An elderly gentleman came forward to greet him. “Sir William Lucas here. Welcome to our Assembly. I do not believe I have yet had the good fortune of making your acquaintance.”

Mr. Darcy bowed with as much dignity as he could belatedly muster. “Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley. I am a guest of Mr. Bingley. He has been delayed for a few moments.”

“Capital! Capital! Mr. Bingley mentioned that you might be joining him.”

While Sir William was asking him about his journey to Hertfordshire, Darcy caught sight of Rake Darcy skipping around the room, clipping more feathers from ladies’ hats and then stopping in front of a group of three women.

Sir William followed the direction of Darcy’s gaze and said jovially, “Oh, may I introduce you to Mrs. Bennet and her daughters?”

“Umh…” Darcy stammered as he saw Rake lowering his mouth to the earlobe of one of the younger ladies. She was extremely pretty, with blond hair, a serene countenance and a sweet smile. She did not seem to notice that she was mere inches away from being kissed.

Darcy gave his rakish soul a glare and walked toward the party quickly. Stop, Rake! How could you do such a thing here?

“…delighted to make your acquaintance.” The sound of a high-pitched voice startled him, and he realized belatedly that Sir William had introduced him to the older lady.

Darcy could feel sweat beading on his brow. He had been so preoccupied by thinking how to stop Rake that he had ignored the women’s greetings.

“Do you like to dance, Mr. Darcy?” Mrs. Bennet asked, looking annoyed. She tilted her head to the direction of the blond lady.

Seeing that Rake Darcy was circulating around that young woman, ogling her from every direction, Darcy closed his eyes for an instant and reasoned that a dance with the other maiden would at least allow him to draw his scoundrel twin away from the handsome woman who had captured the rogue’s attention, if Rake was really here to observe him court a lady.

He turned to the younger lady and bowed. “Would you do me the honour of dancing with me?”

Mrs. Bennet frowned and murmured, “But surely you would like to dance with Jane first. She is prettier than Elizabeth…”

Darcy truly looked at Elizabeth Bennet for the first time. She was slightly shorter than Jane but she had a more womanly figure. While Jane had fair hair and angelic features, Elizabeth had dark curly hair and mischievous eyes. Although pretty in her own way, he supposed she was truly less traditionally handsome than Jane.

This will be a torture. She probably has no wit, Darcy thought glumly, and his jaw tightened.

However, seeing Rake Darcy’s boorish behaviour toward Miss Jane, Darcy put out his hand decidedly.

At that, Elizabeth placed her hand on his and followed him out to the dance floor.

To his surprise, he felt a sudden thrill run through his body when she touched his hand. As they walked to the dance floor, he had to admit, at least, that she had good manners.

Uneasy with strangers, he remained silent. His gaze drifted off to search for his olive twin, wanting to know whether Rake had followed him to the dance floor.

“Do you regret your decision?”

The voice of his partner startled him. At least she has a lively voice. “What decision?” Darcy asked, and frowned, turning his attention more to his dance partner.

“Your decision to ask me to dance, instead of my sister.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Your eyes seem to be turning more in her direction than concentrating on our dance.”

“I only wanted to see whether my friend Mr. Bingley has arrived.”

“I see you are not familiar with our neighbourhood. The entrance to the Assembly is that way, not where Jane is standing.” She arched one brow, and her mouth curled up slightly on the right. What a fine pair of eyes she has! Dark and sparkling when she flirts. And those lush cherry lips! He drew in a deep breath. She smells like fresh lavender, Mother’s favourite fragrance.

Rake Darcy’s sneering voice startled him. “Caught on the spot, Good Darcy? It is an unforgivable offense to neglect your dance partner, especially one so lovely.” The devilish man was standing right behind Elizabeth, mimicking her dance steps.

Darcy stared back at his rakish soul and bid Rake to desist with his eyes. His dance partner cocked her head and looked at him strangely. He bit his lip, reframed from bursting out with the scathing words he wanted to hurl at Rake.

Moving towards the end of the dancing line, Darcy’s hands were touching Elizabeth’s in one of the dance moves. Suddenly, Rake walked closer to her, wrapped his dark hands around her waist from behind, smoothed their way up the front of the dress, and cupped her gorgeous bosom.

Darcy stopped dead. His eyes nearly popped out. Such a magnificent pair of creamy mounds! His body boiled as he felt the sensation in his hands. But how can this be? Rake caresses the lady, and I feel the tingle?

Elizabeth stood still in front of him. She shivered, and her long eyelashes blinked quickly. Then she closed her eyes for a moment and leaned her head back toward Rake.

Darcy was outraged. He could not allow Rake to ravish Miss Elizabeth on the dance floor –

The music ended, and a sudden commotion startled him, and he looked to find that Bingley’s party had finally arrived. A loud voice was speaking, and the people at the Assembly turned their attention to focus on their new neighbours.

Darcy seized the opportunity to pull Elizabeth out to the balcony.

Rake’s devilish smile faded as he was separated from them. He called out after the pair, “I say, Good Darcy, where are you taking her? Don’t be long. Her breasts are firm and bouncy. I want a good taste of them.”

Upon hearing that outrageous demand, Darcy picked up his pace.

Once he had guided Elizabeth safely outside, the night air cooled his heated body. Under the bright light of a full moon, his gaze fell on his dance partner once again. Elizabeth’s shimmering yellow gown seemed to glow, making her look like a golden goddess.

She was breathing heavily, her chest moving up and down. The cool air made her nipples stand up and push impudently against the thin muslin. Darcy suddenly had the urge to take his cue from Rake’s words and suckle her hard. But he called upon his self-control and resisted those thoughts.

“What happened?” she whispered, and the husky timbre of her voice helped to distract him from his ungentlemanly thoughts.

Darcy nervously brushed at his hair with an unsteady hand and turned to look up at the sky. “It is too hot inside.”

“You do not want to greet your friends?”

“Miss Binlgey is not my favourite person.” After the words came out, he clamped his mouth shut. It is Rake! He is a bad influence.

“She intends to snare you?”

“How did you know?”

“You immediately escaped out here when I heard her ask where you were.”

“Did she indeed?”

She nodded. “Rather loudly.”

“It is unfortunate that Bingley has such a sister.” What has happened to my discretion? I am confiding unkind opinions about Miss Bingley to a total stranger!

“I have three rather silly younger sisters, myself. We cannot choose our relations. What about you?”

Darcy’s countenance turned grave. “I have a younger sister, twelve years my junior. Georgiana used to be cheery and lively, but a…misadventure, this past summer, has changed her.” Why am I confiding in her, rather than Bingley? Perhaps the appearance of Rake Darcy has shaken me up.

“I am sorry to hear of it. Did you not want her to be here with you?” she asked softly.

Her compassionate expression urged him on. “I blame myself for her misadventure. My aunt and uncle thought my self-berating mood was disruptive to Georgiana’s recovery. So they took her in, for the time being, and urged me to travel here to visit Mr. Bingley.”

“And you miss her.”

He nodded. “Our mother died when Georgiana was but two. I love my sister dearly.”

“And your father?”

“He died five years ago.”

“You miss your father’s guidance and your mother’s gentleness.”

He nodded again. How can she understand so much about me?

“You have soulful eyes. I can see that your parents were very dear to you and still mean a great deal to you, even now.”

Looking straight into her tender gaze, Darcy suddenly felt a sense of belonging. It was like coming home, where he could share life’s ups and downs with someone who truly understood him, even without words.

His defenses fell away, and he began to pour out the sense of disappointment, anger and betrayal that he felt towards his childhood friend, George Wickham, although he was still cautious enough not to disclose Georgiana’s failed elopement.

“I sometimes think that all of humanity is born evil.” Elizabeth touched his hand to comfort him. “Only good breeding and education prevent them from staying evil. It is tragic that Mr. Wickham did not take advantage of the excellent opportunity with which your family provided him.”

She is saying exactly the same thing as Rake! How can that be?

She turned her face to the sky and said, in a more cheerful tone, “But then I remember our Lord. He provides us with guidance and good examples. I am happy to say that I know more good people than bad…but you must take into account that I only dine with four-and-twenty families regularly.”