Grow

Blind and childish, I won't fight it
Here I hide underneath my innocence
Grow; grow.
- Rae Morris, 'Grow'

She tries not to watch him out of the corner of her eye as he sits amongst the group, casual and apparently content with his surroundings.

She supposes she had it coming.

She supposes that, after everything she has said and done, he should have this moment of superiority, of self-righteousness.

She supposes she should get on with her work or she'll be out of a job.

Elizabeth picks up her dish cloth and sets about wiping down the recently vacated table under the bay window, ignoring the party in the overly comfortable couches by the fireplace. She hears the bell at the door, ringing joyously amidst her rising gloom, signalling the couple's exit. They'd had that content and comfortable look about them, that couple, which Elizabeth often observes in sickeningly stable and secure couples such as Jamie and Charles. Elizabeth watches as the lady wraps a scarf about her neck and he holds her elbow, directing them down the street while her attention is otherwise engaged with tucking the tails of her scarf into the front of her coat.

Elizabeth feels a flicker of envy. Would he have done that for her? Would he have ensured her safe passage down the footpath because she'd been so mindless as to forget to rug up against the winter chill before she'd left the warm confines of the coffee shop? Of course he would have. He is a gentleman and such small acts of chivalry come naturally to him; not that she has ever given him such credit to his face. This is only a recent discovery.

It has been two months since William Darcy told her he loved her, only for her to laugh, mock, scorn, spurn and soundly reject him in reply. She had all but spat in his face.

She has managed to forget the horribly cutting things she said to him at Charles' birthday party. She's ruminated over it, dissected it from every angle. Never has she been so cruel to a person, much less a person such as him. No one has ever fallen in love with her before and she suspects she would have accepted his declaration with greater equanimity if she hadn't been foolishly hoping to hear it from another's mouth. She rubs harder at an imaginary coffee stain, clenching her jaw as her vision shifts to that night. She remembers the shock and outrage on his face as she'd made her feelings on him and their supposed relationship clear.

At least in that she finds a small kernel of comfort.

Gentlemanly he may be, but he is also arrogant and aloof, unpardonably proud and altogether stodgy. She may have come to realise that he was a better man than Wickham ever made him out to be, than she'd previously believed him to be, but there's still an unforgivable air about him. A quick glance at him now confirms this: she catches him staring at her before he snaps his head back to Charlie. He's frowning. He's being his typical stodgy self and frowning. He probably doesn't like being stuck in her kitsch coffee shop with her dead end job being flouted in front of him.

She supposes he's congratulating himself on his lucky escape while berating himself for his lapse in judgment. At least she isn't his embarrassment when he finally presents a girlfriend to his parents at the ancestral home back in merry old England. Dodged a bullet with that Lizzy Bennet, chap. Make sure it doesn't happen again … but if it does, do use protection. We can't have little bastards running around, Granny's heart will give out.

Do parents actually caution their kids to have safe sex these days, or do they place their faith in sex ed classes at school? Lizzy ponders this as she collects used cups and assorted crockery from around the café. Mrs Bennet has only ever told Lizzy not to let any boy touch her in places she didn't show to the world at large. (Apparently Lydia has taken Mrs Bennet at her word, if the recent letter from the school proves anything. 'But everyone's seen my boobs after I flashed Timmy Collins on the school bus, so who cares what I was doing behind the sports shed?' Lizzy hadn't been blind to Lydia's fascination with Wickham, and comments like this made her infinitely glad that Wickham had dropped off the radar.)

'Lizzy,' calls Jamie from by the fire. 'Your shift has ended; come and join us?'

Elizabeth blinks and looks over to her brother, sitting comfortably beside Charles. Her eyes slide to the others with them. True, her shift is over but she's hoping that if she keeps busy and keeps serving people, they will give up on her and leave. Part of her is relieved and amazed that she has been able to function since they entered the shop declaring their intention to wait out her shift and go to an early lunch. Her hands shake knowing that she has an audience, although there has only been one broken plate and that was entirely Caroline's fault. She'd dropped the plate before Elizabeth had a chance to take it from her hands. The embarrassment at that scene still brings heat to her face, particularly when she thinks about the new face in the crowd. She doesn't want to analyse it too closely but she wants to make a good impression with Georgiana Darcy and clumsy butter fingers and broken dishes do not help her cause.

Jamie smiles in encouragement and Lizzy can only go along with him. Jamie knows the bare minimum about what brought Elizabeth's appearance at Charles' party to a sudden end, and he gives Lizzy's shoulder a cheery nudge in a show of solidarity.

'He asked me out and I said no. It got a bit ugly, a little bit awkward, but it's ok. He won't ask again.'

'He's going to England for their summer. I don't know why he'd want to start a relationship when he's about to leave …'

Except, Elizabeth had known why.

'I've arranged an internship for you with an architectural firm we use regularly for our European developments. I've rented an apartment in Mayfair, so you'll be close to everything you've ever wanted to see and do, away from all of this …'

Her stomach churns in indignation as she recalls the moment. The extent of his presumption still rankles her; that he had started to organise her life without stopping to consider her wishes … And to have abused her family and friends with his snooty comparisons to the life of the elite! Clearly he never knew her. This thought calms her, reminds her of her moral compass, and Elizabeth regains her composure – he didn't know her then, and he doesn't know her now. She will pretend he's just an acquaintance and act as though he never came across her on the balcony that night. He never declared himself and she never suspected any stronger feelings on his part. What's done is done, move forward, she tells herself sternly. She gingerly settles in with the merry party, but in spite of her resolve she cannot help but think, If he's the same as he always was, I'll know nothing I said made a difference and I made the right choice.

Caroline appears to see little value in Elizabeth's joining them. She asks questions about Lizzy's work and studies with thinly veiled incivility before Darcy speaks over her and introduces his sister.

'Georgiana,' he says, but he receives an elbow to the ribs. Two pairs of clear blue eyes meet; one face betrays embarrassment, the other confusion. Elizabeth watches on with curiosity. She's heard much about the Darcy siblings from everyone but the Darcy siblings, and seeing their interaction is fascinating in its actuality.

'Everyone calls me Georgie,' Georgiana Darcy finally says, stumbling over her words and failing spectacularly to maintain eye contact. Elizabeth can hear the faint echoes of an English accent, nowhere near as strong as her brother's; she wonders what it must have been like to move to a new country when still young. For the first time, these musings aren't tinged with bitter jealousy. She realises she can hardly blame the Darcy siblings for the choices their parents made. 'I've heard so much about you.'

Two months ago, Elizabeth would have considered this young slip of a girl to be as presumptuous as her brother. She would have perceived an insult when clearly, she's just shy and quietly spoken, making a perfectly acceptable attempt at small talk. If blushing were an Olympic sport, Lizzy does not doubt that Georgie would win gold for Britain. Or Australia? She stops to consider the citizenship of the Darcys. English born and bred, resident in Australia since William started high school some fifteen plus years ago. She mentally shakes herself – the absurdities of her mind. What does it matter where the Darcys spend their time or call home?

Elizabeth focuses on Georgie. 'I can say the same about you. Between the Bingleys and your brother I feel as if I already know you.'

'All good, I assure you,' Darcy says, eyes beseeching his sister.

'But what else would we expect from Darcy, especially about his darling sister,' grins Charlie, taking a swig from his mug. Jamie rolls his eyes and playfully throws a napkin at Charlie, who stares back in confusion. Jamie then reaches across and wipes the froth from Charlie's cappuccino off his upper lip. Charles laughs and teasingly licks the froth from James' fingers. Elizabeth suspects that Charlie's third coffee is probably two coffees too many for his typically cheerful personality.

Caroline frowns at the display of affection; Elizabeth herself is a little squeamish. As delighted as she is for Jamie, something ought to be said for discretion. (She avoids Darcy's eyes. She doesn't want to think about whether he still has doubts about Jamie's feelings and the supposed permanency of his sexual orientation, this being his first relationship. She has enough self-awareness to realise this is because if she admits Darcy is capable of change on that point, then she may need to reconsider her other opinions on him. That would be unfortunate: she's already made up her mind about him.) 'There is no point in denying it, Georgie,' says Caroline, 'because as we who know him will attest, Darcy never lies or exaggerates.'

Georgie smiles at Lizzy. 'So you must be the nicest, funniest and cleverest girl he knows then!'

Except, she can't possibly ignore his response to this and finds herself looking at him intently. He holds her gaze impassively for a moment before he frowns, his lips curving and his eyes sliding downwards and across the floor to the fire.

He's embarrassed, Elizabeth realises suddenly, as though she's finally seeing the sky after the parting of rain clouds. The single thought drops into her mind with clarity. As laughter sounds around them, Lizzy wonders if there's more to his silence than disapproval for the topic of conversation. His ears are pink, his hands clenched tightly; not that she's entirely unaffected by Georgie's innocent declaration either. She knows Georgie said it without malicious intent, that it was her actual belief – this girl is easier to read than a penny dreadful.

So that must mean, Lizzy thinks, that at least Darcy hadn't been saying horrible things about her behind her back, even after her appalling treatment of him. Darcy looks at her, and she thinks she reads an apology in his eyes. He certainly isn't an easy one to read. Aside from the fact that he is a man of few words, he keeps his emotions to himself. He's as closed off as ever, except where it concerns Georgie. He's constantly attentive to her, and Elizabeth realises that the only people he's ever truly made his opinions clear on, are his family. She's inferred that he and Charlie are best mates through their conduct but as she quickly flips through months of memories, she can only recall him speaking about his parents and his much younger sister.

Georgiana Darcy isn't the snooty and pretentious teen the now curiously absent Wickham spoke about in such direct and certain terms. If she was, Elizabeth reasons, she'd be more like Caroline. She would have her nose buried in her mobile, bringing attention to herself. She'd be setting herself apart from the natives of small town Meryton. Yet here she is, eyes bright as she cautiously lets Lizzy in, letting her lead conversation; smiling as Charlie and Jamie put everyone off their coffees with their overflowing cups of happiness; supportive as she listens to her brother. She's a quiet presence, almost secondary to proceedings, but her importance to the important people around her cannot be understated.

I like her, Elizabeth thinks all of a sudden, noticing that she's comfortable now and not at all worked up like she was fifteen minutes ago. I genuinely like Georgiana Darcy.

Then, Stranger things have happened, I suppose.

Caroline, never to be outdone for long, interrupts Charlie in the middle of an entertaining story about a client who wanted a flower toting echidna as the company mascot (Lizzy is sure she hasn't laughed this much since Charlie's birthday. Well, before the balcony incident). 'I don't know about you, Darcy, but I could do with some decent food. Healthy food. I wonder if there's anywhere in this town that serves certified organic food …'

Darcy's response is brisk. 'I'm sure we could find somewhere.' His nostrils flare, and Lizzy thinks he must be containing his annoyance.

'There's a deli a few blocks over,' James supplies helpfully. 'It's all organic, all free range.'

Caroline sniffs. 'A delicatessen?'

'I don't know about anyone else but I haven't eaten anything but a slice of toast all morning, and I'm famished! A deli simply won't cut it,' says Charlie and Elizabeth smiles at his theatricality. Always smiling, always laughing, always happy, Elizabeth knows that Charlie's natural demeanour is more reserved. This speech is surely for entertainment purposes and, perhaps, a dig at Caroline's continuing attempts to hold herself above her fellow citizens.

'I'm rather hungry myself,' Elizabeth concurs, and suggests a steakhouse a few blocks away, down by the rowing sheds at the river. As they leave the café, Darcy holds the door open for Lizzy. It may not have been the overtly caring gesture of the man leading his wayward partner down the road, but it's thoughtful and polite all the same, and she gives him quiet thanks. (She's unable to meet his eye with any real sense of calm; a hysteria inexplicably arising in her chest. He's just too close and she cannot keep a steady head on her shoulders when he's in her personal space.)

Elizabeth buries her hands in her pockets and picks up her pace so she's beside Georgie. Caroline uses the opportunity to link arms with Darcy. Lizzy tries not to watch them closely.

She settles with focusing her attention on her companion. 'What do you think of Meryton?'

'I really like it here!' Georgie says in earnest and Elizabeth smiles. It's confirmed: Georgiana Darcy can and does make a much better first impression than her brother, who is watching on in complete ignorance of Caroline. He appears curious, but relaxed, and … somewhat anxious. Elizabeth cannot be sure – the way he's looking between them confuses her, although she knows well enough that he doesn't object to their conversation, currently on the best food haunts in Meryton and Elizabeth's assertion that the Lucas family's Italian and Maltese restaurant was her favourite.

'Oh, I love Maltese food! William, do you think Elizabeth could take us there? I'd love to go. Locals always know the best spots!'

Darcy readily consents for his part but says that he dares not agree on Elizabeth's behalf. Lizzy knows that Darcy has made the connection between the restaurant and her best friend, Charlotte, so it's baffling that he agrees to it. Would that the man she's hurt so thoroughly contemplate extending an olive branch, having included Charlotte in his earlier smack down of everything Meryton-tainted … it's rather much for Lizzy to grasp.

'Well, it is Meryton,' laughs Lizzy and, on a spur, links her arm with Georgie's before pulling her closer and leaning in, 'and there really isn't much choice when it comes to fine dining establishments.' Georgie smiles, and doesn't appear uncomfortable with Elizabeth's show of familiarity, which is fortunate, as Elizabeth's mind finally catches up with her actions.

'That gets old very quick, if you're used to it,' Georgie replies, adding that her favourite restaurant at home was a hole-in-the-wall Indian restaurant. 'They serve the best lamb madras but according to some people, it's not up to standards.'

Elizabeth's face splits open in amusement and shock. 'Miss Darcy! I do believe that was a smack down!'

Georgie grins broadly in reply. 'I don't have the faintest idea what you're talking about, Miss Bennet.'

'I applaud you. Round one to you.'

'Enjoy your victory, Georgie,' calls Darcy, smiling. 'It's not often someone bests Lizzy.'

'Of course not,' Lizzy readily agrees. 'Not when I'm so funny and clever.'

This earns her a blush, which in turn creates a sharp swooping feeling in her stomach. She ignores, quite unsuccessfully, the sudden flutter in her stomach that tells her just why she's curious by the citizenship status of the Darcys. And it has nothing to do with ensuring she spends as little time in their company as possible. Not that he is to know that, she determines, at least until she's more sure of herself around this quiet and almost polite version of Darcy. She's been near him for almost half an hour now and he hasn't shown disdain or said anything offensive (to or about anyone), and she's also witnessed him laugh. He freely engaged in conversation, in his own subdued way and she's impressed. Confused, but impressed. She's also annoyed that she's impressed.

She swallows obviously, and tries to keep her head. It wouldn't do to let her wayward thoughts and fancies loose when she has no idea of what they actually mean. She hasn't had the opportunity to dissect and canvas this new and improved Darcy – for surely, he is much easier to get along with than the man who'd blown into town a few months prior, dragging his feet and resenting everyone and everything around him. Lizzy puts much of this down to the presence of Georgie, and she wonders if he would have made a better first impression with Georgie in tow.

Caroline stops to look in a jewellery shop window and holds Darcy to her side, loudly suggesting that although the diamond earrings are surprisingly darling, surely they would be better sourced from reputable and reliable stores in the city. Lizzy's teeth clench together. Caroline knows the store is owned by Lizzy's uncle and aunt. (It's irrelevant that Lizzy happens to share, however minutely, Caroline's opinion that Aunt Phillips' taste in jewellery is somewhat gaudy and she prefers not to shop there either. No one else was allowed to insult her family.) Georgie appears embarrassed on her brother's behalf, and keeps walking with Lizzy.

They turn a corner and make their way along the river promenade. Lizzy takes a deep breath, as she always does whenever she's at the river, and takes in the view of the little shopping strip with stores and cafes, and the barren trees and empty flower pots. Come September, this little strip will come alive again. Leaves will return to the trees, shop owners will throw open their stores and the cafes will set up tables along the promenade. Flowers will bloom bright and cheerful, teenagers will congregate and make nuisances of themselves, and Lizzy will experience that sense of freedom, that exhilarating feeling of light-heartedness that heralds the end of a bitter winter that brought nothing but drama and melancholy. It will be the start of a new season. A new Lizzy.

A fresh-start Lizzy that will keep her eyes and mind open, as open as the flower buds that –

'He won't give me long with you,' Georgie whispers quickly, and Lizzy can't help but be grateful for the interruption to her thoughts. How completely ridiculous. Eyes and mind as open as flower buds – she snorted. Her mind is surely as cracked as the footpath beneath her feet. She turns to Georgie, whose face clearly betrays her discomfort in having said anything at all, 'but I have to thank you.'

Lizzy is stunned. 'What for?'

'Will told me about what happened before he went back to England. Well, maybe not everything,' she amends hastily, 'but I know you know about everything that happened with our family and Wickham's family.'

'Ok,' Lizzy says slowly, 'but why are you thanking me? And do we still need to whisper? None of the others can hear us.'

Georgie smiles. 'I'm still just a kid to them, but I know that it was a big deal when the whole business deal went sour. It may not mean much to others, but to my family it was a big deal and it still isn't ever spoken about. You haven't told anyone the personal stuff, and you're not treating us like aliens or something.'

Lizzy pauses to consider Georgie's words. When Darcy had laid bare the details of the infamous falling out between the Darcy-Wickham partnership, believed to be worth several billion pounds in their native England largely thanks to the resources-driven investments undertaken by the Darcy holdings in Australia, Lizzy just thought it was a bunch of too-rich snobs squabbling over money. The poor dears, losing out far more money than she'd ever be able to contemplate. She'd doubted anyone in Meryton would ever earn even a quarter of what had been lost.

'Our parents were best friends, like Will told you. It wasn't just about the money – Dad's made up for it, kind of. I think. Like I said, I'm still a kid to them but Will's helped with everything he's done in London and Berlin. But still, the Wickhams were like family, kind of like my uncle and aunty, you know? Dad still isn't the same after what Sam did, lying about Mum like that and then stealing and lying and trying to frame Dad for it. Mum and Dad aren't the same anymore and I think Will feels a bit responsible for it. We both just want them to be happy again. Together.'

Lizzy frowns, trying to keep up with Darcy's movements. Sydney, London, Berlin. There was also the stopover in Hong Kong he'd mentioned when proposing her internship, absentmindedly apologising for the delay it would necessarily cause for her arrival in England. What he was doing back in small town Meryton was baffling. Her heart allows her mind to skip ahead, and she hopes with surprising fervour that her continued residence in Meryton may have something to do it.

She thinks back over what Wickham had said to her about the infamous falling out. He'd framed it in such a way that the Darcys had painted the Wickhams into a financial corner, with bankruptcy and insolvency all but assured. The Darcys were a marriage of convenience – the merging of two insanely wealthy families, according to Wickham. Darcy had disabused her of such notions but he hadn't gone into any great detail about the personal side of the deal gone sour. Corporate sabotage, Darcy had said. Samuel Wickham had acted beyond the scope of his authority and done all manner of things which were apparently very wrong, very grave, and left the Darcys holding the can, so to speak. Lizzy recalls almost spitting in her misguided fury when the ugly confrontation with Will occurred. She had accused him of holding grudges which belonged with others, in which he held no proper place.

'You believe that I shouldn't hold contempt for the people who tried to tear apart my family? Who put my parents through such strain? To accuse my mother of adultery, to put my family's company in such a precarious and serious financial position that would have ultimately resulted in our capitulation? The company which I'm to take over on my parents' retirement? That I would have to help them rebuild before that time? I'm not to resent them when their son used me as a pawn in their plan? Are you telling me I shouldn't hate the people responsible for that?'

'Wickham wouldn't –'

'Wickham did. He shouldn't have any doubts as to the breakdown of our friendship given he was the one who initiated it, who was responsible for it. If he's missed out on a world of luxuries it's his own doing and his own fault for trying to take advantage of those who'd thought of him as family.'

'Do you hold grudges against every person who slights you?'

Lizzy remembers he'd thrown her one last wild, desperate look before he'd stalked off, and for a crazy moment she'd wondered if he meant to kiss her.

Judging by the way he's now looking at her, she isn't sure he's held onto his grudge concerning her. It's unfathomable. She's shown him her very worst traits and personally attacked him, yet here he is: in her presence, not ignoring her, and bringing his most beloved little sister along with him for the ride.

Said little sister is now looking at her in earnest, biting her bottom lip and glancing back at Darcy occasionally.

'It's not his fault,' Georgie whispers, her cheeks red and eyes bright. 'And I just want him to be happy again too.'

Lizzy watches Darcy, watches as he tries to move Caroline along to catch up with everyone. Jamie and Charles have stopped some twenty metres ahead of Lizzy and Georgie, having finally realised they've outstripped everyone. How nice it must be, Lizzy thinks, to have someone who adores you and makes the rest of the world disappear. She's not felt anything like it, and her naivety, her near childish youth, has never been more apparent.

'Does your brother hold grudges?' Lizzy asks, before realising what she's said. She's been watching Darcy carefully all day, she acknowledges, waiting for his retaliation that hasn't come. They've been playing a strange game of cat and mouse with their glances and staring, but they're yet to properly speak to each other. Lizzy whips her head around in time to avoid meeting Darcy's eyes now, her cheeks burning.

Georgie bites her bottom lip again and kicks at a broken twig on the side walk. 'He doesn't with me, or our parents,' she eventually replies and her hesitation speaks volumes to Lizzy.

Darcy holds grudges. Of course he forgives his family. He loves them unconditionally and values them above everyone else. And he's loyal. Much like she is, he's fiercely loyal.

Charles hollers down the street for them to hurry up. Lizzy links arms with Georgie again and they set off, but not before Georgie whispers, 'Will deserves to be happy,' and the fervent look in her eyes shames Lizzy into finally, painfully, acknowledging the extent of her misguided prejudices against Will. She'd purposely hated him – made a conscious decision to antagonise him at every opportunity, irrespective of the occasion or need or validity of her venom – simply because where one man hadn't fed her vanity and been honest with her, another had smothered her with sweet nothings and disappeared without so much as a by your leave.

It's impossible for Lizzy to continue the conversation with the same lively air, particularly when Caroline descends and commandeers Georgie's attention. Darcy approaches her, and she gives him a small smile of encouragement as they fall in step beside each other. She was blind; she was childish; she was everything stupid and brash so far as it has concerned him. She resolves not to be so anymore. She has berated him for his lack of compassion and understanding, his selfishness, when clearly he carries more care and responsibility on his shoulders than anyone his age that she's ever met.

'Thank you,' Darcy says, and Lizzy is taken aback by the manners of the Darcy siblings. She wonders what their upbringing was like and if they'd received etiquette lessons.

Her eyes flicker over his face quickly, but his expression doesn't give much away. 'What for?' she asks, ensuring she injects more politeness than is her wont.

He seems to realise this and responds in kind. They are both on their best behaviour today, it appears.

'Georgie has wanted to meet you for a while, she's heard a lot about you –'

Lizzy attempts to bring some levity to the potentially awkward conversation. 'So I've heard.'

'From Charlie, especially.'

'Oh?'

'Yes,' Darcy confirms, adjusting his collar and hiding some of the heat on his neck. 'And Caroline.'

'Well it's sure to be all good, coming from her!' Lizzy says brightly, sarcasm dripping from her words. She smiles, showing him she's not actually affected, and he continues.

'You know both of them well enough to imagine what was said.'

Lizzy snorts, uncharacteristically showing her scorn, and looks stricken. Did she really just snort in laughter in front of him?She blushes, attempting to collect herself, and says quickly, 'Please don't spare any details on my behalf. We both know she's my biggest fan.'

And cue rambling, she grumbles. Why couldn't she just keep her cool and get her head together around him?

'She's everybody's fan when it suits her purposes,' Darcy says, having enough grace to overlook her social hopes none of her spittle landed on him. 'As it is, you do serve a purpose for her.'

'I couldn't imagine how –'

He smiles, effectively cutting her off. 'Georgie. You see, she knows that both Charlie and I like you –' she tries to ignore the giddy feeling washing over her and fights down a grin '– so, naturally, Georgie will also be inclined to like you. Caroline wants, more than anything, to be close friends with Georgie. I'll leave it to your imagination why, and how that relates to you.'

Lizzy's imagination needed no encouragement: Caroline has always had an uncanny sixth sense about Darcy's interest in Lizzy.

Darcy knows she's made the connection, and says, 'There's no need to look so uncomfortable, I'm not going to do anything unexpected and unwelcome like before,' he says quickly. Lizzy notices his serious side come out in full force as he sighs and frowns. 'The last thing I want is to make you uncomfortable, but I want you to know that I don't hold anything against you for rightfully putting me in my place. I deserved everything you said and, despite it all, I still think a lot of you …'

He says the last few words with slow and deliberate emphasis, and Lizzy looks up at him sharply. She stares, and considers him more closely than she's allowed herself all day.

He hasn't changed in essentials, she knows, but he has changed in his demeanour and where there was once self-importance and arrogance, there is now an openness, a transparency about him. He's calmer. He looks more at ease now, and not just around her but in general. Whatever happened while he was in Hong Kong, London and Berlin must have helped clear the ghosts in his mind.

She voices this opinion, stalling for time before giving him a meaningful response, but he shakes his head.

'I can't say I've had the best summer overseas,' he says. 'I've had much to think over, and regret.'

Exasperation flares and she welcomes it. She's used to him inspiring such feelings in her and it's comforting in its familiarity. 'Listen, I know –'

But Darcy heads her off. 'About my own actions, I mean. Leaving a bad impression, not taking care with my words and not caring to correct them … There are many things I wish I had have done differently.'

The annoyance dies down quickly, being smothered by her contrition. Why was she so quick to judge him, and judge him harshly? Did she not just hear him admit to still having feelings for her?

'You aren't alone in that,' she says quietly, hot shame churning in her stomach. 'I shouldn't have treated you the way I did, or said half the things I said. I was in the wrong, and I'm glad you and Georgie have set me straight.'

And she is grateful, she realises. She's not just saying it to clear the air. The unsettled feeling that's resided in the pit of her stomach from the moment he stepped through the café door speaks louder than she's wished to acknowledge, until now.

Lizzy cannot claim to have ever been indifferent to him, and now that she's had the benefit of time and space, not to mention full disclosure of the facts, she's finding that she's slipping further away from her dislike of Darcy.

In fact, she's slipping right to the other end of the scale despite her best efforts not to, and at a rather swift rate.

They reach the steakhouse. Lizzy looks to the others to save her from the intensity of the moment. James and Charles are inside, waiting to be seated. Georgie and Caroline are still a way down the river, and Lizzy realises (with no small amount of appreciation at the girl's clever design) that Georgie must have been instrumental in keeping Caroline at bay. They're taking selfies with the view of the river behind them, but Georgie insists she looks horrible and keeps Caroline by her side, taking just one more shot. 'But it's so cold!' Lizzy hears Caroline complain.

Darcy has been watching her closely, and she understands the hopeful expression as clearly as if she were wearing it herself; perhaps she is if the rapid beat of her heart is anything to go by. 'Shall we start over?' he says softly and they both know what he's truly asking for.

Lizzy replies, cautiously smiling at him, 'I think we owe each other a second chance.'

Darcy makes no attempt to touch her, much to her consternation and disappointment, but gives her a relieved grin as he holds open the door for her. He gently reaches out to help her take off her jacket, and she smiles in thanks, thrilling at his closeness.

In taking their seats, she doesn't hesitate to sit beside him and ignores the questioning glances from James. It's obvious that something has changed and for her part, Lizzy is inclined to forget the past and focus on the future. She shares this view with Darcy when James and Charles are absorbed in each other, but he disagrees and attempts to bear responsibility for both of their past faults.

'No grudges,' Lizzy says, smiling winningly at him.

'No grudges,' Darcy finally agrees, and seals it with a smile of his own. Elizabeth wonders if every female in the room just melted at the knees – or maybe it's just her, she isn't certain.

From here, it's hard to say how things will turn out for Darcy and Elizabeth. There are a multitude of variables bubbling below the surface, but fate is rather fickle and cares not for the fancies of those in the first blushes of romance.

By going to the steakhouse and not the deli as suggested by Jamie, they walked along the open riverfront in full view of Wickham, who was conducting nefarious activities with questionable associates under the bridge. He'd gone to ground after falling foul with the authorities, and his family's sudden loss of funds and influence meant he couldn't rely on a bailout, financial or political, from his parents. If he hadn't been under the influence of any number of substances, his circumstances wouldn't have seemed so dire and he would've seen an irony in the apparent closeness of Darcy with a girl he once considered bedding. As it was, his impaired state sent him into a jealous rage when he spied Darcy with Lizzy, and he thought not of the soundness of his plan for revenge. In so doing, he set in motion any number of futures, which would ultimately play out depending on the ringtone of a mobile phone …

If Lizzy had left her phone on silent after finishing work, she would not have heard the frantic call from her mother letting her know that fifteen year old Lydia had acted on her stupid school girl crush and run away with Wickham. Lizzy would have ordered the lunch rump special with chips and salad. Afterwards, she and Darcy would break away from the others to spend the afternoon together. They wouldn't have wanted to say goodbye, not so soon after making their feelings for each other known, and would have stayed up late into the night discussing all manner of important and trivial matters. They would get comfortable around each other. She would come to find him surprisingly funny, often insightful, always honest and humble – it would humble her in kind. He would find her serious side, buried deep beneath her inclination to laugh aside her concerns, and be more convinced that she wasn't his match but his equal. She would discover he was a brilliant kisser: no teeth clashing, jaw bumping, bad breath or excess saliva. Her lips fit snugly against his, and from her shorter height she'd discover that after he'd kiss her (quite senseless, actually), he would hug her to his chest as if delaying the moment they'd part. Her head would fit neatly under his chin. The next morning, she would wake in his bed and find him asleep on the couch, a blanket twisted around his cramped body. She'd tease him mercilessly for being such a gentleman before requesting a toothbrush and toothpaste. Darcy would do all within his capabilities to help her and her family after the unpleasant truth about Lydia became known. He would be the one to find her high, abandoned and terrified in a dingy share house in Sydney. Lizzy would spend the rest of her life thankful to the deity who sent her the man who would eventually become her husband.

If Lizzy had have taken Mrs Bennet's call, she and Jamie would have left the steakhouse before dessert, and Darcy would not have the courage to seek her out again after failing to secure Lydia's safe return home. Six months later, Lydia would approach him for money to return to Meryton. She would show up on the Bennet doorstep with nothing but a protruding pregnant stomach to show what she had been about during her absence. If Darcy's aunt and self-appointed protector, Catherine de Bourgh, hadn't grilled Georgie for information and learnt about Darcy's involvement with Lizzy's recalcitrant and wildly inappropriate family, prompting Ms de Bourgh to visit Lizzy soon thereafter to berate her for dragging Darcy into her sordid and disgusting affairs, he never would have been encouraged to apologise for his aunt's appalling behaviour. Lizzy would never have had the opportunity to correct his belief that he was responsible for the actions of all around him. They would make good on their resolve for a fresh start, preferring to believe it'd been held in abeyance for the duration of Lydia's absence and not abandoned completely. It would be an awkward and sometimes difficult start to their relationship, undoubtedly because of the challenging situation presented by a headstrong Lydia, who would refuse to accept her share of blame for her circumstances. Darcy and Lizzy would stay in Sydney, less than an hour from Meryton, and endure two excruciating break ups before realising that if they were to stay together and be happy, they couldn't live anywhere near Mrs Bennet or Lydia, and suffer their insistence and reliance upon Darcy's continued financial handouts and Lizzy's support for her nephew.

If Darcy had managed to convince Lydia to leave Wickham, he would've taken Lydia home straight away only to be bowled over by Lizzy, her arms wrapping around him tightly as she conveyed her thanks in a decidedly physical manner. She would know, without doubt, that no other man would do for her. She would take him out for the dessert they'd missed at the steakhouse, and disabuse Darcy of any fault for her stupid sister's actions. She would fall in love with him the moment he gave up his butterscotch caramel gelato for her, because she'd foolishly decided to try a wholly unsatisfying apple sorbet. He'd kiss her, and hold her hand, and never overstep the boundaries she set, until she asked him (quite breathless after deciding boundaries were vastly overrated as far as he was concerned) if London was still on offer. He'd raise a tousled head to see she was serious, and reply in the affirmative. They would be gone within the fortnight, with James and Charles promising to visit so she wouldn't feel so homesick. After spending a week settling in and sightseeing, familiarising herself with the Tube and 'minding the gap', and generally finding their feet with another new aspect of their relationship, Darcy would take her to his family's country estate to meet his parents. In Mr Darcy she would find a kindred spirit with the same sense of humour and fondness for sarcasm, and a determined teacher in the rules of soccer (football, he'd correct her every time). Mrs Darcy would take longer to win over, but with William and Georgie unwavering in their devotion, and Elizabeth proving a steadfast and fierce supporter of the Darcy family during messy court proceedings thanks to the morally and financially bankrupt Wickhams, an invitation to have Christmas in Derbyshire would be extended and accepted, and an engagement entered into after two years of dating.

Lizzy presently sits beside Darcy and kicks her handbag under the table. Her phone is in her hand. She intends taking it off silent when Charles bemoans society's reliance on technology at all hours of the day. If she had have known the course of her life would be determined by her phone and what she did next, she may not have been as blithe about the current conversation.

'Are you planning on putting pictures of your meal on Facebook?' Will teases, and she lights up.

Grinning widely, she replies, 'Get with the times, Darcy. It's going on Instagram. Hashtag goodfood, hashtag yummy, hashtag nomnomnom.'

'All jokes aside,' Charlie continues happily, 'Why can't we just enjoy a meal without someone being on their phone? What is so important that you can't talk to the people around you?'

'Indeed,' Elizabeth smiles, and puts her phone away in her handbag. 'And for the record, the only reason I have Instagram is so I can keep tabs on Lydia's selfies.'

'She does take a lot of selfies,' Jamie agrees, frowning. 'I worry about her sometimes.'

'You're right, Jamie. She's far too invested in her own reflection,' Lizzy adds.

'I didn't say that!' James cries with feeling, causing everyone to laugh.

'It looks like we're missing the party, Georgie!' Caroline says as she approaches the table with Georgiana in tow. 'Will you let us in on the joke, William?'

'Oh, it's nothing really,' Charles answers for Darcy, 'just laughing about the youth of today's obsession with taking photos of themselves.'

Georgie blushes, having just taken an unknown number of selfies with Caroline, and quickly takes the seat beside Will. Lizzy picks up her menu and tries to concentrate. She's distracted by Darcy's arm touching her own. Her stomach flutters crazily and her hands shake slightly as they share small yet meaningful smiles. She's so happy and hopeful for this fresh start with Will that she can't remember if she took her phone off silent ...

A/N: massive thanks to Coastercrazed for her polish and invaluable suggestions, and her encouragement to persevere and post this instead of hitting the delete button. Also, the tune of Elizabeth's conscience can be traced back to the song 'Grow' by Rae Morris (lyrics appearing at the start of this one-shot). As soon as I heard the song, I had a conflicted and contrite Elizabeth in my mind unable to accept a situation she didn't immediately understand.

Happy Easter, all.