Two weeks after their arrival in Paris, the day dawned on which was to be the ball, held by the Duc de A——. As their evening diversions abroad had thus far taken the form of intimate dinners and soirées in the private salons of the city, the opportunity to attend a soirée dansante, where the French stile of dancing could be publicly displayed, was the cause of great excitement for Elizabeth and Georgiana. The discussion of the necessary dress and other minutiæ soon wearied Mr. Darcy, so he betook himself to the Musée du Louvre to leave the ladies to their deliberations, but only after making his position clear as to the dispensability of a bourse, which he deemed was unnecessary if one’s hair did not require it, and it certainly had no purpose in hanging about by itself on the collar. Elizabeth was amused at the various stiles she had seen, and had no reason to contradict her husband’s distaste for a disembodied bow. The other necessary male articles of dress were already in the possession of Mr. Darcy, and so the ladies were left to their own devices and preferences. Perhaps, thought Elizabeth, the English notions of practicality were at general variance with the French predilection for fashion, which may well account for the universally acknowledged inability of the English to imitate successfully the elegance of the French. Recalling her husband’s judgement of the bourse, and her own insistence on a serviceable bodice, Elizabeth felt that her theory was as likely true as any she had previously heard.

For Georgiana, the ball was more than simply another engagement. Her own reception in Parisian society had been gratifying, and over the course of this first week, she had begun to persuade herself that she needed to make a greater effort to recover her own spirits. She was, henceforth, determined to use the interval until Colonel Fitzwilliam was to join them to resist more earnestly the misgivings of her heart, and suffer her disappointed hopes with a more inured resignation, if she could not manage a more reasonable acceptance. The society of Paris would provide a balm to soothe her unhappiness, even if inadequate for a cure. At the least, her efforts would be amply recompensed in giving her brother and sister the happiness of believing herself amused and in good spirits. The night of the ball saw the début of the ladies’ robes de bal. Elizabeth wore the necklet of pearls that had been a wedding-present from her husband, and both ladies wore only a few flowers in the hair—Georgiana a circlet of small white roses, and Lizzy two gardenias that the concierge had procured for her at Mr. Darcy’s request. Elizabeth remarked to Georgiana, as they met at the completion of their toilettes,