Page 60 of Eavesdroppers Never Hear
“Of course not… it is Jason, after all,” she said distractedly.
Darcy scrunched his head in confusion and gave up.
Elizabeth said, “Are you angry that he, and possibly other men, have finally noticed you are pretty?”
Mary scoffed. “In Jane’s dress.”
Darcy laughed. “As a man, I shall claim expertise. You were always pretty, Miss Mary… you just went out of your way to hide your light under a bushel for your own reasons.”
Elizabeth gave him a scowl, but he remained unrepentant.
He said gently, “It may look easy, but it takes some courage for a young man to ask a lady to dance. If she appears to be… ahh… unenthusiastic, it is even harder.”
“Are you saying he may have noticed me before but lost his nerve?”
“There are many possible explanations,” he replied gently.
“That is one. It is also just possible that he is a typical chowderheaded boy without a bit of sense, and he finally noticed you. I believe I can claim expertise on lunkheaded men,” he said with a sigh. “I hate to admit it, but it is also possible he has noticed your status, since your sister is being courted by a wealthy man. I do not say that to boast… but to warn you that it will happen.”
A frown settled over Mary’s brow. “I am not certain I like that.”
“Neither am I, but it is the way of the world. May I make a suggestion?”
“I would hope you know by now that it would be welcome.”
Darcy chuckled. “One can never be too careful. Do you find the man sufficiently congenial?”
“I barely know him since he left for university, but I liked him before and know no evil of him.”
“Then just think, ‘it is just a dance.’ That will set your frame of mind correctly. Dance with him. Converse if you feel the urge. Enjoy yourself and do not worry about the rest.”
Mary laughed gaily. “Lizzy, did you realize you were courting Mr Bingley?”
Laughter erupted from the group just in time for Master Goulding to return with punch for the ladies. They spent a fewmore minutes chatting until the musicians signalled the first dance.
~~~~~
Darcy joined Elizabeth for the first dance, and Elizabeth read the looks of amazement on her neighbours’ faces at the pair of them standing together. Darcy made a very pretty comment about her appearance, to which she gave a demure reply of approval, the music started, and they were off. The start of the dance required sufficient vigour as to prevent much speech, so they just danced. Elizabeth found the experience thrilling, and as time went on, she lost some of her nervousness. Each time he grabbed her hand just slightly harder than politeness strictly called for, she felt a little thrill of exhilaration, and after the second instance, she started squeezing back. It was not overt, but it was enough to put just a touch bigger smiles on their faces, and a bit more sparkle in their eyes.
Colonel Fitzwilliam opened with Georgiana as planned. Elizabeth had made certain everyone in the room knew it was her first dance at her first ball so they should all be kind to her. Naturally, she spread the news by simply telling Mrs Bennet, then never gave it another thought. Georgiana looked nervous, while the colonel looked gallant. Elizabeth spared a few glances during the dance to make certain all was well, but not enough to make her partner feel neglected.
Jane elected not to open with Mr Bingley, which Elizabeth thought was a pragmatic decision, but hardly a romantic one. She understood that they were not courting as such but was halfway of the opinion that Jane should either show a bit more enthusiasm or put the man out of his misery. That, however, was Jane’s problem, and she eventually adopted the same attitude she gave Charlotte. Jane was a woman grown, and she knew what she was about. Bingley was also only a few years youngerthan Darcy, and a good five years older than Elizabeth. She felt not the slightest compulsion to tell either of them what to do.
Mr Bingley’s aunt, Mrs Ashford, was barely a decade older than him, and still in the prime of life. Bingley danced the opening set with her, and while it was right and proper to open his first dance with his hostess, Elizabeth guessed that the lack of an opening dance with Jane was noted. She knew the unmarried mothers and daughters of Meryton would be wondering if he was fair game, and a fair amount of knife-sharpening was likely.
Jane danced with an old friend who everyone knew was simply a good dancer who was not in want of a wife, so nobody read anything into it (believe it if you wish).
~~~~~
The set concluded as usual, and the three eldest Bennet sisters converged on Georgiana to ensure she was enjoying her first ball. The young lady had been nervous as could be but rallied during the dance and was having a fabulous time. The colonel asserted that it was impossible for a lady to have anything else in his presence, and Elizabeth almost believed him.
After the gentlemen fetched drinks all around, and everyone took a few minutes to rest and refresh themselves, Elizabeth joined the colonel for the second set. She found the colonel just as voluble and amiable as he had always been. They did not speak of anything in particular, and five minutes later she could not have given an account of their conversation for a thousand pounds, but the dance was pleasant enough.
Darcy naturally danced with his sister, and Elizabeth spent quite a bit of her attention on the pair. The Georgiana of the Netherfield ball was like a blooming rose compared to the wilted lily who had appeared at Longbourn less than a week earlier. Elizabeth suspected having two bachelor guardians was not thebest recipe for success, but it was not the worst either. The girl seemed fine… especially when compared to Lydia who was dancing with Lieutenant Carter next to her.
Jane and Mr Bingley were dancing, and every eye in the room was on the couple. Elizabeth did not pay as much attention to Jane as she might have ordinarily, mainly because she was fully occupied with the Derbyshire residents. There just was not enough room in her mind and attention to spend more time puzzling over Jane and Mr Bingley.
With a start that made her almost stop mid-step, she reflected that she did not have any attention at all to spare Charlotte or Jane. Did that mean she would not turn into a gossiping inveterate matchmaker like her mother, or might she have a better future? Of course, two sets were hardly evidence to draw conclusions about the rest of her life, and the colonel reclaimed her full attention for a few minutes with an amusing observation.
