“You are not wholly without a sense of humor,” she said with that sparkle in her eyes. “I am greatly honored by your offer, but I shall be too busy by far for the rest of the night. If you wish to do me a kindness, and to gain my sincere forgiveness forcalling me ‘tolerable’, you might dance with Miss Mary, or Miss Kitty, if Mary is too plain for your tastes.”
Mrs. Bennet then shouted across fifteen feet. “The punch, Lizzy. I am parched! Heavens, I am dying here of thirst.”
And Elizabeth, with a flushed and hurried motion, as though taking on a different persona now that she was reminded of Mrs. Bennet, hurried off with a squeak and quickly collected the beverages.
Mrs. Bennet then intently interrogated Miss Elizabeth for two minutes before sending her off again, to the opposite end of the room, and then out a side door. Five minutes later Miss Elizabeth returned with a parcel, presumably from their carriage.
Darcy decided suddenly to do what Miss Elizabeth had asked and seek an introduction to the plainest of the Bennet sisters.
During the carriage ride home, when Miss Bingley asked him what had come over him to make him dance so much, Darcy had no answer.
Chapter Three
Over the following fortnight the Bennets met the Netherfield party numerous times.
Mr. Bingley was making his tour of the neighborhood dinners, and Mrs. Bennet used her accumulated favors to be invited to those same dinners quite often. Despite Mrs. Bennet’s deficiencies, she was good at gossip, good at setting a table, freely invited guests, and she rarely acted as though she were above her neighbors, even though Longbourn was one of the largest estates in the neighborhood.
At each of these events it was noted by all that Mr. Bingley and Jane would spend the greater part of the evening speaking together.
Elizabeth further noted that Mr. Darcy spent much of each night staring at her with that serious, unreadable, frowning expression.
This was sufficient cause to convince any young woman that she had become sufficiently ugly that a well-compensated future with a circus could be arranged. It was a happy fact for Elizabeth to now know what she could do if she were suddenly forced to seek employment following the decease of Mr. Bennet.
Even though Elizabeth tried to assure herself that Mr. Darcy was looking at her only to criticize, and because he thought ill of her, or perhaps merely he looked at her from an absence of mind,othersuspicions that she assured herself that she disliked sometimes arose in the insufficiently fevered brain of the young maiden.
He had wished to dance with her—a man who never wished to dance with anyone. He even asked Mary to dance because she had suggested it. Mary had told Elizabeth in privatethe next day that Mr. Darcy spent the whole of the dance inquiring aboutElizabethand her situation.
He had even specified that he found her more than tolerable.
To be more than tolerable, and yet unable to imagine that anything would come from it.
Elizabeth was too aware of the social distance between them, and because even if he ignored such facts to pursue her, she would need to discourage him because of secret of her bastard birth. She could not, like an ordinary girl might, imagine that the very wealthy man had settled his eyes upon the most portionless and downtrodden member of the neighborhood to raise her consequence.
Also, he had specified that he was not a man inclined to give consequence to young women slighted by other gentlemen, and Elizabethcertainlywas slighted by gentlemen in general.
On occasion though another thought crossed her mind.
Perhaps he looked towards her with liking. A strange man to be so serious and intent when admiring, but he was a strange man. And perhaps he would make one of those dishonorable offers that the rakes who gathered the maidenly leaves for their burning made in the novels that Elizabeth sometimes read instead of Mr. Bennet’s Homer and Caesar.
She would reject him if he did, without any doubt.
Her mother’s example, prudence, gratitude to Mr. Bennet, and Elizabeth’s own upright character would protect her from any temptation to give into temptation.
Of course there was no doubt about that.
Yet Elizabethimaginedat night, while twisting and turning before falling asleep what he might look like while he made such an offer. The problem with such fantasies was that while Mr. Bennet did give her wide scope in reading materials, she had not been permitted to read those books that would giveher pointed descriptions of The Marital Act. And any fantasy must fade away after she imagined Mr. Darcy kissing her.
Besides, he obviously despised her.
Or, at least, Mr. Darcy’s manner and the quiet but considerate way he treated the servants convinced Elizabeth that he would never seduce a maiden away from her guardian.
And even if she was wrong about Mr. Darcy’s character, Elizabeth would rather have her arm be savaged by wolves than disappoint Mr. Bennet in such a way.
One evening at Lucas Lodge, Elizabeth retreated to a corner with Mary, while the party went on around them.
Lydia had drunk too much and become a little wild. Kitty loudly complained to Mrs. Bennet about a ribbon. Mr. Bingley and Jane sat together, again, ignoring all the world—Jane with her usual placid smile.
Mr. Darcy, as he always did, looked at her.
