Danger at the Netherfield Ball by Jann Rowland

Author:Jann Rowland
Language: eng
Format: mobi, azw3
Publisher: One Good Sonnet Publishing
Published: 2021-09-22T04:00:00+00:00

The confrontation between Miss Elizabeth and Miss Bingley did not escape Darcy’s attention. Had Darcy any doubt of Miss Elizabeth’s ability to defend herself, he might have inserted himself between them. As it was, he had the highest opinion of her capabilities and knew she did not require his protection. Thus, he continued in his self-appointed duty of watching Wickham to ensure his erstwhile friend did not cause havoc in the community.

That he appeared to be behaving himself was no comfort to Darcy, for Wickham had always been adept at portraying himself as the consummate gentleman. Educated as he was in the ways of gentlemen by the auspices of the Darcy family, and more particularly Darcy’s father, his behavior should be good, for Robert Darcy had been the most upright man Darcy had ever known. Those who were acquainted with him often said that Wickham’s ability to make friends was not in question. Whether those friendships would survive the inevitable knowledge that his character did not measure up to his manners had always been the problem. Darcy was aware of some with whom Wickham had maintained his friendship, but as those had always been like him in character, it was no mark of worth in him.

As far as Darcy was aware, Wickham was his usual self that evening. He was active on the dance floor, engaging in his usual efforts at making himself agreeable such that Darcy suspected half of the town would be in love with him by the night’s end. Darcy did not mean to allow them to persist in their infatuation, however, so Wickham could do what he would. It would not avail him in the end.

Much as Darcy would deny it if asked—though he would always remain honest with himself—his scrutiny of Miss Elizabeth consumed as much of his attention as his wariness of George Wickham. There was much to like in Miss Elizabeth, he decided as if he had not already considered the subject of the woman to excess in previous days. She was unlike anyone else in this small town, unlike any woman he had ever met.

That he might find one such as she was an unlooked-for development, for had he not searched for a woman of interest to him since his entrance into society? Why could she not be a lady of connection and fortune? It would be easier had she possessed such advantages, for Darcy could then have pursued her with no hesitation.

Then his doubts parted as if moved by a stiff wind. If she was such a woman, would she not then be the same as every other he had disdained over the years? What was stopping him? Darcy little cared for what passed for the cream of society. As to wealth, he was more than wealthy enough to provide for a wife and however many children they produced. Why did he concern himself with matters of which he did not care?

The notion heartened him, opening possibilities he had not allowed himself to consider before.

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