“I was sorry not to see your sister in Hyde Park yesterday,” Miss Bingley said to Mr Darcy after the meal began. “I washopeful of asking her more about the talents we heard at Lady Haden’s musical evening last week. Miss Darcy is so talented herself I wonder if she struggled to keep her countenance.”
“My cousin and I joined my sister for a walk in The Green Park instead.”
Elizabeth had once found Miss Bingley’s desperate attentions amusing, but tonight it made her sad for both of them. She was throwing away her pride for a man who did not want her. F had said he resented such notice from women, and Elizabeth had to suppose that Mr Darcy, or any man of sense, felt the same.
“I have not seen Colonel Fitzwilliam in a few weeks,” said Mrs Hurst, when it was clear Mr Darcy had nothing to add. “That is surprising, since you are often together.”
“Yes,” Miss Bingley agreed. “Your cousin leaves one with the impression that he is the one who encourages you to attend evening entertainments.”
Elizabeth swallowed a bite that had no taste. Mr Darcy had a cousin he was close to, someone who had some influence over him, just like F.
“If you know one thing about Colonel Fitzwilliam,” Bingley called from his end of the table, “it is that he often says what he does not mean if it will get a laugh or make Darcy look bad.”
She watched Mr Darcy give a dry smile.
“Mrs Gardiner, do you know Lady Haden?” Miss Bingley asked, with an emphasis on the title. “Louisa and I rode with her and her daughter in her ladyship’s phaeton yesterday.”
“I believe our connexions are very different,” her aunt said calmly. “Had you a pleasant time?”
“Oh, yes, we saw many of our acquaintances.” She turned to her sister. “Can you believe that handbill is still a topic of conversation? That business cannot remain open for long. Theircousin dared to ask her mother if she could subscribe to find a husband,” she said to the rest of the table.
Elizabeth took a calming breath. Maybe in this conversation, she would learn Mr Darcy’s thoughts on the matchmaking business enough to determine if he was her friend.
“It was all Lady Haden and Miss Novak could talk of,” Miss Bingley went on. “This matrimony plan is still in circulation, and now people of rank are considering it. Louisa and I agreed with them that advertising for a spouse is shameful.”
“I hate to disagree with such fine people,” Elizabeth said with as much solemnity as she could, “but I think it could transform courtship as we know it for the better.”
Miss Bingley scoffed. “It is a disreputable way to find a spouse, especially for women. I could not trust the morality of a woman who would initiate such indelicate contact.”
“Why?” asked Mr Darcy in a low voice. When Miss Bingley only stared, he added, “I mean, why is it worse for women than men? Both sexes subscribe in search of a spouse, so why is only the morality of the ladies in question?”
Elizabeth thought this was a fair inquiry, and Miss Bingley had no answer. Mrs Hurst finally said, “Surely you agree that, for a lady, merely communicating with an unknown man is risky. She must be desperate to engage in such a scheme, and one must wonder why she is in a desperate state.”
“It is reckless,” Miss Bingley quickly agreed. “Why, it would be unseemly for me, as a respectable single lady, to write to you”—she looked to Mr Darcy—“a bachelor, even though we are friends. And the sole reason a man would write a single lady is to propose to her. For any other reason, he would be laughed at for being so forward.”
“So a man would be mocked, but a woman pitied or reviled? Whatever our societal rules say about how a woman ought toact, womendotry to engage men’s notice, and sometimes use cunning to do it. Is this subscription any different?”
Miss Bingley turned pink, clearly conflicted between what she felt was true and agreeing with Mr Darcy.
“The ladies who subscribe are doing what all ladies are told to do,” Jane said, with a quick look to her that Elizabeth hoped no one noticed. “We are told to find an eligible man and marry, and preferably with little time wasted and little expense to those who maintain us.”
Bingley spun his head to face Jane. “You are not considering the matchmaking business, are you?”
“I am not,” she breathed. Elizabeth noticed how her sister kept her eyes on Bingley, and she hoped he could see how much Jane still cared for him.
The table fell silent as the two of them lingered in mutual gazes and smiles.
Mr Gardiner then said to Miss Bingley, “There is nothing clandestine in it, madam, from what I understand. This is for a mutually agreed upon purpose. Both parties are open to the possibility of marriage, and presumably the ladies have permission of their guardians.”
“And it is a way for women to articulate what they want,” said Elizabeth. “I could not directly say that I admire a man and would value a marriage of affection, but this subscription allows a lady to hint she wants a affectionate marriage. Or, whatever that lady seeks,” she added when she noted the curious expressions she received.
“It is still an economic decision,” Mr Darcy said, “even if one is not allying families and incomes. A man must have an income to support a wife and family, and a home to bring her to.”
“True, but giving young people more control is a good thing, especially for a woman who needs to marry for her maintenance. They are more likely to find a partner who suits them as well asbe able to afford to marry if they know all the particulars before they become too attached.” Was Mr Darcy a subscriber, or just a progressive thinker? “And a man who subscribes ought to know the lady will expect settlement papers and her family to ensure he can provide that home and income.”
“Miss Eliza, I am shocked that you see anything blameless in a scheme that allows women to promote themselves,” cried Miss Bingley. “Mr Darcy, you would not approve of your sister subscribing.”
“My sister is only fifteen,” he said. Elizabeth’s heart rate picked up. F said his sister was much younger than him, too. “However, women market themselves as potential wives in how they dress, how they act, how they display their accomplishments.”
