An End to Estrangement - A Pride and Prejudice Variation

Part 18

Elizabeth bounced restlessly on the balls of her feet. The mood and the music in the hall were infectious. She did dearly love to dance and finding herself without a partner scarcely quelled her desire. She was so lost in the melody and in trying to memorize it for Mary upon her return to Longbourn - for her sister was always clamouring for new music - that she did not notice a tall stranger approaching her, nor hear him clear his throat in an attempt to attract her attention.

"Good evening," a deep voice said, at last breaking through her reverie and causing her to turn swiftly in his direction.

"Good evening!" She swallowed a laugh, realising in an instant that this was his second or third attempt to attract her attention. "I'm sorry, I was miles away." She nodded towards the dancing and he glanced over his shoulder momentarily, before looking back at her.

"Would you care to dance, Miss...?"

"Bennet," Elizabeth supplied, nodding eagerly and accepting the hand he offered. "Elizabeth Bennet."

"Fitzwilliam Darcy," he said, escorting her to take their place amidst the other couples. They moved in time, for the dance was a simple one and the music so beautiful that Elizabeth felt certain her feet would know exactly what to do without her needing to think about it. She risked a glance at her partner, then, surprised to see him frowning and fearing, momentarily, that he was not enjoying their dance as much as she was.

"Aren't you fond of dancing, Mr Darcy?" she asked, genuinely curious why he should ask her if he did not care to dance.

"I like it well enough," was the gruff reply. They lapsed into silence, and Elizabeth raised her eyebrows. What a peculiar fellow this Fitzwilliam Darcy was! To appear like a phantom at her side, invite her to dance, and then scowl silently through the duration of their time together as if he could not think of anywhere he would less like to be.

"You are very kind to invite me," she tried again, feeling the brunt of their conversational burden rest on her shoulders. Fortunately, she was well-equipped to carry it, for she liked talking and making new friends and she privately promised herself she would extract a smile from her silent companion before the evening was out. I do so delight in a challenge! "Do you often attend the assemblies?"

"When I have no suitable excuse not to."

She risked another glance at Darcy and was surprised to see that his scowl had lifted a little. If she knew him better, she might even imagine this had been an attempt at humour. But - no! There was the same sinking of his brow, the same downturn of his lips. He might be handsome if only he didn't glower so! Lizzy lamented.

"And you?"

Lizzy was so busy studying his face that she almost missed his words, and it took him turning to eye her with curiosity to realise that he was awaiting her response.

"Oh! No, no." She smiled. "This is my first time attending! Here, anyway. We have assemblies at home, of course."

"Ah." He nodded, as if this response explained a great many questions he had not asked. "You are visiting London. You have come alone?" His frown deepened as if he was not sure that he approved of this.

"I came to stay with my aunt and uncle." Lizzy turned her head this way and that until she located them, smiling and gesturing in conversation with some friends. "Mr and Mrs Gardiner." She pointed them out and the gentleman's gaze followed until he spied them and nodded, politely.

"And what do you think of them?"

"My aunt and uncle?" Elizabeth laughed, deliberately mistaking his meaning.

Mr Darcy turned a horrified glance to her, fearing he had accidentally caused some great offence. When he saw her amusement he smiled, before permitting the tiniest laugh to escape his lips.

"Yes," he said, nodding solemnly and continuing the joke. "Your aunt and uncle. I mean, they seem entirely pleasant. Good-humoured, genuine people, but appearances can be deceptive..."

"Oh, yes, they have made me endure some dreadful hardship, Mr Darcy. We have attended lectures, toured ever so many museums, and they force me to walk in every park we pass...and this assembly! Well, you can imagine the suffering I am enduring ever hour we spend here."

Mr Darcy's smile faltered just a fraction and Lizzy feared she had overplayed their shared joke. She cleared her throat.

"I wonder, Mr Darcy, as you are no doubt better acquainted with London than I am, whether you have any suggestions of places I simply must visit before I leave? I have but a few more days here and would hate to leave any treasures undiscovered."

Mr Darcy looked at her, a strange hopeful light in his eyes soon clouding over in a way Lizzy did not quite understand.

"I am not sure that anything I could suggest would appeal to you, Miss Bennet, although if you have not yet paid a visit to the British Museum, I might commend it to you. There are a number of exhibits that offer a fascinating insight into our empire's furthest reaches."

"I should be interested to see them," she agreed. "Perhaps I can persuade my aunt and uncle to accompany me there soon." She paused, biting her lip and wondering if her next words might make her seem too forward. Then she recalled that she had but a few days left in London and after that, it might be months or even years before she came here again. "Perhaps the day after tomorrow."

Mr Darcy was looking at her with the merest hint of a smile on his face, improving his good looks as Elizabeth had suspected it might.

"The day after tomorrow..." he remarked, thoughtfully. "Coincidentally, that is the very day I intended on revisiting the exhibition myself. Perhaps at around three o'clock?"