by Lauren King
“Mr. Bingley, I thought that was you. How are you?” Mr. Allston asks in a friendly manner as he bows.
“Ah, Mr. Allston; I am well, thank you. How do you do?” Bingley responds affably and then bows in greeting; Bingley sees Miss Bennet move closer to Miss Elizabeth.
“I am well, thank you.” Mr. Allston replies congenially.
Elizabeth reaches her hand out to Jane; Jane steps towards Elizabeth as Elizabeth says, “Jane, I would like to introduce to you, Mr. Lucas Allston. Mr. Allston is the eldest son to Uncle’s friend Mr. Harold Allston. Mr. Allston this is my elder sister, Miss Jane Bennet. This is our companion, sir – Mrs. Annesley.”
With a handsome smile Mr. Allston says good-naturedly, “It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Bennet. I have heard so many good things about you from Miss Elizabeth. Good evening, Mrs. Annesley.” Jane, Mrs. Annesley, and Mr. Allston all curtsy and bow to each other. Then Mrs. Annesley steps back to her seat against the side pillar.
“It is nice to meet you, Mr. Allston. My sister is very kind towards me.” Jane responds nicely and warmly.
“Yes, I agree with you; Miss Elizabeth is very kind and considerate.” Allston states agreeably and charismatically with a smile for Miss Elizabeth.
Right at this point, Darcy and Morgan come back with a waiter holding all their drinks. Darcy sees Elizabeth and Jane talking to Bingley and another gentleman. Is this a friend of Bingley’s? This gentleman seems to be very sociable towards Elizabeth because she seems to be talking cheerily. The gentleman is certainly enjoying his conversation with Elizabeth. Who is he?
“Ah, Darcy, Morgan. You are back; how are you both?” Bingley says with a friendly tone.
“I am well; how are you, Bingley?” Darcy asks pleasantly and then looks directly at Elizabeth.
“Bingley, how are you?” Morgan responds as he wonders if Bingley was talking to Miss Bennet personally, again. All four people seem to be conversing with each other normally, thus he does not question it any longer.
“I am well, thank you Darcy, Morgan.” Bingley replies convivially, but he cannot help but feel bitterness towards Morgan for pursuing Miss Bennet even though he knows that it is not Morgan’s fault. Morgan was simply fortunate to meet Miss Bennet at that particular time, and Bingley was most unfortunate to have lost Miss Bennet’s good consideration.
Darcy comes to stand right next to Elizabeth as the waiter follows him. Elizabeth looks right at him with her magnetic smile when he says, “Miss Elizabeth, here is your drink.”
“Thank you, Mr. Darcy.” Elizabeth smiles most affectionately at Darcy as she takes his offered drink. Then, she says warmly, “Mr. Darcy, I would like to introduce to you Mr. Lucas Allston. He is the eldest son to Mr. Harold Allston – my Uncle’s friend. Mr. Allston, this is Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy – my betrothed.” Elizabeth smiles lovingly at William while she makes the introductions; she could not be any prouder to introduce William as her betrothed. Her heart overflows with love for him.
Mr. Allston’s smile slightly falters before he recovers from the surprise that he just heard from Miss Elizabeth. Mr. Allston has heard of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy through business and from a few people of the first circles. Mr. Darcy is a distinguished gentleman that is widely known in the Ton. The Darcy wealth is also prominent. Miss Elizabeth is engaged to Mr. Darcy?
“Mr. Albert Morgan, this is Mr. Lucas Allston. Mr. Morgan is our family friend, Mr. Allston.” Elizabeth introduces pleasantly.
All the gentlemen bow and greet each other formally. Darcy remembers instantly the Allston name; this is who Richard had said was interested in Elizabeth back in October. Darcy detected a slight surprise in Mr. Allston when he heard that Darcy was Elizabeth’s betrothed. This is definitely that gentleman. Well, well, well – is not this interesting?
“Miss Elizabeth, please accept my congratulations on your betrothal. I did not know. I do not think that my family knows either.” Mr. Allston says charmingly.
“Thank you, Mr. Allston. We were just recently engaged, so not many people know as of yet.” Elizabeth replies amicably.
Mr. Allston turns to Darcy to congratulate him, and then Darcy replies courteously, “Thank you, Mr. Allston.”
“Miss Elizabeth please relay my greetings to Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner. Miss Bennet, Mr. Darcy, Mr. Morgan – it was good to meet you all. Mr. Bingley, it was nice to see you again. Miss Elizabeth, it is always a pleasure to see you. I wish you great joy.” Allston finally pulls his eyes from Miss Elizabeth to look at everyone else while he expresses his salutation. “Happy New Years, everyone.” Mr. Allston states most graciously before accepting wishes from the group.
“Mr. Allston, please convey my joyous greetings to your family. I wish you prosperity and happiness in the new year, sir.” Elizabeth displays her pleasant, friendly smile.
“Thank you, Miss Elizabeth. As always, you are most kind and considerate.” Mr. Allston bows sophisticatedly before leaving this group.
Mr. Allston still finds Miss Elizabeth to be all that is charming and beautiful; she is still his preference over the young ladies that he has met. Mr. Darcy seems to be very contented with Miss Elizabeth – obviously, he would be. Who would not be? Mr. Allston would be most pleased and satisfied if he was her betrothed; alas, it was not meant to be. However, she did act like they were family friends; he is happy that they can remain as such.
The rest of the night, once again, is filled with fun conversations and dancing. After the first few sets, it is well known that Mr. Darcy is engaged to Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Without a doubt, there are more than a few young ladies and their mothers who are very disappointed that Mr. Darcy is no longer an eligible bachelor. When they see the interaction between the newly betrotheds, they can tell that it is a love match. It is a surprise to see Mr. Darcy so pleased and smiling most handsomely at his betrothed throughout the ball. She, in turn, is vivacious, bright, and warm towards him; no wonder he looks very joyous.
The envious young ladies do not see anything extra special in Miss Elizabeth; hence, they figure that her appeal is based upon individual taste. They still think that they would have been a better fit for Mr. Darcy; surely, Miss Elizabeth could not be as wealthy as their family or come from a titled family like theirs. No one knows much about Miss Elizabeth except that she is not from London. She may be a gentlewoman, but she is not part of the Ton; therefore, these young ladies feel that they are superior to her. They just…do not have Mr. Darcy.
Later, Mr. Allston dances one set with Elizabeth and Mr. Bingley dances one set with Jane. Both Darcy and Morgan observe their ladies dancing with whom they think were potential rivals. Darcy does not mind Elizabeth dancing a set with Mr. Allston because Darcy completely trusts her deep love and devotion for Darcy. Elizabeth is a respectable, conscientious, and honorable young lady; consequently, he is not worried that she would do anything inappropriate. Furthermore, he knows that Elizabeth had declined Mr. Allston as a suitor. Nonetheless, this does not mean that Darcy is happy to see Mr. Allston enjoy his dance with his betrothed. Darcy knows that Elizabeth will always be polite to her acquaintances or be sociable and pleasant to her friends because that is who she is. All night, Darcy does not dance with anyone else other than Elizabeth and Jane; he enjoys listening and conversing with other gentlemen or observing his betrothed dance – without a doubt, her dance card is full.
At supper, Darcy and Morgan are attentive, warm, and fun-loving towards their own lady; everyone certainly notices Mr. Darcy’s changed behavior from the past. All the young ladies seethed even more when they see the engagement ring and the right hand ring that Elizabeth dons – not to mention her engagement jewels. All the jewels, money, Darcy House, and Pemberley could have been theirs. HUMPH!
Darcy had given the right hand ring to Elizabeth earlier tonight for New Years before they left the Gardiner’s residence. The pear shaped yellow sapphire ring is a brilliant stone under the abundant candle light. It is surrounded by small white diamonds; it is almost as large as h
er engagement ring. He told her that it was part of the Darcy jewels that will all belong to her. Elizabeth is thankful and amazed at all that William has given her, but he seems very nonchalant about it. She knows that all the jewels are very valuable; therefore, she is staggered by his wealth and generosity.
Elizabeth can sense and see all the young ladies looking over at them every-so-often. She can see their longing gaze at William while she receives their eye daggers. She jokes with William by telling him her thoughts.
Darcy chuckles and teasingly says, “I only care that one beautiful young lady gazes at me longingly. She will soon be Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy on January 31st, so it is appropriate that she gazes at me yearningly.”
Elizabeth responds lightheartedly, “I hope I am the only Elizabeth at this ball, Mr. Darcy.” They both chuckle quietly with each other as they display their affectionate gaze.
“I only mean the soon-to-be Mrs. Elizabeth Victoria Darcy – soon-to-be the former Miss Elizabeth Victoria Bennet of Hertfordshire – how about that, Miss Elizabeth? Is that precise enough?” Darcy quips and displays his dashing grin.
Elizabeth giggles softly and impishly. “Yes.” She is very pleased with his amusing banter.
From across the same dining table, Mr. Allston and Mr. Bingley can see the beautiful ladies that they wish for by their side. With further observations, Miss Elizabeth’s betrothal seems to be a love match. They look very well-suited with one another. It does not feel good to see it or to admit it, but there is no way Mr. Allston can deny it; it is evident to anyone looking. He was enamored of Miss Elizabeth, too, and he still prefers her, but it was not meant to be. Minimally, he is glad that he can still consider Miss Elizabeth a friend.
As for Bingley, he feels that he can bring happiness to Miss Bennet. He has seen her joy when they were still associating with one another. Bingley just made a mistake; he is willing to admit to it and fix it if only Miss Bennet would give him another chance. He still cannot believe his idiotic mistake which caused him to lose Miss Bennet. If he must, he will beg.
CHAPTER 14
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FRIDAY, JANUARY 2nd
The next morning, Jane tells Elizabeth that Mr. Bingley requested to call upon her. He wants to tell her something.
“I told him that there really is not anything for us to talk about anymore. He does not have to feel guilty or obligated to explain anything. We already spoke clearly about it on that last day. He looked so saddened and distressed. He pleaded with me to give him just a quarter of an hour to talk to me. He said that he would not bother me if it was not of the utmost importance. Lizzy, what do you think he is going to speak about? It must be about why he made his decision, right?”
“I think he is going to tell you that he loves you, and he made a mistake not standing by you through our family problem. Especially now that he sees Mr. Morgan pursuing you, Mr. Bingley must be thinking that Lydia’s problem may not be such a huge deal if a gentleman like Mr. Morgan can abide by it. Well…do you still have any feelings for Mr. Bingley?” Elizabeth asks understandingly; it is a difficult situation with which to deal.
“I do not have those feelings of admiration and trust for him anymore. I only see him as a friend now. He left without looking back until two days ago. I do not blame him, but I simply learned to move on after I gathered that he would not be able to overcome this. I do feel sorry for him because he seemed very disturbed, but why should he be? He must have not cared for me enough for him to rescind his desire to court me. I will not allow anything relating to Mr. Bingley to upset Mr. Morgan. Mr. Morgan has shown more care for me when he has only known me for only ten days than Mr. Bingley’s three months. To be fair, I understand that Mr. Bingley and I only became serious the last three weeks before our break up. Well, he was able to let it go…so now he should not regret it.” Jane sighs heavily before continuing. “You also think that Mr. Bingley only came around when he saw that Mr. Morgan was interested in me, Lizzy?”
“I think Mr. Bingley realized it when he spoke to William a few days ago. I feel bad for him; I do not know….” Elizabeth sighs and trails off because she is also torn for Mr. Bingley’s position. “From what William said about Mr. Bingley, he is tremendously sorry and distraught over yours and his situation. Mr. Bingley said he made such a terrible mistake in regards to you, Jane. It was all due to his obligation to Miss Bingley.”
Jane says cheerlessly, but not regrettably, “You know I would have waited for him had he asked me to wait for him to deal with his own family but he did not. He simply disconnected from me. He, basically, ended our relationship that day so that is why I tried really hard to let our situation go. I accepted it and did not expect to be with anyone for a long time.” Jane sighs heavily then says, “I felt that he did not like me enough; that is all. Again, I do not blame him for his decision because I recognize that his and his family’s reputation could have been jeopardized. That is why I was able to move on. I was hurt, but I understood, thus I forced myself to give him up.”
“Now, that I have someone like Mr. Morgan who knows himself and who likes me enough to deal with my family problem, I cannot give Mr. Morgan up. In no way am I saying that Mr. Bingley is bad for doing what he did; he just made a decision that he thought was best for him at that time. I respect that; hence, I made my decision too. I like Mr. Morgan very much, and I feel that our future together will be a happy one. I want that, Lizzy. Mr. Bingley, obviously, did not make me feel that I could have that with him when he retreated.”
“I understand entirely, Jane. I am glad you know your mind. I am happy for you. Well, are you going to allow Mr. Bingley to call upon you? You should just tell him once and for all, unambiguously, so that he cannot mistake your thoughts and intentions.”
“I do not want to make him feel bad. Do you not feel that would be too forward to say those things to him?”
“Well, you do not have to use those exact words. Maybe you can just tell him that you no longer feel the same way towards him since he retreated from your relationship – simple and to the point, right? Then remind him that you understand his decision and you do not blame him for it; everyone has different circumstances to endure. At the end, you can say that you hope that everything works out for him. How about that?”
“Yes, that sounds reasonable, sensible, and sensitive towards him.”
“And you can wish him good health and then get up from where ever you are sitting to signal the end of your talk.” Elizabeth is still torn between Mr. Morgan and Mr. Bingley; they both have good attributes. However, Mr. Bingley’s error was grave, indeed. Would Elizabeth be able to move pass William this quickly? No, she would not be able to; she knows for certain. That is why they are back together; she is extremely glad that they found their way back to one another, though. Otherwise, Elizabeth would have been severely affected for a very long time – if not, forever. The three weeks that they were apart were excruciating enough; she hopes that she will never experience being parted from William, again.
“Yes, that is what I shall do, Lizzy.” Jane feels better about this. “Do you think I should tell Mr. Morgan that Mr. Bingley has requested to call upon me? I do not want to hide it from him. I do not want him to think that there is anything between me and Mr. Bingley any longer. I definitely do not want Mr. Morgan to think that I am entertaining calls from any other gentleman while he is courting me.”
“Yes, I think that you should tell Mr. Morgan that you wish to allow Mr. Bingley to speak to you because he would like to clear up some issue that he feels badly about – which is true. Mr. Morgan should know that you have your own thoughts and ideas. I know you are agreeable and tolerant, so you will most likely go with whatever Mr. Morgan wants, but sometimes you have to let it be known that you wish for your own way, Jane. Furthermore, since this involves another gentleman then you want to be firm about it so that Mr. Morgan is assured of your partiality towards him and is not threatened by you allowing Mr. Bingley to speak to you. You sho
uld tell Mr. Morgan frankly that you would never do anything to jeopardize your courtship with him. If he should still be uncomfortable, then you will need to gauge how uncomfortable he is and make a decision about talking with Mr. Bingley. Or you can just nicely but adamantly say that Mr. Bingley and you are nothing to each other and that is what you want to clarify to Mr. Bingley with your talk. That should please Mr. Morgan; do you not think so, Jane?”
“Yes, that would be a very clear message.”
“Oh Jane, I just thought of something else.”
“What, Lizzy?”
“Well, what if this situation was reversed and Mr. Morgan was going to speak to a young lady that he previously was interested in? Would you be fine with him speaking to her? I do not think I would be fine if it was William; I just want to be fair is all. So, if you expect Mr. Morgan to accept you speaking with a previous suitor, then you should be agreeable if he speaks to his previous interest.” Elizabeth sighs heavily. “Goodness, this is what happens when you are reasonable and fair-minded with everybody’s situation.” Elizabeth chortles quietly and shakes her head simultaneously.
Elizabeth continues, “I definitely would not be fine with William calling upon a young lady that he was previously interested in to explain something to her. The only time that I may be tolerant of it is if William has to apologize for something he did that offended that young lady. Otherwise, I do not think I can tolerate any other circumstance. Well, of course, unless they are truly only friends and I also know of her and are friends with her.”
Jane sighs heavily. “I feel the same way; I want to be fair too. Well….that means….I should not allow Mr. Bingley to call upon me? However, do you not think that it is cruel to ignore Mr. Bingley’s sincere request? I feel pity for him. He actually pleaded with me. I know I should not be indecisive about this, but I just want to do what is best for everybody. It is so hard to try to please everyone and also myself.” Jane breathes deeply and then sighs heavily. “Goodness gracious; fine…I am going to follow my intuition and allow Mr. Bingley to call upon me one last time so that he can explain whatever it is he wants to explain. I will make it very clear to him that there is no more hope for him and me. I will tell Mr. Morgan that Mr. Bingley requests to explain something to me and, as a friend, I will listen to him. I will reassure Mr. Morgan that I look forward to our courtship.”