Unforgiving Temper Read Online Free PDF Page B

looked
anxiously to Bingley whose motionless figure crumpled with a
devastating comprehension of the abuse his sweet Jane had suffered.
A fresh wave of misery enveloped Bingley as he dropped his head
into his hands, giving a low, mournful cry of despair that pierced
Darcy to the very core.
    Just as Darcy had feared, the revelation had
shattered the steadfast faith and trust that marked their years of
friendship. What had he done? Darcy drew several deep breaths,
swallowing hard to dislodge the lump that had suddenly formed in
his throat, but the effort only increased his misery. With clenched
jaw, he fought against the tears now welling in his eyes until they
no longer threatened to expose him. Bingley's dreadful silence
pressed heavily on him.
    At last Bingley spoke in a tone that was
barely audible, “What must she think of me? I am undone!” He then
sank once again into the gloom of his own private despair.
    Darcy waited for Bingley's wrath to descend
with well-deserved condemnation, but nothing came. The grandfather
clock near the window marked the silence as his tortured mind
searched desperately for a means of repairing the damage he had
done. A possible remedy finally materialized and he seized it. He
was hesitant of the outcome, but it seemed to be his only hope of
spanning the awful chasm that had opened up between the two of
them. Anxiously, he broke the excruciating silence.
    “Charles…may I offer a suggestion?”
    Laced with bitterness, Bingley's voice came
from behind his hands, “You may, and I may choose to ignore it,
particularly given my success with your advice thus far.”
    Darcy sighed quietly at Bingley's response.
It was stiff and formal, but it gave him hope that he had not lost
the friendship completely! Encouraged by his friend's faint attempt
at civility, he leaned forward, eager to make amends and assist
Charles in securing a happiness he himself had no hope of
obtaining.
    “You could start by returning to
Netherfield,” Darcy began, then waited for a response. When there
was only angry silence, he quickly finished laying out the entire
plan for Bingley's consideration. “There are matters to attend to
in giving up the place, and while you are there, you could make a
few social calls. The society of your neighbors would afford an
excellent opportunity to see if the lady's acquaintance may indeed
be renewed. If you find it is too late – which I sincerely expect
is not the case – then you simply close up the house and be gone.
What do you say?”
    Bingley lowered his hands to eye Darcy with
bitter skepticism. “And you think that after what you have just
told me of Jane's ill treatment these past months, I could dare to
hope my return to Hertfordshire would be a welcomed event?!”
    “Charles, I realize under the circumstances
you may be somewhat reluctant; but would it not be better to
undertake the matter directly and discover the lady's feelings for
yourself? Should you endeavor to do so, I suspect you will find her
regard to be quite the opposite of what you suppose.”
    “I do not know, Darcy. It has been so long,
and so much has happened. I fear I have lost my chance for
happiness with Jane Bennet.”
    “Then is there any more to lose by making the
attempt? If you do not even try, consider this: Can you live with
the endless misery of wondering what might have been had you acted
differently?”
    Too absorbed in considering the possibility
of a second chance, Bingley failed to hear that very same misery
manifested in Darcy's desolate tone.
    With all his heart Darcy hoped his letter to
Elizabeth had explained his family's connection to Wickham well
enough to acquit himself of any offense in that quarter; and in
particular, convince her that his own actions toward the man were
justified.
    His behavior in the matter of her sister and
Bingley, however, could not be justified. Too late, he had come to
realize the true nature of their affection for one another, and
that knowledge made