Page 64 of Stuck

“We hit it off—Jane and I—and started seeing each other. I didn’t tell you because it was right after the whole Laura debacle…” He shook his head, retreating from that tangent. “At that drinks reception in Soho, at the start of the month? She—Jane—was supposed to be my plus-one. You know what a fuss King was making about me being a family man. Well, I’d told him that I was in a relationship and how great she was.

“Anyway, that day, she got sick, and I was freaking out that King was going to think I’d invented her to placate him. And she came up with this mad idea that Elizabeth should go in her place and pretend to be my girlfriend. Elizabeth wasn’t keen, but Jane didn’t want to let me down, so she persuaded her.”

I weighed my words carefully, disbelief warring with simmering anger. “That is without doubt the most juvenile stunt I have ever heard of.”

Bingley lowered his eyes and nodded. “And that is precisely why I asked Elizabeth not to tell you the truth. I didn’t think you were—” His phone came back to life and immediately began to ring. He glanced at the screen and pulled a wry face before silencing it. “It’s Jane. I’ll call her back.”

He took a gulp of his drink, wincing at the burn before continuing. “I didn’t think you were going to be at the reception, so I didn’t think you’d ever find out what we’d done. But when you showed up, it was in front of King and Forster and the others, and we were in the swing of pretending, so I had no choice but to go with it. I knew you’d think it was dumb. It was dumb. Elizabeth was going to tell you that night, but I stopped her, because I didn’t want you to tell me I was an idiot again.”

I cocked my head. “I’ve never called you an idiot.”

“I know you think I can be. You even said, the day after you met Elizabeth, that I always pick women who cause me ‘emotional, financial, and reputational damage’.”

Bugger. I’d regretted saying that as soon as the words left my mouth. “Bingley, I⁠—”

“You weren’t wrong. I have made mistakes. Mistakes that I wish you in particular hadn’t witnessed.” He ran his palms nervously over his thighs as though to dry them. “You’re like a brother to me, Darcy. I want to make you proud, I always have, but all I ever seem to do is cock up. So I asked Elizabeth not to tell you that I’d lied to all the investors. I thought if I waited until I’d secured the funds before I told you, it might mitigate what a pillock I’d been. If I’d known I was going to end up flushing the whole investment drive down the swanny anyway, I wouldn’t have bothered.”

I ignored his concerns about the business, its success the farthest thing from my mind. “That’s why you never seemed particularly into each other—because it was never real? You were never together?” More fragmented memories were piling into my mind, quashing my heart’s desperate attempts to rejoice at this news with an avalanche of reasons to start panicking.

“Don’t blame Elizabeth. She’s been begging me to come clean for weeks now—but I kept finding excuses. The longer it went on, the more embarrassed I was, and the less I wanted to admit the truth.”

“So, her and Wickham? Are they together?”

“I don’t think so.” His phone rang again; he silenced it again. “According to Jane, he and Elizabeth have known each other for years and never dated. I can’t see them starting anything up now. Plus he has a girlfriend.”

I’m assuming you know, then?

My stomach bottomed out.

“Her admission—she was talking about this—about your pretend relationship? Not about working with Wickham?”

“I suppose so. I mean, yes, probably. She didn’t hide the fact that she was meeting him yesterday. I knew from Jane that they were going for drinks. Mary King was with them. Didn’t you see her?”

“No.” My voice came out barely there.

“Well, investigate him if you feel the need,” Bingley said, shaking his head, “but even you said he’s unlikely to be a threat anymore. And Elizabeth would never sell us out. She loves her sister too much to do anything to harm her relationship with me. If you only knew the trouble she’s already gone to to keep us together! And she’s passionate about this job, this project, this whole sector. You should hear her talk about your work at Pemberley!”

I sucked in a lungful of air and pressed a fist to my mouth. I felt sick. The things I’d accused her of! The things I’d threatened her with. Dismissal, lawsuits—jail time! I pushed to my feet, unable to remain still. I should have known better. How many times had Elizabeth shown me her goodness? Her compassion, her loyalty, her joy in her work? How had I thought her capable of any of it?

It was seeing her with Wickham. I’d lost all reason and succumbed to abject paranoia.

“Damn it, Bingley, I thought she was cheating on you!” It had felt as though she was cheating on me.

He flinched. “I’m sorry. I never should have lied to you. And I certainly shouldn’t have asked Elizabeth to lie for me. It’s easily fixed, though. She’ll understand once we explain why we distrust Wickham.”

His phone rang again, and with a frown, he picked it up. “Let me get this quickly.”

I vaguely registered him answering the phone to Jane, but I was preoccupied torturing myself with how very far from easy it would be to undo the offence I’d caused Elizabeth. My heart hurt with the joint discovery that I might have had a chance with her after all and that I’d almost certainly already ruined it.

“Darcy?”

I looked up. Bingley was still on the phone, holding it to his shoulder while he talked to me. From his tone, I guessed it wasn’t the first time he’d tried to get my attention.

“What?”

“What time did you say you sent Elizabeth home?”

“About eleven o’clock.”