That day’s exploration was vastly different from any Mary had ever experienced. On her own, she had always enjoyed the little discoveries and was pleased to notice the new growth that appeared nearly every day.
With Mr. Porter by her side, sharing her delight in every new discovery, her enjoyment was multiplied tenfold. By the end of their ramble, she did not know if she would ever be able to enjoy a solitary ramble, one without him by her side, again.
Eventually, the time came when Mary needed to depart. “I am afraid I am needed at home soon,” she said.
She was surprised to see a look of disappointment on Mr. Porter’s face. She had assumed she was an imposition to him, asher company often was to anyone who was not family or close friends. Mr. Porter, on the other hand, looked as though he did not wish for her to leave.
“When will you be returning? Will I see you here again?” he asked.
Mary felt the danger of his questions. If she answered him honestly, she would essentially be agreeing to meet him here alone. Encountering him by accident was one thing, but agreeing to an assignation seemed far more serious.
Mary knew right from wrong. She was, in fact, an expert on the subject, as anyone in the neighborhood could verify. She knew why it would be a bad idea to agree to meet him. She knew she would be putting herself and her virtue in danger, much as Lydia had done nearly three years ago when she ran off with Mr. Wickham.
On the other hand, Mary had spent the last two years indulging herself in every selfish whim, and she was out of practice of denying herself pleasure or forcing herself to be content with discomfort.
“Do you know of the little footbridge that spans the stream about midway through these woods?” she asked.
“I have seen it, though I am not often in that area,” he replied.
“Well, it is likely that I will be in that vicinity around two in the afternoon most days,” said Mary. “I cannot say with certainty, since occasionally my mother will require my company for some reason or another, but if given the choice, I will be choosing to be there.”
“Then perhaps I shall find myself in that vicinity as well,” said Mr. Porter. “I look forward to seeing you there.”
Chapter 10
What followed were the two happiest weeks of Mary’s life. Every day that she could get away, she met Mr. Porter at the bridge in the woods. Between her mother’s demands and poor weather, this ended up being only about half the time. Even so, each hour spent in Mr. Porter’s company was the height of pleasure for Mary.
When she was not in his company, her joy was marred by warnings from her conscience and fear of her certain heartbreak which would inevitably follow his departure. Even so, her joy shouted far louder than her concerns, and she was mostly happy.
She spent hours looking over the drawings they had made together, each of them adding a detail here or there that the other had not noticed. She spent more hours attempting to sketch her memories of him, sometimes bending over a plant and sometimes looking at her with interest as she spoke. Of course, she kept these drawings locked away in her desk in her room.
On April tenth, an assembly in Meryton was scheduled. Typically, there was one approximately each quarter. The last had been held in early January, just before Kitty’s wedding. The Mary Circle could talk of little else for the three weeks prior. They had each been working on a new gown for the occasion and getting each other’s opinions on the details as they worked.
In addition to chatting over their gowns, there was much speculation as to how many gentlemen would be there. Their small social circle had about twelve young ladies who were unmarried between the ages of sixteen and thirty. However, there were only six unmarried gentlemen in that same age range.
With such an imbalance, assemblies and balls were inevitably a time of compromise. Often some of the married gentlemen would step in to partner the young ladies who were left out. Even with their help, however, there were often ladies, even married ones, who wished to dance who could not.
If desperate enough, these ladies would occasionally dance together with one of them taking the male role. This was something Mary had never done, however. While she liked to dance, she would rather sit quietly in a corner hiding her rejected status than flaunting it boldly by dancing with another lady.
Miss Lucas and Miss King, however, made a pact that if ever they were both without a partner, they would stand up with each other. Instead of internally censuring them for not behaving as she would, Mary was rather jealous of their bravery.
Eventually, their gowns were complete, and every modification was finished. The three young ladies took an afternoon showing each other their finery and planning out what accessories they would wear. The next day was the assembly.
All went well with Mary’s preparations. Her hair turned out well, and when she looked in the mirror, she saw that, overall, she had turned out as well as she could expect. Even in her own eyes, eyes which knew how very plain she was, she looked almost pretty.
Pleased with her efforts, she descended the stairs and waited with her parents for the carriage to be ready.
As she walked into the assembly rooms with both her parents, Mary felt unaccountably confident. She knew herself to be well-dressed, and she was comfortable in herself. After two years of granting every one of her selfish wishes she possibly could, she had done a great deal to reverse all the neglect she had faced during the nineteen previous years.
She was not pleased, however, when Jacob Lucas almost immediately asked her for her first dance. She accepted, of course. She was certain she would never turn down an opportunity to dance. Even so, it was a begrudging acceptance. She had never forgiven him for the role he played in her intense heartbreak on the day of Elizabeth’s and Jane’s wedding.
Once her first dance had been secured, Jacob walked away, heading for a small group of young men in the corner. With him gone, Mary looked around for her friends.
Miss Lucas was already there, but Miss King had apparently not yet arrived. Mary and Miss Lucas chatted as they waited for their friend who arrived ten minutes later.
Mary enjoyed this assembly more than any other she could remember. There was something about the joy she felt while walking and talking with Mr. Porter that carried over into her behavior and even her looks. She received more compliments and more requests for dances than she could ever remember.
Throughout the evening, she was aware of Mr. Porter’s presence. Though she tried to resist his pull, she could not prevent her attention from being drawn by him. Thus, she was aware of, and admittedly jealous of, every lady he stood up with.
