“Yes,” Lizzy said, a feeling of heat spreading throughout her body. “Something deep inside that has been set aflame.”
“Miss Elizabeth—” Darcy was prevented from continuing by the sound of Mrs. Darlington’s bell, and he groaned in frustration. “I refuse to have my evening dictated by an ill-tuned and ill-timed bell! I am going to ignore it.”
“It is my understanding that that is the last bell of the evening—the last opportunity for our neighbors to make your acquaintance.”
“And as such, I must move on?” Darcy asked, hoping that Lizzy would contradict him. “But what of our dance?”
“Perhaps another time as I have no wish to be accused of keeping you all to myself.”
“Would that be so bad?”
“Yes. I mean, no. What I mean is that there are those who will come in search of you.” Lizzy peeked from behind the curtain and was met by a dozen pair of female eyes, all staring at the curtain. “Your admirers await, Mr. Darcy. They will be annoyed if you do not join them.”
“Miss Elizabeth, do you live nearby?”
“I live at Longbourn, three miles from Netherfield Park. In fact, our property shares a boundary with this estate.”
“Does Longbourn have a bell?”
“No,” Lizzy said, laughing.
“I hate that thing.”
“But if not for the bell, perhaps we would not have had this conversation. That dissonant instrument forced us to mingle.”
“Perhaps,” Darcy said with a hesitant smile. “May I call on you at Longbourn so that we might further explore the definition of…”
“Of what?”
“…of love?”
“I would be honored to receive you, sir,” and with a sigh, added, “and here comes Miss King.”
Darcy walked toward the approaching Miss King but then turned and faced Elizabeth. “‘Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove. O no! It is an ever-fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken.’”
Lizzy’s mouth fell open.
“Ponder that until we meet again.”
As Lizzy emerged from behind the curtain, her step was a good deal lighter. It was as if she were walking on a cloud. Although Sir William was giving the instructions for the last set of the night, she heard only Mr. Darcy’s words. “If Mr. Darcy were truly ignorant of everything romantic, then how did he know Shakespeare’s sonnet by heart? I think he has thought more about love than he is willing to admit. And I bet he reads novels.”
“Lizzy, you are talking to yourself,” Charlotte said as she walked in her friend’s direction.
“I was trying to recall the words from a sonnet.” Lizzy shook her head. “Never mind that. Did you enjoy the evening, Charlotte?”
Charlotte said that she did. “But unlike someone I know, I did not make any conquests.”
“By conquests, you are, of course, referring to Jane and Mr. Bingley.”
“No, Lizzy, I was not.”
* * *
The following morning at breakfast, Lizzy looked at her family as they gathered around the dining table. Papa was happy because he had spent an evening discussing politics with Mr. Darlington. Mama was delighted because her Jane had been the talk of the party, and Jane was dreamy-eyed thinking of Mr. Bingley. For the first time in Mary’s life, a gentleman had sought her company, and Mr. Plimdale of Liverpool intimated that this would not be their only meeting. Lydia and Kitty danced until they had worn through their dance slippers. And Lizzy? She thought of Mr. Darcy and hoped that he would call at Longbourn and blushed when she thought of the topic to be discussed: love.
It was at that moment that Hill announced that a package had arrived from Netherfield Park for Miss Elizabeth.
“For me? Are you sure, Hill?” Lizzy asked, looking at Jane. Surely it was something from Mr. Bingley.
“Yes, miss. The lad what works for Mr. Buttons at Netherfield Park said he had instructions to deliver it to Miss Elizabeth.”
Lydia and Kitty were the first to go into the hall where the parcel sat on the table and began to tear at the string and paper. With bits of paper flying all about, the content of the package was revealed. It was the bell from the card party, and groans of disappointment filled the hall.
Speaking for all assembled, Lydia cried, “A bell. How boring! Why would anyone send that awful thing? Everyone hated it.”
With a huff, Lydia, followed by Kitty, Mary, and Mrs. Bennet, departed, leaving Jane and Lizzy alone in the hall. Looking at Lizzy with some suspicion, Jane asked if the bell was from Mr. Darcy.
“Why would you ask that?”
“Because between the first and second sets, Mr. Darcy asked that I point out my sisters as he had heard much about them from Mrs. Darlington. When I indicated that you were sitting at the pianoforte, he said that he thought you were Charlotte. Of course, his confusion was a result of Sir William’s announcement that Charlotte would be exhibiting. When corrected, he laughed and said that here was another case of mistaken identity. Soon after, he announced that he would not be playing cards during the second set and made a direct line for you. It was as if you were—”
“Magnetic?”
“Yes, exactly.” Jane looked at her sister, and it was as if she were glowing. “You like Mr. Darcy, don’t you, Lizzy.”
“I do like him. He is very nice, and despite repeatedly saying that he was uncomfortable in unfamiliar environs, he was very easy to talk to.”
“And the bell?”
“Yes, the bell. It became something of a joke between us last night. Every time we started a conversation, the bell would ring, and Mr. Darcy was pulled away by one or more of his admirers.”
“But it makes such an awful sound. I would never have thought to make a gift of it.”
Lizzy admitted that the sound was truly awful, but when left alone with her thoughts, she smiled. “But it was that bell that brought Mr. Darcy to me.”
THE END
Thank you for reading The Bell. If you enjoyed the story, please consider writing a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. A good review is worth its weight in gold. They are savored and shared. Thank you.
Other books by Mary Lydon Simonsen
From Sourcebooks:
Searching for Pemberley
The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy
A Wife for Mr. Darcy
Mr. Darcy’s Bite
From Quail Creek Publishing:
Novels:
Another Place in Time
When They Fall in Love
Darcy Goes to War
Darcy on the Hudson
Becoming Elizabeth Darcy
Novellas:
A Walk in the Meadows at Rosings Park – Three Short Stories
Conversations with Mr. Darcy
Convincing Mr. Darcy
Dear Sir, Dear Madam
For All the Wrong Reasons
Mr. Darcy’s Angel of Mercy
Mr. Darcy Bites Back
Mr. Darcy - Bitten
Captain Wentworth Home from the Sea
Short Stories:
Darcy and Elizabeth at Pemberley – A Short-Story Collection
Dear Sir, Dear Madam
Netherfield Park Is Let At Last
The Carriage Ride
Non-fiction
The Mud Run Train Wreck – A Disaster in the Irish-American Community
A Murderer’s Country – County Galway during the Land War (1879-1882)
The Bell Page 9
