Assembly Hall
“Brother, have you received your dancing orders?”
Darcy started at the oddly phrased question, but nearly a month in the Bennet household had left him resilient to statements made purely for effect, so he answered calmly.
“I hope you are not being overly presumptuous, Miss Kitty. I am not your brother and may well never be, though I dearly hope it may come to pass. I hope nobody outside this household knows of your supposition?”
Catherine Bennet was capable of chagrin, he was happy to note, though her downcast expression did not last long.
“Out of curiosity, which of your sisters told you?”
“Oh, none of them… secret to the grave and such. I worked it out on my own, and needled Lydia until she confessed. Do not fret though, the idea is still quite foreign to Mama, and nobody outside this house knows, nor will they. We have enough sense of self-preservation to protect Lizzy’s reputation. ”
“I see you comprehend that your sister’s reputation affects your own. I am happy to see it.”
Kitty laughed. “Not that kind of self-preservation; I mean avoiding Lizzy’s foul temper. I assume you are acquainted with it. I am curious. Just how bad was the set-down she delivered? You still seem to be able to walk straight, and still have most of your teeth, so maybe she went easy on you.”
“She walked out without a single word, got in a post coach, and left the county.”
“Lucky you! If she had spoken, you would have no chance at redemption at all. You would be a broken man, wandering the country hoping you might stumble upon her one day by chance.”
“Perhaps she would tour it on holiday at the exact moment I arrived.”
“Yes, yes, yes. She would stay in Lambton and… well, this is all quite ridiculous.”
“Yes, Miss Kitty. You may be right about her mode of communication. I might not have much chance of redemption, but a little is better than none and I will take what I can get.”
“Ah, so you are a man who gives up after one setback?”
Darcy chuckled, realising that teasing was a congenital habit, passed down from the patriarch, though he had thought the youngest Bennet daughters I capable of anything beyond giggling during his first sojourn.
“So, what are these orders?”
“Oh, that! We need to keep the gossip down to a manageable level. So far, the neighbourhood believes you are here to protect Anne, so act accordingly. As our guests, you should dance with all of us just to be polite. Open with Anne, then take us in birth order, mixing in one or two married ladies for colour, and none will be the wiser.”
“I see… and you are telling me this because?”
“Short straw, brother. Be ready on time. My mother detests tardiness.”
Fitzwilliam Darcy, for perhaps the first time in his life, arrived at an assembly at precisely the right time, all due to Mrs Bennet, who managed her daughters like a general preparing for battle.
When he attended assemblies with Bingley or Fitzwilliam, they always dragged him there too early, so they might have the first chance to be introduced to the ladies.
When he went by himself, he assiduously avoided the first set, and in fact procrastinated until the last minute.
He usually calculated that as the very last moment he could appear without giving offence, and the last minute before he would convince himself it was better not to attend at all.
With Mrs Bennet in charge, they arrived neither too early nor too late.
Over the previous month, he had reacquainted himself with all the principal families and mended fences.
He even visited the Netherfield tenants with Jane and Anne, while making significant purchases from the merchants.
He thought it could not be amiss to reduce the number of people in the Meryton neighbourhood who disliked him down to only one.
It was no surprise to arrive at the Netherfield cottages and discover that the tenants all knew Jane well and welcomed her with open arms.
Anne found the experience instructional, and Darcy was happy to know that part of Anne’s education would not fall to his lot.
Anne was heir to Rosings, and when she turned five and twenty in a few months, she would have to decide whether to fight her mother for her inheritance, let Lady Catherine play out her last few years, or compromise—though that was not likely to go well.
It was a difficult decision that Darcy would help her with but would not make for her.
Either way, she needed to be ready to assume the role of mistress, and her mother had not lifted a finger to prepare her—no doubt under her old delusion that Anne would be mistress of Pemberley and her husband could manage the task, though why Lady Catherine thought he would be happy to wed an u skilled mistress escaped him.
Darcy had to assume Elizabeth was familiar with all the duties of the mistress, but just to be sure, he asked Jane. She laughed, and said, “Of course, silly!”
He found spending time with Miss Jane Bennet delightful, as did the tenants, and he once again kicked himself for his interference in Bingley’s affairs.
The debacle with Bingley had been his most egregious interference in his life, the very first time he had ventured an opinion about a lady’s affection, or lack thereof.
Darcy knew Jane wholeheartedly forgave him, as if she was capable of anything else, and even thanked him; but he still did not think that made it right.
The fact that all he really did was suggest caution and delay did not mitigate the presumption.
Of course, in the dark recesses of his mind, what little pride remained asserted that, abominable as his interference had been, he was right all along.
Jane might have married Bingley and been happy, yet Darcy doubted it.
He could think, though never say, that the more formidable Jane Bingley would have emerged at the first crisis.
She would have become bored and disenchanted with his too amiable friend within a few years at best; thus, the result was for the best.
Walking into the assembly hall with Anne and Jane on his arm, he noted appreciative looks, greeted the company, and wondered why he had made such a fuss. For the first time, he understood what his cousin and Bingley had tried to teach him for years. Assemblies were supposed to be fun.
“Jane, I believe this is our set.”
“Yes, Fitzwilliam, it is. Shall we? Who knows, perhaps this will be your last assembly as a single man.”
Darcy chuckled. He ought to remove Jane from Anne’s pernicious influence before it was too late—though, in truth, it had been too late for quite some time.
Jane had declared Anne’s ability to tease unremarkable after a lifetime with her sister, and that Darcy must harden his resolve.
He had seen traces of it, certainly, but Miss Elizabeth kept a firm rein on her impertinence in his presence.
He hoped one day to see it unleashed. He even hoped to face her fiery temper, for the reconciliation should be worth the cost.
The opening dance was a quadrille, Darcy paired with Anne, and Jane with the eldest Lucas son.
Jane liked the young man, but maintained their regard was fraternal rather than romantic, and would remain so.
Jane introduced Mr Lucas to Anne, who thought him delightful if not particularly exciting.
He was good fun for a dance, but unlikely to be anything more.
Of course, rumours of Anne’s status had preceded her; nobody in the county harboured unrealistic hopes.
Mrs Bennet was happy to have two guests who increased her consequence and provided fodder for gossip, yet were not in direct competition with her girls. She still had five unmarried daughters—or rather, four in the house and one entirely missing, much to her consternation.
Darcy finished his dance with Jane. During the interval, he left the ladies with some punch and went to give Mr Bennet a chance to make sport of him
“Jane, who is that man? He is fearful handsome!”
Jane followed Anne’s fan and laughed.
“Anne, do not tell me I will lose you at your first country assembly. You Fitzwilliams seem to go mad in this hall.”
Anne laughed. “Yes, I see that. Do you believe it? Fitzwilliam Darcy is having fun. The world has run amok, and this hall seems the centre of the disturbance.”
Jane giggled. “I will introduce you, but you must not abandon me before our season. You may return for him at your leisure… although—”
Anne looked at her best friend, who furrowed her brow in concentration.
“You begin to worry me, Jane.”
“Here is my thinking. That ‘fearful handsome’ man—and by the way, I need to remove you from Lydia’s pernicious influence while you still have some grasp of the English language—”
“Stop prevaricating!”
“He is a third son resisting his father’s pressure to enter an ‘acceptable’ profession.
He told me he has an aversion to bullets, incoming or outgoing, which proves him sensible.
He finds the Navy, with months at sea, untenable.
And if he spent days compiling a list of the most tedious professions in the world, clergyman and attorneys would fight for the top of the list.”
“Oh, my!”
“And he is the most frighteningly intelligent young man I ever met. Papa is afraid of him, and even Lizzy approaches debates with caution.”
“How does he occupy himself when not making all the intellectuals in the county quake in fear?”
“That is the odd thing. His elder brother will inherit, but he made a bargain with his father and brother. He works at the estate purely to increase its income. Each year the income improves, he keeps the difference for three years. He cannot win at that game forever, but at the moment, he is doing well for himself.”
Anne still considered him fearful handsome.
Leaning over, Jane whispered, “He would make a very fine estate master, with the right wife.”
Anne’s smile lit up her face; she was uncommonly pretty with the expression. Jane might boast of having done a good service for two people, but she would never forgive Anne if she did not at least get her started on a London season.
On the other hand, Jane doubted she would lack for London connections when Lizzy resurfaced. Even Lizzy’s legendary stubbornness had limits. She took Anne’s arm, led her over to the gentleman, and performed an introduction worthy of Fordyce himself.
“Miss Anne de Bourgh, allow me to introduce you to Mr Jason Goulding, a lowly third son without much to recommend him, but smart enough on a good day. Jason, Miss Anne de Bourgh—heir to the Rosings estate in Kent, which is about a third the size of Longbourn’s kennel.”
Jane smiled broadly and added as she walked away. “You can put your eyes back into your head and ask Anne to dance now, Jason. Goodbye!”
“Did you misplace her, Mr Darcy?”
He looked at the lady who had spoken to him but did not recognise her. She must have been introduced to his evil twin, but he was struggling to recall her name.
“Be at ease, sir. We have not been introduced, but you seem to have abandoned propriety altogether, so I imagine you are more resilient than you were last autumn.”
Darcy decided that impertinent women were to be his lot in life, and he was not necessarily opposed to the plan.
“Shall I make up an arbitrary name, Miss… or perhaps I can limp along with ma’am or madam?”
The lady gave a brilliant smile and curtsied. “Rebecca Goulding. I think your friend Jane just attached my brother to your cousin right under Mrs Bennet’s nose.”
“Do you approve of the scheme?”
“Of course! Jason needs leg shackling before he drifts away. I overheard the introduction. What did you do to my Jane? She is hilarious.”
Darcy furrowed his brow in concentration. “We both helped each other shed our reserve, but—”
“—do not finish that sentence, good sir. I deduced your entire scheme. My brother is not the only intelligent person in my family.”
Darcy looked concerned, and she added, “He is also not the only one who knows how to keep his mouth shut.”
“I appreciate it. Can I do anything for you?”
“Perhaps eventually, but tonight my aim is to help you. I presume your presence and Lizzy’s absence are related?”
Darcy’s eyebrows rose in surprise.
“Do not worry. I doubt anyone else will work it out or start any gossip, but I wish to shore up your plan. You have only danced with your cousin and Bennets. You should dance with someone else who is at least theoretically eligible. Then, a bit of the gossip will focus on a possible connection with that lady, even though it is only one meaningless dance.”
“Are there any other genius women in Hertfordshire?”
“I do not know, sir, I can only speak for myself.”
Darcy chuckled. “I applaud your ruse. I believe you have done me a service, and I will remember it.”
“You owe me nothing. I just enjoyed the exercise.”
“There is a quite eligible woman before me. Perhaps, she could be convinced to serve as the decoy?”
“It will be my pleasure,” she replied with a laugh. “Tell Lizzy she owes me a letter.”