In hindsight, it all made perfect sense. Darcy’s sour mood at the Meryton Ball took on a new light—of course he was unhappy. He was in a space where he had to pretend to be someone he wasn’t. Where he had to flirt with a future that would never—could never—make him happy. Even his not handsome enough comment, rude as it was, took on a new meaning. Of course “handsome” was used to refer to men, women, and everyone else alike, but Darcy had been thinking of a man when he’d said it.
