by Lauren King
For the entire next week, Elizabeth is hard at work auditing her Uncle’s accounting books again. It seems that Mr. Clarke kept his embezzling at a constant 40 pounds a week.
Elizabeth and Mrs. Gardiner receive an invitation from Georgiana to have luncheon with her at Darcy House this Saturday. They merrily accept. Mrs. Gardiner tells Elizabeth that she received an invitation for a Christmas Ball to be held at the Allston’s residence on December 23rd; Elizabeth is included in the invitation. Mrs. Gardiner teases Elizabeth some more before she says that they need to get another gown made for this ball. They will go to Mrs. Templeton’s next week for the gowns.
The Allston’s dinner party is elegant. There are thirty people; everyone is well dressed. Thank goodness that her best dress is pretty enough to look fitting for this dinner party; nobody is too extravagant this evening. However, she really does need another gown for the Allston’s Christmas Ball. She recognizes that she is lacking in this aspect if she will be invited to more balls and parties with her Uncle and Aunt.
Obviously, Elizabeth is seated next to Mr. Lucas Allston. He seems very happy to see her, and he tells her so.
“I hope it is not too forward of me to say that I am glad you could attend tonight, Miss Elizabeth. I very much enjoyed our talks last time.” Mr. Allston smiles handsomely with apparent pleasure for her company.
“Thank you, Mr. Allston. I am glad to be included in my Uncle’s invitation. I enjoyed our talks too.” Elizabeth smiles prettily but modestly. She is happy to make new acquaintances at any time; she is very sociable, no matter where she is.
There are two young ladies about Elizabeth’s age at this dinner – Miss Grace Russell and Miss Harriet Nelson; they attend with their parents. Elizabeth does not know these young ladies, thus she just smiles politely when ever their eyes meet. They seem to be looking at Mr. Lucas Allston quite a bit. She recognizes a few of the other faces of her Uncle’s friends who she was introduced to at the previous Allston’s ball.
Mr. Allston seems focused on Elizabeth, and they talk merrily with each other throughout dinner. After dinner, the ladies separate from the men for a short while, but when everyone comes back together, the young ladies are asked to perform. Elizabeth is asked to sing. Her Uncle and Aunt know she sings well, and her voice is liked by many; they are very proud of Elizabeth’s talent.
Mr. Allston is mesmerized by Elizabeth’s voice. He did not know that she could sing this well. He remembers her saying that she does not embroider, paint, draw, or play the piano forte well. This must be Elizabeth’s talent.
Once Elizabeth is done performing, she receives an enthusiastic applause. When she sits back down near her Mrs. Allston and her Aunt, Mrs. Allston praises her performance. Elizabeth demurely thanks her as Mrs. Gardiner pats Elizabeth’s hand warmly and proudly. Afterwards, Mrs. Allston looks at her son, Lucas, from across the room to signal for him to come over. When he is at her side, Mrs. Allston asks him about the painting that they just recently purchased. Mrs. Allston wants to show it to Miss Elizabeth and Mrs. Gardiner.
“I will be glad to guide you ladies to view it; it is hanging in the gallery.” Mr. Allston says accommodatingly. He looks directly at Elizabeth and gives her an attractive smile which makes Elizabeth a little shyer. She recognizes his subtle preferences for her company.
The four of them move towards the gallery, and others notice that the hostess walks out of the music room with her son and two other ladies. There are envious eyes towards Elizabeth; she has captured the attention of Mr. Lucas Allston – an eligible, handsome bachelor from a wealthy, respectable family.
At the end of the dinner party, Mr. Lucas Allston asks to call upon Elizabeth on Sunday. She agrees to receive him at eleven o’clock. He bends over Elizabeth’s hand before handing her into her Uncle’s carriage; he wants to kiss her hand, but he does not want to appear too forward. His sight does not leave their carriage until it is out of view; he sighs longingly. A few more days and he will be able to see her beautiful face again.
CHAPTER 4
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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15th – DARCY HOUSE
Saturday afternoon finds Elizabeth and Mrs. Gardiner at Darcy House for luncheon with Georgiana. They are warmly greeted when they are shown into the drawing room where they see Mr. Darcy, Richard, and Georgiana. Elizabeth is surprised to see the gentlemen present, but she is happy to see her friends Georgiana and Richard.
Goodness, Mr. Darcy is still as handsome as ever! His blue eyes are captivating. Do not stare. Do not stare. Her brain tries to pull her eyes away from Mr. Darcy. She wants to continue gazing at him, but she cannot. Her little heart is giddy again; she has never felt this much before. However, he still does not seem to care, so that is that.
Elizabeth was drawn to his eyes when they first met in Hyde Park, but he did not seem too interested in conversing with her at that time; therefore, they only exchanged greetings at the beginning and apologies at the end of that visit. He was polite just as she expected, but that was it. She did see him look at her several times, but when she saw him, she only smiled courteously with no other indication and then looked away immediately. She behaved very nonchalantly afterwards. When there was no interaction between them, she did not put too much thought into it other than recognizing that he was very handsome. She had wondered if one of those young ladies was significant to Mr. Darcy. However, when she saw that Mr. Darcy did not go with Mr. Bingley to escort them home, she figured that they were not a couple.
Elizabeth just remembered that Mr. Darcy was in Hertfordshire with Mr. Bingley, so he must have met her family at the assembly – her Mother! Oh, Lord! If Mr. Darcy is very proper, which looks to be the case, then he would have found her Mother to be all that is improper. Goodness gracious – the embarrassment of it all! Maybe Mr. Darcy thinks that she is like her Mother. Oh good Lord; that would be scary! Or maybe Mr. Darcy is simply arrogant because of his wealth and status in society. Richard does not seem arrogant, and his family is titled. Well, whatever he may be thinking about her, it is his prerogative. She knows herself, and her family and friends know her. She cannot be someone other than herself; she likes who and how she has turned out in life. Of course, if her Father’s estate was a little larger, then that would have been even better. Elizabeth giggles inside of herself, again. She cannot help her circumstances; she will have to tolerate what little she has.
From his current expression, Mr. Darcy does not look like he wants to be present; he looks polite and tolerant. She hopes that he is not surprised and upset that she and her Aunt have been invited today. It would be awful if he did not know about it and is only tolerating them.
Georgiana comes to hold Elizabeth’s and Mrs. Gardiner’s hand after all the initial pleasantries are conveyed by everyone. Mr. Darcy speaks the least; it is clearer that he really does not want to be present. She hopes that Georgiana or Richard did not force him to be here today.
“It is my pleasure to have you both luncheon with us today. William and Richard will be joining us if you both do not mind.” Georgiana asks thoughtfully. She wants William to see her nice, genteel friends. Miss Elizabeth has proven herself to be superior to Miss Winters and Miss Henderson with her comportment during that tea-spilling incident.
“Not at all, Georgiana; the more, the merrier.” Mrs. Gardiner responds gaily.
Elizabeth refrains from making eye contact with Mr. Darcy because she does not want to cause any more discomfort for him since he is staying for lunch.
“Would you like to show the ladies the garden before luncheon, Georgiana?” Richard suggests cheerily.
“Yes, I would like to show you both the garden, we have many flowers that grow during the winter here, and they are pretty and colorful. I like them very much.” Georgiana gaily hooks her arm with Mrs. Gardiner.
“Elizabeth, I know you said that you like all the nuances of different colorful flowers; you will definitely like these flowers.” Richard says amiably.
“Oh,
that will be nice to see; thank you, Richard.” Elizabeth smiles brightly at Richard and then turns to Georgiana to ask, “Georgiana, will you show me your favorite flowers?”
“I will Elizabeth. The garden is through here. Mrs. Gardiner let me show you the way. Richard will you escort Elizabeth to the garden.” Georgiana and Mrs. Gardiner walk ahead of everyone. “William would you like to visit the garden with us?”
Richard extends his arm to Elizabeth; she gladly takes it and walks out with him.
“Yes, I will be right out, Georgie.” Darcy responds warmly to his sister.
Darcy is certainly surprised to see how friendly Miss Elizabeth is to both Georgiana and Richard, now. They must have become rather close and allowed each other to use one another’s Christian name. Is Richard that close with Miss Elizabeth, already? Are they courting, now? Darcy has not spoken with Richard for over a week; as a result, he does not know where Richard and Miss Elizabeth stand after Richard called upon her that Saturday.
Lord, Miss Elizabeth is very pretty. He would certainly like to get to know her better, but Richard is pursuing her. Darcy will get an update on Richard’s standing with Miss Elizabeth; he does not want there to be any problems between him and his cousin.
Luncheon is delightful, and there is much laughter from everyone – even from Darcy. Darcy could not help but laugh at some of the stories Richard told. In turn, Miss Elizabeth tells everyone a couple of her youth stories that are also very funny. As the visit progresses, Darcy finds that Miss Elizabeth is not very impressed with him, but more importantly, she is nothing like her Mother which is a great relief to him. He cannot picture himself with anyone remotely like Mrs. Bennet – no matter how beautiful Miss Elizabeth is.
Perhaps, Miss Jane Bennet is nothing like her Mother, either. After both of Bingley’s sisters and Darcy saw Mrs. Bennet’s behavior and conduct at the assembly and around town, they all thought that it would not be the best idea for Bingley to be involved with such a household. Now, Darcy can see that it is not necessarily true that all the daughters will be like Mrs. Bennet. Miss Elizabeth is a prime example of what a genteel, kind, caring, proper lady should be.
Thus far, Darcy knows that he would like to be more than just as a friend to Miss Elizabeth; he is, unquestionably, fascinated by her. However, how will this affect his and Richard’s relationship if they both pursue Miss Elizabeth? She will only choose one person. Will he or Richard be torn apart as cousins? No, he cannot risk damaging his relationship with Richard. He is sorry that he will not have a chance to get to know Miss Elizabeth as more than friends.
Throughout the entire visit, Elizabeth limits her interaction to Georgiana and Richard so as not to bother Mr. Darcy. Nevertheless, he still looks bothered with his sternness even though he did laugh with the group a few times. He looks uncomfortable with her and her Aunt being in his house; she will limit her future visits to only visit when Mr. Darcy is not home.
As Mrs. Gardiner sits in the garden enjoying a book that she has wanted to finish, Elizabeth sits next to Georgiana in the music room with Richard and Mr. Darcy nearby. Elizabeth invites Georgiana to go to Mrs. Templeton’s tomorrow because she and Mrs. Gardiner will get fitted for a gown.
“We will be happy to come here for you, and then we all can have tea at my Aunt’s home after the shopping. Afterwards, we will deliver you home personally, Georgiana. Of course, you may bring Mrs. Annesley too if you like or maybe you can convince Richard to come with you.” Elizabeth glances at Richard with a teasing, friendly smile.
Richard turns towards them immediately when he hears his name. “What are you two young ladies talking about? I heard my name mentioned.” Richard teases back with a mischievous smile.
Darcy also turns towards these three people who seem to joke with each other quite freely and openly. It is very different to see Richard behave like this with a young lady. Darcy has been diligently observing, as he always does, and he does not detect flirtatious interactions between Richard and Miss Elizabeth. He sees more friendly banter and consideration between them. He has not seen anything remotely romantic between them – not in their speech or in their demeanors. Besides using each other’s Christian name, there is not much of a romantic indication. It may be that their relationship is still too new for them to become overtly romantic.
“Richard, will you come with me to Mrs. Templeton’s shop, and then have tea with me at the Gardiner residence afterwards? Elizabeth and Mrs. Gardiner will come for us tomorrow at one o’clock.” Georgiana asks with enthusiasm.
“Anything for you, my little cousin.” Richard responds agreeably.
Darcy would like to come too, but he was not invited. He tries to keep busy when they talk about their outing; therefore, he looks at his pocket watch. He does not want anyone feeling awkward with him nearby staring ineptly at them. As he tucks his watch back into his waistcoat pocket, he sees Miss Elizabeth quickly look away from him.
There is no clearer sign than Mr. Darcy looking at his pocket watch; Elizabeth understands that she and her Aunt should leave. It is very evident that Mr. Darcy is unhappy with their long visit, thus she instantly rushes to say, “Georgiana, thank you again for the scrumptious luncheon. I think it is time for us to leave; I will get my Aunt; please, excuse me.” Elizabeth hurriedly stands up to go out to the garden for her Aunt.
“I thought we were going to play and sing some songs with each other.” Georgiana is genuinely disappointed.
“I do not want to keep you or the gentlemen from any of your other engagements. We can play and sing tomorrow at my Aunt’s home if you like.” Elizabeth smiles fondly at Georgiana to ease her disappointment, but she was not going to stay a minute longer to cause Mr. Darcy more discontent. It was their fault for over staying their visit; Elizabeth should have kept a closer eye on the time. Mr. Darcy must think her without proper etiquette.
“All right, Elizabeth; I will go with you, to get Mrs. Gardiner, then.” Georgiana says thoughtfully.
Darcy feels terrible now. Does Miss Elizabeth think that he wants her to leave because he looked at his pocket watch? Goodness, Lord! He wants her to stay so he can start talking to her; he definitely does not want her to leave! Damn! Now, she is rushing off. She must think him a discourteous host. Oh damn, how is he going to fix this?
After Elizabeth and Mrs. Gardiner leave, Georgiana and Richard discuss how much they like both ladies.
“Richard, did I do something to cause Elizabeth to rush off like that?” Georgiana asks in wonderment and with slight worry.
“I did not see or hear you say anything that was offensive. On the other hand, I saw William look at his pocket watch when Elizabeth was talking to us, and then instantly, she wanted to leave.”
Darcy feels guilty, now; he explains, “I am sorry about that misunderstanding. I was only looking at my pocket watch so that it would not be awkward for me to just sit there doing nothing while you three conversed. I never meant to hint to Miss Elizabeth to leave. I will apologize to her tomorrow when she comes here for you both.” Darcy feels terrible, now.
“Oh…that could be why. Elizabeth is sensitive to others so that may be the reason why she left suddenly. She is a reasonable person, though. I do not think she will hold it against you if you explain it straightforwardly, William.” Georgiana states sensibly. “I will practice my music for a little while, brother.”
Darcy and Richard speak more on the subject of Miss Elizabeth. Darcy forthrightly asks about Richard’s standing with her. Richard admits to his friendly feelings for Elizabeth, and Darcy is very glad. Now, he just has to make sure Miss Elizabeth will even want to talk to him after the pocket watch misunderstanding.
“I am glad we both feel that way about each other, so now we can just be comfortable being good friends. She was very discreet and eloquent when she expressed that we should be friends. We have agreed to use each other’s Christian names; it makes me feel more like a friend to her. Through our talks, I have found that she is a truly good perso
n. I want to be life-long friends with her.” Richard expresses openly and frankly.
After a breath, Richard continues, “I think Georgie can learn a lot of good from Elizabeth. I do not think you should be so completely prejudiced against her Mother’s side of the family being in trade. You have seen and heard Mrs. Gardiner speak; you can assess how they are because Mr. Gardiner is just as sophisticated and caring as Mrs. Gardiner and Elizabeth. Mr. Bennet is a gentleman, thus Elizabeth will always be a gentlewoman. I do not mind Georgie being friends with Elizabeth and the Gardiners, but you have the final say as her elder brother.” Richard states forthrightly.
“I am glad you told me all this because I am interested in getting to know Miss Elizabeth.”
Richard expresses his amazement, instantly. “Ahh…well, well, well.” Richard chuckles.
Darcy ignores Richards jibing. “I did not show interest in her because I thought you were pursuing her, romantically. I did not want there to be any problems or awkwardness between us, Richard. However, if you two are only friends, then I will seek out Miss Elizabeth to see if she and I are a match as I think that we could be.” Darcy is also forthright with his cousin who is like a brother to him. They have always been very close and regarded one another as the other’s confidant.
Amused and surprised, Richard asks, “What about her Uncle being in trade and living in Cheapside?”
“I was worried at the beginning because that is the general thinking about that subject. You have to admit that the generality is true. You cannot tell me that I am that wrong about certain types of people. I think the Gardiners are the exceptions, though. I am not saying that all people from trade should be avoided. You and I have seen some that are horrible, but we have also seen gentlemen that are just as bad. I am willing to learn more about the individuals that I come in contact with – notably Miss Elizabeth and her family. If they are decent, then that is ideal. I simply do not want Georgiana or myself to associate with the people that are…bad – upper class or lower class.” Darcy states with conviction.
