Kitty had long been looking forward to spending a season in London and had dreamed of going
to countless balls and dancing with dozens of handsome young men. Was she now instead to
languish in the country, while Georgiana partook of all the pleasures that would be denied to her?
It was all her sister's doing, Kitty was sure of it! Mr. Darcy could never have suggested such an
arrangement; he would not have wished to seem unkind by excluding her and giving preference
to his own sister. Where was Elizabeth's loyalty? Where was her sisterly affection?
It was with the greatest bitterness that Kitty complained, and all the worst of her peevishness,
which Mrs. Darcy had spent the last months trying to eradicate, was now on full display. All day
long, Catherine could talk of nothing but the unfair treatment to which she was being subjected,
and even in the evening, while the family were on their way to a ball, she continued her protests.
Elizabeth endeavoured to reason with her:
"We may perhaps all go to town next year," said she, "and do you not want to visit Papa and
Mama and your sister Mary? It must be nearly a year since you last saw them."
"I am not so anxious to visit my family as to wish to forego Bath and London! Why is it that
Georgiana gets to spend her winter attending balls and parties while I must be exiled to
Longbourn?!"
"There will be dances at Meryton, I am sure."
"And what of it? Since the regiment went away from Meryton, there is no one left within thirty
miles of the place who is worth dancing with. It will be the same plain, dull fellows every time,
some of them nearly old enough to be my father! And I am sure that the men at tonight's ball
will be little better!"
Mr. Darcy maintained a grim silence and kept his gaze fixed on the view from the carriage window.
It was only for his wife's sake that he had allowed Catherine to live with them at Pemberley, and at
times like these he almost regretted the decision. How grating to the ear was her petulant whining!
When they arrived at the ball, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy's attention was soon distracted by one of their
neighbours, who approached to share some new bit of gossip. Georgiana and Kitty meanwhile
continued on in the direction of where the dancing was to take place. As they walked, Kitty was
saying something about how her sister likely wished for her to become an old maid, when suddenly,
the tone of her voice altered, and in the sweetest, most agreeable accent imaginable, she began
praising the room and remarking on how much she was looking forward to dancing that evening.
Astonished by this sudden change, Georgiana turned to look at her companion. Kitty's face was the
picture of good humour, the cause of which soon became obvious: coming in their general direction
was a tall, handsome gentleman whom neither Miss Darcy nor Miss Bennet had ever seen before. He
was finely-proportioned and tastefully attired, and in his air there was a certain dashing quality that
never failed to draw the attention of the fair sex.
When he was nearly upon them, Kitty's reticule unexpectedly fell from her hand and landed with a
faint thump on the floor. Georgiana perceived it at once and could scarcely believe that its owner
did not, but Catherine Bennet walked on as if nothing had happened.
"Kitty, wait!" exclaimed Georgiana. However, before she could point out the fallen article to her
friend, the man lifted it from the ground and addressed Miss Bennet with:
"I beg your pardon, Madam. I believe you dropped this."
Kitty rewarded him with a radiant smile, and taking back her reticule she replied, "How very careless
of me! I thank you, Sir, for your trouble."
Georgiana blushed with shame on Catherine's account. When the man had moved some distance
away, she said, "Kitty, you should not have done that. It was most indelicate of you!"
"What is so indelicate about accidentally dropping a reticule?"
"If only it were an accident! But you and I both know that it was not, and worse, I think that
gentleman knows it too. You are not even acquainted with him!"
"I am sure it will not be long before we are introduced, and now that he has noticed me, perhaps
he will even seek out an introduction."
The unknown gentleman did indeed return a few minutes later alongside Mr. Newnham, the
master of the house. Mr. Newnham presented the handsome stranger to the ladies as his step-son,
Mr. Morgan, who had completed his education at Cambridge that year and had now come to live
in Derbyshire. To Kitty's delight, the young man requested the honour of her hand for the first two
dances.
A minute or two later, Georgiana was herself asked to stand up for a set, and soon she and her
partner were weaving with sprightly step through the mazes of a country dance. As they did so,
she could not help noticing the way in which Kitty and Mr. Morgan were dancing together, and
in particular, her friend's coquettish manner, the enticing glances she threw at the gentleman, and
the flirtatious snippets of conversation that passed between them.
In the interim following the opening dance, Georgiana whispered to Kitty that she should not be
so forward, but her friend would not hear reason.
"La! You are starting to sound just like Elizabeth!" exclaimed Catherine with some annoyance and
then returned to frolic with Mr. Morgan in the next jig.
Georgiana was much admired at the ball and could scarcely finish treading one measure before
some gallant spark invited her to join him in another. She had many agreeable partners that evening
and was enjoying herself so much that she soon forgot all about Kitty and did not even notice when
for two consecutive dances, her friend did not take part, and neither was she among the ladies sitting
on the side waiting to be asked.
At the end of a quadrille, Mrs. Darcy came to Georgiana and inquired whether she knew where her
sister had gone. Georgiana answered that she had no notion of Kitty's having quitted the room at all.
After a moment's pause she added that perhaps Kitty had gone to the refreshments room. Elizabeth
replied that it was the first place she had looked, and there was no sign of Catherine there, nor
anywhere else one might reasonably expect to find her.
Knowing it would be in vain, the Darcy ladies nevertheless again went to the refreshments room in
search of her and even looked behind a screen that was stationed there, but to no avail; she was
nowhere to be found.
