Pride and Prejudice

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Copperfox said:
"For the very existence of that friendship, as well as for good turns done to me _within_ the friendship," said Bingley, "I am indebted to Mr. Darcy himself. His family has at least some contact with nearly every wealthy family this side of Scotland, and some Scots besides. Being in age somewhere between my parents and myself, Darcy undertook to befriend and shepherd me in London, while I was in my early teens."

"Did he introduce you to the young ladies of high society?" asked Lydia.

"No, he chiefly introduced me to the sons of other important men, since these sons were apt to be the men with whom I would have business dealings in the future. Darcy was fond of saying--" At this point, Bingley swung his gaze directly back to Jane's eyes as he finished:

"--that I needed to have MY feet solidly planted under me, before I began trying to sweep some desirable girl off of HER feet. But by now, I do think my feet are planted--when it isn't my backside I'm planting in a roadway!"
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"How nice," she smiled at Bingley.
 
OOC: I had not understood the expected ball to be AT Netherfield; is that being assumed? But of course we can SAY it is; WE are composing THIS version of P-and-P!

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To Jane, Bingley said with a laugh, "I hope that you aren't thinking of my tumble as the VERY nicest part!" Then, answering Lizzie:

"Darcy certainly has been invited." Something about the tone of her question caused him on impulse to add: "Although he has at this time no attachment of his own to any woman. I suspect that good old Darcy would come in any case, if it were only to try to protect me from any woman whom he assesses to be unworthy of his friend."

Here Bingley's eyes locked on Jane again. "But I shall have to tell him that I feel no need of protection against my present company. Rather, I wish to guard against any peril of LOSING that company." He turned to the group again. "A man who calls on a lady, calls on her family, so he owes it to the lady herself to cultivate goodwill with all of her kin. Thus, if the question is not overly intrusive, will any of you charming creatures venture to tell me if there is any especially sensitive ground on which I must tread warily, with respect to staying in your parents' good graces?"

About this time, the later arrivals were being served their food, for which of course Bingley was paying. Jane noted that he drank no wine, though he had indicated on the drive that he was not an absolute teetotaller.





OOC: Since we are not merely mechanically replaying every detail of Jane Austen's text, I am leaning toward having Bingley NOT listen to Darcy when Darcy expresses fear that Jane is only a fortune-hunter.
 
Copperfox said:
OOC: I had not understood the expected ball to be AT Netherfield; is that being assumed? But of course we can SAY it is; WE are composing THIS version of P-and-P!

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"He certainly has been invited," Bingley replied to Elizabeth. Something about the tone of her question caused him on impulse to add: "Although he has at this time no attachment of his own to any woman. I suspect that good old Darcy would come in any case, if it were only to try to protect me from any woman whom he assesses to be unworthy of his friend."

Here Bingley's eyes locked on Jane again. "But I shall have to tell him that I feel no need of protection against my present company. Rather, I wish to guard against any peril of LOSING that company." He turned to the group again. "A man who calls on a lady, calls on her family, so he owes it to the lady herself to cultivate goodwill with all of her kin. Thus, if the question is not overly intrusive, will any of you charming creatures venture to tell me if there is any especially sensitive ground on which I must tread warily, with respect to staying in your parents' good graces?"

About this time, the later arrivals were being served their food, for which of course Bingley was paying. Jane noted that he drank no wine, though he had indicated on the drive that he was not an absolute teetotaller.





OOC: Since we are not merely mechanically replaying every detail of Jane Austen's text, I am leaning toward having Bingley NOT listen to Darcy when Darcy expresses fear that Jane is only a fortune-hunter.
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(ooc agains CF no character modding please.)
 
OOC: Take it easy, Kim. It is not controlling your character merely to say that a visible fact is visible to her.
 
Lydia blurted out, "Mr. Bingley, I think that the only thing possible to be done by you, which would affront our parents, would be if you _ceased_ offering your attentions to her."
 
Mr. Bingley once more attempted to keep the peace. "Perhaps I am overly worried. The current situation of an impending social event ought to create a penumbra of cordiality, in which I can proceed with, um, calling on Miss Jane in a preliminary manner. During this, I should be able to gain for myself a better sense of the ground I tread with Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. I crave your pardon, all of you, for asking you to do my work for me. I must be more spoiled and pampered in my upbringing than I realized.

"Looking ahead to the ball, I presuppose that all of you beauties know how to dance; all of you seem formed by the Almighty to excel at such things. If this be agreeable to all, when the night comes, I shall ask to dance one time each with Miss Elizabeth, Miss Mary, Miss Kitty and Miss Lydia. Those four numbers ought to be enough to allow Miss Jane meanwhile to discharge any obligations of a dancing nature that might be incumbent upon her. Apart from these, I entertain the hope that Miss Jane and I shall have eyes, arms and feet only for each other the whole time."
 
Elizabeth got up " Yes, we shall see again and please tell Mr. Dracy to behave himself," she told him, with a bow then sat back down with her sisters.
 
It seemed like a time to change the subject; but Bingley made a mental note to ask Darcy how much he knew about the Bennet girls--actually, more about Elizabeth than about Jane. This, NOT because there was any possibility of Bingley's interest shifting from Jane to Elizabeth; rather, because Bingley sensed that Elizabeth, more than the quiet Mary and the frivolous Kitty and Lydia, was a possible adversary to his desires toward Jane, if she should ever think Bingley's courtship to be not in Jane's best interests.

"With a view to pastimes of interest both before and after the ball, I hope to be able to share many fine diversions hereabouts, some with Miss Jane in particular, and some with all of you--certainly to include any beau of you other four. Thus, I am open to hear of things any of you enjoy doing." As if to emphasize that he expected others to talk more now, he applied himself to finishing the remainder of his food to the last delicious morsel, while still casting attentive glances at anyone who spoke.


OOC: Even if player characters are silent, let us assume that Lydia and Kitty mention logical enough activities like riding, boating, lawn bowling, croquet, archery, and bird-watching.
 
OOC: Everyone has fallen silent; and I may have to be doing something else by the time anyone gets back to Meryton and the White Owl Inn. So I leave a suggestion.

It is not clear to me whether Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty and Lydia were planning to walk the two miles or whatever it is back to their house in Longbourne. The one-horse carriage rented by Mr. Bingley cannot hold six people at once, even if the weight were NOT a severe burden for the horse; but Bingley hates to leave anyone stranded. Unless there's a better idea (or the other girls do have a carriage too), here's what he will propose: a rotation of riding and walking.

Mr. Bingley walks the entire time, guiding the horse by the head if needed. The five sisters rotate by age, with two of them walking at any time. Kitty and Lydia, the youngest two, might take the first walking shift while their elders ride; then Kitty gets in and Jane gets out; then Lydia gets in and Elizabeth gets out; then Jane gets in and Mary gets out, and so on. And no, Bingley will NOT listen to any urging that he ride in the carriage to spare his right leg that was gouged before.

Once back at the Bennet house one way or another, Bingley's first priority will be to ask if it IS okay with Mr. and Mrs. Bennet if he calls more or less daily on Jane. And it will not bother me a bit if someone else puts that request in Bingley's mouth to keep the action going.
 
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Elizabeth-


" Mr.Bingley we most go now Mother well be wrorried if we don't leave can you help up with a carrige?," she told him, getting up from the table it been hours since they been there.
 
OOC: Since the above post is all the response I've gotten, I have to assume that sisters 2, 3, 4 and 5 _don't_ have any swifter transportation than "shank's mare," to use that century's slang for "walking." Therefore I shall assume that Mr. Bingley's hypothetical plan is actually adopted. If somehow this seems to Dayhawk like me "controlling" her character, she's free to say that she refused to come and was left standing around alone in Meryton while everyone _else_ returned to Longbourne.
 
When Mr. Bingley and the carriage returned with either four or five Bennet sisters, the four or five Bennet sisters discovered that their father's cousin, the Rev. Mr. Collins, was in the process of asking nosy questions of their parents. The questions revolved, of course, around the wealthy young gentleman who had taken Jane Bennet out driving, and who possibly had also brought her home again--the last detail being impossible to determine until the only person allowed to move Jane from place to place had been heard from.
 
Mr. Bingley relieved Mr. and Mrs. Bennet from further pressure by the hypocritical clergyman, saying, "Good day to you, Vicar; I am that very fellow about whom you were curious..."

Speaking more quickly than Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, Lydia or their parents had ever yet heard him speak (of course, it cannot yet be determined whether Jane had ever heard Bingley speak faster), he loaded the Rev. Mr. Collins with information, then remarked that there were either four or five tired young ladies in need of rest, and so finally induced Collins to be on his way.

Then Bingley looked around to try to ascertain whether Jane HAD come back to Longbourne with them, for he could hardly ask to court her if she herself were absent without explanation. As the parents gaped in bafflement, their new acquaintance looked all around, in the parlor, out in front by the carriage, and all around the house. He did not seem even certain that she was NOT present; she might be present, but he dared not assume so until he was told as much by the only person authorized ever ever ever to say.

At last, rapidly losing heart--and wondering what Mr. Darcy would do in such a fine pickle--Mr. Bingley despondently sat down on a step of the carriage, wondering if the new light of his life would consent eventually to start existing again.

Jane, of course, was SOMEPLACE. Wherever this place was where she autonomously chose to be, a battery of eighteen-pound cannons was rolled up alongside her and began firing roundshot and grapeshot. But it cannot be said whether she heard the detonations, for only she was permitted to say whether a cannon fired five paces away from her would be audible to her.
 
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Characters from the other Jane Austen books, including Mr. Knightley from "Emma" and Colonel Brandon from "Sense and Sensibility," began showing up to help search for the invisible Miss Jane. But of course, none of them could be allowed to succeed in finding her, because that would be an action _affecting_ her, and only one person _could_ have the sovereign power to depict any event that affected the invisible and solipsistically isolated Jane Bennet.
 
Meanwhile, Mr. Darcy refused to be played by anyone, including the nonchalantly competent BarbarianKing. He preferred to stay on the sidelines because he knew the RP would crash faster than the stock market run with "change" party regulations.
 
"It's all right, you can all go home," says Bingley to the searchers. "I'm going to go see if the heroine from 'The Scarlet Pimpernel' has a younger sister who's available."
 
Mr. Darcy just out of sight of the thread looked at everything that was happening and gave a nod of approval to BarbarianKing for being smart in refusing to play him, then he turned around and walked away in disgust.
 
Up in Heaven, Jane Austen was sitting with Charlotte Bronte, loking down in bafflement at the proceedings. "I don't understand it," said Miss Austen. "I had named that character after myself; obviously I _didn't_ want her to be a bristly, stubborn, antagonistic woman who scorned love and everything else in favor of imposing her own will and _winning_ some kind of contest that existed mainly inside her own head."

"Strange indeed," sympathized Charlotte. "I've lost count of how many women I've met arriving up here, who, as soon as they had met Jesus and grasped their new eternal nature, began kicking themselves and saying, 'WHY was I so obstinate and adversarial down on Earth? WHY did I think I had to 'defeat' men who were not trying to 'defeat' me?' Each of them calms down as 'knowing as we are known' takes effect; but as far as there can be regret up here, they carry the regret of having _desired_ so much to win a battle of wills that they didn't wait to check on whether the other side was even fighting."
 
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