Author note regarding the mention of Miss Bingley by Georgiana at the end of the last chapter. she should not have been mentioned. Miss Bingley was not invited. I got ahead of myself and forgot she had not shown up uninvited yet (I wrote that paragraph after starting this next chapter and then back tracking back to the previous chapter.) Sorry for the confusion. Miss Bingley was not invited by Darcy, Elizabeth or the Fitzwilliams to Harcourt.

Chapter 29

Henry, Darcy and Elizabeth stood on the steps of Harcourt watching in disbelief as Mr. Bingley handed Miss Bingley down from the carriage. "What the?" mummered Henry on one side of Elizabeth.

"It would appear Miss Bingley has invited herself to your estate, Elizabeth. I should have forseen this, after all, she has more than once intruded on an invitation to Bingley at Pemberley, " Darcy said wryly from the other side.

"I thought Bingley was taking her in hand?" Henry grumbled.

"I am sure there is an explanation," Elizabeth said softly. "Mr. Bingley looks rather anxious. I suggest you have a word with him, William, while I see to Miss Bingley."

"My dear Eliza," Miss Bingley called out eagerly as she mounted the stairs towards the group.

"Lady Elizabeth," Henry said correcting her. "The correct form of address is Lady Elizabeth, Miss Bingley." To Bingley he said, "A word, Bingley."

"Of course, Henry," Bingley said before tendering his greetings to Elizabeth and Darcy.

Once in the study, where they found James and invited him to join their discussion, Henry demanded an explanation.

"I am doing as Darcy suggested, taking my sister in hand. I'm afraid she was rather cold toward Mr. Thatcher and rebuffed him. He informed me he would not be calling on my sister," Bingley said wringing his hands. "Louisa not only supported her in this, I also overheard them claiming to have been intimate friends with Lady Elizabeth in Hertfordshire and suggesting that I admired Lady Elizabeth. And while I do admire her, I certainly don't admire her in the manner they were insinuating."

"I said take her in hand, not reward her false gossip with an invitation to a house party with myself, an Earl and Viscount in attendance," Darcy said in disgust.

"Oh trust me, Darcy. It isn't the reward you claim. You see, I recalled Miss Bennet once saying that her sister, Lady Elizabeth, opined that Miss Kitty would do better outside Miss Lydia's influence. So I decided it would be best to separate my sisters. Hurst has taken Louisa to his family estate for Christmas. Leaving me with Caroline to contend with. Staying in town and allowing Caroline to go about gossiping and enjoying herself, while denying myself Miss Bennet's company, now that would have been a reward for Caroline. I did consider sending my regrets to you and returning to Hertefordshire with Caroline in tow, but you had indicated to me, Darcy, that Miss Bennet expected me to be here, and I did not wish to disappoint her."

"I am glad you did not go to Hertfordshire, Bingley, " Darcy said, knowing how irritated Elizabeth would have been if Miss Bingley had managed to inadvertently upset her carefully laid plans for Jane and Bingley.

"Yes, well I thought my sister, as the lowest ranking person in attendance, might finally learn her own insignificance, especially considering Lady Catherine is in attendance. Caroline might wish to believe herself of the first circles, but she is not. I know your family is not fond of her, and will treat her with civility, but it is my hope that when she realizes she is only tolorated, she will finally accept her position in society. I know she was not kind to Lady Elizabeth in Hertfordshire and while she may attempt to befriend her now, Lady Elizabeth I suspect will rebuke her with as much wit as she rebuked her attacks in Hertfordshire. It should be a learning experience for Caroline."

"Bloody brilliant, Bingley," Henry said smiling.

"Lady Catherine does like to be of use" James mummered. More firmly he added, "Just so we are clear, Bingley, if your sister attempts any sort of compromise with either myself or Darcy, she will not know satisfaction. My first wife was lucky enough to be born the daughter of a peer, Miss Bingley does not have that advantage."

"Understood," Bingley said gulping. "I do not think she would attempt, but none the less, I give you my word."

"Any compromises, Bingley," Henry added. "Even if she were to somehow engineer a compromising situation between you and Elizabeth, she will not know satisfaction."

"I would never,-" Bingley began appalled when Darcy interupted him.

"Your honor is not being called into question, Bingley. We know you would never deliberately compromise a lady. Nor does my cousin mean to imply he believes you would not act with honor in a compromise that was not your fault. He simply means that if such occurs you will not be claiming my lady," Darcy said firmly.

"Your lady?" Bingley asked faintly.

"Just so. If Miss Bingley engineers a situation where Elizabeth's reputation needed saving, I would be saving it, not you. Gossips would merely assume our close friendship confused our names in the tittle-tattle."

"Very well," Bingley said grinning, imagining if his sister did attempt such a dispicable thing, she would be suitably punished by the object of her marital aspirations claiming the lady in question.

Meanwhile, Miss Bingley was in for a suprise of her own when entering the parlor to tender her greetings, she encountered the serene countance of Jane.

"Miss Bennet," she said stiffly with displeasure. "I had not expected to encounter you here."

"It was my invite to Jane that prompted me to invite your brother, Miss Bingley," Elizabeth said, her eyes twinkling. "And as he once opined about his actions at a moments notice, he did not object to the last minute scheme to join my family for Christmas."

"How quaint," Miss Bingley said faintly, her mind whirling. She had hoped to turn her brother's attention to Elizabeth, who came with a titled family. It would have served dual purposes, enriching the Bingley's connections with a suitable heiress and removing a competitor from the field in Miss Bingley's estimation. It also had the potential to make a marriage to the viscount a possibility if Mr. Darcy did not come up to scratch. Now though with Jane at Harcourt her brother would be likely to continue to make sheeps eyes at her, overlooking the three heiress in attendance that he need only woo to gain the appropriate foothold up in society. Lady Elizabeth held the greater title, but Miss Darcy and Miss de Bourgh were nothing to sneer at. Miss Bingley concluded that she would have to engage Miss Bennet's attention elsewhere, perhaps the youngest Fitzwilliam son, the vicar.