Jane's eyes widened with unconvincing innocence. "I know only that Mr Darcy has been very attentive to you."
Elizabeth could not decide whether to be hopeful or offended. She had no wish to behave like a foolish girl who imagined every look concealed a declaration, yet neither could she dismiss the warmth of his manner or the intimacy of that final moment between them. If he had gone because he regretted it, she would rather know at once. If he intended to return, she could not understand why he had left her to spend the afternoon wondering.
By the time Elizabeth went upstairs to dress, the happiness of the morning had become tangled with unease. Every sensible explanation she offered herself lasted only until she remembered the expression on his face when he had held her hands.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The ball had transformed Chaffley Hall. Garlands of summer greenery framed the ballroom doors, candles blazed from every branch of the chandeliers and purple ribbons had been wound around the pillars in honour of the victorious team. The Challenge Cup stood upon a raised table at the end of the room, polished until the ballroom shimmered across its silver sides
Lady Hortensia was resplendent on a high-backed seat beside the musicians. She had chosen peacock-blue silk for the evening, the skirts richly embroidered with silver vines and tiny seed pearls that caught the candlelight whenever she moved. A spray of white feathers rose from her hair, secured by a sapphire clasp, and she appeared every inch the queen of her domain.
Elizabeth entered with Jane and Mr Bennet, trying not to search the room too obviously. Darcy was not there. Colonel Fitzwilliam was and he crossed to claim Jane almost immediately, looking so happy that Elizabeth could not resent him for it. The Sitcombe sisters were surrounded by admirers,Amelia stood with Henry Blackwood beneath the approving eye of Mrs Harrington and Thomas Hadley had already asked Mrs Cartwright to dance.
Still Darcy did not come. The musicians began the first set and the fact that she would not dance it with him sat heavily on her chest as couples took their places.
Mr Bennet offered his hand. "You appear to be without a partner, my Lizzy."
She looked at him sharply, but his expression revealed nothing beyond familiar amusement. "You do not often dance, Papa."
"No, but I find myself moved by pity. It would be a terrible thing for the captain of the victorious ladies to stand neglected at her own celebration."
"I am not neglected," she said quickly, not really believing the words.
"Then you may regard this as an opportunity to reward your elderly father for travelling to Derbyshire."
She laughed despite herself and allowed him to lead her onto the floor.
Mr Bennet danced with greater enthusiasm than grace, speaking little until the figures brought them briefly together. "You need not look towards the door at every turn," he said.
The dance separated them again before she could question him. When it ended, he bowed with exaggerated solemnity and returned her to Jane.
The first dance had come and gone. Elizabeth told herself there might be a reasonable explanation, but disappointment had already taken hold. She accepted a dance with Thomas Hadley and another with Captain Fanshawe, conversing pleasantly enough while remaining conscious of every entrance and exit to the ballroom.
When the second set ended, Lady Hortensia struck her cane against the floor and announced that the time had come for the gentlemen to pay their forfeit.
A cheer rose from the ladies. The gentlemen answered with a chorus of groans.
Mr Pritchard appeared carrying a tray of flower crowns twined with purple ribbon, while two footmen brought forward the painted scenery and neglected properties from the gentlemen's unfortunate dramatic performance. The meaning of the arrangement became clear at once.
"No," said Sir Geoffrey with a groan.
"Yes," said Lady Hortensia with a wicked grin.
The gentlemen were required to perform their play again before the assembled company, this time wearing the colours ofthe victorious side. James Blackwood accepted his crown with extravagant misery, while Colonel Fitzwilliam placed his at a rakish angle. Mr Hadley and Captain Fanshawe had both taken enough wine to regard the prospect as excellent entertainment and retook their parts with enthusiasm.
The performance bore only a distant resemblance to the original. Lines were forgotten, invented or delivered to the wrong character. James prolonged his death scene until the rest of the players simply stepped over him and continued speaking, while Captain Fanshawe introduced a sword fight into a scene which had previously contained neither swords nor the slightest quarrel. Sir Geoffrey attempted to preserve some dignity, but his crown slipped over one eye during his longest speech and remained there. Mr Ashcombe endured the whole with the expression of a man suffering a grave public injustice.
"And where is Darcy?" James demanded from the floor during his second death. "Our captain has abandoned us in our darkest hour."
Colonel Fitzwilliam adjusted the purple wreath slipping over one eyebrow. "My cousin has always possessed an almost uncanny power of self-preservation."
"Do not defend him," James said. "He ought to be suffering with the rest of us."
"Oh, I am not defending him. I fully intend to make him perform the entire play alone when he returns."
The company laughed, but Elizabeth's amusement faded whenever she looked towards the entrance. Darcy alone had escaped the forfeit, and no one seemed to know where he had gone.
It was not until the musicians paused before the first waltz, a dance Lady Hortensia had insisted upon including despite several loudly expressed objections to its shocking intimacy, that the ballroom doors opened. Darcy stood upon the threshold.
