Sorry that they are short chapters! I find it difficult to write long ones, and I'm too impatient to write them (bad trait, I know). Started out just having two chapters, but I've decided to add more. Thanks to those who reviewed ~ dress4m

Elizabeth POV

The carriage ride home was typical for my family. Lydia and Kitty were talking about the officers they met at the ball, Mary was moping about how she did not get the chance to play her favorite piece on the pianoforte, and my mother was continuing to brag about Mr. Bingley and Jane to my father. He listened quietly and occasionally nodded his head. Jane wore a hint of a smile on her angelic face while looking out of the window, no doubt thinking about Mr. Bingley. She was oblivious to everything around her.

I sat quietly in the corner, trying to understand who Mr. Darcy actually was. He had always acted so proud, so cold, so indifferent, but tonight I found he was quite the opposite. He had been very bold to find me before he embarked, even more so to kiss my hand while we were alone in a dimly lit hall. It would have been very improper had anyone found us. It seemed improper even though we were not discovered.

And yet, at the same time it seemed…right.

Once we had arrived back home at Longbourn, Jane floated upstairs to our room. I, not being as graceful as she, tripped my way up the stairs, my mind still on Mr. Darcy. Once we were alone, Jane could not stop giggling and talking about Mr. Bingley. I shared in her excitement. I was happy that she had found someone who was so well fitted for her.

I smiled and responded to Jane's comments about the ball, but she could tell I wasn't wholly there. She left to get a glass of water, and my thoughts drifted back to Mr. Darcy's eyes. They had been so deep and mesmerizing. Had something changed in him? He was so much different than before and I could feel it.

I gasped and Jane must have come back while I was pondering the change in Mr. Darcy because she asked, "What is it, Lizzie? Is something on your mind? I've been back in the room for a whole two minutes and you've only now noticed my presence." I was surprised. Had that much time really passed? "Please, Lizzie, tell me," she pleaded. I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to tell her what I had just come to realize, but thought that she ought to know.

"Jane, I danced with Mr. Darcy tonight." She smiled, "I know, I saw you two together. He is a fine dancer, wouldn't you say?" I looked at her. There was something in her voice, a bit of teasing, perhaps. "Yes, he is, but that is not what I was thinking about. He is generally thought of as a pompous man, but tonight he was… not." Jane scooted closer to me. "Lizzie. I think you should know something. Charles may have let a bit of information slip tonight. He told me that Mr. Darcy is infatuated with you."

"I know, Jane." She looked astonished, "How?" I then explained to her my dance with him and what had happened before he left. "And then, Jane, he kissed my hand! And I didn't even have my glove on!" I continued. "Why ever not?" I explained, "The only reason that I was in the hallway in the first place was because I was warm. I took my gloves off to cool my hands off. There is more, dear sister. When he kissed my hand, he let out a phrase, light as a feather floating on the breeze. I almost couldn't hear it, but it was unmistakable what he said."

Jane was bursting over in anticipation. I paused long enough for her to feel the need to exclaim, "What did he say?" I smiled and glanced down at my fingers, tracing the patterns on the bedspread. I shifted my glance back up at Jane and replied, "He whispered the words 'I love you.'"

"Lizzie! Is that why you gasped?" I shook my head, "No, Jane. I gasped because I realized that he has changed. He isn't the same man he was as when I first met him. And I think…. I think that I love him too."