Chapter 34
Ballroom
Matlock House
They took their places in the line, and within a minute, the dancing began.
Elizabeth knew from her experience at the Netherfield Ball that Mr. Darcy was a competent and graceful partner.
This allowed her to relax as she made her way up and down the line, assured that he would be where he was supposed to be, that he would not step on her toes or turn the wrong way in the line.
It made for a thoroughly enjoyable experience, and the thirty minutes passed by at record speed.
When the musicians finished the last notes of the set, she clapped heartily and then turned toward Serena, who was at her right.
“Did you enjoy yourself, dear friend?” she asked.
Serena’s cheeks were flushed becomingly from the exercise, and she said, “Yes. I am thankful that Richard is such an excellent dancer.”
“You did a wonderful job, little cousin,” the colonel said with a chuckle. This provoked a wide-eyed look from Serena, followed by a genuine laugh.
“Little?” she demanded. “I am almost as tall as you are!”
“Nonsense,” the colonel declared, straightening his back and looking down his nose at his cousin. “I am at least two inches taller than you, my dear.”
“But you are wearing boots, and I am wearing slippers!” Serena argued.
Elizabeth looked at Mr. Darcy and grinned, and he grinned back. She knew that Serena felt awkward about her great height. Clearly the colonel was doing his best to assuage her concerns by gently teasing her.
“Would you care to join Mrs. Bennet?” Darcy asked, his head turned toward the southwest corner of the ballroom.
Elizabeth could not see anything beyond the mass of people, but Darcy was tall.
“I would, thank you,” she agreed, putting her hand on his arm.
The pair made their way off the dance floor but had only walked a few feet before a dark-haired gentleman of some thirty years, with seals and fobs and watches sprinkled around his person, and with his neckcloth carefully and elaborately tied, approached and said, “Darcy, good evening!”
“Good evening, Stokes,” Darcy said with his usual reserve.
“It has been too long since we have seen one another,” the young man replied, and then he turned a smiling look on Elizabeth. “Would you do me the honor of introducing me to your companion?”
Elizabeth, gazing up into Darcy’s face, noted the slight quiver of the gentleman’s nostrils, but he nodded and said, “Miss Elizabeth, my friend from Cambridge, Mr. Stokes. Stokes, Miss Elizabeth Bennet.”
Elizabeth curtseyed and Mr. Stokes bowed, and the latter said, “Miss Elizabeth, might I have the honor of dancing with you this evening?”
“I would be honored,” Elizabeth said. “Perhaps the next set?”
“Thank you,” Mr. Stokes said with a bow and a smile.
“Darcy,” another male voice said.
This man was dark blond and short for a man, but his figure was excellent and his attire was, to Elizabeth’s eye, more elegant than that of Mr. Stokes.
“Would you do me the honor of introducing me to your companion?”
Darcy compressed his lips and then said, “Of course. Miss Elizabeth, Mr. Boyes. Boyes, Miss Elizabeth Bennet.”
“Miss Elizabeth, would you do me the honor of dancing a set with me tonight…”
Ten minutes later, Elizabeth found herself back on the dance floor with Mr. Stokes, having never made it to her mother’s side. She no longer had any dances available, as every one had been claimed by the gentlemen so eager to partner her.
Jane was dancing with Colonel Fitzwilliam, while Serena was partnered with Viscount Radway. Serena looked calm enough now, which pleased her. Clearly, the vigor of dancing had distracted the younger lady from her anxious thoughts.
Elizabeth’s own sudden popularity made her far less happy.
Indeed, as she circled through a cotillion opposite Mr. Stokes, she found herself more than a little disgusted.
She was satisfied enough with her own looks, but Jane was the most handsome woman of her acquaintance, and that was not mere sisterly affection talking.
And yet, Elizabeth was the one who had been inundated with requests for introductions, not Jane, and there was an all too obvious reason for that.
She was a great heiress, and here in London, among the members of the Upper Ten Thousand, money apparently meant more than looks or character.
It was not surprising, but it was discouraging.
News of her vast wealth had obviously spread throughout society, and every new acquaintance she made must be evaluated through the lens of that reality and circumstance.
Every compliment, every smile, every discussion might be genuine, but then again, it might be a carefully calculated attempt to win a woman with a vast dowry.
She feared that the next few weeks were going to be complicated and frustrating.
***
An Hour Later
The chairs scattered artfully around the walls of the ballroom at Lady Matlock's direction for the provision of her guests were excessively comfortable, and Mrs. Bennet was grateful.
Her well-padded chair, made of a dark wood and upholstered in a pink, perfectly matched the silk drape across the table beside her.
The air was sweet with the aroma of the roses in a massive China vase set upon the table, the scent wonderfully refreshing.
The ball was lovely in its entirety and was already a great success.
Mrs. Bennet fanned herself slowly, eyes following the dance.
She recognized only a few of the matrons also ranged around the walls, and none of the dancers save her daughters and their friends and acquaintances.
This was no surprise. She had been absent from the cream of London Society for many a year, while hiding in Hertfordshire to avoid the malignant interest of her now-dead father.
She did not mind sitting alone, though. She had not, after all, returned to London for her own sake but for her daughters who wished to go into the world and seek a husband.
Even now, her girls were out there on the dance floor, moving gracefully through the steps of the cotillion and being paid assiduous attention by many young men.
Neither Jane nor Elizabeth had sat out a single dance thus far, and it did not seem as though either would the entire night through.
As their proud mother, Mrs. Bennet was not surprised, but neither was she entirely pleased.
Many of the matchmaking mammas around the room would look on such arrangements with a complacent and satisfied eye, but Mrs. Bennet absolutely did not desire for her precious daughters to marry for wealth, or connections, or for any other reason save a mutual respect and love for their husbands.
She knew that it was not mutual respect or budding affection which drew the flock of gentlemen to hang about near Elizabeth as soon as she appeared.
Rumors spread like wildfire through London as well as in Meryton, and news of a fabulously wealthy heiress being launched was invariably welcome.
It was not fabulous wealth that attracted Jane's admirers, fewer in number as they were but no less attentive.
It was her great beauty that dazzled them and, Mrs. Bennet dared to hope, her innate sweetness and graciousness that kept them at her side.
She could see, even at that distance, that many a worldly young man was paying court to these fresh new beauties who were stepping so gracefully into Society, and felt a stab of anxiety.
Elizabeth's more cynical nature and her wariness of fortune hunters would stand her in good stead.
She was not likely to have her head turned by empty flattering words and practiced compliments.
Jane tended more towards an innocent trust in all around her and was more likely to be susceptible to the charms of experienced young men who were less interested in her person and more interested in possessing her beauty.
Mrs. Bennet would drop a word of caution to them tomorrow morning.
Jane would take more persuading than Elizabeth, but with a merely respectable dowry of only ten thousand pounds, Jane would at least not be the target of fortune hunters.
Elizabeth, on the other hand, would draw them like hummingbirds to nectar.
“Mrs. Bennet, good evening,” a deep voice said from her left.
Mrs. Bennet turned in surprise and smiled. “Mr. Rutherford, good evening to you too!”
Stanley’s son smiled at her in return and said, “I hope you are enjoying yourself tonight?”
“Well enough,” she said in a neutral tone and then patted an empty chair next to her. “Please do sit down if you like.”
Zachary Rutherford obediently took his seat and looked toward the dance floor, where both Bennet ladies were in the same circle of the cotillion.
“At the request of an old friend, I attended another ball earlier tonight,” he said. “I fear I may have lost my chance to dance with Miss Bennet and Cousin Elizabeth.”
Mrs. Bennet sighed and said, “Elizabeth and I spoke before this dance, and she has not a single set left all night. Jane, I believe, has the Boulanger available.”
The young man nodded and said, “I will ask Miss Bennet if she would honor me with the last set, then. I suppose it is no surprise that my cousin Elizabeth is so popular. She is beautiful, and intelligent, and lively, and…”
“And rich,” Mrs. Bennet said grimly, which drew a startled look from the younger man, followed by a grimace of understanding.
“Yes, I fear that wealth is a common reason to court a lady,” Zachary remarked. “Nor can I pretend that I am different from the rest of Cousin Elizabeth’s pursuers. I need to marry a reasonably wealthy lady for the sake of Wrayburn.”
“But you are seeking a rich wife for honorable reasons,” Mrs. Bennet said passionately. “For Wrayburn, not so that you can gamble and spend wildly and…”
She trailed off and managed a smile. “I just want my girls to be happy in marriage.”
Zachary nodded and said, “A happy marriage is a great boon, Mrs. Bennet, and not everyone is so blessed. Now, if you have the supper set free, would you care to dance it with me?”
Mrs. Bennet was startled but quickly said, “I would be honored. Thank you.”