Miss Bingley quit the room with all the dignity she could command. It might have been observed that her composure had suffered more in the loss of influence than she would ever have allowed in the loss of argument.
Charles and Darcy looked at one another.
For a moment, neither spoke.
“Charles, did you bring with you the things I had asked for?”
“Yes, the whole lot is in a basket. At least now I understand why.”
Darcy took out some coins.
“You do not have to pay for them.”
“I think I must. It has to come from me.”
***
After Bingley had refreshed himself, the two gentlemen withdrew to the billiard room. The best thing to do on a rainy day. The fire had been newly stirred, and the quiet of the place, removed from the agitation of the drawing-room, offered a welcome contrast.
Bingley took up a cue, though without much intention of using it.
“Well,” he said, attempting lightness, “this has been a most extraordinary return.”
Darcy did not immediately answer. He stood for a moment, as though considering how best to begin. “There is something,” he said at last, “which I think you ought to know.”
Bingley looked at him at once. “Something more?”
“Yes.” He paused briefly. “Your sister has written to Miss Bennet.”
The cue slipped slightly in Bingley’s hand. “Written… to Jane?”
Darcy inclined his head.
Bingley stared at him. “On what subject?”
Darcy’s voice remained even. “To persuade her that you would not return this winter.”
Bingley’s expression changed.
“She told her so?”
“She implied as much.”
A silence followed.
“And more,” Darcy continued. “She spoke of your pleasure in remaining in town… of your eagerness to renew your acquaintance with my sister.”
Bingley’s brows drew together. “With Georgiana?”
“Yes.”
He added, after a slight pause, “She suggested that your friends would view such an attachment with particular satisfaction.”
Bingley set the cue aside. “I do not understand how she could suppose… I hope you know this is not true.”
“I know. Only she did not suppose,” Darcy said quietly. “She intended to direct.”
That struck home. Bingley began to pace. “This is-this is not to be borne,” he said at last. “To interfere in such a manner… without my knowledge…”
