“Miss Bingley, it is almost time for the first dance; may we defer any more interrogation until we are in a less public setting?” Elizabeth requested.
“Of course, Miss Elizabeth,” Miss Bingley agreed deferentially.
‘And the fawning begins,’ Elizabeth thought as she shook her head. Thankfully, she was rescued when Brandon Goulding collected her for the dance.
Bingley felt somewhat put out; Miss Bennet had not been led to the floor by anyone. “Miss Bennet, as you are not dancing the first, may I have it?” he asked enthusiastically.
“Mr Bingley, it is not my habit to prevaricate. If my opening set had been open, I would have told you. Although I am not dancing, I am occupied for it. Thanks to the war with the Corsican tyrant, there is a dearth of men in the area. So that all ladies have an opportunity to dance, we ladies all sit out two sets. The first is one of mine tonight,” Jane explained, fighting to keep the exasperation from her voice.
Miss Bingley was thankful she had listened to Miss Bennet’s explanation as she was about to promote her brother as her partner. She would remain quiet for now, but she would make sure Charles offered for this angel. He had at long last discovered one who met with Caroline’s criteria for his wife. There was no more need to wait for Miss Darcy to come out; Miss Bennet was already in society.
“In that case, may my brother and I sit with you during the first two dances?” Miss Bingley cooed.
“Possibly another time, my parents expect me. I will be with them when it is time to dance the third,” Jane stated and walked towards her parents before Mr or Miss Bingley could importune her again.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The third set was one in which Elizabeth chose to sit out. She found an open chair to rest her feet, which happened to be near her cousin by marriage, who she had never met. The other advantage was that it was far from Miss Bingley,who had taken any opportunity to attempt to ingratiate herself with the Bennets. It had not escaped her notice that Mr Darcy had not taken to the dance floor with anyone yet. Elizabeth was fully aware of his discomfort among strangers, but surely, as a gentleman seeing many ladies sitting out, he should have thought to dance with some of them.
She watched as Mr Bingley danced with Jane. From the obvious discomfort in her body language, Elizabeth had to assume Mr Bingley was extolling Jane’s beauty and speaking of nothing else.
For his part, Bingley could not understand why Miss Bennet seemed so very standoffish. She had not thanked him for any of the many compliments he had paid her beauty. Not only was she far prettier than any other of his previous angels, but Caroline approved of this one. More than that, his younger sister had urged him to make himself agreeable to Miss Bennet, hence the compliments. Why they all seemed to fall flat, he could not fathom. The first dance of the set ended. During it, he had noticed Darcy trying to blend in with a large potted plant.
“Miss Bennet, will you excuse me while I go to speak to my friend? I will return anon,” Bingley stated before he turned and made towards Darcy.
Even though it was rather rude to leave her standing in the middle of the dance floor, Jane could not object to some time alone without her current dance partner’s inanities about her beauty. The man was an empty vessel who lacked substance. It had not taken Jane long to divine that the report was accurate regarding the fact that Miss Bingley led her brother about by the nose. She could also see that when the investigator called him capricious, he had been accurate.
Darcy had been lost in his own world when he had seen Bingley dancing with whom he was sure was his friend’s latestangel. Now he watched as Bingley left his partner and headed towards himself. The last thing he desired was for Bingley to importune him about dancing.
Bingley stopped in front of his friend. “Come, Darce,” Bingley said, “I must have you dance. I hate to see you sitting or standing about by yourself in this stupid manner. The next set will begin after this upcoming dance. You had much better dance.”
“I certainly shall not. You know how I detest it unless I am particularly acquainted with my partner. At such an assembly as this, it would be insupportable. I will not even dance with your sisters tonight, and there is not another woman in the room with whom it would not be a punishment for me to stand up with.”
“I would not be so fastidious as you are,” cried Bingley, “for a kingdom! Upon my honour, I never met with so many pleasant girls in my life as I have this evening, and there are several of them you see uncommonly pretty.”
“Youare dancing with the only handsome girl in the room,” said Mr. Darcy, looking at the beauty to whom he had not been introduced.
“Oh! She is the most beautiful creature I ever beheld! But there is one of her sisters sitting down just behind you, who is very pretty, and I dare say very agreeable. Allow me to introduce you.”
“Which do you mean?” Turning round he looked for a moment at the woman, until catching her eye, he withdrew his own and coldly began to say: “She is toler…” Suddenly, what he had seen registered with his brain. How could this be; she looked like a younger version of Aunts Elaine and Anna? At the same time, his resolution to be better reminded him that there were far better ways to have Bingley cease importuning him, ones which did not include insulting an unknown lady. He turnedand looked at her again, this time with a much longer look, which except for a darker shade of hair and emerald-green eyes confirmed that she looked just like his aunts. She looked back at him, not flinching, but rather in challenge. “I mean, would you please make the introduction?” Darcy requested.
At first, Bingley’s mouth hung open. This was not like Darcy, but Bingley’s wits returned. He made the introduction before hurrying back to where Miss Bennet was waiting for him.
“After so many years of not seeing you at family events, we finally meet,” Elizabeth stated.
“Family events?” Darcy repeated. Suddenly he remembered how Andy and Rich had told him how sorry they were that he had not ever met their cousins and his cousins by marriage over the years. “You are one of Lady Rebecca’s daughters.” It was more of a statement than a question.
“That she is,” Becca replied from behind Mr Darcy. She and Thomas had been circling the dancefloor speaking to friends and acquaintances when they had been close enough to hear the exchange between Messrs Darcy and Bingley. They had been pleased when their cousin had caught himself before saying something indecorous. They had also heard when he realised who Lizzy’s mother was. “Except hereabouts, I am called Mrs Bennet, and had you not been more interested in the floor when Sir William introduced the Netherfield Park party to me, you would have known you have family in the neighbourhood.”
“Please accept my apologies if I did not wait to be introduced properly; it felt like the walls…” Darcy began to explain.
“We know. Rich has informed us that you do not do well in crowds of strangers,” Elizabeth revealed. “He also mentioned you are sometimes somewhat offensive, as I believe you wereabout to be when you stopped yourself?” Elizabeth arched an eyebrow at her cousin.
“I will not lie to you; I was about to speak some rather ill-advised words to cause Bingley to cease importuning me. In the recent past, my improper pride almost caused a disaster, and I am trying to be better. It was that as much as recognising Aunts Elaine and Anna in Miss Elizabeth’s face that stopped me before I was rather rude,” Darcy owned.
“Aunt Elaine, Uncle Reggie, and Rich will arrive next week. They and the rest of our family, who will arrive on the morrow, are to spend some time visiting Longbourn,” Becca related. “You are, of course, welcome to call on us any time.”
“You are the cousins Giana will be visiting with the Fitzwilliams,” Darcy realised.
