Pride and Prejudice doesn't belong to me.

I hope you'll enjoy it.

Thanks Miriam1 for all your help.

Nobody Wants Your Concertos Here

Patrick Thornton, eldest son of the Earl of Twickenham got of his carriage and walked towards his friends.

"Bingley," Patrick said, shaking Bingley's hand, "this is quite the place you have here."

"I'm glad you could make it," Bingley said.

"It seems I have arrived in time for a party," Patrick said. "Don't tell me you got yourself a wife already."

"No," Bingley laughed, "Not yet. But we are having a ball tonight."

They went inside and found Darcy standing frowning at the men who were carrying the wine into the kitchen.

"Darcy," Patrick said, "I must say I'm surprised you haven't left yet."

"Very funny," Darcy said, hugging his friend.

"What's this I hear about a ball?" Patrick asked. "Are you attending?" This was a recurring joke amongst the three friends – Bingley was always in the mood for a party while Darcy never was.

"I have no choice."

000

Patrick watched the scene from across the room and he had to admit he was very surprised. Bingley seemed to completely taken by the local beauty Jane Bennet and Darcy couldn't keep his eyes off Elizabeth Bennet. Patrick wasn't surprised to see them take to the dance floor a few minutes later. Patrick smiled to himself.

A new noise attracted his attention. Mrs. Bennet seemed to having an argument with her younger daughters; "Mary, listen to your sisters and play better music. I'm sure nobody wants your concertos here, it is a ball after all." She turned to the lady sitting next to her and continued in the same loud voice, "Poor Mary, she does try. She'll never be as good looking as her sisters, especially my dear Lydia, so she has to make do with playing the piano and singing."

Mary heard all these things and cringed; she knew that she didn't have the best voice in the world, that everybody thought she was no good at anything, but what choice did she have? She had to be good something, so she had chosen music.

Without quite knowing why, Patrick found himself following Mary Bennet. She left the ballroom and went to hide near the staircase. Although Patrick could hear her crying softly, he still continued to make his way towards her.

"My playing isn't that bad," Mary grumbled softly, through her tears.

"I can honestly say that I've heard worse," Patrick said.

Mary turned in shock and then anger and looked at the young man standing in front of her. He was holding out a handkerchief, which she took from him, mumbling her thanks. She should have found a better hiding place and was going to as soon as he left.

"I didn't mean to interrupt," he said, smiling softly.

"You didn't interrupt anything," Mary told him, coldly.

"Patrick Thornton," he introduced himself.

"Mary Bennet." She waited for him to leave, he had done his gentlemanly duty, and there was nothing left for him to do.

Sensing that Mary was about to leave him standing by himself, Patrick said, "Last Christmas we were forced to endure my cousin Enid's …entertainment, and I must tell you it was horrible."

Mary smiled politely; he was just trying to cheer her up, how gentlemanly of him.

"I'm sure she was pleased to hear your appreciation of her playing and singing."

"Seeing as she knows that she can't sing or play worth fifty pence," Patrick replied laughing, "she took it all in good grace."

"So when you said that you'd heard worse," Mary said, stiffly, "you meant that your cousin's playing and singing were worse than mine?"

Patrick nodded.

"I see," Mary replied, "thank you." She made to leave the staircase.

"I didn't mean to give offence," Patrick said.

"I am not offended," Mary told him, "who would be? I am not the best player or singer in the world, but why should I be offended by your pointing it out?"

Patrick couldn't believe her tone. He wasn't used to young ladies who gave their opinion so decidedly and he said so.

"Then your company must be so limited," Mary told him in reply, "and so boring."

"Yes," Patrick said, thinking of the young ladies who were always been thrown into his path, wanting to become the next Lady Preston. "I think your mother is wrong."

"About what?"

"You don't have to make do with only singing and playing," he replied.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your sister Lydia is very lively," Patrick said, as that lady passed them running up the stairs, followed by three officers.

"The life of the party," Mary said, without any feeling.

"But you are much more interesting," he said.

"Please don't feel the need to flatter me," Mary told him.

"I am not flattering you," Patrick told her. "Your company must be more restricted than I thought, if you call that flattery."

Mary laughed, she had honestly thought that the Netherfield ball would be as uninteresting as the rest of them, and after her disastrous display, she hadn't thought she would have any fun that evening. Yet, this Patrick Thornton was proving to be very interesting.

"You are a friend of Mr. Bingley, I presume?"

"Yes I am," he replied, "and you one of the famous Bennet girls."

"Famous? And yet you say you are not flattering me?" Mary asked.

"Your beauty is renowned in the whole county. I only arrived this morning and yet I have heard all about it."

"You mean the beauty of my sisters," Mary said, "for having seen my sisters tonight; you can't have failed to notice that I fall short of the mark." Or so my dear mama assures me, she added silently to herself.

"You're a gentleman I guess, Mr. Thornton," Mary told him.

"Isn't everyone?"

"A man of some property," Mary continued, "or you wouldn't be friends with Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy."

"Why?"

"I have read somewhere that birds of a feather flock together," Mary told him. "So if you are flocking, then," she shrugged.

He nodded and then observed, "You like to read."

"It passes the time," she told him.

"But that it is not the reason you like to read, is it Miss Bennet?"

"Not really," Mary replied, "I like to know things, and what better way to increase my knowledge than by reading?"

"Then you really ought to come and see our library," Patrick said without thinking and then it struck him that he would really like to see Mary in the Twickenham library.

"Thank you," her tone suggested that he was joking.

They heard a voice calling to the Prescotts telling them that their carriage had arrived and Patrick asked to escort her back to the ballroom.

"It was pleasure spending time with you, Miss Mary Bennet," Patrick said, as he led her back to the ballroom.

"You too, sir," Mary replied, "you have made my evening a very interesting one."

"And mine a very memorable one," he said.

000

"You spent a lot of time with Mr. Thornton," Elizabeth told Mary as they made their way to their rooms. Elizabeth, like the rest of the guests, had heard that a friend of Mr. Bingley's had arrived just before the ball and she actually hadn't been introduced to him, Charlotte had pointed him out to her and she had seen him reenter the ballroom with Mary and had noticed that he had spent the time until their carriage had arrived talking to her. In fact, it had been Caroline Bingley's annoyance that had alerted her to that fact.

"Didn't anyone tell poor Patrick that Mary Bennet is the dullest of all the Bennet girls?" Elizabeth had heard Caroline ask Louisa. Caroline had been on her way to 'rescue' Patrick when Mr. Darcy had joined her and Louisa and then of course she'd changed her mind. He could save himself.

"Yes," Mary replied, "he was very kind."

"I think he was more than kind," Elizabeth pointed out.

"He says he will call on me sometime tomorrow," Mary said, smiling at the memory of his words, as he had bidden her goodbye.

"I can't wait to meet him," Elizabeth said. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

000

What do you think?