Instead of joining Eliza and her sister, she went to her bedchamber and lay on her bed. Never in her life had she imagined that Mr Darcy regarded her as he did. But no matter how much she congratulated herself on not being tied to such a man, it did not make her humiliation any less palatable. She had never taken her position for granted, but she moved in the best circles, and she had come to accept it as her right. It was her mother who had established them in society. She had sent Caroline and her sister to a distinguished private seminary to turn them into young ladies. But accomplishments, good manners, and the considerable connections they had made with other young ladies from excellent families did not change the fundamental facts. Their fortune had been made through trade, and her father, with all the riches in the world, had not been born a gentleman. His family was well respected, and he had acquired an estate that rivalled Pemberley in size, though it had been sold after his death, but the fact remained that he had made the money himself, through his own effort and persistence.
