The story continues. After the unexpected zombie attack led by Mr. Wickham during the double wedding of the oldest Bennet sisters, there had been many losses even though Wickham had been defeated along with the horde of zombies. Despite the deaths o...
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Hello everyone! next week will be my 4 week long easter holiday which gives me more time to write. I simply had too much of a work load :l Anyway, enjoy this chapter with only Ophelia's point of view and the lovely presence of the Bingleys of course. Enjoy! -Merel
Her arrival, did not go as smoothly as she would have wished, tripping over her own feet before reaching her chair. A red flush was starting to appear on her face due to the embarrassment she felt.
'Oh, are you alright?' a heavenly sounding voice, resembling Elizabeth's asked her and she looked up to meet everyone's obvious gaze. Noticing the situation Ophelia cleared her throat and recovered quickly.
'Yes, a simple misstep Mrs. Bingley, that is all, no permanent damages.' She reassured her before she sat down, trying her hardest to keep a neutral expression on her face while wishing to be swallowed by the floor beneath her feet. To her relief everyone in the room soon followed her example and sat down as well. Her flushed face, did not hide the lingering embarrassment.
A sudden laugh however made her look up and fix her eyes on Mr.Bingley where the laugh had come from, surprised, Ophelia raise an eyebrow in his direction, questioning. 'Excuse my behavior Miss Everard, but you have nothing to be embarrassed about,' he claimed, still with an evident grin plastered on his face. 'You see, I am not the most graceful and balanced person myself, and your misfortune simply reminded me of my own.' His confession instantly made her relax and, to show gratitude she gave Mr.Bingley a small smile.
To Ophelia's relief, dinner soon commenced, cleansing her of any lingering embarrassment, awkwardness and shame. As a plate was set before her, she smiled, the Darcy's had served her favorite dish: A dish with chicken, a dish she often found underrated by many. Instantly she picked up her cutlery and began feasting on the generous meal before her. Not used to dinner being lively along with the occasional conversing amongst the participants, Ophelia actually enjoyed herself for once, which in her case was a rare occurrence, especially during dinner. Dinner had been Frederick's favorite meal of the day, which was why at Brixworth Manor the air in the evenings had been depressing to say the least.
Her rare happy state of mind was-this time not unwillingly-interrupted by Mr.Bingley's kind inquiry, 'I do not wish to impose Miss Ophelia, but may I inquire how many years of age you are?' His question did seem a little bit unheard of and imposing to say the least, but tonight, Ophelia did not mind at all to answer any question, even the more inappropriate ones.
'You are not imposing at all Mr.Bingley,' she took a small sip of wine. 'I am 20 years of age now.' Ophelia informed him.
Mr. Bingley however, seemed surprised. '20 years of age you say? My, forgive my intrusion but how come you have not been presented yet my dear?' He questioned her, quite interested in fact.
'Do allow me to correct you Mr. Bingley, I understand your confusion but I have in fact been presented before, 2 years ago to be exact, but complications have prevented me from more frequent social engagements these past 2 years I'm afraid.' Ophelia, hoping that Mr.Bingley would not be as thorough and invasive as Mr. Darcy had been releasing a breath she did not know she was holding as Mrs. Darcy rescued her from any further inquisition.
'Mr. Bingley,' Elizabeth exclaimed, more loudly than necessary perhaps. 'Since Miss Everard has not been to a dance recently, the issue could be resolved by the construction of a social event, a ball at Netherfield Park perhaps?' Elizabeth suggested, a suggestion that allowed Ophelia to finally release any tension in her body she had been holding. Netherfield Estate was quite grand, which, if Ophelia was expected to attend, would probably not be as disappointing as she thought any other social event probably would be.
'A ball at Netherfield!' Mr. Bingley exclaimed enthusiastically. Mr. Bingley was known to be quite socially skilled, so his enthusiasm for once did not surprise everyone present in the slightest. 'What dare you say, my dearest Jane, it has been a while ago since the latest social event we have held, is it not?' Mr. Bingley thoughtfully consulted his wife, as mere the gentleman should do.
'Yes, I quite like the idea of a ball, time happens to pass by us so quickly, and a cheering up never appears to be unwelcome.' Jane Bingley diplomatically stated yet with a sweet undertone in her voice, a tone Ophelia secretly envied. She surely would never, not in a thousand years, be able to sound anywhere near that sweet. She had quite the opposite in fact, a voice one could compare to the wind, wild yet sensual at the same time. Alluring but rather harsh when heard by others. Perhaps the change in her voice was caused by all she had been through, if so, it did not surprise her.
Elizabeth, noticing that Ophelia had grown rather quiet gave her a light nudge with her right foot under the table. An action that startled her and caused Ophelia to hit her knee rather hard up against the table. Ophelia's face contorted slightly at the impact, sending Mrs. Darcy a glare in return. Of course she had been aware that she was not paying any attention to the conversation, but that did not mean that Mrs. Darcy had to remind her. Mrs. Darcy however did not seem to be affected and simply stuck her tongue out at her, very un-lady like might I add, grinning, an action that everyone seated at the table noticed. The scraping of a gentleman's throat, Darcy's to be exact, caught Ophelia's and Elizabeth's attention before things would get out of hand. Mrs. Darcy's face instantly became flushed out of embarrassment and Ophelia herself tried to hold back her laughter at the stern expression on Darcy's face.
In order to lift up the air in the room she saw Mrs. Darcy pat his hand. 'There there Mr. Darcy, nothing has been broken yet.' Elizabeth uttered, smiling lovingly at her husband before continuing: 'I must say that is an improvement.' Ophelia chuckled lightly, remembering their previous held dinner, even though she had been completely out of bounds, she did not regret her actions from that night, they still felt justified.
'If this is an improvement than I wonder Miss Everard, might your behavior worsen at the thought of attending a Ball?' Darcy inquired, quite satisfied with himself might I add, adorning a small amusing smile.
'Not as much as the thought as my lack of social interaction over the past years Mr. Darcy, I am sure those are more to blame for my horrifying social skills, are they not?' Ophelia answered, quite brashly, but justified seeing as he had the audacity to stoop to her level. Although she did admire him for trying. Maybe the fact that she, Ophelia was of the female sex, could have had a deciding factor in his manner of speech, for it was often viewed far worse when a male wrongly addressed a female than if the roles were reversed. All in all, Ophelia was enjoying herself.
'Perhaps your manner of speech will cloud your obvious inferiority in social interaction during the ball, Miss Everard, although I do have to agree where the blame lies.' Mr. Darcy stated, quite rudely but somehow the man did manage to sound polite in doing so. Ophelia for once did not know how to respond to his statement and was now fervently wishing to be elsewhere, a place where it actually would be appropriate to draw her dagger on him. Irritated, Ophelia out of habit flexed her hands, seething in her loathing for the man, for he had put her in her place, again. As she began to feel for her dagger, Ophelia noticed, with shock that she had not brought them with her, wrecking her previous plan of striking him down.
'Dinner was lovely Darcy, and since there have been no objections, a ball shall be held imminently, Will you be attending, Miss Everard?' Mr. Bingley interrupting her, as he had noticed as well as his wife and Elizabeth the tension in the room. Mr. Bingley's happy voice, instead of annoying her, had actually the opposite effect. Ophelia turned to him and smiled, a real smile this time. 'Yes Mr. Bingley, I shall be there.' With a simple nod of the head after, she excused herself and left the room, for she had clearly lost her appetite.
