Chapter VI #2
“In that, you are correct, my friend,” agreed Darcy. “The subject arose when Miss Elizabeth discovered my affection for her.”
“You admire Miss Elizabeth?” demanded Bingley, incredulous and growing a little angry.
“Yes, Bingley, I must confess that I do.”
“Then do you accept my interest in Miss Bennet now because to do otherwise would be hypocritical?”
“No, Bingley,” Darcy said firmly. “I spoke against your pursuit of Miss Bennet for the reasons I have stated. The only reason I am speaking now is that I have learned that I was mistaken about her.”
While Bingley peered at him for a long moment, in the end he answered with a curt nod. Then Bingley returned to the window and gazed outside, pondering what Darcy had just told him. When he turned around again, he had regained his composure.
“Part of me wishes to be angry with you, Darcy,” said Bingley. “Yet I remember it as well as you do—Caroline carried the primary argument against Miss Bennet, while your concern was always for the state of her affections. Though I wish you had told me this earlier, I am grateful you did so now.”
“I could do nothing less,” replied Darcy.
Bingley offered a brief nod. “Tell me, Darcy—is there more to this story? I noticed you took great care to speak of your own role in this, but you have avoided any mention of my sisters.”
“That is because I do not wish to cast aspersions or speculate about their motivations,” replied Darcy. “But I have no compunction about telling you what I know—though it is less than you might wish.”
“I do wish it,” said Bingley. “Since I know that getting Caroline to tell me is an exercise in futility, any additional information you can give me would assist when I must confront them.”
“Very well,” said Darcy. “Of the details, I know but little. Miss Bingley has made some mention of exchanging letters with Miss Bennet, but the contents of those missives are a mystery to me. What I can tell you is that Miss Bennet was in London for some weeks.”
Bingley gasped. “Miss Bennet was in London?”
“As I understand it,” replied Darcy, “she returned to London with the Gardiners after Christmastide and remained there until the spring.”
“And when did you learn this?”
“Some weeks later,” replied Darcy. He smiled and added: “If you recall, I spent little time with you during the season, and saw your sister only a few times.”
Bingley’s grin was not at all pleasant—it looked more like a shark. “How could I forget? Caroline spent months lamenting the distance between us. Though you said nothing on the subject, I suspected two months living in the same house as Caroline cured you of any desire for her company.”
Darcy met his expression evenly. “I shall not say you are incorrect, my friend, though I would not impugn your sister.”
“Then Miss Bennet visited my sisters?” asked Bingley.
That was the crux of the matter.
“She did,” said Darcy.
“And Caroline received her?”
“Yes, though she claimed a prior engagement—Miss Bennet left soon after, or so I believe.”
“Caroline said nothing of this,” said Bingley, appearing angry. “No doubt she forced Miss Bennet to leave early, then either refused to return the visit or made it clear that she had no further interest in friendship.”
“The latter, I suspect,” replied Darcy, “though Miss Bingley only said what I have told you.”
Bingley snorted with disdain. “I know my sister, Darcy—I know exactly how she handled Miss Bennet’s visit. But that is not a matter that concerns you; I shall take the subject up with my sisters at the first opportunity.”
It was several moments before Bingley spoke again. For some time, he stood by the window, though Darcy was certain that he saw nothing outside.
“To own the truth,” said Bingley at last, “I am uncertain what I should do with this intelligence.”
“Because of the time and distance from the event.”
“Yes,” said Bingley, not turning around. “Or that is a part of it. Another matter that concerns me is how I suspect Caroline acted toward Miss Bennet. Can she have offended Miss Bennet so much that she has no wish to receive me?”
“That I cannot say,” replied Darcy.
“Yet Miss Elizabeth suggested otherwise.”
Darcy shrugged, though his friend could not see it. “She did, though she was careful not to speak for her sister. However, I would have you remember one important point.”
Bingley turned and waited for Darcy to clarify.
“I always observed that Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth were the closest of sisters—if there is anyone alive who understands Miss Bennet, it is her younger sister.”
For a moment, Bingley considered this, then he gave a slow nod. “Yes, your logic is sound.”
When Bingley sat in an attitude of deep thought, Darcy left him to ponder the situation, which Bingley did for several moments. Then he sighed and turned again to Darcy.
“Perhaps I should be angry with you for keeping this from me, but I find that I cannot. As you said yourself, you learned of Miss Bennet’s visit after the fact. Of more importance, I find myself in your debt for telling me now.”
“What do you mean to do about it?” asked Darcy.
“At present, there appears to be little I can do,” replied Bingley with a grimace. “Miss Bennet is in the south, and I am in the north, and when we leave Pemberley, we are to go to York and visit our family.”
“Then it will be at least another two months,” said Darcy.
“It will,” agreed Bingley. “When Miss Elizabeth comes tonight, I shall speak with her and discover whatever I can. Depending on what she tells me, a visit to Netherfield in the autumn might be in order.”
“It might be at that,” agreed Darcy.
Bingley fixed him with a speculative look. “The question is what you mean to do about Miss Elizabeth.”
Though laughter hovered on the tip of his tongue, Darcy held it in. “It is yet too early for such a determination.”
“Oh, aye,” said Bingley, showing his usual grin. “As I recall, you and Miss Bennet were only cordial in Hertfordshire, and I cannot imagine that three weeks in Kent did much to alter that.”
Bingley was more correct than he knew, but Darcy would not say as much.
Now that he had her assurance in hand that she was not averse to coming to know him better, the situation had improved a vast deal.
That did not make an engagement imminent, but it gave him more hope than he had when he had met her in Pemberley’s gardens.
“There is nothing to be done right now,” said Darcy at length. “For so long as she is in the neighborhood, I mean to show her every civility in my power. That will not be long, of course. When I am at liberty to do so, I shall divine some means to put myself in her company again.”
“Perhaps she may accompany the Gardiners back to London,” suggested Bingley.
Darcy acknowledged the point with a nod. “That is possible.”
“If she should return to Hertfordshire,” said Bingley, “you will need a place to stay and conduct your wooing. If you wish, I can put Netherfield at your disposal.”
Though unsurprised by his friend’s generosity, Darcy had not expected this much. “Thank you, Bingley,” said he. “I may just accept your kind offer.”
“Not at all,” said Bingley, a mischievous grin lighting his face. “In allowing you to stay at Netherfield, I am serving my self-interest too. After all, if you are in Hertfordshire, you may speak of me in glowing terms to Miss Bennet.”
Darcy did not even try to suppress his laughter this time, and his friend joined him in mirth. “I have no notion if anything I say would assist you, but I am happy to offer my services. What do you suppose your sisters will say about your intention to return to Netherfield?”
“Their opinion does not concern me,” replied Bingley. “They can accept it with good grace, or they can keep their distance. Caroline has already persuaded me against my desires once—I shall not allow her to do it again.”
Bingley rose. “Now, if you will excuse me, Darcy, I believe that a conversation with my sisters is long overdue.”
As he watched his friend leave the room, Darcy reflected that the confession could not have gone much better had he scripted it in advance.
Though he knew both his friend and Miss Bennet had suffered in the intervening months, Darcy now suspected some good would come of it.
If nothing else, Bingley’s growth as a man, his intention to assert his authority in the face of his sisters’ blatant manipulation could not go amiss.