It is hard to be in a situation where the consequences of saying what you saw can be dire, but the consequences of not saying anything can be potentially worse. That was Bingley's situation.

When Darcy told him that Lady Maria was four months pregnant, Charles Bingley was horrified. He knew very well that Sir Thomas had been having a clandestine affair with Darcy's wife, since at least late November since he had seen them in a compromising position. That particular night, after dancing with a widowed woman a few years older than him, they agreed to go behind some tall bushes a few hundred feet from the house for privacy. They heard unmistakable noises, and a few minutes later he saw Sir Thomas peering through the bushes, and then Lady Maria appeared. They didn't see him and chose not to say anything. Thereafter he began to pay more attention when Sir Thomas was with Lady Maria and even had him followed. He knew they were still seeing each other secretly but since Darcy come to London, they had been very cautious.

For several months his conscience demanded that he speak to Darcy, but knowing the affair would end when the Darcys returned to Pemberley and his sister married Sir Thomas and moved to Oxford, he said nothing.

However, the situation now was different, that child could be the heir of Pemberley and there was a possibility he was not a Darcy...

He finally decided to speak to Darcy before he returned to Pemberley. He hoped his friend would believe him.

Darcy was in his office with his solicitor amending his will when his housekeeper told him that Bingley urgently needed to see him. He dismissed his solicitor and ushered in his friend. He immediately noticed that Bingley was visibly nervous...

"Charles, is something wrong?"

"Darcy, first of all, I ask you to listen to me and not interrupt me until I finish speaking..." he took a deep breath, "What I am going to tell you is very difficult."

Darcy looked at him surprised and mildly concerned and nodded.

"In late November was Lady Henrieta's coming-out ball." he sighed, "At that ball, I met Mrs. Wilson again. Do you remember her?"

"Yes, I know who she is. What does she have to do with what you want to tell me?"

"Don't repeat this, please. I danced with her and she shamelessly flirted with me. Despite her years, she is a very beautiful woman, and I invited her to take a walk in the garden." he looked him in the eye, and Darcy nodded, "A few hundred steps from the house there was a very dark garden with some tall bushes, I went with her there. I heard some noises... do you understand me?" Darcy nodded, "and I went somewhere else with her. A few minutes later I saw Sir Thomas lean out, and then Lady Maria."

Darcy looked at him horrified and after several seconds asked, "Are you quite sure what you are saying?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Besides, I know they have seen each other at least three more times in a house near Cheapside, where until a few months ago Sir Thomas' mistress lived.

Darcy paled even more and furiously asked, "Why didn't you tell me this before? Why are you telling me this now?"

Bingley sighed, "I didn't tell you before because I thought that when you and Lady returned to Pemberley, and Sir Thomas married Caroline, the affair would be over. But the situation changed, there is a possibility the child Lady Maria is carrying is not yours, so I had to tell you the truth."

Darcy was shocked, furious, and felt like a fool. For a few minutes, he didn't speak, until he finally came to a resolution, "I thank you, Bingley, for telling me the truth. I ask you not to tell anyone else what you have told me …"

After Bingley left, Darcy stayed in his office for a few hours thinking about the different options he had. His wife was three to four months pregnant, which meant there was a chance the child was his... but he wasn't sure. If that child was a boy, he would be the heir of Pemberley. Was he willing to take that risk without being sure if it was really his? Was he willing to abandon a child that could be his?

At that moment the respect he felt for his wife vanished and he wanted nothing more to do with her. It was going to be hard, but he was going to divorce her for adultery. He was not going to challenge Sir Thomas to a duel, nor was he going to ask him for explanations since his wife was the one who broke their wedding vows. Sir Thomas was a rake, but he was a bachelor...