© 2020 Zest Layne

FOUR

Fitzwilliam Darcy disliked the colour grey – it was the colour of his dear mother's complexion when he had held her hand as she'd taken her last breath, the hue of the sky when his good father had passed away, and just recently, the shades that his sister had started wearing after the 'Ramsgate Incident.' In essence, because it reminded him of the events he would rather forget, it was only natural for Darcy to hate the colour grey.

Yet, despite his negative feelings towards that certain colour, he found it hard to look at anything else but a pair of fine grey eyes whenever she was near him.

The first time he had caught her eyes was when his friend, Charles Bingley, had tried to convince him to dance. Darcy, having been in a foul mood as the events in Ramsgate were still fresh, had wanted little to do with the assembly. If it was not for the fact that the gathering would be a good place for his friend to be welcomed by the neighbours (and also out of not wanting to be left alone with Miss Bingley), then Darcy wouldn't have come. So when Bingley had suggested Miss Elizabeth Bennet as his dance partner, and Bingley had glanced at her location, Darcy had followed his friend's eyes.

By chance, his and Miss Elizabeth Bennet's gazes met and he had been near enough to determine that her eyes were the colour he disliked the most. That was enough information for him to declare her tolerable and not handsome enough to tempt him. It was true though, why would he want to dance, let alone be introduced, to someone whose eye colour would only remind him of his miseries?

However, once Bingley had left him alone to dance once again with the 'angel' Miss Bennet, Darcy had heard a peal of tinkling laughter near his right. When he had turned to look for its source, he had been greeted by Miss Elizabeth Bennet's face, her eyes laughing in amusement as she conversed with the young man beside her.

That was the first time Darcy had almost thought of the colour grey in a positive light.

And so, despite not wanting to, he had found himself watching her all throughout the evening. He'd seen her roll her eyes and scoff as the young man beside her (whom he had assumed to be her brother judging by their resemblance) had stopped her from standing up and going to a Miss Lucas – this, he had found out not long after Miss Elizabeth Bennet had scowled at her brother. (It was not called eavesdropping if they were conversing loud enough, he had reasoned.)

Unfortunately, his observations that night had been interrupted when Miss Bingley had found him. Nevertheless, it did not stop him from glancing in Miss Elizabeth Bennet's direction every once in a while. That was not to say that he was attracted to her though, no. Darcy was simply searching for a fault in her fine eyes.

Unfortunately for him, he found none.

And being the smart man he was, it did not take long for him to realise that he was, indeed, attracted to her. Nonetheless, this piece of information did not bother Darcy. He had only encountered the lady once and Darcy was not like Bingley who was always so easily affected by a pretty face. While Miss Elizabeth Bennet was certainly pretty, Darcy felt himself in no danger.

Finding comfort in his analysis of the situation, Fitzwilliam Darcy could do nought but watch intently as Miss Elizabeth Bennet play the pianoforte at Lucas Lodge. She looked prettier tonight than the last time he had seen her. While her notes were not perfect, her playing was undeniably pleasing to the ears. The same could be said for her voice, so light and sweet that he could almost compare himself to a sailor drawn towards a siren.

The only difference between the sailor and him was that Fitzwilliam Darcy would not get caught by his own siren named Elizabeth Bennet.

So confident was Darcy by his claims that he had asked her to dance immediately after they've been introduced by Sir William Lucas. (Another lady took her sit on the pianoforte and an improvised dance set had begun). Much to his surprise, she declined, saying she was feeling thirsty and not really up for dancing. Not wanting to leave her company just yet, and wanting to selfishly indulge himself in her presence, Darcy offered to accompany her to the punch table. This, she did not refuse.

"I believe we must have some conversation, Mr Darcy." The lady beside him said, looking up at him after taking a sip from her glass. "A very little will suffice." She then gestured to the dancers in front of them. "You should say something about the dance, perhaps."

"And I suppose you will remark on the number of couples?" He asked, not really knowing what to say in response. He was never good at socialising in the first place but Miss Elizabeth Bennet unnerved him. He blamed her grey coloured eyes. It wasn't pure grey as he had originally thought. Now that he was speaking close with her, he noticed that there were a dusting of gold, green and blue within them. It was fascinating. The green gown she was currently wearing seemed to push out the green in them and from afar, one could not be sure if her eyes were green or grey.

Shaking her head, she answered, "No, not at all." Turning to him she said, "Or perhaps I might." He must have a confused expression on his face because she continued, explaining. "You see, Mr Darcy, I was merely trying to make a conversation. However, if I were to choose something to discuss, it would not be upon trivial matters."

"You consider a ball, trivial, then?"

"I supposed the answer to that depends on one's perspective. For those who were hosting a ball or a simple gathering like this," she gestured to Sir William's direction, "then it is important. Even more so if it's to celebrate an event such as an engagement or to present a new debutante. However, for those who are invited to attend the level of the significance of the event varies."

He nodded at her words in agreement. There was a pause before he found himself asking her another question. "What would you not consider trivial matters, then?"

"As of now, let us see…" she paused, tapping a finger up to her chin before answering. Darcy found this particular mannerism winsome. On second thought, since her fingers were giving more emphasis to that pink plump lips of hers, he decided that he didn't like it. Luckily, she didn't seem to notice the object of his gaze and only continued talking. "In the present, I would like to think of my horse, Apollo, would be a subject worth discussing. It is already late, you know? And even though I'm an early riser, sometimes, in a state of fatigue it is my body who gives up on me, making me wake at a later time than usual. I worry about not being able to wake up as early as I am used to. Apollo is quite fond of morning rides, you see."

She paused.

"However, if we are to talk about important matters in general then I would like to have a conversation about estate matters or the latest books published." He must've looked at her in surprise for she raised a brow at him. He found that her challenging expression was even more fetching than her thinking expression, especially when the defiant glint in her eyes were highlighted by the candlelights.

"I see you are surprised, Mr Darcy. No matter, your reaction only leads me to my next point. You see, upon deciding whether the subject of a conversation is trivial or not then said subject should appeal to the people talking. Otherwise, one of the parties might get bored and it would make talking less enjoyable."

"I see your point, madam. Does this imply that you think a dance is of consequence to me by using it as the starting line of our talk?"

"No, sir." She answered placing her empty glass on the table. "You see, Mr Darcy, as we barely know anything about the other, I thought that a general topic should be a good opening for a conversation. I am only starting to sketch your character and so far, it has yet to become a clear picture. Therefore, I know not what matters are relevant to you and those that are not."

"But what of your preferences? Should we not discuss the things that interest you first?" Darcy asked nonchalantly. "You are the lady after all, not I." Even so, it was not lost on Darcy's part that this particular route in a conversation would lead him to know more about Miss Elizabeth Bennet. But what if he came to know more about her? What did it matter? He knew he would never fall for her charms. He was only trying to be more sociable, something which Bingley and Colonel Fitzwilliam, Darcy's cousin, had been wanting him to try.

"What say you of Benedick and Beatrice?"

"'Much Ado about Nothing?'" He asked.

She raised a brow in challenge, "Would you rather we talk about the French, then?"

At that moment, however, staring at Miss Elizabeth Bennet's fine grey eyes, Darcy felt like he didn't even need to try.

-p&p-

Contrary to what her twin brother might think, Elizabeth Bennet was not so cruel on herself to change drastically just to fulfil her plans concerning a certain gentleman from Derbyshire.

No, Elizabeth always prided herself for her intelligence and she would not lose that. She cared not if Mr Darcy would be bothered by her impertinence or her extensive knowledge about a variety of subjects. All Lizzy wanted from Mr Darcy was for him to declare her handsome enough to tempt him. A single word of him calling her 'pretty' or 'beautiful' and she would be done with her ploy. Lizzy need not change herself for that.

Indeed, she'd rather spent an entire afternoon listening to her cousin, Mr Collins, prattle about how great his patroness was (and convince their family that he should marry one of the Miss Bennets so that if something were to happen to Francis, then they would still have Longbourn) than act like Miss Bingley to try and get the attention of Mr Darcy – not that Miss Bingley's simpering had made any progress.

If anything, from what Lizzy had observed so far, it seemed to annoy the gentleman. Not that Elizabeth actually thought him to be a gentleman, no… well, maybe a little. Despite that, his comments at the assembly were still not forgiven. Nevertheless, Lizzy found herself surprised at how Mr Darcy conducted himself this evening.

Had he really asked her to dance? She thought it would take more act on her part to get him as a dance party. However, as tempting as it was to accept his offer, Lizzy knew that if she really wanted to get Mr Darcy's attention then she had to do something she thought that no one else had dared to do – turn him down.

It worked in her favour, for Mr Darcy settled on accompanying her to the punch bowl where they started to have a conversation. She was loath to admit it but judging by how their topics turned from Shakespeare's plays to views on society, Lizzy ascertained that Mr Darcy was an intelligent man.

If Elizabeth was hurt that an intelligent man would not recognise her as someone handsome enough, she did not show it. However, as soon as that realisation dawned on her, she made an excuse about needing to see her brother in order to end their conversation.

Insufferable man! She had talked with him for quite some time and he didn't even notice her looks. Poor Molly, trying three different hairstyles before Elizabeth approved… and now it was all for nought.

Glancing one last time at the gentleman she left standing by the punch table, Elizabeth straightened her back before searching for her twin brother.

If Fitzwilliam Darcy would not see her beauty, then Lizzy would just have to step up her plan.

So, what do you think? Lizzy was herself despite being more conscious about her appearance and Darcy was still… well, Darcy.

If you noticed, in Darcy's POV Elizabeth's full name was used every single time. It was done intentionally because I thought that it signifies Darcy fighting his attraction towards Lizzy.

Anyways, have a good day!