“Good.”Elizabeth kissed her forehead.“Do you wish to sleep with me tonight?”She rarely invited anyone to sleep with her—not even Jane—and Mary felt the compliment.
“Thank you, but I sleep better on my own.”
“As you wish.”Elizabeth left her sister with a smile, but as soon as the door closed, a scowl settled over her features.Mr.Darcy would rue the day he slighted a Bennet.
Darcy returned to Netherfield in a foul mood.He hated balls.He hated cramped, airless rooms.He hated being forced into company with people he did not know and did not wish to know.And hereallyhated it when Bingley chastised him in public and asked him to dance with unknown ladies.If he had wished to dance, he was more than capable of requesting an introduction.He was a grown man of seven and twenty.He did not need assistance in finding a dance partner!
But Bingley would insist he attend the cramped ballroom filled with strangers.And he would insist Darcy dance with one of them.It did not matter that Darcy’s head ached from lack of sleep and the continual clenching of his jaw.He was surprised he had not ground his teeth flat after the events of the summer.He was in no mood to be in company, and he ought to have refused to attend, but he had not wanted to offend Bingley.
Now, he realized he had offended his friend and likely half the ballroom.He did not truly care—it was a backwater in Hertfordshire, not the cream of London—but he did not actually set out to offend people.It was an unfortunate byproduct of his going into company.It had been so for as long as he could remember and he saw no way to remedy it now, nor did he truly wish to.Having the reputation for offense kept the chattier members of society away from him and spared him many unpleasant hours.
But he did not like to offend his friends, and Bingley was his closest friend.Bingley was hoping to make his way as a gentleman in this neighborhood, and he had been nervous about attending the assembly.Darcy had known as much, and his presence had been designed as support for his friend.It had not gone as planned.
As he slid beneath the counterpane, two thoughts were on his mind.How he could apologize to Bingley for being such a bore while making it clear he would not be forced into such a party again, and, more importantly, the hope that he would dream of his mystery lady again.She had visited his dreams twice more since Ramsgate, always elusive—always smiling at him—and he had come to find her presence soothing.
Chapter 3
Wisdom and Folly
Charlottecameoverafterbreakfast the following day.It was a tradition between their families to discuss the balls and parties the mornings after they occurred.She brought her younger sister Maria, a girl who rivalled Lydia and Kitty for the title of Silliest Girl in England, and the girls scampered off to a back parlor to talk without their stodgy older sisters hearing them.
“Mr.Bingley seemed quite taken with Jane,” said Charlotte.“Though most men do.”
Elizabeth smiled fondly.“Yes, they do.But Jane is not always as fond of them.”
“So she returns his interest?”
“She is intrigued by him, but it is early days yet,” said Elizabeth.Charlotte did not know of her dreams—no one but Jane did—and it was not the sort of thing one brought up in casual conversation.
“Well she shall have more opportunity to know him soon enough.I come bearing an invitation to Lucas Lodge for a party next week.My father is delivering the same to Mr.Bingley as we speak.If he attends, Jane may decide if she wants him then and snap him up.”
Elizabeth laughed.“Snap him up?Before she knows his character or anything about him?What if he spends all his time hunting or prefers the stables to his home?What if he drinks to excess or plays too high?What if he has an unpleasant odor?”Elizabeth knew Mr.Bingley was Jane’s perfect match, but she could not let Charlotte think that a man was worth marrying simply because he was single and had decent prospects.
“I danced with him last night and I noticed no unpleasant odors,” said Charlotte with a grin.“I agree that a man who is violent or drinks to excess is not desirable, and a woman would not want a man who will gamble away his inheritance.But do you not think characters change so much as they go through life that it is all a matter of chance?A man who is temperate now may turn to drink later.An attentive husband may eventually lose interest in his wife.”
Elizabeth was thoughtful.It was all possible, of course.Her father had once been rather infatuated with her mother.Now he showed not the slightest respect for her, and they were rarely found in the same room.His affections had not outweighed a little silliness on Mrs.Bennet’s part, and as the woman, Frances Bennet paid the higher price for it.Mr.Bennet could console himself with as many book purchases as he wished and spend all day in his library, content to emerge a few times a week to see to the home farm and the tenants.Mrs.Bennet spent every day managing the household and raising five daughters with little assistance from her husband and no governess besides.
“You look thoughtful.”
“Forgive me, Charlotte.As much as I dislike it, you are not wrong.People do change, and often not for the better.”
Charlotte was surprised at her friend’s easy acquiescence.Elizabeth was generally more stubborn when she thought she was right about something.“Sometimes they change for the better.”
Elizabeth raised a brow.“When?”
“My mother is much calmer than she used to be.When I was a girl, she was often yelling and frazzled.She is quite calm now in comparison.”
“Is that not the effect of her children growing older and her level-headed eldest daughter assisting with the younger ones?”
Charlotte gave her a look.“I cannot be certain you are wrong, but it also proves my point.People change according to their circumstances.”
Elizabeth could not deny that.When she was younger, her mother had been calmer, sweeter, less apt to find fault in her daughters and more cheerful in general.After Lydia was born, and it became apparent she would not bear any more children, she became frantic with worry.“I wish my mother had done as yours had, but unfortunately she changed in the opposite direction.”
Charlotte squeezed her hand, not wishing to disparage Mrs.Bennet but knowing all too well what her friend referred to.“I remember her being more at ease when your grandmother was alive.Your parents should have hired a governess after she passed.It would have relieved your mother of your sisters’ education.”
“Yes, Granny was quite the taskmaster.If it had not been for her, my handwriting would likely still be illegible.”
Charlotte smiled.“She was a wonderful lady.Shall we play a duet?She always loved that.”
