Page 66 of Moments Frozen in Time (Pride and Prejudice Variation)
Darcy smiled as he watched Elizabeth’s attempt to redirect her sisters, and instead of feeling embarrassed, he looked forward to watching her deal with their children one day in a similar .
He watched her speak to nearly everyone in attendance and knew she would apply that same care to their tenants and servants.
“She will be an excellent mistress of our homes ,” he thought as he watched.
Regrettably, he had been still too long. Miss Bingley appeared at his elbow, grasping it as she always did, and purred, “What could possibly make you smile as you watch what passes for entertainment in this worthless little town, Mr. Darcy?”
He pulled his arm away with a sharp motion.
“It is not worthless, madam. Everyone here serves a purpose. These are your brother’s neighbours—you will have to endure their company eventually.
Most are landed gentry, some from families far older than your own.
If your brother purchases this estate, they will be your neighbours, and you will be expected to socialise with them—however distasteful you may find it. ”
“There is no one of consequence here,” she insisted, reaching for his arm again.
Darcy stepped back, folding his arms behind him to prevent her touch. “Perhaps not by London standards or amongst the ton , Miss Bingley, but everyone holds consequence in their own sphere.”
“Yet you refuse to dance with any of the nobodies here tonight!” she snapped.
He regarded her coolly. “Thank you for pointing out my lapse in courtesy. I shall correct it at once. I believe your brother offered to introduce me to a young lady earlier.”
Without waiting for a reply, Darcy turned and walked off in the direction of Bingley, who stood speaking with Jane and Elizabeth Bennet.
“My friend, would you introduce me to these two lovely ladies?” he asked with a bow in their direction .
“Of course, Darcy, I would be pleased to do so,” Bingley said hastily, surprised at his friend’s reversal of his earlier words. “Miss Jane Bennet, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, allow me to introduce my good friend, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, of Pemberley in Derbyshire.”
The ladies curtsied in response to Darcy’s bow, and soon the four were engaged in pleasant conversation about the neighbourhood. When the music signaled the start of the next set, Darcy turned to the sisters.
“Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth,” he said, “might I hope for the honour of a dance with either of you before the evening ends? I realise the assembly is nearly over, and I do not know if either of you still has a set unclaimed. Your sister,” he added with a sharp glance at Bingley, “was kind enough to point out my earlier lapse in courtesy. I should very much like to make amends by asking the two loveliest ladies in the room.”
Elizabeth’s eyes sparkled with an unspoken mirth as Darcy’s eyes conveyed his annoyance to her. They had frequently spoken of how much he detested Caroline Bingley with all of her cloying pretensions. She had watched the little show earlier, leading to him approaching her group.
“I have only the last dance free, Mr. Darcy, but I would be glad to give you that set if you wish it,” Elizabeth replied before her sister could speak. She had deliberately kept it open on the chance something like this happened.
Darcy merely nodded, his mask firmly in place, although his eyes told her how happy he was with this arrangement.
“I am sorry, sir, but I have no sets remaining,” Miss Bennet replied politely.
She had heard the whispers about Mr. Darcy’s fortune, as well as the repeated accounts of his slight against Elizabeth.
Still, as her sister seemed inclined to forgive him, Jane thought she might do the same.
After all, he had called her handsome while deeming Lizzy merely tolerable .
Perhaps, she mused, he was the better prospect after all. She only regretted having just accepted a second set with Mr. Bingley moments earlier.
“Perhaps one of you might suggest another lady I could dance with for one of the remaining sets?” Darcy asked.
“Miss Lucas would make an excellent partner,” Elizabeth quickly suggested. “Or my sister Mary. She does not dance very often, but she might be persuaded to dance with you. Are you an adequate dancer, sir?”
Again, her eyes twinkled with her mirth, and Darcy desperately wished to cast aside all pretensions of them not knowing each other and kiss her thoroughly.
As she led him away to make the introductions, he leaned close to her ear and whispered, “You, my impertinent minx, will be the death of me,” causing her to restrain her giggle.
This time, her eyes were slightly apologetic when she turned to him.
Without another word, she led him first to Charlotte, who eyed him carefully before accepting the next to last dance, and then to Mary, who declined dancing in favour of her book.
Elizabeth then led him to a couple of gentlemen and, after introducing a topic of conversation that was of interest to all of them, left him in search of her next partner.
“That was very neatly done, Mr. Darcy,” said Mr. Goulding after some time had passed.
“I must admit, I am surprised Miss Elizabeth appeared to overlook your earlier insult, but she handled you just as she handles half the town — at least, the sensible half. Those who resist her guidance are usually the ones most in need of it. If you have not already apologised, you ought to do so.”
“Aye,” added Mr. Clark, a farmer from just north of Meryton, “and it’s often her own family who need it most—and ignore it just as often.
That Miss Lydia is far too young to be out, but her mother indulges her every whim.
The townsfolk will do their best to shield her where we ca, but if the rumour about the militia’s arrival proves true, I worry what mischief she might find. ”
“Miss Jane and Miss Elizabeth are the best of the lot, but if Miss Lydia continues as she is, she’ll ruin all of Bennet’s girls.
And the man’s too much of a fool to see it.
Oh, he thinks he’s smarter than all the rest of us, and he is book smart at least, but the man doesn’t have the sense to stand up to his wife and insist the girls act properly.
” If Darcy remembered correctly, this was a younger man, one of the Lucases, although Darcy could not remember his Christian name.
“The man who wins Miss Elizabeth will win a prize, but it won’t be a local man.
She runs circles around all of them, and they’d never be able to keep up,” Clark laughed.
He turned to Darcy. “You might find her looks only ‘tolerable’, but I assure you, she’s much more than just a pretty face.
She might not have the classic beauty of her sister, but I’d rather have a girl with a brain in her head than one who’s merely nice to look at. ”
“This evening certainly made me appreciate Miss Elizabeth in new ways,” Darcy replied.
“Despite my rudeness earlier, she has agreed to dance the last with me, so perhaps she had forgiven me at least a little. I was not at my best when I arrived this evening and immediately regretted my words as soon as they left my mouth. For now, I believe I must collect Miss Lucas for this set before I have the privilege of dancing with Miss Elizabeth.”
“My sister may not be as pretty as the Bennet ladies, but Charlotte is as bright as Miss Lizzy in many respects. Perhaps you can find a few more potential beaux to bring down from London for her,” the Lucas chap laughed as Darcy walked away.
Darcy’s lips twitched as his eyes met Elizabeth’s, and he knew she had heard at least a part of the conversation, most likely the last parts .