

Chapter 2 – Neighbours

In spite of his wife's opinion that he need not be in a hurry to call on the new tenant of Netherfield, Sir Bennet was among the earliest of those who waited on Mr Bingley. He had already heard from Sir William Lucas who was the earliest of all those who had waited on Mr Bingley, that the young man was very civil, gentleman-like and agreeable, and therefore he had decided to call on him. However, as he did not think it necessary to inform his wife that he was going to call at Netherfield, her ladyship had no knowledge of it, until after the visit was paid. It was then disclosed in the following manner. Observing his second daughter employed in trimming a new hat, he suddenly addressed her with,

"I wonder if Mr Bingley will like it, Lizzy."

"We need not concern ourselves as to what Mr Bingley likes or dislikes," said her mother majestically, with a slight frown at her husband.

"But all my sisters will soon be meeting him at the next assembly ball," put in Lydia, "When is your next ball to be, Lizzy?"

"Tomorrow fortnight"

"Oh, how I long to be seventeen, so that I can also attend those assemblies," sighed Lydia, "Another two years – it seems such a long time to wait. Please, Mama, can't I come out next year, when I'm sixteen? After all, Kitty came out last year, when she was only sixteen."

"No Lydia, you will wait until you reach the age of seventeen, as all your sisters did. As for your friend Kitty Phillips, she should not have come out last year. I told her mother that all girls should only come out upon reaching the age of seventeen, but unfortunately, Mrs Phillips seemed to have forgotten her younger daughter's age, and allowed her to come out last year. Mrs Phillips does seem to get confused over both her daughters' ages, for her elder daughter Mary only came out two years ago, when she was already eighteen."

At these remarks from her mother, Lydia de Bourgh turned away to hide a giggle. She knew very well that Mrs Phillips had never been confused as to the ages of her two daughters; the reason that Mary Phillips had only come out when she was already eighteen was because Mary was a shy, awkward girl, who had not been very keen on coming out. And the reason that Kitty had come out when she was only sixteen was that, in contrast to Mary, Kitty had been very eager to come out, and had managed to persuade the easy-going Mrs Phillips to allow her to come out as soon as she was sixteen. Mary had also joined in persuading her mother to allow her younger sister to come out sooner rather than later – in spite of Lady Catherine's ruling as to seventeen being the only proper age for all young ladies to come out -- because Mary herself felt less shy about going to balls and assemblies when accompanied by her sister instead of on her own.

Mary and Kitty Phillips were the daughters of the Rev Mr Phillips, the rector of Meryton Parsonage. There was a similarity in the dispositions between Lydia de Bourgh and Kitty Phillips so it was not surprising that they were particular friends with each other. There was also a similarity in the dispositions of their elder sisters Anne de Bourgh and Mary Phillips, and in their own quiet way, Anne and Mary were quite as much attached to each other as were Lydia and Kitty. One would have thought that Kitty was Lydia's sister, and that Mary was Anne's sister. Maria Lucas, the younger daughter of Sir William, was also an intimate friend of both Anne and Mary, while Charlotte, the eldest Miss Lucas, was the particular friend of the two eldest Miss de Bourghs. Lady Catherine was gracious enough to condescend to approve of her daughters' friendship with the daughters of the respectable rector of Meryton, just as she had condescended to approve of their friendship with the daughters of the courteous Sir William of Lucas Lodge.

Anne, frowning slightly at Lydia's giggles, observed gravely that, "It is not always such fun to be going to balls and assemblies, although in a way it is our duty to do so, I mean when we've reached the proper age, of course, Mama, and it may be a good opportunity to meet and be introduced to new acquaintances."

"It is not always pleasant to be making new acquaintances; however, I suppose we cannot avoid making the acquaintance of the new tenant of Netherfield. But there is no need for it to become an intimate acquaintanceship. Anyway, the ball is in a fortnight's time, and we won't be seeing him until then," said Lady Catherine with her usual authoritative air.

"But I believe we will be seeing Mr Bingley before that night, my lady," murmured Sir Bennet, "it would be very uncivil of him if he has not returned my call until then, and as he seems to be a very civil, gentleman-like young man, I'm quite sure that he will call at Longbourn within the next few days. "

His wife and four daughters all stared at him. Lady Catherine cried "What do you mean, sir? You have already called at Netherfield, and without saying a word about it to me!"

"Well, since he has no wife, there was no need for you to condescend to accompany me to Netherfield", said Sir Bennet, and as he spoke he quickly left the room, leaving his four daughters to deal with their mother's exclamations.

Jane and Elizabeth exchanged glances; they well knew their aristocratic mother's views on those who, despite their wealth, were regarded by her as being low in origin, for having acquired their fortune through trade. Jane tried to soothe her mother by observing that her father had said that Mr Bingley was very civil and gentleman-like, and that Sir Bennet himself would not have wished to pursue an acquaintanceship with anybody who was vulgar or disagreeable.

Chapter 3 – First Impressions

Posted on 2009-07-23

As Sir Bennet was reticent and did not give any further description of the tenant of Netherfield Hall, and Lady Catherine certainly did not encourage her daughters to question their father on the subject of Mr Bingley, the Miss de Bourghs were obliged to accept the second-hand intelligence from their friends the Lucases and the Philips. Their friends' reports were highly favourable. According to the Miss Lucases and the Miss Philips, both Sir William and the Rev Mr Philips had been delighted with Mr Bingley. He was quite young, wonderfully handsome, extremely agreeable, and to crown the whole, he meant to be at the next assembly with a large party. Nothing could be more delightful! To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love; and very lively hopes of Mr Bingley's heart were entertained.

In a few days Mr Bingley returned Sir Bennet's visit; and sat about ten minutes with him in his library. He had entertained hopes of being admitted to a sight of the young ladies, of whose beauty he had heard much, but he saw only the father. Lady Catherine did not condescend to appear, and would not allow any of her daughters to appear before him during that first visit. The young ladies, however, were somewhat fortunate enough to have the advantage of ascertaining from an upper window, that he wore a blue coat and rode a black horse.

In the meantime, Lady Lucas of Lucas Lodge had dispatched an invitation to dinner to Mr Bingley, and was already planning the courses that were to do credit to her housekeeping, when an answer arrived which deferred it all. Mr Bingley was obliged to be in town the following day, and consequently was unable to accept the honour of the invitation etc. The Lucases and their friends wondered what business he could have in town so soon after his arrival from Hertfordshire, and whether he would ever be settled at Netherfield after all; but their housekeeper soon heard from the Netherfield housekeeper that Mr Bingley had only gone to London to bring a large party for the ball; and a report soon followed that Mr Bingley was to bring a party of six ladies and three gentlemen – his relatives and friends – to the ball. However, when the party from Netherfield entered the assembly room, it consisted of only six altogether: Mr Bingley, his mother, his elder sister and her husband, his younger sister, and another young man.

On the evening of the assembly ball, the three elder Miss de Bourghs were dressing in some measure together assisted by two of the maids, while Lydia wondered from one sister to another, to watch and admire the little details of their preparation, and to sigh and long to be seventeen herself so that she could join them, and making them promise to tell her everything about the ball, who would ask them to dance and so on. Mrs Jenkinson, the governess who had supervised the education of the Miss de Bourghs for the last ten years, and who now only had Lydia in the schoolroom, good-humouredly assured her that when the time came for her to come out, Lydia would no doubt also be a credit to them, provided that she would now pay proper attention to her lessons and the acquiring of accomplishments. Mrs Jenkinson also sometimes acted as chaperon to the Miss de Bourghs at the parties and gatherings on those occasions when Lady Catherine did not condescend to attend herself.

In Mrs Jenkinson's opinion, an accomplished young lady was always a charming young lady. According to their mother's wishes, the Miss de Bourghs had all been taught to play the pianoforte, although only Elizabeth and Anne had any real taste for music, and only Elizabeth could sing as well as play. They had also all been taught to draw, although only Jane had any real taste for drawing, and had painted tables and covered screens. Lydia did not have much interest in either music or drawing, although she went through the lessons and practiced her music in accordance with the rules set by their lady mother. A stranger on first meeting the sisters might believe that there was a strong resemblance between Jane and Anne as the gentle Miss de Bourghs, and between Elizabeth and Lydia as the lively Miss de Bourghs. However, he might soon revise his first impressions, for Jane was friendly as well as gentle, while Anne's natural shyness would easily give to those who felt themselves inferior, the belief of her being proud and reserved. Elizabeth's liveliness of mind was accompanied by quickness of wit, as well as combined with seriousness on serious subjects, and she was the greatest reader among the sisters – the fine family library at Longbourn was a great source of delight and information to her; while Lydia would hardly open a book if she could help it.

As Lady Catherine believed that it would be beneath her dignity to arrive too early at an assembly ball, the Netherfield party had already arrived by the time the de Bourghs made their entrance into the ballroom.

Mr Bingley was good-looking and gentlemanlike; he had a pleasant countenance, and easy, unaffected manners. His sisters, especially his younger sister, were also good-looking, and they were both quite elegantly dressed. His brother-in-law, Mr Hurst was rather plain and plump, but he still certainly looked the gentleman, and was quite fashionably dressed, while his friend Mr William Darcy was tall, handsome and quite well-dressed. Indeed, the whole of the Netherfield party would have been taken for people of fashion, had it not been for Mr Bingley's widowed mother. Mrs Bingley was quite as expensively -- if not quite as elegantly -- dressed as her two daughters, but her vulgarity and lack of polish was unfortunately only too apparent.

When the members of the Netherfield party were introduced to the de Bourghs, Mrs Bingley was obviously delighted at being able to speak to a Lady Catherine – a noble, aristocratic lady who was not only the wife of a baronet, but who was also by birth the daughter of an earl.

"I hope that you are all comfortably settled at Netherfield", said Lady Catherine with great condescension.

"Yes, my lady," said Mrs Bingley loudly with great delight, "we are very happy to be at Netherfield, and my son is so pleased with the estate that I believe he intends to extend his lease – he has it on rather a short lease now – but he may even wish to purchase it altogether – he can well afford to buy it if the owner is willing to sell. My daughter Louisa's husband has his family estate – of course smaller than Longbourn Park, it's even slightly smaller than Netherfield – and it will be so wonderful for Charles to have an estate of his own too, his dear father had always intended to purchase an estate, but alas! did not live to do it. Oh, and it will be such an honour for us to live in this neighbourhood, so near to such a noble family as your ladyship's. I do so hope that my daughters' will become acquainted with your ladyship's daughters. I believe that my daughter Caroline is about the same age as Miss de Bourgh."

Jane thought that Mrs Hurst and Miss Bingley looked a little pained at their mother's loud manners, and she sympathized with them. She smiled at them and begun to converse with them, asking them about their first impressions of the neighbourhood, and decided that they were very pleasing young women. They had been educated in one of the first private seminaries in town, had learned to associate with people of rank, and their manners were certainly far more polished than their mother's. Mrs Hurst was about three or four years older than her twenty-four year old brother, while Miss Bingley was about the same age as the eldest Miss de Bourgh, or perhaps slightly younger, but a little older than Miss Elizabeth de Bourgh.

Mr Bingley was particularly struck by the beauty of the eldest Miss de Bourgh, and soon begged her for the honour of her hand in the next dance.

Mr Bingley had soon made himself acquainted with all the principal people in the room; he was lively and unreserved, danced every dance, wished that the ball did not close quite so early, and even talked of hoping to give one himself at Netherfield. Such amiable qualities must speak for themselves. What a contrast between him and his friend. Mr Darcy was certainly handsome, and had earlier drawn the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, and the report which was in general circulation within five minutes after his entrance, of his father – the senior partner in the trading house of Darcy and Bingley -- having left him with a fortune of ten thousand a year. The gentlemen declared him to be a fine figure of a man, many of the ladies declared that he was much handsomer than Mr Bingley, and several young ladies cast admiring glances at him for about half the evening, till his manners gave a disgust which turned the tide of his popularity, for he was discovered to be stiff, cold and reserved – most of them then declared that he was proud and disagreeable, and what right had he to be so proud of his ten thousand pounds a year anyway, when all his large fortune had been acquired by his late father through trade.

Mr Darcy danced only once with Mrs Hurst and once with Miss Bingley, did not ask any other lady to dance, and spent the rest of the evening in standing awkwardly or walking about the room, speaking occasionally to one of his own party. His character was fixed. He was obviously ill-mannered and ill-bred, quite unfit to associate with gentlemen and ladies, and many of them hoped that he would never come there again.

After a most agreeable dance with Miss Jane de Bourgh, Mr Bingley was wondering whether it would be presumptuous on his part to ask for the honour of her hand a second time that evening. He feared that her mother might not quite like it, if she were to dance with the same gentleman twice on the same evening, but Miss de Bourgh herself had been so agreeable, as well as so beautiful, that a few dances later, and after some hesitation, he did ask her if she would mind dancing with him again. Jane hesitated for just a moment, then smiled her angelic smile at him, and to his great delight, accepted his invitation to dance for the second time later that evening.

Feeling happy and confident to have secured the lovely Miss de Bourgh's hand for another dance later that evening, Mr Bingley then had a few words with his friend Mr Darcy, and tried to press his friend to join in the dance.

"Come, William," said he, "I must have you dance. I hate to see you standing by youself in this stupid manner. You had much better dance."

"I certainly shall not. I have none of your social graces, Charles, and you know how I detest it, unless I am particularly acquainted with my partner. Your sisters are engaged, and there is not another woman in this room, whom it would not be a punishment for me to stand up with."

"You will never acquire any 'social graces' as you put it", said Bingley, "if you go on in this manner. Upon my honour, I have never met so many pleasant young ladies in my life, as I have this evening, and there are several of them you see are uncommonly pretty."

"You have the honour of dancing with the handsomest young lady, who is also the first in consequence in the room," said Mr Darcy looking at the eldest Miss de Bourgh.

"Oh! I am most fortunate indeed. She is the most beautiful creature I ever beheld, and she is also so gentle and gracious, not a bit proud or stiff at all. And look, there is one of her sisters sitting down just behind you, who is very pretty, and I dare say very agreeable. Do let me ask my partner to introduce you,"

"Which do you mean?" he looked for a moment at Elizabeth de Bourgh, till catching her eye, he withdrew his own, and coldly said. "She is tolerable, but not so handsome as to tempt me to venture to … anyway I am in no humour at present to be making polite conversation and paying compliments to young ladies of titled families who might pride themselves on their consequence and think that they are better than the rest of us. You had better return to your partner and enjoy her gracious smiles, for you are wasting your time with me."

Mr Bingley followed this advice. Mr Darcy walked off, and Elizabeth, who had been near enough to have overheard the later part of this conversation, remained with no very cordial feelings towards him. What a disagreeable, ill-bred young man that Mr Darcy was! Such a contrast to his gentlemanly friend! Mr Darcy appeared to be prejudiced against "young ladies of titled families" as he put it, who he thought might "pride themselves", but it was he who was being so proud and disagreeable.

Chapter 4 – The Day After

Posted on 2009-07-31

The de Bourgh's neighbours Sir William and Lady Lucas of Lucas Lodge, had formed a most favourable impression of the new tenant of Netherfield. Sir William himself had previously acquired his fortune by trade, and would not dream of looking down on anybody whose family had also acquired their fortune through trade. William Lucas had risen to the honour of knighthood by an address to the King, during his mayoralty in Meryton. He had been born into a respectable family, which for the last two or three generations had been rising into gentility and property. By the time he had received his knighthood several years ago, he had acquired a sufficiently good fortune to enable him to retire from business and to purchase a moderate sized property adjoining the larger estate of Longbourn, upon which he had built the large house denominated as Lucas Lodge. Once he had been unshackled by business, he could occupy himself solely in being civil to the world. For though elated by his rank, it did not render him supercilious; on the contrary, he was all attention to everybody. By nature inoffensive, friendly and obliging, his presentation at St James had made him courteous.

Lady Lucas was a very good kind of woman, not too clever, and Lady Catherine had condescended to regard the wife of a knight as being, at least in their immediate neighbourhood, next in rank only to herself. The wife of the rector of Meryton, Mrs Philips, was another woman whom her ladyship had condescended to acknowledge as a friend, especially as Mrs Philips never forgot the deference due to a Lady Catherine, and whose manners were always at their best in her ladyship's presence. Though the great lady was not in the commission of the peace of the county, she was a most active magistrate in her own parish, and the rector's wife was often quite useful to her in conveying the concerns of the cottagers, and whenever any of them were disposed to be quarrelsome, discontented or too poor, she sallied forth into the village to settle their differences, silence their complaints and scold them into harmony and plenty. Meryton Parsonage, as well as Lucas Lodge, was also at a convenient distance from Longbourn Park, and the young ladies of the three families had become quite intimate friends with each other.

That the Miss de Borughs, the Miss Lucases, and the Miss Philips, should meet to talk over a ball was quite natural, and the morning after the assembly brought the Miss Lucases and the Miss Philips to Longbourn to hear and to communicate. After a few minutes spent in paying their respects to Lady Catherine, the Miss Lucases and the Miss Philips were invited by the Miss de Bourghs to take a turn in the park – there was a pretty little wilderness near the house, from which there was a gate leading into the avenue.

Lydia was eager to hear all about the ball, and who had danced with her sisters and their friends, and Kitty Philips was only too happy to oblige her with all the information.

"Mr Bingley first danced with Miss Lucas, but when he was introduced to your sisters, Lydia, he seemed very much struck by Miss de Bourgh, and begged her to dance the next dance with him. And he actually danced with her for a second time that evening, and she was the only lady in the room that he danced with for a second time."

"You danced twice with the same gentleman last evening, Jane? And he's a stranger too -- what did Mama say to that? Did she approve?" cried Lydia excitedly.

Jane answered calmly, "Mr Bingley is very civil and gentlemanly, as Mama herself acknowledged, and although she did say later that she would rather I had not danced with him twice in the same evening, I explained that it would seem rather uncivil to refuse, when he had been so polite and respectful."

"He is certainly far more gentlemanly than his friend." Kitty went on, "that Mr Darcy may be twice as rich as Mr Bingley, but he is a most disagreeable man. Who does he think he is anyway? He seems to be as proud as a lord, when he's only a tradesman's son after all – his father may have been the senior partner and owned twice as much as Mr Bingley's father, but they had both been involved in the same business after all! His pride would not have offended me so much had he been a lord or the son of a lord, for then he would have some reason to think highly of himself, and a right to be proud."

"We disagree there, Kitty," said Elizabeth, smiling, "I think his pride would have offended me regardless of whether he had been a nobleman's son or a tradesman's son."

Elizabeth then told her sisters and their friends, about what she had overheard – of Mr Darcy finding her only "tolerable" and not handsome enough to tempt him to dance, and of him being in no humour to be paying compliments to "young ladies of titled families" who "pride themselves on their consequence". She told the story with great spirit, for she had a lively, playful disposition, which delighted in anything ridiculous. And how ridiculous it was for that man to have assumed that she was a proud young woman, merely because she came from a "titled" family, when it was he who was being so proud – probably of his fortune – and so disagreeable!

"Oh, Miss Elizabeth, he is even worse than I thought – what a rude, horrible man he is to say such things about you!" cried Kitty indignantly.

Jane looked a little distressed and said quickly, "I don't suppose he realized that he would be overheard. Miss Bingley told me, that unlike her brother, their friend is inclined to be rather shy, and dislikes dancing with strangers, and never speaks much unless among his intimate acquaintances. With them, he is remarkably agreeable".

"That is quite possibly true," said Charlotte, thoughtfully "Sometimes, a certain stiffness or embarrassment which proceeds from shyness or awkwardness and the fear of doing wrong, may give to strangers the impression of pride and reserve."

Maria disagreed with her sister, "If he is rather shy and fearful of doing wrong, he should have known that it would be wrong to make such remarks in a ballroom."

Mary Phillips agreed with Maria Lucas, "If he is only shy, he should simply have told Mr Bngley that he was too shy to dance with a strange young lady. I think Miss Bingley was attempting to make excuses for Mr Darcy, because she must have seen how uncivil and disagreeable he was, their friend's behavior must have been quite embarrassing for her and her brother."

Anne said softly, "It was of course wrong of him to make such remarks, but Charlotte may be quite right. Shyness can cause some people to act in strange, awkward ways sometimes."

Elizabeth looked quickly at her younger sister, she knew that Anne herself was rather shy, and that her silence and embarrassment had often given the mistaken impression, especially to the villagers and those who felt themselves to be inferior, that Miss Anne was a proud young lady, quite as proud as her mother, except that Lady Catherine also took pride in giving her advice to anybody and everybody on almost any subject, while Miss Anne would hardly say a word to anybody if she could help it.

Elizabeth then said, "Not being a shy person myself, I am not sure … but while I can perfectly understand a shy person being rather quiet or even silent, I hardly think making disagreeable remarks about strangers -- people whom you don't know anything about -- to be a sign of shyness. You would never make such disagreeable remarks, Anne."

Anne smiled a little ruefully, "No, I am only quiet and rather silent."

"Except among your intimate friends," put in Maria, and Anne laughed and put an arm through Maria's and her other arm through Mary's; and the three friends soon lagged behind the others.

The young ladies naturally divided into three groups. Lydia and her friend Kitty had soon run off to the avenue ahead of their elders, and Jane, Elizabeth and Charlotte were left together. Jane had been cautious in her praise of Mr Bingley before, but when she found herself in the company only of her favourite sister and their particular friend, she was able to express to them how very much she admired him.

"He is just what a young man ought to be," said Jane, "sensible, good-humoured, lively, and I never saw such happy manners! – so much ease, with such perfect good breeding!"

"He is also handsome," replied Elizabeth, "which a young man ought likewise to be, if he possibly can. His character is therefore complete."

"I was a little uncertain when he asked me to dance a second time. I knew Mama might not quite like it, but I felt that it was impossible to refuse … he is so polite and agreeable … it is such a compliment after all."

"And compliments always take you by surprise, and me never. That is one great difference between us. But what could be more natural?" said Elizabeth.

"Nothing could be more natural than for him to see that our dear Jane is about five times as pretty as any other woman in the room." put in Charlotte.

"Yes, so no thanks to his gallantry for noticing that. Well, he is certainly very agreeable, and I give you leave to like him. You have liked many a stupider person.

"Oh, Lizzy!"

"Oh! Charlotte and I know that you are a great deal too apt to like people on general. You never see a fault in anybody. All the world are good and agreeable in your eyes. I never heard you speak ill of a human being in my life."

"I would wish not to be hasty in censuring anyone, but I always speak what I think."

"I know you do," replied Elizabeth, "and it is that which makes the wonder. With your good sense, to be honestly blind to the follies and nonsense of others! Affectation of candour is common enough – one sees it everywhere. But to be candid without ostentation or design – to take the good of everybody's character and make it still better, and say nothing of the bad – belongs to you alone. And so, what do you think of Mr Bingley's mother and sisters?"

"Mrs Bingley's manners are certainly not equal to either those of her son or her daughters, but I believe that she is quite a good-natured woman in her own way – it is hardly her fault that her manners are not quite … not quite what we would like them to be. In any case, we must be civil to her – she is entitled to our civility as an older woman."

"Of course, I do not mean to be uncivil to Mrs Bingley. But what do you think of Mrs Hurst and Miss Bingley? They are certainly more refined than their mother, but their manners are not equal to their brother's."

"Perhaps not – but then it would be rather difficult to find anybody whose manners would be equal to his. And they are very pleasing women when you converse with them. Miss Bingley is to help her mother keep house for her brother, and whatever we may think of Mrs Bingley's manners, I am much mistaken if we do not find a very charming neighbour in Miss Bingley."

Elizabeth and Charlotte exchanged glances, they were not quite as convinced; the behavior of the Bingley sisters to the de Bourghs had certainly been quite charming and most attentive, perhaps a little too much so in Elizabeth's opinion, and Elizabeth prided herself with having more quickness of observation and less pliancy of temper than her sister.. Mrs Hurst and Miss Bingley had also been perfectly civil to the Lucases, but Elizabeth thought that she saw a certain superciliousness in their treatment of almost everybody else, and that their behavior at the assembly had not been calculated to please in general, but only calculated to please the principal families in the neighbourhood.

Jane was saying, "My mother was quite gracious to Mrs Bingley when she was introduced to her, and I also saw your mother talking to her, Charlotte."

"My mother is not very particular, and she told me that she quite enjoyed talking to Mrs Bingley, who has told her quite a lot about her family, and also of their old friends the Darcys, when they were sitting next to each other last evening.", replied Charlotte.

Elizabeth murmured, "It's quite true that my mother was fairly gracious last evening, but she will not like it if Mrs Bingley begins to presume on the acquaintance, or attempts to treat her with any degree of familiarity."

In the meantime, the family party at Netherfield was also talking about the Meryton assembly ball, and the people they had met there. All the members of the Bingley family were delighted to have met the de Bourghs, and also quite pleased with the Lucases.

Unlike their mother, Mrs Hurst and Miss Bingley had become very fine ladies, not deficient in good humour when they were pleased, nor in the power of being agreeable when they chose, but their education at a private seminary and the accomplishments that they had acquired there had made them rather conceited and very socially ambitious. They were rather handsome and had a fortune of twenty thousand pounds each, and were therefore entitled to think well of themselves, and to hope for eligible offers of marriage from respectable gentlemen that would establish them well in good society. Mr Hurst was a gentleman of rather more fashion than fortune – he had a house in town, in Grosvenor Street, but his income was derived almost entirely from an estate of not more than two thousand a year, and the then Miss Louisa Bingley's dowry of twenty thousand pounds was therefore a very welcome addition to his fortune. However, since the Hursts were an old well-established family, Louisa had been sufficiently well-pleased with her conquest, and her mother had rejoiced greatly in having her eldest daughter married to a gentleman of fashion. Moreover, Louisa's marriage to a gentleman with a fashionable address in town would also put Caroline in the way of meeting other fashionable and hopefully wealthy gentlemen.

Mr Bingley had inherited property to the amount of nearly a hundred thousand pounds, and his mother and sisters were anxious that he should fulfill his dear father's wish of purchasing an estate of his own. Mr Bingley had been of age for about three years, when he had been tempted by an accidental recommendation to look at Netherfield Hall. He did look at it, and into it, for half an hour, was pleased with the situation and the principal rooms, satisfied with what the owner said in its praise, and took it immediately. His mother and sisters were also quite pleased with it, and were greatly delighted when they heard about the de Bourghs of Longbourn Park nearby. Mrs Bingley was very happy to preside at her son's table.

Between the Bingley and Darcy families, there was a very steady friendship based on many years of association, as well as strong personal liking between the two young men of both families, William Darcy and Charles Bingley, ever since the days of their boyhood. Their fathers had been trading partners, with old Mr Darcy owning two-thirds of the business of Darcy and Bingley, and old Mr Bingley owning one-third of it. William was about the same age as Louisa, and three or four years older than Charles, and Charles had come to regard him in the light of an elder brother. William himself had only one sister, Georgina, who was much younger than himself – she was more than four years younger than Caroline, and was not yet out, and was now residing most of the time with one of her aunts, Mrs Annesley. On the strength of William's regard, Charles had the firmest reliance, and of his judgment the highest opinion. Charles in turn was endeared to William by the easiness, openness, docility of his temper, though no disposition could offer a greater contrast to his own, and with his own he never appeared dissatisfied. Charles had greatly the advantage of his friend as far as manners were concerned, he was generally sure of being liked wherever he appeared, while William was continually giving offence.

The manner in which they spoke of the Meryton assembly was sufficiently characteristic. Charles had never met with such pleasant, gracious people or prettier girls in his life, everybody had been most kind to him, there had been little formality or stiffness, perhaps Lady Catherine had been rather stately in her manner, but that was quite understandable, anyway Sir Bennet had been quite friendly, and the three Miss de Bourghs at the assembly were perfectly charming young ladies, especially the eldest – why, he could not conceive of an angel more beautiful. William, on the contrary, thought that Lady Catherine was most haughty and condescending, the youngest Miss de Bourgh to be proud and plain, and the middle Miss de Bourgh no more than tolerable-looking. The eldest Miss de Bourgh he acknowledged to be pretty, but she smiled too much, to the extent that he wondered whether she was being affectedly gracious in her manner to them.

Mrs Bingley and her daughters would not hear a word against the de Bourghs – after all, if they were a little proud, they were entitled to be so due to their rank. But the eldest Miss de Bourgh was not proud at all. Louisa and Caroline described Lady Catherine's manners as "stately" and "dignified", as befitting a great lady, and they were quite as rapturous over Jane de Bourgh and her gracious friendliness as was their brother. The only thing unfortunately lacking about the de Bourghs, declared Mrs Bingley, was that Sir Bennet had no son, otherwise a young Mr de Bourgh might have partnered Caroline and danced with her as gracefully as Charles and Miss de Bourgh had danced together.

Chapter 5 – A Morning Call at Netherfield

Posted on 2009-08-27

The aristocratic Lady Catherine had been unsure on how to welcome the Bingleys into the neighbourhood, because people in their situation – the newly rich, who were at least as rich as the de Bourghs of Longbourn – were rather disconcerting to her. She liked to have the distinction of rank preserved, but it was rather uncomfortable when her social inferiors were at least as rich as her own family, or in the case of Mr Bingley's friend, Mr Darcy, more than twice as rich as Sir Bennet of Longbourn.

Lady Catherine had no problem with those people who were undoubtedly very much her inferiors in every way. The yeomanry and the tradesmen were the classes of people with whom she felt she could have nothing to do with, but a degree or two lower, might interest her. A farmer or a shopkeeper who did not need her help was in one sense as much above her notice as in every other way he was below it. She had never objected to visiting the cottagers in the village – in fact, she rather enjoyed making those visits, they were the objects of her acts of charity – and it was both her pride and pleasure to dispense gifts of "comforts" to them, as well as her advice on how they should do their work and conduct themselves. How welcome those visits were to the villagers, whether they enjoyed them quite as much as her ladyship did, and what they actually thought of her advice, need not be inquired into too closely. Of course, they were always very respectful to her ladyship, and most honoured and grateful for her charitable kindness. Her ladyship had also encouraged her daughters on these charitable errands, and the villagers were always very pleased to see the Miss de Bourghs in place of their mother – Miss Jane was so sweet and kind, Miss Elizabeth was so clever and charming, Miss Anne's quiet manners were at least preferable to her mother's inquisitive and authoritative manners, and young Miss Lydia was quite amusing.

It was not long before Lady Catherine condescended to pay a call on Mr Bingley's mother, and graciously allowed her daughters to call on Mrs Bingley's daughters. Sir Bennet was not surprised; he had guessed that his wife's curiosity to see how their new neighbours conducted themselves at home, and what changes they might have made to Netherfield Hall, would soon overcome her. Lady Catherine did not actually object to getting acquainted with her social inferiors, as long as those social inferiors did not forget their inferior rank, and treated her with all the deference which she believed to be due to herself, not merely as the wife of a baronet, but also as the daughter and sister of an earl.

Mrs Bingley felt most honoured and delighted when her ladyship condescended to pay a morning visit to Netherfield, and expressed her delight, and her sense of being honoured by the visit, most loudly and effusively. The two elder Miss de Bourghs had accompanied their mother to Netherfield, and Elizabeth could not help being rather diverted by Mrs Bingley's manners, for follies and nonsense, as well as whims and inconsistencies, did divert her. Lady Catherine was quite gratified by Mrs Bingley's excessive deference, and gave her most gracious smiles. Mrs Hurst and Miss Bingley also received them most politely, if more quietly, and confirmed Jane's opinion that they were very agreeable women, and that unlike their mother, they were elegant and well-mannered. Mrs Bingley had certainly not been involved in her daughters' education, and Louisa and Caroline carried themselves quite as elegantly as any well-bred gentlewomen.

The drawing-room at Netherfield, into which Lady Catherine and her daughters were shown into, was a fairly pleasant, spacious room, and quite expensively furnished, in rather bright colours, and her ladyship, after a short survey, pronounced it to be a decent looking room. Elizabeth privately thought that the furnishings were a little gaudy, and that it probably reflected the taste of Mr Bingley's mother.

"This is quite a decent looking room, I wonder if you have made many alterations to the house, even though Mr Bingley has but a short lease." Lady Catherine then began to interrogate the Netherfield ladies as to what alterations had been made to Netherfield Hall since the Bingleys had become its tenants.

Mrs Bingley began to describe what they had done to the house and how they had furnished the different rooms, when Lady Catherine interrupted her lengthy descriptions and said:
"Perhaps it will be better if you show me around the different rooms, then I can see for myself, and I can give my advice as to the arrangements of the furniture, and what further improvements may be necessary."

Jane and Elizabeth were slightly embarrassed, but not really surprised, at their mother's dignified impertinence, and they need not have worried about its effect on the Bingley women. Mrs Bingley exclaimed loudly,
"Oh, I would be delighted and honoured to show your ladyship around the house, and if your ladyship will be so good as to give your advice! There are a few rooms upstairs which are not quite furnished yet, and if your ladyship will be so kind as to tell us what you think will be most suitable! Of course, I would not wish to trouble your ladyship, but since you have been so kind as to make the offer …"

Lady Catherine was gratified, and smiled condescendingly "It is no trouble at all, Mrs Bingley. I will be happy to give you the benefit of my advice and recommendations", she said graciously.

Mrs Bingley then took Lady Catherine on an inspection tour of Netherfield Hall, and her ladyship graciously approved most of the alterations that had been made, as well as suggesting some others. Nothing was too trivial for that great lady's notice, and she even vouchsafed to suggest some shelves in the closets upstairs. Mrs Bingley was much gratified by Lady Catherine's interest and was well pleased to show every room in the house to Lady Catherine for her approval and advice, and she finally even took her to the gentlemen's study -- where Charles and William had been closeted together that morning going through some papers relating to estate business, while Hurst stretched himself out in the comfortable armchair near the window – although in general, the Netherfield ladies regarded that room as being private and exclusive to the gentlemen.

The gentlemen looked up in surprise when the door opened and Bingley's mother entered the room with Lady Catherine.

"Oh, Charles, Lady Catherine and two of the Miss de Bourghs have honoured your sisters and I with a visit this morning, and I've been telling her ladyship about the alterations that we have made to Netherfield Hall, and her ladyship is so kind as to wish to see them for herself, so that she could give her advice, and I've been taking her around the house", explained Mrs Bingley.

Charles Bingley was most polite and good humoured over her ladyship's invasion into the gentlemen's room, while William Darcy thought in silent indignation that he had never seen so much dignified impertinence in his life before. James Hurst was mildly surprised, but did not think much about it, as he never thought much about anything.

In the meantime, Jane and Elizabeth de Bourgh were furthering their acquaintance with Louisa Hurst and Caroline Bingley, and the hour passed pleasantly enough for the four younger ladies before the two mothers returned to the drawing room. Jane decided that she liked the two sisters very much, and thought that Miss Bingley, who was about her own age, would make a charming addition to the Miss de Bourghs' circle of intimate friends in the neighbourhood – the Miss Lucases and the Miss Philips. Caroline Bingley would surely fit in nicely with herself, Lizzy and Charlotte Lucas.

Elizabeth could see that Jane was being completely won over by Mrs Hurst and Miss Bingley, they were being so pleasant and attentive, and she admitted to herself that they certainly appeared to be agreeable women. She supposed that they could be pleasant acquaintances, but she herself would not be quite so hasty to admit them within her circle of intimate friends. Their powers of conversation were considerable. They could describe an entertainment with accuracy, relate an anecdote with humour, and laugh at their acquaintance with spirit. Caroline Bingley was naturally clever, and her education at a private seminary had given her decided advantages – the de Bourghs' governess, Mrs Jenkinson would certainly describe Miss Bingley as an accomplished young lady, for she had a good knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages. She had not perhaps, added something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading, but then the late Mr Bingley had left but a small collection of books, and the Bingleys certainly did not possess any collection that could be compared to the fine family library at Longbourn Park.

After Mrs Bingley and Lady Catherine returned from her ladyship's inspection tour of Netherfield Hall, refreshments were brought in, and the cold meat, cake and fruits soon collected them round the table, while Lady Catherine remarked on the sizes of joints of meat that in her opinion should be appropriate for the family.

The gentlemen joined them while the ladies were taking their refreshments. Mr Hurst made a low bow to Lady Catherine, and then devoted himself to the refreshments, Mr Darcy also bowed to the ladies and addressed a few polite words to them, but Mr Bingley's salutations were most charming. He was perfectly respectful and attentive without being either ostentatious or familiar, and even Lady Catherine could find no fault in his manners.

The family at Netherfield had certainly been well-received into the neighbourhood, and the de Bourghs were soon frequently meeting them at the large mixed parties with the neighbouring families. Mr Bingley certainly admired the eldest Miss de Bourgh, but as there was no lack of respect in his attentions and manners towards her, Lady Catherine decided not to make herself uneasy over it, and preferred to regard Mr Bingley's attentions to her eldest daughter as the natural and respectful attentions of a polite young man towards the young lady who was the first in consequence in the neighbourhood. Had Jane shown any disposition to flirt with Mr Bingley or a decided preference for him, her mother would have been more uneasy, but as Jane united with great strength of feeling, a composure of temper and a uniform cheerfulness of manner, the state of her heart was well guarded from the suspicions of the impertinent, including that of her own mother. Perhaps the only persons to suspect that Jane might have a decided preference for Mr Bingley were her favourite sister, Lizzy, and their particular friend, Charlotte, because they knew Jane's disposition better than anybody else did. Lizzy herself liked Mr Bingley, and as long as he was of good character, she would have no objection to him being a suitor for her sister. Unlike their mother, the elder de Bourgh sisters had little regard for rank or birth, and placed more value on character and good principles. Their father, as a young man, had married their mother because he had been influenced by the desire to be the son-in-law of a nobleman's family, but the years of experience of living with his nobly born wife had caused him to modify and alter his opinions, to think less of birth and rank and noble titles and ambitious connections, and to prize more and more the sterling worth of principles and good temper. Not that he had anything to complain of regarding his aristocratic wife's principles, but her pride and her temper had caused him to have some wistful thoughts on how delightful it might have been had he married a well-judging and truly amiable woman, and how much better it would have been to choose than to be chosen, to excite gratitude than to feel it.

Chapter 6 – Getting Better Acquainted

Posted on 2009-09-01

When the ladies of Netherfield returned the visit of the ladies of Longbourn, Mrs Bingley's continued excessive deference assured her of Lady Catherine's good will, and her ladyship was pleased to treat the rich tradesman's widow and daughters with condescending graciousness, now that there seemed to be no danger of Mrs Bingley ever fancying herself to be an equal of the Lady Catherine. Jane also continued to like Louisa Hurst and Caroline Bingley very much, especially the later, whom she thought she had much in common with, being almost exactly of the same age; Mrs Hurst was of course several years older and was a married woman. Of course, unlike her mother, Jane was never condescending in her manners towards the Netherfield ladies, but treated even the rather vulgar Mrs Bingley with the civil respect due to an older woman, and was pleased to include Mrs Hurst and Miss Bingley among her friends on terms of perfect equality. Charles Bingley was delighted to observe the developing friendship between his sisters and the eldest Miss de Bourgh, whom he did admire greatly.

Elizabeth soon noticed Mr Bingley's admiration for her eldest sister, and his sisters' particular attentions to Jane had a value as arising in all probability, or at least partly, from the influence of their brother's admiration. She spoke about this to her friend Charlotte; to the two of them at least, it was equally evident that Jane was yielding to the preference that she had begun to entertain for him, and was in a way to be very much in love, though Jane's guarded manners ensured that she was not suspected by anybody else.

"Well, Bingley likes her undoubtedly, although … "

"Although – what, Charlotte?"

"I was just thinking that – well, he appears to be a rather modest young man, and there is so much of gratitude or vanity in almost every attachment, that it is not safe to leave any to itself. We can all begin freely – a slight preference is is natural enough; but there are very few of us who have heart enough to be really in love without encouragement. Of course he admires her, but he may do no more than that, if she does not help him on. But perhaps – do you think that it may not be very wise for her to appear to encourage him?"

Elizabeth understood what Charlotte meant by her question; and as there was quite perfect confidence between them, she responded frankly:

"If you're thinking of my mother's reaction – well, I admit that she would not be pleased, she has not quite given up the hope of Jane marrying into the nobility, in spite of her disappointment over my cousin Robert's marriage last year," Robert was Lord Fitzwilliam, Lady Catherine's nephew and eldest son and heir to her brother, the earl of Matlock. "And she has said that even if we don't marry into the nobility, she would expect us to marry into respectable, honourable and preferably ancient families; a retired tradesman's family, however rich, is certainly not what she would have in mind. But my father has assured us that what is more important than rank or title is good character, good temper, and mutual affection, and that he would not refuse his consent to any respectable young man of good character whom we really like, and who has sufficient means to support a wife in reasonable comfort. Mr Bingley may not meet my mother's requirements, but he certainly appears to meet my father's requirements. And even my mother's attitude may be modified eventually when she realizes that … that certain of her remaining hopes are not likely to be fulfilled, that there is no likelihood of any of us marrying my cousin Tom either." Thomas de Bourgh was Sir Bennet's nephew, and heir to his baronetcy and the estate of Longbourn.

Charlotte had coloured slightly at Lizzy's mention of her cousin Tom, and she said quickly "You and your cousin Thomas had always been on such friendly terms with each other."

"We have been more than friends; cousin Tom has been a most affectionate brother to my sisters and I, and we hope that he will soon settle down with someone whom we will be pleased to call cousin and sister." And Lizzy smiled warmly at her friend.

Charlotte quickly brought the conversation back to Jane and Bingley "So, do you think that Jane and Mr Bingley … ?

"I think it will be wise on Bingley's part if he does not attempt to rush matters, and if he is indeed a modest young man, he is not likely to do that. As yet, I don't think Jane is even certain of the degree of her own regard, nor of its reasonableness. She has known him for little more than a fortnight. She danced four dances with him at Meryton; she saw him one morning at his own house, and has since dined in company with him four times. That is not quite enough to make her understand his character."

"Not as you represent it. Had she merely dined with him, she might only have discovered whether he had a good appetite, but four evenings have also been spent together --- and four evenings may do a great deal."

"Yes, those four evenings have enabled them to ascertain that they both like Vingt-un better than Commerce, but with respect to any other leading characteristic; I do not imagine that much has been unfolded."

Occupied in observing Mr Bingley's attentions to her sister, Elizabeth was far from suspecting that she was herself becoming an object of some interest in the eyes of his friend. Mr Darcy had at first scarcely allowed her to be pretty; he had looked at her without admiration at the ball; and when they next met, he looked at her only to criticize. But no sooner had he met it clear to himself that she had hardly a good feature in her face, then he began to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes. To this discovery succeeded some others equally mortifying. Though he had detected with a critical eye more than one failure of perfect symmetry in her form, he was forced to acknowledge her figure to be light and pleasing. As for her manners, he realized that there was none of the stiffness or superciliousness or affectations that he had tended to regard as associated with fashionable young ladies who prided themselves on their consequence. On the contrary, her manners appeared to be perfectly natural and unaffected, and he was caught by their easy playfulness. Of this she was perfectly unaware – to her, he was only the man who lacked social graces and made himself agreeable nowhere, and who had not thought her handsome enough to tempt him to dance.

William Darcy also observed that Charles and his sisters were getting along very well with the eldest Miss de Bourgh in particular, and he admitted to himself that all the de Bourgh sisters appeared to be amiable young ladies, with none of their mother's overbearing pride and inquisitiveness or dignified impertinence. They probably took after their father instead of their mother, for there was no unbecoming pride in Sir Bennet either. Darcy began to wish to know more of Miss Elizabeth de Bourgh, and as a step towards conversing with her himself, attended to her conversations with others. His doing so drew her notice. It was at Sir William Lucas' where a large party was assembled. Lydia de Bourgh was also present, as she was now allowed to attend informal gatherings and parties at the houses of her friends; Mrs Jenkinson having persuaded Lady Catherine that it would be too hard on her youngest girl if she were to be excluded from such informal parties with her sisters and their intimate friends. Lady Catherine had conceded that there would be no impropriety for a young girl who was not yet officially out to attend such private parties, though of course it was out of the question for her to attend gatherings at the assembly hall or formal balls.

"What does Mr Darcy mean," said Elizabeth to Charlotte, "by listening to my conversation with Colonel Forster?"

"That is a question which Mr Darcy only can answer."

"Well, if he does it anymore, I shall certainly let him know that I see what he is about. I certainly do not care to be intimidated by a disagreeable young man who is both silent and impertinent."

On his approaching them soon afterwards, though without seeming to have any intention of speaking, Miss Lucas advised her friend to ignore him, which immediately provoked Elizabeth to do the exact opposite, she turned to him and said,

"Did not you think, Mr Darcy, that I expressed myself uncommonly well just now, when I was teasing Colonel Forster to giv us a ball at Meryton?"

"With great energy – but it is a subject which always makes a lady energetic."

"You are severe on us."

"It will be her turn soon to be teased," said Miss Lucas, "I am going to open the instrument, Lizzy, and you know what follows."

"You are a very strange creature by way of a friend! – always wanting me to play and sing before anybody and everybody! – if my vanity had taken a musical turn, you would have been invaluable, but I am not particularly vain of my musical accomplishment." On Miss Lucas persevering however, she added, "Very well, if it must be so, it must." And gravely glancing at Mr Darcy. "There is a fine old saying, which everybody here is familiar with – 'Keep your breath to cool your porridge,' – and I shall keep mine to swell my song."

Her performance, both vocal and instrumental, was very pleasing; she had an easy, unaffected and spirited style, and was listened to with a great deal of pleasure. After a couple of songs, she was succeeded at the instrument by her sister Anne, who played even better than she did, but had no singing voice. The younger girls were especially eager for some impromptu dancing, and Anne, who very much preferred the office of musician to a more active post, was glad to purchase their gratitude by playing country dances and Scotch and Irish airs, while several couples joined eagerly in dancing at one end of the room..

William Darcy stood silently near them, until he was joined by Sir William Lucas, who seeing the young man standing alone by himself, addressed him kindly, saying:

"What a charming amusement for young people this is. There is nothing like dancing after all – I consider it as one of the first refinements of polished societies."

"Certainly, Sir, -- and it has the advantage also of being I vogue amongst the less polished societies of the world. Every savage can dance."

Sir William only smiled. "Your friend performs delightfully," he continued after a pause, on seeing Bingley join the group; -- "and I think you are an adept in the science yourself, Mr Darcy."

"I am not quite as adept at it as my friend, Sir, and have not had as much practice".

"But I've seen you dance at Meryton, and you dance almost as delightfully as your friend, I assure you. Perhaps though he has much more practice, as he seems to be uncommonly fond of dancing;" at that instant, Sir William noticed that Elizabeth was passing by near them, and he was suddenly struck with the notion of doing a kindly and gallant thing, and called out to her,

"My dear Miss Eliza, why are you not dancing? – Mr Darcy, you must allow me to present this young lady to you as a very desirable partner. You cannot refuse to dance, I am sure, when so much beauty is before you." And taking her hand, he would have given it to Mr Darcy, who though extremely surprised, was very willing to receive it, when she instantly drew back, and said quickly to Sir William,

"Indeed, Sir, I have no intention of dancing, I assure you that I did not move this way in order to beg for a partner."

"I am sure you did not, ma'am, but allow me to beg you to allow me to have the honour of your hand in this dance, I do not claim to be a very accomplished dancer, but I believe that I will not disgrace you if you will consent to be my partner," said Mr Darcy gravely.

Elizabeth wondered at his little attempt at gallantry, and could not resist saying archly "So are you in the humour this evening to be paying compliments and making polite conversation on the dance floor?"

Mr Darcy started slightly, and remembered that first evening at Meryton when he had said that he was in no humour to --- could she have overheard his words that evening! He said in some confusion:

"In general, I find it rather awkward to be dancing and making polite conversation with strangers, I have none of my friend's social graces; Charles says I must learn to acquire some, and I hope you will do me the honour to allow me to … "

"Indeed, you must not refuse, my dear Miss Eliza, it would be too unkind of you if you do," put in Sir William.

Elizabeth perceived that if she continued to refuse, she would in all probability confirm Mr Darcy's opinion of haughty "young ladies of titled families" who "prided themselves on their consequence", so she smiled and allowed him to lead her in the dance. Not much conversation passed between them during that first dance, however, beyond the merest commonplace remarks, and as they had joined in the dance rather late, it was soon over.

After it was over, Darcy was thinking of Miss Elizabeth with some complacency, when he was joined by his old friend Caroline Bingley, who addressed him thus,

"I saw you dancing with Miss Elizabeth de Bourgh, what do you think of her?"

"I think it was very agreeable, and I have been meditating on the very great pleasure which a pair of fine eyes in the face of a pretty woman can bestow. Miss Elizabeth has very fine eyes – have you noticed it?"

"Well, William, I am rather surprised, how long have you been an admirer of hers? Charles is in raptures over the eldest Miss de Bourgh, and I don't wonder at him, indeed I agree with him that she is a most delightful young lady, so handsome, so sweet and so friendly. Her sisters are hardly to be compared with her, although they are all fairly good-looking. Are you going to pursue your courtship of the second Miss de Bourgh?"

Darcy sighed. "Don't be ridiculous, Caroline. Pursue my courtship indeed – I have not even begun to court her. But a lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment."

"Nay, if you are serious about it, I don't see why you shouldn't begin to court her immediately. I believe Charles has already made wonderful progress with Miss de Bourgh, which should make it easier for you to pursue her sister – wouldn't it be wonderful if both our families were to be connected to the de Bourghs of Longbourn? Of course, they unfortunately don't have a brother, but Miss de Bourgh has been speaking about her cousin, who is her father's heir, and it seems that he visits them fairly often, and is quite like a brother to the Miss de Bourghs."

Darcy looked sharply at Caroline, feeling considerable misgiving at her words. In their younger days -- the Darcys and the Bingleys had been almost like family to each other -- he had been quite fond of her, in a brotherly way, just as he had always been fond of her brother Charles, but ever since she had come out in society, she had received many tiresome ideas, and had become very socially ambitious.

Chapter 7 - Sir Bennet's Nephew

Posted on 2009-09-25

Sir Bennet's landed property consisted of an estate of about three thousand a year, which was entailed in favour of the heir to his baronetcy, and since he and his lady unfortunately had only daughters and no sons, the heir to the estate of Longbourn was his nephew, Mr Thomas de Bourgh. However, his lady and four daughters were tolerably well-provided for, as the sum of thirty thousand pounds had been settled by marriage articles on Lady Catherine and any younger sons or daughters. The thirty thousand pound marriage settlement was made up partly of the dowry that had been provided for her ladyship by her father, the late earl of Matlock, and partly from the funds at Sir Bennet's disposal, which his wife's noble family had insisted should be settled on his wife and the children. But in what proportions it should be divided among the latter, depended on the will of the parents. It had become clear, several years after Lydia's birth, that there was not going to be a son, and their parents had provided in their will that the thirty thousand pounds would be divided equally between their daughters after the decease of both parents.

Mr de Bourgh was on very good terms with his uncle and cousins, and his regular visits to Longbourn were also encouraged by his aunt, who had observed with pleasure the affectionate friendship between her husband's heir and her daughters, especially her second daughter Elizabeth. That had fitted in very well with her matrimonial hopes for her daughters; at one time she had been very hopeful that her beautiful eldest daughter Jane would be matched with her own eldest nephew and heir to the earldom of Matlock, and the prospect of having her second daughter married to the heir of her husband's baronetcy, had been regarded by her with considerable, though not equal pleasure. Elizabeth was not quite as beautiful as Jane, and her manners were not as gentle as either Jane's or Anne's, and Lady Catherine had observed to her husband that she was not so unreasonable as to expect that all four of her daughters would be able to marry into the nobility. Therefore his nephew and heir to his baronetcy would be quite good enough for Elizabeth, although such a match would have been quite eclipsed by a march with her eldest nephew and heir to an earldom. Sir Bennet had attempted to point out that the friendships between his daughters and their cousins were brotherly and sisterly in nature, but Lady Catherine would not believe it, at least not until her nephew Robert, Lord Fitzwilliam had announced his engagement to the Honourable Miss Margaret Cartaret, the daughter of the late Viscount Dalrymple.

Lady Catherine had been bitterly disappointed with her nephew Robert, and the only thing that had restrained her from giving way to the genuine frankness of her character and openly abusing both him and his chosen bride, was the fact that his bride was herself a daughter of the nobility, and thus of higher rank than her own daughters. That event which had shown how mistaken she had been in her expectation of a match between her brother's eldest son and her own eldest daughter might have also left her ladyship slightly shaken in her previous certainty of a match between her husband's heir and her second daughter, and she would not now object if Tom were to choose Jane instead of Elizabeth.

Tom's father had married earlier than his elder brother, and Thomas de Bourgh was now about four or five and twenty, was rather tall and very gentlemanlike, had a pleasing countenance, and if not quite handsome, was very near it, with intelligent and lively dark eyes which were not unlike the fine eyes of his cousin Elizabeth.

Tom had engaged in the study of law, had been admitted to the bar, and was beginning to rise in his profession; he was steady and respectable in his private character. His position as his uncle's heir presumptive and the probable reversion of the Longbourn estate to him, which had been quite apparent in the last few years after Lydia's birth, had not prevented him from his determination to be successful in his profession. He usually spent about a couple of weeks' vacation at Longbourn in September, to shoot with his uncle; and as there was nothing of presumption or folly in him that could provoke his uncle's ridicule, Sir Bennet always enjoyed his nephew's company. Unlike his lady however, Sir Bennet was too observant to entertain any expectation that his nephew might one day become his son-in-law, indeed he already had a pretty shrewd suspicion as to who was the young lady who would most likely be Tom's future wife. That suspicion did not upset him, as it would certainly have upset his lady had she been aware of it; after all Sir Bennet felt that his wife and daughters were tolerably well provided for, and he believed that he could also trust Tom to have a brother's care for all the four girls.

"My dear," said Sir Bennet to his lady, as they were at breakfast the morning after the evening party at Lucas Lodge, "we will have an addition to our family party early next week."

"Oh, do you mean that you have received a letter confirming that Tom will be coming down next week? I know that it is about his usual vacation time," was her ladyship's response.

"You are so quick witted, my lady," Sir Bennet replied.

"He will find an addition to the neighbourhood when he comes; I wonder what he will think of our new neighbours at Netherfield? I'm sure that Tom will be pleased to call on Mr Bingley," said Elizabeth, glancing at Jane.

Jane said serenely, "I'm sure that Tom will get along very well with Mr Bingley and the other gentlemen at Netherfield."

"I wonder if he will also get along well with the ladies at Netherfield? I heard Mrs and Miss Bingley saying at Lucas Lodge last night that they were sure that Mr de Bourgh must be a very charming and agreeable young gentleman, and neither of them had even seen him yet," said Lydia with a rather sly giggle.

Anne put in quickly, before her mother might realize the implications behind Lydia's giggling remark, "Tom is generally friendly and agreeable, I'm sure that he and the gentlemen at Netherfield will be pleased to become acquainted with each other. In fact, I think that Tom and Mr Bingley are not unlike each other in disposition, what do you think, Lizzy?"

Elizabeth looked slightly surprised by Anne's observation; she did not, in general, credit her third sister with much quickness in perception, but after a moment, she answered lightly "I agree that they both have agreeable manners and friendly dispositions; certainly Tom's manners are more like those of Mr Bingley than the manners of either Mr Bingley's brother-in-law Mr Hurst or his friend Mr Darcy."

"Of course Tom is not at all like either Mr Hurst or Mr Darcy; he is not dull and heavy like Mr Hurst or cold and stiff like Mr Darcy, I wonder what he will think of them," added Lydia.

Their cousin Tom arrived early in the afternoon of the appointed day, and was, as usual, received with great pleasure by the whole family; Lady Catherine was at her most gracious, Sir Bennet's calm reception did not completely conceal the real attachment that he felt for the young man who was like a son to him, while the four girls greeted their cousin with sisterly warmth and cordiality.

That first evening was quiet and conversible, the card table did not appear, as there was much to talk about between Tom, his uncle, aunt and cousins. Lady Catherine inquired into the arrangements and comforts of his chambers, observing with her usual rather majestic air:

"I hope that you are sufficiently comfortable in your chambers in the Temple, Tom. I've heard that you're doing quite well in your profession, since unlike Richard, you had no inclination for the army -- of course the law is allowed to be genteel enough, and many well-to-do young lawyers make a very good appearance in the first circles, and drive about in smart carriages. Your barouche appears to be smart enough; perhaps you will take your cousins for a drive in it tomorrow, I'm sure that you'll be going to call on our old friends and new neighbours."

"Oh, yes, I'd love to go for a drive in the barouche," cried Lydia, "and we can go around Longbourn village, and Netherfield, and Meryton … "

"I suppose you will wish to call at Lucas Lodge and pay your respects to Sir William, first of all", said Jane quietly.

"And after that, you can drive over to Netherfield, and we'll be happy to introduce you to Mr Bingley and his family," put in Elizabeth.

Tom expressed his pleasure and acquiescence in these plans, and he had sufficient curiosity about the new tenants at Netherfield Hall, as to encourage his cousins to talk about them.

"What do you think of Mr Bingley and his family? Do you like them?" he asked.

"Their family fortune had unfortunately been acquired by trade, but I admit that Mr Bingley himself appears to be quite gentleman-like and very well-mannered, his sisters, too appear to be quite genteel and accomplished, and the elder sister is married to a gentleman. Their mother is not quite genteel, but she is very respectful and appears to know her place, and not to be fancying herself as an equal to her betters.", said Lady Catherine complacently. Then she frowned slightly, and went on, "However, I do not quite like the manners of his friend Mr Darcy – he is the son of the senior partner in the trading house of Darcy and Bingley, and it seems that his fortune is double the amount of Mr Bingley's, but he is not quite as gentleman-like, he is so stiff and awkward and appears to be quite unfit to mix in the company of ladies and gentlemen".

"Mr Bingley is certainly very civil and agreeable, with a friendly disposition, I'm sure that you will like him, Tom, indeed Anne thinks that he is not unlike you in disposition," added Elizabeth.

"His sisters, Mrs Hurst and Miss Bingley, are elegant and well-mannered, Miss Bingley and I are about the same age, and she and I are becoming quite intimate friends with each other," put in Jane, who perhaps found it easier to talk about Mr Bingley's sisters than to talk about Mr Bingley himself.

"I believe that Mr Bingley's mother and sisters will be delighted to be meet you, Tom, they have already made up their minds that you must be a charming young man," giggled Lydia.

Jane went on quickly, "I've spoken about you to them, so naturally they will be pleased to meet you."

"Mr Bingley is not the only addition in the neighbourhood," began Anne.

"Of course, there is also the regiment under Colonel Forster which is presently stationed in Meryton,' broke in Lydia.

"Yes, but I was not thinking about them. Mr Phillips has a new curate, Mr Collins, who is a serious and respectable young man, and Mary appears to think very highly of him. I suppose you will also be calling at Meryton Parsonage tomorrow," Anne continued.

"Mr Collins is certainly a very decent and respectful young man, I quite approve of him, he seems well-fitted in carrying out the duties of a clergyman, he takes those duties very seriously and if Mr Phillips were to retire from the living, I'm sure that Mr Collins can take his place and be a very respectable vicar in Meryton," remarked Lady Catherine with her usual condescension in speaking of her inferiors.

"We can call at Meryton Parsonage after calling at Netherfield, but as to Mr Collins, I agree with Kitty that he is so dull and boring. Mary may like to have Fordyce's Sermons read aloud to her in the evenings, but poor Kitty has found it quite difficult to keep awake during such readings. And I don't think even Mrs Phillips is too keen on Fordyce's Sermons either, fortunately, she has suggested that since the persons most interested in Fordyce are Mary and Mr Collins, they might prefer to read and study it quietly with each other, instead of reading aloud to everybody" giggled Lydia.

At this point, the governess Mrs Jenkinson thought it prudent to remind Lydia that it would soon be her bedtime.

"Oh, but this is Tom's first evening, I thought I could stay up until later," said Lydia, pouting slightly.

"Well, if you wish to stay up until later, I suggest that you don't talk quite so much."

Mrs Jenkinson and Lydia's sisters were well aware that in the present mood that Lydia appeared to be in, she might soon say something that would displease her mother.

Chapter 8 – Old Friends and New Acquaintances

Posted on 2010-01-05

When Sir Bennet, his daughters and their cousin Tom were assembled at the breakfast table on the following morning, Lady Catherine made the announcement that she had decided to give at least one dinner party during Thomas' visit at Longbourn, and that she would condescend to invite their new acquaintances, namely the Bingleys, Colonel Forster and some of his officers, as well as their old friends the Lucases and the Phillips – and that the invitation to the Phillips would include Mr Phillips' new curate, Mr Collins.

Tom and his cousins had agreed to drive out in his barouche after breakfast that morning, and were planning to call at Lucas Lodge, Netherfield and Meryton, and her ladyship charged them to deliver the invitation to their neighbours to dine at Longbourn in a few days' time.

Tom's barouche was quite new and smart-looking, and it would hold four passengers perfectly well, independent of the box, on which one might go with him.

As the Miss de Bourghs were waiting for the barouche, Jane observed:
"There will be no hardship, I suppose, nothing unpleasant, in going on the barouche box."

"Unpleasant!" cried Lydia "Oh! dear no! I believe it is the best seat of all, the seat of honour, I call it. It will be such a lovely change to sit in an open seat, instead of being boxed up in a closed carriage, of course even the other seats in the barouche will be quite a nice change from my mother's stuffy carriage."

"Hush, Lydia, you must not say such a thing about my mother's carriage, you must not let either her or Mrs Jenkinson hear you talk in that manner."

"Well, neither of them is here with us, and I'm sure that Lizzy at least agrees with me that Mother's grand carriage is rather stuffy for us to drive about in."

As there were four of them, each of the sisters could have taken a seat in the barouche, but as Lydia loudly expressed a wish to sit on the barouche box, at least for part of the way, as she put it, Tom assisted her up to it, while Jane, Elizabeth and Anne took their seats within.

It was only natural that their first call should be at Lucas Lodge. The Lucases were their old friends, and Tom and Sir William's eldest son, John, had known each other since they were young boys who had played and got into mischief together. And Tom was also naturally well-acquainted with John's sisters.

The Lucases received the de Bourghs with great pleasure; they were especially pleased to see Tom again, of course he visited his relatives at Longbourn quite regularly, and also always remembered to spend time with the Lucases on such visits. In the last couple of years especially, his desire to spend his time with the Lucases seemed to have increased quite significantly, and this desire had not been unnoticed by his uncle and cousins.

Lady Catherine's dinner invitation was of course accepted with pleasure by Sir William and Lady Lucas. The Miss de Bourghs and the Miss Lucases were always happy to spend time with each other, and the two young men, Tom de Bourgh and John Lucas, also formed an engagement to spend the next morning to shoot together.

After staying and talking with their friends for nearly three quarters of an hour at Lucas Lodge, Jane gently reminded her sisters and their cousin that they had still to deliver their mother's dinner invitation to Netherfield and Meryton. As the de Bourghs begun to take their leave, the eldest Miss Lucas was warmly invited and pressed to accompany them to Netherfield and Meryton -- after all, there was still an empty seat for a fifth passenger in the barouche.

As they were waiting to get into the carriage, Lydia said;
"Oh Charlotte, would you like to sit on the barouche box? I was sitting there during the drive from Longbourn, and had such a nice view of the drive, I think it is the best seat of all, such a lovely change from a closed carriage."

Tom approached Charlotte, and said quietly,
"I hope you agree with my cousin Lydia, and will consent to be my companion for the drive, the weather is unusually fine, so I hope you do not think that it is too exposed a seat."

Charlotte did not think that it was too exposed a seat, and so, Lydia gave up her seat on the barouche box to Charlotte, with a sly wink at her sisters, who also smiled discreetly at each other, as Tom carefully assisted Charlotte in ascending the box.

Although Lady Catherine had, for the past ten years or so – ever since she had given up the hope of having a son – considered her husband's nephew and heir presumptive Thomas as the rightful property of one or other of her daughters, none of her daughters had thought of appropriating cousin Tom for herself. They had been happy for him to get to know the other girls in the neighbourhood, their main concern, especially since they had been aware that Tom was most likely to succeed their father one day, was that Tom would marry an amiable girl whom they could like, and that Longbourn would not be disgraced by some disagreeable woman who would be unworthy to be its future mistress. The Miss de Bourghs had therefore observed their cousin's friendship with Miss Lucas, and his increasing attentions to her, which had become more noticeable to them during his last visits, with great complacency. Sir Bennet had observed it too, and was not upset by it, but had attempted to caution his lady wife against her matrimonial expectations regarding his nephew and one of their daughters. However, Lady Catherine herself refused to be convinced of anything that would be against her own wishes – unless and until it could no longer be officially denied, as had happened in the case of her own nephew, Lord Fitzwilliam. Lady Catherine had been obliged to restrain herself from openly giving vent to her feelings and abusing her nephew's bride, since that young lady was the daughter and sister of a viscount, though she had privately wondered how any young man with eyes in his head could have preferred the rather plain (if Hounourable) Margaret Carteret to her own beautiful daughter Jane, and had concluded that the only reason for Robert to have chosen Margaret was because she was a daughter of the nobility. If only Sir Bennet had been a nobleman with a seat in the House of Lords instead of a mere baronet!

When the de Bourgh cousins and their friend arrived at Netherfield, they were most joyfully received by Mrs, Mr and Miss Bingley. Her ladyship's invitation to dinner was of course received with great pleasure, and Mrs Bingley was loud in her professions of gratitude and being honoured by the invitation. Mr Bingley was always delighted to be near Miss de Bourgh; moreover, after the introductions had been made, he and Mr de Bourgh had taken an instant mutual liking to each other. Anne was quite right in thinking that Thomas de Bourgh and Charles Bingley were not unlike each other in manners and disposition – except perhaps that Tom, being a lawyer, had greater natural shrewdness of mind, and had also been less susceptible to fancying himself in love with every pretty girl that he had met. Mr Bingley's mother's delight with the Miss de Bourghs received an added attraction with the presence of their cousin Mr de Bourgh. This young gentleman seemed to her to make up for the one thing that she had previously lamented as lacking among the de Bourghs, a handsome heir to Longbourn and the baronetcy, who would be such a good catch for her daughter Caroline, surely the nephew and heir presumptive of a baronet was not too good for a girl with twenty thousand pounds, whose brother was beginning to establish himself amongst the landed gentry. Miss Bingley herself was well aware of her mother's idea on the subject, and not at all displeased with it, although she had not wished to make up her mind about it until she had actually seen Mr de Bourgh. Caroline Bingley privately did not wish to marry any young man who might be as plain and as dull as her brother-in-law James Hurst had turned to be, even if such a young man had been the heir to a baronetcy. However, Mr de Bourgh appeared to be a pleasant, agreeable, fairly good-looking young man; like her brother Charles, he seemed to be a young man to be generally liked, and Miss Bingley felt that she could acquiescence in her mother's matrimonial scheme.

As usual, Mr Darcy was rather quiet during the morning visit; he acknowledged to himself that Mr de Bourgh appeared to be sensible and agreeable, and he was privately quite as delighted as his friend over the prospect of spending more time with the Miss de Bourghs, in his case, he longed to be better acquainted with the second Miss de Bourgh. But since William's disposition was much more reserved than that of his friend Charles, nobody looking at him would have guessed at his feelings, except perhaps Caroline, since he had confided in her of his admiration for Miss Elizabeth de Bourgh and her fine eyes.

Chapter 9 – Enter Mr Collins and Mr Wickham

Posted on 2010-01-12

After leaving Netherfield, the de Bourgh barouche drove over to call on the Phillips at Meryton Parsonage. Mrs Phillips and the Miss Phillips were always glad to see the Miss de Bourghs and Miss Lucas, Mr Phillips was also pleased to see Sir Bennet's nephew and heir again since his last visit to Longbourn several months ago, and to introduce his new curate Mr Collins, to Mr de Bourgh. Thomas de Bourgh and Walter Collins were both young men of about five or six and twenty, although they were quite different in their manners, abilities and disposition.

Mr Collins was not entirely without common sense, but he was not a clever young man, and this deficiency of nature had been but little assisted by education or society. He has had an unfortunate upbringing. The greater part of his life had been spent under the guidance of a semi-literate and miserly father, and though he belonged to one of the universities, he had merely kept the necessary terms, without forming at it any useful acquaintance. The subjection to which his father had brought him up had given him originally great humility of manner. But there was in consequence, a great advantage to the late Mr Collins' miserliness, because it did mean that he was able to bequeath to his son the sum of several thousand pounds – about seven thousand pounds, just a little short of as many thousand pounds as could generally be called ten. Having such means at his own disposal, young Mr Collins would have preferred to secure a living as soon as possible after he had taken orders, instead of being a mere curate; however, he had been greatly tempted by the offer of a curacy at Meryton, mainly because it was near the neighbourhood of Longbourn Park. He had a great weakness for titles and noble names, and had been greatly attracted by the fact that, not only were the de Bourghs of Longbourn a baronet's family, but that the present lady of Longbourn was the daughter and sister of an earl. He had heard of the noble Fitzwilliams, of the family of the great earl of Matlock, and was delighted to be introduced to the earl's sister, brother-in-law and nieces at Longbourn. He thought that perhaps if Lord Matlock were to condescend to visit his sister and her family at Longbourn, he might one day be introduced to his lordship himself.

As Sir Bennet was the principal gentleman in the neighbourhood, and his noble lady was a most active patroness and unofficial magistrate in the parish, the respect he felt for their high rank, and the added veneration that he felt for her ladyship in particular, mingling with a very good opinion of himself and his authority as a clergyman, had made him a rather curious mixture of humility mingled with self-importance – especially since her ladyship had liked him from the beginning and had proceeded to put much confidence in him. Now that he was employed as resident curate at Meryton, he found that he had been charged with many of the responsibilities of the parish. Mr and Mrs Phillips were not without some private means of their own, which was at least reasonably sufficient to arrange for a fairly comfortable quiet retirement in the not-too-distant future if he so wished. Perhaps if Mr Phillips had a son, and if that son had been in orders, he might have arranged to resign the living to his son.

When the de Bourgh cousins and Miss Lucas were shown into the drawing-room of the parsonage, Mrs Phillips was sitting there with her two daughters, and Mr Phillips and Mr Collins, who were in the study, having heard of the arrival of the callers, soon joined them. When Jane delivered her mother's dinner invitation, the Phillips were of course delighted to accept her ladyship's invitation, but even their delight could not equal the delight, gratitude and sense of the honour conferred upon him that was expressed by Mr Collins.
"This invitation is a great honour indeed, Miss de Bourgh. Pray convey my most respectful thanks to her ladyship; I am most grateful that her ladyship has condescended to remember to include me in her gracious invitation."

"Of course, my mother would not forget to include you, Mr Collins," said Jane civilly.

Elizabeth could not help being diverted by Mr Collins' manners, for she loved absurdities; and follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies, did divert her, but she hoped that she never ridiculed what was wise or good in others. Mr Collins' manners were certainly rather absurd in their excessive humility towards her mother in particular, but Jane always insisted that she believed Mr Collins to be a well-meaning, if rather heavy young man, who was anxious to discharge his duties in the parish conscientiously. And Jane had earlier reminded her sisters that good-natured people were not always the wisest or cleverest people, there were those in whom what was good and what was ridiculous was most unfortunately blended in.

Anne was quietly talking to her friend Mary Phillips, but through a corner of her eye, Elizabeth could also see Lydia giggling with her own particular friend Kitty Phillips at the other end of the room, and was rather relieved when the two younger girls excused themselves and left the room together. Kitty took Lydia up to her old schoolroom, where the two girls could talk to each other without restraint.

"Oh Lydia, nothing has been said yet, but I do believe that Mr Collins is going to propose to Mary soon."

"Is he indeed? What make you think so? Have you seen them flirting together? Is she going to accept him if he proposes to her?" Lydia excitedly questioned her friend.

"They are always reading Fordyce's Sermons and other such books together, I don't know if you would call that flirting with each other."

"Oh, how dull!"

"Well, it is certainly not my own idea of courtship either, and I certainly don't envy Mary, but she really seems to like it, and they get along so well together. And I'm also happy that they are now reading their favourite literature quietly to each other, you know that when he first came here, he tried to entertain us in the evenings by reading aloud from Fordyce's Sermons. Even my father agreed with my mother's suggestion that since he and Mary are the ones most particularly interested in the same literature, it would be better for them to read quietly to each other. I think my father and mother will be quite pleased if Mary and Mr Collins get married, my mother has been saying that he is quite like a member of the family already. And being a clergyman himself, my father would also like both his daughters to marry clergymen, although I have not yet met any clergyman who I might have a fancy for."

"You, Kitty as a clergyman's wife? I can certainly see Mary as a clergyman's wife, it's a perfect role for her, but it's quite funny to attempt to imagine you in that role. Don't you agree that it would be much more interesting and exciting to be an army officer's wife?'

"Yes, of course, although don't you think it might perhaps -- I mean sometimes -- be a little too exciting and nerve-wracking to be a soldier's wife? I mean, if they have to go into battle …".

"Well, what do you think of being the wife of a lawyer who might one day become a judge? You know that my great-uncle was a judge, and they say that my cousin Tom is a clever barrister and already rising in his profession. And although nothing has been said yet either, I think that he too might soon get engaged to be married."

"Do you mean to …" And here, Kitty half-whispered a name to Lydia.

"Of course, but as I said, nothing has been said yet, so you must not mention it to anybody else. My sisters and Mrs Jenkinson are always saying that I should hold my tongue and not talk about other people's love affairs, and my mother certainly won't like it if she knew that … but you and I have always spoken freely with each other."

"You know, my mother has always thought that your cousin will one day marry one of your sisters."

"Oh well, we can't help what they think, but once the official announcement is made … anyway, there are other possible suitors for my sisters."

"But Lady Catherine will not want her daughter to marry a tradesman."

Lydia rather over optimistically observed that:
"Mr Bingley's father was a tradesman, but he himself is no longer actively engaged in trade, he has quite a large fortune and Mr Bingley of Netherfield sounds quite respectable and perfectly gentleman-like after all, and Jane is over two and twenty, so perhaps … oh dear, I do hope that I will be married before I reach the age of two and twenty! I feel that one becomes quite an old maid at three and twenty, so I hope Jane will get married soon. I myself would like to marry a handsome and agreeable officer if possible, but I personally won't mind marrying a tradesman, even if he is still actively engaged in business, as long as he is handsome and agreeable. Mr Bingley is certainly handsome and agreeable; his friend is also rich and handsome but so awkward and disagreeable."

Perhaps Lady Catherine might eventually tolerate an alliance with a young man who was establishing himself amongst the landed gentry, especially if there was a real danger of her daughter becoming an old maid, but Kitty privately thought that her ladyship would undoubtedly have a fit if any of her daughters wanted to marry any young man who was himself actually actively engaged in trade, and decided not to pursue the subject directly; instead she observed that:

"Your eldest sister is quite beautiful; I had rather expected that she would marry one of the fashionable, titled gentlemen of the ton in London."

"I had expected that too … Jane and Lizzy don't exactly take me into their confidence, I suppose they still regard me as a little schoolgirl … but from what I happen to hear sometimes when they talk to each other … I think Jane is rather difficult to please, I mean she is always pleasant and friendly and thinks well of almost everybody, but her heart is not so easily touched. And Lizzy seems to have a rather low opinion of many of the fashionable young men in town; I think she calls them idle and empty-headed and more interested in the cut of their waistcoats and the set of their cravats than on anything more substantial."

When the de Bourgh party were about to leave Meryton Parsonage, three other callers arrived – two officers, Captain Carter and Lieutenant Denny and a young man, whom they had never seen before, of most gentlemanlike appearance, who drew the attention of every young lady present, particularly the two younger Miss de Bourghs and the younger Miss Phillips. All were struck with the stranger's air; all wondered who he could be. Captain Carter entreated permission to introduce Mr Wickham, who had returned with his friend Mr Denny the day before from town, and he was happy to say had accepted a commission in their corps. This was exactly as it should be, for the young man wanted only regimentals to make him perfectly charming. His appearance was greatly in his favour, he had all the best part of beauty, a fine countenance, a good figure, and very pleasing address. The introduction was followed up on his side by a happy readiness of conversation – a readiness at the same time perfectly correct, respectful and unassuming.

In the meantime, the family at Netherfield, at the moment in blissful ignorance of the arrival of the new officer at Meryton, was again talking about the de Bourghs of Longbourn. Mrs Bingley was saying:
"Oh, what a charming and good-looking young gentleman that Mr de Bourgh is, don't you agree Caroline? Of course, I knew even before meeting him that he must be quite charming, if he in any way resemble his cousins, for the Miss de Bourghs are all charming and beautiful young ladies, especially the eldest, of course, Charles. The second Miss de Bourgh is very pretty too, even if not quite so beautiful, I saw you staring at her, William; perhaps you might like to try your luck with her. As for Mr de Bourgh, well, it must be quite a consolation for Sir Bennet, that even though he has no son of his own to inherit the title and estate, his nephew is perfectly worthy to succeed him, and is on such affectionate, familiar term with his cousins, and there is such a strong family resemblance in their looks too, so that he is quite like a brother to them all. Now, Caroline, we must make sure that you look your very best when we dine at Longbourn, Louisa and I had better look through your clothes and see what is best for you to wear that evening."

Caroline had no actual objection to her mother's plans for her, but as she had much more confidence in her sister, the fashionable Mrs Hurst's elegant taste than in their mother's rather vulgar, gaudy taste in clothes, she quickly replied:
"Thank you Mama, but you need not trouble yourself over my clothes, I'm sure that Louisa and her maid can advise and assist me on what to wear."

William Darcy had started slightly when his Aunt Bingley, as he called her – even though they were not actually related, the young Darcys and Bingleys had been calling each other's parents Uncle and Aunt since childhood – remarked upon him staring at Miss Elizabeth. He flushed uncomfortably; he had not realized that he might have appeared to be rather impertinent, if he had indeed been silently staring at the young lady whose fine eyes were beginning to haunt him. And he was rather annoyed and irritated by the vulgar ideas suggested by Mrs Bingley's words – it was obvious that she had made up her mind that Charles should pursue the eldest Miss de Bourgh; that he himself might pursue Miss Elizabeth, and that Caroline should pursue Mr de Bourgh. Perhaps it was the later that disturbed him most of all, after all, he and Charles were men and might fairly be expected to initiate and pursue courtships with ladies that they were interested in, but it was surely most unbecoming and improper for a lady to pursue a gentleman before that gentleman had indicated any particular interest in her. He thought of his own young sister Georgina; he certainly would not want her to – he shuddered slightly at certain painful recollections. He hoped that his Aunt Annesley, with whom Georgina was now staying, would be a good influence on her niece.

In order to dampen the Bingley ladies' unbecoming enthusiasm for Mr de Bourgh, Darcy said suddenly:
"Mr de Bourgh is Sir Bennet's nephew, he could be displaced from his position as heir, I mean if Sir Bennet has a son sometime in the future …"

"Oh, but surely that is not possible! Why, the youngest Miss de Bourgh is almost out, she must be about fifteen years old already, surely Sir Bennet and Lady Catherine are not of an age to have any more children, especially after so many years," shrieked Mrs Bingley.

"We can never tell, a miracle can happen after all, I'm sure Sir Bennet would be delighted if he were to be blessed with the miracle of a son in his old age … and Mr de Bourgh himself does not appear to be counting upon the inheritance; from what he said about his profession, he very sensibly seems to be placing much more importance on his career than upon his uncertain inheritance." Darcy somehow managed to keep a straight face while making these observations.