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“Ah, I knew I liked this fellow of yours, Lizzy! I’m certain there must be a chessboard around here somewhere, Mr. Darcy; the rest of you may entertain yourselves in the drawing room, I suppose.

Is that cousin of yours here? He challenged me to a contest and I admit that I’m quite looking forward to it, having never matched wits with a colonel in His Majesty’s cavalry. ”

Even Mrs. Gardiner’s “Thomas, really!” was tinged with amusement. As a result, the entire party (including Mr. Darcy) was smiling when they were shown in to the Earl of Matlock’s drawing room.

Lady Alameda Fitzwilliam had kept a careful watch on Mr. Darcy since her arrival. When that gentleman left the drawing room, she discretely moved to join her sisters-in-law and two of their cousins, Miss Darcy and Miss de Bourgh.

Lady Alameda had had a most trying week and this day seemed to be topping it off perfectly.

Her loathsome husband had made a drunken appearance in her drawing room that afternoon and, although her callers had departed soon after, their looks of pity had infuriated her even more than the Viscount’s vulgar comments. Alameda despised being pitied.

She was well aware that the story would soon be circulating and could only hope that she was not mentioned by name in the scandal sheets.

Regardless, the disapproving looks she had already received from the Countess made it absolutely clear that the gossip had already been passed to her mother-in-law.

Gritting her teeth, Lady Alameda turned her attention to the other ladies.

Yes, it had been a most unpleasant week, but at least she could look forward to seeing Darcy’s little country miss set in her place.

The Viscountess had not visited her modista since her foray there with Miss Bingley, but she fully expected the Miss Bennets to enter the Earl’s drawing room dressed in garb that was as expensive as it was gaudy.

Alameda was well aware that the Fitzwilliam ladies did not especially like her, but there was nothing that drew a group of females together faster than a poor pretender to their ranks.

Unfortunately for Lady Alameda, she was to be thoroughly disappointed.

Rather than the smirks and titters she had hoped for, Miss Elizabeth Bennet entered the room on Mr. Darcy’s arm looking every inch the lady.

While the gentlemen in the room admired how the gown enhanced her figure and the sparkle of her eyes was matched by the jewels in her hair, the ladies saw the quality of the silk and the expertise with which it had been sewn…

not to mention the cost of the amethyst set that decorated her neck and hair.

Not even Jane—her classic, serene beauty set to best advantage by a perfectly lovely blue gown—could match her younger sister that night.

Elizabeth’s transparent happiness made her glow with an effervescence that drew the eye.

The connection she shared with Mr. Darcy was obvious and together, the pair made a striking couple.

When the Countess greeted Miss Elizabeth Bennet with the warmth of a mother for a favorite daughter, Lady Alameda felt sick to her stomach (although she would have died before admitting it).

The nausea only worsened when their hostess laughingly insisted that Darcy’s fiancée address her as Aunt Eleanor, a degree of informality that had never been offered to Alameda, despite some six years of marriage to the Countess’ eldest son.

Darcy need not have worried about the Earl’s conduct toward Elizabeth and her family.

Although Lord Matlock had been unable to attend the engagement party on Gracechurch Street due to an obligation at parliament ( and, perhaps a bit of self-importance—should not Darcy’s unknown bride wait upon him, an earl, first?), his wife’s warm description of the event and its attendees had reassured him.

In addition, Lord Henry had escorted his own niece to a most surprising meeting at the de Bourghs’ solicitors only that morning.

Intellectually, his suspicion of Anne’s newfound relations and Rosings’ heir apparent had been somewhat reassured by the documents presented by Mrs. Gardiner and Mr. Darcy.

However, it was the obvious intelligence and good breeding of the lady herself, as well as her husband and their eldest son, which quickly won his respect.

It was soon clear that the Gardiners had no desire to worm their way into Rosings; the possibility of Anne marrying and producing her own heir was mentioned repeatedly.

Instead of demanding details about the fortune to which their son might be entitled, most of the Gardiners’ concern had been directed toward determining how best to prepare Jonathan, should the responsibility of Rosings Park fall to him.

Responsibility . Later, when Henry described the meeting to his wife, that was the word to which he kept returning. Mrs. Gardiner and her husband were not the sort of truckling inferiors that Matlock had dreaded, and he had soon came to understand Darcy’s respect for the couple, trade or not.

Jonathan Gardiner had proven to be a remarkably intelligent boy, serious about his education and keenly aware of his duty to his family as the eldest son.

In truth, the lad had reminded the Earl of his nephew, and it was soon clear that young Maste r Gardiner already looked up to Pemberley’s Master with something akin to hero-worship.

As a result, the Earl and his wife greeted the Gardiners into their home with all courtesy.

It had only been Mrs. Gardiner’s sincere pleas that kept Lord Henry from announcing her superior connections to their general acquaintance at once.

However, like Darcy, he knew enough about the de Bourghs that he quite understood her preference to keep the relationship quiet.

As Mr. Darcy introduced Miss Elizabeth and her family to the various Fitzwilliams, Lady Alameda dutifully took her place by her husband and murmured the pleasantries that were expected. She was about to turn away when Miss Darcy’s eager voice caught her attention.

“Oh Elizabeth—your dress is a dream! I don’t remember that pattern from our visit to Madame Claudette’s. Did you go back again another day?”

To herself, Alameda rolled her eyes. The girl would need to develop a great deal more polish if she wanted to survive in Society, much less succeed.

However, Elizabeth only smiled gently at the girl’s excitement.

“No—in fact, Jane and I decided to take a chance on a new modista… Madame Lavoisier is a young Frenchwoman recently emigrated from Paris. Madame Cl audette’s designs were certainly very distinctive, but she was also so very busy, as you well know.

” Lizzy spoke carefully because of Georgiana’s obvious veneration for the modista, but as she did, she also caught the looks of distaste from one or two of the other ladies present.

Clearly Madame Claudette was not universally worshipped.

Elizabeth also noted that Miss Darcy was entirely unaware of her power as a client. After several more compliments on the Miss Bennets’ gowns, she bubbled, “Would Madame Lavoisier have time to meet me? I’ve not yet ordered my own gown for your wedding, and I so wish for it to be special…”

Elizabeth had barely assured Georgiana that the introduction would be made before Darcy appeared at her elbow and indicated that there were others to whom he wished to introduce her.

As the happy couple moved away, Lady Alameda remained still, a neutral expression locked in place to cover the emotional storm brewing below.

Currently, the only positive aspect of the evening that Alameda could see was that her own husband was off in a corner and appeared to be on the receiving end of a furious set-down from the Earl. She was only marginally curious as to what he had done this time.

Meanwhile, the conversation continued to flow around her.

Miss Jane Bennet found herself standing beside the Viscountess and did her best to begin a conversation with that lady.

“I’m enjoying our stay in town, though we haven’t had much time for entertainments other than shopping. Do you spend much of your time here?”

Lady Alameda sniffed. “London is hideous at this time of year. Thankfully, I shall be leaving for the country tomorrow.” The implication that her presence that evening was not of her choice was clear even to Jane.

However, Miss Bennet smiled bravely. “How happy you must be. Shall you be travelling to Derbyshire?” She knew that the Earl of Matlock’s estate was somewhere near Pemberley and assumed that the Viscount and his family lived in the north as well.

The Viscountess’ curled lip made it immediately clear that her assumption was incorrect. “Certainly not. My family’s estate is in Essex.

To Jane’s very great relief, she was not required to formulate a polite response. Lady Eleanor appeared at Miss Bennet’s elbow and gently began the process of distributing her guests so that the pairs would be in a proper order to proceed into the dining room.

Lady Alameda was amused to see her husband relegated to escorting his eldest sister, even as she herself was partnered by Lord Pelham.

She had to admit that, whatever else she might like to think about her mother-in-law, the woman was a genius at devising seating arrangements that minimized the potential for unpleasantness.

Darcy was less pleased by the company’s disposition, seated as he was at the opposite end of the table from Elizabeth.

He knew it was correct—as the honored guests, he was seated at the Countess’ right, just as his fiancée was beside the Earl—but he vastly preferred the arrangement at Derwent House where Elizabeth had been at his side all night.

However, he could see that his uncle was rapidly realizing what an exceptional woman she was—a triumph that made the separation somewhat more tolerable.