Page 30 of Longbourn’s Son (Pride and Prejudice Variation #22)
“You look utterly radiant tonight, Miss Bennet,” Charles Bingley said fulsomely.
His partner in the first set of dances was dressed in a blue gown which matched the azure color of her eyes.
Her glorious blond hair was piled high on her head, held up with pearl combs that glowed in the candlelight.
“Thank you, Mr. Bingley,” Jane replied sedately, suppressing a sigh. Why did every man focus on her external beauty? It was exasperating.
The dance separated them for a few seconds, and when they came back together, Bingley said, “May I inquire as to the well-being of your brother, Miss Bennet? I hope he has largely recovered from his injury.”
This provoked an answering smile, which made Bingley’s breath hitch in awe. She was absolutely breathtaking.
“He is very well, thank you. His ribs are still sore, but he is improving day by day. This morning, we nearly had to tie him up to keep him from going out into the fields to check on the sheep. He is frustrated by his limitations, but thus far, Kitty has kept him in check.”
“I am thankful he is doing well.”
/
“Do you ever visit London, Miss Elizabeth?” Darcy asked in what he hoped was a nonchalant tone as the couple circled on the dance floor during a cotillion.
“I do,” Elizabeth replied. “My aunt and uncle Gardiner, along with their four young children, live on Gracechurch Street in London, and we sisters take turns visiting them.”
“Miss Darcy and I will be enjoying the Christmas season with extended relations in Town. Do you plan to spend the holidays in London with your family?”
“No, the Gardiners always visit Longbourn at Christmas, and it is likely that Jane and Mary will return to London with them after the New Year. Jane and I never leave Longbourn at the same time as the younger three girls are not quite ready to act as mistress of the house, though Mary is learning.”
“Your father is blessed to have such diligent daughters, Miss Elizabeth.”
“Thank you, sir,” Elizabeth answered. “I know you understand the pain of losing a mother; Jane and I are thankful for the opportunity to love, comfort, and teach our younger siblings during their formative years.”
The dance separated them a moment, giving time for Darcy to formulate his next question. “I understand that none of you went away to school, Miss Elizabeth?”
“We did not,” his companion confirmed. “On her deathbed, my mother made my father promise that Luke would not be sent away; she had a great fear of school as two of her male cousins died during an outbreak of smallpox at their boarding school. It was not thought vital that we girls go away for learning, and I can only be glad; my father is a scholar and taught me as much as I wished to know, Jane would have been lonely, Mary would be bullied, Kitty and Luke despise being separated, and Lydia would be expelled in short order.”
This provoked a startled laugh from the gentleman, and Elizabeth smiled impishly.
“I assure you that I am not exaggerating, Mr. Darcy. Lydia is a wonderful girl, but she has an endless amount of energy and finds it difficult to sit still. The only way she is able to sew samplers and practice her harp is by running around vigorously and even climbing trees.”
“Climbing trees?Truly?”
Elizabeth waited until the dance drew them close together before she leaned over to murmur. “I will tell you a secret, sir. I still climb trees on occasion.”
He gazed down at her piquant face and took in a deep breath. “Miss Elizabeth?”
“Yes?”
He hesitated. Should he speak? Should he refrain?
“Do you think … can you imagine moving away from Hertfordshire someday, or would you wish to remain near Longbourn all your life? I know you love your family very much.”
She gazed up at him, her body and feet moving smoothly with the music, her color heightened.
There was an odd expression on Mr. Darcy’s face.
Was it possible that he was attracted to her?
It hardly seemed possible given his ancestry and position in society; he could reach very high for a bride, after all.
Perhaps he was merely making conversation.
She swallowed and said calmly, “My love for my family does not preclude my moving away from Hertfordshire. As I said, I do feel responsible for my younger three siblings now. But they are growing up quickly and soon will no longer need my succor and guidance, especially if … well, if my father finds a new wife, all will change. I confess to having an adventurous spirit and would enjoy traveling farther than London, but there are times when duty wins out over the desire for another path in life.”
Darcy gulped and nodded. “I understand completely, Miss Elizabeth.”
/
“Do you enjoy London, Mr. Darcy?” Caroline Bingley inquired.
Darcy, whose mind was fixated on his conversation with Elizabeth a few minutes earlier, nearly missed a step of the country dance at his partner’s odd question.
Once he had recovered from his distraction, he looked down on Miss Bingley in some confusion. “Enjoy London? In what way, Miss Bingley?”
“Do you enjoy the theater, the parties, the routs and assemblies?”
Darcy observed his partner keenly; while her face held a fixed smile, there was an odd tone to her words; it reminded him of his own questions to Miss Elizabeth a few minutes before. For some reason, the answer to this question mattered a great deal to Miss Bingley.
“I enjoy the theater if the acting is good,” Darcy acknowledged.
“As for the large gatherings that are of such importance to the ton, no, I do not like them at all. I prefer to dance with people with whom I am well acquainted, which is hardly acceptable at balls, regardless of whether they are public or private. The London air does not agree with me or Georgiana as much as the clean breezes of Pemberley. I live in London some of the time because I must, but I am always happier out in the country. I anticipate that once my sister is wed, I will spend most of my time at Pemberley.”
Miss Bingley now displayed whitened cheeks and a look of horror in her eyes. “You truly prefer the country, even when the company is unrefined and unvarying?”
“I believe I prefer a smaller circle of acquaintances, Miss Bingley, and as for unrefined, that is very much in the eye of the beholder, is it not? Some of the highest ranking individuals in the land are immoral and unscrupulous. Some of the simplest common folk are kind and honorable.”
The twosome fell into silence after this last remark, both astonished.
Miss Bingley was incredulous to hear that the man she had set her cap on for more than two years had no particular pleasure in high society.
Colonel Fitzwilliam was correct; she and Mr. Darcy were not well suited at all!
The last thing she wanted was to be buried in the country most of the year; even Pemberley, in all its glory, would pall after a few months.
She adored London with its bright lights and parties and people.
As for Darcy, he was stunned by his own words which, he realized, he believed entirely.
He had long disdained men and women with poor connections.
He had been proud and arrogant. But his cousin Richard was correct; the value of person should be based on character, not on his or her position in society.
/
“Thank you for allowing me the last dance before the meal, Miss Bennet,” Colonel Fitzwilliam said. “It is rare for an old soldier like myself to enjoy the company of such a lovely lady at supper.”
Jane smiled and ducked her head, but her eyes briefly flashed fire. Why, oh why, did all men focus on her looks ?
Richard Fitzwilliam, who was far more observant than Bingley, felt a spike of surprise.
As the second son of an earl, he had attended dozens of balls and routs and parties and in his experience, all women wished to be complimented on their looks.
Miss Bennet, who was one of the most beautiful ladies he had ever beheld, looked quite irritable at his overt flattery.
“Miss Bennet, I hope your brother is doing well?” Colonel Fitzwilliam said, deciding to shift to a more serious topic.
This time, Miss Bennet’s smile was genuine. “Indeed, he is doing well. Thank you.”
“I know that at a ball, one is expected to speak of the size of the room or the number of couples, but I am a soldier and inclined to speak bluntly. I promise you that Wickham will never disturb your peace again, Miss Bennet. He is safely locked away at Marshalsea, and the governor of the prison has strict instructions to give him no freedom at all.”
Jane, though startled, could only be grateful.
“Thank you, Colonel. I am truly delighted to hear that the miscreant is safely stowed away and will never harm any of us again. It is, of course, a great sorrow that the man has made choices which result in such a dreadful end, but he is obviously dangerous to society.”
“He is indeed,” the colonel agreed. “He has been a thorn in the side of my cousin Darcy for many years now.”
“I understand Mr. Wickham was his father’s godson; it must have been difficult to take the harsh but necessary step to put away a man whom his beloved father cared for.”
“That is very insightful,” the colonel said solemnly. “That is precisely what stayed Darcy’s hand for so long. That, and they were boyhood friends at Pemberley.”
The lady’s expression suddenly grew troubled, and her companion waited in some concern as she took a sip of dinner wine before saying, “In truth, it frightens me that a man like Mr. Wickham, with such advantages in life, could turn out so poorly. As the eldest of my siblings, I consider myself responsible for guiding the younger ones in the stead of my mother, who, as you know, was taken from us several years ago. It dismays me to think that my brother or one of my sisters could go so wrong.”