Chapter 19

I looked frantically around for Vivian, Albert, or Jane. I suddenly had the inexplicable need to hide and hide quickly. Ducking behind one of the support columns, I watched Wickham and Lydia from a distance. Wickham was decked out in his uniform like the rest of the militia. And even though he smiled and nodded at Lydia's chattering, it was quite obvious that he wasn't paying much attention to her. Lydia looked positively overjoyed that Wickham had finally arrived, and she sounded it too. I could hear her talking and laughter from across the room and over the music!

I then turned my attention to Kitty who seemed surprisingly subdued. I noticed that Kitty was watching Lydia and Wickham with some interest and with a peculiar expression on her face. The answer hit me. Could it be? It couldn't. . . but it was. Oh dear. It appeared that Kitty was jealous of Lydia, most likely over Wickham. Kitty's militia partner was trying desperately to get her attention, but she was doing her best to ignore him. How odd, the difference between the two couples. Then again, I was learning that nothing was quite normal when it came to the Bennet sisters.

I remained tucked securely behind the column until the dance ended and then quickly sought out Vivian and all but dragged her to some chairs in a back corner.

"Lizzy! What is wrong?" Vivian inquired, startled at my sudden appearance.

"Wickham is here! And Lydia is with him!" I whispered furiously, "This is not going to end well."

"Lizzy, Lizzy, calm down for a moment. Breathe," Vivian said, putting her hands on my shoulders and squeezing until I complied.

At that moment, we were interrupted by Jane, who was looking slightly frantic. "Lizzy! Wickham is here. With Lydia!" she said, as she sat beside us. Then, remembering her manners, she nodded her head to Vivian and murmured a greeting. Vivian returned the gesture, and I rolled my eyes that they would be thinking of proper etiquette when there was such a crisis at hand!

Once the formalities were dispensed, I brought them back around to the issue. "Wickham is not good for Lydia. Or any young lady in this town for that matter."

"Perhaps, Lizzy, you should tell us why exactly that is," Jane said quietly.

I looked between the two of them and then began, choosing my words carefully. "Wickham ruined a young woman who lived not far from here. She became with child." Both of them gasped at this but nodded for me to continue.

"The young woman died giving birth, and the child was taken by a relative to America. That is where I met the child, who is still only a baby, and her caregiver. And after a while, I was told about Wickham."

Both of them sat in horror, and then they both turned and searched the room for Lydia. I could see her dancing with Wickham. Kitty was there too, but with a different partner this time, and she seemed to be enjoying herself a bit more.

"What are we to do?" Jane asked in a hushed whisper, "I cannot let my baby sister be hurt by that man. And if he were to try to take liberties — why — it would ruin the family! Lydia is too naive, and I know that she likes Wickham very much and would readily believe him were he to tell her that he was in love with her."

"I shall be honest," Vivian said, "In the few times I have met Mr. Wickham, I did not quite like him. I am not saying this just to try to bolster your case against him, Lizzy. I truly mean it. He would always be looking at all the young ladies, particularly the ones with lower cut dresses. And I have heard that he has a reputation for card playing and losing."

Jane shuddered, "We must warn Lydia! Or at least tell Father. He will be able to keep them from each other," she said earnestly.

"We could try," I said doubtfully. Somehow I didn't think that Lydia would stay away from Wickham just because her father told her to.

Jane worried her bottom lip as she watched Lydia and Wickham. She seemed to be thinking very deeply on the matter at hand. "I think," she began, and then paused and thought some more before continuing. "Yes, I think that we should not say anything tonight, but rather get it sorted out tomorrow. This ball is too important to Mama, and I know that she likes Wickham at least. I do not want her to be so greatly displeased right now, especially surrounded by so many people."

I understood exactly what Jane was trying to say, and I could see how much of a struggle it was for her to say anything even the slightest bit unkind about someone. She was worried that her mother would throw a fit and make a scene. And that she would make all information disclosed to Mr. Bennet known to the entire assembly. That in itself would be just as harmful as Lydia getting involved with Wickham.

Vivian also understood and nodded her head in agreement. She then looked around, "I believe we had better just put on a pleasant face and go back out and dance some more. We do not want people thinking something is amiss, for that is always the beginning of a good and strong rumor.

Jane and I laughed at that, but it was a dry laugh due to the potential seriousness of the situation.

During this time, Albert had been lurking not far away, waiting for Vivian. So when we stood, he returned to her side and offered to escort all of us to the punch table. He was so truly smitten with her that I felt my heart squeeze slightly in homesickness. After some light refreshments, all three of us were once again swept onto the dance floor.

For the next hour, all we did was dance. I felt I knew the steps to some dances by heart by this time, and my feet were more tired than they had ever been after a long day of labor. I finally begged off another officer asking for the next dance and collapsed into the nearest vacant chair. Oh, how wonderful. I had to resist the urge to prop my feet up and tear those horrible shoes off right then and there.

Vivian, who had begun finally dancing with some of the militia and not just Albert, sat down heavily beside me. We didn't say a word to each other, for we were both breathing too hard to be able to speak. Albert appeared then with two more glasses of wine, which we accepted gratefully. I seemed to be holding the wine much better than I had my first ball with Darcy, but I was still careful. This would be my second and last glass I decided. Thankfully, this wine was watered down more than the wine in Manhattan had been.

As we sat, I took the time to stop to observe what was happening around us. Mrs. Bennet was in the shadows, watching her girls dance. Mr. Bennet was standing beside her, looking extremely bored. Mary was standing behind them, looking possibly more miserable than I had ever seen her. And the rest of the girls were dancing; Kitty and Jane with two very handsome officers. And Lydia with Wickham, once again. Lydia seemed to have absolutely no sense of propriety in these things and had attached herself to Wickham like a burr throughout the entire evening.

I searched the room for a clock and finally spotted an old grandfather clock sitting in a far corner of the room, near the entrance hall. I told Vivian of my destination and began weaving my way through the crowds, which had not thinned at all. After what seemed an eternity, I reached the clock and almost gasped when I saw the time. It was three quarters past two in the morning! How positively ridiculous!

I turned and started to make my way back to Vivian when a voice to my right called for my attention. I turned and realized with a sinking heart that it was Wickham. I had not noticed until then that the music had stopped between dances again.

"Elizabeth, how delightful to see you here," Wickham said with a charming smile and a bow.

I curtsied, "Mr. Wickham."

"And how are you enjoying the ball?" Wickham asked.

"Very much, thank you," I replied, wondering what he could possibly be up to.

"This is not your first ball, I assume?"

"Not at all," I replied.

"I would think a lady such as yourself would have attended balls every night in America," he continued.

I was now genuinely confused; what was he trying to do?

"Perhaps not as much as you would think," I replied.

Wickham laughed as though I had just said something very clever. "Where exactly in America did you live?" he asked.

"As of late, near Manhattan," I replied.

"Ah, so you must have lived quite the high life," he continued to smile.

Oh, I realized. That was it: he was trying to see if I was rich. Of course! Wickham preyed on supposedly rich young girls, and he thought I was one of them.

"I do not think so, Mr. Wickham, for I lived in the country," I replied, with no real plan as to where to try to steer him with this conversation. I felt greatly amused at the irony of this situation and yet at the same time, furious. The irony was that Wickham was flirting with me and little did he know that I was Darcy's wife. Now the mother of Wickham's child, Darcy's niece. A laugh rose in my throat, and I fought to keep it down.

"Did you by chance meet anyone I might know?" Wickham continued his inquiry, oblivious to the thoughts racing through my mind.

"I did, as a matter of fact," I said, deciding to end this now. "And he was most generous in his opinions of people."

Wickham seemed to stiffen slightly, "Oh, and who might that have been?"

"I do not believe I am at liberty to divulge that information. Let it just suffice to say that it was a mutual acquaintance. And I must add that the acquaintance was very enlightening, for I felt as though I already knew you before I met you. Good evening, Mr. Wickham," I said with a smile and another curtsy.

I then swept off once again, trying to find Vivian. I felt satisfied. Let him wonder and worry, served him right.

As I walked, I passed Mrs. Bennet, who was surrounded by her group of ladies and talking very loudly.

"Yes! We do expect a wedding before the summer is gone," Mrs. Bennet said shrilly. I was left with no doubt that she was speaking of Lydia and Wickham.

I continued walking and was almost ran into by Kitty and Lydia. They were arm in arm and giggling madly, practically guffawing. They both held full glasses of wine which were no doubt at least their fourth or fifth each from the way they were swaying and leaning on each other. They didn't even pause as they pushed past me and then burst into another fit of laughter.

I tried once again to move in the direction of the chair where I had left Vivian, but was once again diverted by Mr. Bennet, who stopped me and inquired as to where Mrs. Bennet was. I pointed him in her direction, and he hurried off once again, most likely trying to prevent her from causing any more damage.

My trek was interrupted again, when I noticed Mary standing alone against a wall, in the shadow of one of the columns. I stopped for a moment, and then quickly made my way to her.

"Mary," I said, "Come with me, there is someone I would like you to meet," and I began pulling her with me in the direction of Vivian.

Upon finally arriving at the chair where I had left Vivian, I discovered that she was gone. Casting my eyes around the room, I quickly spotted her dancing with Albert again. Mary and I took the chairs, which were thankfully still unoccupied, and waited for the dance to end.

Albert led Vivian back over to us, and they were both smiling and still laughing over whatever conversation they had been having.

"Lizzy! You are back," Vivian said, "What time did you discover it to be?"

"It is most likely past three in the morning by now. I was quite delayed in returning to this spot," I replied, bothered all over again at Wickham and everyone else.

"Three in the morning! Can you imagine," Vivian exclaimed. "It is no wonder I feel dead on my feet."

"Vivian," I said, remembering my quest to introduce Mary, "This is, as you probably know, Miss Mary Bennet. Mary, may I introduce Miss Vivian Lancaster."

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Vivian said, and Mary murmured her agreement. Vivian cast me a curious glance, and I smiled back at her.

For a few minutes more, the four of us engaged in small talk. The latest weather, the fact that the crowds had not thinned in the least the entire night, and the liveliness of the music. I soon found myself unbelievably bored, but at least Mary seemed to be enjoying herself a little more. I eventually began to drift in my thoughts, but struggled to keep my eyes open. I turned my attention back to the conversation in an attempt to remain awake and saw that Vivian and Mary were discussing the latest books. To my surprise, Mary did read novels. I had assumed that she read nothing but philosophy or sermons on the morality of humanity. It seemed I was mistaken. Vivian was a very good conversationalist, and she was able to keep Mary talking for quite some time.

In the meantime, Albert seemed just as tired as I was. I looked at him and saw that his head was also nodding back and forth.

"Albert," I proposed, "Excuse my forwardness, but I find myself unable to remain awake for much longer. Perhaps a dance would wake up both up."

He agreed and led me out onto the dance floor. I found myself standing beside Jane, whose partner was yet another officer. The dance began, yet I felt as though I moved in a daze for how tired I was.

I decided at that moment that I was about to give up trying to remain awake and sat back down as soon as the dance was over. Jane sat beside me, and I resisted the urge to lean my head onto her shoulder. Mr. Bennet approached us then and declared the wonderful news that the night was drawing to a close. The three of us stood, and I said my goodbyes to Vivian and Albert, with promises to arrange a visit as soon as was possible. Mr. Bennet had to guide Lydia and Kitty by their arms to the entrance hall and then left them with Jane. He then went back to fetch Mrs. Bennet and, finally, we walked out the door and to our carriage. The sky was just beginning
to lighten, and I realized it was probably sometime past four by this point. As soon as the carriage began to move, I gave in and leaned my head against Jane's shoulder and promptly fell asleep.