A/N woah! Bingley came back! I'm out of canon and flying free in uncharted territory now!

1811

Mr. Bingley's carriage arrived in Hertfordshire on a cold but sunny afternoon in the dying days of November. He went first to Netherfield to clean up after the dusty trip - to discover the house was closed up and the majority of the servants had been dismissed. To say that he was unimpressed would be to significantly understate his reaction. His fury with Caroline knew no bounds - he had not sent word ahead as he had no reason to think the house closed up.

Firstly, he instructed the housekeeper to re-open the house and have such servants as she could organise return. Secondly, he told her that his sister no longer had mistress responsibilities. In the unlikely event Miss Bingley returned, she would have only hostess responsibilities and if any of her instructions overstepped that authority, they were to be confirmed directly with himself, the master. The available staff put together washing facilities for him and he was able to clean up.

By the time he had sorted everything out, and considering the level of his temper, he decided he was not in the best mood and needed to calm down before he went and saw Miss Bennet. He was barely in calling hours anyway so thought it best to leave it for the morning.

A basic dinner was provided, and he suspected that he was eating the same as the staff themselves were having. He did not complain, well aware they were doing the best they could.

~~ HoL ~~

The next day dawned sunny and bright, and Mr. Bingley rolled out of bed with a smile on his face. He called his valet to shave and dress him and then went downstairs for breakfast. The offering was minimal as there still weren't many staff, but he was so excited for the day that he didn't care what was happening around him.

After a terribly long wait where he had failed to concentrate on his accounts, failed to concentrate on reading a book and then failed to concentrate on a walk in his own grounds, finally the clock ticked around to calling hours. It was time.

He entered his carriage and rode the three miles to Longbourn and presented himself at the door. The butler, Mr. Hill he believed, greeted him, and took his outerwear.

"Shall I show you in to the ladies, sir?" Hill enquired.

"Err, actually, I need to speak to Mr. Bennet first" Mr. Bingley replied nervously.

The elderly butler raised an eyebrow, but led him to his master's library, knocked and at the sound of "Enter!" opened the door and announced Mr. Bingley.

Mr. Bingley sidled gingerly through the door. It had only occurred to him at the last minute that maybe he should start with the father. It took all his courage to carry it through, though.

He entered to see Mr. Bennet sitting behind his desk with a large book of accounts open before him - and one eyebrow raised at Bingley. "Please, come in, my boy. Have a seat" Bennet said. Mr. Bingley seated himself, also gingerly. "What can I do for you today?" the other man continued.

No hesitation, straight to the point! thought Mr. Bingley. He took a deep breath and said, "I would like your permission to ask your daughter Jane for her hand in marriage".

A smile flickered across Mr. Bennet's face, and he settled back in his chair. "Tell me, lad, exactly why should I let my favourite eldest daughter marry you?" Bennet's tone wasn't angry, and it wasn't contemptuous. It seemed… amused? Well, that's better than the other two options! thought Bingley.

"Your daughter is a wonderful woman. I love her most dearly and I hope to spend all the rest of my days taking care of her." There, that's clear and can't be argued with! Bingley had had no idea how terrifying this would be!

"And what if I say no?" asked Mr. Bennet.

Mr. Bingley froze for a minute, and wailed internally - what would Jane say if I don't propose? Then he paused in realisation. Wait, what would Jane say if her father didn't give him permission to propose? She is of age! Then Bingley had a third thought - he's playing with me! He sat up straighter. "I would be terribly, terribly disappointed about that, sir. I would be sure to mention to Miss Bennet on my way out why I was unable to propose to her. And I would also have to make my apologies to Mrs Bennet too".

Then it was Bennet's turn to freeze a little. Ha, got him! thought Bingley. "Now, now, son, I haven't refused', replied Bennet, "I was just curious. Let's get down to details. I would like to know specifically what you offer my daughter."

Mr. Bingley smiled, relaxing a little. This is just like a business negotiation! I am good at those! "Well, sir, I own a townhouse in the better part of London, and I have five and fifty thousand pounds in the four per cents and another forty thousand pounds in various investments around town and I, of course, hold the lease on Netherfield, and it is written such that I take the income from the estate. Overall, this gives me a very comfortable living".

"And what are your connections?" asked the gentleman.

Bingley nodded, "As you know my background is in trade. This means my family connections are all in trade, but with trade becoming more important in the world, I don't think they should be valued quite as low anymore." Bennet gave him an interested look. Heartened, Bingley continued, "For my personal connections, I attended Oxford and as a result I am on a first name basis with several heirs of major estates and a couple of heirs of minor nobility. In addition, my elder sister has married the heir to a small estate in the north, so I can claim that connection to the gentry. My esteemed father wanted to purchase an estate but didn't live to do so, so with that as my plan, I expect to join the gentry as soon as I make that purchase. That may be Netherfield, which would place my future wife close to Longbourn." Bingley suddenly thought he sounded too confident, and added, "If that should happen".

"You are aware that Jane's dowry is only a few thousand at the time of her marriage?"

"Ah, no, we hadn't discussed dowry. But that isn't a problem, I have enough money for the two of us." Bingley hesitated, "Miss Bennet did inform me that she is the heiress. But I realise that with you an obviously healthy man, that is probably decades away".

Bennet harrumphed, "Yes, let us hope so, eh?" he glanced at Bingley "But she told you that, did she? Hmmm… Very well, young man! I have heard enough. If Jane has told you about the estate, then she obviously has some sort of thoughts about you. Let us call her in and see what she has to say to you" with that he rang the bell.

"Drink?" Bennet asked "you can probably use one after that! You ran the gauntlet well, son." The older man smiled. Bingley accepted gratefully and Bennet poured them both a glass of port. Hill entered the room and Bennet told him to ask Miss Bennet to attend them. Hill bowed and left the room. The two men sat quietly sipping their drinks, the quiet after the storm, until there was a gentle tap on the door and Miss Bennet entered.

"Jane," Bennet stood up, crossed the room, and took her hand. "It seems your Mr. Bingley would like to have a private word with you. I shall leave you two alone. The door will remain open, and I will not be far away." He patted Jane's hand, nodded at Bingley, and stepped out of the room, leaving the door ajar.

Jane turned to face Mr. Bingley, a brilliant smile on her face. "You came back!" she cried.

He smiled gently "Of course I came back. I said I would only been gone a few days".

She looked disconcerted. "Well, with Netherfield being closed up and Caroline writing to me, I suddenly wasn't sure."

Storm clouds seemed to cross his normally sunny face. "What", he asked, "did Caroline write?"

Jane bit her lip. "She wrote that you were all to stay in London for the season… and that you were courting Miss Darcy and that both sides of the family were looking forward to the wedding" she said, with a voice getting smaller and smaller as she went through it.

Bingley took both her hands and dropped to one knee in front of her. He looked up at her adoringly and said "There is only one lady I love, and her name is Jane. My sister is a fool and will never stand in the way of my heart. Miss Bennet. Please. Make me the happiest man in the world and agree to be my bride. I wish we would never be parted again - three days away from you was three days too many."

Jane was crying by now and unable to speak.

"Jane? Miss Bennet I mean..." he asked, not quite sure if they were happy tears or if she was upset.

Finally, Jane managed to get some words out "Yes! Oh yes! Oh Charles! I mean Mr. Bingley".

"Well, it is Charles now to you" he said, standing without letting go of her hands "now that we are engaged".

Jane giggled, with tears in her eyes, "Charles" she said, "and now you can call me Jane". Her smile was like to blot out the sun. "Shall we go and tell the family?"

"One thing first" he said and drawing her near he took her hand and kissed it. "My betrothed" he said and smiled. Then he drew her nearer while she smiled shyly then she closed her eyes and put her chin up and he kissed her gently on the lips. Opening her eyes, she smiled at him like he was the last man on earth and then kissed him back.

After a moment, they left the library hand in hand. Mr. Bennet was not far away, and Jane went to him and hugged him and said "Oh papa, I am the happiest creature in the world. Charles has asked me to marry him, and I have said yes!"

"What a surprise" said her father, dead pan, but with a twinkle in his eye. "Well, you had best tell your mother."

They went down the stairs and out to the west drawing room where the ladies were gathered for the morning. It was only family, her mother and all her sisters present, so Jane took Mr. Bingley by the hand and took him to stand in front of Mrs Bennet.

"Mamma" said Jane, "I'm very happy to tell you that Charles has proposed, and I have accepted. We are engaged".

Pandemonium immediately broke out. Mrs Bennet was up on her feet. Nothing would do but that she kiss her son-to-be on the cheek. "I was sure you could not be so beautiful for nothing!" she cried to Jane. She talked of nothing but the arrangements that had to be made and, in the end, didn't actually need the company of the two lovers to carry on the conversation. They slipped out into the garden, where they were in view of the windows.

"Now, what did my sister say?" he asked.

Jane sighed. The letter was in her pocket, and she passed it to him.

He read it and a look of fury briefly crossed his face. He looked at Jane. "I am sorry she sent this. She wanted me to aim higher, but I would only go where my heart led" Jane smiled at the words. "And I hope you will not hold this against Miss Darcy - Darcy is my very best friend. Miss Darcy is only fifteen and is not even out. Caroline has made this up from whole cloth." Jane was horrified "I had no idea!" then she laughed, "Caroline must have been quite desperate to come up with a story that turns out to be ludicrous. Poor thing."

"Well, I expect she was hoping that if I married the sister then it would be more likely she would marry the brother. But enough about others. Let us discuss our wedding.", he took both her hands and asked, "When can I make you my wife?"

Jane smiled yet again, then thought out loud "Well, tomorrow is Sunday. If we get the settlement signed this morning, Papa can go straight to the church to arrange for the banns to be read starting tomorrow then the fifteenth would be the third reading. What would you prefer? A quiet wedding before Christmas? Or a larger one in the New Year?"

"I have some family who will want to come down from Scarborough. Before Christmas may be too soon to allow everyone to arrange to get here. I guess we need to delay? The downside of not marrying a local gentleman, I fear".

Jane laughed. "While I would wish to marry you as soon as I can, I do want it done properly, with all who would wish to celebrate with us able to do so." Then she paused and added "And mamma may have killed us for wanting the wedding that soon, too".

They reluctantly agreed on a wedding date of January 28th, a full 8 weeks of engagement. Mrs Bennet said it still wasn't enough time for a proper wedding breakfast suitable for an eminent gentleman like Mr. Bingley, but the couple were firm on it being their preferred date.

Bingley insisted Jane be aware of what was in the marriage settlement, so she sat in when the two men went through it. Jane read it, being used to reading matters of business from her father's training and if Bingley was surprised by how well she analysed the document, he didn't say anything. "That is a lot of pin money!" she commented but didn't object and reading on "and a very generous jointure. I like the amounts you've set aside for the children". She looked over the top of the paper at him, "but we will definitely need to live within our income to achieve these figures!" He smiled at her and nodded. Then she turned to her father "how does the estate come into this, papa?"

"Your husband has authority over the estate once I die," he answered, "but it passes on to your children, or your sister's children should you not have any. In affect you will be the trustee and your husband acts on your behalf, but it stays in my blood line. The heir must be the direct line descendant by blood of my great grandfather. It isn't mentioned in the settlement because it isn't something Charles is gifting you". Bingley nodded in understanding.

In the afternoon, Mrs Bennet took them out calling on the neighbours, eager to show off her newly engaged daughter and betrothed. "One up on you, Lady Lucas!" Jane heard her mother mutter as they left the Lucas estate, Mrs Bennet deeming Jane's betrothed superior to Charlotte's.

Bingley spent the majority of each day at Longbourn. Occasionally he dined with another family and Mrs Bennet was very ruffled that someone else would dare to ask him away. Jane just smiled in understanding.

A/N This chapter should have been called "The Proposal", but I wanted to sustain some suspense!