Chapter Thirty-three
Mr. Bingley, generally a very happy fellow, could not figure out why Miss Bennet would not give him the time of day.
Oh, she was always polite, but no matter how he complimented her, she would turn back to Viscount Rosemont…
the rake and gambler. Everyone in London knew about him.
He tried to encourage his sister to warn her off, but Caroline said it had already been spoken of, and she thought they should stay out of others business.
Charles also could not figure out the changes in his younger sister.
She had always been an inveterate social climber.
Caro had been chasing Darcy for years, and now she had a viscount in her own household, but she was hunting neither of them!
She spent all her time with Miss Darcy and Miss Georgiana.
She did not gossip anymore. She stopped wearing those hideous colors.
She wore dresses two seasons out of fashion. What was the world coming to?!
Even his elder sister and her husband were different. Hurst had quit drinking and eating so much. Louisa was in a delicate state, so he understood why she might be different, but she no longer followed wherever Caroline led…not that she was leading anymore.
In a last-ditch effort to bring the attention of everyone back to himself, he announced at dinner one night, “We shall throw a ball for our neighbors! I insist it be so! I received a note from Colonel Fitzwilliam, and he will arrive the twenty-fourth of November. We shall have our ball on the twenty-sixth!”
“Oh Charles, that will not give us much time to plan. Must it be that date?”
“It is ten days away; I see no reason we should put it off! There will be a full moon that night, which will make it easier for people to return home.”
Beth reached for Caroline’s hand, “We shall help you! Mamie, Louisa, Georgiana and I, plus the Bennet ladies and Charlotte. It will be a grand time!”
Hurst spoke, which he rarely did at mealtimes. “And we gentlemen will hunt for fresh game and stay out of your way, but you must promise me you will not overdo, Mrs. Hurst.”
“I would not think of it, Mr. Hurst.” They smiled at each other like young lovers. Charles found it revolting, but he smiled anyway.
Darcy and Rosemont both had silly little smiles on their faces and were staring off into nothing.
Even John Smith wore a slight grin. ‘Sickening. All of them. I thought in this little backwater I would be the most popular and important, for once. I thought I would have to force Caro to stay put for a few months. Hurst and Louisa always stayed with him to save money, but now they were talking about returning to his father’s estate for Louisa’s lying in.
Darcy constantly wanted him riding out to check on tenants, or drainage, or barns.
Rosemont would not even play cards or billiards for money.
What was HE playing at? Mooning over Miss Bennet like a callow youth!
He would never marry someone so low. No connections.
No dowry. Well, I guess since Miss Darcy was their cousin, they were now connected to the Darcys.
Maybe that was why Caro was spending so much time with her.
’ Bingley had to work very hard keeping a vapid smile on his face while he thought about his ill-use.
He did not know someone was watching him very closely.
During the separation of the sexes Beth pulled Caroline to the side. “Caro, I was watching your brother during dinner, and his expression did not match his words. He seemed happy outwardly, but something about the fleeting look on his face seemed angry.”
“Oh Beth, you are always so honest in your expression. That is one of the reasons I like you so much. Please understand, our mother…well…she was a social climber of the first order. She taught us from a young age that we must climb to the very top of society. Louisa resisted her the most but agreed to marry up. That she and Hurst have come to love one another amazes me. She has been very happy the past few weeks since I stopped trying to drag her into my schemes. Charles…he has played the role of affable puppy for so long I am not sure he will ever change. It has worked for him very well. His smile and charm have opened many doors for us. His friendship with your cousin has us invited to some of the best houses in the land. He thought…he thought getting Darcy here…with me as hostess…well he thought I might be able to trap him. He is quite perplexed by my changes. I have let him think I have only changed tactics.”
Beth was flabbergasted. She had bought into Mr. Bingley’s act hook, line, and sinker.
What was she to do?! Apparently, nothing for now.
The gentlemen entered the room, and tea was to be served.
She sat off in a corner by herself to think.
Mamie and Gigi were having a lively discussion with Louisa about the upcoming ball, and Caroline asked Theo about what musicians he thought she should engage for it.
Hurst and Bingley sat off to the side discussing something.
Darcy stared out the window for a time and then watched his cousin very seriously cogitating across the room by herself.
He was not sure if he should disturb her. He knew he preferred to be left alone when he was thinking. Darcy had not seen that look on Beth’s face before. She looked worried and perplexed. He walked slowly across to where she was sitting. “Am I disturbing you, cousin?”
“No, not at all. I am just pondering on people in general. We make assumptions about who they are, but they can surprise us, no matter how astute we think we are.”
“Are you speaking of Miss Bingley? She appears to have changed a great deal. Is it all an act?”
“I do not believe so. She has been surprisingly open.”
“Who then?”
“I am not sure I should speak of it. At least not here and now. I will meditate on it and get back with you.” Beth smiled, but it did not reach her eyes.
“Are your other cousins well? I was sorry not to visit them with you today.”
“They are very well. You and Theo were missed. I was to give you their regards, and I entirely forgot. Will you ask Lizzy for the opening set at the ball? The supper set? Both?”
“If you had asked me that two weeks ago, I would have said ‘Absolutely not! The Bennets have no connections and Miss Elizabeth no dowry.’ But once I thought about it, they DO have connections. They are connected to us! If Theo marries Miss Bennet, they will have connections to an earldom. They still have little in the way of money, but I have more than enough. So, yes, I believe I will ask her for the first and supper dances. If things go very well, maybe even the last set of the night.”
“I am very glad I do not need to smack you on the back of the head again. You are not the idiot I first met in London.” Both Darcy and Beth laughed uproariously disturbing the entire room. Bingley did not know what to think. That was not the Fitzwilliam Darcy he had always known. Who was that man?
~~~~~
There was much traveling back and forth between Netherfield and Longbourn.
There was a plethora of things to do for the ball.
The invitations had been written and delivered in short order.
The seamstress and other merchants in town were thrilled by the influx of shoppers for lace and ribbons, shoe roses and dancing slippers, new gloves and stockings. A ball was a boon for the entire area.
John had been visiting Charlotte nearly every day.
He had worried he would never find a woman of good sense that attracted him.
There were girls and women who showed interest in Virginia, but none to his liking.
Some called her plain, including her own mother, but he did not see her so.
She was very pretty, and when she smiled, she was beautiful to him.
Maybe Lady Lucas had eye problems…or was she comparing her daughter to Jane Bennet?
Miss Bennet was classically beautiful, but that had never attracted John.
Beauty would fade, but good common sense and useful accomplishments would not.
He wanted children, and a wife who made him feel warm inside.
Miss Lucas seemed like the one. His feelings were growing, and he spent a great deal of time telling her about his home in America.
She seemed interested, so maybe it was time to ask if she would consider ever moving there.
“Miss Lucas, it is so good to see you again. The day is fine; would you consider a walk in your park with me?”
“I would. Let me retrieve my outerwear and Maria to chaperone.”
A few minutes passed before they began their walk. “Miss Lucas, I am fairly sure you have noticed my particular regard for you?”
“I have.”
“I have told you a great deal about my home…and I was wondering…do you think you would be happy in such a place?”
“I believe I would be very happy in such a place.”
“Then I have a question…or two. Do you have any tender feelings for me?”
“Is it not the course of things for you to remark on your own feelings for me first?”
“Oh, of course, I have never done this before. Pardon me. Let me start again. Miss Lucas, I have tender feelings for you and was wondering if the feelings are reciprocated.”
Charlotte looked down and smiled at his awkwardness. “They are.”
“Very good! And would America be too far for you to be happy in your own home?”