So that was the elusive Elizabeth Bennet!
William Darcy thought this as he watched a vision of cobalt and black walk away from him in an agitated manner, dragging the hand, presumably of her son, stepson, ward or nephew (you can never tell with modern families these days).
He felt like a total heel after he realised his frank and uncensored opinions to Matlock was overheard. What was she and her male companion (she was one of those women who liked older men?) doing eavesdropping on their conversation anyway?
"Shall we enter the room Darcy?" Matlock quietly asked.
In all the years they had been attending these auditions (as part of their board member responsibilities), no parent - no matter how entitled, enthralled, overwhelmed, humbled, arrogant - had ever walked out before an audition had started on the basis of their snobbery. They ensured that music bursaries were awarded to the best and the cream of the crop in the state. They had old boys who were soloists and musicians in the best orchestras around the world! Their music program vied with the Conservatorium, and they had better resources and lower teaching ratios than the old stables of the NSW Governor. They had connections to RCM and Juilliard for goodness' sake!
No sane parent would give up the opportunity of a lifetime for their beloved boy to access connections to power and influence at a generous rate because their feelings were hurt!
She must be certifiable, thought Matlock.
They entered the room and immediately one of the music teachers, Veronique Garnier, came up to them with a look of distress.
"Messieurs, we have lost one of the boys and our order of performance is disrupted! He was already in the shortlist and supposed to be in the top three this year." She whispered trying to ensure the other boys didn't hear her, "His video was superb and his extracurriculars would have pleased Steve Smith, the rugby coach. Ça ne vas pas!"
She was exasperated, Darcy was intrigued and Matlock thought about how long the next board meeting would be.
"Veronique, it is fine. Some words were overheard that offended the guardian. Who was the boy anyway?" Darcy asked curiously.
"James Chen, from Western Sydney. He is an all-rounder. His mother took him away a few minutes ago and gave no reason."
Veronique looked distressed. In all the years she had worked on these auditions, no parent ever took their son out BEFORE an audition. Sure there were nervous boys that would vomit before a performance but they had the toilets for that. But if they felt that way, they would have not accepted the invitation. But to leave in front of everyone and cause some unnecessary gossip? It just wasn't on. This was the most prestigious school in Sydney. They had rules! Perhaps it was a good thing not to have a child whose mother displayed little propriety.
Darcy pondered at the information Veronique imparted. So, Elizabeth was the mother. But no rings on her finger. Different surnames too. He tried to recall what Charles had told him about Elizabeth. He sighed. He needed to give Charles a ring. It had been far too long. Emails and text messages did not a friendship make.
"Please do not be distressed Veronique. The audition will continue and we will take a note of the departed boy's talents and assess it against the many we will see this morning." Darcy concluded.
And with that, Darcy and Matlock took their seats at the head of the audition table.
XXX
The day after the audition, Charles received a call from a familiar number, one that hadn't been active in his list of callers these past two years.
"Darcy! How are you? Nice to hear from you!" Charles responded brightly.
"Charles, a thousand apologies. You know how it is. I trust married life is treating you well?" Darcy smiled, he was forgiven for his absence.
"Yes, I highly recommend the married state. I could not have chosen a more perfect Mrs Bingley. Can an angel grow in perfection over time?" Charles dreamily posed.
Darcy chuckled. Since Charles had hooked up with Jane, his praise of Jane was never far from conversation. It was cloyingly sweet but over the past decade, he had become immune to Charles' superlatives. Charles and Jane were the perfect couple. They suited each other both in temperament and values. They were also hopelessly devoted to each other. When Charles took a long sabbatical at Eton, Jane immediately offered her resignation to her employer to join Charles. However, this was soundly rejected and Jane was found an equivalent position in one of her firm's partners' London magic circle law firm during their English period.
They had returned to Sydney as both wanted to settle and thoughts of family soon became prominent. Charles was appointed a head teacher at another posh school, this time in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs. Jane returned to her old law firm and life had settled for them. They had recently bought a terrace together in the inner west which they were slowly renovating. Its proximity to King Street Newtown and its café culture trumped any prestigious postcode along New South Head road. They had missed their flat whites in London and while Melbourne's café culture was arguably better; the sun, harbour and brunch scene of Sydney made up for any defects.
They had their wedding a couple of years ago, a wedding Darcy missed because Georgiana had entered rehab. Thoughts of missing their wedding briefly caused a look of regret across Darcy's face. Elizabeth had mentioned their wedding yesterday and this mea culpa came across as an unforgivable accusation. But when it came to Georgiana, her privacy and comfort superseded his. She was his only living immediate family member and he would protect her with his life.
"We should get together some time soon so you can convince me to join the ranks of those that share your happy condition." Darcy said with a smile in his voice.
Charles was thrilled. He could never pin down Darcy for a tete a tete since they had returned from London. Darcy was like the Scarlet Pimpernel. He was everywhere and nowhere.
"I hope you don't regret that offer! I'm turning 35 in a couple of weeks and Jane has organised a birthday weekend at my family's Netherfield estate at Sutton Forest. We would love it if you could come," Charles offered.
Charles' family had made the bulk of their intergenerational wealth at the turn of Federation. The Netherfield estate was an Art Deco building that had been expanded, improved and renovated for the enjoyment of the Bingley descendants. It was located down the Hume in the old family enclave of the Southern Highlands where descendants of Anglo families enjoyed and were reminded of the climate of their forebears, of roaring fires and bright spring gardens.
"Thank you Charles. It's been far too long since I've seen Netherfield. I'd like to see the changes you've made", Darcy assented.
"Great! I'll let Caroline know. Jane's family are also coming so it will be a great reunion. Some of them you've not met - Jane's sister Lizzy and her son James.", Charles enthused.
Darcy was silent. Over the years, Charles would wax lyrical about Lizzy and her son but he never thought much of his stories of her. As far as he was concerned, a single mother in her 20s showed a great deal of irresponsibility - both personal and familial. Especially in this day and age. He could not understand why a woman in her early 20s would willingly give up her freedom to be casted on the damaged shelf goods to bring up a boy in the western suburbs.
Be that as it may, his encounter with her yesterday lifted a bit on that veil. There was a deal of complexity with her. He was intrigued. He may have even consciously rang Charles today to ask about Elizabeth. Her thunderous look yesterday attracted him. Her put-downs, impressive.
"She does not care who I am", he thought at the time.
However, as Charles was a dear and trusted friend, honesty was always the best policy for Darcy.
"Charles, I met Lizzy and James yesterday at the school. My encounter with them prompted my call to you today as she mentioned you. I'm afraid her first impressions of me are rather...regretful," he said slowly and carefully.
"Oh", said Charles quietly almost to himself. He liked and admired his sister-in-law Lizzy. He had always hoped it would be him - or Jane - who would slowly and gradually introduce them to each other.
Regretful was a Darcy understatement. What did he do to Lizzy he wondered. Darcy could be abrupt bordering on the rude but Lizzy was not the type to provoke a reaction like that in any person. She was far too kind - and busy - to concern herself or bring up negative attributes of people.
Lizzy was so very different, personality wise, to the women that generally inhabited Darcy's circle. Charles knew that Darcy constantly attracted the mindless female scions who emphasised the family names of prospectives, rather than suitable personalities; where beauty and material wealth trumped brains. Money, name and breeding were all that mattered to these types and he'd seen Darcy go through several of them unsuccessfully. Past their 20s, Charles would witness the shortening attention span Darcy would give to any potential girlfriend who offered nothing more than boobs, blowjobs and big bucks. He was bored with females who did not meet his high standards, whatever standards they may be.
On this point, Charles thought of his sister Caroline. When Darcy and Charles first became friends, Caroline had attempted to throw herself at Darcy every time she saw him. First subtly, then boldly, until finally Darcy had told her she was never going to be anything but Charles's sister to him, "as I respect him and our friendship too much."
No, Caroline the man-eater will never be Darcy's partner in life. Truth be told, Charles sometimes disliked the way his sister pursued her relationships. She would use the annual BRW 200 to narrow down prospectives and this approach was far too mercenary for Charles's and Darcy's tastes. Nevertheless, her redeeming features included her avowed and unwavering loyalty. Blood was thicker than water and for whatever faults she had, Caroline would fall into line when it came to family matters. For example, she now supported Jane in the family when she was initially her worst critic.
Charles happily sighed at the thought of his angel. He was so very lucky to have found Jane, or found each other. The dating scene was brutal. He saw it first hand with two people he cared for very much. He had seen them struggle to form relationships whilst juggling commitments and their baggage. As a result, disappointments were plenty and he had the feeling that both Darcy and Elizabeth had separately given up on forming relationships with fully functional adults that suited their personality.
Being single, as Lizzy would often say, was far superior than being partnered up with someone unsuitable. She enjoyed her autonomy and independence to give them up for a mere male who did not deserve her, or James: "Besides Charles, I find single parents at my workplace are far happier than the miserably marrieds or shacked up. They constantly whinge about their partner. If their partner is so damaging to them, why don't they just leave the relationship?" she asked him once rhetorically.
"Charles, are you still there?" Darcy asked as he wondered about the length of the silence. Charles was normally effusive but bringing up Elizabeth seemed to have abruptly ended the conversation.
"Yes Darcy, still here. Just thinking about the plans for the Netherfield weekend," and bedroom arrangements Charles added to himself. Lizzy rarely gave people second chances. He had hoped that the two strong personalities he knew so well would get along but he thought to err on the side of caution and he must remind Caroline to place them at opposite wings of Netherfield - not that she'd disagree with this decision. She still held a candle for Darcy.
Charles continued, "I am glad you can come Darcy. It has been so long. We have much to catch up with."
"I agree Charles. I look forward to seeing you again. Is your helipad still available? Friday afternoon traffic down the Hume is a nightmare."
"Yes, of course. And you can use it any time you're down that way. Safe flight and see you then."