Chapter Four

The Bennets, absent their father, had arrived at the assembly room rather early in the festivities. The first set was not expected for a quarter hour or more. Upon their arrival, the Longbourn party separated, with each of the Bennet ladies moving to meet their friends or to pursue their desires. Elizabeth and Jane approached their longtime friend, Miss Charlotte Lucas, the eldest child of Sir William and Lady Lucas. Sir William, as the de facto host, was always first to these assemblies so the ladies from Longbourn knew to expect her presence on their arrival.

“Charlotte! You look lovely. That is a very fine dress.” Elizabeth said smiling at her older friend.

“Mother felt it necessary to make the effort as there are rumored to be new gentlemen here tonight, and this may be my last opportunity to fix a gentleman’s interest.” Miss Lucas spoke softly and with a self-effacing tone. “Though with you and Jane here, I doubt any other lady will have a chance.”

“Please Charlotte,” Jane blushed. Elizabeth smiled at her sister’s modesty. She truly had no conception of her beauty and the effect it had on men. Even now Elizabeth could see the wake of dumbstruck men in the hall. And most of these were men that had known Jane all her life. To protect her own maidenly sensibilities, Elizabeth tried to ignore the awareness of the men’s visceral reactions, passed to her by her enhanced senses.

“Have you heard any more reports of our new neighbor and his expected party?” Elizabeth asked.

“The latest I’ve heard is that instead of twelve, he has brought only six with him from London—his five sisters and a cousin.”

“Still too many ladies,” Jane replied while enjoying her sister’s shocked expression at Jane’s stealing her earlier quip. This brought laughter to all three.

It was near the end of the second set that the party from Netherfield finally arrived. Most of the local ladies were pleased to see that when the party entered the assembly room it consisted of only five altogether—Mr. Bingley, his two sisters, the husband of the eldest, and Mr. Darcy.

Elizabeth saw that Mr. Bingley was good-looking and gentlemanlike. He had a pleasant countenance, and easy, unaffected manners. His sisters were fine women, with an air of decided fashion. His brother-in-law, Mr. Hurst, merely looked the gentleman. The lady from Longbourn watched with some amusement as Mr. Bingley had soon made himself acquainted with all the principal people in the room.

As popular as Mr. Bingley was making himself, it was his friend Mr. Darcy who soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mien, and the report which was in general circulation within five minutes after his entrance, of his having ten thousand a year and a peerless gift.

The gentlemen pronounced him to be a fine figure of a man, the ladies declared he was much handsomer than Mr. Bingley, and he was looked at with great admiration for about half the evening, until his manners gave a disgust which turned the tide of his popularity.

“Mr. Darcy, may I introduce to you Mrs. Bennet and her lovely daughters.” Sir William offered cheerfully. The gentleman from Derbyshire bowed silently and walked away. This behavior was repeated throughout the evening as he declined being introduced to any lady.

“He is the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world …” Elizabeth heard Mrs. Bennet complaining to Mrs. Long. “… above his company, and above being pleased …” A quick glance showed that Mr. Darcy may well have heard the insults as well.

“Nothing at all to Mr. Bingley,” was the less than discrete response.

“Such amiable qualities must speak for themselves.” Elizabeth observed to Charlotte as they watched Mr. Bingley partner Jane in the dance. “What a contrast between him and his friend!”

After the set, she saw Jane being introduced to Mr. Bingley’s sisters. They appeared to be welcoming to her, but Elizabeth did not trust the look in their eyes. “More pleased with themselves than those around them…” she thought.

Mr. Darcy danced only once with Mrs. Hurst and once with Miss Bingley and spent the rest of the evening walking about the room and speaking occasionally to one of his own party. Elizabeth had been obliged, by the scarcity of gentlemen, to sit down for two dances; and during part of that time, Mr. Darcy had been standing near enough for her to hear a conversation between him and Mr. Bingley, who came from the dance for a few minutes, to press his friend to join it.

“Come, Darcy,” said he. “I must have you dance. I hate to see you standing about by yourself in this stupid manner. You’d 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 whom it would not be a punishment to me to stand up with.”

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“I would not be so fastidious as you are for a kingdom!” cried Mr. Bingley. “Upon my honor, I never met with so many pleasant girls in my life as I have this evening; and there are several of them you see uncommonly pretty.”

“You are dancing with the only handsome girl in the room,” said Mr. Darcy, looking at Jane.

“Oh! She is the most beautiful creature I ever beheld! But there is one of her sisters sitting down just behind you, who is also very pretty, and I dare say very agreeable. Do let me ask my partner to introduce you.”

“Which do you mean?” And turning around he looked for a moment at Elizabeth, until catching her eye, he withdrew his own and coldly said to Mr. Bingley, “She is tolerable, I suppose. But not handsome enough to tempt me. I am in no humor 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’re wasting your time with me.”

Mr. Bingley followed his friend’s advice. After which, Mr. Darcy walked off. And Elizabeth remained with no very cordial feelings toward the unpleasant man.

She sought out Charlotte and shared the story, laughing at the curmudgeon in their midst.

“Perhaps he finds the female sex repellant?” Elizabeth suggested. “He may be one of those gentleman that would prefer to race his phaeton through the park, or spend the night gambling at his club, than dance with a lady.”

“Lower your voice, Lizzy,” Charlotte cautioned. “It would not do for him to hear you speaking thusly.”

Elizabeth just laughed gayly.

The evening altogether passed off pleasantly to the whole family. Mrs. Bennet had seen her eldest daughter much admired by the Netherfield party. Mr. Bingley had danced with her twice, and she had been distinguished by his sisters. Jane was as much gratified by this as her mother could be, though in a quieter way.

Elizabeth felt Jane’s pleasure. Mary had heard herself mentioned to Miss Bingley as the most accomplished girl in the neighborhood; and Kitty and Lydia had been fortunate enough never to be without partners, which was all that they had yet learnt to care for at a ball. They returned, therefore, in good spirits to Longbourn.

They found Mr. Bennet still up. With a book he was regardless of time; and on the present occasion he had a good deal of curiosity as to the events of an evening which had raised such splendid expectations. He had rather hoped that his wife’s views on Mr. Bingley would be disappointed; but he soon found out that he had a different story to hear.

“Oh, my dear Mr. Bennet!” she called as she entered the room. “We’ve had a most delightful evening and a most excellent ball. I wish you had been there. Jane was so admired, nothing could be like it. Everybody said how well she looked. And Mr. Bingley thought her quite beautiful and danced with her twice! Only think of that, my dear; he actually danced with her twice! And she was the only creature in the room that he asked a second time. First of all, he asked Miss Lucas. I was so vexed to see him stand up with her! But, however, he did not admire her at all; indeed, nobody can, you know. And he seemed quite struck with Jane as she was going down the dance. So, he inquired who she was, and got introduced, and asked her for the two next. Then the two third he danced with Miss King, and the two fourth with Maria Lucas, and the two fifth with Jane again, and the two sixth with Lizzy, and the Boulanger …”

“If he had had any compassion for me,” cried her husband impatiently, “he would not have danced half so much! For God’s sake, say no more of his partners. Oh, that he had sprained his ankle in the first dance!”

“Oh! my dear, I am quite delighted with him. He is so excessively handsome! And his sisters are charming women. I never in my life saw anything more elegant than their dresses. I dare say the lace upon Mrs. Hurst’s gown …”

Here she was interrupted again. “No lace!” Mr. Bennet protested. “I beg of you, no lace.”

She was therefore obliged to seek another branch of the subject, and related, with much bitterness of spirit and some exaggeration, the shocking rudeness of Mr. Darcy.

“But I can assure you,” she added, “that Lizzy does not lose much by not suiting his fancy. For he is a most disagreeable, horrid man, not at all worth pleasing. So high and so conceited that there was no enduring him! He walked here, and he walked there, fancying himself so very great! Not handsome enough to dance with! I wish you had been there, my dear, to have given him one of your set-downs. I quite detest the man.”

When Jane and Elizabeth were alone in their room that night, the former, who had been cautious in her praise of Mr. Bingley before, expressed to her sister just how very much she admired him.

“He is just what a young man ought to be,” said Jane, “sensible, good-humored, lively; and I never saw such happy manners! So much ease, with such perfect good breeding!”

“He is also handsome,” replied Elizabeth, “and gifted, which a young man ought likewise to be, if he possibly can. His character is thereby complete.”

“I was very much flattered by his asking me to dance a second time. I did not expect such a compliment.”

“Did you not? I did for you. But that is one great difference between us. Compliments always take you by surprise, and me never. What could be more natural than his asking you again? He could not help seeing that you were about five times as pretty as every other woman in the room. No thanks to his gallantry for that. Well, he certainly is very agreeable, and I give you leave to like him. You have liked many a stupider person.”

“Lizzy!”

“Oh! You are a great deal too apt, you know, to like people in general. You never see a fault in anybody. All in the world are good and agreeable in your eyes. I never heard you speak ill of a human being in your life.”

“I would not wish to be hasty in censuring anyone; but I always speak what I think.”

“I know you do; and it is that which makes the wonder. With your good sense, to be so honestly blind to the follies and nonsense of others! Affectation of candor is common enough -one meets with it everywhere. But to be candid without ostentation or design; to take the good of everybody’s character and make it still better, and say nothing of the bad; that belongs to you alone. And you like this man’s sisters, too, do you? Their manners are not equal to his.”

“Certainly not at first. But they are very pleasing women when you converse with them. Miss Bingley is to live with her brother, and keep his house. And I am much mistaken if we shall not find a very charming neighbor in her.”

Elizabeth listened in silence, but was not convinced. Their behavior at the assembly had not been calculated to please in general. With more quickness of observation and less pliancy of temper than Jane, and with a judgement not prejudiced by their attention to herself, Elizabeth was very little disposed to approve them.