The next morning, Edward decided to take a walk to clear his mind. Ever since his conversation with Mr. Darcy the night before, he had not felt at ease.
At the first ball he had ever attended, he danced once with a young lady whom he was informed was very pretty. He found that he did not enjoy it at all, the dancing or the lady. Ever since then, he was determined never to dance again.
At first, the neighborhood and his parents reacted negatively to the way he never asked anyone to dance, but as time went on, everybody became accustomed to it. It had been years since anybody had brought it up to him, and that was how he liked it. He was alright with going to assembly balls and simply conversing with Christopher and his other friends, and leaving the dancing to his sisters and everyone else.
He should not have been surprised that Mr. Darcy would bring it up, since he had just called the man out on his own lack of dancing. Darcy was simply giving him a taste of his own medicine, so to speak. But for some unidentifiable reason, it bothered him.
They were thrown in each other's company often after that, at various parties and gatherings. Edward did his best to ignore Darcy, but he seemed to always accidentally make eye contact with him. He looked away immediately every time, but he could never shake the feeling that the gentleman was still watching him. Edward often found that when he entered a conversation with a group of gentlemen, Darcy would soon join the conversation as well, although he rarely contributed.
On one such occasion, at a gathering at Netherfield, Edward, Colonel Forster and a few of the officers were engaged in a conversation about hunting when Mr. Darcy walked over. Edward had to refrain from rolling his eyes, as he knew the man would not speak a single word. Not wanting to be in the company of the person who made him feel so uneasy, Edward politely excused himself. He noticed Christopher standing on the other side of the room and made his way over to him.
"Why does Darcy join so many conversations only to remain completely silent?" Edward asked Christopher, after they had exchanged greetings. Christopher groaned good naturedly.
"Ed, why must we discuss this at every single social event we attend?" he laughed. Edward smiled slightly, but would not be deterred.
"I am serious, Chris. I do not understand why he feels the need to make everyone uncomfortable."
"Why does it bother you so? He is not harming anyone. Why not just let it go?" Christopher asked. Edward sighed and nodded.
"You are right, of course. I should not let it get to me. I suppose that ever since the comment he made at the assembly, I've been looking for more reasons to dislike him," Edward admitted. The two men turned their eyes to the subject of their conversation. Darcy had moved away from Colonel Forster and was now standing alone, staring intently at something on the other side of the room. Edward followed his line of sight, and found that the object of Darcy's scrutiny was Bingley and Jane, who seemed to be deep in conversation.
"Why is he looking at Bingley and my sister so?" Edward asked.
"Must we analyze everything the man does? My God Edward, I think he just blinked. Why do you think he just blinked? I wish he would not blink so," Christopher said dramatically, throwing his hand over his forehead. Edward rolled his eyes, but laughed at his friend's amusing spectacle.
Meanwhile, a few meters away, Darcy's thoughts about the mistake Bingley was making were interrupted by the same laugh he had heard at Lucas Lodge the previous week. His eyes moved over to Edward quite on their own accord. Unconsciously, he began moving closer to the man. Before he got too far, however, Bingley had stood up and asked for everybody's attention. The room went silent as all eyes moved to their host.
"I have a great desire to dance. My sister has graciously agreed to play a jig for us, anyone who would like to join may do so at this time," he said. He then bowed and offered his hand to Jane, who turned bright red at being the center of attention.
Edward, who had seen Mr. Darcy approaching earlier, sent a silent "thank you" in Bingley's direction for sparing him from a conversation with the man. As much as he hated dancing, he knew he would much rather dance than have to talk to Mr. Darcy. He saw Maria sitting with Kitty, and decided to approach her. If he had to dance with anyone, it might as well be his dear friend.
Maria smiled at him and accepted his hand. Christopher followed suit and asked Kitty for the honor of the dance. She hesitated for a second, but even Kitty knew how rude it would be to decline. She grudgingly stood up to follow Christopher, all the while hoping that the officers in attendance would not be discouraged from asking her to dance later.
A/N: Wow, thank you for all of the follows and favorites! I knew this was an ambitious idea for a story and wasn't sure how well received the concept would be. I'm glad you all are so open minded :)