In the end, however, the so-called noble friends whom Mr. Bingley had invited from London, amounted to no more than five, and this included Mr. Bingley himself!

The Lucas family were, after all, one of the best in town, and were among the first to enter the ball.

The ball, given in the public hall of Longborn, was a welcome to Mr. Bentley.

Circy was not dressed to the nines. She was not a dresser, and had only dressed as Mr. Lucas had requested, in a dress that would not disgrace him, and a few pieces of jewellery, so as to give her the appearance of a person of real importance.

Besides Mr. Goodhearted, whom Circy was familiar with, Mr. Bentley had brought his two sisters and his brother-in-law.

They, especially Miss Bingley, looked like the most typical Miss London, with her fine skirts, her fine jewellery, and her reserved air.

Though she was not at all a typical pretty girl, and though any one of the Bennett family could surpass her in terms of features, there was something about her that made many of the young ladies feel inferior to her.

Mrs. Hurstow was very much like her sister, both in appearance and manner.

But she was a married woman, and her features were softer.

Mr. Hesto, on the other hand, looked like an ordinary gentleman. There was nothing outstanding about him, and nothing wrong with him either. He was plain and unremarkable.

The most striking was Mr. Goodhearted, whom Circy now knew as Mr. Darcy.

Standing next to Mr. Bentley and Mr. Hesto, Circy could distinctly feel his height, and his erect posture, which, even in black, could not conceal his handsomeness.

But he was too proud!

This was the complaint that Circy heard most often from the chattering ladies around her.

At first the young ladies were excitedly speculating about Mr. Darcy's fortune.

They said he earned ten thousand pounds a year!

Many of the young ladies, who fancied themselves a little attractive, began to stir, but were invariably coldly rebuffed.

The girls who had been slapped in the face had nothing good to say.

So what if he was rich?

Not the least bit gentlemanly!

I can't believe that such a person can be friends with the amiable Mr. Bentley!

Girls are always quick to change their minds.

This made Circy curious.

She was forced to go to the ball by her family, but she had no interest in dancing and was bored.

Circy could always find the best hiding spot at a glance, probably due to her experience in escaping from dancing.

In fact, she was now comfortably curled up in an inconspicuous corner.

The view from this position was very good, so she could easily patrol the dance floor and find the person she was looking for.

It wasn't hard to find.

Those few people seemed to be in two different worlds from the others.

Except for Mr. Bentley.

Out of courtesy, he danced with Charlotte for the first dance. Similarly, he invited Circy for the third dance. For the rest of the time, he danced happily with different girls, not missing a single one.

But it was not hard to see that he had taken a fancy to Jane Bennett.

This was not surprising. Jane was the most beautiful woman in Longborn.

The others were different.

Mr. Hesto occasionally ate some snacks. The sisters and Mr. Darcy stayed in their seats almost the whole time, coldly watching the ball.

Mr. Darcy was actually a little hesitant.

He was surprised to see Circy at first, and if he wasn't used to facial paralysis, he would have given himself away.

For a moment, he even thought of asking her to dance.

After all, it was a little awkward to see each other on two occasions. Asking her to dance would be a good way to make amends.

Circy pretended very well. She acted as if she had never seen the man in front of her before. She saluted him properly, said hello, and then hid in the corner, almost never coming out again.

Darcy was inexplicably embarrassed. He quickly shook the ridiculous thought out of his mind and did not look out of the corner of his eye.

But he didn't know that Circy was relieved to see him like this. She was afraid that Mr. Darcy would show that he knew her. Then it would be troublesome to explain.

Relying on her corner, Circy openly observed the group of people, and her eyes stayed especially on Mr. Darcy.

This man was really interesting. At first, she thought he was warm-hearted. The second time she saw him, she thought he was shy. Now it looked like he was going to be overturned.

Looking at his cold face, there was no one more serious in the whole room.

Darcy, on the other hand, felt his temples throbbing happily. Someone's gaze was too strong.

What an unreserved lady.

Miss Bentley only felt the aura of the person around her become colder and colder. She thought that he, like her, could not stand this vulgar and boring ball. Her words inevitably carried a little pride and arrogance, and a slight blush appeared on her cheekbones.

"How can this be called a ball?!"

Miss Bentley raised her wine glass, and the polite smile on her face turned into ridicule. "What a group of barbarians, how vulgar their words and actions are!

I really don't know why my brother is here.

What do you think, Mr. Darcy? "

"… Indeed." Darcy nodded slightly, and took advantage of the situation to turn half of his body to avoid that gaze.

In fact, he didn't pay much attention to what Miss Bentley said.

Miss Bentley, however, seemed to have been greatly encouraged and began to talk non-stop. Her words were full of disparagement of the ball and the people here. Her eyes were bright with excitement, and her cheeks were abnormally flushed.

She still wanted to maintain her so-called elegant demeanor, which made her look extremely strange.

Circy looked at her for a while and lost interest. This person's behavior was really disgusting.

She thought she was an elegant lady, but it turned out that she was just an outer shell.

Darcy, on the other hand, was faintly relieved. The lady suddenly withdrew her gaze, and the uneasy feeling disappeared. He divided some of his energy to listen to Miss Bentley's long speech, and occasionally gave a little response.

But soon, he had no choice but to stand alone.

Although Miss Bentley looked down on this ball, it was one thing to look down on it, and another thing to not dance.

If people saw this, wouldn't they think she was a girl sitting on a bench?

She couldn't bear that.

"Darcy!

Why are you standing here! "Of course, Bentley would not let her friend go so easily.

Mr. Bentley, who had just finished a dance and retreated from the dance floor, was flushed with excitement. His eyes were bright, as if he couldn't understand why someone would rather stand here in a daze than enjoy a wonderful ball.