Hi! The only places where I could put a chapter break would result in either a shorter chapter than usual, or a much longer one. I went for the short one, which means that Chapter 11 is almost finished as well.

RECAP

After proving her integrity to Mr. Darcy at the Netherfield Ball, Jane has become friends with Georgiana.

Because of their acquaintance with Georgiana, Jane and Lizzy had begun to question Wickham's trustworthiness. He got nervous and tried to smear Lizzy, which backfired and caused him to lose favor in Hertfordshire.

Jane went to London and came to an "understanding" with Bingley. Caroline and Louisa had tried keep them separated, but had not succeeded since they didn't have Darcy on their side.

Darcy had his "Hunsford moment" in London, through some conversation with Bingley and Jane. He has begun to reconsider his attitudes, even going as far as to call on the Gardiners and dine with them.

Bingley and his family have returned to Netherfield, and he is getting his business in order to be ready to propose to Jane.

When things started looking bad for Wickham with the people of Meryton, he decided that he would try to improve his circumstances by blackmailing the Darcys. He sent a letter to Georgiana, threatening to spill the beans about Ramsgate unless he gets paid off. Georgiana was freaked out about the blackmail and is trying to decide what to do.

Georgiana and Darcy are now returning to Pemberley, and Jane is going back to Longbourn.

When Jane arrived back at Longbourn, her entire family, as well as Mr. Bingley, were there to receive her. Mrs. Bennet was almost dizzy with delight, and so demonstrative in her affection and effusive with her praise of her daughter that Jane wondered whether she would have any opportunity to speak to the rest of her family. Finally, her mother paused to catch her breath, and Jane was able to move on to greet her father. Mr. Bennet said that it was good Jane had returned so that she could put and end to the stories going around that she was about to be whisked away on a winged horse by a fairy prince to live on a cloud in a palace made of diamonds or some such.

Mr. Bingley joined with the Bennet sisters in giving Jane a gleeful and warm welcome. The afternoon passed quickly as Jane answered her mother's and sisters' volumes of questions about her adventures in town. Mr. Bingley assisted her in the task, adding details about places they had gone, both of them omitting any details that would have embarrassed Caroline, Mrs. Hurst, or Mr. Darcy.

Mr. Bingley dined with them and then departed, with a promise to call again the next morning.

Late that evening, Jane was able to speak to Elizabeth alone. As she expected, her letter to Elizabeth had not yet arrived, so she related to her sister the same intelligence that she had written about Mr. Wickham. She spoke of his misrepresentation of Mr. Darcy, his financial irresponsibility and deceit, and the danger he was to women, again without mentioning Georgiana's name.

Elizabeth said softly, "As to the portion of the story that you are keeping in confidence, I will not pester you for any more information, but I cannot help but suppose that it must involve Miss Darcy. Is she all right?"

Jane sighed. "With everything you already knew about Wickham's relationship to the Darcys, I should have realized that you would come to such a conclusion, and I am not able to say that you are wrong in your supposition. Georgiana is distressed. I trust that Mr. Darcy will be a source of strength and comfort to her, along with any comfort that I can provide as her friend."

"The poor girl!", Elizabeth lamented. "And such a wicked man Wickham is! I am so ashamed that I ever liked him!"

"At the time of Georgiana's greatest distress, I sat with her for several hours. I told her how Wickham had initially charmed everyone in Meryton, ourselves included. So Georgiana knows that she is not alone in being fooled by him. Lizzy, we must warn our neighbors about Mr. Wickham as soon as possible."

Elizabeth composed herself. "We must be cautious. Wickham has said many harsh things about the Darcy family and about me. We would not want to appear to be spreading rumors in retaliation. You and I know enough about Miss Darcy to trust her, but she is unknown to the rest of Meryton. As we have no proof of his deeds, we would only be relating hearsay. We can make general suggestions that everyone be careful about extending credit to officers, but we should make no direct allegations against Mr. Wickham specifically."

"Concerning his dealings with women, I have knowledge that goes beyond hearsay," Jane replied. "But I could not share everything I know without hurting my friends."

"We will tell Papa to specifically direct our own sisters to have no dealings with Mr. Wickham," Elizabeth said. "And, again, it is always prudent for our neighbors to take care in allowing officers to keep company with their daughters. We can make casual mention of that without singling out Mr. Wickham. Most of the ladies in Hertfordshire have already been looking at him with a jaundiced eye since his spurning from Miss King. The only girls who have continued to seek his company are Lydia and Kitty and Maria Lucas. If we are able to get Lydia and Kitty to stay away from Wickham completely, that will surely be noticed by everyone."

Jane rose. "I will speak now with Papa, so that he can talk to our sisters before they go out tomorrow morning." But her sister's troubled countenance halted her and she sat down again. "Lizzy, what is wrong?"

"I made railing accusations against Mr. Darcy on Wickham's account. And Mr. Darcy said nothing to defend himself against the charges. I had supposed at the time that it was because his own actions were indefensible. But now I suppose that he was protecting Miss Darcy. What I attributed to guilt, or arrogance, was done out of love for his sister. For her he suffered such indignities from a stranger! How could I have so despised such an admirable man, while at the same time admiring a despicable one? I, who have prided myself on my discernment, believed one only because he flattered me, and disbelieved the other because he did not. Darcy's dislike of me is deserved."

"I am still not convinced that he dislikes you," Jane offered. "He invited Uncle Gardiner to visit him at Pemberley this summer. And when Uncle said that you would be traveling with them, he expressed eagerness to introduce you to Georgiana."

Elizabeth was incredulous. "When did he speak to our uncle?"

"Oh! I'm sorry, Lizzy. Georgiana's concerns had so imposed on my mind that I forgot to tell you that Mr. and Miss Darcy called on us and dined with us. He and Uncle seemed to get along very well, and Mr. Darcy urged him to include a visit to Pemberley in your travels. They intend to fish together, and you shall meet Georgiana."

"He called on you at Gracechurch Street?"

"Yes, even his sister was surprised."

"That is even more evidence of how I misjudged him. He is far more honorable than I ever allowed myself to think. I was a fool. It is an honor to know that he yet trusts me to be a friend to Miss Darcy, though he could simply be doing so for your benefit since you will be like family to him. I will befriend his sister, but I will take care not to force my company or my conversation on the man himself. I have injured him enough already."

"In my conversations with Mr. Darcy, he has never said anything resentful about you."

"I will make it easier for him to have no resentment by staying out of his way."

"Oh, my. Lizzy, it occurs to me that Mr. Darcy might not know how much Georgiana has told me about Wickham. If he said nothing of it when he was here in Hertfordshire, he may not have approved of her telling me everything she did when she was upset. That would be another reason not to share any specific details of his past dealings. I will talk with Papa, but I will not divulge specific confidences." After another squeeze of Elizabeth's hand, Jane left the room and went to her father's study.

~oooOOOooo~

The next morning the Bennet ladies spent at home. Kitty and Lydia were in a desultory mood, having been informed by their father that, for the foreseeable future, the presence of another family member would be required for any trips they took into Meryton. He also instructed them to completely avoid George Wickham. Jane had been highly surprised when the two girls, while disappointed, did not protest their father's edict, nor even demand to know the reasons for the restrictions. Elizabeth suggested to her that perhaps the reason their sisters had not asked for an explanation was that they may have committed some offense, for which they imagined they were being punished, and of which the family might be thankful to be ignorant.

The mood of the youngest two sisters was not greatly altered by Mr. Bingley's arrival, but the rest of the family was pleased to see him. He settled into the chair that he had become accustomed to occupying in the Longbourn drawing room, but he seemed a bit ill at ease, fidgeting with his hands.

Jane was beginning to wonder whether there had possibly been bad news from either his family or from the Darcys, when he suddenly looked at her and his words rushed out – "Jane, will you marry me?"

Jane startled at the declaration. "Yes!", she blurted.

The room erupted in exclamations of joy that lasted several minutes. Even Lydia and Kitty were raised from their doldrums and joined the family in showering Jane and Mr. Bingley with congratulations.

When everyone had settled down again, Mr. Bingley addressed Mrs. Bennet. "Madam, would you grant me the privilege of a private conversation with your eldest daughter?"

"My dear Mr. Bingley!", Mrs. Bennet cried, "You don't need a private audience now! She has already accepted you!"

He smiled and looked at Jane. "Yes, but I've composed a proposal speech that I think is rather good. I merely thought that I could deliver it with more confidence if I had already received my answer."

Kitty pleaded, "Oh, give the proposal speech here, Bingley!"

Mr. Bingley stood. "My apologies, Miss Catherine, but the speech was intended for Jane's ears alone." He extended his arm to Jane. "My dear?"

Jane rose and took his arm. They walked into the breakfast room, heads held high.

The particulars of the proposal speech will not be related in this narrative, out of respect for Mr. Bingley's wishes that it be heard by one woman only. But when they emerged from the breakfast room, Jane was wearing a blush that lasted for the rest of the morning.

~oooOOOooo~

Later that day, Jane was summoned to Mr. Bennet's study. With great deference, she mentioned to her father that he was likely to receive a visit from Mr. Bingley very soon, which amused him greatly, as Bingley had requested his permission to propose before Jane had even returned to Hertfordshire. In fact, the reason for her current interview with her father was for him to share with her the details of her marriage settlement, which Mr. Bingley had already drawn up before he left London. Along with the generous amount that would be settled on her, worthy dowries were to be provided for each of her sisters. There was also an agreement that upon Mr. Bennet's demise, Mrs. Bennet and any unmarried children would be able to live out the rest of their days at Netherfield, regardless of whether or not the Bingleys continued to live there.

Dearest Georgiana,

By the time this letter reaches Pemberley, I expect that you and your brother will have arrived there. I hope you had safe travels and I am sure that you are happy to be back at home, for I know that you share with me a preference for the tranquility of country life. As much as I enjoyed my time in town (especially your company), I am abundantly thankful to once again be in the company of my family, all of whom send their greetings to you, as does Mr. Bingley.

Elizabeth thanks you for the loan of the book. She much appreciates being able to read and ponder the philosophies without having to practice her foreign language study at the same time, though it has motivated her also to spend more time practicing French.

It is with great joy that I inform you that Mr. Bingley and I are now engaged. He offered his proposal in a most charming manner yesterday, and I accepted immediately, of course. He had already secured my father's approval, and all of my family are very pleased.

We have not yet chosen a wedding date, but I expect that it will be in the spring. Perhaps by then there will have been changes in Meryton that would make it possible for you to attend our wedding. I am certain that Mr. Bingley will ask Mr. Darcy to stand with him in the ceremony, and it would be my fondest wish for you to be among the family and friends who witness our vows. But I realize that it may not be in either of our control to determine whether such would be possible. But know, my dear friend, that if you are not able to be present in body, you will be in my heart as Mr. Bingley and I stand before God to publicly declare the love that we first pledged to one another while sitting in your home, listening to the music that came from your hands.

Though you and I may not know when we will next see each other, you continue to be in my thoughts and prayers. Whatever challenges or struggles you face, I trust that, with the help of your family, you will face them with courage and handle them with wisdom.

Write to me often. Now that we have met in person, each letter will bring a recollection of your sweet smile and the times we spent together. I will ever be

Your loving friend,

Jane