“I hope I will be able to join you,” Bingley added.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
For the remainder of the day until it was time to prepare for the assembly, Darcy was becoming more and more agitated as Miss Caroline dropped hint after hint about how she would so love to dance, and especially the significant sets. He had been very close to issuing her another setdown when Bingley reminded her of the penalties of not following his orders.
After her brother so rudely interrupted her delightful discourse with Mr Darcy, Miss Caroline placated herself by telling herself that he would dance the first available set with her after they arrived. She hoped that the country mushrooms would delay the ball to wait for their betters to arrive, so she could dance the actual first set with the wealthy member of the first circles. As soon as the early dinner was complete, Miss Caroline made her way up to her suite to prepare herself. She planned to make her entrance a little after half past the hour ofseven.
When Mr Darcy saw her elegance, he would have no choice but to see her as his ideal wife.
When ten minutes before the hour of seven arrived, and there was no Caroline, Bingley led his aunt and older sister out of the house to the waiting coach. Darcy followed behind them. Even though he knew Bingley would stand by his word, it was impressive to Darcy just how resolute his friend was.
As planned, they arrived at the assembly hall in the centre of Meryton a few minutes after seven. As he prepared to exit the coach, Darcy felt the usual feeling of dread. He would only be seen as a bank account and the owner of Pemberley.
The forbidding Darcy mask was in place before he alighted.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
When the conveyance transporting Bennet, his three eldest daughters, and Miss Jones drew to a halt, Bennet saw Mr Bingley and his family alighting from the equipage ahead of them. Last out was a man, a full head taller than Mr Bingley, who Bennet assumed was the chess-playing friend. He only counted four. The question was which of the ladies had not attended?
Once the footman extracted the step and opened the door, Bennet alighted. He handed his daughters out by descending age order—it just so happened it was how they had been sitting—and lastly, he did the honours for Miss Jones.
On entering the hall, Bennet saw Mr Bingley and his party in the capable hands of Sir William Lucas, who was the self-appointed master of ceremonies. Sir William was introducing the Bingleys and their guest to his wife and sons. Seeing one lady wearing a veil, Bennet surmised that it was the younger Miss Bingley. He could see Mr Bingley and hisaunt, which by process of elimination meant that the youngest Bingley was the one who was not present. The friend, Mr Darcy, was tall, and to Bennet he did not look very comfortable. He wondered if the son knew he used to play chess by the post with his late father.
“Those are the Bingleys and their guest, correct, Papa?” Elizabeth assumed.
“Indeed, except it seems that the one I did not meet is not present. I am yet to be introduced to the friend,” Bennet revealed.
“From what I can see, the tall man is not in a good mood. I get the sense that he is greatly concerned about something and is not comfortable among new acquaintances,” Elizabeth opined.
“Your perspicacity is usually close to the bull’s eye, so I will wait to meet him before drawing my own conclusions,” Bennet responded.
The subject of the Bennet father’s and second daughter’s conjecture was in fact feeling like the walls were closing in on him. He hated being the centre of attention. Combined with the bad mood Miss Caroline had caused—he was grateful she was left at the estate—and his continued worry for Anna; Darcy was the furthest thing from feeling sociable.
At least when the knight introduced them to his wife and family, there were only sons, no daughters to stalk him. He vaguely heard Lady Lucas tell Miss Hildebrand Bingley that her one daughter was soon to enter her lying-in with her second child.
Keeping a little distance, he followed as Sir William led them to another family. This one had daughters. Three of them, all looking at Bingley and himself like they were sides of beef in the butcher’s window. Sir William introduced Mrs Kingston of Kingston Hall and her three daughters. There wasno missing how the matron stared at Miss Louisa Bingley, no doubt having been told of the ‘deformity’ by her husband and the local gossip.
Bingley saw the way the woman was ogling Lulu, and it gave him the excuse to tell Sir William that he saw Mr Bennet and wanted to greet him.
Mrs Kingston was not well pleased that the wealthy Mr Bingley had not asked any of her daughters to dance. She had hoped to get him to ask all three before he met the Bennet sisters, who, even she had to admit, were the beauties of the neighbourhood. She saw that the friend had not noticed Mr Bingley and the two ladies move off. Based on the cut and quality of his clothing, Mrs Kingston judged, Mr Darcy, as Sir William had called him, to be rich. He would do for one of them.
“Mr Darcy, how can you resist dancing with the delicate flowers before you?” Mrs Kingston asked suggestively while her daughters all acted coquettishly.
“Very easily, Madam,” Darcy returned curtly. He turned on his heel and headed for a corner where he saw an enormous pot with a large plant within. He chose it as his refuge.
“Well, I never!” Mrs Kingston exclaimed. “What a rude, disagreeable man.”
As everyone in the area was aware of how Mrs Kingston pushed her daughters at any man she thought reasonably wealthy, the tall man escaping her clutches was understood.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Mr Bennet, good evening, Sir. Would you be willing to introduce your daughters to us?” Bingley could not remember seeing three more beautiful women. Two were blonde, very similar to the type he used to chuse as his next angel. If he had still been that immature young man who did not consider theconsequences of his actions, he would have had a hard time deciding which Bennet sister to select as an angel from two of the ladies before him. One of the three may be the lady for him, but until he got to know them, there was no way to know.
“It will be my pleasure, but have you not lost one of the members of your party?” Bennet cocked his head to the huge pot in the one corner.
“Mrs Kingston worked her magic on him, Papa,” Elizabeth stated.
“That woman would try the patience of a saint,” Bennet stated. “Jane, Elizabeth, and Mary, I present to you Mr Charles Bingley of Scarborough, his aunt, Miss Hildebrand Bingley, and his older sister, Miss Louisa Bingley. Bingleys, my three eldest daughters, Miss Jane Bennet, Miss Elizabeth, and Miss Mary. The lady coming this way is Miss Jones, companion to my daughters.”
