Author note 1:

Vacation time!

I will not be posting any chapters for the next two weeks because we are going to have a vacation. It was unplanned, but everything aligned just right and we'll leave later today.

Posting will resume on 16th of August.

Stay safe everybody!

-`o´-

Charles Bingley felt most unsettled after his morning meeting with Darcy. To a large extent he knew and accepted that Darcy did not consider him as his equal. He was not. He was younger, never had any real responsibilities to discharge, and his somewhat impulsive temperament could be seen more as a curse than a blessing.

However, to Charles Bingley the present situation looked more like a nightmare from which he wished to escape than something that could have happened to him.

Was he nothing more than a nuisance for his friend? Just another hanger on waiting for scraps of Darcy's time and largess? Oh, he did not want for money, but he did use the connection, did he not? Had he not been invited to dinners and balls and whatnot only because he was Darcy's particular friend?

Did Darcy resent him for it? It was indeed possible, seeing as he was nothing more than just another person Darcy managed. How did he make such a muddle of everything?

Unfortunately his day was not going to become any better. On entering the house he was accosted by his youngest sister.

"Charles! Where have you been?"

"I met Darcy, Caroline."

"Oh, and how is Mr. Darcy? I cannot wait for the dinner party, I have the most beautiful creation, even Louisa is green with envy just thinking about it!"

"We had a difference of opinion, Caroline, and I will not be accompanying you all at Darcy's dinner."

"What?! You cannot be serious! Charles! What have you done?"

"Done? Nothing as far as I can tell, perhaps that is the problem," he mused aloud.

"What do you mean by a difference of opinion?"

"When did you find out Miss Bennet was in London?"

"Hang Jane Bennet! I do not care a whit about her and her ill mannered sister!"

"Sisters, Caroline, she has four of them. And I thought she was your friend, haven't you said so?"

"No! Charles, I beg you, tell me Jane is not the reason for your and Mr. Darcy's difference of opinion."

"No, she is not." He saw his sister take a breath and smile. "I found out Darcy knew Miss Bennet was in London and he chose not to inform me."

"We both thought it was for the best!"

"You conspired with a stranger against my interests, Caroline!"

"Mr. Darcy is no stranger! He is our best friend!"

"He is our best connection, but certainly not my friend. Not anymore! I want nothing to do with him."

"Oh, do be serious, Charles. You are nothing without Darcy."

"Well then, a nobody like me could do worse than a Miss Bennet, I daresay."

"Oh, please!" she scoffed at the notion. "You should write a note and ask forgiveness, Charles, I will be happy to see it delivered to him."

"I will not, Caroline. I am in earnest, I will not be present to this dinner and I doubt I will see much of him in the future. It is for the best, as I am of an age to make my own way."

"You will ruin everything for me! You and your infatuation, you're not thinking with your head! What will he think? I must go to him!"

"I did not ask him what he thought, Caroline, I'm sure you will provide succor, should Darcy need it."

-`o´-

Miss Bingley had no luck at Darcy House. The knocker was off and the butler was unmoved: the family was not at home for visitors.

Later in the afternoon a note came which dashed all of her hopes for a speedy resolution. Mr. Darcy professed his regrets, but a sudden occurrence made the dinner party impossible. The note had been addressed to Mr. Hurst.

-`o´-

"Miss Mary, your sister, Miss Elizabeth, told me a little of your neighbours and acquaintances and I hope you can provide more details."

"Of course, Mrs. Croft," Mary replied obligingly and promptly fell quiet, probably expecting more questions. Well, that will not do.

"Go on, Miss Mary," she prompted.

"Our closest neighbours are the Lucases, Sir William and Lady Lucas and their children. Mrs. Collins was Miss Lucas, the particular friend of Lizzy."

"Yes?"

"She married our cousin, Mr. Collins," she continued with some bitterness, "after Lizzy rejected his offer."

"You are upset your sister rejected him?"

"I do not know if I should be."

"And I did not ask if you should, Miss Mary," Mrs. Croft said lightly, "but I would like to understand you better. You must see that if I do not know enough about you, I cannot help you."

"That is so," Mary agreed. "If Lizzy married him we would have been assured of a home in the event of our father's demise."

"Only if this Mr. Collins cousin agreed to it," Mrs. Croft pointed out.

"Lizzy said so once. So it is true?"

"Yes, Miss Mary, I am afraid it is. You have to understand that he would be under no obligation to support his wife's family from his income."

"Would it not be his Christian duty?"

"Maybe, but the law is the law, Miss Mary," Mrs. Croft rejoined, "and there are other aspects to consider."

"But shouldn't we all do our Christian duty?" Mary asked not willing to give up the point just yet. Not to mention that she was in the right.

"We should," Mrs. Croft said, "but as I said there are other aspects to take into account. Will you consider them?"

"Of course, Mrs. Croft."

"I understand that your parents were not able to set aside portions for you and your sisters from the estate's income."

"This is why Lizzy should have married our cousin when he asked her."

"Mrs. Collins, whoever she may be, would have children. The income from the estate should go to those children, should it not, Miss Mary?"

"Yes, but I believe that - well, yes, it should."

"You contend that it should be taken from them to support the family of the wife of Mr. Collins. It does not seem fair to him and his children, does it?"

"I suppose."

"In any case, it would not really improve the marriage chances you or Miss Catherine have."

"Would it not?"

"No. A good dowry matters, as well as the right accomplishments. Your future is very much in your hands, Miss Mary."

"I am the most accomplished of us all," Mary said without any shadow of doubt.

"Miss Mary, am I right to suppose you would have welcomed a proposal from your cousin?"

"Of course I would have. It is our duty to find husbands, is it not?"

"Did you like your cousin?"

"Like my cousin?"

"Like. Did you like him, as a man?"

"I did not think about this! I should not, about a man who is not my husband!"

"Your cousin is a parson, and I understand how you might think you would make a good parson's wife, but he is still a man. He would want his wife to like him, not just marry him out of duty or because he is a parson."

No reply came from Mary and Mrs. Croft was not sure how much she should press the girl.

"Let us examine why you believe you would make a good parson's wife."

This was a subject where Miss Mary really shined and Mrs. Croft had the pleasure to see her truly animated for the first time since they have been introduced. Unfortunately, Miss Mary was very much in error in her views and opinions.

"It is wonderful, Miss Mary, to see a young lady so dedicated to the Holy Book. However, as you well know, reading is not enough. We must go into the world and put our knowledge to work. Do you visit the tenants, Miss Mary?"

She did not. It was not for lack of trying, but the tenants' wives never seem to have time for her.

"Well, of course they do not. They have to work. Your role should be to listen to them, offer some small encouragement, and relay their worries to your mother and perhaps to your father as well. The most important thing is to listen to the people and understand what moves them."

"Listen to them?"

"Yes, Miss Mary. A parson's wife's first duty is to listen to the parishioners. Her husband," Mrs. Croft continued while stressing on the word 'husband', "will counsel them and the squire will work with them to resolve their troubles, but the parson's wife and the mistress of the estate are there to listen."

To this Mary did not have anything to add. She did not see anything wrong in her previous attempts to talk to the tenant families or her neighbours, but Mrs. Croft had been the daughter of a parson and later the wife of one, so it would behoove her to take into account her thoughts on the matter.

In short order they covered the topic of helping teach some of the poor children to read and write, which Miss Mary never attempted, of sewing for the poor, which she had been too busy with her piano to pursue, and of visiting those who might have benefitted from a friendly year, even if they were not directly under the purview of her father's estate and to whom she had never given a thought.

"What is your strength, Miss Mary? What is it that you believe you can do best? No, no, do not answer right away. I have a good inkling of what it is, but I would like you to take the time to ponder and really think about it."

-`o´-

"Good day, Mrs. Gardiner, Miss Bennet, Miss Lydia."

"Good day, Mr. Bingley," Mrs. Gardiner greeted him with a smile. Miss Bennet and Miss Lydia curtsied and murmured something, but there was a sudden rush in his ears and he couldn't make anything of it.

Ever since his falling out with Darcy he had constantly asked himself if he chose the right course of action. He had told his sister he was quite at the age where he should be making his own decisions and there was some truth in that, he supposed, but he did not feel ready.

It would be quite a cruel trick, he mused to himself, should it happen to have divorced himself from his best friend and maybe even his family only to find out that he and Miss Bennet were not as well matched as he hoped.

Charles Bingley craved assurance. Assurance that his Jane was really his, that she would not mind the lack of connection with Darcy, and last, but very much not least, that she would know how to organize the estate he was going to buy - when he finally got around to buying it.

"I was thinking of an outing, Miss Bennet."

Mrs. Gardiner coughed softly and Lydia giggled.

"And Mrs. Gardiner and Miss Lydia, of course."

"I believe this is a wonderful idea, Mr. Bingley. What did you have in mind, sir?"

"The Regent's Park, ma'am. The walks might be somewhat desolate at this time of the year, but maybe we can have a look at the Menagerie."

"What a wonderful idea!" Mrs. Gardiner exclaimed. "Mr. Denny sent word he would visit with us the day after the next. He will be in London for a week to make the necessary arrangements for his removal from the militia corps to a new post in the city."

"Really? This must be very agreeable to you, Miss Lydia," Bingley tried to appear appropriately enthusiastic. For herself Miss Lydia made no effort to appear anything other than maybe a little apprehensive.

"I believe you should visit us the day after the next too and then you can all plan your outing."

-`o´-

Author note 2:

Thank you for your comments, they are wonderful!

Guest Lachesis:

Thank you for pointing this out to me. I'll change the meeting to private and make the context clear.

However, the change will happen after I'm done posting because FF net is not very user friendly when it comes to making edits and replacing chapters. That or I'm really bad at it.

And that question was really something that somebody should have asked in the original novel. Why didn't they!? :)

Guest who said nice stuff:

Darcy and Elizabeth are both stubborn. I mean to get where they are now, they would have to be so. The other thing is in their own way they are both successful in their lives. So there's very little incentive to change.

Guest CW:

Everyone will have the chance to reflect on themselves here! I guess some characters are more open to admitting their mistakes than others, but they all get the chance to see what these mistakes are.

Guest who said it's good Lizzy is leaning:

She's twenty! About time, right? ;)

Guest Colleen S:

I'm glad you liked it!