Mr. Collins returned into Hertfordshire soon after it had been quitted by the Gardiners and Jane; but, as he took up his abode with the Lucases, his arrival was no great inconvenience to Mrs. Bennet. His marriage was now fast approaching; and she was at length so far resigned as to think it inevitable, and even repeatedly to say, in an ill-natured tone, that she “_wished_ they might be happy.” Thursday was to be the wedding-day, and on Wednesday Miss Lucas paid her farewell visit; and when she rose to take leave, Elizabeth, ashamed of her mother’s ungracious and reluctant good wishes, and sincerely affected herself, accompanied her out of the room. As they went down stairs together, Charlotte said,--
“I shall depend on hearing from you very often, Eliza.”
“_That_ you certainly shall.”
“And I have another favour to ask.Will you come and see me?”
“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 in the visit.
“My father and Maria are to come to me in March,” added Charlotte, “and I hope you will consent to be of the party.Indeed, Eliza, you will be as welcome to me as either of them. ”
The wedding took place:the bride and bridegroom set off for Kent from the church door,and everybody had as much to say or to hear on the subject as usual.Elizabeth soon heard from her friend,and their correspondence was as regular and frequent as it ever had been:that it should be equally unreserved was impossible.Elizabeth could never address her without feeling that all the comfort of intimacy was over; and, though determined not to slacken as a correspondent, it was for the sake of what had been rather than what was. Charlotte’s first letters were received with a good deal of eagerness: there could not but be curiosity to know how she would speak of her new home, how she would like Lady Catherine, and how happy she would dare pronounce herself to be; though, when the letters were read, Elizabeth felt that Charlotte expressed herself on every point exactly as she might have foreseen. She wrote cheerfully, seemed surrounded with comforts, and mentioned nothing which she could not praise. The house, furniture, neighbourhood, and roads, were all to her taste, and Lady Catherine’s behaviour was most friendly and obliging. It was Mr. Collins’s picture of Hunsford and Rosings rationally softened; and Elizabeth perceived that she must wait for her own visit there, to know the rest.
Jane had already written a few lines to her sister,to announce their safe arrival in London;and when she wrote again,Elizabeth hoped it would be in her power to say something of the Bingleys.
Her impatience for this second letter was as well rewarded as impatience generally is. Jane had been a week in town, without either seeing or hearing from Caroline. She accounted for it, however, by supposing that her last letter to her friend from Longbourn had by some accident been lost.
“My aunt,” she continued,“is going to-morrow into that part of the town,and I shall take the opportunity of calling in Grosvenor Street. ”
She wrote again when the visit was paid,and she had seen Miss Bingley.“I did not think Caroline in spirits,” were her words,“but she was very glad to see me,and reproached me for giving her no notice of my coming to London.I was right, therefore;my last letter had never reached her.I inquired after their brother, of course. He was well,but so much engaged with Mr.Darcy that they scarcely ever saw him.I found that Miss Darcy was expected to dinner:I wish I could see her. My visit was not long,as Caroline and Mrs. Hurst were going out.I dare say I shall soon see them here.”
Elizabeth shook her head over this letter.It convinced her that accident only could discover to Mr.Bingley her sister’s being in town.
Four weeks passed away, and Jane saw nothing of him.She endeavoured to persuade herself that she did not regret it;but she could no longer be blind to Miss Bingley’s inattention.After waiting at home every morning for a fortnight,and inventing every evening a fresh excuse for her,the visitor did at last appear;but the shortness of her stay, and, yet more,the alteration of her manner,would allow Jane to deceive herself no longer.The letter which she wrote on this occasion to her sister will prove what she felt:--
“My dearest Lizzy will, I am sure,be incapable of triumphing in her better judgment,at my expense, when I confess myself to have been entirely deceived in Miss Bingley’s regard for me. But, my dear sister, though the event has proved you right, do not think me obstinate if I still assert that, considering what her behaviour was, my confidence was as natural as your suspicion. I do not at all comprehend her reason for wishing to be intimate with me; but, if the same circumstances were to happen again, I am sure I should be deceived again. Caroline did not return my visit till yesterday; and not a note, not a line, did I receive in the meantime. When she did come, it was very evident that she had no pleasure in it; she made a slight, formal apology for not calling before, said not a word of wishing to see me again, and was, in every respect, so altered a creature, that when she went away I was perfectly resolved to continue the acquaintance no longer. I pity, though I cannot help blaming, her. She was very wrong in singling me out as she did; I can safely say, that every advance to intimacy began on her side. But I pity her, because she must feel that she has been acting wrong, and because I am very sure that anxiety for her brother is the cause of it. I need not explain myself farther; and though _we_ know this anxiety to be quite needless, yet if she feels it, it will easily account for her behaviour to me; and so deservedly dear as he is to his sister, whatever anxiety she may feel on his behalf is natural and amiable. I cannot but wonder, however, at her having any such fears now, because if he had at all cared about me, we must have met long, long ago. He knows of my being in town, I am certain, from something she said herself; and yet it would seem, by her manner of talking, as if she wanted to persuade herself that he is really partial to Miss Darcy. I cannot understand it. If I were not afraid of judging harshly, I should be almost tempted to say, that there is a strong appearance of duplicity in all this. I will endeavour to banish every painful thought, and think only of what will make me happy, your affection, and the invariable kindness of my dear uncle and aunt. Let me hear from you very soon. Miss Bingley said something of his never returning to Netherfield again, of giving up the house, but not with any certainty. We had better not mention it. I am extremely glad that you have such pleasant accounts from our friends at Hunsford. Pray go to see them, with Sir William and Maria. I am sure you will be very comfortable there.
“Yours, etc.”