Chapter 14
Though Lydia was asleep when the rest of the family arrived home that night, she wasted no time demanding a complete and detailed account of Judge Darcy’s dinner once the sisters and their companions were settled in the parlor the next morning.
Elizabeth and Jane happily described their own evenings, though Mary remained resolutely silent.
“Oh, it is such a shame I could not have gone,” said Lydia. “Why must all of this happen before I am even out? Kitty is the lucky one. She didn’t even have to wait for Papa’s permission, and now she is the first one of us to get married.”
“She is nothing of the sort,” said Lady Esther, firmly. “Kitty’s rash behavior has put her in a great deal of risk of being very unhappy indeed.”
“I don’t understand,” said Lydia, and her confused expression corroborated her statement.
“Mama always said that it was a lady’s purpose to get married and do her best to please her husband, because that was the only way she could ever have the power to do what she wished.
Would you rather Kitty had remained unwed and dependent upon Papa for the rest of her life? ”
“Your mother’s point of view on the matter is likely somewhat skewed due to how lenient your father is with her,” said Lady Esther. “A woman is usually in far more danger from a husband than from her father. It is not always the case, but the risk is greater in marriage.”
“That cannot be!” cried Lydia. “If a man loves me enough to marry me, he would never hurt me.”
“There are so many things wrong with that statement that I don’t even know where to begin,” said Lady Esther.
“Let us go back to what I said before, first. Your father has complete control over your life and your fortunes until you turn twenty-one.
Even there, however, he is constrained by the law to not waste your money and to not mistreat you too badly.
“A husband, however, has control over you for the rest of your life, and he has very few constraints other than what is stipulated in the marriage contract and the law which states that he cannot kill you. Even the marriage contract can be circumvented if he is clever enough.”
Surprisingly, Lydia was silent as she apparently thought through what Lady Esther was telling her.
Eventually, her stubborn expression returned, and she said, “While that may be true, it doesn’t change what I said earlier.
If a man loves me, he would never harm me.
I am determined to find a man to love me as soon as may be. ”
“I am afraid that is also wrong, Lydia,” said Lady Esther.
This time her voice held a tinge of fatigue and a ring of sadness.
“Falling in love does not truly change one’s character.
If a man is a cruel drunkard or a cheater at cards, loving you won’t change those qualities.
And there are far worse qualities a man can have which I will not sully your ears with at present. ”
“But I thought…” said Lydia, her voice drifting away as she could no longer articulate what she had believed.
“I am well aware,” said Lady Esther. “Consider this. If you were to fall in love, would that make you more obedient, less energetic, more inclined to work on your sewing? You know the answer to this question as well as I. It is the same for a gentleman.”
Lydia remained quiet for quite some time as the flow of conversation continued around her.
~~~~~
Lady Chithers had been quite taken with the Bennet sisters, so the very day after dinner at Judge Darcy’s home, an invitation arrived at the Bennets’ home for a ball at her home, which was to be held two days hence.
Though Jane hesitated, saying that their father might object since he did not approve of any courtship at the moment, Lady Esther insisted they accept. She even went so far as to go and ask Mr. Bennet for them.
She was gone for much longer than such a conversation should have taken, but the Lady must have been successful in her mission. When she returned, she insisted that Jane pen a short note accepting the invitation.
Elizabeth marveled at how well Lady Esther handled their father.
Mama had always either succumbed to his whims with bad grace or pouted and threw nervous fits until he gave into her.
With Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, life was made up of a series of battles of will.
Whereas, when Lady Esther disagreed with Mr. Bennet’s decisions, she either said nothing or she spoke reasonably and rationally with him.
Elizabeth had only been privy to one of these disagreements, but their discussion had not been like anything Elizabeth had ever heard. It was almost as if her father were treating Lady Esther the same way he would treat a man, as an equal both in mind and in will.
However the Lady had managed it, Elizabeth was grateful. She quite looked forward to dancing, and there were a couple of gentlemen she had met at Judge Darcy’s dinner that she hoped to know more of.
Mr. Darcy was not one of them. While his conversation was excellent when he had offered it, his general behavior just made her uneasy.
On the night of the ball, Elizabeth, Jane, and Mary were escorted by Lady Esther and, surprisingly, their father. In the past, he had assiduously avoided such things, having no inclination to dance and very little tolerance for the noise. Somehow, Lady Esther had convinced him to join them.
The ballroom itself was far more brightly lit than Elizabeth had ever seen, though the sheer number of candles needed to accomplish such a thing made the room quite warm, despite a couple of windows having been thrown open to let in the cold night air.
It did not take long for Elizabeth and Jane’s dance cards to begin to fill up. Mary, too, was asked to dance several times, and she mostly accepted them. When Mary refused a dance offer from Mr. Walker, however, Elizabeth looked at her quizzically.
After Mr. Walker had stormed away, annoyance clear in his expression and his movements, Mary answered Elizabeth’s unspoken question. “I told you, Elizabeth, that I would not associate with gentlemen who refuse to even read a newspaper.”
“I see,” said Elizabeth.
The evening passed pleasantly for Elizabeth. There were dances with various gentlemen and conversations with other young ladies. She noticed that Jane was never without a partner, and Mary received far more attention than she would have at home.
One thing that pleased her was that Mr. Darcy was nowhere to be seen, though Elizabeth had heard him mentioned by a few other guests as conspicuously absent. Apparently, he had been invited and had even accepted the invitation, but he had not been seen.
Elizabeth couldn’t help but be glad of it. She had no inclination for his uncomfortable brand of attention. Still, the fact that he had accepted the invitation and still did not show up decreased her already low opinion of the man.
That changed when Mr. Darcy finally made an appearance shortly after supper. Elizabeth hadn’t even known of his arrival until the man was standing in front of her. With only the barest of preambles, he said, “Miss Elizabeth, I hope I am not too late to claim a dance with you.”
Her eyes flew wide in surprise, and she looked directly into his eyes to see if she could find his motivation for such a sudden request. Once again, she felt caught and pinned in place by his slightly too intense gaze.
When she finally managed to break the connection, she said, “If I agree to dance with you, tell me, will we be dancing in silence while you stare incomprehensibly at me, or will there be pleasant conversation between two polite people who know how to behave themselves in public.”
Elizabeth was fairly certain that she had been too blunt, too accusing. In fact, she had done so deliberately, hoping to chase the man away.
Instead of retreating, however, he said, “I do apologize for my atrocious behavior toward you at my uncle’s dinner party.
Ignoring you throughout the entire desert course was unpardonable, especially since I did, in fact, wish to resume our conversation.
It is an odd thing, Miss Elizabeth, how the same lady a man most wishes to speak with is often the one most capable of making him completely incapable of speech. ”
Elizabeth was uncertain how to take such a compliment. There was no increased warmth or gentleness in his gaze, nothing in his demeanor to give merit to his assertion. Even so, it was nearly impossible to imagine this man lying outright in such a way.
“Very well, Mr. Darcy,” said Elizabeth. She held out her dance card. “My next to last dance is still available.”
As he signed the card, he said, “Thank you, Miss Elizabeth. I do look forward to it.”
When Mr. Darcy walked away, Elizabeth noticed that Jane was looking decidedly uncomfortable while speaking with a gentleman. Concerned for her sister, Elizabeth moved closer to them.
“I am sorry Mr. Bingley,” was the first thing Elizabeth was able to hear. “I simply cannot grant a second dance to anyone this evening. My sisters and I are still quite new to town, and it would send entirely the wrong message to our new neighbors and friends.”
Mr. Bingley’s expression bore a distinct resemblance to that of a puppy who has been told his owner does not have time to play with him.
“In that case, Miss Bennet,” said Mr. Bingley, “will you at least let me call on you sometime soon?”
“Of course you may,” said Jane. Though Jane’s voice was still pained as she spoke, Mr. Bingley’s expression cleared immediately.
“Then I look forward to such a time,” he said with a smile. Then he sauntered off.
Elizabeth moved to stand next to Jane and said, “It looks as though you may have already made a conquest.”
“A conquest is the last thing I wish for at the moment,” said Jane feelingly.
“Do you know that Mr. Bingley is the fourth gentleman this evening that I have had the exact same conversation with? It is exhausting. Oh, how I wish Papa had not given in to Lady Esther’s request that we be allowed to come here. ”
“You do not wish to meet gentlemen and dance?” asked Elizabeth.
“I do not wish to be pursued relentlessly by gentlemen who know nothing about me,” said Jane.
“I suppose I can understand that to a degree,” said Elizabeth. “Even so, it wouldn’t hurt to take this opportunity to get to know them and allow them to get to know you. You never know. Perhaps, upon closer acquaintance, you might actually fall in love.”
“I suppose that is true,” said Jane, though her resigned sigh belied her words. “At least Mr. Bingley was not so forceful and arrogant as the other three gentlemen. He does seem to be genuinely kind.”
“Have you met his sister, Miss Bingley, yet?” asked Elizabeth.
“Yes,” replied Jane. “In fact, I quite liked her. She has a lively way of speaking, and quite the sense of humor when she relates a little anecdote.”
“I quite liked her as well,” said Elizabeth. “At least with other young ladies, we need not worry about whether their primary motivation in getting to know us is our wealth.”