Elizabeth had little to contribute beyond her affection, and her keen eye for decorating the house with holly. She had never been crossed in love, and had borne the news of Mr.Wickham’s sudden pursuit of Miss King with such nonchalance that Marianne declared her perfectly heartless.
Elizabeth was resolved that they should vent their spleen and then make way for happier tidings, and she bore their teasing cheerfully. It was a relief, though she would not own to it, that she had discovered herself completely indifferent to Mr. Wickham’s mercenary defection.
When their task was done, Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Dashwood came and congratulated the girls on their excellent decorations. It was evident that Mrs. Dashwood had been weeping, and even Mr. Bennet looked unusually somber. Tears glistened in his eyes as he sipped at his brandy and admired the holiday greenery. “Very good; my dear Fanny will be pleased.”
He held up a little sprig of mistletoe and gave his sister a quick peck on the cheek before doing the same to his daughters and nieces. “Well now, no more long faces here! We must all put aside the sorrows of the last year, for we have a party to attend at Lucas Lodge this evening. And if you young ladies are quite finished whispering secrets about your erstwhile lovers, you may find the evening’s festivities a pleasant remedy for romantic yearning. You are to meet my cousin Collins, who will in three days’ time make Miss Lucas the stalwart and resigned bride every lady hopes to be.”
When Mrs. Bennet and her companions returned from the village, she gave every proper exultation over the festive greenery before whipping them all into a frenzy of preparations for the party at Lucas Lodge. The Dashwood ladies returned to Purvis Lodge so that they might dress, and the Bennets commenced their own rowdy routine of animated toilette.
“Shall I survive the evening, do you think?” Elizabeth grinned devilishly in the mirror at Jane as she pinned some silver silk flowers into her hair. “Mamma will grow crosserwith me every time Charlotte is congratulated for marrying our idiotic cousin.”
“I am sure you will be disappointed if she does not,” Jane teased her. “But since you have had no heartbreak of your own, I shall not pity you a jot.”
Elizabeth smiled sadly. “Aunt Gardiner has promised to intercede if Mamma complains too much about Mr. Bingley’s departure. It has been nearly four weeks!”
Jane fidgeted with her gown as she stared at her reflection. “He will be forgotten, in time. Ere long I am sure I shall be as indifferent as you are to poor Mr. Wickham.”
“He is not to be poor much longer,” Elizabeth drawled. She went to stand beside her sister, taking in the sight of herself. They looked very fine, though there was nobody to impress but their oldest friends and a few officers who could never be serious prospects.
“I wonder if there is something wrong with me,” Elizabeth sighed. “Marianne is three years younger than me, and Elinor is nearly a year younger than I am.Theyhave both fallen in love, and you had your heart captured for the first time when you were sixteen. I am twenty, and I have never properly fancied anybody.”
“You prefer to argue with every gentleman you meet,” Jane said with a playful grin. “Perhaps next time you meet a handsome man of fortune, you will not quarrel with him at every turn and besmirch his name about the village.”
“If only I should meet a man who deserved better!” Elizabeth laughed and shook her head. “It is a shame that the only handsome and intelligent gentleman I ever encountered was such a boorish cad.”
“Mr. Bingley is intelligent, too!”
Elizabeth cocked her head to one side and frowned at Jane. “If he had any sense at all, my dearest, he would not have left Hertfordshire without you. Another time, Jane, you ought to consider adopting a little of my spikiness, until your natural sweetness has been earned.”
“Perhaps I shall, if you will attempt a little of my kindness,” Jane said, twisting her lips in a bittersweet smile. “But who knows if there will ever be anext time.”
“We might both take Papa’s advice, and upon encountering Mr. Collins thank our lucky stars there are no gentlemen to plague us.”
But there was no gentleman to plague Charlotte Lucas that evening, either. She was greatly dismayed as she informed Elizabeth that her betrothed had failed to arrive as expected at Lucas Lodge that afternoon.
“Mamma fears some mischief may have befallen him on his journey from Kent, for we have received no explanation of his delay,” Charlotte said, wringing her hands together as she sought the reassurance of her friends.
“Perhaps he was detained by some obligation to his noble patroness,” Elizabeth suggested, truly concerned for her wretched friend despite the awkwardness of Charlotte accepting the man so soon after Elizabeth had refused him.
“He may have forgotten to write, or perhaps he got the day wrong,” Jane suggested. “He may arrive at the appointed hour tomorrow, unaware of his error, or the distress he has caused.”
Marianne and Elinor offered their own tepid assurances, though Elizabeth could see they were far from delighted by the acquaintance of the friend she had praised in her letters to them. Charlotte remained disconsolate all evening, and Lady Lucas was sulking and glaring at Mrs. Bennet, as if that ladywere personally responsible for the feckless vicar’s apparent defection.
The eldest Bennet and Dashwood sisters did their best to cheer Charlotte, who was on the constant brink of tears as she began to fear Mr. Collins had changed his mind about marrying her. Marianne, Elinor, and Jane looked pained at the heartbreak that loomed over Charlotte; Elizabeth was only disappointed to be denied the delights of so many jests at her cousin’s expense.
Despite the strange pall cast over the evening, the rest of their relations seemed to enjoy themselves at the party. There were officers enough for Kitty and Lydia to dance and flirt with, and there was no want of gossip. Colonel Forster had just inherited an estate in Hampshire and was to leave the regiment, and he seemed to encourage the speculation of the Bennet ladies by making outlandish remarks about his replacement, who would arrive after the new year.
Though Mr. Wickham was not present, he was also much talked of that evening. He had lately pursued Mary King to Liverpool, but there was news that her uncle had refused to grant his permission for the match. Mr. Wickham was expected to return to the regiment before Christmas. Lydia and Kitty carried on with such delight that Elizabeth was sure her own private smile at the news went unnoticed.
Elizabeth was very well-pleased by the new acquaintance of Mrs. Jennings. The woman was portly but energetic, perhaps in her late forties rather than the octogenarian Marianne’s letters had taught Elizabeth to expect. She was a tad vulgar at times, rather like Mrs. Bennet in her enthusiasm for detecting romantic attachments, and she had far more conversation than sense. Elizabeth was vastly pleased with her as a new study in character, and yet she was appreciative of the genuine affection Mrs. Jennings had for the Dashwood ladies, which she was eager to bestow upon the Bennets.
Mrs. Jennings seemed the type to take with alacrity to any new acquaintance. She was fashionable and genteel, and so sincere in her chatter that Elizabeth could imagine the woman as easy amongst the first circles of London as she was here in the country with such a parochial assortment. Her behavior was often silly, but there was a twinkle of intelligence in her eye that sparked Elizabeth’s curiosity.
She came to tea with the Dashwood ladies the following day and promptly won over Mrs. Bennet with her warm praise of the manor. Even Mr. Bennet seemed keen for her company, for he sat smirking at his sister’s side as he listened to Mrs. Jennings’s effusions about the charming parlor that their large party had crammed into.
Mary went into the adjoining room to practice at the pianoforte, and Margaret lured Julia Gardiner thither to examine a large atlas they had retrieved from Mr. Bennet’s study. The remainder of the party took refreshments and discussed the events of the night before.
Marianne teased Elizabeth about the news of Mr. Wickham’s return just a little bit before presenting her with a novel, Rosa Matilda’sThe Passions, and she launched into a lengthy recommendation of the sordid tale. Elinor and Jane shared a knowing look, for neither could match their sisters’ enthusiasm for novels. Elizabeth presented Marianne with a volume of poetry in return, but it was not long before the four young ladies were drawn into the conversation that dominated the room.
