A Plethora of Peers

by sysa22

Irreverent fluff. The early part of the story follows the timeline and major events of P&P, but the details are quite different. Longbourn is still entailed, but Mr Bennet has a son, who is also the heir to his maternal grandfather, the Earl of Ashworth. The background of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy makes them peers but causes its own early problems.

26. Chapter 26 - Belle of the ball

~~PoP~~

Belle of the ball

Lady Catherine de Bourgh regained consciousness lying on a bed in a small room.

She looked around in a daze and recognised her brother sitting at her bedside, observing her with a cold look.

'Well, Catty, you certainly made a fool of yourself and made our family the laughingstock of the ton.'

'How was I to know who she was?' There was no need to specify who she was.

'If you had not been so rude as to refuse being introduced to her grandmother, you would have found out immediately who she was. The beloved granddaughter and the twin sister of the heir to the Earl of Ashcroft.' Matlock's mouth turned down in an expression of disgust. 'All through that conversation, Miss Bennet remained polite despite all the insults you threw at her. What were you thinking?'

'She defied me!'

'You had no right to demand that she should give up Darcy, especially as he would never give her up no matter what you say.'

'He was destined to marry Anne!'

'You know perfectly well that Anne cannot marry, because she could never survive producing an heir. Or was your insistence that she marry a convoluted plan on your part to kill your daughter?'

Lady Catherine refused to respond or meet his eyes.

'You disgust me. But now we have to control the damage you have done today. We are fortunate that all the witnesses to your performance are either our family or the family of Miss Bennet. Because of the upcoming marriage of Darcy and Miss Bennet, the Ashcrofts, Barrington and the Dentons are prepared to keep quiet about this fiasco.'

Matlock did not miss the triumphant look on his sister's face. He had never liked Catherine, but in this moment, he loathed her. As a consequence, he demanded, 'But there is a price. Tomorrow you will publicly apologise to Miss Bennet and her family.'

'I will not demean myself,' cried the suddenly horror stricken woman.

'You do not have a choice. You will do this, or they will make your outrageous behaviour public. Can you imagine Lady Sefton being made privy to this juicy bit of gossip? In case you are wondering, she too is a guest in this house tonight. You were fortunate that I begged Ashcroft to keep her away from you.'

Lady Catherine may have been imperious, irascible and irritating, but she was intelligent. 'You knew that I was coming,' she accused. 'And you set a trap for me.'

'Correct. But it would not have worked if you were not so full of yourself. In that case you would have come out completely unscathed.'

'How did you know?'

'It takes only a few minutes to get from Longbourn to here. Bennet's servants are loyal and resourceful.'

'Well, since you arranged for this, you can apologise. I see no need to do so.'

'No. All we did was give you enough rope to hang yourself. If you were a reasonable person, you would not have been so free in throwing out insults. But you insulted Miss Bennet of your own free will. Therefore, you will apologise to her.'

'What can you do to me if I do not?' challenged the lady.

'I can and will have you committed to Bedlam. The public section, where it will be known that you have delusions of grandeur, thinking yourself to be a peer.'

'You would not…' gasped Lady Catherine.

'I will if that is what it takes to prove that you were out of your mind when you made those ridiculous statements,' Lord Matlock said as he rose from the chair. 'The choice is entirely yours.' His parting comment left behind a most disturbed and fearful woman.

~PoP~

Many of the invited guests arriving at Purvis Lodge were astonished to see not only their hosts as part of the receiving line, but also Mr Bennet and Elizabeth, as well as James Bennet.

Bennet delighted in introducing his neighbours to his parents-in-law and to his son. Their reactions were all that he could have wished for.

They ranged from stunned amazement to delight to at last have the opportunity to meet the rest of Bennet's extended family. No matter their initial reaction, everyone was pleased to offer their best wishes for their birthday to Elizabeth and her brother.

As was to be expected, all the matchmaking matrons and every young lady of marriageable age looked at James with great favour. The ladies had never before had a chance at a single young man of wealth who was also endowed with a title. They were fortunate that James had been raised with strict morals and a sense of humour, otherwise he could have had his pick of the ladies.

For once, Mr Bingley and the Hursts prevailed by threatening to leave Caroline behind if she was tardy, and they arrived on time.

Naturally, Miss Bingley was all aflutter during the introductions, but no matter how broadly she hinted that she would be delighted to dance with James and he had but to name his preferred set, he chose to ignore her flirtatious manner. Miss Bingley had just enough sense of self-preservation not to claim any kind of friendship with Elizabeth or Mary. Or perhaps it was the brow raised in challenge by Elizabeth which caused her discretion.

Nevertheless, James did dance every set, but he chose his partners on the advice of Elizabeth.

~PoP~

Since Elizabeth was still greeting guests and Darcy's inclusion in the receiving line would have made it too cumbersome, he enjoyed a relaxed conversation with Fitzwilliam, Mary and Charlotte.

Wanting to be on hand when Elizabeth finished her official duties, they had taken up position near the entrance to the ballroom. Unfortunately, that also made Darcy quite visible to less pleasant company.

Not having had any luck with the Viscount, Miss Bingley hunted for another prey. Seeing Darcy, she strolled over to the group.

'Mr Darcy, I was surprised not to see you in the receiving line. As you and Miss Bennet are courting, I would have expected you to have been included.'

'If everyone of note had been included, the introductions would be taking all night,' Darcy demurred.

'Are you saying that there are guests here which outrank you?'

Fitzwilliam grinned as he answered, 'Apart from my parents, there is at least one Earl and of course we also have a couple of Dukes.'

Miss Bingley forced a smile while she silently lamented the missed opportunities. If she had not discouraged her brother, they could be connected to such high-ranking families. But perhaps all was not lost if she could get Darcy to open the ball with her. Changing the subject, she asked, 'Are you planning on dancing tonight, Mr Darcy?'

'Indeed, I am, and I thank you for reminding me that I still need to secure my dance partner for the first set,' Darcy replied with a pleasant smile. Caroline's hopes soared and she stood straighter until Darcy turned to Charlotte. 'Miss Lucas, as Mr Collins is not here, I pray that your first set is still available.'

'In the absence of my intended, I had not expected to dance the first set, but I would be only too happy to stand up with you.'

'Are you not dancing the first set with Miss Bennet?' Caroline asked, curious why Darcy would have chosen the mousy Miss Lucas for the honour.

'I am afraid that on this day, I had to abdicate that pleasure to the Earl of Ashcroft and the Duke of Barrington, who refused to give up the privilege to dance with the guest of honour.'

'One of the guests of honour,' said James as he joined the group, having finished greeting the last guests. 'But I am fortunate to have a dance partner closer to my own age. Is that not so, Mary?'

'Indeed. You are fortunate that grandmother has injured her ankle, otherwise you could be dancing with her.'

'But since I am to dance with you, I have been sent to fetch you. The dancing will soon be starting.' James offered his arm to Mary, who took it, and nodded at the others as they walked away. 'I you will excuse us.'

Darcy and Charlotte followed suit, leaving Caroline and Fitzwilliam. Even though he was not her preferred dance partner, she smiled at him and said, 'Well, Colonel, that leaves just us…'

'Quite. And I must now claim my charming partner for this set.'

Caroline's hopeful smile turned sour as Fitzwilliam smiled, bowed, and… walked away.

~PoP~

The dancers lined up for the first set. As expected, the Earl of Ashcroft led Elizabeth to the floor, followed by James and Mary.

Several of the peers joined the dancers, including Lord and Lady Matlock. Since the Duke of Denton did not enjoy dancing, Bennet was standing up with his wife. As they waited for the music to begin, the Matlocks looked around and noticed Mrs Bennet in company of their son.

Lady Matlock smiled with approval and commented to her husband, 'He might be a scamp, but at least he has nice manners… dancing with Miss Bennet's grandmother, so that she is not forced to watch the rest of the family.'

Her words caught Matlock's attention and he started to chuckle. 'Did you forget that Mrs Bennet claimed that she would be dancing the first with Miss Mary's suitor?'

Lady Matlock's eyes widened in shock before her expression turned positively gleeful. 'It seems that Richard has found an heiress at last. I just hope that he is serious and prepared to give up the army for her.'

'Thank you for reminding me. I have not had a chance to tell you earlier. Anne's letter mentioned that she is planning to make Richard her heir. He will not actually need an heiress.'

'Well, it seems that it never rains but it pours.'

They did not have a chance to converse further as the music started.

~PoP~

At last, it was time for the supper set. Darcy had done his duty and danced every second dance, after dancing the first with Charlotte Lucas. In the breaks between the set, he had always sought out Elizabeth, but as one of the guests of honour, she had been much in demand.

Now his patience was to be rewarded and he could lead Elizabeth to the floor. 'At last, I have you to myself,' he whispered as they lined up.

'At least as much as it is possible during a ball.' Elizabeth smiled up at him and said, 'I confess that as much as I have enjoyed the dancing, it does not feel right, with the other gentlemen. I was never quite in harmony with any of them the way I am with you.'

Darcy was pleased that Elizabeth felt the same way he did, as the harmony in their movements had been missing with his previous partners. 'I am delighted that I am the only man with whom you so much at ease.'

'Well… there was one,' Elizabeth said in a teasing tone. When Darcy's face clouded over she added, 'James and I have always been in perfect harmony… whenever we were not competing or even fighting.'

'You and your brother fight?'

'I suppose that since you and your sister are so far apart in age, you never had any reason to compete. But can you say the same about you and Colonel Fitzwilliam?'

'You make a good point. Even though we are as close as brothers, there has often been a playful rivalry between us.'

'That is precisely the situation between James and me. But if anyone else tried to hurt the other, we both immediately joined forces.'

'You are fortunate in your relations. I wish all of mine were as pleasant as yours. I always knew that Lady Catherine was difficult, but today she exceeded all bounds of propriety.'

'I confess. Your aunt made me angry when she refused an introduction to my grandmother. While I endeavoured to stay marginally polite, I did bait her.'

'There is no need to feel bad. Lady Catherine was determined to be unpleasant. The only way to avoid her behaving badly was to give in to her.'

'I could never give you up,' exclaimed Elizabeth. A moment later she flushed at her confession.

'I am pleased to hear that because I too would never let anyone come between us.'

Elizabeth suddenly giggled. 'Can you imagine having her as your mother-in-law?'

'Please, never even joke about such a possibility.'

'Very well, but in that case, you must find other topics to amuse us,' Elizabeth challenged Darcy with a smile.

Darcy rose to the challenge, and they spent the pauses in their dances in teasing conversation.

~PoP~

During supper, Elizabeth and Darcy sat with their families at the head table.

As the meal was winding down, Bennet stood up and tapped his glass to attract everyone's attention.

'Dear friends, neighbours, lords and ladies and everyone else I might have missed. It pleases me to announce that not only are we here tonight to celebrate the coming of age of my two eldest children, James and Elizabeth, but that Elizabeth has agreed to marry Mr Darcy. While I might wish to keep her with me for the rest of my days, I think she has made an excellent choice. Please join me in wishing them every happiness.'

He raised his glass. 'To our dear couple, Elizabeth and Darcy.'

~PoP~

A/N: We are nearly at the end. Another chapter or two to wrap things up before the epilogue.

Thanks for reading and commenting.

Warning – about 2 days after I post the epilogue, I will remove the bulk of the story for publication.

Although if you have a KU account, you will still be able to read the story for no cost.

~~PoP~~

A Plethora of Peers (working title) by Sydney Salier, Copyright © 2023