Chapter 18 91
Chapter 18
Till Elizabeth entered the drawing-room at Netherfield , and looked in vain for Mr . Wickham among the cluster of red coats there assembled , a doubt of his being present had never occurred to her . The certainty of meeting him had not been checked by any of those recollections that might not unreasonably have alarmed her . She had dressed with more than usual care , and prepared in the highest spirits for the conquest of all that remained unsubdued of his heart , trusting that it was not more than might be won in the course of the evening . But in an instant arose the dreadful suspicion of his being purposely omitted for Mr . Darcy ' s pleasure in the Bingleys ' invitation to the officers ; and though this was not exactly the case , the absolute fact of his absence was pronounced by his friend Denny , to whom Lydia eagerly applied , and who told them that Wickham had been obliged to go to town on business the day before , and was not yet returned ; adding , with a significant smile , " I do not imagine his business would have called him away just now , if he had not wanted to avoid a certain gentleman here ."
This part of his intelligence , though unheard by Lydia , was caught by Elizabeth , and , as it assured her that Darcy was not less answerable for Wickham ' s absence than if her first surmise had been just , every feeling of displeasure against the former was so sharpened by immediate disappointment , that she could hardly reply with tolerable civility to the polite inquiries which he directly afterwards approached to make . Attendance , forbearance , patience with Darcy , was injury to Wickham . She was resolved against any sort of conversation with him , and turned away with a degree of ill-humour which she could not wholly surmount even in speaking to Mr . Bingley , whose blind partiality provoked her .
But Elizabeth was not formed for ill-humour ; and though every prospect of her own was destroyed for the evening , it could not dwell long on her spirits ; and having told all her griefs to Charlotte Lucas , whom she had not seen for a week , she was soon able to make a voluntary transition to the oddities of her cousin , and to point him out to her particular notice . The first two dances , however , brought a return of distress ; they were dances of