Chapter 26

by Jane Austen

　　Mrs. Gardiner's caution to Elizabeth was punctually and kindlygiven on the first favourable opportunity of speaking to heralone; after honestly telling her what she thought, she thus wenton:"You are too sensible a girl, Lizzy, to fall in love merely becauseyou are warned against it; and, therefore, I am not afraid ofspeaking openly. Seriously, I would have you be on your guard.Do not involve yourself or endeavour to involve him in anaffection which the want of fortune would make so veryimprudent. I have nothing to say against him; he is a mostinteresting young man; and if he had the fortune he ought tohave, I should think you could not do better. But as it is, youmust not let your fancy run away with you. You have sense, andwe all expect you to use it. Your father would depend onyour resolution and good conduct, I am sure. You must notdisappoint your father.""My dear aunt, this is being serious indeed.""Yes, and I hope to engage you to be serious likewise.""Well, then, you need not be under any alarm. I will take care ofmyself, and of Mr. Wickham too. He shall not be in love withme, if I can prevent it.""Elizabeth, you are not serious now.""I beg your pardon, I will try again. At present I am not in lovewith Mr. Wickham; no, I certainly am not. But he is, beyond allcomparison, the most agreeable man I ever saw-- and if hebecomes really attached to me-- I believe it will be better that heshould not. I see the imprudence of it. Oh! That abominableMr. Darcy! My father's opinion of me does me the greatesthonour, and I should be miserable to forfeit it. My father,however, is partial to Mr. Wickham. In short, my dear aunt, Ishould be very sorry to be the means of making any of youunhappy; but since we see every day that where there isaffection, young people are seldom withheld by immediate wantof fortune from entering into engagements with each other, howcan I promise to be wiser than so many of my fellow-creatures ifI am tempted, or how am I even to know that it would bewisdom to resist? All that I can promise you, therefore, is notto be in a hurry. I will not be in a hurry to believe myself his firstobject. When I am in company with him, I will not be wishing.In short, I will do my best.""Perhaps it will be as well if you discourage his coming here sovery often. At least, you should not remind you mother ofinviting him.""As I did the other day," said Elizabeth with a conscious smile:"very true, it will be wise in me to refrain from that. But donot imagine that he is always here so often. It is on youraccount that he has been so frequently invited this week. Youknow my mother's ideas as to the necessity of constant companyfor her friends. But really, and upon my honour, I will try to dowhat I think to be the wisest; and now I hope you are satisfied."Her aunt assured her that she was, and Elizabeth having thankedher for the kindness of her hints, they parted; a wonderfulinstance of advice being given on such a point, without beingresented.Mr. Collins returned into Hertfordshire soon after it had beenquitted by the Gardiners and Jane; but as he took up his abodewith the Lucases, his arrival was no great inconvenience to Mrs.Bennet. His marriage was now fast approaching, and she was atlength so far resigned as to think it inevitable, and evenrepeatedly to say, in an ill-natured tone, that she "wished theymight be happy." Thursday was to be the wedding day, and onWednesday Miss Lucas paid her farewell visit; and when sherose to take leave, Elizabeth, ashamed of her mother'sungracious and reluctant good wishes, and sincerely affectedherself, accompanied her out of the room. As they wentdownstairs together, Charlotte said:"I shall depend on hearing from you very often, Eliza.""That you certainly shall.""And I have another favour to ask you. Will you come and seeme?""We shall often meet, I hope, in Hertfordshire.""I am not likely to leave Kent for some time. Promise me,therefore, to come to Hunsford."Elizabeth could not refuse, though she foresaw little pleasure inthe visit."My father and Maria are coming to me in March," addedCharlotte, "and I hope you will consent to be of the party.Indeed, Eliza, you will be as welcome as either of them."The wedding took place: the bride and bridegroom set off forKent from the church door, and everybody had as much to say,or to hear, on the subject as usual. Elizabeth soon heard fromher friend; and their correspondence was as regular and frequentas it had ever been; that it should be equally unreserved wasimpossible. Elizabeth could never address her without feelingthat all the comfort of intimacy was over, and though determinednot to slacken as a correspondent, it was for the sake of whathad been, rather than what was. Charlotte's first letters werereceived with a good deal of eagerness; there could not but becuriosity to know how she would speak of her new home, howshe would like Lady Catherine, and how happy she would darepronounce herself to be; though, when the letters were read,Elizabeth felt that Charlotte expressed herself on every pointexactly as she might have foreseen. She wrote cheerfully,seemed surrounded with comforts, and mentioned nothing whichshe could not praise. The house, furniture, neighbourhood, androads, were all to her taste, and Lady Catherine's behaviour wasmost friendly and obliging. It was Mr. Collins's picture ofHunsford and Rosings rationally softened; and Elizabethperceived that she must wait for her own visit there to know therest.Jane had already written a few lines to her sister to announcetheir safe arrival in London; and when she wrote again, Elizabethhoped it would be in her power to say something of theBingleys.Her impatience for this second letter was as well rewarded asimpatience generally is. Jane had been a week in town withouteither seeing or hearing from Caroline. She accounted for it,however, by supposing that her last letter to her friend fromLongbourn had by some accident been lost."My aunt," she continued, "is going to-morrow into that part ofthe town, and I shall take the opportunity of calling in GrosvenorStreet."She wrote again when the visit was paid, and she had seen MissBingley. "I did not think Caroline in spirits," were her words,"but she was very glad to see me, and reproached me for givingher no notice of my coming to London. I was right, therefore,my last letter had never reached her. I inquired after theirbrother, of course. He was well, but so much engaged with Mr.Darcy that they scarcely ever saw him. I found that Miss Darcywas expected to dinner. I wish I could see her. My visit wasnot long, as Caroline and Mrs. Hurst were going out. I dare sayI shall see them soon here."Elizabeth shook her head over this letter. It convinced her thataccident only could discover to Mr. Bingley her sister's being intown.Four weeks passed away, and Jane saw nothing of him. Sheendeavoured to persuade herself that she did not regret it; butshe could no longer be blind to Miss Bingley's inattention. Afterwaiting at home every morning for a fortnight, and inventingevery evening a fresh excuse for her, the visitor did at lastappear; but the shortness of her stay, and yet more, the alterationof her manner would allow Jane to deceive herself no longer.The letter which she wrote on this occasion to her sister willprove what she felt."My dearest Lizzy will, I am sure, be incapable of triumphing inher better judgement, at my expense, when I confess myself tohave been entirely deceived in Miss Bingley's regard for me.But, my dear sister, though the event has proved you right, donot think me obstinate if I still assert that, considering what herbehaviour was, my confidence was as natural as your suspicion.I do not at all comprehend her reason for wishing to be intimatewith me; but if the same circumstances were to happen again, Iam sure I should be deceived again. Caroline did not return myvisit till yesterday; and not a note, not a line, did I receive in themeantime. When she did come, it was very evident that she hadno pleasure in it; she made a slight, formal apology, for notcalling before, said not a word of wishing to see me again, andwas in every respect so altered a creature, that when she wentaway I was perfectly resolved to continue the acquaintance nolonger. I pity, though I cannot help blaming her. She was verywrong in singling me out as she did; I can safely say that everyadvance to intimacy began on her side. But I pity her, becauseshe must feel that she has been acting wrong, and because I amvery sure that anxiety for her brother is the cause of it. I neednot explain myself farther; and though we know this anxiety tobe quite needless, yet if she feels it, it will easily account for herbehaviour to me; and so deservedly dear as he is to his sister,whatever anxiety she must feel on his behalf is natural andamiable. I cannot but wonder, however, at her having any suchfears now, because, if he had at all cared about me, we musthave met, long ago. He knows of my being in town, I amcertain, from something she said herself; and yet it would seem,by her manner of talking, as if she wanted to persuade herselfthat he is really partial to Miss Darcy. I cannot understand it. IfI were not afraid of judging harshly, I should be almost temptedto say that there is a strong appearance of duplicity in all this.But I will endeavour to banish every painful thought, and thinkonly of what will make me happy-- your affection, and theinvariable kindness of my dear uncle and aunt. Let me hear fromyou very soon. Miss Bingley said something of his neverreturning to Netherfield again, of giving up the house, but notwith any certainty. We had better not mention it. I amextremely glad that you have such pleasant accounts from ourfriends at Hunsford. Pray go to see them, with Sir William andMaria. I am sure you will be very comfortable there.-- Yours,etc."This letter gave Elizabeth some pain; but her spirits returned asshe considered that Jane would no longer be duped, by the sisterat least. All expectation from the brother was now absolutelyover. She would not even wish for a renewal of his attentions.His character sunk on every review of it; and as a punishment forhim, as well as a possible advantage to Jane, she seriously hopedhe might really soon marry Mr. Darcy's sister, as by Wickham'saccount, she would make him abundantly regret what he hadthrown away.Mrs. Gardiner about this time reminded Elizabeth of her promiseconcerning that gentleman, and required information; andElizabeth had such to send as might rather give contentment toher aunt than to herself. His apparent partiality had subsided, hisattentions were over, he was the admirer of some one else.Elizabeth was watchful enough to see it all, but she could see itand write of it without material pain. Her heart had been butslightly touched, and her vanity was satisfied with believing thatshe would have been his only choice, had fortune permitted it.The sudden acquisition of ten thousand pounds was themost remarkable charm of the young lady to whom he was nowrendering himself agreeable; but Elizabeth, less clear-sightedperhaps in this case than in Charlotte's, did not quarrel with himfor his wish of independence. Nothing, on the contrary, couldbe more natural; and while able to suppose that it cost him a fewstruggle to relinquish her, she was ready to allow it a wise anddesirable measure for both, and could very sincerely wish himhappy.All this was acknowledged to Mrs. Gardiner; and after relatingthe circumstances, she thus went on:-- "I am now convinced, mydear aunt, that I have never been much in love; for had I reallyexperiences that pure and elevating passion, I should at presentdetest his very name, and wish him all manner of evil. But myfeelings are not only cordial towards him; they are evenimpartial towards Miss King. I cannot find out that I hate her atall, or that I am in the least unwilling to think her a very goodsort of girl. There can be no love in all this. My watchfulnesshas been effectual; and though I certainly should be a moreinteresting object to all my acquaintances were I distractedly inlove with him, I cannot say that I regret my comparativeinsignificance. Importance may sometimes be purchased toodearly. Kitty and Lydia take his defection much more to heartthan I do. They are young in the ways of the world, and not yetopen to the mortifying conviction that handsome young menmust have something to live on as well as the plain."