Elizabeth had sent her maid to Mary with a gown for dinner. They had agreed that Mary's act was to cease immediately, there was no point continuing so she should now act as she planned to continue. Mary had always admired her sister's pretty dresses and hairstyles, her desire to blend into the background did not lessen her appreciation for nice things. Her natural beauty meant that she had gone to great lengths to maintain her unattractive person, so she had rarely looked upon herself in her natural state. When she did gaze upon her reflection a moment longer than she needed to, she was pleased to see some of her old self again. She did hope her brother would not make a fuss of her appearance in front of their guest. She just remembered they would have company and wished now she could remember the Colonel at all, feeling at a disadvantage, until she realized he would not likely recall her either. She descended to the drawing room, where her sister and brother were already conversing with a gentleman.
"Mary, you remember my cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam" Mary knew from his lack of surprise at her appearance that Elizabeth had apprised Darcy of her secret. Colonel Fitzwilliam clearly was surprised and did a bad job of looking as though he remembered her at all. It was unfair to him, given the change in her appearance and since Lizzy had told Mary that Colonel Fitzwilliam was very close with Darcy and so would likely be in their company often Mary had determined that they should be friends. Intent on starting the acquaintance well, and knowing that such an acquaintance should be begun truthfully she began, "Indeed, I believe I am among friends here and so I hope the Colonel will not be offended if I confess, very regretfully I assure you, that I do not remember him". Elizabeth and Darcy exchanged worried glances before visibly relaxing when the Colonel just looked amused as he replied, "I am so relieved, Miss Bennet, I am embarrassed to admit that I do not remember our first meeting so well either. I am delighted to have the opportunity to remedy that now, however" he smiled at her, and she knew she had a new friend.
The party of four made dinner a small affair, and Mary found it necessary to converse for much of it with the Colonel, as Elizabeth and Darcy were much engaged in sparring over some disagreement regarding books. The Colonel was regarding her with such curiosity she felt compelled to call him out, "Colonel, you are staring, and it is becoming a little uncomfortable." He startled "Oh Miss Mary, accept my apologies, it was not intentional. I have been debating with myself if I should own to something, and I find that I must, since you seem to be intent on truthfulness, I will follow your lead. I hope what I have to say does not distress you - I must tell you however that I was apprised of your history by my aunt, who got it from your cousin Mrs Collins. I have guessed that I don't remember our first introduction, because you intended it to be so?" Mary was shocked into silence. Who was his aunt to her, and why was she discussing her history with trifling acquaintances? She was not of an angry disposition though and she quickly realized that she could not blame the Colonel, who appeared instantly to regret his words, so she offered "pray, do not make yourself uneasy Colonel. It is true that I have long sought to deter potential suitors, as I do not wish to marry. Why should you not know? I was silly, young and very distraught when I began my subterfuge, and I should have ceased it much sooner than I did.
"I am sorry for your loss, Miss Bennet." he offered thoughtfully.
"Thank you, Colonel. It was very distressing, for a long time. We were raised to believe we were meant for each other, I should not recommend doing such a thing to a child! I regret his loss every day, he was my closest friend, we would have had a good life together. But I have realized that the time has come for me to enjoy my life, and accept that he will be in it, in memory only." Her last words hung in the air heavily, so the Colonel was compelled to change the subject.
"Miss Bennet, I am going to be impertinent I fear, but I must ask…?" he was smiling, and Mary felt inordinately pleased that they were getting along so well, she so dearly wanted for friends. "Yes?" she prompted.
"Do you really play and sing so badly as you did at the wedding?" it was a genuine question, but his tone was teasing. She laughed, raising a hand to her forehead dramatically she said "Oh, how my vanity has suffered! No, Colonel, I do not. You have extracted another confession from me! It amused me to make myself as unattractive as I could. I was asked to play at an assembly, but my mother was being so intolerable, the urge to go about it in the most dreadful manner was too strong to ignore. I have quite an appalling reputation now!" she grinned proudly.
The Colonel found himself very amused and needed to know more. "Your glasses?" "Unnecessary, they were an old pair my father had discarded. They were useful to hide behind" she answered. "Your big book of sermons? You do not strike me now as the sermon reading type?" Mary nodded "you are very astute Colonel. Sermonizing is not a trait men desire, I believe then that the book served me well. I was reading novels." This led them to a topic of shared enjoyment and found they lost time discussing their favourite novels and recommending titles to each other.
The night came to an end and Mary could not be more pleased to have made such an amiable friend as Colonel Fitzwilliam. He was amusing, made easy conversation and she could tell he was an honest hardworking sort of man. She found she liked him very much. That she admired his person, was undeniable, and slightly disturbed her equanimity, a feeling she chose to ignore as she happily made her way to her chamber that night.
The Colonel thanked Elizabeth and Darcy, having declared most emphatically that he could not remember a more pleasant night he'd spent. That he'd been almost the entirety of the night with Mary Bennet did not escape the notice of his hosts, who watched with amusement mixed with concern, as the Colonel practically skipped down the stairs. "She is determined she will never marry, Fitzwilliam, I do not think she knows herself" Elizabeth whispered as they ascended the stairs to their chamber. "And he has told me he is ready to settle down…" added Darcy "…they must have had much in common to speak so extensively. Lizzy, I do not think I have heard Mary laugh as I did tonight" he spoke thoughtfully. They had much to think about.