Regardless of his suspicions, Gardiner had agreed to host Jane for a time during the season and to introduce her to as many eligible men as he could. Between the two of them, they decided a well-off tradesman might be best and most realistic. Jane was sensible, something a man of business would surely need in a wife, and very kind and gentle, qualities a man living near the warehouses could appreciate even more than the residents of Mayfair. And of course she was beautiful, easily the most beautiful woman of one’s acquaintance. The fact that she was the daughter of a gentleman would bring a sense of prestige to whatever match she made. With his marching orders in hand, Gardiner was prepared to find his niece a husband.

~

Her second day in town, Jane attended a dinner party with her aunt and uncle. Her spirits were still low due to the absence of Mr. Bingley, the most amiable man she’d ever met, but she put forth a strong effort to be agreeable. She smiled and asked questions of the people she met before dinner and was very pleasant to her dinner partner, a Mr. Eastman. He was very kind, very handsome, and very recently married.

Mrs. Eastman shot interested glances at Jane throughout the meal and was overly inquisitive when the ladies withdrew, but Jane answered simply and discreetly, not giving the nosy woman any satisfaction. She was serene and agreeable, as she always was, but she was not blind to the looks she received from the women. At first, she told herself they were merely curious of a stranger to their circle, but eventually she began to recognize that the young unmarried women were not pleased by her presence, and neither were the older women with a daughter of marriageable age. The young married women, with the exception of Mrs. Eastman, were kind to her, though.

Jane stayed close to these women and hoped the night would end soon, wondering slightly when she had become so negative. Was this disillusionment?

The following weeks were much of the same. Dinner parties, balls both private and public, and outings to the museum and Hyde Park. Jane became friends with a Mrs. Caldwell who had recently married a merchant of no small means, and her cousin Mrs. Pearson, who was not much older than Jane herself, but had been married two years and had an infant son.