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“As I told you,” he said with no little impatience to be having the same discussion again, “as he stands to gain more than twenty thousand, he will not touch me. Especially when I propose that he have that scar faced Withers stay with me until we have the money in hand.”

“Sorry, George, I cannot help but worry. I love you, and if anyone ever took you away from me, I would not rest until I took a loved one of theirs from them!” When Wickham saw the look of determination on Mrs. Younge’s face, he believed that she was completely serious.

She was not a woman one wanted to cross in the wrong way, especially with that cutthroat brother of hers that was the leader of a band of smugglers somewhere in Cornwall.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

Bingley signalled to Caroline that he wanted to talk to her, so she politely excused herself and met him in the hall where she saw Mr. Graham Phillips waiting as well.

She could not say that she had fallen in love with him yet, but she had never enjoyed the company of a man that was not a family member the way that she did with Graham.

Each time that he approached her she felt a flutter and a fission that was not unpleasant.

Could that which she dreamed of for some weeks now be happening? She hoped so.

Her anticipation and excitement increased when Charles asked her if she was willing to have a private interview with Mister Phillips.

She did not trust herself to speak, so all she did was nod very adamantly.

Bingley told them that he would allow ten minutes in the study, and that the door had to remain semi-open.

Graham indicated that Miss Bingley should sit, and once she did, he pulled his armchair close to her.

“Miss Bingley, Caroline, if I may call you thus,” she nodded her agreement, “from the first day that we met I have felt an attraction to you.

I hold you in very tender regard and there has never been one before you that I have ever felt as attracted to as I feel with you.

I will not dissemble and tell you that my feelings are deeper than they are at this point.

I am not yet in love with you; however, I can honestly say that I am moving in that direction.

So more than anything, if you agree, I would like to court you so we can get to know each other better.

If, as I suspect, that you are not indifferent to me, a courtship will allow us the time to find out how well we suit and the depth of our feelings.

I expect the courtship to end in the natural conclusion, unless you decide that I am not the man for you.

“Your selfless nature, the way I have noticed you treat the servants with respect and kindness even when you think no one is observing you, have only increased my tender feelings for you.

Lizzy accepted you as a friend far faster that I have seen her do before; that says a lot for your character. In short, I see only pros, no cons.

“That Caroline, was my long-winded barrister way of asking you if I may court you.” As he looked into her eyes, he could see joy reflected at him, a particularly good sign indeed.

“Mr. Phillips, Graham, there is nothing that I would like more than to accept your offer of a courtship, but…” Graham’s stomach fell, was she about to refuse him?

“I must tell you of my past, of who and what I used to be. When I was younger…” Caroline did not want any secrets between them, so she shared all with him.

She wanted him to know all and then if he still wanted to make his request, she would know that it was done with his eyes open.

She informed him how she used to look down on others who were in fact above her, her social climbing and fortune hunting days, and how it had all ended with her visit to Pemberley and Lady Anne Darcy taking the time to mentor her.

Once she was done, Graham visibly relaxed.

She was not rejecting him; she felt that he needed to know of her past and she was giving him an honourable way out in case he chose it before any courtship was made public.

“Caroline, there is nothing you have shared with me that changes anything. Do you think that you are the first person who has erred? I care not about who you were , only who you are today! What you told me only makes you more estimable in my opinion. The ability to acknowledge our own foibles and then correct them is not a trait that all have, and I respect you even more than I did before. Unless you have a good reason to deny my request, I would very much like to court you, Miss Caroline Bingley.”

“In that case,” the lady responded as tears of joy fell from her eyes shining with tears, joy, and relief, “I would like nothing more than to be courted by you Graham.” He took her ungloved hands in his and bestowed light kisses on each of her inside wrists.

Both would have liked to kiss, but they did not know how long they had used of the allotted ten minutes and Graham did not want to rush her.

It was good that they waited as they heard Bingley clear his throat as he entered his study.

“Well?” he asked.

“Oh, Charles, I am so happy,” his younger sister gushed before Phillips had a chance to formally request consent for the courtship.

“I take it that Phillips requested a courtship, and you accepted Caroline?” Bingley smiled at the happiness radiating from his sister.

“Yes, he did, and I did. I am so happy; oh, I do not deserve to be so happy! Why cannot everyone be so happy?” the normally sensible lady babbled.

“In that case, you both have my heart-felt consent.” Bingley chuckled. “Let us hope that we all find that happiness you want us to find, dearest sister.”

“I thank you for permission to win the heart of your sister, Bingley, and I hope that we will be brothers with both of us being granted our heart’s desire.” Phillips winked at his friend.

“You will need some patience, Charles. Franny told me that her father has decreed that she will have three months of the season at the very least before any possible suitor,” she looked directly at her brother, “declares himself.”

“That is news that Phillips imparted to me already, but thank you, Caroline. Let us go inform the rest of our guests. Phillips, will you ask the three in the billiard room to join us please?” Bingley was keen to return to the drawing room.

Although he had heard about Franny’s father’s decision regarding anyone declaring himself, he was resolved to request a meeting with the man on the morrow at Longbourn.

Miss Francine Phillips was not the prototypical lady that Bingley had fallen in love in the past. Ladies Jane and Marie were the exact physical types with whom he would have fallen in love with and called ‘his angel’ before he had matured in the last year or so.

He had fallen in love with alacrity, and out of the state just as fast several times since he finished Cambridge.

Once he started to mature and become a much more resolute man who thought before he acted, he realized all had been infatuation, not love.

Additionally, he was now aware that physical attributes were no indicator of character and compatibility.

Franny was a very pretty, young woman, and that was the last thing that Bingley had noticed.

He was attracted to her sense of fairness, character, and intelligence before he took an in depth note of her physical beauty.

In short, the lady that he was losing his heart to was pretty on the outside and even more so on the inside.

The way that he felt about Franny Phillips was incomparable to his past infatuations.

For all those in his past it had been quite easy to persuade himself that he was not in love with any of them as soon as he was not in their presence, but he knew that there was no living being that would be able to separate him from Franny.

Charles Bingley was in love, deep, irrevocable, romantic love for the first, and last, time in his life.

Once everyone returned to the drawing room, Bingley asked everyone to charge their glasses with the champagne that the butler distributed and drink a toast to the courting couple.

There were many wishes for future felicity, hugs for Caroline from the ladies, and back slapping from the men for Graham; And for those watching for it, it was hard to miss the look of longing that passed between Franny Phillips and Charles Bingley.