Jane had finally managed to suppress her tears when Lizzy walked in. The opened door amplified the sound of Mrs. Bennet's shrieking as her sister smiled sympathetically. And Jane lost herself sobbing once again.

Every woman needs some sort of solitude when coping with heartbreak. Still, there is nothing like the warm embrace of one's sister and best friend to provide comfort in times of distress. So the sisters sat on Jane's bed, one crying and the other whispering soft consolation in her ear.

Neither knew how long they sat there. But when Jane had once again gained control of herself, she untangled herself from Lizzy's arms, sat up, and looked directly into her sister's eyes. "Did they hear?"

"Hear what?"

Jane was sure that Lizzy spoke in sincere ignorance — for had anyone else heard, their mother would have been screeching about it loud enough for all of Hertfordshire to hear and she certainly would have known. But she found she could not withhold this information from her favorite sister, lest she explode from the lonely knowledge. "My… refusal."

"Of marriage?" Elizabeth watched Jane's nod and sat back in surprise, "No. No I didn't."

Both sisters sat in silence, pondering this turn of events and uncertain how to speak of it. Elizabeth was the first to lose patience. "Jane, you love Mr. Bingley. I know you claimed to be over him. You claimed him to be a polite acquaintance, an impartial friend, but I knew you and you love him still. Why did you refuse him?"

"I was going to accept him. I was about to. I had dreamed of today for nearly a year, and it felt like at last everything was coming to fruition. But when the moment came to answer, I remembered all the pain. I remembered how I followed him to London, hoping every morning that he would call and being disappointed every evening. Yes, Lizzy, I love him. And had he not left last November, I would have accepted readily and joyfully. But the pain is still fresh. He chose his cruel sisters over me and did not even ask if I cared before leaving. I do not trust Mr. Bingley and I cannot marry a man I don't trust."

Elizabeth listened thoughtfully to her elder sisters words before giving a sudden laugh. "I seem to be rubbing off on you, dear sister. You have both rejected a wedding proposal and insulted the Bingley sisters. I'm almost proud of you, though I hope the sweet tempered sister I know and love is in there somewhere. Be careful or you might find yourself on long rambles in the country and getting in most impertinent arguments."

Jane, at first baffled by Lizzy's amused tone, soon found herself giggling with her, assuring her that she would soon return to her usual disposition.


When Mr. Darcy's butler announced the arrival of a visitor, the last man that Darcy expected to be shown in was the friend he had left two days earlier. And yet here Bingley stood, tapping his foot impatiently for some reason Darcy could not fathom.

"Good God Bingley, what on Earth has happened to put you in such a state. Is Miss Bennet well?"

"Miss Bennet is well. At least she is now that I am gone," the usually amiable man spat out.

"She did not… refuse you?"

Bingley's silence was all the answer Darcy needed. He sighed, reflecting on his own rejection which Bingley still remained unaware of.

"I'm sorry Bingley. I am sure there is no pain greater than to be rejected by the one you love. Forgive me for asking, but did she say why?"

"I hurt her Darcy," Bingley glared at the floor, before slowly raising the glare to the man in front of him, "Nay, you hurt her. You were the one who told me she didn't care for me. You were the one who returned to London, hindering me from returning to Netherfield. You were the one when upon learning the truth hid it from me from April until now. You kept me from her, and now I have lost my chance with her forever."

Darcy was shocked and did not know how to respond to this new information. Just a day ago, he had left his friend hopeful for his happiness and content that his long past mistakes would, at last, be repaired. Against all odds and reason, Bingley had forgiven him. Apparently, the forgiveness had been conditional. Still, even if it was a day late Darcy had sworn to accept graciously any anger or accusations flung at him by him.

And so, after some reflection, Darcy rose and apologized with all the sincerity his heart could muster. "You're right. It was not my intention to hurt Miss Bennet, but neither did I take her feelings into account as much as I should have. I can only assure you of my deepest regrets for my actions, offer my condolences for your disappointment and pray that in time will be able to find happiness."

He did not mention that he hoped that happiness would be found with Jane Bennet, and exactly how much hope he had that Miss Bennet would accept a future renewal of his proposal. For if the amiable Mr. Bingley who had won the affections of the woman he loved could not win her hand in marriage, what hope did Darcy have of wooing her far more stubborn sister?

"I shouldn't have left," Bingley suddenly said after an extended silence.

"It was my fault. I told her she didn't love you; I pulled you away."

"And I listened. To you, rather than to my heart. I should have asked her. Instead, I was a coward. I fled the county, without a care for the possibility that it could hurt her far more than a short rejection would have hurt me. If I had just spoken to her, like a man, both of us would have been spared so much pain."

Darcy did not know how to respond to his perpetually optimistic friend's self-loathing words. While it was a relief to have the wrath turned away from him, Darcy could not bear to watch Bingley suffer from the same pain that had been his constant accomplice in the months following his proposal. He pulled out a decanter of brandy and poured them both a glass. After they had both sat pondering the turn of events and comforting themselves with the pleasures of alcohol, Darcy made a painful decision.

"It seems like the Bennet sisters have cursed us."

"Whatever do you mean?"

"To love them from afar. Miss Elizabeth rejected my proposal of marriage back in April."

Bingley slammed his cup down and faced Darcy. "Miss Elizabeth? What? Forgive me Darcy, but I never saw a sign of it. Why at Netherfield, you acted so coldly to her, as you did to the entire society! Why I even remember you calling her merely tolerable when we met at that first assembly. When on Earth did feelings arise during all your aloofness?"

Darcy winced at the memory of that long forgotten insult to what he now saw as Elizabeth's exquisite beauty, and for the first time reflected on whether she had heard it from her nearby seat. "Feelings certainly did not arise on her side, that I assure you. Except perhaps those of hate. And you know Bingley, that I am always aloof in strange society — and struggling to hide my feelings for a beautiful and passionate young woman certainly did not help that situation."

Bingley forgot his morose behavior as he began to worry about the friend who, though he was still slightly bitter towards, had been suffering for all these months without comfort or support. "Surely she cannot hate you, Darcy? I saw you two at Pemberley, and she was most kind, to you and your sister. That is certainly not the actions of a woman who despises you."

"She hated me then, of that I am sure. I hope that it no longer remains. I hope that I have gained her trust, or at least raised her opinion of me to that of an impartial acquaintance. I have attended to her reproofs and amended my mistakes to the best of my abilities. But I cannot dare hope for more until I see some assurance of it. I can only aspire to be a man worthy of such a gift."

"Why are you so sure of her hatred? You were not the most friendly of men in Hertfordshire, certainly. But besides a few insensitive remarks, I can think of nothing that would lead to such deep-seated resentment."

Darcy hesitated only a moment before deciding to tell all. "While my behavior last Fall certainly did not help, I will concede that it was not that led to to the fire of fury that she had for me at the time of my proposal. Nor was it helped by the fact that I remained a perfect brute to her, insulting her family, even as I declared my love for her."

Bingley frowned disapprovingly, but his friend simply shook his head and moved on, "George Wickham's lies were perhaps the ones that poisoned her against me first. But what cemented her hatred of me was that I had led you away from Miss Bennet."

"That was where I learned of her affections. And I had hoped, that with your engagement to her sister, I would have at least amended the most major of my faults and that I could depart from her satisfied that my presence would not harm her. But it appears it is too late. I have hurt the Bennet family irrevocably." Darcy laughed bitterly at the ironic situation.

Bingley jumped to his feet with sudden renewed vigor. "That will not do Darcy. While other influences may have been present, the departure to leave Jane was my own. You have sought to learn from your own rejection, and I must do the same. I was not a man worthy of her then. But I must strive to be. I will woo her, and not ask for her hand again until I am certain that I am even half of a man that is deserving of her love.


Thanks to everyone who read this and double thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, or reviewed the last chapter!

I had intended to make this longer but realized this was a nice chapter ending, and the next scene works well as a chapter intro that flows well. So you will have to content yourself with a slightly shorter chapter for now but the next one will be out by Thursday morning if that's any comfort. Let me know if there's anything that I can improve on!