Finally, after a long wait, the last set of the night started. For the first few minutes, Darcy and Elizabeth danced together neither of them spoke. Darcy watched in fascination as the candlelight cast golden sparkles in Elizabeth's beautiful green eyes, while Elizabeth didn't understand why Mr. Darcy was staring at her in that way. She supposed that like years ago he was looking for some flaw in her physical appearance to criticize with his friends. Since Elizabeth was by nature very sociable and she still cared about Georgiana, she decided to ask him about his sister, "How is Georgiana? Unfortunately, after my father's death, we stopped writing to each other. It was a hard time of many changes for both of us. Is she still studying at the seminary?"
Darcy smiled, "George is doing very well. Regarding your other question, she is not studying at the seminary anymore. She has been living with me in Pemberley for some time now."
"I am so glad she is well and is back at Pemberley. Please send her my regards and my cousin Mary's regards"
"I promise I will do it the next time I write to her. I'm sure she'll be very happy to hear from you and Miss Mary. I know she has missed you very much all these years and she will be much happier if you and Miss Mary send her a letter yourself."
Lizzy nodded and smiled, "I'll gladly write to her and I'm sure my cousin will also write to her."
Looking into her eyes, he said, "I am very sorry for the death of your father, he was a very good man. I was in Rosings at the time, and as soon as I found out about his death, I went to Sandstone but the house was closed. The housekeeper told me that you and your brother had gone to live with your uncle. I assumed you were living in London at the Gardiner's."
"Thank you." - "I live a few months a year in London at the Gardiners, but most of the time I live here, in Longbourn. My brother, John, lives in Longbourn all year round because our guardians thought that as he is the heir of Longbourn he should live here. You already know the importance for a gentleman's heir to grow up in an estate and learn from a very young age the responsibilities of a landowner."
Darcy nodded, "Surely, it's better and easier to learn when you're a child. It's a pity you can't live in Sandstone."
Lizzy smiled and her face lit up completely, "Yes, it's a pity. But in less than a year I'm going to be of age and I'm going to move to Sandstone. I miss my home so much."
Very intrigued as practically all the young women he knew preferred to live in London, he asked "So, do you prefer to live in the country than in London?"
"Without a doubt, I prefer to live in the country, especially in Sandstone. But I recognize London has many charms and more attractions than the countryside, such as the theater, the great bookstores, the museums and there is also a greater variety of people. What about you?"
"I definitely prefer to live in Pemberley. There is no place in the world more beautiful than Pemberley."
"I agree Pemberley is a beautiful place, but as you can imagine I am partial to Sandstone." Lizzy smiled.
"Are you still in touch with your old acquittances from Derbyshire?"
"Only with Ms. Taylor. Unfortunately, as her mother is very old, she was unable to come with me to London and Longbourn. We write to each other every month and I hope to convince her to live with me when I move to Sandstone."
"Miss Taylor! She is teaching at the new school for the children of the Pemberley tenants. I think the children study and behave well because they are afraid that Miss Taylor will be angry. She is an exceptional teacher."
Lizzy laughed, "Yes, I agree with you and she is an exceptional woman too! One of the things that surprise me the most about her is that she is not afraid to speak her mind when someone is doing wrong or is committing an injustice regardless of the person's social position. I have met few people who have so much courage."
Darcy nodded and for a few seconds, he remembered the story he had heard several years ago when Miss Taylor had confronted his own father about Wickham's misdeeds... His father finally opened his eyes to who Wickham really was and several injustices were corrected. He had never met a woman with as many guts as Miss Taylor, not even Lady Catherine. A few seconds later he commented, "You are right, she is an exceptional woman…"
They continued talking about various topics, particularly Georgiana, Pemberley, and Sandstone until the musicians stopped playing. The two parted with very different thoughts about each other.
Darcy was very impressed with her. In his opinion, besides being very beautiful, she was a nice, intelligent, and educated young lady. Without a doubt, he was very happy to have seen her again, to know she was well, and if he was honest with himself, he wanted to see her again. He was also sure Georgiana would be overjoyed to hear that Elizabeth was all right and resume their friendship.
On the other hand, although Elizabeth didn't care for the gentleman, she was glad to know Georgiana was doing very well. She was going to write to Georgiana again…