October 1811

Every time an assembly was held in Meryton, the mood at Bennet's home could only be called festive. Mrs. Bennet had heard from a neighbor - who had heard from the butcher's wife - that the new tenant of Netherfield Park would attend the assembly. To the delight of all the matrons, rumor had also spread that Mr. Bingley was young, handsome, single, and had an income of £5,000.

Since there was only one girl at Longbourn to help Mrs. Bennet's daughters dress and do their hair, several hours in advance. As always, Mrs. Bennet requested that priority be given to Jane, then to her favorite daughter Lydia, followed by Kitty, and at last Mary. Due to Mrs. Gardiner's insistence – who knew Mrs. Bennet very well - Elizabeth employed her own maid and she shared her with Mary.

Mrs. Bennet ordered for the occasion new gowns for Jane, Kitty, and Lydia from the Meryton dressmaker. In addition, with the money that was left over from the support of Elizabeth and John, she convinced Mr. Bennet to buy jewelry for her daughters. She was sure that with nicer gowns and proper jewelry, her daughters would 'capture' a rich husband.

Jane's gown was a beautiful light blue that highlighted the color of her eyes, Kitty and Lydia were dressed in white with gold embroidery.

Jane's gown was a beautiful light blue silk with lace that brought out the color of her eyes, Kitty's and Lydia's were white and gold. Mary was wearing a pale-yellow gown – a gift from Elizabeth – while Elizabeth was wearing a yellow gown she had only worn once in London.

Many would say Jane with her classic beauty was the more beautiful of them, but on closer inspection, there was something about Elizabeth that caught the eye and made her more attractive than her cousin. Perhaps it was her beautiful and expressive eyes, her exotic beauty, or the energy she transmitted in her movements.

As the years went by, Mrs. Bennet's antipathy for Elizabeth grew more and more, plus from a comment Jane made about Mr. Sherryl and another gentleman, it occurred to Mrs. Bennet that Elizabeth was responsible for keeping suitors away from her beautiful daughter.

Furthermore, she knew Elizabeth had already turned down two marriage proposals, one of them ironically from a former suitor of Jane's, while her beautiful daughter was approaching twenty-three with no clear prospect.

It never occurred to her that much of the blame for Jane's lack of suitors was not only her small dowry and lack of accomplishments but the vulgar behavior she and even her two youngest daughters often displayed - particularly Lydia - in society.

Mr. Bennet as usual decided to stay at Longbourn with John. Before leaving, Mary and Lizzy went to the nursery to say goodbye to Johnny and listened from the hallway to Mrs. Bennet's conversation with Johnny...

"Mommy, I want to go to the assembly with you. I promise to be a good boy."

Mrs. Bennet kissed him tenderly, "You can't Johnny, but I promise you, when you're older you're going to go to all the balls with me."

"When am I going to be older Mommy?"

"There is still a long way to go for that, I want you to continue being my precious child for a long time." she kissed him and started tickling him.

Seconds later, Johnny hugged his mother and kissed her, "I love you so much, Mommy…"

Shortly before 7:30 PM, the carriage was waiting to take the five girls and Mrs. Bennet to Meryton. They arrived a few minutes before the beginning of the first set.

Since Elizabeth, as well as being very pretty, had a good dowry - although most families estimated it to be only £10,000 - several of the gentlemen who lived around Meryton showed interest in courting her, but she was not interested. The only gentleman for whom she felt an affinity but did not go beyond mere friendship was Samuel Lucas. Whenever there was an assembly, Samuel would ask her the first two sets.

At last, just as the second piece was finishing, the long-awaited tenants of Netherfield Park arrived. Elizabeth was at the other end of the room talking to Mary and Samuel, and she couldn't see the newcomers. Mrs. Bennet, was with Jane, Kitty, and Lydia, when Sir William made the introductions…

Darcy was in a very bad mood, as soon as they got to the assembly, Bingley met a new 'angel', and he was now dancing with her. A young girl who should be in the nursery had spilled punch on his suit, Caroline Bingley had a tight grip on his arm, and the musicians were very bad. To fulfill his duty, he invited Caroline to dance the next set, and the following one he invited Mrs. Hurst.

In one of the steps of the dance, he came face to face with Ms. Thompson. Such was the surprise for both of them that they remained standing for longer than they should have, getting in the way of the rest of the couples.

When the set was finally over, Darcy went at once to fetch Elizabeth to greet her properly. As he approached where she was talking to her cousin Mary, he had a few moments to observe her better. Without a doubt, she was no longer the same 15-year-old girl but had become a very elegant and beautiful woman. He realized that Mrs. Bennet and the Misses Bennet who had introduced him a few minutes ago must be her aunt and her cousins. With a slight bow I politely greet them, "Miss Thompson, Miss Bennet, it is an unexpected pleasure to see you again after so many years."

"Mr. Darcy, the pleasure it's mine. It's true it's been many years." "Nice to see you again Mr. Darcy." Elizabeth and Mary answered respectively.

Darcy saw a gentleman approaching Elizabeth, and immediately invited her to dance, "Miss Thompson, may I have the honor of the next set you have available?"

"I only have the last set left, Mr. Darcy."

Darcy with a slight smile nodded.