“In a minute or two. I must beg your indulgence, Mr Darcy. It is so refreshing to speak to someone other than Louisa, and Charles refuses to admit I am right. I knowyouwillunderstand my sentiments. You are so discerning that you are bound to agree with me.” She gave him no time to respond before continuing. “I shall be very glad when the ball is behind us. It is such a lot of work, so many details to see to, and no one to help at all! IthoughtLouisa was going to, but everything has to be decided by me. I ask for her opinion, and she says she does not know, what do I think. I request that she sees to this or that little thing, and if I am fortunate, she does not refuse, but then she leaves it half undone or done so poorly that I end up having to correct it.”
“I am sorry to hear that,” he murmured when she paused and looked at him expectantly.
“You are most kind. To be sure, Louisa is a willing assistant, and if I tell her exactly what I want, I can trust her to see to it.” With a great sigh, she repeated, “I shall be glad once the ball is over!”
Not sure how else to escape the awkward conversation, Darcy claimed a desperate need for a drink, and they made their way to the drawing room. Before entering, Miss Bingley excused herself, promising to join him shortly. Opening the door, Darcy heard Mrs Hurst speaking to her husband, who was the only other occupant.
“I shall strangle Caroline if she does not stop all her useless fussing about and changing her mind every otherminute, and if she does not stop treating me like a child. I know more about arranging parties than she does, but will she listen to me? Of course not!Sheknows better than anyone else.”
Darcy deliberately made enough noise to alert the couple to his presence; he acted as though he had not overheard, but he was not sure they believed it. After pouring himself a glass of wine, he took a seat, and they sat in silence. Bingley and Miss Bingley walked into the room at almost the same moment.
“Darcy, I am glad you are back,” Bingley called. “Glad, too, that it has not rained again. I thought you were wrong to risk it, but, well.”
Bingley laughed. It sounded a bit false and too hearty, which Darcy better understood a couple of minutes later. His friend served his sisters and brother-in-law drinks, then sat next to him, leant close, and whispered, “If you care for me at all, make an excuse for us to leave the room and go elsewhere, just the two of us.”
Naturally, Darcy did as requested, and they made their way to the library. As he had before, he regarded the mostly empty shelves with dismay and contemplated presenting Bingley with a collection of books as his thanks for having him to stay and his honesty in pointing out how tiresome he was becoming.
“Thank you!” Bingley said as he dropped onto a sofa. “You are a good friend, Darcy.”
Darcy chuckled and took a place across from him. “If telling your relations a small lie is all it takes…”
“I am sorry. I know how little you like to deceive anyone, but I believe the good you did to my sanitymakes up for it. Caroline and Louisa’s behaviour is intolerable! I am happy for you that you took yourself away from it for a while. If only I had gone with you! I am serious. Do not be surprised if you find me running through the house without a stitch of clothing on. Thank God the ball is tomorrow. If I had known what they would be like, I would not have insisted on it.”
“What has happened?”
“My sisters are, in true sisterly fashion, constantly in one dispute or another and over the most ridiculous things.” His brow furrowed. “Do you suppose the Miss Bennets squabble as much as Louisa and Caroline do? I spoke as if all sisters are like mine, but that cannot be.”
Seeing the question was not rhetorical, Darcy said, “I understand Miss Catherine and Miss Lydia do, but they just as quickly get over their differences. It is impossible to imagine Miss Bennet arguing with anyone.”
Bingley smiled at the mention of the lady he admired. “No, she would not. She is the loveliest, most gentle lady I have ever met.” He fell silent and only continued when Darcy pointedly cleared his throat. “My sisters, however, are spirited, to use a polite word. They insist everything must be perfect for tomorrow evening, yet they feel the effort will be wasted on the people of this neighbourhood—given they are too unfashionable to know the difference between a well-managed ball and a poorly managed one. They have both said as much, yet they go on to assure me that they no longer hate Meryton or think meanly of its residents.” He rolled his eyes. “Even worse, they keep complaining to me that theother is not only doing nothing to help but is actually making the task more difficult.”
“What you need is a wife,” Darcy said, in part to see how his friend would respond. “Then balls and all other amusements would be her responsibility and hers alone.” He did not add that Bingley might need to remind his sisters of that, especially Miss Bingley who seemed fond of calling herself Netherfield’s mistress, based on the number of times he had heard her say it.
As expected, Bingley’s expression softened, and he once again smiled to himself, quietly muttering, “That is not a bad notion.”
Darcy left him to his reveries for a moment, after which he told Bingley about seeing Mr Bennet and Elizabeth in Meryton.
“I am glad to see that whole…business so happily concluded,” Bingley said. “Furthermore, I have thought that you have been in a better mood of late—other than the day we saw Wickham, which is understandable. Am I mistaken?” Darcy shook his head, and Bingley asked, “Is there any particular reason?”
When Darcy only shrugged, Bingley shook his finger at him, and to forestall further questions, Darcy said, “Let usnotspeculate, if you please. How long do you think we can safely seclude ourselves in here?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
As Darcy dressed for the ball, he resolved not to hold any expectations of what the night would bring. He had dreamt of dancing with Elizabeth, how he might talk to her whenever possible throughout the evening, how she would laugh and smile at him, and he would drink in her loveliness, impressing everything about her onto his memory. It would sustain him when they were separated. He had determined that he would be wiser not to imagine speaking to her of wishing to deepen their connexion.
Or would he? He needed to return to London soon, but how much should he say to Elizabeth and her father of his growing affection for her before he left? Need he say anything at all, given Bingley’s residence in the neighbourhood, which gave Darcy an excuse to return and see the Bennets? It was also probable he would encounter them as Mr Bennet and his cousin Frederick rebuilt their friendship. Surely, he would know what to say and when, if he stopped thinkingabout it so much and letting his anxiety grow. The easier he was, the less likely he would be to misspeak or struggle to find the right words.
He went downstairs to wait for the guests with Bingley, his family, and the friends from town who had made the trip to attend the ball. Shortly before the first carriages arrived, Miss Bingley pulled him aside.
“Do you approve?” she asked him, peeking up at him through her lashes.
He wondered what exactly she meant—the friends they had invited, the decorations about the house, her attire, the dinner they had enjoyed earlier? “I am anticipating an agreeable evening.”
She giggled and playfully slapped his arm. “It is unlikeyouto joke, sir, but I appreciate your attempting to rid me of my nerves.”
“I do not take your meaning.” He looked over his shoulder to Bingley, hoping to catch his attention and signal that he needed his assistance. But he was occupied with some of the gentlemen.
“I know you dislike both dancing and large parties,” she said. “It is good of you not to complain. I would have been happy not to go to all the bother, but Charles had his heart set on a ball, and I am sure I have done my best. He will be happy, at least.” She sighed, and he wanted to as well; he had heard her say the same thing countless times. “I hope he agrees to return to town soon. The Festive Season will be upon us before we know it, and I should like to spend it there, amongst my friends. Besides, I worry that he is spending too much time with a certain lady.”
