Chapter 18

Fitzwilliam Darcy was never a man to be caught running through an estate, but that is how he found himself a week after Colonel Fitzwilliam and Michael Lucas had quit Netherfield to battle overseas. The butler has found him in the study and had announced that Bingley's carriage was spotted down the drive. What could Bingley mean by showing up unexpectedly he wondered. Yes granted it was his estate still, but he had stated before they had quit the estate that he was never coming back. He would let Darcy stay there as long as he wanted, but he was not coming back for any reason.

Slowing his pace as he got closer to the front door, Darcy did not want any of the staff to see him running through the estate. Glancing at the butler, he saw the older gentleman tip his head ever so slightly, giving him the signal that the carriage was almost there. Slipping in to his greatcoat and hat, he slipped out the door, and waited on the top step. Putting his hands behind his back, his thoughts drifted to Elizabeth Bennet. He planned on asking her to be his wife the next time he found himself visiting Loughborn. He knew that she was trying to keep Mary and Jane busy so they did not think of their intendeds fighting in America.

Elizabeth made him a better man; he found himself laughing more and smiling at times for no reason. She brought the light back in to his life after losing both of his parents and dealing with what Georgianna went through last summer. Carriage wheels sounding on the gravel brought him back to the present. Steeling himself against the onslaught of having to deal with the Bingley sisters again, he was pleasantly surprised when just Bingley jumped out of the carriage.

"Darcy!" Bingley exclaimed as he jumped out of the carriage before it had even come to a complete stop. Making his way up the walk, he gripped his old friend's hand, not giving it much thought when Darcy's handshake was not as firm as it usually was.

Smiling a somewhat strained smile, Darcy asked, "What brings you all the way back to Hertfordshire?"

"I will tell you old friend once we make our way to the drawing room. It is frightfully cold out here," he said rubbing his hands up and down his arms.

Gesturing for Bingley to follow him, Darcy led them to the drawing room, and rang for tea. He knew that it was still Bingley's house, but this estate was starting to feel like his second home. Taking a seat across from his old friend, he waited for him to say why he was here suddenly.

Taking a long sip of his tea, Bingley wondered how he was going to explain why he showed up with no warning. "I should have sent an express saying I was coming back, but this was a spur of the moment decision. I might as well come out and say it. I would like to try things over with Jane Bennet," he said quickly not daring to look Darcy in the eyes.

Cursing under his breath, Darcy wished Richard was here right now. "Bingley there is something I need to tell you."

"No, Darcy. I did not listen to you the first time about Jane and I am not going to listen now."

"Bingley this is important," he stressed, but his friend was already making his way to the front door. "Where are you going?" he demanded.

Glancing over his shoulder, Bingley smiled, "I am going to Loughborn to pay them a visit.

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Mary pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders, trying to ward off the chill that was in the room. Glancing out the window she saw that the wind had picked up and it was looking like it might start snowing before nightfall. Picking up her book again, she tried to concentrate on the words floating in front of her, but every letter just jumbled together. Her locket hit the edge of the book and she closed her eyes.

She loved that Michael had given her the locket to remember him by while he was gone, but every time she saw it she missed him more. Rubbing her thumb over the locket, a smile came to her lips.

"What are you doing in here alone, Mary?" Jane asked from the doorway. Walking further in to the room, she took a seat next to her younger sister.

"I was trying to read, but I can not seem to concentrate on anything. How are you handling Colonel Fitzwilliam being away?" Mary asked as she took the edge of the blanket and wrapped it around her older sister.

Snuggling closer to her sister, Jane sighed. "They have not been away for very long and I already miss just talking to him. He knows how to get me to open up and start talking about myself when mama usually just does all of the talking," she giggled quietly as the bedchamber door opened and their sister Elizabeth skipped in to the room.

"Why was I not invited to the party?" she asked. Grabbing another blanket from the bed, Elizabeth sat on the other side of Mary and scooted closer to her sisters.

"I am sorry Elizabeth, but I saw that Mama had you cornered in the drawing room, and I did not want to interrupt," Jane said with a slight smile. It was her sisters turn to have their mother talk her ear off about Mr. Darcy. At every opportunity their Mama had wanted to find out more about Colonel Fitzwilliam and his family. Since his father was an Earl, Mama now put her eldest daughter up on a pedestal.

Sighing, Elizabeth laid her head on Mary's shoulder, and pulled the blanket up on her shoulder. "Mama wanted to know how much Mr. Darcy was worth again for the tenth time this week and that I had to snatch him up quick before some other young woman got her hands on him. After you and Mary got engaged, Mama has not left me alone," she said with a groan.

Laughing, Mary glanced out the window. A light snow had started to fall and she wondered if their ice skates still fit. They use to spend so much time during the cold winter months out on the pond, laughing and swirling as fast as they could go. Glancing at her sisters, she asked, "Do we still have our ice skates?"

Jane and Elizabeth exchanged smiles before turning their attention back to Mary. "I think Papa put them somewhere in his library. Shall we go find out?" Elizabeth asked as she jumped off the window seat.

Following her sisters down the stairs to their father's study, Mary thought she heard someone pounding on the door, but continued to follow her sisters. Mr. Bennet raised his head, startled when three of his daughters suddenly busted through his door. Raising his eye brows at them as they tried to catch their breath, he wondered why they were in such a hurry. "Is something the matter?" he asked once they had composed themselves.

"We are looking for our ice skates, Papa. I seem to remember that you had stored them in here away from Kitty and Lydia when they kept trying to borrow them last year," Jane said as she started looking through a few of the boxes piled in the corner.

"Ice skating? Who's idea was that?"

"Mine Papa," Mary replied over her shoulder as she was helping Elizabeth move a pile of blankets. "I was watching the snow falling and thought it a good idea to get out of the house and get some exercise."

Pushing himself out of his chair, Mr. Bennet pondered where he had hidden them. "I believe they are in the bottom box over in that corner. They were one of the first things I packed away last spring when the snow melted." Making his way over to the stack of boxes, he lifted the top one off and started rummaging through the bottom one. Locating the missing skates, he raised them with and said, "Found them."

Rushing over to their father, they each grabbed their size and quickly tried them on to see if they still fit. They each stated that her pair of skates still fit perfectly, so Jane decided to lead her sisters to go and get their wraps. Opening the study door, she squeaked when she found herself staring in to the eyes of Charles Bingley.

Not paying attention as to the reason that Jane had stopped, Mary and Elizabeth bumped in to their sister with an "Ah."

"What is the matter Jane?" Elizabeth asked as she looked up and found Mr. Bingley standing there. "Oh, Mr. Bingley, this is a surprise."

Shuffling his feet, Bingley was not sure what to do as he had expected to only find Mr. Bennet in his study and not all three of his eldest daughters. Glancing at Jane out of the corner of his eye, he said, "I came here to see Miss Bennet. Do I have your permission to have a private audience with her?" he asked, glancing towards Mr. Bennet.

Too surprised to speak, Mr. Bennet nodded his head, and quietly led Elizabeth and Mary out of the study. As the door closed, Jane heard the soft voice of his father saying that he would like to join them out by the pond if they still wished to go.

Pressing her back against the closed door, she took a deep breath and tried to calm her racing heart. What could Mr. Bingley be doing back at Loughborn when he told Mr. Darcy that he was never to return? And why would he wish to speak to her when they had never departed as more than just friends? Looking at the gentleman, she found him pacing in front of the fireplace, his hands folded behind his back. "Why are you here Mr. Bingley?"

Swiveling to face the woman who he thought held his heart and could be the one, he stuttered, "Surely you know why I am here, Miss Bennet? I know I left rather sudden, but I have come back now to start anew. I should never have listened to my sisters when they convinced me to leave."

Coming to stand in front of his angel, Bingley grabbed Jane's hands, and took a step closer to her. "You are an angel, Jane and I never should have left you. I have never met a more beautiful creature in my life and I know that I will be the envy of every ball room when I have you on my arm. Your hair is so golden, your eyes are the color of the clearest lake, and I have wanted to taste your plump red lips since the day we met," he whispered huskily as he leaned in closer.

He heard a soft gasp and took that as his cue that he could kiss the beautiful angel in front of his, but was dazed when he found himself sitting on the study floor staring up in to hatred and disgusted blue eyes.

Jane could feel the anger boiling to the surface as she stared down at the man she once thought handsome and amiable. Most people knew her to be serene and always seeing the good in everyone, but sometimes she got angry when someone pushed her too far. "You sir are no gentleman! Mr. Darcy had told us about how you always fell in love with a new young woman every season or even every few months, but I thought at the beginning that he was wrong. Now I can see that he was not wrong. I never gave you any indication that I favored your attentions while you were staying at Netherfield, so I would like to know why you thought I do. I may be beautiful by society's standards Mr. Bingley, but there is a more about me that you do not know."

Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm down, before she started talking again. Watching as he pulled himself up off the floor, Jane walked over to him, and without realizing what she was doing, she took her hand and slapped him across the face. "I would never marry a man who only cared about how beautiful I was and if he was going to make his friends jealous. I also would never let a man kiss me unless he was my betrothed. Please get out of my father's house," she replied and went over to open the door.

As Mr. Bingley started walking out the door, holding his stinging cheek, she stood a little taller and happily whispered, "Oh and Mr. Bingley, this time next year you will be seeing me around London known as Mrs. Colonel Fitzwilliam."

Turning stunned eyes at her announcement, he blindly raced out of the house.