“Not a bit of it! You look… like you should have always worn this.” I put my hand to my mouth and gasped, shaking my head. Then I laughed. “If I cannot findsomeman to meet you under the mistletoe, then the loss will be entirely theirs!”
“I don’t even care,” Charlotte sighed dreamily. “I am just happy to be feeling strong enough to enjoy myself.”
An hour later, we stepped through the threshold of the house in Cheapside, our arms laden with boxes and parcels enough to break the carriage axles. Aunt Gardiner met us in the drawing room, her eyes gleaming mischievously.
“So? What did you think? Did I not tell you?”
Jane kissed our aunt on the cheek. “You did, indeed. Madame Duval was everything you said and then more.”
Aunt Gardiner nodded in satisfaction. “Wonderful! And now, I have a delightful revelation and a little surprise to enhance your attire for Mr. Van der Meer’s ball.”
“A surprise, Aunt?” I asked.
She chuckled softly. “I confess I’ve kept a small secret about the nature of the evening.” She led us into the drawing room and drew out three ornate boxes she had hidden behind the settee. “His Twelfth Night Ball is, in fact, a masque.”
We exchanged glances of shock and delight. Jane clapped her hand over her mouth, blinking furiously. Charlotte squealed like Lydia. And I started to laugh randomly, like a foxed idiot as Aunt Gardiner handed us each a box. “For you, my darlings.”
Lifting the box’s lid, I found a breathtaking masque, crafted from the finest silk, accented with dainty feathers. The golden shimmer of it perfectly complemented my gown, as though they were destined to be paired.
“Absolutely captivating!” I whispered as I held it up to my face. “Why, I can go about teasing with impunity, and no one will be the wiser!”
“As if there is a soul who would not know you, even behind that masque,” Charlotte quipped. She held her own deep-purple masque between her hands, her gaze softening. “It’s perfect, Mrs. Gardiner. Thank you.”
Jane held the stem of her masque and peered through the holes into the mirror, the satiny sheen of it capturing the rich blue of her eyes. “These are truly exquisite, Aunt! You’ve outdone yourself.”
I gave Charlotte a playful nudge. “Tomorrow’s festivities promise to be unforgettable. Still think I cannot maneuver some fine figure under the mistletoe with you? I am practically guaranteed success now!”
Charlotte puckered her lips and gave me a teasing pout. “Just remember, Lizzy. What goes around comes around.”
23
5 January
Andsoitwaswith a curious mixture of excitement and trepidation that I found myself assisting Charlotte with her hair on the evening of the ball. The soft brown tendrils seemed to wind themselves around my fingers of their own accord, obediently submitting to the elaborate coiffure I was fashioning for her.
“Elizabeth, you are truly a master at this,” Charlotte marveled, her eyes sparkling with delight as she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the looking glass. “I shall be the belle of the ball—well, one of them. Fancy that! Me! Plain Charlotte Lucas, who never caught a man’s eye in her life that did not turn to her in pity. Would not Mama faint with joy?”
“I say…” I stuck a final pin in her hair and stepped back to view the effect, “that any man who was not perceptive enough to see your beautybeforeis not worthy of you anyway.”
“Then I had better not hear you saying that you finally look beautiful or some nonsense like that.” Charlotte turned in her chair and caught my hand. “Because to me, you are the most beautiful, glorious, faithful, and prodigiouslystubbornwoman in the world.“ She squeezed my hand, a few tears sparkling in the corners of her eyes. “And I am blessed to call you my friend.”
“I could not agree more,” Jane said from across the room. She was adding the finishing touches to her own ensemble, her graceful fingers fastening an exquisite string of pearls around her slender neck that Aunt Gardiner had lent her for this special night. She glanced up at us, her radiant smile lighting up the chamber like a sunbeam piercing through the shadows. “Are you two ready?” she asked, her voice lilting with anticipation.
“Quite so,” I replied, stepping back to admire my handiwork. If I had anything to do with it, Charlotte would find herself kissed this night not once, but a hundred times, by so many admirers that her head would swim—for all the most pleasant reasons. She deserved that. Deserved a memory to cherish for the rest of her life.
Theeveningairwascrisp and invigorating, as if all London itself were brimming with anticipation for Mr. Van der Meer’s grand Twelfth Night masque ball. Our carriage clattered along the cobblestone streets, weaving its way through throngs of revelers bedecked in their finest attire. I could sense the nervous energy emanating from my dear friends, a palpable mix of excitement and trepidation as the hour drew near.
“Oh, Lizzy,” Jane whispered, clutching my hand, “I’m going to be sick!”
“Stuff and nonsense. Your Mr. Bingley will find you out the moment you enter the room, masque or no, and I daresay you will have a ring on your hand by the time the night is through.”
“Easy for you to say,” Jane scoffed. “What if he cannot recognize me?”
“I think you are in no danger of that. I would wager he would know you blindfolded.”
“What makes you so sure?”
What made me so sure? BecauseIknew certain people by the sound of their step, or the slope of their shoulder, or the particular sweep of their hair off their temple. I knew them by the warmth in their eye or the timbre of their voice. And I knew that if the person I loved were before me, even with a masque on, I should feel it deep in my soul. But I only shook my head as I gazed out the window. “Just a feeling.”
