AU: How would things at the Bennet household be different if Elizabeth had a twin brother: Edward?

Disclaimer: I do not own Pride and Prejudice or any of the characters. This is just a story that I am writing for fun.

After tea, the party moved over to a table to play cards. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth stayed in their seats. Caroline hoped that they would just stay in the room, so she could watch them from the card game. Mr. Darcy waited until Caroline was seated and the game had started before turning to Elizabeth.

"Miss Bennet, would you like to accompany me to the library?" he asked. He did not notice Caroline's obvious displeasure to this question because he was looking at Elizabeth.

"That would be lovely," replied Elizabeth, looking straight back at Mr. Darcy. He seemed so different from when they first met. Caroline was upset that she had sat down to the game of cards because she did not have a good excuse to leave the game and follow them to the library. Edward smiled to himself; maybe Elizabeth would fall in love with Mr. Darcy. Edward did not want his sister to marry anyone less worthy.

Elizabeth followed Mr. Darcy down the corridor to the library. He opened the door to the library. There was a fire lit in the fireplace. Darcy had told one of the servants to light a fire during tea. Elizabeth was amazed. Before she even looked at the books, she was in awe of the room. It was a larger room, beautifully furnished. The walls were covered in books. The shelves were a dark wood. They gave the room a warm feel. Elizabeth walked around the room, admiring the beauty as well as looking at the books. The library hosted a variety of authors and titles, not just from the British Empire, but around the world. Some were in their original language, others translated into English.

"It's beautiful," Elizabeth finally said as she looked around.

"Indeed," Mr. Darcy said, looking at Elizabeth. She did not notice him watching her. "I have found that this is my favorite room in this house."

"I would spend as much time here as possible if I lived here," replied Elizabeth. "But, surely you have great library at your home?"

"Yes, Pemberly does have a great library. My father made a point to build it up, and I have continued his work since his death." Elizabeth turned to look at Mr. Darcy, the man in this room was nothing like the one she first met; he was even different from the one who was at tea earlier. He seemed more relaxed.

"I heard Caroline mentioning something about your sister, Georgiana, at tea. She is younger I gather?" asked Elizabeth.

"Yes, she is sixteen. She was left in the care of my cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam and myself when my father died. She is a bright girl."

"Does she stay at Pemberly by herself? Does she not get lonely?" asked Elizabeth. From what Elizabeth could piece together, Pemberly was a great estate with an equally grand house. She would not be as keen on staying in such a great house by herself, but she figured that she might not enjoy it as much because she had a brother and four sisters, and they all lived together in a smaller house.

"She spends her time mostly in town, but she always goes to Pemberly when I am there, and I see her when I am in town." Mr. Darcy was intrigued by Elizabeth's questions. She was not asking about how rich he was but about his sister. She seemed genuinely interested, not just trying to get on his good side.

"What is she like?" asked Elizabeth. She liked hearing Mr. Darcy talk about his sister. He seemed more relaxed, and it was clear that he was proud of her.

"She is a sweet girl, but she is shy. She does not talk much around a large group of people, but as her older brother, I am almost glad that she does not enjoy large crowds. I try to protect her from people who would want to spend time with her because of how much money she has to her name." Mr. Darcy did not know why he was telling Elizabeth all of these things, but he just found her easy to talk to.

"That is understandable," replied Elizabeth. They stood in silence for a few minutes, turning to look at the books. The silence was broken with the door to the library opening.

"Mr. Darcy, Miss Elizabeth, we are going on a walk through the grounds, would you like to join us?" asked Caroline. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth looked at each other. It was known that they both enjoyed walks out of doors, so they could not deny interest in the activity. Darcy knew that Caroline had suggested this activity to make sure that he and Elizabeth did not become too close (for Caroline was determined to marry Mr. Darcy and did not want anyone to get in her way); Elizabeth guessed that Caroline had such intentions, but did not know her as well and could not give a definitive answer.

Caroline lead the way out of the room, Elizabeth followed behind her, and Mr. Darcy came last, closing the door behind him. They met everyone in the hall where the servants helped the ladies with their wraps. Elizabeth noticed that Mr. and Mrs. Hurst was not a part of the party; she guessed that Mr. Hurst was still on the sofa where they left him, and Mrs. Hurst was probably in the sitting room as well. Elizabeth thought that Mrs. Hurst did not seem one to enjoy the outdoors.

The group went outside and walked to a grove of trees that was near the house. Mr. Bingley and Jane had fallen into step and were talking to each other. Elizabeth had gathered that Mr. Darcy did not return the attentions given to him by Caroline, so she fell into step with him. He smiled gratefully at her. Caroline saw Elizabeth starting to walk with Mr. Darcy and she quickly went to his other side. Edward walked next to Elizabeth.

"Mr. Darcy, do you remember the name of that opera we went to while we were in town last month?" asked Caroline. She was trying to direct the conversation away from anything that Elizabeth could talk about.

"It escapes my mind at the moment. Miss Bennet, Edward, have you had the chance to read much of Jonathan Swift?" asked Mr. Darcy. He was trying to turn the conversation away from Caroline. He was frustrated with Caroline's constant insistence to monopolize the conversation with trivialities that no one really cared for. Elizabeth laughed to herself at Caroline's insistence to get Mr. Darcy's attentions and his obvious dislike of her attentions.

"I have had the chance. My brother and I read some of his work a few years ago," replied Elizabeth.

"We quite enjoyed it," added Edward. "We read through Gulliver's Travels."

"I enjoyed that when I read it," replied Mr. Darcy.

"Tell me about it, Mr. Darcy," said Caroline when she saw that the conversation could not be turned from that of literature.

"I'm afraid even a great orator could not re-tell the story in a way that gives it justice," said Edward.

"There is something about the way that the words fall on the page that makes it more enchanting if you read it yourself," added Elizabeth. Caroline frowned. She was frustrated; there was no way that she could combat the three of them to turn the conversation toward herself. She decided to catch up with Jane and Mr. Bingley to see if there was anything forming between the two of them. She had focused all of her attention on Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy that she had not thought to see if her brother was getting into a relationship with someone who was socially beneath him. Caroline only hoped that Mr. Darcy would not fall into the same trap.

Elizabeth, Edward, and Mr. Darcy talked about Jonathan Swift as well as other authors that they had read. They kept the conversation strictly literary because Mr. Darcy did not want to talk to Caroline, and Elizabeth picked up on his desire to keep her out of the conversation. Edward guessed as much, but he was not sure of anything, so he let Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy drive the conversation.

The rest of the walk was rather uneventful. It was not a long walk, and they were soon back at the house. Edward announced that it was time for him and his sisters to go back to Longbourn. Mr. Bingley was obviously disappointed to see Jane go. Mr. Darcy was disappointed that Elizabeth was leaving as well, but his disappointment was not as obvious. The Bennets thanked Mr. Bingley, Caroline, and Mr. Darcy for the lovely time as the carriage was brought around to the front of the house where they were waiting.

Mr. Bingley helped Jane into the carriage, and Mr. Darcy helped Elizabeth. Edward climbed in after his sisters, and they were soon on their way back to Longbourn.