Miss Bingley was most grievously put out. She had rushed her London visit and appeared at Netherfield the very day after being told of Mr. Darcy's presence there, only to be told that neither her brother nor his worthier companion were at home. They were, the housekeeper believed, visiting the Miss Bennets, as Mr. Bingley was anxious to see his betrothed.

Dismayed indeed was Miss Bingley when she heard that Charles was engaged- to think he had kept it from her, the deceitful man! It never occurred to her that Mr. Bingley had been preparing to surprise her when she arrived next week, in fact it appeared clear to Miss Bingley that he had actively sought to keep her ignorant.

Well, her mission was obvious. It was too late to save Charles, but Fitzwilliam (as she had allowed herself to call him in the privacy of her mind, after all, they were soon to be engaged) could still be rescued from the unfashionable talons of Miss Eliza.

But how? Charles and her dear Fitz had only recently left, if she commissioned the carriage she would arrive not half an hour later than them. Although, Fitzwilliam had spoken of Miss Eliza's proclivity for walking favourably; arriving there by foot would show him that a country madam had nothing on Miss Caroline Bingley! It was very unfashionable, of course, but she had to prove that she incorporated both the qualities needed to run Pemberley and the less... admirable traits that he seemed to appreciate. Decided, Miss Bingley called for her bonnet and set forth, unaware that the very man she had gone to meet would soon be preparing to walk towards her of his own free will.


A mile down the road later, Miss Bingley was exhausted. She had to give Miss Eliza some grudging credit for her walking skills, the girl was indomitable! Maybe fate was on her side, for as she (elegantly) threw herself under the shade of a large beech tree, she heard the voice of the very woman that she had just been praising, talking to her Fitzwilliam no less, on the other side of the hedgerow.

"Mr. Darcy, I am a very selfish creature; and for the sake of giving relief to my own feelings, care not how much I may be wounding yours."

Miss Bingley could barely believe it. It seemed that Miss Eliza was willing to drive Fitzwilliam away by herself! She wanted to hurt his feelings, the cruel girl. This made her job much simpler

I can no longer help thanking you for your unexampled kindness to my poor sister. Ever since I have known it, I have been most anxious to acknowledge to you how gratefully I feel it. Were it known to the rest of my family, I should not have merely my own gratitude to express."

Or perhaps the fates weren't that kind. Wait, it was Fitzwilliam who was the mystery benefactor? The ladies of the ton, when they had found out that her brother was courting Miss Bennet, had spared no trouble in finding scandal to make it more interesting. Miss Bingley had been unable to have a conversation without someone mentioning the youngest Bennet chit, and her ridiculous elopment. At first, she had been glad. Bennet's disgraced, and by Mr. Wickham, Miss Eliza's favourite no less! That had changed when Louisa had explained that now all of society had associated her with her prospective sister-in-laws, a horrific thought. The gossips had heard of a mystery benefactor, who had paid for the wedding, but Miss Bingley had assumed that it was just a rumour, or perhaps her brother being foolish. Why would Mr. Darcy let himself be involved? With a start, Miss Bingley realised that the voices had moved on, and were now quite faint. Creeping along the hedgerow, she caught up with the pair, exhaustion forgotten.

"...trayed to me that you had been concerned in the matter; and, of course, I could not rest till I knew the particulars. Let me thank you again and again, in the name of all my family, for that generous compassion which induced you to take so much trouble, and bear so many mortifications, for the sake of discovering them."

"If you will thank me," he replied, "let it be for yourself alone. That the wish of giving happiness to you might add force to the other inducements which led me on, I shall not attempt to deny. But your family owe me nothing. Much as I respect them, I believe I thought only of you."

Dang it! How could Fitzwilliam respect any of the Bennets, not least Miss Eliza? He thought only of her? For the first time, Miss Bingley began to fear that she might have been to late in rescuing this man from his horrid circumstances.

"You are too generous to trifle with me." he continued. "If your feelings are still what they were last April, (April? What happened in April!?) tell me so at once. My affections and wishes are unchanged; but one word from you will silence me on this subject for ever."

This was too much! It sounded far too much like a proposal for Miss Bingley's liking, even if he hadn't said it out right. How could he? Miss Bingley stumbled, too shocked to pay attention to the path and missed Miss Eliza's monologue on her feelings, although she got the gist. Not only was she accepting him, it seemed she had already refused him once! And now Mr. Darcy was talking about his emotions. Foolish pair, did they not know that marriage is purely political? Miss Bingley had lived in town long enough that there was no true happiness in marriage, it was a dream that she had long since discarded. She grew unexpectedly angry, though not from the loss of her hopes. How dare they act as though they had the monopoly on happiness? What did they do that deemed them deserving the love that so many others had been denied?

They walked on, without knowing in what direction, Miss Bingley walking numbly besides them, but out of sight. There was too much to be thought, and felt, and said, for attention to any other objects. She soon learnt that the couple were indebted for their present good understanding to the efforts of his aunt, who had apparently called on them both, to insist that they deny the rumours that were spreading about them and make them promise to not become involved. But, unluckily for her ladyship, its effect had been exactly contrariwise. That meddling old fool! Lady de Bourgh had only related Miss Eliza's feelings for Fitzwi- no, Mr. Darcy. As if she could force them apart, Miss Bingley didn't regret her own attempt, but she saw now that there was nothing she could have done. That realisation soothed her pride slightly.

Deciding that she had heard enough, Miss Bingley prepared to quietly go back to Netherfield undetected. Sure that the couple would be too engrossed in each other to notice her, she looked over the hedge quickly. On both of their faces there was such undisguised joy and love that Miss Bingley began to doubt her own philosophy on marriage. But no, they were the happy ones. Not many got a chance in life, and certainly not herself. Hardly of a charitable nature, for once in her life, Miss Bingley didn't begrudge them their happiness, but left, unknown and unwanted.

And if that night she had raised a silent toast to the happy couples and slept on a tear-stained pillow of her own lost opportunities, nobody would be able to prove it.


Hello!

That turned out slightly more serious at the end than I meant it to, but I've always seen Miss Bingley as just doing the best she can to survive in the life she wants in her circumstances, so I don't blame her for trying to 'catch' Darcy.

Firstly, a huge, huge thank you to anyone who read this and/or reviewed, I promise I will get round to replying to them! This idea is from YepItsMe, so thanks! I really like the ideas that people have sent me, and I think I'll probably do Darcy overhearing Colonel Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth's conversation about him, and how it affects his proposal next (thanks janefanatic!) because now I really want to know what would happen then! But all of the ideas are really good, and I hope to get round to as many as possible!

Sorry for the really long note, last thing, I own nothing, everything you recognise has been copied and pasted from pemberley etexts/ PandP/ chapter58 . htm !