So, I think scared some of you with my predictions of it not all being happy – I mean, not happy does not inherently mean desperately unhappy. But, well, spoilers :)

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Lydia, unlike her elder sisters, had no gentlemen to distract her from Miss Bingley's rudeness and quite without thinking about it, she found herself scanning the many faces they passed to find the offending hostess while only half attending to her sister's quietly spoken awe about the beauty of the arrangements and the great many pleasant faces they could encounter.

Luckily Kitty seemed content enough to do so – quietly and demurely of course, which oddly gave her a strange grace much like Jane's – that she barely noticed as Lydia carefully wound their way towards the woman who had offended against her sister. After all, what was the point of them being the epitomes of female excellence were Mr Bingley's sisters and Mr Darcy not around to observe it?

"Miss Bingley!" She greeted as soon as they were near enough that such a greeting would not draw undue attention to them. "And Mrs Hurst!" She dropped a very neat curtsey pulling a very warm – and very fake, although she hoped that wasn't obvious – smile at the pair. "I fear we must have missed you when we arrived."

Miss Bingley made some appropriate response very curtly and with an undisguised sneering expression. Evidently she felt that they had no right to approach her.

"Indeed, and you have surpassed yourself Miss Bingley." Kitty remarked in the soft voice which she had decided was acceptable for them to appear ladylike. Kitty had said that it was actually fairly easy to speak as such – as long as she endeavoured not to become too excited. "For the room looks utterly magnificent! And it is going to be such a success – I can tell already."

Kitty's sweetness – a characteristic she normally hid under her giggling – had Miss Bingley smiling slightly. Lydia was hardly surprised. After all, Miss Bingley seemed to be the kind of woman who would thrive under constant adoration.

"It is so wonderful that you have managed to find so many amiable people Miss Bingley – I suppose it is unsurprising considering your brother's disposition. Mr Bingley must draw out all the people with characters so similar to his own." Lydia continued to smile, not sure whether to hope that Miss Bingley would notice that Lydia had left the subtle implication that Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst did not have the similar characteristics.

"It is not hard to find amiable people." Miss Bingley said stiffly – almost sneeringly. Lydia was tall for her age and yet Miss Bingley was still managing to look down on her admirably. "It is one of the most common accomplishments. Although, I suppose it cannot be helped if it is your greatest achievement." Her words were pointed and harsh and Lydia had to take a deep breath to stop herself saying something she would regret. Maybe she shouldn't have come to talk to the superior sisters. Perhaps she should have known better.

"If it is such a common accomplishment, Miss Bingley," Lydia found her words were more pointed than she had intended – but it was not too far from how she imagined Lizzy might have responded, so it had to be acceptable. "I wonder that some people find it difficult to manage."

Miss Bingley's jaw fell fractionally but she wasn't able to utter a reply. A fortunate occurrence truly for Lydia could see that the other woman was beginning to look murderous.

"Miss Catherine and Miss Lydia!" Colonel Fitzwilliam's booming voice sounded from nearby and the pair of Bennet girls turned and curtseyed quickly. "I didn't realise that you had arrived."

"I didn't realise that you were acquainted with the Bennets, Colonel." Miss Bingley said coolly, a muscle ticking in her jaw.

"My cousins were kind enough to introduce me last week." He replied with a broad smile. "They are a most charming family, are they not?"

Kitty was quick enough to thank him for such a generous comment before Miss Bingley had a chance to reply.

"Perhaps the pair of you would be kind enough to spare dances for me?" He continued, blithely ignoring Miss Bingley's distaste. "Miss Catherine, may I importune you for the first set?"

Kitty happily agreed – of course, she wouldn't dare act otherwise – both of them had intended to dance every set. Only Mary ever sat down for the entire evening at balls.

As the Colonel moved away, Miss Bingley seemed to find her tongue once more.

"I suppose you must be congratulating yourselves on having gained his good opinion." Her words were sneering. "After all, you do seem to dote on officers so much."

"Oh!" Lydia smiled even more sweetly than Miss Bingley. Kitty must have seen the sense in refraining from speaking once Lydia had begun, for she remained silence. "Do you think we have gained it?" She beamed at Kitty, who actually seemed to be struggling to decide what expression it was most acceptable for her to bear. "Well, I suppose that is the advantage of being amiable." She curtseyed and left, trying to stop her face from contorting distastefully or worse from tears welling up.

How dare she? What right had Miss Bingley to hate them so? Everyone liked Kitty and her, everyone – well, maybe some found them a little irritating and forthright but...

To be so rude?

And they were supposed to be the ones lacking in manners? Well, Lydia could show them.

She could be five times the lady that Miss Bingley was.

"Oh look!" Kitty exclaimed, before moderating her tone again. "It's Maria Lucas!"

That event did little to permanently upset them though. They paid their dues to Maria, who was quick to bemoan the fact that they were allowed to dance every set – an honour not afforded to her, since her sister was still unmarried. Lydia had always been glad that her parents had not been so focussed on such a strict form of propriety.

Kitty was soon claimed by Colonel Fitzwilliam and Lydia was asked to dance – rather hesitantly – by Denny. He seemed most thrown by her lack of uninhibited exuberance. That would have been enough to raise Lydia's spirits in itself, even had she not had the next half hour to watch him carefully trying to engage her in conversation, clearly not entirely believing her when she told him that he had done nothing wrong and she was in no way upset with him.

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Elizabeth's evening was still passing far more pleasantly. No sooner had the dance ended than Mr Darcy had returned Charlotte to her, and had gone to fetch them refreshments. More they were left free of Mr Collins; Mary had ended up intercepting him and was introducing him to a new acquaintance - Mr Goulding, Elizabeth believed - since he had asked Mary for the first dance. Mr Goulding had only recently returned to the country and, since he had been acquainted to the Bennet girls in their youths, must have felt like she was an unintimidating person to ask to dance.

Elizabeth couldn't help but be pleased by the fact though. Mary was slowly being encouraged into showing the lovely person she was to those around her, and it was a brilliant thing to be able to observe, even without Lizzy's bias that it was her sister who was finding herself a better and happier life.

The dancing recommenced with a content silence between Mr Darcy and Lizzy, which was broken only by her genuine smiles and his smiling eyes – which in turn had Elizabeth making a mental challenge to have him smile freely at least once in the time they were forced together. They had of course had conversation before the dance had commenced – although that had been the polite sort including Charlotte, Mr Bingley and Jane, instead of just themselves.

Mr Bingley was now actually dancing with Charlotte – although his attention seemed to be entirely focused on Jane. Lizzy couldn't help but be amused by that sight, even as she felt sorry for Charlotte. Somehow though, she felt that her friend had known what she was getting into even as she accepted Mr Bingley's offer of a dance.

"We can't stand in silence for the entire set, Miss Elizabeth." Darcy suddenly instructed stumbling ever so slightly over her name. Elizabeth felt the immediate urge to tease him about the obvious solution of him doing more impressions as she had earlier, but he continued too swiftly. "After all, that will only have people believing that I am even more arrogant, conceited and self assured."

"I don't think anyone would think that of you." Elizabeth said, struggling to contain her own smile. He was shy and overly reserved it was true – but he was humble and unassuming – how else would he have managed to announce his own troubles to others, simply to help them? And perhaps he was a little proud – but the way Georgiana spoke of him and of Pemberley, perhaps he had a right to be. "At least, no one who knew you."

Perhaps she hadn't always thought that of him – but she had been far too prejudiced and hadn't let herself wait to know him before she had tried to make an opinion. She had to hope she wouldn't do the same again.

Her words had one of her desired effects though – not though she had intended it as such per say – for she had elicited a rare smile from him. More, it had such a strange look to it that she suddenly felt quite shy – an unusual feeling for her. She quickly searched for something witty to say.

"Anyway, you've already saved yourself from that, for I saw you talking to Charlotte when you danced with her."

"So you were watching us dance?" Mr Darcy inquired when they next met a moment later. Elizabeth blushed, but couldn't reply immediately for the dance parted them again.

"It seemed safer than paying too much attention to Mr Collins." She returned somewhat archly. As a pair they glanced down the line to where Jane and that gentleman were dancing, just in time to see him misstep and collide with another lady. Luckily Jane's attention was too focussed on a different gentleman, so she could not truly attend to the event or feel the mortification it would otherwise cause.

Mr Darcy met her eye with a bemused expression, but was too polite to comment on her cousin's lack of grace.

"If we must discuss dancing partners," he said, pulling her thoughts out of happy imaginings of the future. "Perhaps we should wonder at my cousin, dancing with Miss Lydia."

Elizabeth took another glance to spot the pair. It was true, Lydia was dancing with less of her normal exuberance – which, luckily, wasn't to say she didn't appear to be enjoying herself – and carrying out an intermittent conversation with Colonel Fitzwilliam.

"I am surprised," She allowed. "Because if I were my sister, I wouldn't think very highly of your cousin at all."

"On what count?" Fortunately he seemed more curious than offended, which gave Elizabeth the courage to elaborate.

"He was very... ungallant..." She hesitated about the word choice. She didn't want to ruin her camaraderie with Mr Darcy – but neither was it in her nature to be untruthful. "To the point of being somewhat rude..."

Darcy began to frown. Elizabeth had the strangest urge to just make the face go away – she almost wished that she had known better to begin the conversation at all.

"That doesn't seem like him at all." His features lightened somewhat, as though he was remembering some amusing past. "He is generally considered the better mannered of us – or at least the more personable." He paused, and his tone became more serious. "What has he done?"

"Do you not know?" Elizabeth couldn't quite restrain a flutter of hope that came with those words. She wanted to believe that he knew her family better than that now – but she could understand why he might not. He had never exactly seemed comfortable around most of her family – but he had never exactly seemed comfortable around most people.

His puzzled expression was answer enough.

"He told Lydia that she needed to be more ladylike." She knew that there had been more subtlety to it than that, but she couldn't find any better way to say it at first. And anyway, her words had been quiet while they had been near to each other. She didn't want to speak loudly enough that any of the gossips in Meryton could hear and amplify her words. That would do no good to anyone at all.

Darcy on his behalf had gained a furious scowl.

"He did what?!"

For some reason his reason both anger both pleased and saddened her. She was glad that he saw it the way she had, but she didn't want his poor mood to ruin the remainder of their set.

"She said it wasn't so bad – that he was quite kind about it." Lizzy couldn't quite meet his eye. "But the implication was strongly there – and she has evidently thought a lot on it."

Darcy gave a single nod. His face still holding a fixed frown. Elizabeth searched for an inoffensive topic to bring back his light-hearted mood, but her mind came up blank.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have mentioned it." Her words sounded far more apologetic than she usually did but she wasn't sure why.

"No." His frown lifted and a hint of a smile took its place. "I'm glad you did." His words sounded genuine and Elizabeth unconsciously relaxed. The dance parted them again, and when they were back together, he quickly brought up an inoffensive topic – something acceptable and common. They quickly fell back into their normal conversation, accidentally discussing literature in the middle of a crowded ballroom.

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So I thought this chapter might end the Netherfield Ball, but it seems it is not to be. I hope you enjoyed it anyway, feel free to leave reviews. :)