Now, however, all her plans for an enjoyable evening were ruined. Almost as soon as she entered the ballroom, Mr. Denny had delivered the message that Mr. Wickham was not able to attend after all. Though the officer did not say so explicitly, he implied that Mr. Darcy was the true reason behind Mr. Wickham’s absence.
Mr. Darcy, the bane of Elizabeth’s existence. Deep down, Elizabeth knew she was exaggerating, but she needed someone to blame for how miserable her evening was so far, and Mr. Darcy made for a fine target, especially since he wouldn’t care one way or the other. Mr. Darcy didn’t care for anyone but himself, and his own opinion of himself was so great that even all of Elizabeth’s ire would not make one dent in the man’s wall of arrogance.
The evening didn’t get any better when the dancing began, for she had been forced to accept her cousin, Mr. Collins, as her first partner.
Mr. Collins was the most unpleasant man Elizabeth had ever met. Well, perhaps the second most unpleasant man. Mr. Darcy still came first in that category. Between Mr. Collins’ groveling subservience toward his patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and his unwarranted arrogance concerning his position as a parson, the man had yet to say a single sentence that didn’t make Elizabeth cringe.
The only reason he was in any way welcome among her family members was that he was her father’s heir. Since Longbourn, the Bennets’ estate, was entailed to male heirs, and the Bennets did not have a son, Elizabeth’s cousin, Mr. Collins, was due to inherit their home once Mr. Bennet died.
Elizabeth would have expected her mother to have at least attempted to deny Mr. Collins entry into her home. She was, after all, constantly on edge over the fact that she would loseher home the moment her husband died. However, the moment Mrs. Bennet realized that Mr. Collins intended to choose a bride from among his cousins, she welcomed him with open arms.
With the encouragement of Mama, Elizabeth had been chosen as Mr. Collins’ bride-to-be, at least in their minds. For the last week, he had spoken with her and kept her company as often as possible, and Elizabeth was absolutely sick of the man. Nothing was spoken overtly, but it was clear as day which way the wind was blowing.
Elizabeth was to be the sacrifice that would save the family.
If she married Mr. Collins, the man would be unable to throw any of the ladies of the family out of the house upon Papa’s death, at least not without serious marks against his reputation. Mama, as well as any remaining unmarried daughters, would have a home for the rest of their lives.
Elizabeth knew she would have none of it. Even to save her family, she could not possibly put up with Mr. Collins for the rest of her life. She was nearly certain her father would support her decision. Despite this, she knew there would be arguments and strife aplenty in the near future. Not to mention embarrassment and discomfort in the present.
Elizabeth’s second dance was taken by Mr. Denny, whose congenial company and excellent dancing helped her forget her concerns for a short time.
In the five-minute recess between the second and third dances, Elizabeth had the misfortune of being asked to dance by Mr. Darcy. He caught her so much by surprise that she accepted automatically. He thanked her and left, though he promised to return in a few minutes once the dance had begun.
Elizabeth turned to her best friend, Charlotte Lucas. “I can’t believe I just did that. I promised never to dance with him.”
“Why would you make such a promise?” asked Charlotte. “You should be honored to be singled out in such a way. He certainly hasn’t asked any other local ladies to dance.”
“You can’t be serious,” said Elizabeth. “At our very first meeting, even before being introduced, he insulted me. Additionally, he has shown himself to be an utterly unfeeling and incredibly arrogant man. Why would I ever wish to dance with such an unpleasant man as that?”
“You have let your wounded pride get the better of your reason,” said Charlotte. “Given that the man has an income of at least ten thousand pounds, and he has an uncle who is an earl, I believe he can be excused for being uncomfortable in such lowly company as our neighborhood can provide. Despite this, he has asked you to dance. Lizzy, you must not waste this opportunity.”
Unwilling to admit the sensibleness of Charlotte’s words, Elizabeth said, “Perhaps you are right, though I admit no such thing. But even if you are, that does not excuse his behavior toward poor Mr. Wickham.”
“And how would you know what has passed between them?” asked Charlotte. “You have only spoken with Mr. Wickham once or twice. You have barely spoken to Mr. Darcy a handful of times. What conclusions could you possibly draw on such a meager acquaintance?”
“Mr. Wickham, himself, told me of their history,” said Elizabeth. “Mr. Wickham was old Mr. Darcy’s godson, and he recommended Mr. Wickham to a living in his will. However, the younger Mr. Darcy went against his father’s recommendation and left Mr. Wickham to fend for himself.”
Charlotte looked at Elizabeth disbelievingly. “Blind as you are where Mr. Darcy is concerned, even you must see the holes in that story,” she said. “If it was left to Mr. Wickham in a will, hewould have gotten it. If not, he could have sought legal redress. Such a story does not explain why he is here in Hertfordshire as an officer.”
“I did ask him about that,” said Elizabeth. “He said it was not left explicitly but as a recommendation. A man of honor could not have refused, but apparently Mr. Darcy is no man of honor.”
“Did he say why Mr. Darcy refused?” asked Charlotte.
“He said that Mr. Darcy was jealous of the love his father had for Mr. Wickham, and that it was denied out of spite,” replied Elizabeth. “Given what I have seen of his character, I can well believe it.”
“Oh?” asked Charlotte. “And when have you seen Mr. Darcy behave in a dishonorable way? Or in a spiteful or vengeful way?”
“Well, I haven’t seen exactly that,” said Elizabeth. “But I have seen him behave in an amazingly arrogant way. Even now, when he has been in our society for six weeks, he still hardly speaks to anyone.”
Charlotte shook her head. “Just because a man has one fault doesn’t automatically make him guilty of another.”
She opened her mouth to say something else, but the music for the next dance began, and Mr. Darcy approached. As Elizabeth was being led away, Charlotte loudly whispered to her, “Behave yourself!”
Chapter 2
Darcy watched Miss Elizabeth as she danced across from him. She was graceful and strong, and her movements mesmerized him. The expression on her face was equally appealing. She had that thoughtful look that often preceded her wittiest comments.
When she finally opened her mouth to speak, however, what came out was the farthest thing from charming that he had ever heard from her.
