] ] perfectly sure of him - he obviously escapes!!

] Yes, he escapes, but she surely thought him snagged. What made her think so? What did he say or do that made her confident enough to break it off with James? Or conversely, what did she do (with him?) that made her think they would be married?

I have a slightly different thought on this.

We know that James will inherit a living of about 400 pounds per annum. And JA made it pretty clear that IT was not happy about the small fortune. In waltzes Freddy, who singles her out, and flirts with her, despite already knowing that she is engaged to another. He's handssome, rich and paying attention to HER. Already disappoint by James's situation, she may be seeing that as a good enough indication that Freddy is in love with her, and so grasping for straws (or a higher income), she breaks it off with James, in the hopes that, once single again, Freddy will propose.