Her sister,however,assured her of her being perfectly well;and their conversation, which had been passing while Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner were engaged with their children,was now put an end to by the approach of the whole party.Jane ran to her uncle and aunt,and welcomed and thanked them both,with alternate smiles and tears.
When they were all in the drawing-room,the questions which Elizabeth had already asked were of course repeated by the others,and they soon found that Jane had no intelligence to give. The sanguine hope of good,however,which the benevolence of her heart suggested had not yet deserted her;she still expected that it would all end well, and that every morning would bring some letter, either from Lydia or her father, to explain their proceedings,and,perhaps,announce their marriage.
“Not the slightest.I can remember no symptom of affection on either side; and had anything of the kind been perceptible,you must be aware that ours is not a family on which it could be thrown away.When first he entered the corps,she was ready enough to admire him;but so we all were.Every girl in or near Meryton was out of her senses about him for the first two months;but he never distinguished her by any particular attention;and,consequently, after a moderate period of extravagant and wild admiration,her fancy for him gave way,and others of the regiment,who treated her with more distinction,again became her favourites.”