A/N Yay! Another chapter! I enjoyed writing this chapter, so hopefully you all will enjoy reading it. :)

Chapter 8 The Ball is Here!

Finally the day for the grand ball arrived. The whole day the servants were bustling about with excitement. When the time came to get her ready for the ball, the servants did just that. She had even heard that there was a special dress for her! She was very excited indeed.

When the servants brought it in she gasped in awe. The servants urged her to try it on and she was amazed at the perfect fit it was. So that's why they had gotten her measurements a few months ago. The dress was beautiful. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She was told Mr. Darcy had picked it out himself. "It was very sweet of him." she thought kindly. When the servants had finally gotten her ready it was just in time to leave. She started walking down the stairs gracefully. At the bottom of the stairs was Mr. Darcy. Though quite composed and still his usual self on the outside, on the inside he was amazed at her beauty. She wore a white lace dress that slimmed her figure with lace design up and down the middle. A small train followed her and she had long lace sleeves. Her beautiful strawberry blonde locks were done in a beautiful up-do with white flowers woven into it. Her crystal blue eyes shone brightly. He was amazed at her overflowing beauty. Offering her his arm he was relieved when she smiled and accepted gracefully.

She felt just like a princess. Going to a ball, wearing a beautiful gown, being escorted by Prince Charming. He wasn't exactly Prince charming...He was more like Grumpy. But she could imagine right? The carriage ride was rather pleasant. The birds we're chirping, and the big round sun was setting over the horizon, casting a warm glow over the Pemberly estate. Yes it was very pleasant indeed.

Stepping out of the carriage, she looked up to see a large building filling with people. "This must be Mr. Bingley's estate. It's big. But not as big as Pemberly." She thought. Mr. Darcy escorted her into the big ballroom. It was splendid! People had gathered in suites and gowns, and she felt a surge of excitement course through her veins. When they entered the room every head turned their way. The excitement that had been there a moment before, had now vanished and the spot was filled with nervousness. "Oh! I hope I don't embarrass myself or Mr. Darcy." She thought nervously. Following Mr. Darcy she took her first step on the ballroom floor. Standing awkwardly she continued to follow Mr. Darcy. Arriving in front of a man with curly blonde hair and a rather calming smile, She stepped out from behind Mr. Darcy and courtsied. Looking back up she smiled shyly. "This must be Mr. Bingley. Mr. Darcy doesn't interact with very many people." She thought.

"Bingley, this is Miss Colbert. She is my cousin from London." Mr. Darcy introduced her.

"It's very nice to meet you." Mr. Bingley replied cheerfully.

"It's an honor to meet you." She said gracefully. Looking to his right she noticed a woman. "This must be his wife. Mr. Darcy mentioned her. What was her name again? Uhh Janet? Janette?" She smiled nervously at the stranger. Following her gaze Mr. Bingley introduced his wife politely.

"Miss Colbert this is my wife, Jane."

Smiling politely she greeted her, "Nice to meet you."

Jane smiled warmly and replied, "I have heard so much about you. I'm sure we will get along splendidly."

Warmed by their kindness she smiled happily at the pair. The men had started a conversation, so she decided to speak to Jane. She was quite nice after all. But before she did Jane spoke up first.

"How are you enjoying your stay at Pemberly?" She asked.

"It is quite nice. I haven't been to visit Mr. Darcy since I was a child." She said trying to sound like they had known each other for years instead of a mere 5 months.

Looking over she noticed people starting to gather in the middle of the room. The women were in a line on one side and the men were in a line opposite of them. The music started and they began to dance. It was like they were weaving a blanket with intricate patterns. They went in and out, around and through, circled each other gracefully, and did a bunch of confusing things. How they did not get confused or mixed up puzzled her. It was pleasant to watch the graceful dancers. They had such a poise about them. The music stopped and some people left the dance floor while others stayed for the next song. Realizing she had left the conversation she was having, she looked back at where Jane was but found that she had moved on to talking to another young woman. She was grateful for that. She didn't feel like conversing much, and she didn't like to lie to such a sweet woman as Mrs. Bingley. She kept watching the dances and when they had just finished the 3rd dance she looked up and saw Mr. Darcy with his hand extended towards her.

"May I have this dance?"

"But Mr. Darcy, I don't know how to dance!" She whispered. "I will surely make a fool of myself!"

"Not if you have the right partner." He whispered back.

"But I can't do all that fancy stuff those women are doing!"

"Neither can I." Replied Mr. Darcy.

"But...but..." She pleaded.

"If you do not dance with me, someone else will come along and ask you to dance, and if you do not dance with them everyone will think you are my stuck up cousin." He said smiling. "All you have to do is follow my lead."

Looking at the dance floor she thought, "What the heck. I might as well give it a try." She thought. Sighing she stood up and placed her hand in Mr. Darcy's.

A smile spread across his face as he led her out onto the dance floor. He told her to line up with the women, so she did. She desperately hoped she wouldn't embarrass herself. She had seen them do this dance twice, so she thought she might have an idea of what to do. The dance started and she was nervous.

"Am I doing alright?" She asked Mr. Darcy.

"You're doing splendidly. I thought you said you didn't know how to dance." He replied.

"I don't. I am only following what the other women are doing." She said.

They continued to dance and when they finished she was surprised that she hadn't made to many noticeable mistakes. She thought she had done rather well. Mr. Darcy led her back to her seat and she sat back down.

"Thank you for the dance Miss Colbert." Mr. Darcy said politely.

"It was a pleasure." She said smiling.

It was still quite early in the evening but she already felt exhausted. What were people to do at these things? The only thing to do was dance and talk to people. What was she doing here anyways. She didn't belong here. She belonged in New York City. She belonged back in the 21st century. A loud scream brought her out of her thoughts. She looked around the room but couldn't find where it had come from. A servant bursted into the room at that moment and yelled,

"Everyone out! The house's on fire!" The servant had black on his face and clothes. People began to scream and hurry to the door. She got up hastily and looked for Mr. Darcy. Smoke was starting to enter the room and she could see that fire was beginning to burn the ceiling.

"Mr. Darcy!" She yelled. The fire had spread and more smoke was engulfing the room. She coughed as she continued to look and call out for Mr. Darcy. She hoped he had made it out by now. She couldn't see much anymore because of the heavy smoke. She could feel her lungs struggling to get air.

"Mr. Darcy..." She said as she stumbled to the floor. The last thing she saw was the fire, her vision blurred and she saw black specks. Then her world was engulfed in darkness...

A/N Dun dun dun! What's gonna happen to Amanda? Please tell me what you thought of this chapter. It's my first suspense one. Every review I get encourages me to write more, so please review! Thanks for reading. :)

~bananas