by C. J. Hill
A country parson, with a good income and prospects, and the inheritance of Longbourn, would make a happy match for many local girls, including her own Charlotte. How dare Mrs. Bennet keep him all to herself and be so unkind as to gloat over her in this way? She tugged aggressively at her feather headpiece and succeeded in dislodging her hairpins.
“Charlotte,” she called as she tried in vain to restore her arrangement.
Charlotte appeared at the doorway apparently already complete in her dress and minimal adornments.
Lady Lucas cast a disapproving eye over her daughter and waved Charlotte over to help with the headpiece.
“My dear, you really should have Bates add some curls to your hair. What can you be thinking-the whole county to be there and you with your hair just as ordinary as every day? This is a great opportunity you know – is that your best choice of gown? Where is your new silk from town that your father brought home?”
Charlotte smiled patiently as she mended her mother’s hair without rising to the challenge of defending her attire. Something which never failed to amuse her was the constant occupation of her mother, and of everyone else, of the great “opportunities” that could be created from mere wisps of rumour or chance.
Charlotte was looking forward to the evening mainly to meet with her friend Eliza, whom she had not seen for more than a week due to the inclemency of the weather, but also to meet Eliza’s cousin of whom Charlotte had heard very little. But from her mother’s and Mrs. Bennet’s conversation of yesterday, she understood he was apparently seeking a wife from amongst the Bennet girls. Charlotte was most intrigued as to what Elizabeth might have to say on the subject; she predicted a lively discourse with much humour involved. She was also anxious to continue her observances of Mr. Darcy of her friend; to see how he behaves when at home would prove to be quite revealing she thought.
“Mother, I am going to the ball as a pleasant diversion for the evening and to meet with my friends and acquaintances. I do not intend for it to become a matchmaking event. Far from it, I merely ask that I dance perhaps one dance and observe the antics of our neighbours as they make a spectacle of themselves trying to create opportunities out of the evening. Pray do not desire me to primp and preen myself yet again for an outcome that is already decided; there are many, many more attractive and younger ladies who will be in attendance tonight – I shall be overlooked as a chaperone of one of them I dare say!”
“But Charlotte, how will you ever meet a husband if you do not put yourself forward at every opportunity?” her harassed mother demanded.
“If I am ever to meet a husband, I would prefer it to be through a mutual acquaintance, one who knows both of our natures and desires; not in the pre-scripted, shallow confines and limited options of a ball.”
Charlotte brushed her mother’s cheek gently with her lips and murmured, “So no point in wasting my best silk on the event of the Winter when no one will notice it anyway. Far better to wait and wear it for a more appreciative audience, do not you think? Papa will approve it not being ignored beside the splendours of our new neighbour’s attire. I will leave it to you to showcase the Lucas fashion and taste this evening!”
Charlotte alighted from the carriage with her mother and father at the foot of the steps that led to the grand entry to Netherfield Park. All windows were sparkling and appeared alive with excitement; candlelight poured from every pane, music flowed out of the doors and warmed the night air with its rhythm and joy. Smiling in anticipation of the evening ahead, Charlotte ascended the stairs and, after handing in her wrap, followed her parents into the hall to join the receiving line to greet, once again, the Bingley family.
Mr. and Mrs. Hurst were first in line and greeted her mother and father like long-lost friends, enquiring about London and the last time they were there, commenting on the inclemency of the weather and the forthcoming Christmas season. Charlotte merely smiled and nodded as was her way, and passed along the line to meet Miss Caroline Bingley and her brother Mr. Bingley.
Miss Bingley was in every way the aristocrat, or purported herself to be. Her disdainful air, her dress, her deportment all indicated that here was a lady mixing reluctantly with the local gentry who were outside of her usual circle of society but stoically doing her duty as mistress of her brother’s country house. Charlotte concealed a wry smile and determined to discuss Miss Caroline Bingley at length with Eliza just as soon as may be; much entertainment could be had of it she was sure, especially if Eliza, as Charlotte knew she would be, was of the same opinion.
In contrast, Mr. Bingley was all charm and ease, welcoming everyone into his home and making no show of his importance or standing. He made polite conversation with her mother as if he truly was interested in her singularly intrepid journey through the village, braving the chill November evening.
As she entered the ballroom, Charlotte began to search for her friend in the crowd, to no immediate avail; the crowd was large, most of the county already arrived and dancing, and the throngs were even more concentrated at the outskirts of the floor where chaperones, mothers, fathers and other non-dancing guests threaded their way around each other, commenting on the dancing, the evening, or the general concerns peculiar to country folk.
Eventually, Charlotte spied Eliza standing with her sister, Mary, beneath the long windows, and steered a course towards her. Mary was clutching a sheaf of papers to her chest and looking most anxious, showing no excitement in her surroundings or prospects. Eliza was in the process of advising her sister not to insist upon performing to the company this evening – to no avail. Mary appeared determined to put her music practice to good use and demonstration. Upon Charlotte’s approach, Mary nodded politely to Charlotte and left her sister; Charlotte smiled at her friend and took her hand.
“Eliza! It has been so long – a week at least – since we talked. Tell me about your visitor and your other news.”
“Oh, Charlotte, how good it is to see you! It has been too long; the rain has prevented any society at Longbourn except that of my cousin’s arrival. Mamma was able to get the horses and carriage to visit with your Mamma but for the rest of us, we were secluded at the mercy of the weather and, unfortunately, my cousin!” Elizabeth allowed herself a discreet eye roll for the benefit of her friend.
“Not only must I speak with you of my cousin – although the evening may not prove to be long enough to do his character justice– but also of another, more favourable man, a soldier, and one with whom I have spent several pleasant discussions. I had hoped he would be here tonight, indeed he promised that he would be, but his friend just informed me that he had to go to London on business and so had to miss the ball. I had hoped to dance with him, but now all is lost and I am at the mercy of my cousin who has insisted, not only that he dance with each of his cousins, but that he dance the first two with me especially!
“Charlotte! You can not appreciate what he is, this cousin. He is a foolish oddity of a man – admittedly he does give my father and me great diversions through his peculiarities but he…”
At this Eliza found that the object of her conversation had approached, bowing in a most obsequious manner, claiming his prior request for the first two dances. Elizabeth could not refuse; to do so would be to condemn herself to an evening of watching, rather than joining the dancing, a price she would rather not pay on such an evening as this.
Making a discreet but rather obvious-meaning moue to her friend, Eliza allowed herself to be escorted to the dance floor by Mr. Collins and awaited the opening chords of the dance.
Charlotte watched with rising amusement, alternating with increasing embarrassment for her friend, as Mr. Collins displayed his utter lack of proficiency, in dancing or anything resembling movement in a rhythmic fashion, which should have denied him access to any dance floor. He turned left when required to turn right; he wove left hand when he was to start with the right; he was without fail behind the beat and even managed to bump into one of the other ladies in his set! He sca
rce had time to make apology when he was beset by a further lack of attention. His confusion and very obvious lack of knowledge of the art of dance proclaimed to all female observers, of which, by the end of the first set there were many, that here was a man to be avoided as a partner if at all possible. Elizabeth bore the inflicted shame and misery with a desperate but detached air, gamely continuing with her side of the bargain despite the afflictions of her partner. Charlotte did not know whether to laugh at the spectacle or be horrified for the mortification of her friend. Such skill was not often witnessed, even in the country.
Finally, the chords announced the end of the second dance and Mr. Collins, looking relieved himself to be released but also strangely triumphant, escorted Elizabeth from the floor while trying surreptitiously to dab away the evidence of his exertions.
“My dear cousin, I apologise. It has been a considerable while since I had the honour of dancing with such an admirable partner. My steps were not as certain as were yours and indeed I must congratulate you upon your expertise. I confess I had forgotten how complicated some dances are and how tiring it is to dance two times a full figure. I do beg your forgiveness if I have caused you to become over-exerted.”
“Pray do not concern yourself, sir. Perhaps we can allow that I have fulfilled your request to dance with me and now you may care to choose from amongst my other sisters, or even perhaps, from amongst other ladies present, many of whom, I see, are wanting of a partner this evening.”
Elizabeth’s dearest wish was for her cousin to remove himself from her company at the earliest possible moment. The humiliation had indeed been extreme, and though she had borne it as well as she could, the derision in some of the faces as she danced past was unmistakable. Let someone else take her part; she would dance no more with Mr. Collins.
Mr. Collins bowed politely and allowed her to disengage herself from him; his eyes followed her progress as she made her way urgently towards Charlotte through the milling crowd at the edge of the dance floor. He stood smiling to himself as he pondered his next move, but believed it would not include any more dancing this side of supper.
As he watched, he noticed that Eliza was again laughing and whispering with her friend, a young lady of modest beauty but of worthy standing; she was listening intently to his cousin and smiling at the conversation. They seemed to be much at ease with one another and Mr. Collins wanted to know more of her. He began to trace the path that his cousin had taken but, unfortunately, just as he was preparing his opening salutation to charm the acquaintance of his cousin, Mrs. Bennet appeared at his elbow and reminded him that he had promised to dance with all of her daughters this evening, and that her three younger girls were very keen to dance.
“Jane, however, will not be able to accommodate you this evening as her dance card is complete,” she warned while casting meaningful glances to where Jane and Mr. Bingley were talking exclusively to each other as if not another soul existed in the room. Mrs. Bennet smiled contentedly at the thought of one of her daughters captivating a partner of such esteemed worth and pleasant countenance; she had spoken with him again earlier in the evening which had further elevated her opinion of him coming so soon after his kind ministrations to Jane during her illness. She could hardly wait to discuss the possibility with her friends.
Mr. Collins bowed politely.
“I am, I am afraid to admit, much out of practice in the art of dancing. My work, as you can imagine, allows little time for these pursuits, although Lady Catherine de Bourgh considers it to be a social requirement of any gentleman and encourages me to engage in them as I am able. I am happy to accommodate all of my cousins, and would certainly regret disappointing any of them, or any other young lady in need of a partner, but I feel that, in the circumstances, I must retire to the dining room and fortify myself against the further demands of dancing.
“Please excuse me to your daughters; I have already excused myself to Eliza, and hope to join her in conversation later for I do not wish her to think that I am neglecting my duties to her.”
“Yes, yes, Mr. Collins, do go and talk with Lizzy, she would have you be with her more than anyone, I do assure you. And as for dancing, she will only be too agreeable not to participate if you do not wish it; she is a generally compliant girl in these matters.” Mrs. Bennet continued extolling the fabricated virtues of her second daughter for the next few minutes until, having exhausted all her commendations, suddenly saw her sister across the room and hastily bade Mr. Collins adieu for the chance to exchange gossip about the evening and her hopes for Jane and Lizzy in the not-too-distant future. It was all looking extremely promising to be sure.
Charlotte, meanwhile, was being excessively diverted by Eliza’s diatribe regarding her cousin.
“But surely he is an eligible match regardless of his inadequacies on the dance floor! Think of what you have told me regarding his connections and position in life. His inheritance of Longbourn must be in his favour – consider how it would feel to keep your home in the family! He would make an excellent husband if one knew how to mitigate his failings and temperament.”
Elizabeth grimaced and remarked laughingly.
“It would take an angel indeed to manage his temperament! Do you know of any sensible woman who would accept such a man – someone who is able to talk at length about the smallest and most unimportant of things? If I hear one more sermon on the beauties of Rosings or the opinions of Lady Catherine de Bourgh I will not stay sane! Someone who prepares “little compliments to address to women” and tries to make them as “unaffected” as possible – how could this be a sensible match? She would be condemning herself to a lifetime of humiliation and disgrace; you could not accompany him far in public without either occurring – take my dances with him as an example and you cannot disagree with me, Charlotte! Not even Longbourn is recompense enough for that.”
Charlotte smiled and said cautiously.
“This may be so, Eliza, but many women do not have the ability to think as you and I do about men and marriage; their main concern is whether he is of good standing in the community and whether he will afford her a comfortable home. Every other detail is best left to be discovered after she has secured him. Her standing will remain fixed even after marriage to a less than perfect man; she will not be berated for her choice, more likely she will engender sympathy.”
Elizabeth changed the subject to one more pleasing to her, and about which her friend as yet knew nothing other than her brief description.
“I must talk with you about the charming man I mentioned earlier, whom I met while walking in Meryton the other day. He is an officer in the Regiment stationed here for the Winter and is a personal friend of my sisters’ friend, Denny, who is also an officer. We have been thrown together several times at my aunt’s and they have come to take tea with us at Longbourn. He is a most gentleman-like man of good breeding, and has during our brief acquaintance informed me of some of his misfortunes in life which he has, by his own account, borne with a pleasing fortitude. Indeed, he has shown more reticence than I would have in a similar situation.
“He has confided in me that his misfortunes were caused by a man who is in this room tonight, however; none other than Mr. Darcy, the friend of Mr. Bingley! So I understand that it is probably preferable that they do not meet in such a situation as this.
“I was the observer of a chance meeting between the two of them during a walk with my cousin and sisters to my aunt’s house which prompted the revelation about the injuries Mr. Wickham has suffered at the hands of Mr. Darcy. Believe me Charlotte when I say that, after hearing Mr. Wickham’s account of his mistreatment, I never want to speak with Mr. Darcy again; just exchanging greetings this evening was an imposition I could barely endure!”
Elizabeth continued in this vein, discussing with her friend all of her knowledge about the two men, with particular vehemence against Mr. Darcy, until she felt a presence behind her. Charlotte, who could see the visitor, smiled and greeted him with a mod
est curtsey in order to alert Lizzy before she embarrassed herself further.
Confused, Elizabeth turned and encountered the embodiment of her displeasure. She curtseyed, fervently hoping that none of her angry words had reached his ears, but then, recollecting that his statements about her at the assembly rooms had reached hers, lifted her gaze defiantly to his.
He bowed in greeting to both ladies.
“Miss Bennet. Would you do me the honour of dancing the next dance with me?”
Confused and surprised at the turn of events, and rendered incoherent by the myriad thoughts this request stirred up, Elizabeth found herself weakly accepting.
As Mr. Darcy bowed and returned to his friends, she turned to Charlotte, confounded by her lack of ability to refuse the gentleman she hated, had been busily condemning, and had vowed never to dance with.
“I dare say you will find him very agreeable, Lizzy! Much more so than your first partner here tonight. I suppose that a soldier of pleasant manners and a future in the army must be preferable to you than your cousin could be, but do not allow your fancy for this Wickham to cloud your responses to a man who is ten times his consequence!
“I will be most interested to meet Mr. Wickham when he returns from London in order to ascertain whether he is worthy of my friend’s affection in this way but, until I can make my judgment, let Mr. Darcy take his place tonight.”