Chapter Text
Miss Caroline Bingley and Miss Elizabeth Elliot were both of an age where, if marriage is the desired object, its attainment becomes a matter of some anxiety. It was true that neither had an immediate, pecuniary need of matrimony, since each had relations able to offer protection and a comfortable home. Yet, whilst Miss Elliot enjoyed the advantage of being mistress of her father’s house, there remained uncertainty over what would become of her after her father’s death, a question acutely felt by his three daughters, even if the possibility of such an event never seemed to strike their complacent father. Elizabeth felt also the mortification of having two younger sisters already married, and of living in a world seemingly ignorant of her own superior claims to beauty and deservedness.
For Miss Bingley, who had independent means bequeathed to her by parents already departed, there was the more immediately irksome matter of having no home to preside over, and of being always a house guest in the home of either her sister or brother. Since it was not Miss Bingley, but Mrs. Bingley, who was the mistress of the estate purchased by Mr. Bingley after his marriage, and since Mrs. Hurst’s accommodation was not nearly so grand as her brother’s, the inconvenience of her circumstances was of late acutely felt by Caroline, who wished very much for the domestic benefits offered by matrimony. It was true that she had the means to set up a home of her own, perhaps with a lady companion to make an establishment of this kind less lonely, but such a situation would bring no elevation in respectability and importance; rather it might advance her prematurely towards spinsterhood. In consequence, she chose instead to visit Bath in the company of the Hursts, in search of both pleasure and opportunity.
It was in these well-matched circumstances that the two ladies met and became firm friends. Each saw in the other the advantages of company whilst out in society, as well as a means of widening her own acquaintance with gentlemen who might prove eligible; and each professed great affection for, and devotion to, the other, whilst thinking principally of herself. It was undoubtedly a happy association in meeting so many selfish, urgently felt demands.
The Elliots’ close friend, Lady Russell, approved of the growing intimacy between the two ladies, and wrote warmly of it to Miss Elliot’s sister, Mrs Wentworth: “Miss Bingley is a very handsome, elegant young lady, of good sense and education, and from a thoroughly respectable family, albeit one whose fortune was acquired by trade. She can do nothing but raise your sister’s and father’s standing here in Bath, and you will no doubt be very pleased to hear that she is a much more desirable friend for Elizabeth than past, unsuitable choices.”
Anne Wentworth, who knew very well that Lady Russell valued good breeding and fortune much more strongly than she did herself, resolved to reserve judgement on Miss Bingley until she met her, which would no doubt occur on Anne’s projected visit to Bath later in the year. In truth she was a great deal less anxious on the subject of her father’s and sister’s associations than Lady Russell supposed, despite the fact that past experience, in the shape of the flattering, resourceful widow, Mrs Clay, had proven Sir Walter’s susceptibility to unprincipled ladies, and Elizabeth’s insensibility to such dangers. Anne was not insensible, but she was now much more occupied with the dangers that Captain Wentworth would face on his voyage to North Africa in four months’ time, and with the fact that this time, as the mother of a new, baby girl, she herself would not accompany him. Both she and Frederick were filled with joy and anxiety, afforded by their daughter and by their imminent separation, and so had little time for events in Bath. In short, Anne, having for most of her life placed her sisters’ demands and desires above her own, now had others to care for; and as Mrs Wentworth, she could not help but feel that Miss Elliot’s manner of living was not so very precarious or taxing that she should not reasonably expect to shift for herself from time to time.
Miss Bingley became a regular visitor at Camden Place, and the Elliots and Lady Russell were also invited to dine, take tea, and play cards in the elegant apartments of Mr and Mrs Hurst. Busy as she was in congratulating herself on the value of such new acquaintances, Lady Russell was not nearly so quick to suspect in Miss Bingley the motives she had readily recognised in Mrs Clay. Understanding dawned for her at the same time as it did for Elizabeth, who was much sharper in detecting a threat from the fashionable, wealthy Miss Bingley, than she had been from the freckled, gap-toothed Mrs Clay, who had after all come to Bath as Miss Elliot’s own, dependent companion.
Lady Russell, having encountered Sir Walter, Miss Elliot and Miss Bingley by chance one afternoon in the tea rooms of the Sydney Hotel and taken a stroll with them through the agreeable sights of Sydney Gardens, found that Sir Walter was proposing to neglect an invitation to dine with Lady Dalrymple and Miss Carteret, in favour of an evening at the theatre with Mrs Hurst and her sister. It was this surprising development which alerted both Lady Russell and Elizabeth to the power which Miss Bingley held over the baronet.
“Upon my word, our cousins cannot expect to have the whole of Bath at their feet every night,” exclaimed Sir Walter, who was in truth growing a little tired of the need to give, rather than receive, flattery when it came to his illustrious relations. The apparent admiration of an elegant, young lady such as Miss Bingley had caused the baronet to feel strongly what was due to his own person – though indeed this was by no means an estimation he had overlooked in the past. He drew Miss Bingley’s arm through his and, patting her hand, declared an evening at the theatre to be an excellent notion.
“Papa,” cried Elizabeth askance. “We are talking of Lady Dalrymple.”
Miss Bingley, seeing that Sir Walter had expressed too marked a preference for both theatricals and his present company, hastily detached herself from Sir Walter’s grasp, and professed a great desire for the evening's entertainment with dear Miss Elliot, with the amendment that it should take place on another night. But the damage was done, and Elizabeth went home to reflect on what her father's extraordinary behavior might mean. The result was a note to Miss Bingley declaring that the play in question was not to Miss Elliot’s taste, and that she had a severe headache which she anticipated could not possibly leave her for a week or more.
Miss Bingley was not deceived, and after some consultation with her sister, decided that a sojourn to London was called for. “The gentleman will resolve the question if he fears losing your company and good opinion, no matter how much his daughter's head may hurt!” advised the sagacious Mrs. Hurst. “Mark my words, it does not do to be too readily attainable. Remember, when Mr. Hurst and I became engaged - why, we were apart for weeks at a time beforehand, and I am sure if it had not been so, we would neither of us have been inclined to marry!”
The observations of the already married are not always encouraging to those contemplating matrimony in the hope that domestic felicity will follow. On this occasion, however, Mrs Hurst’s advice was sound enough for any young lady hoping to secure a match regardless of its suitability, and this was in truth closer to Miss Bingley’s current state of mind. That Mrs Hurst did not stop to consider whether such feelings should be encouraged in a younger, unmarried sister reflected perhaps the depth of her own understanding, compassion and marital feelings.
Caroline Bingley, without the protection of affectionate parents, and thwarted and mortified in her past matrimonial goals, had no friend to persuade her of the folly of her chosen path. Had she remained in Bath and in the tiresome company of Sir Walter and his daughter, her own intelligence, which was high, and self-interest, which was higher, might have guided her actions more wisely. But instead she left for London, piqued, but still determined to become the next Lady Elliot.
Sir Walter, meanwhile, missed the flattery of Miss Bingley’s company exceedingly, and he resented his oldest daughter’s susceptibility to ill-timed headaches. In consequence, he began for the first time to consider whether Elizabeth’s presence, as mistress of his household, might be an encumbrance to his own convenience and happiness…