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As a steady stream of carriages departed the assembly rooms, many mothers declared their disappointment with the evening.

“I cannot believe that Mr. Bingley and his wealthy friend danced with Charlotte Lucas but not with any of you,” Mrs. Peacock griped. “You were the three best-dressed ladies at the assembly.”

“How could Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy overlook both of you?” Mrs. Crane lamented. “You were the best dancers in the room.”

Being equally confident of their own superiority, the Miss Peacocks and the Miss Cranes had also been surprised at having been overlooked; however, they were less disappointed.

Although they had each been willing to pursue Mr. Bingley, whose good looks and charm had initially made him an object of interest, the discovery that he preferred Jane Bennet had lowered him in their estimation.

And Mr. Darcy had, upon first acquaintance, appeared too severe for their taste.

Lizzy Bennet was welcome to such a forbidding man.

By the time that he was seen to smile, they were already content with focusing their attention upon the officers.

That set of gentlemen had provided sufficient partners for them to be well satisfied with the evening.

“You didn’t do too badly,” Mrs. Partridge said to Susan.

“I wish you had done more to gain Mr. Darcy’s attention, but I was pleased to see you dancing with Mr. Bingley.

He didn’t ask any of the Miss Peacocks or Miss Cranes.

I knew he admired you more,” she declared triumphantly.

“And I daresay that his admiration was increased by the superiority of your dancing ability.”

“He was only my last partner, and—”

But Mrs. Partridge had already turned to address her son. “You should have danced with Miss Bingley. She has twenty thousand pounds.”

“And a hoity-toity attitude to go with it,” Edward said.

“She is a charming lady,” Mrs. Partridge protested. “You must make the effort to become better acquainted with her. I think she would be an excellent wife for you.”

While Edward spoke his blunt opinion of this suggestion, Susan contemplated the evening.

As far as Mr. Bingley was concerned, she knew that her mother was clutching at straws.

It was obvious that his interest lay elsewhere.

Susan was very happy for Jane, and for herself she was quite content with having been the object of Mr. Bingley’s friendliness.

As for Mr. Darcy, he was so terrifying, that she was relieved not to have been asked to dance with him. Just being introduced to such a daunting man had made her so nervous that she had only been able to stutter a few words.

However, soon after that, a conversation with Mr. Charlton had set her at ease.

With him she felt so very comfortable, and that had given her confidence to carry her through the rest of the evening.

All in all, she felt that it had gone extremely well.

The best part had been Mr. Charlton asking her for the first dance, which she considered to be a great honour.

What were men of wealth compared to a man of such worth?

Not that she meant to disparage the wealthy gentlemen who had lately come into her acquaintance.

Mr. Bingley and Mr. Madison were admirable gentlemen.

One so cheerful and the other so clever, and both so agreeable that she was starting to find it a bit easier to talk to them as well.

Of Mr. Darcy’s good qualities she could only speculate, but as Mr. Bingley’s friend presumably he must have some.

In Mrs. King’s opinion he had two excellent qualities—a grand estate and a large income.

“I think you should direct your efforts towards Mr. Darcy,” she said to her stepdaughter. “He is even wealthier than Mr. Bingley.”

“I think he has taken an interest in Lizzy Bennet,” Miss King said.

“No one could be interested in her,” Mrs. King confidently declared. “They were just thrown together.”

“He danced with her twice.”

“All the more opportunity for him to notice her faults. And he is not yet aware of you being an heiress. I tried to mention it, but I wasn’t able to gain his attention. But once he knows that you will have fifty thousand pounds, it will be easy for you to attract him.”

Having seen Mr. Darcy smiling at Elizabeth, Miss King thought that this task would in fact be a difficult one. Fortunately, she had no interest in him. Officers were her idea of the best company, and one officer in particular.

In the Lucases’ carriage, Lady Lucas had to wait for her husband to enumerate the many delights of the evening before she was able to congratulate her daughters on their successes.

“You did very well with your partners, Charlotte,” she said.

“Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley, and Mr. Charlton. The two most distinguished men in the room, and even though Mr. Charlton is so poor, he still has the mark of excellent breeding. But what pleased me most of all was seeing that Mr. Darcy was particularly interested in talking to you.”

“He was only interested in talking about Lizzy,” Charlotte said, intent upon putting a swift end to any hopes her mother might have formed in that direction. “And he danced with her twice.”

“So he did,” Lady Lucas said with a sigh.

“And Mr. Bingley with Jane. No one else stands a chance with him. But I think that you did very well for your first assembly, Emily. Standing up for every dance, and the officers so eagerly competing for the privilege of your hand. You have made a great impression upon them, especially Colonel Forster, I believe.”

Emily had no protest to make. The officers had also made a great impression upon her, and she had very much enjoyed receiving a generous amount of their attention that evening.

More than Lydia Bennet, she thought, even though Lydia had been pressing for it more than anyone.

And in observing that, Emily had taken a useful lesson—it was better to sometimes be listening and appreciating instead of always trying to be noticed.

Other young ladies went home in varying degrees of happiness.

The larger number of gentlemen had given them much greater opportunity to dance than usual.

Some had been more pleased with their partners than others, but none were wholly disappointed.

They all were able to occupy themselves in gratifying recollections of the evening while their mothers grumbled that Jane and Lizzy Bennet had monopolized the two most eligible gentlemen.

***

“Mr. Darcy is very agreeable,” Mr. Denny said to a group of officers who had been recounting the pleasures of the evening while walking back to their billets.

Mr. Chamberlayne nodded. “Not at all high and mighty. I heard that he is a very wealthy man, but he isn’t full of his own consequence like some I have met.”

Mr. Wickham gritted his teeth. He could have been maligning Mr. Darcy at this moment if only he had been his usual self.

What had been up with him? Chatting with officers.

Dancing with simple country girls. Smiling as though he was enjoying himself.

Mr. Wickham hadn’t expected that. Upon first seeing his former friend, he had been certain that Darcy would be aloof and the officers would take him in dislike.

There shouldn’t have been anything to fear.

But now he wondered if Darcy might say something. Not about Georgiana, of course. He wasn’t one to talk of personal business, especially a sister’s planned elopement. But might he have a private word with Colonel Forster? Or perhaps say something to Elizabeth Bennet, whom he seemed to like so much?

And that was strange too. In all of Mr. Wickham’s experience, Mr. Darcy had never favoured a lady with a second dance.

It was reasonable to assume that the recipient of this honour was greatly admired, yet she was nothing like the sort of lady he would admire.

The only logical conclusion was that she had tricked him into asking her.

But the problem with this explanation was that the Mr. Darcy Mr. Wickham knew would have given her a cold set down.

Instead, he had looked very pleased with his partner. And he had actually talked to her while dancing. He seemed to have become a completely different man since they had last met.

Or had it all been an act? That was much more likely. And here was the result—the officers thinking him agreeable. How very clever of Darcy. His behaviour had been calculated so as to ingratiate himself with people who might otherwise have been ripe for being encouraged to despise him.

But Mr. Wickham could play games as well.

He would put on his own act of being contrite and wishing to improve himself and make a success of his new career.

One fortuitous thing about Darcy was that he didn’t like to intervene in the business of others without good cause.

If he thought there was no reason to speak, then he would remain silent.

And he wasn’t going to learn of any reason, for Mr. Wickham intended to be very careful in his attentions to a certain young lady who was in daily expectation of a substantial inheritance.

***

“What a splendid evening that was,” Mr. Bingley declared.

“I cannot agree,” Miss Bingley said. “I do not know when I have been so bored. I have never met so many tedious, unfashionable people. Their lack of formality is astounding.”

“I find it charming.”

“You are excessively willing to approve of everyone and everything. But you will be a fool if you allow yourself to be taken in by these artful people.”

In saying this, Miss Bingley particularly had the Bennets in mind. She had not been pleased to see her brother so enamoured of Miss Bennet.

“Artful? What sort of trickery do you suppose them to be planning?”

“The very worst sort. Could you not see that every mother in the neighbourhood wishes to catch you for one of her daughters?”

“Not every mother. I know that some of them are hopeful—quite a lot of them actually—but there are a few indifferent ones as well. And no one is going to catch me, as you put it. I have been on my guard because Darcy already warned me.”

“You are fortunate to have such a wise friend. Mr. Darcy’s advice was excellent; however, I didn’t see any evidence of you following it. In particular, it was careless of you to dance twice with Miss Bennet. Her mother will already be expecting your proposal.”

“No she won’t. Mrs. Bennet is not like that.”

“How can you be so blind? Of course she is. Indeed, I believe she is the worst of the lot. Her eyes were darting about from one gentleman to another; and there was something particularly cunning in her expression, and a desperation in her air altogether. I believe she would stop at nothing to get her daughters married.”

“You have obviously confused her with someone else. I don’t think Mrs. Bennet has the energy for darting, even in her eyes, and there is nothing cunning about her. She is one of the few ladies in the neighbourhood who has not made any effort to press a daughter upon me.”

“She didn’t need to. You have saved her the trouble by being so obviously infatuated. But I am sure she would have gone to any lengths if necessary. Did you not see her forcing Mr. Darcy to dance with another of her daughters?”

“No, because that didn’t happen.”

“Yes, it did. I saw her rush over to him when the dancing began, and a moment later he was standing up with the girl.”

“That was nothing to do with Mrs. Bennet. I told Darcy that he should dance.”

Miss Bingley gave her brother a glare. “You should leave your friends to choose their own partners, or none at all if that is what they prefer.”

“I didn’t mind,” Mr. Darcy said.

“You are all goodness and tolerance. But I am certain that your patience was tried when you were compelled to stand up with the girl a second time. That must have been Mrs. Bennet’s work, for you never dance twice with anyone.”

“No, the compulsion was all my own. I simply found Miss Elizabeth so entertaining that I could not resist a second conversation with her.”

Miss Bingley stared at him in horror.

“She is very amusing,” Mr. Bingley said. “I knew you would like her.”

“Oh, she is amusing, is she?” Miss Bingley said, feeling relieved.

Mr. Darcy might occasionally be entertained by wit, but it wasn’t what he wanted in a wife.

“I am glad you were able to find some diversion in such a tedious company, Mr. Darcy, but I still think you should both be wary of the mother.”

“I am sure Darcy will be wary,” Mr. Bingley grinned. “Of her fan.”

“She really should watch where she is waving that monstrosity,” Mr. Darcy said. “And why must it be so absurdly large?”

“She is of that age,” Mr. Bingley said.

“What age?”

“You know.”

“No, I don’t.”

“That age when women frequently complain of being too hot.”

“I am unfamiliar with this.”

“You astound me, Darcy. Have neither of your aunts ever done so?”

“It would not have struck me if they had. Both my aunts complain about a great many things.”

“They would also have behaved strangely in other ways.”

“That would not have struck me either.”

“Well, all my aunts went through a stage when they were constantly flapping their fans, and their brains were addled, and they said and did the oddest things.”

“I do not think we need to talk about this,” Miss Bingley declared.

Really! If her brother kept going on in this manner, he would be persuading Mr. Darcy into celibacy.

“The point I was making, Charles, is that Mrs. Bennet is determined to have you marry her eldest daughter, and you are walking right into a trap of her contrivance.”

“And the point I was trying to make is that you must have mistaken one of the other ladies for her. Perhaps Mrs. Peacock or Mrs. Crane. They are both quite determined for me to marry one of their daughters. But once you learn who Mrs. Bennet really is, you will comprehend that she isn’t the sort of lady to set traps and catch husbands for her daughters. ”

“I wasn’t mistaken,” Miss Bingley declared.

But her brother wasn’t listening. “And since the Bennets are particular friends of mine,” he said, “I am hoping for you to like her as much as I do.”

Miss Bingley looked at him in horror. This frightful notion sounded like a prelude to something much worse than just an infatuation.