Chapter 16 The Harvest Home Festival #2
All three ladies looked where he indicated. The young woman in blue was full-figured, youthful, and striking. Her attention was fixed upon the colonel. Elizabeth saw that Miss de Bourgh was distressed.
“Colonel, how did she secure your first dance? Are you acquainted?”
“No, Miss Bennet. She walked behind us in the procession, and when I was serving our plates, she asked me to dance.”
Elizabeth’s eyes met Anne’s as his words settled between them.
He added, “It signifies nothing. Lady Catherine expressly instructed Darcy and me to accept all invitations lest we give offense. The same applies to you, though, Georgiana, I shall keep a careful watch, for you are too young to guard against those unworthy of your attention.”
“Anne, does the food disagree with you? Would you prefer a slice of chicken pie instead?” The colonel, concerned, excused himself and went to find food more likely to tempt his cousin.
Elizabeth could see that her friend had scarcely eaten a morsel. “Annie, try to eat something. It would not do for you to swoon during a dance just because you have gone without food for hours.”
“Lizzy, he thrust a knife into my soul. I believed we were coming to an understanding of the heart.” A sheen of tears brightened her eyes. “He has shown me constant attention since his arrival at Rosings, and now he chooses to dance with that abandoned woman. Did you observe her?”
“Yes, she makes her intentions plain, but that does not mean he will accept her invitation. This is your first dance, is it not? You shall dance, even if only with your cousin, Mr. Darcy. But if you smile as that abandoned woman did, you may attract a gentleman who will ask you. Let the colonel see what he has set aside, and do not sit by like a wallflower awaiting his notice.”
Miss de Bourgh’s countenance changed, and she regarded the colonel’s back with narrowed eyes. “I shall, Lizzy. I will dance with any gentleman who asks and let Richard see that I will not wait upon him.”
“That is well, my dear. Why should the gentlemen have it all their own way? Look to your right. There is a handsome farmer’s son observing you. Favor him with a smile and see whether he finds the courage to ask.”
Miss de Bourgh smiled at the broad-shouldered young man, who was dressed in rough but clean work clothes.
He returned the look and approached at once.
He requested the first dance, and she accepted with bright pleasure.
Two older gentlemen soon followed, each requesting a dance, and she accepted both.
By the time the colonel returned with her plate and Darcy with his, she had regained her composure and ate with appetite. The chicken pie proved excellent, as did the fruit he brought her. She lifted her gaze and found him watching her.
“That was all you required, Annie, a change in the menu. Shall I bring you more fruit?”
“No, thank you, Richard. I have had enough.”
Mr. Darcy addressed Elizabeth. “Would you like another serving, Miss Bennet? I have some fruit on my plate, and I have not touched it.”
She looked down at her plate, which she had practically scraped clean. “I have had enough, sir. You must excuse me, but such exertion as I take each morning encourages a hearty appetite.”
One corner of his lips curved up slightly. “I do not know where it goes, ma’am. You are a delicate woman, almost like a porcelain figurine, yet your appetite is quite remarkable.”
His eyes betrayed what his words concealed.
They shone with affection, even longing, and something within her shifted.
She resolved to contend for his love rather than withdraw.
Would it be so very wrong to offer him encouragement?
If he turned from her in the end, owing to the wide distance between their stations, so be it.
She would at least have the comfort of knowing she had done all in her power to advance the attachment.
It was not long before the musicians finished tuning their instruments, and the dancing began.
Mr. Darcy rose and offered Elizabeth his hand.
He bowed, the corners of his eyes crinkling with a smile.
As he led her onto the floor, Elizabeth glimpsed the tall young farmer guiding Miss Anne to her place.
The country dance proved lively, and when it concluded, both Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth were laughing as they joined the company in applause. He returned her to her chair, then conducted Georgiana out for the next set. A broad-shouldered farmer soon approached and requested Elizabeth’s hand.
Miss de Bourgh and Elizabeth stood up for every dance, their partners drawn from the neighboring farmers and local gentry, while Mr. Darcy kept watch over his sister.
Georgiana accepted each set, though only with boys of her own age or younger, or with her brother.
Richard found himself surrounded by eager young ladies, each asking for his hand.
During a pause between dances, Elizabeth and Anne stood sipping punch when Richard approached.
“Cousin, may I have this dance?”
“I am sorry, Richard, but all my dances are promised. I was free for the first, but…”
She set down her cup and departed with her next partner.
Richard’s gaze lingered upon her, his expression guarded.
Elizabeth turned to him. “Sir Gareth Beaumont has shown marked attention. He brought us our punch, and this marks the third set he has claimed with Anne. He is most amiable, and his humor very pleasing.”
“Third dance?”
“Yes, Colonel. You did say we were not to refuse any gentleman who asked. Is that not so?”
“Why, yes, but I meant the farmers were not to be refused, not that insufferable puppy. He ought to know better. It is not proper to stand up three times with the same lady.”
“No? We believed it not improper, as this is an informal dance in a barn.”
She smiled sweetly and added, “He comes to take tea with us tomorrow. He has lately returned from France, and we are eager to hear of his adventures, of what he knows of the war, and Miss Anne in particular wishes to learn more of his family.”
The colonel watched his cousin in silence as she laughed at some tale the smiling coxcomb recounted. She appeared well pleased with his company.
“Annie was disappointed when you failed to request her hand for her very first dance. She expected you would have asked her last evening.”
The colonel’s complexion deepened to the tips of his ears.
“She still entertained hopes that you would ask her once we arrived here, but perhaps we were both mistaken in the marked attentions you have shown her these past days.”
He faced her, and Elizabeth’s bright eyes burned with vexation.
“I had not thought…”
“Yes, it is plain you did not. Perhaps it is for the best, since you do not favor her as she had hoped. She knows now you hold no intention toward her, and she may look elsewhere.”
“Look elsewhere? Miss Bennet, what do you imply? That dance with the farmer’s daughter held no meaning.”
“Sir, the first dance at her first assembly held every meaning to Anne.”
“But we were adjured not to refuse anyone.”
“Can a gentleman not manage a simple evasion? Could you not have said, with pleasure, miss, but my first is already engaged?”
The colonel’s expression fell. “You are right. Of course, you are right.” His gaze followed Anne across the room. “She appears well pleased with that vain creature. I must make amends.”
“Sir, I shall say one thing more, and then I will never speak of it again. Annie felt the disappointment keenly, even to the point of tears. Then she resolved that men do not always have their own way, and I saw a spark of spirit rise in her.”
“She is angry, and she has every right. I have treated her very ill. It was unworthy of me. Thank you, Miss Bennet, for showing me how I have bungled matters. I will set things right between us, though at present I cannot get near enough to speak with her.”
His gaze returned to his cousin. Elizabeth marked the narrowing of his eyes and the tightening of his brow.
She turned away and sought the gentleman she admired above all others.
Mr. Darcy’s beautiful dark eyes were regarding her with a look of puzzlement, as if she presented a riddle.
What could give rise to such confusion? Could it be her long conversation with his cousin?
She decided to remove any confusion without delay and offered him a beckoning smile. The answering upward curl of his lips warmed her through as he approached.
“Miss Bennet, will you dance with me?”
“Yes, sir, it would be my pleasure.”
He addressed his cousin. “Richard, will you watch Georgiana for me while I stand up with Miss Bennet?”
“Yes, of course, Darcy.”
“Keep your attention upon that young buck in the blue. He has already stood up twice with her, and he watches her as if she were an object of fascination.”
Richard grew alert at once. “Of course.”
The colonel moved further along the room, the better to observe his young cousin.
Darcy offered his arm, and Elizabeth accepted it with readiness. She lifted her eyes and saw his gaze fixed upon her, and had she not known better, she might have believed there was surrender in it. Warmth rose to her cheeks, and she indulged the hope that his feelings matched her own.
The dance began, lively and intricate, and left no leisure for reflection. She yielded to the movement and its enchantment, her gaze fastened upon his face, and his upon hers.
When the dance ended, he drew her arm into his and held her near. She reveled in his touch, in the press of his form against hers, and in the earnestness of his gaze. She answered him in kind and believed they were of one mind.