Christmas at Netherfield (Pride and Prejudice Variation)

Chapter 1

Meryton Assembly Hall

Evening

Meryton was generally a peaceful and placid village, boasting quiet streets and cozy homes. Tonight, a sliver of moon shone in the sky, surrounded by countless stars that beautified the heavens. The air was crisp and cold, and the wind blew gently through the great trees near the hamlet.

While most of the villagers were safely tucked up in their homes, one building on a usually quiet street was full of light and music.

The Meryton assembly hall was a spacious one for the size of the town, and it was currently full of ladies and gentlemen, from aged Mrs. Garrison, who sat dozing by the fire, to Miss Lydia Bennet, the youngest of the Bennet daughters.

Dozens of candles provided illumination that glittered off silver punch bowls and polished wood floors and the jewels worn by the ladies in attendance.

Muslins and satins and carefully pressed coats were in evidence, with everyone dressed in their best for the assembly and laughing and talking happily amongst themselves.

There was none of the golden thread and ostrich feathers that beautified the ladies in the high society ballrooms of London, but the cheer in this small country assembly hall was equal to any in Town.

Across the room from the door, a table had been set up, holding tarts and ratafia cakes and punch and a couple of candelabras. There was a steady stream of visitors to the table, as young ladies without partners refreshed themselves and chatted happily with their friends.

Elizabeth Bennet, second of five sisters, took a sip of punch, and then her eyes brightened as she spied her close friend Charlotte Lucas across the room next to her mother, Lady Lucas.

“Charlotte,” she called and was pleased when Charlotte immediately made her way to her side.

“Eliza,” Charlotte said, inspecting her carefully. “You look wonderful, my dear.”

“Thank you,” Elizabeth said, stepping back a few feet and gesturing toward her hem. “I must give credit to Kitty and Lydia, who helped by embroidering the bottom of the skirt.”

“It is lovely,” Charlotte replied. “Now, are you as excited about the party from Netherfield as the rest of us?”

Elizabeth shrugged and glanced toward the door. The dancers had proceeded through half of the first set already, and no strangers had arrived.

“Not particularly,” she admitted. “It is not even a definite thing that they will come at all, and in any case, Mr. Bingley is married.”

“Ah, but what of the rumors that his party will include twelve single ladies and seven single gentlemen?” Charlotte asked with a twinkle in her eye.

“If he brings a dozen unwed ladies, we will have even more trouble than usual in finding partners,” Elizabeth retorted. “But come, I think perhaps that is Mr. Bingley coming through the door?”

Charlotte turned immediately and nodded. “Yes, that is Mr. Bingley, and the lady on his arm is his bride, of course.”

Elizabeth frowned in surprise. “She looks very young!”

“She does,” Charlotte agreed. “Now, I do not know who the others are…”

She trailed off as her father, Sir William Lucas, who was speaking with the visitors, turned and beckoned toward his eldest daughter.

“I must go, Eliza. We will talk more later.”

“Of course, Charlotte.”

She watched as her friend made her way over to the newcomers and considered them with interest. There were two couples, and all of them were dressed with elegant sophistication.

The one she thought was Mr. Bingley had dark blond hair and was handsome, along with displaying a lighthearted demeanor, though his presumed wife on his arm was incredibly pale, and her eyes were downcast. The second couple consisted of a tall, very handsome dark-haired man, with a dark blonde lady on his own arm.

Elizabeth bit her lip thoughtfully as she considered the dark-haired gentleman.

She knew that Mr. Bingley was married, but in spite of her words with her friend Charlotte, she hoped that the other man was both single and eligible.

Her eyes shifted to another corner of the room, where her elder sister, Jane, was standing next to her mother, Mrs. Bennet.

The Bennet family was very well respected by their neighbors, and Jane was the acknowledged beauty of their area, but their home estate of Longbourn was entailed away to a distant cousin, and none of the ladies had any dowry to speak of.

The truth was that one of the Bennet daughters did need to marry well, or the entire family would face genteel poverty after Mr. Bennet’s death, but thus far, no one had been sufficiently tantalized by one of the Bennet girls to make an offer.

Jane, along with being beautiful, was kind, honorable, and sensible. Any man in England would be fortunate to win her as his bride, and Elizabeth hoped fervently that a man would soon appear who would make Jane’s dreams come true.

***

Caroline Bingley twirled in time with the music and then glided a few steps down the dance floor with her dance partner, who was also her fictitious fiancé, the master of Pemberley, Fitzwilliam Darcy.

Caroline was an excellent dancer, and thus she was able to spend the rest of the song considering her supposed intended.

Mr. Darcy was tall, and handsome, and very rich, and was the nephew of an earl.

He was in every way a perfect match, and it was no surprise that Caroline’s mother, Lady Aurelia Bingley, who was one of the most ambitious women in England, was exceptionally pleased with the engagement.

Caroline suppressed a sigh as the music came to an end, and she clapped along with everyone else.

It was not Mr. Darcy’s fault that he was rather too clever and serious for her tastes.

Not that he cared. He was not, she knew, in love with her but had agreed to the engagement at the behest of his dead father.

In any case, she would not marry a man with whom she was incompatible, no matter how much her mother protested.

She need only pretend to acquiesce to the arrangement until her next birthday, when she would gain control of her fortune.

Her mother, Lady Bingley, would be furious when the engagement ended, but better that than for Caroline to suffer through life married to a man she did not love.

“Your mother is beckoning for you,” Darcy said as he guided her off the dance floor. “Shall I escort you to her?”

Caroline deliberately turned her head away from Lady Bingley, who was seated in the corner of the room. She had no desire to listen to her mother’s complaints about the populace of Meryton.

“First, I would like to meet some of the other inhabitants of this little town,” she said. “Have you been introduced to anyone?”

“I have not,” he said, his lips turning down slightly.

She looked toward the door, where a plump, cheerful man of some fifty years was standing, and said, “I believe that Sir William Lucas is acting as master of ceremonies. Shall we ask him to introduce us to the local families?”

Darcy sighed and said, “If you wish, of course.”

She smiled at him and said, “I know you are not fond of meeting new people, but trust me, it is better than listening to my mother complain. Besides, you ought to dance with someone other than me, and Louisa and Hurst have not arrived yet.”

This produced a glower from her betrothed, along with a complaint.

“I certainly shall not. You know how I detest it, unless I am particularly acquainted with my partner. At such an assembly as this, it would be insupportable. There is not another woman in the room whom it would not be a punishment to me to stand up with.”

Caroline knew Darcy was actually a somewhat shy man, and that he genuinely did not enjoy dancing with strangers.

Therefore, she only said, “It is your choice, of course, but there are many more ladies than gentlemen, probably due to the war, so it would be kind of you to dance. And you are an excellent dancer, after all.”

“Caroline, Darcy,” a male voice said from their right, and the pair turned toward Mr. Bingley, with his young wife on his arm.

Charles Bingley was a cheerful, bonhomous soul, and he was smiling eagerly while his bride, the former Georgiana Darcy, now Mrs. Bingley, was noticeably nervous and clung to her husband’s arm like a limpet.

Caroline cast a sympathetic look at her sister by marriage. The only daughter of Pemberley was a quiet, shy person, and was doubtless feeling overwhelmed by a crowd of strangers.

“Georgiana,” she said with a smile, “I hope you are well? It is quite a crush, is it not?”

“Yes,” Georgiana murmured, “though everyone seems kind enough.”

“Does that mean you have been introduced to most of the local families?” Caroline asked.

“At least half of them,” Bingley replied. “Do you wish for me to introduce you to any of them?”

Caroline looked around the room and observed a handsome matron of some five and forty summers, who was surrounded by four younger ladies who were her daughters based on their looks.

“Have you met the cluster of ladies to your right?” she asked her brother who, after a quick glance, nodded and said, “The Bennets, yes. Shall I introduce you?”

“Please,” Caroline said, tightening her grip on Darcy and pulling him towards the Bennet ladies.

He came without protest, and Bingley and Georgiana did as well, and within a minute, they were being introduced to Mrs. Bennet and her four daughters, Miss Elizabeth, Miss Mary, Miss Kitty, and Miss Lydia.

Given that a Miss Bennet was not introduced, presumably there was yet another Bennet daughter.

Caroline was vaguely envious. She loved her sister Louisa, of course, but they were separated by six years and did not have a great deal in common.

It must be wonderful to have numerous sisters!