Page 58 of Eavesdroppers Never Hear
“I understand,” he said, and squeezed her hand.
~~~~~
The return to Longbourn went about as it had the previous day. Elizabeth momentarily worried about how much time her aunt was allowing the officers to spend with her younger sisters, who by all rights should not even be out. She even considered speaking with her father about it, but her thought returned to something Darcy said, and she forgot all about her younger sisters.
~~~~~
The parties met at church on Sunday. Elizabeth joined Darcy and Georgiana in the Netherfield pew as would be expected of a courting couple. She found the stares of her neighbours unnerving but reckoned she would have to become accustomed to such if she were to be attached to Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley. She strongly believed that London society would try to tear her apart, so if she could not stand the heat of her neighbours’ gazes, she had no hope.
Jane chose to stay with the Bennets and explained her reasoning to Elizabeth. It was simple really. She would either court Mr Bingley or she would not. If she did not, then now was as good a time to show the neighbourhood as any. Her reputation was not yet at risk, and a month in, most would just assume they did not rub along well enough together.
On the other hand, if she did allow him to court her, she could join him in church a month or a quarter hence, and everyone would just assume she was being cautious. Allowing the acquaintance to blossom too fast caused gossip, while keeping it too slow caused nothing.
Once she explained it like that, Elizabeth could see the sense. It did not say much for Jane’s affection for the gentleman, but that was Jane’s business. That said, since Jane was barely on speaking terms with the man, Elizabeth conveyed the information to him in the most efficient manner—she told Darcy.
The rain was still falling when the services ended, so the congregation spent a quarter-hour gossiping among the pews. Georgiana had planned to spend the time with Lydia and Kitty, but Elizabeth introduced her to Charlotte Lucas and Louisa Goulding, and she found the elder women’s company far more congenial. She liked the Bennet sisters well enough, but they seemed determined to discuss the officers, and about ten seconds of such talk was Georgiana’s limit.
~~~~~
Monday found the Netherfield party partaking of luncheon at Longbourn, but Elizabeth and Jane told her sisters in the strictest terms they did not want the officers mentioned at all. That was partially because the three elders were sick to death of hearing about officers—but also because doing so would be unbelievably rude. She found it surprisingly easy to convinceher younger sisters to mend their ways—after threatening a fate worse than death, of course.
They spent most of the day preparing for the ball. For Georgiana, it was her first dance of any kind, and she was nervous. When she had accepted the invitation, she had not really thought through the fact that she had no aunts or cousins to help her. She did not even have her companion—just two creaky old bachelors, who seemed entirely unsuitable.
Her panic only lasted a few minutes, as Elizabeth told her early in the day that she and Mary would prepare themselves at Netherfield. It was far more sensible than adding yet one more young lady for Mrs Bennet to fuss over.
The only ironclad rule was that as soon as they went to prepare, the gentlemen were forbidden from seeing them until the receiving line started.
Jane declined the invitation, partly because someone with sense had to remain at Longbourn if there was any hope of the Bennet family showing up on time, and partly because she just did not want any whiff of scandal. Elizabeth and Mary were well known as good friends of Miss Darcy, and Elizabeth was courting. As long as they strictly maintained propriety, it would be no worse than Elizabeth and Jane staying at Netherfield while she was sick would have been without their abrupt departure. Mrs Ashford assured them she would be happy to spend the afternoon with them even if they were not surrounded by twice as many maids as the Longbourn ladies typically shared between them.
The day spent preparing with proper baths in a proper tub for all the ladies at the same time was pure heaven, and Elizabeth sheepishly admitted she just might be able to accustom herself to such luxuries. She would not marry a man just to get them, but they did not hurt Darcy’s case.
Just before the start of the ball, Mrs Ashford sent instructions through the servants that the men were restricted to quarters, then she walked through all the arrangements with Elizabeth, mostly for her benefit.
Before any of them knew it, two Bennet sisters and Georgiana found themselves descending the stairs to meet most of the important men in their lives.
24.Dancing
The Netherfield gentlemen tried their best to not embarrass themselves by staring in slack-jawed amazement at the sight of the three ladies descending the stairs, and more or less succeeded.
Georgiana’s aunt had gifted her with a ballgown to practice dancing since she was expected to be out in another year or so. When she heard about the planned ball, she brought it along just in case she managed to bludgeon her brother into submission. The gown was a gorgeous silk in light pink, with capped sleeves and a moderate square neckline about halfway between what Lydia and Mary would choose.
Elizabeth wore a blue satin gown her Aunt Gardiner purchased during a recent trip to London. It had a fitted bodice and long sleeves, and was somewhat less modest than Georgiana’s, though Mrs Bennet would have asked her to go even lower if she had ever seen the gown.
Mary shone in a gown Mrs Gardiner bought for Jane during the same trip. It was made of heavier, brighter pink silk with floral embroidery and a matching sash. Elizabeth and Jane had pressed Mary into a considerably more ornate gown through the simple expedient of hiding it in her trunk. Elizabeth was struck by the fact that they did not have to make a single alteration to the gown—thus demonstrating that in at least some aspects, Mary was nearly indistinguishable from Jane. The battle over hairstyles was won much more quickly than Elizabeth expected, and the result was quite a beautiful young lady—to the surprise of exactly none except Mary.
Darcy and Fitzwilliam approached with their eyes full of wonder and fortunately had a few minutes of awaiting their arrival at the bottom of the stairs to regain their wits.
When the ladies curtsied, Darcy said, “Ladies, you look exceedingly enchanting, one and all.”
Naturally the ‘one and all’ aspect of his gaze was more hypothetical than real, as he could barely tear his eyes from Elizabeth. He whispered, “You not only leave me stunned, but Fitzwilliam is speechless as well, which I can assure you is unprecedented.”
All three ladies laughed, and Elizabeth said, “You clean up well yourself, William.”
His stare was at the same time disconcerting and thrilling, with more emphasis on the latter. Elizabeth had to admit that he was having an effect, and it was not at all bad.
Fitzwilliam laughed. “Georgiana, I suspect Darcy, and I are in trouble. I was planning to carry a cricket bat everywhere when you came out, but now I believe the sword might be required.”
The poor girl blushed hard enough to almost pass out, but the compliment gave her the first feeling of being close to grown up, coupled with a feeling that she might finally be able to put her mistakes of the summer behind her.
