Or perhaps he didn't find anyone who attracted him? I think that clearly he was courting Sophia Gray for her money, but she had guardians and presumably they were not 100% happy at her marrying a man without a large fortune, but when she was of age, she could please herself. With regard to Eliza Williams, he found her attractive and she was evidently willing to become his mistress. So he seduced her. While he is a bad lot, I am inclined to feel that she "should" have known better, and is at least partly to blame for her seduction. Equally, sorry but I dont like Marianne, and while I can understand being obsessively in love, esp at her age, she IS so arrogantly foolish and annoying that I dont feel much sympathy for her. and I also DO blame Mrs D for not keeping more of an eye on her..