Somewhat of a
Prologue
November 1, 1812
Pemberley ~
Wedding Breakfast of Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet
Catherine Bennet,
better known as Kitty to family and close friends, could barely eat so consumed
was she by nervousness. The multitude of Lords and Ladies gathered around the
table made her feel as if they were at St. James Court instead of the formal dining
hall at Pemberley.
Across from her
sat Miss Georgiana Darcy and to her left was Maxwell Kerr, the Fifth Duke of
Adborough. Further down the table were the Earl and Countess of Matlock, the
Marquis of Dorchester and a host of other nobility. Although the room was
filled with members from the ‘first circle’ of London’s society, none of them
filled her as much disquiet as the gentleman on her immediate right.
Lord George Kerr.
Never had she met
someone who was so… attractive. Not even Jane, with all her serene beauty, came
close. Their Father in Heaven must have been feeling most generous when He
formed this man. At that exact moment, to her utter dismay, Lord Kerr turned
his attention from Lady Dalrymple on his right side toward her. Unprepared for
his direct attention, she froze. Almost against her will, her gaze zeroed in on
his perfectly formed mouth, which moved as he said something.
Oh dear heaven.
He was speaking to her, yet the blood rushing to her ears continued to drown
out all sound. Then, that perfectly formed mouth curved into a slight smile.
She ducked her head, hoping against hope her face hadn’t flared a crimson red,
for then he would think she was a gauche child and not a young lady who had
just turned eighteen. When her composure returned, she risked another glance
and caught him watching her.
Confound the man!
Why must he still look her way? Was he not hungry? Did he have nothing better
to do than discompose her so completely?
With great care
she took her spoon and dipped it into the soup. All she had to do was behave as
though dining with near royalty was a common occurrence.
“Did you enjoy
the wedding ceremony, Miss Bennet?”
She gave a start
and a bit of soup sloshed over the side of the spoon. Even his voice was
heavenly, all deep and rumbly and flowed over her like white sauce over a good
Christmas pudding. She lowered the spoon back into the soup bowl, willing her
nerves to settle.
“Yes, I did. I’m
very happy for Lizzy and Mr. Darcy.”
Trying to ignore
the rapid staccato of her heart, she once again attempted to partake of her
soup.
“As I only
arrived last evening I didn’t get to meet your sister until today. She and
Darcy seem very well suited.”
Kitty once again
lowered the full spoon of soup into her bowl. This would not do. At this rate she’d
die of starvation. She almost sighed in relief when the footman whisked away
her still full bowl and placed in front of her the second course.
“Lizzy and Mr.
Darcy are very well suited,” she replied. “They both have strong opinions and
are not afraid to voice them. I’m sure some of their future breakfasts will be
very interesting.”
Lord George
barked out a laugh at her observation, causing more than one head to turn in
their direction. She reached for a glass of water, grateful her trembling was
not too visible, and took a sip. Papa always said she was a silly girl and here
she was, proving him right by embarrassing herself in front of important
strangers.
AMAZON | NOOK | IBOOKS | MAILING LIST
Poor Kitty, thinking she has embarrassed herself when obviously the handsome Lord George felt she was being witty! Oh I do like the idea that she has garnered his attention. One can only imagine how Lydia will react!
ReplyDeleteAt this point of the book, Lydia is happily ensconced in Newcastle as Mrs. Wickham, although, if Kitty does 'catch' the handsome Lord, she'll be quite put out.
Delete