“Because my sisters and my mother, their new lives so different from what we had, living with my relations. I am not ungrateful; whether in Meryton or London, they are kindly received, but they are living in other people’s homes. Not as guests, but as… I do not even know what to call us. Perhaps tenants who pay no rent.”
“Miss Elizabeth,” he exclaimed, “you must not think in that way. I am certain your relations do not see matters so. Besides, it is only temporary. You were rejoicing yesterday over Miss Kitty’s engagement. You may be quite certain that others will follow.”
He looked at her, hoping to find some sign in her eyes, but though she met his gaze, he found only sadness.
“You must have a dance card full of requests.”
Elizabeth shook her head gently.
“No. It is entirely empty.”
She held it out for him to see.
“You have not accepted a single dance?”
“No. It seems so unfair that I should feel so happy while my mother and sisters are in such circumstances.”
“You are mistaken. If Mr Bennet were here, he would tell you to dance, to enjoy yourself, and to leave sadness behind. I know him only through your stories, but I have a strong suspicion that is exactly what he would say. Am I right?”
He compelled her to look at him, and at last Elizabeth smiled.
“You are.”
“Then let us dance, and allow me to try to improve your spirits.”
“How can I dance with you when I have refused everyone else? I have said only, perhaps later.”
“And now it is later. You shall dance with me, and I promise that as long as you are with me, no one will trouble you.”
He rose from the bench and, with his customary elegance and courtesy, offered her his arm.
“You do not even like dancing,” she said.
“What makes you think so?” Darcy looked at her in genuine surprise. Suddenly, it seemed to him that the woman beside him did not know him at all, and the thought struck him as unexpectedly sad.
“I do not know. I remember the Netherfield ball, when neither of us seemed to enjoy dancing very much.”
“Perhaps I was not in the best spirits that evening, nor particularly inclined towards amusement. The truth is that Wickham’s presence had put me in a dreadful humour—”
“And there was also the matter of Mr Bingley,” she added rather sharply.
“We agreed to leave the past behind us.”
“Yes, forgive me. I must learn to do the same. Indeed, I find you very different from the gentleman I knew in Hertfordshire or met in Kent.”
“I am glad to hear it,” he said as they entered the ballroom.
Both would have preferred to continue their conversation, yet that proved impossible when almost every eye in the room turned towards them. A new tune began, as though the musicians had been waiting for their arrival, and Darcy naturally bowed and invited her to dance. Though the couples formed immediately, many eyes remained fixed upon them.
“Good heavens,” murmured Elizabeth when they met, and their hands found one another’s, “I have never been so much the centre of attention.”
“Nor have I,” replied Darcy.
“That slightly mischievous smile tells me you do not believe me.”
From some distance away, she nodded. When they approached one another again, however, he continued, “You imagine me living amidst a perpetual round of entertainments.”
“Is that not true?” she asked, with the same smile he liked and feared at the same time.
