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While Louisa Hurst knew that her younger sister was eminently able to plan the ball but two hours away from commencing at Netherfield Park, she had insisted that Caroline sit back and relax, to not expend any energy planning the ball.

It was in her and her Graham’s honour, so Louisa felt that it would not be right for Miss Bingley to plan her own ball, though Louisa knew her well and would be able to make it feel like it was a ball planned with her sister in mind.

Netherfield was awash with light when the first carriage arrived.

The torches were lit to guide drivers to the drop off point, and there was a large number of footmen on hand to assist the riders as they alighted in their finery.

The receiving line was composed of Bingley, the betrothed couple, Mr. and Mrs. Phillips and Mr. and Mrs. Hurst. The party from Longbourn arrived and traversed the receiving line.

Lady Elizabeth gave her friend a hug and they admired each other’s ball gown while Darcy shook hands vigorously with his friend Bingley.

Elizabeth was followed by Lady Anne who hugged her protégé as she whispered how proud she was of Caroline in a way only she could hear.

The couples, led by Caroline and Graham, lined up for the first set.

Both Lady Elizabeth and Darcy seemed preoccupied, as if they were pondering some great mystery.

The Duchess of Hertfordshire and Lady Anne Darcy gave each other knowing looks as both could have told their children the answer to the mystery that had them so consternated.

Even if her stubborn, middle daughter could not see what seemed to be inevitable, Lady Sarah could.

For the first ten minutes of the set there was no talking, but Elizabeth noticed that her handsome partner was a very accomplished dancer. She decided that there had been enough awkward silence between them. “Come William, we must have some conversation,” Elizabeth said archly.

“Do you make it a practice to talk while you dance, Cousin?” Darcy returned.

“If we go half an hour complete in silence, we will engender more talk than us dancing the first, William,” she challenged.

“What would you like to discuss, your Ladyship; I would not suspend any pleasure of yours,” he volleyed, anxious for her reply.

“I could remark on the number of couples dancing and the elegance of the dress, and you could remark that private balls are more enjoyable that public ones,” she teased with a light tinkling laugh, one that he had grown to love.

He repaid her gift with a dimple-revealing smile, one that Elizabeth loved to see, though the after affects were not something, she was sure she would ever get used to.

“James is again opening the ball with Georgie,” Elizabeth observed, becoming more serious as they parted and moved down the line.

When they came back together, she finished her thought.

“I have never seen him pay attention to any lady in this marked a fashion before. If memory serves, he danced the supper set as well at the pre-wedding ball.”

“They did,” Darcy confirmed. “She is not sixteen yet and will not come out for two years. My mother and I desire that she have at least one season until someone declares himself.”

“That should not be a problem for James. He will only graduate Cambridge in May,” The dance separated them again as they circled other dancers.

Once they were facing one another again, Lady Elizabeth picked up where the dance had forced her to pause.

“Then he is to leave for his Grand Tour. He will only be one and twenty in early June, so I do not believe that he would consider proposing to Georgie, or anyone else, for at least three years. That is assuming that it would be something that either of them chooses.”

After another sashay down the line, Darcy nodded his head. “That is good to hear. I would never push Georgie into an alliance, regardless of title or wealth, unless it was her desire and there was love and respect between them.”

The first dance of the set came to a close and they stood waiting for the next one to commence. “I am glad to hear that as we Bennets will never marry without the deepest love and true and mutual respect.” Elizabeth agreed.

Lady Sarah leaned over to talk to the three sisters sitting next to her, all current or former Fitzwilliams. “If I were a betting woman, I would bet that those two will set aside their stubbornness and acknowledge what most can already see,” She said loud enough for only her friends to hear.

“They will.” Lady Catherine sighed. “There was a time when I tried to claim that William and my Anne were ‘formed’ for each other, until my baby sister set me to rights.” The two blood sisters smiled at one another.

“If you had told me that I would be speculating about your Lizzy and our William making a match last year, I would have ordered the carriage to take you to Bedlam,” she teased.

“But one would have to be wilfully blind and ignorant to not see what is happening between those two.”

“I will not be unhappy to gain Lizzy as a daughter to share with you, Sarah.” Lady Anne took her friend’s hand.

“They are both very stubborn, and very different in some ways, but so very alike in others. I, like Catherine, would not have believed the changes in William, but I always hoped to see them. My thanks go out to Lizzy for giving me my William back.”

“Lizzy was not the only one who thought he was the worst kind of gentleman,” the Duchess shared.

“We all felt that way after our first meeting.

We are very happy to find out just how wrong we were.

My sons have gone from wanting to call William out to thinking of him as a friend.

It is not just Lizzy that he has won over.

I would be very happy to share him with you as a son, Anne.

“Richard has always thought of William like a brother, if those two,” Lady Elaine inclined her head toward the two who were busy with the second dance of the set, “ever see what is as plain as the noses on their faces, I too will gain another son and daughter. As Anne knows, I have considered William and Georgie honorary children for many years now.”

“What think you of James and Georgie, Anne?” asked her sister Catherine. “This is the second ball that he has requested the first from her.”

It would not have surprised Lady Anne to know that her answer was eerily similar to the one that her son had given to Lady Elizabeth.

The four matriarchs all agreed that there was a lot of time before either would be ready to enter the marriage mart, so they would just keep their eye on things for now.

Mrs. Gardiner joined the four and they were soon talking about more mundane issues.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

Caroline Bingley felt as though she was floating on air.

She was at the head of the line at her own engagement ball, dancing with the man that she loved above all others to whom she would be married in about three weeks.

Her brother was dancing next to them in the line with Franny Phillips.

As happy as she was for herself, she felt sympathy for her brother.

The end of the mandated time that he had had to wait to declare himself to Miss Phillips was fast approaching.

Charles would be the last Bingley sibling to complete his path to a love match.

Although this was a night of celebration, Caroline could not help but think about her late mother with mixed feelings, sad that she was not there to witness her daughter’s wedding but not sorry to no longer be under the mother’s bitter influence.

As she danced with her love, Caroline realised that her mother’s naked ambition which led her to lavish all of her time on her while ignoring Charles and Louisa was not love.

She had only been trying to live vicariously through her daughter.

As sad as it was, Caroline had no doubt that her mother would have been disappointed with Louisa’s husband, and post Lady Anne Darcy’s mentoring, Caroline would have caused Maude Bingley an apoplexy.

She missed her parents, but it was not an ache that one would feel for a loved one.

Maddie and Edward Gardiner had been more like true parents than her own.

As the set was coming to an end, Caroline banished all maudlin thoughts from her head and took her friend Lizzy’s advice and looked at the present and to the future.

She had the love of an excellent and honourable man, and most ironic of all that she was now accepted into the very circles her mother presumed to aspire to.

The behaviour that she had learned at her mother’s feet would have banished, and possibly ruined, her and her family. Yes, God moved in mysterious ways.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

Darcy did something after the first set that he had never done before, he asked ladies to whom he was introduced at the ball, and with whom he was not well acquainted, to dance.

This was a departure from his past actions.

Andrew was heard asking his brother who the spirit inhabiting William’s body was and where was his poor cousin being held captive.

The result had been a guffaw from his brother and peals of laughter from their wives.

“We should not have fun at his expense. This is a big change for William, and I think we can thank our sister for putting him on this path,” Andrew, Lord Hilldale opined.

As Jane watched her younger sister dance with Frank Lucas, she said, “Yes, brother, she may have been the impetus for him to change, but he is not the only one who has changed. Lizzy has made her own positive changes, and I believe it bodes well for their future.”

“Then you have seen the same thing as I, Jane?” Marie asked with a cryptic smile.

“I have, Sister; though only time will tell,” Jane answered with a smile of her own.