A/N: Got a twofer for you today, all Darcy and Georgiana… oh, and the hapless Bingley.

"Mr. Bingley, sir"

Darcy looked up from his desk at his butler, and nodded for him to allow Bingley entrance. There had been a time when Charles Bingley was as frequent a fixture in Darcy's house as his cousin, and he had come and gone almost as a resident. Since the winter, although neither of the men really discussed or acknowledged it, their relationship had cooled. Both were somewhat uncomfortable with the events in Hertfordshire, and the easiest way to not think about it was to not be in each other's company.

For Darcy, Bingley's absence neither helped nor hurt him in his quest to either step away from his own personal cliff, or embrace it and rid it down. He might destroy himself or he might not, and Bingley wouldn't change anything. He did however find it easier to deal with it on his own than with Bingley to remind him of the events. There was also the matter of Bingley's sisters who came along with him. Darcy could hardly abide the idea of spending any time with either of them, now that he had met real ladies. It had taken him some time to realize that the two eldest could not be faulted in any way whatsoever, and even Mary at her worst didn't say anything worse than the Bingley sisters said every day.

For Bingley, there really was no cliff, and he was still standing amiably at the top of his personal path with no danger in sight. Perhaps a man with more character would have felt bad about the way they left Netherfield, but Bingley was an affable and easy going man in every way. He had fancied himself in love many times, and allowing his sister to convince him Miss Bennet was just one more fortune hunter had not been that difficult. To acknowledge to himself that he might have had his heart engaged, or that he had acted poorly to a woman who had only behaved honorably would have been very difficult for a man of his character. With these difficulties the easiest thing to do was just ignore the whole thing and move on with his life. He was done with the Bennets, and there really was nothing more to be said about it. There were amusements enough in town to fully occupy him, and he pursued them with the same energy he had before his stay at Netherfield.

Bingley looked critically at Darcy. The two men had not been in company very much in the last half-year. In fact, Bingley hadn't seen him at all in the previous month or two; and only sporadically in the months before. He had to admit, Darcy did not look so good. He had lost weight, his hair was not trimmed properly, and his clothes did not fit quite as well as they once had. The fact that the ever fastidious Darcy hadn't had them taken in spoke to some disturbance of his friend. However, once this had been noted, Bingley didn't give it much more thought. Deep introspection was not really in his nature, and Darcy was a fully grown man and master of an estate after all.

"I say Darcy, you are looking… different."

Darcy wondered what the younger man was thinking, but was not overly concerned. He had his own agenda for the meeting, and wanted to advance to the next step of Georgiana's plan. After months of reflection, and Georgiana's educational discussion, he had come to feel just how badly he had played his hand in Hertfordshire. He didn't really like being with Bingley, partly because his old friend would be a constant reminder of his failures, and partly because Bingley seemed so unaffected by the whole thing. Darcy didn't know whether to admire or despise the younger man. Unlike Bingley, deep thinking was in his nature, but his deep thinking had been going in circles for months. It was time to break out of the loop.

"Yes, Bingley things have been a bit… difficult during the spring."

Bingley asked good naturedly, "Steady on old chap. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Charles Bingley thought an offer to help amounted to an offer to take Darcy along for some amusements. Perhaps some sport, or some entertainments at his club, or the opera or some other example of the things Darcy favored. Nothing particularly difficult, mind you.

"Yes Bingley, there is. I have a problem, and you have a problem. Oddly enough, the solution to both is one and the same."

Bingley was intrigued, and exclaimed, "Out with it man! What is it?"

Darcy worded his next reply carefully.

"I want you to transfer the lease of Netherfield to me."

Had Bingley spent a fortnight trying to guess what Darcy wanted of him, this would not have been on the list. He sat dumbfounded for a moment, and then spit out the first thing that came to mind, "You realize you already have an estate of your own?"

"I am aware", Darcy replied with just a touch of amusement.

Bingley tried to rally, and replied, "So do you care to explain why you want one more?"

Darcy did not actually want to explain, or at least no more than was required. To say it aloud might make it real. Besides that, Bingley could occasionally be loose-lipped, and anything he knew was likely to be common gossip before the day was out if Darcy didn't carefully extract a vow of silence. Darcy knew he was stepping into a snake pit of gossip with his next move anyway, but he wanted to slow and control it as much as possible.

"Bingley, I have some… business in Hertfordshire. It is of a delicate nature, and I need an estate to perform it credibly. Netherfield will suit my purposes."

Bingley was taken aback by his friend's perverse plan, but not as much as one might think. He had been slightly worried about what was happening with Netherfield while he neglected it. He certainly didn't want to go back the`tre, but he had taken the lease, and he had taken responsibility and now he was neglecting his duty. If the place burned down in his absence, he might have a tremendous bother and expense, and who knew what the tenants were up to. His father had wanted him to join the landed gentry, but now he wasn't sure he was cut out for it. Maybe it was best to wait a year or three, and try again… somewhere else.

"Do you wish to elaborate on your business in Hertfordshire, Darcy? You know the Bennet family is now mired in scandal up to its eyeballs. Caroline can hardly stop talking about how narrow our escape was."

Darcy, not wishing to explore this topic too deeply said, "I am aware of the situation with the Bennets. My business is independent of the scandal."

Bingley thought this sounded just like the double-talk his solicitors liked to use to confuse him, and he looked at Darcy suspiciously. There was really no reason not to indulge Darcy with the lease. It wasn't as if he wanted to return there anytime soon, or ever for that matter, but he did want to understand what his friend was about.

"There's something you're not telling me, isn't there Darcy."

"There are a number of things I'm not telling you Bingley. Given a choice, I would prefer to keep my own council on this one."

Bingley looked at his friend, and made a wild guess, "It's a woman, isn't it?"

Seeing his friend's reaction was all the confirmation he required, and he started grinning from ear to ear.

"Darcy, don't tell me you're in love."

Darcy didn't really want to answer that one, but had to say something.

"I'd really rather not discuss it."

With Darcy as much as admitting it, Bingley started trying to put two and two together. He would have bet his sister's dowry that Darcy didn't favor Miss Jane. He had seemed mostly bored to death by her… wait… bored to death with the calmest and serenest Bennet sister.

Bingley threw back his head and cackled like a madman with glee.

"Darcy, you are in love aren't you… You're in love with Miss Elizabeth Bennet."

The look on Darcy's face was priceless, and all the confirmation Bingley needed.

Laughing uproariously, Bingley said, "Well, where do I sign Darcy? Can I go with you to watch as you show me how courting is done properly?"

"No"

"Why not?"

Darcy heaved a sigh of resignation, and answered reluctantly, "She's not there."

"Not there"

"Not there. You have heard of the depth and breadth of the scandal I presume. It could hardly be otherwise living with your sisters."

"Oh yes, I've heard it many times."

"Miss Elizabeth, Miss Jane and Miss Mary have all decamped from Hertfordshire. Nobody knows where they've gone."

Bingley looked intrigued and said, "Extraordinary! I guess they struck out to make a new life for themselves elsewhere abandoning their family."

"I don't think so. At least not the eldest two. Miss Mary does seem to have done so."

"So, what are the eldest doing?"

"I don't know, but I intend to find out"

Bingley looked a bit thoughtful and asked, "Why don't you just find one of the missing sisters and ask her?"

Darcy looked at him thoughtfully, and decided he would trust the man. He wasn't the steadiest of men, but he could keep his own council when he chose, so he extracted a promise of silence before continuing, which Bingley readily agreed to.

"I tried. I've been trying since February. I happened by sheer chance to stumble on Miss Elizabeth in Kent, within a mile of my aunt's estate, if you can believe that. She was working as a companion."

Bingley laughed at the vagaries of fate and asked, "So what did she have to say about her grand plan?"

"Nothing"

Bingley looked confused and asked, "So what did she say?"

Darcy looked crestfallen, and said, "Nothing at all. She won't talk to me."

"Why not"

Darcy finally admitted his darkest secret.

"She fears me." And after a small pause, "Oh, and I think she despises me too."

Bingley laughed, although not with the force of his previous amusements.

"Little wonder after the way you treated her and her sister at the ball."

Darcy felt a burning anger at the nonchalant and flippant way the younger man had said that, and replied, "You are not without fault yourself, Bingley. I may not have acted the gentleman, but at least I didn't engage a lady's affections and then leave the county without a word."

Bingley jumped up to defend his honor, but just as quickly sat back down, blew out his breath, and said, "You may be right, Darcy."

For perhaps the first time, Bingley really reflected on what he may have lost, of what his actions may have wrought on Jane Bennet, but he wasn't a man very prone to unpleasant reflections. Almost back to his old jovial self, he asked, "So did you give up just because she wouldn't talk to you once? Not very persistent, Darcy."

Darcy secretly agreed, but said, "I engaged Mrs. Collins to try to convince her. You may remember her, the former Miss Charlotte Lucas? She visited her once, and the second time she went there, Miss Elizabeth was gone. She left with her employer, and nobody will say where."

Bingley absorbed that. Thing certainly didn't seem to be going well for Darcy. He asked somewhat impertenantly, given his small stake in the answer, "So Darcy, is there any hope for us?"

"I don't know Bingley. Have you gone stark raving mad yet?"

"No, I'm fit as can be."

"Then maybe there's hope for one of us"

Bingley thought their business must be about done and said, "I presume you have papers for me to sign?"

"I've taken the liberty."

"I would expect no less."

Bingley took the stack of papers, and scrawled his nearly illegible signature in all the places Darcy indicated. He trusted the older man implicitly, and his solicitor was the very best you could get, so who was he to question it.

As the gentlemen finished up their business, and Bingley got up to leave, Darcy added on parting comment.

"Bingley, I would prefer that your sisters know as little as possible about my affairs. There will be gossip enough without them fanning it."

Bingley felt he should defend his sisters more, but he really wasn't up to it since they deserved any criticism Darcy had for them and probably more.

"They will learn nothing from me Darcy."

"Thank you, Bingley."

As Bingley left the study, he added one last comment, "Oh, one more thing Darcy."

"Yes"

"You're quite mad, you know."

Darcy blew out a breath and said, "I am well aware my friend. Take care, and please keep your own council. It's important."

Bingley was just leaving the library, when Georgiana stepped in and bid him a good day. They chatted amiably for a few minutes and then Darcy said, "Georgiana, Please ask your maid to pack up. We leave tomorrow."

Georgiana looked a bit surprised, and asked, "Where to?"

Darcy looked at her appraisingly and said, "We are to follow your wise council. We're off to Hertfordshire."

Georgiana jumped up and clapped her hands together in glee, but Darcy felt the need to dampen her enthusiasm. He waited until Bingley left before adding a bit more.

"Georgiana, there's something you need to know before we go."

"Yes"

"Wickham is there."

"And what do you intend to do about him?" she replied with fire in her eyes, not the least daunted by the prospect of facing him again. She wasn't the shrinking violet of a year ago.

Darcy replied, "It's high time I did something about him. I have enough vowels to put him in debtor's prison. I should have done it a year ago, and I intend to do it now."

Georgiana showed not the slightest sign of remorse with this plan.

"You're right. You should have done it a year ago, but now will have to do."