Mr. Darcy's Dream by Elizabeth Aston Page B

incident in my past life on which the door has closed.” Phoebe was walking on ahead, wanting to move quickly, as though by so doing she could walk herself out of the melancholy that oppressed her when she thought about Mr. Stanhope. “Let us change the subject entirely,” she said briskly, looking back at Louisa. “I need your help.”
    Louisa lengthened her pace. “I? Help? In what way can I help you?”
    â€œYou have heard that Mr. and Mrs. Darcy are to hold a ball here at Pemberley this summer.”
    â€œBetsy did mention it.”
    â€œVery well, and before he took his leave, Mr. Darcy put the charge for the arrangements into my hands.”
    Louisa couldn’t hide her amazement. “Phoebe, a ball? For how many people? It is a daunting undertaking to plan and arrange everything for a big ball.”
    â€œOh, as to that, Mr. Darcy knows very well that I like toorganise things, and in fact I am extremely competent in such matters. He has an excellent housekeeper in Mrs. Makepeace, and Mr. Lydgate will have a very good idea of how things are to be managed. Much can be left to them, but the overall scheme of things needs to be in the hands of a member of the family, and who better than I? I tell you, I shall enjoy it above all things, and you will assist and advise me. Two heads are better than one, as the saying is. I need to be occupied, you know.”
    â€œOf course I shall be glad to help in any way that I can. But where to begin? What about invitations? Surely my aunt and uncle do not leave it to you to decide who is to be invited?”
    â€œOf course not. Mr. Darcy’s secretary has all that in hand, and will be sending me the lists shortly. I am also to keep him appraised of all likely expenses, just to make sure that I do not outrun the budget. But much can be done with the resources of Pemberley itself. We have to talk to the gardeners about flowers, because we will need a great many of them and flowers do not grow in a day. And then there is the matter of the works in the garden—we can’t have a ball with the garden looking like a fairground. There is much to be thought of and discussed, for I intend the Pemberley ball to be an amazing success, the talk of Derbyshire and London.”
    Deep in discussion of what they had liked and disliked at the many balls they had been to, and what themes and schemes had been most successful, they walked back to the house, entering up the steps and through the main door. From there they went up the stairs, and were on the first landing when Betsy came running to find them, agog with news. “Mr. Lydgate says that he has seen a carriage turn into the gates. It will either be visitors wishing to view the house, in which case they must be turned away, or, as is more likely, they are some of your neighbours calling upon you. In which case, are you at home?”
    Louisa went over to the window and looked out at the carriage that was bowling in great style up towards the house. “It is Sir Henry and Lady Martindale,” she exclaimed. “Yes, we must be at home to them.”
    She turned from the window, hoping that Phoebe would not go to look, but Phoebe brushed her aside and, as she saw who was on the driving seat of the carriage, gave Louisa a speaking look and ran from the room, calling out as she went that she herself was not at home, had the headache, was feeling too unwell to come down and talk to any visitors.
    Questions jostled each other in Louisa’s head. Did Mr. Stanhope know that Phoebe was staying at Pemberley? It would be foolish to suppose otherwise, since the comings and goings of the family at Pemberley were, she knew, matters of great interest to all the surrounding families. Word of her and Phoebe’s arrival would have passed by means of the servants and people in the nearby village of Pemberley, or in Lambton, to everyone in the neighbourhood.
    So it was left to Louisa to greet the