Page 41 of Cousin Elizabeth
During the separation of the sexes Beth pulled Caroline to the side. “Caro, I was watching your brother during dinner, and his expression did not match his words. He seemed happy outwardly, but something about the fleeting look on his face seemed angry.”
“Oh Beth, you are always so honest in your expression. That is one of the reasons I like you so much. Please understand, our mother…well…she was a social climber of the first order. She taught us from a young age that we must climb to the very top of society. Louisa resisted her the most but agreed to marry up. That she and Hurst have come to love one another amazes me. She has been very happy the past few weeks since I stopped trying to drag her into my schemes. Charles…he has played the role of affable puppy for so long I am not sure he will ever change. It has worked for him very well. His smile and charm have opened many doors for us. His friendship with your cousin has us invited to some of the best houses in the land. He thought…he thought getting Darcy here…with me as hostess…well he thought I might be able to trap him. He is quite perplexed by my changes. I have let him think I have only changed tactics.”
Beth was flabbergasted. She had bought into Mr. Bingley’s act hook, line, and sinker. What was she to do?! Apparently, nothing for now. The gentlemen entered the room, and tea was to be served. She sat off in a corner by herself to think. Mamie and Gigi were having a lively discussion with Louisa about the upcoming ball, and Caroline asked Theo about what musicians he thought she should engage for it. Hurst and Bingley sat off to the sidediscussing something. Darcy stared out the window for a time and then watched his cousin very seriously cogitating across the room by herself.
He was not sure if he should disturb her. He knew he preferred to be left alone when he was thinking. Darcy had not seen that look on Beth’s face before. She looked worried and perplexed. He walked slowly across to where she was sitting. “Am I disturbing you, cousin?”
“No, not at all. I am just pondering on people in general. We make assumptions about who they are, but they can surprise us, no matter how astute we think we are.”
“Are you speaking of Miss Bingley? She appears to have changed a great deal. Is it all an act?”
“I do not believe so. She has been surprisingly open.”
“Who then?”
“I am not sure I should speak of it. At least not here and now. I will meditate on it and get back with you.” Beth smiled, but it did not reach her eyes.
“Are your other cousins well? I was sorry not to visit them with you today.”
“They are very well. You and Theo were missed. I was to give you their regards, and I entirely forgot. Will you ask Lizzy for the opening set at the ball? The supper set? Both?”
“If you had asked me that two weeks ago, I would have said ‘Absolutely not! The Bennets have no connections and Miss Elizabeth no dowry.’ But once I thought about it, they DO have connections. They are connected to us! If Theo marries Miss Bennet, they will have connections to an earldom. They still have little in the way of money, but I have more than enough. So, yes, I believe I will ask her for the first and supper dances. If things go very well, maybe even the last set of the night.”
“I am very glad I do not need to smack you on the back of the head again. You are not the idiot I first met in London.” Both Darcy and Beth laughed uproariously disturbing the entire room. Bingley did not know what to think. That was not the Fitzwilliam Darcy he had always known. Who was that man?
~~~~~
There was much traveling back and forth between Netherfield and Longbourn. There was a plethora of things to do for the ball. The invitations had been written and delivered in short order. The seamstress and other merchants in town were thrilled by the influxof shoppers for lace and ribbons, shoe roses and dancing slippers, new gloves and stockings. A ball was a boon for the entire area.
John had been visiting Charlotte nearly every day. He had worried he would never find a woman of good sense that attracted him. There were girls and women who showed interest in Virginia, but none to his liking. Some called her plain, including her own mother, but he did not see her so. She was very pretty, and when she smiled, she was beautiful to him. Maybe Lady Lucas had eye problems…or was she comparing her daughter to Jane Bennet? Miss Bennet was classically beautiful, but that had never attracted John. Beauty would fade, but good common sense and useful accomplishments would not. He wanted children, and a wife who made him feel warm inside. Miss Lucas seemed like the one. His feelings were growing, and he spent a great deal of time telling her about his home in America. She seemed interested, so maybe it was time to ask if she would consider ever moving there.
“Miss Lucas, it is so good to see you again. The day is fine; would you consider a walk in your park with me?”
“I would. Let me retrieve my outerwear and Maria to chaperone.”
A few minutes passed before they began their walk. “Miss Lucas, I am fairly sure you have noticed my particular regard for you?”
“I have.”
“I have told you a great deal about my home…and I was wondering…do you think you would be happy in such a place?”
“I believe I would be very happy in such a place.”
“Then I have a question…or two. Do you have any tender feelings for me?”
“Is it not the course of things for you to remark on your own feelings for me first?”
“Oh, of course, I have never done this before. Pardon me. Let me start again. Miss Lucas, I have tender feelings for you and was wondering if the feelings are reciprocated.”
Charlotte looked down and smiled at his awkwardness. “They are.”
“Very good! And would America be too far for you to be happy in your own home?”
Charlotte had been dreaming of just that for days. She had honestly thought she would never develop feelings for any man. She had often wondered if something was missing in herself. As a girl, she had fleeting feelings for a few boys, but when none showed interest in her…well…best not dwell on how it had crushed her at the time. Hearing her mother call her plain, and Mrs. Bennet whispering that she’d never marry, at some point that is all she heard and believed. Plain Charlotte, likely to never marry. And now…the man she had always dreamed of in a shadowing corner of her heart said he had feelings for her.
“I do not believe so. I have never traveled, but I have always wanted my own home and family. I think, if it were a comfortable and loving home, it would not matter where it is.”
John stopped walking and grabbed up her hands, “Then Miss Lucas, would you be my wife and move to America with me? I can promise a good house with a sound roof, a large kitchen garden, a cook and maid or two. You will have everything you need, and over time, everything you desire. My income is good. There is not much society near the estate, but it is growing and…” John realized he was babbling, so closed his mouth.
