Chapter Sixteen

C harlotte! How glad I am to see you. It has been ages, I think," Elizabeth said, delighted to see her friend.

"Well, a week or so, anyway," replied practical Charlotte. "Mama sent me to get your cook's recipe for apple cake, which I now have in my hand. I hope Jane is recovered?"

"I am," Jane replied. "Thanks to Lizzy!"

"I do not wish to take more credit than is my due," Elizabeth said. "But it is well that I went there. Do you know, Charlotte, that Miss Bingley had Jane put into the room just to the left of the staircase?"

"Is it possible she did not know that to be the coldest room in the house?" Charlotte asked, brow wrinkled.

"Surely she did; I would think one would just need to enter it to immediately know that this was not a fit room for someone who was already ill," Elizabeth protested.

"I suppose you are right; you had Jane moved?"

"Immediately."

"And did Mr. Bingley pay her a good deal of attention?"

"Well, she was confined to her room until our last evening there, but he asked after her every day."

Jane added, "And Mr. Darcy paid Lizzy a good deal of attention! She will not confess it, but it is true. He has called on her already!"

Charlotte stared. "Really! Well, it sounds like I have a good deal to catch up on. Pray, go on, Jane, do tell me everything, for you know Eliza will not. I did hear that Mr. Bingley had a friend visiting, but I know very little about him."

"Oh, he is quite good-looking and very rich, and utterly enamoured with Lizzy," Jane said, eyes twinkling at the opportunity to tease her sister.

"Jane!"

"Eliza, I see by your pink complexion that Jane is near the mark."

"We did speak a good deal while at Netherfield," Elizabeth admitted.

"Is he as eligible as Jane indicates?"

"I do not know him well at all, Charlotte. A few conversations over the course of three days can hardly allow anyone to become sufficiently familiar with a gentleman to know if he would be a good marriage partner."

"Very well, but Jane describes him as good-looking and wealthy. Is that correct?"

"He is certainly good-looking. He has an estate in Derbyshire, so I guess he cannot be poor. And he certainly dresses like a wealthy gentleman, for his coats fit him perfectly and his cravats are expertly tied. More importantly, he is well-read, well-spoken and well-mannered."

Charlotte gaped at her. "I have never heard you speak so well of anyone."

Elizabeth blushed heavily.

"And he has already called on you?" Charlotte enquired.

"Yesterday. And what Jane has not told you is that she herself had two callers who accompanied Mr. Darcy."

"Two! Mr. Bingley and…?"

"Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam," Jane said, turning pink.

"I have not heard that name," Charlotte said.

"He is Mr. Darcy's cousin," Jane explained.

"The second son of the Earl and Countess of Matlock, just to be thorough in our description," Elizabeth added.

"Second son; so not wealthy. Good-looking? Good-natured?"

"He is not truly good-looking," Jane said, thoughtfully. "But he is a big man, heavily muscled, well-mannered. I do not know, somehow he makes one feel safe."

Elizabeth and Charlotte stared at Jane for a long minute. "Really?" Elizabeth finally asked. "I had no idea you felt like that. But I agree with you, as it happens.

"Oh, Lizzy! Do you like him also? I am sorry, I did not know!" Jane's distress was immediate.

"Jane, no, I like and admire him, but I have no romantic interest in him."

"Are you certain? Because I could not possibly encourage him if I knew that you –"

"Jane. Stop. I have no interest in Colonel Fitzwilliam. I like him. I admire him. I think he would make someone – someone other than me – a very good husband. A far better husband than Mr. Bingley, as it happens."

"Really?" Charlotte was interested. "And what is wrong with Mr. Bingley?"

Jane looked down, so Elizabeth answered. "What is wrong with Mr. Bingley is his sister, Miss Bingley. Charlotte, Mr. Bingley told me outright that he cannot say no to her!"

"And she is no friend to me," Jane added sadly.

"Then Eliza is right; he would not make a desirable husband."

Jane lifted her eyes to Charlotte. "Perhaps he could change?"

"You think to teach Mr. Bingley to pay less attention to his sister? Something that he should have learned on his own years ago?" Charlotte's voice was disbelieving.

"When you put it like that…"

"Tell me how you would put it, then."

Jane shook her head. "It does not matter. Neither of them has asked for a courtship, let alone made a proposal. I am in no position to make a choice between Mr. Bingley and Colonel Fitzwilliam, so I shall not think too much on it."

Elizabeth said, sharply, "You should think about it, though, Jane. What if they both would like a courtship but Mr. Bingley asks first. Will you accept, simply because he is – well, a bird in the hand?"

Jane did not answer.

"I suppose Jane could say that she needs time to think about it," Charlotte contributed.

"That is true," Elizabeth said.

"Well, now that I have obtained the recipe for apple cake that Mama wanted and we have solved Jane's difficulty, I shall be on my way," Charlotte said.

Elizabeth cautioned her, "Please, Charlotte, keep this discussion to yourself. Jane does not wish to be gossiped about."

"You know me better than that, I hope," Charlotte said, and then took her leave.