Any vestiges of shyness or awkwardness disappeared as the man steeled himself and gazed steadily at her. “I find myself thinking of you quite often, Miss Bennet, and the more I see of you, the more convinced I become that such a fool as your cousin could never deserve a woman of your caliber.”
Elizabeth suppressed a smile. “And who might be more deserving?”
“I have come to hope that you might consider me to be deserving of your hand,” said Mr. Darcy. Then he flushed, perhaps realizing how straightforward he was being. “That is, might I lead you to the dance floor?” He held out his hand and gestured with his head toward where the couples were beginning to assemble. “The first set is about to begin.”
Uncertain why her heart was pounding, she agreed, and she let him lead her out to the dance floor.
Elizabeth truly enjoyed herself during their two dances. She refrained from venturing into the more serious territory of courting and instead teased him about his dislike of dancing.
“It is not the dancing that I dislike,” said he, “but rather, the relative lack of control that I have over my partners. There are certain expectations that must be abided by, but that does not mean that those expectations are always enjoyable.”
“I suspect Jane and Mr. Bingley would be in agreement with you,” said Elizabeth, smiling and looking toward the couple in question. “They would no doubt much prefer to remain partnered together the whole evening.”
“Yes, my feelings are similar to those indeed,” said Mr. Darcy, giving Elizabeth a warm smile that caused her heart to flutter most pleasantly.
They continued to enjoy their time together, and when at last Mr. Darcy led Elizabeth from the floor to join her with her sister, she found herself wishing that the evening could end right then, on a pleasant note that filled her heart with song.
Elizabeth fully expected Mr. Collins to sour what had been a sweet evening, but to her grateful surprise, Mrs. Gardiner, Mr. Gardiner, and even Colonel Fitzwilliam all seemed to have decided to make it their mission to keep Mr. Collins entertained—and as far away from Elizabeth as they could manage. Mrs. Bennet naturally tried to foil their attempts, but they were more successful than Elizabeth could have imagined. She could not help but wonder why they were trying so assiduously to aid her in this manner—and whether they were working in tandem—but she decided to allow the matter to rest, gratified to escape the parson and instead spend time in the most agreeable contemplation of her rising opinion of Mr. Darcy.
Chapter VI
Disaster struck on Christmas Eve. Until the moment it happened, Darcy had been considering what he might do to claim the fair Miss Elizabeth Bennet for himself and foil the odious toad of her cousin, several delightful possibilities flitting through his mind while ignoring Miss Bingley’s attempts to gain his attention. That all came to a crashing halt when the sitting-room door opened.
“Lady Catherine!” exclaimed Darcy, rising to his feet as his irascible aunt led her daughter into the room. “What do you do here?”
A squeal overthrew his question, as Georgiana flew to greet Anne amid a flurry of welcoming laughter. Lady Catherine turned and regarded her niece, her indulgent smile reminding Darcy that his aunt had always had a soft place in her heart for her sister’s daughter, rendering her almost agreeable in Georgiana’s company. Then she turned a glare back on Darcy.
“Good day, Darcy, how do you do? I might have expected a like form of welcome, but it appears your surprise has overcome your good sense.”
“Aunt Catherine,” said Fitzwilliam before Darcy could muster a response. “Itisa surprise to see you here.”
“And I apologize for our unseemly intrusion,” said Lady Catherine, still eyeing Darcy, her look one he could not quite decipher. “But Anne and Georgiana were exchanging letters, and she convinced me that joining you all for Christmas would be just the thing.”
“Well, Bingley?” asked Fitzwilliam, turning a grin on the genial gentleman. “What say you?”
“Lady Catherine,” said Bingley, his bow to Darcy’s aunt,providing a belated reminder to Darcy that Bingley had made her acquaintance before. “Welcome to Netherfield.”
“Thank you, Mr. Bingley,” said Lady Catherine. “I apologize for arriving without prior warning.”
“Nonsense,” was Bingley’s firm reply. “It would please my sister and me if you would consent to stay the season.”
“We should like nothing better,” said Lady Catherine.
Being acquainted with the lady but not her daughter, Bingley asked Georgiana to perform the introductions, which she did with alacrity. Then, when they were all acquainted, Miss Bingley stepped into the breach.
“How lovely it is to have you for Christmas! I have long wanted to make your acquaintance, Lady Catherine, for I have heard so much of you.”
Lady Catherine’s gimlet gaze turned on Miss Bingley, as Darcy might have predicted in advance. The lady had heard enough of Miss Bingley to suspect her of wishing for Darcy’s particular attention, and while she likely knew Darcy well enough to suppose he would not fall for her brand of allurements, she would not take kindly to Miss Bingley’s overt attempts to draw his attention.
“Let me show you to your rooms,” continued Miss Bingley, and with a hint of self-congratulation added: “I always keep several rooms ready for unexpected visitors.”
As Miss Bingley led the ladies, including Georgiana and Mrs. Hurst, from the room, chattering all the way, Darcy watched her with a critical eye. When they were gone, he turned to Bingley.
“You may wish to have a word with your sister, Bingley. Lady Catherine has long wanted me to marry her daughter—your sister’s . . . manifest ambitions will do her no favors with my aunt.”
Bingley responded with a bout of hilarity, by his side, Hurst exclaiming: “Then by all means, let us allow her to step in it!Caroline would benefit from being taken down a peg or two!”
“I shall speak to her, though I am less than confident she will heed me.”
