CHAPTER FIVE

A Young Lady Ashamed

Elizabeth told Jane the next day about the conversation she had with Mr Wickham. Jane was very surprised and concerned.

"Good heavens!" she shouted. "Why would he behave so cruelly?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "I imagine he was jealous."

"How terrible! I did not think that Mr Darcy was this bad."

"Why is Bingley such good friends with him?"

"He must not know what kind of man Mr Darcy is," Jane replied.

Then Elizabeth added, thoughtfully, "Mr Darcy can be very pleasant when he chooses."

Jane smiled. "He really wants to be pleasant to you, Lizzy. I have seen the way he looks at you—"

"Oh, no, Jane!" said Elizabeth quickly. "You are mistaken—quite mistaken!"

At this point, Mr Bingley arrived with his two sisters. They had come to invite the sisters to a dance at Netherfield, set for the following Tuesday.

The idea of going to a dance excited everyone. Mrs Bennet considered the invitation to be because of her eldest daughter's popularity; Jane could see herself spending a happy evening with her friends. Meanwhile, Elizabeth was looking forward to dancing a lot with Mr Wickham. Kitty and Lydia thought Mr Bingley would invite many officers and soldiers of the army. Even Mary seemed willing to attend.

Elizabeth was so happy that she asked Mr Collins if he intended to accept Mr Bingley's invitation, and if he did, if he would think it proper to join in the evening's entertainment.

"Of course I do," he replied, "I hope to be honored by being able to dance with all my fair cousins, and I take this opportunity to ask you, Miss Elizabeth, for the first two dances."

Elizabeth was secretly hoping to be able to spend time with Mr Wickham during the dance—but she accepted Mr Collins' invitation as politely as she could. After talking with Mr Collins, it became clear to her that she was Mr Collins' choice for a future wife. Soon Elizabeth's mother kept talking about how agreeable a future marriage between them would be. Elizabeth decided to say nothing. Mr Collins might never make such an offer, and, until he did, there was no point in arguing about it.

On the night of the dance, there was no doubt in Elizabeth's mind that Mr Wickham would not attend. She looked unsuccessfully for him among the army men that were there. She was quite disappointed, and had even paid more attention to her dress than usual. She had prepared in the highest spirits to win his heart. His friend, Mr Denny, whom Lydia had already attached herself to, told her that Mr Wickham had to go to town the day before to take care of business.

"I'm sure he would have left his business for a while," he added, with a knowing smile, "if there wasn't a certain gentleman here tonight."

Elizabeth believed that Mr Darcy had told Bingley not to give Wickham an invitation. But Elizabeth's character did not hold ill feeling for long. After having told her problem to Charlotte Lucas, she felt much better. However, the first two dances were not very enjoyable. Mr Collins was not a very good dancer and would often make wrong moves. He was a very disagreeable partner.

She danced the next dance with an officer, and then stopped to talk to Charlotte. Suddenly, Mr Darcy appeared and asked her to dance. This took her so much by surprise that she accepted. Charlotte tried to make her feel better.

"Don't worry! I'm sure you will find him very agreeable."

"Heavens no! I am determined to hate him! Do not wish me such an evil thing."

The dancing began again, and Darcy came to take Elizabeth's hand. They took their places in the dance set. They stood for a while without speaking to each other. She said something unimportant and he replied. Then they were both silent again.

"It is your turn to say something to me now, Mr Darcy," she told him. "I've already talked about the dance, and you should make some remark about the size of the room, or the number of couples."

He smiled, and asked her if she and her sisters often walked to Meryton.

"Yes," she replied, and was not able to stop from asking the question that had been burning her for days. She added, "When we met you on the way there the other day, we had just made a new friend—a Mr Wickham—from Pemberley in Derbyshire. He says that you know him."

Mr Darcy's body immediately became tight. "I would like to forget that Mr Wickham and we were once friends," he said coldly.

"But is that fair, Mr Darcy? Can you not forgive Mr Wickham, even if he has made you angry or done something to harm you?"

"I am not the type of person to forgive so easily. My hatred, once created, does not go away."

"You are certain that—in this case—it has been created?"

"Most certainly, Miss Bennet," replied Darcy strongly.

"And you do not think you can be blinded by feelings, whether your feelings are right or not?"

"I hope this is not true."

"If you don't change how you feel about something or someone, then you have to judge correctly the first time you meet someone."

Mr Darcy noted her words and asked, "Why are you asking me these questions?"

"So that I can know what type of character you have," replied Elizabeth. "I am trying to figure you out."

"And do you find my character agreeable?"

She shook her head. "I do not agree with your character or manners at all."

"I hope, Miss Bennet," he replied seriously, "that you not try to understand my character at this present moment. I am afraid that you will come to a misunderstanding."

She said no more. They finished the dance and left one another in silence. Miss Bingley came towards her.

"So, Miss Elizabeth, your sister tells me that you are quite interested in George Wickham! I'm sure he has told you that he was the son of old Wickham, the late Mr Darcy's personal servant. Before you find him too delightful, let me advise you not to believe what he says. He often tells many lies. As to Mr Darcy doing wrong to him, it is not true. He was always kind to him, though Wickham treated him badly many times. Now, I do not know everything that happened, but I know that Mr Darcy isn't the one to blame. The fact that Wickham is again in the countryside is very rude but this is expected, if you consider his family background."

"From our words I gather that he is guilty because of his background," said Elizabeth angrily. "You accuse him of being the son of Mr Darcy's steward. To let you know, Mr Wickham has already told me this himself."

"I beg your pardon," replied Miss Bingley, turning away. "Excuse my interpretation. I meant it kindly and was not trying to be rude."

"Mean-hearted girl!" thought Elizabeth to herself. "You can never influence me by something as unimportant as someone's background."

The rest of the evening gave Elizabeth little amusement or happiness. Mr Collins kept bothering her by keeping to her side. He was not able to get another dance with her again, but he stopped others from dancing with her, too. She owed Charlotte Lucas a lot of thanks, who often joined them and made conversation with Mr Collins. This gave some relief to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth kept her attention on her sister and Mr Bingley. She did not doubt the gentleman's high respect and deep feeling for Jane.

But Mr Collins was not her only source of worry. When they sat down to supper, Elizabeth was quite ashamed to hear her mother speaking openly to Lady Lucas about her wish that Jane would soon be married to Mr Bingley. Her mother pointed out the good advantages of such a match. Mr Bingley was so charming and rich. This was also promising for her younger daughters. Jane's marriage.to a man of such good fortune as Mr Bingley would make her other daughters more attractive, too.

Elizabeth unsuccessfully tried to stop her mother from saying so much. She tried to get her to speak more quietly. She could see, to her shame and horror, that Mr Darcy could hear what her mother was saying. However, her mother only scolded her. "Why should I be afraid of Mr Darcy? Must I say nothing that may offend him?"

"For heaven's sake, Mama, please speak quieter. What advantage do you have in offending Mr Darcy? You know that he is Bingley's friend and you cannot recommend yourself by so doing."

Nothing she could say was of any help. Elizabeth turned red with shame and embarrassment. She could not help looking at Mr Darcy. Soon, she saw that the expression on his face became very serious. Her worst fears had come true.

Even when supper was finished, Elizabeth could only relax for a short time. The company wanted to sing, and she had the embarrassment of seeing Mary prepare to sing for everybody. Mary's voice was very weak, and her manner not true. Elizabeth was truly suffering.

Above all, Lydia and Kitty were behaving without shame by flirting with all the officers. She felt that her entire family, except for Jane, were showing themselves in a poor light. They could not have tried to act worse than they were doing now.

When they were finally preparing to leave, Mrs Bennet invited Mr Bingley to join them for dinner at any time, even without an invitation. She told him that this would make her very happy. Bingley thanked her and promised that he would take the opportunity to do so as soon as possible.

Mrs Bennet left with the delightful idea that she would soon see Jane married and settled at Netherfield in a few months. She also thought, but not with equal delight, that she would very soon have another daughter married to Mr Collins.

(end of section)