Pride and Prejudice

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OOC right back: Sorry, it was just that you seemed to have logged off, and I wanted to make sure that this carriage ride _would_ happen.

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Having come to the Bennets' house from the more country-ward direction, Mr. Bingley steered the carriage into the heart of the village of Longbourne, saying to his passenger, "Please point out any shop, inn, or other spot of interest that you deem worthy of identifying; and feel free to bid me stop for any reason. Once we have explored the wonders of your village, I will ask you then if you feel like remaining with me to explore farther afield; if not, I shall convey you home with my thanks."
 
Mary was one of the first inside the house and went straight to practicing on the piano forte. As she got further into the song she kept on making more and more mistakes, so she decided to practice a little at a time over and over again until she got it right.
 
Mr. Bingley and Jane had not gotten far before a man's voice hailed them from behind, "I beg your pardon, young lady and good sir! Would you--I mean of course you, sir--be the new resident at Netherfield?"

The uniformed horseman coming alongside spared an appreciative glance at Jane, but wanted to speak to the newcomer. He wore the uniform, not of any army regiment which had ever actually fought Napoleon, but of the London Town Militia. He looked fine, but odds were that a private of the French Lancers would have stretched him in the dirt at first encounter. [OOC: This guy becomes important later.] Mr.Bingley confirmed his own identity, saying, "You have me at a disadvantage, sir. Whom do I have the pleasure of meeting?"

"Captain George Wickham at your service. I learned of Netherfield housing a new squire from the temporarily displaced owner, during a game of cards. Do you play, Mr. Bingley?"

"A little whist and the like," replied Bingley; "but never for money."

This reply on Bingley's part seemed subtly to cool the handsome rider's enthusiasm for the new acquaintance.
 
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Mary stopped to look at her sister and replied, " But mother said that there will be another dance soon! I want to be prepared in case anyone requests that I play."
 
Wow he doeasn't gamble, she thought, the leastest of qualities in a person.
"It is a pleasure to meet you Mr. Wickham."
 
Mary sat still as she watched her sister leave, and when she could no longer see her sister's figure through the doorway she began practicing the part she was going over before she was interrupted.

If I could only master this part, people will SURELY ask for me to play at every party, she thought.
 
Being not even AS military as the toy soldier before him--who mentioned being on some errand or other--Mr. Bingley made no attempt to discourage Jane from speaking with Wickham as she pleased. But he had seen many of the type he guessed Wickham to be: more interested in charming ladies with a uniform, than in wearing that uniform where it might be pierced by a musket ball. Since he was not in service himself, Bingley did not feel very qualified to criticize. Nonetheless, he DID feel qualified to avoid gambling.
 
Back at the Bennet house, Mr. Bennet tried to encourage Mary a bit, saying, "I can hear you making progress; do you think you will soon feel confident about singing at the same time as you play?"
 
OOC: This post will portray _thoughts_ in Bingley's head, while still preserving Dayhawk's option to speak further with Captain Wickham before Wickham departs from the action for awhile.


"If this mustached peacock is the kind of man I suspect he is, there's a fine irony for you: the wealthy, idle women among whom people expect ME to select a bride, are the sort HE would most prefer to exercise his charm on. His charm, that is, _rather_ than anything like sincere affection. He would be after their money, and the social status they could confer upon him. Yet even what he DID value in a wife, he would squander by his gambling and carousing--ruining the woman's life, while not even making himself really happy.

"My own life, I have to admit, has not been terribly useful to others; but at least I don't _purposely_ exploit and parasitize. Perhaps I am even being rewarded after a fashion, or being given an opportunity to do better, in the prospect of courting this excellent young lady beside me. For I don't think I am in ANY danger of losing Jane to this Wickham--not because I could kill him in a duel, or even beat him at cards, but because HE has not the sense to recognize a walking, breathing treasure when he sees one. He will move on, watching for some lady whom he can make his trophy, not his partner and comfort in life.

"Which leaves me to proceed with you, Jane. How can I best make you understand what it is I sense in you? 'Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised,' said King Solomon. You, Jane, seem to have the spiritual virtues, AND the outward loveliness besides. But what if my very wealth and status work against me? As surely as Wickham probably hunts for women with money, so a man with money is hunted BY women. I feel sure that you, Jane, are NOT so crass as--I'm sorry to think it, but my sister Hortense fits the description. You, Jane, desire in your heart to love and be loved, or so I believe. So how can I make sure you know that I give you credit for your noble qualities--that I _don't_ suppose you to be one who cares for nothing but my wealth? Also, that if I come to the point of declaring love to you, it will not be because I am simply desperate to win _some_ woman, but because I _prefer_ you to other women....This is going to take time. It's a good thing we're young!"


Again, the above consists entirely of secret thoughts.
 
"Contrary to what one often hears, Miss Jane, it is the people present in a place, more than any other single factor, who make a place worth being in. I mean, apart from times when one specifically goes somewhere to be alone. But I mostly prefer human company." Mr. Bingley realized that he was rambling, but it was hard to be more orderly in his thoughts when the loveliest eyes he had ever seen were gazing in his direction. "Uhh, Netherfield has much to recommend it, both as to the furnishing of the manor house and the beauty of the landscape--not to forget the productivity of the dependent farmland. But none of that goes as far in my estimation to make the place agreeable, as the diligent and capable workers who reside on the estate. I have had no cause to complain of any of them." He swallowed, gathered his nerve, and resumed.

"Yet good though it is to have help of a superior quality, it is...dear me, I'm afraid I may come off sounding as if I...Miss Jane! You have, which is by no means a shortcoming, the most powerful effect on a man--you must accept my word that, whatever jumble of language makes its way out of my mouth, it is intended as a sincere compliment. I am trying to say, ah, to say that, even upon less than half a day's acquaintance...I mean to say that all I've been saying about people making the difference, was intended for the sole and only purpose of telling you that it is now YOUR presence in the neighborhood, I mean you singularly, Miss Jane, that has made the environs of Netherfield a most desirable setting for me."

Having declared himself this far, Bingley looked away for a moment, trying to decide which would be less ridiculous-looking on his part: to wipe his forehead with a handkerchief, or to let his forehead go on perspiring until sweat was stinging his eyes.
 
Copperfox said:
"Contrary to what one often hears, Miss Jane, it is the people present in a place, more than any other single factor, who make a place worth being in. I mean, apart from times when one specifically goes somewhere to be alone. But I mostly prefer human company." Mr. Bingley realized that he was rambling, but it was hard to be more orderly in his thoughts when the loveliest eyes he had ever seen were gazing in his direction. "Uhh, Netherfield has much to recommend it, both as to the furnishing of the manor house and the beauty of the landscape--not to forget the productivity of the dependent farmland. But none of that goes as far in my estimation to make the place agreeable, as the diligent and capable workers who reside on the estate. I have had no cause to complain of any of them." He swallowed, gathered his nerve, and resumed.

"Yet good though it is to have help of a superior quality, it is...dear me, I'm afraid I may come off sounding as if I...Miss Jane! You have, which is by no means a shortcoming, the most powerful effect on a man--you must accept my word that, whatever jumble of language makes its way out of my mouth, it is intended as a sincere compliment. I am trying to say, ah, to say that, even upon less than half a day's acquaintance...I mean to say that all I've been saying about people making the difference, was intended for the sole and only purpose of telling you that it is now YOUR presence in the neighborhood, I mean you singularly, Miss Jane, that has made the environs of Netherfield a most desirable setting for me."

Having declared himself this far, Bingley looked away for a moment, trying to decide which would be less ridiculous-looking on his part: to wipe his forehead with a handkerchief, or to let his forehead go on perspiring until sweat was stinging his eyes.
Click to expand...

Jane was blushing terribly.
"Oh," she said and looked away, then looked back at him with a smile, "If I maybe so bold, bloder than ever in my life, you just made Neitherfield the most agreeable place in England."
 
Elizabeth was shopping with the rest of her sisters while Jane was with Mr. Bingley " I do hope she all right," she said to herself.


Kitty-

" Elizabeth look at my new ribbons aren't they lovely?," she asked.
 
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Seeing the radiant creature blushing emboldened Mr. Bingley to go ahead and wipe his forehead. Then he said, "Miss Jane, you have made me as happy as a man dare hope for, so early in an acquaintance. At the soonest reasonable time, I shall invite your family en masse--including this vicar cousin of your father's, if YOU, Miss Jane, judge that to be a good thing--to tour Netherfield, and possibly share in some such entertainment as may be devised. For me to transport you only to my house, right now, would of course be unseemly; but even being with you in the public view is gratifying. Indeed, more than gratifying: I have no doubt that you and your sister Elizabeth are so well-liked hereabouts, that my being seen with you will recommend my character favorably to all neighbors. Therefore, shall we go on to Meryton, and allow me to buy you a luncheon at the inn I heard about? The, um, what was it called?"
 
"Yes, the inn said to serve superb meat-pies, among other hearty foods." He managed to restrain himself from saying--which would have been trite, and possibly offensive--that right now Jane was the most appealing "dish" he could imagine. He must not scare her away, or affront her honor; she might be THE ONE for him, and the only way to find out was to treat her well and see what came of it.

"The something and something; Owl and Otter, was it?"
 
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