Free Mr. Darcy's Promise by Jeanna Ellsworth

tighten and his shoulders square a little. So Darcy has asked her for the first dance already? Yes, my plan will work out to my liking quite nicely. The officers then left, both in very lively moods for rather different reasons.
    Mr. Darcy was in a poor mood and no longer wished to be “charming.” Elizabeth had very nearly ignored him throughout the rest of the visit. He didn’t know what to think of it. He kept trying to engage her in conversation but he could come up with little else besides the weather to ask about. He tried to ask about the book she was reading, but she gave brief answers and seemed to turn her attentions elsewhere. It was in this mood that he decided it was time to pull Bingley away from Jane and take their leave. “Bingley, you promised to show me the northeast fence that needed mending. Perhaps now is a good time before the sun sets.” He saw Bingley’s countenance drop, but he agreed it was time as well.
    They took their leave and as soon as they had exited Longbourn, Bingley let out a hearty laugh and said, “Darcy, pray do tell me what happened in there!”
    “Whatever do you mean?” Darcy inquired.
    “I mean you and Mr. Wickham! That, my dear friend, was the closest thing to a cock fight I have ever witnessed!” Bingley’s face was smiling so broadly that Darcy suspected his cheeks must hurt.
    Darcy bowed his head and mumbled, “I was trying to be charming.” Darcy pressed on but Bingley caught up and slapped him on the back.
    Bingley laughed so loudly that the ladies at Longbourn were sure to have heard. “Charming? You had best keep the cock fighting to a minimum if you expect to be charming, my dear friend.”

Chapter 3
    T
    he Bennets spent the next four days in varying degrees of anticipation for the Netherfield Ball. Lydia and Kitty, with Jane and Elizabeth as their companions, made numerous trips to Meryton to buy the necessary gloves, ribbons, and flowers. Fancy hairstyles were practiced and decided upon, but minds were changed repeatedly. Mrs. Bennet was perhaps the most undone, as she couldn’t stop talking about how “this was surely going to be the night that Bingley asks for Jane’s hand in marriage!”
    After they were all squeezed into one carriage, Elizabeth finally began to feel some trepidation for the night ahead of them. In a short while she would be at Netherfield again, and so far, all she had to look forward to was her dance with Mr. Darcy! Why hadn’t Wickham asked for a different dance when she told him the first was taken? She struggled with how she felt about each man. Wickham was too bold and from what she heard four days ago, Wickham seemed to have some serious faults. He had gained Darcy’s father’s favor, even offered a living in his will, yet he was an officer instead. He never finished Cambridge, and seemed to have shifted from wanting the living, to a preference for law, and now seemed to prefer a parson’s lifestyle of servitude. Somehow his natural charm and flattery did not seem to fit well with that sort of existence. She had a sense that Wickham led a very daring and “free” life, especially with the ladies. His lines were too smoothly delivered; in fact, they felt almost practiced. It was along these lines that she convinced herself that she would be not be hurt if Wickham never asked her to dance a set with him.
    Mr. Darcy, on the other hand, was an enigma she could not puzzle out. In frustration, she had attempted to stop trying to read his character. But as they neared Netherfield, her thoughts were most definitely drawn to him. She thought of his soft smile he had given her numerous times; this was always brought on slowly, starting at his lips and finally reaching the corners of his eyes. He was, she had to admit, handsome when his eyes smiled. She thought of his sweet sister and how Georgiana had praised him: “I could not ask for a better or more considerate brother. He anticipates my every need.” Or when speaking of