11. Chapter 11

June 8, 2014 - I had a BBQ to attend this afternoon so this is a bit late coming. You are so spoiled by my near clockwork posting!

Anyway, we survived the ball, but the night is not yet over...

Chapter 11

Darcy took his time walking back to the library after escorting Georgiana to her room. His thoughts kept going back to his dances with Elizabeth. Elizabeth, she had been Elizabeth in his mind for some time now. She would always be Elizabeth to him. At the beginning of the first dance she was almost playful, as if she were purposefully trying to make him smile. Then she turned thoughtful as he told her about Wickham. Next she seemed grateful when she acknowledged that she was relieved the scoundrel had not taken her in. She was gentle when their conversation turned to Bingley and her sister. She did not betray any confidences but she had gently led him to understand that there was more to her sister than he had seen.

Next she artfully changed the conversation to their mutually favorite topic, Georgiana. Finally she had astounded them both by her recitation of her opinion of his character. She seemed as affected as he was, almost as if she had seen him for the first time. Their second dance? How could he put it into words when none were spoken? Once again Elizabeth had shown that she knew when there was an appropriate time for silence. What had she been thinking? He had thought her so beautiful, so graceful, so alive! If she had spoken to him he was not sure he could have spoken in reply. So alert were all of his senses to her!

'Elizabeth, it is not fair! Had you been born to my circle I would be on my knee right now begging you to have me! How can any acceptable woman match up to you! What will I do now? I need to secure an heir. It would not be fair to another woman to have her live in your shadow in my mind! Oh, Elizabeth!'he thought. How could he stand to be around her? How could he tear himself away? If she were not Georgiana's best friend he would flee, avoid her. But he could not. He could not do that to either of them. He would have to distance himself another way. He would remain polite, but he must guard himself when in her presence. With this resolve he entered the library to do his duty to his friend.

Bingley was anxious to see his friend. He had always relied on Darcy to give him good advice when he was planning something major. Well, now he was planning for the most significant undertaking of his life and he wanted his friend's blessing for the course of action he was prepared to take.

"I say, old man, I had a very agreeable evening. I hope the neighborhood enjoyed themselves as much as I did! Would you like a brandy?"

"Yes please. Bingley, I must congratulate you and your sister too. Your first ball at Netherfield was a rousing success! I dare say it will be the chief topic of conversation for weeks to come."

"Thank you, Darcy! It was a grand evening," Bingley sighed as he poured their drinks.

"Bingley, I do not think the ball will be the only topic of conversation about tonight."

"Whatever do you mean, Darcy?" he said as he handed Darcy his brandy.

"Are you aware of the general opinion of the neighborhood regarding your acquaintance with, Miss Bennet?"

"No, what are people saying?" he asked guardedly, sipping his drink.

"It seems that the general opinion is that you are very shortly to make an offer to Miss Bennet."

"And if I am?"

"Bingley, what are your intentions toward Miss Bennet?"

"I plan on calling on Mr. Bennet tomorrow to ask permission to formally court Miss Bennet, Darcy."

"Hmm?"

"Do you not approve of Miss Bennet, Darcy, do you believe she is a fortune hunter?"

"Charles," Darcy hardly ever called him Charles. Bingley knew he was being completely open with him now. "I do not now believe Miss Bennet to be a fortune hunter. Neither do I know what her true feelings are for you. That is for you to determine."

"What do you mean by 'now', William?"

"I mean that tonight I was told, by someone who should know, that she would never leave her family for someone she did not love."

"Miss Elizabeth told you this?"

"Yes, not in so many words. But she revealed enough about her sister tonight that I can safely tell you that this is true."

"But you still have doubts about my course of action?"

"You have only known her a short while."

"How long is long enough, William? I think I have loved her since the first night I saw her."

"There are other things besides love to consider when choosing a spouse, Charles."

"Such as?"

"You must know that the Bennet girls have little to no dowry. Miss Elizabeth has told Georgiana that they do not."

"And?"

"And Miss Bennet has no significant connections. She has an uncle in trade and an uncle who is an attorney."

"She is a gentleman's daughter, William!"

"Yes, whose estate is entailed upon my Aunt's clergyman for God's sake!"

"And what am I, Darcy? My father was a tradesman. Where do you think my fortune came from? Someday I may become a gentleman farmer if I buy an estate. But if I do not then what am I really, William?"

"Charles, are you willing to become responsible for Miss Bennet's family if something should befall Mr. Bennet?"

"Of course I am! It may not be easy but I have enough to take care of them. And her sisters will most likely be all married by then anyway."

"And what of Mrs. Bennet? Could you endure her as a mother-in-law? Her manners, indeed the manners of her youngest three daughters leave much to be desired, especially the youngest."

"William, it is most likely they will grow out of it somewhat. They are young and have much to learn. But the point is, if I marry I do not marry them, I marry Miss Bennet. If that is what I want then why should these other insignificant things have any bearing on me."

"I am afraid that you would come to resent Miss Bennet for all of these 'insignificant things' in the future. Charles, I do not wish to see you hurt."

"William, I understand and I thank you for your concern. It does you credit that you are so concerned for me. But I have a question to ask you. Would you have wanted your father to reject your mother if she had not been Lady Anne Fitzwilliam? What if she had been the daughter of some lower born gentleman like Mr. Bennet? Would you have had him walk away from the love of his life over money or an overbearing sister-in-law? I will not. I will not let them stand in the way of spending the rest of my life with the woman I love!"

At this Darcy was silent. He did not know how to reply. Would his answer affect more than Bingley's suit with the eldest Miss Bennet?

Before he could formulate an answer, a servant entered the room with a letter on a tray for Bingley.

"Excuse me sir, this express just came for you."

"Thank you, you may go."

Bingley opened the letter and began to read. Darcy watched him blanch while reading its contents.

"Whatever is it Charles, you look as though it bears ill news?"

"It is from my solicitor in Manchester. There has been a fire. My main warehouse there has been destroyed. Fortunately it was mostly empty or I might have been ruined! William, I most go to Manchester at once. I cannot allow anyone to act on this for me. I must do this myself!"

Darcy only nodded in confirmation.

"Why now? Why does this happen when I am ready to formally declare my intentions to the woman I love and wish to marry?"

"Charles, perhaps there is some good to this timing."

Bingley looked at him incredulously.

"Do you remember that one of the first concerns I expressed to you was the short length of your acquaintance with Miss Bennet? Perhaps this time away will give both of you a chance to gain some perspective. Go to Manchester. Take care of your business there. If you still feel as strongly for Miss Bennet when you are finished then you can return here and ask permission to court her. She may then let you know if her feelings have stood the test of time as well. If they have, then she will accept your suit. If not, you have not committed yourself to a course of action that will only lead to unhappiness for you both."

"I do not know, William, what will she think if I leave without giving her any assurances?

"Then call on her before you leave. Tell her your business and assure her that you will return to call on her when your business is finished. This way she will know that you are not just running away from her and all you have committed yourself to is a call upon your return."

"I see the wisdom in your advice, William. I will think on it tonight and decide what to do when I call on Miss Bennet tomorrow."

"When will you leave for Manchester?"

"The day after tomorrow. I am sorry to leave you like this. I know Caroline will want to return to Town as soon as she can. She does not care for the country. You are welcome to stay here with Georgiana if you want."

"No Charles, we will leave as well, you know we should not stay if Miss Bingley leaves. I will have the servants begin packing and prepare to leave when you leave."

"You do not want to be left with Caroline without me to protect you?" Bingley teased.

Darcy was glad to see his friend smile again. Tonight did not go as badly as he feared. He had done his duty to his friend and Bingley did not reject him because of it. He never had answered his question though. He hoped Bingley would not remember and press him for an answer because he really did not know if he wished to answer it. Its implications were more than he cared to think about right now.

Instead he just answered, "Good night, Charles. Thank you for the drink. I shall see you in the morning."

That night as Elizabeth prepared for bed Jane came in to talk over the events of the ball with her.

"I see you survived the first two dances with our cousin, Lizzy."

"Barely! I was so relieved when it was over and he went to claim his dances with the rest of you. By the time he made it back my card was full and I could refuse him without losing the pleasure of dancing the rest of the evening. I was surprised to see you only dance two sets with your Mr. Bingley though."

"Lizzy! He is not 'my' Mr. Bingley. It would have been improper to dance any more."

"I thought that by the end of the evening he might have a claim to that right."

"There is no arrangement between us, Lizzy. But what about you? I see that you kept to your resolution to reserve the last dance for your dinner partner."

Jane was amazed to see her sister blush. It had been a running joke with them for years.

"Oh Jane, I was so embarrassed. At the end of dinner he asked me if he could have another dance. He was amazed I had the last dance available. When I told him that I did and why I could have died with embarrassment. Fortunately he took it all in good stride and even teased me about it with Papa afterwards."

"And did you enjoy you dances with the gentleman."

"Yes, very much."

Jane wished for more but knew Elizabeth well enough to know that her sister would not be pressed to say more than she wished. She seemed reluctant to even speak about it. What had happened?

"Do you think Mr. Darcy dances as well as Mr. Bingley?"

"Jane, there is no way I will answer that question!" Jane succeeded in drawing her sister's spirits back out. "If I say Mr. Darcy then you will think I prefer him. If I say Mr. Bingley you will go on and on praising him! No! I shall not answer your question. And now it is late and I think we both need to get to bed. Goodnight, Jane. I am glad you had a magical time!"

"Good night, Lizzy, I think you enjoyed yourself more than you are willing to admit." With that Jane closed the door and went to her bedchamber.

Mr. Collins had enjoyed himself tonight very much. Tomorrow all of his hopes and plans would come to fruition. He would secure Miss Elizabeth as the companion of his future life. She was the favorite of Miss Darcy, the niece of his noble patroness, which must be counted in her favor. And Lady Catherine would be pleased with Elizabeth's lively manners, once she learned to treat her ladyship with the respect and silence due such a noble personage. Yes, tomorrow would be a great day indeed! He fell asleep reliving his dances with his Elizabeth.

Mr. Bennet went to bed that night having enjoyed his evening immensely. His absurd cousin had diverted him with his horrendous dancing. He only felt sorry that his daughters had to partner him. And unless he was very much mistaken, he anticipated having to deny a request to marry his Elizabeth either by the man himself before he asked her or by her mother after Elizabeth rejected him. Yes, tomorrow would be a very entertaining day.

Mrs. Bennet went to sleep that evening very satisfied. She had seen enough to know that very soon her dearest Jane would be the next mistress of Netherfield and her next daughter would be assured of succeeding her as mistress of Longbourn. She would never have to worry about being cast out of her home to starve in the hedgerows. Yes, it was a very good evening.

Mary Bennet went to bed that evening resolved to seek out her sister Elizabeth the next day. She was tired of being the Bennet sister who was always looked over. Well, Elizabeth had not looked over her tonight and she was very grateful. Perhaps there was more to being a lady than could be found in her books of sermons on upright behavior. Elizabeth and Jane were fine ladies and it was time to ask for their help. Yes, tomorrow she would seek Elizabeth out.

Kitty and Lydia went to bed that night with red coats dancing in their heads. They had danced every dance with one officer or another. Lydia was sorry Mr. Wickham was not there, she was sure he would look very handsome in his regimentals. But he had been transferred just days before. He must be some soldier to be in such high demand! Yes, to dance with an officer was heaven!

Jane went to bed that evening full of Mr. Bingley. She had seen the look of adoration in his eyes. He said he would come and see her tomorrow. Would tomorrow bring the culmination of all her hopes? Would she finally be able to call him Charles? He had been Charles to her since the night of that first assembly when they had met and danced together. Yes, tomorrow promised to be a very good day.

Elizabeth went to bed that evening very confused. What was happening? She could not allow herself to fall in love with Mr. Darcy. He was the brother of her best friend! She must guard her heart because she was too far beneath him. But how could she guard her heart? Tomorrow, she would think on it tomorrow after she had a good night's sleep to clear her thoughts.

Miss Bingley went to bed that evening very vexed. The country nothing, Eliza Bennet had somehow managed to ingratiate herself with HER Mr. Darcy! To see Darcy stand up with the little tramp twice was…infuriating. And Charles! What was he doing! Surely he could do better than Jane Bennet! While Jane was a sweet thing, she was a nothing, a nobody. Any connection to the Bennets would be an abasement. She must find a way to get Charles out of Hertfordshire before it was too late! Yes, tomorrow she would figure out a way to save Charles!

Mr. Hurst went to bed that evening thinking of nothing. He had passed out and his valet had to get him into bed. Yes, tomorrow he would wake up with the usual headache.

Mrs. Hurst went to bed that evening somewhat relieved. Mr. Hurst had passed out and she would not have to deal with any drunken amorous advances for the evening. She was also relieved to escape her sister. Caroline had been in a foul mood all evening, only because Mr. Darcy sensibly did not ask her to open the ball with him. Sooner or later Caroline would see that any efforts to attach Mr. Darcy were futile. He couldn't care three straws about her. Yes, tomorrow she would have to speak to her sister.

Mr. Bingley went to bed that evening in turmoil. He knew he had found the woman he wished to marry. But he also knew he could do nothing about it until he returned from Manchester. Why did this have to happen now! He would call on Miss Bennet personally to explain why he was leaving and to ask if he could call again when he returned to Netherfield. Yes, tomorrow night maybe he would be able to sleep, for sleep would not come easily tonight.

Miss Darcy went to bed very happy with the events of the evening. She had enjoyed herself very much. Fitzwilliam had looked so dashing and Elizabeth so beautiful. She began to think of Elizabeth as the sister she always wanted. Yes, tomorrow she would begin matchmaking between her brother and her best friend.

Darcy went to bed exhausted, yet he could not immediately fall asleep. Memories of the dances he shared with Elizabeth flooded his mind. He recalled the exhilaration of her touch as they moved through the patterns, her startling revelation of esteem for his character, the eloquence of her silence. He was falling in love with her and he could not allow it. Yes, first thing tomorrow morning he would make the arrangements for their removal to the safety of Derbyshire.

You didn't think I would make it too easy on every one now, did you?