Revised Chapter 7- Hello again! I have revised this chapter, because I got all confused in regards to Arthur Langley's title. Unfortunately, I read a website in which the example used Alexander as a first name, which could also be used as a last, hence the reason I got mixed up. I will go back and change the previous chapters accordingly. Thank you for all the input!- .Darcy
Chapter 7
Unfortunately, Darcy's wish did not come true, for he soon learned Elizabeth was to be present at the ball he dreaded going to.
Luckily, he was in a jolly mood (for him, that is) and decided to start fresh.
His evening dressing was something Darcy never bothered himself with, as his man always knew the latest fashions and what looked best on his handsome frame.
He would not have cared if he wore rags, but he decided it best to not offend anyone, and, besides, his valet's reputation was at stake. Darcy prided himself on treating his loyal servants with respect.
So, as always, Frampton dressed Darcy immaculately. He decended to the grand entry hall, where he found his carriage, waiting for him. Darcy smiled when he saw the livery. He remembered the day when he and his father had chosen the attractive blue and silver colors together. As he traveled to the ball, he was grateful at least that it would be held at his Aunt and Uncle Matlock's townhouse.
Darcy's carriage was held up in a queue, since he managed to arrive at the same time as everyone else. In fact, the Bennet's carriage happened to arrive right behind his.
After alighting, he waited for the Bennet carriage to come to a full stop. As Elizabeth alighted to the ground, he offered his arm, surprising her. After greeting her family, he escorted her to the door.
"Mr. Darcy," she said, "I am a little surprised to see you after our last conversation."
He felt the back of his neck get warm, and replied, "Miss Elizabeth, I am terribly sorry for my rudeness that day. I had had an awful afternoon, but, of course, that does not excuse my bad behavior."
She smiled, "I forgive you, sir. I understand." She was amazed. The great Mr. Darcy apologizing to a country nobody! Imagine! However, she was willing to forget, because he truly seemed to regret his actions.
As they entered the house, and joined in the receiving line, Mr. Darcy introduced her to his relatives, then guided her into the bright ballroom.
The view was magnificent. She had never been to such a grand gathering, and finally understood why an invitation to a ball given by the Matlock's was so coveted.
Mr. Darcy turned to her, "Miss Bennet, may I request your hand for the second set?"
This was even more surprising than his apology, "Yes, Mr. Darcy, I would be delighted."
He wore a triumphant smile, as he escorted Elizabeth into the crowd.
She was wearing her new ball gown, made from fine, dark blue silk, which she, at the time, thought was ostentatious, but now, it made her feel like she blended in perfectly.
Jane also had a new gown, a beautiful pink, which was most becoming to her complexion. It made her face appear to be glowing as she greeted Mr. Bingley.
She glanced around for Lord Arthur, of course trying not to offend the man on her arm, and finally spotted him next to his father and brother, handing his hat to a servant.
Her face instantly lit up on eye contact with Lord Arthur, causing Darcy to turn his head to see the cause of Elizabeth's animated smile.
He was disappointed at the loss of her attention, but led her over to his friend, who took her hand for the first set. Lord Langley led Elizabeth towards the center of the room.
The music, which was the finest she had heard, mostly drowned out Mrs. Bennet's gloating on the matches her husband had made for her daughters, but still, she hoped her partner had not heard it.
As they made their way down the set, they made polite conversation. "Ah, Miss Bennet, may I tell you how surprised I was to see you on Mr. Darcy's arm? I had thought you had a bit of a falling out."
Her eyes sparked with mirth, "Mr. Darcy seems to improve with closer acquaintance, sir. No, I must be frank. He approached me when I arrived, and apologized. I must say, I was quite surprised."
Lord Arthur let out a hearty gawfaw, "That surprises me, also! I know him to be capable of it, but I find he is shy with people who he is not well acquainted with." With that, they finished their dance in good cheer and conversation.
After Langley's first dance, he decided that he should not wait any longer to propose.
Elizabeth and he already seemed to have a good friendship, and they would have plenty of time after being engaged to court and get know each other better, because the season would be ended in July, five months away.
He crossed the ballroom, dodging all the mothers and daughters approaching him, while still trying not to be rude. This was one of the first lessons of defense his wise father taught him, apart from avoiding being compromised. As he walked, bowing and smiling at ridiculous ladies and their equally ridiculous daughters, he thought how curious it was that his older brother was not married by now. After all, he was considered the better catch of the two, being the heir apparent, and actually seeming to enjoy their attentions.
Eventually, upon reaching the intended area, he passed by Mrs. Bennet, holding court over other, more unfortunate, society matrons who had not yet had success marrying their daughters off.
He caught snippets of her monologue, "Yes, and my youngest daughter, little Lydia, is going to marry a viscount! Of course, I would not settle for anything less. Why, just last time I saw my poor neighbor, Lady Lucas, she was gloating of her own daughter's prospects of marrying a clergyman! Imagine that! I would not expect anything else from them, they do their own cooking. You see, I have raised my daughters as proper gentlewomen. They do not do servants' tasks."
Lord Arthur was astonished. The woman obviously did not have a filter from her thoughts to her mouth. And to think he would have her as a mother-in-law… Maybe his brother was right. Maybe he should be marrying into a more respectable family.
But, that also meant that the ladies would most likely not have the same wit as Miss Elizabeth. All the girls from the most respectable families were trained not to have the wit he so valued. He would still have Elizabeth, but once they were married and settled on their own estate, surely, there would be few occasions to socialize with the rest of the Bennets.
He stood in the same spot thinking for a while, which attracted an observer.
Mr. Bennet was hidden in a corner behind his wife, reading a book, but was interrupted by a shadow blocking his light.
He may have been annoyed, but for the identity of the person responsible. This peaked his curiosity. What could the man be doing standing all alone?
He cleared his throat and Lord Langley looked up. "Please join me, Lord Arthur!"
Mr. Bennet pointed at the silk-upholstered chair next to him. "What can you be doing, good sir, not joining the festivities?"
"Actually, I came to speak to you, but I seem to have gotten distracted."
"Yes, my wife can be rather diverting to new acquaintances. Once you live with her for years, you get used to it. What do you wish to speak of?"
"Mr. Bennet, I have come to ask for your permission to propose to your daughter, Miss Elizabeth."
Mr. Bennet was expecting either that, or an offer of the five thousand pounds, but not at the moment, in the ballroom. But, he collected himself, and his glee, for his favorite daughter would not have to rely on the charity of others if he died.
"Lord Arthur, I would be happy to offer my daughter's hand to you. I assume you would like a private audience in the morning?"
He responded in the affirmative, and everything was settled.
Elizabeth had a delightful second set.
Mr. Darcy was an amiable partner, but she could not help but compare him to her first.
In looks, they were equally handsome, one fair, and one dark, and each was equally intelligent, but in conversation, they were unequal.
Lord Arthur could converse with anyone from the most unsociable hermit to the proudest aristocrat. On the other hand, Mr. Darcy was, while pleasant, seemingly struggling to keep his end of the conversation going. But, there was a comforting warmness about him. As her feet performed the intricate steps of the dance automatically, she felt she would be glad to have him as a friend when she married Lord Arthur.
She wondered if Lord Arthur would wait much longer to propose. Or . . . the thought just occurred to her . . . maybe he wouldn't and she would have to endure the humiliation of being offered $5000 pounds. Would Mr. Darcy still be kind to her if he knew she had been rejected by Lord Langley?
Her thoughts were interrupted by Mr. Darcy speaking, "Of course I am partial, but I believe Darbyshire is the most beautiful in the whole of England. Ashbourne is not thirty miles from my own estate. Of course, you will not be living there when you marry, but it is quite wonderful."
"Mr. Darcy, you have not described your estate, what is it like?"
"Well, would you like to know about the grounds, or the house?"
"I would prefer the grounds, sir." It seemed to Elizabeth that maybe the key to conversation with Mr. Darcy lay in his enthusiasm for the land that had been in his family for generations.
They separated for a few minutes, then got beck together, holding hands.
"How interesting. Many prefer to know about the house, first. We have several well- manicured gardens, including a rose garden my mother personally tended, a lake in front of the house, fed by a local creek, tenant farms, and, my favorite part, the untamed woods surrounding the whole park. The new fashion is to cut them down, but the Darcys never seem to be able to follow some such as that."
The dance came to an abrupt end, and her partner led her to her father.
"Mr. Darcy, I am glad your family did not follow that fashion. It sounds beautiful."
He responded in turn, "Then I hope you get to visit it someday."
She bid him thanks before he went to claim the next set with his aunt.
The whole Bingley family attended the ball, except for Caroline. After the 'Bennet Incident', as she now called it, her father had limited her social exposure.
The day after the Bennet Incident, Mr. Bingley had called her into his study with a very serious look. He had never tried to control her – that was useless considering how her mother, while she lived, had spoiled her- and he could never bring himself to correct it.
She was commanded to sit, and he began speaking as she rearranged her skirts.
"Caroline, from your despicable behavior yesterday, I find that I can no longer ignore your disregard for common manners. You are to be sent to your great-aunt, Mrs. Callaghan, and learn manners as soon as I can book your travel."
She looked up. "Oh, dearest Papa, you do not want your devoted daughter to have to suffer in Ireland, while she could be spending time with you in our dear little country, do you?"
He raised his voice, "My mind is made up, Caroline, I stand firm. I will send our carriage with a few servants to insure your safety on the way to the port, where you will board a ship to the village your great-aunt lives in. Between now and then, you will have no appearances in society, and I will ask a dressmaker to come to the house to fit you with a new wardrobe for your trip. You will come home only at the time Mrs. Callaghan declares you improved enough."
He stood, and calmly departed the room, without a look back, in the wake of his daughter's shrieks. "But this will hurt my marriage prospects! Father!" Mr. Bingley heard the stomp of a prettily shod foot. "Papa, come back here this instant!"
A few hours later, and with a turn of a lock to Mr. Bingley's study, the house keeper announced the arrival of the dressmaker. Mr. Bingley had purposely chosen someone who would be able to make a working-class outfit, and also had taken the liberty of choosing the fabrics she would be required to use.
Louisa, Caroline's older sister, who had not been their mother's favorite, and therefore, had not been petted and spoiled like Caroline, had been informed of her father's plan. Louisa was called to accompany the dressmaker up to Caroline's chamber, where she was scheming ways to get out of her predicament.
Louisa was told that she was to make sure the seamstress would be able to do her work, because her sister was quite capable of resisting.
They entered the room, capturing the inhabitant's attention.
"Caroline, this woman is here to fit your new dresses."
"Oh, good, but what fabrics are you using? I do not remember selecting any."
Papa has already selected them, sister. You are to receive seven dresses for your whole stay, which you will be able to mend, if necessary. Your current dresses are not to be brought."
"Mend them? Like some servant? Surely not! Perhaps our great aunt can assist me."
She smirked, expecting her sister to do so, also.
Instead, she only motioned the dressmaker to start her work, and sat herself on the settee.
"Oh, Louisa, are you serious? They will not even wear, if I have anything to do about it. I will probably just pour tea, and embroider the whole time, waiting for the old woman to declare me 'proper', then be on my way back to London."
"Caroline, I agree with our father. You will shame our family if you do not calm down. Remember the time when Papa's supplier invited us all over to dinner last Michaelmas? You made fun of his townhouse all evening, and I suspect they would have taken their business elsewhere if it weren't for Charles coughing every time you started talking. They probably thought he was infectious!"
"Louisa, you are so drab. The house was in Cheapside, and the man wearing clothes two years out of fashion. What did you expect me to do?"
Her sister sighed, "Go to Ireland and come back a different person."