Pride and Prejudice — Chapter Thirty-One (Abridged)

Colonel Fitzwilliam's good manners impressed everyone at the Parsonage. The ladies felt sure that he would make their evenings at Rosings much more enjoyable. However, they did not receive an invitation right away, since the gentlemen already had visitors staying with them. It was not until Easter, almost a week after Colonel Fitzwilliam and Mr. Darcy arrived, that the Collinses and their guests were finally invited, and only for the evening, after church. During that week, they had seen little of Lady Catherine or her daughter. Colonel Fitzwilliam had visited the Parsonage more than once, but they had only seen Mr. Darcy at church.

When the invitation finally came, everyone happily accepted. Lady Catherine welcomed them politely, but it was clear that she preferred having her nephews to talk to rather than her other guests. She spent most of the evening speaking to Darcy and Fitzwilliam, especially Darcy.

Colonel Fitzwilliam, however, seemed genuinely glad for some company. He found Elizabeth very charming and sat beside her, talking cheerfully about many subjects: travel, books, and music. Elizabeth enjoyed herself more than she had in any of her earlier visits to Rosings. Their lively conversation caught the attention of both Lady Catherine and Mr. Darcy, who kept glancing toward them. Eventually, Lady Catherine could not stay quiet and called out to ask what they were discussing.

"We are talking about music," Colonel Fitzwilliam admitted. Lady Catherine immediately launched into a long speech about her own excellent taste in music, insisting that if she had ever learned to play, she would have been wonderful at it. She then asked about Georgiana's musical progress, and after hearing Darcy's praise, told him to remind his sister to practice more. Darcy, clearly embarrassed by his aunt's rudeness, said nothing.

Later, when coffee was finished, Colonel Fitzwilliam reminded Elizabeth that she had promised to play the piano for him. As she began playing, Darcy walked over and stood where he could watch her face while she played. Elizabeth noticed this and, with a teasing smile, told him that she would not let him frighten her, even if his sister played beautifully. Darcy replied calmly that he knew she sometimes said things she did not really believe, just for fun.

Laughing, Elizabeth turned to Colonel Fitzwilliam and warned him not to trust anything Darcy said about her. Then, to tease Darcy further, she told a story about their first meeting at a ball in Hertfordshire, where, she said, he had danced only four times, even though many ladies were left without partners. Darcy defended himself by explaining that he hadn't known anyone at the dance beyond his own group. Fitzwilliam joked that Darcy simply didn't like the effort of talking to strangers, and Darcy admitted this was true. He had never been good at chatting easily with people he didn't know.

Elizabeth compared this to her own piano playing, saying she wasn't very skilled either, because she had never practiced enough. Darcy smiled and told her she had used her time well, and that neither of them liked performing in front of strangers.

Lady Catherine soon interrupted again, and once she finished commenting on Elizabeth's playing, comparing it, of course, to her daughter Anne's supposed talent, Elizabeth kept playing until it was time for the group to go home. Elizabeth watched Darcy carefully but never saw any real sign that he loved his cousin Anne.