Chapter 15
Elizabeth’s dance with Mr. Darcy was not something she was looking forward to, but when he came forward to escort her to the dance floor, she accepted his arm with grace.
Once the dance began, she waited for him to begin the conversation. Surprisingly, she didn’t have to wait long.
“I understand that you and your sisters do not often come to London,” he said. “Are you enjoying your time here?”
“We are, indeed,” said Elizabeth. “At least I am. I’m afraid Jane feels a bit overwhelmed, and Mary would prefer to be at home studying. Even with the drawbacks, however, London is far more interesting than Meryton.”
“I thought the name of your village was Longbourn,” said Mr. Darcy.
“It is,” said Elizabeth, “however, there is a small market town not one mile from our home. That is Meryton. My sisters and I usually find an excuse to make our way there multiple times most weeks.”
“I see,” said Mr. Darcy. “I imagine that here in London you find a wider range of people to get to know. Small towns such as you describe often end up feeling rather confined and unvarying, do they not?”
“I suppose that is accurate to a degree,” said Elizabeth. “People are always so prone to change, however, that I cannot say I find them boring.”
“It was not my intention to imply that it must be boring,” said Mr. Darcy. “Rather, I had noticed that you take pleasure in getting to know people. I had only assumed that London must provide more fodder for such a hobby.”
Elizabeth laughed out loud at such a summary of her character. “While that may be accurate, it hardly paints me in a favorable light. You make me out to be a cold-hearted observer of human nature rather than a warm, feeling young lady.”
Secretly, she thought the former description applied to Mr. Darcy far more than it applied to herself, but she refrained from going so far as to say so aloud.
“On the contrary,” said Mr. Darcy. “It is obvious to anyone who knows you that you are as friendly and caring a young lady as one is likely to find anywhere.”
Though she had invited such a compliment by her deliberate self-effacement, the pointed nature of his phrasing caused Elizabeth to blush.
“Now that is a flattering light,” said Elizabeth. “Far more so than I likely deserve, but I will refrain from arguing you out of such an opinion. I have found that it is far better for others to have too high an opinion of oneself than too low.”
A hint of humor flashed through Mr. Darcy’s eyes, and the corner of his lips compressed slightly as though he wished to smile but did not quite know how to go about it. “Is that so?” he said.
“It is, indeed,” said Elizabeth with spirit. “I would much rather the world believe me to be perfection personified than a village idiot.”
“There must be some middle ground between those two extremes, Miss Elizabeth,” said Mr. Darcy. “Something that is more reflective of reality.”
“Ah, that is where you are wrong, Mr. Darcy,” said Elizabeth.
“People rarely think in shades of gray, though many would claim otherwise. It is far easier to think in extremes: love or hate, black or white, good or evil. By saving one’s mental energy in such a way, people are much more able to devote their time and thoughts to more productive pursuits, such as playing cards, gossiping, or riding aimlessly about the countryside. ”
The humor in Mr. Darcy’s eyes and the suppressed smile on his lips could no longer contain his mirth. Laughter broke free like a flock of pigeons that had just been released from a cage.
His laughter was loud enough and prolonged enough that they began attracting stares from the dancers near them. Though many of the gazes were directed toward Mr. Darcy as the source of the disturbance, quite a few were directed toward Elizabeth. The universal expression was surprised curiosity.
Apparently, Mr. Darcy did not make a habit of laughing in public.
Once he had stopped laughing, their conversation settled down into more normal patterns, and Elizabeth found that, once again, he was an interesting enough conversationalist. His opinions, though not always in accordance with her own, were well thought out.
When they disagreed, their argument had a light-hearted bantering sort of quality.
Elizabeth was surprised to find that, though she had not looked forward to her dance with him in the least, she was disappointed when it was at last over.
~~~~~
As expected, the following day saw several suitors calling at the Bennets’ home. While Mary and Lydia were in the library with Mrs. Jamison, Elizabeth, Jane, and Lady Esther settled into the drawing room.
The first guest to arrive, only minutes after the polite visiting hour had begun, was Mr. Bingley. He was not alone, however. Accompanying him were his sister, Miss Bingley, as well as Mr. Darcy.
Until that moment, Elizabeth had not even been aware that the two gentlemen knew each other, but it turned out that they were fast friends.
Mr. Bingley easily settled into conversation with Jane while Mr. Darcy and Miss Bingley sat near Elizabeth.
“I was not aware you were such close friends with Mr. Bingley,” said Elizabeth to Mr. Darcy once they were settled.
Though she had been looking directly at the gentleman when she spoke, it was Miss Bingley who answered. “Yes. Mr. Darcy and my brother have been the closest of friends since before I came out.”
Elizabeth thought it odd that Miss Bingley would insert herself in such a way. She said, “And how long ago was that?”
She knew it was slightly rude to ask a young lady her age so directly, but she was irritated that Miss Bingley was preventing Mr. Darcy from speaking for himself.
As expected, Miss Bingley looked slightly affronted. She answered stiffly, “Two years ago was when I made my debut here in London.”
Before Elizabeth could decide how to move the conversation along, Mr. Darcy said, “I have been good friends with Bingley since we met on the continent nearly ten years ago. He is lively company for my occasionally quiet or even somber moods.”
Mr. Darcy’s mood was anything but somber that morning. As he mentioned his occasionally silent moods, clearly referring to the way he had treated her at his uncle’s house, his eyes twinkled with mirth from their shared experience.
“It is good you have such a friend by your side,” said Elizabeth. “Not everyone would be capable of lifting you out of such dour spirits.”
Miss Bingley looked back and forth between the two of them.
She seemed vaguely aware that they were speaking of more than what was on the surface, but she clearly did not understand.
“Yes, exactly,” she said a little too loudly.
“My brother is invaluable company for Mr. Darcy, and Mr. Darcy repays his kindness by offering advice and introductions.”
“Is that so?” said Elizabeth. She was surprised to hear that such a connection was so transactional. She didn’t think that even Mr. Darcy could be that cold and unfeeling.
“I suppose it may appear to be the case,” said Mr. Darcy. “It is more accurate to say that I enjoy Bingley’s company enough that I wished him to be acquainted with those I am acquainted with so that I might enjoy such company more often.”
Elizabeth nodded in understanding. This explanation fit the personalities of Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy far better than Miss Bingley’s, though that did cause Elizabeth to question whether it was, in fact, Miss Bingley who was so cold and calculating.
“I can well believe it,” said Elizabeth.
“He seems to be a rather genial gentleman.” So saying, she glanced over to where Mr. Bingley and Jane were laughing softly, a sight which made Elizabeth smile.
Though Jane smiled easily enough there were few people who could get her to actually laugh.
That Mr. Bingley was capable of such a feat boded well for his prospects should he decide to pursue Jane.
“Exactly,” said Miss Bingley. “He is the kind of man who could easily win any woman’s heart.”
Elizabeth was certain he could not win her own heart. His personality seemed a bit too flighty for her taste. Besides, she had never been particularly partial to blonde curls on a full-grown man. However, it seemed entirely possible that he was capable of winning Jane’s heart.
“Tell me, Mr. Darcy, have you learned anything interesting to share in the ages since we last saw each other?” she asked, trying to move the conversation into more conventional waters.
It was not to be. “Ages?” asked Miss Bingley. “It hasn’t even been twelve hours since we were all at a ball together.”
Elizabeth was torn between wanting to ignore the young lady and feeling the need to shake some sense into her. She said flatly, “It was a deliberate exaggeration for comedic effect. I apologize if it was too esoteric for common understanding.”
By the way Mr. Darcy’s eyes twinkled, it was clear that either he enjoyed her little joke or he was enjoying seeing Elizabeth and Miss Bingley at odds with each other.
Though she hadn’t understood the previous joke, it was clear that Miss Bingley fully understood the implied insult to her intelligence.
Her face grew sour. Before she could say anything, however, Mr. Darcy said, “In fact, I have learned something new since our dance. Did you happen to read the article in the paper this morning that told of Napoleon’s latest antics in Spain? ”
With a sigh of relief, Elizabeth grasped onto this new topic with both hands.
She had read the article, and it provided fodder for a full twenty minutes of conversation, though that conversation was not nearly as smooth as their previous ones had been.
Miss Bingley did not always understand what they were saying, and she often interrupted at the most awkward times with questions which confused the topic.
Even so, when the small party took their leave, Elizabeth was once again sorry to see Mr. Darcy go.