Chapter 41

When the Bennet carriage arrived at Darcy House, Elizabeth and Jane were on hand to greet it, along with the Fitzwilliams, Darcy siblings and Bingley. Lady Catherine was interested to get a look at these Bennets she had heard her parson decry, a man she concluded must be a fool to have believed himself worthy of her god daughter's hand. Elizabeth had spoken of them with affection and exasperation. Everyone gathered was stepping out the door as soon as the conveyance came to a stop.

"La, it is so grand," cried Lydia as she tumbled out of the carriage. "Lizzy you must demand papa let us attend the ball. Kitty and I have just as much right to attend as Mary. More. She isn't any fun and we all are sorts of fun."

Before Elizabeth could answer, Mrs. Bennet had stepped out and was proclaiming, "You clever girl. Had I of known Mr. Darcy would wish to marry you and that you were the niece of an Earl, I never would have pushed you towards Mr. Collins. He is nothing to Mr. Darcy! I was so worried though that you would never marry. That if I was not firm, you would think your unique situation would prevent you from making a match. That you would find yourself out in the hedegrows with us and I so desperately wanted one of my daughters to be Mistress of Longbourn some day. My clever child, to be related to the peerage. I suppose Longbourn may seem like nothing to you now," Mrs. Bennet finished with a dramatic sniff.

"Longbourn will always be special to me. I know that you only thought you were doing what you thought was best for me and for the family, but Mr. Collins and I would have never suited," Elizabeth began.

Mrs. Bennet interrupted her though, saying, "Indeed, you would not suit! You are the niece of an Earl! A lord, Lizzy! Thank goodness Mr. Darcy proposed before you aligned yourself with someone like that ridiculous Mr. Wickham. It was quite the to do. He desserted and lefts debts behind. And a few other things, quite inappropriate to mention. Seductions!"

"That is enough, Mrs. Benent," Mr. Bennet said mildy as he came up beside her to greet Elizabeth. "Perhaps, Lizzy can provide introductions and we can step inside."

Realizing she was about to be introduced to an Earl and a Countess, along with Lady Catherine de Bough and a Viscount, Mrs. Bennet fell silent. When introductions were performed, she was so overwhelmed, she could barely speak, an affliction that would beset her for the entirety of her short stay, to the relief of Elizabeth. Lady Catherine, realizing Mrs. Bennet was less vocal in her presence, made it her mission to stick to the lady and guide her towards proper comportment. Mrs. Bennet, Lady Catherine tbought was decidedly in need of her benevolent guidance. Mrs. Bennet found that she much preferred to talk about Elizabeth's birth family and how noble they were, then to actually be in their overwhelming presence.

Lydia, unfortunately was not overwhelmed or silent. She was boisterous and exuberant. Her spirits only dimmed, when she realized she would in fact not be allowed to enjoy any adult entertainments while in London. The magnificence of Darcy House paled, when she learned her father was quite serious about her and Kitty staying there during the ball. Bennet refused to allow his two youngest daughters to join Georgiana at Matlock House during the ball, saying he thought the temptation to join in the festivities would be to much for them to resist. Benent believed that if Lydia exposed herself in London she would embaress Elizabeth, and her relations, with her response to learning of her own insignificance. Such a display migh cause them to insist Elizabeth give up the connection. Much better he thought to have Lydia learn that lesson where he would not have to deal with her and any of the fall out would not effect him. He informed her if she wanted to go to Brighton with Mrs. Foster she would obey the strictures in place on her in London. Lydia was quite relieved to depart London after the ball.

…

Elizabeth observed the four empty seats at the breakfast table with dissatisfaction. The gentleman who usually occupied them had felt duty bound to eat at Darcy House that morning, since there were other guest in residence. Elizabeth, had she of thought of it, would have told Darcy that Mr. Bennet and Mary where likely to be the only ones down for breakfast until much later and would have suggested he simply bring them both with him to Matlock House to break their fasts. Lady Matlock began detailing everything they would need to accomplish that day before the ball, pulling Elizabeth from her thoughts. As Elizabeth and Jane exchanged glances, they both smiled. Elizabeth was very tempted to offer a salute and begin addressing her aunt as General Maria rather then just Aunt Maria. The image of her aunt in Col. Fitzwilliam's regimentals at the ball caused her to snort. When Lady Matlock stopped in mid sentence and turned a gimlet eye on her, raising an eyebrow in question, Elizabeth burst into laughter. She quickly apologized and when pressed by Georgiana, explained her thoughts to the rest. All of them had a good laugh, especially when Georgiana did salute her aunt.

Lady Matlock declared after the laughter had subsided, "Thank you my dears. This is the first ball that is specifically in someone's honor, I have hosted. I needed a good laugh to remind myself that while this is Lissy's ball, it is just a ball like any other. The very fact that we are able to host it for Lissy makes it special, whether the flowers wilt and the band plays out of tune."

"Don't suggest such a thing! The band would never," Georgiana proclaimed, horriffied at the thought, since listening to the music, even if she would not be present on the ball room floor, was something she was greatly looking forward to. Her guardians had agreed, at Elizabeth's urging, to allow Georgiana, with Mrs. Annsley in attendance, to spend part of the evening viewing the ball from an antechamber that overlooked the room, but she would not be allowed to set foot on the ballroom dance floor.

"If you were Lydia you would be plotting for the musicians to play out of tune and off key so that no one else would enjoy dancing if you could not," Elizabeth said with a laugh. "I do not envy those at Darcy House today. She will be quite vocal, I imagine, in her displeasure and Mr. Bennet will likely hide himself in William's library rather then control her."

"William will take control of the situation, Lissy. You can depend on that," Lady Matlock said with confidence.

"It is true, Lizzy," Jane said serenely. "You expressed your concerns on Lydia and Kitty at the ball. Mr. Darcy will ensure they do nothing to cause you distress on this visit. Charles yesterday suggested that if necessary he thought Darcy would lock them in their rooms for your peace of mind."

"Yes, and I believe Wallace offered to fetch the key if need be," Georgiana said witha giggle. "A fact I noticed Mr. Bingley did not argue with."

"Charles has learned the benefits of a firmer hand with a sister that behaves improperly. Had Miss Bingley of limited her hostility to me, I could have stood it and would have forgave her,not that Charles would have, but I cannot forgive they way she attempted to go after Lizzy. My father is just as lax with Lydia. While she is not mean spirtied, I doubt Miss Bingley was either at her age. It would be best if someone spoke firmly to her now, before she advances down her current path."

"Brava. Well said Jane," Elizabeth said. "What has brought about this attitude?"

"Mary. She informed me of some things Lydia had been saying after discovering your identity. Evidently she saw nothing wrong with confiding information about you to you know who."

"Wickham?" Georgiana said softly. "You may say his name in my presence, I will not break. I particularly enjoyed the way Mrs. Bennet said it when she arrived yesterday before the introductions. After the introductions she seemed hard pressed to speak."

"I never would have believed it possible if I had not witnessed it. I remind myself I should not hope that whatever afflicted her then continues to do so tonight, but I am hard pressed not to," Elizabeth said.

"You may be hard pressed not to, but I do believe I caught Mary feverantly praying it does. And I may have sent up a small prayer of my own to join her more intense ones. I love mama, but I am concerned that if she carries on in her usual manner tonight someone may hurt her feelings. She means well and in Meryton everyone knows her and it does not matter. But here is a different place. I find myself fully understanding why Mr. Darcy prefers his own estate. One can be comfortable at home in the country in a way one cannot be out in society. I am quite glad you are the one under their scrutiny rather than me," Jane said. "Everything that has happened since we came to you at Rosings has caused me to have to change the way I look at things. It has been quite disconcerting."

"I hope you do not regret joining me in London," Elizabeth said anxiously.

"No Lizzy, I do not," Jane said as she reached out and grasped her hand, giving it a squeeze. "I expected to help you deal with changes in your life but instead we have both had to learn new perspectives and change together as sisters. Everything is exactly how it should be."

"I am quite proud of how well you have both handled the changes you are experiencing. You as well Georgiana. Since meeting Lissy and Jane you have made some very positive changes. You are becoming a lovely young lady and I am pleased you have had such wonderful examples to follow the last few weeks," Lady Matlock said affectionately.

"Lysette is a Fitzwilliam, of course she is a fine example for Georgiana, " Lady Catherine agreed as she entered the room. Lady Catherine as she joined them, declared in a booming voice that she intended to take things in hand that day. By things, they quickly learned, she meant the Bennets, not the ball. She had decided to take it upon herself to offer instruction to Mrs. Bennet, Marry, Kitty and Lydia. Elizabeth did her best to stiffle her laughter until the great lady had departed for Darcy House.