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Bingley looked over at Darcy who was watching him intently. “I am uncomfortable with disagreements, as you know. But I must not continue to allow my dislike of conflict to direct my life… and perhaps ruin my happiness.”

The two men sat in silent reflection for some time before Fitzwilliam cleared his throat and spoke quietly; “The evening that we attended the Meryton assembly, I wanted to sprint from the room and hide. Everyone was staring, gossiping about how much I was worth and who my uncles and aunts were.”

Charles opened his mouth but found he could not laugh at his friend’s honest confession. “I hadn’t realized just how uncomfortable you were. Is that why you’re always stalking about, stone-faced, hiding in corners?”

Fitzwilliam nodded slightly, studying his signet ring intently. “I would have been hard pressed to recall a single name or face to whom we were introduced.”

The younger man grunted. “One of them was Miss Elizabeth.”

Darcy groaned and slumped back into the chair, shutting his eyes again. “Oh Lord, yes. You tried to convince me to dance and she heard every word of my conceited, self-important refusal.”

Charles blinked, barely remembering the conversation. “What happened?”

“You had just danced with Miss Bennet and suggested that I dance with her sister. I assumed that you were pointing out Miss Mary who, shall we agree, is not of the same caliber as her elder sisters.”

Bingley nodded; any man with eyes would acknowledge that the middle Bennet daughter was not a great beauty.

Fitzwilliam continued, his tone self-mocking.

“I was… excessively forthright in my opinion, shall we say. Unfortunately, Elizabeth overheard our conversation and correctly understood that you had been recommending herself as a dance partner. Quite logically, she also took my words to be referring to herself, however wide of the mark. Thus was born Miss Elizabeth Bennet’s opinion of my arrogance, my conceit, and my selfish disdain for the feelings of others. ”

Despite his prior knowledge, Charles was stunned. He had understood that Miss Elizabeth disliked Darcy and enjoyed tweaking his nose in debates; that much had been obvious to all but his friend. That she had formed such a strong prejudice and so early in their acquaintance was a shock.

“I’m sorry, Darce. I can’t even imagine. Did you really suspect nothing of her feelings before you proposed?”

Darcy flushed and looked at him sharply. Charles shrugged and explained, “We spoke a great deal yesterday. Or rather, you talked and I listened.” He looked at his friend with a hint of challenge in his eye. “Is it such a bad thing, to share your problems with me?”

Fitzwilliam slumped back into his chair again. “No, of course not… I should appreciate it; I’m just not accustomed to… to…”

“Sharing your troubles?” Charles laughed. “No, I should say not. But it would do you good to practice, for I do not believe that Miss Elizabeth Bennet will stand for having you shut her out!”

Darcy’s eyes popped open. “I must disgust her… she shall never wish to se e my face again! Good God! What was I thinking? Getting myself blind drunk, and with my baby sister in the house of all things! Elizabeth must despise me…”

Charles cut his friend off before he could progress any farther in his self-condemnation. “Relax, Will. She doesn’t despise you—she was… concerned.”

Darcy’s mouth remained hanging open for a moment before he snapped his jaw shut. “Concerned?” he finally ventured.

Bingley rolled his eyes. “After I left you to be tucked into bed by your excellent valet, Miss Elizabeth and I had a bit of a chat.” He couldn’t help but chuckle when Fitzwilliam blanched.

“I laid out the facts as best I understood them and we straightened out a few misunderstandings.”

Suddenly the original reason that had driven him to hide in his rooms for days crashed down on Darcy like a pile of bricks. Before he could say anything, Charles was waving his hand in front of his face.

“Darce? Ho there, Will? Try to focus while I valiantly work to fix your love life.”

When he was sure that at least some of his friend’s attention was back on him, Bingley continued.

“First off, your letter seems to have corrected many of her misconceptions. She has even forgiven you for your actions separating me from her sister, as have I. In fact, she thought that you were aware of that.”

Bingley looked inquiringly at Darcy who nodded slightly although his morose look did not lift.

Charles sighed. “In short, she doesn’t hate you but also she doesn’t feel that she knows you very well.

I believe her exact words were something like ‘the man I thought I knew turns out to have been a figment of my imagination.’ However, she is not at all averse to expanding your acquaintance; quite the opposite, in fact.

It is my humble opinion that you have an excellent shot at making her fall in love with you…

if you can avoid insulting her and her family for an hour or so, that is. ”

Not even this last bit of teasing could quench the happiness spreading through Fitzwilliam. There was one last thorn still worrying him, however. “But, I heard her aunt and uncle talking… speaking of…” He trailed off.

Bingley chuckled, exceedingly pleased to be of use to his friend for once.

“Ah yes, your latest bit of ill-placed eavesdropping. You and Miss Elizabeth both have quite a talent for that.” He grinned.

“I explained what you had heard to Miss Elizabeth as best I could. You were rather expansive in your story yesterday; I took the liberty of presenting her with a summarized version only.”

Charles was amused to see his usually stoic friend positively cringe. “I explained that you had overheard her relations saying that she had been uncomfortable in Kent after refusing a proposal and that Mrs. Bennet was quite upset about it.”

Darcy groaned and Bingley couldn’t help but be amused by the normally imperturbable man’s discomfort.

“At first, Miss Elizabeth was confused; apparently only her sister and father were aware of your proposal.” Darcy’s eyes popped open; relieved but also discomfited by the new thought that Mr. Bennet knew of his unfortunate addresses to that gentleman’s favorite daughter.

“But after further discussion, she realized that it was not your proposal to which the Gardiners were referring.”

Darcy shook his head, trying to understand. “But they said that she must have been very uncomfortable staying at Hunsford. And that her mother was upset that she had turned down an eligible offer.”

Bingley smirked. “They were referring to Mr. Collins.” He sat back and watched the impact of his words.

Fitzwilliam still didn’t quite understand. “My aunt’s curate?”

Charles bounced slightly in his chair. “Mr. William Collins, Miss Elizabeth’s cousin and Mr. Bennet’s heir.” He paused but added another bit of explanation when Darcy remained silent. “The inheritor of their father’s estate would have been a most eligible match for any of the Miss Bennets.”

Will gaped with astonishment and Charles couldn’t help bouncing in his seat again, his face wreathed in smiles.

“Apparently your aunt sent her parson into Hertfordshire with the explicit goal of choosing a wife from among his cousins. When Miss Elizabeth declined his kind offer, Mr. Collins promptly turned his attentions toward her good friend and neighbor, Miss Lucas, who accepted him in short order.”

Darcy burst to his feet and stormed to the fireplace and from there to the window, digesting this new information. “That… that… toad! That groveling, sniveling, ridiculous creature dared ask for Elizabeth’s hand in marriage?!?”

Charles was having a most amusing day. “Oh yes, indeed; he most certainly did. And from what I gathered, Mrs. Bennet was all for the match—it would have secured her own future, after all.”

When Fitzwilliam glared at him, Bingley shrugged.

“With five unmarried daughters and the estate entailed away, she is in a precarious position. I discussed it with Mr. Bennet one evening after supper. Apparently there’s some bad blood between the families and Mrs. Bennet knows better than to trust Collins for any benevolence toward her and her daughters, should her husband pass. ”

His friend’s words floated across Fitzwilliam’s consciousness but most of his mind was focused on sorting out his previous misunderstandings.

“So Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner were discussing how uncomfortable Elizabeth had been, living in the parsonage with her rejected suitor- cum -cousin and that man’s new wife, her childhood friend. ”

“As I said.”

Darcy’s voice gained force as his understanding grew. “And her mother’s fretting over Mr. Collins made it insufferable for Elizabeth to remain at Longbourn. By God, I still can’t believe that she was forced to endure a proposal from that… that imbecile! It must have been completely intolerable!”

Fitzwilliam caught sight of his friend’s amused face and suddenly all his fury dissolved and he dropped back into his chair. “And yet, I was the last man in the world whom she could ever have been prevailed on to marry.”

Charles’ face grew compassionate. “She actually said that? You mentioned it yesterday but I’d hoped it was just the brandy.”

Darcy tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling. “Oh, she said it, all right. My pretty little speech made her so angry that she was well beyond polite prevarication when I demanded an explanation for her rejection. My mind has been repeating her words for a month now, day and night it seems.”

Not wanting his friend to slide back into melancholy, Bingley spoke up brightly. “Well! The number of misunderstanding that has arisen between the two of you is astonishing, but let us focus on how best to heal the breach. It should take very little, I believe.”