After Lizzie turned off the camera, she lunged at Darcy again and kissed him even more enthusiastically than she had when the camera had been rolling. He responded breathlessly, passionately, deliriously. Part of him was still in shock, but that part luckily did not include his tongue or his lips, which were working perfectly and setting off a deluge of endorphins in his brain. He had never been this happy. Lizzie's mouth on his was everything he'd been missing in the long, frigid years since his parents' deaths, and he was intent on keeping this sensation as long as he was allowed.

It was several minutes before the two broke apart. When they finally separated, Lizzie whispered, "Wow."

"Wow," Darcy agreed.

Lizzie inclined her forehead toward Darcy's until the two were in contact and then shook her head gently, rubbing their noses together. "Who would have thought, huh?"

"Even my dreams were never this good," Darcy breathed back.

Then Lizzie kissed him again and the shock was gradually replaced by bliss. He tangled his fingers in her hair and ran his hands over her lacy sleeves while she undid the buttons on his vest.

"This is not a private room, is it?" Darcy murmured the next time the two broke apart. It took all the presence of mind he still had just to utter the words.

"Oh, God, you're right," said Lizzie. "We should take this to my room." She picked up her laptop and led the way.

It was strange for Darcy to see the space where so many of Lizzie's videos had been filmed, although the effect was mitigated by the huge aquarium where the bookshelf should have been. A plump middle-aged woman was seated cross-legged on the floor, eyes closed. Lizzie went stiff when she noticed the woman and then tiptoed to the bed and set her laptop there. Just as she turned to leave, the woman opened her eyes.

"Now Elizabeth," said the woman in a breathy southern voice uncannily similar to Lizzie's impressions, "I told you not to come in here while I'm meditating!"

"Sorry, Mom. I was just dropping some stuff off before leaving with Dar—Mr. Darcy."

"Now why would you go anywhere with that Mr. Darcy? He was always so rude and arrogant . . ."

Darcy managed to retreat from the room and out of sight while hastily re-buttoning his vest.

"Actually, Mom, Mr. Darcy's gotten a lot nicer lately and he's invited me out for a birthday celebration. I'll be back pretty late, so you don't need to wait up."

"Oh! Well, in that case, stay out all night! Remember, Mr. Darcy is a rich, handsome young man, and he won't stay single forever! You should try to catch him while you can."

"Will do, Mom." Lizzie exited the room a moment later bearing a large purse. She made a face at Darcy and motioned for him to follow her back downstairs. "So you see I wasn't exaggerating. Or at least, I wasn't exaggerating much."

"I'm sorry that she associates me with arrogance."

"Don't worry about it. She cares much more that you're rich and handsome, so it shouldn't be too hard to win her over. She doesn't hold grudges nearly as long as I do." They had reached the bottom of the stairs. Lizzie turned to face Darcy. "I was almost impossible, wasn't I?"

Darcy stepped forward and kissed Lizzie briefly. "You were worth the wait."

"God, just when I think you can't get any more romantic . . ."

Darcy flushed a dull shade of pink. "Given that your room is occupied, do you have a plan?"

"I was actually kind of hoping you'd think of something."

"Well, Bing did give me the keys to Netherfield, if that—ahem—gives you any ideas. Unfortunately, I took a taxi from the airport, so—"

"My car. Now."

Darcy grabbed his luggage from where he had left it beside the front door and the two half-ran to Lizzie's car. No sooner were they inside it than they descended into another round of frantic kissing, and Lizzie undid all the buttons that Darcy had so recently refastened. Finally, Lizzie pulled away and said, "You know, this would be a lot more comfortable somewhere else."

"I apologize. Have I—"

"No, not like that. Just, we should get to Netherfield." Lizzie started the car and pulled out of the driveway.

"I had never seen you drive before," Darcy remarked after a few minutes of giddy silence. "You are even more graceful and assured than I anticipated."

"You really are intent on the compliments, aren't you?"

"Are they too much?"

"No! Calm down, okay? You don't need to worry about offending me every time you open your mouth. I just . . . wow. I never expected to get so many compliments in so little time, especially not from you, the guy with the accomplishments checklist. I'm surprised. In a good way."

"What can I do but give praise when confronted with your excellence?"

"You know you make me want to swoon when you say stuff like that, right?"

"Not while driving, I hope."

"Let's just say it's a good thing we're almost there."

"A very good thing."

"You have no idea how sexy your voice is, do you?"

"Oh. Um, I suppose I must answer in the negative."

"Yeah, it'd be a little weird if you did know . . . Did your previous girlfriends ever tell you?"

Darcy laughed humorlessly. "No, they most certainly did not. I doubt anyone has considered me sexy prior to you, in fact."

"What? That's impossible."

"Please consider that the few people who have previously had the misfortune of dating me did so prior to the maturation that your videos forced upon me."

Lizzie parked in the Netherfield driveway and kissed Darcy hard. "You weren't the only one who needed to mature."

"Perhaps." Darcy undid his seatbelt and exited the car. Lizzie followed. They managed to get through various dark halls of Netherfield to the room that Darcy had used during his summer stay. And then they were grappling on the bed, with Lizzie making quick work of Darcy's remaining buttons and Darcy kissing Lizzie's neck. He reached for the hem of her dress and managed to mutter, "May I?"

"Please," Lizzie groaned.

Soon the two were down to their underclothes and under the covers. They didn't strip completely; all they really wanted to do this first night was kiss. So they did—they kissed one another's faces, necks, shoulders, backs, and torsos. It was nearly impossible to tell how long this went on, but after what could have been centuries or mere minutes the two rolled onto their backs and just lay contently in each other's presence.

"I love you, William Darcy," Lizzie breathed.

Darcy rolled onto his side to face her. "I love you too, Lizzie Bennet." He let out a breath. "I was not expecting that."

"What, you think I let men hijack my birthday and take me to dark empty houses when I think they're just kind of okay?"

"Of course not. I would never—"

"You're going to need to learn how to tell when I'm teasing."

"I will do my best."

Lizzie smiled and nuzzled her head into Darcy's chest. "I have no doubt."