by Don Miller
Darcy stayed for supper at Matlock House and then he and Georgiana rode the five blocks to Darcy House. When they arrived home, Darcy went into his office and rifled through the stack of correspondence on his desk. Eventually he came to the invitation from the Denbys and stared at it for a long time before opening it. In it were the formal invitation and a hand written note saying that if he was back, they would love him to come and they were happy to report there would be four young ladies debuting that day, including their granddaughter Margaret and Miss Elizabeth Bennet.
He did not know if he could stand to see her again and know she would never be his. And yet he could not totally abandon the thought she might be, although her present situation made it even more unlikely she would accept an offer from him. His aunt was right, the men of the ton to whom a substantial dowry was not very important would recognize Elizabeth for the unique and desirable woman she was and she would have no lack of gentlemen callers. How could he have ever even considered she might not be suitable as the mistress of Pemberley? She was more intelligent than any other woman he knew, and if others could be mistresses of large estates, after a little time, it would be even easier for her and he was sure she would be a kind and considerate mistress. There was no doubt: this was a year of disastrous mistakes and those he made with respect to her might haunt him all his life.
He sat down at his desk and penned a note to Lord and Lady Denby telling them he had returned and looked forward to attending their ball. He would send it by messenger to Denby House in the morning. And he thought to himself, “May God have mercy on my soul.”
Chapter 13: The Ball at Denby House
Elizabeth, Margaret, Miss Jane Thornton, and Miss Phoebe Parkington were sitting in the family sitting room on the first floor of Denby House, awaiting the call for their big entrance into the ballroom. Elizabeth, Miss Thornton, and Miss Parkington had arrived at Denby House a few hours before the ball to change into their gowns and prepare for their big night. It would not do for a young woman having her first presentation into the ton to have a wrinkled gown or hair out of place, so they had arrived early, gowns hung in their coaches, so they could dress and have their hair done at Denby House.
Both Miss Thornton and Miss Parkington were the kind of young women of the ton Elizabeth did not like. They were both eighteen and very impressed with themselves and their pedigree. Miss Thornton was the granddaughter of an Earl, like Margaret, and Miss Parkington was the daughter of a wealthy Baronet. Both of them knew Elizabeth was the daughter of a country gentleman and even though she was sponsored by an Earl, they clearly considered Elizabeth to be far beneath them and were barely civil to her. Elizabeth found them to be highly amusing and made no attempt to speak with them, being happy to spend her time talking to Margaret.
“In all the excitement I forgot to tell you an important piece of news I was supposed to tell you. Mr. Darcy is back in town. My grandparents had sent him an invitation, but knew he was out of town and probably would not be back in time to make it. They were surprised to receive a reply from Mr. Darcy yesterday saying he had returned and would attend. The other thing you may have already heard. Col. Fitzwilliam is not in town. He has been recalled to the front.
“I knew about Col. Fitzwilliam. He sent me a note the day he left saying he had been recalled and apologizing for not being able to dance with me. He also said he did not expect his cousin to be back in town for the ball, but if he did return, to please consider saving the set promised to him for his cousin. I suppose I shall have to see if Mr. Darcy wants it.”
“I cannot imagine he would not. I think, once they see you, every single man in the room will want a set. It’s a good thing you are coming in last or they would not even notice the three of us.”
“Peggy, you know that is not true. You look beautiful tonight and I am sure you will have a full dance card. And everyone knows the three of you are much more highly placed young women than I am.”
“That may be, but I am sure that once the gentlemen get a chance to dance with you and talk to you and hear you sing, many will consider that highly placed by birth not necessary.”
As she was speaking, there was a knock on the door and the Denby butler announced they were ready for the debutantes. They stood and followed him out of the sitting room, down the stairs and to the doors of the ballroom. He entered the ballroom, and soon the doors were opened and the young women proceeded in, one by one, each being introduced as she entered the ballroom and descended the short flight of stairs to the dance floor, where she was greeted by her dance partner for her first dance. Elizabeth was the last to be announced and had to admit, she felt very self-conscious.
Matthew Dumont could hardly believe his luck. When Lady Matlock and Lady Denby had decided Elizabeth would participate in the presentation of debutantes, they had to consider who would be an appropriate first partner for her. She had no father or other relative to dance her first dance with her. When they consulted Lady Monttard, she suggested Matthew, her grandson, because his family had to come to London to stay with her and Lord Monttard just prior to the ball and she assured them she could easily get his consent. So there he was, having never met Elizabeth, watching one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen descend the stairs to where he stood.
Elizabeth made it to Matthew Dumont without incident and gave him a smile he would always remember. “Mr. Matthew, I presume?” she asked.
Returning her smile, he replied, “Miss Elizabeth, I presume.” Offering her his arm, he continued. “Shall we take our place in the line of dance?” The four young ladies, with their partners were at the head of the line of dance, which was soon was filled and the dance was started.
Several other gentlemen in attendance were equally entranced by the vision of Elizabeth descending the stairway. One of those was Darcy. The latter had thought she could not get any lovelier than she had been at the ball at Netherfield last year, but he had been wrong. Once again, he mentally kicked himself for his misjudgments and mistakes in his undeclared courtship of her. As he watched her descend and accept the arm of Matthew Dumont, he reaffirmed in his mind there was no one like her and he now hoped his statement to his sister that there could be nothing between them was not true. He would still try to find another, but he was finding it hard to believe he could find her equal. He hoped he could secure a dance with her.
As Elizabeth and Matthew began their dance, Matthew said, “As I watched you come down the stairs, I could not believe my luck. When grandmother asked me to be your partner, even though she told me why you did not have a partner and assured me you were…. I believe she said ‘quite pretty’…. I must admit I had a few trepidations as to what I had agreed to do. I was not prepared for the vision I saw descending the stairs. You were every young man’s dream as you descended those stairs and I want you to know how honored I am to be chosen to be your first dance partner of the night.”
Again giving him one of her brilliant smiles, she said, “And I am honored to be dancing with the eldest grandson of the Baron of Monttard. Your pleasure at seeing me could not be any greater than mine at seeing you. I was assured that you were very handsome, but like you, had a qualm or two. I was also told you were an excellent dancer, which I can already tell is true. It is nice to know I can count on the assurances given by those who advised me.”
Between the two dances of the first set, Matthew and Elizabeth walked over to join Lord and Lady Denby, who were with Lord and Lady Monttard and a middle aged couple whom Elizabeth did not know. They were talking to none other than Mr. Darcy.
“You made a very handsome couple and seemed to be enjoying the dance,” said Lord Monttard. “Miss Elizabeth, did my grandson meet your expectations for your first dance at a ball of the ton?”
“He did, indeed, my lord. I have rarely danced with a more accomplished dancer.”
“Let me introduce you to my son and his wife. Miss Elizabeth, this is my son, Mr. Phillip Dumont and his wife, Mrs. Sophia Dumont. Phillip, So
phia, this is Miss Elizabeth Bennet.”
“We are so happy to meet you,” said Mrs. Dumont. “”When we saw you descending the stairway, we knew Matthew would be pleased with his unknown partner. What have you to say, Matt? Are you happy you accepted mother’s request to dance the first set with Miss Elizabeth?”
“Mother, you know that is an entirely unnecessary question. I have never had a prettier partner or one who is a better dancer. I can hardly wait for the second dance of the set to begin.”
“Before you go, I believe we must let Mr. Darcy have his say.”
Nodding his head to Darcy, Matthew said, “It is good to see you again Darcy. I doubt however it is I to whom you wish to speak.”
Nodding to Matthew, Darcy smiled and said, “You are quite correct Matt.” Looking at Elizabeth, he said, “Good evening, Miss Elizabeth. You are looking even more beautiful than I remember.”
“Thank you, Mr. Darcy; it is good to see you again. I trust your trip to Scotland was successful.”
“It was, Miss Elizabeth, and I am happy I made it back in time to come to this ball. May I have the honor of a set with you this evening?”
“You are already on my card, Mr. Darcy. When Col. Fitzwilliam informed me he was not coming, he asked if I might replace him with you, should you be able to come. I did so and I am glad you asked, for I would have been embarrassed to have made the assumption you wanted to dance with me and been wrong.”
“I think you knew perfectly well I would ask. May I ask which set I am to have?”
“I had planned on giving him the supper set, but others are available, if you would rather change.”
“No, the supper set would be perfectly acceptable, Miss Elizabeth. I shall look forward to it and not keep these other gentlemen waiting who wish to obtain a dance with you.” Making a bow to her, he left.
There was a longer than usual break between the first and second dances of the first set, so gentlemen could request dances of the four young ladies who been presented that evening. Elizabeth had truly thought because of her lower social status, her card might not fill up, but she was wrong. Her card was almost filled by the time Matthew led her out onto the floor for the second dance of the set.
Her fourth set was with Lord Vollenbrook and as he led her onto the dance floor, he asked how she was enjoying the ball, to which she replied, “I love to dance and have been particularly enjoying this ball because of the excellence of my dance partners. In Hertfordshire, I have been accustomed to being a better dancer than the young men with whom I dance. That is not the case here and I must pay more attention to my own dancing to make sure I do not make mistakes.”
“I did not dance the second dance and saw you dancing with Mr. Dumont. I thought you were the picture of grace, so I doubt you need worry about your dancing. I was also amazed at what a good dancer Mr. Dumont seemed to be. I guess they have plenty of balls in Liverpool also.”
“He is a very good dancer, as is his son. It was a joy to dance the first set with Mr. Matthew.”
“Like you, I greatly enjoy dancing, and I shall endeavor to live up to the excellent performance of your first partners. I would hope that when the next man asks you how you are enjoying the dance, you can say that you greatly enjoyed your dance with me also.”
Lord Vollenbrook had no trouble living up to her expectations as a dancer and also turned out to be a fount of information about what the coming Season would be like. He gave her much information about persons and events she was sure would serve her well not only that night, but in the weeks to come. She hoped she would see more of him and his sister in the coming weeks.
The time for the supper set finally came and Darcy came to claim Elizabeth. They were both somewhat worried about what they would talk about and whether the conversation would be strained, but once they started to dance and he asked her what she was reading, they settled into a very relaxed conversation about poetry and books and the discomfort both had experienced when starting the dance seemed to disappear. When the set was over, they joined Lord and Lady Matlock, Mr. and Mrs. Dumont, and Matthew and Lady Penelope at a table.
During the meal, when the gentlemen left the table to retrieve drinks for the ladies, Lady Penelope, who was sitting across from Elizabeth, leaned over and asked, “How in the world did you manage to get the reclusive Mr. Darcy to take the supper set? He has gained a reputation of dancing little and in particular not dancing the supper set because he does not like to have to sit and make conversation with a partner during supper.”
“He and I have some history of conversation and I believe he tolerates my ability to converse on subjects of interest to him. But in this case, the main reason he has the supper set is I promised it to his cousin Col. Fitzwilliam, who has been called away to the war, and the colonel sent me a note asking me to give Mr. Darcy his set were Mr. Darcy to come to the ball. When Mr. Darcy heard of the colonel’s request, he seemed happy to accept it.”
“Well, I am sure you are the envy of many a young lady here, because I know how relentlessly some of them pursue the poor man. Is it not true, Lady Matlock, Mr. Darcy is very disgusted with the ton mothers and daughters, but feels he must continue to participate in hope that someday he will find one who will meet his expectations so he can produce an heir?”
“Yes, that is true. I have been trying for years to find a young woman who might arouse his interest, but with little success, and he has become quite disgusted with some of the mothers and daughters who are especially flagrant in their attempts to get his attention. However, Miss Elizabeth, I do believe your statement that Darcy is dancing this set with you just because he is filling my son’s shoes is not quite accurate. Did he not ask you for a set, at which time you told him of my son’s request? I believe he even expressed pleasure at being able to dance the supper set with you.”
“Yes he did ask Lady Matlock. I believe he feels comfortable with me because he knows I am definitely not one of those mercenary young women pursuing him for his wealth.”
Lady Penelope showed surprise, “Do you mean to tell me you are not interested in him as a possible husband?”
“I have no designs on him. I feel we are very different types of people and I fear a marriage between us would have problems. He and I have often had significant disagreements, but I believe we are now on relatively friendly terms, and his sister and I have become good friends.”
Before more could be said, the gentlemen returned and after they were all seated again, Matthew Dumont asked, “When are you going to perform, Miss Elizabeth? I assume it will be during this supper break.”
“So I have been told, Mr. Matthew, but I do not know exactly when it will be. Miss Farnsworth and I will be performing together, and she will let me know when it is time. She is, of course, sitting with our hosts, and Lady Denby will tell her when.”
Lady Penelope then asked Darcy about his trip to Scotland, and for several minutes he explained to the table about his problems with the Baronet and his family, primarily his son, who had rented the house on his Scottish estate for the summer. As he was finishing his tale, Miss Parkington went to the piano placed at the end of the dance floor and began a Mozart piece. She was a very accomplished pianist and the audience expressed its appreciation for her performance. She then played a rather difficult adaptation of an English folk song. As she was doing that, Elizabeth saw Margaret signal to her and assumed they were next.
When Miss Parkington finished, Elizabeth excused herself and she and Margaret walked toward the piano while two footmen brought out Margaret’s harp. Elizabeth could hear the murmurs of the crowd and had the feeling there was some anticipation of their performance. They first played a classical duet for piano and harp, with no voice. Finally Elizabeth stood up and Margaret began the accompaniment to an English ballad many in the audience knew well. Elizabeth could see smiles and the tapping of feet as she sang the lyrics. The audience was quite enthusiastic with its applause when she finished. For their last piece Margaret starte
d the lengthy accompaniment to a very haunting Irish lament, and the audience became rather silent, a silence which continued when Elizabeth began to sing and she could see many women wiping tears from their eyes as she sang. When she was finished, the silence continued for a few moments, as if no one wanted to ruin the mood by clapping. But someone finally did start clapping very quietly, and as she and Margaret left their stage, there was an ever increasing applause for their performance. She and Margaret received much praise from those they passed as they returned to their tables.
When she reached her table, the men were standing and all saying how much they had enjoyed the performance—that they had never heard anything like it at a coming out ball. Lady Penelope expressed her opinion they would certainly be in demand to perform at teas and balls during the season. As they sat down, Darcy told her, “Miss Elizabeth, you continue to astound me. I know I heard you in Hertfordshire, but you never did anything of this caliber. You were magnificent.”
“Thank you, Mr. Darcy. I only regret I was not asked to sing to your aunt, Lady Catherine. I am sure, had she taken up voice, she would have been a great proficient and would undoubtedly have given me some very good advice.”
This unexpected reference to his aunt’s ridiculous statements brought a hearty laugh out of him, which made all those at not only their table, but some of the tables around them, look at him. Most knew of his reputation as being a very serious and taciturn man and to see him laugh so freely was quite unexpected. “You are absolutely correct. I regret I did not ask you to sing. Receiving her reaction would have been priceless, particularly if you sang anything like you have just sung.”