Chapter 2.21 #3
“Are you well, my dear?” he inquired. “It is rather a particular ball, quite different from what we are accustomed to, but I would say it is pleasant nevertheless.”
“It is pleasant indeed—perfectly fitting after the fight with your sister yesterday.”
“True. I am content to see Anne bearing the entire situation so well.”
“I was looking at Anne too. Her improvement is remarkable. She is so at ease—and smiles so much. She and Robert seem very comfortable with each other.”
The earl glanced at his wife. “Is there anything you mean to imply? I easily recognise this tone.”
“Not quite—I am just a little worried. It would pain me to see an unequal attachment between them. I hope Robert is careful not to hurt Anne.”
Lord Matlock watched the dance floor in silence for some time. The set ended, and the colonel danced the next with Miss Kitty Bennet then again with Anne.
An hour later, the earl returned to his wife. “Would it be possible for all this to end in an alliance between Robert and Anne? I never thought of such an outcome, but his attentions to her seem more than mere concern for a cousin in distress.”
“I have noticed that for a couple of weeks now. I intend to talk to Robert about the entire situation. I would not want him to enter into a marriage that would offer him the security of Anne’s fortune and position without any true affection for her.
One son trapped in an unhappy marriage is already too much. “
“Oh, come now, Ellen. Thomas is neither more nor less unhappy than most gentlemen in his situation. As for Robert—if he is willing to treat Anne kindly and she is partial to him and agreeable to spend her life with him, I see no inconvenience. It would be a most favourable arrangement for everyone—including Catherine—I am sure. What else could we hope for?”
Lady Matlock glanced at the couples then back at her husband.
“What could we hope for? To have Robert looking at his wife as Darcy looks at his, and to have his wife melting under his gaze just as Elizabeth does with her husband. To see them happily expecting their child and spreading joy and blessedness around them. To watch them building their felicity and their future together. Am I silly? Is that too much to ask?”
The powerful Lady Matlock spoke in a trembling voice, and her eyes moistened. She swallowed a little wine, and her husband kissed her hand.
“You are not silly and surely do not ask too much, my dear Ellen. Although perhaps we did not share the same flame that seems to burn between Elizabeth and Darcy, we did have all that and much more. I still look at you with my eyes and my heart.”
Her ladyship smiled at the harsh, aloof man who had stood by her side for more than thirty-five years. “I know you do, and I still melt under your gaze.”
She then added, her voice turning sharper, “But you must agree, husband, that whenever we argued, you were always wrong and I was right every time. You still have to admit your error in judging Elizabeth. Your behaviour was not far from your sister’s, and it was quite fortunate that I was wise enough to confront you.
Not that I have lost any confrontation with you in more than thirty-five years. ”
Lord Mattock laughed and finished his glass of wine.
“I cannot possibly contradict you, Lady Matlock. And I do admit my error, and I will say as much to Darcy and his wife. Now, would you do me the honour of the next set? I have wanted to dance with you for quite some time. I agree with Darcy and Bingley about the ridiculous fashion of not dancing with one’s own wife at a ball. ”
“It would be my pleasure, sir. As for the rules, I recently learned that some of them are made to be broken—occasionally.”
∞∞∞
It was well after midnight, but the party had not lost its spirit in the slightest. Dancing balanced the conversation and the enjoyment of rich food.
Mr Darcy was a perfect host. He invited his sister—as well as his cousin Anne and both Miss Bennets—to dance, which made Mary and Kitty freeze in panic and forget many of the steps.
The other gentlemen also performed their duties admirably and made sure that every lady in the room that wished to dance had the chance to do so.
Darcy was at Elizabeth’s side each time he found a spare moment. His eyes followed her around the room every other minute, and they were rewarded with her constant loving gaze.
When the last set began, Darcy took Elizabeth’s hand, kissed it tenderly, then directed her to the dance floor. The rest of the world vanished as they stepped around each other, their gazes locked, their hands touching and lingering together.
Elizabeth bit her lower lip, and a mischievous sparkle lit her eyes.
“Mr Darcy, do you know that it has been only eight months since we met at our first ball and you found me ‘tolerable, but not handsome enough’ to dance with me?”
“I do know, my dearest Mrs Darcy. I also know it has been almost seven months since I fell in love with your fine eyes and since you first refused to dance with me at Sir William’s party.”
They took a few more steps, then their gazes locked again and he continued. “And seven months since my life changed after spending a few rainy hours with you in a cottage.”
“True…only seven months, and they bore as much felicity as a lifetime.”
The music made them separate and turn in a large circle. Following the rhythm, they passed by Mr and Mrs Gardiner, Jane and Bingley, the colonel and Anne. The rest of their family watched them from the side.
When their hands and eyes met again, the music came to an end, but neither of them noticed. While the others returned to their seats, Elizabeth and Darcy remained on the dance floor, their fingers still entwined and their eyes still locked, paying attention to nothing else except each other.
“Is it not strange that it was rain that brought sunshine into our lives, my dearest Mr Darcy?”
“Not at all, my beloved Elizabeth; it is just as it was meant to be. Happiness that started in a cottage in Hertfordshire is growing to fulfilment at Pemberley. And this is only the beginning of it.”