“If I manage such while you are in the neighbourhood, I will do so. However, once you leave, I doubt we will see one another again,” Elizabeth returned.
Darcy did not reply, his mind was too full of what Sir William had intimated regarding the general expectation his friend would offer for Miss Bennet. As the first dance of the set ended, he looked around and did not see either Bingley or Miss Bennet so he assumed they had gone to get some refreshments between dances.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Watching Eliza dance the first set with her Mr. Darcy was bad enough, but they seemed to be having a deep conversation with one another as they danced. Miss Bingley was near apoplectic when she saw Mr. Darcy smile more than once at the hated hoyden.
She was so focused on that particular pair she forgot to keep watch on her brother in case he did anything precipitous at the ball. As such, at the end of the first set, Miss Bingley did not see when her brother led Miss Bennet out onto one of the three balconies that overlooked the formal gardens.
When Mr. Darcy finally asked her for a set—the supper set she supposed—she would remonstrate with him about lowering himself in such a way as to dance with Eliza Bennet.
Chapter 22
Bingley was grateful none of his family, especially his younger sister, had noticed when he and Miss Bennet slipped past the billowing curtains onto the balcony closest to where they had ended the first dance of the set.
“Miss Bennet, if I misread the signals incorrectly, please say so at once and we will return inside. If it as I surmise that you have fallen in love with me, then I will proceed,” Bingley said in a low voice.
“Please proceed, Mr. Bingley,” Jane encouraged as her cheeks turned a deep shade of pink. With the light streaming through the gap in the curtains, Bingley saw the colour rise in his angel’s cheeks, which only made her look much more beautiful to him.
He dropped onto one knee. “It has been some time now since I have been hopelessly in love with you. As it seems you are in love with me…”
“Yes, I am irrevocably in love with you,” Jane interjected turning her cheeks scarlet.
“In that case, I find the need for a courtship superfluous. Jane Bennet, I will love you with my all until I draw my final breath on the mortal coil. Will you make me the happiest of men and agree to be my wife? Jane, will you marry me?”
“You are correct in your assertion regarding a courtship. That said, yes, yes, yes, YES! I will marry you Mr. B…”
Charles,” Bingley corrected.
“Charles,” Jane repeated as she caressed his name with her tongue.
They heard the strains of the first bars of the music for the second dance. “Come Jane, before we are missed.” Bingley lowered his head and brushed his fiancée’s lips. He was gratified as Jane let out a sigh of pleasure after their lips touched. “We will talk during the dance.”
The newly engaged couple took their places just in time and thankfully they were not noticed by anyone as they emerged from the balcony. As soon as they came together, Bingley leaned towards Jane. “I must to London in the morning. It was planned some days ago before I knew I would propose…” they danced down the line.
“You understood my messages?” Jane enquired when they were back together.
“As clearly as the morning sun is bright,” Bingley responded. “As I was saying, given the time of my departure, I will not be able to see your father on the morrow, unless you think I should speak to him here?”
“Before supper would be good…” the dance separated them again. They soon came back together. “…but please ask my father not to make a public announcement until you return from Town.”
“Perfect,” Bingley responded after another brief separation. “That way by the time I see my solicitor to have him draw up the marriage contracts, it will be official.”
For the rest of the dance the engaged couple did not speak, they were lost in one another’s eyes and smiled the whole of the time.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Darcy and Elizabeth did not speak during the second half of the first set either. Darcy decided to watch Bingley and Miss Bennet closely while Elizabeth was watching him and did not miss the object of his attention.
He was distracted with the closeness of Miss Elizabeth and her delectable lavender scent, so Darcy had not noticed when Bingley and Miss Bennet re-joined the line. As he observed them now, all he saw was what he had noted in the past—Miss Bennet smiling—smiling too much in his opinion. As far as he could see, it was the same smile she smiled regardless of who was opposite her, nothing special meant just for his friend. All he could hope was Bingley’s honour was not engaged yet.
Elizabeth did not miss the way Mr. Darcy was studying her sister and Mr. Bingley so intently. There was nothing she could say or ask. It would have been a show of ill-breeding to ask him why he was looking at them so. Unless he raised the topic, she could not.
When the music ended with a flourish, Darcy bowed to Miss Elizabeth and then led her to where her parents and the Lucases were seated. He noticed the younger Mr. Bennet lead his fiancée back to her family as well.
“Mr. Bennet, the younger, a word if you please,” Darcy requested curtly.
“Of course, anything for Lady Catherine’s nephew,” the parson responded.
