Chapter 2

The level of excitement in the ballroom made it obvious that some major news was being discussed in the room. There were large groups of people who would generally never talk to each other, now standing behind fans eagerly whispering to each other. The Woodhouse entrance to the ballroom caused a moment of silence followed by a collective increase in whispering. Everyone knew of the close family ties between the Woodhouse and Knightley families and Emma could hear the name Knightley being brandied about as she made her way to the opposite end of the room. It was not every day that Jake Knightley was the object of any scandal. He was generally recognized for being unfailingly proper, and always fair in his dealings regardless of class or social status.

To date his most scandalous action had been to offer for Ms. Taylor. It was not that Ms. Taylor was not well liked in Highbury, but she was not in the first blush of youth anymore, nor did she have any obvious wealth or connections to recommend her. Undoubtedly, the engagement had caused major speculation regarding the reason, however the long betrothal period meant that eventually everyone had gotten accustomed to it. However, the betrothal ending was pure scandal open to all sorts of gossip and snide comments.

"Oh Emma, have you heard the news about my brother-in-law? I cannot believe he did not once mention it even to John. We are his family," Isabella Knightley (nee Woodhouse) whispered fervently to Emma. The nonchalance facial expression was a façade as Emma noted the constant twirling of a loose blonde tendril of her blonde hair with one hand while playing with the folds of her deep blue gown with the other. "He could have at least prepared us for this. We heard from Ms. Bates of all people who apparently received a letter from Anne."

Emma looked across the room to the largest circle of people with Ms. Bates in the middle and everyone else giving her their undivided attention. The middle-aged lady with the curly brown hair was waving her arms around wildly as she relegated her tale to the interested crowd. It was obvious Ms. Bates was enjoying her new-found popularity as generally she was relegated to the edges of any party with the other chaperones and spinsters.

"I did not realize that Ms. Taylor was close to Ms. Bates. She knows that Ms. Bates is the biggest gossip in town. Why on earth would she send her a letter?" Emma wondered out loud.

Isabella shrugged, "Emma this is a disaster. Jake is expected to attend today. We received a note from him this morning that he had arrived."

Emma was startled at this news and felt her anger come back in full force. How dare he think he can just do such a thing and then show up to a ball like nothing had happened.

"I will not forgive him Izzy. He has played fast and loose with Ms. Taylors affections," Emma whispered passionately. "Do you know I received a letter from her, and she says she may never return to Highbury because she is afraid of all the gossip. He has driven her away from her home."

Isabella grabbed Emma's hands while nodding her head. "I agree. I told John that I strongly disapprove."

Isabella's shoulders collapsed with a sigh as she lowered her voice even further, "John is not even upset about this. Even after all this time, he never agreed with the engagement. He says Jake is his brother and we do not know what happened, but we have to support him either way."

"Father said something similar," Emma added. She never understood John's reluctance to accept Ms. Taylor as Jake's affianced. He had always been so cordial to her as their governess but became coldly polite upon the engagement. Perhaps he was not as immune to social standings as he liked to portray.

"I do not know if I can be supportive Izzy."

The sisters stood in silence while watching the crowd of people. They were isolated in a sea of people and although everyone kept turning to whisper and point at the sisters, no one dared approach them just yet.

"I wonder what happened. I would have never believed Jake capable of this," Isabella finally murmured.

Emma frowned at the note of sympathy she heard in her sister's voice. Isabella always tried to find the best in people, and she could hear her weakening.

"It does not matter why," Emma admonished vehemently, "the result is the same."

The sisters slowly made their way to the crowd of people surrounding Ms. Bates, to better hear what she was saying.

"Mr. Knightley always acted like he did not care about social status or money, but when it came time for him to actually go through with the marriage, he must have realized the true value of good breeding," Ms. Bates was saying with a note of superiority.

Emma gritted her teeth in anger at the callous words as the crowd nodded along.

"We all liked Ms. Taylor, we truly did. But when I heard about their engagement, I knew this was a bad match. She was a governess after all. Ms. Taylor could not be expected to understand the complexities of her new role," added Mrs. Cole with a sniff.

"No wonder they were engaged for so long. They had not even started planning the wedding. Mr. Knightley likes to appear as if he is better than all of us, but he must have finally realized the unsuitability of his fiancé," declared Mr. Elton, the town vicar.

"Mrs. Knightley, please tell us what has happened to cause this," Jane Fairfax, Ms. Bates beloved niece, ventured softly upon seeing Isabella.

"I… well… ummm," Isabella stuttered.

Emma quickly jumped in, "my sister does not know anything further I'm afraid. We are all just as shocked and disappointed by this news."

"I agree that this is indeed sad news. However, I cannot help but agree that it was never a good match," Ms. Bates stated. "Mr. Knightley is now free to find someone who would compliment him in terms of his looks and responsibilities."

Someone like your perfect niece Jane Fairfax, you mean. Emma finished the sentence in her head while trying not to roll her eyes. It was no secret that Ms. Bates thought her niece was the most perfect creature to exist on the planet. She was generally waxing poetics about the many achievements of her niece and how they were all sure she would make a brilliant match and lift the entire family out of poverty. Emma had to admit that Jane was exceptionally pretty with her thick brown hair and large eyes. She also had a sweet temperament and admirable musical talents to recommend her. However, Emma could not believe that Ms. Bates would be disparaging Jake's character while implying that he was a good catch in the same conversation.

This was going to be a long evening if the only topic of conversation was going to be Jake Knightley.


Jake Knightley took a deep breath as he prepared himself to enter the ballroom where he knew most of his friends and neighbors were currently gathered. It had seemed like a good idea to make a quick appearance to announce his return and greet many people, without having to make individual visits after a lengthy absence. However, he was second guessing himself, after finding out that somehow the townsfolks had found out about the end of his engagement to Anne Taylor.

Jake ran his hands through his brown hair in frustration. He had been away for nearly two months and he certainly had not shared this news with anyone. If Anne had wanted to share it with her friends, it would have been better if she had done so earlier since the actual end had happened at the beginning of his two months. At least most of the gossip and speculation could have run its course by now instead of just starting. Jake could feel himself growing angry as was usual at the thought of his fiancé. She had once again managed to put him in a difficult situation while she could hide.

Jake sighed. He knew that regardless of how she had wronged him, he still would not bring her name forth to protect himself. It was just that he hated being the center of attention and hated the thought of being involved in a scandal. Now thanks to Anne, there was no avoiding the wild speculation and talk that would inevitably be occurring about them.

He had needed these two months to get over everything that had happened and to deal with the hurt and betrayal he had faced. Although he had felt nothing but relief at finally being free, he still could not help the anger he felt with any mention of his fiancé. This was not an easy subject for him, and he knew there would be many questions or comments tonight.

Jake straightened his shoulders as he approached the entrance of the ball. He was not generally a coward and did not want to appear as such by turning around and going home now. I just hope the gossip is not as bad as I'm thinking.

The announcement of his name in the ballroom caused a complete halt to the proceedings in the room. Every pair of eyes turned to him and the chatter slowly died down until complete silence was left in its wake. The dancing couples all sensed something of great importance was occurring and all slowed down their dancing to gawk at the entrance. The complete silence was even worse than Jake had predicted, and he almost turned around and left ready to abandon his promise to not appear a coward.

"Jake, it is good to see you brother," John Knightley's voice bounced across the room as he made his way towards the entrance, seeming to ignore the silent statues standing around him.

"And you as well. It has been much too long," replied Jake with a grateful smile towards his brother.

The brother's embrace seemed to suddenly snap people out of their silent stupor and the chatter and dancing started up again. Jake was so thankful for the public support from his brother and could not adequately express what that simple greeting had meant to him in that moment.

Although the dancing and music had resumed, the loud buzz of whispering and constant eyes on him were not easy to ignore. However, once the trance had been broken there were many men who approached Jake and things started to regain normalcy, albeit with many thinly veiled questions regarding his extended trip and broken engagement.

It was not until a significant time had gone by that he decided to seek out his sister-in-law and hopefully Emma. The past two months had been for him to deal with a broken engagement, but it had not been a surprise for him to realize his heart was not broken. He had been angry and hurt for sure but had spent a lot more time thinking about and missing Emma then he had his own fiancé. I guess it was not surprising considering why they had gotten engaged to begin with.

Jake timed his approach to when he saw Emma returning to Isabella after a lively dance. He watched from afar as she dropped a quick curtesy to her partner and could not help but note the healthy pink flush on her cheeks and her hair that had a few tendrils slipping out of their knot. Emma exuded a youthful charm and freshness that he had never been able to resist. In the past he never allowed himself to look but this time with the safety of distance he took in her laughing form. The quick paced dance had made her flushed and she was breathing rapidly to catch her breath. Her light green dress was the perfect foil for her blonde hair, and he knew it would make her green eyes seem deeper and livelier.

"Good evening Isabella. Emma. I trust you are both doing well," Jake inquired upon reaching their side.

The laughter and gaiety suddenly stopped and was replaced with stony silence from Emma and a nervous smile from his sister-in-law. Jake was taken back by this as he was expecting a similar greeting than that of Johns.

"Jake. It is good to see you. We are doing well," Isabella finally got out.

"And you Emma?" Jake murmured softly. He had known there would be some grovelling and explaining to do for not responding to Emma's letters these last few months, but he was not expecting this stony creature.

"I believe you should be referring to me as Miss. Woodhouse," was Emma's only response.

Jake raised his eyebrows. "Miss. Woodhouse, would you do me the honor of this next dance," Jake asked.

"I'm afraid the next dance is already spoken for Mr. Knightley," Emma replied in that same detached voice, without either meeting Jake's eyes or looking down at her dance card.

Jake narrowed his eyes, "is that so? By whom?"

The panic in Emma's eyes combined with the furtive glances she was giving the room made it obvious she had lied. The silence stretched until it became awkward, but Jake continued to challenge her with his stare. He knew she would have no choice but to accept so he could find out what was on Emma's mind.

Emma had finally stopped looking around and had just opened her mouth to say something when another male voice piped up.

"I believe this dance belongs to me."