His daughter thrived on green and dirt, and she was not amused by her inability to go outside. During the second day of rain, Emily spent ten minutes in the hallway sobbing and pointing at the door.
Darcy at last bundled her up tightly, donned his own boots, and tramped about in the soaking rain for a half hour. It only took five minutes before she accepted that he would not put her down to roll about in the mud, soak herself to the bone, and jump up and down in the puddles.
Day by day Emily’s baby running stride was faster, more stable, and more volatile. She had also developed an improved ability to find fragile objects.
Emily usually did not break such objects, not having the temperament that took joy in tossing glass hard to the floor simply to observe the shattering. But it was nerve wracking to find her playing with a fine China cup that he’d put down on the table just thirty seconds before.
Due to this rain, Darcy did not see Elizabeth again before the day of the Netherfield ball.
Anything, any sort of disaster could have happened during this period. He did not like that she was resident in a house where Mr. Sykes also was present. He liked far less the idea that Mr. Sykes was the suitor chosen by her family. Did they not see, by intuition if nothing else, how ridiculous such a pairing was?
Thus, when the day of Bingley’s ball came, and the weather cleared, and the roads dried sufficiently for carriages to move about, Darcy awaited the arrival of the Bennet — or was it Collins? — party at the ball with anxiety.
The preparations for the ball delighted Emily all through the day, and she ran about in the main ballroom once it was opened and decorated, darting from one side of the room to the other, holding in one hand coloured silk ribbons from the stand that had been set up for the band, and in the other hand a flower stolen from a vase.
A bouncing, happy little creature, shrieking and smiling, and all delight with all the world.
Soon enough the crush would arrive, and Emily would need to be kept under close supervision. Emily’s nurse stayed downstairs watching her as the guests began to arrive. When the number of attendees became sufficiently large that a toddling child would be much underfoot, Nell would pick Emily up to keep her safe. However, Darcy had promised his daughter that if she did not cry, she could watch the first dance before being put up to bed.
It was quite possible that the young child had not understood any of that promise, and even if shehadthere was a decent chance she would drift to sleep in Nell’s arms, or his own, before the appointed time.
Shortly after the house had been opened for guests, the Bennets arrived.
Elizabeth looked much as she usually did, smiling, warmly pleased to see Darcy, and with a cheerful manner. He knew hermanner might hide difficulties, but he also was warmed by it. Then Sykes came up to her and paraded her into the room on his arm. He could see from Elizabeth’s reaction that she found the gentleman annoying, but Darcy did not think that her manner showed any fear towards him, and there was no pretence of attachment on her part.
Hands were shaken with all of the party, and Darcy smiled at Elizabeth.
He could not ask her any of what he wished then. Not with Mr. Sykes next to her, and behind them Mr. Collins and Mrs. Bennet.
The Bennets passed in, and Darcy turned to the Goulds and shook their hands. He was tempted to excuse himself from the greeting line now that the only guest who he really had looked forward to seeing was present.
The determination to stay in place only lasted another minute, as it was not anchored in any strong sense of duty.
After Darcy shook hands with Mrs. Long and each of her nieces, and then bowed to them, he said to Bingley that he was going to retreat from the line.
Bingley laughed. “Hope to speak to Miss Bennet again? — no, no. You need not tell me again. You have no feelings at all for any woman, except the memory of Anne.”
Darcy flushed, and he was disconcerted to have had such a speech made to him, especially when some member of the neighbourhood had likely heard part of it.
Without replying he hurried into the ballroom.
Upon entering, his eyes immediately cast over the room, seeking Elizabeth.
He saw Emily running over to Elizabeth. Elizabeth squatted so she could smile and talk to the girl at her height, while Mr. Sykes spoke once more to Miss Lucas.
Smiling at seeing Elizabeth with his daughter, Darcy walked towards them. However, both Colonel Forster and Sir William intercepted him, and distracted Darcy from his course with the necessity of mouthing polite nothings.
Then Emily started crying, and Darcy had his excuse to hurry over.
Darcy felt no embarrassment about this. Young children cried, it was their nature. He was passably certain he had cried frequently at the same age. To deny the right for children to cry seemed to Darcy as adjacent to denying the right for humanity in general, and the offended person in particular, to exist.
He always tried to immediately comfort Emily when she cried, as he was not convinced by those theories claiming that leaving a child to cry sometimes was a necessity in developing their character.
Elizabeth picked Emily up and held her while murmuring something to the child. A little to Darcy’s surprise, Emily settled without protest.
“And there is Papa,” Elizabeth said to the girl as Darcy approached her.
Seeing him, Emily reached out her arms for Darcy to take her, and Elizabeth laughed. “I am not the favoured one.”
