For his part, Darcy had not been able to quiet the voice in his head screaming that his singling Miss Elizabeth out for the first set had done the opposite of what he intended—raising expectations he could never fulfil. Yes, he had asked all the ladies around her for sets, but that did not change the fact he was about to dance the first with the enchanting lady.
His head had demanded he withdraw for the night claiming a headache, but Darcy had rejected that option no sooner than it had been considered. He was a man of honour, and he would not renege once he had requested and been granted dances by Elizabeth—Miss Elizabeth—or any of the other young ladies. His resolve not to dance with Miss Bingley remained firm.
The aforementioned lady saw her prey—her future husband—standing on the side as he was wont to do at these detested events. She was sure the only reason he had not solicited her hand for a set as of yet was due to her having been busy welcoming the country nobodies to her home.
She glided over to where Mr. Darcy stood to give him a chance to make the expected request for the set which was, of course, hers. No matter how close to him she stood, he looked forward steadfastly and moved away each time she moved.
It was time to engage him in conversation. “What a tedious way to spend the evening having to host these country mushrooms. At least there are those ofourlevel of society with whom to dance.” Miss Bingley batted her eyelids in the most coquettish way she knew how.
At first, Darcy did not respond to the orange monstrosity’s inanity. Then he heard the musicians signalling the formation of the lines for the first set. “If it is sotediousfor you to be in present company, I suggest you retire to your bedchamber,” Darcy stated icily and then made his way towards Miss Elizabeth.
Miss Bingley stood as if frozen. Not only had Mr. Darcy not asked her to dance, he had told her to withdraw from the ball. Surely, they were of one mind regarding these savages?
Her thoughts were arrested as she saw Mr. Darcy approach none other than the hated Eliza Bennet and lead her to the line for the first dance of the night.
This was completely unacceptable! Here she was, the most elegant and fashionable lady in the room with a dowry of twenty thousand pounds, standing on the side like a wallflower as no gentleman, not even her brother had approached her to dance, whileherMr. Darcy was dancing with that hoyden.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Welcome George, please pardon the fact I could not receive you earlier,” Karen Younge stated when her paramour entered her sitting room. It was then she spied the red welt on his left cheek. “What on earth happened to you?”
Being far too embarrassed to admit the truth, Wickham laughed it off. “I tripped and slammed my face into a door.”
Karen Younge could clearly see the imprint of a hand on her lover’s face but knew how much he hated being called out on his lies. “Have you seen any of the Darcys of late?” she asked instead.
At first, he started thinking she somehow knew about his ill-advised approach to Miss Darcy in Hyde Park, but then he calmed himself realising she had no way of knowing that. “Of all the luck in the world, that damned bastard Darcy is visiting friends in the same neighbourhood where the Derbyshire Militia is encamped,” he reported.
“You have seen one another? He did not punch you like he did in Ramsgate, did he?” Karen enquired.
“No, and I explained he cowardly took me by surprise before I could defend myself,” Wickham stated churlishly. “We saw one another in public, and he will not want to cross me if he wants his sister’s reputation to remain unsullied.”
It was not hard to see the bluster in the statement. Again, Karen did not challenge what he said. He was a reasonably good lover, even if the size of his member was somewhat lacking, and she looked forward to having her bed warmed that evening.
“Just you wait! I will get my due one day and then the prig will pay all he owes and so much more,” Wickham boasted.
“Of course you will,” Karen placated. “Come George it is time for us to retire.”
Mrs. Younge extinguished the candles in the sitting room and then led her paramour to her bedchamber.
As much as he would have preferred to be bedding a much younger girl, Wickham knew he had no choice this night. He had a run of bad luck at the tables and all of his coin had been lost. As it was, he would have toborrowsome coin from Karen to purchase his post ticket back to Meryton in the morning. As he followed her into the room, he told himself that he had to keep her happy only as long as she was useful to him.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Elizabeth’s opinion regarding Mr. Darcy’s abilities on the dance floor was quickly confirmed. As tall and broad as he was, he moved through the steps rather gracefully. She was aware he preferred to speak as little as possible, so for the first while she gratified his preference for silence. Then she decided she desired some conversation more than he disliked it. She searched her mind for a topic that would be acceptable to her dance partner.
“Miss Bingley has done admirable work in decorating the room and organising the ball, and is this not an invigorating dance?” Elizabeth began when the steps of the dance brought them back together.
Mr. Darcy remained silent, looking as haughty as ever. “It isyourturn to say something now, Mr. Darcy. I talked about the decorations and the dance, andyouought to make some sort of remark on the size of the room, or the number of couples.”
“I am at your service, Madam, I will say whatever you require of me.” Darcy gave a half smile as he spoke.
“Very well,” Elizabeth responded archly. “That reply will do for the present. Perhaps by and by I may observe that private balls are much pleasanter than public ones. Butnowwe may be silent.”
“Do you talk as a rule while you are dancing?” Darcy queried.
“Sometimes. One must speak a little, you know. It would look odd to be entirely silent for half an hour together; and yet for the advantage ofsome, conversation ought to be so arranged, as that they may have the trouble of saying as little as possible.”
“Are you consulting your own feelings in the present case, or do you imagine you are gratifying mine?”
