Chapter Thirty
On Tuesday morning, I woke up before sunrise and dressed, but just as I was about to sneak out of my room to go to Maggie’s, I heard servants’ voices in the corridor outside.
I waited for the coast to be clear, but the house seemed to be alive early, and I soon realized why.
Today was the day of the Netherfield Ball, the chapter in Pride and Prejudice where Darcy and Elizabeth dance for the first time, before her family embarrasses her with their crass behavior.
It meant the house would be busy all day, so there was no way I could risk leaving my room when there were so many people around.
As the day progressed, I could sense the excitement levels growing.
Extra servants had been brought in to polish the silver and arrange the rooms, and from the smells wafting up from the kitchen, the chefs were preparing a feast. From what I could pick up from hearing scraps of conversation in the corridor outside my room, Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst were not looking forward to the event, but Mr. Bingley was determined to throw the best ball Hertfordshire had ever seen in his effort to impress Jane.
I’d always thought his character was a bit of a sap, but it turned out I’d underestimated him: The man was a true romantic.
Eventually, the sun began to set and I heard the first carriages arrive outside.
From downstairs, I could hear the musicians start up and the chatter of voices, and I tried to visualize what it must look like, with everyone in their finery and the ballroom decorated with fresh flowers.
From my window, I watched the guests arriving, and I saw the Bennets’ carriage pull up, with Elizabeth looking gorgeous in an ivory silk dress.
I pictured her going into the drawing room looking for Mr. Wickham and then dancing with Mr. Collins and an unnamed officer, before the big moment of her dance with Darcy.
Just as I was imagining the two of them together on the dance floor, I saw a flash of red hair out the window, and I looked down to see Maggie walking into the house wearing a long cloak over what was obviously a ball gown.
What was she doing here? She’d specifically told me we had to keep out the way of the plot, and yet here she was, swanning around one of the most important scenes as if she were a guest herself.
But hang on—what if Maggie wasn’t here for the ball?
What if she’d worked out how to get us both home?
If that was the case, then I needed to go and find her now; but I could hardly go downstairs in the simple dress Elizabeth had lent me, as I’d stick out like a sore thumb.
No, I’d have to find a ball gown so I’d blend in with the crowd while I looked for Maggie.
And so it was that a little after eight o’clock, I made my way down the grand staircase, wearing a dark-blue silk ball gown that I borrowed from Miss Bingley’s wardrobe.
It was gorgeous but even tighter than Elizabeth’s dress, meaning my breasts were squeezed up in a frankly indecent way, but there wasn’t much I could do about it.
There was no sign of Maggie in the drawing room or in the library, which had been set up for card games.
I moved on to the ballroom, which looked incredible lit by the huge overhead candelabras and was packed with dancers and spectators.
This was dangerous territory, as I knew that most of the main characters from the novel would be in here, but it must also be where Maggie was.
I edged around the outskirts of the crowd, keeping my head down apart from furtive looks to try to spot her.
Finally, I saw Maggie at the far side of the ballroom, standing in a corner, watching the dancers. I hastened my pace to reach her when…
“Miss Knight?”
I ground to a halt. Elizabeth was standing in front of me with a serious-looking woman in a plum-colored dress.
“This is my friend, Miss Lucas,” Elizabeth said. “And this is Miss Knight, a guest here at Netherfield.”
“A pleasure to meet you,” Charlotte Lucas said. “Are you an acquaintance of Mr. Bingley’s sisters?”
“Eh, s-sort of,” I stammered. Over her shoulder, I could see Maggie staring at me, her face twisted in horror at the sight of me talking to Elizabeth.
“It is a most charming ball, is it not?” Charlotte said.
“Yes, lovely. Now, if you’ll excuse me I have to—”
“Oh, here comes Mr. Darcy.”
My heart dropped. I glanced up to see Darcy crossing the room purposefully on his way to our trio. Shit! I quickly turned away, hoping he hadn’t noticed me.
“Miss Bennet, Miss Lucas,” he said formally. “Miss Knight.”
Argh, he had noticed me. This wasn’t good at all; Darcy was meant to be forgetting about me, not talking to me. I turned to walk away.
“Would you do me the honor of joining me for the next dance?” I heard Darcy say to Elizabeth, and I breathed a small sigh of relief.
If he was asking her to dance, that must mean he was still interested in her, so hopefully the story was still on course.
I took a step away from them, and then I heard Darcy speak again.
“Miss Knight?”
I froze. Was Darcy asking me to dance, not Elizabeth? I remembered what Maggie had said about how Jane Austen built up their relationship through each small interaction, and this was a key one. I had to make sure they danced together.
I turned around to see all three characters looking at me.
“Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Darcy, but I’ve hurt my foot.” I mimed a rather pathetic limp. “Why don’t you dance with Miss Bennet instead?”
“It is quite all right, I do not need Mr. Darcy’s charity,” Elizabeth said tightly. “Charlotte, I find myself thirsty. Will you join me in the drawing room?”
“Of course. Mr. Darcy, Miss Knight.” Charlotte gave a quick curtsy to us both and then hurried off after Elizabeth, leaving me alone with Darcy.
“Miss Knight, I had been hoping to find you here this evening,” Darcy said, taking a step toward me. “I have found myself most unsettled this week, for I had been certain we were not acquainted, and yet I have been lately troubled by the strangest recollections.”
“Oh?” I said helplessly.
He lowered his voice. “I had been hoping you might be able to offer me some clarity on where and when we previously met. I cannot recall the specifics, yet I catch myself imagining the most unlikely inventions: horseless carriages and moving images, and an underground traveling abomination from Dante’s Inferno.
And in all these hallucinations, who should I find present, Miss Knight, but you. ”
Oh no, no, no, this was really bad. Darcy shouldn’t remember any of this!
“I think you’ve been having nightmares, Mr. Darcy. Maybe you should cut back on the cheese?”
“Yet many of these visions are during waking hours,” he said. “This morning, for example, I was breaking my fast and suddenly found myself craving some cocoa on my bread, a dish I am quite certain I have never eaten before.”
“Well, I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s definitely not connected to me,” I said. “I was mistaken when I thought we’d met before; we’re total strangers. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go, and I think you should ask Elizabeth Bennet to dance.”
Darcy scowled. “I have no desire of dancing with Miss Bennet. Please, Miss Knight, you must explain to me how it is we are acquainted.”
I could feel myself getting hot. This was all wrong!
Not only was Darcy supposed to dance with Elizabeth right now, but when I looked over his shoulder, I saw Bingley was talking intently to Kitty Bennet, while Jane was on the other side of the room with an officer.
The threads of the story were starting to unravel, just like Maggie had predicted they might.
My dress suddenly felt unbearably tight, and I had the horrible sensation that if I didn’t get some fresh air soon, then I might faint like an actual Regency damsel in distress.
I turned from Darcy and began to push my way through the ballroom toward the exit.
It was packed with people now, and my progress was slow.
I needed to get out of here and away from Darcy, but everywhere I turned, I found my path blocked by dancers.
To my right, I saw Elizabeth laughing with Mr. Collins and felt another wave of vertigo.
No, she couldn’t start being attracted to him!
And why was Bingley now dancing with Kitty and—my God, was Jane’s officer talking to Mr. Bennet?
I felt myself sway, and as I stumbled, a strong hand reached out and grabbed my wrist to keep me from falling. I went to snatch my arm back, but then I looked up at the man holding it, and in that instant, the whole ballroom froze.
Standing over me, his sparkling, icy-blue eyes on mine, was Nick.