“You tried to kiss Jane’s sister? When was she on Air Force One?” Bing’s voice rose higher and higher.
“We gave her a ride back from the Paris summit,” Fitz explained. “Apparently, Mr. Suave here had been nursing a crush for a while.”
“Not a crush,” Darcy mumbled. “I’m not a fifteen-year-old girl.”
“I stand corrected.” Fitz’s voice was tinged with amusement. “Darcy had been nursing a grand passion for Ms. Bennet. He kissed her and said he wanted to date her.”
“And she turned you down?” Bing said incredulously.
“Ran screaming from the room,” Fitz chuckled.
“No screaming,” Darcy corrected.
“But there was running?” Bing asked.
“There was running,” Fitz confirmed.
“It was more of a fast walk,” Darcy said.
“Oh God.” Bing massaged his forehead. “Does Hilliard know?”
“Yeah,” Fitz said. “Elizabeth promised she wouldn’t go to the press. And it’s been around a month since it happened. We’re probably in the clear.”
Darcy shook his head but stopped when the brain sloshing resumed. “I really liked her and wanted to take her on a proper date.”
“What happened?” Bing inquired.
Darcy sighed. “According to her, I insulted her family, ridiculed her, cheated Wickham out of his inheritance, and was overall proud and difficult.”
Bing gave a low whistle. “With mad skills like those, it’s amazing you’re still single.”
“I didn’t…I mean, I thought…” He cleared his throat. “In retrospect, I can see that I made…some mistakes.” Fitz didn’t bother to hide his smirk. “I just wish I could apologize.” He didn’t say anything about the letter. Who knows if she’d even read it—and Bing would be apoplectic worrying she might take it to the media.
“That would be good.”
Darcy snorted. “Yeah, but how? I can’t exactly land Marine One on her lawn.”
“There’s this newfangled thing called the telephone. I’ve heard it’s very effective,” Fitz said.
“I don’t have her number.” Darcy gulped some more coffee.
“If only you had a network of intelligence agencies full of highly trained operatives who could sniff out even the most publicly available information….”
“Yeah, that’s not overkill at all.” Fitz opened his mouth to retort, but Darcy cut him off. “She’d probably hang up on me if I called. And what would be the point anyway? I’ve shot any chance I had with her.”
“You don’t know that,” Bing said.
“Oh?” Darcy raised an eyebrow at his friend. “You want to call Jane while I call Elizabeth?”
Bing’s shoulders slumped. “Point taken.”
“Elizabeth hates me.”
“I’m sure that’s not true,” Bing said.
“She told me she never wanted to see him again,” Fitz volunteered.
Bing glared at the other man. “You’re not helping.”