Expectations placed on young people of the aristocracy and the gentry were quite high. A young man was "expected" to make a match that would bring wealth or position to his family name. First, a gentleman was often several years older than his potential mate. For example, Fitzwilliam Darcy is eight and twenty years of age, while Elizabeth Bennet is twenty.
ellaquinnauthor
I thought girls didn’t come out until they were 18.