On Monday morning, the day of the ball, Darcy’s solicitor arrived. He brought Darcy’s special license and the settlement papers. A messenger was dispatched to Phillips immediately, asking him to join them. Gardiner was familiar with business contracts, but he had never before reviewed a marriage settlement for one of his daughters.
Once Phillips arrived, Elizabeth was invited to join the four men. After she read her settlement, she was amazed at the amount of Darcy’s income. Darcy was also surprised, as he was not expecting any dowry, let alone one larger than his sister’s. The only major change to the settlement was proposed by Darcy; he insisted Elizabeth’s fortune would remain under her control to do with what she wished.
When she tried to argue she had no need for the additional funds given the exorbitant sum Darcy was settling on her, he told her he would not be moved on this. Elizabeth promptly proposed her funds be used to set up ten-thousand-pound dowries for each of her three younger sisters who had grown up with her at Longbourn. The remaining five thousand pounds would be used for charities she planned to support.
Phillips and Gardiner both objected, stating they had dowered the three young ladies themselves; Elizabeth simply stated now they each had ten thousand pounds more. Knowing how stubborn his daughter could be if she chose, Gardiner left well enough alone.
Thanks to his foresight, Phillips had brought one of his clerks with him, so the man was able to prepare final drafts as they waited in the study. Once the settlement was reviewed a last time and no further changes required, Gardiner and Darcy affixed their signatures to each of the copies.
“Now that you have signed the settlement, there is no escaping, William,” Elizabeth teased as they exited the study, “You will have to marry me.”
“Just as I planned,” Darcy responded. His statement earned him one of her tinkling laughs which he dearly loved to hear.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Neither Kitty nor Lydia argued when their respective guardians had put them back in. They both understood a girl was not ready to come out at fifteen and she certainly did not need to be trying tocatcha husband at that age.
Hence, there was no arguments from either when the rules for the ball were explained to all four of the young ladies of fifteen or older who were not yet out. They would wear age-appropriate gowns, not low cut, and no lace. Only family and close friends, pre-approved by their guardians, would be allowed to dance with them and they would leave the ball directly after supper.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
It was a relatively long receiving line, made up of both betrothed couples and their three sets of parents. As the neighbours from the Meryton area arrived and greeted those in the receiving line, they all made it a point to pause and tell Elizabeth how happy they were she was doing so well with parents who loved and protected her as she deserved.
A little over an hour later, the receiving line duties were completed and the five couples joined the guests in the ballroom. When Elizabeth and Darcy lined up for the first set, both recalled the last time they had danced together in this ballroom. It had been the first time Darcy had noted a softening in Elizabeth’s attitude towards him. He now understood that softening was due to the influence of his soon-to-be cousin, Charlotte, who was lining up opposite Richard.
When they came together for the first time, Darcy decided to have some fun with his betrothed. “Come, Miss Gardiner, we must have some conversation. What will people think if we spend half an hour in complete silence.” Elizabeth’s tinkling laugh was heard above the musicians.
“I am at your disposal, Mr. Darcy; we can discuss anything,” Elizabeth’s eyes were shining with mirth. As Darcy looked into those inviting emerald-green eyes, he had to catch himself before he was completely lost and forgot the steps of the dance.
They separated as they danced down the line. Once he took her hand when they came together again, he offered, “I hope you prefer this dance to the first set you danced with that buffoon when last we were at a ball here.”
“There is no comparison,” Elizabeth stated when they came back together. “You, Sir, do not stink, you know the steps of the dance, and you are not a fool. Which all means I am enjoying this first dance infinitely more than I did the last one, as I have nothing for which to fault you.”
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
A few couples down, Bingley and Mary, now officially courting, were enjoying their dance in companionable silence. Bingley recollected at both the assembly he had attended in the area as well as the ball he had given at this estate that Miss Bennet had sat out and read, dancing with no one. He could still hear his sister Caroline’s mocking, and wholly inaccurate words.
Based on their dance so far, he understood it was not for want of skill; Mary was an accomplished dancer. As they danced, he felt very pleased with himself to have gained this woman’s agreement to explore the possibility of a future with him.
As he thought about his sister, he almost laughed aloud thinking about how Caroline had always pushed for him and Darcy to become brothers. If he eventually proposed to Mary and she accepted him, then he and Darcy would be brothers, but not in the way Caroline had envisioned.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Our wait is almost over, my Charlotte,” Richard said close to his fiancée’s ear as they came together during the dance. “I find I am most impatient; I never wish to be parted from you again.”
“I am no less impatient, Richard,” Charlotte returned saucily, almost causing her normally unflappable betrothed to miss a step.
“Soon it will be just you and me at Darcy’s house in Ramsgate. If he was not going to use it himself, I would have asked William for Seaview Cottage near Brighton,” Richard stated before the pattern separated them again.
“Are you sure your cousin Anne wants you to take over as master even before she turns eight and twenty?” Charlotte asked. She wanted to make sure she would not be displacing the rightful mistress of Rosings Park, if Anne did not wish her to do so, after Lady Catherine was removed from that office.
The dance separated them, but when they came together again, Richard assured her it was Anne’s explicit wish. To reassure Charlotte, he said they would talk to Anne when they were at the estate to confirm it was what she wanted.
After supper the five younger girls, now including Maria among them, said their farewells and followed Mrs. Annesley above stairs without a word of complaint. The rest of the ball passed much as such events do. As they had been co-hosts, it was past three in the morning when the Lucases, sans Maria, left.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Between the ball and the day before the double wedding, the couples were able to keep company with each other all day. There were walks, rides, and other entertainments, usually in the company of the younger boys and girls.
