All Hallow's Eve (24 page)

“
Pray, continue!
We have now established that
I am all that is kind, generous, modest
and
, as you
have
stated
previously
,
I have no
true
faults
.
T
hough at this very moment, I
fear that
I am
exposing myself
in that I am
allowing my vanity to show, am I not?
”

It was
fortunate
that Sir William Lucas
approached
just then
to offer his quiet congratulations
, or William might have kissed the impish grin off Elizabeth’s lips right there in the crowded parlor of Lucas Lodge.

Sir William
quietly
informed them
of the
honour
he felt
upon learning
that
their
betrothal
would be announced
at his home that evening, and that he would introduce Mr. Bennet in a few minutes.
William asked if he would
wait
a little longer since it was necessary that he speak to Bingley for a few moments and wished to be standing with Elizabeth when the
declaration
was made.
Sir William excused himself and moved on to
inform Mr. Bennet of the delay
.

William
turned to tell Elizabeth that he would return soon,
but
the warmth emanating from her eyes arrested his words
. If
he
had done something to
produce such an
expression as this
, he hoped
that
she would tell him
what it was
so that
i
t w
ould be
possible
to
repeat the
behaviour
often!

“
Thank you, William, for following my suggestion.
”

Could gaining her good opinion actually be
that
simple?
She was so very different from any other woman he had ever met!
After a few moments, he remembered what he had been about
to do
, and asked,
“
May I escort you somewhere before I leave
you
to
find
Bingley?
To y
our father, perhaps, or Miss Lucas?
”

“
I think I am quite able to find a conversation partner on my own, thank you.
”

William’s
expression
fell
.
“
I did not mean to imply...
”

Elizabeth place
d
her hand on his arm to stop him from speaking, but then realized what she done and quickly looked around whil
st
removing it.
Speaking in a low tone once again, she said with a smile,
“
Be at ease; I am not looking to find fault.
You must learn to laugh at yourself or we
shall
never get on.
”

She was right, of course; he was
too anxious not to ruin this newfound rapport that had developed between them
.

“
Thank you for the additional advice
; I shall try my best
.
I
will return soon, Elizabeth.
”
He added
in his thoughts,
Yes, I must
go
before I find
yet
another reason
not
to leave your side.

~

Elizabeth was not alone for long
;
she found Charlotte
standing
before her almost immediately
after she watched
William
pull
Bingley
aside for a few words in privacy
.

“
You do well, Lizzy
,
”
Charlotte stated.

“
Whatever do you mean?
”

“
I mean that you do well to express your feelings for Mr. Darcy more openly, such as you have done tonight.
No one seeing the two of you conversing could
mistake
your opinion for dislike as they had
done
in the past.
The gossips are whispering, but
since he
has
arrived,
it is not
about
the stories that have been circulating as of late
—it is about his being moon-eyed over you, and your being in love with him
.
”

Elizabeth had almost forgotten
about
the hateful
chatter
.
She snapped,
“
Well, I am
happy
to be of
some
use this evening, even if it is only in providing more
subject matter
for their entertainment.
”
Recognizing
her own affronted
manner, she caught her friend’s hand and sighed.
“
Charlotte, I apologize.
I realize that you are trying to be helpful by keeping me informed, but I would rather
not
know what they are saying.
It is much more preferable
that I
enjoy William’s company before he tires of me—which, earlier this evening I h
ad the pleasure of
over
h
ear
ing
one
lady
predict w
ill
happen quite
soon
since,
as
apparently
,
I am ‘giving it away
.
’
”

Charlotte’s look communicated much of her concern for her friend.

“
Oh, Charlotte, I will be fine.
Derbyshire is far away from Meryton, and I shall be gone before long.
”

“
And when you are
gone to your new home
,
I
shall
miss you terribly, Lizzy.
”

Elizabeth took her friend’s hand
once more
.
“
And I, you!
Perhaps you can come to visit when one of my sisters makes the journey?
Either to Derbyshire or London
—
or
both!
”

“
I would love to, as long as my father gives his permission—and I am certain he will.
You have always been his favo
u
rite young lady in the
neighbour
hood.
You may have noticed that some of our
neighbour
s are not in attendance tonight, Lizzy.
Any person that he overheard speaking those lies was crossed off of my mother’s invitation list personally by my father.
”

“
Sir William is a truly good man, Charlotte
.
Even though
he cannot prevent them all from talking,
I do appreciate the effort he has made
.
”

“
I know, and so does he, but he thought by doing this
,
at least he was
making a statement
that he does not approve
of what they are saying
, and that
our family
support
s
you
.
I do not know if you understood how delighted he
is
by your wonderful news
,
as
am I.
”

“
Thank you.
”
Her eyes sparkled as the conversation returned to a happier subject.
“
And I
am
enjoying
spending time
with William
this evening
,
very much!
”

Elizabeth felt someone come up beside her.
She turned to see that it was William and Jane, and judging by the joy displayed across William’s features,
she determined that
he had heard what she just said. She was grateful that he
seemed to be so easy to please
.
L
ittle things, such as her approval,
had
made him so very happy
on more than one occasion.
She could not help but smile in response to his elation.

Elizabeth asked
William
,
“
Have you
spoken
with Mr. Bingley?
”

“
Yes, he is currently
having a word with
both
of
his sisters
and Hurst
.
He said we should go ahead without them.
“

Jane responded,
“
I
believe
it would be wise to wait until Mr. Bingley has returned, Mr. Darcy.
”

“
Why is that, Miss Bennet?
”

Jane blushed
.
I
t was so very difficult for her to think poorly of any person, and even more so to speak
those thoughts
aloud.

Charlotte intervened,
“
It would reflect poorly on Mr. Bingley as well as Lizzy.
Your friend
’
s absence will be
generally understood
as
his
disapproval of
your choice in
a wif
e
, Mr. Darcy.
”

“
Thank you, ladies
; I
had not thought of
it in that light.
”
Usually I would
be the first to realize something in that vein
, but
I am too anxious to have the announcement made whil
st
Elizabeth is
still
smiling at me in that way.

Several minutes later, Bingley re-entered the room, his hair looking a bit disheveled.
He spotted Darcy and joined the group.

“
Are
all
your family
well
, Mr. Bingley?
”
Jane asked.

“
I am afraid not.
”
Bingley cleared his throat.
“
Caroline has had a – a
relapse
of her illness and was taken home by my sister and brother Hurst.
I am afraid I had to call for your carriage, Darcy, and le
ave
word with the driver that he should return here after he has seen them home.
”

“
I am
so very
sorry, Mr. Bingley
,
”
Elizabeth said softly.

Bingley looked at her for a few moments, trying to decide what to say, and then said seriously, in a tone that only she
and William
could hear,
“
Miss Elizabeth, please do not be.
It is her fault
and
only
hers.
On many occasions in the past,
Louisa and I ha
ve
tried to convince her that her hopes were aimed in the wrong direction, but she would not listen to anybody—even Darcy himself has made several attempts to dissuade her from her goal.
She was
most definitely
not
in love.
I should not say this of my sister, but since I can see you are truly upset for her
,
I will.
She will soon find someone else with a grand estate
and
a
large enough fortune to catch her interest
anew
. Do not fret for Caroline, Miss Elizabeth.
”

Elizabeth nodded her understanding of what Bingley had said, and
all that
he
meant
as well.
When Bingley turned to speak to Jane, Elizabeth
asked
,
“
Was she the only one with such designs?
”