Chapter 10
Elizabeth knew she should be thinking of the ball, and dancing with the wronged and handsome Mr. Wickham, but she could not exorcise her epiphany about Jane from her mind.
Elizabeth watched Jane keenly when they arrived at Netherfield Park.
There it was. Jane had a look on her countenance that was hard and unforgiving.
As quickly as it had appeared, her sister’s serene mask fell back in place.
If Elizabeth had not been watching closely, she would have missed it, as it seemed she had for many years.
She needed to speak to the most sensible person she knew. Elizabeth would request of Charlotte Lucas to help her make sure she was not imagining something that was not there. She did not want to confront Jane unless she was certain.
Charlotte would always tell her the truth, not just what she wanted to hear.
First, she had to make it through the receiving line without revealing how troubled she was.
Elizabeth watched as Jane plastered a smile on her face.
In the past she would have thought it to be a serene smile, but now her eyes had been opened, Elizabeth could see clearly how false the smile was.
When it was her turn to greet their hosts, Mr. Bingley was his usual affable self to her and Mrs. Hurst was friendlier than Elizabeth had ever seen her.
She did not repine the absence of Miss Bingley in the receiving line.
The supercilious woman lost that privilege when her brother removed her as his hostess.
Elizabeth did notice that, rather than light up as he used to when he saw Jane, Mr. Bingley greeted her no more warmly than anyone else, and in fact with some coldness.
Miss Bingley stood near the stairs so Mr. Darcy would see her when he made his way down to the ball. She was certain when he saw her magnificent ensemble, he would engage her for at least the first and supper sets.
She was in one of her signature burnt orange gowns with turban and feathers dyed to match. She was sure the colour was the height of fashion; even her above-the-elbow gloves were the same colour.
Darcy detected Miss Bingley’s overpowering scent before he spied the orange monstrosity at the base of the stairs.
He had no doubt she was waiting to pounce as soon as she saw him.
At the last second, he moved to the opposite side of the stairs from where Miss Bingley was standing, then walked at speed toward the ballroom before she had the chance to grab for his arm.
In the past, Darcy would not have displayed his disdain for the woman so openly; however, as she chose to ignore his subtle hints and the direct conversation he and Bingley had with her, he knew he would have to be overt.
Much to her relief, Elizabeth located Charlotte. Before she could ask her if they could talk, she saw her friend indicate with her eyes that someone was approaching from behind. Elizabeth turned and there stood none other than Mr. Darcy.
“Good evening, Miss Lucas, Miss Elizabeth,” Darcy said as he bowed to each lady in turn. The ladies curtsied in return.
“Mr. Darcy,” Charlotte spoke for them both.
“Miss Elizabeth, may I solicit the opening set from you?” Darcy asked.
At first Elizabeth stood and stared at the man as if he had sprouted a second head. Charlotte’s elbow to her side broke the trance she had been in. “My first set belongs to another,” Elizabeth managed.
“Is your second set available?” Darcy enquired.
“It is, Mr. Darcy,” Elizabeth heard herself say.
“In that case, may I have the pleasure of your company for that set?” Darcy requested.
As much as she wanted to refuse, Elizabeth would rather endure the hateful man’s company for half an hour than sit out the rest of the night. “It is yours,” Elizabeth replied without grace. Darcy bowed and was soon out of sight.
“That was surprising,” Charlotte remarked.
“What does Mr. Darcy mean asking me to dance? Hateful man! He knew I could not refuse,” Elizabeth stated angrily.
“Why would you want to refuse? Please tell me you do not give credence to the story Mr. Wickham told you. Mr. Darcy is a man of ten times his consequence,” Charlotte pointed out. “Do you know Mr. Wickham has debts with almost all of the merchants in Meryton?”
Elizabeth ignored Charlotte’s words, as that was not what she wanted to think about right now. Before she spoke she saw a group of officers enter, but Mr. Wickham was not among them. Before she could start her conversation with Charlotte, Mr. Denny approached them.
“Mr. Wickham requested I convey his apologies. He did not feel easy attending with you-know-who present,” Lieutenant Denny related after he greeted the two ladies. The Lieutenant bowed and returned to his fellow officers after soliciting a dance from both ladies.
“You see, it is because…” Elizabeth started to blame Darcy when Charlotte cut her off.
“Eliza, your perspicacity is usually sharp. Why are you so blind with regard to Mr. Darcy? I was with you at your aunt’s house when Mr. Wickham stated he would not be the one to go away; that if Mr. Darcy did not want to be in his company, it was for him to go.
Please tell me you are not so blinded by your prejudices as to not see the contradiction,” Charlotte stated pointedly.
“You may have the right of it, Charlotte, but that is not what I want to talk to you about,” Elizabeth informed her friend. “I have started to notice some things about Jane which have given me pause. As hard as it is for me to admit, I do not believe Jane has my best interests at heart.”
“It pains me that you have only now discovered what I have known for some years,” Charlotte soothed.
“Before you ask, if I had spoken against Jane when you thought she could walk on water, would you have listened to me? Eliza, you are my best friend, but there are times you are blinded and suspend your logic, looking for information to bolster a conclusion you have already made.”
“There is truth in what you say. Until I began to see Jane’s true character, I would not have heard a word against her,” Elizabeth admitted.
“What do you hold against Mr. Darcy besides his wrongheaded slight at the assembly?” Charlotte asked.
“He denigrated my looks at Lucas Lodge as well,” Elizabeth returned.
“Who told you that? Jane?” Charlotte enquired. “You just woke up to the fact Jane is not who she seems to be, but in this you believe her? What did she tell you?”
Elizabeth informed Charlotte what Jane had told her. As she spoke, she started to realise while on the one hand she knew Jane was not honest, she had believed her without question whenever she had said anything negative about Mr. Darcy as it was what she had wanted to hear.
“I overheard the conversation between Mr. Darcy and Miss Bingley, as did Jane. Let me ask you something. After that night at Lucas Lodge, did Miss Bingley become particularly nasty towards you?”
“She did. How would you know that?” Elizabeth was astounded.
“You know Miss Bingley has been chasing Mr. Darcy relentlessly, do you not?” Elizabeth nodded. “If he had insulted you, why would she have seen you as a threat to her designs?” Charlotte asked.
“Jane lied, did she not?” Elizabeth realised.
“She did,” Charlotte confirmed.
“Up is down and down is up,” Elizabeth stated as she saw her whole world being turned on its head.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Why was your greeting to Mr. Bingley so cool?” Fanny Bennet asked her favourite.
“Mama, he is wealthy, but you know I do not want to marry a tradesman,” Jane prevaricated.
Jane was sure Mr. Darcy had made his disclosure to his friend as there had been a hard edge to Mr. Bingley’s voice as he welcomed her to the ball in the receiving line.
“Mama, I do not want to lead him on so I will release him from the first set.”
She would dance the second set with the hapless Mr. Collins. His smell was almost bearable as he had his fortnightly bath earlier in the day. It would be humiliating to sit out the first, but it would be better than the reproachful looks she would have to endure for a half hour complete.
Jane watched Elizabeth and Charlotte speaking in close confidence. As far as she was aware, no one in Meryton knew her true self, although she felt she might have made a tactical error in informing her mother where Lizzy was, given how distant her sister had been for a day or two.
She worried that Lizzy might have divined the truth about her; she was not ready for that to be known yet. Jane saw their host enter the ball room and made her way to him. “I release you from the first set, Mr. Bingley,” Jane relayed evenly.
“Thank you, Miss Bennet,” Bingley replied coldly. “I thought I could have loved you, and I found out you are just another mercenary fortune hunter. Enjoy the ball.” Bingley turned without a bow and was swallowed up by the crowd.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The obsequious Mr. Collins collected Elizabeth for the first set. “As you are my intended, I want you to stay close to me,” Collins commanded as they joined the line.
The music started before Elizabeth could retort with a set down as she desired to. Within the first few bars she discovered the man was the worst dancer it had ever been her displeasure to partner.
Mr. Collins turned the wrong way constantly, bumped into other dancers, and bowed and scraped while apologizing, which caused more problems for those down the line from him.
The half hour seemed interminable. After having her toes trod on no less than three times, at last, thankfully, the torture of dancing with the most uncoordinated man in England was finally over.
Mr. Collins led Elizabeth to the side, where there were some chairs. It seemed the witless man expected her to sit with him. “Mr. Darcy, shall we?” Even that man was a welcome partner; anyone was better than Mr. Collins.
“Mr. Darcy? Are you the owner of the great estate of Pemberley and the nephew of my most esteemed patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh?” Collins bowed low.
Elizabeth saw the moment the haughty mask fell in place, and rather than count it against Mr. Darcy, she understood how much of an anathema it was to the gentleman from Derbyshire for someone to talk to him without the benefit of an introduction.
“I am he,” Darcy stated and once again tried to lead Elizabeth to join the line.
“When I last saw your beneficent aunt, the great Lady Catherine de Bourgh, she was in good health, as is expected with one as highly born as she is. Your betrothed, the Rose of Kent, was well too,” Collins managed.
“If you repeat that fantasy of my aunt’s again, I will call you out. Until I propose to someone, I am not betrothed to anyone.” Darcy saw the sweating man was about to protest. “Either close your mouth or you will be choosing the weapon of your preference.”
“But…I…My cousin is required to remain at my side,” Collins blustered.
“Are you either her father or husband, Mr. Collins?” Darcy asked.
“Well no, but her mother…” Collins was cut off again.
“As it is the father or husband who can make such decisions in our society, Miss Elizabeth may dance with whomever she chooses.” Darcy stared at the man, in challenge.
Collins was fighting an internal war. On the one hand, he needed to defend the interests of his patroness; on the other hand, he had no wish to face Mr. Darcy on the field of honour—or anyone else for that matter. Collins had never been so afraid in his life—in the end, self-preservation won out.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Miss Bingley disliked Jane Bennet for trying to distract her Mr. Darcy, but she had hated Miss Eliza with a passion ever since Mr. Darcy’s comments at Lucas Lodge. As she watched the hoyden dance with her Mr. Darcy she noticed Jane Bennet nearby.
After seeing his lack of dancing skill, Jane told Collins she was not feeling well and would sit out the next few dances. Collins accepted her lie, so she sat and fumed while Elizabeth danced with Mr. Darcy. How could that be after all the time and effort she had expended to make her hate him?
“Your beloved sister is dancing with Mr. Darcy,” Miss Bingley spat out.
Miss Bennet proceeded to share the news of her sister’s soon to be announced union with Miss Bingley. Suddenly, Mr. Darcy’s failure to ask her to dance no longer seemed important. Miss Eliza would be removed as a rival for Mr. Darcy’s affections without any exertion on her part.
“You mean the one who stinks to high heaven?” Miss Bingley asked with glee in closing.
“Yes, the very one,” Jane confirmed.
“It is not less than she deserves.” Miss Bingley saw that Miss Bennet seemed no longer interested in Mr. Darcy or her brother. This made her desirable company, especially as they both seemed to detest Eliza.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Other than a brief mention of Mr. Wickham, the dance with Mr. Darcy had been far more tolerable than Elizabeth had believed it would be. Charlotte, her younger sister Maria, and Renata Goulding distracted Mr. Collins each time he tried to seek out Elizabeth.
The rest of the ball passed without incident. As her eldest daughter had made it clear she was no longer interested in Mr. Bingley, Fanny Bennet decided there was no reason to delay their departure, so the Bennets were one of the first families to leave.
Elizabeth was contemplative in the carriage on the return to Longbourn. She was not looking forward to it, but she had told Jane they needed to talk when they arrived home. She used to believe Jane was her safe harbour in the house, but now she knew that was not true.
For her part, Jane had no idea what Lizzy wanted. She smiled to herself as she believed it would be a request to help deflect Mr. Collins’s attentions. She would agree to do so and then do the opposite.