Pride and Prejudice

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Mr. Bingley had not in fact suffered any broken bones, but for just a moment he imagined that all of his ribs, and his spine with them, had been smashed like glass. In that moment he wondered if God might be punishing him for NOT being in the army or the navy, fighting to restrain the greedy ambitions of Napoleon Bonaparte; but then his thoughts descended from the theological to the anatomical--his lungs were refusing to take in fresh air.

He had almost passed out when at last he bent his diaphragm to his will--and inhaled, rather violently. The more silly and vain part of him wondered if the two young ladies would think he was gasping at the sight of them; for they happened to be appearing in his field of vision at the instant he regained his ability to breathe.

At least now he could reply to the one who touched him. "Born long--I mean Longbourne!" was his first and rather unhelpful utterance. But the other sister made some sense of it, and said, "Are you from Longbourne?"

"Close to there," Bingley wheezed. "Netherfield--rented it--just this week."
 
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Copperfox said:
Mr. Bingley had not in fact suffered any broken bones, but for just a moment he imagined that all of his ribs, and his spine with them, had been smashed like glass. In that moment he wondered if God might be punishing him for NOT being in the army or the navy, fighting to restrain the greedy ambitions of Napoleon Bonaparte; but then his thoughts descended from the theological to the anatomical--his lungs were refusing to take in fresh air.

He had almost passed out when at last he bent his diaphragm to his will--and inhaled, rather violently. The more silly and vain part of him wondered if the two young ladies would think he was gasping at the sight of them; for they happened to be appearing in his field of vision at the instant he regained his ability to breathe.
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"Are you hurt sir," Jane repeated, hoping this time he was able to respond. She knew she should have waited a second!
 
"You are--most kind," Bingley panted, trying to salvage at least something from his debacle by paying a perfectly reasonable compliment. "Let me see--if I can sit up."

He could. Sitting up, he took in the less-forward of the sisters in his glance as well, saying, "Ladies, you have had the dubious honor of witnessing the still more dubious horsemanship of Charles Bingley. At your service...if my service can avoid getting you into any accidents with me!"

The last part of his self-deprecating speech was uttered with his eyes fixed squarely on the girl who had touched him...for whether she guessed it or not, she had touched him in more ways than one.
 
"He seems so," she smiled as their eyes met, "let us take you back to our home, you can rest there, and your steed fed and groomed."
 
The very sight of this girl's beauty [OOC: meaning Jane] at close range seemed to restore strength to Mr. Bingley--even to give him some dexterity. For now, at last, he managed to do something with some coordination: rising to his feet _without_ letting his eyes leave her eyes for an instant. He was also still fixedly gazing into her eyes when his right hand felt for the damage to his trousers. The damage to the skin of his leg made itself more forcefully felt when he did so; but he refused to permit himself to show pain with this captivating embodiment of ladylike loveliness watching him.

"Your pardon, gracious damsels,"--he remembered the courtesy of including the other sister in his words--"but I have the added embarrassment of having torn my breeches. Have you the means of assisting me to borrow a pair in this vicinity?"
 
She giggled " Oh, sister I think I yes I need to do something," she told her, with bowed " I'll be back I'm so sorry," she told them, picking her dress up and started to run.
 
New female voices now burst into the scene. Though his eyes were the totally-owned property of the girl whose hand had compassionately touched him, Bingley's peripheral vision took in three more girls approaching as if they were well acquainted with the first two. Bingley could hear the less-noticed one of his most immediate rescuers beginning to speak to the newcomers, with something about "Father" suggesting that all five young ladies were of one family.

"Fortunate the other four girls," thought Bingley, "to have _this_ radiant creature as their sister!" His eyes were powerless to turn left, right, up or down from the eyes which had captured his--until he heard one of the newcoming girls mention something about a horse, which reminded him of the existence of his gelding. He would have to retrieve it, even if it were only to return to Netherfield on foot leading it.

Even so, he could not leave the vision before him unacknowledged in fetching his animal. "Young lady," he said, postponing the moment when he would be forced to look at something on Earth besides her, "having spoken my own humiliated name to you, may I enjoy the delightful privilege of knowing yours?"
 
Copperfox said:
New female voices now burst into the scene. Though his eyes were the totally-owned property of the girl whose hand had compassionately touched him, Bingley's peripheral vision took in three more girls approaching as if they were well acquainted with the first two. Bingley could hear the less-noticed one of his most immediate rescuers beginning to speak to the newcomers, with something about "Father" suggesting that all five young ladies were of one family.

"Fortunate the other four girls," thought Bingley, "to have _this_ radiant creature as their sister!" His eyes were powerless to turn left, right, up or down from the eyes which had captured his--until he heard one of the newcoming girls mention something about a horse, which reminded him of the existence of his gelding. He would have to retrieve it, even if it were only to return to Netherfield on foot leading it.

Even so, he could not leave the vision before him unacknowledged in fetching his animal. "Young lady," he said, postponing the moment when he would be forced to look at something on Earth besides her, "having spoken my own humiliated name to you, may I enjoy the delightful privilege of knowing yours?"
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"Oh forgive me, how rude, I am Jane Bennet," she smiled and curtsied, "the excitement caught me off my senses."
 
THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN POSTED MUCH SOONER IF NOT FOR _ANOTHER_ FORUM CHOKE-UP!!!

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Surprised at his own boldness, Bingley went so far as to reach for Jane Bennett's right hand with his own...and she allowed him to clasp it. He had some idea of kissing her hand, but lost his nerve as far as that action was concerned. Still, he did keep on holding her fingers lightly as he said:

"Most charming Miss Jane Bennett, I beg you not to think of yourself as rude! Though you had withheld your name for a month--a month in which, I assure you, I would have been trying every day to find out your name--your generous concern for my health at our first encounter would have more than compensated, sufficing to prove your quality as a maiden worthy to hold up her angelically beautiful head in any company!" He sighed, and Jane thought she could tell that there was nothing of cynical pretense in the sigh. "But now, though I would gladly give away fifty horses in return for the privilege of continuing to behold your face at this close proximity, I _must_ go after the one you saw me fall off of, because he is not mine to let go. He came with the property I rented; and if those from whom I am renting reclaim possession of their Longbourne manor, they shall want that horse again. A truly admirable steed he is, too; my falling off was in no way _his_fault."

Forcing himself to release Jane's hand (and daring to believe that it had not been disagreeable to her to have had him grasping that perfect hand of hers), Bingley limped forth in pursuit of his dawdling chestnut horse.

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[Possibly my last post on this thread for tonight]
 
Copperfox said:
THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN POSTED MUCH SOONER IF NOT FOR _ANOTHER_ FORUM CHOKE-UP!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Surprised at his own boldness, Bingley went so far as to reach for Jane Bennett's right hand with his own...and she allowed him to clasp it. He had some idea of kissing her hand, but lost his nerve as far as that action was concerned. Still, he did keep on holding her fingers lightly as he said:

"Most charming Miss Jane Bennett, I beg you not to think of yourself as rude! Though you had withheld your name for a month--a month in which, I assure you, I would have been trying every day to find out your name--your generous concern for my health at our first encounter would have more than compensated, sufficing to prove your quality as a maiden worthy to hold up her angelically beautiful head in any company!" He sighed, and Jane thought she could tell that there was nothing of cynical pretense in the sigh. "But now, though I would gladly give away fifty horses in return for the privilege of continuing to behold your face at this close proximity, I _must_ go after the one you saw me fall off of, because he is not mine to let go. He came with the property I rented; and if those from whom I am renting reclaim possession of their Longbourne manor, they shall want that horse again. A truly admirable steed he is, too; my falling off was in no way _his_fault."

Forcing himself to release Jane's hand (and daring to believe that it had not been disagreeable to her to have had him grasping that perfect hand of hers), Bingley limped forth in pursuit of his dawdling chestnut horse.

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[Possibly my last post on this thread for tonight]
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"My my," she said as he left for the horse, "hope to see you soon."
 
Whatever his shortcomings, Mr. Bingley had an excellent sense of hearing. Swinging back toward Jane, he said, "Since the horse has not gone far off, and since your sister seems to be attending to the matter of trousers, you may well be seeing me uninterruptedly for a little while yet!"

The gelding (who had, after all, not purposely thrown his rider) allowed himself to be caught easily. Mr. Bingley was not in a hurry to test whether mounting would be more painful to his scraped right leg than continuing to walk and leading the peaceful beast. Besides, remaining on the ground could mean regaining the rapture of looking the breathtaking Jane Bennett in the eyes.

Returning to her side as quickly as was reasonably possible, he told her, "As you see, I do not _quite_ fall down with _every_ movement I make...though I could be persuaded to fall off more horses, if it would always result in your coming to my assistance. Is there a place where I can handily tie up my quadrupedal friend while we wait to hear what success your sisters--all of those are your sisters, are they not?--have achieved in the quest of trousers for me to borrow?"

It was not lost on Jane that he was suggesting their waiting together, not himself waiting alone.
 
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Copperfox said:
Whatever his shortcomings, Mr. Bingley had an excellent sense of hearing. Swinging back toward Jane, he said, "Since the horse has not gone far off, and since your sister seems to be attending to the matter of trousers, you may well be seeing me uninterruptedly for a little while yet!"

The gelding (who had, after all, not purposely thrown his rider) allowed himself to be caught easily. Mr. Bingley was not in a hurry to test whether mounting would be more painful to his scraped right leg than continuing to walk and leading the peaceful beast. Besides, remaining on the ground could mean regaining the rapture of looking the breathtaking Jane Bennett in the eyes.

Returning to her side as quickly as was reasonably possible, he told her, "As you see, I do not _quite_ fall down with _every_ movement I make...though I could be persuaded to fall off more horses, if it would always result in your coming to my assistance. Is there a place where I can handily tie up my quadrupedal friend while we wait to hear what success your sisters--all of those are your sisters, are they not?--have achieved in the quest of trousers for me to borrow?"

It was not lost on Jane that he was suggesting their waiting together, not himself waiting alone.
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"Of cousr over here," she said pointing to the barn, "And yes they are all my sisters. Do you have any siblings Mr. Bingley?"
 
OOC to Kim's in-character question:

I can't remember if he had siblings in the novel or not; but I'm pretty sure that if he did, they were not important to the story. So let us assume that he answers Jane with whatever is the "fact" as per the author, then continues...

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"Allow me to ask in turn, esteemed Miss Jane Bennett, if you have brothers, and if both of your parents are still among the living in this life? If a guess be made on the basis of seeing you, any brothers you have must be dashing fellows, while both your parents must be fine-looking for their age. Or if there be anything lacking of beauty in either of your parents, it would be because they so generously bestowed it on you instead."
 
Jane did not act so untowardly forward as to stay close to Mr. Bingley the whole time he was securing the horse; yet neither did she flee the scene altogether. She was able to see that, even though the chestnut was far from soaked with sweat--and without waiting to have someone do this for him, even though Jane knew he must be in some discomfort with his scratched leg--he relieved the animal of the burden of its saddle and bridle. It pleased Jane that this new acquaintance was kind to animals; and it intrigued her that he seemed to be doing what a horseman might do who expected to be...VISITING in one place for a time.

Rejoining Jane, and unmistakably happy to note that she had not retreated from him, the young gentleman placed himself as near to her as decency permitted, and said:

"Miss Bennett, the ride on which I set out, not knowing how my own carelessness would cause its interruption, was intended to introduce me to as many of my neighbors as possible, in a more direct and sociable fashion than having a servant carry my calling cards hither and thither--though I did have some nice visiting cards made up, and shall be offering one to your parents. But now I can only thank the Almighty for my accident, not to say that my blunder was any fault of His; because it led to my meeting you. Which makes me most anxious to introduce myself next to your parents, so that no slightest thought can exist of my wishing to pursue your acquaintance in any other way than the most proper and respectful way--respectful to society and respectful to your parents, but most of all respectful to your own enchanting person."
 
Inside the house, the mother of the five girls got the idea somehow that she was being told that a man was currently taking off his trousers in front of the house. It took Elizabeth, the smart one, some time to make her mother understand that no one had said any such thing. Meanwhile, she asked the younger girls to provide some clean water for Mr. Bingley to wash the cuts on his leg at the time he would be changing into an old pair of Papa's trousers.
 
OOC: The following is done to allow our hoped-for new players to join in anytime now--as, say, the parents and the three younger sisters, whose names GentleVoice can supply. Even, perhaps, as purely made-up neighbors? Note, however, that you CANNOT be a vampire or a mutant superhero or an anime character or a modern pop singer here; you have to be an English citizen, most likely part of the educated class, in the days when England on one side and Russia on the other side were the bulwarks against further expansion by Napoleon's empire.

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A pair of Mr. Bennett's old trousers was found; a place was provided where Mr. Bingley could wash his lacerations and bandage them with the cleanest material Elizabeth had been able to provide; and soon, Charles Bingley, dominus pro tempore of Netherfield near Longbourne, reappeared before the Bennett family in a somewhat better state of attire. Handing his own ruined breeches to one of the younger daughters, he sighed, "If anyone in your household has any use for old rags, that's what these are now. Though perhaps I should keep them, as a reminder to myself, when riding, to keep my eyes on hazards in my path, more than upon pleasing distractions, no matter how pleasing the distractions might be."

Being in the presence of Jane's parents, and not yet authorized to call upon her (though he was quick to present them with his card), Mr. Bingley did not look at Jane when he said this; but she knew that he meant her.

Now began the polite questions. Mr. Bingley allowed almost all the talk to consist of himself being questioned, and the Bennetts getting answers. This was NOT because he cared only about himself; it was because he could tell that this family was not of the wealthiest, and he did not want to risk embarrassing them. He would much rather be embarrassed himself (as he had just been) than to embarrass others who had done nothing to deserve it. So he told the things that came naturally, about his family, his circle of acquaintances in London and elsewhere...and, he made sure they heard, the fact that he was an unattached bachelor, whose family was not trying too hard to decide for him whom he must marry.

But what made the most dramatic impression on the Bennetts was his revelation that he was close friends with Mr. Darcy, one of the most prosperous gentlemen anywhere near Meryton.

"What manner of man, then, do you find Mr. Darcy to be?" asked Elizabeth.

"Smart, alert, responsible, prudent and businesslike, Miss Elizabeth," Bingley replied. "But withal, he has the milk of human kindness under his armor. Once, when the wife of one of his tenant farmers was close to giving birth, Mr. Darcy went out himself in a cold rain to bring the midwife to her. The baby was a girl. The farm couple wanted to make her first name Darcy, but...uhh, my friend said they should instead name the girl after the midwife who gave her safe passage into our world. Said she deserved the honor more."

Jane was watching Bingley's face as he told this tale. It sprang to her mind that Bingley must be trying, for the sake of gentility, not to mention the real reason why Mr. Darcy had not wanted that peasant baby named after him. Too many lords of manors were not above adding their own unacknowledged blood to the growth of the tenant population. There was no reason to believe that Mr. Darcy was guilty of this abuse of privileged rank--but every reason why he, a man of integrity, should want to avoid having people THINK that he might do such things. And clearly Mr. Bingley would not allow even the hypothetical possibility to be uttered, that his friend could be such a selfish predator.
 
Elizabeth sighed " Well if this is true I'm not sure but if Mr.Dracy...," she puse what she was about to say, she got up and bowed " If you don't mind I need to write to someone," she told him, then pick up her dress and walked up the stairs.


ooc: soon I want them to have the ball :]
 
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