Knowing his sister and Fitz would be wondering if he was able to repair things with Elizabeth, Darcy had sent a brief note to Georgiana.
“I was. All is well. All is excellent. Elizabeth and I are courting,” he said, unable to hide his satisfaction.
“Oh, William, that is wonderful news!” She hugged him tightly, then pulled him to sit down on the couch beside her. “I know you must be relieved things went so well.”
Darcy blew out a breath. “Yes, relieved and thankful. I invited her to come spend the day with us tomorrow.”
“I am so glad you did! It will be delightful to have Elizabeth here! When will you introduce her to the rest of our family?”
“Soon. Perhaps while she is here, we can introduce her at Matlock House or they can come here." He paused. "However, I would like to keep this from Aunt Catherine for as long as possible.”
“Yes, of course," Georgiana quickly agreed. "But William, what should I do about Caroline Bingley? After the way she treated Elizabeth, I want nothing further to do with her. She behaved horribly, but she still had the nerve to call here today.”
“Did you receive her?” Darcy asked.
“No, I did not.”
“Miss Bingley will soon know that she is no longer welcome here,” Darcy explained. “I am expecting Bingley at any moment.We have several things to discuss, including his sister’s vile behavior yesterday. He will be sure to make her understand that she will be risking public humiliation should she seek you out. Since Miss Bingley is so concerned with her social status, hopefully this will be a sufficient deterrent.”
“Yes, hopefully!”
Darcy rose from his seat. He told his sister he would see her at dinner, then went to his study.
He sat down at his desk and decided to send a note to Matlock House, informing his aunt of his intention to call later that evening. Darcy had just finished sealing the note when Brandon came to inform him that Bingley had arrived. He asked him to send Bingley in and to have the note delivered.
Darcy stood and walked to the window, looking out at the comings and goings in Grosvenor Square. Bingley entered and closed the door.
“Bingley, thank you for coming.”
“Not at all, Darcy. I am glad for the opportunity to speak of what occurred yesterday.”
“Would you like a drink?” Darcy asked.
“Yes, thank you.”
Darcy poured them each a glass of port. They both sat and took a drink.
“Darcy, I apologize again for my sister’s terrible behavior. I hope Miss Elizabeth was not too upset by it.”
“She was most certainly offended, but not overly upset.”
“That is good. Frankly, I was surprised Caroline restrained so much of her venom. She has been in a particularly foul mood since witnessing your attentions to Miss Elizabeth at the ball. Then, after seeing you together yesterday, she practically lost her mind!” Bingley closed his eyes for a moment and rubbed his forehead. “Darcy, not that my sister has any say in whom you show attention, but you did caution me against showing toomuch attention to Miss Bennet, did you not? Yet, you and your cousin have been showing quite a bit of attention to her and Miss Elizabeth. Does that same caution not apply to you and Fitzwilliam as well?”
“Of course it does. But Bingley, if you will recall, I did not caution you about merely showing her attention—I warned you about doing so to the point of singling her out and raising her expectations. I knew you admired her, but it would have been cruel for you to give her the impression that you had serious intentions towards her when, in fact, you were conflicted.”
Bingley looked away briefly, then looked again at Darcy. “You are right, of course. I would have likely hurt her, though it was the last thing I wanted to do. Still, you cannot tell me you and Fitzwilliam have serious intentions,” Bingley said, looking away in frustration.
“That is where you are wrong, and that is one reason why I asked you here today.”
Bingley frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Miss Elizabeth and I are courting,” Darcy said.
“Courting?” Bingley questioned, his eyes wide in obvious surprise.
“Yes,” Darcy said with a nod. “From the moment we first met, I was drawn to her. I did not mention my growing feelings while we were in Hertfordshire because I knew you were wishing you had the freedom to pursue her sister. It was clear you were struggling with the decision to put your family’s wants over your own. I did not wish to make you feel worse by telling you of my plans.”
Bingley appeared to absorb this information, then asked, “How long have you been courting her?”
