Chapter 14 #2
Darcy was well pleased they returned after Miss Bingley’s performance.
Her playing was technically proficient, but she played with the feeling of a cold fish.
After the lady who replaced Miss Bingley completed her piece, to applause far more enthusiastic than what Miss Bingley received, Mary took her turn.
Miss Bingley sneered most unattractively, certain that she was about to watch a disaster for the Bennets.
To her growing annoyance, when Mary Bennet ended her performance, she garnered the biggest round of applause of all three.
Miss Bingley was even angrier and more discomposed than she had been before.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The rest of the ball passed without incident, and Bennet and Charlotte were inundated with well-wishers.
All their friends who had known the late Fanny Bennet could not but agree about the compatibility of Bennet and Miss Lucas, regardless of the age difference.
Any who had had the displeasure of meeting Mr. Collins decided to add a prayer for the Bennets to be blessed with a son after their marriage.
Miss Bingley was proved wrong again when it came time for the guests to depart at the end of the night, for the Bennet and the Lucas families were among the first to depart.
As far as she was concerned it was one of the worst nights of her life, having had every expectation thwarted, from not being waited upon at the staircase to when guests were leaving.
The only thing keeping her from an epic tantrum was the knowledge she would soon compromise Mr. Darcy and finally get her wish of becoming the mistress of Pemberley and Darcy House.
She would be a member of the first circles at last, as was her due.
There had been a small adjustment to the plan for Darcy’s evacuation of his chambers.
As an extra level of precaution, Darcy would join Richard in his chambers.
They would not only have Carstens with them, but also Richard’s batman, an irascible ex-sergeant who took nonsense from no one and was fiercely loyal to his colonel.
Darcy went up to his chambers and locked the door, as he always did.
Miss Bingley felt in her pocket for the spare key to Mr. Darcy’s room, which she had taken from the housekeeper’s office.
Once she saw Mr. Darcy enter his chambers, she went to her own.
To be safe and to make sure everyone would be asleep, Miss Bingley planned to wait two hours before making her way to Mr. Darcy’s chambers.
As soon as the two Darcy footmen posted out of sight in the corridor signalled the coast was clear, Darcy and his valet left his bedchamber, locked the door, and joined Richard and Sergeant Barlow in his cousin’s chambers.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
When Bennet and his three older daughters arrived home, there was no sign of Kitty, Mariah, or Gigi. Before he allowed any of the women to panic, Bennet summoned Hill and asked him where the girls were.
Hill was clearly amused as he asked the master and his daughters to follow him. They arrived at the nursery, and when Bennet opened the door, he was met by a sight he had never expected to see. The four girls were asleep on the floor, one next to the other.
They had removed the mattresses from the beds and placed them together on the floor and made themselves a comfortable pallet.
The four looked at one another in question as they closed the door softly.
It was then they realised that the door had not been locked, yet Lydia was asleep with the rest of the girls.
When the footman on duty was interviewed, he reported Miss Lydia had not attempted to escape, even when there were times when the door remained open, not just unlocked.
“There is a story to be told about this,” Bennet surmised, “but it will keep until the morning. Good night, girls.”
His daughters each kissed him on the cheek and took themselves to their chambers to prepare for bed. All three were happy and had enjoyed themselves at the ball, but Elizabeth prayed especially that her Mr. Darcy would be safe from the harridan this night.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Matilda Dudley had enjoyed herself at the ball more than she had for a long time.
Part of the reason was Mr. Franklin Lucas.
He had asked her to open the ball with him and had danced the final set with her as well.
She had always had a tendre for Mr. Lucas but had believed he saw her as naught but his sister’s friend.
Thank goodness Charlotte had prodded both of them.
He had told her that night how happy he was she had withdrawn from the betrothal with Mr. Collins. It was the only time she heard him mention that man’s name, as she knew her former betrothed was disliked heartily by all the Lucas men. She knew the Lucas ladies felt the same way.
“You seemed to enjoy yourself, Matti,” Her father observed just after they entered the parsonage.
“I did, Papa, very much indeed. To think I was about to marry that man on the morrow!” Matilda shuddered as she considered what a mistake she would have made just because she wanted to marry more than she wanted to look at the man she was marrying.
“The important thing is you are not. I must beg your forgiveness; I should have refused my consent, Matti. Sometimes a parent must cause some short-term pain for long term happiness. I forgot that axiom,” Dudley stated with conviction.
“Let us adopt Lizzy’s saying about the past and move forward. I will not think about the man anymore if you will not, Papa,” Matilda vowed.
“As I will do, though I may have to talk about him if I am contacted by the Bishop’s or the Archbishop’s offices. The content of the conversations is wholly different and will make that promise easy to keep.” Dudley pointed out.
Matilda agreed that was an acceptable exception to their vow to move forward.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Just short of two hours after entering her bedchamber, Miss Bingley, dressed in the most transparent of nightgowns, left her chambers and crept down the darkened hallway towards Mr. Darcy’s bedchamber, key in hand.
The two Darcy footmen hidden in alcoves in the hallway did their best not to laugh at the lack of womanly assets Miss Bingley displayed. They watched as she advanced to their master’s empty bedchamber door.
Miss Bingley slowly tried the door handle; finding that it was locked as she had suspected.
She placed the key in the keyhole and slowly turned it until she heard a click as the lock released.
Worried the noise might have woken her prey, Miss Bingley waited for a few moments with her ear to the door, but when she heard nothing, she entered the chambers.
It was dark and she could barely make out the shape of the bed. “I have come as you summoned me, Fitzwilliam,” she cooed as she walked to the bed. She lifted the coverlet and slid under the covers. “I am yours, Fitzwilliam, take me as you desire,” Miss Bingley cooed.
It was then she realised she could not feel anyone in the bed with her.
She climbed out of it, searching for, and finding a candle and flint on the bedside table.
Once she managed to light the candle, she looked around to discover that the chamber was empty except for herself!
Where was her Mr. Darcy? He could not have known about her plan, could he?
No amount of searching the room produced her quarry.
After almost an hour of waiting after her pointless search, she gave up and returned to her chambers.
If only he had been in his chambers! She would have to plan the best way forward now, as in a few hours they were departing Netherfield Park at long last.
The two footmen secreted in the corridor grinned at one another; they would have an amusing story to tell their friends and family for many years to come.