Page 133 of A Question of Character

Instead she looked genuinely saddened.

“That is not the case.”

“It appears so.”

“No.”

She stepped nearer.

“I trust you.”

“Do you?”

“Yes.”

“Then why—”

“Because my judgment has never failed me.”

The confidence in her words halted him.

She continued.

“I have observed people since I was a girl. I have been mistaken in little things, perhaps, but never in character.”

“You believe yourself incapable of error?”

“No.”

“I believe experience deserves consideration.”

She gestured gently toward Longbourn.

“My father.”

“My mother.”

“Jane.”

“My uncle.”

“My aunt.”

“Lydia.”

“We have all known Mr. Wickham.”

She met his eyes.

“Our experience has been wholly different from yours.”

Darcy folded his arms.

“You say you have not seen him in how many years?”

“Three.”

“Since he relinquished the living?”