Kitty enjoyed the Lyndon's ball. She found that a ball was a very different thing with an escort; Wyeth met her when she came in and squired her round for the better part of the evening. He endeavoured to introduce her to a great many people and Kitty found that by his side, those who had looked through her before now found her an object of interest. She was so pleased by the attention and the kind solicitations that her eyes sparkled and her cheeks grew flushed; she was really looking prettier that night than she ever had before.
Wyeth was most attentive to her, and Kitty considered the whole evening a triumph even before it was over. It was only when Wyeth left her to go out with the rest of the gentlemen after supper that Lady Hester was able to beckon from her corner with an urgent air. Kitty raised her skirts and went; Lady Hester pulled her aside to whisper in her ear.
"My dear," she said, "I do not mean to bruise your spirits but I have been listening to you and Wyeth for some time to-night; and though you have a very pretty, simple way of turning a phrase, you must become more animated. Your topics of conversation so far have centered on your family's situation at Longbourn and your perceptions of town. Mr. Wyeth cannot be interested in either subject and I fear he is growing bored with you."
"I think he is quite interested!" cried Kitty, whose spirits were bruised by this blunt information. "He nods and smiles, and he has asked me four questions – and they were very insightful ones, at that."
"Yes – but did you not notice how his eyes roamed the room while you spoke? You must take it from me, as I am your elder, my dear. He will not be interested in you unless you make yourself seem more sophisticated. It is a pity you are not more like Miss Evanston!"
"I am beginning to dislike Miss Evanston," said Kitty sulkily.
"You may dislike her all you want but the fact remains that Mr. Wyeth had a great deal of affection for his deceased fiancée. I heard him say once that he could not feel any admiration at all for a girl who was not like her in every regard."
Lady Hester looked so serious and nodded her head so emphatically that Kitty paled. It had gradually over the weeks since she had made his acquaintance been revealed to her that she preferred Mr. Wyeth's countenance and his genteel manner to any other man she had ever known. She began to entertain thoughts of gaining and holding his affections; from there her imagination overtook her and she pictured herself as the mistress of his estate at Pulborough; she had even gone so far as to write a long letter to her brother Bingley and ask about that county's situation, as he had obtained property there.
Kitty felt sure now that Wyeth could never love her – that she was as unlike Miss Evanston as night from day. And if Wyeth had been willing to marry her – while Kitty was so unlike her in character – !
"What was Miss Evanston like?" asked Kitty desperately. "Lady Hester, you must tell me – so that I can endeavour to make my character more closely match hers."
"Before she ran away she was a very cultured and sophisticated girl," said Lady Hester with authority. "She was always in silks and satins and talked of nothing but plays and fashions and books and music. She was never happy except in town and declared to every one that she would not dream of venturing any where else. Every one was always talking of her because she was so much sought after – she made scandal like other girls make screens. Some Duke or another offered her all sorts of jewels if she would marry him and she turned him down. And there was a student that was in love with her, but she laughed at him and he suicided. By hanging, my dear!"
"How horrible!" cried Kitty.
Lady Hester nodded wisely. "But she was engaged to Wyeth, you know, and it was a love match, and so you must change yourself if you have any hope of catching him. I do not think any girl who is simple and provincial will have any chance with Wyeth unless she should remake herself in Miss Evanston's mould."
"What should I do?" asked Kitty, but by this time the gentlemen had reappeared, and Wyeth himself was by Kitty's side to escort her back to dancing. They had two very silent dances, during which Kitty was too flustered to say anything, for fear of it being the wrong thing. In a panic she decided to sit the next two out, and so Wyeth found her a seat near to some girls her own age, who were gossiping amongst themselves.
All the night so far, Kitty had paid very little attention to Mary, who had a dour expression on her face and was dancing with a gentleman who was badly pockmarked and twice her age.
"La!" said one of Kitty's neighbors, "There is Sir Wellington dancing with Mary Bennet. Likely his mamma put him up to it – she is a sullen girl, and bookish. I do not see how Lord Brereton could have been in love with her at all. It is so fanciful! There is no wonder she was disappointed by him. I would like to know that story."
"There is her sister," said another girl. "Let us ask her."
Four pairs of gleaming eyes turned on Kitty, at the very moment Mr. Wyeth returned at her side with refreshments. Kitty saw her chance to make a sensation and in her desperation to do so she overlooked any untruths that she might cause to be formed. She only knew that she must capture Wyeth's attention – she must make him think that she was worldly and full of spirit as his Miss Evanston had been before she married the artist.
"It was not Mary's fault," she said, colour flaring into her cheeks, "My sister is lovely when in good humour – it is only that she suffered a tragedy not too long ago. A – a certain man in our neighbourhood asked for her hand and when she refused him, he threw himself into the pond and was drowned."
"My goodness!" said one of the girls. "That would certainly explain her poor humour. What a tragedy! Who was the man?"
"I shan't tell you," said Kitty mysteriously, "Only my sister felt terrible over it. She – put off her engagement to Lord Brereton until the shock of it died down, and then he left and she was simply sick with grief over the whole thing."
Once the words left Kitty's mouth she found that she half-believed them; indeed, it was not so difficult to think that such a thing might have actually happened. And the girls were looking at her with such awe that she felt buoyed up, and told them several other little fibs about her and sister's goings-on before they had come to town.
"Scandalous!" whispered one girl thrillingly. "And I thought that life in the country was so dull!"
"It is not dull," protested Kitty. "Why, my family is very lively; we are always making some good time or another and the people talk of us up to three villages away. There is always some scandal to be made and we are known for it, for we are terribly sophisticated. That is in fact why we have come to town – my mamma feared for our standing in case we were to stay."
"Will you tell us any more?"
"No, for I dearly long for a dance," said Kitty, holding her hand out to Wyeth. "It is one of the things I love best in the world – besides music, and plays, and fashionable clothes. I declare that I shall never leave town because it is so hard to find good dancing in the country. I should rather stay here and have adventures and see and do interesting things, and wear silks and satins. Adieu."
With that, Kitty swept away from the group and danced two more with Wyeth. She was giddy from her triumph and inspired to talk of nothing but town, and the theatre, and new dresses. She talked for so long on these subjects, without stopping, all the way until Wyeth declared that his feet hurt, and led her to the side, where he made his little bow and went away. Kitty did not see him again that night but did not mind. She felt only triumph. Wyeth had looked at her curiously and she suspected he had been thinking of how much her character resembled Miss Evanston's.
