A/N: You guys are awesome. That's all I wanted to say. Enjoy!
Chapter 5
My dear Georgiana,
I hope this letter finds you well, and not fatigued by the several days travel from Derbyshire to London. The walk you described which you are most looking forward to in the gardens of Darcy House sounds exquisite, and enough to satisfy the desire for enjoyment one inherently feels when staying in town; and so remarkably convenient and economic, for you need never leave your house.
Much has happened since my last letter to you, all concerning a fine estate and a gentleman who has, quite recently, decided to reside there; but I shall spare you from further suspense and employ my pen much better by relating to you all the details according to my own knowledge and observation; though, I warn you, you can hardly expect me to be completely serious about such a topic.
A little more than two weeks ago, but a day after I posted my letter to you, my mother received a call from Mrs. Long, the purpose of which was to convey some interesting news: that Netherfield, the aforementioned estate not three miles from Longbourn, had been let at last by a young man of large fortune from the north of England, and that he was to take possession of it by Michaelmas. My mother, whose greatest wish and purpose in life is to see her daughters married, brought the news directly to my father to insist he call upon the gentleman as soon as he arrives; my father answered saying, to mama's horror, he saw no occasion for such an exercise. As it happens, he was among the earliest of those who waited on Mr. Bingley; he informed me in private conference later that he had always intended to visit him, though to the last always assuring mama that he should not go. However, it was not until the evening after the call had taken place that my father told us, in a manner in keeping with his sharp wit, sarcastic humour, and above all his enjoyment of teasing my mother. Upon hearing this news, you can hardly doubt, we were all delighted in varying measures: Lydia and Kitty giggled with their common silliness, saying what a fine joke it would be were he to choose either of them; Mary made an appearance of indifference, though in her countenance I could detect a glimmer of hope; and all the while my mother was, quite audibly, in raptures. It was only Jane's small hopeful smile that moved me, and I dearly hope with her that, should he fall in love with her, as a few gentleman have done before him, he be worthy of her affections, and that, unlike the other gentlemen, he appreciates she has a great deal more to offer than her fine features.
Not all that my mother, however, with the assistance of my four sisters, and myself could ask on the subject was sufficient to draw from my father any satisfactory description of Mr. Bingley. We have attacked him in a number of ways: with barefaced questions, ingenious suppositions, and distant surmises; but he eluded the skill of us all, and we were at last obliged to accept the second-hand intelligence of our neighbour, Lady Lucas. I am pleased to inform you, dear Georgiana, that her report was highly favourable. According to her husband, Mr. Bingley is quite young, wonderfully handsome, extremely agreeable, and, to crown the whole, he means to be at the next assembly with a large party. Nothing could be more delightful! It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife; and as a fondness for dancing is a certain step towards falling in love, you can well imagine there are many young ladies entertaining very lively hopes of Mr. Bingley's heart.
Now we must all suffer the next two weeks for the assembly; how shall I bear it, Georgiana? I suppose I shall simply behave as other impatient young ladies do: flitter from task to task, and diversion to diversion, most unproductively until I have doubled my impatience, and added to it a frustration that will cause me to border on impertinence. Since this is to be my fate and, I fear, the fate of the entire neighbourhood, dear friend I beseech you, do not delay replying, as only a letter from you could offer me solace in times such as these. Perhaps you could also be so kind as to send with it another handsome, wealthy young man to dwell in Hertfordshire, for I find I would be able to endure the interlude far more agreeably if the conclusion resulted in the acquaintance of two such men. Until then I remain:
Yours affectionately,
Elizabeth
My dear Friend,
Your letter does find me fatigued, though not from the journey as you had supposed; rather my current feelings of exhaustion are consequence of a week of receiving calls, returning calls, and dinner parties. I do not mind the dinners, for those in attendance are in my brother's and my own intimate circle of family and friends, many of whom I have not seen for several months; but I am sorry to say the calls are not so agreeable. The majority who call are young ladies of the Ton claiming an acquaintance with me and, more especially, my brother. In almost every case these young ladies survey the morning room upon entering it, no doubt with the hope of seeing my brother; and then when they do not find him, and after they have masked their disappointment – some better than others – they sit, take tea and proceed to fill the quarter hour with enquires, abortively subtle, after that very gentleman whom they long to see. After the fourth such call, and as I awaited the fifth, I asked myself how you would feel regarding these calls, and I determined that you would perceive them as opportunities to enjoy yourself, while still being polite, of course. I doubt you will disapprove of my little project when I tell you that I have taken to embroidering a flower for every said caller I receive as a little joke for myself, and now you. I have quite a large bouquet thus far, and when my brother marries, I shall make it a cushion and bestow it on him and his bride as a wedding gift, to celebrate the end of his bachelorhood, and additionally such calls.
It has been raining relentlessly for the past three days, and I admit I feel quite relieved by it, as the quietude it presents, by keeping all those who would call at home, is wonderful, and affords me the opportunity to finally pen the reply you keenly anticipate.
I was quite diverted by your letter, and confess I read through your narrative three or four times during breakfast, which inspired such increasing giggling as to cause my brother to look up inquisitively from his own correspondence. What an interesting development! I hope Mr. Bingley fulfils your expectations; and though I know your dramatic writing style was in jest, I imagine there is some truth to your impatience and 'suffering' in anticipation for the ball; for while the other young ladies are eagerly awaiting an acquaintance, and possibly a dance, with the gentleman, I am quite certain you are more greatly looking forward to the reaction his entrance will induce.
As to this other gentleman, I shall see what I can do. However, I can make no promises of him being entirely similar to Mr. Bingley, though he may exceed even Mr. Bingley in some of the qualities you listed. In any case, I am certain the approaching assembly will bring an evening of many surprises.
Yours affectionately,
Georgiana
"Lizzie!" The shrill cry of Mrs. Bennet echoed through the entrance hall, up the staircase, around a corner to the family bedrooms and though the crevices of Elizabeth's bedroom door, where within she was reading her friend's latest piece of correspondence. "Come, come, girl, or you shall make us all late!"
Elizabeth, smiling to herself, put the letter aside and quickly moved to the staircase; when her mother spied Elizabeth descending the stairs, she frantically ran to meet her at the its base, exclaiming, "Ah, here she is at last! What kept you so long? When I looked in on you but a half hour ago you were fully dressed!"
"Sorry, mama," Elizabeth replied with her sweet laughing voice, "I was reading the letter from my friend I received but this morning. With all the preparations for tonight I scarcely had a moment to read it until just now."
"I do not see why you insist upon writing that girl from Derbyshire when you have friends and family enough in Meryton. Oh, it is of no matter now!" Mrs. Bennet had every intention of withdrawing from the house to the carriage in that moment; unfortunately her husband had poorly chosen that particular moment to emerge from his study in his powdering-gown.
"And your father is determined that he shall not go and introduce his daughters to Mr. Bingley. Well, my only comfort is that should you not make Mr. Bingley's acquaintance and die old maids, your father will know it was consequence of his quiet evening spent in his study!"
"Oh dear!" said he, most determinedly facetious. "If I had known such employment of my time would result in all my daughters growing into spinsters, I should have given up all aspirations of them marrying many years ago. And since I have accumulated a multitude of such evenings, it seems to me to be a hopeless business."
At this, his wife cried in protest and accused him of having no regard for her poor nerves or, to a much lesser degree, his daughters' welfare; and when all, including Mrs. Bennet herself, were fatigued by her exasperation, they exited the house to the courtyard and assembled before the carriage. Upon seeing the carriage, a tangible reminder of all that awaited her and her girls in Meryton, but especially a certain young gentleman, Mrs. Bennet soon forgot all vexations and surveyed her daughters: "Oh! You all look very fine this evening! Do your daughters not look especially beautiful tonight, Mr. Bennet?"
"Indeed they do," he answered dryly, "and I am sure Mr. Bingley will greatly appreciate the effort."
Mrs. Bennet, ignorant of his subtle joke, squealed with delight for both parts of Mr. Bennet's answer as he assisted her into the carriage, followed by the three younger girls. When he handed his eldest daughter in, he commented that she looked well, and for the compliment, with great appreciation of its rarity, she blushed modestly and thanked him. "You also look very well tonight, Lizzie." Said he, as he handed his favourite daughter into the carriage, but before she could respond, he whispered, "Show them no mercy." And with a wink to her, he stepped back from the carriage and gave the instruction to drive on.
The carriage ride of the Bennet ladies to the assembly, like every other carriage bearing ladies that evening, and the first hour of the ball passed in the same way as the month leading up to it: with lavish conversation of Mr. Bingley. It was immensely unfortunate that, to the disappointment of many, if not all, of the ladies, he did not arrive in time to take the hand of one, especially blessed, lady and lead her in the first dance; but those who did secure partners rallied their spirits tolerably. Elizabeth, Lydia and Kitty were among them.
When the song concluded, the dancers merrily applauded the musicians, their spirits thoroughly lifted; but as the men were escorting their partners from the dance-floor, a hush of whispers fell on the room as a handsome young gentleman, whom all immediately surmised to be Mr. Bingley, entered the room, followed closely by another gentleman and two ladies. Sir William Lucas approached the party quickly and welcomed them to the assembly with a cheerful enthusiasm, which the younger gentleman reciprocated as he introduced the rest of his party to the former.
Elizabeth returned to where Jane and Charlotte were standing on the other side of the room, stealing glances at the elegant persons, especially Mr. Bingley who, most fortunately, equalled all the exceedingly favourable rumours of his good-looking and gentlemanlike appearance; however, it was his pleasant countenance, and easy, unaffected manners which drew from Jane a shy smile. Elizabeth noted the number of his party, not in the least surprised of its being much smaller than what had been speculated by the Meryton ladies, and curiously asked her friend if she had any knowledge of the ladies' identities.
"I understand they are Mr. Bingley's sisters," answered she. "One of them is married to the other gentleman there." As they discussed and studied the party, a third gentleman entered the ballroom.
Elizabeth gasped. "Mr. Darcy!"