Page 20 of His Pride and His Prejudice

“Remember, brother, that Mr. Bingley does not know Jack’s disposition as we do,” Marc said, and Elliot found himself wondering when Marc had become so perceptive.

“Perhaps if he saw enough of Jack it would not matter,” Charlie said, nodding his agreement with Marc. “But Bingley and Jack have met what? Thrice now? And it is never for many hours together and as they always see each other in large mixed parties, it is impossible that every moment should be employed in conversing together. Jack should therefore make the most of every half hour in which he can command Bingley’s attention. When he is secure of him, there will be leisure for falling in love as much as he chooses.”

“Your plan would make sense where nothing is in question but the desire of being well mated,” Elliot agreed. “If Jack were determined to get a rich husband, or any husband, then he should adopt it. But how can Jack be certain of his own regard? He has known him only a fortnight. They danced four dances at Meryton. Had a single conversation at Netherfield. This is not quite enough to make Jack understand his character.”

“Four dances may do a great deal more than four conversations,” Charlie said, and Elliot knew that his friend was thinking about the physical elements of such a dance. Was that not why it was so very popular a pastime? Much could be gathered about a person’s character when held in their arms.

“And you know I wish Jack success with all my heart,” Charlie said quickly because Mr. Lucas was fast approaching them, and he was dragging Mr. Thurstwell with him—a shady widower of some advanced years with a penchant for summer wine. “If he were mated tomorrow, I should think he had as good a chance of happiness as if he were to be studying Bingley’s character for a twelve month. I sometimes think that happiness in mating is entirely a matter of chance, and perhaps it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life!”

“You make me laugh, Charlie,” Elliot said because he suspected his friend was secretly a romantic and would like nothing better than to fall in love with his fated mate, though time had half convinced him such a thing was an impossibility. Elliot knew also that time was running out for his friend, and if that did not happen soon, it was entirely possible he would end up with someone like Thurstwell. Charlie was heir to his papa’s fortune and heirs always had to have heirs of their own.

Charlie was duly extracted from their party, leaving Marc and Elliot to watch Jack and Bingley start a second dance. A slightly scandalous undertaking but no one in this room would deny them. Whether Jack realised it or not, they could all see what was unfolding, and they were all hoping that their handsome omega would find happiness in the arms of a rich alpha.

Elliot felt a slight pang in his chest as he considered his favourite brother mated to Bingley. At first, he thought the pang was sadness, for he would miss Jack intensely. But then, on further reflection, Elliot realised it was not just sadness. There was something else there, a feeling he did not quite recognise, but if pressed to explain might describe as something close to longing.

Occupied in observing Mr. Bingley’s attention to his brother, and almost entirely innocent in what that longing might mean, Elliot was far from suspecting that he was himself becoming an object of some interest in the eyes of his friend.

Ten

Mr. Darcy had at first scarcely allowed Elliot Bennet to be attractive. He had looked at him without admiration at the ball, with little more than curiosity at Netherfield, and had planned that when they next met that he would look only to criticise, given Elliot’s retort to his well-intentioned query about dancing! But no sooner had Darcy made it clear to himself that Elliot had hardly a good feature in his face, than he began to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the expression of his dark eyes. To this discovery succeeded some others equally mortifying.

Carefully watching Elliot across the room where Sir William was holding his ball—a room which in Darcy’s opinion was not quite up to the job—he had detected with a critical eye more than one failure of perfect symmetry in Elliot’s form but was also forced to acknowledge the other man’s figure to be pleasingly lean and muscular. And despite it being quite obvious that Elliot’s manners were not of the fashionable world, Darcy was caught by their easy playfulness, for why else did those around him smile and laugh so often at his words?

Despite himself, Darcy began to wish to know more of him. This was so unusual, so outside of the realms of what Darcy would consider acceptable behaviour, that it took him the best part of the evening to make his way across the room to where Elliot had spent most of his time. He seemed to be a particular intimate of Charlie Lucas and that too piqued Darcy’s attention as he found the Lucases’ only son to be an easy-going sort of fellow.

Of course, Darcy was obliged on numerous occasions to stop and converse with some of Sir William’s guests but far less than he had been confronted with at the Meryton ball. In fact, it was now only the most ambitious of mamas who continued to pursue him, and Darcy suspected that was because the others had decided that he was too unlikeable to bother with—ten thousand a year be dammed!

It was not the first time that Darcy’s personality had rendered his position and fortune to be less than desirable. In London it was quite irrelevant. He had contemporaries who he was quite comfortable with and therefore far more pleasant. In Pemberley, his ancestral home, he had family, friends he had grown up with, and long-standing servants who he viewed with quite some affection. But here? A local society where he knew no one? Had no shared bonds? No positions in common? Darcy simply was not able to be at ease like Charles. It did not matter how much he tried. It did not work. Past events had taught him that therefore Darcy no longer attempted it.

He extricated himself from a mama and her overly freckled, hopeful looking omega daughter. Quite apart from the fact that Darcy’s desires did not run to females, the young woman was pale and delicate. Darcy was not inclined towards such a thing. He preferred a certain degree of robustness. And in truth, he had always preferred dark hair…dark, curly hair…

Eventually he found himself stood next to Sir William, the other man beaming at the group dancing across his room. “What a charming amusement for young people this is, Mr. Darcy,” he said. “There is nothing like dancing, after all. I consider it as one of the first refinements of polished societies.”

Darcy had travelled extensively in his youth, encouraged by an interest in the natural sciences, and had spent time in many a society that would be considered far from polished. Many in this crowd would have been surprised to know that Darcy had felt a degree of comfort in those groups that he rarely felt in polite society. He had not been able to discover why and so his response to Sir William was slightly scathing though he doubted the other man would have any notion as to why. “Certainly, sir, and it has the advantage also of being in vogue amongst almost all types of society.”

Sir William merely smiled. “Your friend performs delightfully,” he continued, seeing Bingley join the group, hand in hand with Jack Bennet. “And I doubt not that you are an adept in the science yourself, Mr. Darcy.”

“You saw me dance at Meryton, I believe, sir.”

“Yes, indeed, and received no inconsiderable pleasure from the sight. Do you often dance at St. James’s?”

“Never, sir.”

“Do you not think it would be a proper compliment to the place?”

“It is a compliment which I never pay to any place if I can avoid it.”

Sir William smiled again but did not cease in his attempts to draw Darcy into conversing. Darcy was unaware but Sir William had become convinced that Darcy simply needed the right encouragement to get the most out of their local society. Oh, he was not thinking along the same avenue as his beloved Mr. Lucas for he knew that his dear son had little chance of catching an alpha of ten thousand a year, but Sir William had not gained his title by shirking any connection that came his way. He would make the best of any such situation!

“You have a house in town, I conclude?” he persevered.

Darcy inclined his acknowledgement.

“I had once some thoughts of fixing in town myself, for I am fond of superior society, but I did not feel quite certain that the air of London would agree with Mr. Lucas.”

He paused in hopes of an answer, but his companion did not make any, though not for the reason that Sir William presumed. Elliot was moving towards them, and Darcy had noticed the moment the other man changed direction. It was not simply that he saw him, though that was certainly the case, but Darcy was oddly aware of where Elliot was in the room at any given time. Would it be correct to say that he felt it? Darcy did not know. But as Elliot approached a strange excitement began to stir in Darcy and it was such a curious sensation that he clenched his fists in response.

Sir William noticed Elliot too and called out to him.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com