Tonight’s party was looking like it would turn into another annual event. This was the third year in a row that Papa had thrown a card party for his political friends to celebrate, or perhaps mourn, the opening of the parliamentary session.
Kitty much preferred a ball to a card party, because with a ball there was reason to dress in her finest, but card parties had their own charm at times. For one thing, they were more relaxed. For another, when it was a card party for Papa’s political friends, there was absolutely no reason to worry about unwanted advances from gentlemen.
Kitty had been fending off marriage offers for over three years now, and it was becoming annoying. After all her older sisters married within a few months of their introduction to society, every gentleman in London seemed to descend on her,thinking that she must be just as desperate to marry as they had apparently been.
She was not. Kitty wasn’t particularly opposed to marriage, but she refused to settle for anything other than complete and overwhelming love. For her, there was no other reason that was in any way compelling. She did not need money, because her father assured her that she would always have a comfortable home with him, and if anything happened to him, her dowry would belong to her completely.
She didn’t need status either. She saw how Jane struggled occasionally against the jealous barbs thrown at her by ladies who wished they were in her shoes. She also saw how afraid Mary was that her father-in-law might die, making her a duchess before she was ready.
What made their lives better was the absolute devotion of their husbands. Therefore, Kitty refused to settle for anything less.
What she hadn’t counted on was the growing realization that she didn’t particularly like any of the gentlemen in her circle. Many were pleasant enough to chat with or dance with, but there was no spark or magic with any of them.
Kitty poked her head into the drawing room, wishing to see who was present before she stepped in completely. About half of the inhabitants were stuffy older men that Kitty made it a point to avoid. The other half was fairly evenly divided between younger men and young ladies.
An unexpected face caught Kitty’s eyes, and she leaned even further around the door to see if she was not imagining things.
She was not.
Standing up straight, she entered the room properly and went straight up to the unexpected guest. “Marcus?” she asked. “Marcus Greggson? Is that you?”
The young man grinned, and Kitty’s breath caught in her throat. With his even white teeth and his twinkling chocolate eyes, he was far more handsome than she remembered.
“Why, if it isn’t little Kitty Bennet,” he said.
She grimaced. “Not so little anymore,” she said. Then she looked him up and down. He was also taller than she remembered. “Though I suppose you aren’t so little either.”
The last time she had seen Marcus was a few days before she came out on her sixteenth birthday. Marcus was the second son of Papa’s nearest neighbor and a childhood playmate for her and Lydia. The three of them, along with John Lucas, played together as often as their nurses would allow.
Out of that group, Marcus had always been Kitty’s favorite. John was a bit of a bully, always laughing whenever anyone got hurt, and Lydia had been controlling and selfish. Kitty and Marcus had simply gone along with them.
It all changed when Kitty approached her sixteenth birthday, however. Suddenly, she felt like she was becoming a full-grown lady, but in her eyes Marcus was still just a boy who was not old enough to attend a ball. She distinctly remembered the sadness that appeared in his eyes when she told him they could not be friends anymore once she was out.
Now, here he was, standing before her, most definitely a full-grown man. And he was very attractive.
“I take it from your surprise that your father did not tell you I would be here,” Marcus said.
“No, he didn’t,” said Kitty. “What brings you here?” When she realized that it might sound rude, she hastened to add, “Not that you are unwelcome. I am, in fact, very happy to see you.”
He chuckled. “I don’t blame you for your surprise,” he said. “To be honest, I am rather shocked myself to have been invited into the home of a duke.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” said Kitty. “Papa invites all manner of people to his political card parties, as long as they have some kind of connection to either the House of Lords or the House of Commons.”
“Well, I have no connection to either,” he said. “We ran into each other at the solicitor’s office where I recently started working. He recognized me immediately and invited me to this party.”
“I am glad he did,” said Kitty with as much sincerity as she could express. “Are you in training to become a solicitor yourself, then?”
“Yes,” he replied. “I am working as a clerk while I learn the law. It will take me another few years, but at least my mentor is very successful. That should place me in good stead when I strike out on my own.”
“I wish you all the luck in the world,” said Kitty.
They stared at each other for a few awkward moments while Kitty wracked her brain for something to say. He beat her to it, however, by asking, “How are your sisters? The last thing I heard about any of you was their wedding announcements three years ago.”
“Fortunately, we all spend winter here in London, so it is easy to keep up with them. After her marriage, Jane spent almost a year traveling. She only settled down once she became pregnant. Now, she has a son, with another little one on theway,” said Kitty. “Elizabeth already has two little ones. Both of them are still as close as sisters can be. Mary still keeps to herself mostly, but since her husband, Lord Appleby, is just as much of a bookworm as she is, they are at least happy. They don’t have any children, yet, but Mary is expecting one soon.”
“That sounds wonderful,” he replied, “assuming, of course, that they are all happy.”
“They are,” Kitty said, “sometimes sickeningly so. Not that I would wish them to be otherwise. It is only that Elizabeth and Jane are two of the most openly cheerful people I know. Mary, too, is clearly happy, but she is a little more quiet about it.”
