Somehow working a wave of his hand into the rhythm and movement of the dance, he said, “It makes little difference to me. I never care very much what people say about me. It all feels so far out of my control that I simply ignore it.”
“I feel the same,” said Kitty. “Many of my schoolmates were obsessed with maintaining a pristine reputation, but it was always for the sake of marrying a man who cared about such things. Since I have no intention of marrying, I do not care quite as much as some others. Of course, I would never behave so badly that it endangered my sisters’ reputations, nor would I ever wish to be impolite or insulting. However, allowing you to call me Kitty could hardly be that bad, at least not here in Hertfordshire.”
The dance came to a point where they clasped hands and spun each other around. As they did, Lord Hilldale said in a low voice that made Kitty’s spine tingle, “Then I shall call you Kitty, henceforth.”
A minute or two of silence passed between them as they danced until Lord Hilldale broke it. “You mentioned before thatyou do not wish to marry. Such a decision is so far out of the norm that it has made me curious as to why that should be.”
“My father’s estate, Longbourn, is entailed to the male line,” she explained. “Since he has no sons, that means that the moment my father dies, my sisters, my mother, and I will be forced to live upon our own resources. Other than my dowry, the only money we have is my mother’s portion of five thousand pounds, which is barely enough to see to the necessities of life for six women and would certainly not be comfortable.
“For as long as I can remember, my mother has bemoaned this fate, so fear was instilled in me of living in such a way. When I inherited my fortune, I was overjoyed at being able to be the means of lifting that fear from my mother as well as myself, but I quickly learned that if I married a man who had no intention of caring for my family, it would all be for nought. Thus, I decided that I would never be willing to take that chance. I will remain unwed, so that I may provide safety and comfort to my family when they need it.”
The moves of the dance separated them for a few moments. When they came back together, Lord Hilldale was as serious as she had ever seen him. “Your fortune must be very large for you to have gone to the same school as Georgiana,” he said.
Catherine knew he was asking how much it was. She didn’t like to discuss it, but here in Meryton it was no secret, simply because Mama could not keep secrets. “When I originally inherited it, the amount was a little over fifty-one thousand pounds. That was almost four years ago. It has been sitting in the funds ever since, though some of it was used to fund my education and wardrobe. I am hoping my father will allow some of it to be used to fund dowries for my sisters, though he has not given specific permission yet.”
Catherine expected the revelation of how much her fortune was to create surprise, but he made no comment on it, and his expression did not change. When next he spoke, he said, “You must care a great deal for your sisters and your mother.”
“I do,” she said simply. Even though she had been away from them all a great deal in the last three years, even though she sometimes felt uncomfortable at Longbourn, Catherine’s family meant the world to her, and she was adamant that she would be the means by which they remained happy and free.
~~~~~
The following day, Mrs. Lucas and her daughters, Maria and Charlotte, all visited Longbourn to discuss the assembly. After a complete night of dancing, there was always much to discuss, though their new neighbors took up much of their focus.
The fact that Jane had attracted Mr. Bingley enough that he requested a second dance from her was particularly noteworthy, but Elizabeth’s dance with Mr. Darcy was commented on a great deal as well.
Though Mr. Darcy had only danced the once with Elizabeth, everyone in the neighborhood had noticed that Mr. Darcy seemed to admire her far more than he had any of his other dance partners. Surprisingly, Elizabeth made no comment to anyone’s request for more information. She seemed decidedly uncomfortable with the subject, and she kept glancing at Catherine any time it came up.
There was also much discussion of Lord Hilldale, though he was not paired off with anyone even in their imagination. Everyone complimented him, saying he had been universallypolite, but no one could even pretend he had a preference for any one particular lady.
It made sense. Most of the residents had never even met an earl’s heir, and there had never been one residing in the neighborhood for as long as anyone could remember. It would be the height of pretension to think that any of them could attract someone like that.
The only exception came at the end of their discussion. Charlotte made a throwaway comment that Lord Hilldale had seemed just a bit more cheerful or more comfortable in Catherine’s company than in anyone else’s. Catherine stopped that thread of conjecture by saying that it was simply because this was not the first time they had met.
In her own mind, however, Catherine could not help but compare Lord Hilldale’s behavior at the assembly to his behavior at Pemberley. When she had seen him two years ago, he was even more angry and less sociable than he was now. Secretly, she wondered why he carried around so much anger that it occasionally poured off him, but she did not think too hard about it. There was no way she would ever find out something that was clearly so personal.
