Chapter 2

Mr. Bennet was among the first of those who visited Mr. Bingley. He had always meant to go, but to the last he told his wife he would not. So Mrs. Bennet knew nothing about it until the evening after the visit. It came out in this way. Mr. Bennet watched his second daughter trim a hat, and suddenly he spoke to her.

"I hope Mr. Bingley will like that hat, Lizzy."

"How can we know what Mr. Bingley likes?" said her mother, not pleased. "We cannot even go and see him."

"But Mother, you forget," said Elizabeth. "We will meet him at the ball, and Mrs. Long has promised to introduce us."

"I do not believe Mrs. Long will do any such thing. She has two nieces of her own. She is a selfish woman who pretends to be kind. I do not think well of her at all."

"Neither do I," said Mr. Bennet. "I am glad you do not expect her help."

Mrs. Bennet did not think this worth an answer. But she could not hold her feelings in, and she began to scold one of her daughters.

"Kitty, please stop coughing like that! Have a little pity on my nerves. You are tearing them to pieces."

"Kitty shows no judgment when she coughs," said her father. "She always picks the wrong moment."

"I do not cough for fun," said Kitty, annoyed. "Lizzy, when is the next ball?"

"Two weeks from tomorrow."

"Yes, so it is," cried her mother. "But Mrs. Long does not come back until the day before. So it will be impossible for her to introduce Mr. Bingley. She will not know him herself."

"Then, my dear, you can take the chance before your friend does, and introduce Mr. Bingley to her."

"Nonsense, Mr. Bennet. Nonsense. I do not know him myself, so how could I introduce him? How can you tease me so?"

"I truly respect your careful judgment. Two weeks is a very short time to know someone, of course. You cannot know what a man is really like after only two weeks. But if we do not take the chance, someone else will. After all, Mrs. Long and her nieces have a right to try their luck too. If you refuse the task, she will see it as an act of kindness. So I will take it on myself."

The girls stared at their father. Mrs. Bennet only said, "Nonsense, nonsense!"

"What do you mean by that strong exclamation?" he asked. "Do you mean that the custom of introductions, and the importance people give it, is nonsense? There I cannot quite agree with you. What do you say, Mary? You are a young lady of deep thought, I know. You read great books and copy out fine passages."

Mary wanted to say something very wise. But she did not know what to say.

"While Mary puts her thoughts in order," he went on, "let us return to Mr. Bingley."

"I am sick of Mr. Bingley," cried his wife.

"I am sorry to hear that. But why did you not tell me sooner? If I had known this morning, I would never have visited him. It is most unlucky. But since I have already paid the visit, we cannot escape knowing him now."

The ladies were just as surprised as he had hoped. Mrs. Bennet was perhaps more surprised than anyone. But once the first happy noise died down, she began to say that she had known it would happen all along.

"How good of you, my dear Mr. Bennet! But I knew I would persuade you in the end. I was sure you loved our girls too much to let such a chance pass by. Oh, how happy I am! And what a fine joke, too — you went this morning, and you never said a word about it until now."

"Now, Kitty, you may cough as much as you like," said Mr. Bennet. With those words he left the room, worn out by his wife's joy.

When the door closed, Mrs. Bennet spoke. "Girls, what an excellent father you have. I do not know how you will ever repay his kindness. Or me, either. At our age, meeting new people every day is not such a pleasure, I can tell you. But for your sake, we would do anything. Lydia, my love, though you are the youngest, Mr. Bingley may dance with you at the next ball."

"Oh," said Lydia with full confidence, "I am not worried. I may be the youngest, but I am the tallest."

The rest of the evening was spent guessing how soon Mr. Bingley would return Mr. Bennet's visit, and deciding when to invite him to dinner.