Chapter Fourteen
There was to be a musicale the next evening, which marked the end of the first week at Richmond Cove.
It was Lady Rosamund’s idea, and she was vastly proud of herself for devising a means of allowing all the young ladies to show themselves to advantage.
There was only one small problem – neither Jane nor her new friend Harriet were musically inclined.
Jane was not surprised that Elizabeth spent the entire day taking up their cause.
She rallied Jane and Harriet immediately after they were finished with their morning repast, and even enlisted Anne to help, too.
The four young women spent hours in the music room together, trying to discover what Jane and Harriet’s talent might be.
They had not yet discovered any hidden genius when they were interrupted by Miss Elliot and Lady Julia Bixler, who had come to practice – or as Elizabeth muttered under her breath, to inflict their proficiency upon their rivals. They fled the room directly.
Jane did not share her sister’s annoyance. “Come, Lizzy – Harriet and I sang well enough together when you played Rosemary Lane.”
“You did,” Anne agreed. “Besides, any gentleman whose opinion of you could be altered by something so trifling is hardly worth impressing.”
Harriet gasped. “Surely it must be! I imagine it is very dull to be a man – to find a lively and talented wife must be his only consolation.”
Lord Bixler and Mr. Willoughby passed them in the corridor, and the latter grinned while the viscount looked exceedingly affronted.
Elizabeth screwed up her face when the two gentlemen entered the music room.
“Especially one of those two! One has an unbearable quantity of scruples, and the other none at all.”
Anne nodded thoughtfully. “Colonel Brandon says that Mr. Willoughby is not to be trusted – that he has behaved very badly toward ladies of his acquaintance in the past.”
Harriet nodded her agreement. “My godmother says he likes the fairer sex more than any respectable gentleman ought to.”
“And the viscount has found none of us up to his standards but Miss Elliot, which is a far more insidious offense, I am sure,” Elizabeth said, giving her friend a wink and a nudge.
Jane knew better than to question Elizabeth’s odd humor.
She had been out of sorts often since their arrival at Richmond Cove, and Jane was already reasonably sure she knew why.
Elizabeth harbored feelings for Mr. Darcy, and when she became sensible of it herself, they were all in for a raging tempest.
Already Elizabeth’s patience was frayed; Anne’s relations, the Bingleys, and the Bixlers had received more than their fair share of barbs from her, though on the subject that had once been her favorite complaint, Elizabeth was now silent.
But it was her determination not to speak of Mr. Darcy, not even to notice him, which revealed to Jane how much of Elizabeth’s attention he must occupy.
To Jane’s relief, her own feelings were much simpler.
She was too content in furthering her acquaintance with Frederick to feel much of anything about Mr. Bingley.
She was certainly not inclined to exert herself to pretend he was not amongst them, and neither did she care if she did not display herself to advantage in his presence.
She and Harriet sang tolerably well that evening, and Jane enjoyed herself tremendously.
Frederick was as full of praise for her performance, and so were Mrs. Croft and Mrs. Gardiner.
Indeed, the whole evening was just what Jane wanted.
She was perfectly content to have made new friends and found a charming beau, and after all her sorrow in London, she found that little could distress or vex her now.
Not the hauteur of three of the ladies present, not the way Mr. Bingley stared at her but laughed and made merry with Lady Rebecca, not even Elizabeth’s erratic behavior.
Well, perhaps her sister did give her a little concern.
Jane’s equanimity was hard-won, and she had only just returned to her natural state of serenity; after being driven to the edge of madness herself as she had struggled to recover in London, Jane could not like to see her sister now flirting with insanity.
There was nothing overtly amiss with Elizabeth’s liveliness, but Jane knew her well enough to see that something was off kilter behind the too-bright smiles and too-sharp jests.
It was only when Elizabeth fixed her wide-eyed, almost maniacal gaze upon Frederick across the room that Jane began to really worry.
Through a forced smile, Elizabeth said, “I cannot like how your beau behaved during our game last evening.”
Jane shook her head with a gentle, teasing smile. “Lizzy, you are hardly one to criticize! You had me entirely convinced of your innocence and Anne’s for hours!”
“My only other option was to eliminate you from the game entirely – would you have preferred that?”
“No.” Jane blushed as she thought of the happy hours she had spent with Frederick.
Ostensibly searching for the talismans of protection – the coins hidden in the common rooms – they had shared private laughs and secret, stolen touches, even holding hands as the evening progressed.
It had been so delightful that she was not at all cross about Elizabeth’s deceit, which she really could not help, having been selected as a phantom.
“He was only doing as the game required, trying to find a phantom – his accusations were correct, after all.”
Elizabeth let out a huff of indignation. “I am quite sure Mr. Darcy knew I was a phantom, but he did not make such a scene! Jane, is it not odd that your dashing captain bears more resentment after eight years than Mr. Darcy has shown after merely a month?”
“You never encouraged him, you never went back on your word – and your family was never cruel to him, though I suppose Mamma was not exactly polite…. Even so, Frederick – Captain Wentworth – has some right to be angry with Miss Elliot’s sister and father.”
“What? With… Miss Elliot….” Whatever reply Elizabeth intended to make died on her lips as Colonel Brandon approached them.
He gave a civil bow and beamed at Elizabeth.
“You acquit yourself very well, not only at the instrument, but in bolstering the confidence of your fellow performers, I believe, Miss Elizabeth. And you, Miss Bennet, have a delightful voice – but I daresay your sister’s praise must mean more than my own. ”
It was true that Elizabeth had done wonders to encourage Jane, who had never been easy performing to those whom she knew would outshine her, as the three haughtiest ladies amongst them had done.
Elizabeth, however, was unaffected by the colonel’s insightful praise.
She turned the subject to Anne, then swiftly excused herself.
The colonel looked quizzically at Jane. “Is your sister unwell this evening? She appears strangely agitated. I hope I have not offended her.”
“You have done nothing of the kind, sir. I believe nobody is quite as adept at vexing her as she is. But I am sure she will laugh herself out of her ill humor ere long.” Jane gave the colonel a tight smile, her words wishful thinking.
“I understand you perfectly. Thanks to our hostesses, whose mischief I have been familiar with for many years, there are likely several amongst us who are uncomfortable in the presence of certain other guests.”
“Yes, I believe you are right.”
Jane glanced over at her sister, who was staring daggers at Frederick as she spoke with Anne.
It was disconcerting, for Jane was glad of the friendship her sister had found with the gentle, obliging creature.
She could not reconcile Anne’s timid, even sorrowful disposition with the spiteful creature who had once thought Frederick beneath her sister’s notice.
Jane knew not what else to say to the colonel, but she was even more uncomfortable when Mr. Willoughby approached her. “Miss Bennet, I must entreat you to come and sing with me.”
“Willoughby, you wicked man,” Lady Blanche laughed. “You cannot deprive my dear friend the colonel of such a charming companion. I am sure there are other ladies who would oblige you – Miss Elliot or Lady Julia, perhaps.”
“They have each sung twice already, and it would be most ungentlemanly of me to strain their voices.”
Lady Blanche swatted at him. “Your commitment to such gallantry amazes me.”
Mr. Willoughby smiled boldly at the colonel, who had already warned many of their party that the younger fellow was not to be trusted.
“If I may not depend upon you to vouch for my honor, Colonel, you must at least attest to my fondness for music – I am sure it equals your own admiration. Some might even say my passion for it quite surpasses your own. Come, Miss Bennet, I know you will not disappoint me.”
Jane could only let him lead her away, for she had no wish to make any further spectacle by refusing.
As he led her to the pianoforte, Mr. Willoughby leaned close to whisper to her.
“I thank you heartily for indulging me, Miss Bennet. I can never bear to see a beautiful young lady subjected to that tedious old bore, the colonel. Indeed, such a rare beauty as yourself deserves to be flirted with, and ought to be put forward for the whole room to admire. Here, stand beside me while I attack the instrument.”
Mr. Willoughby swept into a flourishing bow before addressing the other guests.
“I am a poor player, for I learnt only a few songs recently in London, wooing a young lady who broke my heart – and so I must beg you all to take mercy on my playing – Miss Bennet’s lovely voice must be some recompense. ”