When they had all come back from the park, where Miss Dumont’s laughter had carried to Elizabeth on the cold breeze and caused her much aggravation, Jane and Mr. Bingley led them into the drawing room.
Miss Darcy had come in search of her brother and was now playing on the new piano forte Mr. Bingley had purchased the week before. Elizabeth was surprised to see that Miss Darcy was fair as Mr. Darcy was dark-haired like herself.
Mr. Darcy went to his sister’s side to turn the music sheets for her and Elizabeth followed. She had never met Miss Darcy, and had only relied upon Miss Bingley’s accounts of her talent for playing, but the young lady did play very well.
The Dumonts had gone to stand before the fireplace and warm themselves while Jane called for refreshments. Elizabeth watched the brother and sister. The pair vexed her and she felt an odd kinship with Miss Bingley.
When she and Jane had gone to visit Hurst House with Miss Dumont, Elizabeth had taken pleasure in Miss Bingley’s obvious discomfort. Now she understood perfectly. Miss Dumont had been Miss Bingley’s rival for Mr. Darcy’s affection at some time in the past. Elizabeth was sure of it.
When Miss Darcy ceased her efforts upon the keys, Elizabeth moved closer to Mr. Darcy for an introduction.
“My brother has spoken of you before, Miss Bennet. It seems he remembers you above all others he met in Hertfordshire,” Miss Darcy said and held out her hand.
Elizabeth took it and squeezed gently. She was shocked Mr. Darcy had spoken of her to his younger sister. “I have heard your brother and Miss Bingley speak well of you at Netherfield Park. They both painted a lovely picture and to make your acquaintance, I must say they were correct. You play very well.”
Miss Darcy blushed and Elizabeth moved to sit beside her on the bench seat. Mr. Darcy seemed pleased. “Georgiana, perhaps you might sing for us while Miss Bennet plays?”
Elizabeth noticed that Miss Darcy wrung her hands in her lap and attempted to calm her. “We may sing together if you wish. My sisters and I played and sang together often at home. This was one of our favorites.”
Miss Darcy smiled as she recognized the tune Elizabeth pulled from the sheets of music Mr. Darcy handed her. “I would love to sing with you, Miss Bennet.”
Elizabeth played the opening notes with enthusiasm. As soon as they began singing, Jane left Mr. Bingley’s side and begged the Dumonts to forgive her abandonment of the conversation. She hurried to stand beside Mr. Darcy, but he moved to allow her to be closer to Elizabeth and Miss Darcy.
When the ladies came to the final verses, Miss Dumont joined them. She leaned against Mr. Darcy as she sang.
Oh love be handsome and love be kind
Gay as a jewel when first it is new
But love grows old and waxes cold
And fades away like the morning dew
Must I go bound while you go free
Must I love a man who doesn't love me
Must I be born with so little art
As to love a man who'll break my heart
When cockle shells turn silver bells
Then will my love come back to me
When roses bloom in winter's gloom
Then will my love return to me
Elizabeth thought Miss Dumont terribly bold and most ungrateful to her hosts to flirt with male guest in such a manner.
Mr. Darcy, for his part, left to join the men before the song was done and soon the three of them left the drawing room for the library. Elizabeth could not blame him for wishing to escape the company of Miss Dumont, but she was sad to see him go.
As the ladies quit the piano forte to take their tea, Miss Dumont mentioned that St. Valentine’s Day was but a week away. “I had thought we might host a ball, ma chérie. We might tell all of London about your babe. It would be lovely, non?”
Jane did not know what to think. It was not a thing she had thought of before. She looked to Elizabeth. “Do you think Charles might agree? I suppose a ball at Bingley House would be a way to christen the home, so to speak.”
Elizabeth saw Miss Dumont as a scheming lady but she could not argue against a ball. It would be lovely to meet their neighbors and share a festive evening before Jane became heavy with child. “I suppose it could be wonderful to meet everyone and open Bingley House. Let us find what Mr. Bingley thinks of the matter before making plans.”
“Nonsense,” said Miss Dumont, “men know very little of planning a ball or even thinking of such an undertaking. We shall only have to speak with Cook and arrange for flowers, which may be difficult in Town this time of year. But, hundreds of candles will do if they are all we have.”
Elizabeth looked to Jane and shrugged. Her sister was the mistress of Bingley House and all things social were in her realm to decide.
“To think of it now, I am most excited.” Jane smiled and reminded Elizabeth to write to their mother inviting her and the remaining Bennet sisters to Town.
Miss Dumont thought of another gambit to entice the men of the house. “We shall have a dinner the night before the ball with Mr. Darcy, and Miss Darcy,” she said smiling brightly at the young lady, “you must come as well with your cousin the colonel if he is in town.”
Jane could not object to something as simple as a dinner and so she listened intently to the plan Miss Dumont laid out.
“We shall exchange valentines that night in the spirit of the day. It is a custom in our home to hold such a dinner and invite our friends. Some matches have been made at our dinner table on the night before St. Valentine’s Day,” she finished in a conspiratorial whisper.
Elizabeth wondered if Miss Dumont meant to make a match with Mr. Darcy or if she were setting a plan so that her brother, Mr. Dumont, might seek a match with her.
“Would it not be uncomfortable for those of us without a husband or sibling present? I would agree to a dinner before the ball, but this dinner seems contrived.”
Miss Dumont waved away Elizabeth’s doubt. “It is only in good fun, Miss Bennet. If you do not wish to write a valentine, no one will think the worse of you.”
The ladies began to plot the ball and draw up a menu for the dinner. Elizabeth rose and went to look out the window onto the street.
Did she dare write a valentine to Mr. Darcy? She surely would not write one to Mr. Dumont for she did not like him in the least.
Elizabeth was certain that Miss Dumont would write to Mr. Darcy. What if he was drawn into Miss Dumont’s arms and she missed the opportunity to tell him her feelings had changed where he was concerned?
Two weeks later, on the eve of the Valentine dinner, Elizabeth paid close attention to her hair and dress. She had decided to write a valentine to Mr. Darcy after all for the events of the past weeks revealed that she must in order to counter Miss Dumont.
Miss Bingley had come to visit with Mrs. Hurst and the argument that ensued between Miss Dumont and Caroline Bingley had been most contentious.
Before Mrs. Hurst had been able to remove her younger sister from the drawing room at Bingley House, Elizabeth and Jane had heard that Miss Dumont had set her cap for Mr. Darcy some years back and had shamelessly thrown herself at him before one and all.
Elizabeth imagined the behavior must have been much worse than she had witnessed since the woman’s arrival in London. The idea caused her cheeks to burn and sympathy for both Mr. Darcy and Miss Bingley filled her heart.
Though her lack of admiration for Miss Bingley continued, she despised Miss Dumont’s flirtatious nature and thought Miss Bingley had rightly been hurt by her cousin’s betrayal. It seemed Miss Dumont had known how mad her cousin was over Mr. Darcy.
Elizabeth’s thoughts turned to the day before when she had met Mr. Darcy in the park while she strolled with a footman following behind.
Mr. Dumont had gone with Mr. Bingley on business and Miss Dumont was with Jane in the parlor making certain every last detail of the ball had been seen to by the servants.
She had taken the opportunity to walk unaccompanied by either Dumont and rushed out of the house. Mr. Darcy had joined her on her second circuit around the park.
When he appeared by one of the stone arches marking the entry, she had smiled and left the path to greet him. “Mr. Darcy, what a lovely surprise! I had not thought to see you today.”
He took her hand and placed it carefully on his arm. Elizabeth admired the greatcoat he wore for the way it made his shoulders appear broader. The scent of orange and cedar had mingled as he brought his arm up and she inhaled deeply.
“Miss Bennet, I saw your footman and hoped you were here alone.”
Elizabeth nodded. “I escaped Bingley House with only the footman to accompany me. I believe I winded the poor man with my rush to arrive here without anyone coming along.”
Mr. Darcy walked with her and was silent for a moment. “Pardon my curiosity, but do you not find Mr. Dumont dashing and handsome enough to tempt you?”
She recalled those words, how Mr. Darcy had said as much about her the first time they met at the Assembly in Meryton many months ago. “His sister is insufferable and he is a seducer. His insincere words fall on my ears with such frequency, I am nearly driven to run away home to Longbourn. If Jane did not need me here, I would go.”
Mr. Darcy made a sound in his throat and Elizabeth knew her words had caused him to regret asking his question. “I would speak with Charles if you wish. I do not like the idea of Mr. Dumont cornering you as though you were his prey.”
Elizabeth had assured Mr. Darcy that she was capable of defending her honor and that the Dumonts would soon return North before asking her own question. “I imagine you find Miss Dumont handsome enough to tempt you? She is very beautiful.”
Mr. Darcy had stopped and turned to her. “Beauty is a fine thing for a woman to have in her favor, but it is also ruined by calculation and scheming. I prefer a woman of intellect and curiosity. One with a natural beauty and capable mind.”
“And have you ever met such a woman as the one you describe?” Elizabeth asked the question before she might think better of it and dropped her gaze when she realized how bold she had been.
Mr. Darcy tilted her chin up with one gloved finger so that he might look into her eyes as he spoke. “Truthfully, I have. But I wounded her pride most foolishly and wronged her sister. I do not know if she would wish to align herself with me now.”
Elizabeth held her breath and looked earnestly into his eyes. The footman passed them and she turned away from Mr. Darcy. Not once more did they speak of the matter as they made another circuit of the park’s path.
Now, as she dismissed her maid and pulled a sheet of stationary from her writing desk drawer, Elizabeth sat thoughtfully staring at the parchment.
She smiled as the words came to her. Elizabeth dipped her pen in the ink bottle and began to write carefully.
To-morrow is Saint Valentine’s day,
All in the morning betime,
And I a maid at your window,
To be your Valentine.
She signed it with a lovely, bold E at the bottom and rose to allow the ink to dry before folding the paper. It was not forward nor demanding of Mr. Darcy, only playful and lighthearted.
Elizabeth hoped he might know her feelings from the playful, unassuming note.
Her stomach knotted with anticipation of the evening ahead. Miss Dumont had laid down rules in a letter sent to each dinner guest, including those who resided at Bingley House. They were allowed one valentine each to give to the person they admired most. The note must consist only of poetry and nothing more, and they might only sign with the initial of their first name.
A knock came at her door and Elizabeth startled. She rushed to the writing desk and carefully folded her one note. On the front she swiftly wrote the initial F, the first letter of Mr. Darcy’s name, and willed her hand not to shake. Blowing upon the letter, her heart sang to know Mr. Darcy would understand her feelings by the time the evening was done.
She went to the door and found Jane outside patiently waiting. “I am sorry, my dearest sister. I had to allow the ink to dry on my valentine.”
Jane tried to spy the initial Elizabeth had written on her valentine, but her sister was quick to tuck it into her skirt pocket.
“I believe I know who may receive your valentine this night, Lizzy. Won’t you tell me or will you make me guess?” Jane attempted a pout but Elizabeth only laughed.
“You will know soon enough! We may not spoil the surprise nor give away our secrets. If my valentine is not inclined to reply in the same manner, then no one will be hurt. If they do respond in kind, then all will rejoice.”
Jane rolled her eyes. “You sound like Papa! I never could stand waiting, you know.”