Elizabeth sighed.“I am going for a walk.”
“Very well.Stay out of the sun or you will have a red nose.”
The next day, Charlotte and Elizabeth were walking in the village of Hunsford and stopped to look in the window of a small haberdashery.
“That is a hideous bonnet,” said Elizabeth quietly.
Maria agreed.“It needs a different ribbon, and the brim should be wider.”
“Yes, you are quite right.It is so ugly I cannot stop looking at it,” added Charlotte.
Elizabeth turned to mock glare at her friend.“Come along, Maria,” she said too brightly.“I wish to see if the library has anything new.”
Charlotte sniggered to herself and followed them.
That evening, they were reading the books they had borrowed in the parlor after dinner.Mr.Collins had been called to the bedside of an elderly parishioner and the ladies sat alone.Charlotte said it happened often.It seemed to be one of her favorite things about her choice of husband.
“This book is dull,” complained Maria, setting down the history she had chosen.
“Why did you choose it?It is not your usual fare,” said her sister.
“It looked interesting.”Maria sighed in disappointment.
“Take mine,” said Charlotte as she passed her sister her book.“It is a novel, and terribly dull, but that is what makes it impossible to put down.I always find that the more I dislike a book, the more time I want to spend reading it.”
Maria clearly did not know how to respond to such a speech.Elizabeth looked at her friend with pursed lips.Charlotte smiled sweetly back at her.
“Take mine,” said Elizabeth, rising and depositing her book on the table next to Maria.“I have quite lost my taste for books this evening.Good night.”
She left the room without a response and Maria looked about in confusion.
“What is going on?”she asked.
“Nothing to worry about, my dear.Will you read aloud while I sew?You have such a pleasant reading voice.”
Elizabeth lay in bed long after the household had retired, unable to sleep.Why must Charlotte harp on so?It was clear to anyone with eyes that Mr.Darcy did not like her.He never spoke to her!If they were in the same room together, he never sat near her or sought her out in any way.
Well, he had spoken to her as she played the pianoforte at Rosings, but not nearly as much as the colonel.His aunt would always call him away before they had spent more than five minutes in conversation.
And why would she do that?
No!She refused to believe it.Mr.Darcy could not possibly be in love with her.It was an outrageous idea!Charlotte was now married and wished everyone around her to be married as well.There was nothing to it.Nothing at all.
Though… Charlotte had said Jane should show more affection than she felt, or at least show what affection she did feel for Mr.Bingley.He would not be brave enough to love her without encouragement, or so Charlotte had said.Well, look how that had turned out!He had left and never come back, breaking sweet Jane’s heart in the process.
But why did he not come back?
The question niggled at the back of her mind until she could ignore it no longer.Elizabeth had long believed it was because of Jane’s lack of fortune and connections.But what if Charlotte was correct?If Jane had encouraged him, would it have changed anything?
No, she would not think like this.It could not be!Mr.Bingley had spent hours in Jane’s company.If he could not discern her feelings after that, it was his fault, not Jane’s.She could not be expected to display her deepest feelings to the world with no indication of the gentleman’s feelings or intentions.
For all they knew, Mr.Bingley had known exactly how Jane felt and had been talked out of proposing by his sisters and Mr.Darcy.Yes, that must be it.Charlotte was wrong.Elizabeth was certain of it.
A Sunny Thursday Morning
“MissBennet!Goodday!”
“Colonel Fitzwilliam!I did not know you walked this way.”
