The days until Mr. Bingley's ball seem to fly by. The day of the ball was spent with every lady frantic to get ready. Elizabeth was the first to get ready as she had first call on Emma's help, but as soon as she could, Elizabeth sent her to Jane even though the youngest two were screaming for her services. Mrs. Bennet was no help as she ran from daughter to daughter giving orders that were not helpful in the least, in fact often contradictory. Mr. Bennet, who was not worried about his appearance in the slightest, was the first to go downstairs to wait patiently for his ladies. He usually avoided these events, but thought that it might be amusing as this was the first large public event they would be attending since Elizabeth became a baroness.
They finally left and crowded into their carriage, with every lady lamenting how sure they were that their gowns would be creased by the time they arrived at Netherfield. They went through the receiving line that consisted of Mr. Bingley, his sisters and Mr. Hurst. Bingley had eyes only for Jane. Lady Elizabeth noticed that his sisters just barely greeted her properly and that they had to grit their teeth to curtsy and address her as "Lady Elizabeth." She automatically lifted her nose into the air and tried to adopt a superior attitude towards them, just as they had shown her before she received her title. She was not sure if she was successful in doing this as she was not used to trying to appear superior to anyone. She also noticed that her father had a sardonic grin on his face as he watched Miss Bingley's barely polite greetings to her and the rest of her family.
As they passed into the ballroom, a hush fell over the crowd as the Netherfield butler announced them individually. This was the first time Lady Elizabeth had been announced as such and served to confirm her elevation in status. Immediately, a number of her friends came up to her to bow or curtsy while congratulating her ascendency to the nobility. After receiving their congratulations, she began to be importuned for sets of dances. She noted them down carefully on her dance card, but would not allow anyone to reserve her supper set. She decided that she wanted to sit with Mr. Darcy for the meal rather than anyone else. She saw that he was watching the crowd around her, but did not approach them. She could not discern what the expression on his face signified.
When the music started, her first partner came to claim her hand. While they were dancing, she saw that Lydia and Kitty were dancing with officers. She hoped they would not embarrass her tonight even though she had threatened not to take them to Leicestershire if they did. She saw that Mr. Bingley was dancing with Jane and that they both looked happy. She was well aware that her partner was making a serious effort to impress her. At the end of this set, her partner returned her to her family, but she walked over to where Mr. Darcy was standing near the wall by himself.
"Mr. Darcy, are you not dancing?"
"I will, but I did not want to single out any lady for the opening set. I will need to ask my hostess and her sister for sets out of politeness."
"I reserved the supper set for you as I would rather converse with you than anyone else here." She noticed that her words made him smile and bow. "I see that there are more ladies than gentlemen here even with the militia officers, so might I suggest that you be kind to some of them who need partners?" She did not realize that her title made her bolder than she had been. Before her elevation, she would never have challenged him like this.
She smiled at him. "Even if you do not, I promise not to report you." He thought that she was only teasing him, but he could not be sure because of his problems with the royal family after the first Assembly. He did not dare receive another reprimand from them.
He bowed to her. "Your wish is my command, My Lady."
"I note that a certain officer is not here. Has he been transferred?"
"He has. My cousin acted on my information very quickly and he was gone in just a couple of days after I saw him in Meryton. I doubt that we will ever see him again. Knowing my cousin, he will not be gentle with him, nor will the French."
The music for the second set was just beginning and her partner came to claim her. While she was dancing, she saw that Mr. Darcy was dancing with Miss Bingley, but he was not smiling at all. Miss Bingley had a very satisfied smile on her face, especially when she smirked at Lady Elizabeth. Elizabeth enjoyed her dance, but her partner did not impress her at all.
When the supper set was announced, Darcy came to take her hand. "Mr. Darcy, I must thank you for your kindness. I saw that you danced with my sister Mary and Charlotte Lucas."
"When I saw that they were not being asked to dance, I went to them as you requested."
"I hope it was not too uncomfortable for you, but you made their night. Did you notice that they were both asked to dance by other gentlemen after your set with them? I do thank you for making their evening much more enjoyable than it would have been."
"I admit that I enjoyed their company even though I had a difficult time getting your sister to talk. She and Miss Lucas are both intelligent ladies."
"I was thinking of asking Mary to join Charlotte and me when I go back to Leicestershire. I fear that she is too set in her ways here and needs a change." She did not need to mention her hopes about Mr. Carlyle and Charlotte.
"Are your plans still the same?"
"Yes. I will go back after the New Year for several weeks, at least. I suppose the weather can be a problem then?"
"It can be, but you never know. In recent years, Georgiana and I have been lucky returning to town from Pemberley at about that time. The danger is running into a snow storm."
At the end of their set, they went to find seats for supper. They found a place to sit not far from her parents, close enough that they could hear her mother bragging to her cronies about her elevation and good fortune. Elizabeth looked at Darcy apologetically, but he just gave her a sympathetic smile. "Your mother is very pleased with your situation."
"She is, as you can hear. The rewards I received from the Prince are the greatest events in our family's history. However, with the entail broken, Mother is in a much better situation than she was. Her worst nightmare was that our father might die before we were all married and we would not have a place to live. Now we have two estates that we can rely on." She looked over at Mr. Bingley and Jane and thought, 'perhaps three.'
Darcy saw where she was looking. "I have to admit that my friend is looking especially happy tonight. He is very pleased with your sister." He longed to ask if Miss Bennet returned Bingley's affection, but he knew that he could not.
Elizabeth seemed to sense his question. "Jane is pleased as well." That was all that she dared say about Jane's feelings, but Darcy looked at her knowingly when she said that.
All the Bennet sisters were popular that night as word that the entail had been broken had become known throughout the room because of Mrs. Bennet's happy words to anyone who would listen and even to some who would not. No one knew to whom Mr. Bennet would leave Longbourn, except that it would undoubtedly be one of his five daughters. The speculation was that he would leave it one whose husband did not have an estate of his own, so all the unmarried local swains suddenly found the Bennet sisters much more attractive than they had been. Even Mary did not sit down after Mr. Darcy had danced with her.
The Bennet sisters stayed to the very last dance, even though Mr. Bennet was yawning and hoped they would give up sooner. The carriage on the way back to Longbourn was full of very pleased ladies, especially Mrs. Bennet. "Mr. Bennet! Did you see how popular our girls were tonight? I am confident they will all be married within a twelve-month. Did you hear the speculation on which one would inherit Longbourn? I heard someone say that each girl has a chance, so suitors will be lining up for them in hopes they choose the lucky one."
Mr. Bennet looked very pleased when he noticed that all his daughters were listening to their conversation, "No one will know until my will is read, so let them speculate all they want. They each have a chance. That is all I will say on the subject."
Elizabeth knew that it should not be her as she did not need Longbourn. She expected that Jane would not need it either. That would make her three youngest sisters very popular, indeed.
The next morning, they all slept late, but not too late to receive visits from both Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley as they were leaving for town. Bingley told Jane that he should be back in just a week or two, as soon as he had finished his business. Darcy reminded Lady Elizabeth that he and his sister would be spending Christmas at Pemberley and expected that he would not see her again until she arrived in town in late January, but that she should not hesitate to contact him if she had any problems with her estate. Of course she thanked him for his offer of help.
The very next day, Jane received a note from Miss Bingley that greatly surprised her. In the note, Miss Bingley said she and the Hursts were following her brother to town and that she expected that once he arrived in town he would not be in a hurry to leave. She said they were closing up the house and did not expect to return there this winter. She also hinted that Mr. Bingley's admiration for Miss Darcy would grow into a serious attachment that would lead to a certain happy event. These words devastated Jane as they were completely opposite to all of her expectations.
Elizabeth tried to console her sister by saying that the letter indicated only that Miss Bingley was hoping that her brother would form an attachment to Miss Darcy in the expectation that this might help her in her quest of securing Mr. Darcy for herself. She attempted to assure Jane that Mr. Bingley would return to Netherfield in spite of his sister's words. She was partly successful and Jane was not quite as despondent as she had been.
The next several weeks before Christmas were quiet except for Mrs. Bennet's continuing round of visits to all of her acquaintances with Lady Elizabeth in tow. Jane tried to maintain her good spirits with lessening success. However, every day that went by with no word from Netherfield about Mr. Bingley's return resulted in her becoming less sure about his regard for her. While Jane always thought nothing but the best of everyone she met, she was not sure what to think about him and his continuing absence.
One memorable event that happened about that time was an interesting discussion that Elizabeth had with her good friend, Charlotte. Elizabeth told her about Jane's great disappointment about Mr. Bingley's not returning to Netherfield. Charlotte was just as upset as Elizabeth about his departure without a word. "Did Jane let him know of her regard for him?"
"Charlotte, you know that ladies are not supposed to show our preferences. We are to wait until a gentleman declares himself before we let him know of our regard for him. Otherwise, if we let the world know what we are feeling, we may be subject to suspicions and comments from the impertinent about our forwardness."
"It is sometimes a disadvantage to be so very guarded," replied Charlotte. "If a woman conceals her affection from the object of it, she may lose the opportunity of fixing him; and it will then be but poor consolation to believe the world equally in the dark. There is so much of gratitude or vanity in almost every attachment, that it is not safe to leave any to itself. We can all begin freely—a slight preference is natural enough; but there are very few of us who have heart enough to be really in love without encouragement. In nine cases out of ten a woman had better show more affection than she feels. Mr. Bingley likes your sister undoubtedly; but he may never do more than like her, if she does not help him on."
"But Jane does help him on, as much as her nature will allow. If I can perceive her regard for him, he must be a simpleton, indeed, not to discover it too."
"Remember, Eliza, that Mr. Bingley does not know Jane's disposition as well as you do."
"But if a woman is partial to a man, and does not endeavour to conceal it, he must find it out."
"Perhaps he must if he sees enough of her. But, though Bingley and Jane meet tolerably often, it is never for many hours together; and, as they always see each other in large mixed parties, it is impossible that every moment should be employed in conversing together. Jane should therefore make the most of every half-hour in which she can command his attention. When she is secure of him, there will be more leisure for falling in love as much as she chooses."
"Your plan is a good one," replied Elizabeth, "where nothing is in question but the desire of being well married, and if I were determined to get a rich husband, or any husband, I dare say I should adopt it. But these are not Jane's feelings; she is not acting by design. As yet, she cannot even be certain of the degree of her own regard for him nor of its reasonableness. She has known him for only just over two months. This is not enough to make her understand his character." To herself she thought that she was not sure about Mr. Darcy's character even though she had known him for the same length of time. However, she was beginning to appreciate that his was a very complex character.
"Well," said Charlotte, "I wish Jane success with all my heart; and if she were married to him to-morrow, I should think she had as good a chance of happiness as if she were to be studying his character for a twelvemonth. Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. If the dispositions of the parties are ever so well known to each other or ever so similar beforehand, it does not advance the likelihood of their felicity in the least. They always continue to grow sufficiently unlike afterwards to have their share of vexation; and it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life."
"You make me laugh, Charlotte; but your reasoning is not sound. You know it is not sound, and that you would never act in this way yourself." She did not appreciate the determined look on Charlotte's face when she said that. Their situations in life were so different that Lady Elizabeth simply could not understand her friend's increasingly desperate position.
Their discussion soon ended, with Elizabeth wondering how Charlotte could ever think of a lady acting in such a forward manner. Charlotte, for her part, just wished she might be in a position where her thoughts could be put to practice.
Finally, the Gardiners arrived at Longbourn with their children, so the house was much livelier than it had been. The children made Christmas a happy time; their antics even elicited sad smiles from Jane. Only Elizabeth could see how devastated she was behind her smiles. She was not sure what she could do to help her sister, so she spoke to her Aunt Gardiner.
"Aunt, I cannot stand to see Jane so sad. We were all sure of Mr. Bingley's regard for her, but he has been gone for almost a month with no word from him. When he left, he promised to return in just a week or two. I just know that his sisters are behind this and are doing everything they can to keep him there. If they work on him long enough, he may begin to believe them about Jane's lack of feelings for him. If we could just get them together, I am sure he will realize how deep her regard for him is."
"If he will not come here, I could invite Jane to return to town with us."
"But how will you be able to get them together there? Jane will not want to appear to be too forward." She thought for a moment. "I suppose she would agree to visit Miss Bingley and just hope she will come across him while she is there. I expect that his sister will do whatever she can to prevent that. You may have to be creative to overcome her opposition. I will speak to Jane about going with you. I am confident that Mama will not object."
Her parents did not object and Jane left with the Gardiners after Christmas.
Just after the New Year, as planned, Elizabeth, Mary, and Charlotte left for Leicestershire. Mrs. Bennet had no objection with Mary going with Elizabeth after she hinted that there might be eligible gentlemen there.
The weather for their trip was cold, but not raining or snowing, so they had no problems. Upon arrival at Hinckston, Lady Elizabeth was pleased at the progress the staff had made on the list of work that she had left with Mrs. Greeley and the steward. While they were inspecting each room, Mary and Charlotte were asked for their opinions. Mary was impressed with the grandeur of the house, even though she knew that material possessions should not be as important as one's inner worth. Their inspection took them several days and Elizabeth ended up with another substantial list for the additional rooms that needed updating.