Coffee warning – I recommend not drinking anything while reading this chapter. 😊
~~PoP~~
Not handsome enough
Miss Bingley was not the only one who stared after Miss Bennet, although in the case of Mr Hurst it was in wistful admiration.
He remembered the season two years ago when he had gone to London early in the year in the hope of finding a wife with sufficient funds to allow him to continue his lifestyle as a fashionable gentleman.
Hurst had been fortunate that his old friend Carruthers invited him along to some functions which would normally have been out of his reach. While Hurst had no illusions of snaring one of the daughters of the nobility, there were enough hangers-on at these balls who were potentially in the market for a gentleman of more modest station.
At one such function a young lady had caught his eye as she berated a fellow who had measured his length on the floor for being falling-down drunk in public. She was a pretty young thing, and he was impressed with her poise.
Hurst had been about to make his way towards her when he had encountered Carruthers, who seemed to know everyone, and asked the identity of the young lady.
'She is Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn in Hertfordshire.'
'Not Lady Elizabeth or the Honourable Miss Bennet?' Hurst had enquired, hopeful that this spritely lady could be within his reach.
'No, but do not get your hopes up. Her grandfather is the Earl of Ashcroft and since his only son died, her brother is the heir. While he is technically the heir presumptive, he has been acknowledged as Viscount Markwell. They also say that she can spot a fortune-hunter from a mile away and avoids them like the plague.'
Hurst had been disappointed, but rather than make a bad impression he had admired her from afar for the rest of the evening.
A week later, he had encountered Miss Louisa Bingley, who, he thought, was the answer to his prayers. Since spending so much time in the company of her sister, Hurst wished that he had kept looking.
When Hurst had arrived at Netherfield and heard who their neighbours were, he had been sure that the coincidence was too great. But seeing the young lady tonight had been quite marvellous. Now he was pleased that he had not approached Miss Bennet in London as she had not recognised him.
Since he had not heard anything of her noble relations from the staff or the neighbours, he assumed that the relationship was not common knowledge. Hurst was pleased to keep her secret as it would allow him to watch as Caroline proceeded to dig herself into a deep pit.
Now he was looking forward to the entertainment Caroline was certain to provide.
~PoP~
Darcy had endured this assembly for two hours already. He had stalked the edges of the room to avoid being cornered by Miss Bingley and any other female determined to capture him. He was too tired to be subtle about his disinterest.
He was again standing quietly in the shadow of his old friend – the pillar next to the tall pot-plant. He judged to be virtually invisible unless an observer were to look at him at the right angle from no more than a few feet away. When he heard Sir William Lucas announce that the next set was to be the ladies' choice Darcy was exceedingly grateful for his position. He could just imagine the rush of ladies, with Miss Bingley in the lead, in his direction if they were able to see their prey.
As he watched for the charge of the wallflowers for the opportunity to dance with his friend, Darcy was amazed to observe that instead of the expected frenzy, several young ladies were encouraging what appeared to be a very young and shy girl to request the dance from Bingley.
He was so absorbed in the sight that he did not notice the approach of two women, who stopped at a point only a few feet away, but on the other side of the pillar. He only realised his danger when he heard them speak, at which point he remained perfectly still to avoid detection.
A pleasant voice said, 'I am pleased that the girls have managed to persuade Henrietta to participate in the ladies' choice. It is such a shame that so many of our young men keep overlooking her.'
Darcy was surprised to hear such a sentiment but thought the speaker to be very kind.
'Not everyone has your gift for conversation and making friends, Eliza. But speaking of making friends, shall you be asking Mr Darcy to dance? Considering how elusive the gentleman has been all evening, I do not believe anyone else will be able to coax him out of his shell.'
Darcy barely managed to stop himself from gasping aloud. Here was what he had been afraid of. Another set of fortune hunters were plotting to entrap him. He listened carefully to ensure he would know all the details of their plans to safeguard himself from their endeavours.
He was unprepared for what he heard.
'Charlotte, while I appreciate your confidence in me, I have no intentions of making the attempt. While his looks are tolerable, his attitude and demeanour are not handsome enough to tempt me in the slightest. I have no intention of giving consequence to someone as unpleasant and disagreeable as him.'
Darcy briefly wondered if the second voice belonged to Miss Lucas since her father had addressed her as Charlotte during their introduction but preferred to focus on the unexpected turn of their conversation.
Charlotte chuckled. 'Only you would be unaffected by such a handsome and eligible man.'
'He may be eligible in town but here he is just another visitor of no consequence. I do not understand how an amiable man like Mr Bingley could be friends with him. Does Mr Darcy not realise how he is hurting his friend's chance at making a good impression?' There was a brief pause, as Darcy imagined the lady might shrug, before she continued, 'But as for dancing with Mr Darcy, I cannot believe that any of our neighbours would be desperate enough to want to chance his manners, despite us being rather short on gentlemen.'
'It is good of you to decline invitations to dance to sit out a set or two at each assembly to give some of our friends a chance to indulge in the exercise.'
'It is no more than all our friends are doing. What would you bet that that oaf would think that any lady sitting out a set is being slighted by other men…' the voice faded as the ladies moved away.
~PoP~
Darcy was stunned at having been insulted and dismissed.
Initially he was torn between experiencing relief that his manner had succeeded in preventing any interest in him by the local ladies, and feeling offended at being called an oaf, ill-mannered and of no consequence.
Fury won out. How dare those country bumpkins to speak in such a fashion about Fitzwilliam Darcy, the feted grandson of an Earl. Did this Eliza not realise his station? In town, no one would dare to criticise his manners…
He balled his hands into fists and silently raged about the insults he had overheard until after several minutes of resentment his basic good sense and decency slowly reasserted themselves. For once in his life, he was being judged as a man, not the master of Pemberley. It was a humbling experience to realise that as a man he had been found wanting.
But once he stopped feeling ill-used, he also considered what else he had heard. The people of Meryton considered him proud and disagreeable and a hindrance to Bingley's chances of fitting into the community.
He had come to help his friend become an accomplished manager of an estate, but Darcy had forgotten the most basic lesson. An estate is part of a community. Friendly neighbours were happy to help in difficult times, while neighbours whom you had upset would be only too pleased to sit back and watch you fail.
At Pemberley, Darcy made a point of being polite to everyone. While the people of his community knew that he was reserved in company, it was also acknowledged that his manners were excellent and he treated everyone with courtesy, whether they be neighbours, tenants or staff.
Two years prior, Bingley had visited Pemberley, with his uninvited sisters in tow. Darcy remembered how he had considered Caroline Bingley's supercilious manners as completely inappropriate towards his staff and the people in the surrounding area. Yet, tonight, he had behaved in exactly the same fashion.
It was humiliating to think that his behaviour had sunk to the level of a tradesman's daughter with social climbing ambitions.
~PoP~
Darcy's ruminations had occupied him long enough for the dances of the ladies' choice to run their course.
During that time, he had come to the conclusion that he had no wish to allow a successful comparison between his manners and Miss Bingley's and that for Bingley's sake he had to make an effort to be at least polite and marginally sociable. He therefore stepped out of his hiding place and looked around for any familiar faces.
He was grateful that not too far away, he spotted Miss Lucas, the only person other than Sir William Lucas to whom he had allowed an introduction. Now that he was paying attention, he noticed that she was a pleasant looking woman who was probably of similar age as himself.
She was speaking to a petite young woman with chocolate curls and what appeared to be a light and pleasing figure. Having her back to Darcy he could not discern any other details.
He slowly approached the pair, stopping at a polite distance and bowing to Miss Lucas. When Charlotte turned her gaze at him, he asked, 'Miss Lucas, might I request your next available set?'
He noticed a quickly suppressed startlement and a fleeting glance towards the direction from which he had come, confirming his assumption that she was indeed the lady whom he had overheard.
'My next set is still free, and I would be pleased to dance with you, Mr Darcy,' Charlotte answered pleasantly. She glanced at her companion and with a ghost of a mischievous smile she asked, 'Eliza, will you permit an introduction to the gentleman?'
Since Darcy already suspected the identity of Miss Lucas' companion, he was able to suppress any untoward reaction on hearing the name of the lady who had insulted him earlier. He was also curious to meet the lady who had the temerity to think him of no consequence. Although it was an unpleasant novelty that Miss Lucas would ask permission of her friend to make the introduction. It was usually he who gave such consent.
Elizabeth turned around and with a saccharine smile and an inclination of her head agreed, 'Certainly, Charlotte. It is always a pleasure to meet someone so eager for an introduction.' She raised guileless eyes to Darcy as Charlotte performed the introduction.
As they exchanged polite greetings, Darcy thought that he had rarely seen a lovelier lady. Although not classically beautiful, her face was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes. As a result, he could not resist requesting a set from her.
He was astonished when she replied, 'I am sorry, Mr Darcy, while I still have one set available, that is the one when it is my turn to sit out to allow another lady to dance. As you may have noticed, there are a limited number of gentlemen here, it is therefore our habit to take turns.'
Darcy could but admire a lady who would honour an agreement between friends to the detriment of herself, although he was somewhat piqued at having a lady refuse to dance with him for the first time in his life. 'Perhaps another time,' he said politely.
'Perhaps,' Elizabeth agreed as her partner came to claim her for the set.
He looked after her as she made her graceful way to the dance floor before recalling himself to his own partner.
Charlotte sighed inwardly. While she was not precisely jealous of Elizabeth who drew the attention of gentlemen, at times she was irritated with the gentlemen so drawn.
~PoP~
Charlotte thoroughly enjoyed her dance as Darcy was an excellent dancer when he made the effort.
Towards the end of the dance, thanks to his greater height, Darcy established the location of two other ladies. When the music stopped, he guided Charlotte towards Elizabeth and after another quick check to ensure Miss Bingley was on the opposite side of the room, maneuvered them to a spot where they had a chance to converse in momentary privacy.
'I would like to extend an apology for my earlier churlish behaviour,' Darcy said quietly. 'This morning I was still in Kent, dealing with a difficult situation and when I arrived, I was tired and the last thing I wanted to do was to attend a dance. I offer this as an explanation, not an excuse.' Darcy grimaced for a moment. 'When I arrived at the assembly, I should have made some polite excuse which would prevent me from dancing and being sociable, rather than simply scowl at everyone.'
Charlotte nodded in understanding. 'I suppose your tiredness stopped you from thinking clearly.'
The comment caused a rueful smile. 'I wish that your charitable assumption was true. But I was in a foul mood and determined not to be pleased by anything or anyone. In town, for years I have been getting away with exactly such behaviour without being called to task for it. As you guessed, I did overhear your conversation with Miss Bennet earlier and for the first time in my adult life it was made clear to me that I have strayed from the courtesy which I was taught.'
Elizabeth listened in growing wonder. She would never have thought that the odious and haughty Mr Darcy would apologise for his attitude. But his final words caused her to blush as she remembered her own comments. 'Mr Darcy, I am afraid that I too must apologise for my words if not my actions.'
'What did you say that was not true? I am rather grateful that you ladies have recalled me to my better nature. I came to be of service to my friend but was on my way to ruin his chances for acceptance.'
'Well, Mr Darcy. If you are intent on proving yourself to be a true gentleman, I would be pleased to introduce you to some of our neighbours, as I will not dance this set.' She gave him an impish smile. 'In that way we can both perform our penance.'
As Darcy and Elizabeth turned to Charlotte, she claimed, 'You go ahead and be sociable. I wish to have a word with my sister.'
In response Darcy offered his arm to Elizabeth and they set off to meet the neighbours.
~PoP~
~~PoP~~
A Plethora of Peers (working title) by Sydney Salier, Copyright © 2023