I have asked Bingham to go up to London with me after the ball, but he will not commit. We have already missed the opening of the exhibition at the Royal Academy of Art. I understand that is no hardship for Bingham, but he has also missed the first balls of the season. And you know how Bingham loves to dance! If it were not for this infernal ball, I would already be in London this minute.
Yours,
Will
It was obvious from all the crossed out words that Will was agitated when he wrote this letter. After reading it, I liked Anne Desmet very much. It seemed as if she wanted her cousin to marry for love and to be happy with his choice of wife. On the surface, it appeared that Will was making a real effort not to fall in love, but his actions didn’t match his words. He expressed his desire to return to London as soon as possible, but no one was forcing him to stay in the country.
10 May — The ball at HH was truly elegant. I wore my ivory dress and Jane put a wreath of white flowers in my hair and I was very pleased with the result. Many of the younger officers did not know all of the dances, but there were enough men available so that everyone who wished to dance had a partner. I danced all but two dances.
Both Mr. Laceys put in an appearance at the ball. The nice Mr. Lacey requested the second dance. There was little conversation while we waited our turn. After a prolonged silence, the gentleman talked about the weather. I said, ‘Mr. Lacey, surely you can do better than that,’ and lo and behold, Mr. Lacey smiled and said, ‘Actually, Miss Elizabeth, at the moment, that is the best I can do.’ At my prompting, we had a pleasant conversation, mostly about his sister, who is in London. Miss Lacey is learning the modern languages and is studying with a piano master. Other than business, this is the reason he travels back and forth to London so frequently. Even though he has all the advantages of elevated rank, I believe him to be a shy man, and despite his superior education, he has little talent for the light conversation one hears at these gatherings. Even so, I must admit I was very glad he had asked me to dance.
The ball had been in progress for about two hours when a group of four officers arrived. One officer, a Mr. Waggoner, had a brief discussion with Mr. Lacey, who was clearly surprised to see him, and his mood altered immediately. I danced with the gentleman, who seemed pleasant enough and is very handsome in his regimentals and well aware of it. Lucy, Celia, and their friends could hardly keep their eyes off of him. He told me he did know Mr. Lacey, as they were both from Derbyshire, but said no more.
The last dance went to Mr. Lacey, who spoke hardly a word. Instead of enjoying the dance, he gave every appearance of being annoyed. Exasperated, I asked him why he gave himself the trouble of dancing when he disliked the amusement so much. He said nothing and left the room. It is impossible to understand this man!
As I waited for our carriage, Mr. Lacey approached me. He led me by the hand to an area under the staircase and said: ‘I am returning to London in the morning. I noticed you were talking to George Waggoner. May I advise you to avoid this man and be wary of anything he may say.’
I do not know what to make of this. I also do not know what to make of the fact that, all the while he was talking, he was holding my hand. I am very fond of complex characters, but Mr. Lacey may be too complex, even for me. When he said he was returning to London, did he mean permanently?
There was nothing in Lizzy’s diary to indicate that anything was amiss with regard to Jane and Mr. Bingley. When Charles came by to tell Jane he was returning to London, no alarm bells went off. In fact, the big news was not about the ball, or Jane and Charles, but the engagement between Charlotte Ledger and Mr. Chatterton. Just as in the novel, Lizzy was stunned by the announcement, and because her circumstances were similar to her friend’s, she was feeling particularly vulnerable about her future. However, she was confident Jane would have no such worries because it was so obvious that Charles was in love with her.
20 May — Mr. Bingham called this morning and told Jane that he has been asked to return to London by his brother, George, whom she knows to be something of a father figure to him. He said he did not know when he would return. Poor Jane! How is she to survive without her Mr. Bingham?
30 May — Is it not always the way? The servants learn everything first. Mrs. Brown tells us the steward at Helmsley Hall has been in town paying all of the bills and informed the butcher that the ladies of the house have returned to London to join their brother. What does all this mean? Jane has not heard from Mr. Bingham, and he is now gone ten days.
4 June — Jane does not think I hear her crying at night. She says Mr. Bingham owes her no explanation for his absence and defends his behaviour saying he made no promises, and I am unfair to reproach him. How is it possible that a man so obviously in love with someone can disappear for two weeks without explanation? His sisters and friend must be behind this.
5 June — We have news from Mr. Glynn, who leased HH to Mr. Bingham, that he has been instructed to cover the furniture and shutter the windows. This means Mr. Bingham has no intention of returning to HH any time soon. I would not have believed him capable of such unkindness.
I agreed with Lizzy. Even though Charles had given into pressure from Will Lacey and his brother, he should have written to Jane to let her know he was leaving Hertfordshire for good. Instead, his lack of consideration left Jane listening for news in the village about Helmsley Hall or checking the post for a letter explaining his absence.
17 June — Everything is now as it was before Mr. Bingham came to Hertfordshire, except that Charlotte and Mr. Chatterton were married today in the parish church. Charlotte has already asked me to visit her in Kent. I agreed to visit but not immediately. I have had enough of Mr. Chatterton and his dissertations for a while. Aunt Sims has written to Jane to come to London. There is so much more to do in town that will divert her mind from other thoughts. When Jane goes to Aunt’s house, I will travel with her to London and then on to see Charlotte.
2 July — I have had a most enjoyable stay with Aunt and Uncle Sims, and I believe Jane’s mood has much improved. We went to the summer theatre at Haymarket and to a concert at Vauxhall Gardens, which was followed by fireworks. Sir Arthur Morton, a friend of Uncle’s, hosted a private ball where Jane and I were asked to dance every dance. Last night, we went with Aunt and Uncle to Ranelagh Gardens and heard Mr. Leonardi, an Italian tenor, sing selections from Don Giovanni. Today’s newspapers reported that, after we had left, the Prince of Wales arrived and was seen in the company of Lady Jersey, and that they stayed until dawn. Uncle’s man will see me to Kent in two days. With all there is to do in London, I wish I could delay my departure, but Charlotte writes for me to hurry.