The musicians played a few notes, calling attention to the attendees that the dancing would soon begin. Mr. Bingley moved to the front of the line with Jane. Mr. Hurst stood up with his wife. Miss Bingley shot daggers at Mr. Darcy’s back while accepting John Lucas for the first.
Where was Colonel Fitzwilliam?
Dotted throughout the room were militia officers in their red coats, but the colonel was not to be found. Elizabeth’s stomach sank to her toes when he failed to descend the grand staircase. When she spotted Mr. Collins hurrying towards her, she swallowed. If she refused to stand up with him, she would not be able to dance for the rest of the evening.Ugh!The prospect was in every way horrible. She wanted to give him no encouragement to continue pursuing her. She wanted…she wanted Colonel Fitzwilliam or anyone other than Mr. Collins.
The deep timbre of the last man she expected to offer hummed in her ears. “My cousin feared he would not return in time. He asked if I would stand in his place. Would you honor me with this dance?”
Catching Mr. Darcy’s gaze as he handed one cup to Mrs. Hammond and the other to a passing waiter, Elizabeth was grateful for his intervention. Relief coursed through her every pore at not needing to dance with Mr. Collins. Nor was she relegated to the wall with the other ladies without partners. And she might finally discover what delayed the colonel.
Mr. Darcy was a superb dancer, leading her through the steps with skill and grace. She wanted to thank him for coming to her rescue, but how to go about it escaped her. He had escorted her home in the rain, gave her friend the gift of dignity, and saved Elizabeth from the embarrassment of sitting out the first. Additionally, he had the same rocky relationship with his father as she discovered she had with hers. Had she completely misjudged him as Mrs. Hammond insisted? The facts appeared to speak for themselves. Apparently, Mr. Darcy, although arrogant, could also be kind. What a surprise!
Darcy wonderedwhat she was thinking because they had not taken more than a dozen steps before Miss Elizabeth’s mien softened, and a pinkish hue covered the tops of her cheekbones. If he were not careful, he would fall into the depths of her eyes and never be able to get out. Would he even want to try? He needed to clear his mind of the beguiling picture she made where his arms were tightly wrapped around…
Again, to distract himself, he glanced around the room for his half-brother. The other officers poured into the room in droves, but George had not arrived yet.Thank god!
“Sir, do you have news of your family’s journey to the North?”
Darcy cleared his throat. “Yes, Miss Elizabeth. My housekeeper in London indicated that the Matlocks are not the only families leaving Town because of the weather. The North Road will be crowded, making the inns full. Therefore, I suspect my cousin’s return is delayed.”
“I see.”
Darcy could not tell from those two words if she was disappointed before the dance separated them. The tips of her fingers barely touched his gloves when the pattern brought them back together.
She said, “My dearest aunt and uncle live with their four children on Gracechurch Street near Cheapside. I worry that they may be in danger from toppling chimneys or flying pieces of slate.”
He nodded. “Did you reread Defoe’s book?”
“I did.”
He saw the fear in her eyes. He would do whatever was needed to ease her concerns. “More than one hundred years have passed since the Great Storm. The likelihood of it happening again is minuscule. However, with the odd weather we have had during the summer and the intense intermittent winds of these past weeks, it does make a person cautious.”
At that comment, he had her full attention.
“Are you suggesting that we should make preparations?”
“What I am saying is that a person with insight would give serious consideration in advance to the steps they should take to protect their family. Recall how quickly Mrs. Hammond was able to care for herself when the wind and rain whipped at her house. With the shutters on her windows, the basket of food that you brought her, the abundance of blankets, and the pile of wood at the back of her cottage where we tied our horses, she is in a good situation to last a long while before needing additional provisions.” He gently squeezed her hand. “Enough of this. Are you enjoying Bingley’s ball?”
She paused slightly before stepping to his right and then turning to face him, replying, “I am indeed. Never have I seen my neighbors as stately and well-dressed. It is as if we are seeing the best of everyone present.”
“You have a delightfully positive outlook, Miss Elizabeth.” They repeated the movements of the dance twice more when it suddenly occurred to him that it was the first time he stood up with an unmarried female who was not afraid to look him in the eye when they spoke. It was also the first time he opened a ball with someone other than a relative. Interestingly, he felt no fear that he needed to bear the burden of conversation or that she would place herself in a compromising situation with him by tripping him purposefully. Never had he been this untroubled.
Tension returned to his shoulders, and his smile faded when he heard Lydia Bennet’s whine above the musicians. The rest of Miss Elizabeth’s family had arrived. His chest tightened.
“Mama, I told you we should have come in the first carriage. Look! We are late. The dancing started without me.”
Miss Lydia stomped her foot, then hopped up and down to look over the crowd, the movement threatening to pop her assets from her bodice. “Jane is with Mr. Bingley, no surprise there. And Lizzy is standing up with Mr. Darcy. Who knows where Mary is hiding. The officers are waiting for me to have a good time. Where is Wickham or Captain Carter? Surely, they are wanting to partner me.”
Mr. Bennet snorted, then turned away from his family.
She draped the back of her hand over her brow. ‘Drama’ must have been Lydia Bennet’s middle name. “Papa, how dare you laugh when we screamed as the carriage rocked to and fro from the wind. Why, I have raindrops on my hem. I am ruined.”
Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst snickered as Darcy longed to cup his hand over the youngest Bennet’s mouth and drag her back to the nursery where she belonged. Glancing at Miss Elizabeth, whose attention was fully on her family, he saw the exact second when her spine stiffened and her chin set. She would never imitate her obnoxious sibling. Instead, she would rise above.
He again scanned the room for Wickham. Unless he was in the card room, he was not there.Good!
Lydia!What an embarrassment!
Elizabeth knew she had a choice. She could allow her family to ruin her evening, or she could not.
