Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Summary: A continuation of my other story, The Course of Love, the second in what I hope will be a three-story cycle. The Darcy's plan to welcome a new addition to their family, but dangerous interference from the press leads to some serious obstacles.

O, What Men Dare Do!

By: Lucy Sienna

Elizabeth Darcy sat in a cozy chair reading a book. The snow was falling softly outside, but she had no plans for travel, so she really did not mind. Suddenly, the lamp she had on cut off. Since it was the only light in the room, Elizabeth had to feel her way to the door. Oddly enough, she found the entry lights were off as well. The whole townhouse was dark, so was the street outside.

"Will! Will! Where are you? There's some sort of blackout." Elizabeth called.

She heard a door shut, and then heard a muffled shout and a thud.

"Damn step down." William Darcy cursed.

"Are you okay?" Elizabeth called.

"I'm fine. You stay still. If I fall, I'll only hurt my pride, if you fall, it could be a lot worse." He replied and made his way slowly down the stairs. "Lizzie? You okay?"

"Yes. What's with the blackout?" Elizabeth asked.

"I don't know. Let's light some candles, get some light in here so we don't hurt ourselves." Will suggested.

"Sir! My Lord! Someone's broken through the security system!" The housekeeper, Mrs. Reynolds, said, coming in with a radio and a flashlight. "Charlie is after the intruder, but come, please."

"I found an ID card. He's a pap reporter." Charlie's voice came in over the radio.

"Mrs. Reynolds, please take Lizzie into the kitchen and shut yourselves in there." Darcy sighed, his eyes flashing with fury. "I want the name of the rag he works for and I want this man fired and the rag printing an apology by tomorrow."

"Yes sir." Mrs. Reynolds nodded, getting back on the radio with Will's instructions.

Elizabeth glared at her husband, but followed Mrs. Reynolds anyway. Now was not a good time to talk to him. That look was the look Will only used when he was extremely angry. She sighed and looked at her slightly protruding belly.

"This is all your fault, you know." Elizabeth rubbed her stomach. "Knowing about you has turned your father into a mad man."

"No Mum, just an overprotective on." Mrs. Reynolds set the radio down and locked the kitchen door. "Would you like some tea?"

The offering of tea in a crisis used to bother Elizabeth. Her Aunt Margaret Gardner did it constantly, and it always annoyed her until she asked why.

"Why do you always want to give me tea when things go south?" Elizabeth asked, sitting on a stool in the kitchen.

"My dear, it is a mindless task that requires attention, it clears the head and distracts momentarily. It is not meant to make you feel better, though it can, and I always think a good cup of tea does wonders, but it is more meant for the person who makes the tea. It allows them something useful to do when they feel helpless." Lady Margaret Gardner explained. "It is sort of a comfort."

Ever since that day, Elizabeth Darcy did not refuse a cup of tea in a crisis.

"I can't believe they broke into our home." Elizabeth sighed. "I'm out of the public eye for two weeks and already the rags have all sorts of nasty rumors flying about."

"It's what they do." Mrs. Reynolds sighed. "They will not be happy knowing that you and Mr. Darcy are happily married. Happiness is boring; it is not juicy gossip. You vanishing from sight is suspicious, and they love it. Now they've run out of stories on your disappearance, they must now know the dirty secret that you're hiding. And even if the secret if a good thing, they must make it dirty, or they will not sell as much."

"That's why the sooner we get home to Pemberly the better." Elizabeth shook her head. "I don't want to hide in the house anymore, but if I go out, I'll be mobbed and my picture will be everywhere. I won't mind it, once I tell everyone that I'm pregnant, but I can't let the rags know before my sisters do."

"The renovations are ahead of schedule, so we should be back in Pemberly within the week." Mrs. Reynolds smiled. "Didn't Mr. Darcy tell you?"

"No." Elizabeth crossed her arms. Today was one of her irritable days and Will had not been on her good side for most of it. "He's stopped talking to me again. He's started treating my like a subservient piece of property."

"What?" Will asked, standing in the open doorway.

"Excuse me, sir, mum." Mrs. Reynolds said and left quickly.

"Elizabeth, what is going on?" Will asked. "Why would you say that?"

"You tell me, William." Elizabeth snapped. "You've been telling me what to do for the past week. Don't leave the house, don't walk to the museums. I'm not glass, just pregnant. You are acting like the Lord of the manor again!"

"To protect you! And tonight shows me exactly why I'm protective. There was an intruder, Elizabeth. Someone broke into our house! Our house! Where we sleep and eat and live! A private sanctuary and its been all but destroyed. He was just a reporter, fortunately, but what if he had been a thief or a murderer? Hell, it could have even been Wickham! They just let him out on a damn technicality." Will's baritone voice boomed through the kitchen, echoing off the appliances and cabinets. "It's is not that I don't respect you or your opinion, tonight I reacted, and I would do it again."

"Then why haven't you told me about Pemberly being done ahead of schedule? Why didn't you tell me that my little sister sold her story to the Lifetime channel so they can make it into a movie? Jane and I are slated to go to the US in a few weeks for an interview. They would have asked me about it and I wouldn't have had a clue if it weren't for Sara. I have to find things like this out from my maid! Or the housekeeper! When they should be coming from my husband." Elizabeth stood, the fury in her eyes matching his.

"I was trying to make that go away." Will sighed. "So no one would ever know. Lizzie, I am sorry about not telling you those things. You are right, I should have. But know this, I will protect you if it kills me. I do not care how much of your wrath that gets me; I would die keeping you safe. That's what I did tonight, it's what I will do any night that I feel the lives of my family are threatened."

Elizabeth visibly calmed down. "I understand that. I do. But you have to talk to me. And just because you can make things go away doesn't mean that I have to stay in the dark about it all."

"I don't want to stress you out. That could hurt the baby." He touched her cheek gently.

"My love, it will take a lot more stress than a break in to harm the baby. I can handle it. I promise." She smiled at him. "Now, when can we go home?"

"Tomorrow night, as soon as this mess with the tab is straightened out." He replied, kissing her forehead gently. "Come up to bed?"

Pemberly had always felt like home to Elizabeth. She loved the London townhouse, but there was something so beautiful about the old mansion. It was centuries old, the big house itself was finished four hundred years earlier. The ruins from an even older castle were several hundred meters away, and the whole area had been around for hundreds of years. Some of the families there had been doing the same business for five hundred years. Everything in the house had a story, it was an antique, and it had belonged to this great man or this famous woman. They were constantly discovering the house. It is where Will and dozens of generations of Darcys had been born, and it is where they would continue.

Like many woman before her, Elizabeth wanted a home birth. Will had not originally liked the idea, but after she explained to him that there would be a medical transport on hand to take her to the emergency room should anything go wrong, he relented and allowed her to set it up.

Of course, they were still months away from that event. Thank goodness, because Elizabeth was not sure she was ready to be a mother. She was, after all, only 22. But still, what a beautiful place to raise a child. The house was even pretty right now, though it was a dreary, rainy winter day.

"Lizzie!" A voice called as she got out of the car.

"Jane?" Elizabeth asked, turning to see a blonde woman bounding down the steps toward her, getting soaked.

The two women embraced, completely oblivious to the rain.

"Lizzie. Oh, I've missed you." Jane hugged her sister, than realized that something had changed. "Oh my god! You're pregnant! I can't believe it! Why didn't you call me? We have to get you inside, you'll catch a cold!"

Jane was talking so rapidly; Elizabeth was unable to follow after that as she was led inside by the excited and still jabbering Jane.

"Sara, can you get me another blanket?" Elizabeth asked as she sat in front of the fire later that evening, several blankets already draped around her. Will had been in parliament meetings now for three days straight, and even though Jane was here, and she had her sister's constant companionship, Elizabeth was miserable.

"Lizzie, I really don't think you should be out of bed." Jane fussed over her sister. "It's not good for the baby."

"Jane, I'm barely pregnant, and it's just a bit of a cold." Elizabeth replied. "And I maintain that it's all your fault."

"Well I intend to give myself a piece of my mind." Jane sighed, returning to her crossword puzzle.

"Jane…what if I can't be a mother?" Elizabeth asked. "What if I screw up?"

"Lizzie, dogs do not eat birth control pills unless God really wants you to have this baby. You will be a wonderful mother and Will is going to be a great dad. Plus, once Kitty and Mary come to live with you this summer, you'll have all the baby sitters you need."

"I still don't understand why you don't just move in with us as well, permanently, I mean." Elizabeth sighed.

"Come now, Lizzie, I need to be alone with my husband sometime. Besides, I'm getting Lydia this summer." Jane smiled. "She wants me to teach her to be a real lady. I guess she finally feels ashamed of herself after selling her story to one of the trashiest American networks."

"Lizzie!" Darcy's baritone voice rang out through the apartment, interrupting the girl's chat.

"Jane!" Charles's voice joined in with his friend.

"They're home." Jane grinned and ran out of the room. "Don't you move, I'll send him in here!"

Elizabeth did as she was told and stayed in the chair. Suddenly, a very tired but very familiar face appeared in front of her. "Lizzie, are you okay?"

"It's just a cold, Will. I'm fine, just don't get too close, you look tired enough without catching this from me." Elizabeth smiled, and he kissed her forehead. "How was the meeting?"

"Long. Our little break in has led to some ideas of reforming laws regarding the media, and it is all a big headache. Because we can't regulate them too much because of the freedom of the press, but many of us feel that if we don't do something the press will only get worse." Darcy sighed, plopping down in the chair Jane had just vacated. "The Queen herself spoke for a long time about our responsibility to maintaining free press but also reigning them in at the same time."

"I'm glad you're pushing this issue through." She smiled. "I'm proud of you. Did you see my Uncle?"

"Yes. He says hello and congratulations. Your Aunt must have told him because I did not say a word. Anyway, he's doing well, business is doing great and he wants to make a donation to your reading program."

"I'll have to get it touch with him about that." Elizabeth nodded. "Are we going to be the new face of media control? Isn't this just going to make our lives worse?"

"No. Not really. In some ways, yes. They will be attacking us in the press because it's 'our fault' that their practices are coming under fire. They feel that you belong to the public, so when you try to hide, they get angry, and feel they are entitled to sneak in and find their public figure." Will explained. "I will not lie to you, my love, things are going to get much worse before they ever get better."

"You think things are going to get that much worse?" Elizabeth asked, concerned.

"We're staying at Pemberly for that very reason. I need to know that you are absolutely safe. Derbyshire is not immune to the press, but you will be relatively safe here. Safer than London, anyway. I'm having Kirk double check the gate, make sure all the security works well. If I so much as see one photographer, I'll sue every paper in the country and win." Will replied. "I will keep you protected at all costs."

"What about you?" She asked, touching his cheek gently.

"I'll be right here, worrying about you." He replied, kissing her hand. "Let's get you back in bed."

"How long are Jane and Charles staying?" Elizabeth asked as Will scooped her up.

"Until after your New York trip." He nodded. "Charles and I will entertain each other here while you are gone."

"I thought you were joining us in New York." Elizabeth said as he put her down.

"Yes. I know. But Charles and I have so much work to do with this law and besides, you need a girl's trip. It'll be fun." Will smiled at her. "But you must promise me not to go off alone. Promise to always stay with the bodyguards and promise to call me every day."

"Will. I'm a big girl. Getting bigger every day." She replied. "Besides, I don't leave for another week."

"Please, Lizzie, do this for me." Will begged, resting his forehead on hers. "I am not above begging."

"Okay." She acquiesced, smiling. "But only because you threatened to beg."

Note: Title comes from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing