met have been charming. They have the most musical voices and they move their hands a great deal when they talk. They are very expressive people, the gentlemen as well as the ladies. In this they are very different to the gentlemen at home, who mostly keep their hands clasped behind their backs.
There are some of our countrymen here as well, so at least I will be able to understand some of our guests, although my Italian is improving!
Darcy returned and Elizabeth laid aside her letter for the time being, and together they went through their list of things to do, making sure that all their preparations were in place for the conversazione.
The landing platform, the colonnade, and the courtyard were full of blazing flambeaux as the guests began to arrive on the following evening. Elizabeth stood in the drawing room to receive them with Darcy by her side. He spoke flawless Italian to the Italian guests whilst Elizabeth greeted them with several carefully rehearsed phrases; both she and Darcy were able to make their English guests feel at home.
The drawing room was abuzz with conversation in a variety of languages, for there were some guests from Switzerland, Austria, and other European countries, too. The ton had their own set of friends, as Elizabeth was discovering, and Darcy knew people from many countries. With all of them he was easy and assured, and she reflected that Darcy, with those he knew, was not the same as the more formal and reserved man who found it difficult to converse with strangers. Although he had made some efforts in that direction since knowing her, he was still not entirely at ease unless he knew people well. With strangers or mere acquaintances he always held something of himself back.
‘Elizabeth!’ cried Susan Sotherton as she appeared in the doorway.
She was small and plump with an abundance of fair hair which curled naturally round her face and she was dressed in a modish gown of ivory silk.
‘Susan!’ said Elizabeth, welcoming her warmly. ‘This is Miss Sotherton,’ she said to Darcy.
‘Not Miss Sotherton anymore, Mrs Wainwright,’ said Susan. ‘I was married in the summer. Mama and Papa asked me to send their regrets, but Papa is not well and Mama did not think it wise to leave him.’
Elizabeth nodded in quick sympathy. Mr Sotherton’s illness was more accurately described as drunkenness, and it was this propensity to drink, coupled with a propensity to gamble wildly, that had led to the Sothertons’ difficulties.
‘You must let me introduce my husband,’ said Susan. ‘Ah, here he is.’
Mr Wainwright came forward. He was not handsome, but he had an agreeable countenance and he seemed good humoured. He was also, by the look of Susan’s clothes and jewels, wealthy. But a quick glance at Susan’s face showed Elizabeth that the marriage had not been contracted for mercenary reasons and she was glad. She had found it difficult to forgive Charlotte for making a practical marriage, and she was pleased that Susan had not succumbed to the same fate.
‘How long have you been here?’ Susan asked.
‘We are newly arrived,’ said Elizabeth.
‘I thought you must be, or I would have seen you before now. It is good to see a familiar face; we have been travelling for months. But more of that later, you have other guests to greet.’
The Wainwrights moved on and Elizabeth and Darcy greeted the rest of their guests.
Once everyone had arrived, Elizabeth was free to join in the conversations. There was much talk of the political situation, and the recent invasion of Venice by the French was spoken of at length with sadness and regret. When the mood seemed in danger of becoming too dark, Elizabeth turned the conversation to art, a subject sure to energise the Italian guests, who were great patrons of all the arts.
The ceilings in the Darcy palazzo were much admired, as were the sculptures and statues which adorned the rooms.
Elizabeth found many of the guests charming and agreeable, but it was when she met Susan by chance in the ladies withdrawing room that she really began to enjoy the evening.
‘I never was more surprised or delighted to hear that you had married Mr Darcy,’ said Susan, as she examined herself in the mirror and patted her hair into place. ‘I am glad that something good came out of poor Papa’s follies. I always thought you would find it difficult to marry anyone in Meryton. You were too clever for the local men, you know.