“Indeed, the dancing,” Bingley interrupted. “I thought it was rather enjoyable. And as for the company, you do them too little credit, Caroline. Why, everyone was lively, their manners pleasing. Perhaps a bit more… vigorous than a London ball, but I have never passed a more delightful evening in my life!”
“Charles, you cannot be serious. Why, there werechildrenthere—girls not more than fourteen, dancing and flirting shamelessly!”
“Caroline, this is not London. I saw nothing inappropriate—why, every family in the neighborhood was there, and it is rather common in the country for the children to attend such events.”
“Well!” Caroline sniffed. “I thought the entire affair rather tawdry.”
“Tawdry! You are far too harsh on people you met only this evening. I, for one, have never met so many charming people anywhere.Evenin London. Darcy, you do not agree with my sister, do you?”
Darcy’s mouth twisted in discomfort. He might as well come out with it. “I saw little breeding and no beauty whatsoever.”
Caroline Bingley hid a smile behind her glass, but Bingley cried out in dismay. “Surely you exaggerate! You gave yourself little enough trouble to seek enjoyment. Surely you could have joined us on the floor and had a more pleasant evening?”
Darcy turned to meet his friend’s gaze, his arms folding across his chest. “I did not see the need.”
“No need?” Bingley frowned. “Was it the music, or was the company not to your liking?”
Darcy allowed a pause. The music had been tolerable enough, though the room... not so much. “The company was adequate, but you know how these things go. Too much attention paid to the wrong dance partner, and suddenly, there are expectations.”
“Expectations?” Bingley blinked, incredulous. “From adance?”
“Yes, a dance. You have seen it happen. A man dances twice with the wrong woman, and by the next day, half the town believes there is an attachment.”
Bingley stared at him as though Darcy had suggested something utterly nonsensical. “Darcy, you’re being melodramatic. It was an assembly, not a proposal.”
Darcy held his ground. “You underestimate the power of idle chatter. It only takes a little encouragement for desperate ladies to start assuming more than they should.”
Caroline let out a delicate laugh. “Oh yes, they must all feel dreadfully forsaken that Mr. Darcy did not condescend to dance. How thoughtful of you to spare the ladies their broken hearts.”
He ignored her, his focus still on Bingley. There was no use in trying to clarify himself to someone like Caroline, but Bingley... perhaps Bingley could still be reasoned with.
“You may find it absurd,” Darcy continued, “but when you’ve spent as long as I have fending off fortune hunters and overly ambitious mothers, you begin to tread carefully.”
“Fortune hunters? In Meryton?” Bingley was laughing now, his eyes bright with disbelief. “Darcy, I danced with a dozen ladies tonight, and I’ve no reason to believe any of them expect to marry me tomorrow.”
Darcy’s expression remained unchanged. “You may be fortunate in that regard, but that has not been my experience.”
Bingley leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. “You truly believe that behaving like a gentleman—agentleman, Darcy, not a cad—necessarily leads straight to matrimony?”
“All too often, when one has wealth and no inclination to marry,” Darcy replied curtly. “A few dances here, a bit of polite conversation there, and suddenly a man is trapped in expectations he never intended.”
Bingley grinned, clearly unconvinced. “You make it sound like common courtesy is as good as a leg shackle. Surely, a man can be pleasant without every woman assuming he’s about to propose.”
Darcy shook his head slightly. It wasn’t that simple, and Bingley knew it. “You’ve been spared the worst of it, but not every man can enjoy such freedom.”
Bingley sat up straighter, his eyes narrowing with an almost mischievous gleam. “I think you’re making excuses.”
Darcy raised an eyebrow. “Excuses?”
“Yes. I believe you’re avoiding courtesy simply because it’s easier to stand aloof and judge the room than actually engage with people.”
Darcy fixed him with a sharp look. “That is outrageous.”
“Is it?” Bingley’s grin widened. “I’ll wager that itispossible for you to be a perfect gentleman without giving anyone the wrong idea. All I’m saying is that you’re overcomplicating things.”
Darcy frowned, his patience wearing thin. “I’m not entertaining this.”
But Bingley leaned forward, too amused to let the moment pass. “No, listen. Sir William Lucas tells me it is quite the thing here in Meryton to wager—why, even the ladies have their own amusements. Perfectly respectable and expected, and I think it a harmless diversion.”
