It was customary among gentlemen of good breeding to acknowledge a lady as she made her presence felt. To greet her, to praise whatever limited beauty she may possess. But Mr Darcy apparently had no notion of such social mores as he stood aloof, scrutinizing in this microcosm of society the foibles of his fellow men and noting the lack of womanly beauty in the limited selection that he was privy to.

Yet Mr Darcy would consider himself a gentleman. He was a man of means, his breeding and bearing all indicated that he was a man of stature. He was a man born to command the respect of his peers. Mr Darcy, however, did not care for the approbation of his peers for he did not necessarily think them his equal. It was scarcely to his mind arrogance, but plain factual truth. Their stile, their air were not comparable to what he had become accustomed to. To think otherwise, would be hypocritical. It would not be proper to indulge in tete-a-tete that one found intolerable, with company that one had no taste for. Hence likewise, it was logical and consistent not to give praise to any woman where praise was not due.

Like many man of his standing, he knew his duty as the only son and eldest child. It was necessary for him to marry, gain a suitable helpmeet worthy of his standing in life and produce heirs. He had no sentimental notions of marriage but it was an expectation he would willingly fulfil.

The search for a wife, however, was inconveniently hindered by his overwhelming distaste for conversation with women he was scarcely acquainted with. Conversing with women outside his family took a certain quality he did not possess. From time to time, he had the vaguest of notions that women found him attractive but his self-imposed detachment from polite society… and almost every form of society, in fact, narrowed the field considerably. The constant twitter of women pertaining to subjects outside his sphere of knowledge strained his nerves, due in part to his complete disinterest in the subject matter and in part to his own superior knowledge of the world that women were not privy to.

Although only eight and twenty, Darcy was in despair of finding a suitable life companion. It was a lamentable state he kept largely to himself for fear of such news reaching the ears of well-meaning relatives. He was firmly convinced that the problem did not lie with him and wondered perhaps if the education of women in his time was sorely lacking. No woman appeared capable of capturing his fancy and any that had sufficient beauty to commend herself in his eyes were deficient in accomplishments and conversational skills.

It was just like Bingley to employ his powers of persuasion to compel him to attend these diversionary affairs. But Bingley was a friend… his greatest friend and Darcy owed him a debt not only of friendship but of kindness. Bingley gave much and asked for little. A character trait that Darcy admired greatly in his friend. Bingley was ready to think the best of his acquaintances and companions while Darcy's nature sought to dwell on the evils of the human condition. They appeared to be the unlikeliest of friends but they served one another well, firmly believing that they had one another's best interests at heart.

In the best interest of his friend, Bingley thought it amusing and imperative that Darcy attend this ball. Admittedly Bingley himself had claimed the attentions of the most beautiful creature in the room (perhaps the most ravishing creature of his acquaintance), there were still one or two others that were more than adequately tolerable. It was just like Darcy to deny himself a charming diversion or two because of an impossible criterion of felicity he had conjured up in his own mind. Nevertheless, Bingley left his friend to his own devices. He was having far too agreeable a time to concern himself with lost opportunities that his friend was all too willing to disregard.

Edited: May/June 2012

I've cleaned up the original one shot just a tad and decided to continue this "story" with a series of missing scenes.

Many thanks to readers who have taken the trouble to drop a line or two over the years. Your interest in my little one shot has been very gratifying. Thanks especially to princessbuttercup whose comments inspired me to pursue this line of inquiry further.