A/N: You've probably already read this. It just occurred to me that it fits better here.
"Why did you tell me?" Jane asked, after what felt like a very long silence. She did not dare look at him.
"I did not believe it right to keep such a thing from you, now that you are to be my sister."
Now that you are to be my sister. Jane drew a deep, shaking breath. Somehow, that was the worst part. Elizabeth had known, had known since April, and had never said anything. Why? It would have been painful to hear of him, but nothing to the anguish of unrequited love. She would have known that he had truly loved her, that she had not mistaken him; at that time, nothing could have eased her heart more. How could Elizabeth have kept this from her? Elizabeth, her sister, who knew her better than anyone, how could she not have understood? Bingley she could excuse, he did not know her so well, a newly-accepted lover was naturally cautious and fearful of saying the wrong thing, but Elizabeth? That Mr Darcy should see what Elizabeth could not, Mr Darcy who scarcely knew her, was somehow frightening and terrible; she felt as if she had been stripped bare, that she no longer knew herself or anyone else.
She knew not what to think; but then Mr Darcy was speaking again. "I — I do not have the words to express how very sorry I am, Miss Bennet, for the pain I have caused you, and Bingley."
Jane looked up at him blankly. He was quite pale, his eyes fixed on the ground, yet stood as confidently upright as always. She envied him that. "You truly believed me to be indifferent?" she asked wonderingly.
"I did."
"Mr Bingley believed me to be indifferent also?"
He hesitated. "He did not believe your feelings to equal his, but no, he did not believe you wholly indifferent until I persuaded him."
Jane's brow furrowed.
"Miss Bennet, there was never — I never had any objections to you, nor did his sisters. I feared for my friend's happiness. I felt that in marrying so disadvantageously, he would be made unhappy once his infatuation with you faded." His voice caught slightly as he added, "I did not wish him to give his affections where they would not be returned. Regardless of my intentions, however, it was wrong of me and I apologise."
She was fumbling for purchase, and somehow it was the distant pain in his voice that steadied her. It had not been that Elizabeth had so greatly misunderstood her. She could not know, she could not understand, because although she too had had her share of suffering, she had been spared this. Poets spoke of unrequited love, the greatest of mortal afflictions, but words on a page were never the same thing, and she could not understand until she had experienced it, and Elizabeth never would. And Mr Darcy understood, because he knew, and because in this strange way they were alike. Elizabeth and Bingley would make the best of things, would heal and continue on, but they, they could not, they could not forget and did not wish to, for there was a joy and pleasure in loving so deeply and intensely and hopelessly, as well as the pain and fear that it could never be returned in equal measure.
It had all turned out well, after all. And if she was a little uncertain about her intended's strength of will, she would guide him, and she had never seen him influenced in such a way by anyone other than herself and Mr Darcy, and that was all for the best. She would speak to Elizabeth, try to make her understand, for although she did not wholly understand the man that would be her brother, she knew that Elizabeth might very well attempt to protect him by keeping things from him, and given their history and his character, that would not go over well at all. And as for Mr Darcy himself —
"When Lizzy told me that you were engaged," Jane said, "I — please forgive me — I did not believe she cared for you." Uncertain, she waited.
"I could hardly believe it myself," said Mr Darcy calmly, and she found the courage to go on.
"I tried to persuade her against marrying you, unless she felt sincere affection." Jane looked up, to see how he took her words, and was reassured by his faint smile.
"It is not the same, Miss Bennet."
"The intent was the same," she insisted. "If she was indifferent to you, or if she had not been able to convince me of her feelings, I would have done everything within my power to persuade her against continuing in your engagement. I cannot, I will not, blame you for that." She waited, and relying solely upon her instincts, added, "But if you require my forgiveness, sir, you have it."
"Thank you, Miss Bennet."
As they walked a little further, Jane said, "If I may ask, sir, how did you know that Lizzy had told me of — of — "
"I did not know." Again, he smiled slightly. "I simply assumed that she had, with my knowledge of your close relationship."
Jane flinched. "That is why you were surprised, at first, that I did not know everything?"
"Yes. It seemed odd that she should tell you only part of what occurred, and at that the part which did not concern you."
She looked directly at him. "I thought so as well. You would not have done so, then?"
"I did not do so, no."
Jane puzzled briefly over this, then lifted up her eyes in astonishment. "You told Miss Darcy?"
"Not all, of course, but we did speak of what directly concerned her."
"Would you be greatly offended, sir, if I say that I hope Lizzy picks up some good habits from you?"
He looked startled, then smiled slowly. "No," he said, "I am not offended, Miss Bennet."
She held out her hand to him then, looking into his eyes. It was odd, she had never noticed before; they were very nearly the same colour as her own. "If we are to be brother and sister, sir," she said, "we should not be so formal. I would be honoured if you called me Jane."
A/N: Another plot bunny, I have been positively inundated with them of late. I have always been struck by the likeness between these two intense, reserved people, who — in my opinion — suffer more deeply than any other characters. It is rightly noted that Darcy takes a step into intimacy when he uses Elizabeth's Christian name; but it is often overlooked that he also uses Jane's. I think that he would feel a moral obligation to tell Jane what he did, and have often wondered how Jane would react to (a) Bingley's persuadability, and (b) Elizabeth's secrecy.