Page 67 of I Thee Wed (Pride And Prejudice Variation #2)
The Darcys’ ball took place in the last week of April.
Lady Helen pronounced it a success, and the society papers wrote that it was a ‘sad crush,’ the ultimate accolade any hostess could attain.
The house was so crowded that guests had difficulty navigating through the various rooms and on the dance floor.
The Earl, the Countess, Viscount Stafford, Darcy, and Elizabeth stood together in the receiving line. Darcy bent close to his wife and murmured, “You will reserve your first, your last, and the supper dances for me. Any waltz is mine as well.”
Phillip, who stood beside them in the receiving line, laughed. “Darcy, you astonish me. I had not supposed you knew the steps to any dance. I have only ever seen you holding up the walls and glowering.”
Darcy frowned at his fair cousin. “Phillip, I should be obliged if you kept such observations to yourself.”
Amused, Elizabeth smiled at the friendly sparring between the cousins.
Phillip also asked for a dance. “Cousin, reserve your second set for me. I’m afraid that if I delay speaking, I shall not obtain one at all.”
The guests advanced easily through the line, and Elizabeth’s dance card was filled before she had met all Darcy’s friends.
Sir Lawrence Pembroke arrived early and bowed low before Elizabeth. “Mrs. Darcy, may I claim your first free dance?”
She liked this man. He had always been accepting of her and her family without prejudice. She smiled at him affectionately. “My third set is open, Sir Lawrence. I am very pleased to see you again.” Darcy frowned at him, and Sir Lawrence raised an eyebrow and walked away.
Other acquaintances of Darcy pressed forward, asking for a set. Anthony Brook, Frederick York, and Robert Sinclair each secured a set. Elizabeth's sweet smile and her warmth made each man feel himself favored.
When Mr. and Mrs. Bingley passed through the receiving line, Bingley bowed low to Elizabeth. “Sister, do you still have a dance for me?”
“I saved one for you, Charles,” Elizabeth lifted her card so he could see which dance she had set aside for him. Jane kissed her sister and moved down the line.
When they heard the first notes of the music, Darcy led Elizabeth to the floor.
He was dressed in black evening wear and looked striking.
His dark hair was perfectly arranged, save for the familiar forelock that fell across his brow.
Elizabeth could not look away from him. His gaze never left her eyes, and her lively observations made him chuckle more than once.
He complained that the figure ended all too soon, and he frowned at his cousin when he escorted her to his side.
“Do not flirt too much with her, Phillip. Have a care for propriety.”
Phillip was as tall as Darcy, but fair where his cousin was dark. Elizabeth met him quip for quip, keeping him in continual laughter until the dance was over. When it ended, he bowed over her hand.
“Have you an unmarried sister, Mrs. Darcy? I should very much like to marry her if you do.”
Elizabeth laughed. “Alas, sir, none are remaining. All my sisters are married.”
He then returned her to Darcy’s side with mock severity. “You have taken the last Bennet sister, Darcy, and I am left bereft.”
Darcy’s reply was as dry as dust. “You arrive a day late, Phillip, and a pound short.”
Sir Lawrence claimed the third set. Darcy’s jaw tightened as he watched the man hold Elizabeth too closely, his shoulder inclining towards her with a familiarity that could not be mistaken.
When the dance ended, the man lingered on the dance floor, and he did not immediately return her to her husband.
He lifted Elizabeth’s hand slowly to his lips and pressed a kiss upon her glove before glancing at Darcy with deliberate insolence.
Elizabeth saw her husband’s distress, and when she had returned to his side, she slipped her arm within his, then lifted her eyes and smiled.
He smiled down at her and relaxed. He bent close and murmured, “Darling, I am undone by possessive fancies. I am surely paying for past sins, but what they could be, I can’t think.
I have never intentionally made any woman suffer in this way. ”
Elizabeth lifted a brow. “I can speak for one woman. I have never suffered so much since I met you, Fitzwilliam. You have run me through hell and back.” She grinned at him, but he only stared back at her, not understanding why she would say such a thing.
Anthony Brook arrived and led Elizabeth away, while Darcy watched with a jealous eye. Phillip remained close to his cousin, intent on teasing him.
He murmured. “Jealousy becomes you, Darcy. I will be sure to attend Richard’s ball. I would not wish to miss a second display.”
Darcy frowned, but since the cousins stood nearly eye to eye, Phillip merely chuckled and added, “This is retribution for those countless women whose hopes you dashed with that cool reserve of yours.”
Georgiana remained close to Lady Helen during the early part of the evening, with the Countess keeping vigilant watch over her young charge.
Mr. Bingley led her out for a country-dance, and Phillip secured a later figure, while both her brother and her uncle each claimed two sets.
Georgiana was allowed to remain until supper, and then she was to return to her chamber.