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Well, that was an exaggeration. She had indeed had quite a few significant conversations in that very room, but none carefree enough to pass for entertainment.

Some had been close to a knife fight, and her latest discussions with her beau were more akin to lovemaking.

She was becoming increasingly comfortable with William.

She had decided in her own mind that she liked him, and likely more; but he still frightened her a bit, and she wondered if she did the same to him.

She would, of course, never ask as she did not have the nerve, but she could think about it.

From the colonel she learnt more about the Darcys, and she found it informative, even though she strongly suspected half of it was wrong or exaggerated.

The day went quickly with Jane and Mr Bingley only slightly more comfortable with each other.

Elizabeth was in the middle of a conversation with Darcy, who very politely asked her for a set at the ball.

She laughed. “We are courting. Of course, you may have a set.”

“Which?”

She recognized his nervousness and smiled. “The first, naturally… unless you want to open with Georgiana, since it is her first dance.”

“Fitzwilliam would kill me… and he carries a sword everywhere he goes.”

“Perfect,” she said with a smile and found herself meaning it. With a twinge of nervousness, she added, “And the supper, of course.”

Darcy gave her the biggest smile yet, and she wondered if that statement was the moment where her fate was sealed. It was certainly not irrevocable, and she fully intended to take advantage of the time to make a good decision—but things were proceeding at breakneck speed.

~~~~~

Elizabeth noticed Jane and Bingley go off to a quiet corner for a conversation which left him looking resigned.

Darcy raised an eyebrow questioningly.

She sighed. “Jane and I have not been talking as much as we once did for some reason. I suspect Mr Bingley hoped for the opening set, and she gave him another.”

“Oh,” Darcy said, looking relieved that his opinion was not being sought.

“In answer to your question of yesterday, I believe it was the wrong question.”

“Which one?”

“Did Mr Bingley hurt his chances by going to London?”

“And?”

“I am coming to believe there is an inevitability to couples that work out. A pair that is meant to be together will work through all obstacles, and if they do not—”

“They are not meant to be.”

“Exactly.”

He looked thoughtful, so she quickly squeezed his hand. “We cannot say if we were meant to be yet, but in the end, Mr Bingley had to leave. If he kept his sisters here, I doubt Jane would ever have spoken to him.”

She glanced around to be certain they were not overheard.

“Just between us, I suspect Jane is disconcerted by how quickly he abandoned them. Whether they deserved it or not, they went from his good graces to his brown books over one conversation that was not so different from previous diatribes. A woman takes a tremendous chance when she marries. Her husband has enormous power over her life, so…” She licked her lips nervously. “…we cannot afford mistakes.”

“I understand,” he said, and squeezed her hand.

~~~~~

The return to Longbourn went about as it had the previous day.

Elizabeth momentarily worried about how much time her aunt was allowing the officers to spend with her younger sisters, who by all rights should not even be out.

She even considered speaking with her father about it, but her thought returned to something Darcy said, and she forgot all about her younger sisters.

~~~~~

The parties met at church on Sunday. Elizabeth joined Darcy and Georgiana in the Netherfield pew as would be expected of a courting couple.

She found the stares of her neighbours unnerving but reckoned she would have to become accustomed to such if she were to be attached to Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley.

She strongly believed that London society would try to tear her apart, so if she could not stand the heat of her neighbours’ gazes, she had no hope.

Jane chose to stay with the Bennets and explained her reasoning to Elizabeth.

It was simple really. She would either court Mr Bingley or she would not.

If she did not, then now was as good a time to show the neighbourhood as any.

Her reputation was not yet at risk, and a month in, most would just assume they did not rub along well enough together.

On the other hand, if she did allow him to court her, she could join him in church a month or a quarter hence, and everyone would just assume she was being cautious. Allowing the acquaintance to blossom too fast caused gossip, while keeping it too slow caused nothing.

Once she explained it like that, Elizabeth could see the sense.

It did not say much for Jane’s affection for the gentleman, but that was Jane’s business.

That said, since Jane was barely on speaking terms with the man, Elizabeth conveyed the information to him in the most efficient manner—she told Darcy.

The rain was still falling when the services ended, so the congregation spent a quarter-hour gossiping among the pews.

Georgiana had planned to spend the time with Lydia and Kitty, but Elizabeth introduced her to Charlotte Lucas and Louisa Goulding, and she found the elder women’s company far more congenial.

She liked the Bennet sisters well enough, but they seemed determined to discuss the officers, and about ten seconds of such talk was Georgiana’s limit.

~~~~~

Monday found the Netherfield party partaking of luncheon at Longbourn, but Elizabeth and Jane told her sisters in the strictest terms they did not want the officers mentioned at all.

That was partially because the three elders were sick to death of hearing about officers—but also because doing so would be unbelievably rude.

She found it surprisingly easy to convince her younger sisters to mend their ways—after threatening a fate worse than death, of course.

They spent most of the day preparing for the ball.

For Georgiana, it was her first dance of any kind, and she was nervous.

When she had accepted the invitation, she had not really thought through the fact that she had no aunts or cousins to help her.

She did not even have her companion—just two creaky old bachelors, who seemed entirely unsuitable.

Her panic only lasted a few minutes, as Elizabeth told her early in the day that she and Mary would prepare themselves at Netherfield. It was far more sensible than adding yet one more young lady for Mrs Bennet to fuss over.

The only ironclad rule was that as soon as they went to prepare, the gentlemen were forbidden from seeing them until the receiving line started.

Jane declined the invitation, partly because someone with sense had to remain at Longbourn if there was any hope of the Bennet family showing up on time, and partly because she just did not want any whiff of scandal.

Elizabeth and Mary were well known as good friends of Miss Darcy, and Elizabeth was courting.

As long as they strictly maintained propriety, it would be no worse than Elizabeth and Jane staying at Netherfield while she was sick would have been without their abrupt departure.

Mrs Ashford assured them she would be happy to spend the afternoon with them even if they were not surrounded by twice as many maids as the Longbourn ladies typically shared between them.

The day spent preparing with proper baths in a proper tub for all the ladies at the same time was pure heaven, and Elizabeth sheepishly admitted she just might be able to accustom herself to such luxuries. She would not marry a man just to get them, but they did not hurt Darcy’s case.

Just before the start of the ball, Mrs Ashford sent instructions through the servants that the men were restricted to quarters, then she walked through all the arrangements with Elizabeth, mostly for her benefit.

Before any of them knew it, two Bennet sisters and Georgiana found themselves descending the stairs to meet most of the important men in their lives.