“Mr. Darcy has proved himself equal to our small company, Charlotte,” said Miss Elizabeth, laughing as she said it. “There is another reason for his civility, but let us not speak of that.”
Miss Lucas understood at once, for she looked behind Darcy. When Darcy turned, he noted that one of the neighborhood men had approached Miss Bingley and was asking for a dance. To Darcy’s surprise, Miss Bingley glared at him, offered a sharp retort, and stalked toward Darcy without a glance back. The man, whom Darcy recognized but did not know beyond basic civility, gaped after her as if shocked, then turned away muttering.
“Oh dear,” said Miss Elizabeth, having noticed the confrontation.
“That will be all over the ballroom within moments,” said Miss Lucas, watching Miss Bingley approach as if she were a wild animal.
“Mr. Darcy,” cooed Miss Bingley, her previous disgust replaced by a calculating sweetness that a child of five could see as false. “How generous of you to have partnered Miss Eliza for the first set.”
Miss Bingley sneered at Miss Elizabeth, who gazed back, holding in a smile by the barest margin. “I can only assume she had no partner—fortunately, you showed your gallantry in her moment of need.”
It was all Darcy could do not to laugh, and his companions were in similar straits. Gallant? Darcy was about as far from gallant in a ballroom as a man could be, considering his infamous aversion to the dance floor. Miss Bingley was well aware of this—that she convinced herself he was merely doing a young woman without a partner a favor was blindness even she rarely attained.
“Not at all, Miss Bingley,” replied Darcy. “In fact, I consider myself fortunate to have secured her company, for two other men solicited her hand after I did.”
“I dislike boasting,” added Miss Elizabeth, “but I am never required to sit out unless gentlemen are scarce.”
Miss Bingley looked down her nose at Miss Elizabeth. “I recall you sitting out during the assembly in October. Did Mr. Darcy not refuse to dance with you?”
“An oversight on my part,” said Darcy, already annoyed with the woman. “Miss Elizabeth is an excellent dancer—I should have considered better.”
“Not at all, Mr. Darcy,” said Elizabeth, deflecting Miss Bingley’s attack. “Given your stated disinclination for the dance floor unless you areparticularlyacquainted with your partner, I consider myself fortunate that I am now counted among that august group of ladies.”
“Thereareothers with whom Mr. Darcy is better acquainted,” said Miss Bingley, her tone all honey dripping with venom.
At that moment, the music for the second set started, the timing perfect, allowing Darcy to disabuse her of any notion he would ask her for a set. Instead, he turned to Miss Lucas.
“I believe this dance is mine, Miss Lucas.”
The woman in question, who displayed no overt reaction, smiled and allowed him to take her hand. The man who had secured Miss Elizabeth’s second set arrived to claim her company, and they all went to the dance floor, leaving Miss Bingley gaping at them by herself. That shock soon turned to surprise and annoyance, and Darcy knew he had not rid himself of her cloying attention. The question on his mind now was whether he could endure the evening without putting her in her place. That outcome was very much in doubt.
THE EVENING WAS A DISASTERfor Miss Bingley, though the woman in question could not see it. News of her caustic refusal to dance made its way through every part of the assembly rooms, and no one bothered her again. Darcy was uncertain if it was because Miss Bingley had been declared haughty and disagreeable, or because of the custom for young ladies to relinquish the dance floor after refusing a request.
Miss Bingley was in her element, approaching Darcy between sets, following his every movement when he was dancing, and making herself offensive to all. More than once, Darcy heard others talking about her, at times so loud that Darcy was certain Miss Bingley heard them herself. Mrs. Bennet was one of the more vocal.
“What a disobliging woman,” vented she to Lady Lucas before the evening was half gone. “And Mr. Bingley is everything gentlemanly and considerate. What a cross to bear it is for him to be weighed down with such a sister!”
Darcy could not hear Lady Lucas’s reply, for it appeared the woman had enough sense to lower her voice. Miss Bingley heard it, but she did not care for anyone’s opinion and ignored it. MissElizabeth also heard it and was not slow to jest, one of the few moments Darcy had without Miss Bingley in close attendance.
“Is it my perception, or is Miss Bingley doing her best to ignore the entire room and everyone in it?”
“Your mother’s comment is not the first I have heard,” replied Darcy. “If she does not wish to hear her name on everyone’s lips, her only recourse is to leave the room.”
Miss Elizabeth shook her head. “At least Mr. Bingley does not appear to be suffering from his sister’s behavior. He is just as well regarded now as he was in the autumn.”
Miss Bingley joined them at that moment, and Miss Elizabeth moved away to avoid her acid tongue. Though Miss Bingley made her usual comments about wishing to dance with him, Darcy moved to his next partner—Miss Kitty—and escorted her to the dance floor at once, much to Miss Bingley’s growing frustration.
The situation came to a head later that evening, perhaps two or three dances before the end. By that time, Miss Bingley had become little more than a hunter stalking his prey, always nearby between sets, her comments becoming more blatant as each dance passed.
“I see your purpose, Mr. Darcy,” said she, cornering Darcy by the floor. As he had been far more involved than his wont, he had decided to brave Miss Bingley’s machinations and not dance these sets.
“That is curious, Miss Bingley. I did not know you could see into others’ thoughts.”
“It is no less than obvious,” intoned she, as if she were stating something profound. “You must be saving the best for the last set, given the succession of inadequate partners you have endured all night.”
“Not at all, Miss Bingley,” replied Darcy, not wanting to feed into her delusions. “The ladies have been pleasant, indeed, and I have danced twice with my sister.”
“Dear Georgiana! Of course,sheis welcome. Still, as the only one particularly acquainted with you, I must assume you mean to dance the last with me.”
