Disclaimer: I don't own Jane Austen, and no profit is being made.

Summary: See Previous Chapter

Chapter Two

Elizabeth seemed unusually agitated when they returned home from the card party at the Phillips', and Jane pried herself out of bed earlier than usual to join her nearest sister on her morning walk, under the assumption that Lizzy would want to talk about it.

Talk about it Elizabeth certainly did, at great length. She held forth on the great injustice done to Mr Wickham, the perfidy of Mr Darcy, who must have known the spirit of his father's Will, to withhold the inheritance due to a man of far lesser status and fortune than he, who must have materially suffered by it's lack.

Jane was privately of the opinion that a gentleman's education was far more than most Godchildren could expect - Papa had paid the cost of an apprenticeship for his own godchild, the son of a long-term tenant family - unless Wickham was Old Mr Darcy's natural child? Mr Darcy might certainly have reason to want Mr Wickham as far away as possible, and disillusion him about any continued support, if that were the case! Lizzy was not usually one to engage in such detailed gossip, either; had she developed a tendre for Mr Wickham?

Certainly, Mr Wickham's tale of woe did not speak well of Mr Darcy, but Mr Bingley was everything kind and gracious; surely he could not have befriended such an infamous sort of man, had he known of the events! Perhaps there was more to the story that had not been related? One had only to listen to one of Kitty and Lydia's quarrels to know that the same event could occur very differently when there were multiple perspectives to be had.

Lizzy hopped nimbly over a retaining wall, and waited for Jane to make her more careful way down. "What do you think of it all, Jane?"

Clearly, someone was misrepresenting the facts, but which one remained a mystery. Likely not for long, though; if Mr Wickham persisted in spreading his tale so freely, surely Mr Darcy would defend himself? With the righteous indignation still sparking in Lizzy's eyes, that did not seem like what she wanted to hear.

"They have both been deceived," was Jane's response, carefully navigating around a mud puddle, "in some way or another, of which we can form no idea. Interested people have perhaps misrepresented each to the other. It is, in short, impossible to conjecture the causes or circumstances that may have alienated them, without actual blame on either side."

Lizzy popped a sloe berry in her mouth, reminding Jane that they were unlikely to return to Longbourn for breakfast in a hurry. Spotting a barberry bush and some wild-growing rosehips, Jane removed her shawl to gather some. It would provide an excuse to turn back earlier, and the berries made lovely tea in the winter months. Lizzy came over to help, offering Jane some of her handful of Sloes, "Very true, indeed; and now, my dear Jane, what have you to say on behalf of the interested people who have concerned themselves in the business? Shall we clear them, too, or be obliged to think ill of somebody?"

Sometimes, Jane thought, Lizzy had inherited a little too much of Papa's wit. "Laugh all you like, but you shall not laugh me out of my opinion. My dearest Lizzy, consider in what a disgraceful light it places Mr Darcy, to so treat one whom his father had promised to provide for! It is impossible! No man of common humanity, with any value to his character, could be capable of it. Can his intimate friends have been so deceived in him?"

Mr Darcy was taciturn, to be sure, and took little pleasure in the more common social activities, and perhaps that had influenced Mr Wickham's belief that he could be so cruel. Lizzy considered Jane's words, as Jane guided them in a loop that would lead back to Longbourn. "I can more easily believe Mr Bingley's being imposed upon, than that Mr Wickham should invent such a history. He gave me names, facts, everything mentioned without ceremony. If it be not so, let Mr Darcy contradict it."

That had already been Jane's thought, at least as far as Mr Darcy defending himself. "It is difficult indeed - it is distressing. One hardly knows what to think."

Lizzy scoffed, "I beg your pardon, one knows exactly what to think!"

Clearly not that Lizzy was allowing her own like and dislike of the men involved to colour her opinions. "If Mr Bingley has been imposed upon, he would suffer terribly when his friend's true character comes to light. Until we know both sides, Lizzy, can you avoid gossiping about it?"

Elizabeth looked terribly offended at the idea of being considered a gossip, but nodded her agreement as the path turned and their solitude ended.

Longbourn came into sight, and with it, Mr Bingley and his sisters.

Jane did not need Elizabeth's wry glance to know that her demeanor had changed at the sight of them, and Mr Bingley likewise looked delighted. "Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth, how lovely to see you this morning!"

Jane handed her shawl bundle off to the maid, Abigail, who was returning to the kitchen with a basket of garden berries anyway. "We are pleased to see you as well, Mr Bingley, Mrs Hurst, Miss Bingley."

The sisters smiled warmly, cutting off what their brother had been about to say. "Nothing could bring more pleasure than seeing you again, dear friend. We have missed you since Netherfield, and thought that it was high time we returned the call."

Doubtless they had been very busy, with their brother planning a ball. Jane said as much, and Mr Bingley nodded, "In fact, we came to deliver an invitation for that very ball. Miss Bennet, I hope I may reserve two dances of yours? The first, and another of your choosing?"

Jane could not help her smile growing wider. "I would be delighted, Mr Bingley, but please, will you all come in for tea? Cook has fresh jams to go with the scones."

They accepted, and Jane led the way into the parlour, after divesting themselves of their outerwear, where Mary was reading and Kitty was sketching something, likely the fruit bowl. Kitty had a talent for drawing, though her choice of subject was perrhaps a little advanced. Her last sketch had been a berry bush, picked clean by the servants, with a rabbit looking up at it mournfully, titled "Aftermath of Civilisation."

Mary had laughed, which made Kitty preen, but the rest of the family had varied between concerned and confused.

Mrs Hurst accepted a cup of tea. "Whatever have you been doing with yourself, now that you are recovered?"

Jane rearranged the jam dishes by order of sweetness, since not all of them were easily disinguishable by colour. "We attended a card party hosted by my Aunt Phillips last night, and our distant cousin, Mr Collins, is visiting. Beyond that, there is a great deal to be done to prepare the estate before the snow begins to fall."

Miss Bingley tittered, "Oh, of course! In our family home to the north, the snows begin as early as September, and there is ever so much to do. What do you do?"

It would have been nice to hear more about the north, but perhaps they felt the same way. Mr Bingley smiled warmly as she spoke about taking the tenant children on berry picking parties, to keep them out from underfoot while repairs were made on their homes before winter, and determining which families were most in need of what in their charity baskets.

When she finished, he leaned forward in interest. "Do you know who I might speak to about our own charity baskets for Netherfield? As I am only leasing, the tenants do not yet feel certain about coming to me with their concerns."

Mary looked up from her book, "I would suggest Mr Morris or the Nichols. I believe they organize the baskets when Netherfield's owners are not present. We sometimes contribute, as do the Lucas and Bond families, and Mr Harris, who has the living in Meryton."

Too much longer on this subject, and it would feel like boasting, and Mama would start dropping hints about how well her daughters knew how to manage an estate. "I am all in awe that you managed to pull together the preparations for a ball so soon, Miss Bingley! Will you tell us about it?"

Miss Bingley preened. "Well, it helps that we have so many contacts in London, and the Little Season has not yet started..."

Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst departed in haste not long afterward, perhaps realizing that they had many more invitations to deliver, and the Bennet family was left to anticipate the ball.

Mama chose to view it as a compliment to Jane, while Elizabeth, Kitty and Lydia intended to dance the entire night away. If the officers were invited, there would be gentlemen in plenty, a rare occurrence while the war raged. Even Mary, who had inherited the greater share of Papa's solitary tendencies, was not disinclined toward the occasion. "If I can have my mornings to myself, it is no sacrifice to occasionally attend evening engagements. Society has claims on us all; I profess myself one of those who consider intervals of recreation and amusement as desirable for everybody."

Even the attendance of Mr Collins - lightened by Lizzy's visible surprise as he professed an inclination to dancing - and what new way he would find to be embarrassing by association, could not dampen Jane's excitement.

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A/N: Fanfiction doesn't like me leaving links, so for a more detailed summary on just how favored Mr Wickham was by Old Mr Darcy, you can check the links on my profile. The short version is: Jane is probably not alone in thinking that Wickham was Old Mr Darcy's bastard.

Comments are always appreciated, and I'll do my best to answer any questions.

Thanks,

Nat