Chapter 2 #3
“Indeed, your ladyship; it is a pleasure to have made your acquaintance.”
Any further conversation was interrupted as they all hurried to take their places for the second part of the performance.
Miss Darcy was seated on Lady Cassandra’s right, and on her left was the colonel.
However, he gladly offered his seat to Elizabeth, preferring to move closer to Mr Gardiner in the hope of garnering some conversation during the rest of the evening.
This change pleased Miss Darcy exceedingly, and she expressed her joy to Elizabeth more than once in the minutes that followed.
The girl’s friendly manners made Elizabeth’s opinion grow warmer, and she tried to answer with equal gentleness.
She liked Miss Darcy more than any other young lady she had met in Town.
If not for the awkward situation with her brother —
“Miss Bennet, is everything well?”
She startled and turned to her younger companion, meeting her preoccupied gaze.
“Yes, thank you, Miss Darcy; everything is wonderful.” She smiled, said something neutral, and then turned the topic to the play.
Whispering to each other, they spoke for a few moments before the performance drew their attention to the stage.
Yet, Elizabeth’s attention was not entirely concentrated on the stage—quite the contrary.
Mr Darcy had politely helped Elizabeth take her place prior to making sure that the Gardiners were made comfortable; only when everything seemed to meet his approval did he finally resume his place on the left side of the box near Lady Cassandra.
That was precisely the point toward which Elizabeth’s furtive glances and most of her attention were drawn.
From time to time, Miss Darcy would address her with a question, and in order to answer her, Elizabeth leaned to her left.
Each of these times, her gaze travelled a little further toward the end of the box.
She could sense more than see the slight moves and whispered conversation on the other side of Miss Darcy; once, her eyes met Darcy’s for a brief moment.
Though she promised herself to pay attention to the stage, Elizabeth could not resist the temptation to examine Lady Cassandra’s reactions during their brief encounter and try to understand her relationship with the Darcys.
She had to admit the lady’s manners were more pleasant than she had expected considering her ladyship’s situation in life.
In fact, Lady Cassandra was ten times more pleasant than Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst, who were undoubtedly greatly beneath her in consequence, social standing and manners.
It suddenly crossed Elizabeth’s mind, I wonder if Lady Cassandra is acquainted with the Bingleys, and a large smile spread over her face as she pictured Miss Bingley attempting to compete with the lady.
Her smile turned to a frown when she noticed Mr Darcy leaning to his right toward her, disturbing both Lady Cassandra and Miss Darcy. “Miss Bennet, I happen to have an extra pair of opera glasses, and I thought they might be useful to you.”
Elizabeth took the glasses from him. Her heart started beating regularly again only after a few moments; she felt so unsure of herself that she did not dare to turn or even attempt a gesture of thanking him, nor did she dare to actually use the opera glasses. She simply held them absentmindedly.
When she regained some composure, she became alarmed, wondering what the others—especially Lady Cassandra—would think of his gesture.
Undoubtedly, Miss Darcy did not seem in the least surprised; she continued talking to Elizabeth in a low voice of how considerate her brother always was.
Elizabeth could do nothing but nod in agreement, hoping she did not look as embarrassed as she felt.
Finally, after several seemingly long minutes, Elizabeth decided at least to express her thanks to Mr Darcy by actually using the glasses while desperately trying to understand what was happening on the stage. All she could think was, Thank heavens I know this play by heart!
Time passed tortuously slowly for Elizabeth; yet, when the second part of the play was ended, she discovered the new intermission brought her more unease than relief.
The ladies were talking of the actors’ performances and the play while Mr Gardiner and Colonel Fitzwilliam immediately rose from their seats, declaring their intention of taking a stroll in the halls.
None of the ladies accepted the invitation to join them; Mr Darcy seemed to hesitate a moment and then exited the box with the other gentlemen.
Their departure made Miss Darcy more animated, and she daringly initiated a lively conversation with Mrs Gardiner and Elizabeth.
“Mrs Gardiner, I am so pleased you and Miss Bennet are here with us.”
“Thank you, Miss Darcy.”
Her gaze moved from the younger lady to Lady Cassandra, who answered with a smile, “We are enjoying your company very much, Mrs Gardiner, I assure you. As for Miss Bennet, I confess I have long desired to meet her! From what I have heard of her so far, she apparently has the happy ability to charm everyone around her.”
Elizabeth’s cheeks coloured instantly as her eyes met Lady Cassandra’s amused ones.
The expression on the lady’s face proved she was partially speaking in jest. Elizabeth could easily notice the hidden irony in her apparently friendly tone; she also noticed that there was no hint of malice in the lady’s tone. It was more…a challenge?
Elizabeth held that green, insistent gaze for a moment and then allowed a large smile to accompany the gentle mockery in her answer.
“Lady Cassandra, I cannot possibly imagine what your ladyship could have heard that brought you to such a conclusion. Unfortunately, it is further from the truth than I should like to admit.”
“Ah…then perhaps I might be deceived.”
“I am afraid so, your ladyship.”
“But that is not very likely; my authority was too good, and I do trust it implicitly.”
Their eyes remained locked in a challenge until Lady Cassandra spoke again, causing a new wave of redness to overspread Elizabeth’s cheeks. “Or perhaps my source was blinded by a partiality to you, and the report has been favourably exaggerated.”
Elizabeth did not have the time—or the words—to answer or understand fully the implication of the statement before Mr Darcy unexpectedly returned, and that topic of conversation was suddenly dropped.
The gentleman was received with open and welcoming smiles by both Miss Darcy and Lady Cassandra. He seemed well humoured and, to Elizabeth’s chagrin, inquired as to the subject of their conversation.
“Well, Brother, mostly Miss Bennet and Lady Cassandra talked, and we listened.” Miss Darcy seemed equally as good-humoured as her brother.
“Ah…I hope I did not interrupt you.” His eyes travelled from one mentioned lady to the other.
“Well, actually you did, Darcy. But I dare say the interruption was not completely unpleasant, was it, Miss Bennet?”
Elizabeth wished she possessed the ability to hide her embarrassment as she felt her cheeks flushing full red again. “No, indeed it was not. And I dare say, sir that being the owner of this box offers you the unique privilege of interrupting any conversation that might take place within it.”
He laughed openly in a way Elizabeth had never heard before. “Thank you, Miss Bennet. I shall remain forever indebted to you for reminding me of this privilege.”
“You know, Darcy”—Lady Cassandra spoke again with a familiarity that left no doubt regarding the intimacy of their relationship—“Miss Bennet and I had met before you introduced us.”
“Really? That is truly a surprise! And may I dare ask when this happened?” His wondering gaze was upon Elizabeth again, and a sudden lump in her throat forbade her reply.
Colonel Fitzwilliam and Mr Gardiner returned, but their presence did not stop Lady Cassandra from continuing to relate the events.
“It happened in the lobby before the three of you arrived while I was speaking with the Crawfords. Apparently something drew Miss Bennet’s attention on her way inside the theatre, and I noticed her insistent stare; I confess I was intrigued and was wondering who she was.
I even asked the Crawfords about her. But now that I am thinking of it, I should have known it was Miss Bennet. ”
Her tone grew more amused as her lips twisted into a large smile, mixing the jest with seriousness so Elizabeth could only hope she was not annoyed by her breech of etiquette when she had stared at her.
She was prepared to apologise while wondering at the meaning of the statement, “I should have known it was Miss Bennet.” Were her appearance and manner of dress viewed so poorly among the other ladies, or was her ladyship only trying to offend her as Miss Bingley used to do?
“Oh, come now, Lady Cassandra!” said the colonel. “How could you have known it was Miss Bennet? You have never met her before. I know Miss Bennet quite well, and still I did not notice her the other day in the Park until Darcy drew my attention to her.”
The colonel’s eyebrow rose with incredulity, and her ladyship turned to him, fixing him with her eyes for a moment. “Colonel—let us have a more private conversation about your attention and perceptiveness, shall we? I do not want to spoil our guests’ good opinion of you.”
“I am entirely at your disposal any time, milady! Still, I cannot abandon my inquiry about how your perceptiveness could help you identify an unknown lady in a room full of ladies.”
Only one more moment did Lady Cassandra hold the colonel’s gaze before turning and noticing the same curiosity in the others’ faces. She smiled with confidence and addressed Elizabeth directly. “Miss Bennet, I would gladly answer if you would favour me with an answer of your own.”
“I shall try, your ladyship.”
“Miss Bennet, what exactly concerned you, causing you to turn your head and stare at me in the lobby?”