Prejudice & pride

By Lynn Messina

Subjects: Social classes, Fiction

Description: You know Darcy: rich, proud, disapproving, standoffish. Bennet Bethle knows Darcy, too{u2014}at least, the type. As a fundraiser for the Longbourn Collection, an art museum in out-of-the-way Queens, he{u2019}s met a lot of bored heiresses. Watching the aloof beauty swat away all comers at his museum's gala (including himself, even though he didn{u2019}t make the attempt), Bennet figures he{u2019}s got her all sized up. He knows exactly how this story plays out. But this story isn{u2019}t all that it seems. Despite her air of indifference, Darcy{u2019}s interest has been piqued by the irreverent Bennet, who finds himself frequently in her company while her friend Charlotte ?Bingley? Bingston plans a ball at the Netherfield hotel to benefit the museum. Well, plans a ball or woos his brother{u2014}it{u2019}s hard for Bennet to say because Bingley{u2019}s motives are murky. One thing, however, is crystal clear: He doesn{u2019}t like Darcy. And yet somehow that becomes murky too.