by Ney Mitch
“You were always brave in that way,” Jane acknowledged, “and so is Kitty. However, in my fear of ever saying the wrong thing, sometimes I was scared to speak about anything. I daresay that it has left me making quite the bad habit of it.”
“I suffer that sad fate as well,” Georgiana confirmed.
“Jane, is that true?” Kitty asked Jane. I was shocked at Jane’s revelation myself, for she had never informed me about this either.
“Yes, very true,” Jane confessed. “I am not afraid of the confession now.”
“For no one has ever informed us women when it is the right or wrong time to begin speaking or cease speaking,” I said. “Yes, it is a scary thing, indeed, to know when one is outstaying their welcome when it comes to conversation. Well, all I can advise is that the world will sometimes say that one talks too much, or too little, and then I learned that the world was not to fear… its bark is always worse than its bite. Its power is like a spell: it can only have power over you if you let it.”
“You are braver than I,” Georgiana said.
“No, not brave,” I countered, amused, “just more reckless. The world tries to break me down and then build me up from one day to the next. And I am rash enough to be amused at which one it will do every day.”
Georgiana laughed at us.
“I have heard that there are two more of you Bennet sisters,” she mused. “Are the other two like you three as well?”
“Our other sisters are named Mary and Lydia,” Jane answered. “Mary is the third of us five, and Lydia is the youngest.”
“Lydia and I have some similarities to our natures,” Kitty said, “in regards to being spirited. Like me she loves dances and balls.”
“And you are going with us to the Christmas ball tomorrow evening,” Georgiana pointed out. “Then you are excited?”
“Very much so,” I did not deny. “For dancing is one of the chief ways in which I believe that one can enjoy the refinements of every manner of society.” Here I gave Mr. Darcy a glance. “Be that society polished or unpolished. After all, be you a great lady or a savage, we all can dance.”
“Truly, do you remember every word that I say?” he asked, vexed, but not seriously.
I gave him a mock sympathetic smile. “Yes, sadly, I do.”
“Are we missing some vital information to what you both refer to?” Kitty asked.
“You are, and it is not vital. Rather, it is all just amusing. Miss Darcy, we have a neighbor back in Hertfordshire, named Sir William Lucas. He is a very pleasant man, and when your brother and his company came to Hertfordshire, they were invited to his home.”
“Oh!” Kitty interjected. “Is this when Sir William tried to get you and Mr. Darcy to dance with each other?”
“Yes, it was that precise incident. Miss Darcy, the first time that we met your brother was at a ball, where he walked here and there, and refused to dance with any other woman but the women in his company.”
“I did not feel comfortable in dancing with any woman who I had no acquaintance with yet!” Darcy snapped, although playfully.
“Yes, and no one can be introduced in a ballroom?” I retorted, teasing him. “Well, the second time that the subject of a dance had come upon us was at Sir William’s home. Kitty and Lydia had gotten some people together to dance in the parlor, and as I walked by, Sir William appealed to me. He took my hand and offered me as a partner to your brother. That was Sir William’s notion of trying to endear your brother to dancing a set. For, when Sir William had announced to your brother that dancing was one of the refinements of every polished society, your brother pointed out that any savage can dance, for it was an activity that was in vogue amongst unpolished societies as well.”
“Fitz, you said that?” Georgiana asked.
“I thought I was being clever,” Darcy responded.
“Ah,” I teased, “you were trying to achieve wit.”
“You know our predicament, Miss Elizabeth. For you and I are of a disposition that we are unwilling to speak unless we say something that will amaze the whole room.”
“Yes, the pressures of performance again,” I remarked, giving Georgiana a familiar look. “Neither your brother nor I perform to strangers.”
Georgiana was not overwhelmed by our company, and we did our best to not be apprehensive around her. Overall, we found her bashfulness charming, and she found our liveliness as a harmless complement to her nature. Hopefully, we would grow to feel definitive warmth to each other. As much as it is enchanting to say that one immediately feels a warm and sisterly connection to your beloved’s sibling, such ‘happily ever afters’ cannot always be conjured so. She had just met us, and therefore, we only knew that we liked each other, but there still was time for a bond to be sparked between us all.
We had shown her the dresses and gowns that her brother had bought us, and that strengthened the acquaintance. After all, clothing preferences shall always be a great equivocator amongst both men and women.
As we joined Mr. Darcy again, Kitty asked to be excused, for she said that she had to write a letter. Darcy allowed this, and I was surprised that she never came back down again for an hour’s time.
Overall, the day had passed quite well, and I liked Georgiana’s disposition. Yet, what made it all so very satisfying was that Mr. Darcy found happiness in witnessing us getting along with her. He even smiled twice in observing us.
That was no small accomplishment, I can assure all.
Chapter 13
How Amusing!
The next evening had arrived, and the house was all astir the entire day. Darcy had given each of us sisters a maid to be our particular assistant, and she saw to our bath, our perfumes, our hair and our gowns. When all four of them had finished, we all felt the elation and excitement that comes from looking forward to an evening of pleasure.
Georgiana had a yellow gown. Mine was pink, Jane’s was white, and Kitty’s was a light green. Each gown had been designed in a way that augmented the beauty of us four, and therefore, it was wonderful to say that we all complimented each other. No woman eclipsed the other with beauty. Well, Jane was still the loveliest of us all, but even then, we did not feel duly inferior in any way. I cannot account for it. Either our spirits were so very lifted, or our gowns truly did their office, but yes, it felt like there was an equal amount of pulchritude amongst us all.
When we appeared on the steps, after exiting our rooms together, we met Mr. Darcy standing downstairs, pacing back and forth.
Suddenly, he stopped moving, sensing our arrival at the top of the steps.
He turned his head.
He looked up.
And he beheld us.
“I do hope you are not ashamed of us,” I remarked, smiling.
“Never,” he responded, his voice hoarse. Could I read him well? Was I right in my assumption that perhaps, he was lost for words? In his silence, he said much. With his lack of movement, his stillness could move a mountain.
Slowly, he walked up the first two steps, staring at us all as if we were a mirage in the desert, and he was a man stricken with thirst. We were the image drawing him forth.
However, after he looked over us all, his eyes fell to me. Resting in the depths of my soul, his appearance arrested me. For a second or a moment—I knew not how long—it felt as if our spirits were falling into each other. Repeatedly, I felt as if he was the bone underneath my muscles.
Could two people be so far apart and thus also be so intertwined? Such feelings are not something that can be spoken of or properly defined, but rather, it is a language of the blood. The moment of arrest, where one’s entire form and figure are frozen on the waves and crests of sentimentality can only be broken in one format: by words being uttered. And words must always be uttered at some point.
“Well, Fitzwilliam,” Georgiana said, “what do you think?”
Miss Darcy’s words penetrated my mind, I felt myself free from Mr. Darcy’s spell, and I blinked, now able to move and wit
h my will to speak returned to me.
“Yes,” he responded, also blinking, and shifting back and forth, like that of a drunken man who was walking to the first steps of sobriety—“yes, you are beautiful. That is why I cannot speak now. Seeing you all here, you are so very… I have never seen a lovelier image than this evening.”
“You speak with such sincerity,” I said. “And sincerity becomes you well.”
“I speak as I find,” he responded, “therefore, believe me now. Seeing you all here and joining me is one of the most illuminating moments of my life. Therefore, if I may be so bold, might I request the pleasure of dancing with all Miss Bennets in the course of the evening?”
“You may,” Kitty said.
“And, if I may be willing to be such an imposition, I will be bold; Miss Elizabeth Bennet, I was wondering if I may request your hand—for the first two dances?”
Once more, I felt the warmth rise from within me of obtaining something that I so desperately desired. He was asking for my hand for two whole dances. That was an hour that we would have to ourselves.
“You may,” I responded, “and I shall not step on your toes at all.”
“I know,” he responded, taking our hands, and helping us down the last step.
We put on our shawls, exited the house, got into the carriage, and proceeded to Sir Aleck Granger’s home.
We arrived and were announced. When we entered, we beheld a large home of gorgeous grandeur. There were Christmas decorations everywhere, and it was most exquisite.
“Dear me,” Kitty gasped as we stood in the line of people to be welcomed into the home. “Sir Aleck truly must be a most prestigious man to have such a home. I prefer yours better, Mr. Darcy, but I still marvel at this all.”
“But that makes me wonder,” I said, “what sort of man is Sir Aleck? Do you think he would approve of us?”
“Do not be worried at all,” Georgiana reassured us. “Sir Aleck is actually a very open man, always disposed to approve of others.”
“To the point where he also easily forgives the follies and vices of others,” Mr. Darcy added. “For a time, I found his laxness to be a vexing habit, but I now observe that such an outlook on life has its benefits. Sir Aleck is a kind and pleasant man. You shall admire him, and he will find you all charming.”
“That is all that we need to be content,” Jane responded.
Eventually, as the line of attendees lessened, we at last reached Sir Aleck Granger himself. He had greeted the couple who came before us, and then he rested his eyes on Mr. Darcy and Georgiana.
“Darcy,” Sir Aleck declared, grinning. “It is good to see you, man.”
Darcy bowed his head stiffly.
“Sir Aleck, it has been quite a while, and I am delighted that you invited us.”
“As reserved as ever, I see,” our host noted.
“Less so, I hope, for I come with a large company of ladies that I hope that you shall find as charming as I do.”
Sir Aleck’s expression became one of interest.
“And with such generous statements, uttered from you, this moment is quite unprecedented. First, I see that we have your lovely sister here. Miss Darcy, how delightful to see you.”
“Sir, Aleck, I am—honored by your invitation,” Georgiana said, a little bashful.
Next, he directed his attention toward us, and his eyes did not lose their luster from us being strangers. For, I can imagine that you are aware of the habit of people’s eyes and tempers to illuminate when they see an old friend, but then that light diminishes when they have to turn from that friend and greet a stranger who they have nothing to gain by meeting them. Yet, that was not to be so. His eyes stayed warm when he beheld us, he bowed and greeted us gently.
“Three sisters, and each as lovely as the next one. I am honored that you came to my home.”
“The honor is all ours,” I responded. “Unless we prove to be the most taciturn guests that there are, and lead to us not only being not an honor to come, but also being a dishonor to you.”
Sir Aleck chuckled.
“You found wit in that moment,” he remarked.
“Hopefully, it shall find me in the next.”
“Ah.” He stole a glance at Darcy. Between the two of them, I saw how there was a hidden communication between them. “Ah.”
Next, he turned to Jane, but she said nothing, for she had been looking around.
“Miss Bennet, are you looking for someone?”
“Yes—yes.” Jane’s voice faltered. “Forgive me. It is just that we feel a little unequal in party for my tastes. I was told that Mr. Darcy’s cousin was coming, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and we had not seen him yet. I suppose, in a wish for us to see him, I have forgotten my manners.”
Sir Aleck gave her a knowing grin.
“Ah.”
Since we had been holding up the line of guests, we decided to move along. However, we had not taken more than two steps when Kitty accidentally tripped on the hem of her gown and stumbled. With incredible reflexes, Sir Aleck caught her arm and held her. All around her turned and faced her, then I felt a significant subtle snickering around us. Instinctively, I closed my eyes briefly, embarrassed for what Kitty was feeling. Yet, despite my better nature, I felt ashamed for I worried how this would make Mr. Darcy appear. It was shaming enough that he had three women with him who were not among the London ton to begin with. Now, we were a mockery. Yet, this self-loathing of our situation was not to last, and neither was I to remain ashamed of my own foolish sentiments. For within the rise and fall of those past seconds, there was a rise and fall of actions and reactions.
“Took a tumble, I see,” Sir Aleck replied smoothly.
Kitty blushed, embarrassed. “Yes, I suppose it is my own fault.”
“You can blame the dressmaker.”
“Oh, but she is a genius!” Kitty professed. “No, it is my own fault, because when I entered, I despised myself for the fear I had of falling down. Because I told myself that I would fall, now I have. What a terrible way to begin the evening. And I have held up the line already. Forgive me.”
“Well, did you tell yourself that you would be terrible at dancing this evening?” he asked her, holding up the line himself.
“No, I would never,” Kitty said. “Dancing is the only accomplishment that I go to with all my courage for there, my courage rises with every attempt to make me fall, and I do not fall.”
“Then prove it. Accept my offer to request your hand for the first set, and I shall believe it.”
“You wish to dance with me?”
“Indeed.”
“I shall accept. And I shall not fall.”
“I am counting on your courage. Darcy, look after my first dance partner for the evening. I do not wish to be companionless.”
Darcy took Kitty’s arm and led her away. As he did so, Kitty’s cheeks were red, and she waited till we were on the other side of the room.
“Did you see that?” she whispered to us, excited. “He requested my hand. He saved me from mortification! Mr. Darcy and Miss Darcy, your friend is a kind one. He saved me.”
“Yes, he is,” Darcy responded, his eyes twinkling. “I knew that he would like you all.”
“Oh, that is more than mere kindness,” Kitty stressed, “that is chivalry. Nothing is worse than shame nowadays. My father told me that there was once a time where a bit of humiliation led to uniqueness to a person’s character, but nowadays, it leads to the death of reputation. Another man would have let me sink into shame. He saved me.”
“Kitty, you are overstimulated,” Jane said. “You must calm yourself.”
“Sorry, I am just… I am overwhelmed, I suppose.”
“It is well,” Georgiana responded. “Your feelings of gratitude actually make sense. Sir Aleck is a noble man. It takes time to not become excited by such candor.”
“I hope that I never get used to his candor,” Kitty extoled. “I want to always be surprised by his goodness.”
&n
bsp; “Kitty,” I whispered, taking her hand. “You really must try to be calm. I do not want you to make a spectacle of yourself at this time.”
“I promise, I will not. Just, for a moment, I wanted to speak the truth. Why can I not speak the truth when I am around you all? After all, are we not family?”
I suddenly realized we all appeared to look upon her very coldly.
“As long as you promise not to display these feelings to anyone but us,” I said, “and meet Sir Aleck with gentle happiness, then yes, you can speak about this with us. I will not censure your eagerness now.”
“Thank you! Yes, yes. I do believe I have my courage now.”
“Darcy!” We heard a familiar voice call to us. We turned and Colonel Fitzwilliam was coming towards us, dressed in his regimentals.
“Richard,” Georgiana said, her voice warm with recognition.
When he reached us, he bowed.
“You all look positively beautiful.”
“Thank you,” Jane responded. “Is this the first time that we see you in regimentals?”
“Yes, I believe that it is.”
“You wear the uniform with great honor.”
“And figure,” Kitty responded. “For when the militia were stationed in Meryton at home, I met many a soldier, and they did not do the uniform as much justice.”
He gave them a lopsided smile. “I feel handsome myself now.”
“Ladies and their love for the uniform,” Darcy whispered to me. “You may offer your compliments to him as well.”
“I have never needed a uniform to find a man handsome,” I informed him. He smiled at this, and I took that as a good sign.
“And I was wondering,” Colonel Fitzwilliam requested, “if I may be so bold as to request the hand of each of you Bennet sisters and my fair cousin as well throughout the course of the evening?”
“You may,” I responded, “yet, I am quite unavailable for the first two dances.”
“I had a feeling you would be,” he responded, stealing a glance at Mr. Darcy, “yet, would it be the same for Miss Bennet or Miss Kitty? Or Georgiana?”