Page 2 of Longbourn’s Son (Pride and Prejudice Variation #22)
Meryton Assembly Hall
“Charlotte!” Elizabeth Bennet exclaimed, smiling at her dear friend. “Are you well?”
“I am, Elizabeth,” Charlotte Lucas responded. “How are you and your family?”
“We are also well, and entirely over what proved to be a most tedious illness. None of us were in danger, of course, but to cough into another’s face would have won us no favors. I have missed our conversations, my friend.”
“I have as well but rejoice that you are able to attend this most important assembly!”
Elizabeth chuckled. “Yes, of course, with Mr. Bingley and his party of at least fifteen coming to dance and eat and converse!”
“I heard five and twenty,” Charlotte teased as her younger sister joined them. “Maria, that dress is very becoming on you.”
Maria Lucas, the younger and prettier of the two Lucas daughters, was openly bouncing with excitement. “Thank you, Charlotte. Good evening, Elizabeth! Are Kitty and Mary here?”
“They are over there inspecting the punch and refreshments.”
Maria glanced over to the table and then turned back, her cheeks pink. “What of Luke?”
The second Miss Bennet swallowed her amusement. “Luke will be along shortly. One of our best cows had a problem with a hoof and thus he was delayed, but he assured me that he would be here.”
Maria ducked her head in embarrassment. “I will go speak to Mary and Kitty.”
Her two elders chuckled when she was out of hearing range and Elizabeth said, “Poor Maria. I fear that my brother is not yet interested in the members of our sex.”
“I am aware,” Charlotte agreed, “but if my younger sister must make sheep’s eyes at a man, I am glad it is your brother. He is a fine young gentleman and will not take advantage of her in any way.”
Elizabeth looked searchingly at her friend. “As opposed to whom?”
Charlotte shrugged slightly, her lips turning down. “You know of the militia regiment that will shortly be arriving Meryton and staying through the winter?”
“Yes, certainly. My younger sisters are agog with enthusiasm and I confess to some excitement as well. The presence of militia officers will enlarge our social circle considerably.”
“That they will,” Miss Lucas admitted, “but the truth is that we will know nothing about the characters of any of them. Most men seem handsome in their regimentals, and I worry that some of the girls in the area will have their heads turned foolishly.”
Elizabeth looked surprised. “You are harsh indeed, Charlotte. Has an officer done something in particular to displease you?”
“No,” her friend responded hastily. “Not me, but my cousin in Kent has a friend who … but I speak out of turn. I am merely old enough, and I hope wise enough, to wonder what is behind a handsome face. From a purely practical perspective, few of the officers will be eligible marriage prospects.”
“It will be pleasant to have more dance partners, at any rate,” Elizabeth suggested gently.
“Yes, certainly. Forgive me my cynical speech, dear friend. I have spent too many weeks away from my effervescent Eliza.”
“You are forgiven, of course. Now, I do believe that the first set is forming, and Mr. Baker has asked me to dance.”
Charlotte suppressed a sigh and smiled brightly.
She quite adored Elizabeth and her sisters, but it was hard to be seven and twenty years of age with only moderate looks, when four of the five Bennet sisters were very handsome.
With gentlemen in short supply, Charlotte sat out more sets than she danced. “Enjoy yourself, Elizabeth.”
/
Fitzwilliam Darcy was anxious. He and his sister Georgiana had arrived at Netherfield Hall only this morning and their host, Charles Bingley, had arranged for Darcy to attend an assembly in the village of Meryton this very evening.
He would have far preferred to stay at Netherfield to ensure himself that Georgiana was settling in well, though she had encouraged him to go.
His young sister did have her paid companion, Mrs. Annesley, who was a pleasant conversationalist, and Georgiana was also fond of Mrs. Hurst, Mr. Bingley’s elder sister, who was also staying back at the mansion.
Georgiana would be well enough, he supposed, but he still worried about her.
He stepped into the assembly hall and cast a cynical gaze around the room, which was like many such places.
It would hold some forty couples on the dance floor, and there were no doubt rooms for card playing and the like.
There was no one here who could possibly be of interest to him, and he felt an insane urge to retreat back to the carriage and wait for his host and hostess to finish their dancing.
But no, that would not do. He braced himself as a portly gentleman of some fifty years stepped forward, beaming enthusiastically.
“Welcome, Mr. Bingley!” the man said to Darcy’s closest friend.
“Thank you, Sir William!” Charles Bingley answered with a jovial grin. “May I please introduce my sister, Miss Bingley, and my friend, Mr. Darcy? Darcy, Caroline, Sir William Lucas.”
“Miss Bingley, Mr. Darcy,” Sir William responded with a deep bow, “I am delighted to meet you both.”
Darcy bowed slightly and Caroline Bingley awarded the man a small curtsey. A moment later, the music began for the first dance and Darcy, eager to get any necessary dancing over with, turned to Miss Bingley. “Might I have the honor of this dance, Miss Bingley?”
The lady, who had been looking disapproving, turned a coquettish smile on him. “Thank you, Mr. Darcy, I would be honored.”
He led her out to the dance floor as he berated himself inwardly.
He ought to have waited for a later set; Miss Bingley was already far too inclined to believe that she was a candidate to be the mistress of Darcy’s great estate of Pemberley in Derbyshire.
On the other hand, Darcy could not bear to be with Bingley, who, after a brief conversation, was now leading a rather plain woman out onto the dance floor.
“I simply cannot imagine why Charles has dragged us here tonight,” Miss Bingley commented, far too loudly for Darcy’s taste. “There is no one here of any refinement or beauty or fashion.”
Darcy had some sympathy with his partner’s view, but he would not be disloyal to his friend. “Bingley has the right of it. He is now master of Netherfield, or at least so long as he holds the lease on the property, and it is vital that he be on good terms with his neighbors.”
Miss Bingley sniffed disdainfully and glanced around the room, though she did not lose her place in the dance. She was, if nothing else, an excellent dancer. “I was not in favor of his decision to take Netherfield. He ought to have chosen a locale farther north.”
Darcy suppressed a grimace. Pemberley was in Derbyshire; no doubt Miss Bingley desired that her brother take an estate nearer his so that Darcy would be forced to spend even more time in the lady’s company.
“Bingley is a gregarious gentleman who finds great pleasure in company. Netherfield is only a few hours away from Town, which is a great advantage if one cares to enjoy its pleasures.”
“That is true enough,” his partner agreed, mollified. “Indeed, I daresay Charles will soon grow weary of being master of this estate and flee back to London.”
Darcy frowned but did not contradict her. He valued Bingley greatly, but it was true that the man was not especially conscientious. He hoped, for the sake of the estate, that his friend would fulfill his duties as master of the tenant farmers.
The rest of the dance was completed in silence, and Darcy then retreated to a convenient corner and tried to fade into the woodwork.
Not surprisingly, he was unsuccessful. He was tall and generally considered handsome; more than that, he was the privileged owner of an estate and he could already hear the loud whispers of the matrons and their daughters.
“Ten thousand pounds a year!”
“A large estate in Derbyshire!”
Fitzwilliam Darcy shot a hunted glance at his watch and pressed his back against the wall.
He hoped that Bingley would be willing to leave before the end of the ball, though it seemed unlikely as he had found an exceptionally handsome blonde lady among the assembly, and they were happily dancing a cotillion together.
No, it seemed almost certain that the Netherfield party would stay until the bitter end of this provincial affair.
/
Luke Bennet, age seventeen and heir of Longbourn, took a last breath of cool night air before stepping into the entrance hall.
The building, full as it was with most of the four and twenty families who composed the gentry in Meryton, was warm but not oppressive.
Luke, who much preferred horses to dancing, was thankful that autumn had arrived and with it cooler temperatures for those trapped indoors.
“Luke!” Kitty Bennet cried out happily, bustling up to her brother. “You are here at last!”
“I am sorry I was late, Kitty. I wanted to be positive that Persephone was well after the veterinarian treated her hoof.”
His twin grinned up at him. “My dear Luke, naturally it was incumbent upon you to stay in the barn and watch Persephone as opposed to coming early to the assembly. You are very noble; I know that you enjoy dancing above all things!”
Luke chuckled and ducked his head. “It is not that I hate dancing, precisely…”
“No, but there are dozens of things you prefer more,” Kitty returned merrily. “I do not mean to tease you; indeed, we are grateful you have arrived for the second half of the dance. We all appreciate the company of a male relation.”
This wiped the smile from Luke’s face. “And naturally Father is not here. He cannot be bothered to leave his library.”
Kitty reached up a gloved hand to gently pat her taller brother’s face. “Now Luke, do not start with that. The next dance is some fifteen minutes away, and Maria Lucas would be most pleased if you were to ask her to dance.”
Luke swallowed his irritation and nodded. “Very well, I shall ask her.”
/
Darcy was contemplating sheep breeds when Charles Bingley strode up to confront him. The English Leicester, introduced by Thomas Coke, Earl of Leicester, was a fast maturing sheep which thrived on turnips. Perhaps…
“Come, Darcy!” Bingley exclaimed, “I must have you dance. I hate to see you standing about by yourself in this stupid manner. You had much better dance.”
Darcy’s mind’s eye shifted from turnip farming to dancing, and he frowned hideously at his friend.
“I certainly shall not. You know how I detest it, unless I am particularly acquainted with my partner. At such an assembly as this it would be insupportable. Your sister is engaged, and there is not another woman in the room whom it would not be a punishment to me to stand up with.”
“I would not be so fastidious as you are for a kingdom!” Bingley argued. “Upon my honor, I never met with so many pleasant girls in my life as I have this evening; and there are several of them you see uncommonly pretty.”
“You are dancing with the only handsome girl in the room,” Darcy retorted, casting his eyes on the beauty who was currently conversing with Sir William Lucas.
The girl was incredibly lovely with cerulean blue eyes, a perfectly straight nose, a fine figure, and blonde hair piled high on her well-shaped head.
“Oh!” Bingley gushed. “She is the most beautiful creature I ever beheld! But there is another of her sisters sitting down just behind you, who is very pretty, and I dare say very agreeable. Do let me ask my partner to introduce you.”
Exasperated, Darcy peered around to inspect the young, dark haired woman seated demurely nearby, and then turned back to his friend.
“She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me; I am in no humor at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men. You had better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting your time with me.”
“How dare you, sir!” a male voice snarled from Darcy’s right, and Pemberley’s master turned in shock. A very young man, tall and thin with dark eyes and hair, stood within a few feet of Darcy, his shoulders back, his eyes blazing. “How dare you say such an insulting thing about my sister?”
Darcy, taken entirely by surprise at this sudden attack, rose to his full height and glared into the boy’s face. “I do not believe we have been introduced,” he said in a thoroughly haughty tone.
“No, we have not,” the youth snapped, his dark eyes aflame with anger, “but I will not permit that to keep me silent in the face of such an affront. You are a stranger here, sir, and have no particular consequence that my sister should be honored or dishonored by your decision not to dance with her.”
“Luke, my dear,” the disparaged lady interposed, stepping up next to the youth and placing a dainty hand on his arm, “I do beg of you not to take Mr. Darcy’s words to heart.
He is, I understand, from the far north and you know that Father says those of different cultures have different practices.
No doubt in Derbyshire, it is considered quite the thing to show your gratitude for being invited to an assembly by insulting the beauty of the ladies within. ”
“Lizzy,” the young man began, keeping his eyes on Darcy’s face.
“No, dear brother, it is quite all right. You know that I enjoy observing new people, and Mr. Darcy is quite an interesting character study, even if he is not a pleasant individual. Now come, Miss Maria is waiting for you to dance.”
Darcy, struck entirely dumb by this slew of elegant insults, stared incredulously as the pair walked away from him. A full minute later, he turned his attention on Bingley, who wore an odd expression of amusement, reproach, and surprise.
“Bingley, can we please leave?” Darcy asked a little piteously.
Bingley looked around mournfully; he liked the eldest Miss Bennet very much, but Darcy was his closest friend. “Of course.”