Chapter 13

A FEW days after this visit, Mr. Bingley called again, and
alone.  His friend had left him that morning for London, but
was to return home in ten days time.  He sat with them above
an hour, and was in remarkably good spirits.  Mrs. Bennet
invited him to dine with them; but, with many expressions
of concern, he confessed himself engaged elsewhere.
"Next time you call," said she, "I hope we shall be more
lucky."
He should be particularly happy at any time, &c.  &c.; and
if she would give him leave, would take an early opportunity
of waiting on them.
"Can you come to-morrow?"
Yes, he had no engagement at all for to-morrow; and her
invitation was accepted with alacrity.
He came, and in such very good time, that the ladies were
none of them dressed.  In ran Mrs. Bennet to her daughter's
room, in her dressing gown, and with her hair half finished,
crying out,
"My dear Jane, make haste and hurry down.  He is come --
Mr. Bingley is come. -- He is, indeed.  Make haste, make haste.
Here, Sarah, come to Miss Bennet this moment, and help her
on with her gown.  Never mind Miss Lizzy's hair."
"We will be down as soon as we can," said Jane; "but I dare
say Kitty is forwarder than either of us, for she went up stairs
half an hour ago."
"Oh!  hang Kitty!  what has she to do with it?  Come be
quick, be quick!  where is your sash my dear?"
But when her mother was gone, Jane would not be prevailed 
on to go down without one of her sisters.
The same anxiety to get them by themselves, was visible
again in the evening.  After tea, Mr. Bennet retired to the
library, as was his custom, and Mary went up stairs to her
instrument.  Two obstacles of the five being thus removed,
Mrs. Bennet sat looking and winking at Elizabeth and
Catherine for a considerable time, without making any
impression on them.  Elizabeth would not observe her; and
when at last Kitty did, she very innocently said, "What is the
matter mamma?  What do you keep winking at me for?  What
am I to do?"
"Nothing child, nothing.  I did not wink at you," She then
sat still five minutes longer; but unable to waste such a
precious occasion, she suddenly got up, and saying to Kitty,
"Come here, my love, I want to speak to you," took her out
of the room.  Jane instantly gave a look at Elizabeth, which
spoke her distress at such premeditation, and her intreaty
that she would not give into it.  In a few minutes, Mrs. Bennet
half opened the door and called out,
"Lizzy, my dear, I want to speak with you."
 Elizabeth was forced to go.
"We may as well leave them by themselves you know;' said
her mother as soon as she was in the hall.  "Kitty and I are
going up stairs to sit in my dressing room."
Elizabeth made no attempt to reason with her mother, but
remained quietly in the hall, till she and Kitty were out of
sight, then returned into the drawing room.
Mrs. Bennet's schemes for this day were ineffectual.
Bingley was every thing that was charming, except the 
professed lover of her daughter.  His ease and cheerfulness
rendered him a most agreeable addition to their evening
party; and he bore with the ill-judged officiousness of the
mother, and heard all her silly remarks with a forbearance
and command of countenance, particularly grateful to the
daughter.
He scarcely needed an invitation to stay supper; and before
he went away, an engagement was formed, chiefly through
his own and Mrs. Bennet's means, for his coming next morning 
to shoot with her husband.
After this day, Jane said no more of her indifference.  Not
a word passed between the sisters concerning Bingley; but
Elizabeth went to bed in the happy belief that all must speedily
be concluded, unless Mr. Darcy returned within the stated
time.  Seriously, however, she felt tolerably persuaded that
all this must have taken place with that gentleman's concurrence.
Bingley was punctual to his appointment; and he and Mr,
Bennet spent the morning together, as had been agreed on.
The latter was much more agreeable than his companion
expected.  There was nothing of presumption or folly in
Bingley, that could provoke his ridicule, or disgust him into
silence; and he was more communicative, and less eccentric
than the other had ever seen him.  Bingley of course returned
with him to dinner; and in the evening Mrs. Bennet's invention 
was again at work to get every body away from him and
her daughter.  Elizabeth, who had a letter to write, went into
the breakfast room for that purpose soon after tea; for as the
others were all going to sit down to cards, she could not be
wanted to counteract her mother's schemes.
But on returning to the drawing room, when her letter was
finished, she saw, to her infinite surprise, there was reason to
fear that her mother had been too ingenious for her.  On opening 
the door, she perceived her sister and Bingley standing
together over the hearth, as if engaged in earnest conversation;
and had this led to no suspicion, the faces of both as they
hastily turned round, and moved away from each other, would
have told it all.  Their situation was awkward enough; but her's
she thought was still worse.  Not a syllable was uttered by
either; and Elizabeth was on the point of going away again,
when Bingley, who as well as the other had sat down, suddenly
rose, and whispering a few words to her sister, ran out of
the room.
Jane could have no reserves from Elizabeth, where confidence would give pleasure; and instantly embracing her,
acknowledged, with the liveliest emotion, that she was the
happiest creature in the world.
"Tis too much!" she added, "by far too much.  I do not
deserve it.  Oh!  why is not every body as happy?"
Elizabeth's congratulations were given with a sincerity,
a warmth, a delight, which words could but poorly express.
Every sentence of kindness was a fresh source of happiness
to Jane.  But she would not allow herself to stay with her sister,
or say half that remained to be said, for the present.
"I must go instantly to my mother;' she cried.  "I would not
on any account trifle with her affectionate solicitude; or allow
her to hear it from any one but myself.  He is gone to my father
already.  Oh!  Lizzy, to know that what I have to relate will
give such pleasure to all my dear family!  how shall I bear so
much happiness!"
She then hastened away to her mother, who had purposely
broken up the card party, and was sitting up stairs with
Kitty.
Elizabeth, who was left by herself, now smiled at the
rapidity and ease with which an affair was finally settled, that
had given them so many previous months of suspense and
vexation.
"And this," said she, "is the end of all his friend's anxious
circumspection!  of all his sister's falsehood and contrivance!
the happiest, wisest, most reasonable end!"
 In a few minutes she was joined by Bingley, whose conference with her father had been short and to the purpose.
 "Where is your sister?" said he hastily, as he opened the door.
"With my mother up stairs.  She will be down in a moment
I dare say."
He then shut the door, and coming up to her, claimed the
good wishes and affection of a sister.  Elizabeth honestly and
heartily expressed her delight in the prospect of their relationship.  They shook hands with great cordiality; and then till
her sister came down, she had to listen to all he had to say,
of his own happiness, and of Jane's perfections; and in spite
of his being a lover, Elizabeth really believed all his expectations 
of felicity, to be rationally founded, because they had
for basis the excellent understanding, and super-excellent
disposition of Jane, and a general similarity of feeling and
taste between her and himself.
 It was an evening of no common delight to them all; the
satisfaction of Miss Bennet's mind gave a glow of such sweet
animation to her face, as made her look handsomer than ever.
Kitty simpered and smiled, and hoped her turn was coming
soon.  Mrs. Bennet could not give her consent, or speak her
approbation in terms warm enough to satisfy her feelings,
though she talked to Bingley of nothing else, for half an hour;
and when Mr. Bennet joined them at supper, his voice and
manner plainly shewed how really happy he was.
Not a word, however, passed his lips in allusion to it, till
their visitor took his leave for the night; but as soon as he was
gone, he turned to his daughter and said,
 "Jane, I congratulate you.  You will be a very happy woman,"
Jane went to him instantly, kissed him, and thanked him
for his goodness.
"You are a good girl;' he replied, "and I have great pleasure
in thinking you will be so happily settled.  I have not a doubt
of your doing very well together.  Your tempers are by no
means unlike.  You are each of you so complying, that nothing
will ever be resolved on; so easy, that every servant will cheat
you; and so generous, that you will always exceed your
income."
"I hope not so.  Imprudence or thoughtlessness in money
matters, would be unpardonable in me."
"Exceed their income!  My dear Mr. Bennet," cried his wife,
"what are you talking of?  Why, he has four or five thousand
a year, and very likely more."  Then addressing her daughter,
"Oh!  my dear, dear Jane, I am so happy!  I am sure I sha'nt
get a wink of sleep all night.  I knew how it would be.  I always
said it must be so, at last.  I was sure you could not be so
beautiful for nothing!  I remember, as soon as ever I saw him,
when he first came into Hertfordshire last year, I thought how
likely it was that you should come together.  Oh!  he is the
handsomest young man that ever was seen!"
Wickham, Lydia, were all forgotten.  Jane was beyond 
competition her favourite child.  At that moment, she cared for no
other.  Her younger sisters soon began to make interest with
her for objects of happiness which she might in future be able
to dispense.
Mary petitioned for the use of the library at Netherfield;
and Kitty begged very hard for a few balls there every winter.
Bingley, from this time, was of course a daily visitor at
Longbourn; coming frequently before breakfast, and always
remaining till after supper; unless when some barbarous
neighbour, who could not be enough detested, had given
him an invitation to dinner, which he thought himself obliged
to accept.
Elizabeth had now but little time for conversation with
her sister; for while he was present, Jane had no attention
to bestow on any one else; but she found herself considerably
useful to both of them, in those hours of separation that
must sometimes occur.  In the absence of Jane, he always
attached himself to Elizabeth, for the pleasure of talking of
her; and when Bingley was gone, Jane constantly sought the
same means of relief.
 "He has made me so happy," said she, one evening, "by telling 
 me, that he was totally ignorant of my being in town last
spring!  I had not believed it possible."
"I suspected as much," replied Elizabeth.  "But how did he
account for it?"
"It must have been his sister's doing.  They were certainly
no friends to his acquaintance with me, which I cannot wonder
at, since he might have chosen so much more advantageously
in many respects.  But when they see, as I trust they will, that
their brother is happy with me, they will learn to be contented,
and we shall be on good terms again; though we can never be
what we once were to each other."
 "That is the most unforgiving speech," said Elizabeth, "that
I ever heard you utter.  Good girl!  It would vex me, indeed, to
see you again the dupe of Miss Bingley's pretended regard."
"Would you believe it, Lizzy, that when he went to town
last November, he really loved me, and nothing but a persuasion 
of my being indifferent, would have prevented his
coming down again!"
"He made a little mistake to be sure; but it is to the credit
of his modesty."
This naturally introduced a panegyric from Jane on his
diffidence, and the little value he put on his own good qualities.
Elizabeth was pleased to find, that he had not betrayed the
interference of his friend, for, though Jane had the most
generous and forgiving heart in the world, she knew it was
a circumstance which must prejudice her against him.
"I am certainly the most fortunate creature that ever
existed!" cried Jane.  "Oh!  Lizzy, why am I thus singled
from my family, and blessed above them all!  If I could
but see you as happy!  If there were but such another man
for you!"
 "If you were to give me forty such men, I never could
be so happy as you.  Till I have your disposition, your goodness, 
I never can have your happiness.  No, no, let me shift
for myself; and, perhaps, if I have very good luck, I may meet
with another Mr. Collins in time."
The situation of affairs in the Longbourn family could not
be long a secret.  Mrs. Bennet was privileged to whisper it to
Mrs. Philips, and she ventured, without any permission, to
do the same by all her neighbours in Meryton.
The Bennets were speedily pronounced to be the luckiest
family in the world, though only a few weeks before, when
Lydia had first run away, they had been generally proved to
be marked out for misfortune.