Yes, I've always attributed the chance meeting to Lucy forcing an acquaintance. Otherwise, the world is far too small for my own liking; it is too much of a coincidence, even for Marianne's romantic views.

There's always the chance that the Steeles are related to the Jenningses in some way, as anyone, probably, from that exact part of England in that era might be related-peripherally. Lucy was lucky on that score, but any other person of sense and feeling would have been polite and nodded off, as I feel Mrs. Jennings did, but then told Sir John about it. "There were some very pretty girls, though rather impudent, who seem to be cousins of ours, so I chose to not show offense" is what I imagine her saying, though I could be wrong. I notice, though, that *she* did not invite them anywhere with her, simply told Sir John and Lady Middleton about them. Lucy was very lucky (probably calculating) that Sir John was wanting company after saying goodbye to Charlotte and Mr. Palmer, and therefore had to bring the Miss Steeles along to his home after hearing about them. Mrs. Jennings did not invite them to stay with her in town, not even splitting them up to stay with her, but decided that she would rather have the Dashwood girls. I wonder if this is because she sees something in them that she does not like? Aside from them being very pretty, I can't really see that she thinks very much of them, but I could need a refresher read of the relevant chapters.