Page 65 of A Most Unwelcome Acquaintance

“You have lost your place,” he told Caroline.

“I have not.”

“Then the sentence lacked an ending.”

Caroline resumed her account of a London musicale, though no one had asked for it.

Wickham entertained Kitty with an account of an officer who challenged a miller’s son to race across a flooded meadow and lost both the wager and one boot. Kitty laughed before he reached the end and demanded to know whether he recovered the boot.

Elizabeth listened, though part of her attention remained across the table. Darcy spoke to Mr. Allen, then moved a dish within the old man's reach.

Wickham followed her gaze. “He presents well tonight.”

“Must every remark contain a second meaning?”

“Not every remark, just those concerning old friends.”

“You call him a friend?”

“Once, perhaps. Boys use the word before they understand its cost.”

Kitty looked troubled. “You said you would not speak of him.”

“You are right.” Wickham turned his smile toward her. “I am neglecting better company.”

Kitty forgave him at once.

After supper, Sir William attempted to arrange a dance. The card tables had left too little space, but Lydia and Maria Lucas pushed two chairs against the wall and declared the room sufficient.

Bingley asked Jane for the first set and Wickham claimed Kitty. Darcy remained near the fire until Sir William approached Elizabeth.

“Miss Eliza, you must not stand idle. Mr. Darcy, allow me to present a partner whose liveliness may cure your reluctance.”

Elizabeth expected Darcy to refuse. Instead, he turned to her.

“Will you dance?”

The room seemed to narrow around the question. Caroline stood near the pianoforte, watching.

Elizabeth could have declined. Wickham's account, Darcy's insult, and Caroline's warning all offered reasons. Yet Darcy had spent the evening acting with a consideration that asked for no witness, and refusal would declare more than she wished to admit.

“Yes,” she said.

Caroline's expression held, but Louisa saw the effort.

The musicians began. Darcy offered his hand, and Elizabeth took it.

They moved into place with another couple, and for the first several measures, Darcy said nothing. Elizabeth expected this from him, but the evening made his silence harder to read.

“You chose a dangerous time to become agreeable,” she said.

“Have I become agreeable?”

“Mr. Allen appears to think so.”

“Mr. Allen thinks age has corrected his sense.”

“Then his judgment may not assist you.”