Early December 1811

For the three days leading up to the Matlocks' ball, Elizabeth visited the best shops and dressmakers in London, ordering three evening and three morning gowns. She would wear one of them to the ball. She knew very well the importance of making an excellent first impression that night. She would be under the scrutiny of the leading ladies and gentlemen of the Ton. She also bought expensive shoes to match each of her gowns, a beautiful tiara, gloves, and new fans.

On the night of the ball, she carefully dressed in one of her beautiful new gowns, which was a pale-yellow silk with golden embroideries. She wore a flattering hairstyle with the tiara in her hair and a beautiful brooch on her gown. She also chose the jewels from the Darcy collection which complemented her outfit very well.

When she was finally ready, Darcy was spellbound: "You look more beautiful than ever, my Love." He softly kissed her lips, "Tonight I will be the envy of all the gentlemen at the ball."

"You are also very handsome. The blue suit looks so fine on you, it brings out the color of your eyes."

"I will keep it in mind and I promise to wear blue suits more often." He kissed both her hands.

"I am glad to hear it…"

PPP

Although the Maltocks' house was only four blocks from the Darcys' house, they decided to go by carriage instead of walking. They knew that many of the high-society guests would watch them closely to find any flaws, which they would then use to criticize.

Elizabeth's first impression of the Matlocks was not a good one. The four-story house was bigger than her husband's, and to her liking, it had too many ostentatious decorations: hundreds of candles lit the ballroom, and there were several vases with fresh flowers and mirrors.

Lady Matlock was elegantly dressed and had several expensive jewels complementing her gown. She had probably been a beautiful woman in her youth, but she had a haughty expression and an icy look. Lord Matlock was tall, and stern-looking.

The Matlocks looked Elizabeth up and down, then looked at Darcy. They greeted both with barely any courtesy, and then completely ignored them.

In comparison, Sir Richard seemed genuinely happy to see his cousin again, and with a smile, he approached Darcy and greeted him, "Darcy, I am so glad you came tonight. Would you please introduce me to your lovely wife?"

"I am happy to be here; congratulations on your well-deserved promotion, cousin." Darcy smiled and looked at Elizabeth adding, "This is my wife Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy, Elizabeth, this is my cousin Sir Richard."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Darcy." He gallantly kissed her hand, "I have heard so much about you, and have been eager to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine, Sir Richard; I have wanted to meet you as well."

"I hope my cousin has put in a good word for me," He grinned, "would you do me the honor of dancing the third or fourth set with me?"

"It would be my pleasure…"

A few minutes later, the first chords began to sound, and the Darcys stood in the center of the ballroom. Several couples were curious to get to know Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, and especially Mrs. Darcy better.

Among the onlookers was Lady Denton. She was a beautiful woman of about thirty who had been married for more than a decade to a baron twenty-five years her senior. For several years, she had had a clandestine affair with Frederick Darcy.

Frederick's death had deeply affected her. She had been madly in love with Frederick. She also had her suspicions about who may have murdered him.

PPP

Until that moment, Darcy had rarely had the pleasure of dancing with his wife. He thoroughly enjoyed those two sets. From how the Darcys looked at each other, their hands that touched each other for longer than required and their smiles while dancing, several women concluded the Darcys were very much in love.

Smiling, Darcy asked, "Have I told you how much I enjoy dancing with you, Mrs. Darcy?"

Elizabeth smiled and replied, "I am enjoying dancing with you too, Mr. Darcy. So far you have not stepped on me."

"Um, perhaps tonight will be the first time I step on them to prevent you from dancing with other gentlemen." He added quietly, "I wish you would just dance with me, my Love."

"Don't you even want me to dance with your cousin?"

"I can make an exception for Richard..."

During the set Elizabeth danced with Richard, and Darcy chatted with Mr. Hudson, who had been good friends with Frederick Darcy since university.

With sadness, Mr. Hudson said, "The death of your brother was a great loss. It seems incredible that justice has not yet been served."

"To do justice, it is imperative to find the culprit." Darcy replied ruefully, "Unfortunately at the moment the investigators don't have any reliable leads."

Mr. Hudson nodded and in a low voice asked, "Have your investigators spoken to Lady Denton yet?"

"Lady Denton?"

"Yes; I don't know if you were aware she was a good friend of your brother."

Darcy glanced at Lady Denton, who was dancing with a gentleman Darcy knew only superficially.

"Are you sure?" He asked quietly.

"Of course, all of London knows it."

"And the lady's husband?"

"He cares little about what she does..." he replied in a low voice.

The rest of the ball passed without any major incidents. Darcy conversed with some acquaintances who congratulated him on his choice of wife. He danced with a few ladies who were considered spinsters and others who were married. He couldn't dance with Lady Denton because all of her sets had already been promised for the evening.

Elizabeth danced every set, and generally made a good impression. At one point in the evening, at Darcy's request, she even had the opportunity to converse with Lady Denton.

PPP

The following afternoon, Elizabeth invited Mrs. Gardiner and Jane for tea. She had not seen Jane for months, and the meeting was effusive. Elizabeth noticed that her cousin had a special shine in her eyes, and she was even more beautiful than ever. They discussed various subjects, including her imminent return to Longbourn.

Jane said, "My uncle can't leave London before Christmas. So, I have decided to travel by stagecoach to spend Christmas at Longbourn." With sadness, Jane added, "Mr. Jones thinks my father has a few weeks left to live."

"In her last letter, Mary told me the sad news. If you wish, you can travel with us to Longbourn the day before Christmas Eve."

Jane nodded, "Thank you, Lizzy. I confess I don't like traveling by stagecoach."

Elizabeth added, "I also wanted to assure you that the doors of Pemberley will always be open for your family, and if you wish to live with us…"

Jane gently squeezed Elizabeth's hand and interrupted her, "Thank you very much Lizzy, but I will remain in London with the Gardiners." She smiled, and added, "there's something I want to tell you that I haven't told my parents or my sisters yet."

Elizabeth looked at her expectantly, "Two days ago Mr. Jameson asked my permission to court me, and I have accepted."

After a few seconds, Elizabeth exclaimed, "Congratulations! Are you happy?"

"I am very happy; if it were not for my father's illness, I could affirm that I have never been so happy."

"What wonderful news! I wish you both every happiness. I would like to meet Mr. Jameson."

"If you want to meet him, come to my house tomorrow for tea." Mrs. Gardiner offered.

Elizabeth thought for a moment and sadly replied, "Unfortunately, tomorrow I have another commitment..."

They went on talking about the virtues of Mr. Jameson, and to a lesser extent Longbourn and Pemberley...