When Elizabeth arrived at the Netherfield ball, she looked everywhere for Mr. Wickham’s red coat. She had dressed with great care and was in high spirits. But she could not find him.
She asked his friend, Mr. Denny, where he was. Denny told her that Wickham had been called to London on business. Then he added quietly, "I don't think he would have left today if he hadn't wanted to avoid a certain gentleman here."
Elizabeth knew he meant Mr. Darcy. She felt very angry. To her, Darcy was responsible for Wickham's absence. When Mr. Darcy walked up to her later to ask how she was, she could hardly be polite to him.
The evening started badly. Her first two dances were with Mr. Collins, and they were terrible. He was awkward and solemn. He moved the wrong way and kept apologizing. Elizabeth felt embarrassed and was relieved when the dances finally ended.
She was talking to her friend Charlotte Lucas when Mr. Darcy suddenly approached her. He surprised her by asking her to dance. Without thinking, she said yes.
"Why did I do that?" she told Charlotte afterward. "I don't want to dance with a man I hate!"
When the dance began, they stood in silence for a long time. Elizabeth decided to force him to talk.
"It’s your turn to say something now, Mr. Darcy," she said. "I talked about the dance. You should talk about the size of the room."
He smiled. "Whatever you want me to say, I will say it."
They talked a little about their personalities. Elizabeth told him that they were both quiet people who only spoke when they had something important to say. Then, she mentioned her trip to Meryton.
"We made a new friend there recently," she said, watching his face.
Darcy looked uncomfortable. "Mr. Wickham has a way of making friends easily," he said coldly. "Whether he can keep them is a different matter."
"He was unlucky enough to lose your friendship," Elizabeth replied. "And he will suffer for it his whole life."
Darcy did not answer. Just then, Sir William Lucas interrupted them. He hinted that he expected Jane and Mr. Bingley to get married very soon. Darcy looked seriously at Jane and Bingley, who were dancing nearby.
Later, Miss Bingley came up to Elizabeth with a cold smile. "I hear you like George Wickham," she said. "But you should be careful. It is true that Mr. Darcy’s father was kind to him, but Wickham has treated Mr. Darcy very badly. He is not a respectable man."
Elizabeth didn't believe her. She thought Miss Bingley was only trying to protect Darcy.
As the night went on, things got worse for Elizabeth. Her family started to behave very badly in public. First, Mr. Collins decided to introduce himself to Mr. Darcy. Because Darcy was of much higher social rank, this was a big mistake. Darcy was very surprised and looked at Mr. Collins with contempt.
Then, during supper, Elizabeth had to sit near her mother. Mrs. Bennet was talking loudly to Lady Lucas about Jane and Mr. Bingley. She spoke as if they were already engaged. She talked about how rich Bingley was and how lucky her other daughters would be to have such a brother-in-law. Elizabeth saw that Mr. Darcy was listening. She felt deeply ashamed of her mother’s behavior.
After supper, Mary insisted on singing for everyone. She was not a good singer, but she wouldn't stop. Finally, Mr. Bennet had to tell her to sit down. To finish the night, Mr. Collins gave a long, boring speech about his duties as a priest.
Elizabeth felt that her family had shown their worst side to Mr. Darcy and the Bingleys. She was sure that Darcy would judge them all.
When the Bennets finally left, Mrs. Bennet was very happy. She was certain that Jane would marry Mr. Bingley and Elizabeth would marry Mr. Collins. Elizabeth said nothing, but she was glad the long evening was finally over.