40

The parlour where they had all played Regents and Lunatics had been utterly transformed for the ball at Cameron Court; Lydia Bennet was prodigiously proud of her handiwork. Hundreds of candles burned on the shelves that lined one of the longer walls of the room, and the gauzy gold and ivory fabric that draped the other three walls, scalloped at intervals, seemed to glow and radiate warmth and romance. Elegant arrangements of pink and white flowers adorned every available surface, filling the room with a thick and pleasant aroma. The doors to the adjoining music room had been thrown open, and a quartet of musicians had just begun to play the first strains of music as Lydia surveyed what she had accomplished.

The furniture had been moved to the corners of the room, allowing for little pockets of conversation, and leaving enough space for a dozen couples to stand up. She had consulted her eldest sister and constructed the guest list carefully, inviting several local families who had sons and daughters of an age to enjoy such festivities. A few of them had become her friends since she had resided at Cameron Court; the rest were people she wished to know better.

And all the single young ladies were just as beautiful as she, if not prettier, which suited her perfectly. Of course, Lydia had taken considerable care in dressing for the occasion. She had a new gown of warm rose colour with silver and burgundy embroidery that complimented her complexion, and she had pinned fresh pink roses from the garden into her elegant coiffure.

But there were several other young ladies in attendance who had taken just as much care in their own toilette – some with a particular beau in mind, but all of them sure to be glad they were looking so fine in the company of the gentlemen who were guests of the house. Already, Miss Bartlett and Miss Crestone had attached themselves to Colonel Fitzwilliam in the hopes of being asked for a dance.

Lydia observed him with undaunted curiosity as he spoke with her friends. He was civil and warm, but not flirtatious, and his eyes kept drifting back to Lydia. She smiled at him from across the room, proud that he should be so admired, and satisfied that he would not be swayed by a pretty face.

There had been a time when Lydia had aspired to be nothing more than attractive, as Miss Bartlett and Miss Crestone certainly were. It had taken her coming to Cameron Court and learning from the lives of her sisters for Lydia to consider what she desired more seriously. She knew now that she wished to be a great deal more than her favourable features, and she was resolved that she could only tolerate being loved for more than just her beauty.

She knew Colonel Fitzwilliam saw the woman she was becoming, and she believed he respected her for it, as much as he admired her. He was the son of an earl and a soldier who had seen much of the world, while she was the daughter of an obscure country gentleman and a very silly woman who had left her education to her sisters – but Lydia considered them as equals in every way that mattered. He understood her, and he was disarmingly genuine in her company, bandying wits and seeming to really relish their verbal sparring as much as she did. They felt like old friends, and they had worked well together in bringing the Bingleys as well as Elizabeth and Captain Darcy together.

Lydia was hopeful that their relationship might be the next to progress, and she was searching for signs that he was as sure of her as she had become of him. The searing eye contact he was presently holding with her was beyond reassuring, for she felt a fluttering within her that nearly made her laugh with giddiness.

Like an invisible string had been pulled, she was drawn toward him, and moved through the room, which teemed with activity as forty people mingled merrily. She greeted his companions with a bright smile, complimenting their finery in all sincerity. “Miss Bartlett, is that a new gown? That shade of lavender looks wonderful on you! And Miss Crestone, your hairstyle is exquisite!”

The ladies thanked her for her words, and for their invitation, but said little else. Colonel Fitzwilliam was not satisfied. “And is Miss Bennet not looking extraordinarily well tonight, ladies? Her lovely chestnut curls set off the flowers very prettily, and observe how her gown shimmers in the candlelight!” He lifted Lydia’s hand in his own and gestured for her to give them a little spin.

Lydia was sure she was blushing at his impulse to show her off. She was gratified, though she had not meant to make her friends uncomfortable. “I expect that all the guests tonight shall be a treat for the eyes – and those who are not, well… that is what the wine is for, I suppose.”

Miss Bartlett tipped her head to one side in confusion before she comprehended the jest, but Miss Crestone gave a tinkling laugh. “Then there is hope yet for my brother!”

Lydia followed her friend’s gaze across the room. Poor Robert Crestone! The good Lord had favoured him in fortune and intellect, but had bestowed no further gifts in his countenance. And yet he was sharing a rather tender look with Miss Crowe, the local bluestocking, so perhaps there was some hope for the fellow.

“Miss Bennet?” Miss Crestone gave Lydia a gentle nudge and an expectant look, suggesting that something had been spoken which Lydia had been too distracted to hear.

“Forgive me, I was wool-gathering,” she said. It had occurred to her that she had been so caught up in the goings on of the couples at Cameron Court that she had not realised the other young people in the neighbourhood must all have similar dramas of their own playing out. “It is such a novelty to be in such a romantic setting, is it not?”

“Certainly,” Miss Bartlett agreed, batting her eyelashes at the colonel.

“Not so novel for you, nor I,” he said to Lydia. “We have been rather immersed in such an atmosphere these three weeks at least, with our efforts on your sisters’ behalf. You must advertise your services to these lovely ladies – she is quite the matchmaking artist,” he told their companions.

Miss Crestone looked at her with interest, and Miss Bartlett with envy. Miss Crestone smiled and asked, “Whatever have you been up to, Miss Bennet?”

“Matchmaking,” Lydia said with playful flourish. “I shall have a great deal to tell you both!”

“But when shall you find the time to talk? Dancing is to be our chief occupation this evening – I am sure your dance cards must nearly be full,” Colonel Fitzwilliam teased. He made a great show of writing his name down for both of her friends, sharing a smile with Lydia as he did so. And then he held Lydia’s dance card between his fingers, obliging her to lift her wrist as he raised it up and pretended to examine it with alarm. “But yours is utterly empty, no partners at all,” he tutted, his eyes crinkling with mirth as he stepped closer to Lydia and held her gaze.

“Surely you jest,” Miss Crestone gasped. Lydia allowed her friend to seize her wrist and examine the dance card herself. Lydia remained still, her eyes fixed on the colonel, who was looking at her with enough intensity to make her feel like the only woman in the room.

The heated moment passed when Miss Crestone smiled broadly as she said, “Why, Lydia, your dance card is nearly full! Colonel Fitzwilliam has already claimed the first dance and the supper set!”

“Yes, Lydia has only the last dance of the evening left,” the colonel replied, his lips twisting with wicked mirth as he spoke her name. “Shall she make a scandal and dance thrice with me? The first time shall hardly count, for I never perform the opening dance of a ball well, except to jest when I miss a step. But perhaps I might make up for it in the supper set – by then I shall be warmed up properly, and might even recommend myself well enough to secure that final set. Shall Lydia throw caution to the wind and consent?”

Lydia made a droll face at him. “I suppose that depends on how much nonsense you speak to me between now and the end of the night, sir. I am familiar enough with your talents in that quarter.” She gave her fan a flick of the wrist, and was prepared to make a very insolent departure from their saucy conversation, when the opening set was called. The colonel caught her hand in his, and gave a nod to her friends before leading Lydia to join the dance.

She had begun to feel as if she had unintentionally flaunted the colonel’s preference for her before her friends, and considered that perhaps she might make it up to them by making some advantageous introductions for them. Her aunt was well connected in London, and certainly Madame Piedmont and Lady Isabel were doubly so. Lydia voiced her thoughts to Colonel Fitzwilliam, who relished the chance she had given him to tease her.

“If you can accept that you have enough hats and gloves for a little while, you might use your pin money to take out an advertisement, Miss Bennet,” he drawled.

She wrinkled her nose, disliking the formal address after hearing him call her Lydia. “No indeed, I shall reserve my services only for my friends. After all, there are only so many hours in the day, and I have scarcely had time to read my salacious novels.”

“Such a deprivation in the name of your friends is truly a sacrifice,” he said with mock solemnity.

“Your understanding does you credit,” she teased, feeling a rush of heat in her chest as she considered how eager she was to resume her reading habits. But it would not do to let him see what she was feeling, and she applied herself to more lighthearted banter for the remainder of their first dance.

The colonel danced next with Miss Bartlett and then with Miss Crestone, his eyes seeming to follow her throughout the room as she partnered her brothers by marriage in turn. Charles was gregarious on the subject of all the entertainment they had had at Cameron Court, and even Mr. Collins was an agreeable partner – he had improved quite a bit from her first impression of him long ago. Captain Darcy also made a fine partner, for he was more graceful than she had expected, and more eager to converse with her than he had been at the beginning of their acquaintance.

Elizabeth watched them, her face lit with joy and perhaps even a little mischief, for she was dancing nearby with Colonel Fitzwilliam, and Lydia could guess what they were talking of. She observed her sister closely for a moment, and nearly tripped as she grinned at Captain Darcy.

“I have made an interesting observation,” she told her partner.

“I am sure you wish to share it with me,” he said evenly.

“Since she had been amongst us, Elizabeth has begun to wear the ring Olly gave her on her right hand, not her left. I can just make out the outline of it under her gloves. And yet, I can see the same sort of shape protruding from the same finger on her other hand.”

Captain Darcy smiled. “You have a keen eye, Miss Bennet. Whatever you mean to imply, I shall not deny, though I hope you will keep this between us and allow me to make the announcement over supper.”

So they were engaged! Lydia grinned broadly, then quickly schooled her countenance to a more subdued smile.

“I should never deny you such a joy as that,” Lydia replied, for she well understood the pleasure of sharing news that would amaze the whole room. “At any rate, I am to dance the next with your cousin and I should like nothing better than to know a secret that he does not! But if I am to be your sister, you had better call me Lydia. Might I call you Will, as Georgie does?”

He nodded his assent. “Certainly, Lydia. I believe you have rather earned it.” He was a man of few words where everyone but Elizabeth was concerned, but Lydia understood him well enough – he meant to express his gratitude for her efforts to provide such entertainment as would lend itself naturally to romance, and she was only glad that she had succeeded.

She stood up next with Colonel Fitzwilliam for the supper set, a lively allemande. “I have reassured your friends of your eagerness to extend your services as a matchmaker when next you are all in London,” he said brightly. “Shall I repeat their remarks of gratitude for your edification?”

“I think you mean to amuse yourself as well as me, but I should rather hear it from them,” she retorted. “I do think they are both worthy creatures, and I ought to have some friends who are not actually blood relations!”

“And shall you maintain your friendship with them once you are all settled who knows where?”

“Of course,” she replied. “I have the highest regard for letter-writing, and I believe we are both rather in danger of having no friends at all outside our family circle.”

“I have any number of friends,” he said. Lydia looked about the room as if to search for them, and then shrugged her shoulders at him. The colonel laughed. “Perhaps I am in danger of socialising only with my relations, but at least it is a wide circle.”

“We are lucky to belong to such a fine set of friends,” she agreed.

“Certainly – I have every hope of feeling myself the luckiest of men this night.” He gave her a searching look, and Lydia drew in a sharp breath as she felt her secret wishes for the evening welling up in her chest.

But she missed a turn of the dance in her amorous distraction, and when she collided with Mr. Collins, who apologised profusely, the moment was shattered. Colonel Fitzwilliam grinned. “We have a few days yet before our merry house party is broken up. Perhaps we might indulge your aunt and uncle Gardiner by playing another game of Regents and Lunatics. I long to see what sort of player Collins should make – can you imagine? And I especially enjoy the theme of naming rules after English monarchs; being called Richard, I might immortalise myself with my very own caveat.”

The next movement of the dance brought them close enough that he was able to whisper in her ear, “You might call me Richard, Lydia. Do you not long to savour the taste of my name upon your lips?”

Lydia knew he was deliberately provoking her with his sensual imagery, and so she made the most of rolling her lips with a very sultry movement as she pronounced his name. “Richard,” she said, drawing the syllables out as she let her mouth quirk into a beguiling smile. “You promised to be quite past your nonsense by the supper set.”

He gave her a heated grin and whispered, “You love it.”

She let out a heady giggle as they spun in time to the music. “Yes, I do,” she breathed, giving him a look that was a loaded invitation. The movement of the dance had brought them to the periphery of the room, furthest from the musicians at the far side of the large parlour.

Here she had ensured there was an area that was not as well lit, and beyond the shadows was an open doorway leading to a smaller room. She had asked for the fireplace to be lit, but none of the sconces. With so much romance sure to ensue this night, she had thought it might be useful to have some secret place where lovers might be alone for such purposes as she was keen to read about.

And of course, she had not been too altruistic to consider that she might make use of the little room herself. Lydia had only to glance in that direction, and the colonel understood her. His movement was swift in twirling her outward, into the shadows that provided them cover as they careened into the dark room.

Her skirts swirled about her as she spun, slowing her movement until her body rested against his in the privacy beyond sight of the ballroom. Without speaking a word, he encircled her in his arms and drew her toward him for a passionate, desperate kiss. His lips moved hungrily over her own, while his hands ran through her hair and down her shoulders, and her hands made a similar circuit of his muscled arms and chest.

He drew away from her in another flurry of movement, seating her on the window seat as he knelt before her. “Lydia, I am to depart for Kent in a few days’ time, but I cannot leave without throwing myself at your feet and begging you to be mine – to become my wife.”

She had not the time to voice her agreement, for he continued his words of adoration as the fire crackled, casting a warm glow over his face, which appeared wild as he ardently addressed her.

“I cannot bear the thought of not knowing when I might again be in your effervescent company, for in truth I wish that I might never part from your side. These three weeks have been the best of my life, and not only because we have brought about so much happiness for those we care about. It has been humbling, inspiring, and utterly bewitching to see the depth of your devotion to those you care about, and an honour to be included in your endeavours. I have never thought much about what qualities I desired in a wife, but you have taught me what I need – what I cannot live without. Your easy banter and good cheer, your fondness for the children, the way I am more myself when I am with you, this is what I wish to fill the rest of my life. I have fallen in love with the woman you have become, and I wish to do so all over again every day until my last. Marry me, Lydia, say that you love me as I love you.”

Before Colonel Fitzwilliam had even finished his speech, Lydia fell to her knees and threw her arms around him. “That was beautiful,” she said, tears pouring down her face. “I did not know it would make me weep.”

He laughed as he returned her embrace. “But you knew I meant to ask you?”

“Well, I hardly thought you were insensible of my charms – and of how I love you,” Lydia replied. “Indeed, I would have been surprised if you had not asked me, and thought you a simpleton. And of course, my heart would have been broken.”

He laughed, and Lydia wiped at her tears before taking his face in her hands and lightly kissing his nose. “Of course I shall marry you. I have been resolved to do so since the day I laid eyes on you.”

His chest rumbled against hers with his husky laughter. “I suppose I have little choice in the matter.”

“No indeed, for now that I have accepted you, you are all my own, Richard,” Lydia said. In the flickering firelight she could see tears in his eyes, and she leaned in to gently kiss each of his cheeks. “I love you so dearly. It is silly to think of my girlish infatuation with you, when these past weeks I have thought only of what you will say or think or do, as if you are an extension of myself, a part of my own heart. I have come to love you beyond anything I know possible. It is most extraordinary.”

He kissed her forehead and rose to his feet before helping her do the same. Only then did Lydia realise the music had ceased, and even the dim conversation in the next room had begun to ebb. Colonel Fitzwilliam smiled. “I believe that is our cue to join our friends for supper – we shall have an announcement to make.”

And they were not the only ones. Captain Darcy was making the announcement of his engagement to Elizabeth just as Lydia and her betrothed entered the room, and the colonel allowed the applause to subside before making his own declaration. The earl and Charles each stood and made a speech of congratulations, and the conversation was lively throughout the meal, though Lydia was insensible to every word not spoken by the colonel. She could think only of him.

After they had dined and the revellers all returned to the large parlour to resume their dancing, the two happy couples were congratulated again by the earl and Lady Anne Darcy. The Bingleys joined them, and Charles’s excitement was palpable. He held Jane’s hand and grinned so brightly Lydia feared his face must hurt.

The Earl of Matlock looked just as pleased. “Well, ladies, I wonder if my son had told you his little secret, eh?”

“Does he turn into a bat when the moon is full?” Lydia blurted before clamping a hand over her mouth.

Colonel Fitzwilliam gave her a gentle nudge and whispered, “I must know what you are reading, darling.”

The earl made a droll face and continued, “He wrote to me a fortnight ago asking me to procure two special licences to bring with me when I came into Yorkshire – one for himself, and the other for Will.”

Lydia gaped up at the colonel. He had known for that long that he wished to marry her? “How wonderful,” she breathed.

The earl nodded approvingly at Lydia, and then inclined his head toward Captain Darcy and Elizabeth, who had shared a significant look between themselves. “You might wed as soon as you wish, and as it happens, everybody whom you might think of inviting to your wedding is already here.”

“We are not suggesting you marry tonight,” Charles cried. “But you might wed in a few days – is that not grand? I have already discussed the matter with Jane and we heartily consent to host everyone for as long as needed to plan the wedding celebration – surely another week might suffice! In fact – and I hope you shall not think me presumptuous – or silly – but Jane and I wish to stand up with you, to say our vows again, as we have begun anew.”

Jane released her husband’s hand to reach out to each of her sisters. “What do you think – is it a mad plan?”

“It is perfect,” Elizabeth said, sounding rather dumbstruck. “Will?”

Captain Darcy looked to his mother, who gave an approving nod, and then he did the same. “I have no objection to making you my bride this moment,” he said.

The colonel looked between Lydia and Elizabeth. “Do you not wish your mother present? I understand the dower house was finished….”

Lydia bit her lips as she considered that she cared very little for her mother’s attendance. Since Mrs. Bennet had gone to Netherfield, she had written only to ask of gossip she might relay to her friends in Netherfield, and had inquired very little after the true well-being of her daughters. Her mother knew nothing of the events that had, over the last nearly three years, led to this blissful outcome. She had not earned her place at the end of their story, when the painful worst of it had finally given way to happiness for the three couples.

And likely, Mrs. Bennet would be content merely to boast of the event to her neighbours. “No, I do not think her presence is necessary,” Lydia said. Elizabeth sent her a look of gratitude for speaking, and Jane gave a silent bob of her head.

“Well,” Lady Anne said briskly. “I believe it is settled. My brother and I desire more grandchildren, you see, and so we shall manage everything from here. Is three days enough time? But no, that is a Sunday. Four days, then. Or perhaps we should consult a dressmaker before we select a date? Oh! But of course we must include your aunt and uncle.”

The Gardiners were beckoned over to join them, and it was not long before everybody agreed to a triple wedding at Cameron Court on the first of May.