The gentlemen of Rosings decided to pay a call on Mr. Knightley the next day. After both retrieved their horses, they quickly urged them to an easy gait. The road to Donwell was neither long nor difficult, and the cousins found themselves there in little less than a quarter hour. They were shown into Knightley's study, and were quite surprised by the manner of greeting he gave them. To Colonel Fitzwilliam he was perfectly amiable, but when greeting Darcy, he seemed to grow cold and distant. Neither of his companions knew what to make of it.

"Have you had a chance to take a stroll hereabouts, Mr. Darcy?" These were the first words in an hour he had addressed to the gentleman.

"I did take a walk near Hartford, but that is the extent of my walking so far." Knightley repressed the urge to glare at Darcy, after hearing him openly admit to the walk. After that, he could not bring himself to address the man again. Instead, he devoted what time he could to categorizing Darcy's faults.

Darcy was not a completely amiable man, too reserved and awkward to suit Emma. He did not smile enough and though he was intelligent, Knightley doubted that he could offer the level of sense that Emma needed from a husband. And he lived too far away.

Being sensible, Knightley could see that most of his objections were easily surpassed and together, they amounted to little. Yet, even as he acknowledged this, he could not shake the feeling that something was not right in a union between Emma and Darcy. A voice in his head continually told him to be wary. So, he watched Darcy critically, still unsure as to the source of his discomfort.

Feeling that there was something wrong with Knightley, the other gentlemen did not stay above an hour, returning to Rosings with some confusion over their friend's behavior. Knightley himself did not remain long in Donwell Abbey. The feelings of discomfort remained even after Darcy had long gone. The only thing he could think the help clear them was a walk to Hartfield.

The closer Knightley got to Hartfield, the happier he felt. The house drew him in somehow, and he was more than happy to obey it. His good mood quickly dissipated upon entering the house however. It seemed that only Mr. Woodhouse was in attendance as Both Emma and Elizabeth had gone to call on the new Mrs. Collins, an old friend of Elizabeth's. Normally this would not have injured his mood to the extreme that it did now, but he knew that Mr. Collins was Lady Catherine's steward and resided at Rosings with his wife. And Rosings was also the current residence of Mr. Darcy.

It vexed him greatly that he was stuck at Hartfield, under obligation to pay his call to Mr. Woodhouse, while Emma and Darcy were furthering their acquaintance miles away from him. His body remained tense and his nerves on edge through the whole of the visit. And this time, he did not even attempt to question why.

The colonel and Darcy had not been long returned to Rosings when Darcy spotted Emma in the front hall. His heart rising to his throat, he caught her eye and silently asked her where Elizabeth was. She smiled and a slight jerk of her head indicated that he should come over to her, which he did without hesitation. She looked around them carefully before whispering conspiratorially in his ear.

"Elizabeth is here to visit her friend, Mrs. Collins, in the drawing room, third door on the left." She pointed the door to him to insure he knew it. "There is a book lying on the far table entitled 'The Story of the Stone*'. After some time has elapsed, enough for them to have caught up with everything they must, go into the room, excuse yourself stating that you had left you book in that room. I shall invite you to stay, and then you must take advantage of every possible opportunity." Darcy nodded, unsure of his voice. Emma entered the same room she had pointed out to him.

Darcy waited in an empty room and watched the clock tick by. How long should he wait? Had it been long enough? After a lengthy period of time had passed, Darcy could stand it no longer. As he walked to the room, he reminded himself of all Emma had told him to do.

He must be absolutely civil, to everyone in the room and make sure that he talk to everyone and simply make himself agreeable. That he could do. And he must smile; his mask of cold indifference had to go.

"And stop staring at her. She thinks you are looking with disapproval and that hardly helps her form a favorable opinion of you." Emma's reproach sounded in his mind.

He scoffed as he remembered. Looking at her with disapproval? Disapproval was always the farthest thing from his mind.

He stood outside the door biting his lip in anticipation. He could hear voices in there, telling him he had reached the right door. Now there were only a few inches of wood separating him from his love. Yet his hand froze, hovering above the doorknob. Several deep breaths later, he was still standing there, shaking uncontrollably. What if he made a mistake and she thought even less of him? Was it even possible to earn her good opinion? He didn't deserve it, so how could he ever aspire to think himself worthy of even trying to earn it? Finally his choice was made for him as Emma loudly spoke, knowing that he could hear every word.

"Did you hear that? I think there is someone at the door." Darcy opened it before she had finished her very blatant hint. He bowed to the room at large.

"Please excuse me for interrupting, but I believe that I left my book in here, 'The Story of the…' um…," Darcy had made the mistake of looking at Elizabeth and catching her eye. As he looked into those beautiful pools of light, all other thoughts disappeared, including the name of the book he was supposedly searching for. A small cough from Emma brought his mind back. "Stone." He finished, a bit belatedly. Emma put a hand over her eyes in exasperation.

Darcy attempted to ignore all of the members of the room and made his way to the back table. Finding the book there as Emma had said, he picked it up and began to leave the room.

"Perhaps you would like to stay and talk with us?" Darcy turned towards the familiar voice, but it was not Emma who spoke, it was Mrs. Collins who Darcy now recognized as Miss Lucas from Hertfordshire.

"I would be honored."

*If you're interested, The Story of the Stone by Cao Xueqin. Written 1763.