It was just growing dark when the carriage pulled up to the Meryton Assembly ball. By the time we arrived, we were all aware that Lydia was not speaking to Kitty, Kitty was angry at Lydia, and Mrs. Bennet was sure that her dress was wrinkling beyond repair. Mr. Bennet had given up trying to resolve these issues after his first three attempts and was beginning to look just as displeased as Mary was.
It was amazing we all fit into that carriage, and stayed in it the entire trip! Everyone was quite eager to pile out as soon as the carriage stopped. In the process, Kitty and Lydia managed to stop on each other's dresses at the same time and during their row they almost knocked Jane down.
As soon as I was free from the confines of the carriage, I took several steps away from everyone else and let them disembark on their own. Finally, we were all standing in front of the hall, and Mr. Bennet led the way toward the doors. The footman opened the doors for us and after a few more quick adjustments and straightenings, we all filed in.
The ball was being held in a single, large room. The scene that greeted me was not unlike the ball I had been to with Darcy except that the room was slightly smaller. Yet there seemed to be the same number of people crammed into it.
I looked around the room. There were support columns throughout, and the walls were covered in a dark wood finish. The room was well lit with candelabras and lanterns all over. I noticed that the lighting casted some shadows in a few back corners. I made note of them in case I would ever need to hide sometime during the evening.
We were greeted by Lady Lucas and a middle-aged, rotund man whom I took to be Sir Lucas. They greeted Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and I was introduced. After that, Mary went to sit in one of the many chairs that were along the walls, and the rest of the girls quickly found dancing partners. The center of the room was the dance floor and it was crowded with many couples. The mood of the entire room was cheerful; I did not see one face that wasn't smiling or laughing. It was loud, too with everyone talking and laughing and the music.
I went to sit beside Mary and watched the other three girls dancing. Mrs. Bennet found what must have been her group of friends, and Mr. Bennet took one of the shadowed corners of the room. From where I sat I could see all of them clearly, and I couldn't help but notice that Mrs. Bennet and her group of ladies would whisper, look at Jane, and then whisper some more. Her almost-engagement to Mr. Bingley must have been very highly expected and now, many months later, it was still a topic of conversation and pity. How ridiculous that these people had nothing else to talk about, for it was not just Mrs. Bennet. The rest of the ladies seemed quite intrigued as well.
I sighed and turned away from them. It was then that one of the dancing couples caught my attention. I stood and maneuvered around several people to get a closer look. Was it? It was! Vivian and Albert were here! And they were together. As I tried to puzzle out what this meant, the music stopped, the ladies curtsied, the men bowed, and the dance floor was quickly replenished with new couples.
I hurried in the direction I had seen Albert lead Vivian off in, and finally found them by the refreshments table.
"Vivian!" I cried.
She turned around, and her face lit up, "Lizzy!"
She rushed over and wrapped me in a bone-crushing hug. "How are you? I was hoping to see you here!" she said.
"I'm doing well," I replied. At that very moment, we could hear Mrs. Bennet's shrieking laugh, and we both jumped slightly and turned to see her almost doubled over in laughter.
Vivian turned back to me with a look on her face that said she didn't believe me for a moment.
"No, truly," I hastened to assure her, "I am doing well. Some of them may be silly but Jane, and even Mary, are making my stay tolerable."
Vivian's face smoothed out, "Alright then, but if they ever come to be too much, you are always welcome at my home." She smiled then, "Oh it's so wonderful to see you again!" And she hugged me again.
All this while, Albert had been standing slightly off to the side, watching the dancing. He turned back to us then, and I greeted him.
"Hello Albert."
"Miss Elizabeth," he replied, with a teasing smile. We exchanged a curtsy and bow.
I shot Vivian a look that said she had a lot of explaining to do. She blushed, and I couldn't help but giggle.
Albert seemed to take the hint, "I think I'll leave you two to catch up," he said with another smile. He then walked over to a group of militia and joined their conversation.
"Tell me everything," I told Vivian.
"Oh, Lizzy," Vivian breathed, her eyes shining. "It's just wonderful." She took a breath and then told me everything that had happened.
"Albert comes from a middle-class family in England, and his father was the captain of the ship we were on!"
I gasped and then laughed. How extraordinary! "Did he tell you this while we were on the ship?" I asked.
"No, he did not. He said he didn't tell me because he wasn't sure of my feelings for him, because at the time I thought he was merely a crewmember. But by the time we'd docked, he'd decided that he wanted to court me, and so he introduced me to his father." Vivian's blush was was even deeper than I had remembered it being.
"So how is the courtship coming?" I asked with a teasing smile.
"It is going well; I believe it is a good match," Vivian said as she straightened up and composed herself. We looked at each other for a moment before bursting into giggles. I felt as though I was acting like Lydia and Kitty, but it felt good.
"Oh Vivian, you cannot possibly believe that this would be a marriage of convenience, do you? Because that's not what I'm seeing," I said as I looked at Albert, whose eyes were filled with adoration as he looked at Vivian.
Vivian's blush returned, "He's just wonderful Lizzy. He's so kind and considerate."
"Why was he working as a crewmember if his father was the captain?" I asked.
"Because he wanted to travel and see the world and so to do that, he works his way from place to place on ships. It was merely coincidence that he and his father were on the same ship that time. Albert was coming back to England for good because his desire to travel and see the world has been satisfied. And his father has already left to captain the ship back to America."
"So what is Albert going to do now? And more importantly, what are the two of you going to go?"
"He found a job in London as a clerk. It isn't much yet, but he is hoping to work his way up to something better. After you left with Mr. Bennet, I stayed with Albert and his family for a few nights at their home. His mother is truly a wonderful lady. After that, my father came to fetch me. Thankfully, I do not live far from Albert, but this is our first public outing together. We are chaperoned, of course."
"Vivian, that's lovely! Do you think he will propose soon?" I asked, feeling slightly giddy for my friend's happiness.
"Lizzy!" Vivian chastised me. I laughed, but did not press the subject.
We were silent for a few moments then, as we watched the dancing.
"What of your time with the Bennets?" Vivian asked suddenly.
I looked over to where Kitty and Lydia were dancing with two of the militia; they were both giggling hysterically. Vivian followed my gaze and gave a delicate, ladylike snort.
"It is certainly interesting," I said. Vivian looked at me expectantly so I continued.
"Mr. Bennet, Jane, and Mary are welcoming. Lydia and Mrs. Bennet are almost hostile, and Kitty seems caught in the middle. Mrs. Bennet and Lydia seemed to take an instant dislike to me, and I still do not know why! They seem to think that I was some high-society lady, but there was nothing I did that could have given them that impression. I overheard Mrs. Bennet complaining that I dressed so fine. But Vivian, I've only been wearing the old dresses you gave to me."
"Oh, my poor dear. I'm so sorry. But I am glad that Jane and Mary are being kind at least. And don't mind Mrs. Bennet. She is shrill but she doesn't know what she is saying. She is just a silly lady who does not care what she says, and so you shouldn't care what she says."
"I know, and I am truly trying. I got a letter from my husband yesterday. He was so kind and sweet in his letter. I cannot wait to return home."
Vivian and I exchanged sad smiles. "It will all turn out right in the end," she assured me.
Albert seemed to sense that we were finished catching up, for he made his way back toward us.
"Sorry to steal her from you Lizzy, but Vivian dear, would you care to dance?" He bowed to Vivian quite gallantly.
Vivian laughed and took his offered hand, "Excuse us, Lizzy?" she asked me.
"Of course," I smiled at them. They got along so well; they would surely do well together.
I watched as they lined up with the other dancers.
"Excuse me miss, may I have this dance?" I jumped, and looked to my right.
To my surprise, it was one of the militia with whom Albert had been talking to. I froze. I was still not quite comfortable with dancing. But then the music began playing and I recognized the tune and dance.
"Yes," I replied, and took his hand as he led me out to the dancefloor.
Was this proper? I thought frantically. I was a married woman. It is fine. I forced myself to relax. The dance began then, and I had to focus on the steps. My dance partner smiled at me, and I politely smiled back. I managed to stay in step the entire dance, but was relieved when it finally ended.
I thanked my partner, and then hurried to one of the chairs along the wall. Before I could reach one, however another officer asked me to dance the next dance. Unsure of how to decline, I said yes but began preparing how decline if I was asked again.
Thankfully, I knew this dance as well and it went smoothly. I managed to make it to a chair before I was asked once again. This time I said no as politely as I could, using the excuse that my feet were tired. After sitting out three of the dances, I saw Vivian pushing Albert in my direction. I sighed, but smiled when he came up to me.
"Miss Elizabeth, may I have the next dance?" he asked with a little bow.
I laughed, "Did Vivian put you up to this?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
"She did indeed, so perhaps you could help me in not displeasing her?"
I gave him a genuine smile this time, and accepted his outstretched hand. We passed Vivian, who was smirking, on our way to the dance floor and I wrinkled my nose at her. She just laughed, but the sound was drowned out as the music began playing. They were replaying one of the earlier dances, so it was easier to follow along. I found that when I knew the dance, dancing could be quite enjoyable.
As the music came to an end, everyone turned and clapped once again for the musicians and I steered Albert back in Vivian's direction. By this time, Mrs. Bennet seemed to have noticed my acquaintances and decided to make her presence known. I saw her approaching and whispered to Vivian and Albert.
"Brace yourselves."
They both looked around in confusion, but froze simultaneously when they saw Mrs. Bennet, who was almost upon us.
"Why Miss Lancaster! How good to see you again!" Mrs. Bennet all but shrieked over the music that was playing again.
"Mrs. Bennet, this is indeed a pleasure," Vivian said with a gracious smile. I had to admire her poise in addressing my mother.
"And who is this?" Mrs. Bennet turned to face Albert fully and even though her back was to me, I could picture her giving him a full once over, and I could imagine her approval.
"Albert Eames, ma'am," Albert said with a bow to Mrs. Bennet.
"Well Mr. Eames, it is a pleasure," Mrs. Bennet gushed. I could see her arranging his would-be marriage to one of her daughters already. "I see you have met my Elizabeth," she turned back to me reluctantly, as though remembering I was there.
It then struck me what this must look like to her. In Mrs. Bennet's eyes I was probably stealing a potential husband for one of her daughters.
"I have four other daughters, three of them are already dancing," Mrs. Bennet continued, "And I don't know where Mary has gotten off to. Oh that girl needs to stop being so impossibly stubborn. How do you know my Elizabeth?" I could hear the prying tone in her voice.
"Lizzy and I met on the ship that brought us here," Vivian said, "And we became acquainted to Mr. Eames there was well."
"Oh Mr. Eames, you must meet my daughters! I do believe you may like some of them. My dear Jane is quite the beauty, and Lydia is as well. And I suppose Mary and Kitty are pleasing to the eye as well."
"Mrs. Bennet," I said firmly, deciding that this must stop before she got too much steam. "Mr. Eames escorted Miss Lancaster to the ball tonight. You wouldn't want to tear him from her."
Mrs. Bennet appeared as though she couldn't have cared less, but thankfully Albert realized that I was trying to save them, and stepped in to help me.
"Oh Vivian, I know that you love this dance. For I daresay it is one of your favorites. Mrs. Bennet, would you please excuse us? I cannot deny her this dance," Albert said all of this with such perfect politeness that Mrs. Bennet all but swooned and allowed him to lead Vivian away. She then began weaving her way through the crowd to Mr. Bennet, no doubt to inform him of which of his daughters would be engaged to Albert before the night was over.
I hurried after Vivian and Albert, and came up behind them in time to hear Vivian whisper to Albert.
"But Albert, I do not even like this dance that much."
"I know, Vivian," Albert said, with laughter in his voice, "But it was Lizzy's idea!"
"It was not!" I exclaimed indignantly, "I merely gave you the opening. You were the one who came up with that nonsense about the dance."
Albert laughed openly now, "Well either way, the scheme did its job, for Mrs. Bennet is out of our hair."
I cast him a pitying smile, "For now."
A worried look crossed Albert's face, but then the dance began and they quickly fell in with the other couples.
Just then, we heard laughter booming from the foyer along with a shrill giggle that sounded suspiciously like Lydia. I looked in the direction that the noise was coming from and saw Lydia and Kitty on the arms of two militia soldiers. Wickham had arrived.