It was the first time since Mr. Bennet's death that Lizzy had visited Hertfordshire, so when she entered the Meryton ballroom that evening with the Bartons and Miss Pratts, several of her acquaintances were very surprised and glad to see her.
Sir William, with his natural politeness, immediately welcomed them, and eloquently expressed his delight at seeing her again. Miss Pratts was a very shy and pretty fair-haired girl, who had entered society the previous year, but as her father had an accident a few months before and was still recovering, she did not have many opportunities to attend assemblies and parties. Her father had a small estate that brought in about £1,000 a year and she had a dowry of £7,000.
Lizzy and Mary, seeing that the young woman was very nervous, tried to calm her down by telling her amused anecdotes from when they were children, while Mr. Barton went to get some drinks.
At the other end of the ballroom, Mr. Collins was watching Mary intently; he was still annoyed with her for daring to turn down his marriage proposal and marry some petty vicar. In order not to discuss this with her husband, Charlotte did not greet the Bartons or Lizzy.
A few minutes before the orchestra began to play, the Stevenses arrived with Kitty, Lydia, and Jane Smith. Fanny was very surprised to see Elizabeth in Meryton again, but since several people were looking at her, she chose to greet her politely and even greeted Mary. She introduced them to her husband and a few minutes later she went off to chat with Mrs. Phillips.
Lydia and Kitty followed their mother since their aunt knew all the gossip about what was going on in Meryton, while Jane stayed for a few extra minutes chatting with Lizzy, Mary, and Miss Pratt.
Several gentlemen asked Lizzy, Miss Pratt, and Jane to dance, and immediately the musicians began to play the first set. Mary danced with her husband, Lizzy with Mr. Lucas, Miss Pratt with Mr. Lucas's younger brother, and Jane with the young solicitor who worked with Mr. Phillips.
In the middle of the first set the Netherfield Park party arrived…
PPP
Darcy was not in a good mood, he wanted to stay at Netherfield Park with Georgiana, but she insisted that he should go to the assembly. He didn't blame Georgiana for wanting a few hours of peace since that day had been long, and Miss Bingley spent much of the time chatting about several people that none of them cared about.
At one point in her monologue, she said that the marquis's son - Lord Sebastian - was rumored to be arriving at "The Firs" the following week. Miss Bingley was very excited to have such an illustrious neighbor and hoped she would have the opportunity to meet him soon. Darcy already knew that Lord Sebastian was going to be in Hertfordshire for a few weeks because he was interested in spending time with Georgiana away from the eyes of London society.
Finally, the carriage stopped at the assembly hall and from the street, the musicians could be heard playing. Miss Bingley immediately took his arm and they entered the ballroom.
To Darcy's taste, there were more people than could comfortably fit in the ballroom, the musicians played poorly, and the lighting was inadequate. Added to that, Miss Bingley's perfume stung his eyes. He already knew that night was going to be a nightmare!
"Caroline, look. Isn't that Miss Elizabeth Bennet?" Bingley excitedly asked.
Caroline, after looking at the young woman carefully, nodded.
"We should greet her. The set is about to finish." Bingley started walking in the direction where Elizabeth was, followed by the Hursts, Caroline, and Mr. Darcy.
The set ended a couple of minutes later, and a contented Bingley greeted Elizabeth, "Miss Bennet, nice to see you. Although I confess that I never expected to see you here."
Elizabeth smiled politely, "Mr. Bingley, nice to see you too. Miss Bingley, I hope you are well. I was born here and lived here until my father passed away. She owned Longbourn. I am visiting my sister Mrs. Barton." Lizzy gestured to Mary who was chatting with some neighbors and Miss Pratt.
Bingley smiled too, "Allow me to introduce you, Mr. Darcy."
Mr. Darcy greeted Miss Bennet courteously and they made small talk. The music was about to start again, and Bingley asked Elizabeth to dance. But since Elizabeth didn't have that set available, she agreed to dance the next one.
Seeing the Bingleys and another gentleman chatting animatedly with Elizabeth, Jane hurried over to greet them. It was the chance she was looking for to see Mr. Bingley again and determine if she should forget about him forever.
Needless to say, Mr. Bingley was shocked when he came face to face with Jane Smith, and Caroline was upset...