Page 8 of Superior Connections

A t Netherfield, Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst repeatedly expressed their displeasure about the ball, and in every other sentence they had something to disapprove of regarding the Bennets. Darcy became exceedingly annoyed, wondering how long Bingley would bear his sisters’ complaints. While he did not approve of Bingley’s increasing obsession with Jane Bennet — the man had hardly spoken of anything else in recent days — he opposed the sisters’ attempts to force his will and disregard his opinion.

In the afternoon, Bingley suggested a ride, and Darcy happily agreed. After more than an hour of exercise out of doors, Bingley proposed they call at Longbourn briefly, to enquire about Elizabeth’s health. Although he knew it was only a pretext, Darcy was unable to forgo the pleasure of seeing her. He was still unsure whether she would attend the ball, and he might not see her again before he returned to London. After that, his plans were still not fixed. While he accepted the idea that Elizabeth could very well fill the position of Mrs Darcy and he gave more consideration to the possibility of pursuing her, he tried to remain prudent, to question and weigh his true feelings thoroughly, just as he had recommended to Bingley. That could be accomplished only by time and distance away from her to see whether his admiration and desires lasted. He knew with certainty he would leave Hertfordshire but was unsure whether he would return. His plans depended on Bingley too. His friend intended to return in a week and spend Christmas at Netherfield. If things progressed as Bingley’s behaviour indicated, he might become engaged to Jane Bennet very soon. That would mean Elizabeth would be part of Bingley’s family too, and their paths would cross often. How would Darcy be able to find any peace of mind?

The Bennets received them cordially; to his delight, Elizabeth was in the drawing room, and Mr Collins was absent.

The conversation began, and drinks were offered, but Darcy had a peculiar feeling of tension. He felt under scrutiny more than usual, and even Elizabeth looked distracted.

“Mr Darcy, you were the subject of our conversation earlier,” Lady Rosseford said. “Mr Wickham and Mr Denny visited us.”

“Ah…” Darcy replied, looking at Elizabeth. He had expected such a thing to occur.

“Mr Wickham is an entertaining fellow. He impressed my wife and younger daughters with tales of his suffering,” Mr Bennet added, and Darcy smiled. Mr Bennet and Lady Rosseford had certainly not been impressed — their countenances revealed as much.

“I asked Mr Wickham a few additional questions,” Elizabeth interjected. He looked at her, and their gazes met and locked briefly. “There were no satisfactory answers, but it is not our business to insist further. I would like to know more details, though.”

He understood her meaning and only nodded. Once again, her wit had prevailed, and she had remedied the error of trusting Wickham so easily.

“There are few things that annoy me more than a young, strong, healthy man whining about his suffering. Especially when he was offered advantages that are unattainable for most people,” Lady Rosseford concluded. “At least Mr Collins, as annoying as he might be, is grateful for Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s protection. He understands how fortunate he has been.”

“I could not agree more,” Mr Bennet uttered.

The younger Bennet sisters and their mother glanced at each other with obvious disapproval, but Darcy assumed they did not dare contradict their father and their aunt.

“Miss Bennet,” Bingley said, changing the subject, “I shall take this opportunity to ask you for the first set tomorrow at the ball. If you are not otherwise engaged.”

The unexpected request seemed to impress the eldest Miss Bennet. She blushed and smiled, but before she had time to respond, Mrs Bennet cried out, “Oh, how wonderful that you asked, Mr Bingley! And prudent too. Jane might have all her dances taken in no time! She would be happy to dance with you!”

“My dear Frances, why would we not allow Jane to answer?” Lady Rosseford kindly and smilingly scolded her. “Otherwise, Mr Bingley might believe she lacks the wit or desire to respond.”

Mrs Bennet appeared shocked, staring at the lady then glancing at Bingley — whose face was as red as Miss Bennet’s.

“Yes, yes, of course,” Mrs Bennet mumbled.

“I thank you for asking, Mr Bingley,” Miss Bennet finally replied. “I would be delighted to, of course.”

Bingley’s smile widened, Miss Bennet offered a small one, and the matter was sealed.

The little scene puzzled Darcy; undoubtedly, Miss Bennet was not indifferent to Bingley, but it was also obvious that her mother was the one pushing her towards him, perhaps quicker than she would prefer. If Bingley were to be hasty and proposed marriage due to a mere infatuation that might pass in a few months, and Mrs Bennet was ready to push her daughter to accept it, in less than a year, the Bingleys could already be a sad, miserable couple. Of course, it could be otherwise too. His expertise in matters of the heart was lacking — Darcy acknowledged that. It was exactly the reason why he intended — for him and for his friend — to do a proper exploration of the heart far away from Hertfordshire.

∞∞∞

After the gentlemen’s visit, Elizabeth and Jane were both in excellent dispositions, as Lady Rosseford remarked. During dinner, the conversation was centred on Mr Wickham, Mr Darcy, and Mr Bingley, each of the ladies supporting her favourite and Mr Bennet mostly watching and listening.

“Mr Collins has not returned yet. There is something very suspicious about his absence,” Mrs Bennet said. “I fear your ladyship has scared him off.”

“Scared him how?” Lady Rosseford asked. “My dear Frances, I know he admired Elizabeth and considered proposing to her, but that would have been ridiculous, truly! I am aware you intended to support this foolishness, but let us all agree it was a huge mistake.”

Mrs Bennet turned pale, then her face coloured, and she almost choked on her food. Mr Bennet hid his smile behind his glass, and Elizabeth hid hers behind her napkin. Lady Rosseford was certainly not holding back her opinion.

“Considering Mr Collins will one day inherit Longbourn, I certainly supported his intention to marry one of my daughters. Otherwise, we might all be homeless when Mr Bennet is gone. And Mr Collins is not a bad man. He is nothing like Mr Bingley, but neither is Lizzy as beautiful as Jane, nor does she possess such a sweet nature.”

“I cannot fault your reasoning, but I can safely say there is no immediate danger. Thomas is still a young man, and I am sure your daughters will all find good husbands in due time. Surely you could not believe Lizzy would ever marry Mr Collins! He might not be a bad man, and he is not unattractive, but she is ten times cleverer than him, and it is not her nature to obey a man she cannot respect. Am I right, Lizzy?”

“I am not sure how clever I am, but your ladyship is right about everything else. I would never have married Mr Collins.”

“Good for you. And girls, please call me Aunt Dorothea. Enough with this ladyship business — I am quite tired of it. And since we are speaking of marriage, I insist that you should choose wisely and accept the man who suits you best.”

“That is excellent advice, your…I mean Aunt,” Mrs Bennet replied. “But with so few connections and no dowry, and with their father’s estate entailed, they might never receive a good marriage proposal. How can they afford to choose?”

“That is certainly a legitimate concern,” Lady Rosseford admitted. “However, I hope it can be done. Jane deserves a man worthy of her beauty and sweetness— a man with a tender heart and much affection for her.”

“One like Mr Bingley!” Mrs Bennet immediately said.

“Yes, Mr Bingley seems like such a gentleman. But I believe their acquaintance is too brief to consider marriage yet. I am worried Jane’s feelings for him are mostly due to the fact that she has not met enough other men and cannot compare. I am telling you as someone who was acquainted with many gentlemen and misjudged some of them before I married the right ones.”

“To me, Mr Bingley is everything a gentleman should be,” Jane replied in a low voice. “I truly do not believe that meeting other men would change my opinion.”

“Perhaps, my dear. I shall not argue with you, as you know your heart better than I. I only hope his affection is as strong and genuine as yours and he deserves you. If not, I would surely hold him accountable,” the lady said in earnest, which panicked Jane and amused Elizabeth.

“And you, Lizzy.” Lady Rosseford turned to her. “You must find an honourable and respectable man but also one clever enough to challenge your mind too, so you can see him as your superior as much as your equal.”

“I could not ask for anything better, Aunt.” Elizabeth laughed. “But, as Mama said, it is unlikely such a man would have any interest in me, assuming I might stumble upon him one day.”

“And if he does, you will surely scare him off with your wild manners and your stubbornness,” Mrs Bennet said. “I am amazed Mr Darcy came to visit after he found you covered in mud in the woods, like a savage. I thought he would be too appalled to set foot at Longbourn again.”

Elizabeth blushed and drank some wine to conceal her unease.

“In fact, I think a man like Mr Darcy would be an excellent choice for you, Lizzy,” Lady Rosseford said, and Elizabeth choked on her wine.

“Dear aunt, please do not say that, not even as a joke! I am grateful to Mr Darcy for saving me, and I would like to be able to call him a friend. But I do not wish him to believe we might be spreading such rumours about him!”

“Besides, Mr Darcy hates Lizzy as much as she hates him,” Lydia interjected. “And he might be rich, but he is very unpleasant. I would never marry him.”

“I can safely say there is no danger of him proposing to you, Lydia.” Lady Rosseford smiled. “As for you, Lizzy, do not worry. I did not make the suggestion to be a gossip, and I did not mean Mr Darcy himself. I meant a man like him in character and in nature, which might be utterly different from yours but might also complete yours perfectly.”

“I very much like Mr Darcy, despite your general disapproval of his manners,” Mr Bennet interjected. “And despite the suffering that he may or may not have caused to your amiable Mr Wickham. But I agree with Lizzy that we should not mention his name in regard to marriage, not even as a joke. He is Mr Bingley’s friend, and we do not wish to upset anyone at Netherfield — do we?” he concluded with a meaningful look at his wife and younger daughters.

“I doubt anyone in their right mind would believe Mr Darcy has any interest in Lizzy, other than as a mere acquaintance,” Mrs Bennet replied. “As much as I would like to think otherwise, let us be honest — Mr Darcy is too high above any of our girls, including Jane. And a woman who enjoys wandering around in the dirt cannot be anything other than appalling to him. We would do better to speak of Mr Bingley, who is certainly everything a gentleman should be.”

“What about us, Aunt Dorothea?” Lydia asked. “Whom should we marry? I would like an officer in a red uniform who is very handsome! Just like Mr Wickham! Or Mr Denny — he would do too.”

Lady Rosseford laughed heartily.

“You, my dears, must grow up, improve yourselves, and only then think of marriage. You may wish for a handsome officer, Lydia, but you must learn not to trust anything a man tells you. I hope to be able to take you to London often in the next few years, so you can meet many people. But only after that should we consider suitors.”

The lady paused while Lydia and Kitty looked disappointed, and then she continued.

“Mary, it is good you are interested in improving yourself, but you must not allow study to steal your enjoyment of life. Let people see what a lovely young woman you are. Kitty and Lydia, you are pretty and joyful, and your manners are unrestrained, which is perfectly appropriate for girls your age but unacceptable for someone who wishes to secure a good husband. You must trust me.”

“Of course we do, your ladyship. I mean Aunt Dorothea,” Mrs Bennet answered. “You girls cannot yet understand how fortunate you are to have such a superior connection!”

“I am fortunate to have found you while I can still enjoy life,” the lady said. “Now I am going to bed. I am still a little tired, and tomorrow, with the ball, I foresee an entertaining and agitated night.”