Chapter 18
Darcy
Darcy did not despise dancing, but he did detest balls.
The ridiculous customs that surrounded balls of any scale—from humble country assemblies held in the towns near Pemberley to grand and glittering soirees in London—usually meant that he could not dance as often as he liked with the ladies of his party, but he was seen as churlish if he did not do his duty and dance with unmarried acquaintances who were sitting down for want of dance partners.
In the past, when he reluctantly attended balls, he danced one set each with three of the unmarried women his aunt insisted he “honour” that night, but then he went to the card room to escape any additional pressure to dance.
Of course, the card room sometimes had its own pressure: many men loved to gamble so much, they could not understand when the master of a great estate (and many other properties and investments) would only play for very low stakes.
When the stakes went up, Darcy always bowed out.
No amount of teasing or cajoling could induce him to risk substantial sums. He could explain to those inveterate gamblers that the only way there could even be a master of a great estate (and many other properties and investments) is if a long line of ancestors did not take unnecessary risks…
but he knew that this explanation would be a waste of time and effort.
At any rate, balls had been unpleasant while he was considered a commodity on the “Marriage Mart.”
But now that he had an acknowledged attachment, Darcy looked forward to dancing with Elizabeth. And, indeed, at the beginning of the Stoddards’ ball, he loved dancing with her.
Watching Elizabeth dance with his friends was also quite delightful. She seemed to enjoy getting to know them, but she also turned her eyes towards his with some frequency, and they would exchange smiles, and he never for a moment felt anxious.
However, watching her dance with Jenkins and Stewart was hell.
He did not see what Jenkins had done to deserve her warning before they had even taken a single dance step, and he had no idea what the man had asked her later on, but he could readily tell that she felt defensive during the entire set.
And the scornful way she had looked at Stewart before she left the dance floor while several measures were yet to be played was even more worrisome.
They enjoyed the supper dance, but during the supper break they conferred in whispers about strategies for the rest of the evening.
“I feel as if I should dance with your two friends, Mr Johnson and Mr Williams, and then you could take my aunt and me home.”
“Go home? That early?” Darcy was surprised but pleased by her idea.
“Yes. I can plead a megrim.”
Bingley came up to them at that moment, and he leant down to say in a low voice, “My sister Caroline tells me that there is a bit of gossip about you, Darcy—they are saying that you will not allow Miss Bennet to dance with people you have not hand-picked, because you worry Miss Bennet will embarrass you. I have no idea how far this gossip might have spread, or if there are variations at this point, but I thought you should know.”
Darcy thanked Bingley and waited until he was out of earshot before murmuring to Elizabeth, “Perhaps it would be wise if you danced a bit more with other men before we leave. If I stand close enough to hear an introduction and request for a dance, I could shake my head if I have heard the man is a rake, and you can beg off with the megrim excuse, and we could then leave.”
Elizabeth agreed that it was a fine idea, but she added, “And you must dance, too. I believe you have only danced with me?”
“People are not accustomed to me dancing the significant sets with anyone, let alone two sets with the same woman, but they are certainly used to me choosing not to dance at all.”
“But you will ask someone, anyways, will you not? When I am safe with your friends, you should dance.”
Darcy sighed but agreed that he would do so.
Elizabeth’s eyes danced as she continued, “Then, if I dance with someone you do not know as well, I give you leave to patrol the walls like an on-duty gentleman-soldier, or perhaps an ill-tempered watchdog.”
“Thank you for that concession. Even under orders from you, I doubt that I could abandon my vigil.”
“We are both a little silly, are we not?” she asked with one of her dazzling smiles.
“I admit that I am a little irrational in my protectiveness of you, and yet I cannot repine, because I am not certain that love and happiness have anything to do with rationality.”
Darcy relinquished Elizabeth to his friend, Francis Johnson, and he looked around for a lady of his acquaintance who might wish to dance.
He almost immediately found the perfect young lady: Miss Hortense Smith.
She was extremely shy and seldom danced, but he knew from his sister’s reports that she was always very kind.
As he politely offered his arm to escort her to the line, he searched his mind for something to say.
“Every time I go to an event, my sister Georgiana asks afterwards if I had happened to see you. I will be delighted to tell her that I did tonight.”
Miss Smith spoke in a very breathy way, which made her sound tremendously excited about everything. “Oh! I should love you to give my fond greetings to your dear sister!”
“I hope your family is well? Your parents, your brother, your sister?”
“I thank you, sir; they are all very, very well!”
“I am happy to hear that.” Darcy felt he had spoken enough, for now at least, and he concentrated on not staring at Elizabeth.
After a minute of silence, Miss Smith asked him, “I have heard that you came tonight with a lady. I imagine you have an understanding with her?”
Darcy grinned, and Miss Smith gave a little gasp, and they both blushed. He nodded his head towards Elizabeth and said, “I am courting Miss Elizabeth Bennet, who is the brunette in the white dress, dancing just there with Mr Johnson.”
“I saw her dance with you, Mr Darcy. She is very beautiful.”
“She is that, but she is also the most charming and intelligent lady I have ever known. We…seem to have been made for one another. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I….”
Darcy and Miss Smith approached one another for the hands-across figure, and he saw acceptance in her eyes. She said, “Perhaps she is your other half. I am very happy that you have found one another!”
“I am, as well. I hope such happiness for you someday.”
Darcy was genuinely surprised to have a pleasant time dancing, and as Miss Smith clearly knew of his regard for another, he did not have to worry about giving rise to expectations.
After seeing Miss Smith back to her chaperone, Darcy looked around for another young lady who might be just as pleasant, and he spied the exceptionally tall sister of his friend Robert Williams. She danced often, but most of the men in the ballroom—and indeed, in all of England—were shorter than she, and her face lit up in excitement when Darcy asked her to dance.
“I never have a chance to dance with someone as tall as myself,” she said to Darcy as they executed the first figure.
He chuckled and said, “I imagine not, Miss Williams. Even I am not as tall as you—because I am taller.”
She tittered politely at his jest, and then she asked, “May I ask who is the woman with whom my brother is dancing? I noticed you in the supper room in her company.”
Darcy said, “She is Miss Elizabeth Bennet, and I escorted her to the ball, along with her aunt.”
“Oh!” Miss Williams narrowed her eyes at him, and then said, “I suppose that means that you and she….” Her voice trailed off, as she was either unwilling or unable to finish her sentence.
“I hope the next you hear of her, she will have a different last name,” Darcy said boldly.
“Well, I must say, I am disappointed for myself. You are my brother’s only friend who is taller than me, so naturally I was certain that we were destined for one another.”
Darcy paled, feeling upset that his good friend’s sister was disappointed, but she laughed again, this time sounding sincere, and said in a low voice.
“I am just teasing you. I actually have always felt that you treated me like a younger sister, and therefore I have always seen you as an older brother.”
Darcy shook his head and then gave in to a chuckle, as well. He said, “I should be better used to being teased, because Eliz—Miss Bennet teases me. But up until I met her, I have never before been the object of jest for any lady or even little girl.”
“Not to your face,” Miss Williams said. Then she emitted—at low volume—an evil cackle worthy of a Gothic novel.
He was startled by the laugh, but Darcy cringed over the idea that, for years, ladies had been having private jokes about him. But then he cocked his head and, looking Miss Williams straight in the eyes, asked, “Teasing?”
She nodded. “Teasing.”
Darcy’s laugh did not sound remotely evil, he imagined, but it was too loud, and he stopped at once. He saw that both Williams and Elizabeth had looked at him in curiosity, and he mouthed “Sorry” to them, followed by a head bow.
When Miss Williams saw her brother and Darcy’s lady both laughing, she laughed, as well, and when Darcy and Miss Williams led up a double and then fell back, Elizabeth took advantage of their proximity and said, “Mr Darcy, were you not recently telling me that nobody laughs at a ball? I suppose you were fibbing?”
And all four of them could not help but laugh.
Darcy did not even bother to look around to see if their behaviour was remarked upon.
He did not suppose that he would ever change the fashions of society—after all, he had not noticed increasing numbers of men who aspired to monkish behaviour—but since Elizabeth had managed to single-handedly bring about a great change in his own mien, and he had never before heard Williams laugh at a ball, he wondered if his beloved might begin a trend that could eventually transform the ton.
The rest of the ball was no laughing matter for Darcy.
He stood close enough to Mrs Gardiner and Elizabeth to watch over the introductions of young men and the subsequent requests for a dance.
He never had to signal her that a man was objectionable, but observing her dancing with the likes of Lord Ashcroft and James Worthington felt like a punishment.
He could see that most of the men who danced with Elizabeth smiled and flirted, but he was more concerned with her responses.
As he expected, she also smiled and spoke with ease, but her expressions were friendly and kind, and she often cast brighter smiles towards him. He saw not a shred of reason to worry….
And yet, he still worried a bit as Elizabeth danced every dance.
On the way home in the carriage, she seemed to sense his anxiety and leant forward from the seat where she and her aunt shared a lap rug.
She touched his arm briefly and said, “How are you? More gentleman-soldier, or watchdog?” She left off the word ill-tempered, but Darcy remembered that description.
He smiled at her and said gently, “I felt miserable, but your smiles for me were all I needed to endure, and I hope I did not audibly snarl at any of your partners.”
Her delightful laugh once again rang out, and she agreed, “No, your snarls were not audible.”
Darcy was mid-chuckle when she continued: “Mr Johnson told me what you did.”
He stopped laughing and cocked his head in question.
“He informed me that this afternoon you walked into Angelo’s laughing and speaking with the colonel, and you fenced, and this time when you won, the two of you shook hands.
Mr Johnson said that your obvious forgiveness of your cousin allowed everyone else to forgive him, as well, and made the entire atmosphere of Angelo’s happier again. ”
“Oh. That.”
“Yes, that. You are very good, sir, and I am proud to be connected to you.”
Darcy tried to shake off the praise, but Mrs Gardiner joined in as well, and he ended up having to grin and bear it.