Mrs Bennet gave an affected laugh. “Oh no.Impertinencewould have been to ask one of my daughters to decline Mr Bingley’s kind invitation and not come today.”
Anne flushed scarlet and said no more. Darcy fixed her with a furious glare, which she refused to meet.Surely, she did not?
“Have there been many more dances in Meryton of late?” Bingley quickly enquired.
“Aye, there was one last Saturday,” Miss Lydia replied. “Miss de Bourgh swooned halfway through her dance with Mr Wickham.”
Several hissed reproaches went up around the table, all of which were drowned by the sound of Georgiana dropping her knife and fork. They clattered noisily onto her plate, and one fell into her lap, drawing a whimper from her lips as she fumbled to reclaim it. Darcy swore to himself and tried desperately to catch her eye, but not even Mrs Annesley’s cleared throat could persuade her to raise her head.
“I understand he has gone out of the country now,” he said in as steadying a voice as he could.
Georgiana still did not look at him, and her countenance had turned ashen, but she nodded slightly, retrieved her cutlery, and resumed eating.
Elizabeth, of course, observed the entire exchange. She looked away when she noticed Darcy’s gaze, thus he could not tell what she made of it. He only knew that he must want her beyond reason when he briefly considered throwing more cutlery into his sister’s lap to draw her attention back his way.
“Your stumble that evening was most unfortunate,” said Mrs Bennet to Anne, “but that was precisely the point I was making yesterday. Now,Janedanced with Mr Mountbatten—did you not, Jane? Hewould have been a far better match for you, Miss de Bourgh. A stout fellow, not too fast on his feet. And short sighted, which I should think would be of benefit to some, though Jane would be quite wasted on him.”
“Mr Bingley, I hear your ball in the autumn was a fine affair,” Mrs Annesley interposed with such gracefulness as made Darcy vow to increase her stipend.
“It was, madam, even if I do say so myself. I am excessively fond of dancing.”
“It shows,” said Mr Bennet indiscreetly to Mr Gardiner. “I have never known any man dance around a question for as many months as he.”
“Do you often get the chance?” Mrs Gardiner enquired.
“I had the chance yesterday, as it happens,” Bingley replied. “My sisters and Miss Darcy were attempting to teach me a new cotillion. I daresayyouwould like it, Miss Bennet. You dance so very prettily. Perhaps, Miss Darcy, you could teach Miss Bennet the steps?”
Georgiana had not yet recovered, and it was too soon for her to speak with any confidence. Miss Bennet looked mortified by the mere suggestion. Both ladies appeared on the verge of tears.
Bingley glanced helplessly at Darcy, and well he might, for the warm welcome he had been promised was nowhere to be seen. Instead, awkward silence pervaded the company as the central turret of one of the cook’s castellated ices slid off sideways and landed on the tablecloth with a dull splat.
Darcy knew matters had reached a decided low when he found himself wishing Miss Bingley were there to rescue them all with some of her insipid but well-honed social graces.
I was right, he thought to himself.I ought to have left this place at first light.
* * *
Elizabeth would gladly have complied with Miss de Bourgh’s wishes and remained at home. It was Jane who had insisted upon coming, too well-mannered to renege on an invitation already accepted. If Mr Bingley had not chosen her, she insisted, then she would neither resent him for it nor be so petty as to refuse his olive branch. That was all well and good, except that for the last several hours, Elizabeth had watched Jane struggle to maintain her composure as the man she loved flaunted his new paramour in front of them.
Mr Darcy was little better, obstinately promoting the match at every opportunity. Miss de Bourgh was, as always, being insolent and superior—an air made worse by dint of Elizabeth’s mother, father, and younger sisters determinedly betraying every bit of the disdain for propriety of which the woman had accused them. By the time the ladies separated from the gentlemen after dinner, Elizabeth was so angry she was tempted to ask for her pelisse and steal away home.
The only person at whom Elizabeth could not be vexed was Miss Darcy, though she wished to be. Indeed, she had begun the evening determined to find her as objectionable and proud as Mr Wickham had described her. That, perhaps, was the reason her resolve had crumbled so rapidly, for Mr Wickham’s testimony held little water with her of late. It had been the work of less than a few minutes to determine that Mr Darcy’s sister was only painfully shy. Neither had it escaped Elizabeth’s notice the effect Mr Wickham’s name had upon her, nor her brother and companion’s concern for her after its mention. It was a turn from which Miss Darcy had yet to recover, though Miss de Bourgh appeared oblivious to her cousin’s distress.
“What possessed you at dinner, Georgiana?” Elizabeth heard her say in a harsh whisper. “You are aware, I suppose, that the saying ‘When in Rome’ is proverbial and not to be taken as instruction.”
“I am sorry, Cousin Anne. I was nervous.”
“When will you learn it is for people like this to be nervous inyourpresence, not the reverse? Now you have splashed gravy on yourself.”
Miss Darcy gasped in mortification and inspected her gown for the offending stain.
Little though Elizabeth was inclined to take her part while Jane looked on, it tugged at her conscience to see the young lady’s embarrassment over the regrettably obvious mark. It persuaded her to swivel in her seat to fully face them and lean forward so she could whisper. “’Tis hardly noticeable, Miss Darcy. You must not concern yourself.”
Miss de Bourgh fixed her with a rancorous glare. “Do not attempt to ingratiate yourself this way, Miss Elizabeth. It will not work.” To her cousin, she added, “What will Mr Bingley think?”
“I—I do not think Mr Bingley will mind,” Miss Darcy replied in a stilted voice. “He is too kind, and I believe he is altogether too engrossed in Miss Bennet to care about my gown.”
Elizabeth was instantly alert but uncertain how to proceed without knowing whether the remark had been made in bitterness or innocence. She had not long to wait before Miss de Bourgh demanded the answers she herself was so desirous of hearing.
