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THE FIRST BALL went quite well, if Elizabeth said so herself. She got that day after to rest, spending most of it curled up with a book. She even begged off dinner that day, too exhausted to do anything at all.

But the second day, there were callers.

The women came, and they spoke of her reticule buttoned to her dress, and they spoke of gossip they had heard about eligible men, and Elizabeth began to soon have a list—not of men that she thought would be good for Caroline, admittedly.

She had a list of men that Caroline should avoid. It was rather depressing, really.

There was a week of this, and another ball to go to—a rush job on another dress in the same style, this one with the reticule less obvious and more of a stylistic and unobtrusive ornamentation. Elizabeth was excited, feeling as if she was making headway.

Then, callers arrived that she had not been expecting. It was the Lady Matlock and her son, Colonel Fitzwilliam, her husband’s cousin.

Elizabeth received them in the drawing room along with her husband and with Miss Darcy, and she had refreshments brought up.

She frantically asked her husband, upon hearing that the countess was there, if he knew what sweets she preferred and he told her she liked lemon squares, and by some miracle some were made up, and Elizabeth was glad .

She was quite prepared for Lady Matlock to disapprove of her.

Lady Matlock did not speak much, at first. Her son quite took control of the conversation.

He was an amiable kind of man, not handsome but quite gregarious.

He and her husband were obviously close.

They spoke with a sort of familiarity that revealed friendship.

The colonel told an amusing story about following someone through the wooded areas of France only to discover that it was not a soldier at all but a dog who’d somehow gotten himself tangled up in a French uniform.

“So what did you do?” said Elizabeth.

“I helped get the dog’s front paws out of the arms of it, of course,” said the colonel.

“The buttons were tangled up in its fur, too. I don’t know how the poor thing got itself so badly stuck.

The dog was grateful, of course. We made him into a pet and named him Milo, only to discover a few days later that Milo was a girl! ”

Elizabeth laughed.

Mr. Darcy laughed.

Lady Matlock laughed, too.

Georgiana looked up from the lemon square she’d been eating, seemed to realize she had missed something, and forced out a laugh as well.

Lady Matlock turned to address her niece. “I heard you’d moved in here with your brother, then, Miss Darcy.”

“Oh, yes, well, it seemed expedient is all,” said Georgiana quietly, looking like that frightened squirrel again.

“It was my idea,” spoke up Mr. Darcy smoothly.

“I missed my sister. She had been away from me for too long. Indeed, she had been away from everybody for too long. She is doing much better with some company. I have my wife to thank for pointing that out to me, you see. My wife, she understands people very well.”

Lady Matlock and the colonel both turned to gaze upon Elizabeth, who felt herself flushing with embarrassment. She was not at all certain that Mr. Darcy’s family members would appreciate his admiration of her. They might be suspicious of it, in fact.

“Yes,” said Lady Matlock in a lilting voice, “I have heard such things about Mrs. Darcy, of course. Word has traveled far and wide about her. She is, by all accounts, an extraordinary sort of person.”

“I certainly think so,” said Mr. Darcy.

“I can see that,” said the colonel.

Elizabeth was a bit alarmed. “Extraordinary?” she said. “Who could be saying that?”

“Oh, positively everyone who meets you,” said Lady Matlock, but there was something in her tone, something that did not denote her being entirely genuine.

Elizabeth fought a grimace. Instead, she smiled. “That’s so flattering, really. But I assure you, I am a very ordinary person.”

“You are indeed not,” said Mr. Darcy. “I would not have been swept off my feet by your wit and beauty else. I met her and I knew, that was how it was. It was barely a week after we’d met that I proposed.”

“A week?” said Lady Matlock. “Truly? How extraordinary.”

That word again. Elizabeth felt a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. She did not think Lady Matlock approved of her, not at all.

Well, she thought, of course I knew this might likely happen.

“You haven’t done much with the house,” said Lady Matlock, looking around the sitting room.

“The house?” said Elizabeth. “Whatever do you mean?”

“The decorations, all of that. Is that not something that interests you?”

“I…” Elizabeth looked around the room. “I suppose I’ve been preoccupied, but I must say, the house is already decorated in a very pleasing fashion. I have no complaints.”

“With what have you been so preoccupied?” said Lady Matlock.

Elizabeth felt herself flush bright red.

“I don’t know. Marriage is a transition, I suppose, and my husband and I—and well, getting to know Miss Darcy, of course, and we have recently had quite a number of callers—I should be quite amenable to your suggestions, madam, if you think I should redecorate in an any certain way. ”

“Come now, Mother,” said the colonel, quite amused. “They are newlyweds. Of course they are preoccupied.”

“Mmm,” said the countess, lifting her chin, studying Elizabeth. “Yes, quite. I also checked with the modistes in town, and you haven’t ordered many new dresses. What are you spending money on?”

Mr. Darcy’s voice was quiet but firm. “That’s enough.”

Lady Matlock folded her arms over her chest. “You did this, Fitzwilliam, without any input from anyone in your family. Did you hope to escape scrutiny? Well, you cannot.”

“She did not marry me for my wealth,” said Mr. Darcy. “I shall not tolerate any implications otherwise. You will afford my new bride the respect she deserves.”

Elizabeth put her hand on her husband’s arm, shaking her head, about to convey that he need not protect her (though it warmed her) but she could not get a word out before others were speaking.

“You expect me to believe that this girl married you with no thought of how it would benefit her?” said the countess. “She does not seem particularly stupid, you know, and I cannot think you would say she was. She knew what it would give her to be your wife.”

“She has not asked for an increase to her allowance,” said Mr. Darcy. “We have not spoken about financial expenditures. It’s not about wealth. You yourself, however, have noted that she is a genius at ingratiating herself to people. She is, as you have noted, extraordinary.”

“I don’t know if she’s ingratiating herself so much as causing a stir!” said Lady Matlock. “She shows up at balls and essentially introduces herself?”

“That was my error. I was meant to be introducing her, but I forced her to dance with me for an hour instead,” said Mr. Darcy.

“I’d rather dance with her than introduce her to people,” said the colonel .

Mr. Darcy gave the colonel a sharp look.

“I’m only saying, you chose well,” said the colonel, making a hands-off gesture.

“She’s not even that pretty,” muttered the countess. “She’s tolerable, I suppose, but not really that handsome. She—”

“Aunt Adelaide!” said Mr. Darcy in horror. “How dare you?”

“It’s all right,” said Elizabeth breezily. “I well know that I am no great beauty, despite what you say to the contrary, sir. You are biased.”

“It’s something about the carelessness of the way she carries herself, the effortlessness of it,” said the colonel. “As if she simply can’t be bothered with such things as keeping her hair coiffed.”

Elizabeth’s hands went to her hair. Were there a number of strands out of place?

“She’s beautiful in a real way,” said the colonel. “Not an artificial way, not the way that women try to manufacture, but in a way that can’t be manufactured.”

“Yes,” said her husband.

Lady Matlock got to her feet. “You need to rein your wife in, Mr. Darcy.” She turned to Elizabeth. “You need to learn some restraint.” She started for the door, still speaking, “I don’t mean to be so very blunt, but sometimes one can be nothing except direct, I’m afraid.”

She left the room.

Elizabeth allowed herself to grimace.

“You mustn’t worry about my aunt,” spoke up Georgiana very quietly. “She is like that with absolutely everyone.”

“It’s true,” said the colonel. “You two are going to the ball at the Windling’s this weekend, though?”

Mr. Darcy rolled his eyes. “I am being dragged along, yes. Apparently, my presence is necessary a bit longer, but she says soon enough she will have established herself well enough to do embark on these awful social events herself.”

The colonel laughed. “Oh, trust this one to hate everything fun. ”

Elizabeth laughed, too. “Well, not everything fun, truly, but he is not one for crowds.”

“I shall wish a dance,” said the colonel.

“Oh, of course,” she said, for it would be impolite to refuse.

“And I shall tell my mother precisely what I think of the way she behaved, never fear,” said the colonel, standing up. “I must get to the carriage and give her the tongue-lashing she deserves.” He chuckled.

After they were gone, Elizabeth wrung out her hands, feeling dreadful.

“It could have been worse,” said her husband.

“Really?” she said.

“Wait until you meet my aunt Lady Catherine.”

Elizabeth made a face. “I heard enough about her from Mr. Collins.”

Mr. Darcy laughed. “I should have warned you about my wretched family members before we married.”

“You didn’t?” said Georgiana.

“Well, my own family members…” Elizabeth shrugged. “I have no leg to stand on, of course.”

CAROLINE HAD SOMEHOW arrived before Elizabeth at this ball.

It was down to Mr. Hurst wanting to arrive early because there was to be an attached room with whist tables, and he wished to have his pick of the tables, something about being positioned in the best place to observe the other players or something.