Chapter Text
“I should get going. It was nice to see you again, Lizzie.”
Bing waved goodbye to Charlotte and rose to leave, feeling a little bit sick. This was not at all how he’d planned today to go.
Blindly walking from the small office, he somehow made his way to Darcy’s office. Noticing the door was open, he tapped lightly on the door to grab his friends attention.
Darcy looked up and smiled. “Bing! What brings you by Pemberly? I thought you were in LA?”
“Lizzie hates me now, Darcy. I think it’s because of Jane.” Bing closed the door behind him before making his way to the chairs placed in front of his friend’s desk. “I remember her being so nice at Netherfield, but she just gave me the impression that she was very upset with me.” He ran his hands over his face. “Has she mentioned anything?”
Darcy looked decidedly uncomfortable. “She hasn’t mentioned anything specifically, no. Actually, I don’t recall her mentioning you at all since she’s arrived at Pemberly. Maybe she’s just having a bad day.”
Shaking his head, Bing replied “I don’t know. I went by her office and she was filming a video letter to Charlotte, like she did when she stayed with us. I tried to ask how Jane was doing, and she got pretty… short with her answers.”
“Bing, did she say she was making a video letter to her friend?”
“Well, no. I assume that’s what she was doing because I walked in on her doing the same thing at Netherfield and that’s what she said she was doing.”
Will thought back through the videos he’d watched after learning about them a few months ago. He vaguely remembered a video happening and Lizzie hiding what she was doing from Bing, and also the video with just Bing and Jane. And how after watching it, he realized that he may have been wrong. About a lot of things.
“You liked Jane Bennet, yes?” Will asked suddenly, surprising his friend.
“Yes, I like her… a lot.”
“You still have feelings for her?”
“I know that you and my sister told me it was best to get over her, but there was… is something about her. I just can’t forget her.”
Will sighed and rubbed his temples. “What if I wasn’t the best judge of character, Bing.”
Shooting his friend a confused look, Bing answered “What are you talking about? You’re an excellent judge of character. I trust your judgment.”
Looking a little sad, Darcy sat leaned back in his chair. “But, what if I wasn’t? What if I was wrong? About Jane? And you.”
“I don’t understand, Darcy. Why do you think you’re wrong?”
“What if…” Darcy paused, seeming to try to pick the right words. “What if Jane’s feelings were the same as yours? I believe I misjudged her, and how she felt about you. I’m afraid I’ve made a terrible mistake.”
“Jane loves me? How can you be so sure now, versus then? I don’t understand. Did Lizzie say something?” Bing had a slightly sick feeling in his stomach, worse than when he’d originally left Lizzie’s little office.
“I need to show you something, do you have anywhere to be this afternoon or can you stay here for a while. I need to explain some things.” Darcy rose, grabbing his laptop as he came around the desk.
“I was thinking of going home, but I can stay.”
“Good. Come with me, and I’ll help you to understand what I mean. I just hope you aren’t too… angry with me when you’re done.”
Still confused, Bing followed Darcy into a vacant office and watched as he set up his laptop, and clicked on a bookmark. “What is this, exactly?” Bing looked up at his friend from his seated position.
“Lizzie’s video’s aren’t letters to Charlotte. They are video diaries. A vlog, is what they’re called.” Darcy scrolled for a moment and then clicked on a thumbnail. “You should probably start here. They aren’t very long, I’ll be back in a little bit.”
Instead of replying, Bing watched as Lizzie came onto the screen, talking about how she’d come to stay in his house. He smiled when she said Jane’s name, and when she appeared on screen leaned forward closer to the computer without realizing it. He wasn’t sure why Lizzie disliked Darcy so much. Especially, since she was at his company. Caroline. Why was his sister on this video? She knew about these?
He clicked on the next video and was surprised to see his name as the title. People wanted to see him? What people? There was a slight pang in his chest when Jane appeared on screen again. He missed her. And then… he was there? He was on the internet? Curious, he kept watching the videos.
Darcy came back a little while later to check on him. “What episode are you on?”
Startled, Bing paused the video and turned around. “Uh, I’m on forty-seven. I don’t remember Jane bringing by cookies. She said she brought them and I wasn’t home, there weren’t any cookies in the house. What happened?”
“I believe you’d have to ask your sister about that. I didn’t remember seeing any cookies either.”
“So you’ve watched these too, then.”
“Yes. All of them, until just after Thanksgiving…and then I stopped.” Motioning toward the computer, Darcy continued “You should probably finish. I can leave again, and come back later.”
“No, that’s okay. I might have questions. You’ve seen them all, so you might as well stay.” Bing clicked play, and immediately wished he hadn’t. Jane had him on twitter notifications? He covered his mouth as he watched her as she figured out that he wasn’t just not home but that he’d actually left the city. She was so sad. He’d made her sad. “Darcy, I don’t think I want to watch anymore.”
“There’s more, Bing. I’m sorry, I should have told you about this before… but you really need to see this.” Darcy clicked on the next video. Snickerdoodles. Bing watched as Lizzie worried over her sister, and then watched as Jane appeared. Acting like she was fine. But he knew she wasn’t, she wasn’t or hadn’t been that… chipper before. Her anger surprised him more than the previous emotion. She was always happy, that he remembered. Nothing could make her upset, except for him, it seemed. “Darcy, what did I do, I made her cry.” He paused the video and covered his face with his hands.
“This is my fault. I.. I didn’t think that her feelings matched yours, so I took it upon myself to convince you to go back to LA. I shouldn’t have interfered. It was wrong, and I’m sorry.”
Bing started to shake his head. “You’re right. You shouldn’t have, but this isn’t your fault. I should have been able to see that you were wrong. I need to fix this, if that’s even possible.”
“She’s in LA, Bing. She has been. This whole time.”
Bing looked at his friend in shock. “LA. What do you mean she’s in LA? Right now? She moved?” He turned his attention to the computer screen as Darcy clicked play.
“I thought about what you said, about going to talk to Bing.”
“And you’re going to do it?”
“Mhm, so um… the company I work for had an assistant merchant position open up in LA…and I’m going to transfer…”
“Wait, what?”
“…I just think this would be a really good move for my career right now.”
“Great! That…that’s great! I’m so happy for you!”
Bing stood up and paced. “I need to go back to LA. I’m sorry for cutting my visit short, Darcy… but I need to get back.”
Will stood and faced his friend. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“No, not that I can think of. But I’ll let you know if anything comes up.” Bing made it to the doorway and turned to look back at his friend. “Thank you, Darcy. I know you had my best interests at heart… thank you for telling me this, finally. “
Darcy gave him a tight smile and nod, then watched as his friend left. “Good luck, Bing.”