Chapter 17
Jane decided to transform her wedding day into a celebration of Uncle Thomas’s presence amongst them and the changes in their life.
“A grand ball!” Mrs Bennet declared one evening at dinner.
But Jane contradicted her in a sweet voice, “A wedding breakfast with all our family and friends.”
“My dear, perhaps we can also have a dance in the evening,” Charles added, certain to convince his betrothed, as he knew how much she liked to dance.
“Yes, we can also have a dance.”
“A dance in the evening is a ball!” Lydia declared, and everybody laughed.
“Let the bride and groom decide what they want, Mrs Bennet,” Mr Bennet said rather severely, fearful that the precarious peace he had found at Netherfield would be disturbed.
At least at Longbourn a grand ball would have been impossible.
The thought annoyed him, and for a moment, he regretted his move to the new house.
They had been living at Netherfield for a week, but to Mrs Bennet and her daughters, it was as if they had been living there forever.
∞∞∞
Charles arrived back just one week after his departure, and three days before the wedding, they were expecting their guests. The first to arrive were the Gardiners and Bingley’s sisters.
Jane awaited Louisa and Caroline’s arrival with some apprehension, but to her surprise, the two smiling ladies getting out of the carriage seemed genuinely pleased by their brother’s marriage.
“How easily a new house and a significant dowry can change people’s feelings!” Elizabeth murmured in her uncle’s ear, who already knew the story.
“And do not forget the Duchess of Beauford’s influence,” Thomas answered, already accustomed to his great-niece’s way of looking at life.
“Oh, yes! To tell you the truth, I am eager to go to London and meet her grace.”
Thomas was curious about Elizabeth’s reactions to everything in their life. It was always interesting to discover her reasons, which were usually different from those of her sisters. Although she was happy about their new life, social status held little attraction for her.
“How come, dear niece, I thought you were immune to the ton?” he asked, using the subtle humour that only she appreciated.
“You wonder if I have finally succumbed to a wish for social climbing?”
“Yes, it crossed my mind.”
“I do not know. I am interested in finding out about different ways of living. And I can now admit that this interest is mixed with all kinds of old frustrations. When I met Mr Darcy, he seemed arrogant and conceited, and immediately I attacked him, considering those traits wrong, real faults.”
“And they are not?” Thomas asked, very surprised.
“I know that you think I tend to twist the situation to like him, but no. I have never been in the company of someone like him. His mother came from a preeminent family of the ton. Why not assume that they had a particular way of behaving in society that I considered haughty? Or he was not at ease with strangers because he had not had a warm and noisy family to encourage him to meet new people and enjoy large gatherings. I tended to judge in black and white, seeing everything only from my perspective, that of a poor young lady with a boisterous family, always laughing and ready for the next ball. I saw Miss Darcy yesterday when they arrived, and she also behaved like him. Still, since then, I have seen how timid she is and how intimidated she is by our exuberant company.”
“Or you want to like and be liked a great deal by the sister of the man—”
“Uncle Thomas!” she interrupted reproachfully.
“Niece Elizabeth!” He laughed and continued, “A great deal of explanation, dear niece, for a simple fact. You like the man and want to be sure that you will behave properly in the company of his family and friends.”
Elizabeth blushed. It was certainly one of the principal reasons. At Lady Catherine’s table or in her presence, she did not wish to feel that she had failed in her behaviour, though she had no desire to be liked by the lady herself.
“Do not worry, my dear, your new social status, based solely upon your fortune, would excuse any missteps of behaviour you might make. That is the injustice of it. The old Elizabeth would have been destroyed by a first error, whilst now it would be regarded merely as the whim of a rich girl and readily forgiven.”
“So you say I will not need any chaperoning or the duchess’s advice?”
“No, you are too clever not to change if you wish to become part of a certain society.”
“I do not want to look like a young lady who has just come into a fortune.”
“Then, my dear, let us leave for London and meet the Duchess of Beauford. She has just received a visit from her grandson, and we shall find her in an excellent disposition. Her daughter was estranged from the family for many years.”
∞∞∞
Meeting Miss Darcy had indeed been a pleasure. She was a timid young lady who wanted to open her heart and enjoy the gathering she had found at Netherfield. Elizabeth saw her reserve and made every effort to put her at ease. In no time, they were friends, which Darcy observed with grateful eyes.
“It does not mean you can give your full attention to one member of my family and ignore the other,” he criticised, amused, as they were sitting together at the dinner table.
“Is that a veiled reproach, Mr Darcy?”
“I think, Elizabeth, that it is a direct one.” He called her by her given name, eager to discover her reaction, and to his surprise, she blushed.
He watched her lashes move in a delightful dance that made his heart sing.
She was as excited as he was. He did not regret his two-week absence; they had both had time to reflect upon their feelings, and it seemed they were equally interested in meeting again.
That evening, Charles and Jane asked them to be their witnesses, which created a new bond between them.
“It is the first time I have been a witness,” Elizabeth said. “And you?”
“I have had the chance twice in the past, but Charles’s wedding is a special occasion for me. He is my best friend, and your company makes it even more precious.”
“I am beginning to enjoy being a witness; perhaps I will have other occasions in the future,” Elizabeth murmured.
Or perhaps not. Darcy admired the graceful line of her neck, like that of a swan. Witnesses were usually unmarried, and he hoped that circumstance would not apply to Elizabeth much longer.
Since his arrival, he had thought of little except proposing again, but the circumstances needed to be right.
There were too many people around, too many voices and too much laughter, and even after the wedding, he could not find an appropriate moment, as the breakfast was so noisy that he could hardly hear her voice.
As for the ball, it was so pleasant merely to dance with her that he postponed his plans, eager to enjoy the moment to its fullest extent.
He remembered the last time they had danced and wondered how he had failed to understand then that he loved her.
It was love he had felt for Elizabeth from the first moment; love hidden beneath great layers of denial; love in Kent, when he insulted her sister and her whole family; love revealed afterwards in regret and sadness.
In the end, it had always been love, from the moment he first met her to their reunion as the Netherfield heiress and the lady soon to be living in the Duchess of Beauford’s palace.
“When do you intend to go to London?” he asked.
“In a day or two, as soon as Jane leaves with Mr Bingley for their honeymoon.”
“From your tone, I see that you are enjoying the prospect.”
“Yes, of course I am. I want to meet the Duchess of Beauford and her grandson.”
“Her grandson?” asked Darcy, suddenly interested. Until then, nobody had said a word about a grandson, and he knew for certain that the duchess had no close relatives in London. Lady Matlock had told him the story in detail; there had been a long-estranged daughter, but they knew nothing about her.
“Yes, probably a child,” Elizabeth said, indifferent to the subject.
But Darcy was a vigilant landlord who managed the income and expenses of his vast estate himself. A quick calculation told him that a lady of twenty who had left London thirty years ago must now be at least fifty, whilst her ‘infant’ could easily be a gentleman of something-and-twenty.
“Or he could be your age,” he said, for the first time in his life truly experiencing jealousy.
“You must be wrong,” Elizabeth replied with the same indifference.