Page 17 of Winter of Passion (Pride and Prejudice Variation)
F our more days passed, and the din at Netherfield became routine. The guests became accustomed to each other and Jane and Bingley to them.
Once her nervousness diminished, Jane’s wisdom, calmness, and candour came out, revealing her as an effective mistress and a gracious host, mindful of everyone’s needs.
The weather became wintery; the days were short, cold, and windy, the nights freezing, with storms shaking the windows.
The sky was mostly cloudy; it began to rain, then turned into sleet, then into snow.
Everyone was mostly kept indoors; in the short period that the weather allowed, the gentlemen went out to ride, but the ladies would not leave the comfort of the house.
All that is except Elizabeth, who took every opportunity to take strolls in the garden.
Jane was too busy to keep her company, but Georgiana did on two occasions.
Surprisingly, Lady Laura declared an inclination for walking and asked to accompany them.
Even more surprising, the three ladies, so different in age, situation, and nature, found enough common subjects to carry on a pleasant conversation in the cold weather.
There were no further intimate interludes between Elizabeth and Darcy; the ball was approaching, and afterwards, they would be able to announce their engagement, so any imprudence would not be worth the risk of raising a scandal which might affect the Bingleys.
Georgiana’s presence was also a reason to keep the unknown betrotheds under good regulation. Out of consideration for Darcy’s sister, they would not breach decorum and ceased any nightly encounters.
Darcy spent most of the day in the company of Bingley and the other gentlemen, while Elizabeth employed her time with Jane and Georgiana.
In addition to their walks, she also enjoyed several pleasant conversations with Lady Laura.
The rest of the ladies — including Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst — amused themselves by talking about past and future balls, gossiping about common acquaintances, and attempting to gain the gentlemen’s attention.
Darcy was their main point of interest, which amused and distressed Elizabeth at the same time.
She could not dismiss a sharp claw of jealousy every time she saw the Parsons sisters or Phoebe Banfield attempting to insinuate themselves upon him.
Despite Darcy’s flawless — even distant — behaviour towards other ladies, Elizabeth admitted she was uncomfortable sharing his attention with anyone.
Jealousy was as new to her as was love and passion, and they troubled her equally.
She did not doubt the depth and steadiness of Darcy’s love — which was stronger even than his pride — now that the love they shared was known to him.
She did not question either his words or his actions.
Still, she could not help wondering about the other women who had been intimate with him.
Surely it could not be any of those in attendance.
But the way the three young women — and Miss Bingley — tried to sit near Darcy, engage him in conversation, touch his arm, or do other silly things that she would have easily overlooked in the past troubled her exceedingly.
Strangely, Lady Laura spent quite some time talking to Darcy too. They seemed to enjoy each other’s company, and yet, for some reason, Elizabeth felt no discomfort in regard to her.
Of Miss Bingley, who remained impolite to her and Jane, Elizabeth cared little. Fortunately, Miss Bingley did not bother Darcy much with further requests for business advice; instead, her attention seemed to spread to include the other gentlemen.
The presence of other ladies with greater fortune and consequence seemed to put the Bingley sisters in their place and diminished their usual arrogance.
The battles on that particular field were carried out between Miss Banfield, Mrs Fitzroy, and the Parsons sisters, supervised by Lady Laura’s amused gaze and spirited remarks.
Elizabeth found herself the recipient of some attention from the other gentlemen too.
Her open and natural manners must have been new to them, so they often engaged her in conversation and challenged her opinion on various subjects.
Elizabeth knew she was not a match to any of the other ladies due to her lack of dowry and connections, but she was amused by their tendency to flirt nevertheless.
If she were to judge by those in attendance, she could easily conclude that one of the ton’s favourite occupations — for ladies and gentlemen — was flirting, second only to gossip and cards.
Colonel Fitzwilliam was her frequent companion. At breakfast and dinner, Georgiana always sat between Elizabeth and Mrs Annesley, with the colonel and Darcy somewhere near. Miss Darcy also seemed at ease with Jane on the few occasions when Mrs Bingley could spare some moments from her duties.
It only took two days for Elizabeth, Georgiana, and Jane to agree to call each other by their given names.
With the others, Georgiana was silent and restrained.
One evening, Miss Bingley praised her talent and requested she play, but Georgiana’s panic was so apparent that Darcy had to intervene and decline on his sister’s behalf.
The rest of the ladies — including the Bingley sisters — were proficient enough and willing to display their skills, entertaining the party with some music.
Elizabeth was happy to be overlooked for that task.
The only man in the world whose opinion mattered to her had already heard her play — and he would hear her again in the privacy of their family whenever he wished to.
Elizabeth and Georgiana visited Longbourn again and stayed the entire afternoon.
On that occasion, Georgiana spent more than an hour with Mary and Kitty, playing for them.
Although barely acquainted, the two girls close to her age, without arrogance and presumptuousness, put Georgiana at ease.
While the girls practised, Elizabeth had the chance to talk more to her father and her other relatives.
“I have received a note from Bingley,” Mr Bennet said. “He has asked us to attend a dinner tomorrow evening.”
“I know, Papa.”
“Your uncle and aunt will go, but the rest of us cannot.”
To Elizabeth’s surprise, her mother did not oppose him.
“I agree with your father, Lizzy. I know Jane is busy with her guests, and we do not wish to add to the crowd. Besides, we shall meet everyone at the ball soon.”
“You must know that you are always welcome at Netherfield,” Elizabeth said. “There is nothing more important to Jane than her family.”
“I know, my dear,” Mr Bennet said. “But Jane must already be overwhelmed. She does not need more distress. Tell them we have caught a cold or something. The Gardiners will do very well — they are more accustomed to London society. Besides, they are already well acquainted with Mr Darcy.”
“As you wish, Papa. What about Mary and Kitty? Will they not come?”
“No, Lizzy. Even Miss Darcy seems eager to escape and prefers to be at Longbourn. Kitty and Mary would not feel comfortable.”
Elizabeth did not insist. She felt embarrassed to admit it, but she was rather relieved. Past experience had proved that neither her mother nor her younger sisters were at their best at such events with strangers.
“Mr Darcy and the colonel should call too,” Mr Bennet said. “I wonder why you did not come together.”
“The gentlemen have their own business to attend to,” Elizabeth answered, feeling her cheeks warm.
In a mutual understanding, she and Darcy had chosen to avoid any situations that might cause problems, and they employed their time separately.
When one of them was away, the other remained at Netherfield with the guests.
It was a torture of waiting and yearning that had lasted almost a week but would end soon.
The effect of their announcement would cause a great disturbance at Netherfield, at Longbourn, and in Meryton, but Elizabeth chose not to worry about that until after the ball. However, a pang of guilt stabbed at her chest at the notion that she was keeping such a secret from her family.
Disguise of every sort is my abhorrence, Darcy had said in their dramatic quarrel.
She had forced him to break his principles by concealing the engagement, and it was no different from deliberately deceiving Mr Bennet.
“Lizzy, may I ask, why is the colonel calling on us so often? Could he be in love with you?” Mrs Bennet asked bluntly. “Is he pursuing you? Does he know you have no dowry? What about you — do you love him?”
The onslaught of questions caught Elizabeth unprepared. She laughed to hide her unease.
“The colonel is a very charming man and a loyal friend, as well as a close cousin to Georgiana and Mr Darcy. Just like Mr Darcy, he comes because he enjoys Papa’s company — and now my uncle’s too. There is nothing more. Please avoid further supposition or expectations in regard to the colonel.”
“But he speaks highly of you!”
“And I speak highly of him too, Mama. Just as I speak highly of Mr Darcy.”
“I wondered about Mr Darcy too. I even spoke to my sister Phillips about it, but we only laughed. We all know Mr Darcy — he is too rich and too fastidious to like you.”
Elizabeth smiled nervously; she felt her uncle and aunt’s gazes on her, and her cheeks warmed again.
They were the only ones who had witnessed her interactions with Darcy at Pemberley, and they were also aware of his generous intervention in Lydia’s situation.
Her aunt had even teased her about Darcy in a letter.
She had always trusted them, and yet, she had to deceive them too.
“Mr Darcy is indeed the best man I know, Mama. I believe my aunt and uncle might testify to that. Please do not speak of him in a way that might upset him. He does not deserve to be mocked.”