Page 177 of A Question of Character

Bingley rested one shoulder against the mantel.

“You still cannot reconcile Wickham with the fellow everyone here describes.”

“No.”

“You trust Elizabeth.”

“Entirely.”

“But not her judgment.”

Darcy closed the book he had been pretending to examine.

“I trust her judgment in nearly everything.”

“Nearly?”

“This concerns my family.”

Bingley accepted that.

After a moment he asked, “Have you spoken with Wickham since that day at Longbourn?”

“No.”

“You intended to.”

“I know.”

The admission tasted unpleasant.

“I have delayed.”

“Why?”

Darcy considered the question longer than perhaps it deserved.

“I told myself there was no purpose in it.”

“And now?”

“I begin to suspect the purpose was one I wished to avoid.”

Bingley studied him thoughtfully.

“You fear he might persuade you?”

“No.”

Darcy answered too quickly.

Bingley’s brows lifted.

Darcy exhaled.

“I fear that I might discover either that Elizabeth is wrong... or that I am.”

The words hung between them.