Chapter 2
The assembly room was not very large and on this evening, packed to capacity. However, Lady Anne saw nothing out of the ordinary and immediately felt comfortable amongst the local gentry.
The room had obviously been neglected for goodness knows how long as both the curtains and wallpaper seemed in sore need of replacing, being both quite faded.
The wallpaper had fared better than the curtains since some well-meaning soul had attempted to improve their looks by tying them back with brand new red ribbons, which made the old faded crimson colour, seem more obvious by contrast.
The parquet floor had been chalked for safety, to prevent accidents and injuries as customary when the order of the day was dancing.
The room was naturally divided into two groups: on one side all the matrons sat in earnest conversation while some fathers mingled nearby watching their sons and daughters.
On the other side the young people conglomerated with lots of laugher and animated conversation, while the musicians fine-tuned their instruments for the first set.
Miss Bingley immediately latched onto Darcy’s arm and twisted her nose as if she could smell the odour of poverty and low connections.
“Mr Darcy, I can only offer you my sincere apologies for my brother’s insistence on exposing you and your family to this appalling assembly.”
Darcy gently lifted her hand from his arm, “Do not concern yourself, Miss Bingley” he said sarcastically, “I daresay we will survive.”
However, no matter what part of the room he took himself to he could not shake the woman off, so he decided the sooner he danced with her, the sooner she would leave him alone.
As he led her to the dance floor he saw his sister and Bingley already there ready to start.
Georgiana sported the smile of a child on Christmas Day.
Her innocent happiness was so evident that he swallowed his dissatisfaction for her sake and decided to at least try to enjoy himself.
But it was not easy... Six years to the day...
Darcy imagined his mother had not forgotten but simply decided not to mention it or to dwell in sadness. There was no denying that his father’s memory lived long and strong in both of them, but in Georgiana it had been fading.
He could not condemn her. She was a child of nine years when their father passed and now she was a young lady on the cusp of womanhood with all its fascination and pitfalls.
However, he must step out of this despondency and focus.
He sighed...
The first set seemed to last forever with Miss Bingley’s possessive demeanour, while Darcy’s decision to try to enjoy himself was truly tested.
But finally it came to an end and he was allowed to return Miss Bingley to their party.
He next kept his promise to his sister and led her to the dance floor, which made her eyes twinkle with delight, making him grin back at her.
However, when their dance was over, Miss Bingley approached him again and did not desist, continuing to follow him and attach herself to his arm possessively while his mood darkened. He removed himself to the card room at the rear end of the building to attempt a short reprieve from the woman.
Miss Bingley could not very well follow Mr Darcy into a room reserved exclusively for the gentlemen, where cigars, cards, and political discourse were expected to occupy the remainder of the evening.
Left amongst the ladies, she was soon discomposed to overhear several of the local young women remarking upon Mr Darcy’s striking appearance and distinguished air.
Determined to extinguish any hopes before they had the opportunity to flourish, she addressed them with an air of effortless superiority.
“You must understand,” said she, “that Mr Darcy is one of the greatest landowners in the kingdom. His estate of Pemberley in Derbyshire alone yields an income of ten thousand pounds a year, exclusive of several other considerable properties in his possession. Such a gentleman cannot be expected to form an ordinary alliance. It is universally understood that he will marry exceedingly well; if not the daughter of a peer, then certainly a lady possessed of a fortune equal to his consequence.”
Questions started to flow about the wealthy man; inquiries which Miss Bingley was more than happy to answer, herself exaggerating his worth and hinting that there was an understanding between them, thereby subtly discouraging other young ladies from approaching him.
She made the most of her time by staying away from Lady Anne, whom she noticed was busy talking to and befriending the local matrons.
And so her ladyship did not notice how busy Miss Bingley was, the pretender spreading her net of deceit and furthering her underhand machinations to win the lady’s desirable son.
When Darcy finally returned to the ballroom a few sets later the first thing he heard was whispers of his wealth, rumours that seemed to have taken the room by storm.
All seemed to gawk at him with undisguised awe, although no one dared to approach him, which pleased but also baffled him at the same time.
Unfortunately, the whispers about his fortune turned an already sour disposition into a simmering anger, and he skirted the ballroom scowling at all and sundry.
Bingley, who stood out in every respect as the contrast to his friend, suffered not a single dance to pass without securing a partner, though it was evident he reserved a decided preference for one of the local beauties, a Miss Bennet.
Darcy observed it all with a degree of chagrin, noting how readily Bingley’s attention fixed itself upon the tall, fair young lady, a goddess whose smiles were bestowed with such liberality that his friend could not take his eyes off her.
He could not claim surprise at his friend’s partiality; she answered, in every particular, to that notion of angelic perfection which never failed to engage Bingley’s affections, raising them, for a time, to the liveliest pitch before yielding as ever to some newer admiration.
Bingley was not a rake, Darcy sighed, but there was no denying that the young man constantly fell deeply in and out of love, with no intention of marrying. He simply did not understand that the lady’s heart was often left broken in the process.
As Darcy mused darkly, Bingley accosted and challenged him, “Darcy, for goodness’ sake, you must stop standing here in such a stupid manner. You must dance.”
Darcy turned angrily to his friend, “What do you care if I dance or not?”
“I do care because I am your friend, you must dance.”
“I have already danced, twice in fact.”
“Yes, with Caroline and Georgiana. Those dances do not count.”
“And why is that? I have made no promises to dance with every single lady in attendance… and besides you are dancing with the only handsome woman in the room.” He smirked, “which is not really a surprise.”
Bingley smiled, “Darcy, she is an angel, simply the most beautiful woman I have ever beheld.”
“I seem to have heard that before.” Darcy retorted cynically.
“But this time it is true.” He turned and looked dreamily at the young woman, who was dancing with a man whom, though he appeared old enough to be her grandfather, did not cause her to lose her kind and charming smile.
Darcy snorted inelegantly, “In that case, return to her then, why are you wasting your time bothering me?”
“Because, you idiot, I care about you although only God knows why, and I wish to see you having a little fun for a change.” He looked around him and then he spotted Elizabeth, “I have never seen so many pleasant young ladies in one place before. Look,” he discreetly pointed to the young woman sitting behind them, “she is one of the Bennet sisters and a very pretty one. Would you like me to introduce you? I have already met her.”
“Which one?” Darcy turned and at that moment the young lady looked at them and smiled as if to say, ‘I am here and I can hear you’.
Darcy harrumphed, “She is tolerable, I suppose, but not handsome enough to tempt me.”
Bingley gasped, “Darcy, for goodness’s sake, the lady will hear you.”
“Good, I hope she does for it is the truth… I will not give consequence to young ladies slighted by other men, Bingley. Please go away.”
“Darcy!”
“Really Bingley,” Darcy snapped, “I do not care, go back to your pretty angel please, and leave me alone.”
Bingley looked less than pleased but left his friend alone as he had demanded.