Apologies for the delay in this chapter, I've had a heavy cold the last two weeks that's completely wiped me out and I'm only now beginning to feel better.


Elizabeth sat in front of the dressing table gazing at her reflection. She'd had a fitful night's sleep where the conversation with Mr Darcy ran through her head again and again. It had been an evening of revelations, most unexpected was Mr Darcy's declaration of his love for her.

She still could not understand how someone who barely spoke to her, who appeared to look at her with disdain, could profess to have such strong admiration for her. Of all the people in her acquaintance, Mr Darcy was the last person she would have suspected to harbour such feelings for, well, anyone.

She thought she hated him. Was she mistaken? She certainly warmed from her usual coolness towards him when he told her of his dealings with Mr Wickham. She found honesty in what he said which she now realised had been missing when Mr Wickham had spilled his tale. She had seen the pain on his face when he mentioned his father and was surprised by the depth of her empathy for someone she vowed not to care about.

That was, of course, before being reminded that he had separated Jane and Mr Bingley. But he had listened to her and gone on to admit he was wrong and that he would fix it. Was this Mr Darcy the one that had always been there beneath his proud and aloof mask? So much had happened so fast she was now totally unsure of him.

She was particularly startled at her most shocking reaction of wanting to kiss him when moments before she had been admonishing his judgment of her family. She wasn't supposed to like him and how could she feel otherwise after this man had caused her sister such heartbreak? The only other person she had ever considered kissing was Charlotte's brother when she was fourteen and boys had started to notice her new womanly figure and she had started to notice the boys in kind. She smiled briefly at the memory, but that was a simple childhood fancy not acted upon, born of curiosity more than anything else.

She hadn't even given Mr Wickham more than a few seconds thought until now. Would she have let him kiss her if he'd asked? She wished rather than believed that she would not. With a barely suppressed tremor she realised how easily she could have been ruined by such a man, blinded by his flattery and tales of woe until it was too late.

Maybe it was just the feeling of gratitude that Mr Darcy was going to put things right for Jane? She was happy for Jane. Surely that was all, and she just got caught up in the moment. She could still feel his hands in hers and the breath on her face. Who are you trying to fool Lizzy, came the voice in her head. Maybe she did like him. Just a little bit.

She had sat there for some time, hoping that when she finally left her room the house would be going about its business. She needed to find some solitude outside of the four walls of the small guest room without encountering Mr Collins. Having not eaten the previous night, her stomach betrayed her resolve to wait any longer with a loud grumble. Sighing, she rose from the stool in front of the dressing table and was determined to act as though nothing unusual had happened last night.

Making her way downstairs, she was thankful that only Charlotte was present in the dining room, although she did have a sneaking suspicion that was by design. Feigning that anything was out of the ordinary, Elizabeth greeted her friend, perhaps a little too enthusiastically.

Charlotte's eyes narrowed suspiciously over her cup of tea.

"Are you alright Eliza?"

"Perfectly so I thank you. Why do you ask?"

"Mr Darcy was not at dinner last night. You were home ill, and yet when we returned some time later the Housekeeper informed me he had been here for quite some time, and alone in your company. Hush, don't worry, the door was open the whole time and servants came and went down the hallway. But following our return, both of you ran off within seconds of us entering the room. If Mr Collins stopped praising everyone in that family for just five minutes, he may have noticed. What happened? Did he propose to you?"

"Charlotte!"

"Come now Elizabeth. He has stared at you constantly in your company ever since you have known him. He must truly admire you to be so constant in seeking you out. I am convinced that he will offer for you soon enough if he did not last night. He certainly would not have stayed here for more than a few minutes if anyone else had been here instead. In fact, he probably would not have called unless he knew you were here. Something happened last night, I'm sure of it."

Elizabeth could not hide the blush that had been gracing her cheeks on and off since last night. One minute they were discussing Mr Darcy's error in judgement and how he was going to fix it, the next he was on his knees in the most wonderful profession of love she could imagine. His declaration of love to her was completely unexpected and she was not quite sure of her reaction to it.

"He did not propose. If you must know, we talked of Mr Wickham, who I must inform you we have been wholly mistaken in his character. He is a villain and we must make it known throughout Meryton that he is not to be trusted. Oh Charlotte. I was not easy with Mr Darcy's revelations about that man, but he really is no gentleman at all. To think, I allowed myself to seek his company out, when I should have been running the other way. Oh, I will not repeat all what Mr Darcy told me, but he is not a man any woman should be left alone with."

Charlotte gasped. "I understand your meaning, my dear. You need not distress yourself further. Whilst I hardly think that I will ever see him again, I will speak to Maria. The militia will after all be departing town for the summer and they may not ever return, but I would forever regret it if something did happen and I said nothing."

"Thank you, Charlotte. There was another matter we discussed, although I do hope that it will be put to right soon enough. It relates to dear Jane and poor Mr Bingley. Charlotte, his sisters and Mr Darcy separated them after the Netherfield Ball as they thought Jane a heartless fortune hunter! Their fears not at all helped by my mother practically shouting about "her Mr Bingley" whether anyone was in earshot or not."

"I cannot believe it. Whilst I would not put it past Miss Bingley to carry out such a scheme, Mr Darcy appeared too proud and good to do something as deceptive as that!"

"It's true. He told me so himself. Well, I heard it first from Colonel Fitzwilliam, so when Mr Darcy came I could not rest until I found out why he had acted so abominably! However; upon further discussion, he was persuaded that he was in the wrong. He apologised for misjudging Jane, and even Mama! He promised to ride to town this morning to confess all to Mr Bingley, even if it caused him to lose his friend forever. Such a transformation in his normal character. Oh, if it all works out just as it should then Jane will be so happy!"

"Oh Eliza! Wonderful news! Persuaded, aye?" She said with a wink.

"Charlotte! I just told him the truth and he believed me."

She didn't know why but she didn't want to tell her closest friend about the last part of the conversation, so she held her tongue and sipped her tea. His words glowed inside her and while she knew she did not feel the same, she was not completely unaffected by the passionate feelings the man claimed to possess for her. She hoped that maybe this could be the start of something more, but until then she would keep his words to herself.

Charlotte could tell there was something else on Elizabeth's mind, however; she respected her enough not to press matters further.

"You must not have had to persuade him hard Eliza. After all, he is half in love with you" she teased.

Elizabeth just shook her head and rose to fill her plate from the sideboard. Maybe she wouldn't have to tell Charlotte after all. Luckily, Charlotte just smiled and rose to talk to the Housekeeper about the tasks for today, leaving Elizabeth to pick at her food in silence.

Finishing her meal without really tasting any of it, she removed to her room to write to her Aunt Gardiner, asking if she could come to London to visit with Jane before both of them departed for Longbourn. As soon as she wrote it, she changed her mind. Running away wouldn't solve anything she told herself, and put the letter in the fire.

Staring into the flames as the paper caught, she changed her mind. Charlotte's friendship was one thing, but Jane and her Aunt were people she could really confide anything in without being judged. Sometime after the letter had turned to ash, she re-wrote her letter, instead asking to come sooner. She informed her Aunt that she would presently be on her way to her the following day. Oh Jane I need you, she said to herself.

With that, she handed the sealed letter to the maid downstairs who informed her the post should not have left yet and hurried off in search of the man to take it. Elizabeth sighed. She was sad to cut her time short with Charlotte, however; truth be told, there was only so much of her silly Cousin she could stand.

Charlotte did not seem too surprised in Elizabeth's news that she was to depart tomorrow, however; she was disappointed Elizabeth wouldn't confide in her. She did not press her for her reasons, although she strongly suspected Mr Darcy and his brooding looks may have had something to do with it. Her marriage to Mr Collins was not without its challenges, and could at times be lonesome. Having her friend and sister visit had made her days much more enjoyable. In the darkest, loneliest moments of her marriage, she wondered whether she had done the right thing by marrying for security rather than love.

In the afternoon the sky brightened and with it so did Elizabeth's mood. Finally, she could stretch her legs and the walk did her good. It allowed her to clear her head, pledging to herself not to think on the past evening's events until she saw Jane.

When no one was in sight, Elizabeth broke into a run that only stopped when her lungs felt fit to burst and her muscles screamed at her. What would Mr Darcy think if he saw her partaking in something completely unladylike? No! She'd thought of him within minutes of promising to herself that she would not. No more!

She walked the now familiar paths, soaking up the spring afternoon sun, which had brought with it an abundance of bird song, following the rain. It was on this path that she had first come across Mr Darcy on her walks, and had told him that it was one of her favourite routes in the park. At the time, she hoped he would take her meaning to leave her alone and could not understand it when she kept meeting him there. She stopped walking then, realising that he had been seeking her out, both at Netherfield and here at Rosings. Had he truly felt that deeply for her all this time?

She was doing it again.

Turning back towards the parsonage on a new path, she collected wildflowers from the clearings in the woodland, marvelling at the bees as they did their busy work. She loved being out in nature. It soothed the soul and gave her the exercise she needed to not go mad when at home or here around her ridiculous cousin.

Nearing the end of her walk, she spotted a rider on horseback outside the parsonage. So he hadn't left as promised then, she thought despondently. Hesitating, she considered cutting through the garden to the rear door, when she heard her name being called. It wasn't him. It was his cousin. Trying not to feel the unwelcome disappointment in her stomach that Mr Darcy wasn't here to see her and the flutter that maybe he had made good on his word, she raised a hand in greeting. She hadn't decided on how she felt about Mr Darcy at any rate to know how to respond if she had come across the gentleman.

"Colonel Fitzwilliam, how lovely to see you again."

"Miss Bennet, I trust that by seeing you up and about that you are feeling better?"

"Yes sir, much better I thank you. Your cousin is not with you this afternoon?" She inquired as subtly as she could.

"No, Darcy missed dinner last night. Muttered something about pressing business and then left for town this morning before anyone else was awake. Our Aunt was most put out. I now find myself alone in her company and between you and I, I am now trying to find a reason to leave as well. I may get the Butler to deliver a note as soon as I return, ordering me back to my regiment at once. What do you think? do you think she will suspect that I wrote it?" he laughed.

Elizabeth joined his laughter, all the while focusing on his earlier answer. He had left. He said he would. Would he really make it right? She felt a warm glow inside her. would he really do it, and was it solely for his friend, or also for her? She beamed up at the Colonel.

"I think on matters such as these, my very wise Cousin would be able to assist you. It is after all a matter of being clear with one's conscience."

"Miss Bennet. To avoid such, err, tedious conversation, I will be sure to bear my Aunt's company a little while longer. I trust that I can rely on you to keep me excessively diverted before you depart next week?"

"Unfortunately sir, I must inform you that there has been a change of plan. Nothing too serious, but I am anxious to meet my sister Jane in London as soon as can be arranged, and I hope to depart on the morrow. I will be saddened to leave your company of course. I have enjoyed our conversations."

Colonel Fitzwilliam looked very despondent at the news.

"I am sorry to see you go madam. If I knew any better, I would say you were running away after Darcy!" He laughed, and Elizabeth smiled weakly. "I jest Miss Bennet. Of course you would miss your dear sister. From what you have told me she seems a lovely woman and I would be delighted to make her acquaintance someday. Well then it appears that this is goodbye for now. Wish me luck with my Aunt!"

"Goodbye Colonel, I do indeed hope this will not be a long separation and you escape as soon as possible."

With that, the gentleman bowed his head, turned his horse and departed.

Elizabeth went inside with her flowers to place in a vase in the drawing room, wondering how much Mr Collins would overreact to her not taking the proper leave of Lady Catherine with her sudden departure.