Elizabeth Bennett, professed lover of parties, was having an awful time at this party. She knew, rather than felt herself to be happy for Jane and Charlie. They had been through so much to get to this point, and if Charlie Bingley didn't surround himself with total jackasses, she may have felt more for the engaged couple.
As it were, however, she was hiding behind a pillar in Charlies colossal country home, Netherfield, hoping to avoid his vapid twin sisters and grouchy best friend. She had some form of tolerance for the trio- she had to with the amount of time she spent with Jane, and therefore, Charlie and his entourage. Normally, there was one or two of them. Having all three of them in the same room was causing Lizzy to drink. Excessively, she admitted to herself. She would have laughed at Caroline's desperate antics towards Darcy, if it hadn't made him gravitate towards Lizzy herself, one of the only people able to drive off Caroline. There was no love lost between those two, as Caroline had taken a decided dislike to her from day one and Lizzy was not the kind of person to take undeserved criticism lying down. They bickered as if there were siblings already.
Elizabeth had spent half of the night trying to extricate herself from Darcy's mono-syllabic conversational skills and Caroline's piercing stares. She would stop by for a couple of minutes to make some simpering comment to Darcy, only to be driven away by Lizzy's caustic wit. If only Darcy was as aware of her antagonistic words as Caroline was. For whatever reason, he laughed as if she were joking, which only furthered her irritation.
She eventually plead the need to use the restroom, lingering much longer than necessary before stealthily making sure the coast was clear of Downer Darcy and locating her current hiding spot- the pillar. Unfortunately, it was a little too close to the refreshment table, and it's constant companion Henry Hurst and his wife Louisa, the other Bingley sibling.
Louisa was nice enough – when separated from the influence of Caroline. She just didn't have a personality. Lizzy had never seen such a spongey person. She just absorbed whatever mannerisms the people around her exhibited. It was intensely irritating to have someone repeat everything you have said back to you, which is why Lizzy avoided her. Her husband, Henry, lived only to eat, drink, and gamble. The first dinner she had ever gone to with the Bingley family had nearly ended in disaster when he found that she preferred a plain dish to ragout. His shouting about her 'plebeian tastes' had nearly derailed the whole dinner. He had scarcely spoken 10 words to her since.
Every once in awhile, Lizzy would quit her musing to sneakily refill her drink, when she was sure Darcy was out of the room. He was pacing around the party, looking for someone, and Lizzy had a sinking suspicion that it was her. Caroline had snatched her opportunity and was following him around like a little duckling, chattering at him.
Netherfield's ballroom was packed, and she hoped that all the revelers here to celebrate Jane and Charlie's engagement would shield her from his gaze. The last thing she wanted to spend more time in his despicable company. Even though they had known each other for nearly two years now, she hated him. It wasn't just his complete inability to pick up on social cues – namely her radiating hostility, but he was also just a proud, pompous jackass. She could easily forgive his pride, had he not wounded hers. Their first meeting was burned into her memory – the public humiliation of his comment "not pretty enough to tempt me" spoken not quite far enough from the microphone that was clipped to his chest for his upcoming speech at the first Netherfield charity gala.
Then, his completely unnerving staring, which he did every time they were in the room together. He couldn't be bothered to string 10 words together to actually speak with her, but he was constantly staring at her with a slight frown on his face. It creeped her out.
She was startled quite rudely out of her musings by the man himself, alarmingly close to her ear breathing out a sigh of relief: "Oh there you are, Elizabeth. I've been looking for you."
Lizzy whipped around, stumbling in her drunken state, and quirked an eyebrow. "I know. I've been avoiding you."
There was that insufferable chuckle - "It's a good hiding spot. It took me forever to find you. Maybe we'll be lucky and," with a pause he looked cautiously over his shoulder, "Caroline won't find us."
Lizzy, with a significant look in his direction, huffed "Well, maybe luck isn't in our cards. I've already been found out."
Darcy laughed at her suspicious look and said "Let me refill your drink for you. What are you having?"
"Tequila. Anything strong." Darcy walked off to fill her request, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes.
That was the last thing she remembered before blacking out.