“It seems as though you might be the most well-informed person in the neighborhood on this subject,” said Elizabeth with a grin. “Take care as to who you share this information with. Otherwise, you will not have a single moment to yourself between now and when Mr. Bingley brings his friends and family here.”
“Though your words say that you are not one of the gossip-loving ladies who will vie for such information, the gleam in your eye tells a different story,” said Catherine.
Elizabeth laughed in reply and gave her sister an expectant look, clearly hoping that such news as Catherine had would be shared.
Catherine gave an exaggerated sigh. In truth, she did not mind sharing, since it was one of the only times she had ever known something that her older sisters did not. It made her feel more grown up, stronger somehow.
She shared everything she knew about Mr. Darcy, Miss Bingley, and Mr. Bingley, though the only thing she would say about Georgiana was that they had been roommates and veryclose friends. As she talked, she had a growing curiosity to know what adventures her friend had gotten up to during the summer.
Catherine was not surprised when her information made its way around the neighborhood within a few days. Fortunately, since she did not know Mr. Bingley in the slightest, there was very little about him that preceded his arrival.
Mr. Bingley’s first week in Hertfordshire was spent mostly settling into his environment, receiving and returning calls from the local gentlemen, including Mr. Bennet. When he returned Mr. Bennet’s visit, every female in the house hoped to be introduced to him or to at least see him, but he was shown directly into Papa’s bookroom, and the ladies were only able to see him briefly from an upstairs window as he rode away.
After a week, Mr. Bingley went back to London, but since Kitty’s information that he had invited some people to join him had already spread, no one was particularly bothered about it. They knew he would return. The only concern that was bandied about was that everyone wondered if he would return in time for the assembly on October fifteenth.
When he still had not returned by the end of the day on the fourteenth, hope of seeing him and his guests at the assembly was given up. Even if he did arrive on the next day, he would not be willing to attend an assembly in the evening after a four-hour journey.
The day of the assembly, Longbourn was in uproar from dawn to dusk. Lydia ran around the house asking for advice on what dress to wear, what accessories to wear, and how to style her hair. After receiving the advice she asked for, however, she proceeded to ignore it and make her own decision. An hour or two later, she would change her mind, and the process would begin again.
Mama fluttered about, interfering with each of her daughters’ plans concerning what to wear, though she called it helping rather than interfering.
Elizabeth and Jane were more quiet about it, but they too were quite excited about the assembly. It was the first time any of the sisters would attend a full night of dancing in over two months. Elizabeth loudly mourned the fact that Mr. Bingley would not be there, not because she particularly wished to meet him, though. Rather, it was because there were far too few gentlemen to dance with in the neighborhood, and Mr. Bingley’s party would have added at least two to their paltry number.
Mary was the only one who seemed insensible that the day was to end with an assembly in Meryton, and Catherine couldn’t really blame her. Mary was the plainest of the Bennet sisters. When her looks were combined with her unfortunate tendency to say the wrong thing at the wrong time and her habit of attempting to show off her mediocre musical talents, it was no surprise that she was not a particularly popular choice as a dance partner.
Catherine’s mood and behavior landed somewhere between Lydia’s and Elizabeth’s. She was very much looking forward to the assembly. She loved any opportunity to dress up and look her very best, and she was particularly fond of dancing. Her only disappointment in the day was that Georgiana still had not arrived in the neighborhood.
She consoled herself with the knowledge that Georgiana’s strict brother would have been unlikely to allow Georgiana to attend the assembly anyway.
