An End to Estrangement - A Pride and Prejudice Variation

Part 9

Four years earlier...

Lizzy had always adored London, and the particular treat of being invited to spend a week there with her aunt and uncle - and without any of her sisters - made the town all the more enthralling. There had been galleries and museums visited, lectures attended and numerous walks in the many parks, of which Elizabeth was still yet to decide upon her favourite. But this evening would mark the culmination of her stay here thus far: an opportunity to attend the public assembly with her aunt and uncle. Lizzy caressed the soft silk of her dress, one that had been selected and made up especially for this evening, and marvelled at how it seemed suited just to her. This evening, she promised the bright-eyed young lady who peered back at her from the confines of the looking-glass, you shall not be overshadowed! She was not foolish enough to consider that she, Elizabeth Bennet of Hertfordshire, might be amongst the most elegant young ladies at the assembly, but for the first time, she would be attending without Jane beside her.

Jane, who outshone her merely by being in the same room as her. Jane, whose beauty and grace were safely back in Hertfordshire, allowing Lizzy a taste of life out of the shadow of her sister. She shook her head, dispelling the thoughts. She did not begrudge Jane her beauty - how could she? It was hardly her sister's fault that she was kind and charming as well as pretty, and possessed such an intangible grace that she seemed to glide rather than walk wherever she went. Lizzy did not glide. She walked with purpose, and faster than most gentlemen, if the huffing of puffing of her uncle that afternoon on their circuit of St James's Park was any indication. She frowned at her reflection and then stood, attempting to mimic Jane and glide to the door. She succeeded only in catching the hem of her dress and flinched at a dreadful ripping sound. With a yelp, she lifted her skirts, examining the edge with an eye well-practised at discovering any damage, for she was perpetually being made to repair the chaos inflicted by her romping ways, as Mama insisted on calling them. It is not romping to climb a style when one is on a walk - how else could I be expected to go anywhere? Lizzy thought, biting her lip as she recalled more than one tree that she could barely contemplate passing without climbing up into and let her skirt drop, relieved that there seemed to be no damage, and grateful that Mama was far away in Hertfordshire, insensible of how close Lizzy had almost come to disaster.

Tiptoeing carefully to the door, Lizzy stepped out into the hallway and descended the stairs to the Gracechurch Street parlour, smiling to see her aunt and uncle looking more elegant than she could ever recall seeing them, as they patiently awaited the arrival of their niece.

"Lizzy!" Mrs Gardiner leapt to her feet as she spotted her, pulling her into a careful embrace. "How lovely you look! Well, we might as well make our way to the assembly room! We shall walk, if you don't mind?"

Lizzy shook her head, glancing back towards the stairway and wondering if she ought to return for a shawl. Mrs Gardiner saw the look and forestalled it.

"It is quite warm outside and we shall be there almost before we know it! Everything is so close to everything else in London!"

In this, Mrs Gardiner was proved right, and almost before Lizzy was aware of it, they had turned one corner and then another and soon found themselves facing the most elegant assembly room Lizzy could ever recall seeing.

"Is this -?" she murmured.

"Indeed!" Mr Gardiner's eyes twinkled as he shared a glance with his wife, both of them delighted to witness Elizabeth's reaction. "Shall we go in?"

Lizzy laughed, realising that she had come to a precipitous stop, stunned to stillness by the elegance of the building. Sliding her arm through her aunt's, she felt a sudden burst of uncharacteristic shyness and was rather grateful for the way her aunt and uncle stepped happily forwards as if this was something they had done almost every week of their lives.

This was not true, she knew. This evening's attendance was a treat arranged to celebrate her being with them, and she shook off the last of her nerves, determined not to undermine her aunt and uncle's generosity by not enjoying every moment of the festivities.