“I arrived this morning. Napoleon made it difficult to extricate myself from France.” Darcy gestured his friend to a seat and poured Bingley a brandy, which he downed with alacrity despite the early hour. Pouring another, Darcy suspected some distress on Bingley’s part.
“So I learned when I visited Georgiana and your aunt last week. I am eager to hear the complete story. ”
“Another time, perhaps.” Darcy set down his glass untasted. “It is long and involved, best suited to a leisurely evening with a glass of port.”
“I look forward to it.” Bingley fell uncharacteristically silent and Darcy again sensed that something was weighing on his friend’s mind, but gave him time to broach the subject on his own.
“I was visiting the Bennets in Hertfordshire last week,” Bingley finally said. Darcy knew what his friend was leading up to.
“How were they?”
“They were good. That is, except – there has been a bit of upset over the youngest sister.”
“Yes, I know about Lydia and Wickham.”
Bingley’s eyes widened in surprise. In retrospect Darcy realized it was scarcely the kind of news he would ordinarily be privy too, especially on his first day back in London. “I learned it from Lydia’s aunt and uncle, the Gardiners, this morning. I offered my assistance in locating Wickham.”
Bingley’s face continued to register astonishment. “That is very good of you. But why in the world were you visiting Lydia’s aunt and uncle? I did not know you were acquainted.”
Darcy traced one finger along the rim of his brandy glass. “I… um…met them in France. They were there on business.”
“Oh, of course! Then you must have seen Miss Elizabeth as well.” Bingley’s open expression demonstrated he did not suspect Darcy’s regard for Jane’s sister.
“I did have that pleasure.” Darcy controlled his expression so it would not betray him.
“Has she returned from France as well? Jane was most concerned about her.”
“Yes, she is recently returned,” Darcy answered carefully.
Bingley frowned in perplexity once more. “But what was so pressing that you needed to call on the Gardiners as soon as you returned from France?”
This was a bit of an impertinent question and Darcy considered saying something about ascertaining that the Gardiners had returned safely from France. But Bingley was one of his best friends and deserved to know the truth – at least some of the truth. “I was not visiting the Gardiners. I was there seeing Miss Elizabeth.”
“Whatever for?” Now Darcy was regretting how circumspect he had been about his affection – even Bingley had no suspicions.
“I am…I have developed…an interest in her…”
“What sort of interest?” Then Darcy saw understanding –and astonishment—dawn on Bingley’s face. “But you thought the Bennets were—”
“Yes, I know. I was wrong – as I mentioned when I apologized for my conduct earlier. It was partly my regard for Eliz—Miss Bennet that showed me how wrong I had been.”
“Oh.” Bingley fell silent as he digested this information, then he sat up straighter. “So you are precisely the person I need to speak with about my circumstances.” Darcy nodded encouragingly as his friend continued. “When the news arrived at Longbourn about Lydia’s elopement, I wanted to be of assistance to the family. But there was deuced little I could do! I could offer Jane comfort, but she was occupied with caring for her mother. I thought my presence was more of a hindrance since Jane felt she needed to entertain me when she had other duties.”
Bingley took a long sip, finishing off his brandy, but Darcy did not offer to pour him another. “Caroline and Louisa were staying with me at Netherfield. They were horrified about Lydia and thought the whole affair demonstrated the Bennets’ bad breeding. They wanted to leave Netherfield and disassociate from the family. I agreed to bring them to London, in part because I thought it would help Jane to remove them from her vicinity. But I would not agree to stop courting Jane. Now, I regret returning to London. Caroline has wasted no time informing everyone she knows about the Bennets’ disgrace. I think she is hoping to shame me into giving Jane up, but nothing could do that!” Bingley made the announcement with uncharacteristic vehemence.
Darcy responded mildly. “Good. I am pleased you will not renounce the attachment over this matter.”
“I explained all of this to Jane before I left, but she may have believed I was only trying to spare her feelings. Her countenance stayed serene, but she is good at hiding her true sentiments – and my history in this regard is not good.” Bingley said with a bitter expression. Darcy winced inwardly; he knew Bingley was not reproaching him, but Darcy experienced regret nonetheless. “What do you think I should do?” Bingley asked.
“Are you certain you want my advice? I have not proven a good advisor in the past.”
“Yes, I am sure. In fact, you are the only person who could truly understand my dilemma. Since you and Miss Elizabeth—”
“Our circumstances are quite different actually.”
Bingley ran his fingers through his hair, appearing about to leap out of the chair with nervous energy. “Yes, yes, I see what you mean. Miss Elizabeth is here, not at Longbourn. But even so, what do you think I should do?”
If only he knew how different their circumstances were! “What do you want to do?” Darcy asked quietly.