Notes: Many thanks to my wonderful beta reader and co-author Sam. H.
PPP
Darcy was not in the mood to attend an assembly that night, but he dreaded staying at Netherfield with Miss Bingley. He wanted to avoid being alone with her at all costs.
The evening did not start well, with a delay of more than half an hour due to Miss Bingley's gown. Bingley was exuberant and eager to meet his new neighbours, especially the Bennet sisters, as he had heard that they were very pretty. Sir William had even mentioned Miss Bennet as the Jewel of Hertfordshire.
It got worse as they entered the assembly and became the focus of everyone's attention. Amongst them was Elizabeth, who was conversing with Charlotte Lucas. She asked Charlotte in a low voice, "Which one is Mr. Bingley?"
"The red-headed gentleman is Mr. Bingley, the shorter one is Mr. Hurst and the other is Mr. Darcy."
Elizabeth scrutinized the three gentlemen, noticing that Mr. Bingley appeared very friendly with a big smile on his face, Mr. Hurst was rather forgettable, but Mr. Darcy was extremely handsome, though he did not seem to be enjoying himself.
Charlotte continued, "The young woman with Mr. Bingley is his younger sister, and the lady on Mr. Hurst's arm is Mr. Bingley's older sister, Mrs. Hurst."
Elizabeth smiled as she observed the two elegantly dressed ladies who appeared bored, giving the impression that they did not want to be there.
"Lizzy, our respective mothers are calling us." Charlotte interrupted Elizabeth's thoughts.
"Yes, I see."
Knowing her mother now became nervous when her daughters' met new neighbours, Elizabeth went to stand with her and Mary. Mrs. Bennet firmly believed that wealthy gentlemen only visited the countryside to have fun with local girls before returning to London to marry their betrotheds. Elizabeth did not completely agree with this, but to avoid causing her mother more upset, she did not voice her own opinion.
A few minutes later, Sir William came towards them with the new neighbours and introduced them to everyone. Bingley's face lit up as he saw Elizabeth and immediately asked her to dance. Darcy, who was standing nearby, did not say a word, but silently nodded his head to acknowledge them.
As the orchestra began to play, Bingley and Elizabeth joined the couples on the dance floor. Elizabeth, being a great conversationalist, immediately began chatting with Mr. Bingley.
"Have you had the chance to explore the area around Meryton?"
"Not yet. We arrived but two days ago, and I only toured parts of Netherfield," replied Bingley, smiling. "But from what little I have seen, it is a very nice place."
Elizabeth laughed. "Having been born here, I am partial to Hertfordshire, and cannot disagree with your answer. Is this your first time in the area?"
"Yes, and it is the first time I have leased an estate." He added, "I imagine you have heard that my parents were merchants."
"In fact, no. I only arrived from London today, and I have not had time to meet with my neighbours." With a smile, Elizabeth added, "My uncle is a merchant; he has an import & export company, and my older sister is married to a merchant."
Elizabeth changed the subject, "Are you planning to stay at Netherfield for a long time?"
"In principle, I leased the estate for a year, but if I like it, there is the option of purchasing."
They continued talking until the set was over, and Bingley brought her back to her mother. He made a point of standing up with several of the young ladies attending. In contrast, Darcy danced only with Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst, and the rest of the night stood by a pillar, until an excited Bingley approached him to encourage him to dance.
"Come Darcy, you must dance." Bingley urged. "There are so many pretty young women, and there is a shortage of gentlemen."
"There are no pretty young women in this room, and your sisters are dancing."
"How can you say that? There are several very pretty young women, especially Miss Bennet. Look, she is sitting there with her sister. We should ask them to dance."
Darcy looked at the Bennet sisters. Miss Bennet was the only tolerably pretty young woman there, but surely Bingley wanted to dance with her, and he would have to dance with the other. No, he definitely was not interested. In a voice, loud enough to be heard by Elizabeth and Mary, he exclaimed, "No, thank you. They may both be pretty for your standard, but they are barely tolerable by mine. You may ask them to dance. I prefer to stay where I am."
Bingley looked at him horrified, shook his head and indeed went to ask Elizabeth to dance for the second time, and later he danced with Mary.
PPP
As soon as Fanny returned from the assembly, she went straight to her son's bedroom and found him sleeping peacefully. She then went to her husband's study to let him know how the assembly went. Over the last six years, their relationship had significantly improved. Thomas no longer made fun of her nerves, and Fanny had transformed into a more reserved woman.
"How was the rest of the assembly, Fanny? Perhaps I should not have left so early," Thomas asked.
"No, Thomas. It was important for you to return to be with Tommy and the girls. Furthermore, Mr. Jones insists that you need rest to recover." Fanny replied.
Thomas sighed. "Mr. Jones exaggerates. I have not had chest pains for over a month." He gently squeezed her hand and smiled. "Besides, if you recall, I promised you I would live for several more years."
Fanny smiled slightly. Three months earlier, Thomas had suffered a heart attack and had been in serious condition for several days. They had greatly feared he would not survive.
"Mr. Bingley and his party participated." She shook her head, "That young man is too charming for my taste. He danced twice with Elizabeth. I do not trust him. He reminds me too much of Mr. Willow."
"Fanny, while I understand your concern, not all gentlemen are scoundrels. Do try not to worry so much about Elizabeth. She is older now than Jane was then, and is a highly intelligent and sensible young lady. In personality, she is also quite different from Jane." He stood and walked over to his wife, "I asked Mr. Phillips his opinion of Mr. Bingley, and he assured me the young man is a nice gentleman and completely harmless."
"I do hope so, Thomas," she swallowed, "You know how nervous I get when there are new neighbours. Our daughters are the most beautiful young ladies in Meryton, and I am very afraid that one of them will be hurt again."
Thomas hugged her. "That will not happen. We will both make sure of it."
PPP
Meanwhile, in the library of Netherfield Park, a completely different conversation was taking place.
"Charles, I was quite taken aback when you danced a second time with the Jewel of Hertfordshire," Caroline remarked.
"Why were you surprised, Caroline? Miss Bennet is the most beautiful young lady in this vicinity," Charles replied.
"First, because she is not blonde with blue eyes, and secondly because she is not as pretty as Miss Spencer or Miss Randall," Caroline retorted.
"Moreover, her gown was from two seasons ago," added Ms. Hurst.
Before Charles could answer, Caroline eagerly turned to Darcy and asked, "What is your opinion of Miss Bennet, Mr. Darcy? Do you agree with Sir William that she is the Jewel of Hertfordshire?"
With a blank expression, Darcy replied, "Miss. Bingley, I have already given my opinion to your brother, and I believe you heard it too. To my taste, Miss Bennet is barely tolerable, and I hardly think she is a Jewel."
"It seems my dear friend Elinor was correct in what she told me." Caroline sighed dramatically.
"In which aspect is she correct, Caroline?" Bingley asked.
"She had told me that the people of this place are quite rustic, and that her poor brother had to leave Netherfield very quickly, because one of the women had tried to compromise him."
Darcy, knew of Sir Frederick's reputation as a womanizer from their university days, and was aware of several young women ruined by his rakish behaviour, so he ignored Miss Bingley's dismissive comments.
It had been more than a year since Sir Frederick's wife passed away. With only one legitimate child, a daughter – despite possibly having many illegitimate children – he needed to remarry to have an heir. Caroline Bingley had been cultivating a friendship with Sir Frederick's sister for several months, since she desired to become the next Lady Willow.
"He promised me he will make an effort and visit us for a few days, despite his previous bad experience of this place."
"You should not get your hopes up, Caroline. After all, we saw him walking arm in arm with Miss Scotty in Hyde Park, and I heard a rumour that he was courting her."
"There were only rumours, Louisa. I am sure Sir Frederick could not like such a plain woman."
Louisa did not respond; Miss Scotty was the daughter of a baron and had a dowry of 30,000 pounds.