“Those in the receiving line need to take up their positions,” Lady Catherine announced, “the first carriages are approaching.”
The line was comprised of Lady Catherine, the Bennet and Wendell parents, as well as the newly engaged couple. Elizabeth was grateful the news of her being reunited with her birth family was now common knowledge which excused herfrom the need of being a member of the receiving line.
Between Papa and Father, it had been decided that the latter would open the ball with her while the former would take the second dance of the set. This would be a graphic display that Elizabeth would maintain the connection with both of her families.
William had escorted her into the ballroom, which had been very tastefully decorated by the two aunts and Emily in a style which suited Janie’s personality perfectly. They were standing off to one side of the ballroom when Charlotte, on Barney’s arm, entered with the Lucas brothers trailing.
“Miss Elizabeth, or I suppose I should address you as Miss Wendell, how do you do?” Franklin Lucas enquired once his sister had greeted her friend.
“Very formal tonight, are we not,MrLucas?” Elizabeth teased.
“It is a private ball, not a public assembly,” the eldest Lucas son explained. “Do you have a set open?”
“The second one before the supper set is available,” Elizabeth stated as she handed her friend’s older brother her dance card. She watched as Franklin Lucas pencilled his name in for that set.
“Miss Lizzy, you are looking very well,” Johnathan Lucas stated. “May I claim a set?”
“Thank you, Mr Johnny.” Elizabeth handed him the dance card. She did not miss his disappointment when he saw most of her sets, and all of the significant ones were already taken.
Even though he knew that Lizzy had no interest in him as anything more than her friend’s brother, the younger Lucas son had hoped at least one of her important sets would be open, preferably the supper set. Instead, the name ‘W Darcy’ was written in. The same name was there for the final set as well. Johnny had never seen the object of his desire dancemore than one set with any man. He was aware that Darcy fellow was a cousin from the newly discovered family, but that did not make it sting any less. He was about to make an acerbic comment when he noticed his brother and older sister both watching him intently. As if reading his mind, both gave a quick shake of their heads. Rather than comment, Johnny wrote his name in for the second set after supper.
He told himself it was time to give up on that particular dream. He had to admit that even before discovering her family, he had never had a chance with her.
Many of those who filtered into the ballroom had not seen Miss Elizabeth since the news of her family had been disseminated. So it was that many of them came to congratulate her and ask questions—a few, but not many, impertinent—almost as if she was part of a secondary receiving line.
Elizabeth answered them all with good cheer and received the good wishes gracefully. She was not displeased when Aunt Catherine and the others who had made up the receiving line entered the ballroom. Soon enough, Aunt Catherine called the first dance of the night. Father collected her while William lined up opposite Mama.
Had she been dancing the first with William in addition to the two sets he had been granted, Elizabeth knew she would not have objected.
As the ball progressed, Elizabeth enjoyed her dances immensely, but she would have been dissembling to herself had she attempted to say that her mind was not on the supper set, or more accurately, her partner for that set.
Eventually, and not a moment too soon for Elizabeth, Aunt Catherine called the supper set. William came to collect her. She had seen him earlier, of course, but now for some reason his handsomeness was standing out to her more so than ever. As much as she fought against it, Elizabeth felther cheeks warming. When she realised William noticed her reaction and seemed pleased by it, it only made her blush more and in a deeper colour.
They reached the line which was forming and took their positions opposite one another. In her mortification, she prayed the dance would begin soon so she would be able to concentrate on the steps and not on William’s handsomeness, which would return the heightened colour of her face to her normal hue and hide her embarrassment.
Her reprieve came when the music commenced, and they began to dance.
Darcy was delighted at the way Ellie was reacting to him. He was as sure as he could be without asking her directly that she was not indifferent to him. He waited a few minutes to see if she would speak, but she remained stubbornly silent, looking at her feet and not at him. He decided to change things.
“Our aunts and Emily have done a capital job with the decorations,” Darcy stated when they came back together.
“Indeed, they have,” Elizabeth replied and was again silent.
After a pause of some moments, he addressed her for a second time, “Ellie, it is your turn to say something now. I talked about the décor. You ought to make some sort of remark on the size of the room or the number of couples.”
She smiled. “Whatever you wish me to say will be said,” Elizabeth claimed.
“Very well. That reply will do for the present. Perhaps by and by, I may observe that private balls are much pleasanter than public ones. But now we may be silent.” The dance separated them again.
“Do you talk by rule, then, while you are dancing?” Elizabeth asked with her lips upturned.
“Not as a rule. However, Ellie, we are family, so we must speak a little, you know. It would look odd for cousins tobe entirely silent for half an hour together; and yet for the advantage of some, conversation ought to be so arranged, so that they may have the trouble of saying as little as possible.”
“Are you consulting your own feelings in the present case, or do you imagine that you are gratifying mine?” Ellie had to fight to maintain her equanimity and not giggle.
“Both,” Darcy said archly, “for since meeting you again, I have seen a great similarity in the turn of our minds. If we choose to be, we can both display an unsocial, taciturn disposition, unwilling to speak, unless we expect to say something that will amaze the whole room and be handed down to posterity with all theéclatof a proverb.”
“Enough nonsense, William. If your aim was to put me at ease, you have succeeded,” Elizabeth said as she fought to stop a laugh escaping. She failed.
