Page 7 of When Elizabeth Said Yes

"As well he should," Mrs Bennet said with a sniff. "After all, he has the means and we are six women alone in this world. Why should he not help us?"

Elizabeth sighed at her mother's ever-ungenerous view.

"It says he has found a property he believes will be suitable in Cheapside."

"Cheapside!" Mrs Bennet exclaimed. "Oh, my poor nerves. How can he think to suggest such a thing? To give up our beloved Longbourn to go to Cheapside? Why, I can hardly—"

"It will be nice to see our aunt and uncle and cousins more, won't it, Mama?" Mary said, glancing up from the book in her lap, which was surely sermons or the Bible. Mary's reading tended towards the more serious.

"But to go to Cheapside, it is..."

"It is a good prospect for us, Mama," Elizabeth said firmly. "We shall be in London, and we shall have a roof over our heads. Do you not think, Jane?"

She turned to her elder sister, always the calm voice of reason, always the one who could make everyone feel better about the situation.

But her sister's face was ashen, and she had not looked up from her letter.

"Are you well, sister?" Kitty asked.

"Jane, what is it?" Elizabeth asked more softly. "Who is the letter from?"

"It is from Miss Bingley," she said quietly. "It seems that the whole party will have left Netherfield for London by the time I have received this note, and they do not intend to return. She says..." She swallowed. "She says that she is very much looking forward to seeing Miss Georgiana Darcy there, and hopes that she may soon call her sister."

Her eyes met Elizabeth's, and she saw tears and pain.

Her heart broke for her sister, even though she had rather expected that this might be the case – that Bingley, who had already been a rather ambitious prospect when their father was alive, would foresee the burden of her family and therefore distance himself from her.

But still it seemed uncommonly cruel, considering the grief they were living through, and since she knew her sister held real affection for the man.

"Oh, that terrible man!" Mrs Bennet exclaimed. "How could he? To quit Netherfield now, to leave without even seeing my poor Jane! What a cad!"

"If he's going to be in London, Mama," Lydia said, her eyes twinkling, and Elizabeth rather thought that her sister would not care if they lived in Cheapside, provided they were at least present for some exciting events – when they were allowed out in society after their period of mourning, of course. "Well, if we are to move there too, then perhaps Jane will see Bingley once more, and they shall fall madly in love. Or at least she'll manage to be a bit quicker in encouraging him to propose this time."

"Lydia, do not be so cruel. Not now," Elizabeth said, irritation colouring her tone.

She saw Jane's face fall.

"That is, of course, not why we shall move to London. However, it may be that Mr Bingley has been encouraged back to London by his sisters, and perhaps if he did see you, Jane... Well, who knows?"

She tried to be kind, even though she thought the chances of Bingley offering marriage now were sadly slim, especially if his sisters were against it, as it seemed.

Mrs Bennet fanned herself and leaned her head back in the armchair.

"Oh, my nerves, my poor nerves! What is to become of us? Five daughters all unwed and no father to find matches for them. Oh, goodness, I need my smelling salts. Hill! Hill!"

She screamed for their poor maid, who surely knew that they would not have the funds to pay her once they left Longbourn. In fact, Elizabeth was not even sure where the money for her wages was coming from now.

And thus it was, in this chaos, and with Jane's fallen face, and her sisters' teasing, and Mrs Bennet's nerves, that the third letter remained unread for several hours.

And when it was finally opened, it brought much heartbreak with it.

Chapter Five

"You must not worry about me, dear Lizzy," Jane said that afternoon as they took a walk in the gardens, longing for some fresh air and to remove themselves from their mother's forlorn sighs. "He has done no injury to me. It was simply an error of fancy. Soon I shall be well and myself again, and I will remember him as an amiable man whom I once knew."

Elizabeth reached for her sister's hand and squeezed it.

"You are brave, my Jane, and a better woman than I, for I should be scorning him. For it is surely true that he did lead you to expect more, even if he did not say quite as much."