chandelier hanging from the ceiling, splendid in size and shape, but so denuded of candles that it gave out no more than a dim glow.
The people too were faded. The men’s coats were shiny with wear and their shoes were scuffed, whilst the women’s dresses were mended and patched. They wore the old style of clothing, heavy gowns with full skirts and damasked fabrics. Elizabeth had met their type before, in England, people who had once been wealthy but who now lived on the charity of their friends—not by taking money, but by accepting invitations to dinner or to stay, which both parties knew they could never return.
But despite the weary air of both people and surroundings, Elizabeth preferred it to the Rousel house. There, the surface had been dazzling and the undercurrents jaded; here, it was the other way about. Beneath their wary smiles, the people were warm and friendly. They had known sorrow and loss, but their spirit survived.
Elizabeth felt herself begin to breathe more freely.
qShe
was introduced to a dozen people. She told them of England and talked to them of their own city, but at last she could resist it no longer, and with a glance at Darcy, she invited him to lead her onto the floor.
‘A married couple. How outré!’ was the whisper as they took their places, for it was not done for married couples to dance together.
But Elizabeth did not care. It was like the days of their courtship. She and Darcy talked freely of everything they had seen and heard that day. They talked of art and music, of the people they had met and the people they still hoped to meet.
‘My cousin liked you, as I knew she would,’ said Darcy with pride.
Elizabeth thought of Mme Rousel’s eye and thought that liked was a strong word, but at least the beauty had not disapproved of her and had made her welcome.
‘It is a good thing not all your family are against the marriage,’ she said. ‘Will you invite her to visit us at Pemberley?’
‘Possibly. But I do not think she will leave France. Her life is here, with the glamour and amusements of Paris.’
Elizabeth was not sorry. She could not imagine Mme Rousel in England, where, in her gossamer-like dresses, she would surely catch her death of cold!
Elizabeth woke late on the morning after the ball. She and Darcy had not returned home until almost four o’clock in the morning, and when she finally roused herself, it was almost midday.
‘Good heavens!’ she said, jumping out of bed. ‘Why did you not wake me?’ she asked her maid.
‘The master said I was to let you sleep,’ said Annie, as she placed a tray of pain and chocolate in front of her.
‘Well, perhaps he was right. But now I must hurry,’ she said, eating her breakfast. ‘We are supposed to be going riding in an hour.’
Darcy had bought her a new mare and the animal was due to be delivered that morning. They had arranged to go riding by the side of the Seine if the weather was fine.
She had not brought a riding habit with her, having not intended to ride, but she had been able to buy one in Paris. The Darcy money and the Darcy name had ensured that the habit was made and delivered quickly, and it was now ready for her to wear. It lacked the artistry of London tailoring, but nevertheless, it was finer than anything she had worn as Miss Elizabeth Bennet. It was made of dark green broadcloth, with a high waist and a long, slender skirt, and she matched it with a green hat and York tan gloves. Her ruffled shirt showed white between the lapels. She glanced at herself in the mirror and then went downstairs.
As she crossed the hall, she heard a voice she recognised and she smiled with pleasure because the voice belonged to one of Darcy’s English cousins, Colonel Fitzwilliam. She knew Colonel Fitzwilliam well. They had met at Rosings the previous Easter and they had spent many happy hours walking and talking together. They had got on so well that he had thought it necessary to let her know, in a roundabout fashion, that he could not afford to marry a poor wife and that he must marry an heiress if he were to have the comforts he had come to expect from life. She had not been offended, indeed she had thought it well done, and besides, she had