by Adams, Alexa
“Calm now, Mrs. Bennet. Miss Eliza has charming manners; a witty word of hers has never trespassed decorum. Surely you have nothing to fear – Mr. Darcy seems quite taken.” As these words were spoken, Lady Lucas’ eyes were fixed across the room where the two youngest Bennet girls, Catherine (Kitty as all called her) and Lydia, were predictably dancing raucously with their partners. “No,” she thought, “Lizzy will not be the Bennet who frightens away potential suitors. Someone, I know not who, should take those girls in hand.”
Of course Mrs. Bennet and Lady Lucas were not the only ones whose attention was drawn to the elegant couple at the top of the line. The seemingly haughty Mr. Darcy’s favoring of a much-beloved local lady easily rendered this the most exciting assembly of the season. Even Mrs. Long scaled down her previous assessment of his manners: when she had attempted to speak with him earlier, she believed he deliberately snubbed her, but now she was convinced that the man must be hard of hearing on the right, a sad ailment for one so young, “Miss Elizabeth best think twice of an alliance with such a prematurely deteriorating man, ten thousand a year not withstanding. He seems hale enough now but one never knows what the future might bring. She may well find herself tied for years to the sickbed. I knew of a young lady who found herself in just such a predicament; she thought she was very well married but not a year into the match her husband fell ill. She spent years nursing him, wasting her youth, and when the unfortunate man finally died found herself right back where she began, with nothing but her dowry to live on as everything went to his younger brother!” The entire neighborhood was suddenly highly interested in the expectations of Miss Elizabeth Bennet.
“Kitty!” Lydia called out as they passed each other in the dance “Do look at Lizzy! She is dancing with that handsome Mr. Darcy.”
Kitty, to her great chagrin, missed a step as she surveyed the line, but any embarrassment she felt was swept away with elation for her sister. “Oh, my how exciting! Mrs. Long told me he has twice Mr. Bingley’s income. I do hope he falls in love with Lizzy!” Silently she wondered if she might ever be so distinguished, her heart slightly aflutter with the notion.
Despite such rampant general interest, perhaps only one person in the room could be deemed as concerned as Mrs. Bennet with this surprising development. For Caroline Bingley, the sight of Mr. Darcy, a man who professed to deplore a ball, dancing with one of the local girls was disturbing enough to cause her face to flush with consternation. The effect was not becoming. Upon first perceiving the pair she hurried to her sister’s side, ignored the appearance of her next dance partner on her right, and proceeded to interrogate her sister, Mrs. Hurst, regarding the identity of her favorite’s partner.
“Louisa, you must know the name of that lady dancing with poor Mr. Darcy! How ever did she inveigle him into such an unpleasant predicament?”
Mrs. Hurst surveyed her sister carefully, taking in the jealous glint in her eyes, before gazing towards the lady in question, “I believe she is one of the Bennet girls and that Charles made the introduction. As you can surely see as well as I can Caroline, Mr. Darcy does not appear to be distressed.” In fact she could not say she had ever before seen him so at ease in public.
“Oh no Louisa, you are most certainly mistaken! He looks distinctly uncomfortable. And is not Bennet the name of that vulgar woman, the one thrusting daughters at Charles? In such unrefined company, Mr. Darcy must be suffering! Look, there she is now, standing by and ready to pounce on the poor man. Surely we must endeavor to relieve him from such an encroachment?”
“He is his own man, Caroline. We must trust him to fend for himself.” So disconcerted was Miss Bingley that she failed to notice as her would-be dance partner inconspicuously backed away, anxious no longer to dance with the neighborhood’s new heiress but to share his marvel that the fashionable Miss Bingley was so undone by Meryton’s own Lizzy Bennet instead!
To all this Darcy remained oblivious; for perhaps the first time in his life, he was blissfully ignorant of the scrutiny of others. Even he was surprised by his transformative reaction to Elizabeth’s simple courtesy: never had a young lady, other than his sister of course, not treated him as some stellar prize to be won. Darcy looked down into his partner’s face as they came together at the end of the set and bestowed a smile of sincere gratitude. Elizabeth smiled back, the honest pleasure she betrayed causing his to broaden. He led her to the side of the floor, fortunately choosing that opposite from Mrs. Bennet, where they were met by Elizabeth’s next partner. They thanked each other for the pleasure and parted, Mr. Darcy feeling immensely gratified with the evening and even contemplating, fleetingly, the notion of offering his hand to another Hertfordshire maid.
Elizabeth watched him retreat with a sense of relief for, at that timely moment, her mother made her descent, snatching her away from Mr. Lucas (who was, coincidently, the same patient partner who had been engaged to Miss Bingley for the last) before they could take their place on the floor.
“Oh my dear, dear Lizzy! Mr. Darcy is such a charming man! So handsome and tall! Ten thousand a year I’m told, plus probably more! Oh I do hope you endeavored to please him my dear. Just think, if he should marry you, how grand you would be!”
Elizabeth looked wearily at her mother as she erupted with excitement. “It was only a dance, Mama, and not even a very lively one at that. Mr. Darcy seems gentlemanly and agreeable but he certainly displayed no signs of being smitten.”
“This is no time to vex me child! It is up to you to make him smitten of course! You must put yourself forward and perhaps he will ask for a second dance.”
“You must excuse me, ma’am, but this dance is already promised.”
--
Mr. Darcy had returned to his former station and resumed his survey of the assembly, now casting a visibly more amiable mien on the room. The dance had been most agreeable, far beyond his expectations which, you will easily recall, were decidedly negative and he felt himself more generous in his estimation of the assembly as a whole. Knowing that the neighborhood could boast of some pleasant and sophisticated companionship relieved the entire company of much of its tedium.
Miss Elizabeth had proved to be a most pleasant partner indeed. He watched her as she moved down the dance – though his critical eye was forced to acknowledge more than one failure of perfect symmetry in her form, her figure was light and pleasing. He wished to know more of her and determined to further the acquaintance. As Bingley was blatantly enraptured with the eldest Miss Bennet (he was, at that moment, soliciting her hand for a second dance), Darcy perceived it would be an easy resolution to which to adhere.
“I must thank you for introducing Darcy to your sister,” Bingley said to Jane as they took their places on the floor. “Never have I seen him enjoy a dance more.”
“I am pleased to have been of service, Mr. Bingley. Lizzy has always excelled at putting people at ease.”
“I wish more people shared her talent. Sadly, while Darcy always receives a great deal of notice wherever he goes, he would much rather go unobserved. In small, intimate groups he fares much better and is exceedingly charming, but in large gatherings he always seems to recede into himself.”
Jane Bennet smiled happily at the handsome man, charmed by the affection and care he displayed for his friend, the honor of his attention, and the excitement of that bestowed on her favorite sister. Never had she so thoroughly enjoyed an assembly.
Chapter 3
The evening, altogether, had exceedingly pleased the entire Bennet family. Mary, our missing middle Bennet, had heard herself mentioned to Miss Bingley as the most accomplished girl in the neighborhood, both Kitty and Lydia had been fortunate enough to never be without partners – all they had yet learned to care for in a ball, and upon their arrival home at Longbourn Mr. Bennet found that he too, like his happy daughters, could wish the assembly had never ended as he found himself assaulted by his wife’s raptures over the triumphant evening.
“Oh Mr. Bennet! Never have
I had such a night! Our girls so distinguished! The entire neighborhood bore witness to their success! I always told you our girls were beautiful for a reason – it shall be the making of them, I’ve often said it. I have no doubt that the gentlemen will come courting soon and will undoubtedly be completely taken with Jane and Lizzy! Mr. Darcy is so exceedingly handsome! Oh, I just knew how it would be! Such an honor!”
“Just a moment there Mrs. Bennet,” her husband interrupted her. “Am I to understand that it is my Lizzy who has caused such excitement? Who is this Mr. Darcy and what ever became of Mr. Bingley, the cause of so much recent uproar?”
“Mr. Darcy,” his wife replied with much impatience,” is the gentleman whom Mr. Bingley brought back with him from London, of course! Along with his two sisters and the elder’s husband.”
“I see the rumors of six ladies were quite unfounded?”
“Oh Mr. Bennet, please listen!” Mrs. Bennet pleaded, not betraying her gratification at this sorry but, nonetheless, novel display of interest from her husband in her matchmaking schemes. “Mr. Darcy is the most handsome and eligible young man fortune could have placed in our path! All distinction and elegance! He is said to have ten thousand pounds, Mr. Bennet – ten thousand a year do you hear!”
“How could I not?” he managed nonchalantly.
“He has a magnificent estate in Derbyshire and is surely the finest gentleman in that country, wherever it is. I am sure he must be. Noble lineage too! And the only lady he partnered all night, excepting those in his own party, was our Lizzy!” She grinned triumphantly.
Mr. Bennet, not for the first time, noted his wife’s occasional resemblance to a cat, right now one who had caught a particularly meaty mouse. He was almost, but not quite, inclined to pet her. “I see how it is Mrs. Bennet – a rich man has danced with Lizzy. When he arrives to ask for her hand do show him in.”
“Yes he surely will come, mark my words. You were not there, Mr. Bennet. You did not witness the attention he bestowed on her!”
“And what of Mr. Bingley? Was he not to your liking?”
“Mr. Bingley is everything amiable. He danced twice with Jane. Twice! It was a most delightful evening! I told you how it would be Mr. Bennet – we shall have Jane settled at Netherfield and Lizzy amongst the first in the kingdom! Surely they will find admirable husbands for their sisters, perhaps even amongst the peerage!” She gasped for breath.
Despite the humor Mr. Bennet always found in his wife’s antics he remained quite capable of filtering out anything valuable from her constant effusions. While he was never inclined to become overly heated himself, he did recognize the opportunity these new acquaintances provided for his daughters. “If any deserve it, Jane and Lizzy do,” he thought with a chuckle. The notion that the troubling lack-of-an-heir dilemma could possibly be resolved so conveniently to himself as his wife prophesied was an excessively diverting notion indeed. Mr. Darcy had yet to prove himself worthy of Lizzy but, as he had already shown the good sense to single her out, Mr. Bennet would happily acknowledge that as a mark in his favor.
--
When Jane and Elizabeth were alone the former, who had been cautious in her praise of Mr. Bingley before, expressed to her sister how very much she admired him.
“He is just what a young man ought to be,” Jane happily exclaimed, “sensible, good humored, lively!” Elizabeth could not help but laugh. Rarely had she seen Jane so nearly approach giddiness. “And what say you of Mr. Darcy?” the elder sister continued. “I believe I have never before seen such a distinguished gentleman.”
Elizabeth did not immediately answer, though well she knew that Jane could detect the train of her thoughts. Similarly, when Elizabeth did speak, Jane perfectly perceived the concern hidden behind her sister’s teasing response: “Certainly distinguished – I cannot but admit that I found his company pleasant. That is, when he actually spoke. At one point I grew quite concerned that he had suddenly gone mute between requesting my hand and leading me to the floor.”
“Oh Lizzy, you jest! Surely he was not so very quiet.”
“I assure you neither of us spoke a word throughout the majority of the dance. Please, whatever you do, do not let Mama hear of it! Her nerves surely cannot handle the shock.”
“Yet you found his company pleasant,” Jane asserted with a happy smile.
Again, Elizabeth had no ready response. Obviously Jane did not intend to be dodged on this point and, while Elizabeth did keep some secrets from her sister, they were very few. Her admiration for Mr. Darcy need not be one of them, “He is one of the handsomest men I have ever encountered.” As she leaned forward to confess this her eyes sparkled. The sisters spent the next several moments indulging in a great deal of incoherent giggling and swooning, quite in the manner of Kitty and Lydia, and far too unbefitting the dignity of both ladies to recount here. Their raptures only ceased when Elizabeth resumed a serious tone.
“I know I should not say so, and would never admit this to anyone other than yourself, but I must confess my great relief Mr. Darcy did not appear to observe the over-exuberance of our mother’s reaction to his attentions. I cannot but recognize that a man like Mr. Darcy, not only in his refinement but also his quiet nature, will be quite mortified by her response to him when they finally do interact. I make no pretension at having truly won Mr. Darcy’s favor, yet cannot help but regret the opinion he must surely form of our family after she accosts him with her expectations.”
“Our mother means well, Mr. Darcy will surely recognize that.”
“No Jane, he will not. There is not only our mother to consider. What of Kitty and Lydia? Tonight they behaved even more unseemly than usual, dancing and flirting with complete abandon. No. It was a most memorable assembly but I believe I best not allow myself to indulge in fantasy. I cannot imagine a man of Mr. Darcy’s stature marrying a dowerless young lady. What would his relations say?!”
This thought caused both ladies to entertain many melancholy reflections. Jane wondered how Mr. Bingley’s relatives would regard her as a potential wife. Already he had been perfectly amiable with Mrs. Bennet but his sisters – well, they seemed less friendly. Jane had experienced a brief but uncomfortable conversation with Miss Bingley that evening in which she was intrusively direct in her questions regarding the size and wealth of the Longbourn estate. Though she would never say so aloud, she was not what Jane could wish for in a sister.
Elizabeth saw her sister’s disquietude and made another attempt to laugh at the whims of fate rather than be daunted, “No matter what occurs, I shall not be the one to reject any overtures of friendship Mr. Darcy may extend. I believe I can bear our family’s foibles with grace and not be too mortified when he proves to be less swept off his feet than our mother believes. But on the other hand,” she grinned playfully, “in the off chance it should turn out that he is subject to such an unfortunate bout of clumsiness, perhaps I can adapt to that circumstance as well.”
“My dear Lizzy,” Jane laughed. Both ladies fell asleep smiling, more content than uneasy.
--
At Netherfield, too, the evening was recounted with a mix of excitement and apprehension. Bingley declared that he never conceived of an angel more beautiful than Miss Bennet; never had he met with pleasanter people or prettier girls in his life. Darcy, with characteristic reserve, allowed the evening had been pleasant and the company more worthy than he had anticipated. As both men agreed that the Bennet sisters were charming, Miss Bingley found that she could no longer remain silent. She must interject. Miss Bennet she acknowledged to be a sweet girl – which her brother interpreted as leave to like her – but she could not truthfully claim to have seen any beauty in Miss Elizabeth. She began to recount a litany of flaws in far more detail than it seemed possible to compose after such a brief meeting, covering her face, which was deemed too thin, its features (decidedly unhandsome), and her complexion, which was lacking brilliancy.
Darcy listened in astonishment, taken totally aback that this
woman, whom he had always at least considered well-mannered, would so blatantly reveal her pettiness and jealousy. He was amply cognizant that she had long ago “set her cap at him”, as the vulgar phrase it, and while tolerating her company for Bingley’s sake he had been cautious never to allow himself to behave in any way which might be construed as encouraging her hopes. So his conscience was clear as he mentally rebuked Miss Bingley’s ridiculous behavior. After all, what had Miss Elizabeth done but dance with him and what of significance could possibly be gleaned from that?
It was Mr. Bingley, and rightly so, who put an end to his sister’s diatribe, “Come now Caroline, she is nothing of the sort. Clearly you are out of sorts this evening. You must be exhausted from having attended an assembly right on the heels of a bumpy carriage ride, though a short one. I’m sure we all are. Perhaps we should retire for the evening?”
The company followed their host’s advice, Caroline feeling the sting of her brother’s open rebuke. She realized she had revealed far too much of her emotions and resolved to guard against such behavior again. Exposing herself to such a degree was not the best means of dealing with Miss Elizabeth Bennet, nor would it endear her to Mr. Darcy’s affections. Subtlety was called for. She would proceed with care.