Excentryke's Musings

Daisy Chains

Part the Tenth

Bella could see Netherfield Park lit up with lights as the carriage arrived—it looked like a fairy enchantment.  Sir William exited first and helped Lady Lucas out and then his two daughters.  However, when Bella made to step out of the carriage, Bella found herself presented with the hand of Darcy.  She only hesitated for a second before taking it.

As she stepped out, she looked up into his verdant eyes and gazed into the eyes of the man she was to marry in less than two days.  This man still caused shivers of dislike to crawl down her spine, but now she knew him to be a man without honor.  There was no refuge in the thought that he was a gentleman.  He did not deserve the title.  Still, she forced a small smile onto her lips.  “Good evening,” she greeted.

He took her hand and slipped it into the crook of his arm.  “Good evening, Isabella.”

“You know,” she began conversationally as he led her into the house, “my friends have always called me ‘Bella’ or ‘Bells.’  It is how I have always thought of myself.  ‘Isabella’ was the late ‘Lady Swan.’”

“Indeed?  You were named for your grandmother?”  As they came into the hall, he took her coat to reveal her gown of pure white silk and lace.  She looked quite well in it, if Bella thought so herself.  Mariah had preened over her and even Charlotte had looked her over with approval.

Bella took her fan out of her pocket before surrendering her cloak.  “I was named for both of my grandmothers.”

Darcy, reclaiming her hand, leaned down to whisper in her ear, causing a shiver to sweep through her.  “Still, I think of you as ‘my Isabella.’”

That was his answer then.  He would not respect her even in her name.

She was sure to put a small smile on her face and greet the people they were walking past.

The small orchestra—for there were more than eight players—had not struck up and couples were mingling in the ballroom.  Bella could see officers among them and thought she had spotted Phil.  The Hursts were definitely in attendance.  There were one or two Bennet sisters, although Bella did not spot Kitty.

Coming up to them, Fitzwilliam looked dashing in his regimentals.  He bowed to her.  Now Bella knew he was Darcy’s natural brother.  She smiled at him widely and curtseyed.

“I trust I may still have your second dance.”

“And Owestry is to have my third,” she answered.  “I wonder who is to have my fourth or my fifth. I may only dance with Darcy twice.”  She tapped her fiancé with her fan as she said this, determined to be carefree.  This was her last night of freedom when she might dance with whom she wished before Darcy could control her dance card.

“Surely there are one or two officers,” Fitzwilliam suggested and she looked at him oddly.

“I told you, Colonel,” she chided, “my mother dances with officers.”

He looked around.  “Where is your excellent mother?”

“Why?” she inquired.  “Do you wish to dance with her?”

He looked at her in shock. 

“Many men do,” she informed him.  “She is quite renowned for her beauty.  She looks as if she could be my age.”

Fitzwilliam glanced at Darcy for confirmation.

He inclined his head.

“Indeed?”

“Indeed,” Darcy conferred.

The strings struck up and Darcy claimed Bella’s hand and she was led away from Fitzwilliam who immediately went in search of a pretty partner.

“Perhaps we should have married today,” Bella suggested as they swept toward each other in the dance, “then we could have begun and ended with a dance.”

Darcy took her hand and they moved forward in the line.  “You forget, Isabella, this is not an ending.  Simply a new beginning.”

She swept away from him and around the lady who was next in line, coming to stand back in her place. 

The dance moved on without them.

“I suppose you are correct,” she agreed.  “However, it is the end of my childhood.”

They swept toward each other once again.

“I think that ended the moment Sir Charles died,” Darcy observed.

Bella grimaced.  She did not want to think about Charlie or the hunting accident at a Ball.  Far from it.  She was already not thinking about her impending wedding—and trying to enjoy herself.

A flash of light caught her eye and she looked up. 

There, along the row of dancers, walking behind them, was Carlisle Cullen, dressed pristinely in a starched cravat.  She tracked his progress and almost missed her step in the dance.  He did not join the line, but instead stood near the punch, observing the dancers.

When the set was over, Darcy took her hand and walked her to the side of the line.  “I trust I may have your supper dance.”

“Of course,” she answered, looking over his left shoulder.  “I would expect nothing less.”

Fitzwilliam came up, having deposited his partner at a chair, and offered his hand.  “I believe it is my turn.”

“I believe it is,” Bella agreed.  “Shall you tell me of military campaigns during the dance?”

“I shouldn’t dare to, Cousin.  If I bore you, Darcy will never let me dance with you again.”

“Is that so?” Bella teased, looking over her shoulder at Darcy.

Fitzwilliam led her to the line, one of many officers in the dance. 

Bella saw her mother standing up with Lieutenant Saunderson, which wasn’t much of a surprise.  He was a great friend of Phil’s and had often been at the townhouse.  “I haven’t spied Lady Julia,” Bella observed as they stepped into the dance.

“I believe she is here somewhere,” Fitzwilliam promised, not even looking. “She came down with the ladies before the guests began to arrive.”

“And how do you find the Bingleys?”

“Second rate,” he told her unabashedly, startling Bella.  “Their money comes from trade.”

Bella skipped around the lady to her left before retaking her position.  “I had no idea,” she confessed.

“Darcy knows Bingley from Cambridge and came to aid him in attempting to run an estate.  Bingley’s father never bought any land.  They are trying to make themselves respectable.  Honestly, I don’t know why Darcy bothers.  I shouldn’t accept any invitations from the Bingleys once you become Mrs. Darcy.”

Bella was intrigued by this.  “I take it Darcy is of the first circles.  That is what I have been led to believe.”

“Quite so, Miss Swan.”

Bella went to skip ahead again, breaking from Fitzwilliam.

“The Swans of Kenbridge are quite refined, you understand,” Bella added when they came back together.  “Not quite the aristocracy, but nothing to turn your nose down at either.”

“We are quite pleased with the arrangement,” Fitzwilliam assured her with a wink.

Their hands twisted together and then Bella skipped away, her hands clasped behind her back, the silk of her gloves smooth against her palms.

Fitzwilliam was quite handsome in his regimentals but as she did not find Darcy particularly attractive—nor Wickham for that matter—the Colonel did not move her.

Bella was brought to the Viscount of Owestry who was sharing a lemonade with his sister, Lady Julia.  The two were surprisingly similar in looks, Lady Julia only an inch taller.  Owestry handed his cup to his sister with a twinkle in his eye and solemnly took Bella’s hand to lead her out into the dance.

At first they did not speak, but moved into the steps.

Bella preferred this after the revelations the day before.  Still, she appreciated Owestry as a dancer.  He was quite refined.  When the first dance was finished and the second beginning, Bella broke the silence.  “I do not know if there is a Viscountess or not.  No one has told me.”

“I am a widower,” he confessed.  “Sophie died two years ago.”

“Do you have an heir for your title?”

“Only a daughter.”

She nodded.  “Children are such a blessing.”

“I understand your father’s title and estate went to a distant cousin.”

“Yes,” Bella agreed, her hand pressed to Owestry’s shoulder as they turned around each other, their eyes meeting.  “Cousin Lewis.  Sir Lewis, I should call him.  He should be arriving tomorrow with neither his wife nor his daughter.  For some reason Darcy uninvited them.”

Owestry’s eyebrows furrowed.  “How peculiar.”

“Peculiar indeed,” Bella agreed.  “He informed me when he canceled the rooms I had arranged at the Meryton Arms.”  Their hands twisted in each other’s grasps as they held onto each other, turning around each other in a figure eight, back pressed nearly against back in an intimate embrace. 

“What Darcy does often baffles me,” Owestry confessed, “though your loveliness speaks for itself.”

Bella blushed.  “You only say that because you must flatter me,” she demurred.

“No, Miss Swan,” he assured her as the dance came to an end.  “I assure you.”

She forced herself to compose herself as she curtseyed to him and turned to clap to the orchestra.  He led her off to the side and Bella furtively looked around to catch a glimpse of Carlisle but could find him nowhere in the crowd.

Renee was in a flurry of officers—none of them Fitzwilliam, fortunately—and seemed quite contented to be the center of attention.

Bingley claimed her hand next, having handed off Kitty to one of her many sisters, and Bella was surprised to see Darcy dance with Eliza Bennet.  She caught Owestry’s gaze and tilted her head at her fiancé and his latest partner with a questioning look in her eye, but then returned to Bingley’s happy smiles.

Fitzwilliam danced with her the fifth and it was at about this time that Darcy disappeared.

“Where is he?” Bella wondered when she went searching for him for the Supper Dance.  If they did not dance the Supper Dance together, it would be improper for them to sit with each other.  It was an unspoken rule of society.  Bella knew she could always sit with Fitzwilliam, Owestry, or even Lady Julia, but she knew tongues would wag if she wasn’t sitting with Darcy.  She also knew that this was when Darcy intended to announce their engagement.

Owestry was with her as well as Lady Julia who was tired of Oliver Hatfield’s effusions over the feathers in her hair.

“He must be in the library,” Lady Julia assured Bella.  “He never can stand a ball.”

“Are you certain?” Bella wondered.  “At the assembly he attended me the entire time and seemed quite engaged.”

“Darcy?  Engaged at an assembly?  I dare not believe it?” Lady Julia exclaimed, reaching for a doorknob and pushing it open. 

She walked in, her eyes still behind her on Bella, and Bella stumbled in afterward.

It was Bella who gasped. 

Owestry was not far behind her and he quickly called for Lady Julia and Bella to leave.

However, Bella could not unsee what she had seen.  The image was seared on her mind.  Eliza Bennet had been sprawled out on a desk, her dress hiked up over her waist, her stockings on full display, one slipper on and the other on the floor, with Darcy spread between her legs with his hose strung past his buttocks.

Lady Julia screamed.

Owestry shut the door hastily behind them.

Bella was breathing heavily.  “He was—” she stated in a quandary.  “Why was he naked?”

Lady Julia was now fanning herself.

“That is a question best left for Mrs. Dwyer,” Owestry suggested.

There was a great deal of rustling behind the door and Owestry hurried Lady Julia and Bella away from there and back in the hallway and into the ballroom.  Fitzwilliam soon met them with four punches in his hand and looked at them merrily.

“Julia!” he exclaimed.  “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.  What now, Miss Swan?”

“We have seen Darcy!” Julia exclaimed in a hurried whisper, still fanning herself.

Fitzwilliam’s face went dark, no other explanation necessary.  “I will not ask the name of the lady.”

“I daresay the name would mean nothing to us,” Lady Julia answered, glancing back behind her shoulder, back down the hallway.

Owestry was looking at Bella in concern.  She felt sick to her stomach.  Was she really meant to marry that man in two days’ time?  Renee surely could not make her go through with it now—not now that Darcy was—cavorting with Eliza Bennet—

“Take Julia,” Owestry instructed his brother as he took Bella by the arm.  “I believe Miss Swan is about to faint.”

“I believe a doctor is here!” Fitzwilliam added in helpfully.

“Dr. Cullen,” Bella whispered helpfully.  “It is Dr. Cullen—”

Owestry led her off to the side and down another hallway and, as if summoned by the mere mention of his name, Dr. Cullen appeared at the door of the room where Owestry deposited Bella on a chaise.

“Miss Swan?  Is it the heat of the ballroom?” he asked as he came in and looked at her worriedly.  He quickly came and took her gloved wrist in his hand and felt for the pulse point.  “I cannot tell with your glove,” he said after a long minute.  “With your permission, Miss Swan.”  He looked to Owestry.  “Are you a relative of Miss Swan’s, sir?”

“I am the Viscount of Owestry.”

Carlisle continued to stare at him. 

“I am Darcy’s cousin.”

Nodding, Carlisle accepted Bella’s hand back when she had removed the glove.  “You will care about the lady’s well being then.  There are rumors of an engagement.”

Bella’s eyes fluttered at the thought.

“She has had a shock,” Owestry explained calmly.

“What kind of a shock?”

Bella and Owestry exchanged a look.

Carlisle looked between them.  “I see you will not tell me.”  He carefully placed Bella’s hand on the arm of the chaise.  “Miss Swan, what are your symptoms?”

“I feel—I feel—”  She looked off into the distance.

Sighing, Carlisle turned to Owestry.  “Let her rest while this shock wears off.  Perhaps a little less dancing and certainly no more punch.  Only lemonade.”  He returned his attention to Bella.  “It is wonderful to see you looking so lovely, Miss Swan.”

Bella glanced at him, but felt so shaky that she couldn’t even think to answer him.

Carlisle bowed and left.

Taking the seat at the end of the chaise, Owestry looked worriedly over at her.

“It is good that you warned me yesterday,” Bella whispered.  “If I had not already known—”  Her voice trailed off.

“You can see what kind of a man he is.”

“He seemed so devoted—My mother was so certain.”

“You were not certain?”

“I do not matter in this marriage,” Bella admitted bitterly.  “I never have.”

Owestry suddenly looked desperate and Bella wondered at it.

There was a knock on the door and they both looked up.  Darcy opened the door and didn’t even ask to come in.  Owestry glanced back at Bella before he ceded his place on the chaise and left the room quietly.

Bella didn’t acknowledge that Darcy was in the room.  It was too hard.

The silence just stretched between them.

After several minutes, Darcy finally told her, “Supper has started.”

She didn’t look at him.  She just continued to look at her hands, one gloved and one not.  Her skin looked incredibly pale.  Reaching for her glove, she put it back on.

Hearing him move toward the door, Bella nevertheless stayed seated.

“Are you not coming?” he inquired.

“Why should I come?  I am not hungry.”

“You are being willful, Isabella.  Everyone expects you.”

She continued to look at her hands.  “Everyone must be disappointed then.”  The gloves really were fine.

He came over to her and, taking her jaw in his hand, forced her to look at him.  “I paid for that dress.”

Finding an inner strength that was unlike her, she stared at him resolutely.  “Should you like me to take it off then?”

He did not react except to breathe once through his nose: “You will come, Isabella, and you will come now.”  He grabbed her by the arm and wrenched her forward.  She cried out but she was pulled to her feet, forced to find her footing.  He held her for one long second before releasing her.  “Come,” he commanded.

For one brief moment, Bella thought she would resist him, but then she found her resolve crumbling.

When he held the door open for her, she walked through it, back out into the hall, and toward the sound of the supper, Darcy a dark shadow behind her. 

The bright lights and happy faces of the eating dancers met her and she found places left for her and Darcy with his Matlock cousins.  She carefully took her seat when Darcy held it out for her and accepted the plate that was made up for her, although she barely even touched it.

Carlisle looked at her worriedly from across the room.  She met his gaze for several long moments, trying to get across her pain, but eventually had to look away when Darcy whispered into her ear that it was her turn to perform on the pianoforte.

She wasn’t even aware that she stood up or went up to the instrument, Darcy in attendance.

When the engagement was announced, she dutifully smiled and allowed Darcy to kiss her hand, accepting the congratulations of everyone around her.

She secreted herself in a corner when the dancing started back up.

Darcy did not come looking for her.

If he was with Eliza Bennet, she honestly didn’t care.  Let her have him.

Sometime during the Allemande, Carlisle came and found her.

“Tell me,” he whispered, looking into her eyes with his golden gaze that was so unlike anything Bella had ever seen.

For several long moments, Bella was quiet, but then a single tear rolled down her cheek.

Carlisle quietly moved from his chair and came to sit next to her, slipping his hand into hers.  With a soft sigh, she dropped her head onto his shoulder.

“Tell me,” he whispered again.  “What did he do?”

“We walked in on him—on top of—Elizabeth Bennet,” she whispered back.  “His hose was around his ankles and he was—naked—from the waist down.  I’m not entirely certain what he meant to do to her but it was quite horrible.  She seemed to enjoy it.  He didn’t even offer any explanations—he just forced me to go into the Supper Room and announce our engagement as planned.  I didn’t even know he noticed Eliza Bennet.”

“Men are strange in their—attractions,” Carlisle admitted quietly.  “I have seen it often enough.”

“Why does he not marry her instead?” Bella whispered brokenly, wiping away her tears.

“I imagine her name is not so notable nor her dowry so fine,” Carlisle apologized.  “Such is the way the world turns.”

“Renee—Mama,” Bella corrected, “is only making me marry Darcy because Pemberley is so fine and his connections are so well.  I do not care at all.”

Carlisle laughed a little to himself, the sound like deep chimes.  “You would not marry me if you were free tomorrow.  I am but a country doctor.”

Bella lifted her head and turned to him.  Carlisle, at her gaze, looked down at her and brushed the tear streaks away from her face. 

“I would marry you tonight, Carlisle, and well you should know it,” she swore.  “I wouldn’t care if I were only a simple country doctor’s wife for the rest of my days and should never have fine silks again.”

Carlisle opened his mouth to answer but hesitated.  He seemed to consider and then, gently, he reached down and kissed Bella.  Breathing out of her nose quickly, Bella pushed herself into Carlisle.  He tasted sweet, like moonlight.  However, as soon as the kiss had begun, the kiss ended.  Carlisle looked into Bella’s eyes for a swift moment, squeezed her hand, then got up and ducked out of their corner.

Surprised, Bella opened her mouth to speak, but a moment later Lady Julia appeared.  “I have found you!” she declared, coming and taking the seat Carlisle had just vacated.  “Oh my dear, have you been crying?”

Bella quickly rubbed her cheeks.  “Only a little,” she promised.

Lady Julia cooed over her and quickly left to go find punch.

Carlisle did not come back.

Bella was forced to come out of her hiding spot for the last dance of the ball and stood up with Darcy.  She smiled at him sweetly and ignored him when he purposefully brushed up against her.  Her eyes searched for Carlisle but she only found the sympathetic face of Owestry. 

“I shall call on you tomorrow,” Darcy threatened when he handed her back into the Lucas carriage.

“Ho no!” Sir William told him.  “You cannot see the bride the day before the wedding!  It is bad luck.”

Darcy looked thunderous.

“Yes,” Bella told him, seizing on the excuse.  “Lady Julia may come if she should like, but you should not like to doom our marriage before it has even begun, would you?”  She hooked her arm in Mariah’s and sat back.

She was never so glad in her life than when the carriage rolled away.

“Was not Dr. Cullen handsome tonight?” Mariah prattled.

Bella smiled.  She could not agree more.