Afewdaysafterthisvisit,Mr。Bingleycalledagain,andalone。HisfriendhadlefthimthatmorningforLondon,butwastoreturnhomeintendaystime。Hesatwiththemaboveanhour,andwasinremarkablygoodspirits。Mrs。Bennetinvitedhimtodinewiththem;but,withmanyexpressionsofconcern,heconfessedhimselfengagedelsewhere。
“Nexttimeyoucall,”saidshe,“Ihopeweshallbemorelucky。”Heshouldbeparticularlyhappyatanytime,etc。etc。;andifshewouldgivehimleave,wouldtakeanearlyopportunityofwaitingonthem。
“Canyoucometo-morrow?”
Yes,hehadnoengagementatallforto-morrow;andherinvitationwasacceptedwithalacrity。
Hecame,andinsuchverygoodtimethattheladieswerenoneofthemdressed。InranMrs。Bennettoherdaughtersroom,inherdressinggown,andwithherhairhalffinished,cryingout:
“MydearJane,makehasteandhurrydown。Heiscome—Mr。Bingleyiscome。Heis,indeed。Makehaste,makehaste。Here,Sarah,cometoMissBennetthismoment,andhelpheronwithhergown。NevermindMissLizzyshair。”
“Wewillbedownassoonaswecan,”saidJane;“butIdaresayKittyisforwarderthaneitherofus,forshewentupstairshalfanhourago。”
“Oh!hangKitty!whathasshetodowithit?Comebequick,bequick!Whereisyoursash,mydear?”
Butwhenhermotherwasgone,Janewouldnotbeprevailedontogodownwithoutoneofhersisters。
Thesameanxietytogetthembythemselveswasvisibleagainintheevening。Aftertea,Mr。Bennetretiredtothelibrary,aswashiscustom,andMarywentupstairstoherinstrument。Twoobstaclesofthefivebeingthusremoved,Mrs。BennetsatlookingandwinkingatElizabethandCatherineforaconsiderabletime,withoutmakinganyimpressiononthem。Elizabethwouldnotobserveher;andwhenatlastKittydid,sheveryinnocentlysaid,“Whatisthemattermamma?Whatdoyoukeepwinkingatmefor?WhatamItodo?”
“Nothingchild,nothing。Ididnotwinkatyou。”Shethensatstillfiveminuteslonger;butunabletowastesuchapreciousoccasion,shesuddenlygotup,andsayingtoKitty,“Comehere,mylove,Iwanttospeaktoyou,”tookheroutoftheroom。JaneinstantlygavealookatElizabethwhichspokeherdistressatsuchpremeditation,andherentreatythatshewouldnotgiveintoit。Inafewminutes,Mrs。Bennethalf-openedthedoorandcalledout:
“Lizzy,mydear,Iwanttospeakwithyou。”
Elizabethwasforcedtogo。
“Wemayaswellleavethembythemselvesyouknow;”saidhermother,assoonasshewasinthehall。“KittyandIaregoingupstairstositinmydressing-room。”
Elizabethmadenoattempttoreasonwithhermother,butremainedquietlyinthehall,tillsheandKittywereoutofsight,thenreturnedintothedrawing-room。
Mrs。Bennetsschemesforthisdaywereineffectual。Bingleywaseverythingthatwascharming,excepttheprofessedloverofherdaughter。Hiseaseandcheerfulnessrenderedhimamostagreeableadditiontotheireveningparty;andheborewiththeill-judgedofficiousnessofthemother,andheardallhersillyremarkswithaforbearanceandcommandofcountenanceparticularlygratefultothedaughter。
Hescarcelyneededaninvitationtostaysupper;andbeforehewentaway,anengagementwasformed,chieflythroughhisownandMrs。Bennetsmeans,forhiscomingnextmorningtoshootwithherhusband。
Afterthisday,Janesaidnomoreofherindifference。NotawordpassedbetweenthesistersconcerningBingley;butElizabethwenttobedinthehappybeliefthatallmustspeedilybeconcluded,unlessMr。Darcyreturnedwithinthestatedtime。Seriously,however,shefelttolerablypersuadedthatallthismusthavetakenplacewiththatgentlemansconcurrence。
Bingleywaspunctualtohisappointment;andheandMr。Bennetspentthemorningtogether,ashadbeenagreedon。Thelatterwasmuchmoreagreeablethanhiscompanionexpected。TherewasnothingofpresumptionorfollyinBingleythatcouldprovokehisridicule,ordisgusthimintosilence;andhewasmorecommunicative,andlesseccentric,thantheotherhadeverseenhim。Bingleyofcoursereturnedwithhimtodinner;andintheeveningMrs。Bennetsinventionwasagainatworktogeteverybodyawayfromhimandherdaughter。Elizabeth,whohadalettertowrite,wentintothebreakfastroomforthatpurposesoonaftertea;forastheotherswereallgoingtositdowntocards,shecouldnotbewantedtocounteracthermothersschemes。
Butonreturningtothedrawing-room,whenherletterwasfinished,shesaw,toherinfinitesurprise,therewasreasontofearthathermotherhadbeentooingeniousforher。Onopeningthedoor,sheperceivedhersisterandBingleystandingtogetheroverthehearth,asifengagedinearnestconversation;andhadthisledtonosuspicion,thefacesofboth,astheyhastilyturnedroundandmovedawayfromeachother,wouldhavetolditall。Theirsituationwasawkwardenough;buthersshethoughtwasstillworse。Notasyllablewasutteredbyeither;andElizabethwasonthepointofgoingawayagain,whenBingley,whoaswellastheotherhadsatdown,suddenlyrose,andwhisperingafewwordstohersister,ranoutoftheroom。
JanecouldhavenoreservesfromElizabeth,whereconfidencewouldgivepleasure;andinstantlyembracingher,acknowledged,withtheliveliestemotion,thatshewasthehappiestcreatureintheworld。
“Tistoomuch!”sheadded,“byfartoomuch。Idonotdeserveit。Oh!whyisnoteverybodyashappy?”
Elizabethscongratulationsweregivenwithasincerity,awarmth,adelight,whichwordscouldbutpoorlyexpress。EverysentenceofkindnesswasafreshsourceofhappinesstoJane。Butshewouldnotallowherselftostaywithhersister,orsayhalfthatremainedtobesaidforthepresent。