Chapter 7 The Countess Prevails #2
“She is too much pursued, Richard. I cannot get close enough to offer a proper greeting.”
“You might speak to her if you would ask her to dance, as other gentlemen have done. I assure you, Darcy, she follows you with her eyes.”
Lady Helen’s attention sharpened. “Is that so, my son? There is a lady who has caught my nephew’s notice, and you say she regards him in return?”
“She does, Mamma, though what lady has not cast an eye upon my cousin? With his fortune and his appearance, I should do the same, were I a woman.”
Darcy rolled his eyes.
“Fitzwilliam, you will attend the Frampton’s ball. It is set for Friday, and you will ask Miss Honeyfield to dance, or I shall continue to accept every invitation until you have danced with her at least once. She may prove to be the very lady for you.”
Darcy drew a breath. “Very well, Aunt Helen. I shall ask her to dance.”
Richard added, “Ask her as soon as you arrive, Darcy, or her card will be filled.”
“Yes, I will do so.” He rose. “I shall see you on Friday, Aunt Helen. I will take my leave of Georgiana and then see myself out.” He bent to kiss his aunt’s cheek, struck his cousin lightly on the back, and left the room.
Upstairs with Georgiana, he said, “My dear, we leave on Saturday morning for Rosings. I must attend one more ball, and then we shall be off.”
Georgiana’s bright eyes were fixed upon him. “May I play a piece by Caccini? It is an Ave Maria, which I think you will like.”
His expression softened into a smile. “I should be very happy to hear it.”
He settled into a chair and listened for nearly an hour, for his quiet attention had encouraged her to play through several other of his favorites before rising and closing the instrument.
“Thank you for coming, Fitzwilliam. I have missed my home and your company.”
“On Saturday, we shall travel south together, and we shall see how we fare at Rosings Park with Lady Catherine.”
He made a wry face, hoping to amuse her.
“Brother, you seem troubled, though you strive to conceal it from me.”
“I am, my dear. Aunt Helen insists I dance with Miss Honeyfield before she will permit me to leave town.”
“What is so remarkable about Miss Honeyfield?”
“She is a handsome and lively young woman, Georgiana, and she has caught my attention, but she embarrassed me at our very first meeting. She is much admired, and I have not been able to get near enough to speak with her since, though Richard maintains she may regard me with some favor.”
“What is it that troubles you? If you find her agreeable, why should it discompose you?”
“On Friday, I shall be obliged to compete with the other gentlemen for one of her dances. I do not look forward to it.”
“Would you be paying her too much attention if you were to send a posy, with a card requesting she reserve a set for you?”
“That is an excellent notion, my dear. If I send a modest offering, and if I dictate the note to a clerk, it will not appear too forward.” He reflected for a moment, then said, “I shall do it.”
He remained a half hour longer while they made plans for their journey into Kent, and then he took his leave of her.
At the ball, Darcy stood stationed along the wall as he waited for Miss Honeyfield to arrive.
He earnestly wished he had not come. As he had not danced with any lady this Season, not even his cousin Rebecca, to stand up with Miss Honeyfield would confer upon her a marked distinction.
He had not considered this before, and the thought left him in a state of unease.
When she entered on her father’s arm, he went to her at once, to inquire as to his dance, and then, by the fire in her eye, he saw she was displeased.
But not with him, surely? What had he done?
No, she was not offended by him, for he had neither seen nor spoken to her.
It was impossible that he had given her cause.
There was no way around it. He must claim his dance. When he reached her, she stood between her father and her brother. He bowed and said in a low voice, “Miss Honeyfield, have you reserved a set for me?”
Had looks possessed the power to kill, he would have fallen where he stood upon the Frampton’s ballroom floor. She regarded him with open indignation.
“How dare you presume I would reserve a dance for you, when the posy you sent was so small as to require a quizzing glass to see it? Do you value me so little, sir? Am I to be pleased with a trifling nosegay, such as any shop boy might purchase for a few pence? A gentleman of your consequence might have shown greater regard. I cannot but conclude you meant to slight me.”
His face darkened, but he did not reply, nor was he given the opportunity, for she hurried away, leaving both her relations and Mr. Darcy gazing after her in mortified silence.
Mr. Honeyfield stepped forward. “Mr. Darcy, I do apologize for my daughter. She is inclined to speak her mind around her brothers, and, on occasion, she permits her temper too great a liberty, though never in public.” He wiped his brow with his handkerchief.
Discomfited, Honeyfield continued. “I hold you in high regard, sir, and it grieves me to see you treated so meanly by any lady, but most particularly by my own daughter.”
Darcy’s complexion was still flushed, yet he bowed to Mr. Honeyfield.
“It is well, sir. I do not understand what has passed this evening, but you may inform your daughter that I shall not seek her notice again. I am only thankful to have discovered, for myself, what I have escaped.” With that, he quit the room.
Lady Helen witnessed the entire exchange, and so did the two dowager companions who had been conversing with her.
Three gentlemen had likewise observed the scene.
One of them, Sir Lawrence Rutledge, said to his companions, “I say, I had no notion The Diamond possessed such a temper. Poor Darcy was scorched merely for requesting a dance. What tragedy will she enact when she is married to some poor devil?”
The three gentlemen moved on, and Lady Helen shook her head in disapproval. Her nephew had not deserved such a public humiliation. She said to her friend. “Before the evening is over, Miss Honeyfield’s reputation will be torn to shreds, and by her own conduct.”
Lady Sophia agreed. “The insolent miss.”
“It is a pity. She is rich and accomplished. She will be obliged to withdraw for the remainder of the Season and hope society does not remember her foibles.”
Lady Sophia added, “By next year, other scandals will have displaced this one.”
They watched as Mr. Honeyfield left the ballroom, no doubt in search of his ill-behaved daughter.