He scarcely needed an invitation to stay supper;and before he went away,an engagement was formed,chiefly through his own and Mrs.Bennet's means,for his coming next morning to shoot with her husband.
Yes, he had no engagement at all for to-morrow; and her invitation was accepted with alacrity.
“My dear Jane,make haste and hurry down.He is come―Mr. Bingley is come. He is, indeed. Make haste, make haste. Here, Sarah,come to Miss Bennet this moment,and help her on with her gown.Never mind Miss Lizzy's hair.”
But on returning to the drawing-room, when her letter was finished,she saw,to her infinite surprise,there was reason to fear that her mother had been too ingenious for her.On opening the door,she perceived her sister and Bingley standing together over the hearth,as if engaged in earnest conversation;and had this led to no suspicion, the faces of both, as they hastily turned round and moved away from each other, would have told it all. Their situation was awkward enough; but hers she thought was still worse.Not a syllable was uttered by either;and Elizabeth was on the point of going away again,when Bingley,who as well as the other had sat down,suddenly rose,and whispering a few words to her sister,ran out of the room.