Chapter 6
The week continued slowly as the girls got used to the routine of their new school. Saturday had finally come and all of the girls could manage to think of was the upcoming ball. Most allowed their minds to dwell on the idea of meeting new gentlemen, and then hoping to fall in love with them. But Rebecca was more excited to see her brother and secretly, so was Hannah.
"Which dress will you wear Emily?" Rebecca asked.
"I can't decide between my new white gown or my red one."
"The red one, it looks wonderful on you."
"You're going to wear your new green one, right?" Emily went to her sisters closet and pulled it from it, laying it on her bed.
"Well, I was having trouble deciding as well, but I suppose you have just made up my mind."
As Emily brought the dress to her sister they heard a knock on the door. Rebecca stood and went to open the door, being sure just to open it a crack, as Grace was changing. Miss Weldon's face was extremely close to the crack and she begged to come in. Rebecca asked Grace, who didn't mind, and then ushered her into the room. Miss Weldon was carrying a deep plumb gown and looked miserable.
"Would you mind terribly if I got ready in here? I'm sorry, but they are getting worse, I can't stand it."
"Of course you can change in here, we'll help you with your hair too if you'd like." Rebecca smiled, always willing to help a friend.
"Under one condition." Grace blurted, to everyone's surprise.
"Yes?" Miss Weldon asked nervously.
"You tell us your first name."
"Oh," she sighed, "I'm Ruth."
The rest of the girls introduced themselves, by their first names and then continued to get ready. Hannah worked on Miss Weldon's plain brown hair, threading ribbons and small flowers through it, making it look beautiful. Rebecca was doing something similar to Emily's hair, when done right, Emily's hair could make anyone envious, and Rebecca had done it right.
With their hair finished, the girls headed downstairs to wait for one of the schools carriages to take them to Cambridge. The butler helped them each into the carriage and they set off, each nervous for what the evening would bring. Hannah was the most excited of the five, ready to see Samuel again. Ruth was the most nervous, fearing this would just be one more evening full of torture and humiliation.
The carriage arrived at the entrance of Cambridge University. Several gentlemen stood at the edge of the walkway, waiting to help them from the carriage and escort them to the grand hall. Samuel was one of the gentlemen waiting and practically leapt toward the carriage when he saw who it contained. The handsome gentleman was also among the group and was equally excited when their carriage pulled up. Hannah was the first one out and quickly took Samuels arm, smiling from ear to ear.
"Might I escort you to the grand hall?" The handsome gentleman asked as he offered Rebecca his arm as she stepped out of the carriage.
"Yes, thank you very much." she smiled, recognizing him from the night he had come to Lady Hastings.
Her smile made his breath catch in his chest. As her teeth became exposed her bright green eyes sparkled in the candle light of the walkway. Something of an electric shock went up his arm when her soft delicate hand rested itself in his. She was something of a dream, the most wonderful dream.
Rebecca pulled him from his silence abruptly. "Are we going to go to the grand hall? Or would you rather stand here for the entirety of the evening? Although if that is your plan, someone will have to bring us refreshments."
He smiled, her humor melting through his apprehension. "I am sorry miss, yes, lets be off."
"It's quite alright. But, might we go, now?" Hoping he would realize they were still not moving.
"Yes, of course." He finally began moving her toward the large regal building and regained some of the confidence her beauty had taken from him. "Might I be so bold as to ask for your hand for the first dance?"
"Might I be so bold as to ask for your name before I accept?" she smiled playfully.
"Of course, I am Christopher Barrett, and you are?"
"Miss Rebecca Darcy."
"Samuel Darcy's sister?"
"One of them."
"Well then Miss Darcy, will you accept my offer?"
"It would be my pleasure." her smile surfaced again, and a slight blush filled her cheeks.
"Wonderful, I shall find you when the music begins. Until then Miss Darcy." They had reached the grand hall and he deposited her with Samuel and the girl with him. She smiled as he bowed politely and walked away.
"Samuel!" she turned and hugged him tightly. "I've missed you."
"Its Mr. Darcy," he winked, "and I have missed you and Miss Emily a great deal."
"Formalities should not be a rule for siblings." she smiled.
"But, it is." he smiled, pushing her playfully. "So, Christopher Barrett escorted you, did he ask you to dance?" Samuel said in a sly, joking tone.
"Yes, the first." she blushed.
"So, you are the girl that caught his eye when he delivered the invitations! I thought it was you from the description he gave. That makes you the next lucky girl."
"And what does that mean Mr. Darcy?" she laughed. "Sorry it is so hard calling you what Father is called."
"It means that you are his, ah, attachment for the year. He usually picks one of the prettiest girls from the finishing school and you definitely fit the profile." he smiled, proud that his sister had been so complimented. Then he realized that her face was turning a deep red color, to red to be a blush, she was obviously angry.
"He does what?"
"Oh come now, don't take it as an insult."
"No, but he obviously doesn't hold women in high enough esteem to commit himself to just one woman. It is also quite obvious that he cares only about a good figure and a pretty face." she steamed.
As Rebecca grew ore irritated with Mr. Barrett, Emily had found someone worthy of her attention. Jacob stood in a corner with three other gentlemen and he saw her approaching from across the room. He had been so looking forward to seeing her.
"Miss Emily! I was wondering how long it would take you to find me." he teased.
"I've only just arrived Mr. Dison, and you were the very first person I came to see, although, now I'm not so sure you deserved such an honor. Oh, this is my roommate Miss Grace Redgrave."
"Miss Redgrave, a pleasure to meet you. Does your brother attend Cambridge?"
"Yes, he's in his second year."
"I thought the name sounded familiar." Jacob smiled.
"Now, I've introduced my friend, it's your turn to introduce your companions." Emily smiled at the three good looking gentlemen surrounding her.
"Oh yes of course, please forgive me." Jacob blushed. "Mr. Robert Porter, Mr. Charles Preston and Mr. Timothy Olsen." Each gentleman bowed as they were introduced and kept their gaze fixed on the two ladies.
Mr. Preston was the first to speak. "Perhaps you both would be willing to pleasure me with a dance throughout the course of the evening"
"And I." Mr. Porter added.
"Me as well." Mr. Olsen asked.
"Of course you may, in fact one of you may have my first." Emily smiled. She obviously hadn't noticed Jacobs look of excitement and expectation that had suddenly fallen to disappointment and confusion. He stepped back from the conversation and busied himself with a button on his frock as the ladies and gentlemen arranged the order of their dances. Disappointment filled his soul, he thought that Emily would have certainly saved her first dance for him, her best friend, but he was obviously mistaken.
The music began and Emily was whisked to the dance floor by Mr. Preston, the lucky man who had won her hand for the first dance. As Emily made her way to the dance floor, Rebecca was fetched as well, but she was not excited to dance with her partner.
"Miss Darcy?" he bowed.
Rebecca managed to cool down her anger, at least it did not show on her face, but she could not force herself to smile, not at him. She murmured his name in response and curtseyed politely then allowed him to take her hand. He was handsome to be sure and had all of the appearance of a gentleman, but from what Samuel had just told him, appearances could not always be trusted.
"A wonderful choice for a first dance." He smiled, carefully making sure that his feet were in the right place.
"Are you speaking of the music or your company." she said without emotion.
"Both." he smiled, an embarrassed pink appearing on his cheeks.
"Yes, I do like this dance." she said quickly, once again, without emotion.
"And what of the company?"
"Surely I can not have formed an opinion yet."
"Oh." he said, disappointed. "Are you enjoying school?"
"Yes, very much."
Christopher was a bit distraught over her short answer, he was hoping for her to elaborate a bit, and didn't know what else to say. The whole situation was quite awkward, and he got a very strange feeling from this beautiful girl. True she had been nothing but kind to him, but she certainly had been discreet. Perhaps there was something she did not like about him, but that had never happened before, he was in quite unfamiliar territory.
"Have, have I done something...to offend you?" he managed to stammer out. Why did she make him so nervous?
"How could you possibly, we've only just met." She lied through her teeth. Of course she was irritated with him, but how could she tell him that, she had only had the account of him from someone else. If she admitted the truth, her brother would be labeled a vicious gossip, and she a woman who believes hearsay.
"If you are certain."
"Quite." she forced a smile.
They went through the rest of the dance in silence, Christopher was far to anxious to make a mention of any other subject, and Rebecca could care less if she ever spoke to him again. At the finish of the dance, he bowed cautiously, and she curtsied quickly, ready to be away from him, the pompous ass. She could not care if she ever saw his handsome face again. He was insufferable, being so shallow! But Rebecca did not let him ruin her evening, in fact, she danced almost every dance. Several of them with a good looking young man named Mr. Travis. He was a bit shy, but when he grew comfortable he was very good humored and more attentive than any gentleman she had ever met before.
Hannah enjoyed Samuels company almost the entire evening though they only danced two dances, any more than that would have looked improper. Albert, Jacob and Edward offered their hands to dance which she gracefully accepted, but it was Samuel who held her complete attention for the entire evening despite who she was with.
"Why Miss Cadogan, I do believe you are the best dancer out there." he smirked ash she finished a dance with Jacob.
"That is what I pride myself on, and what occupies all of my free time." she laughed.
"Ah, that laugh, I am so glad they haven't made it improper." If only she knew how her laughter made his heart melt.
"You had better be careful with those compliments Mr. Darcy. Someone may get the impression that you fancy me."
"And we wouldn't want that." he smiled.
"What has gotten into the two of you?" Jacob laughed, incredibly amused by their conversation.
"Oh! Nothing, just a bit of, humor." Samuel stuttered, realizing that Albert, Jacob and Edward had all formed a circle around them.
"School has done something very strange to the both of you." Albert looked back and forth between the two of them, a smirk on his face.
The cousins continued to laugh and joke throughout the song, but Samuel and Hannah kept their flirtatious comments to themselves. When the song finished, Emily practically skipped over to the group of them. Jacobs face grew solemn and he was suddenly moving himself away from the group. At first, Emily smiled and laughed with her family, then she noticed Jacob, sullen and unhappy. She walked toward him purposefully, grabbed his arm and pulled him to the most private spot she could find.
"Mr. Dison, would you kindly tell me what is the matter with you?" she gave him a shove, half teasing, half serious.
All she received in response was a slight shoulder shrug, only aggravating her more. "I had thought for sure you would have asked me for a dance by now." she said loudly. Luckily the room was filled with noise, so only Jacob heard her words.
He looked up, his eyes a bit happier than a moment before. "I thought..well, I didn't think you wanted to dance with me."
"Jacob Dison, has anyone ever told you that you think far to much?"
"Yes, you tell me that," he smirked, "all the time actually."
"Indeed, and it's becoming rather vexing having to keep reminding you. Now did you think I was going to ask you to dance? I realize you have seen me climb trees and act like a boy when my parents weren't looking, but you can't expect me to ask you to dance. Not a gentle lady like myself." she batted her eyes lashes playfully. "You are the one gentleman I had truly been looking forward to dancing with."
"Then I wonder why you did not save your first for me?"
"And I might also inquire why you did not claim my hand for the first. You had every opportunity to do so. If I thought as much as you did, I might think that a special young lady had caught your eye."
"Don't be foolish Miss Emily. If there was such a girl, you would be the first person to hear about her." he smiled.
"Finally!" she sighed, relieved to see his teeth. "And I do expect to hear, the first moment you become attached. Has no one in this room attracted your attention?"
"As a matter of fact, there is one young lady I have been wanting to dance with." he smiled, knowing Emily would love the attention. "Would you be so kind Miss Emily, to join me in the next dance?" He bowed deeply, a bit to deeply in fact, all a playful show for his dear friend. Her light graceful laugh filled the air around him and he knew that was meant to be the answer to his question. Emily truly was a treasure, it was no wonder so many gentlemen sought to ask her to dance, but it was he who had her as a friend.
They found a position on the dance floor and began to move in calculated steps. After a few bars of music, she began to ask questions about each of the men she had danced with in the course of the evening. He answered her questions the best he could, and she made sure to inform him of which ones were handsome, good humored or intelligent, a man who contained all three was highly esteemed in her eyes. As she described some of some of the gentlemen he couldn't help but laugh, for he knew them far better than she. In the end, she gracefully declared him the most handsome, most good humored and above all the most intelligent man of them all.
Once the compliment had been paid she wanted a detailed account of all the ladies he had danced with and if he considered any of them to be prospects. Unfortunately the answer was no, as always. For some reason he could never find a lady worth spending his time or effort on. They were all the same, frivolous, giddy, high strung, conceited or at least that was how they appeared on the surface, and he wanted someone, different.
The final piece of the night was played and Lady Hastings made an announcement that the ladies were to say goodbye and make their way to the entrance to wait for carriages. Rebecca was only to ready to leave and made her way to the door quickly only to be stopped by a familiar voice.
"Miss Darcy, I would hate for you to get lost, might I escort you to the door?" Christopher Barrett asked from behind her.
"That won't be necessary Mr. Barrett, I am quite certain I can find my own way, but thank you for the offer."
"Miss Darcy, I insist, I have often found myself lost on the grounds of Cambridge and I have been here three years." he laughed, trying to encourage affection.
There was no way around his gentleman like behavior. She sighed, "Thank you Mr. Barrett."
He took her arm and walked her though the halls, silently. For some reason he got the feeling that she didn't like him, a feeling he seldom got from women. They finally reached the entrance and she smiled at him, that smile. Her smile made him forget all the awkwardness of the evening. "I hope to see you at the first dinner party at Lady Hastings."
"Oh, yes, perhaps you shall" she curtsied, hoping he would take the hit to leave. He lingered for another moment seemingly drinking in the bright green of her eyes and finally a bow.