Page 23 of The Marriage Game

The Morning Post published a list of who had been presented, and Elizabeth’s name was on that list. This resulted in Elizabeth receiving a message from Meryton.

Dear Lizzy,

You were presented to the Queen! Heavens, child, I could scarcely believe my eyes when Lady Lucas showed me the paper! Kitty and Mary deserve their share of the fun; I am certain you will want to include them. They will need wardrobes, of course, but I know you will not mind the expense.

The letter went on and on, expressing considerable surprise that Kitty and Mary had not yet been invited to Darcy House, as well as an expectation that this oversight would soon be corrected. Elizabeth read the letter through and put it on her desk to answer when she had a moment to spare.

***

The ballroom at Darcy House was quite large and Mr. Darcy had given Elizabeth a generous budget for the event, so she was able to be liberal with her invitation list.

Elizabeth had consulted with the Countess, of course, which resulted in a number of titled gentlemen and young ladies being invited. All the young men who had shown attention to Georgiana were invited, even those who had been deemed unsuitable, as it would have been rude to so pointedly exclude them. Caroline had indeed sent a list to Elizabeth; it included Lady Alicia Lindsay, Miss Taylor, Miss Davies and Miss Johnson.

Jane and Caroline both came to Darcy House to help Elizabeth write the invitations.

“Does Mama know that you are hosting a ball?” Jane teased Elizabeth, as she dipped her quill into the ink.

“Heavens, no! Jane, oh Jane, you did not write to her about it, did you?” Elizabeth was suddenly alarmed. She had not told Jane about the latest letter from Longbourn.

“And have Kitty and Mary here, as well as Mama? No, indeed! Someday, perhaps, but not when we are trying to arrange good marriages for Caroline and Miss Darcy!”

Caroline said nothing whatever regarding the bad manners of the younger Bennet girls, much to the surprise of both Jane and Elizabeth, and she further surprised the two sisters by asking if Mrs. Annesley might be made available to give advice on proper behaviour at a ball.

Elizabeth was more than happy to comply, of course, and had a maid summon both Mrs. Annesley and Georgiana.

“Mrs. Annesley, I am certain that you have already spoken with Georgiana on the subject, but Miss Bingley asked if you have any advice as to proper ball etiquette.”

“Indeed I do,” Mrs. Annesley replied at once. “But first, Miss Bingley, may I compliment you on your attire today? You look very nice in that gown of Willow Green. I particularly like the white lace that adorns your collar and cuffs.”

Caroline thanked Mrs. Annesley with evident sincerity, as Jane and Elizabeth traded glances.

Mrs. Annesley began. “Miss Darcy has been working with a dance master for some time at Pemberley, so she is well acquainted with the dances we can expect at her ball. I assume you will have no difficulties with the dancing, Miss Bingley?”

“I do not expect to, no. Will there be a waltz?”

It was Elizabeth who replied, “Mrs. Annesley and I have discussed this at length. I know the waltz is now being danced at Almack’s, so it is clearly considered permissible, but we both feel that it is not appropriate for a young girl’s coming out ball.”

Georgiana contributed, “I cannot imagine engaging in such behaviour with a gentleman I scarcely know.”

Caroline nodded her understanding.

Mrs. Annesley continued, “In a public setting, it is unwise to dance with anyone if you have not been introduced. However, at a private ball, such as the one that will be hosted here at Darcy House, the rules are a bit relaxed. The Darcys would not invite anyone they did not think respectable, and it might actually appear as an insult to your host and hostess if you insisted on an introduction before accepting a dance.” Mrs. Annesley waited until both her students nodded their understanding before she continued.

“At the conclusion of a dance, a gentleman will offer to fetch you refreshments. It is usually best to decline this offer unless you are merely requesting lemonade or something similar. Remember that your behaviour will be seen by hundreds of people, so it is wise to be very careful as to your consumption of alcoholic beverages; more than one young lady has faced social ruin as a result of too much champagne.”

“Actually, champagne gives me a dreadful headache, so I avoid it,” Caroline said.

“It is perhaps just as well. Gentlemen may be forgiven for over-indulging, but ladies are expected to be above such behaviour.”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at that.

“Ah, Mrs. Darcy, you may be skeptical, but you know I am right.”

Jane added, “Indeed, Elizabeth, do you not recall how mortified we were at that dance when Kitty and Lydia had rather too much to drink and went running about with swords in their hands?”

“Oh, heavens, I had managed to forget that!” Elizabeth laughed.

Caroline recalled it all too well, but clamped her lips tight so as to say nothing.

Georgiana said, “Is it true that if I decline to dance with a man that I must sit out the rest of the evening? That seems ever so unfair.”

“Sadly, that is the general expectation,” Mrs. Annesley replied. “If you do not wish to dance with a particular gentleman, for whatever reason, you may plead that you need to rest, and request that the gentleman sit beside you while you do so.”

“So that way you do not have to dance with him, but you do have to make conversation with him,” Elizabeth summarised. “You have to decide which would be preferable. My cousin, Mr. Collins, asked me to dance with him at an assembly in Meryton. I had not expected him to be quite as poor a dancer as he was. Perhaps I should have sat it out with him. But his conversation was so very trying that it truly was Hobson’s choice.”

“It is best not to dance twice with the same gentleman unless you have an understanding with him,” Mrs. Annesley went on. “If a gentleman presses you to accept a second dance, you may simply say that your guardian has forbidden you to do so.”

Georgiana sighed.

Mrs. Annesley asked, “Is that a concern for you, Miss Darcy?”

“Not a concern, exactly…”

“But?”

“Well, perhaps I would like to dance twice with Lord Fane.” She shrugged, trying for nonchalance.

There was a moment’s silence.

“Do not do so,” Mrs. Annesley said, gently. “You have no understanding with him, and if other gentlemen think that you do, it would discourage them from pursuing you.”

“I understand,” Georgiana said, looking down.

“Lord Fane will bow to your guardian’s wishes, Miss Darcy, but that strategy will not do for Miss Bingley. You are of age, are you not, Miss Bingley?”

Caroline did not care to be reminded of her age, but she agreed that this was so.

“In that case, as you have no guardian, I suggest that you simply say that it is your practice not to dance twice with the same gentleman.”

“And the gentleman would not feel slighted?”

“Not if he is a real gentleman, no; in fact, he will appreciate you all the more for your restraint.”

“This Marriage Game is a strange thing indeed!” Caroline burst out. “I have always believed that I should make certain that a gentleman knows of my own interest in him, in order to encourage his own interest!”

Jane said, very kindly, “But do you not see, Caroline, that if you behave so with all gentlemen, no one will know if you are truly interested in him or not.”

And Mrs. Annesley added, rather less kindly, “And you will soon be known as a most determined flirt.”

Caroline visibly winced.

Georgiana quickly asked, “Do gentlemen learn the rules of the Marriage Game, or is it just ladies?”

Mrs. Annesley replied. “True gentlemen have their own set of rules. For example, they do not raise the expectations of ladies if they have no intention of meeting them. They treat all ladies, regardless of age, beauty or social position, with every care, making certain that they are safe and comfortable. They do not exceed their income, no matter the temptation. Their attire is elegant and simple, though always scrupulously clean and perfectly fitted. Your brother, Miss Darcy, is an excellent example. But remember that not all gentlemen merit the term; there will always be villains, masquerading in fine clothing.”

Georgiana asked, “With all these rules about behaviour, not flirting, not dancing twice, how is a gentleman ever to know that a lady likes him? And if he does not think she likes him, he will never ask for a courtship!”

Mrs. Annesley answered, “There are ways of making your affection known, Miss Darcy, but it is best not to show too much until the gentleman has made his own interest apparent.”

Jane, recalling how easily Mr. Darcy had been able to persuade Charles that she did not care for him, hastily interjected, “But you must give the gentleman of your choice some encouragement, of course! Look at him as much as possible without actually staring. Ask him what his favourite piece of music is and play it for him. Ask him what kind of sweets he likes and make certain they are available when he comes to tea.”

Mrs. Annesley continued. “You two must beware of fortune hunters! You each have a very generous dowry, and there are always gentlemen who are more interested in the money than the young lady herself. Marrying a fortune hunter is bound to be disappointing for the lady.” Mrs. Annesley knew this to be a difficult topic for her charge, given the circumstances involving Mr. Wickham, but she thought it best to bring it into the open.

Georgiana bit her lip and looked away, but Caroline asked, “But how does a lady know if a suitor is a fortune hunter?”

“Well, Miss Bingley, let me ask you this: if you are interested in getting to know a person, what do you do?”

Caroline could not think of an answer, but Jane immediately said, “You ask questions of that person in order to learn all you can about them.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Bingley, that is exactly right. But a fortune hunter will, instead, tell you about himself, putting himself in the best possible light. He does not yet know this young lady, but he is already setting a trap for her! That man is a fortune hunter.”

Elizabeth, seeing Georgiana’s distress at this talk of fortune hunters, hastily steered the conversation away to easier matters. “A ball is a perfect opportunity to show off one’s best gowns and jewelry; we shall have such fun!”

At last, Caroline thought. I finally get to dress up!

***

The upcoming ball for Georgiana Darcy was also being discussed at Westmoreland House. Lady Agatha was debating with her maid, Janet, about what she would wear to the ball, when her mother entered the room and motioned Janet away.

“Mother? What is it?”

“Agatha, has your brother got it into his head to marry Miss Darcy?”

Lady Agatha replied, “I know Teddy likes her a good deal, but he knows that you do not approve of her. You have certainly made your feelings known.”

“Will that deter him from offering for her?”

Lady Agatha hesitated. She knew that her brother liked Miss Darcy more than any other young lady, but she forbore from revealing this to her mother.

“Well?”

“If he falls in love with her, then nothing will deter him. You must know that, Mother. He has always hoped to make a love match.” Lady Agatha did not say that the example their parents had set, which had definitely not been a love match, had inspired her brother’s hope for a different marital fate.

“But he owes some consideration to his birth and position does he not?” The matriarch was quite evidently displeased.

“I do not see that Miss Darcy would present a problem in any way. Her manners are faultless, she is connected to the Earl and Countess of Matlock; her brother was one of the most sought-after gentlemen in London for several years; her dowry is more than respectable! Moreover, she is kind and gentle!” Lady Agatha spoke with some heat.

“I like her, Agatha, but I am certain that she is too retiring a creature to support Teddy in the House of Lords. His wife must be able to host political dinners, to learn how to make the right friends, to drop hints in the right ears. Miss Darcy is not the right young lady for him.”

“You are more ambitious for Teddy than he is for himself, Mother.”

“Well, someone must have the ambition in this family!”

“Truly? What if no one has ambition? What if we all just want to live peaceably?”

“I do not like your attitude, Agatha!”

“I know, Mother; I am sorry.” Lady Agatha sighed. This was an old argument. She was well aware that both she and her brother were disappointments to their single-minded mother.

Lady Amelia frowned at Lady Agatha and left the room.