Chapter 1: The Fateful Dance

Elizabeth entered the drawing-room at Netherfield and looked in vain for Mr. Wickham among the cluster of red coats assembled. Until then, a doubt of his being present had never occurred to her. Indeed, she had been assured by the gentleman himself that it was not for him to be driven away, and if Mr. Darcy wished to avoid him, then Mr. Darcy would need to go. She began the night by looking around the room while waiting to be welcomed by Mr. Bingley and his sisters. Her anticipation was thwarted minutes later when Lydia pronounced that Mr. Wickham was in London. Elizabeth's anger at Mr. Darcy for prompting Mr. Wickham's avoiding the ball prevented her from noticing Mr. Collins' approach for her hand for the first set. She sighed in resignation to her fate but took comfort as she watched Mr. Bingley escorting Jane to the head of the line. Elizabeth would be able to bear the mortification of dancing with Mr. Collins with the knowledge of Jane's being so happily situated.

As the dance progressed, Jane was very pleased with the evening, until she witnessed Mr. Collins step on Elizabeth's foot as he turned the wrong way down the set. Attempting to hide her pain, Elizabeth looked away from her partner and noticed Mr. Darcy watching the exchange with his usual hauteur. While waiting for her turn to move again, she glared back at him with her arched brows to show she was not afraid of him. He attempted to look away, but she noticed the corners of his lips turned slightly upward. Mr. Bingley, oblivious to the exchange, smiled at Jane, which caused Jane to return the smile and momentarily forget the predicament Elizabeth was in.

The dance ended without further mishaps other than a few more wrong turns on Mr. Collins' part. Mr. Collins escorted Elizabeth to her friend Miss Lucas, with a promise to return with refreshments. They conversed easily until Mr. Darcy suddenly appeared to ask for the next dance. Caught off guard, Elizabeth could only reply in the affirmative. He bowed and took his leave until it was time to stand up with her. Miss Lucas warmly congratulated her friend on her triumph in capturing the attention of the stoic Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth brushed aside her friend's barbs and nervously waited for the next dance, not knowing how to understand the turn of events. Her anger began to peak again as she inevitably thought of the wrongs imposed on Mr. Wickham by Mr. Darcy.

As the current song ended, Mr. Darcy approached Elizabeth once again, this time to claim her hand. He led her to the front of the line and waited for the music to begin. She did not have to look around the room to realize that many eyes were on her, wondering why Mr. Darcy would suddenly want to dance with someone he thought only "tolerable." As the music started, they began to move through the set in silence. Thinking that conversation was more annoying to Mr. Darcy than silence, she began speaking trivial nonsense to garner a response from him. After she remarked on the size of the room and the number of couples, silence again threatened to consume them as she thought of another approach to force him to talk. To her surprise, he was the first to break the silence. "Do you talk by rule then, while dancing?"

"One must speak a little, you know. Yet, some may prefer to arrange conversation so that they may have the ability to say as little as possible."

"Are you consulting your own feelings, or do you seek to gratify mine?"

"Both," she replied. "We are both of a taciturn disposition and do not wish to speak unless we have something to say that will stun the whole room."

"You have a gift for expressing opinions which are not your own. Certainly, this is not a portrait of your character, but I will not attempt to compare it to my own."

Elizabeth, worried that her teasing may have gone too far, watched his expression as he moved through the dance. For three turns, neither spoke. Elizabeth was too distraught at herself for displaying her anger toward Mr. Darcy so early in the dance. Suddenly, Mr. Darcy attempted a new line of conversation by asking if Elizabeth often walked to Meryton. Realizing the change of topic, Elizabeth took it as a sign that she had not offended Mr. Darcy and chose to respond lightly. "As often as possible. It is a great way to make new acquaintances." After a pause, she continued. "We had just met a new acquaintance when you met us the other day."

Mr. Darcy, shocked, nearly forgot about the dance as he rounded on her to gauge her expression. Realizing there was no malice in her expression, he replied, "Mr. Wickham has an easy disposition; he is sure of making new friends. Whether he is equally capable of retaining them is less certain."

Shocked by his admittance of his misdeeds, she pertly responded, "He is unfortunate to have lost your friendship, and, I daresay, that is an irreversible event."

In anger, Mr. Darcy replied in the affirmative and, not realizing his anger, added, "What lies has he told you?"

Elizabeth could not be more shocked. She faltered in the next turn, but she managed to catch her step and regain her balance. Working to formulate a reply, she hastily went through the next movement to bring her back to him. When they came together again, he must have sensed the danger of releasing their anger in the middle of the dance floor and moved to postpone their argument.

"It appears to me that you have heard only one version of the story. As one of the parties involved, you must assume that I would have my own version to relate. Knowing your intelligence, I can imagine you would reserve judgment until you had all the particulars. If you can meet me on the balcony, I will answer your questions."

Just then, the dance ended, and the couples bowed and curtseyed. The other couples began to walk away, but Elizabeth simply stared at Mr. Darcy, feeling as though she were only just seeing him for the first time. There was a strange look in his eyes. Could he have been hurt by her accusations? She curtseyed, forgetting she had already done so, and took his arm as he escorted her off the floor. As he began to walk away, she remembered his offer. "Thank you!" She replied to his retreating back. He turned and bowed to her before walking out the patio doors.

Elizabeth knew that she could not immediately follow Mr. Darcy for reasons of propriety, but her curiosity made her unwilling to wait too long. She had never considered that Mr. Wickham could have said anything but the truth. Had she been too eager to believe him? Mr. Darcy spoke of her intelligence, but he knew she rushed into judgment, in this instance, at least. What would Mr. Darcy have to say? Was it as Charlotte had implied? Was he partial to her? It could not be, as he said she was only tolerable, and she knew he never looked at her except to see a blemish. Perhaps he was concerned for the village of Meryton and wanted to warn the villagers through her. But why would proud and arrogant Mr. Darcy be concerned with the villagers?

In her musings, Elizabeth realized that a quarter of an hour had passed since Mr. Darcy walked outside. When she observed no one watching her, she quietly slipped out through a side door. It took her a moment to adjust to the dark patio. Then, she saw him leaning against a railing on the far side, looking out with a very confusing expression on his face. The shaking of his right heel indicated that he was agitated.