Chapter 1.

"Did you see him? I think he is rather handsome! Very handsome actually, to my vast knowledge!" Kitty commented laughing.

Mary nodded staring at Colonel Fitzwilliam with something resembling awe.

"He seems very…wise," she said.

He was talking to her sister, Elizabeth. His smile was full of gallantry and gentleness.

Elizabeth was wearing a white wedding gown. She was radiant. She had stuck white flowers in her hair. Her husband, Mr. Darcy was standing behind her, holding her by the small of her back.

They had just been wed that very morning. Now all their family and guests were celebrating at Pemberley.

The best silverware and crockery had been taken out, the finest tapestries laid out, the most lavish dresses. The chandeliers' light shone on everyone's face and everyone was smiling.

Soft music invited the couples to dance.

Mr. and Mrs. Bennet were sitting very content at a table with Mr. and Mrs. Collins. Mrs. Bennet was only too happy to let the pastor know how wrong he had been about her daughter.

"You see, Mr. Collins, had she accepted your hand then, she might have missed the great honour of becoming Mrs. Darcy! Imagine, a husband like Mr. Darcy! My little Lizzy knew Mr. Darcy loved her and she waited for him patiently, even if it meant losing a couple of suitors along the way. Because she was not admired only by you, Mr. Collins! Oh, no, there were many young men ready to admire her."

Mr. Collins had nothing to say to any of the woman's arguments. He knew when he was defeated. Now he was just waiting for Kitty to do something extraordinary so that he could feel that he was in the right about the sisters being very unruly.

Kitty had decided to go talk to the Colonel. Mary was about to follow her to the other part of the room.

"Mary, I want to talk to him by myself. And, I saw him first," she said, walking away.

Mary stopped where she was and watched them from afar. She clasped her hands over her waist. She had to strain her neck to look at them, because the couples were dancing and blocking her view.

The Colonel laughed at something she said and kissed her hand. Kitty smiled and waved her fan about her.

"Mary!" someone called her and she jumped from her place.

"Oh, Lizzy, it's you," she said, smiling and hugging her sister.

"The crowd was so large, I couldn't find you! Imagine, can't find my sister at my own wedding!"

"Yes, there are so many people…" Mary said looking around and stealing a glance at Kitty and the Colonel.

"My husband and I think you should play a song for the occasion," Lizzy told her, smiling. "I think it would be a proper wedding gift. Only no singing please. Just playing. I am your sister, but I must be honest about your voice."

Mary laughed.

"Don't worry, I'm never doing that again. The singing, I mean. But I can't play to such a huge crowd. I will lose myself."

"No, you won't, not at all," Lizzy assured her. "They're just your friends and family. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Mary wanted to trust Lizzy. She wanted to believe she would not get cold feet and run away from the pianoforte, but she felt that she would do just that. The people around her would judge her. They would talk about her lack of talent. But maybe they would appreciate her selection or her efforts, because she always played complex pieces.

"But most of them do not care either way," she told herself as she walked up to the pianoforte.

The ball room had grown quieter.

"My dear sister, Mary, presents me with a gift," Elizabeth said, taking Mary's hand and guiding her to the stool.

Mary took a long time to take off her gloves.

When she finally touched the claps, there was complete silence. She dared look up. On the left, she saw Kitty standing next to the Colonel. They were both smiling at each other.

"Maybe he will notice me if I play very well," Mary thought, screwing her lips in concentration.

She began hesitantly. It was a wedding tune, a very playful, merry one.

After the first minutes passed, she felt slightly easier and managed to lift her head.

Already the middle of the room had been cleared. People were waiting for her to play faster so that they could dance.

Lizzy and Mr. Darcy stepped out first, followed by Jane and Mr. Bingley. Other couples quickly gathered around them and turned to the music.

Mary was now feeling tense. If she made a mistake now, she was doomed. Couples were dancing. One false note and it would all go to smoke, the dancing would stop and she would be blamed.

Her heart started beating faster.

She saw from the corner of her eye that Kitty and the Colonel had joined the dance.

A pang of jealousy hit her as she saw Kitty and he holding hands.

They grew closer, then drew apart, they joined hands, then let them go.

Mary wished she could stop playing, but she had to go on. She wondered if the Colonel would ever ask her to dance. He would ask her only out of politeness, she imagined.

At the end, when she finally could lift her fingers from the claps, she saw the Colonel kissing Kitty's hand again.

Everyone started clapping happily. They all looked at her and applauded. She got up and bowed.

"Bravo, bravo! My Mary can always perform!' Mrs. Bennet cried, kissing her daughter's cheek. Mary felt very embarrassed, but she thanked everyone nonetheless.

"Now, Mary, maybe someone will ask you to dance since you played so well," Mrs. Bennet said, smirking. "They might admire your talent. Indeed, there are prettier girls here, but none as talented as you."

The crowd dispersed to other rooms, but Mrs. Bennet waited patiently for someone to come up and ask for her daughter's hand.

"Mama, can I go now?" Mary said, looking away.

Mrs. Bennet glared at the young men joining the young ladies for a new dance. The band had already started a new song by Henry Purcell.

"Well! Disgraceful youths! They will not stand up with you! Well, it's your fault Mary for standing so far back. Come, stay in front and you'll catch someone's eye," Mrs. Bennet said and pushed her in front slightly.

Mary crossed her arms and looked at the couples dancing. It looked as if their movements would never end, as if they were tied together forever. They were all breathing at the same time.

Kitty ran to her and hit her in the ribs playfully. Mrs. Bennet had already left her, growing tired of the heavy silence.

"What are you doing here all alone? Never mind. I talked to the Colonel, did you see? He was such a gentleman. Did you know he and Mr. Darcy have been friends since childhood? He said he was astounded that all the Bennet sisters were beautiful! He said I am just as charming as Lizzy. He asked me to dance, did you see? Oh, I do hope he asks me again!"

"Well, where is he now?" Mary asked curious.

"Oh, he went to play cards with some friends. He said he would return. I barely know him, but I feel I like him very much," she said, panting from the exercise.

"He is easily liked," Mary remarked, looking around the room.

"How do I look?" Kitty asked, twirling. "Does my hair look alright?"

"You look very pretty," Mary answered, smiling.

"Do you think he will like me?"

"I think he already does," she replied forcefully, trying not to sound resentful.

The crowd slowly started to gather around the long, white tables in order to dine. The foods had been laid out on the cloths in silver bowls and plates. Everything boiled and smelt freshly cooked.

There were vases full of white lilies spread out across the tables, but their smell was very faint.

Mary sat down next to her father, who was talking to his neighbour, a man living in the village near Pemberley.

"Riot you say! Why would they replace men with machines?"

"It gets the work done faster and it increases the profit," the man was explaining.

"Yes, but a man cannot be compared to a machine. A man thinks and feels, whereas a machine cannot. In any case, a man's work must always be superior."

"Aye, but they don't want superior work, they just want some work done. Some men are threatening to tear down the factory. They think that they'll get their jobs back, but it will just make the whole thing harder."

"They shouldn't tear it down, but certainly…men must not dispose of other men just like that. Machines can't be of real use to anyone."

"I tend to disagree with you there, Mr. Bennet."

Mary looked up quickly, surprised by the boldness of the voice. There, just a few seats on her left, across the table, she saw Colonel Fitzwilliam. His face was half-lit, half-shadowed and his eyes seemed larger than they really were. Mary opened her mouth slightly.

"You do, Sir?" Mr. Bennet asked stupefied.

"Yes, quite. If you want to do business and do it seriously, you'd best think of profit first and feelings later. Men strive to make work easier and faster. It's been man's goal for centuries. The machines are just a way of getting there."

His eyes surveyed Mr. Bennet with a hint of irony.

Mary frowned.

"Why must there always be such a rush to get the work done?" she asked, naively.

The Colonel stared at her for a good minute. He hadn't noticed her there, listening.

Mary regretted afterwards saying what she had said, but now it was too late to take it back.

"I mean," she began unsure, "why must all work be done very quickly?"

There was a heavy pause in the air after she spoke. The men were looking at her amused.

"You are Miss...Mary Bennet, aren't you?" the Colonel asked.

"Yes, Sir."

He nodded and smiled condescendingly. The conversation changed to other subjects and she did not get the chance to talk anymore. Or to have him look at her.

After dinner, the couples rose again for a new dance. Mary was still chiding herself for having talked so out of place at the table and had actually formed a plan to apologize to the Colonel. She did not know exactly what she was apologizing for but she felt she should do it.

She decided to follow him a bit. She feared someone would notice, so she only walked in the same direction as he, but made it seem as if she was looking at someone else.

As she was finding her way through the throng of people, Kitty called to her.

"Who are you looking for?" she asked puzzled.

"No one," Mary lied. "What gave you that idea?"

"You keep looking about the room. Oh, have you seen the Colonel? I saw he was dining close to you."
Mary paused. Should she tell Kitty or not? If she did not, it would be unfair to her sister and Kitty would find him anyway. She had nothing to say to him anyway.

"I think he went over there," Mary showed her pointing to an adjacent room.

Kitty nodded pleased and dragged Mary with her to that room.

"What are you doing?"

"Come on, maybe you'll play again at the pianoforte and the Colonel might ask me to dance."

But Mary managed to unclasp her hand from hers and lose herself in the crowd as Kitty pursued the Colonel in the other room.

She found a chair by a window and sat down, slightly tired from all the worrying.

She felt irritated, almost aggravated. She had no will to go look for him, because Kitty would be there. And even if she were alone with him, she would not be able to talk very well.

She wondered what it was about him that had drawn her in so very much. She wasn't the kind to like people at the drop of a hat. But she was quite fond of this man.

Maybe it was his wise look. There was something about him, in his eyes and manner of walking that made him look wise. She could not explain it.

Maybe the right word was experienced.

"In any case, after the wedding, I doubt I shall see him again," she thought.