Thank you Stephanie and please know I welcome your comments and anyone else’s as well. It is always enlightening to have another’s take because I find Lizzy delightful but difficult to puzzle out at times. Of course I mean this whatever the topic! (:D)

Reading “After seeking him in town” I see that it is confusing so I am glad you asked. (:D) I was referring to Lizzy’s going to Meryton to find Wickham: After breakfast the girls walked to Meryton, to inquire if Mr. Wickham were returned… (21) I should have said Meryton instead of town because the second usually refers to London.

I like your interpretation of Mrs. Gardiner’s worry about Jane’s reasons for going to town—it makes sense to me. I read it the other way, I guess, for two reasons. It never occurred to me Mrs. Gardiner could suspect Jane would go to town hoping to meet with Bingley as she thinks (wants to think?) she deceived herself in his regard for her—she would be embarrassed to meet with him. When Jane does accept the invitation it is without considering Bingley but for the hope of avoiding him while visiting Caroline:

Miss Bennet accepted her aunt's invitation with pleasure; and the Bingleys were no otherwise in her thoughts at the time than as she hoped that, by Caroline's not living in the same house with her brother, she might occasionally spend a morning with her, without any danger of seeing him. (25)

I thought maybe the reason Darcy got first billing for keeping Bingley from Jane is because Bingley is staying at Darcy’s house, not only in the company of his friend but Miss Darcy as well. Lizzy believes it is so arranged for the purpose of putting those two together:

She [Caroline] wrote also with great pleasure of her brother's being an inmate of Mr. Darcy's house, and mentioned with raptures some plans of the latter with regard to new furniture. (24)