Chapter 17
Darcy had always been a private man. His antipathy to dancing had mostly stemmed from the fact that he abhorred gossip about his life.
In society, it was hardly possible for him to single out any lady without attracting speculation and suggestive comments.
When Mr. Bennet had asked him to court Elizabeth for six months, he had steeled himself to ignore the inhabitants of Hertfordshire including Mrs. Bennet and Mrs. Philips, as he proved his constancy.
With Lydia largely recovered, the Bennets were expected to be back in society, and he was resolved to publicly court Elizabeth.
He had been calling daily at Longbourn with Bingley, but until now Mrs. Bennet’s attention had been focused on her eldest daughter and her suitor.
He was mostly treated as an afterthought.
He and Elizabeth would regularly accompany Jane and Bingley on walks but as none of the other sisters were interested in walking, nobody paid any attention.
The first test of his resolve came when an invitation arrived from Lucas Lodge.
It seemed that Sir William was eager to celebrate Lydia’s recovery and had arranged a soiree in her honour.
Darcy had spent the whole day preparing himself to be polite and amiable and not embarrass Elizabeth with his haughty manner.
It was a sobering thought, but these were the people she had always known and loved and while they did embarrass her, she would still want him to respect them.
In the end it turned out that he did not have much to worry about.
Bingley’s return and his attention to Jane seemed to be the highlight of the neighbourhood.
As with all of Sir William’s gatherings there was some dancing and Elizabeth had been engaged by the local men.
He stood in a corner observing the whole room.
Miss Kitty and Miss Maria Lucas, who had always joined Miss Lydia in her outrageous behaviour were sitting in a corner and giggling indecorously but otherwise were behaving themselves.
Miss Lydia, on the other hand seemed lost. She was standing near a window and would talk to whoever came to greet her but would then just stare silently ahead of her at nothing in particular.
As Elizabeth was occupied dancing, Darcy decided to go and greet Miss Lydia.
“Miss Lydia, how are you doing?” he said, as he walked up to her.
“I am well sir,” she responded almost demurely.
“How come you are not dancing? I remember you being quite fond of the activity,” he said, by way of conversation.
“My penchant for doing as I wished is what got me into my present condition. I used to love parties; all the cacophony was music to my ears. Now I cannot seem to stand a few minutes without developing a headache. All of it for what, I cannot even say that I was particularly fond of the man whose attention I was seeking, only that I could not bear to be ignored.”
Darcy was surprised by this insightful answer but quickly recovered, “Wickham has always been personable and has ensnared many by his sweet words. You should not blame yourself.”
“Had I been genuinely fond of him, it would still have made some sense but it was all a game.”
He offered his hand to the young girl, “Would you care to dance with me? I promise not to ignore you for the duration.”
“You want to dance! With me?”
“Well yes, if you would do me the honour,” he was not sure what had prompted him to ask her to dance.
It had felt wrong, almost unnatural to see the loud and brash girl from last year standing so silently and talking in such measured tones.
She was too young to become jaded. As he accompanied Lydia to the dance floor, he could sense all eyes on them, staring with an incredulous expression.
Even Elizabeth was looking with wide eyes and mouth slightly open.
He could not help but wink at her with a satisfied smile.
The dance did cheer Miss Lydia who seemed to regain some of her old spirits.
She was, after all, still a young girl who appreciated being partnered with the most handsome man in the room.
Mr. Darcy was light on his feet and quick with his conversation and Lydia enjoyed both.
She had noticed that Lizzy seemed very friendly with him lately and decided that it must be because he was no longer frowning and as such did not appear at all disagreeable.
More importantly for Darcy, the dance drew everyone’s attention and made fodder for gossip for days to come.
It was unthinkable for anyone in Meryton to consider that Mr. Darcy would even deign to speak to Lydia let alone dance with her.
Nobody paid any attention to the fact that he spent the rest of the evening talking to Elizabeth.
Encouraged by this, he continued the pattern of paying attention to more than one Bennet sister when in company.
Miss Kitty had seemed petrified when he had joined her at cards during Mrs. Goulding's dinner party but soon relaxed. She had been especially enthusiastic when he had helped her win that round. The neighbourhood finally attributed his behaviour to a desire of being friendly to the Bennets in general, owing to Bingley’s preference for Miss Bennet.
The match was now considered settled in the minds of everyone in Meryton and they seemed to have forgotten about Bingley’s desertion last year.
Fulfilling all of Meryton’s wishes and Mrs. Bennet’s aspiration, Miss Jane Bennet got engaged to Mr. Bingley on the anniversary of the Meryton assembly.
Bingley had been dithering for a week planning the perfect proposal.
They had spoken at length about Jane’s insecurity regarding Bingley’s resolve and he had finally succeeded in reassuring her.
He had apologised profusely for abandoning her.
“My dear Miss Bennet, it was my inability to believe myself incapable of inciting such emotions in a creature as perfect as you that led me to believe in your indifference. I assure you I will always value your wellbeing above all others.” He had said with feeling, making Jane believe that all her dreams had finally come true.
“Mr. Bingley, I completely understand that sometimes we may be misled whether by others or by ourselves but all I request is that we always speak freely between the two of us. What hurt me most was that you wished those months of separation away as if now that you are back it did not matter. I do not require any apology, only honest conversation.”
Bingley had then held Jane’s hand and firmly promised to always come to her before rushing off with any decision.
The rest of the conversation had been more lighthearted though Jane had been worried about his sister’s reaction to their engagement.
Bingley had again reassured her that while his sisters may be opposed now, they will come around.
Thus, the newly betrothed couple had walked back towards Longbourn to share their news.
Elizabeth, already aware of Bingley’s plan from Darcy, had been waiting in the front garden to greet her sister.
It was balm to her soul to see Jane walking back with Bingley, talking and laughing with her usual cheer.
After months of heartache, she was finally happy, and Lizzy could not help but share in the joy.
With an enthusiastic embrace she congratulated Jane and then welcomed Bingley to the family.
Bingley, seeing the sisters needed a moment to themselves, decided to remove himself and go to Mr. Bennet.
Though Jane was of an age and did not need her father’s permission, he knew that she would never wish to antagonise him.
Her gentle nature would wish for her family to be united in her happiness and it meant that Bingley would have to agree to whatever Mr. Bennet stipulated.
Mr. Bennet was a fallible man and where Darcy’s serious nature had made him reserve his judgement and consider him unsuitable, Bingley’s amiability had already endeared him.
The time that Bingley had spent in Brighton cheering Lydia had made him a valuable friend and all his past misjudgements were added to Darcy’s long list of follies.
It would have served Mr. Bennet much better to exercise the same circumspection with his older daughter that he did with Elizabeth, but emotions are hardly ever rational.
He had already been feeling guilty of making light of Jane’s sentiments last year and now that Bingley was back, he could not think of giving her any further heartache.
Thus, Bingley was credited for Jane's current happiness and granted her father’s blessings without any reservation while the blame for his desertion was once again attributed to Darcy.
Darcy was highly placed in the ton and connected to nobility while that had always made him much-sought-after prospect in town, for Mr. Bennet it seemed like it would only constrict his daughter’s free spirit.
Bingley was a son of a tradesman and though much richer than the Bennets, he was still not above them in society.