Chapter 6 #2
Having run out of explanations, he awaited Bingley’s verdict. It was some time in coming, and Darcy watched as various emotions played across his friend’s face, beginning with perplexity, transforming into shocked understanding, before at last cementing into anger.
“You-you what?” Bingley sputtered, setting his untouched glass of brandy aside. “You lied to me?”
“Not lied, precisely,” Darcy countered with a grimace. “Merely neglected to tell you.”
“A lie by omission is still a falsehood, Darcy,” Bingley countered with no little heat. “I should think that you would be aware of the distinction, given how much you despise disguise of every sort.”
Lowering his head, Darcy conceded, “You are perfectly right. I have no excuse other than my wish to preserve you from further pain. Nevertheless, I acknowledge that it was not my right to do so and that I had no business interfering. You deserved to make your own choice. I am heartily sorry for deceiving you.”
“How did you learn of this? You mentioned that Miss Bennet visited my sisters?”
“Indeed. Miss Bingley approached me asking for advice on what she should do to discourage Miss Bennet, and it was my suggestion that she return the call and make it plain that their acquaintance was at an end. I also insisted that you never be made aware of her presence in town, thinking that you were still too affected by her to make a rational decision. I now realise that it was not my choice to make.”
Bingley cupped his mouth with his hand as he glowered into the middle distance.
“I ought to have known my sisters were part of the scheme. They have always considered me a witless nincompoop, poised to ruin the family at the slightest opportunity. They have no care for my feelings, only their own precious standing in society!”
“One can hardly fault them.” At Bingley’s acidic glare, Darcy quickly added, “They are well aware that their status in the ton is tenuous and that many will always judge them for their origins in trade. It is no crime to wish to elevate themselves, which they never will unless they marry to advantage. Mrs Hurst has done well enough, but if you were to attach yourself to an unknown country maiden—”
“Miss Bennet is the daughter of a gentleman! She is more than my equal—she is my superior in rank.”
“True enough, but who is her mother? Who are her uncles and aunts? Society will not be ignorant of their condition, and thus, she can do nothing to raise you. More likely, she will drag you down, especially if her mother and sisters are ever known in town.”
“I am not so far removed from my own roots that I must disdain hers,” Bingley growled. “Lest you forget, the stench of trade clings to me more strongly than the Bennets.”
“Which is precisely my point,” was Darcy’s stern rejoinder. “You require a gentlewoman untainted by lowborn relations to lift you up.”
“Unlike Caroline, I do not aspire to enter the highest levels of society. I wish to honour my father and mother by becoming a landed gentleman, but I do not aim for a title or-or fusty consequence.” He scraped his hands through his hair and emitted a voluble huff of frustration.
When he had apparently overcome this surge of emotion, he lowered his arms and fixed Darcy with a steady, unflinching gaze.
“I suppose I must thank you for your concern, however high-handed it was, but I want you to listen to me and listen well. My aspirations are simple. I only want to make the name Bingley respectable, provide for my family, and live in comfort and contentment for the rest of my days. Is that so wrong of me?”
Darcy shook his head, contrite. “No, of course not. Every man—and woman, for that matter—ought to be afforded the opportunity to seek his happiness, without reference to those wholly unconnected to the business. It is his inalienable right.” A sigh.
“If you mean to pursue Miss Bennet, you will hear no further objections from me.”
Bingley sat in silence for several seconds, rubbing absently at his chin. “I…I am less concerned about the station of the Bennets than I am Jane’s—um, Miss Bennet’s affection for me. Do you still believe that she was merely humouring her mother when we were together?”
“Given my own missteps, I have no right to advise you. I shall only say that the opinion I offered back in the autumn has not changed. That said”—Darcy swallowed, steeling himself to say what his conscience insisted he must—“I do not proclaim to know Miss Bennet as well as you and, therefore, can have no true understanding of her heart. You must determine its contents for yourself.”
“How shall I know whether she loves me the way I…” Bingley cleared his throat, his gaze sliding away from Darcy’s. “How shall I know?”
“I cannot tell you that, much as I would wish to be of service. On the bright side, with Miss Bennet here in London and away from her mother’s influence, you ought to have a better chance of separating their desires. The lady must speak for herself.”
Bingley perked up, a spark of optimism entering his eyes. “That is true. Perhaps, without so many expectations…” His shoulders sank, defeated. “But how shall I explain my absence? I all but jilted her in November.”
“Tell her that you meant to return but got caught up in your responsibilities here.”
“My responsibilities to my wretched sisters, you mean?” Bingley’s scowl returned. “I do not know how much that will help me, especially given the betrayal Louisa and Caroline have perpetrated against us. What woman would wish to connect herself to a pair of vipers?”
Darcy shrugged. “So long as Miss Bennet could be assured that you have no intentions of letting them interfere again, I do not believe they will hurt your cause overmuch. As for myself, I have sworn off meddling, so there is nothing to fear from me.”
“Good, for I will not tolerate it again. As for my sisters, if they do not make similar amends, I shall make them regret their intrusion upon my affairs. Mark me.” Suddenly drained of his righteous indignation, Bingley sagged in his chair, rubbing a loose fist against his chin, which he sometimes did when unsettled or anxious.
“In the meantime, I shall present myself to Miss Bennet and throw myself upon her mercy. With any luck, she is truly as angelic as she appears and will find it in her heart to forgive me.”
“On that note, I took the liberty of finding her direction.” Darcy reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a folded slip of paper bearing the Cheapside address of their relations.
He had jotted it down for himself in one of his personal notebooks and memorised it besides.
“The uncle’s name is Gardiner, and he runs an import-export business, one that is apparently highly profitable. ”
Taking the paper, Bingley unfolded it and thanked him with reverence.
Clearing his throat, Darcy prepared to ask an undeserved boon of his friend.
If Bingley was to reacquaint himself with Miss Bennet, he meant to do the same with Elizabeth.
Between the advice of his friend and his cousin, he was beginning to entertain the idea that it might not be so wrong to consider her for his wife.
“If I might ask a favour? I should like to come with you when you call upon Miss Bennet.”
Bingley tore his eyes from the Gardiners’ address and fixed Darcy with a quizzical look. “I thought you did not care for the Bennets or their lowborn relations.”
“Yes, well…it was unconscionably rude of me not to take proper leave of them before departing Netherfield, and I should like to make amends, especially if you intend to potentially marry Miss Bennet.” And if I hope to marry Elizabeth.
“Very well, but do not speak of this to either of my sisters. They cannot stop me, but I would prefer to avoid any other stratagems they might wish to employ against me. It is better if I present my renewed acquaintance with Miss Bennet as a done thing.”
“Fair enough.”