Elizabeth saw that her Uncle Philips was watching them and that he would likely come over to see if she needed protection from this officer if she gave him the slightest sign that this is what she wanted. He had been assiduous in watching over her family since he became their guardian.
No matter how reluctant Elizabeth was, she thought that she should not refuse his request to dance after the Colonel's encouraging words. After all, she did agree to come tonight and she knew that dancing was a distinct possibility once she had made her appearance. "Very well, Colonel, I will accept your offer. I hope I do not embarrass you." Without thinking before she spoke again, her previous teasing attitude reasserted itself before she realized what she was doing. "I would hate to step on those shiny boots. I would not want to get my toes under them, either." She then blushed when she realized that these words were quite impertinent and would serve only to encourage his attentions. She had had no idea that her previous teasing manner would reassert itself after so many years.
He smiled at her witticism as he led her onto the dance floor. "Mrs. Collins, I will be on my best behaviour and promise to respect your toes the same as you have promised to respect mine." He then became more serious and spoke so only she could hear him, "I am truly sorry for your loss. It must be very difficult for you."
"Thank you, Colonel, but it has been more than three years since my husband departed this world. His loss is in the past and I am trying to look to the future." She then realized that he had referred to her loss even though he had said that he would not. She assumed he was quite curious about her for some reason. Surely it was not that he was finding her to be attractive; this was not something that had happened to her since before her marriage.
"You say you have not danced for many years. May I ask if this is in respect for your husband, or is this too personal a question?"
"I would rather not talk about it, if you do not mind."
"Please excuse me for asking. I was not trying to pry."
"Perhaps we can talk about something else. How do you like Hertfordshire?"
"I admit that I have not seen much of it yet as I just arrived here yesterday. My cousin Darcy wanted to help his good friend Bingley learn how to manage an estate and they invited me to come for the shooting, which they heard was excellent around here. I had a month's leave coming, so I agreed to join them. From what I have seen so far, I think I will like it here just fine." He smiled at her when he said that; his smiles and kind words made her blush. He could not help but be pleased at her reaction to his words. He was becoming more optimistic in his hopes for winning her favour.
Elizabeth enjoyed this charming officer and this, her first dance in years, as Colonel Fitzwilliam excelled at both the activity and the making of light conversation whenever their steps allowed them to come together. Her toes were never under any threat from his boots. At the end of the set, she led him to her good friend, Charlotte Lucas, who was standing by herself.
"Colonel, have you met Miss Charlotte Lucas? Charlotte, this is Colonel Fitzwilliam. Charlotte's father is Sir William Lucas, who introduced us."
The Colonel saw that Miss Lucas was some years older than Mrs. Collins and was not nearly as attractive. Being a gentleman who knew how to get on the right side of ladies he wanted to impress, he bowed to her friend and immediately asked her to dance. Both Charlotte and Elizabeth were pleased when he did this as she was not often asked to dance. He led her to the dance floor, leaving Elizabeth standing by herself.
Elizabeth looked around and saw that Mr. Bingley was still talking to Jane after their dance. Mr. Darcy was at the other side of the room speaking only to Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst. There was no sign of Mr. Hurst. From their expressions, these three were obviously not enjoying themselves. Elizabeth saw that her two youngest sisters were dancing, but Mary was sitting by herself. She went over to her sister, who immediately spoke to her. "Lizzy, I saw that you were dancing with Colonel Fitzwilliam. I was pleased to see that as I hoped you would agree to dance tonight." She and Jane had talked about encouraging Lizzy to find some enjoyment tonight as they knew she had not socialized for so long and may need their support and encouragement.
"I was not sure if I would dance tonight, but the Colonel was so agreeable to talk to that I could not say no when he asked me. I am glad that I did as he excels at this activity. He is also easy to talk to. I will admit that his uniform makes him look very distinguished."
At the end of this second set, the Colonel brought Charlotte over to them and immediately asked Mary to dance. Mary was also not often asked, but she accepted while blushing fiercely. Just before he led her to the dance floor, he looked at Mrs. Collins to see if his request pleased her. While he did not detect any sign of obvious approval on her face, he saw that this lady certainly noticed what he had done.
Mr. Bingley came over to them and asked Elizabeth for the following set, which she accepted even though she suspected that he had asked only at Jane's suggestion. She found that it was easier to accept his request after having danced with the Colonel. She saw that Mr. Bingley had left Jane with his sisters; Mr. Darcy was no longer with them. She thought that at least two of these newcomers were a fine addition to the neighbourhood. Mr. Bingley also proved to be a good dancer, but his conversation was not as intelligent or interesting as the Colonel's, even though it was lighter and more continuous. Elizabeth was not sure if she could tolerate him for a longer period of time than one set. However, he was pleasant company for a short time.
Elizabeth decided she would be bold. "Mr. Bingley, I noticed that your friend, Mr. Darcy, has not danced even one dance with anyone other than your sisters. Does he not enjoy dancing?"
"He is actually very accomplished, but he rarely dances unless he knows his partner quite well."
"And no one can be introduced at a ball, I suppose? I will say that you and the Colonel seem to be enjoying yourselves this evening." She then realized that her question might be taken as a criticism of his friend.
"I can only speak for myself, but I certainly am. Whenever I am in the country, I find that the more relaxed manners are simply delightful. However, I also like being in the city with so many things to do. I have to admit that my sisters much prefer to be in town."
"So, you enjoy being wherever you are. You are very lucky to be like that. I believe that your sisters are not enjoying themselves very much."
"My brother Hurst wanted to come to Hertfordshire for the sport, the same as the Colonel, so my sister Louisa came with her husband. She and Caroline prefer the city for all the entertainments that are available there, especially in the height of the season. Caroline came mainly as I needed someone to act as hostess for me while I am here. I hope she will agree to stay as long as I am here, but as long as Darcy remains, she will likely stay." He had not meant to say this, but it just slipped out. He knew very well what his sister's hopes were.
This guileless statement made Elizabeth understand that Miss Bingley's primary goal in life was to become Mrs. Darcy. From the way that Miss Bingley clung to her prey, she wondered if they already had an understanding between them. From what she could see of him and his haughty attitude, that lady was welcome to him. They seemed to be perfectly suited for each other. She hoped she could stay away from him as he did not seem to be at all genial or open to making new acquaintances. He was so different from his cousin or his friend!
At the end of this set, Mr. Bingley brought Elizabeth back to where the Colonel and Mary were standing. Very quickly, Kitty and Lydia came to them and pestered the Colonel to dance. Elizabeth was embarrassed at their boldness and impertinence even though she knew she should be used to it by now. Being an officer and a gentleman, the Colonel knew when to surrender to superior forces, so he succumbed to their onslaught and asked Kitty for the next set. Mr. Bingley then asked Lydia to dance as he saw that she was not happy that Kitty was asked first by the Colonel. The two gentlemen switched partners for the following set, so both sisters were happy. After this set, the two youngest Bennets went off to find other partners, very pleased with their success. Elizabeth carefully avoided any further requests to dance, but remained talking to the Colonel, who showed no desire to leave her company. The longer he remained with her, the more relaxed she became. Her apprehensions about coming to this event were dissipating rapidly. He was pleased with the progress that he was making, but he was careful not to show it.
Jane had come to where Elizabeth was standing with Mr. Bingley and the Colonel, so the group of them had a pleasant conversation until Jane was called away by her mother. Then the Colonel invited Elizabeth to sit, ostensibly to rest her feet even though she had not danced the last several sets. When Mr. Bingley saw that Darcy was slowly stalking around the edge of the dance floor and was approaching them, he went to him to try to convince him to dance.
"Come, Darcy," said he, "I must have you dance. I hate to see you standing about by yourself in this stupid manner. You had much better dance."
"I certainly shall not. You know how I detest it unless I am particularly acquainted with my partner. At such an assembly as this it would be insupportable. Your sisters are engaged, and there is not another woman in the room with whom it would not be a punishment for me to ask."
"I would not be so fastidious as you are," cried Mr. Bingley, "for a kingdom! Upon my honour, I never met with so many pleasant girls in my life as I have this evening; and there are several of them you see who are uncommonly pretty."
"You have been dancing with the only handsome lady in the room," said Mr. Darcy, looking at the eldest Miss Bennet.
"Oh! She is the most beautiful creature I ever beheld! But there is one of her sisters who is very pretty sitting down just behind you with the Colonel, and I dare say she is very agreeable. Do let me ask my partner to introduce you."
"Which do you mean?" and turning round he looked for a moment at Elizabeth, till catching her eye, he withdrew his own. With his quick glance, he did not notice that the Colonel was listening to every word he said. He turned back to Bingley and said coldly, "She is tolerable, I suppose, but not handsome enough to tempt me. I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men. You had better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting your time with me." He said this without lowering his voice, so the Colonel, who was paying attention to his conversation, clearly heard every word he said.
Elizabeth could see that the Colonel was appalled at this outrageous insult to her; he immediately jumped to his feet and approached Darcy. He stood right in front of him, almost nose to nose. "Darcy! How could you say that? You are a gentleman; Mrs. Collins is a lady. Your words were not those of a gentleman. I insist that you apologize to her or I will take you outside and knock some sense into you." He grabbed Darcy's arm and literally dragged him to Elizabeth. "Well?"
Darcy looked at his cousin, then at the lady who was glaring at him. He realized that he had gone too far in trying to convince Bingley to leave him alone in his misery. "Mrs. Collins, my cousin is absolutely correct. My words were not those of a gentleman. I should never have uttered them." He now noticed her flashing eyes and how interesting they were. "In any case, now that I see how attractive you are, I know how wrong I was. I offer you my sincerest apologies. I can only hope that you will find it in your heart to forgive me." He said this even though he had never had to apologize to anyone for being ungentlemanly. He had always prided himself on his conduct.
Elizabeth was certainly not pleased with anything about him and decided to berate him, her former reluctance to be out in public quite forgotten. She stood and spoke directly to him. "They were certainly not the words of a gentleman. However, I am a lady who was raised to be respectful and polite in all situations, so I will accept your apology and hope that I never hear such words from you again." She then deliberately turned her back to him, showing her displeasure, and walked away. Mr. Darcy had never been cut in public like this before, so he was mortified. When he looked around, he saw that everyone near them was watching this drama with unabated interest. He could not stop the blushes that coloured his face and ears.
The Colonel scowled at Darcy, then followed Elizabeth to try to appease her by telling her that his cousin really was a gentleman and that his words were unusual for him; it was just that he was not comfortable when he was in a situation where he did not know anyone. He did not say anything about what had happened so recently at Ramsgate.
Everyone around them glared at Darcy as Mrs. Collins was popular in the area even from well before her difficulties. Her obvious disdain for Mr. Darcy would be repeated among everyone at the Assembly. Word would soon spread throughout the area about his rudeness, even though he had apologized. Darcy tried to ignore their reactions to him and walked over to Bingley's sisters in an effort to regain his composure, with little success. He was glad that Bingley's sisters had not heard his insult or the putdown that he had just received, even though he expected that they would have agreed with his insulting words. He realized how appalling his words were and could not regain his equanimity for the rest of the evening. Every time he noticed Mrs. Collins, he recognized just how attractive she really was. He was also well aware of the attention that his cousin was paying to this lady. He could only hope that his intentions were honourable; he knew of his cousin's predilections with women and his success with them.