Just after the old grandfather clock in the hallway had struck eleven, the Bennet family sat down to a sluggish breakfast, with conversation ranging from mere mumbles, testament to the exhaustion felt by the family as a whole, to fanatic ravings about one thing or another; from Lydia, not enough could be said about how many dance partners she had acquired, nor the number of officers she believed were "rather partial" to her. Likewise, Mrs Bennet, when she was not taken by her nerves, could not be steered away from the topic of Mr Bingley, and how her eldest daughter should have pursued more dances with the man who was clearly infatuated with her.

"My dear daughter," Mrs Bennet sputtered between mouthfuls, and with an enthusiastic wave of her fork, "you are not so beautiful for nothing! Indeed, you danced far less with the man than you ought to have! In fact, I thought him rather neglectful. To be sure, I know not why he chose to dance with Miss Charlotte Lucas over you!" Jane coloured and was rendered unable to answer out of embarrassment.

"Mama! You cannot really believe that Mr Bingley should have danced with only Jane? Surely you understand that he has obligations as a host, and as an eligible gentleman furthermore!"

Elizabeth had no reserve in answering on Jane's behalf, and scowled at her mother. Where Jane only thought her opinion, she was inclined to share it, especially in regards to her sister's happiness. Taking advantage of her mother's ill-timed mouthful, Elizabeth continued.

"It would have been improper if he had danced with only her. You must be satisfied with three of the sets."

"Oh hush Lizzy! Mr Bennet?" Mrs Bennet looked expectantly to her husband, who, instead of supporting his wife in her endeavours, smirked at Elizabeth and continued with his newspaper as if he had not been addressed.

"Well I never! I-"

Before she had a chance to continue, Mrs Bennet was interrupted by the entrance of a servant carrying a missive for Miss Bennet from Netherfield. Jane coloured for a second time. Taking the letter with a small smile, she immediately excused herself before her mother demanded her read it aloud. Elizabeth soon followed suit, and the pair left their inquisitive mother in favour for the parlour at the other end of the house.

Elizabeth closed the door upon their entrance, and sat across from Jane as the note was read aloud for a more desirable audience.

"My dear Jane,

I must write to thank you again, my dearest friend, for attending last evening. It was most enjoyable to once more spend an evening in your company. My sister and I hope to see you again at Netherfield very soon, if this letter's purpose does not go amiss.

My sister and I would be very grateful if you would delight us with your company tomorrow evening, for, as you know, our brother has left us for business in town, along with Mr Darcy. While we expect their duties will only prevent our seeing them again for a little over a week, within that time, I must admit, life will grow rather dull. Therefore, we will expect to see you. Of course our invitation extends to Miss Elizabeth also, if your will desires it. I suppose what they say must be true; three is certainly a crowd.

Write soon with your acceptance.

Yours,

Caroline Bingley"

Elizabeth almost laughed aloud at her gracious invitation, and Caroline's feeble efforts to soften the blow. Her multiple attempts at showing affection for her sister did little to buffer the coldness shown towards herself. Jane, however, seemed to go on oblivious to what can hardly be called civility, and perused Miss Bingley's correspondence with satisfaction.

"Her invitation is a good sign," Jane beamed, "for it means that the sister's truly do consider me a friend."

"Either that or they are wilfully trying to amuse themselves while Miss Bingley's playthings have been removed from her grasp." Elizabeth could barely contain her censure, earning her only a frown from Miss Bennet.

"Come Lizzy," she replied, moving to leave the room, "let us, instead of dwelling on your belief in her indifference, walk into Merryton. I wish to look at some lace for my bonnet, and I know that Kitty and Lydia are just bursting to share their exuberance with any, if not all of the offices they can find."

It could not be put into words the height of Mr Darcy's distraction during his journey to London. Try as he might, he simply could not concentrate on a single word that Mr Bingley was saying to him. Every now and then, he would catch snippets of his friend's apparent monologue, relieved by the fact that it was made up almost entirely of his gushing praise for Miss Bennet, occasionally gracing Miss Elizabeth with recommendation. Whilst he did not know the eldest miss Bennet well enough to form any serious opinion, he could and did dwell on the praise of her sister.

"Darcy?" Bingley inquired, "Are you quite well?"

"What? Oh," Darcy started, "yes. Forgive me, I was lost in thought. What was it you asked?"

"I didn't," He raised an eyebrow, watching carefully his friend's behaviour, "though now that you mention it, how long did you plan on staying in town? My own business should take but a few days, but if yours were to take longer, I'd be happy to remain a little longer if you wished for my company."

Though he did not outwardly express it, Darcy could tell that Bingley wished to return to Netherfield with as little time lost as possible. Darcy could almost laugh at the absurdity of such a strong attachment to the Bennet girl, but did his best to reassure him that they should be one their way in ten days, as they had planned. Bingley visibly relaxed at Darcy's assurances, and was content to pass the rest of the journey in silence, only occasionally drifting back to his infatuation.

Upon their arrival in London, the pair had parted ways; Bingley to an uncle's hospitality, and Darcy to his own abode, both of which were located in the richer, though different, parts of town. As he might of suspected, Darcy was greeted with a letter from his sister, Georgiana, expressing her greatest wish of being reunited with her brother after the few months of separation they had endured. Her letter - though it more accurately represented a paper he once wrote whilst at university - followed him for what remained of the day, shedding its information and seemingly endless pages gradually as he went about the business that needed attending. The time it took for him to read it, however, gave him room to dwell on his next course of action; he had been considering removing Georgiana from town (for she was currently under the guidance of one Mrs Ansley, and was residing some distance away in another part of London) since her return from Ramsgate. Whilst the excitement of town was enough to keep one from boredom, for a young girl not yet out in society it could prove quite toxic. Perhaps Bingley could be persuaded to host his sister also, upon their return to Hertfordshire. The thought of said return was enough to once again drive him to complete distraction. Whilst he disliked the lack of variation in company that the country usually offered, the enticement of a particular lady's society proved almost too great to ignore. He would apply to his cousin on the morrow regarding the issue.