Chapter 5
Lady Anne was irritated with the antics engaged in by the youngest Miss Bennets. She did not understand why their mother had allowed such young and immature girls out into society before the elder were married.
She had noticed their outrageous flirting during the assembly the night before. But now in close proximity, sharing the same drawing room with them, their behaviour was insupportable.
However, Lady Anne had not known the family long enough to interfere in their upbringing.
Offering suggestions at this point would be seen as an affront to the family.
But in a few days, if she managed to deepen some sort of friendship with Mrs Bennet, she would attempt to raise the subject with the mistress of Longbourn.
The two eldest sisters deserved a little help; the noblewoman decided. They, in vain, tried to curb the enthusiasm of the two youngest with no success.
The mother seemed blind. She behaved little better than her youngest daughters, and bluntly favoured the oldest and the youngest but hardly considered the others in between, whilst taking particular aim to wound Miss Elizabeth.
But it was also pleasing to notice that it was not only Miss Elizabeth who was embarrassed by her mother’s antics but also Miss Jane, the sibling favoured above all others. This pleased Lady Anne who was glad that Jane did not take advantage of her mother’s blunt favouritism.
“Miss Elizabeth, do you ride?” Georgiana asked the sister whom she thought was the most attentive.
“No, Miss Darcy; I lack aptitude for equestrian activities, so I walk everywhere. I have been called an excellent walker.” Elizabeth laughed.
Mrs Bennet huffed, “It is no laughing matter, Lizzy; how are you to attract the attention of a worthy husband if you are scampering about the country most days with your petticoat six inches deep in mud?”
Elizabeth coloured in embarrassment, “Mama,” she whispered trying to restrain her mother’s eagerness for numbering her flaws.
Lady Anne smiled kindly at the young lady, whilst ignoring the mother, “Miss Elizabeth, you will never know if you have an aptitude for riding unless you try it. Who knows, you might become a true proficient?”
Mrs Bennet answered for her daughter, determined not to be ignored, “Lizzy cares nothing for anything other than walking and reading, your ladyship. She is a constant trial to my poor nerves.”
“Walking is very beneficial exercise, Mrs Bennet,” Lady Anne said softly, trying to induce the woman to use the same tone of voice, but her efforts were for naught, she realised sadly, for Mrs Bennet did not understand subtlety.
“I worry that her wild behaviour might frighten away some of Jane’s admirers for you can see she is quite five times prettier than Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth felt like running and screaming from the room but instead she picked herself up from the proverbial floor and smiled at the visitors, “you are quite right, my lady, I cannot know if I could become a true proficient since I do not care to practice. If I had a horse of my own, it might have been easier but with only Nelly, our old mare to share between all of us, it is quite impossible to attain perfection.”
“Oh Miss Elizabeth,” Georgiana cried in consternation, “I cannot imagine how you can live without riding.” Her face filled with genuine pity, “we can share Lady Willow while I am here. She is a real beauty and very gentle.”
Elizabeth smiled warmly at the young woman, “Miss Darcy, it is very kind of you but while I truly appreciate your thoughtfulness, I do not think you should abuse your horse with a poor rider like me.”
“We should ask William for his help, should we not, Mama?” Then turning enthusiastically towards Elizabeth, she started to praise her brother’s perfection; “My brother is the best horse rider and instructor that I have ever heard of, he was the first one to learn how to ride with confidence. Out of Bradley, Richard, Duncan and him, he is the best. He also taught Miss Julia, Miss Emma, my cousins Anne, Emily, and finally me. We are all good riders because of his patience and determination to see us succeed.”
Elizabeth had no idea who those people were but she doubted that Mr Darcy would agree to waste two minutes of his precious time teaching her - a barely tolerable woman not handsome enough to tempt him to anything - to learn how to ride… on his sister’s horse no less!
Instead of dismissing Georgiana’s idea and changing the subject to something safer, as Elizabeth suspected she would, Lady Anne smiled in approval, “Georgiana, that is an inspired idea. I will ask William myself to teach Miss Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth gasped in surprise, “My lady, I beg you would not. I would hate to inconvenience your son and force him into something that would afford him so little pleasure.”
"Humour me in this little gambit, Miss Elizabeth," Lady Anne looked excessively diverted, “for that is the purpose.” She winked at her.
***
Lady Lucas did not wish to be left behind from acquainting herself with her new neighbours and their lofty visitors. So a soirée was planned, with invitations promptly sent and accepted.
As usual Miss Bingley tried to dissuade her visitors from attending, “Lady Anne, Mr Darcy, if you would rather not lower yourselves to the ignominy of rubbing shoulders with former shop keepers, I will readily stay behind with you. Let Charles and Louisa attend this so called soirée, if they wish.”
Lady Anne looked at the woman with a hard glare, “Miss Bingley, you are under the impression that the peerage only wish to spend time with royalty and the like. Let me disabuse you at once; most high ranked people are surrounded by the lower gentry or even people involved in commerce. In fact a respectable and intelligent man of trade is often preferable to sycophants, social climbers who try to use the peerage to gain a footing into the highest tier of society.”
Miss Bingley paled, “My lady, I just wish to spare you the tediousness of an evening listening to the babblings of an imposter, a man who secured the title of knighthood by simply reading an ingratiating speech to a weak-minded king.”
Mr Darcy raised his eyebrows in confusion, “are you implying, Miss Bingley, that you would not have done exactly the same or even… more, to secure an elevation to your status?”
Miss Bingley squirmed a little in her seat but had no retort. Bingley felt sorry for his sister, who in the desperate effort to gain favour with the Darcys only managed to show a meanness of spirit and an inability to make herself look charming.
“Let us not miss the chance to get to know our neighbours,” Bingley said quickly, drawing the attention to himself, “We leave in an hour and those who wish to stay, must feel free to do so without having to excuse themselves.”
***
The drawing room at Lucas Lodge was spacious and reasonably well furnished. As it should be for a Knight of His Majesty’s Realm and Lady Lucas prided herself in organising good gatherings, with lots of keen young people to dance and liven her parties.
A Militia had arrived at Meryton for the winter and they certainly brightened the room with their scarlet capes and coats. The body of officers was mostly comprised of men no older than twenty or two and twenty and their presence excited more than one young lady in the neighbourhood.
The youngest Miss Bennets led the pack of young women chasing the officers around the room, Darcy noticed with disgust; their mother and father completely unaware or indifferent to their abhorrent behaviour.
He also noticed his friend had no eyes for anybody other than his blonde angel.
However her sister, the young woman whom he had dismissed with a flippant word to her beauty, seemed to have developed a deeper friendship with his mother and sister, for the three of them talked quietly together in a little clique.
In watching them, to make sure the young woman did not behave in a way to embarrass his family, he could not fail to notice her fine eyes and bubbling laughter, a spontaneous tinkling that seemed to delight not only his mother, but especially Georgiana.
With a sinking feeling he realised he had made a mistake; the young lady was far from just tolerable, in fact she was a real beauty.
Notwithstanding being a little less conventional than the normal loveliness expected and demanded by the Ton.
She had light brown hair with soft curls that fell around her face, framing it in a most appealing way.
Of the same colour her sparkling eyes shone with wit and good humour, and her figure…
well… he tried not to dwell for too long on that enticing shape.
His reverie was broken most rudely by the uncouth noise coming from her younger sisters.
Darcy perceived the moment that Miss Elizabeth noticed it also.
She sent a determined look towards her parents, seeming to make a decision that if they could not stir themselves to do what was expected from them about the harm her younger sisters could bring the family, then she would do something herself.
She excused herself to his mother and sister and quickly made her way towards her own sisters. But as she passed by him, Sir William, who had been coincidentally asking him about dancing at St James’s Palace, grabbed her arm gently and turned her to face him.
“Miss Eliza, why are you not dancing?” And without waiting for an answer he proceeded to present her to Darcy as a partner, “Mr Darcy, allow me to present before you a most bewitching partner.”
She looked at Sir William, betraying her own annoyance, “Sir William, I thank you but I am not inclined to dance tonight. Please do not think that I moved this way in order to beg for a partner.”
“Miss Elizabeth,” Darcy said hurriedly, “I would be very pleased if you would agree to stand up with me.”