“Yes, they are doing much better now, so I hear. That’s what this ball is to represent, their return to society.”
“I feel out of place,” Elizabeth giggled, “as though only the elite and the blessed should be here.”
Jane joined her in giggling. “That is all right. We belong as one of the blessed. Let us enjoy ourselves while we can. I suppose we do not know what will happen next, do we?”
“No, you do not.”
The two women both looked over their shoulders at the man who had spoken from behind them. Elizabeth’s face lit up, seeing Darcy standing there smiling at them.
“You ladies look absolutely stunning this evening.”
“Why, thank you, Mr. Darcy.” Jane lowered herself into a small curtsy. “And you are looking dashing tonight.”
“Thank you, Miss Bennet.”
“Oh, I do think I see a friend over there I must greet,” Jane pretended to spot someone on the other side of the room. She lifted one hand and turned to look at Elizabeth. “I will see you in a few minutes, dear. You two have fun.” She crossed the room without looking back.
Darcy looked down at Elizabeth. “Do you think she suspects we are…attracted to one another?”
Elizabeth could not help but laugh. “She is my sister. She knows exactly how I feel.”
“I hope that is in my favor.”
Her eyes twinkled in the light of the torches around the room when she looked up at him. His face softened and she could see his feelings in his eyes. It made her stomach tighten and her heart beat quicken.
“It is, Mr. Darcy. It is.”
“Good.” He nodded. “Shall we speak of the orphanage for a moment?”
Elizabeth’s ears perked up. “What do you have to tell me?”
“I have spoken to an orphanage in London that I believe we should help out. It is a great cause and will give your family’s name a good reputation there.”
“London is such a big place. I had thought you would chose the one in Meryton. Isn’t there somewhere in a smaller village closer to our home that would need the help more?”
Darcy shook his head. “It is precisely because London is so big that this orphanage needs the help. In smaller villages and in Meryton, the people in the community tend to bond together to make sure the children are looked after and cared for if they become orphaned. In London, there are so many children, it is inconceivable that the people of London would absorb the cost. Or that they could if asked. This orphanage needs outside assistance.”
“You make a very good point, Darcy. What is it that you wish for me to tell my father?”
“We would need his generous spirit in getting this going. I would be remiss if I did not ask him to partner with me on this venture.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “I do not know anything about it.”
“I will tell you what to do.” Darcy lifted her arm and pulled up her dance card, which hung by a ribbon around her wrist. He quickly added his name to the top for the first dance and then boldly added his name to the last dance.
She bit her lip to keep from smiling.
“The first thing will be on my part.” He looked up at her. “I will draw up some papers outlining this proposal. Then I will send them to him. If he does not respond positively, I will ask you to intervene.”
“This is not going to cause a scandal in any way, is it?” She could not help asking. It was a question that weighed on her mind.
He frowned. “Do you still not trust me? After all we have said to each other?”
“It is not that, Mr. Darcy. It is for my own personal reassurance.”
Darcy shook his head. “You would not need reassurance if you trusted me. I am disappointed, Miss Bennet. I thought this was the beginning of something special.”
“Please do not take it that way, Mr. Darcy. I… I did not mean to upset you.”
Darcy was quiet for a moment. “I am not a swindler nor a scoundrel, Miss Bennet. Please do not believe the lies you are told about me. It hurts me that you would entertain the thought that I would do anything to hurt your family.”
“I am sorry,” Elizabeth did not know what to say. She did not want to believe that Darcy was like his ancestors. She did not want to think that he was another in a long line of hoaxers.
They said nothing more to each other until the music began and Darcy placed his hand on the small of her back. His touch sent a tingle through her thighs. She gave in to his prompt and moved toward the dance floor. Halfway through the dance, they were conversing as though nothing had been said to upset either one of them.
She was out of breath at the end of the dance, but continued on to the next with a different partner. During the dance, she was obliged to change partners and ended up dancing with Darcy again. She understood that evening why Darcy said he did not like seeing her dance with other men. She felt exactly the same way when she saw another woman in his arms.
Chapter 21
When they returned to Longbourn after the ball, they all gathered in the parlor, where their mother and father already were. The Bennets smiled at their daughters, listening to their chatter.
“Mother, why did you leave early? You did not see all the handsome men I danced with!” Kitty said, excitedly, falling to sit on the floor at her mother’s feet.
Mrs. Bennet grinned down at her daughter.
“I was not feeling well, my dear. But I did not leave until I knew you had full dance cards, and I knew your aunt would keep a good eye upon you.”
“Mostly full,” Lydia chimed in. “There were some gentlemen there that I avoided so that I would not have to dance with them. Even if my card was not full at the end of the evening! I do not mind sitting out a dance or two, if it means I can choose my dance partner for myself.”
“You should not waste an opportunity to meet people, Lydia,” Mary said. “They all have friends, you know. And relatives. You cannot meet the one you will marry if you hide out.”
Lydia sniffed and raised her nose. “I would hardly call avoiding particular men ‘hiding out’, Mary. I simply chose whom I wanted to dance with and whom I did not. That is all.”
“Did you enjoy yourself, Lizzie?” Mr. Bennet took a seat next to his daughter.
She smiled at him. “I did, I really did.”
“Did you meet any fine young gentleman?”
Elizabeth thought about it for a moment. Her father seemed to be on a fishing expedition. He wanted to know something. She felt a pang of worry that it was going to come out about her budding relationship with Darcy. If he had already heard something, it may not have been anything good.
“I did not meet anyone new, Papa.”
“I heard that you danced two dances with Mr. Darcy. Is that true?” He kept his voice low so that the chattering women around him would not hear their conversation.
She looked at him and nodded. “It is true. Papa, you are aware that I met Mr. Darcy when Jane and I stayed at Netherfield, are you not? I became acquainted with him at that time.”
“He seems to have taken a liking to you.”
“It would seem so.” Elizabeth did not know what else to say. She did not want to deny that Mr. Darcy had become a good friend to her. Or that she hoped those feelings would grow. “I am sorry this bothers you, Papa. We have become friends, I would say.”
“You must be careful about the people you befriend, Liz. You should know this by now. We have talked about that family and…”
“Mr. Darcy did not cause us any trouble, Papa. It was so long ago! It needs to be put to rest. There are many good things about him and his family you do not know. His sister is a delight, did you know that, Papa? She is a wonderful girl that I had the pleasure of meeting the first night I went to Netherfield. Neither she nor her brother deserve the reputation they have with our family. Why, you can ask anyone in town…”
“You are protesting rather strongly on his behalf, Liz,” Mr. Bennet stood up. “Perhaps we should take this discussion to the study.”
Guilt swept over her as she stood up. She did not wish to hurt her father, but she would not stand for listening to him gripe about a man he had never met. What someone’s great-great-grandfather might have done shouldn’t be their load to bear.
She followed him through the parlor doors and down the hall to the study. They went inside without speaking. He went to the window and pulled his pipe from his pocket. “Come here, Liz. I want you to look at something.”
She moved to stand by his side.
“It’s beautiful out here, is not it, dear?” he said.
“Yes, Papa, it is.”
“We do not want it taken from us, do we?”
Elizabeth thought about Mr. Collins and the threat he posed to their family. She did not say anything. She knew where her father was going.
“There is nothing that can be proven that says we would not be here whether or not this feud with the Darcy family took place, Papa,” she said, gently. “We must not judge people for who their ancestors are but for who they are. You must give Mr. Darcy a chance.”
“I have met with the man and have talked to Mr. Bingley, as well.”
Elizabeth perked up some. “Then you must see that they are not the scoundrels you think they are. Surely you see that.”
Her father looked at her with a grim look. “I do not see what you see, my dear. I look at these men from a personal perspective and I must say I am not sure I like what I see.”
“Have you heard any complaints from anyone else Mr. Darcy has done business with?” Elizabeth asked. “I would not believe it to be so.”
Mr. Bennet did not say anything at first. He stood holding his pipe and looking out the window. He hadn’t even lit it. As far back as Elizabeth could remember, he had never lit the pipe. Not in her presence, anyway. And he never smelled of tobacco smoke or herbs.
“I cannot honestly say that I have heard anything negative about Mr. Darcy,” he finally replied, “but I do not want to be the first. If he was to swindle anyone, it would be our family. And we cannot afford for that to happen, can we? We are not that wealthy.”
“Have you stopped to think that we might benefit from associating with him, Papa?” Elizabeth asked.
He turned to glare at her. “What do you mean? What benefit could there be to such a situation?”
“He is a shrewd man. He could be an asset to our family.”
“You must be daft.” Mr. Bennet immediately looked sorry. He frowned. “My dear, I apologize. I am in a foul mood.”
“It is all right, Papa. Do not be upset. Everything will be all right. It will work itself out. Whatever problems there are, they can be worked out.”
Her father shook his head. “Sometimes it does not, my dear. And that’s when tragedy strikes.”
Elizabeth knew her father was thinking about both Mr. Collins and Mr. Darcy. She had to assume he did not know which direction would cause more tragedy for the Bennet family.
“Papa, when we were at Netherfield, the Bingleys and Mr. Darcy were nothing but cordial to us. They treated us with respect and never once behaved in a way that I would believe was caused by this family feud. I do not believe that it means as much to them as it does to you. Or so it would seem. I would not have expected such stubbornness from you.”
Mr. Bennet laughed. “You acquired my stubborn streak, young lady. You have become quite an advocate of Mr. Darcy.”
“Do you trust my judgment, Papa?” Elizabeth asked, pushing one small hand through the crook of his elbow.
He looked over at her, sighing. “I would like to, my dear. In all my years of dealing with men, I have never come upon anyone who can convince me more than you do. However, I have yet to see any evidence that Mr. Darcy is any different from his ancestors.”
Elizabeth pressed her lips together, stifling a sigh. “Have you seen any evidence that he is like his ancestors? You have already stated you have heard nothing negative from others he has associated with.”
“You are right about that. I must insist, though, that you limit your time with Mr. Darcy. Do not give him any false hope.”
“What do you mean?”
“There are other arrangements in the works that may affect you. You do not need to know the details yet. Just know that you must keep yourself at a safe distance until I can sort through these details. I want to be able to assess him for myself.”
“Papa, I must protest. I enjoy spending time with him. I do not want to limit that.”
“I must insist on it, my dear.”
“Mr. Darcy is a wealthy man, Papa, have you forgotten? Our family can only benefit from our acquaintance.”
“Only if he were to marry you. And you should not ponder that question because that will not happen.”
“Why not?”
Mr. Bennet lifted his eyebrows. “Is this something you have been thinking about?”
Elizabeth’s cheeks darkened. “Not in that way, no. I merely enjoy spending time with him. He…he makes me smile.”
“That is always good. But until I know that I can trust him with my daughter and with the rest of my family, I insist that you keep a good distance from him.”
Elizabeth sighed. She did not want to avoid Darcy. She wished she could see him that very minute. How would she last avoiding him? And what would he think of her behavior if she followed her father’s orders?
Chapter 22
Charlotte set the platter down in front of Elizabeth with a smile. “You must fill me in on all the details. I want to know everything. You know I will not tell anyone.”
Elizabeth leaned forward to pick up her tea cup and saucer. She smiled at her friend. “You know I do not think you would do that. I only just got here. Allow me time to catch my breath.”
Charlotte looked more excited than usual. Elizabeth hoped her friend had some good news for her. “Oh you must be simply overflowing with news, my dear. How is your mother? How are your sisters? I want to know everything that went on when you were at Netherfield. You spent a whole week there!”
Elizabeth grinned. “It was a little more than a week, actually.”
“And Darcy was there the entire time?”
At the mention of his name, Elizabeth felt a pang of sorrow in her chest. She missed him. She hadn’t seen nor heard from him for a fortnight. All she wanted at that point was to receive a note from him by messenger or through the post and it did not happen. She wondered if her father had warned Darcy off. She could not believe that he would do such a thing. But if he hadn’t, that meant Darcy was not contacting her by his own will and she could not think of a thing she had done to upset him.
“Yes, he was there.”
“Oh, what a time you must have had. What did you think of Charles’ sister? Isn’t she a little tart?”
Elizabeth blushed that Charlotte used that language, but she could not help agreeing.
“I did not think much of her.”
“I never did, either.” Charlotte leaned forward and picked up a sugar cookie. “These are delicious. Make sure you eat some and take some home to your family.”
“I will, thank you, Charlotte.”
“So tell me, did you get to spend a lot of time with Darcy while the two of you stayed at Netherfield?”
“We did.”
“And what did you think of him?”
Elizabeth did not answer immediately. It was not that she did not know what she wanted to say, she just wanted to drag it out and make it more suspenseful for her friend, who was obviously eager to hear about it.
“I found him to be very accommodating,” she responded slowly, letting a grin cross her lips. “He was very kind, gentle and welcoming. I was happy he was there.”
“You two have made good friends quickly, have you not?”
Elizabeth nodded.
Charlotte had a twinkle in her eye when she took a bite of her cookie. She did not take her eyes off of Elizabeth as she chewed.
“You look like you have something hidden up your sleeve, Charlotte. What are
you plotting?”
Charlotte grinned wide. “You do know me well, do you not?”
Elizabeth was nervous. She gave her a shaky smile. “What have you done?”
“There is a young gentleman officer staying in Meryton with the rest of his regiment. He knows Darcy quite well. His name is George Wickham. I invited him for tea this afternoon. You can ask him anything you want to about him. They grew up together.”
“Mother mentioned Mr. Wickham to me. They are not related?”
Charlotte shook her head. “Not through blood. But the association between their families goes back several generations. Mr. Darcy’s great-grandfather sponsored Mr. Wickham’s great uncle. And I know that the current Mr. Darcy and Mr. Wickham were childhood friends. I believe even to the point that Mr. Darcy sponsored Mr. Wickham, even helping him to get his commission. He still gets a yearly stipend, I do believe from Darcy’s estate.”
“Please tell me you are not trying to be a matchmaker.”
Charlotte shook her head. “Not in this situation, my dear. I simply thought you would like to know a little more about Darcy from someone who has known him for many years.”
“How did you come across this man?”
“My great-aunt was in town and told me about him. Apparently, he goes around mentioning Darcy’s name frequently.”
“Why would he do that?”
Charlotte smiled. “To get into places he would otherwise not be able to get into? Oh, Elizabeth, you know how men are. They do not mind dropping a name for the reward of prestige and honor.”
“I do not know if I like him by the sound of that,” Elizabeth said.
“You must give him a chance, Lizzie. He is almost due to arrive. You will see. I am sure he is a delightful character.”
It was Elizabeth’s turn to smile. “How do you know he is almost here?”
Charlotte indicated the grandfather clock that stood in the corner of the parlor. “It will be two o’clock shortly. I asked him to be here at two. I wanted to tell you about him first so that you would not be surprised. I was only looking out for you, arranging this meeting, Lizzie.”
Elizabeth and Darcy: A Romeo and Juliet Twist: A Pride & Prejudice Regency Variation Page 11
