Page 38 of Ever After End
CHAPTER 37
T hat evening, the company enjoyed another of their weekly dances. The vicar and his daughter attended again, and Miss Irving was radiant under the attention of Colonel Gordon. She was a tall lady, whom Jane had taken under her wing and given the evening gown that Elizabeth had made for her in St Albans, and along with Joan, did a lovely job on the young lady’s coiffure.
The evening was magical. Many of the guests had hopes for one guest or another, and those couples danced together all evening, laughing and talking amongst themselves. The ones who had not yet paired up with another guest either made merry with the others or brooded at the corners of the room. Mr Brentwood had quite given up after having been rebuffed by Elizabeth, Miss Penfield, and Miss Abernathy. He spent the evening in conversation with Mr Wifflethorpe, discussing the scholar’s research and work on the Tor.
Abigail Dutton was whispering to Miss Larkspur who furiously scribbled into her notebook, and Miss Winslow and Miss Blackwood spent most of the evening in each other’s company, when Mr Mercer did not occasionally claim Miss Blackwood for a dance. Mr Fletcher must not intend to mourn Jane for long, for he was now pursuing Miss Penfield assiduously .
Miss Darcy spent the night in the master’s apartment with Edith, who was still rather frightened to be there, but Miss Bates joined the others downstairs, and had made fast friends amongst Mrs Darlington, the chaperones, and Mr Irving.
Mr Darcy and Elizabeth danced together for most of the night, laughing and bobbing about for the faster ones, waltzing slowly and enjoying the romance of the slower dances. The only time they danced with others was when they paired off with Jane and Bingley or Mary and Mr Elwood, for Elizabeth was determined to know the suitors of her sisters better. They all sat together at supper, ignoring the glares of the brooders, such as Mr Fletcher and Miss Penfield, and the resentful, such as Miss Winslow and Miss Blackwood.
After dinner, the sexes separated for perhaps a half hour, and it was one of the worst half hours spent in Miss Winslow’s company yet. “Miss Abernathy, you have been so energetic on the dance floor tonight,” the lady said snidely. “You remind me so much of my little cousin learning to waltz when she was thirteen! So amusing.”
Miss Abernathy paled, as Miss Dutton came to her rescue. “Aurelia, you are begging to be Chicagoed? 1 ,” she said to the other lady in a rather menacing tone. “What I would not give to fix your flint.”
“Miss Dutton, have you no other necklace? You wear that cross so often, one would think you owned no other jewellery,” Lavinia Blackwood asked sweetly.
Miss Dutton’s hand instantly reached up to touch the cross at her throat. “I own no other that I care to wear,” she answered in a forbidding tone. “This one was a gift from my mother.”
“And very pretty it is, too,” Elizabeth complimented her. “I also prefer to wear the garnet cross my father gave me on my come out rather than any other adornment. Your citrine is quite lovely, I do admire the colour.”
“How charming.” Miss Winslow’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “Did you sew that gown yourself, Miss Irving? It is so… quaint.”
Elizabeth laughed outright at this while Miss Dutton steamed on Miss Irving’s behalf. Miss Winslow, getting annoyed, finally asked, “And what may I ask, is so amusing?”
“I am just imagining you being Chicagoed by Miss Dutton.” Elizabeth rose and moved to another group, followed by several other ladies who were as tired of Miss Winslow as she was.
Miss Winslow, having found no pleasure in the evening, made her excuses and retired early.
The rest of the dance was even more enjoyable in the absence of Miss Winslow. Even Miss Penfield seemed to enjoy herself now that Mr Fletcher had finally been permanently disabused of any hopes in Jane’s direction. Elizabeth could not think she would be so pleased at being a gentleman’s second choice, but Miss Penfield seemed to be practical in a way that Elizabeth was not when it came to marriage.
Later, Elizabeth was dancing with Mr Bingley when he said to her, “My sister tells me that you have assisted her in selecting some reading material, Miss Elizabeth. That was exceedingly kind of you.”
“Oh! It was nothing, I assure you.” Elizabeth smiled at her sister’s suitor. He was an exceedingly good humoured man. He was just right for Jane, though Elizabeth hoped that he would have more guile than her sister, or the two would be cheated so assiduously by their servants, and so generous with the rest, that they would surely exceed their income every quarter.
“It is not nothing, for Caroline has, in the last year, embarked on a journey of self improvement.” Their conversation paused as they were separated by the dance and then reunited again. “I should certainly not have done half as well at assisting her as you, and I doubt she would have approached Darcy. It is not easy for Caroline to ask others for help.”
“She seems all that is lovely.” Elizabeth looked down the line at Miss Bingley, whose eyes sparkled under the attention of Lord Chesley.
“A year ago, she made Miss Winslow seem as kind and gentle as Miss Bennet,” Mr Bingley assured her. “And it is impossible that she would have tolerated Darcy’s attention to you.”
“Well, whatever her reasons were for improving herself, let us be grateful, and I hope that I come to know her better very soon.” Elizabeth stepped back as the dance ended, and they met Darcy and Jane at the side of the dance floor.
She took Darcy’s arm as they strolled the room, waiting for the next dance to begin. After another breathtaking waltz, Darcy procured a glass of wine for Elizabeth, and they sat in a quiet corner to make conversation. Darcy surveyed Elizabeth for a quiet moment, and eventually she broke the silence.
“Penny for your thoughts, Mr Darcy,” she teased. “I simply cannot sit and wonder what you might be thinking, I demand that you oblige me.”
Darcy was pensive for a drawn out moment. “I was just considering the moments when the clamor of gatherings such as these fade, and one is left to consider only the company they truly desire.”
Elizabeth blushed. “And do you often find such moments, Mr Darcy?”
Darcy smiled handsomely at her. “Only when I am fortunate enough to be in your company, Miss Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth blushed even more as he continued. “There are countless words penned within the volumes of my library, and yet none could adequately capture the tumult of my heart when you are near. It is though each romance written before this evening is incomplete, waiting for the muse that might complete the story.”
“And have you discovered the ending, Mr Darcy?” Elizabeth gasped at his eloquence.
“Only this, Miss Elizabeth. That should fate be kind, I would spend a lifetime in pursuit of each chapter we might write together.”
Late that evening, Elizabeth and Jane, starry eyed from dancing with their gentlemen all evening, climbed the stairs for bed well after midnight. The ladies all bid one another good night as they separated at the top of the stairs in search of their rooms.
The three sisters joined one another in their parlour once they had changed into their night wear, and shared the crystal jar of biscuits left for them by the staff each night. Mary had news for them.
“Jane, Lizzy, I want to tell you that I am very close to an engagement with Mr Elwood,” she told her two elder sisters, her eyes shining.
“Oh Mary, how lovely!” Elizabeth cried.
“Are you happy, sister?” asked Jane. “Lizzy and I have tried to keep our eyes on you since we arrived, but we have all been so caught up in our own concerns.”
“I am happy, Jane,” Mary promised. “Mr Elwood and I have an understanding, I think, and I expect him to propose very soon.”
“We shall endeavour to stay close to you, so that we may help you find privacy if you need it,” Elizabeth vowed.
“Thank you, Lizzy.” Mary clasped her hand. “Thank you so much for bringing me with you. I like Mr Elwood very much.”
Suddenly they heard running in the hall, and a pounding at the end of the corridor. Elizabeth went to the door of their parlour, and the three looked down the hall to see a footman conferring quietly with Mrs Darlington at the door to the mistress’s suite. Mrs Darlington followed the footman to the staircase at a great speed. “Please remain in your rooms, ladies!” she shouted as she went, followed by Mrs Higglebottom.
Darcy joined Bingley, Lord Chesley, and Mr Whittaker for a glass of brandy in Lord Chesley’s parlour. Chesley had one of the only two suites on the third floor, most of the rooms being single bedrooms without dressing rooms or parlours attached. The other suite on the third floor was occupied by Major Bartholomew.
The men spoke of their correspondence mostly, matters at their estates, or of business. If they thought of and spoke of nothing but the ladies all day, every day, they would all go mad. They also talked about the estate matters here at Ever After End. The land surveyor’s report was complete, and they were only waiting for the rains to subside to call the magistrate and the bailiffs to have the families evicted. It was to be done on a day that the rest of the party travelled to Bath for a shopping excursion. The tenant farms were too far to be seen or heard from the manor, but it was unlikely to be pleasant, and Darcy preferred to have his sister and the rest of the ladies and gentlemen away when the moment arrived.
After perhaps three quarters of an hour, the men thanked Chesley for his fine brandy and returned to their rooms. Before any of them actually reached their quarters, they heard a shout from Lord Chesley’s rooms, followed by another, followed by a wail of feminine disappointment. A moment later, Chesley’s door opened, Miss Winslow was ejected into the hall, and the door slammed firmly. Miss Winslow was dressed in a sheer nightgown that left absolutely nothing to the imagination.
Major Bartholomew strode from the end of the hall as men started opening their doors to watch the show in the corridor. He threw his banyan over Miss Winslow, told Wifflethorpe to send a footman for Mrs Darlington, then followed by Darcy, escorted Miss Winslow downstairs to the study.
Elizabeth and her sisters were not awake to witness Miss Winslow being marched back to her rooms by Mrs Darlington and Mrs Higglebottom, then left under the supervision of a stern housemaid, but they were informed of everything in the morning by Joan.
“She is already gone, Miss Lizzy. Mrs Darlington had her packed and in a carriage when it was barely dawn. Mr Darcy and some other gentlemen were with Lord Chesley in his parlour drinking brandy and discussing business for over a half hour before she was discovered in Lord Chesley’s bed. Mr Darcy attested to Lord Chesley’s surprise at finding Miss Winslow in his rooms.” Joan was full of the tale. Elizabeth did not approve of the gossiping, but at the same time, she appreciated being armed with the information before going downstairs, particularly since the other ladies would already have the story from their maids. She instructed Joan that she was to discuss the matter no more now that she had done so with her employer.
When Elizabeth and her sisters joined the others downstairs for breakfast, it was as if Miss Winslow had never existed, and the only evidence of her ever having visited Ever After End was Mrs Darlington’s uncharacteristic ill-humour, and the fact that Lord Chesley was rather jumpy around the ladies.
1 ? 19th century American slang for ‘getting a beating.’