Page 4 of Elizabeth and Caroline
Elizabeth seemed to have a knack for identifying thethings that a person found pleasant, the things they liked to indulge in, and for determining the sorts of things they found fault with, also. If a person seemed to be trying to hide something, she would notice the way they steered the discussion elsewhere. For her, it was as if these things just seemed to emerge from the conversation.
So, it was easy enough to have another conversation with Mr. Hurst, leading him to talk about what he wanted in a wife, and to realize that if Louisa wanted to interest this man, she would likely only have to let him beat her at cards. Elizabeth was rather convinced that Mr. Hurst was a man who’d be easily flattered, who had an overly inflated opinion of his own intelligence, and who would respond well to a woman falling all over him in admiration.
But then, how to convince Louisa to behave in such a way?
Elizabeth was so interested in trying to come up with an answer that that, she didn’t ask herself if she was doing the right thing until it was already happening, until the courtship was well underway, the marriage nearly secured.
She spoke to Louisa only once about what she was looking for in a husband, and Louisa seemingly wanted protection and safety, which Elizabeth thought was common. Most women did.
But Elizabeth told Caroline to mention offhand about the kind of financial security Mr. Hurst had and to see if Louisa found this interesting at all.
Then, when they all ended up at a whist party at Lucas Lodge, Elizabeth engaged Louisa in conversation briefly.
“Do you ever let men win at cards?” Elizabeth said.
Louisa considered. “You mean, throw a hand on purpose? That seems frightfully dishonest, doesn’t it?”
“So, you wouldn’t do it, then,” said Elizabeth, nodding. “That would be your advice.”
“My advice?” said Louisa. “I don’t know. Why are you considering such a thing?”
“Well, if there was a man who I knew could provide me with a secure future,” said Elizabeth, “a man who would bea good and proper protector, you know, but who might not want me if I seemed… too able to take care of myself? You know?”
“You mean, you would pretend to be too stupid to play at cards and hope to attract him?” said Louisa. “I don’t know, Elizabeth. I don’t know about that at all.”
Elizabeth hunched up her shoulders. “Yes, it seems a bit pathetic, doesn’t it? It’s only that I sometimes wonder if women have to be a bit manipulative to find a good husband. Everything is stacked against us. We cannot pursue the man we want, can we? We are left to try various things to catch his eye. If I could catch this man’s eye by letting him win a hand of cards, would it be so wrong? Would it be any different than wearing a pretty, eye-catching bonnet, in the end?”
“I don’t know,” said Louisa, thinking it through. “I really can’t say. I’m sorry, Elizabeth, I don’t know how to advise you.”
Whether Louisa lost the whist game on purpose to Mr. Hurst or not, no one would ever know.
But he was calling upon her soon enough.
When the match was announced, Elizabeth and Caroline felt assured that it was all to their credit.
They honed their skills on servants next, making three successful matches in the Netherfield household.
And then the Hursts were married and off in London, and Caroline easily convinced her sister to bring her along, which had been her scheme from the start, of course. And then, Caroline was gone.
It had been, at that point, over a year since the first match, with Bingley and Jane. And then Caroline was gone for a long time, months on end. When she did return, finally, in the late fall of 1811, she was different, Elizabeth thought.
Caroline was staying with her brother, and she sent word that Elizabeth must come and dine with them, and Elizabeth did. The girls put their heads together in the sitting room after dinner, and Caroline said it was quite good to see her.
But when she began speaking of London society,Elizabeth felt as if Caroline had gotten obsessed with the financial side of it, with the status side of it. All of these men she spoke of, she never talked about anything except how much money they had or who they were related to or how close they were to a title.
“Anyway, I’ve made a hash of it,” said Caroline. “I need you. You’re the one who’s good at understanding people, figuring out what they want. I shan’t make a match without you. So, you will come back with me to London, as soon as I can get my sister to send for me. Will you not? Your mother will allow it?”
“Likely,” said Elizabeth. “But will Louisa wish me to be there?”
“I shall see to that,” said Caroline.
“Perhaps I could stay with my aunt and uncle, the Gardiners.”
Caroline shuddered. “No, no, no. Please, Elizabeth, never speak of such a thing. Don’t they live onGracechurchStreet?”
Elizabeth knew that was not the fashionable part of town, but the way that Caroline emphasized the street only served to cement her impression that Caroline had grown too obsessed with the wrong things. Her friend was a bit of a snob, Elizabeth thought.
“And we shall find a way to make a match for you, of course,” said Caroline. “One for me and one for you. Then we can both live as happy old married ladies. We shall visit each other at our estates in the country in the summer, and our children can grow up together. After all, Eliza, we are almost sisters, are we not?”
