“I heard from Mr. Wickham that he is your father’s godson,” she said. “It makes me wonder why you did not even say hello when you saw him in Meryton the other day.”
Darcy was silent for several moments. She could not know the pain she was giving him by even broaching the subject, and he worked to maintain the stoic façade he was known for.
Before he could get himself under control, she looked away and said, “I apologize. I suppose it was rather forward and impertinent of me to inquire about your private life. It only makes sense that you would then turn your anger on me.”
He could not allow this to stand unchallenged. “No!” he said. “I assure you my anger was not directed towards you. You may ask anything you like. I was only having a bit of difficulty formulating a reply.”
“Because you were trying to determine which bits of your story make you look best?” she asked. “Or perhaps you were attempting to completely fabricate a suitable tale to avoid appearing shameful.”
Darcy was cut to the quick by the image she painted of him with these few words. Without thinking, he blurted out, “Of course not. I despise disguise, and I could never bring myself to appear before the world as anything other than what I am.”
Miss Elizabeth opened her mouth to reply, but their conversation was interrupted by the approach of Sir William Lucas. Sir William was a knight who seemed to make it his purpose in life to be civil to all the world. He was one of the few men in the area who seemed to ignore Darcy’s standoffish demeanor, speaking to him as if they were close acquaintances rather than merely strangers.
“What a pleasure it is to see the two of you dancing!” cried Sir William. “Mr. Darcy, you could not have chosen a better partner when gracing us all with the sight of your own rare skills upon the dancefloor. Miss Elizabeth certainly does you credit.”
Darcy did not know how to reply, but Miss Elizabeth said, “You are too good, sir.”
“I assure you, I am not,” replied Sir William. “You both deserve every ounce of praise possible. I do hope to have this pleasure repeated upon the engagement of your sister.” So saying, he glanced meaningfully at Miss Bennet and Bingley who were dancing together further down the line.
“I shall not detain you further, however,” continued Sir William. “I just wished to share with you how much I am enjoying the sight of so many excellent dancers.”
The friendly knight faded away. As he did so, Darcy turned his attention to Bingley in alarm. He had not realized that hisfriend’s attentions to Miss Bennet had given rise to expectations in the neighborhood. Perhaps, it was time to have a chat with his friend and make certain Bingley realized that Miss Bennet did not return his affection.
The two of them were chatting cheerfully as they danced. Miss Bennet certainly smiled enough at Bingley, but she often smiled, and Darcy could not detect any peculiar regard in her expression.
Eventually, he realized he was being rude to Miss Elizabeth. “Please excuse my absent-mindedness. What were we talking of?”
“I could not say, sir,” she replied, though her apparent anger said otherwise. “I cannot think of any two people in this room who have less to say for themselves than you and I.”
It pained Darcy to see it, but Miss Elizabeth was clearly putting up a wall between them. He desperately tried to think about what they had been discussing, but even when he remembered, he could not understand why she would take so much offense at his words.
He wished he could explain why he was so reluctant to speak of Wickham, but without her acknowledgment that they had been talking about him, Darcy would find it exceedingly awkward to bring the subject back up. He decided to leave it alone. If Miss Elizabeth would not speak to him, at the very least he could still have the pleasure of being near her and watching her dance.
The rest of their set passed mostly in silence. There were a few general comments between them about the ball but nothing of consequence.
Miss Elizabeth did not wait for him to escort her off the dance floor. Instead, she simply walked away. He watched hergo, wishing he could follow. But her own clear reluctance to be in his company combined with his reluctance to allow his feelings for the young lady to become entangled further made it impossible to pursue her. Thus, he merely watched her, just as he had done for the past month or more.
Darcy was relieved when it was finally time for supper. At last, he could do something other than stand around and watch, even if it was merely eating.
It was not the pleasant experience he had hoped for, however. By the time supper was finally served, it was clear that Bingley’s generosity with his wine was beginning to affect most of the guests. They were louder and more vulgar than Darcy had ever seen them.
Darcy attempted to tune it all out and focus on his food, but he was suddenly accosted by the young man who had caused such a ruckus during the first dance, the one who had caused Miss Elizabeth so much embarrassment.
“Please forgive me for introducing myself,” said the man, “but given that I am your exalted aunt’s parson, I feel it incumbent on myself to tell you that Lady Catherine de Bourgh was in the best of health a week and two days ago when I last saw her. Miss de Bourgh, your betrothed, was also in reasonable health, not particularly energetic, but doing well enough.”
“And who are you?” asked Darcy in his most forbidding tone.
“Ah, forgive me,” cried the man. “I am William Collins. Your aunt has preferred me to a comfortable living at Hunsford, and I will forever be grateful to her. As an expression of the honor I hold her in, I merely wished to make myself available to be of service to you, her dear nephew, in any way I possibly can.”
“I thank you for the news,” said Darcy, “but I must tell you that I am not engaged to my cousin.”
He tried to use the most dismissive tone he could muster to get this parson to go away, but the man would not take a hint.
“I would not wish to put myself forward in any way or contradict you on such a sensitive subject, but I am certain Lady Catherine has spoken of your engagement and impending nuptials many times. I cannot be mistaken on such a subject. Now, if there is anything I can do for you while we both reside in the same neighborhood, please do not hesitate to tell me. I would be most pleased to be of assistance to you.”
“You can do one thing,” said Darcy. He was unwilling to argue the point about his engagement with such a stubbornly ignorant man, so he merely said, “You can leave. Go back to your party.”
“Of course, of course,” Mr. Collins said. “Thank you for your kindness in listening to me.”
