More Kisses: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Jae George

Author:Jae George [George, Jae]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2022-03-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

After the Easter break, the events of the season began in earnest. Some families held the tradition of being among the first to hold balls, dinners, teas, and musicales. And it seemed to Elizabeth that the Darcys were invited to them all. Relying on William to identify the ones that friendships or family connections necessitated their attendance, she tried to keep their social calendar from becoming too demanding. She especially tried to avoid the events that required very late nights. Aunt Helen intervened with an occasional reminder that the family had planned an evening at the theatre or opera.

Georgiana seemed satisfied with the number and types of their engagements and was growing in confidence with each foray into London's first circles. William was pleased that they did not have to attend a function every evening and began to enjoy his limited involvement as long as his lovely and sociable wife was at his side.

Aunt Gardiner was also helpful by being present for many of the events and always available to introduce Elizabeth to her many acquaintances and then to sit with Elizabeth after she had met her obligation by accepting three or four dances. She and William had agreed that she would always save the first, last, and supper sets for him, although protocol called for only one dance per married couple.

Although Elizabeth had noticed some whispers at the various events they attended, she had remained calm and did not let the gossips have control of her thoughts or emotions. She often quoted her watchword scripture under her breath: whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

***

The day of Georgiana's curtsy to Queen Charlotte had begun as a stressful morning, proceeded through a smoothly completed presentation with Lady Matlock there to sponsor her and introduce her niece to Her Majesty, and an anticlimactic afternoon with a reception for family at Darcy House. The debutante retold the event to any who asked since only she and Lady Matlock had entered the reception room. One or two of the young ladies had suffered missteps, dropping a bloom during her curtsy or stepping on a hem while backing away, but Georgiana had made it through without even the tiniest of errors. The relief she felt that evening was visible in her countenance. Now she was focused on her upcoming ball.

***

The planning and arrangements for the ball at Darcy House were proceeding apace. The colors were to be blue and white in coordination with Georgie's beautiful gown with pink accents in the flowers and china. The debutante would wear the Darcy sapphires, which included a necklace, earrings, and tiara. The sapphires were set in white gold with diamonds surrounding the larger stones. Elizabeth looked forward to seeing Georgiana in her finery, imagining that the young miss would look like a fairy princess.

As the evening approached, Elizabeth attended the final fitting for her own gown. The emerald green silk brought attention to her green eyes and complimented her rosy complexion.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.