Ihatfield2013: I completely agree with what you wrote about Wickham flattering Lizzy and her succumbing for some time. In Chapter 16, I tried to highlight the parallel you mentioned.

tarlily: Agreed haha, they would make a very destructive team.

As always, thank you to all who reviewed, I do read every single review, and appreciate the support :)

Chapter 16

The next day, Darcy needed to clear his head, ruminating could do no good. He decided to go horse-riding in the countryside. His plan to distract himself backfired spectacularly when he happened across the object of his thoughts. Elizabeth had gone for an early morning walk and seemed just as surprised to encounter him here.

"Miss Bennet," he said politely.

"Mr. Darcy," she greeted back.

Darcy dismounted his horse and offered to walk with her, and she agreed.

"Miss Bennet, Mr. Bingley and myself had planned to call at Longbourn later today to share some news. However, due to this most fortuitous meeting, I shall tell you now. You were right. Miss Bingley was behind Wickham's attack. Her brother has sent her away from Netherfield."

"How did you come to that conclusion?"

"Bingley found an incriminating letter," Darcy paused before continuing, "While I still maintain that there was previously no tangible evidence against her, I think your accusation was just. Perhaps I was partly blinded by her flattery."

Elizabeth realised how much it must cost Mr. Darcy to admit to this and she was slightly mollified, "Well, I am not irreproachable on that matter either. Wickham flattered my vanity, which is why I easily believed the lies he told me about you."

Mr. Darcy sighed, "You are not to blame, I fear my behaviour and Wickham's manners tended to lend his lies credibility. I would like to apologise for my general behaviour, and also most particularly the way I acted when I refused to take the accusations against Miss Bingley seriously. Regardless of my opinions, which turned out to be erroneous anyway, I should not have dismissed your worries the way I did. I should have looked further into the matter."

Elizabeth was surprised but readily accepted his apology. She did not know what else to add, and remained quiet. After a while, Mr. Darcy spoke up again, in a slightly subdued voice, "It has recently come to my attention that you may not be very fond of me."

Elizabeth blushed a little but tried her utmost to hide her mortification at his direct, yet understated, words. Then, the exact wording sunk in.

"It has recently come to your attention?" she repeated, flabbergasted, "Do you mean to tell me that you did not know before?"

He shook his head, looking forlorn.

"Until recently, I believed that the feeling was mutual," explained Elizabeth.

"I thank you for your honesty," replied Darcy, "But let me assure you that the feeling is not mutual. In fact, I am... quite fond of you."

He finished his last sentence rapidly.

Elizabeth felt all the awkwardness of the situation and tried to come up with an appropriate reply,

"Sir, while I cannot in all honesty reply the same, let me just say that part of my dislike was founded on Wickham's lies and that now that the truth has come to light, my opinion of you has greatly improved. Furthermore, I am still very grateful for your interference. I fear I may have misjudged you."

Darcy was slightly consoled by her words, but he had picked up on something else, "You say that part of your dislike was based on the lies you had been told. What were the other reasons?"

Elizabeth did not think there was an elegant or polite way to broach such a subject, but after all, he had asked.

"Your manners impressed me with the belief that you were arrogant and disdainful of other people's feelings."

She could tell that Mr. Darcy was vexed, and hastened to continue to explain her position more fully, "I may not have been a very impartial judge though, because my vanity suffered when you called me tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt you."

Mr. Darcy gasped and looked pained, "Oh my, you heard that? I apologise most profusely, Miss Bennet, it was very ungenerous of me to make such a comment, and I did not truly believe it. I was in a foul mood because – I tell you this because I trust your secrecy – the events that Colonel Fitzwilliam narrated did not concern a friend, but my own younger sister, Georgiana. I had returned from Ramsgate where I interfered in the planned elopement, and I was in no humour to meet people and dance... I will admit that I am generally unsociable and reserved but at that time, I was most particularly displeased. I was trying to convince Bingley to let me be. I am ashamed that you ever heard me utter such ungentlemanly words."

Elizabeth accepted his apology immediately, and felt particularly honoured that he trusted her with the information that his sister had been Wickham's target.

After she had reassured Darcy that she no longer took offence at what he had said, she added with a smile, "Let us not quarrel over who is most to blame, I fear neither of our behaviours are beyond reproof. Instead, now that we have cleared these matters, perhaps we can hope to start anew. I shall begin to sketch your character again, based on new information," she said the last sentence with a teasing lilt in her voice and Darcy smiled back.

Chapter 17

Part 1

The very next day after deciding that she would give Mr. Darcy a second chance, a surprise awaited Elizabeth when the mail arrived. She was astonished to find a letter from Miss Bingley. She was extremely apprehensive yet curious, knew not what to expect, and the contents stunned her utterly.

To Miss Elizabeth Bennet,

I am sure you have heard the news by now, and I can imagine your delight in having me thrown away by my brother.

Do not expect this letter to contain an apology for the role I have been accused of playing in your near-ruin by Mr. Wickham.

I am merely writing to inform you of something I believe to be of importance. Do not bother thanking me. Mr. Darcy was a key actor in getting my brother to stay in London by convincing him of your sister's indifference. He knew of your sister being in town and willingly hid this from him. Mr. Darcy congratulates himself on having saved Charles from this most imprudent marriage. You can imagine the objections to the match, if only you had heard Mr. Darcy's tirade on your family!

Wishing you the best of health, to you and your equally lovely family,

Unrepentant as ever,

Caroline Bingley

Well, Elizabeth thought while carelessly dropping the letter, that resolution did not last long. She could feel renewed anger at Mr. Darcy and had none to spare for Miss Bingley's odious letter. What an insufferable, contradictory man he was! Of course she would need to ask him for confirmation, but a sinking feeling in her gut told her that, for once, Miss Bingley was saying the truth.

Part 2

Mr. Bingley received a letter much in the same vein. He exploded with fury and asked his friend why he had not come forward to denounce his participation sooner.

"I would have confessed," Darcy insisted.

"When?" growled Bingley, "It's bad enough that you hid Miss Bennet's presence in town from me, but that I had to discover this now from Caroline! I blamed only Caroline and Louisa at the time, and you did not come forward then, and you didn't come forward since."

"We returned here to expose Wickham's character, everything else could wait. Besides, I thought when we got to Hertfordshire, you would find out that Jane Bennet was in town. I had not expected her to have returned to Longbourn already. I'm sorry, Charles, I should have told you as soon as I knew. And I should have been honest about my involvement – I would have been, I wanted to tell you after we exposed Wickham, but then I got distracted by the following events."

Bingley calmed a little when he realised that Darcy being delayed was understandable considering everything that had happened since. However, he was still not fully satisfied, and Darcy worsened this with his next words.

"What if Miss Bingley sent a similar letter to Miss Elizabeth?" Darcy was anxiously biting his lip.

Bingley fumed.

"Darcy, I am asking you how you could withhold crucial information from me and hide your involvement, and all you are worried about is that my sister also exposed you to Miss Elizabeth? I tell you what, if she did, you most certainly deserved it! Because you are a coward who has refused to come clean! I hardly recognise you anymore." The last words were said with a definite sadness. Bingley felt disoriented, as if his world was turning upside down. The last few weeks had put a particular strain on him and he sank down into his armchair from pure exhaustion.