Chapter 6

Elizabeth was impressed with everything she saw. The Wilson mansion was undoubtedly one of the most elegant houses she had ever seen. She was distracted observing the luxurious surroundings and did not notice when Albert came over to greet them.

At the same time, Samuel wondered which of the two young ladies was the one his brother admired. They were both charming, one classically beautiful and the other with very expressive dark green eyes and a lovely smile. Seeing how his brother looked at the dark-haired lady, he knew she was the one.

Albert greeted the Gardiners and the Bennet sisters and immediately introduced them to his brother. Everyone greeted him warmly but did not have the opportunity to talk much because the music began to play, and Albert did not want to miss the chance to dance with the fascinating young lady he had met weeks ago. "Miss Elizabeth, would you do me the honor of dancing with me," he asked, smiling but very nervous at the same time.

"Of course, Mr. Reed. It would be a pleasure to dance with you," Elizabeth replied cheerfully.

"Lizzy, you said you would be seated the whole night, and here you are, ready to dance the first set," jested Mr. Gardiner.

Before going to the dance floor, Elizabeth wanted to talk to Jane and noticed her sister was pale and very nervous. At that moment, she realized Mr. Bingley was staring at her on the other side of the ballroom. Elizabeth looked at her aunt and realized that she had noticed something was happening to Jane.

Mrs. Gardiner asked Jane if she was well, but her niece did not reply. Because of that, she was concerned and did not understand the situation.

Elizabeth, to help Jane, said quickly, "Uncle, I think you should dance with Jane. She cannot miss the first set."

Mrs. Gardiner understood what Elizabeth was trying to do and said to her husband, "I agree, dear. Please, dance with Jane."

"It would be an honor to dance with my dear niece," exclaimed Mr. Gardiner. He would later ask his wife why Jane was so nervous.

Realizing everyone would go to the dance floor, Samuel Reed invited Mrs. Gardiner to dance with him.

Once Mr. Bingley came to his senses, he greeted his Angel. She looked even more beautiful than he remembered, and he felt as if time had not passed and they were together again at the Netherfield ball. He also wanted to dance with her, but unfortunately, the music started, and she went to the dance floor with an older gentleman he did not know.

For her part, Jane was grateful that Elizabeth had the idea to ask her Uncle to dance with her. If Mr. Bingley had approached to speak to her, she was not sure how she would have reacted. Now, she would have almost half an hour to calm her nerves while dancing with Mr. Gardiner. She did not want to make a fool of herself in front of the gentleman who had trifled with her feelings only a few months ago.

The first set had already started, and Albert was dancing and chatting with Elizabeth. "I am so glad you came to this. If it were not for you, your family, and my brother, I would never have attended an event like this." Albert felt he could be honest with Elizabeth because she would not judge him.

"I am surprised, Mr. Reed. You are quite a friendly person. I thought you would not mind socializing in a ball," Elizabeth explained.

"Of course, I like to attend balls and social gatherings, but the people here in London are very arrogant, and they do not relate to each other with sincere interest but rather for mutual benefit. That hypocrisy is something difficult for me to tolerate." Albert explained his experiences with people from the first circle to Elizabeth more.

Elizabeth listened to her new friend with sincere interest. She knew he was correct; many despised people in trade but had no qualms about turning to them when they needed money.

In addition to listening carefully to Mr. Reed, Elizabeth looked at her sister to ensure her well-being. Then suddenly, in one of the turns, she met with Mr. Darcy's gaze. She could not understand why he was looking at her reprovingly. But even though she did not like it, she could not help but return his gaze.

Albert, who was observing Elizabeth, noticed how Mr. Darcy looked at her and how she seemed mesmerized by him. Of course, he did not like that Darcy might be interested in the same lady as him and was thinking of discovering what was behind it all.

On his part, Mr. Darcy could not believe how beautiful Elizabeth Bennet looked. As he watched her dance and converse with Albert, he could not help but remember the only time he had danced with her at Netherfield. But when she turned and met his gaze, he felt that the world had stopped at that moment, and in that room, there was no one but the two of them. Then, unfortunately, someone broke the spell, and a shrill voice brought him back to reality.

"My dear Lord and Lady Matlock, I do not know if you remember him, but this is my son Peter Daniels, Westwood's Master." Dorothy Daniels would not waste time, and she would again insist on promoting a rapprochement between her daughter and Mr. Darcy.

"Of course, I remember Mr. Daniels," Lord Matlock said dryly. The Fitzwilliams were a family that attached great importance to the origin, and he remembered very well that Peter's father bought the estate with money from trade. Therefore, his sister, Lady Anne, never allowed her husband to socialize with the family that owned the second-largest property in Derbyshire.

Peter and Emily greeted the Fitzwilliams with moderate enthusiasm. They felt slightly embarrassed, seeing their mother do everything she could to please those pompous people while they barely spoke to them.

But Peter did not care about their opinion. He knew that Mr. Darcy was the only wealthy and important member of that family, which is why he found Lord Matlock's behavior out of place. He was an insignificant member of the peerage and had more debts than money. "Darcy, I have not seen you in a long time! How has life treated you?" Peter greeted his old friend, trying to avoid talking to Lord Matlock.

"Daniels, it is a pleasure," Mr. Darcy answered honestly. At that moment, he realized that Miss Daniels, who he had met a few days ago, was the sister of his esteemed university classmate. He only hoped that his friend would not insist that he dance with Emily and that he would not speak to him to promote a relationship between them.

Emily greeted Mr. Darcy politely but without much interest. She had noticed that Albert Reed was dancing with a beautiful dark-haired lady, and she was sure she was the same person from the museum. She felt a little disappointed, but she decided to stop looking at the man she had dreamed of on more than one occasion and pay attention to her brother's conversation. She was aware that Albert Reed had been nothing more than the infatuation of a fifteen-year-old girl, and she was not fifteen anymore.

When the first set ended, Charles Bingley, closely followed by his two sisters and brother-in-law, immediately approached Jane Bennet and his friend Albert Reed.

"Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth, you do not know how glad I am to see you. My friend Reed told me you were in town, and I planned to call on you one of these days." Charles was extremely nervous but happy to be near his Angel again.

Caroline and Louisa greeted the entire group with pretended happiness and fake smiles. "My dear Jane, you look gorgeous in that dress," Caroline said.

"Yes, that color suits you very well, my dear Jane," Louisa added. She and her sister wanted to prevent Jane from telling Charles about her visit a few weeks ago.

"Miss Eliza, your dress is very nice as well, although that design is from the last season. But for someone like you, who is not used to socializing with people from the first circles, I suppose it is acceptable." Caroline hated Elizabeth because Mr. Darcy had never taken an interest in her as he did with that impertinent chit.

Albert and Samuel simultaneously thought that the Bingley sisters were just like their mother: self-centered, full of prejudices, always trying to discredit others to feel more important. But when they heard Elizabeth's response, they could barely hide their smiles and, in Albert's case, his admiration.

"You are correct, Miss Bingley. I am not used to socializing with important people like you, and I must confess that I do not follow the latest fashion. But the truth is that does not concern me. I love this gown because it was a gift from my Aunt, whom I adore. I do not live by the opinion of others, and if I feel good, I do not really care about the opinion of people I do not know and to whom I do not owe anything." Elizabeth was satisfied with her answer, and she smiled sincerely. She knew that nothing Caroline had said was true. In fact, the hostess wore a dress quite similar to hers, probably also made by Madame Dupont.

Caroline was furious as she watched everyone celebrate ridiculous Eliza's words. But she preferred not to continue with the conversation because she was not interested in the opinions of merchants and ordinary people. Instead, she chose to conserve her energies to keep her brother under her control.

Peter Daniels and his sister did not feel comfortable in the presence of the Matlocks, even though his mother was very interested in continuing to talk with them. He was eager to find an excuse to escape them, so when he saw Albert Reed, he decided to greet him. "Mother, I shall go to talk to an old friend. I do not know if you remember him, Albert Reed."

Emily wasted no time and said effusively, "I shall accompany you, brother." That way, she could distance herself from her mother, the Matlocks, and Mr. Darcy. She also could greet the gentleman she remembered and admired for so long. Perhaps by talking to him, all her childhood dreams would dissipate, and she would realize that Mr. Reed was not the man she thought he was. But she could appreciate that, at least physically, he was even more handsome than she remembered.

Mrs. Daniels knew that Albert was one of their low-class friends her son liked so much and decided to remain by Countess Matlock's side. Although she did not like that her daughter missed the opportunity to converse with Mr. Darcy, she could not create a scene that would attract the attention of such distinguished people as her new friend. But as soon as they arrived home, she would tell Emily everything she was thinking.

"Daniels, I shall join you to greet Reed and his group. I know several people there." Of course, Mr. Darcy could not miss the opportunity to at least say hello to Elizabeth.

Jane did not know what to do or say. She was overwhelmed by the situation. Fortunately, the second set started, and Mr. Bingley had not asked her to dance. However, she did not know how she would act if they had a chance to converse more privately.

The truth was that Caroline and Louisa had taken it upon themselves to monopolize the conversation to prevent Charles from asking Jane to dance the second set with him. At all costs, they would deter their brother from spending time alone with that woman and falling into her clutches again. Just when Charles had managed to silence his sisters and would ask Jane to dance the third set with him, Peter, Emily, and Mr. Darcy joined the group.

"Albert Reed, I hope you remember your old friend?" Peter said, smiling.

Albert was surprised to hear someone speak to him with such familiarity, but when he saw his old friend, Peter Daniels, he was pleased to meet him again. "Daniels, it is good to see you after so long."

Albert introduced the Daniels to his new partner, Mr. Gardiner, and his wife and nieces. Samuel already knew him, so he greeted him warmly.

Peter had graduated before Charles came to Cambridge, so they did not know each other. So Albert introduced them, and Peter introduced his sister to the whole group. A pleasant conversation began between them, and they spent several minutes talking about Cambridge, Derbyshire, and the north of the country where most of them were from.

Mr. Darcy greeted everyone as well but paid little attention to what was happening around him. He was courteous but distant and very brief when he provided his opinion. As a result, he looked awkward, and everyone preferred to leave him alone and did not try to speak directly to him.

At the first opportunity, Mr. Darcy discreetly approached Elizabeth and began speaking about London and the ball. When the second set was almost over, and without knowing why, he asked Elizabeth the question he promised not to ask. "Miss Elizabeth, if you are not otherwise engaged, would you do me the honor of dancing the next set with me?"

Elizabeth was stunned when Mr. Darcy sought her company, but even more when he asked her to dance. Unfortunately, no one had asked for the third set, so she could not refuse. "I... I had not, I thank you. Yes, Mr. Darcy," was her reply. She did not know this gentleman's intentions, but she was unwilling to let him ruin the rest of the evening with his criticisms and accusing stares.

P&P

"Miss Lydia, how nice it is to see you," said Mr. Wickham to the silliest of all the women he had ever met. She was even more foolish than Georgiana Darcy, although she was pretty. Something was happening in Meryton because he had no more credit in any shop, and for several weeks, he had not received invitations of any kind. That day, there was a social gathering at the Phillips, but he had not received an invitation. However, he knew that Lydia would leave the house at some point, and when he saw her come out, he took advantage and immediately approached her.

Lydia became very nervous. Her father had warned her not to approach or speak to Mr. Wickham. Mr. Bennet usually paid little attention to what she did, so she knew he was serious this time. So, she would try to disobey him as little as possible. However, she could not avoid such a handsome officer, so she decided to say at least hello. "Mr. Wickham, how are you?"

Wickham noticed that when she spoke, Lydia looked around her. He knew he could extract the information he needed from that silly girl. But before getting to the heart of the matter, he spent a few minutes flattering Lydia, and of course, she believed every one of the lies he told her.

After five minutes of inconsequential conversation, Wickham thought it was wise to ask. "Miss Lydia, I have the impression that you, your family, and many other people in this community are avoiding me." He paused to pretend he was sad and continued to play the victim. "What did I do to you, my dear Miss Lydia? Is there any way I can regain your friendship?"

Lydia was getting more nervous, but she was very sorry to see Mr. Wickham so heartbroken. He was such a handsome gentleman that he did not deserve to be shunned. But at the same time, her father had threatened to lock her in her room and take her pin money away if she ignored his order. So she decided to tell him she was forced to stay away from him. "Mr. Wickham, I would love to be your friend, but my father forbade me to be near or speak to you."

"And do you know why your father asked you to do that?" asked Wickham curiously.

Lydia looked around, and when she made sure no one was seeing or hearing her, she whispered. "A friend of my uncle told him many horrible lies about you, and he demanded that my father not allow us near you."

After Lydia finished speaking, Kitty called her and told her the card game would begin. Lydia said goodbye sadly and entered the house, leaving a meditative Mr. Wickham.

'Who was that friend? Maybe the damn Richard Fitzwilliam. Anyway, if things get impossible in this town, I still have a card up my sleeve, and if necessary, I plan to use it,' Wickham thought.

P&P

Many thanks to everyone who leaves supportive comments and enthusiastically follows the story.

In the next chapter, there will be more action at the Wilson ball

Saludos,

Yo