Hello, again, sorry for the long wait, but finally I'm back even though postings might still be a bit slow until I get back into writing mode. Thank you all for being so understanding, it was a hectic couple of weeks but all turned out well and even the weather was lovely. But it was a lot of work to be sure.
Also, thank you for all your support, I really appreciate it. A very massive thank you to Shey72 for betaing this story, you are fantastic!
Oh, and I know many of you asked for a little more romance between E&D but I'm afraid it'll have to wait a bit longer. After all, even though she knows his true identity, they are as yet not really in a position to get too close without causing a scandal. And as it is... - Ah well, just read the next chapter. ;)
Love
Nic
Chapter 29
Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.
Confucius
Two days had passed since Mr Darcy had recovered and if she was honest with herself, she had tried her utmost to avoid him. That she had run into him the very first day after his illness had been due to her not having expected him being out and about so soon again, and while she could not bring herself to ignore him then, she again had felt the danger. He had looked pale yet cheerful, engrossed in his work until he had turned around and spotted her standing there.
Sitting in front of her mirror, Elizabeth tried to find the motivation to get changed, before walking over to Jane to do her sister's hair when suddenly the door was flung open.
"Lizzy, can I borrow your pink sash?" Lydia asked excitedly, bobbing up and down on her feet. "I think it would look very becoming to the gown I am going to wear tonight, do you not agree?"
She held up a beautiful made over silk-gown that had once belonged to Jane, all eagerness for her first ball that would take place tonight. Elizabeth was still not all that certain that it was such a good idea to bring her youngest sister out into society at the age of just fourteen, though Lydia herself insisted that, after all, she was now much closer to her fifteenth birthday than to her fourteenth.
"Yes, you may Lydia, for I intend to wear my blue gown anyway so I will not need it for tonight."
"Thank you!" was all her sister's reply, before she reached into Elizabeth's bandbox in which she kept all her ribbons and lace and quickly dashed off again.
"Lydia!" she heard Mary exclaim in some anguish before with a clatter something fell to the ground. "Do take care where you are going!"
"Oh, I am so sorry Mary. What is all this stuff anyway and why are you not getting ready yet?"
"This, Lydia, is my sewing basket, as you can clearly see and now I have to tidy it again. See what a mess you have made; all my yarns are now in a pile whereas they were neatly rolled up before."
"La, it is not my fault that you did not hold on to it tightly, what have I to do with it?"
"If you had not run around like that, there would have been no need for me to hold on to it tightly," Mary replied testily. "How was I supposed to know that you were to come along barging through the corridor without paying attention as to where you were going?"
Oh dear, it was like a cat chasing its own tail... - Had you not done this, had you not done that. It was the same old story pretty much day in day out.
"Do not worry, Mary, I will lend you a hand," she heard Jane say quietly and judging by the sound of hasty footsteps, Lydia just carried on as she had moments a sigh, Elizabeth rose and went to help her sisters with the sewing basket, still not much inclined to get changed. Oddly enough, she had never looked forward to a ball as little as this one but it seemed as if Lydia's enthusiasm had quenched all hers.
"I really do not know what all this fuss is about," Mary still grumbled.
"You must know how hard it was on Lydia to be the only one having to stay at home," Jane answered softly while picking up a couple of needles.
"She has been looking forward to this day for a long time, so it is only natural that she would be excited," Elizabeth added, though to an extent she had to agree with Mary.
"If it were for me, I would rather spend my evening reading a book!"
Neither Jane nor her replied to this statement and suddenly Elizabeth got the feeling that perhaps the reason why Mary disliked dances so universally was that during most of them, she spent her time sitting in a corner watching as the others danced one dance after the other. Thinking about it, Elizabeth could not remember if Mary had ever danced after her first ball, which truth be told had been somewhat of a disaster with her sister's awkwardness and their mother's well-meant exclamations of 'Do watch your step lest you stumble, Mary!' had not exactly helped either.
"Are you about to get ready, Mary? If so, perhaps all three of us could help one another," Elizabeth remarked as off-handedly as she could so as to not make it too obvious that she took pity on her sister and almost expecting a refusal.
But Jane, with a gentle smile, added: "Yes, that is a very good plan seeing that Kitty and Lydia are busy with themselves. What gown are you intending to wear?"
"My green one, as always."
Yes, indeed as always. For some reason which was beyond her, it was Mary's favourite, though it made her look rather sickly and the cut was not very flattering either.
"You know, I had thought about wearing my pink one, but then thought that I actually prefer the blue one," Elizabeth blatantly lied, "if you like, I can lend you the pink dress just for a change. Pink suits you so much better than me anyway and seeing that you are the same height as I and just as slight, I dare say it will fit you perfectly."
Again that was not exactly true, for she had never seen Mary in any other colour than browns, greys and greens, none of which were flattering to her pale complexion.
From her sister's expression it was clear that she wanted to object but knew not how for she was obviously speechless and so instead she hesitantly nodded. Ha, so far so good, for once they had managed to outwit her, and with a little luck, it would not only be Lydia who enjoyed this evening. If only they had thought of this before!
Dragging her along into Elizabeth's room, Mary did not quite know where to sit once they had all piled in, and finally chose to take the window seat, making her hair once again glow in the sun of the late afternoon, illuminating it like a halo while she watched on with a frown as Jane began to dress Elizabeth's hair and then vice versa. When it was Mary's turn, Elizabeth almost expected that she would finally object, but to her great surprise, Mary did not. Instead she graciously sat down in the chair in front of Elizabeth's vanity and though still frowning let her sisters have their way with her. The effect of a more flattering style instead of her stern bun, was already quite astonishing and thankfully, the dress indeed fit her almost perfectly only requiring a little alteration at the bust which was done by Jane in no time at all.
"I hope you are happy now," Mary remarked coolly as if they had done her harm but it was easy to see that she was actually quite pleased.
"Very happy, Mary," Jane, beautiful as always, smiled, catching a quick glance from Elizabeth. "You do look lovely."
"Yes, but I am not!" Mary heatedly exclaimed before storming off, much like Lydia had not two hours before.
