Elizabeth shook her head with a laugh as the music began and Mr. Darcy approached to claim her hand.
“I had no idea I would have to wait so long for a dance with you, Elizabeth.” Squeezing her hand, he said, “It appears as though I am not your only ardent admirer here.”
“William, please,” she said in exasperation. “Mr. Collins asked to dance with each of his cousins.”
“I see,” Darcy replied, but he smiled down at her and she smiled back warmly.
“I think from now on, we ought to use our formal address, Mr. Darcy,” Elizabeth added playfully.
“As you wish, Miss Elizabeth,” Darcy replied with a smile and nod of his head.
As they took their place in the set, Elizabeth standing opposite Darcy, she read the amazement in the faces of her neighbours, and she realized that she and Darcy were now to become the object of much speculation and gossip.
As they stepped together, grasping hands, Elizabeth felt all the warmth from that simple contact that she had from his kiss. His hand was warm, his arm went around her waist, and he applied a little more subtle pressure than a casual acquaintance might. Darcy seemed content to dance in silence, his hands bestowing expressions of his love and regard instead of words.
Walking down the centre of the set, Darcy finally broke the silence. “How have you been this past week, Miss Elizabeth?” A quick lift of his eyebrow acknowledged his use of her formal name, and Elizabeth responded in kind by nodding her head.
“I have been well. And yourself, Mr. Darcy?”
“I have been most intolerably bored,” he answered. “There is very little liveliness at Netherfield now for some reason.”
“I am sorry to hear that.” Elizabeth looked at him sympathetically.
“I would have hoped you would not be sorry to hear that!”
They were silent as the movement of the dance separated them. When they came back together, Darcy said, “I have missed seeing you. If it had not been for the excessive rain, I believe Bingley and I would have tried at least once to call on Longbourn.”
Elizabeth gave him a reserved smile. “I would have liked that. I was hoping you could meet my father.”
“I have met your father,” Darcy said. When Elizabeth looked at him with a questioning glance, he answered, “During your second dance with Mr. Collins, I sought him out and secured an introduction. I could not bear to watch that Collins look so smug as he danced with you. Besides, I felt it was imperative that I meet the father of the woman I am married to.”
Elizabeth’s heart skipped a beat at his words and the look of open admiration on his face. She easily returned his smile, but curious of his opinion of her father, she asked, “And how do you find him?”
“I can certainly see where you get your intelligence and lively disposition. He has an interesting sense of humour, yet does not use it unnecessarily often.” He smiled at Elizabeth. “I enjoyed the short time I spent with him.”
Elizabeth had wanted so much for Darcy to appreciate her father and see the good in him. “I am glad.” She also wondered what her father’s opinion of him had been.
They settled into an easy silence as they danced. Each time they turned away from each other, Darcy anxiously waited for the movement that would bring him back to face her. Then he would look forward to stepping forward and taking her hand and bringing his arm around her.
As they met in the centre of the set and walked around the couple next to them, Darcy spoke. “I was rather surprised to discover that my aunt is Mr. Collins’s patroness.” Elizabeth flinched. Darcy searched her face, noticing her discomfiture. “Elizabeth, tell me what is wrong.”
Elizabeth’s eyes turned serious. When the steps brought him to her side again, Elizabeth looked up at Darcy. “My cousin mentioned the other day that Lady Catherine considers you to be engaged to her daughter.”
Darcy took her hand and held it tightly.
“Trust me, Elizabeth, it is not as it might seem, but I cannot talk of it while we dance.”
They danced in silence until the set ended. As they stepped away from the other couples, Darcy continued in a firm, but whispered voice, “Elizabeth, my aunt has held this absurd notion in her heart and mind all my life, and she refuses to listen to reason and my insistence that it will never happen!” His voice raised in irritation. “Neither my cousin nor I have ever been inclined to be married to one another!” He closed his eyes as he noticed the concern in Elizabeth’s. “Even before I met you, I never had any intention of marrying her.”
“And go against your family’s wishes?” she asked softly.
“She is the only member of my family who holds to such nonsense. And yes, I am more than willing to go against any family wishes in this,” he answered her emphatically, sensing that Elizabeth was still disconcerted.
“Will your aunt not be angry at you? At us ? And what of your cousin?”
“Do not worry about my aunt, because nothing ever pleases her. If by some miracle she is pleased, she will refuse to admit it. And as for my cousin, I am quite confident that she will hold you in the highest regard.”
His eyes beseeched her to trust him. “I was afraid you might hear something to that effect when I found out your cousin knew my aunt. She does tend to speak as though a marriage between us is a settled thing.”
He looked down at her, securing her hand in both of his. “Trust me, Elizabeth. I will stand between you and her if she voices any objection.”
Elizabeth looked up at him and finally bestowed him with an effusive smile.
“Now that is what I have been longing to see all evening. May I be so bold as to claim a second dance with you, Elizabeth?”
“Perhaps later. I believe there is already an excess of speculation going around, and I would not want my father to question your character or your intentions and think poorly of you even before this evening comes to an end.”
Darcy gave her hand a squeeze before letting it go and spoke softly to her. “Elizabeth, I need to talk to you about my going to him. I need to talk to you alone. Perhaps we can meet out in the side alcove later. Would that be agreeable to you?”
Elizabeth nodded while her heart fluttered at the thought of meeting him outside alone.
“Good. I shall let you know when it seems like a good time.” He bowed. “Thank you, Miss Elizabeth, for an enjoyable dance, and I look forward to one more later in the evening if I may be so fortunate.”
They had not long separated when Miss Bingley came toward her and, with an expression of civil disdain, thus accosted her, “Miss Eliza, I noticed you dancing with Mr. Darcy. I wish to advise you that he has obligations due his name, and although he may have found himself to be enamoured of you, I would warn against fanciful conjectures regarding his securing you as a dance partner and advise against dancing another with him.”
“Upon my word, Miss Bingley! I will dance with whomever I choose, and I believe Mr. Darcy will do likewise.”
Caroline attempted a compassionate smile. “I would not wish for you to be hurt.”
Elizabeth met her challenging gaze. “Let me be the one who decides that.”
“I beg your pardon,” replied Miss Bingley, her smile becoming insolent. “Excuse my interference. It was kindly meant.” She hastened away, leaving Elizabeth to ponder her words.
Elizabeth fumed quietly at the woman’s insolence.
***
A little later, when the meal was served, Elizabeth was distressed by the behaviours of her mother, father, sisters, and even Mr. Collins. It appeared as though her family had made an agreement to expose themselves as much as they could during the evening. She was grateful for Bingley and her sister that some of the exhibition had escaped his notice, and that his feelings were not of a sort to be much distressed by the folly that he must have witnessed. His two sisters, however, who were seated next to Bingley and across the table from Elizabeth, were a different matter. Elizabeth could see by their spiteful looks to each other that they were quite openly offended. And then there was Darcy. What was he to think of the family of the woman to whom he was married?