The following days were spent in the most agreeable manner to all. An increasing number of dinner invitations yielded amusement and they formed a number of new acquaintances. Elizabeth particularly enjoyed the company of Mr and Mrs Newton. While he was a jovial and easy-going kind of gentlemen, his wife was more serious and thoughtful, but both were well-read and had reasonable opinions and friendly manners. Though the couple had been wed for hardly above three months and spent little time separate from each other, they sought the society of others. Due to their wish to emphasize this intention and Mr Newton's eagerness to dance with his wife, they issued invitations for a ball.
The scheme proved to be very popular among everybody and Mrs Forster and the Misses Bennet spent pleasant hours in preparation. When everything was settled, they awaited the evening in eager anticipation; the time could not elapse fast enough. As is usually the case, their impatience convinced them that time wasn't passing at all, but finally the anxiously expected evening arrived.
They joined the large assembly just as the music started to play. Lydia had promised the first set to Mr Denny who quickly approached the party and led her to the dance floor. Elizabeth looked around to make out the Newtons to greet them and express her gratitude regarding the invitation. She was unsurprised to see that they, too, were dancing the first set together. Colonel Forster showed no inclination to dance until later in the evening. Thus Elizabeth continued the easy conversation with him and his wife, while scanning the room for other familiar faces. Before long, she detected Mr Wickham dancing with a young miss who was unknown to her.
Against her expectation, Elizabeth had seen nothing of Mr Wickham since their first meeting in Brighton. As the days elapsed, her hope grew that the instinct that told her he intended to single her out again had been misled by her aversion against the man and her reluctance to provoke an argument. After all, not much had transpired when she met him at Clay's and very likely he had found a new object of interest with an attractive dowry in the meantime. But more importantly, she felt she had no right to interfere in somebody else's affairs – Mr Darcy may have revealed to her the truth about Mr Wickham to protect her from greater evil, still it was not her story to tell or to meddle with. While she would not be able to completely evade him, she intended to keep the level of intimacy to a minimum.
After the second set was finished she excused herself and approached Mr and Mrs Newton. They greeted her cordially and inquired whether she and her party were enjoying themselves. Elizabeth ensured them that they did. "As you see my sister has devoted herself to dancing, she is currently occupied for the third consecutive set."
"How about you, Miss Bennet? Don't you enjoy the activity?" Mrs Newton enquired. Elizabeth did not want her to think she was in want of a partner, as she dreaded the prospect to give her friend the impression that she needed assistance.
"Of course I do! I will dance a set or two later, but there is no need to make haste."
"I am saddened to hear this, as I intended to secure your hand for the next set."
Elizabeth started when she heard Mr Wickham right behind her. Apparently he had approached them to ask her for a dance – his timing could not have been better. She was quite reluctant to do him the favour, but she had little choice. Denying him the request would mean that she must not stand up for any dance at all this evening – a delight she had been looking forward to, and she had assured the Newtons that she would do so only moments before.
Hence she acquiesced and soon the longest half hour of the evening started. He made every attempt to flatter her and was by no means discouraged by her modest reaction. To the contrary he seemed to enjoy her sarcastic retorts and continued to seek her out the entire evening. He complimented her on her dress, her hair style and her dancing, inquired about her family and mutual acquaintances in Hertfordshire and expressed his hope that she would stay the entire summer – in short he did everything to annoy her with his artificial politeness and friendliness. She did her very best to prevent that the ball was spoilt for her, but could not help to remark that she certainly had a way of encouraging men she disliked.