He smiled. “Of course.”

“Do you think he is serious about Jane? And if he is, would he then rise to the occasion and be his own man, like you, or would he continue to be bossed about by his sisters?”

“That is more than one question, Elizabeth!”

She shrugged, not sorry in the least. He sighed.

“Miss Bennet has a particularly serene personality and I believe she would be a steadying influence on Bingley. However, I can see how from a woman’s perspective that may seem like an enormous risk to take. Allow me to say though, in Bingley’s defense, he is not always persuaded by his sisters. The majority of the time their demands fall on deaf ears unless it is something he feels duty-bound to do, and no, not everything falls into that category. And while I think he is not yet ready to be a husband, I do not think it to be too far into the future.”

Elizabeth thought on this for a moment and was satisfied at first. After all, in Hertfordshire she had been witness to multiple occasions of Bingley telling his sisters no and doing what he wished to do instead, which, of course, made his desertion all the worse. He could have come back to Hertfordshire. If he was persuaded to stay away, he allowed himself to be.

“Does Miss Bennet doubt his trustworthiness?” he asked, looking curious and slightly uncomfortable.

“Whether she does or not, I certainly do.”

“And you wield a great deal of influence over your sister.”

“Less than you wield over your friend,” she said with a knowing look.

His eyes widened slightly. She spoke before he could respond. “I have long suspected you convinced Mr. Bingley not to return to Netherfield and I was angry at first, but my father and I spoke of it and I realized he is his own man. It was his decision to make; he did not have to listen to you. He should have trusted his own judgment, but he didn’t. That cannot be laid at your door.” She took a deep breath and looked around before resettling her sight on Darcy. “He is not like you.”

He looked confused and she continued, “Do stop looking so worried, Fitzwilliam! I am not angry with you.”

She smiled and he exhaled gruffly, feeling like he had dodged a particularly nasty bullet. “What do you mean, ‘he is not like me’?”

“I mean from the outside, you have similar situations. You are each young men, have already inherited, and are each responsible for a sister, though yours is much younger. But you are a man full grown, while Mr. Bingley is still in process.”

He was looking at her with a peculiar gleam in his eyes and she returned his stare.

“What?” she asked after several moments passed and he said nothing.

“Come.”