Page 75 of A Prudent Engagement

He paced the library for twenty minutes and then went out onto the street and took a long circling walk of an hour’s duration.

When he returned home, there was a note from Bingley suggesting that they meet at their club.

Upon his arrival at Whites’s, he found that not only was his friend in the slightly stuffy room but that Colonel Fitzwilliam was also present, playing billiards with Bingley.

Bingley exclaimed upon seeing him, “Jove, Darcy, engaged to Miss Elizabeth Bennet! I can scarcely believe that you did not tell me. And, pray tell, why did you stay at the inn in Meryton when my own house is only three miles from her estate? Upon my honour, I dare say that I am rather on the way to being a little offended.”

“You are right to be offended,” Darcy replied. “I formed the resolution to not inform you due to a mistaken notion. It was a mistake of a serious sort. And I must beg for your forgiveness.”

Bingley blinked at Darcy. “You are admitting to a mistake?”

“I have made many.”

“That,” Colonel Fitzwilliam said, “is certainly true—you look far more dour than I had expected. Honestly, I had not thought to see you until your wedded bliss had been long established. Did you have an argument with the lovely Miss Elizabeth? By Zeus, you did!” The colonel turned to Bingley. “You have seen her. You know how lovely she is—and charming. But it was always clear to me Miss Elizabeth has a temper.”

“Yes, perhaps that is why…I always found her elder sister to be her superior.” Bingley sighed.

“I saw her sister once, and she is a beauty of such a sort as is rarely met with,” Colonel Fitzwilliam replied.

“An angel—I have never seen another such woman.”

“You sound half like you were in love with her,” the colonel replied.

“I was, but she did not love me,” Bingley said. He tilted his head towards Darcy. “Your cousin prevented me from making my own great mistake. I nearly imposed upon her by making a presumptuous offer for her hand. Darcy, I am only happy that you have found the happiness and warmth of love, for I know how precious it can be.”

“Ah,” Darcy began, glancing at his cousin, whose eyes had gone a little wide. “Bingley, do you still feel affection for Miss Bennet?”

“Perhaps… I hardly know. I wish to forget her, but her face comes to mind at times—odd times. Often when I lie abed before sleep. Or a week or two ago, when walking in the city, I fancied that I saw her, but in the rush of the crowd, I could not reach the young lady, and she was then gone, and I told myself that I must have been in error. But it does not matter, for she could not love me. You explained that clearly.”

Colonel Fitzwilliam coughed with something like embarrassment. “Darcy, was Mr. Bingley in fact the friend and Miss Elizabeth’s sister the woman whom you spoke of separating last autumn, on account of there having been ‘grievous objections to her family’?”

Darcy flushed. He looked to see whether Bingley was offended by hearing that he had talked a little about his business with his cousin.

However, Bingley laughed, but a little mournfully. “Darcy mentioned all of that. The mother was vulgar. The sisters were wild. They were all poor. The connections were not worth speaking of—but it was only knowing that she did not love me that made me drop my suit. Darcy had observed Miss Bennet—she is always Jane in my heart—most closely, and he detected no sign of the affection that my eager hopes made me imagine.”

“And you believed him? Ah, also, Darcy, I nearly mentioned this matter to Miss Elizabeth. Right before she received the news of her father’s death. I can only imagine it would have left her a little offended. Good luck and all that we were interrupted, though of course it would have been better, we can all agree, if it had been a happy interruption.”

“Good God!” Darcy exclaimed, feeling pale at the thought, even though he had already parted from Elizabeth. “Why would you have told Elizabeth that I separated her sister from Bingley?”

Bingley laughed at hearing Darcy’s aghast tone.

“I did not know that it was her sister.”

“You should have said nothing about the matter at all. It was private.”

“Ah, well, it was only that I was concerned that she did not like you as much as you liked her. I thought I would say something to give her reason to think better of you. You really are an excellent friend.” Then the colonel paused. He shrugged. “Or perhaps I merely like gossiping. Soldiers, you know, like old women with nothing to do.”

Darcy glared.

Bingley grinned. “But, Darcy, what did you wish to talk to me about? What could drag you from the lovely smiles of Miss Elizabeth to London? May I hope that you now wish to stay at Netherfield? I shall come with you for a few weeks. After all these months, I can surely safely look at Miss Bennet without throwing myself on the ground before her. I might even dare to speak to her once or twice.”

Darcy groaned. “Bingley, I made a mistake. I can assure you that I have no notion of what a woman is thinking unless she directly tells me.”

Colonel Fitzwilliam had a delighted look that deeply annoyed Darcy. “You did have an argument with Miss Elizabeth.”

Refusing to acknowledge his cousin, Darcy said seriously to Bingley, “If you still have any affection for Miss Bennet, I advise that you return to the neighbourhood and make an effort to judge her sentiments for yourself without any reference to anything I said on the matter.”

Bingley blinked at that.