#darcyau

How could John give her absolutely no notice of this? This, which might just be their most important moment! Stupid, thoughtless man! She thought to herself, as she gave herself a last look in the mirror. 

Her husband had met Mr. Bingley in town, only to discover that the gentleman had no place to go for the night, as his own house was not yet ready to receive him, and here he was with a whole company of friends with him. The most notable of these was Mr. Darcy, who was worth 20,000 pounds a year! If only Fanny had been younger, she would have tried for that in her youth. But at is was, she could catch his sister for one of her brothers. 

And having Miss Darcy as a sister-in-law would come with great advantages indeed. 

Still, it was quite unfortunate that they had chosen today to descend upon them! Fanny had just gotten rid of the Dashwood girls and was in the middle of making great improvements to the entire house. But she supposed that couldn't be helped.

After snapping at her maid to help her claps her necklace, Fanny descended down the stairs to join her husband and her guests in the drawing room. 

Mr. Bingley had been a dear friend to the Woodhouses for many years. Of course, he spent most of his time in town and had only visited them in the country, very briefly, on his way from London to Darbyshire, but his happy manners had made them all very fast friends. 

Emma had heard much about Mr. Darcy: Mr. Bingley was always in spirits to talk about his friend on his way to visit him at Pemberley and Emma felt she almost knew him already. And so when she had heard the news from Mr. Knightley that Mr. Bingley had rented a house not far from Hartfield and was bringing his friend with him, she immediately thought of Harriet. Who better for Harriet than Mr. Darcy! He who was all kindness. Surely, Harriet would suit him. He had not want of connections, of fortune, of consequence. He had quite enough for the both of them. And Harriet was sweet and pretty and would be such a dutiful wife. Of course, there was still room for improvement there: but she was a great teacher and Harriet a willing pupil.But where love was concerned, she was certain Mr. Darcy wouldn't even notice her small imperfections!

"Miss Woodhouse," Mr. Bingley greeted, with a broad smile, "I am very happy to see you and your father again. It has been too long."

"Indeed, it has! How glad we are to see you again."

"May I present my good friend, Mr. Darcy of Pemberley."

"Mr. Darcy!" Emma said, smiling broadly as she bowed her head, "We have all heard so many things about you. Mr. Bingley has nothing but the highest regard. I am so happy we meet at last."

"Oh, look, my dears! This is very nice. Very nice, indeed," Mrs. Bennet exclaimed, surveying the parlor at Barton Park as though it would one day be her's, "Jane, I expect you shall be a mistress of a home this grand when you marry," She said, her tone lower, but still much too loud, especially as she cast a glance at Mr. Bingley, who was entering the room with his company, as she said it. 

Mr. Bingley had danced with Jane more than anyone else at the assembly and had accepted an invitation to dine with them, and that, as far as Mrs. Bennet was concerned, was almost as good as a marriage proposal. 

Elizabeth cringed, exchanging glances with Elinor Dashwood. She prayed Mr. Bingley did not hear, and thankfully it seemed he did not, for he and Jane had found each other almost as soon as Jane was through the door. 

Sir John Middleton hated for his home to be empty and would fill it every hour of every day with lively young people. 

Elizabeth glanced around the room, and doubted that this was what Sir John had had in mind when he had made his invitations. Mrs. Jennings and her mother were gossiping loudly, with quiet interjections from Mrs. Dashwood; Kitty and Lyida were giggling in a corner - pointing to Mr. Darcy and then to Mr. Bingley and Jane, who sat near each other by the fire. Marianne and Mary were having a heated argument (especially on Marianne's part) about Shakespeare's Sonnets, and Fanny Dashwood was engaging Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst in a conversation they clearly wished to have no part in. Mr. Dashwood and Mr. Hurst seemed content enough, and so did Elinor who was speaking with Colonel Brandon. 

And then there was Mr. Darcy, who was standing on his own, away from the rest of the party looking very displeased with the entire thing. 

"Oh, no, no, no. This will not do. I will not have two young people sitting by themselves while visiting Barton," Sir John said with a broad smile. Colonel Brandon may have given an unfavorable account of Mr. Darcy to Sir John, but Darcy was his guest, even if only by association with Mr. Bingley, and he would not allow for anyone to spend their time here in gloomy silence. He was convinced that even someone like Mr. Darcy could have a good time.

"Miss Elizabeth, have you met Mr. Darcy?" He asked, "We should have some dancing after dinner, yes? Miss Marianne plays the piano forte very well and we do have enough young couples, I think."

"I'm afraid Mr. Darcy is not very fond of dancing," Elizabeth replied, her brown eyes smiling as she spoke.