A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing. Welcome, new readers and old! Thanks to Elaine for beta'ing as well. I have made so many changes in her edited chapters that there are probably many mistakes in the chapters I post from now on. Please point them out if you see them.

I appreciate all your reviews but am pressed for time this week to comment on them here. Please keep them coming! The weather is finally spring-like where I am. Have a wonderful weekend!

Chapter 23

Mr. Darcy arrived at his town house, deep in thought about the encounter with Bingley. He concluded he should be cautious of both Bingley siblings. Bingley's guilelessness, instead of being whimsical and charming, could simply be a sign of his immaturity that could be unpredictable and cause pain to others.

Bingley, however, had become a dear friend, whose well-being he cared deeply about. With proper guidance, he believed Bingley would, in time, steer away from caprice toward maturity.

While he was thus ruminating, he sensed a swift movement toward him. Seeing it was a lady about to collide with him, he was horrified until he saw the lady was Miss Bingley. He stepped away just enough to grab Miss Bingley's elbows to steady her.

Miss Bingley gripped his forearms, but could not move any closer to the gentleman. Mr. Darcy was never so thankful he was nimble-footed through years of fencing practice. To an onlooker, it would appear they were doing some strange sort of dance in front of his house. Peculiar? Yes. A compromise? Hardly.

Through the years, he had become an expert in avoiding compromising situations. No one, however, had been as blatant—attempting to get into his arms in broad daylight in the middle of a street.

Miss Bingley was crying hysterically and forgot the basic decorum of a lady. She practically screamed, "Mr. Darcy, how could you be so hardhearted and ungentlemanly? I need help and you refuse to give it!"

This ruckus had to stop. Mr. Darcy said sternly, "If you do not understand me, you must understand your brother."

Miss Bingley stopped immediately and released Mr. Darcy's arms, taken aback that Mr. Darcy would know of her brother's threat.

"Could you truly believe me capable of treachery? I came to visit you and Miss Darcy, but your knocker was down. When I saw you returning, I hurried to greet you, but tripped and would have fallen had you not been so quick to help me back up."

By then, a Darcy footman and the Colonel had come out to watch the commotion.

Mr. Darcy asked his footman, "Stevens, has this lady tried to gain entry to the house?"

Stevens answered, "Yes, Mr. Darcy. Several times. She even threatened to dismiss me without reference when she became mistress here." Stevens was a third-generation retainer of the Darcy family. Like all Darcy's upstairs staff, he was literate and well-spoken.

The Colonel chimed in, "I watched her walking back and forth between this door and the carriage over there for at least an hour, but I did not recognize her." He then narrowed his one eye, took a long look at Miss Bingley and exclaimed dramatically, "No wonder! Her face has become so peaked it bears little semblance to the pretty… ish young lady I had seen with Bingley years ago."

Mr. Darcy signaled Stevens to escort Miss Bingley to her carriage. He turned his back without another word, formally cutting her, and went into his house with the Colonel.

"Attempting a compromise on the street! Did she not know a lady may have an accidental fall, and the good Samaritan gentleman who helps her is not obligated to marry her?"

"I have been clear about my lack of interest in her through the years. Any clearer would have made me a brute…." Mr. Darcy stopped in mid-sentence.

Was I kinder toward Miss Bingley than Elizabeth, who certainly regarded me as rude? Was I equally rude to both ladies, but Elizabeth did not tolerate my disdainful behavior, whereas Miss Bingley would accept anything to achieve her goal of becoming mistress of Pemberley?

Mr. Darcy furrowed his brows and looked completely discombobulated.

"A brute? Yes, Darcy, I can see that. Have you just realized your manners in public could be seen as uncivil? You get away with it because you are the master of Pemberley. Those of great wealth are treated with undeserved courtesy, unlike we mere mortals. Go on!" prompted the Colonel impatiently.

Mr. Darcy ignored the Colonel's ribbing and continued, "I thought she would respect my friendship with her brother and attempt nothing untoward. Bingley told me at the club she had planned to carry out some nefarious scheme if she had stayed at Pemberley last summer. My having hurried away to extricate you thwarted her design. Something has changed. Perhaps she now feels the pressure of age. She is four-and-twenty."

"Practically on the shelf! I can see why she is desperate. Scheming to compromise you in front of your own home? What a hussy!"

"Bingley will come for supper tonight. I shall confer with him on how to prevent future incidents like this. He holds the purse-strings, and he is on my side."

Promptly at eight o'clock, Mr. Bingley arrived. He greeted the cousins jovially.

"I heard there was a lot of drama here this afternoon. My sister threw a vase at me when I told her I was coming here for supper. My coachman clued me in to the cause of her bad mood: earlier today he witnessed the two of you in a strange dance. I know you hate dancing. And in the street? I am intrigued!" Mr. Bingley ended with a chuckle.

"Bingley! That was no laughing matter. I thank you for warning me about Miss Bingley's dishonorable intentions, which prompted me to be on guard when I saw her. What can you do to stop her from trying again?"

"There is no question in my mind that she will try again. Caroline is persistent, if nothing else. What exactly did you do to thwart her scheme?"

"I held her at arm's length. She could not get close enough to claim a compromise. I also told her she ought to understand your language."

"That explains why she was so angry at me. I shall meet with my solicitor tomorrow and present her with her dowry to spend as she pleases. I no longer want to supplement her outrageous spending. Darcy, thank you for providing me with a reason. She has been extremely difficult, especially with her nagging."

The Colonel, who had been watching the exchange with a smirk, interjected, "Is it a punishment when you give her the fortune to do even more mischief? What if she uses her funds to hire ruffians to kidnap Darcy and coerce him into marrying her?"

"Hmm…" Bingley rubbed his chin, trying to think of a solution. "You have a point. Caroline is devious enough that I would not rule out her trying something like that."

"Good God!," exclaimed Darcy, "She is evil incarnate if she is capable of such criminal acts. I thought you could take away her dowry altogether if she misbehaved!"

"You are right, of course, Darcy, but I have always meant it as a deterrent. Do you think I should exercise that power? It sounds awfully cruel," said Bingley meekly.

"I have made a promise to myself to never again interfere with your personal life. Business-related issues? Yes, but that is all. To protect myself from Miss Bingley, I have already cut her from my circle of acquaintances. I may have to distance myself from you as well if you cannot control your sister."

The Colonel chimed in again, "What I see, as one not involved in the situation—although Darcy's well-being is my own—you have two viable options to preserve your friendship with Darcy." Mr. Darcy was grateful he would have his cousin's counsel more regularly now that he was back in the country for good.

Mr. Bingley's face lit up instantly. Without Darcy's help and guidance, he had been out of sorts. His sister's persistent irritation thus became almost too much to endure.

"You could marry Miss Bingley off…" Mr. Bingley immediately looked over at Mr. Darcy, who rolled his eyes.

"Not to Darcy! Are you daft?" Mr. Bingley looked appropriately chastened at this reprimand. Mr. Darcy could not help lifting the corner of his mouth momentarily. His cousin, with one eye and lingering battle injuries, could intimidate a grown man like Bingley without even meaning to.

The Colonel softened his voice to continue. "There is always a horde of men, young and not so young, who need heiresses for wives. Your connection to trade is an encumbrance, but negotiable. Your sister's disposition could be more of a hindrance. A man desperate enough, however, could be persuaded to accept both conditions. Who knows, this man may even take your sister in hand."

"But Caroline will not agree. She is of age. I cannot force her to marry where she does not wish," protested Mr. Bingley.

"That is why you need the second option," quipped Mr. Darcy. He had begun to see where his cousin's thinking was leading.

Mr. Bingley looked from one cousin to the other. He sighed and said wistfully, "I wish I had a cousin, or better yet, a brother." Again, he looked at Mr. Darcy. "You two seem to talk to each other without speaking."

The Colonel eyed Bingley suspiciously, "Give up any ludicrous thoughts! Darcy will never be your brother."

Mr. Darcy was startled to hear that. What is Bingley about? He had to admit to himself that, when he was walking away from the Hunsford parsonage after his disastrous, impulsive proposal to Elizabeth, it had crossed his mind that Bingley and he would become brothers if he brought Bingley and Miss Bennet together again, thus changing Elizabeth's rejection of his proposal to acceptance. Now, though, it seemed impossible. Miss Bennet had a suitor.

If the Colonel had known that particular bit of history, Bingley's allusion would not have appeared as baseless as the Colonel thought.

Bingley put up both hands and shook his head. "Of course not. Colonel, you can read minds!"

"I wager I can read your soul with both eyes. As it is, reading your mind will do. Darcy, will you tell Bingley his second option?"

Mr. Darcy thought for a moment. He said, "The second option is for you to remove a portion of Miss Bingley's dowry, say, five thousand pounds, because of the infraction she committed against the rules you have set. Since her pin money is based on her dowry, she will have less to spend. You will finally convince her you meant what you said. Who knows? She may at last be persuaded to look more seriously at the first option because if she dares try compromising me again, you will cut her off entirely, and I will make sure society does as well."

"Bravo! Your version differs from mine only in the amount of money taken. I would remove half, at least. Make it hurt! She will come around. Bingley, this will succeed only if you do not succumb to her nagging and reinstate the portion or, worse still, augment it just because she nags you further."

"Oh, no, no. I shall be firm. Thank you both for this ingenious scheme. I shall make the dowry reduction seven thousand and five hundred pounds, the average between your two suggestions."

The two cousins exchanged glances, and Mr. Darcy gave a slight nod, indicating he would give Bingley the benefit of the doubt.

Before the evening was over, it was decided that Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley would call on Mrs. Trumbull the next day, while the Colonel reported for equerry training.