Chapter Twenty-One
I t was to be expected that Lady Matlock, who possessed both taste and resources, should host a glittering ball designed to impress with its quiet elegance and luxury. The Matlock wealth was evident in the quality of the food, in the profusion of wax candles about the ballroom, and in the glowing emeralds that graced the neck of the countess .
Society universally acknowledged that there was nothing in the Fitzwilliam family that lacked. They had lineage, fortune, and a grand estate, and not a whisper of scandal could be heard regarding their conduct. Their eldest son, the viscount, had obediently married a young lady of excellent breeding, and to the great satisfaction of his parents, a son had been born towards the end of their first year .
The honourable second son, Colonel Fitzwilliam, was not given to excesses or gambling as many second sons were; indeed, he had made good use of the war on the continent and had acquitted himself bravely enough that with his connections, further promotion was inevitable. It was natural that the colonel was so much sought after — his manners were excellent and more than one debutante had sighed over his military bearing and easy smile. If he had indiscretions, they were not of a vulgar nature, and never a murmur had been heard of his disgracing the family name .
It was hardly to be wondered that the only two refusals for the Matlock ball had been couched in sincere regret that circumstances or ill health forbade attendance. The Countess of Matlock had expected the first denial — the Westons, after all, had suffered a bereavement soon after receiving the gilt-edged invitation, and she was by no means offended that Mrs. Kirk was obliged to retire to their country seat in order to recover her health. Lady Matlock knew herself to be a magnanimous lady and had arranged two bouquets of flowers to be delivered, with her best wishes, to those unfortunate souls who could not attend the society event of the season .
Her nephew arrived punctually, as she expected him to, and she held out her hand in greeting. He kissed it lightly as he bowed over her gloved fingers .
“Darcy, I am pleased you are here so early in the evening. Richard has returned at last. I have no expectation that his valet will send him down to us in good time, but I know that he will be glad of your company nonetheless.”
“I could hardly arrive late to this event, madam, particularly when you have been so kind as to include my sister in making your arrangements.” Darcy paused, and with a rare half-smile said, “My cousin has informed me that the perfection of his appearance is the result of patiently bearing with his valet's efforts.”
Lady Matlock nodded. “That sounds like my son. I consider myself well rewarded for taking pains with my niece. Georgiana is a sweet girl and I have no daughter of my own; therefore I must pass on my knowledge in hosting events to her, even before she is able to attend. You will bring her next year, I trust.”
He shook his head. “Perhaps the year after next, Your Ladyship, when Georgiana turns eighteen.”
Lady Matlock lightly tapped her fan against her hand. “It is well; better to wait, I suppose, given her disposition. It is to be hoped that you will provide her with a sister before then, but I do not mean to press you on that score. I have known you long enough to know that you will be immutable until you are decided in your own mind.”
His eyes were searching the guests that had already arrived. “I know my duty, Aunt, and have no desire to shirk it.”
Lady Matlock, perhaps the wisest of his aunts, said nothing of the waltz she had seen him dance at Mrs. Lambeth's soiree. What an exciting party that had been, she mused. Not only was it the first time she had ever witnessed her nephew looking so possessively at a young woman in his arms, but the same lady's elder sister had left the soiree with a fortune .
Her Ladyship did not overtly watch for her nephew's reaction that evening when Mr. Gardiner, Mrs. Gardiner, and their white silk-clad nieces were announced. She could better understand it if it had been the eldest Miss Bennet who had caught his eye — Jane Bennet was fair and serenely beautiful. Tonight especially there was a glow about her that turned her beauty to ethereal. The younger Miss Elizabeth, she decided, lacked by way of height and she certainly had not been blessed with her sister's perfection of feature. Her eyes, Lady Matlock allowed, were very striking, and unusual in the directness of their gaze when she lifted her head to smile after making her curtsey .
Mrs. Houghton approached the group once they had properly made their way down the receiving line. Cordially extending her hand to Elizabeth and graciously nodding to the others, she drew her young friend apart. “Miss Elizabeth, London suits you. I rather thought that you and your sister would do well, and the events at Mrs. Lambeth's prove me right. It is most gratifying.”
Lizzy laughed. “London likes us very well, Mrs. Houghton, but nothing can replace my fondness for the countryside, you know, and I am to explore a new part of it very soon. I fear I will be bidding you farewell shortly.”
“I am sorry to hear it. I should be glad to receive any letters you write containing your impressions of...of Kent, was it not?”
“Yes, indeed. I should be glad to write to you, Mrs. Houghton, although I suspect you will better enjoy my impressions of the people I meet rather than just the countryside.”
“I see no reason why I may not enjoy both,” Mrs. Houghton replied. “I suppose you are wondering which of your acquaintances have already arrived. Young Eckworth and Mr. Johnson are present, as are Mr. Darcy, Miss Bingley, and Mrs. Hurst — I am sure you will be most interested to encounter them again.”
“Most interested, yes.” Elizabeth's disinterested tone made the corner of Mrs. Houghton's mouth curl upwards. “Mr. Bingley has returned from his trip out of London then?”
There was a knowing gleam in Mrs. Houghton's eye and she glanced at the eldest Miss Bennet. “You are curiously well informed — no, he did not return in time to escort Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst. His sisters are bewailing his mysterious disappearance to almost everyone they meet tonight. I do not suggest that Miss Bingley is enjoying the sympathetic attention it is garnering, naturally.”
Elizabeth laughed again. “Naturally. I wonder if we ought to greet them.”
Mrs. Houghton shook her head. “If you will take an old woman's advice, Miss Elizabeth — far better to let them wander over to you. I should not think it would take more than an hour for them to do so. Mr. Bingley intends to be here tonight?”
“Mrs. Houghton,” replied Lizzy in serious tones, “I shall certainly heed your wisdom. Mr. Bingley has promised himself the pleasure of dancing with my sister this evening, so I daresay he will appear in due course, although it is to be hoped he will remember to change his clothes first.”
A sound, suspiciously like a snort, came from her companion. “This reminds me very much of my late husband — he needed a mother as much as he needed a wife but we rubbed along very well together once he understood the importance of paying due attention to my suggestions. Ah,” she then said, sounding pleased, “I see Mr. Darcy has noted your arrival and is on his way to speak to you. Such a charming pair to see gracing the floor in dance. We matrons could hardly tear our eyes away at Mrs. Lambeth's.”
“I hope, Miss Elizabeth, that you will grant me the pleasure of a dance this evening,” petitioned Mr. Darcy, after making his bows to the two of them .
“Of course she will,” said Mrs. Houghton. “Good of you to ask this time, Mr. Darcy.” Mrs. Houghton waited long enough to observe Mr. Darcy's slight reddening and then added, “but I must mention to your aunt how novel I find her arrangements. Enjoy your dance, Miss Elizabeth.”
Lizzy stared after Mrs. Houghton, her own cheeks pink, and wondered if even Mama had ever embarrassed her half so much. “As you wish, sir,” was the only reply she could think to form, and she held out her card for him to write in.
A soldier resplendent in his dress uniform appeared at Mr. Darcy's shoulder. “Cousin, you must certainly introduce me to this young lady. I know almost nobody here and Mama has managed to invite above four hundred people. A crush — I am sure it is a crush.”
Mr. Darcy carefully and precisely completed the task of writing his name on Elizabeth's card in legible letters before deigning to look up to the man .
“Miss Elizabeth Bennet, may I introduce to your notice my cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam, who recently returned from the continent.”
A bow was swept. “An insufficient introduction, but an introduction nonetheless. All other information I shall enjoy gathering for myself. Darcy, you do not need to stay.”
“I think I will, however,” said Mr. Darcy firmly, his eyes on Elizabeth.
There was an expression of good cheer in the colonel's face and Elizabeth thought he did not seem like a hardened veteran. “You are the reconnaissance sort of soldier, Colonel? I daresay a ballroom is much like an expedition to you then.”
His laughter was deep. “Very like it, Miss Elizabeth. Might I beg a dance? If you have granted my cousin one I shall endeavour to uphold the family honour by being a more enthusiastic partner.”
“Miss Elizabeth might prefer accuracy to your enthusiasm, Fitzwilliam,” returned Mr. Darcy drily .
Lizzy held out her card to Mr. Darcy's cousin. “Take any dance available, sir, but if you indeed lack precision in your steps as Mr. Darcy suggests, perhaps one of the latter dances might be better. It will give my toes time to recover overnight.” In her usual way, she smiled to rob her words of any offence, and the colonel, evidently amused, shook his head sorrowfully. Mr. Darcy said nothing, but his expression was not so austere as usual.
“I am now very much on my mettle — here now, Darcy has stolen a march on me by taking the first so if I might have your second set I should be delighted.” He wrote his name in and handed the card back to her. Lizzy immediately opened it to verify what he had said. She had not expected that Mr. Darcy would claim the first.
She swallowed before offering a smile and a quip. “I thank you, gentlemen. Young ladies are always relieved not to be slighted for the first two dances. In fact, I feel so confident in my popularity now that I shall almost be sorry to leave London for Kent. ”
“Kent!” exclaimed the colonel. “We know that country well; in fact, I had a letter from Kent this morning — odiously dull in the main but there was one particular sliver of amusement to be had. My dear old aunt Catherine, Miss Elizabeth, took four pages to inform me that she is now engaged in a bitter war with a neighbour of hers who lives eight miles away.”
“I am sorry to hear it, sir. I suppose I might observe that a long-distance disagreement is easier to maintain than a near one. Did she give a reason for the feud?”
“Chinese wallpaper, if you please.”
Mr. Darcy produced an unidentifiable noise. “Her Ladyship is displeased, certainly, Fitzwilliam, but let us not make it more dramatic than necessary.”
“Displeased! Darcy, Lady Catherine is in high dudgeon.” He grinned at Elizabeth and spoke in a conspiratorial manner. “I was informed in painstaking detail of the efforts Her Ladyship was making to improve her second-best guestroom at Rosings. The pattern was selected and ordered at great expense, a man was engaged to hang the paper — at well-nigh extortionate cost — and all was completed to my aunt's satisfaction until the day came to show it all off and it transpired that the very same paper had been hung in the lesser salon at Bredon Hall not three weeks before. ”
Mr. Darcy shifted to stand a little nearer Elizabeth and she, conscious of it, caught his eye briefly before turning to his cousin once again. “I am to visit my dear friend in Hunsford, Colonel. Should the opportunity arise, I promise to soothe your aunt by declaring how much more appropriate Chinese wallpaper is to a bedchamber than to a salon. However, I do not imagine I will ever have the opportunity to visit Lady Catherine's home.”
“It is likely that you will visit often, Miss Elizabeth,” said Mr. Darcy, almost absently; then he cleared his throat when Colonel Fitzwilliam's brows rose abruptly. Darcy remarked to Miss Elizabeth that the musicians were striking up, and took her hand to lead her out while suggesting that his cousin ought to find his mother.
“Yes indeed, sir — we had better take our places. I shall look forward to our dance, Colonel.”
She might tell herself that she took little pleasure in dancing with Mr. Darcy, but she was unable to deceive herself that she did not enjoy the expression of horror on Miss Bingley's face a little further down the set when that lady noted both her presence and her partner. Lizzy quickly glanced at Mr. Darcy, but if he had noticed his friend's sister, he gave no indication of anything other than indifference .
As at Netherfield, they remained silent for some minutes before Mr. Darcy spoke. “Do you have a preference for Chinese wallpaper, Miss Elizabeth?”
Her face expressed her surprise. “I do not have sufficient experience of it to be able to declare preference or dislike, Mr. Darcy.” She considered. “I might say that I prefer simplicity as a general rule. You will laugh at me, I daresay. At any rate, it hardly matters — it is Mama's taste in decoration that is mostly displayed at Longbourn.”
“Your sister may wish for your opinion when she marries,” he offered quietly, taking her hand in a firm grasp and drawing her about him in a circle .
She sent him a warning look. “I cannot comment even on the possibility of my sister marrying, Mr. Darcy, until we are informed by Papa that an engagement exists.”
He accepted the rebuke with a nod but smiled. “My friend Bingley has arrived, Miss Elizabeth, and it appears that he is now persuading Miss Bennet to join the dance, even if belatedly.”
“Oh! Jane did not wish to dance the first in case he came — she will be so pleased. I cannot see…does he appear happy, Mr. Darcy? Can you discern anything from his expression?”
“He certainly does not seem to be displeased.” The dance then separated them, and Lizzy tried in vain to see Jane and Mr. Bingley at the end of the set. She happened to catch the eye of Miss Bingley, who was looking in their direction rather than at her partner. Elizabeth smiled widely and turned back to Mr. Darcy .
“ Miss Bingley appears to be displeased,” she murmured, as they raised their joined hands and turned together .
Mr. Darcy did not take his eyes from Elizabeth's to verify this. “When do you mean to travel to Kent?” he asked her .
She accepted the change of subject. “Next week, I believe. I am awaiting a reply to my last letter from Charlotte.”
“Miss Lucas as was?”
“Yes, Mr. Collins was so fortunate as to secure her hand. They wed after a brief engagement and are even now settling into married life.”
“You will enjoy Kent.”
“That remains to be seen. I shall like to see my friend again. I had thought to return to Hertfordshire with her there and unchanged, but she is now a married woman.”
“You were surprised that she married?”
“I ought not have been, but yes — I was surprised.”
“Yet many people would expect a young woman such as your friend to wed and the same might be said of you.”
Elizabeth shook her head quickly. “I think I should be even more surprised by my own wedding than by Charlotte's. Enough has changed for us Bennets for now, I think. We must have no more surprises or Papa will scold me.”
“But not your mother.”
It was remarkable how swiftly Mr. Darcy could go from being an almost pleasant dance partner to an annoyance of the first stare .
“Not many mothers would scold their daughters for being wed, Mr. Darcy.” Elizabeth's tone was defensive, “but I do not mean to argue with you tonight — I will resist any provocation you offer, sir, and we will end the dance on good terms. Ah — I finally see Mr. Bingley. He does indeed look content. I will draw my own conclusions from that.”
“You have concluded that your father gave his consent. Did you doubt that he would?” He spoke gently but sounded a little amused at her expense.
“My declaration that I would resist provocation, sir, was not an invitation to provide more. Naturally, I wondered if Papa would hold your friend to account for my sister's abandonment in November — would you not do the same for your own daughter in the future?”
A peculiar expression flitted across his face, but he was prevented from replying by the movement of the dance which at that moment parted them. By the time he took her hand again, he had mastered himself.
“Perhaps Bingley will carry a letter for you from your father.”
“I doubt it — Papa prefers to receive letters rather than to write them. Mary or Kitty may write, I suppose, but whether or not they will do so before I visit Hunsford remains to be seen. It is a pity I said that I would go — I should have liked to stay with Jane, especially now.”
“I see you are a devoted sister and friend, Miss Elizabeth. ”
She was surprised by his gallantry and looked enquiringly up at him as she moved nearer and then away again .
“I mean,” he clarified, “that you wish to be a support to Miss Bennet but you will keep your word to your friend nonetheless.”
She said nothing to that and he, being content to look at her, made no attempt to make conversation. They finished their dance in silence .
The colonel was a very different partner than his cousin. He was a lively man and evidently set out to put his partner at her ease. He had, it seemed, decided within the last half an hour that Miss Elizabeth must needs hear high praise of Mr. Darcy, regardless of whether or not she wished to hear it. Mr. Darcy's good qualities and principles were extolled, his virtues expounded upon, and by the time they were halfway down the set, Elizabeth was wishful that the musicians might play a little faster so that she could find Jane. She answered Colonel Fitzwilliam with distracted smiles and the occasional neutral remark, but in truth, her mind was elsewhere.
“Darcy does not permit harm to come to his friends, you know. He is a fine fellow.”
Something about that expression gave Elizabeth pause, and she frowned, attempting to decide why it sounded familiar .
“Indeed, Colonel.”
“He recently saved one of his friends from making a most imprudent marriage, you know, He went to a good deal of trouble to do it, too. His sister says there is not a man in the world she would prefer to care for her. ”
Lizzy, her attention now caught, stared at the colonel. “Did Mr. Darcy assist his friend recently?”
“Certainly, it was only at the end of this last year. I was abroad at the time.”
“Mr. Bingley must have been very grateful to Mr. Darcy,” Elizabeth remarked, carefully keeping her eyes lowered.
Mild consternation was evident on the colonel's face. “I do not recall having mentioned it being Mr. Bingley, Miss Elizabeth. I wonder if perhaps I did not hear…”
The dance ended and Lizzy made her curtsey briefly. She was not surprised, of course; she had long suspected Mr. Darcy of having a hand in Jane's misery — it was only that to hear he had boasted to his precious cousin that disappointed her so .
“Observe Mr. Bingley now, if you will, sir.” It was almost impossible to keep the anger from her voice. It was not the colonel's fault, after all, that his cousin had broken Jane's heart.
“Yes, he has just finished a dance with the white ghost and is leading her across to her chaperone. ”
Elizabeth hoped this man was not much responsible for the defence of the nation. “The white ghost is my sister. The chaperone is my aunt.”
Miss Bingley, who had approached Elizabeth from behind as soon as the music ended, gasped audibly. Elizabeth turned slowly to face her. The colonel bowed, happily lost for words.
“Is it true?” Caroline Bingley demanded, she sounded aghast and almost choked out her next words. “The card games, the fortune — the white silk?”
Elizabeth looked steadily at her and inclined her head .
“I am all astonishment, Miss Eliza. Indeed, I hardly believe my own eyes!”
“That, Miss Bingley, is one of the happy effects of ghosthood. Do accept our gratitude for the assistance you lent us in beginning our adventure.” Lizzy paused, allowing that shaft to sink in before continuing, “I daresay your help was what led to such a drastic change in fortune for us, you know. Now, if you will excuse me — it seems that Jane and Mr. Bingley are beckoning me. I wonder what it can be that they are so eager to impart. Colonel, thank you for the dance, sir — would you be so good as to escort me to my sister? ”