(A/N) WARNING: LOTS of Darcy/Lizzy goodness! I have been itching to write this chapter which is probably why it ended up being so long. And in my defense the chapter was finished sunday but my beta is my best friend and she is like woops I will get to it eventually lol so blame her for the long wait. I would tell you to throw rocks into her window and go to her door with torches and pitchforks but we live together so please don't throw rocks at our house lol.

Previously: "Caroline is into the habit of throwing things when she is upset. Why do you think I am so quick?" Charles laughed out loud at the aghast look on Darcy's face.

"Are you in earnest? Would she really do that?"

"Without a doubt, be thankful because you definitely dodged a bullet this day." Charles continued to laugh at Darcy's astounded facial expression.

As Darcy went to sleep that night his mind drifted to Miss Elizabeth Bennet as it had every night since he had met her. His last conscious thought was I wonder what she does when she becomes angry. More importantly I wonder how she looks when she is angry.


Chapter 7- Hiding in the stacks- What if Darcy tried to flirt at netherfield if he caught Elizabeth in the library?

Darcy did not have much hope for the day his morning had already started out troubled. He woke up and tried to remember the dream he had been having for the past few weeks. It was always the same. He was in the woods and he was chasing a girl's laughter. In the first dream he was in the woods by himself and only heard laughter in the distance and he began to run towards it. As days went by the dream progressed but he only caught glimpses of her; a shoulder, hand or her brown hair as she ran around a tree and it was starting to piss him off. However, this morning he actually remembered catching a glimpse of her face as she looked at him from behind a tree. All he saw was one of her eyes but that was enough to know the identity of the woman who had been plaguing his dreams since he had come to Hertfordshire, miss Elizabeth Bennet. The realization hit Darcy square in the gut. What does this mean? I know that she is pretty but to dream about her for weeks? I can't marry her she is . . . whoa. Marry? Where did that come from? I like her but marry? Wait. . . I like her? Since when? Oh this is a disaster!

Getting up to ring for Gabe, Darcy went to look out the window while he waited. As Gabe walked in he saw Darcy staring wistfully out of his window. All Gabe could think was that this would be a perfect time to mess with him. He knew that he was lucky to work for Mr. Darcy and that he would have been fired were it anybody else but he hated that he was so solemn all the time. With that being said he decided to do what he did best. Annoy his employer until he laughed.

Before he could put his plan into action Darcy turned around and asked "What do you think of Miss Bennet?"

Surprised at the question Gabe could only ask "Which one?"

"The younger."

"I have not had much interaction with her personally but from the talk I have heard in the kitchens she seems to be a very nice girl."

"What other talk have you heard?"

"Well the servants who have worked around the neighborhood said she is very kind. She, along with her sisters, pay visits to the tenants on her father's estate because their mother refuses. It is also said that she loves to read and regularly walks about the countryside. Why do you ask?"

"It is not important."

"You are lying to me."

"I am not and I would like to take a bath, can you please go see about the water."

"It is already done." At Darcy's confused look Gabe continued "I had a feeling you would want to wash today."

"Why is that?"

"Because you will be stuck inside the house, which means you will either be hiding in the servants corridors or you will have Miss Bingley stuck to your side. Either option requires bathing. But you never answered my question. Why the sudden interest in Miss Elizabeth?"

"I told you it is not important."

"I have known you since you were born and dressed you since you stopped needing a nanny. Therefore, I know you better than anyone and in all of our time together you have never asked my opinion about a lady. Why the interest?"

"Why must you be so meddlesome?"

"I am not sure. So will I have the honor of calling Miss Elizabeth Mistress of Pemberly?"

At Darcy's sharp look Gabe knew that it had at least passed his employers mind.

"No, she is not acceptable."

"And why ever not. She is a gentleman's daughter, you are a gentleman. You may be rich but that is the only difference between you."

"My family would not accept her."

"Correction, Lady Cat would not accept her."

Darcy smirked at the nickname Gabe had come up with for his aunt. Only he would be brave enough to address that formidable lady with such a name.

"The ton would not accept her."

"You hate the ton, so why do their opinions matter?"

"It could harm Georgiana's chances."

"Do you want Georgiana with a pompous man that would slight her because her sister-in-law didn't have wealth before she married you?"

"Her mother and two younger sisters are idiots."

"Your aunt is an idiot. No offense sir."

Darcy let out a low chuckle. "None taken."

"So again I ask, why did you ask about her?"

"I don't know, I didn't think about it."

"You like her."

"No, I do not."

"Yes you do."

"Are you going to read my future next?"

"Yes actually." Gabe closed his eyes and began to twirl his arms around his head and chant random unintelligible words. He hoped he looked like the shamans that he had seen in London. In an eerie voice he began his prediction. "You will fight your attraction, and then you will realize that you have to have her, and you will marry her."

"That seems a little vague," Darcy said sarcastically.

"The universe works in mysterious ways."

"What does that even mean? That doesn't make any sense." Darcy laughed.

Gabe was so close to getting a true laugh out of Darcy he knew he just had to go one step farther.

"Admit it you like her."

"Alright you have worn me down. I like her," Darcy admitted softly for the first time. "But that does not mean I will . . ."

Darcy was cut off when Gabe suddenly jumped on one of the couches in the seating area of Darcy's chambers and began to sing. "Mr. Darcy and Miss Elizabeth sitting in a tree k-i-s-s-i-n-g. First comes love then comes marriage then comes an heir in a baby carriage." Gabe proceeded to make kissing noises and dance on the couch until Darcy could no longer hold in his laughter. Gabe knew that at three and forty he was too old to act in this manner but being able to hear the laugh from Mr. Darcy's childhood was worth it. He would have to write to his mother, Mrs. Reynolds, at Pemberly and alert her to this news.


Darcy was back to being prey. The rain meant there would be no escaping Caroline. She got smarter since the last rainy day and she was even worse than before. She had followed him around the house since he left the breakfast table and she would not leave him alone, so there was no chance for him to try to ditch her. Not only would she talk about how amazing he was but she found a new favorite topic in how unsuitable Miss Elizabeth Bennet was.

Now that he was seated in a wing back chair in the library he hoped to get some peace but obviously that was not in his cards because every time he turned the page she would be at his shoulder asking him about his book. What does she not understand? I clearly said I will marry a woman of gentle birth yesterday. Why can't she just give up hope? As Darcy turned another page just like clockwork he felt her hand slide down his shoulder and heard her ask what was happening in his book. Her mouth was suspiciously close to the side of his face as she tried to seductively whisper in his ear. Darcy felt his arm twitch and although he was sure she thought that was a positive reaction to her attentions, he was actually restraining himself from slapping her with the book he held in his hand. Oh dear God please help me. I go to church every Sunday, Georgiana and I pray before every meal and I read my Bible. The next chance I have I will do a fantastic deed. I'm not sure what it is yet but I will definitely keep my promise you can trust me. Please I just need her to leave for five seconds and I can handle the rest. When Darcy felt her rub his other arm he knew his prayer would go unanswered . . . until.

"Caroline?"

"Yes Charles."

"The housekeeper needs to see you."

"Why?"

"I am not sure."

"I just spoke with the housekeeper before breakfast."

"Then it must be something that happened after breakfast."

"Well send her to me."

"Um, no."

"Why not?"

"Because I am the master of this house, I do not go searching for people. People search for me." Bingley said in his best impression of a snobbish gentleman as he sat in the chair across from Darcy.

"Fine, go find a servant from out in the hall."

"Again, no."

"Why not?"

"Because that would require me getting up to go search for a servant and the same rule still applies."

"Urgh! Fine, I will go fetch one myself."

As soon as Caroline walked into the hallway Charles turned to Darcy and said, "I bought you a few minutes to escape I sent all the servants in the hallways down to the other corridor. I would say you have about 60 seconds to run."

"What took you so long?" Darcy said as he got up to go to the servant's door.

"Well, I actually am the master of the house I do have paperwork to do."

"You hate paperwork."

"That does not mean it does not exist. Stop talking to me, you are wasting time and I hear her shoes coming."

Darcy quickly ducked into the servant's entrance. Darcy started to walk away but he really wanted to hear how Charles would explain his absence. Putting his ear to the door Darcy could make out most of their conversation.

"Where is he?"

"What? He who?" said Charles looking up from the random book he had picked up.

"Where is Mr. Darcy?"

Charles made a show of looking around like he had not realized Darcy had left. "I had not even realized he had left."

"He was sitting directly across from you."

"This is a very interesting book. Apparently there was a book on African zoology. This is about the hunting patterns of certain animals. Apparently in Africa the lioness is the predator not the male lion."

"I do not care about animals Charles, I need to find Mr. Darcy."

"Why?"

"Because I do."

"That is not an answer."

"It is all the answer you will receive."

"Caroline, we need to talk."

"We can talk later," said Caroline as she walked toward the door.

"No Caroline, we will talk now," said Charles in a tone of voice that he didn't even realize he had.

Caroline came to sit in the chair that Darcy had vacated across from Charles, miffed that she had to listen to her little brother.

"Caroline you must give up this quest to win Darcy's favor."

"I do not know what you are talking about."

"Do not pretend to be ignorant Caroline."

Still in the servants corridor Darcy decided not to intrude on this private moment between siblings and started to walk down the corridor.

"Charles I am just being a good host to Mr. Darcy."

"No Carey you are being a desperate leach who cannot take a hint. I am your brother and I love you more than anything but you have to stop this. Darcy will not marry you."

"You don't know that!" Caroline yelled.

"Actually I do. We have talked about it many times. He only tolerates your attentions because you are my sister."

"I do not want to hear this Charles."

"Just because you do not want to hear it does not make it go away."

"Silence! I will hear no more from you. I am leaving." With that Caroline stormed out of the library.

Charles hoped she went to her room to collect herself but knowing how determined Caroline was he seriously doubted that possibility.


Meanwhile, Elizabeth was ignorant of the tension in the rest of the house. Sitting at Jane's bedside she could not stop thinking about the previous night. Thankfully, Jane was starting to feel better and was able to talk with her sister after she woke up that morning. She was already asleep when Elizabeth went to check on her after dinner last night.

"So how was dinner last night Lizzy?"

"Interesting."

"How so?"

"Well I am positive that Miss Bingley does not like me and I am equally as positive that she wants to marry Mr. Darcy."

"Why do you think that?"

"Alright, you remember me telling you that she tried to go down to breakfast with Mr. Darcy."

"Yes I still do not understand why she was in the guest wing?"

"My thoughts exactly but I have no idea what excuse she gave but I am sure it was so Mr. Darcy would escort her to breakfast."

"Lizzy I doubt Caroline would scheme so."

"You doubt Napoleon would scheme so. But we are getting off subject. Then Mr. Darcy started to escort her to breakfast but stopped on the steps and pretended that he misplaced his pocket watch and ran back to his room to grab it. After Miss Bingley had left he looked out to make sure the coast was clear and walked with me down to the breakfast room."

"Mr. Darcy should not have lied."

Elizabeth chuckled at her sister and continued the story. "When we got to the breakfast room Miss Bingley looked like she wanted to stab me with her fork."

"Oh Lizzy I am sure you are just imagining it."

"Throughout breakfast she demeaned me and even tried to make it so I would not eat dinner with them. She kept saying she would send up a tray for me. I declined but she insisted until Mr. Bingley interrupted."

"I am sure she was just thinking that you would prefer to be here with me."

"I am sure she wasn't but you are free to believe what you like. Then during dinner she would either insult me or praise Mr. Darcy."

"Lizzy are you sure you are not imagining it?"

"What other way can you take 'Oh I am sure it is not your fault that you play so ill on the pianoforte." Elizabeth replied in a very good impression of Miss Bingley.

"Yes that was rude to say but I am sure she did not mean it the way you think."

"As I said before you may believe what you like but I would like to know why she does not like me."

"Maybe she knows that you do not like her."

"At least I am civil."

"You still dislike her."

"The worst part was I actually felt sorry for her last night."

"Why?"

"I believe last night Mr. Darcy had had quite enough of her attentions and while we were talking about accomplished women he told her that he believed a woman must be of gentle birth."

"Was she very disappointed?"

"Yes, I believe she was."

"Poor Miss Bingley, how could Mr. Darcy say such a thing?"

"What is wrong with what he said?"

"He should not have crushed her dreams like that."

"And when would have been a good time to tell her that he would never marry her. In a few years when she is considered on the shelf and he has finally decided to marry. Mr. Darcy was smart to try and save her the disappointment. I have seen how she acts around him it is bordering on uncouth."

"It just makes me sad that she is so disappointed."

"Better now than later."

"You are quick to defend Mr. Darcy."

Elizabeth colored at her sister's accusation. "He was surprisingly kind to me yesterday during dinner. When Miss Bingley would start her verbal attacks he would say something to deflect her attention away from me. That does not mean anything though. He is still very presumptuous, when he thought I was ill he acted like I was an invalid and did not let me make one decision about my own health. He stormed through the halls yelling orders like he was the master of the house. Not to mention he is aloof and rude to our neighbors."

Jane just looked at her sister. She wondered if Elizabeth could hear how her voice and eyes went soft when she first spoke of Mr. Darcy. She was too tired to think of it now but she would definitely come back to the subject. "I think I will rest now Lizzy." Jane tried to say around her yawn.

Elizabeth laughed indulgently at her sister. "Alright, rest and feel better I will be back to visit with you soon." With a kiss to her sister's forehead Elizabeth quietly left through the door that connected their rooms.

Now in her bedroom Elizabeth walked over to her bedside table to pick up the book that she had been reading and was close to finishing. Reading in my room is a much better alternative than facing the inhabitants of Netherfield. An hour later, Elizabeth had finished her book and was on her way to the library to find another.


(A/N) This is how I picture the library; I wouldn't put this in if it wasn't important. The library has two floors and a spiral staircase in the back left corner of the room. Across from the door there are huge windows that go from the ceiling to the floor and there is a window seat that spans the window. Directly to the left of the window is where the servant's door is. It looks like a part of the wall so it is not easily recognized if you are not paying attention. On both sides of the room there is one stack, which makes an aisle between the wall and the bookcase. In the middle of the room there are two winged back chairs a sofa that is facing the door and a love seat that is facing the window. Ok I hope that wasn't too confusing let me know if you have questions.


Elizabeth walked into the library and was happy to see that she was alone. After putting back the book she had borrowed she did not know where she wanted to start searching for her next book, Mr. Bingley's library was terribly unorganized. She decided to try the second floor since she had never explored up there. After browsing for a few minutes Elizabeth found a book she was interested in. She was standing on the top step of the staircase when she saw Mr. Darcy rush into the room, practically run around the furniture, open a door in a wall, slide in and shut it. Elizabeth was so confused until she saw Miss Bingley walk into the room less than two seconds later. As Elizabeth started walking down the staircase Miss Bingley walked to the right side of the room and look down the aisle. When she was about to repeat her action on the left side of the room she saw Elizabeth at the bottom of the staircase with a smirk on her lips and one of her eyebrows arched as if to say. What you are doing? Refusing to allow Eliza Bennet to watch her search for Mr. Darcy she scowled at her and left the room.

Elizabeth walked over to the door that Mr. Darcy was hiding behind because she could not let the opportunity to tease him go to waste. Exactly when she was about to knock on the door it opened and out walked Mr. Darcy and right into her making a loud commotion as he knocked them both to the ground with him pinning her body to the floor.

Elizabeth looked straight into his eyes and watched as they darkened right before her. After a few seconds Elizabeth finally found her voice. "Mr. Darcy, sir, you are crushing me."

"Oh, I am so sorry Miss Bennet I did not know you were on the other side of the door," he said without moving.

"It is quite alright sir, you could not have known."

"Are you hurt?"

"No, but you are still crushing me."

"Oh! I'm sorr. . ." Darcy went completely still.

"Mr. Dar…" Elizabeth was confused as to why he stopped moving off of her.

"Shh." Suddenly Darcy stood up fast as lightning grabbed her up with him and in less than three seconds they were behind the wall door with one of his hands covering her mouth and the other around her waist pulling her flat against his body.

With wild eyes Elizabeth looked at him like he had lost his senses, Darcy didn't take heed of anything but the sounds coming from the library. Putting his ear to the door he heard the door open. In his haste Darcy completely closed the door instead of leaving it cracked like he usually did so he could always check if Miss Bingley had left. As quietly as he could he removed his hand from her mouth and turned the knob on the door hoping that the movement wouldn't catch Miss Bingley's notice.

"What the devil are you doing?" Elizabeth whispered fiercely between her teeth. I cannot believe I just cursed. I am going to hell.

Darcy finally remembered that he was not in the corridor by himself and that his guest, or hostage depending on whose view you looked at, was pressed against his body from shoulder to foot. Darcy could feel his body instantly react to their proximity. Oh God. Please give me strength. Wow she feels better than when we waltz together. I am going to hell.

"I am sorry Miss Elizabeth I did not mean to bring you in here with me it was just a reflex." Darcy whispered back.

"Oh really? Do you pull women into dark corridors so often that it has become second nature for you?" Elizabeth was beyond angry and he could hear it in her voice.

"No Miss Elizabeth. I am very sorry if you will give me but a minute I will be able get us out of here and I will explain everything to you."

"I expect nothing less than a full explanation Mr. Darcy."

"And you shall have it, I assure you."

While Darcy pressed his ear against the door Elizabeth tried to dampen her anger. After watching Mr. Darcy for a few moments she realized that he still had his arm around her waist and she was still pressed against his body. There was no room for her to step back so Elizabeth stood there and took a deep breath. Why does he always smell so fantastic? Looking up at him she saw how big he was compared to her. Her head barely reached his shoulder. Elizabeth felt her pulse begin to speed up and felt the familiar tingling sensation that she associated only with Darcy and knew that she needed to get out of there fast. I am soo compromised. If someone catches us in here we will be married before the end of the week. This thought didn't disturb Elizabeth as much as it would have before, which disturbed Elizabeth even more. I cannot like him. He just accosted me in a library.

"Miss Bennet," said Mr. Darcy looking down into her face.

"Yes?"

"I believe it is safe for us to leave now but to be sure I will go out first and come get you when I am sure it is safe."

"Alright."

"Miss Bennet?"

"Yes Mr. Darcy" said an exasperated Elizabeth.

Darcy put his forefinger under her chin and lifted her head up so he could meet her eyes. "I am truly sorry for this. I will do whatever it takes to make this right. However, if we are discovered I promise that I will devote the rest of my days to your happiness."

Elizabeth watched his facial expression during his short speech and saw the true remorse he felt for the situation he put them in. She nodded her head and immediately felt the loss of his body as he slipped out of the door. Please please don't let there be someone out there.

The door reopened and Darcy's head popped in. "The room is clear." Darcy held his hand out so she would not trip. Taking his hand Elizabeth looked around the library to check for herself that no one was in the room.

"Now Mr. Darcy there better be a good explanation for what just happened. If we were discovered we would be engaged right now."

"There is a good reason. I was hiding from Miss Bingley," stated Darcy in a serious tone.

Elizabeth waited for him to continue but when he didn't she realized he was serious. They were completely silent until Elizabeth's sudden laughter rang through the library.

"Miss Bennet what may I ask is so funny?" said Darcy in a voice that clearly said he didn't find anything funny in the situation. You have not had to run from that harpy for the last six years.

Elizabeth could not answer him because she was holding her stomach and tears were leaking from her eyes. After about 20 seconds she calmed down enough to say, "You almost compromised me because you did not want to be compromised by Miss Bingley. You had better protect your virtue Mr. Darcy." At her joke Elizabeth broke out in another round of laughter.

Darcy stood and watched Elizabeth laugh at him but he couldn't be as mad at her as he would with another. Her laugh was infectious and he slowly began to laugh with her. "The sad part is I have been hiding like this for weeks." That comment sent Elizabeth into more peals of laughter and Darcy was laughing just as hard.

"Oh. . .ow . . . oh my stomach. Ok we have to stop." Elizabeth began to take deep breaths to calm herself and stop her laughter. Slowly they both calmed down and were able to wipe the tears from their eyes.

"I have not laughed that hard in years. Thank you Miss Elizabeth." That was the first time Darcy had allowed himself to say her name out loud. It felt perfect on his lips and he knew he would never be able to call her Miss Bennet again.

Elizabeth heard the way he said her name and she had never loved her name so much as she did at that moment. Trying to brush the moment aside Elizabeth said, "I now know that you were hiding from Miss Bingley but there must be more to this story than that."

"Indeed you are correct but it is a rather long story if you are going to understand the full scope of the problem."

"My sister is sleeping and I have nothing else to occupy my time. I believe I would like to hear a story rather than read one."

"Shall we?" Darcy gestured with his arm towards the window seat.

Darcy sat down and watched as Elizabeth tucked her feet under herself and settled in to listen to his story.

"Once upon a time…"

Elizabeth laughed at his joke "I am not five years old Mr. Darcy."

Oh believe me I know you are not a child. "It is my story Miss Elizabeth would you like for me to tell it or not?"

"You are correct I am very sorry sir; please continue to weave your magical tale."

"Alright where was I? Oh yes, once upon a time in a faraway land called Cambridge, there was a young and dashing man named Mr. . . er. . . Mr. Farcy. "

"Very creative."

"I have no clue what you are talking about; Mr. Farcy is real."

"Oh yes I am certain that he is."

"Miss Elizabeth I will never get through the story if you continue to interrupt it."

"You are right. I apologize Mr. Farcy, oh excuse me I meant Mr. Darcy."

Just as Darcy was about to deliver a comeback he froze when he heard familiar clicking in the hallway and as a natural as breathing he dashed into the servant's door and closed it before the library door opened. Elizabeth was shocked speechless until she caught on a second later when Miss Bingley walked into the room.

"Good afternoon Miss Bingley, how are you?"

"I am fine Miss Eliza."

"I have asked you before to please call me Elizabeth or Lizzy. Did you forget?"

"Oh I am sorry I must have. Have you seen Mr. Darcy?"

I am sure you forget a lot of things at your age. "Oh why are you looking for him? Maybe I can help you search." Elizabeth stood as if to help Miss Bingley.

"That will not be necessary." said Miss Bingley suddenly.

"Well, I will see you at dinner then."

"Of course." With a scowl Miss Bingley turned from the room and stomped away.

Elizabeth stood up and walked over to the servant's door and knocked. The door opened and a red faced Darcy took a step out. Elizabeth looked indulgently up at him with one eyebrow arched. "I think I believe your claim about your actions being a reflex, Mr. Darcy."

"I have had more practice than I would like," said Darcy as he followed Elizabeth back to their seat. "She will not be back for twenty to thirty minutes."

Elizabeth could not help but chuckle at his prediction. "And you know this how?"

"That is a part of the story."

"Well by all means, do not keep me in suspense."

"Yes back to Mr. Farcy. As I said before he lived in a place called Cambridge. That is where he met his best friend Mr. Wingley. Well Mr. Farcy was quiet and not very comfortable around others. Some people misunderstood his naturally reserved nature and thought him proud and cold but Mr. Wingley was very open and willing to befriend Mr. Farcy even though he was not always easy to get along with."

Elizabeth looked into Mr. Darcy's eyes, as he told his story she saw how much Mr. Bingley's friendship meant to him while they were at university.

"Well over the years the two became very close and Mr. Farcy went to visit Mr. Wingley at his home. There he met Mr. Wingley's father and two older sisters. After a short time it became perfectly clear that the younger of his two sisters, Miss Garoline, favored me. . . I meant she favored Mr. Farcy."

"Of course," said Elizabeth chuckling at his mistake.

"Well over the next six years or so she followed Mr. Farcy around whenever they were in company together and would hang on him, not dissimilar to a leach. Mr. Farcy knew his wealth and the prestige that his name would bring her was the only reason she showed him so much deference. Even though he knew she had her hope set on being the Mistress of Zemberley, Mr. Farcy's ancestral estate, he never led her to believe that would be the case. You see, Mr. Farcy wanted a marriage like the one his parents had before him, one filled with love, trust and mutual respect. He knew he would never achieve such a marriage with Miss Garoline."

"How did this lead to you hiding in closets?"

"We are getting there but you must be patient."

"Again you are right. My lips are sealed." Elizabeth zipped her lips and threw the key over her shoulder. Darcy chuckled at her action.

"I can see that you are anxious for the end of this story so I will summarize quickly. One evening while Mr. Farcy was sleeping in the library Miss Garoline came in and arranged it so they were caught in a compromising situation by one of her servants. It was not true but less than two weeks later they were married and he lived a miserable life with her as his wife."

"Poor Mr. Farcy."

"My thoughts exactly. Well I learned from Mr. Farcy's mistakes and now I hide from Miss Bingley so the same fate does not befall me, that and the fact that it rained for five days straight last week."

"What does the weather have to do with you hiding in the servants corridors?"

"Well for four days I was stuck in a house with Miss Bingley and no hope of escape. During those four days I studied her and her patterns. On the fifth day I finally thought of a plan to escape her attention. I saw my valet enter through the servants entrance and I have been using them to hide ever since."

"That is quite the tale Mr. Darcy thank you for sharing it with me."

"You are welcome." said Darcy softly. He could not help staring into those eyes that he thought about every night before he went to sleep. They were so much more vivid in person. I could look at those eyes forever. No, not forever but there is no reason I cannot enjoy her company now. But what if Gabe was right? What if I eventually will have to have her? Damn him to the coldest pits of hell. Wanting to move the conversation back to neutral topics Darcy asked Elizabeth about the book she had been reading.

"I actually just finished it, which is why I was in the library in the first place."

"What book was it?"

"The Divine Comedy."

"I read that a few years ago. What did you think?"

"I felt that Dante was presumptuous to label people and put them in Heaven or Hell. Although I did think that some of his ideas were interesting."

"Such as?"

"Well for one, he made hell cold Mr. Darcy."

"But can you not understand his logic? His thought was that the deepest parts of hell were completely without the presence of God. God being what is warm and light and good. Therefore a frozen lake is the complete absence and desolation that comes from being without God."

Elizabeth laughed at his spirited argument. "Do not get too worked up Mr. Darcy I agree with you. I thought it was fitting that Dante made the lowest part of hell cold, it is a completely new take on it. I also admired his depiction of the devil, making him frozen from the waist down and eating the bodies of the three worst betrayers of all time was very inventive. But I think the most significant part is that the devils punishment is self-inflicted."

"How so?"

"The lake is made of the tears of the devil. His once beautiful angel wings that now resemble the wings of a bat continually flap which freezes the water of his icy prison."

"I cannot argue with your logic Miss Elizabeth."

"So tell me about the last book you have read Mr. Darcy."

Elizabeth and Darcy continued to talk about books, music, art, philosophy, politics and family until it was time to dress for dinner. They were only interrupted a few times by Mr. Darcy's mad dash to the servant's door but after he was settled back into his seat they continued their conversation as if nothing happened.

While Darcy escorted Elizabeth to her room so she could get dressed he could not stop the thoughts that were going through his head. I wonder what she would think of Pemberley.

As for Elizabeth she could not believe how much she had learned about Mr. Darcy. I hate him so much. How did he get me to like him?

(A/N) Yup, Gabe is Mrs. Reynolds son which is why he knows Darcy so well. He practically watched him grow up. Just so you are not confused in my story Darcy met Bingley when Darcy was 20 and Bingley was 17. Darcy is now 26, Bingley is 23 and Caroline is 24. If you do not know the story they talk about at the end of the chapter it is The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. It was the first work written in Italian and I studied it this past summer when I lived in Italy.

Coming up next: Chapter 8- Listen B!#H- What if Elizabeth let Ms. Bingley have it?

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