Page 17 of Reputation, an Easy Thing to Lose (Reputation Verse #1)

Chapter 16

A Ball Full of Mischief

Matlock House, St. James, Lo ndon

2 May 1813—Georgiana’s Official Debut Ball

H ow has my life become a living tor ture?

Darcy stood broodingly on the periphery of the Matlock House ballroom. He watched closely as both his wife and his sister were squired about the dance floor by dandies and rakes! Or, at least that was how it felt. In fact, most all of the men present were either family, close friends of the Fitzwilliam and Darcy families, or men of the best breeding with impeccable reputations. Elizabeth and Darcy had discussed dancing partners with Georgiana before the ball, and each man had asked her imposing older brother for permission before securing the guest of honour’s hand for a set. While there was no such need to gain Darcy’s permission for anyone to dance with Elizabeth, so far, many of the eligible men seeking an introduction had also extended Darcy that courtesy. Only Richard and Bingley had asked for a dance from Elizabeth without seeking Darcy’s permission. But this did not keep Darcy from hating every minute that either his baby sister or his wife was in the arms of other men.

Richard sauntered up to Darcy, who had been hiding in a corner of the ballroom all evening with a sour look on his face.

“Come, old man! Tell me what has you in such a brooding mood? Georgiana has performed flawlessly, and everyone is speaking of how well she looked yesterday at her presentation. There is nothing I can see to have you acting so forebo ding.”

Darcy huffed and crossed his arms. “I do not like the way these so -c alled gentlemen are looking at her, as if she was some horse on sale at Tatters alls.”

Richard took another drink of his wine. While Darcy’s words implied he was speaking of Georgiana, his eyes were glued to Elizabeth. “I am sure it will get better as the season goe s on.”

“Humph.” Darcy continued to follow Elizabeth across the dance floor. “And while Georgiana acquitted herself well in front of the queen, I would not say that yesterday’s presentation was at all enjoyable. My aunts were absolutely atroc ious!”

“How so? Mother came home saying the entire affair went well.”

“Of course your mother was pleased, but did she tell you what Aunt Catherine did to Eliz… Miss Elizabeth? Neither Lady Catherine nor Anne was expected, but both were in the carriage when it rolled up to our house at ten a.m. Then, Lady Catherine nearly had an apoplexy when Elizabeth began to enter the carriage, and said she was not fit to be riding with the titled ladies to such an important event. She even said, at a very injudicious volume, that Georgiana’s companion should not come inside the palace as she was not needed with so many family members to chaperone, then she insisted Miss Elizabeth ride in the servants’ carriage which was following.” Darcy’s voice was rising, unsarcastically loud, and he threw his arms frustratingly into the air. “Do not give any mind to the fact that she is there for Georgiana’s social comfort, as much as her chaperone. I believe that at least three of my neighbours walked by just to hear the commotion coming from the Matlock carr iage.”

Richard chuckled. “Did you expect Aunt Catherine to be reason able?”

“I expect her to have basic manners in company!” Darcy stuck his finger in Richard’s face. “Your father should not let her out if she cannot keep her to ngue.”

“I assure you, Father has no ability to curtail Lady Catherine. She is a bitter old lady who has been hiding from London society these twenty years, Darcy. No one will take what she says with any since rity.”

“Do you know what she tried to do when the ladies came home from the presentation?” Darcy levelled his cousin with another intense look. “She tried to dismiss Elizabeth from the luncheon. As if she had not helped Georgie design the table and menu. Aunt Catherine said that Elizabeth should take her meal in the servants’ dining room! It was infuria ting!”

Richard’s eyes had grown large at Darcy’s passioned speech and informal references to Elizabeth. He looked around to ensure that their conversation was not being overheard by anyone then placed his hand on Darcy’s forearm and spoke under his breath. “I understand you are angry, but this is not the forum for discussing your ire at our aunt. Please try to calm your self.”

Darcy grumbled, but ultimately relaxed his stance. It would not do to act like a jealous husband in front of the entire ton .

Richard let Darcy have a few moments of silence to recover his composure before changing the subject. “Have you taken a turn around the dance floor yet, other than your opening dance with Geo rgie?”

Another scowl fixed itself on Darcy’s face and he recrossed his arms. “I have no intention of entertaining the ladies present. This is about Georgiana’s debut, not my prosp ects.”

“Nonsense! Tonight has been carefully orchestrated to cater to both Georgie’s coming out and my mother’s unwed sons, nieces, and nep hews.”

Darcy took another look around the ballroom with little enjoyment. Both Lady Matlock’s eligible niece and cousin were present, Lady Fiona Finch and Lady Miranda Stanley respectively, along with their families. The Earl of Bristol and his family was also amongst the numerous gu ests.

Mr. Goodwin Hervey, the Honourable Earl of Bristol, was a young man newly into his inheritance. In fact, Bristol was originally the second son and had studied to become a clergyman before his father and older brother were killed in a carriage accident nearly two years ago. Bristol had studied alongside Bingley at Cambridge and had been good friends with the Darcy and Fitzwilliam boys all his life. The change from aspiring man of the cloth to Member of the House of Lords had been a massive undertaking, and the bookish young man was anything but ready for the assault from the marriage -m inded ladies of London. Lady Matlock and the Dowager Bristol both hoped that Georgiana and the young Bristol would make a good match, due to their shy and quiet nat ures.

Bristol’s younger sister, Lady Grace Harvey, was also looking for a connection to the Darcys but could not care one fig about her brother and the mousey Georgiana. She had her sights squarely on the master of Pemberley, or more accurately, on the ready cash in the bank account of the master of Pemberley. In her first season last year, Lady Grace had little luck, along with the rest of London, securing any time with the elusive bachelor. But now, with her brother expected to court the sister, she had her chance at D arcy.

With Richard making the first foray into drawing out Darcy, other young men followed. Many were, no doubt, hoping to get a chance to dance with Georgiana or Elizabeth, but several were friends of Darcy looking for some conversa tion.

Amongst the group were Bristol and the Finch boys: Oswald Finch the Viscount Finwell, second son Army Captain Thurston Finch who was a good soldier but a spendthrift, and third son solicitor Bernard Finch. While Darcy had been playmates with Finwell and the Captain since they were all barely out of their cradles, it was Bernard who had always been a true friend. A quiet, educated, and kind young man, Bernard was his grandmother’s favourite, his father’s disappointment, and often picked upon by his older brothers. He had earned top marks at Oxford, then went to clerk for one of the most sought -a fter solicitors in all of London. At not quite twenty -f our , he was poised to become a partner in the exclusive London practice, and last year had purchased a lovely five -s tory townhouse facing Russell Square Park. Darcy had dined with Bernard at his home last season after visiting the British Museum and was quite impressed with the size and comfort of the p lace.

With such a large crowd of unmarried gentlemen forming, it did not take long for the match -m inded women to intervene. Just before the end of the fourth set, Lady Matlock came over to the group of eligible men with a gaggle of young women in tow. She intended to break up the stag party and personally ensure that her ridiculous son and nephews danced with each of the titled young women in the room.

Although not initially invited by the Countess to join the invading ladies, Caroline Bingley attached herself to the group. The Bingleys had been invited only due to Bingley’s friendship with Darcy and the hopeful inclusion of Lady Sefton. It seemed the older lady showed up wherever Caroline went, so Lady Matlock put aside their questionable background and allowed the two social climbers inside Matlock House for Georgiana’s big day.

Caroline made a beeline for Darcy the moment Lady Matlock interrupted the men. Putting her fingertips lightly on his arm, Caroline drew him away, trying to engage Darcy in a semi -p rivate conversation away from the crowd. “Mr. Darcy, how lovely to see you tonight! Georgiana looks absolutely radiant in her ball gown, and I am sure you are so proud of her presenta tion.”

Before he could even contemplate how to reply, Lady Matlock stepped in, separating Caroline from Darcy. “Of course, we are all so proud to finally have Georgie out in society.” She then turned her back to Caroline and spoke only to Darcy. “I know it has been since before Christmas, but you remember my niece, Lady Fiona, and my cousin’s daughter, Lady Miranda, Fitzwil liam?”

“Yes, Aunt, of course. Ladies, are you enjoying the evening?” Darcy replied, stiffly and generically, since he was honestly having a hard time remembering which blonde lady was which. The one in the green dress had blue eyes like Lady Derby, and the one in the blue dress looked more like Lady Matlock, so perhaps the first was Lady Miranda and the second was Lady Fiona, but he was not sure. Richard would know. He would have to ask him to identify the ladies before addressing either one.

From somewhere to Darcy’s left, another young woman abruptly made her presence known. “Brother, aren’t you going to do the courtesy of introducing me to your good friend?” The lady was addressing Bristol with a hard gleam to her eye and a fake smile plastered on her face.

“Of course, Grace. Darcy, may I present my sister, the Lady Grace Hervey. Grace, this is Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley and Derbys hire.”

Lady Grace quickly curtseyed then extended her hand for Darcy to bow over. The gentleman performed the expected pleasantry, then found himself with Lady Grace somehow attached to him, having maneuvered herself to twist her arm under his elbow. Before Darcy was done staring at her hand gripping his arm, the audacious lady began speaking again. “Mr. Darcy, it is such a pleasure to finally be able to meet you properly. I know that we were introduced when you visited with my brother several summers ago at our estate, before I was out in society, but now we are all able to enjoy such sophisticated company. This is truly a fabulous event for Miss Darcy; she must feel every bit a princess today. Goodwin, have you had occasion to dance with the guest of honour yet? No? Well, you should not wait too long, or her dance card will be completely full. And what about you, Mr. Darcy, have you had your fill of dancing this eve ning?”

Still baffled at how the young woman was maintaining her physical attachment to him, and developing a plan to disentangle himself without doing her bodily harm, Darcy was completely at a loss to follow her incessant ramb ling.

Not even waiting for a reply from her captive, Lady Grace went on. “I am sure that you have not, since you have thus far only danced four dances with ineligible women in your family. Do you have a specific lady chosen for the quadrille, sir?”

“No, I have not engaged any specific lady for the quadrille,” replied Darcy automatically, still attempting to make space between them.

“Wonderful! I would love to accompany you for the next set. Thank you, sir.” And with that, Lady Grace began to drag Darcy towards the dance floor. He was doubly confused by her actions until he heard the beginning stanzas of a quadrille and had to stifle his moan. She had tricked him into dancing with her for one of the longest sets of the entire n ight.

Elizabeth watched as her husband was dragged onto the dance floor by a young woman whom she had never met. Once she arrived at the grouping of men, and now women, where Darcy had been standing for half the night, she observed the sour looks on many of the women’s faces. Given the general mood of the group, Elizabeth decided not to comment on Darcy’s current dance partner. Instead, she located a cup of punch and headed to the terrace for some fresh air. The dark corner of the space was the only place one could find any significant air movement, so Elizabeth moved into the shadows opposite the massive ballroom d oors.

After only a few minutes in the cool late evening breeze, Elizabeth heard and saw her husband help a theoretically faint young woman onto the terrace. It was the same women he had been forced to dance with moments ago, and her ploy was so ridiculous that it was almost com ical.

Al most.

She was not about to have her husband caught up in some scandal, so Elizabeth made to go assist the young woman and free Darcy from her grasp. Interestingly, Caroline beat Elizabeth to the young woman’s aide.

“Lady Grace, are you alright? I saw you have a dizzy spell on the dance floor and Mr. Darcy escort you outside for fresh air. Can I be of assist ance?”

“Yes.”

“NO.”

Darcy and Lady Grace answered at the same time in the opposite. Darcy cleared his throat and finally freed himself from the distressed woman’s clutch. “Yes, Miss Bingley. That is most kind of you to look after Lady Grace while she recovers from her spell. I must get back to the ball and ensure Georgiana is well. Excuse me, ladies.” With that, he jerked his head in a motion that might have been a strange attempt at a bow, then spun around and strode back into the ball room.

Caroline turned to Lady Grace the second Darcy was across the threshold. “Do not think for one moment that I believe you had a fainting spell in there! I know exactly what you were trying to do, and it will not work. He cannot be trapped by the likes of you. And even if he were found in a compromising position, who would make him marry you? Your pathetic brother, the Cleric Earl? Do not make me laugh! Bristol may be an earldom, but he has no sway over Fitzwilliam D arcy.”

“As if you ever had a chance with anyone in that entire ballroom. You with your dirty trade money and a brother dressed up like a gentleman but running a mill in Yorkshire! And do not tell me that marrying your sister to the younger Hurst brother gives you any standing in society. Just because Lady Sefton graces your sister’s table does not make you a gentlewoman. You have failed for nigh on five seasons to catch the master of Pemberley, but that does not mean others will similarly fail. We shall see who makes the match and whose family will force the issue if necessary.” Lady Grace flipped open her fan directly in front of Caroline’s face, giving her the cut direct, then strode back into the ballroom, her chin lofted into the air.

Caroline stomped her foot then counted to one hundred before smoothing down her silk skirt and heading back inside. Elizabeth shook her head. Scheming ladies were generally harmless, but such flagrant acts where anyone could see were dangerous. Both ladies could have caused a significant scandal if anyone but Elizabeth had overheard such admissions. Surely if any of the numerous countesses in attendance had been in Elizabeth’s spot enjoying the cool air, both young women would now be packing for exile from London Soc iety.

After re -e ntering the room, Elizabeth spied her husband on the dance floor once again, this time with Lady Fiona. It appeared that Lady Matlock had taken over the male socializing corner and was now practically lining up the young ladies, making Darcy dance the rest of the evening. Georgiana was dancing with Bristol and not immediately in need of Elizabeth. So, she decided to chat with Richard, who was deep in conversation with Anne de Bo urgh.

After the set was finished, Darcy brought his dance partner back to the small grouping including Elizabeth and his cousins. Although it was proper to escort a young lady back to her guardian after a dance, he was drawn towards Elizabeth’s twinkling laughter and Richard’s booming voice telling some embellished anecdote about the cadets newly joined to his regi ment.

Forgetting himself for a moment due to the stress of the last hour, Darcy addressed the whole group informally. “Now Elizabeth, you must remember that whatever Richard tells you, it is a lie. Do not believe one word. Anne, tell her how poorly our wayward cousin represents the t ruth.”

Richard snorted. “I am sure I do not know what you mean, Darcy. I am one of the king’s finest. See how many shiny medals they have given me?” He dramatically pointed to the pins and medals displayed on his bright red dress uniform, all shined to a high polish for the formal event. “Such a man would not lie to gentil ladies, woul d he?”

Richard winked at his cousin Anne then stepped forward to bestow a low bow over his other female cousin’s hand and handle the introductions. “Lady Fiona, may I say you look lovely tonight, and you dance wonderfully. Let me introduce you to my other Fitzwilliam cousin, Miss Anne de Bourgh, and you already know the lovely Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Ladies, may I present Lady Fiona Finch, cousin to me by my mother’s brother, the Earl of Nottin gham.”

After cursory curtsies all around, the group returned to their humorous discussion of Richard’s inept soldiers, boys not yet eighteen, who may well go to war in France before they were able to grow beards, unless Britain could capture Napoleon and finally put an end to this bloody war. It was an easy conversation and for the first time in nearly thirty -s ix hours, Darcy started to r elax.

When the strings of the band announced the supper set, Darcy decided to continue being selfish and acquire his wife’s hand for a dance, then sit with her during the midnight meal. To everyone looking on, it appeared that the master of Pemberley overlooked his heiress cousin and his aunt’s favourite titled niece to dance the all -i mportant supper set with his employee. Lady Catherine nearly tripped on her hemline trying to stop the tragedy before the couple made it to the dance line, but she did not make it in time. With a loud huff and a stomp of her cane, she marched in the direction of Anne. Intent on giving her daughter a piece of her mind for allowing Darcy to get away, she was once again thwarted, this time by Richard making a dramatic show of securing Anne’s hand for the supper set.

If Darcy had been paying attention to the room instead of focusing exclusively on his lovely wife, he might have seen the fury etched onto one aunt’s face and the disapproval on the other’s. Many of the matchmaking mammas were sporting an outraged countenance and their daughters looked as if the refreshments table was supplied with nothing but lemons. Several faces belonging to Darcy’s lifelong male friends showed varying degrees of suspicion. And one kindly old face, who had seen enough of the London marriage mart to know what loved looked like on a dance floor, looked on with a mixture of pity and hope.

The other thing Darcy missed, that would have certainly been of the utmost importance to him, was that Georgiana was again paired with the youngest son of Nottingham, Bernard Finch. They talked and laughed as they danced and seemed to share the same slightly dazed look whenever the dance required that they clasp hands for a few mom ents.

All three Darcys plus Bernard managed to find each other inside the massive dining room, and soon they were blissfully surrounded, or protected, depending on the perspective, on all sides by Bingley, Richard, and Anne. Lady Fiona took the seat next to her youngest brother and Caroline was forced to sit next to her own brother, too far away to politely converse with Georgiana or Darcy. At least she was seated only one chair away from the hostess and could easily converse with Lady Mat lock.

Caroline decided that now was the time to introduce the idea of a June house party at Pemberley. She would need Lady Matlock as the driving force for such an event, since Darcy would certainly never agree to such a thing on his own.

“Lady Matlock, this has been the most delightful evening. Thank you for including my family in the invitation. Seeing such a wonderful friend officially become a member of society has been truly an honour.” Caroline tried to put on her most deferential expression, even though she bristled inside at the knowledge that it was only her connection to Lady Sefton which won her the invitation. “Such a beautiful debut deserves an equally stunning end cap. Have you and Miss Darcy given any thought to an end - o f - t he -s eason house party at Matlock? Or better yet, at Pemberley? It would give Miss Darcy a chance to play hostess, and the Pemberley gardens are particularly lovely in the su mmer.”

Elizabeth was two seats from Caroline with Bingley sitting in between. The two listened in, one with amusement and one with dread, but neither could intervene in the conversation since they were not seated close enough to Lady Matlock to politely address the Coun tess.

“You make a good point, Miss Bingley. There have been few opportunities for Georgie to host guests at Pemberley since becoming of an appropriate age to do so. And heaven knows, my recluse of a nephew only ever invites hunting parties devoid of eligible women to his estate. I shall think on the matter and discuss it with Georgiana.” In reality, Lady Matlock was already mentally going through the available cardstock she had seen at the stationer’s last week and deciding whether they should plan to leave a full two weeks before the official end - o f - t he -s eason or stay for the Regent’s ball on the last Friday of June. Her brother, Lord Nottingham, liked to attend every year, but if missing this year meant his daughter could become engaged to Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley, he would be willing leave town e arly.

Darcy was blissfully unaware of the conversation between Caroline and his aunt, since he was deeply engaged in conversation with Bernard and Georgiana over the Charter Act, newly introduced to parliament this season. The Act would renew the East India Company’s charter but reduce their monopoly to only Indian Tea and goods from China. Bernard had been involved in drafting some of the humanitarian provisions intended to provide money for the education of Indian children and for advancing native literature in both Hindi and English. Darcy was mostly interested in the economic impacts of the new Charter, both as an investor in the East India Company and a consumer of imported goods. Perhaps he should pay Edward a visit for the express purpose of discussing how this might impact Gardiner Imp orts.

Georgiana cared little for the long -t erm viability of the East India Company. Instead, she was entranced, hearing of Bernard’s passion for using his career to the betterment of society and the benefit of children half the world away. With a dreamy look in her eyes, Georgiana asked several pointed questions about how such laws were consummated and when they could expect that actual schools would open their doors to Indian children. Elizabeth recognized the look of adoration on Georgie’s face. It was the same expression often looking back at her from her vanity seat. Perhaps the Darcys’ farce would come to an end much sooner than any of them expected. Lord help them all when Darcy figured out the t ruth.

The evening eventually turned into night and the night gave way to the first rays of the sun, and Georgiana’s official debut ball came to a close. Darcy had been forced to dance with several additional eligible ladies after supper, but never extended a second dance to anyone other than Elizabeth and Georgiana. In fact, he would not have even extended that courtesy to his sister if Elizabeth had not stopped him from taking her onto the dance floor for the final set. The end to the evening was a waltz set and Darcy was certainly not inclined to share such a dance with anyone other than his fetching wife. As that would have been their third dance of the night, Elizabeth knocked some sense back into him before she shooed him away to claim Georg iana.

As the Darcys were waiting for their carriage, Lady Matlock told Darcy that she intended to plan an end - o f - t he -s eason house party in Derbyshire for Georgiana, but divulged no specifics. It was only through the overheard supper conversation that Elizabeth was able to give actual details on their way home. Darcy was none too happy about being forced to continue their farce into the late summer. After the events of the last few days, he was ready to forget the whole ridiculous affair and run a wedding announcement in the London Times. And he was certainly not going to allow anyone to treat his wife as if she were a servant in her own home! But Elizabeth placated him like she had each time before. It would only be for a short while, and they would not place any guests in the family wing so at least they should have their private sitting room as an escape in the evenings and early mornings. Besides, she was sure that Georgiana’s debut was a wonderful success. In fact, Elizabeth mused silently, she would not be surprised if Georgiana and Bernard Finch came to an understanding much sooner than expe cted.