“Mama wants the whole family to go to Brighton,” Jane said thoughtfully. “That would certainly be the wiser decision than allowing her to go alone. Even so, the idea leaves me ill at ease.”
“Well, perhaps I shall convince Mr Darcy that we need to invite the rest of the family for an extended stay,” Elizabeth remarked archly. “Lydia cannot be in Brighton if she is in Derbyshire, after all.”
Jane laughed happily. “An excellent solution.”
Mr Bingley arrived the next morning. To Elizabeth’s delight, he proved to be every bit as pleasant as her husband had suggested. Very interestingly indeed, his first meeting with Jane suggested he was also far from insusceptible.
“Elizabeth, allow me to present my good friend, Charles Bingley,” Darcy introduced him. “Bingley, allow me to present my wife, Elizabeth Darcy, and her sister, Miss Jane Bennet.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Mrs Darcy,” Mr Bingley said to her with a warm smile. “Such letters I have received from Darcy of late! I have never seen him so happy.”
“Thank you, Mr Bingley,” Elizabeth replied, liking him at once. “I shall like any friend of my husband’s, I am sure.”
Mr Bingley turned then to Jane, likely intending to offer her good-natured compliments of her own, but upon really looking at her face for the first time and perceiving its beauty, he stood stock-still and silent.
“How clumsy I am today!” Mr Bingley said at last. “Do excuse me, Miss Bennet. It is a great pleasure to meet you. Indeed, I feel as if we have met before, and yet I do not believe that is the case.”
Jane gave her sweetest smile. “You rented Netherfield Park last autumn, sir, did you not? Likely you saw me in Meryton, but were not introduced. I live just a few miles from there, at the Longbourn estate.”
“Oh, yes. That must be it.” His smile was so broad, Elizabeth was sure his muscles would be sore from the effort.
A certain suspicion formed in her mind concerning Jane and the good-natured, convivial Mr Bingley — a suspicion that would only grow as time went on. At tea, he could hardly keep his eyes off of Jane. As a result, the conversation was a little uneven, with Mr Bingley — and Jane — spending far more time gazing at each other than speaking. It was lucky that Georgiana was recovered enough to keep up her part in a conversation, for it was all that the three of them together could do to make up for the smitten silences of the other two.
“Do you enjoy reading, Mr Bingley?” Elizabeth asked at last.
“I do,” he replied. He glanced at Jane, looking a little guilty. “I prefer being out of doors, though.” An awkward pause ensued. He looked nervously at each of them in turn, then went on. “That is, I can read. And I am not saying one cannot read out of doors…”
“There always seems to be so much more to do, doesn’t there?” Jane helped him.
His face brightened. “Yes, that is exactly what I meant.”
Elizabeth and Darcy exchanged a glance. The visit seemed likely to turn out even better than either could have hoped.
Nor did the next day’s lessen the impression. A week after Mr Bingley’s arrival, Elizabeth and Darcy trailed behind the pair on a walk through the gardens. The music of the pianoforte came to them softly through the open windows, proof that Georgiana was enjoying herself as much as the rest of the party. Elizabeth liked her own amusement very well, for it was most pleasant to watch Mr Bingley earnestly telling Jane of his plans for the future and his hope to buy an estate soon, a place in which he might begin a family.
Elizabeth linked arms with her husband, leaning on him as they walked. “Would it not be wonderful if Mr Bingley could purchase an estate close to Pemberley?”
Darcy chuckled. “I confess the idea has occurred to me. I should be very well pleased to have my best friend in the same county.”
“I should love to have him and Jane living close by,” she breathed.
Darcy raised an eyebrow. “It is a little soon to talk of such things, surely. Do you think it is as serious as all that?”
“My imagine is a little rapid, perhaps. But I suspect they will get there in the end.”
Darcy looked at the couple in front of them, then slowly nodded. “They both seem quite smitten.” He looked at her and slowed their pace. Mr Bingley and Jane kept on, walking farther down the path. “I suppose it is very unlike our story.”
“We may not have started out smitten, but it didn’t take either of us long to figure out that we loved each other. Although I am not sure who fell first,” she teased.
“I am convinced that I did. How could I have helped myself?” He asked. “You came into my life and turned it all upside down.” He bent to kiss her cheek. “In the very best of ways.”
“Of course,” Elizabeth said. Mock serious, she eyed him as they picked up their pace so they might not lose Mr Bingley and Jane. “When was the first time you knew you were falling in love with me?”
“Oh, it came on gradually, but I suppose I had the first inkling when you started taking charge of the house.”
“Really?” she asked, scrunching up her nose. “Why?”
“You were so kind to Mrs Reynolds — and all the servants, really. You treated everyone with respect and wanted to learn, not just give orders and have everything your own way. You gave everyone time to get used to the idea of there being a new mistress of Pemberley.” He shook his head, smiling all the while. “There is no doubt now who the mistress of this house is. They would all follow you into battle if you asked it of them.”
