On Tuesday evening,when Elizabeth entered the hall at Netherfield and looked in vain for Mr Wickham among the red coats gathered there,she was surprised and disappointed to see he was not present.She had never doubted he would come,and had dressed with more than her usual care,looking forward to winning his heart,which she knew was already partly hers.But she immediately suspected that Darcy had persuaded Bingley not to invite Wicham,and although she discovered from one of the officers that in fact Wickham had been invited,but had been called away on business she felt sure Wickham had wanted to avoid meeting Darcy,and blamed Darcy for this.As a result,when Darcy greeted her,she was so annoyed with him that she could hardly reply politely.