Both ladies speculated freely on Elizabeth, but unless she had been abducted by pirates, she was unlikely to be in danger, and there was little they could do. She would return when she chose, and neither lady had reason to believe her excessively distressed. It was in neither's nature to be despondent regarding follies nor misunderstandings. Jane believed Elizabeth would resolve her difficulties when she chose, and convinced her new friend of the wisdom of that attitude.
The conversation eventually lapsed and they wondered what to do next.
Anne gathered her courage. Darcy would be disappointed she had learned nothing of Miss Elizabeth, but frankly, she was his problem, not hers, and Anne had come to town with more than one agenda.
Anne drew a breath, and sheepishly asked, “Miss Bennet, would you… dare I ask too much… would you be willing to attend a ball with me? My aunt, Lady Clarissa, is holding one on Tuesday next, and I might be able to brave it if I had you by my side. I once heard your sister say her courage always rises to any intimidation, but I am afraid mine does not quite rise enough to attend a ball alone, or with my cousins.”
“A ball?”
Jane was beyond surprise as that would certainly not have been a question she anticipated. While she sat in stunned silence, her erstwhile companion continued, warming to the idea.
“Yes, a ball! I am using the coincidence of your sister's flight to… well, this will sound selfish… but I am taking advantage of the distraction to come and enjoy a little of the season. I know it is nearly over, but I never participated, so it is all new to me.”
Her courage failed and she stared at her slipper, belatedly realising there was mud on it.
Jane was more shocked than when they had discovered Lizzy’s disappearance. With her sister, such events were bound to happen from time to time, as they had all their lives; but a rich heiress, obviously older than herself, who had never had a season was a concept beyond Jane's comprehension.
She finally asked, “You have never been to a ball! I am all astonishment! Why ever not?”
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Anne replied, “I was sickly as a child, and I think my mother and I formed the habit of avoiding society. She always thought I was for Darcy, and I never wished to go to balls or engage in society enough to oppose her, so I have never been to one.”
“Surely you have someone else to take you, perhaps one of the cousins who were with you at Rosings?”
“A ball with the lunkheads? Never!” Anne laughed gaily.
In that moment, Miss de Bourgh seemed a great deal like Elizabeth, and Jane’s heart went out to this poor young lady, who at five and twenty had never even been to a ball, and likely did not even know how to dance. Jane was not particularly occupied, nor had she been for some time, nor was she likely to be soon; so, the idea had merit. At least it might relieve the boredom that was becoming the primary emotion replacing her heartbreak.
“What type of ball? I do not have clothing suitable for a first circle ball, and I have neither the time nor funds to purchase a gown. I… do not move in that sphere.”
Anne laughed, and asked impertinently, “With four sisters, you have never borrowed a ball gown?”
“Well—”
“Perfect! I have a cousin who is almost the same height and figure as both of us. She has closets full of gowns, all of the finest quality, and we can borrow any we like. I have no time to have one made either, nor am I inclined for my mother toknow what I am about, so I fear we both must be beggars. Pray, will you accompany me? I would be in your debt. I shall come here tomorrow with the seamstress to make adjustments, and all would be done in time for the ball. Please, Miss Bennet.”
Jane stared at her new friend, wondering when she would be serious, only to find her already so.
“You want me… Jane Bennet… to go… to venture from my tradesman uncle’s house… to your aunt’s first circle ball… wearing… your cousin’s gown?”
“Yes, that sums it up nicely.”
Jane felt trampled and left by the roadside for dead. Apparently, Miss de Bourgh had learned a few things from her mother, because without ever saying any variant of ‘yes,’ she seemed to have committed to attendance at a ball.
“Why me?”
“I wish to honour you with my condescension and elevated rank.”
Anne almost held a straight face for a good fifteen seconds, before both ladies fell into a fit of giggles that would have embarrassed Lydia or Kitty.
“In all seriousness, I… I need your help. I wish to make my life… more… more… well… justmore. It has been so constrained for so long, I hardly know where to begin, and… well, I trust you. You need not watch me like a nursemaid, only be in the same room. That is all I ask.”
Jane offered a look borrowed from Lizzy. “A ball seems a good place to start.”
Anne smiled brightly. “My thinking exactly! I assume, based on your demeanour and what I have heard of your character from my cousin, that you will be able to ease my way a little. I hope it will be useful for you as well. There will be lots of handsome and well-connected men, and I will no doubt have to bring a couple of my cousin’s guard dogs to hold them back.”
Jane laughed, unable to imagine any dog more frightening than Lizzy reported Anne’s mother to be, or more ill-tempered than Mr Darcy, but gave up and nodded. The whole idea of going to the ball made little sense, but Jane would not refuse her friend, nor was she opposed to an opportunity to throw herself in the paths of other amiable men. She was quite done with Charles Bingley.
That ‘gentleman’ was certainly not the only man in the world, and in the end, her mother occasionally spoke sense. Jane was accustomed to hearing her mother in flights of fluttering nonsense, but she recalled Mrs Bennet in one of her infrequent introspective moods.
