Pride and Prejudice — Chapter Two (Abridged)

Mr. Bennet was one of the very first people to visit Mr. Bingley, although he had kept this intention a secret from his wife. Until the evening after the visit had taken place, Mrs. Bennet knew nothing about it. He revealed the news in his usual playful way.

Seeing Elizabeth busy trimming a hat, he suddenly said, “I hope Mr. Bingley will admire it, Lizzy.”

Mrs. Bennet answered at once, rather sharply, that they had no way of knowing what Mr. Bingley liked, since they were not to visit him. Elizabeth reminded her mother that they might meet him at the public assemblies and that Mrs. Long had promised to introduce him. Mrs. Bennet, however, had no trust in Mrs. Long. She declared that Mrs. Long would think first of her own nieces and would never truly try to help them.

Mr. Bennet, amused by his wife’s complaints, said he was glad she did not depend too much on Mrs. Long. Mrs. Bennet ignored his remark and instead turned her irritation on Kitty, begging her not to cough so much and declaring that the sound destroyed her nerves. Mr. Bennet observed dryly that Kitty had very little judgment in her coughing and always chose the wrong time for it. Kitty, annoyed, replied that she did not cough for her own amusement.

The conversation soon returned to the subject of the next ball. Elizabeth said it would be held in a fortnight. Mrs. Bennet immediately became troubled again, because Mrs. Long would not return until the day before, meaning she would scarcely know Mr. Bingley herself and therefore would not be able to introduce them properly. Mr. Bennet replied that in that case his wife might have the pleasure of introducing Mr. Bingley to Mrs. Long instead.

This only caused Mrs. Bennet to complain more loudly. She insisted that she could not introduce a man to someone else when she was not acquainted with him herself. Mr. Bennet then praised her caution in an exaggerated way. A fortnight, he said, was certainly too short a time to know a man thoroughly. Still, since someone had to make the introduction, he suggested he might take that burden upon himself.

The girls stared at him in surprise, while Mrs. Bennet dismissed his words as nonsense. Mr. Bennet, enjoying the moment, pretended to discuss the importance of proper introductions and asked Mary what she thought, since she was a young woman of deep reflection who read serious books and copied extracts from them. Mary wished to say something sensible, but could not immediately think of anything to say.

Mrs. Bennet cried that she was tired of hearing about Mr. Bingley. At this, Mr. Bennet finally revealed the truth: had he known she felt that way, he said, he certainly would not have called on Mr. Bingley that morning. But since he had in fact already paid the visit, the acquaintance could now go forward.

The ladies were astonished exactly as he had hoped they would be. Mrs. Bennet’s surprise quickly turned into joy. She praised her husband warmly, declaring that she had always known he would do the right thing in the end and that he loved his daughters too much to neglect such an opportunity. She was delighted, too, that he had managed to keep the visit secret until that moment.

Mr. Bennet, apparently tired by all this excitement, told Kitty she might now cough as much as she pleased and left the room. Once he was gone, Mrs. Bennet spoke with admiration of what an excellent father her daughters had. She said that at her time of life making new acquaintances was not especially pleasant, but that for her daughters’ sake she would do anything. She then turned particularly to Lydia, declaring that although she was the youngest, she was sure Mr. Bingley would dance with her at the next ball.

Lydia answered boldly that she was not at all afraid, because though she might be the youngest, she was the tallest. The rest of the evening was spent imagining how soon Mr. Bingley would return Mr. Bennet’s visit and deciding when they ought to invite him to dinner.