February 1812

The friendship between Georgiana, Elizabeth, and Mary gradually returned to the way it was before Georgiana's ball. The friends had several candid conversations about things that had happened in the last few weeks.

Until now, Georgiana had never really thought about how her friends felt about her aunt's slights. She knew Lady Matlock had tendencies to despise all the people she considered inferior, even though she reminded her that she was only a gentleman's daughter. Although she continued to attend parties, she enjoyed them less and less and even told her brother that she didn't want to go to some of them. On the other hand, Lady Patricia and Lady Marianne who at first showed interest in being her 'friend' practically didn't speak to her anymore since there were other gentlemen richer than her brother and her brother and also because her brother didn't pay attention to them.

Around mid-February, as a result of a conversation he overheard between Georgiana, Elizabeth, and Mary, Darcy realized that his plan to wait for Elizabeth to move to Sandstone to court her was not going to work as he was at high risk of losing her forever…

"...It's hard to tell if a gentleman is really interested in you or is only a fortune hunter."

"Lizzy, Mr. Stern seems to be very interested in you."

"We know each other very recently and he also had to go to Scotland."

"But would you like him to court you?" Georgiana asked.

Lizzy hesitated, "He is a very intelligent and nice gentleman."

"You always say the same thing. But you have never answered the question." Mary protested.

Lizzy laughed, "If he visits me again and asks to court me, I'm going to give it some serious thought. Are you satisfied with my answer?"

From then on, Darcy began to pay more attention to Elizabeth and to find more occasions to converse with her.

Since he knew that Elizabeth liked the theater, one afternoon while having tea at the Gardiners' house, he invited them to see Much Ado About Nothing, knowing that it was one of her favorite plays...

"… I read that in two days is the premiere of 'Much Ado About Nothing', and I remembered you."

"Why?"

"Because I remember it's your second favorite Shakespeare play. The one you like the most is 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'."

"Indeed Mr. Darcy. I remember that you prefer Hamlet and we had a discussion about whether Shakespeare's tragedies were better than comedies."

"That's true, but back on topic I wanted to invite you to the theater."

Lizzy glanced at her aunt who was chatting with Mary and Georgiana, and Darcy added, "Of course, the invitation includes the Gardiners."

Lizzy smiled, "I'd love to go, but you have to ask my aunt..."

PPPP

The Gardiners gladly accepted the invitation, and two days later the Darcys fetched them in their carriage. That night Elizabeth dressed in a pale red silk gown that brought out the color of her hair and suited her very well, while Mary dressed in yellow.

They arrived at the theater a few minutes before the play began and went straight to Darcy's Box. Much to Darcy's jealousy, several gentlemen looked appreciatively at Elizabeth as she looked so beautiful that night.

The Gardiners sat in the second row, Darcy sat in the first row next to Elizabeth, and next to Elizabeth sat Mary and then Georgiana. During the first act, Darcy paid more attention to Elizabeth's expressions and laughter than to the stage.

In the intermission, Lady Matlock together with Colonel Fitzwilliam who was the first night he left the house went to Darcy's Box to greet him. Richard gallantly greeted Miss Thompson, and Elizabeth introduced him to her cousin Mary. Lady Matlock spoke only to Georgiana and Darcy. The Great Lady was not happy that her nephew showed such a preference for Miss Thompson and from the way he looked at her she could tell that Darcy was very interested in her... It was a shame Miss Thompson didn't have better connections but had recently found out she had a dowry of over £50,000...

PPP

As soon as he arrived in Scotland, Mr. Stern learned that he had inherited an estate with a castle that was in dire need of repair. Due to the deteriorated state of the castle, he had an accident that caused him to break his leg. Instead of the month he originally intended to be absent from London, he stayed in Scotland for five months. Out of courtesy, he sent a note to the Gardiners' to let them know that he would not be returning to London for several months...