Page 27 of Gold and Good Sense

As she drifted away from her sister toward a couple of young ladies she wished to know more of, she heard Mary say, “Good luck.”

~~~~~

Half an hour later, they were joined by the gentlemen. Two of them immediately broke from the group and headed towards Elizabeth. A half dozen or so headed for Jane. The rest scattered themselves around the room. Elizabeth was surprised but pleased to see that Judge Darcy almost immediately engaged Mary in conversation. At least her younger sister would not be left out completely.

Elizabeth couldn’t see much else of what passed due to the two gentlemen vying for her attention, so she gave them her most brilliant smiles and her full attention.

After a few minutes, she began to feel as though she was being watched, so she briefly tore her attention away from her conversation partners to glance around. There, standing not more than five feet away, was Mr. Darcy. He was not currently watching her, but by the way his attention was fixed on absolutely nothing, she was fairly certain he had been just moments ago.

She was exceedingly puzzled by such behavior. He had practically ignored her during the last course at dinner, but now he was staring at her, much as he had done during the first dinner course while she was conversing with Baron Chithers.

She began to truly worry that something was amiss with her gown.

Once her current conversation petered to a close, Elizabeth made her way over to Lady Esther and discreetly pulled her aside.

“Can you tell me if there is anything wrong with my gown?” she asked the Lady. “Perhaps a wrinkle I was not aware of or a loose thread. Or perhaps there is something amiss with my hair.”

Lady Esther’s face showed a bit of surprised curiosity, but she did not ask questions. At least, not at first. She merely looked Elizabeth over, even going so far as to make Elizabeth turn around. Then she said, “I see nothing amiss. Is there some reason you are so concerned.”

“It is nothing really,” replied Elizabeth. “It is only that there is a gentleman who has been watching me for much of the evening, but when he had the opportunity to actually speak with me, he said little. I assumed he must be noticing something offensively out of place.”

“No gentleman stares at a lady unless he takes pleasure in doing so,” said Lady Esther. “If there was truly something amiss, he would ignore you. May I ask who this gentleman is?”

“It is our host’s nephew, Mr. Darcy,” said Elizabeth.

“Then you may take pride in the attention,” said Lady Esther. “As far as I am aware, that young man seldom singles any young lady out in any way.”

“That seems to be rather odd behavior. Does he dislike women so much, or is he just opposed to marriage in general?” asked Elizabeth.

“No one knows for certain,” replied Lady Esther. “His father died four years ago, and he is the only son, so many believe it odd that he has not rushed to the altar simply to secure the succession of his family’s lands. Still, he is merely twenty-seven years old. There are plenty of gentlemen, even those with titles that must be secured, who wait until they reach their thirties before settling down.”

Elizabeth glanced over at the gentleman in question who was now speaking with Mr. Chithers. Without thinking, she said, “He is very handsome.” When she realized what she had just said, she added, “I only mean that he must be the object of a great deal of attention from other ladies. Between his looks and his fortune, which he will not have to wait for, he must be among the most eligible bachelors in the kingdom.”

Lady Esther smiled. “I believe he is,” she said. “Though there are some who speculate that such is precisely why he is so withdrawn. Among all the mamas who are hunting for a husband for their daughters, it is widely assumed that he is one who firmly prefers to be the hunter rather than the prey.”

“If everyone assumes he prefers such, why is he still pursued so adamantly?” asked Elizabeth. As the words exited her lips, she saw a young lady approach Mr. Darcy with a shy glance up at him and the merest hint of a demure smile on her lips. His features hardened in response as if he would rather be speaking with the scullery maid than this pretty young lady. “How would one even go about attempting such a thing?” she added.

“By being very tempting prey,” said Lady Esther.

A few moments of silence passed between them as Elizabeth watched Mr. Darcy’s aloof response to the lady’s demure attempts at conversation. After only a few exchanges, the lady gave it up and left him to seek out better company elsewhere.

“That man confuses me,” said Elizabeth, turning back to Lady Esther. “I think I shall attempt to ignore him in the future.”

Lady Esther’s expression said as clear as daylight that she did not believe Elizabeth, but she said nothing aloud on the subject.

Chapter 14

Though Lydia was asleep when the rest of the family arrived home that night, she wasted no time demanding a complete and detailed account of Judge Darcy’s dinner once the sisters and their companions were settled in the parlor the next morning.

Elizabeth and Jane happily described their own evenings, though Mary remained resolutely silent.

“Oh, it is such a shame I could not have gone,” said Lydia. “Why must all of this happen before I am even out? Kitty is the lucky one. She didn’t even have to wait for Papa’s permission, and now she is the first one of us to get married.”

“She is nothing of the sort,” said Lady Esther, firmly. “Kitty’s rash behavior has put her in a great deal of risk of being very unhappy indeed.”

“I don’t understand,” said Lydia, and her confused expression corroborated her statement. “Mama always said that it was a lady’s purpose to get married and do her best to please her husband, because that was the only way she could ever have the power to do what she wished. Would you rather Kitty had remained unwed and dependent upon Papa for the rest of her life?”

“Your mother’s point of view on the matter is likely somewhat skewed due to how lenient your father is with her,” said Lady Esther. “A woman is usually in far more danger from a husband than from her father. It is not always the case, but the risk is greater in marriage.”