So there were two brothers, though it could possibly be the viscount himself to whom Norland now rightfully belonged. Elizabeth knew not how to discover if the colonel, who was even now amongst her Dashwood relations, was the owner of what ought to have been Elinor’s, had her cousin been as fortunate as Jane. If it had been won by the viscount, the man who was presently wooing Jane, Elizabeth knew her sister would be greatly distraught by the moral quandary this presented.
When Mr. Darcy joined them and sat on Elizabeth’s other side, she could not put aside her dreadful inquisition. In a low voice, she asked, “Forgive my impatience, sir, but may I ask how long you have been acquainted with Mr. Edward Ferrars?”
“More than six years. His first year at Cambridge was my last. We have seen one another often in town since then, and I believe his mother is well acquainted with my aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh.”
“And your cousins, I suppose, are also acquainted with him and his relations.”
“Phillip and Edward have met before, but I believe this is the first time Edward’s relations have been invited to Matlock House,” Mr. Darcy whispered back to Elizabeth. “I think I see what you mean; no doubt a lady of your sister’s disposition may grow uncomfortable if there were to be any rivalry…”
This was not at all what Elizabeth had meant, but it added to her uneasiness. “Yes, I suppose so. Of course, Jane and I wish only to amuse ourselves – to take in the sights and enjoyments of London. But I did wonder how well you knew Mr. Ferrars, and his relations, as they are kin to my cousins.”
“I know Edward well enough that I should vouch for his character in nearly every other circumstance,” Mr. Darcy said carefully. “As to any... tension between my friend and my cousin,I am resolved to neither speak of it nor act to intervene, upon my honor.”
“As I said, I do not believe Jane has any other intention than enjoying the attractions of London; I merely wish to understand the persons who have a prior connection to my cousins, whom we have now become acquainted with.”
“I comprehend you perfectly,” Mr. Darcy said, something shading his countenance. He was silent for a moment, and then added, “I suppose I might likewise inquire how well you are acquainted with the guest of Mrs. Jennings’s daughter – Miss Lucy Steele.”
Elizabeth felt her eyes widen in surprise, and she searched his gaze, sensing something of great import he wished to say. “Sir… I wonder if we are both privy to certain information….”
Mr. Darcy inclined his head, moving closer to Elizabeth, but she recoiled a little. If he knew that his friend was engaged to Lucy Steele, and yet he resolved not to interfere in Mr. Ferrars’s efforts – or those his mother undertook on his behalf to woo Jane….
“My goodness, Darcy, whatever are you and Miss Elizabeth talking of? Phillip, I daresay Mrs. Gardiner is equally entranced! But as pretty a picture of perfect merriment you are, I am in raptures over the prospect of a musical evening,” the countess suddenly cried from across the room.
“Yes, let us have some music,” Mrs. Ferrars agreed, gesturing imperiously at them. “Miss Bennet, Miss Darcy, perhaps you will play and sing for us?”
Jane looked flustered. “Oh…”
Georgiana sat speaking with Sophie on Elizabeth’s side of the room, and she looked over at Jane with panic. “I had not thought to… oh dear, let someone else perform.”
Lady Norah went to the instrument and began to play a difficult piece with technical perfection, if little feeling. The countess was satisfied, and Mrs. Ferrars grumbled about wishing for music the young people might dance to, instead of a concerto, but she was silenced for the present.
The viscount beckoned Georgiana to sit with them, and Sophie followed. “Will you really not play for us, Georgie? I believe you do not play but you can sing, is it not so, Miss Bennet? I should dearly love to hear you delight us with a duet! And Mrs. Gardiner made a bold claim of singing very poorly in Italian – if you can play, Madam, I shall be the one to sing very poorly, and this must give our shy companions the courage to perform. I shall not be a daunting act to follow, as my sister shall prove.”
Jane hesitantly agreed, and Elizabeth did her part to encourage her sister as well as Georgiana, for they were at least among companions who were disposed to think well of them. Mrs. Gardiner happily agreed to accompany the viscount if he wished to serenade them, and they debated their musical selection until Lady Norah finished her concerto.
As Mrs. Gardiner and the viscount began a jaunty tune, the brothers Ferrars approached Jane and Elizabeth. Jane smiled politely as she stood up with Edward Ferrars, while Elizabeth bore the inanities of Robert Ferrars’s chatter as she danced with him. She attempted to shock and appall the man by telling him a great many absurdities about her family in the hope that he would convince his mother of the entire Bennet family’s insanity, but there was nothing she could say to the man that he was not determined to approve of.
Sophie and Georgiana were the most cheerful dancers as they reeled together, laughing merrily. Sophie looked as if she might maneuver a change of partners, but Elizabeth only shook her head; she would not subject Georgiana to Robert Ferrars, forshe feared it would only worry Mr. Darcy. Already he grimaced at their frivolity, finally betraying that brooding exterior she had not seen him display since Netherfield.
At the conclusion of the viscount and Mrs. Gardiner’s jolly performance, Jane was ready to sing, if only to escape her partner. Georgiana was still uneasy about performing before so many people, but Sophie offered to take up the pianoforte in her stead. The viscount looked between Mrs. Gardiner and Georgiana, as if unsure whom gallantry demanded he ought to partner next, but they elected to stand up with one another. Viscount Bellamy instead positioned himself to observe Jane better as she stood beside the instrument to sing.
Elizabeth was about to sit with Mrs. Hatchard when Mr. Darcy stood to claim her, just as Edward Ferrars began to move toward her. She supposed he perceived her dislike of that gentleman and thought to spare her, but was surprised when he betrayed a flicker of annoyance with his friend.
They did not speak as they danced, for they united with Georgiana and Mrs. Gardiner for a lively reel, and laughed together throughout. Elizabeth’s mind was so full of other concerns, it was a few minutes before she was confident in her steps. She focused on her companions – chiefly Mr. Darcy – and tried to forget the worries that plagued her. Jane’s unease at singing, Edward Ferrars’s romantic treachery, John Dashwood’s horrid secret, and the woes of so many ladies she loved – Elizabeth let all this ebb away as the music, and the bright-eyed gaze of Mr. Darcy, seemed to carry her away in a floating sense of elation.
***
Elizabeth was magnificent. Darcy hardly knew himself in the overpowering joy of her presence. He had been a higherversion of himself at dinner, matching her banter and making her smile, beyond what he had thought himself capable of in wooing her. And he did mean to woo her. The apprehension he felt about such a connection when he fled Netherfield was an entirely foreign sensation now, the folly of another man, and not the irrepressible sentiments of the Fitzwilliam Darcy whom the incomparable Elizabeth Bennet was presently beaming at.
He had felt her mood alter before the music, when she asked him about Edward. He saw the concern for her sister written on her countenance, and understood it all too well. They were kindred spirits, for he had anguished over his duty to protect Georgiana, and it seemed that Elizabeth would take on the burden not only of her sister’s happiness, but the happiness of her cousins in Hertfordshire as well.
It pained him to see her lash out, as she had done at the ball, both to himself and Mr. Willoughby. She had even been prickly with Mrs. Ferrars in his hearing, and had stared daggers at Edward. He could not blame her for her animosity; it had taken a supreme amount of restraint to keep from killing Wickham when he had encountered the scoundrel in Meryton.
But Darcy would always see her happy, if he could. Their burden might be shared, might be halved, might be eased by a mutual solace in one another, if she would permit. He might have said more to put her mind at ease, but he had not known how. He smiled warmly at her, desperate to learn how to keep his Elizabeth always in such cheerful spirits.
It was too soon to speak, to fall at her feet, but shewashis Elizabeth, for he had nearly torn Edward limb from limb for thinking to stand up with her. She had consented to be his muse in her mirthful ways, and if only he could continue to please her, she might ere long consent to be his wife.
Darcy devoted himself to her diversion for the rest of the evening, which came to a close far too soon for his liking. When only the family remained in the drawing room, the countess casually kicked off her slippers and sank down onto a chair, reclining back with a contented sigh. “Well, Darcy, I am delighted that you finally have friends for me to entertain!”
