The Netherfield Ball, Thursday Evening, Fandom Time
ball at Netherfield. How exciting! Miss Elizabeth Bennet had secured a portal home, and was pleased to learn that very little time, indeed, had passed since her last visit. Mr. Collins was still in high dudgeon from her refusal to marry him, but even his poor temper could not dampen her mood. A ball, at Netherfield. She would wear her finest gown, and dance with Mr. Wickham, and continue to cherish hopes of Mr. Bingley and her dearest sister, Jane.
Miss Bennet
The exterior was impressive, as seen by nightfall; Netherfield Park was stately and refined. The interior no less so, even for Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst greeting them with false airs of delight.
Lizzy was only too pleased to take the arm Mr. Bingley offered her -- the other occupied charmingly by Jane -- and wander through the crowds, looking perhaps for a certain gentleman whose arm she would much rather claim.
Mr. Denny
Upon catching sight of her, one of the officers bowed to the others and came to her side with a delighted bow. "Miss Bennet. You look quite remarkably well this evening."
Miss Bennet
"Thank you," she said, unable to keep the eager smile from her face. Mr. Denny was a dear friend of Mr. Wickham's. The officers were here; she was a little ashamed of how her heart quickened at the thought.
Mr. Denny
"I am instructed to convey to you, Miss Bennet, my friend Wickham's most particular regrets that he has been prevented from attending the ball."
Miss Bennet
As if on cue, Miss Bennet's smile faded.
Mr. Denny
"He's been obliged to go to town, on a matter of urgent business. Though I don't imagine it would have been so urgent if he had not wished to avoid a ... certain gentleman?" Mr. Denny glanced over towards the wall.
Miss Bennet
Miss Bennet was entirely unsurprised to follow his gaze to see Mr. Darcy, lingering near the wall and staring back at them quite curiously.
Mr. Wickham and Mr. Darcy were old enemies; Wickham had been civil enough to excuse himself from this venue, so as not to cause Mr. Darcy pain. How very good of him ... and how very unfortunate, for her own wishes and desires.
She might have expected it to be Mr. Darcy who would ruin her evening.
Lydia
"Denny!" Lydia shouted, running towards them. She grasped Mr. Denny's arm in a thoroughly unladylike manner. "I hope you've come prepared to dance with us tonight."
Miss Bennet
Elizabeth managed an indulgent smile as Denny was whisked away by her adamant sister. Then her face fell once more. How dreadful, to have dressed herself so meticulously, and not have the gentleman closest to her heart here to see it!
Miss Bennet
Miss Bennet consoled herself as one did at such times; by finding her very dearest friend, Charlotte Lucas, and begging to be updated on all the goings-on and polite gossip. Miss Lucas was only too happy to oblige, and the two friends passed some time between them, conversing. Dear Charlotte was always quite capable of raising Lizzy's mood.
Mr. Darcy
Having seen the two ladies talking, Mr. Darcy found the moment offered the most excellent chance of Miss Bennet agreeing to the dance. Surely she would not offend him with rejection in front of Miss Lucas.
Stopping before the ladies, he bowed when he was certain he had their attention.
Miss Lucas
Charlotte bowed cordially to Mr. Darcy, then folded her hands in front of her, easing back somewhat that the other two might converse.
She was quite certain that the gentleman hadn't come to speak with her; he had been glancing towards Lizzy all evening. He might be pompous and direct, but he was also quite a wealthy man, and Charlotte could hope for a fortunate situation for her friend.
Miss Bennet
Miss Bennet was less pleased by the intrusion. She stilled her tongue; they were in the man's dear friend's home, and she would not be uncivil, even if he were to be so himself.
She returned the bow, raising her eyebrows to him. Had he come to harangue her? She could fathom no other reason for him to seek her out.
Mr. Darcy
She did have a rather fine pair of eyes with her brow raised in such a fashion. Darcy didn't wait for further acknowledgment, choosing instead to launch into his question with haste.
"If you are not otherwise engaged, would you do the honor of dancing the next with me, Miss Bennet?"
Miss Bennet
Dear heaven, how was one to respond to that? Lizzy found herself too surprised to compose a proper reply. "Why, I ... had not ..."
The silence was deafening; why would Charlotte not assist her? She could scarce claim that she did not intend to dance tonight, as she had been on her feet most of the evening. There was no other tactful way to refuse a gentleman. And she had promised to be civil.
Lizzy thought several words. Ones which her students would be quite surprised to realize she knew.
"I thank you, yes," she said dully.
Mr. Darcy
Ah, but it was still a yes.
No outsider would recognize the smile in Darcy's eyes when she accepted, yet it was there, if only for the briefest moment, as he bowed once again and turned away to rejoin his group.
Miss Bennet
When Mr. Darcy was safely out of earshot, Lizzy whirled back to her friend, eyes flashing.
"Why could I not think of an excuse? Hateful man. I promised myself I would never dance with him."
She was, after all, 'tolerable enough, but not handsome enough to tempt' him. His own words. Was he now mocking her for sport? Arrogant, dreadful man.
Miss Lucas
Elizabeth may not have seemed pleased, but Charlotte was no less so, on her behalf. "He pays you a great compliment in singling you out, Lizzy."
Mr. Darcy, in what stood for his own home, seeking her hand and claiming a dance. Even should Mr. Darcy himself prove uninterested, it would raise her stock among the other gentlemen at the party.
"Think what you're doing. You'd be a simpleton indeed to let your fancy for Wickham lead you to slight a man ten times his consequence."
Miss Bennet
Lizzy only shook her head. She cared little for either man's consequence; one had far sounder character than the other, and was for all the world more agreeable to her. But Wickham was absent, and there was no pleasant way to cancel her dance with Mr. Darcy, so it must be borne.
All too soon, the music changed, indicating the start of that very dance. She bowed her head to Charlotte.
Miss Lucas
"I daresay you will find him very agreeable," Charlotte offered lightly.
Miss Bennet
"Heaven forbid," Lizzy said, allowing a small laugh to escape. "That would be the greatest misfortune of all! To find a man agreeable whom one is determined to hate! Do not wish me such an evil."
Her mood from there was much improved, though she took pains to conceal it, lest the gentleman in question think that he were the cause of her mirth.
Mr. Darcy
When the dancing recommenced, Darcy stood across from Miss Bennet, going through the motions of the dance despite his disdain for the activity. He didn't speak, finding it easier to get through this without the addition of the requisite small talk.
Miss Bennet
They danced in complete silence. Was this why he had asked her? So that he could glare at her and shuffle through a dance that he gave every impression of loathing?
It suited her well enough -- better not to have to speak to him, after all -- until the absurdity of the situation got the better of her. She restrained herself from laughing only by force of will.
"I believe we must have some conversation, Mr. Darcy," she said lightly. "A very little will suffice."
Mr. Darcy
She mustn't have noticed his eyes boring holes in her as she'd danced with others earlier in the evening. Darcy was quite content to simply stare.
And then she started talking.
He chose to simply let her.
Miss Bennet
He was being irascible on purpose. She was quite sure of it. Very well, then she would continue to talk. Either she could induce him to respond, which would seem much like a victory, or she would vex him, which would give her no small amount of pleasure.
"You should say something about the dance, perhaps," she said. "I might remark on the number of couples."
When the dance brought her steps behind him, she allowed herself to make a face. There was nothing quite like dancing with a man who forced one to carry the conversation.
Mr. Darcy
He was certain she was determined to make this as difficult as possible. And, despite not seeing her making a face, he distinctly heard her exhale.
Finally Darcy chanced a response.
"You talk by rule then, when you're dancing?"
Miss Bennet
That was a clear victory, indeed, and Elizabeth was going to bite her lip, lest her gloating be too apparent.
"Yes, sometimes it is best," she said, unable to keep the ring of laughter from her voice. "Then, we may enjoy the advantage of saying as little as possible."
Considering one's typical dance partners, very little conversation was, at times, the best option.
Mr. Darcy
Darcy was clearly stung in his own way. She wished not to speak with him, that was fine. Keeping his face neutral, his eyes remained fixed on hers as they danced for another moment before he answered.
"Did you consult your own feelings in this case or do you seek to gratify mine?"
Miss Bennet
"Both, I imagine," she said carelessly. Charlotte had insisted she not slight Mr. Darcy, and she had promised civility, but she could not hold her tongue from rattling onward. "We each have a taciturn, unsocial disposition, unwilling to speak unless we expect to say something that will amaze the whole room."
There, it was a comment and not an insult; if he chose to take it as one, it would include herself.
She was somewhat surprised at how very true the statement seemed to be, in her case as well as his. Perhaps she only covered it better than he did.
Mr. Darcy
"This is no very striking resemblance to your own character, I am sure," Darcy said, his eyes rolling back ever so slightly. "How near it may be to mine I cannot pretend to say. You think it a faithful portrait, undoubtedly."
And she was quite right, in all honesty.
Miss Bennet
"I must not decide on my own performance," she allowed primly.
Silence followed that, and Miss Bennet had to wonder if she had quieted him. She could not decide if that would be an accomplishment or a disappointment.
Mr. Darcy
Darcy surprised even himself when he continued the conversation without her assistance. "Do you often walk to Meryton?"
Should he care? Decidedly not. Yet he asked and watched her face with interest while he awaited her answer.
Miss Bennet
There were soldiers stationed in Meryton. Lydia and Kitty were silly enough to wish to see them as frequently as possible. Lizzy had found herself accompanying them, of late, that she might glimpse Mr. Wickham. Though Lizzy would never dream of speaking that aloud.
"Yes, quite often," she said decidedly. Her thoughts on Mr. Wickham's fate, and Mr. Darcy's role in such, caused her mood to turn foul once more. She concealed as best she might. "When you met us the other day, we had just been visiting with a new acquaintance."
There. Let him respond to that.
Mr. Darcy
Darcy's face locked up at mention of her new acquaintance. He didn't believe Wickham should be the acquaintance of anyone. Especially anyone of his own acquaintance.
"Mr. Wickham has the happy manners that enable him to make friends. Whether he is equally capable of keeping them is less certain."
Miss Bennet
Elizabeth didn't bother to hide the sour expression now covering her face. To speak so idly of Mr. Wickham, the man whose future he had destroyed over petty jealousy!
"He has been so unlucky as to lose your friendship in a way he's likely to suffer from all his life."
Upon his death, Mr. Darcy's father had willed a parish to Mr. Wickham, that he might enter the clergy. Mr. Darcy had refused to comply, for no discernible reason, leaving Mr. Wickham to the vagaries of a military life. Wickham had surmised that Mr. Darcy was envious of the close relationship shared between himself and the deceased. It was thoroughly repugnant.
Mr. Darcy
His face darkened.
Wickham? Suffer? There was no manner by which Darcy could respond to that without saying something not meant for all ears of this public event.
In Darcy's mind, Sir Lucas chose the perfect moment to descend upon the pair.
Sir Lucas
"Allow me to congratulate you, sir," Sir Lucas said cheerfully. "Such superior dancing is rarely to be seen. I am sure you will own your fair partner is well worthy of you."
He turned to include Elizabeth in his greetings. "I hope to have this pleasure often repeated. Especially when a certain ... desirable event takes place?"
His eyes darted down the dance floor, alighting on Lizzy's sister Jane, who was dancing quite happily with Mr. Bingley. He glanced back at Lizzy, his approval unmistakable. "What congratulations will then flow in!"
Miss Bennet
Lizzy felt her cheeks flush as she shook her head, hoping to disclaim his thoughts. "Sir, I --"
It was terribly improper, to be discussing the possible arrangements of her sister in such a casual manner. If Jane and Bingley were to become engaged, she would be delighted above all people; until that moment, it was idle gossip at best, and reflected poorly on all it touched.
She cared little for her own sake, but she would not have malice attach itself to Jane.
Mr. Darcy
Glaring off at Bingley and the elder Miss Bennet, Darcy was horrified in a variety of ways all at once.
It was one thing to entertain a dance and quite another to consider marriage. This simply would not do.
Sir Lucas
"Nay, nay, I understand," Sir Lucas said, waving a hand to dismiss Lizzy's concerns. "I'll not detain you a moment longer from your bewitching partner, sir."
With that, Sir Lucas bowed and excused himself, allowing them to return to their dance. He departed, finding much pleasure with all that greeted his eyes. "Capital! Capital."
Mr. Darcy
Darcy recovered from staring at the dancing couple and focused again on Lizzy as Sir Lucas left. "Forgive me, Sir William's interruption has made me forget what we were talking of."
Miss Bennet
"I do not think we were speaking at all," Lizzy said, feeling a touch cross. Was Sir Lucas implying things he should not be? That could not end well. "We have tried two or three subjects already without success, and what we are to talk of next, I cannot imagine."
Mr. Darcy
Something about her crossness made him smile rather nicely at her. He was damned.
"What think you of books?"
Miss Bennet
"Books?" she asked, looking sharply at him once more. "Oh! No. I am sure we never read the same, nor with the same feelings."
She could only imagine the works he favored. Dry, dusty tomes of self-importance, no doubt.
Mr. Darcy
"I am sorry you think so," he answered, "but if that be the case, there can at least be no want of subject. We may then compare our different opinions."
Darcy thought perhaps he would enjoy a time sharing differing opinions with Elizabeth Bennet. Clearly that would also not do.
Miss Bennet
"No," she said firmly. "I cannot talk of books in a ball-room. My head is always full of something else."
Such as watching the other couples, musing on Jane and Mr. Bingley, and wondering what Mr. Darcy meant by asking her all of these questions. It was all far too distracting to allow her to discuss literature.
Mr. Darcy
"The present always occupies you in such scenes?" Darcy asked, doubting the truth in that.
...And how had he allowed the conversation to become so pleasant once again?
Miss Bennet
"Yes, always," Lizzy said absently, not realizing the humor in saying so while so thoroughly distracted from the dance at hand.
"I remember hearing you once say that you hardly ever forgave," she said, unable to resist pressing the point. "That your resentment, once created, was implacable. You are very careful, are you not, in allowing your resentment to be created?"
The line of the dance had stopped, and her eyes were intent on his as they faced one another.
Mr. Darcy
"I am," he replied most firmly, quite clearly interested in where this line of questioning was going.
Miss Bennet
The dance took them through several turns, while she marveled at the ability of the man to delude himself. Or, alternately, to lie with such a calm demeanor.
"And never allow yourself to be blinded by prejudice?" she asked, unable to keep a slight barb out of her voice.
Mr. Darcy
He eyed her for a moment as they danced, wondering what she was presuming. "I hope not."
Miss Bennet
At least that reply allowed for him to be mistaken. She had not thought it capable of him.
"It is particularly incumbent on those who never change their opinion, to be secure of judging properly at first," she noted.
Mr. Darcy
She was trying to nail him into a corner with her logic. "May I ask to what these questions tend?"
Miss Bennet
She was trying to rattle him, to see if his conscience could be provoked towards doing what was right. To rectifying the evils he had inflicted upon Mr. Wickham, along what had to be a list of others he had wronged.
She could not say that, however. Instead, she forced herself to laugh. "Merely to the illustration of your character," she said, hoping to sound light. "I am trying to make it out."
Mr. Darcy
Trying to make out his character? He felt she surely had more motive. "And what is your success?"
Miss Bennet
"I do not get on at all," she admitted, and the sigh she gave was genuine. "I hear such different accounts of you as to puzzle me exceedingly."
To Wickham, he was a ruthless blackguard. Bingley thought of him as a devoted friend. Caroline naturally believed him to be all that was good in the world, but then, Caroline hoped to have him for her own, and love was permitted its blindness. Jane tended to believe Bingley, but then, Jane saw only the good in anybody.
Mr. Darcy
"I can readily believe," he answered gravely, watching her carefully for any reaction, "that report may vary greatly with respect to me; and I could wish, Miss Bennet, that you were not to sketch my character at the present moment, as there is reason to fear that the performance would reflect no credit on either."
Miss Bennet
The smile that Miss Bennet granted Mr. Darcy was biting.
"But if I do not take your likeness now, I might never get another opportunity."
She had no desire to dance with him again, and they were unlikely to be thrown together otherwise. It was a happy thought, that she may never converse with him again.
Mr. Darcy
"I would by no means suspend any pleasure of yours," he replied, his tone cool despite the powerful tolerable feeling residing within him which nearly secured that somehow there would be another opportunity.
Miss Bennet
She bowed to him, as their dance was now completed, and wondered very much what that comment meant. Surely he could find no more pleasure in their arguments than she did?
Perhaps he had only been expressing civility. Lizzy resolved quite sincerely not to think on it further.
Charlotte was occupied by Mr. Collins -- poor, dear Charlotte! -- and Jane with Mr. Bingley. Lizzy would seat herself and hope quite sincerely that her younger sisters would compose themselves properly, this evening. She could not imagine her hopes would be answered.
(missed_the_gate is the bestest Darcy ever. Most of this was stolen from either Jane Austen's novel or the fabulous BBC miniseries adaptation. Thanks to sarcasm_guy for coding help. NFB, NFI, but OOC is love.)