Then when he finally made himself attend to the game, he found himself in such a state that within ten minutes he tossed his cards down and returned to angry pacing.
Elizabeth looking at Mr. Wickham, Georgiana looking at Mr. Wickham, his father looking at Mr. Wickham.
He despised the man.
Why, in a town in which he had found a sense of peace and happiness, had it been necessary for that gentleman to appear?
By the end of the evening, Darcy made the decision to call on the Bennets within the next few days to warn Elizabeth about Wickham’s character. She was exactly the sort of woman that his hated childhood companion would try to seduce and then abandon.
Elizabeth was a girl in a vulnerable position, not closely watched, and with a warm heart that could easily be persuaded by stories of unhappiness and woe. She was peculiarly beautiful, in a way that made Darcy’s throat catch. Beyond that she had a lively and happy temperament—at least when not in Mrs. Bennet’s presence.
She must be warned about Wickham’s true character before he had a chance to make any serious inroads into her peace of mind.
Miss Elizabeth had a core of integrity, and she would not be easily led into a sinful act. Shecertainlyhad sufficient goodsense and knowledge of the world to keep her well protected from false oaths of affection and secret engagements. She could not have been fooled quite like Georgiana.
Darcy still worried for her.
He had a strong protective instinct about the girl. And when he thought of Wickham breaking her heart, of even just feeling the liberty to touch her hand, a clamoring rage filled Darcy’s chest.
Unceasing rain kept them all indoors and made calling on a house three miles distant a more difficult task than usual. He would have looked odd, and Darcy did not want to look odd.
And how would he have explained himself?
Mr. Wickham talked to Elizabeth.
That explanation would serve him very well if he had been Elizabeth’s suitor, which he was not. He was her friend, and he did not wish her to be placed in an uncomfortable position due to an excess of attention from an unexpected quarter.
In this end Darcy determined to speak with her during the course of Bingley’s ball.
Darcy spent the whole of the afternoon awaiting the Longbourn party. From something of his manner, Darcy suspected that Bingley did as well. This gave Darcy a new hint of concern that his friend’s interest in Jane Bennet was not of a quickly passing sort.
The Bennets only arrived ten minutes before the first dance was to begin, coming into a drawing room already packed with officers and Bingley’s neighbors. The bustle and hurry of the Longbourn party suggested that there had been a great deal of worry about placing all features of their dress into proper order before they came.
Mr. Bennet led the group. He was all sharp smiles, greying and half bald.
The fierceness with which Mr. Bennet was always defended by Elizabeth made Darcy look at him with a different eye. How much blame did that gentleman deserve for the ways that Elizabeth’s care had been mismanaged? Or for the lackadaisical way that he cared for his family.
Mr. Bennet certainly did not lack all virtues, but Darcy thought that from his less biased position, with a greater knowledge of the world, that he had a right to judge differently than Elizabeth, and to expect his judgement to be more correct.
When Darcy approached Elizabeth she spoke with a thickset man wearing a clerical collar and with an almost prettyish girl.
Upon coming close, Darcy perceived that the girl was in fact Mary Bennet. She was dressed wholly differently than she had been on other occasions when he saw her. And while it was impossible for Darcy to specify which details made the difference, Darcy perceived that attention had paid to fashion and to the flattering.
That which prompted this change seemed to be the gentleman they stood with, who engaged in a long speech about how as a clergyman he did not at all consider it unbecoming to participate in the gayeties and frivolities of a ball.
Miss Mary immediately agreed with him, saying, “All of my books agree that one must adopt oneself to the circumstances in which one finds oneself, while also maintaining adherence to religious principles and the proper behavior for one in our position in life.”
“That is just like what my patroness might say,” the clerical gentleman said approvingly.
Bowing to them all, Mr. Darcy gravely asked Elizabeth for her hand.
She seemed startled.
Elizabethwas fragile and beautiful. Her face had an elegant paleness. There was that odd lack of symmetry in her hair ornaments that he believed was intended to make her look poorly dressed. It made her look almost exotic. Dark eyes, dark hair, pulled tightly back, and a pale-lipped smile of real happiness for him.
“Of course, Mr. Darcy I would be delighted to—No, wait.” A worried frown came over her face and she slowly started to shake her head. “I thank you for the offer, but of course—”
“Nonsense, Lizzy. You wish to dance with him,” Miss Mary said.
