Sudden Awakenings (The Other Paths Collection)

Chapter 4

Mr. Darcy remained silent and contemplative throughout the return journey to Netherfield Park. Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst, however, displayed a starkly contrasting demeanor. Their tongues, loosened by the evening's entertainment, launched into a relentless critique of the assembly in the most abusive language. They had no compunctions about speaking ill of Sir William Lucas, recently knighted, whom they deemed insufferably pompous for abandoning his trade after receiving the honor. Nor were the Gouldings spared their scorn, derided for classing themselves amongst the gentry while still actively managing their bank.

But their favorite subject was the Bennet family. Towards them, their insults held no bounds, to the point that even their brother’s good nature was tried by the time they reached Netherfield.

“Supposedly, they are a long-standing gentry family, but the way they carry themselves, one would suppose they were peasant farmers!” Mrs. Hurst scoffed.

They urged Mr. Bingley to avoid the Bennets at all costs, but he was already too smitten with Miss Bennet, and paid his sisters’ warnings no heed.

Though he did not voice his thoughts aloud, Mr. Darcy agreed with much of what the sisters were saying. The entire Bennet family appeared to embody the very qualities Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst had ascribed to them. The younger sisters flitted about the room, securing dance partners with an alarming degree of success, while Miss Bennet herself wasted no time in securing Mr. Bingley's attention, readily accepting a second set and even prevailing upon him to dance with her sisters. Mrs. Bennet's role in this elaborate scheme was undeniable. Her persistent efforts to keep her daughters in close proximity to him and Mr. Bingley throughout the evening spoke volumes.

Mr. Darcy's attention drifted from the conversation as his thoughts became preoccupied with a particular Bennet daughter, the one he had encountered on the muddy lane and who had later graced him with her proximity during the assembly.

Miss Elizabeth Bennet.

Now that he knew her name, he could not remove her from his mind. Her audacity in positioning herself near him with the expectation of an invitation to dance was presumptuous, to say the least. The subsequent maneuverings, orchestrated through her sister's request to Mr. Bingley, were clearly a calculated attempt at securing his attentions.

Such blatant social climbing deserved a swift and decisive rebuff.

Feeling satisfied that he had put her in her place, he leaned back against the seat of the chaise and crossed his arms. Beside him, Mr. Hurst snored loudly, effectively drowning out the ladies’ gossip and allowing Mr. Darcy to sink deeper into his thoughts about Miss Elizabeth. Although he deemed his reproaches of conduct entirely warranted, he found himself unable to overlook the lively gleam within her dark eyes. Indeed, her impertinence was undeniable, yet there lingered a vivacity about her that set her apart from other young ladies.

S

Elizabeth deliberately pushed the assembly from her thoughts, so it was not until the day of the Gouldings’ dinner that Mr. Darcy intruded on her consciousness again, when her mother’s pronouncement brought him sharply to mind.

Mrs. Bennet, having just bestowed upon Jane a well-considered list of conversation topics for Mr. Bingley, turned her attention to Elizabeth. “Now, Lizzy,” she declared, “there's no need to fret about conversing with Mr. Darcy. After his egregious snub at the assembly last week, he deserves to be treated with disdain! I quite understand if you choose not to speak to him the whole evening. In fact, I have already asked Mrs. Goulding to seat him at the other end of the table, quite apart from you.”

“Mamma, such measures are entirely unnecessary!” Lizzy complained. “I'm perfectly capable of handling Mr. Darcy's company myself. Surely, Mrs. Goulding will think I mean to give him the cut direct!”

“No, no, my dear,” Mrs. Bennet soothed. “A touch of reserve on your part is certainly warranted. Some gentlemen find excessive eagerness in a lady rather off-putting. Perhaps I failed to prepare you adequately for the assembly, leaving you to appear overly forward. A display of indifference, Lizzy, is sure to captivate Mr. Darcy's interest and make him regret his hasty pronouncements.”

Elizabeth's voice rose in defiance. “I have no desire to captivate Mr. Darcy! Nor will I stoop to childish games. If he does deign to speak to me, I shall treat him with civility, but neither will I exert myself to converse with him.”

S

The dinner at Haye Park proved to be a pleasant one. Though she'd protested her mother’s interference over the seating arrangement, Elizabeth secretly rejoiced at the distance from Mr. Darcy. His aloof demeanor towards his fellow diners offered little incentive for conversation, and an evening spent in close proximity to him held little appeal.

Her dinner companions were Maria Lucas and William Goulding, a pleasant young man who had recently returned from his studies at Cambridge. It was no secret that he admired Maria. A lively discussion erupted over whether the rising cost of goods in Meryton was likely to affect the young ladies’ clothing expenditures, which amused Elizabeth greatly. She maintained that she would simply rework her old gowns, rather than purchase fabric at such high prices.

After dinner, card tables were brought out. Elizabeth strategically sat on the other side of the room from Mr. Darcy. In this way, she managed to avoid him until close to the end of the evening. Her mother was engaged in an animated discussion with Mr. Bingley, with Jane close at hand. Elizabeth, knowing her mother’s tendency to overshare, drew near to them, prepared to intervene should Mrs. Bennet begin divulging some details best kept to herself.

They were discussing the party Lady Lucas had thrown for Maria’s coming out when Mrs. Bennet's tendencies took over.

“It was an excellent party, and it did Lady Lucas credit as a hostess, though I am not certain it bolstered Miss Maria’s chances any. It is a pity the Lucas girls are not more handsome.”

“Mamma!” Elizabeth gasped, grabbing her mother’s arm, knowing Lady Lucas was within earshot, conversing with Mrs. Long mere feet away. But Mrs. Bennet paid her no heed.

“Not that I think Charlotte and Maria are so very plain, but then, they are our particular friends,” she added.

“They seem to be especially pleasant ladies,” Bingley offered congenially .

“Oh my, yes! But you must own that they are plain. Lady Lucas has often envied me for my girls’ beauty, especially that of my Jane. She is renowned throughout the county as the most beautiful girl in Hertfordshire, or so many people have told me.”

Elizabeth’s cheeks reddened over her mother’s impolite remarks, wishing she could put a stop to the conversation before it went any further. To make matters worse, Mr. Darcy chose this time to insert himself into their gathering and listen.

Her mother continued, heedless of her errors. “Did you know that when Jane was only fifteen, there was a gentleman at my brother Gardiner’s in town who was so taken with her, we were certain he would make her an offer. However, nothing ever came of it. I suppose he thought her too young. He did, however, write her some very pretty verses.”

“Which put a swift death to his love for her!” Elizabeth hurriedly interjected. “I wonder who first discovered the efficacy of poetry in driving away love.” A nervous laugh escaped her lips.

Her comment must have surprised Mr. Darcy, for he said, “I have been used to consider poetry as the food of love. Would not affection grow and increase while feasting on a lover’s ballad?”

Eager to defend her statement, she said, “Of a fine, stout, healthy love, it may, for everything nourishes what is strong already. But if it is only a vague inclination of affection, I am convinced that one poor sonnet would starve it away entirely!”

Mr. Darcy raised his eyebrows. “You have a low opinion of poetry then, Miss Elizabeth?”

“Not at all. I am as much an admirer of poetry as anyone. But I cannot recommend it as the surest way to win a lady’s heart.”

“What would you suggest, then, to encourage affection?”

“Dancing,” Elizabeth replied, with a mischievous grin, remembering his earlier slight. “For as it is said, ‘to be fond of dancing is a certain step towards falling in love.’ ”

Darcy’s lip quirked. “I have never heard such a saying. Whom are you quoting?”

“I do not know where the saying originated, but it is general knowledge– at least, if you were to ask my sisters.” She glanced in the direction of Lydia and Kitty, who had persuaded William Lucas and William Goulding into dancing with them. Maria Lucas sat at the piano like a disgruntled queen, plunking out a tune, her envious gaze drifting towards William Goulding and Kitty.

Elizabeth became aware that she and Mr. Darcy had overtaken the conversation at hand, and suddenly wished she could shrink away into the wallpaper. Her mother stared at her with a wide open mouth, no doubt astonished after her daughter’s earlier insistence that she would not go out of her way to converse with Mr. Darcy.

He is the one who provoked me into debating him! Her barbs on the subject of dancing were intended to remind him of his slight to her and make him ashamed of it. If I have succeeded in bringing him a little remorse, then I suppose my break in silence towards him was not in vain.

Mr. Bingley, uncomfortable with the sparks flying between his friend and Miss Elizabeth, sought to bail from the conversation at hand. “Well, if dancing is the first step to falling in love, then I am quite ready to begin! Miss Bennet, if you would care to join me?” He held his arm out to Jane, who readily accepted it and joined the small fray of dancers in the middle of the drawing room.

Mrs. Bennet cleared her throat. “If you will excuse me, I have just remembered I wanted to ask Mrs. Goulding her receipt for the baked custard we ate,” she said, before leaving Elizabeth alone with Mr. Darcy. Now, more than ever, Elizabeth wished she had an excuse to disappear as well.

“It must be a blessing, I suppose, for those who are fond of dancing, for they are sure to find love quickly in this manner,” Mr. Darcy said, continuing their conversation. “But it is a trial for those who lack the skill and grace to navigate a ballroom.”

“Do you speak of yourself, Mr. Darcy?” Elizabeth asked, unable to resist provoking him further. “I can scarcely believe you to be the sort lacking the grace necessary for dancing. Aren’t your sort taught to dance as soon as they’re out of leading strings?”

He tilted his head slightly. “When it comes to technical performance, yes, I have been taught all the necessary steps. However, I do not possess the social graces to converse easily with those whom I am unacquainted.”

“What about those whom you have met before on the roadside? I have noticed you did not lack the skills to converse with me then. I think your claim to shyness is a mask, to disguise your disdain for those whom you deem unworthy of your notice.” Her eyes flashed.

Mr. Darcy’s brow furrowed in response. Feeling suddenly that she might say something she would come to regret, she withdrew, curtsying to him, before hurrying off to find Charlotte.

“What were you speaking to Mr. Darcy about?” her friend asked.

“Nothing of any significance,” Elizabeth dismissed.

“I am sorry you had to speak to such a proud, insolent man, after what he said about you before.”

“I suppose I could more easily forgive his pride had he not mortified mine,” Elizabeth grumbled.

“I feel for you, Eliza, I do!” Charlotte said, controlling her smile. “But I suppose some allowances must be made for a man in his situation. He must have been brought up to think meanly of others outside his own social strata.”

“I agree with you, Charlotte. He claims a lack of social graces in the presence of unfamiliar company. But one must ask why a gentleman, brought up in the first circles, would not be taught all the social niceties one requires. I think it far more likely that he thinks himself above us. Observe now, how he sneers at us from the other side of the room, while engaged with Miss Bingley.” She gestured with her chin across the room, where Miss Bingley had taken Elizabeth’s spot beside Mr. Darcy and clung to his arm.

“I’ll wager they are laughing amongst themselves over our little country gathering,” Charlotte said, leaning in towards Elizabeth. The two shared a laugh of their own over this notion.

S

Charlotte and Elizabeth were both correct and incorrect in their assessment. Mr. Darcy was indeed staring, but out of wonder rather than disdain. Miss Elizabeth’s quick wit had impressed him. Had she not fled his presence, he would have been sorely tempted to ask her to dance, if only to show her that he was not so afraid of dancing, if it might induce her to dislike him less.

Miss Bingley, however, was all too ready to lambast their present company.

“It is insupportable, spending so many evenings in this manner, among these country folk. How I long for the rich society that only London can provide! Meryton offers nothing in the way of cultural diversions. A night at the opera would set me up, or perhaps a visit to a concert. Such insipidity– such self importance among these people! I am sure you agree with me, Mr. Darcy, there is nothing here worth admiring.”

“On the contrary, Miss Bingley, I have been meditating on the great pleasure that a pair of fine eyes on a pretty face can bestow.”

Taking his compliment towards herself, Miss Bingley fluttered her lashes, her composure momentarily startled. “A-and what woman’s eyes, pray tell, have you so utterly captivated?”

“Miss Elizabeth Bennet,” he replied without blinking .

“Miss Elizabeth Bennet!” Miss Bingley repeated with incredulity, a frown forming on her lips before she corrected it. “The insolent chit you did not deign to dance with at Saturday’s assembly? You told me how she behaved that evening. What a laugh, that you should fancy her, of all people!”

“I did not say I fancied her, merely that I find her eyes to be beautiful. She is, by all accounts, as you say, insolent.”

Miss Bingley tittered. “And here I was, prepared to ask you when I was to wish you joy!” she teased. “I am glad to see you haven’t been taken in by her ‘fine eyes.’ One may admire as much as they wish, but to allow it to go further would put a stain on your reputation and standing.”

“You are correct, Miss Bingley,” Darcy said, recalling the conversation he’d witnessed earlier. The Bennet family may have the necessary qualifications as members of the gentry, but Mrs. Bennet’s vulgarity spoiled any chance they had of deserving his society. His parents certainly never would have countenanced such people; therefore, he would do well to follow in their example and dissociate himself with anyone undeserving of belonging to the circle of a gentleman’s society.

“I only wish I could persuade Charles to avoid these people,” Miss Bingley lamented. “He claims he likes them, declaring them to be good people, but it is clear he is besotted with Miss Bennet. He insists on staying through the shooting season, but I hope once he has killed as many birds as he likes, we may persuade him to return to Town.”

Darcy, who was beginning to feel his own heart to be in as much danger as his friend’s, “I agree with you, Miss Bingley. A few weeks is already too long a stay for such a place as this. The sooner we remove from here, the better.”