“My apologies. Pray, continue.”
Jane stared at him, then stepped closer to ensure he understood the message.
“What you did wasawful. It was despicable, and you should know I suffered considerably for it. Have you any idea what it is like for a woman to be scorned by idle gossip among the people she has known all her life? Do you have any notion of how vile the words in your sister’s letter were? I went to London for four months just to escape it, and I would probably still be affected had I not met Anne and Fitzwilliam by chance.”
“You were in London for four months?” Bingley asked, panic edging his voice.
“I was. I called on your sisters in January. They waited three weeks and made a call that was as close to a direct cut as slapping me in the face publicly.”
Darcy gasped. “My apologies, Jane. I did not know about that.”
“Break the habit of apologising for other people, Fitzwilliam Darcy. You make enough of your own blunders; focus on them.”
Of course, she said it with a small quirk of her mouth that Darcy would know meant she teased, but Bingley would not, and she thought that a fine thing. She would have been happy to marry Mr Bingley the previous autumn, when he was not even as astute about women as Mr Darcy; but now, she considered it a narrow escape. Oddly enough, the reformed Mr Darcy had shown her how a man should act, and her standards for manly behaviour had been considerably elevated.
Jane turned back to Bingley, just to get it over with. “You offered reparations. Are you serious?”
“Of course.”
Somewhat put out by the answer's flippancy, she leaned closer and snarled, “Do not answer so glibly. My reparations will either make or break you, so do not agree in advance.”
Bingley looked frightened, which was exactly what Jane wanted.
“If you wish to make reparations sufficient to have an ongoing acquaintance of any kind with myself or my sisters, I have three conditions.”
Darcy muttered,‘Oh boy, here it comes,’under his breath.
Bingley said, “Name your conditions.”
Jane saw he still harboured some hope, thin as it was so it was time to kill it.
“Very well Mr Bingley, here are my three reparations:
“First: Admit your fault and learn from it. You act like an overgrown boy, so start acting like a man.
“Second: You are not allowed to court anyone named Bennet—ever. We are indifferent acquaintances at best.
“Third:Do what you must to rein in your pernicious sisters before they destroy the rest of your life.”
With that, Jane turned and walked away, quite satisfied with the interaction.
As Jane walked out the door, Darcy turned with a lopsided grin. “Well, Bingley, we share something.”
“Which is?”
“We have both been exposed to what I call the ‘Jane Bennet Big Three.’ Take my word for it, you do not want another.”
Bingley laughed sheepishly. “No, one of those was enough for me.”
“I owe you an apology. I have treated you like a younger brother for too long, and it is time to stand on your own feet. The only way to improve your lot is to follow her advice. She is practically a genius, you know.”
Bingley nodded and sheepishly agreed. “All hope is lost, I presume.”
“Yes, you burned that bridge, my friend. But do not despair. There are other women, and you will find one that suits you sooner or later. You have time, but here is my very last piece of advice. Payparticularattention to number three, or your sisters will henpeck you the rest of your life.”
“But how do I,” then he stopped and laughed. “Well, that is how I got into trouble in the first place. Any other advice?”
“Netherfield is your estate for eight months. It is your responsibility. Jane has been seeing to your tenants, but—”
