Chapter 2: The Gala ~ wherein we meet Caroline Bingley, and Elizabeth overhears Will's callous and condescending remarks about her.
Jane made it back home from visiting her friend in plenty of time the next day. She climbed the stairs to the rooftop studio looking for Elizabeth.
"Come on you goose! You know, it's a good thing you live with someone. You would never get anywhere on time without constant reminders."
Elizabeth paused in her sketching, and stared at her sister blankly.
"...the gala, Lizzie. Hadn't you better go and shower? I know people make allowances for you being eternally paint covered, but surely you can make an effort for this evening?"
"But I'm not going Jane! I thought I had told you that ages ago."
"Oh, I knew you weren't intending to go before yesterday, but I assumed you had changed your mind when you were trying so hard to convince me to go too."
Jane paused and waited for Elizabeth to respond, but she remained silent and wide-eyed, slowly shaking her head. Finally she spoke.
"You have the opportunity of seeing Charlie tonight. Nothing has changed for me, and I still feel uncomfortable about being there while my paintings are up for auction. How humiliating it will be if no one bids on them! Ugh, Jane, my stomach is turning flips just at the thought!"
Jane exclaimed at the absurdity of her fears, and walked over to Elizabeth to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. Unexpectedly, Elizabeth grabbed the sketch pad on her easel and flipped it over so that Jane couldn't see what she had been working on. Blushing at Jane's expression of surprise mingled with curiosity, she told her sister the picture was too preliminary to show anyone.
Jane frowned and looked closer at her sister,
"You almost never apply that rule to me Lizzie. What is it? Can't I just have a little peek?"
"Not if we are going to be ready on time!"
Elizabeth grabbed her sister and pushed her toward the door. Her split-second change of mind about the gala took Jane's attention, and the mystery work-in-progress was left forgotten on the easel. It was worth it to Elizabeth to suffer through the evening rather than suffer the embarrassment of admitting to Jane her indefinable interest in the face of that arrogant, condescending man from yesterday. The fact that he was likely to be in attendance tonight was not lost on her, but at the moment, Elizabeth honestly believed herself to be fascinated by his chiseled, masculine features from the detached perspective of an artist. She just didn't think it would be possible to convince her sister of that fact.
Forty-five minutes later, both sisters stood in front of each other admiring their combined efforts. Jane had lifted her honey-blonde hair into an elegant updo, leaving large tendrils softly curling around her face. She wore a sophisticated one-shoulder gown in navy silk which continued the diagonal sweep in pleats that traveled from the bodice to the floor-length hem. Her grace and style looked effortless, which Elizabeth noted it really was. She could not have looked more beautiful if she had spent the entire day at a salon being manicured, styled and made up.
Elizabeth's choice of dress was a simple, calf-length deep violet, which she had borrowed from Jane. It was cut with a chic square neckline and fitted bodice until it reached her waist where it flared out over her hips, highlighting her curves while making her feel well covered and comfortable. Best of all, she was able to wear and flaunt the one piece of fashion that she was most vulnerable to - a pair of high heel, strappy gold sandals that she had bought when visiting Jane in London. Her cinnamon-brown hair which was always pulled back into a ponytail had, at Jane s urging, been clasped at the nape of her neck with a simple jeweled barrette and she had even succumbed to Jane's ministrations with a straightening iron bringing an incredible shine and luster to it.
As they arrived at the gala, they were directed to a table to register for the silent auction and were each given a note card with a bidder number on it. Elizabeth waved her card like a fan in front of her face.
"At least I'll be none the wiser when Dad puts a mercy bid on my paintings," she grinned at Jane, "Then again, I'll know it's him when there is only one bid."
"Lizzie, cut it out! I know for a fact that there will be lots of interest for your paintings," Jane assured her sister.
Entering the room that contained the auction items, they first heard, then saw their two younger sisters who spied them immediately and came running over.
"You two look fantastic!" Lydia enthused, then gave a twirl and asked, "What do you think of this little red number of mine? I bought it today; knew I had to have it even before I had tried it on."
She was wearing a strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline. The massive pleated bow at her hip was bold and sassy, but the dress ended well above her knee; in fact, it ended barely below her backside.
Kitty joined them, half a beat behind their youngest sister.
"I told her she looks like a tramp in that thing. You should have seen Dad s face when he saw her!"
"How on earth were you even allowed to set foot outside the house in that?" asked Jane, eyes wide in horror.
"And WHY on earth would you want to?" added Elizabeth.
"Oh come on girls, if you ve got it, flaunt it, right? And Dad rolls his eyes for just about anything, but he ll never actually put his foot down, especially when Mom has already endorsed it." said Lydia, happily wriggling around, aware that there were several young men in the room who were unable to stop watching her.
A discernable hush fell over the room and Elizabeth searched to find the cause. Standing at the entrance were Charlie and Will, with a very richly dressed woman between them.
"Don't look now Janey, but your prince has arrived." Elizabeth teased her sister.
Jane did not look, but Kitty and Lydia did, and without a shred of subtlety between them.
"Which one do you have dibs on Janey?" Lydia asked, not at all quietly.
"Lydia!" Jane and Elizabeth both whispered, the former distraught and the latter furious.
Elizabeth relaxed a little when she saw that Charlie had not appeared to hear the comment. However, his friend clearly had, and he glared at the little group of conspirators.
Lydia laughed and said, "I approve, Jane. At least he looks like he's capable of having a good time, not like Mr. Fun-Free-Zone next to him."
To avoid further inappropriate comments being made within earshot, Elizabeth linked her arm through her little sister's.
"Let's get a drink Lydia," and she hauled her to the other end of the room where the bar was set up.
After arming herself with a white wine spritzer, Elizabeth wandered among friends and acquaintances, casually conversing but keeping an eye on Jane who had been joined by Charlie and Will and was apparently being introduced to the woman. Her attention was redirected with the arrival of her girlfriend Charlotte who saw her immediately, waved and walked over to her.
"Char! I didn't know you were going to be here. Are you down for the weekend?"
Charlotte Lucas had been good friends with Elizabeth since they were in primary school together. She now lived in New York and was working her way up the ranks of a midsized, reputable law firm.
"Yes. I know how much work my mother put into this bash, and I am doing the obedient daughterly thing by supporting her."
The two friends found a nook with a cushioned bench and a large plant which partially blocked them from the throng in the main part of the room, and sat down to catch up on the past several weeks since they had last seen each other. For ten or fifteen minutes the two were completely engrossed in news and friendly gossip. However, upon the first pause in their conversation, Elizabeth realized that Charlie, Will and their sparkling companion had taken up station on the other side of the plant. She found it much harder to concentrate on Charlotte with them there, and upon hearing Jane's name mentioned she admitted defeat and focused her full attention on the other party.
"I would caution you to exercise some self-control Charles," said Will, "You only met her yesterday, and you're already at the point of professing love."
The woman identifying herself as Charlie's sister agreed, "Will is right, little brother. She is certainly the prettiest girl in the room, but that's hardly saying much for this squalid little back-water place you have brought us to."
Charlie responded in exasperation, "I've had enough nagging from you Caroline. If you don't like this town and these people, then why don't you go back to New York? And let me correct you on another thing. Jane is nothing short of exquisite, and she is an excellent golfer to boot. What more could I possibly want in my soul-mate?
"And on that note, I wish to inform you that I plan to have some fun and meet some people tonight. If you two want to stand here just observing then feel free, but I think I saw a yacht charter that I want to bid on, and I want to find those paintings that Jane's sister donated. I wonder if they might suit my new house."
With that, Charlie moved off, leaving Caroline and Will to make conversation between themselves. Elizabeth grinned at Charlotte who had listened along with her and they resumed their gossip as well.
Presently Charlie came back announcing, "Well, I have been around the room and have put bids on a few interesting things. I haven't seen Elizabeth's paintings yet, but apparently they are set up in the ball room with some other art pieces.
"If I get that yacht charter Will, you will have to extend your absence from the office by a week. How's this for a vacation - sailing north along the New England coastline in a luxury 110 ft yacht, complete with five guest cabins, and three crew to attend to our every need."
Caroline enthusiastically agreed, "That sounds wonderful. It would be the three of us, and perhaps Louisa and Rick, and who else from the New York set might be available?"
"Well, of course you two and Lou and her husband are welcome, but I have another woman in mind," said Charlie, glancing over to where Jane stood talking with her father. "What do you say Will, should we invite any of her other sisters? Elizabeth is very pretty and Jane might be more inclined to accept the invitation if she has someone with her."
This last comment caught both Charlotte's and Elizabeth's attention immediately, and they fell silent waiting for the response.
"You certainly don't need to on my behalf. She has no beauty that would attract me. You should know by now that my type of woman is rather more driven in her career than to tool around pretending to be a painter. I suspect she's the average-talent type who was pampered by her parents into imagining herself artistic but is actually only supported by the influence of her parents in this small town."
"Oh be fair Will, you haven't even seen any of her works yet." said Charlie
"I imagine that boring predictable watercolor sunset over there is probably hers. Didn't Jane say this club proudly displays her wares?"
Caroline laughed loudly and effusively at Will's comment.
Elizabeth overheard it all. She sat there frozen as emotions of embarrassment and hurt washed over her, to be replaced by a low-burning, white-hot fury at the man. Next to Jane she was no striking beauty, but she was comfortable in her looks and believed herself to be pretty. She had received that compliment often enough through school and college - maybe more often from the mothers of her boyfriends than from those boys themselves, but still enough to have learned to be happy with her looks. But to question her seriousness about painting? And to imagine that her parents had indulged this career of hers?
Elizabeth had been naturally creative from a young age. She quickly surpassed all that her high school art teachers were capable of teaching her, and had followed her older sister to college to major in Art History. But while Jane's interest leaned more toward curating and valuating art, Elizabeth's creative skills continued to be explored and honed. Her mother could not relate or understand and so had never supported her, instead choosing to pay attention to the aspirations of Elizabeth's other sisters. She did not doubt her mother's love, but she knew she was never a favorite child. Her father had only come around to supporting Elizabeth's vocation after she had proved she was capable of surviving on an income from her work. That was only truly possible because of Jane, who was the only person to have steadfastly believed in her, encouraged her and even financially supported her.
Even today, she would not be able to afford to do what she did if she hadn't moved in with Jane so that they could split living expenses. And Jane was Lizzie's own publicity agent, always having room in the gallery to show her work, and recommending them proudly to locals and tourists alike. She had received no assistance at all from her parents or their friends. Most of the attention beginning to grow around her was from Jane's and her own hard work of pounding pavements and begging local restaurants to show her work or even gifting them a painting in the hope of garnering the interest of tourists. Getting foot traffic into Jane's gallery was their primary aim, and they were just beginning to see the success of their strategy.
Elizabeth was jolted back to the moment, by Charlotte's hand on her arm,
"Come on Lizzie, we've heard enough. Let's go and refill these glasses."
The two moved away from the conversation and back toward the bar to replenish their drinks.
Elizabeth's playfulness soon came to the fore and with just a little bit of bite and a lot of humor she shared her story with her sisters and her father. By the end of the evening everyone within the Bennetts circle, which was almost the entire room had heard of Darcy s rudeness and injustice in his presumptions about Elizabeth and her paintings.
Caroline had made it a priority to go and confirm the painter of the insipid watercolor that Will had suggested was Elizabeth's. To her disappointment the name painted in the lower right corner was clearly not Bennett and she chose not to enlighten him of his mistake.
However, Will's error was pointed out to him before the evening was over. After wandering through the two rooms containing the auction items, he was drawn to a couple of bold oil paintings. They were seascapes, but painted from unusual vantage points. One was a scene of waves cresting and breaking on the beach. The aggressive movement of the water was beautifully captured, and combined with the light and shadow it suggested a stormy night. The second painting showed the same storm, in mostly the same hues, but this image was almost all sky, with one sharp bolt of lightning reaching down to the water, lighting up the surface. As he moved closer to them, he instinctively knew they were hers, and he knew equally well that he had to have them.
Charlie joined Will soon after he returned to the bar and buffet.
"Did you see Elizabeth's paintings? They are really extraordinary, and of course I placed a bid on both. I don't think I have any chance though. Every time I return to them I see that someone has outbid me. They are possibly the most popular items in the entire auction."
Will smiled at his friend, "I did see them and I stand corrected about her talent. She is certainly a lot maturer in her style than I would have suspected for someone so young."
Charlie laughed, "She's probably only a few years younger than us Will. Jane is two years younger than me, and Lizzie is next after her. Your talk of 'mature for her age' makes you sound like you're in your 40s!"
Across the room, Elizabeth was being accosted by her mother.
"Lizzie, your two pictures are the talk of the whole evening! I had told Daddy he would have to bid $50 on them so you weren't too embarrassed tonight, but it looks like there is a three bidder war going on, and the bids last time I looked were over $600 each."
Elizabeth was so surprised that she looked around quickly and sank into the closest free seat she could find.
Jane, who had been standing with her almost jumped up and down with glee. "I told you, I told you! You do beautiful work and people are really starting to notice you."
She morphed into Business-Woman Jane at once, "We have to consider restructuring all our pricing on those pieces we show in the gallery. And, we have to work on that plan to get you a gallery showing in New York. I'll start putting out feelers with my contacts there next week."
It was too much for Elizabeth, and she began to feel claustrophobic. "$600 for those two paintings, and they aren't even my best work".
"That's $600, each sweetheart," her mother reminded her.
Raising a hand to her temple she said, "I think I really let the stress get to me tonight. I have developed quite a headache. Jane, can you get a lift home with someone? I think I need to get outside and breathe for a while, and I have a sudden burning desire to get back to that sketch I was working on."
Jane and Mrs. Bennett both had enough experience with Elizabeth's sudden creative urges to know better than try to convince her to stay. Jane's only caution to Elizabeth as she left was to remind her of the cost of the dress she was wearing.
"If you head up to your rooftop sanctum, just promise me you will change out of that dress first."
About an hour after bidding closed, Mrs. Lucas stepped up on stage to a podium to announce the winning bids and the amount of money that the event had raised for the local childrens hospital.
Charlie did indeed win the week-long yacht charter, and he smiled broadly and looked about the room for Jane. Will put a hand on his arm and advised him, "Why don't you wait until Monday to invite her. You don't want to scare her away with thoughts of being stuck with a stalker for a week with with no escape."
Charlie saw the wisdom of his friend's warning and settled back to listen to the remainder of the announcements.
Each item's winner was applauded, but as Mrs. Lucas turned to the inventory of art pieces that were auctioned, interest in the announcements increased until finally the entire room was silent awaiting news of the final bid for Elizabeth's paintings, and who that bidder might be.
"And now, I think everyone is aware of the bidding war that erupted over Lizzie Bennett's two paintings. They were won by the same person, and for the same price. A truly remarkable amount of money, considering our young artist is only known to us locally and she doesn't have much of a following beyond the residents of this town."
"The two paintings in Ms. Bennett's 'Stormy Seas' series are sold to William Darcy for the incredible combined price of $3, 200!"
The room erupted in loud applause and Will slowly stood and nodded his acknowledgement of the enthusiastic response. As he retrieved his seat again, Charlie leaned over to him and whispered,
"Had I known I was bidding against you, I would have given up long ago. I have never known you to fail at getting something you want."
Over her brother's shoulder, Caroline glared jealously at Will, her emotions openly displayed on her face for once, rather than the controlled expression of disdain which she normally presented.
After changing out of her dress into sweat pants and a t-shirt, Elizabeth headed up to the rooftop and into her studio.
Her sketch pad beckoned and she walked slowly toward it, frowning all the while. She turned the pad over and looked at the face she had been forming out of her charcoals. She still saw the rugged beauty of that jawline, the tenderness of those lips. But the eyes held an arrogance that she hadn't noticed before. There was cynicism, and pride in the look which Elizabeth could not remove from her view and which she did not admire at all.
Decisively, she tore the page from the book, rolled it up and shoved it into the large bin that stood to the side of the easel. Then she turned out the light and went back downstairs to the apartment.