Having alerted Mrs. Reynolds of William's disappearance, the searchers spanned out through the house once more, calling for the little boy. The children ran from room to room, calling out for him. After another hour of fruitless searching, Elizabeth turned to Mrs. Gardiner, Mr. Gardiner, Mrs. Bennet, Mr. Bennet, Mary, Kitty, and Georgiana for help, insisting that Jane remain with Charlotte, who had become overwhelmed by the disappearance of her son and could only sob helplessly into her handkerchief. Mr. Collins joined the search, but he did little more than lecture on the carelessness of nurses. William's nurse was as distressed as Charlotte, but she insisted that she was still fit to search for the child.

Elizabeth had just finished searching the third floor for the third time when Mrs. Reynolds hurried up to her, wringing her hands.

"Mrs. Darcy, Nellie just told me something important."

"What is it?" demanded Elizabeth, frightened by the urgency in Mrs. Reynolds' tone.

"The kitchen door, it's been cracked open all morning. The kitchen was so hot and—," she trailed off as Elizabeth paled at the implication.

"Go tell Mr. Darcy, but discreetly. We do not need to upseteveryone, especially Charlotte. I'll go upstairs to find suitable winter wear for the searchers."

The older woman nodded and hurried from the room. A few moments later, from a third floor window, Elizabeth saw a bundled up Darcy and Charles mounting their horses and nudge them into a gallop. She hurried from the window to the attic stairs at the end of the corridor to find the extra clothing.

She pulled the key from her pocket and pulled the door towards her, only to discover it was already open. With a frown, she put the key back into her pocket and pushed the door open. Cold air furled out from the darkness, drawing the warmth from her. She rushed back down the hall and lit a candle that rested on the table and hurried back to the attic door and pushed it open with her foot, shielding the candle flame as she started up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs, Elizabeth went to light the candelabra, only to find that the candles had been burned to stubs. The maids had been up here for Christmas decorations and forgotten to replace them.

She had turned to go back down the steps to get replacements, when a small sound caught her attention. Elizabeth stopped and listened. A few moments later the sound came again.

"Hello?" she asked, feeling silly at talking to a creaking attic.

"Mama?" asked a voice.

Elizabeth gasped and nearly dropped the candle. "William? Where are you, dear?"

The little boy began to cry and Elizabeth followed the sound of his sobs to a stack of crates and a pile of broken chairs. "Where are you?" she called as she stumbled over a loose board. "Come out William, I can't see you."

Desperately she pushed aside the chairs, calling for him. Her candle flickered out, leaving her in complete darkness. She dared not get another one, for fear of leaving William alone any longer. A sob of frustration escaped her lips. She should have brought an extra match, but in her rush she had left them on the table down stairs.

"William, can you hear my voice?" she asked.

Silence.

She asked again and this time the little boy answered. She dropped to her knees and crawled across the floor, pushing aside the chairs and praying that she would not dislodge something and send it crashing down upon her. Finally she came to a wardrobe and curled beside it was a sobbing William.

"William," she gasped. He looked up and came to her. Elizabeth held him close, rocking his chilled body as he clung to her.

When he had calmed somewhat, she crawled out from behind the chairs and picked him up, before she felt her way back to the stairs, stumbling several times and grimacing in dismay when she stepped on the hem of her dress and heard a terrible tearing sound. All the while, William clutched her neck and she could feel his little chest rise and fall quickly as he sobbed into her shoulder.

After what seemed like an age, Elizabeth reached the top of the stairs and hurried down them as fast as she could, calling for Charlotte. She stumbled from the attic, blinking as the bright hall met her eyes which had become accustomed to the darkness.

She waited only long enough for her eyes to readjust before she ran down the hall, calling for Charlotte as loud as she could. She reached the end of the corridor and hurried down the steps. Footsteps pounded on the floor below as she alighted at the foot of the stairs. Mr. Gardiner, Charlotte, Kitty, and Rensler came running towards her.

"You found him!" cried Charlotte as Elizabeth handed the sobbing child over to his mother. She clutched him desperately as she kissed his cold cheeks. Tears ran down her face and soft sobs escaped from her lips.

"Rensler, tell Mrs. Reynolds that we have found William and tell her to draw up a bath as soon as possible," instructed Elizabeth. "Kitty, tell the others we've found him, and Uncle, please find a way to alert Darcy and Charles that they should come back."

They all nodded and hurried off to complete their allotted tasks while Elizabeth led the sobbing Charlotte and William to their room and helped Charlotte undress the boy and wrap in warm blankets. Mrs. Reynolds filled the bath shortly and William's nurse returned to help Charlotte bathe the still sobbing William. When the bath was finished, Charlotte tried to put William into bed but he refused to let go of her. Finally she took a seat in a chair and Mrs. Reynolds wrapped the boy in blankets and spoon warm broth down his throat. Eventually he quieted and fell asleep against Charlotte, his small arms wrapped tightly around her neck.

Elizabeth left with Mrs. Reynolds as Charlotte rocked a slumbering William back and forth, silent tears running down her cheeks.

Darcy awaited them outside the room and after Elizabeth shut the door quietly she went to him and he held her tightly, stroking her hair with his gloved hand. After a while, she suggested that they both bathe as she was filthy and he must be cold.

An hour later, when they had both freshened up, Mrs. Reynolds brought them supper in their chamber, as the others had been instructed to dine without them.

"Where did you find him?" asked Darcy, after he took a sip of his soup as they sat at a table that had been brought in for them. "You had a huge rent in your dress and your hair was falling out of its bun."

"I found him in the attic while I was searching for extra clothing. The door was open and he must have wandered up there."

"I am thankful that he did not wander outside. If he has a cold after remaining up there for however long, imagine what would have happened had he been outside."

"That is something I am trying to prevent myself from imagining," she said softly, biting her lip to keep back the tears that threatened to overflow.

Darcy set his spoon down and took her hand in his warm one, and gently massaged her palm with his thumb. "He is safe. Do not worry about what could have been, but what was."

Elizabeth nodded as a lump rose in her throat. She wasn't hungry anymore, though she had hardly eaten over the past two days. Darcy noticed her expression and rose from the table and knelt by her side. She threw her arms around him and sobbed into his shoulder as he stroked her back.

"I should have warned the maids to be more careful," she sobbed. "I should have taken extra precautions for who can expect them to remember such things when there are hardly ever little children about. Suppose he had died. Charlotte would never have forgiven me and I would have had to live for the rest of my life knowing that I had taken her most treasured possession from her."

Darcy pulled away from her and rested a gentle finger on her lips, quieting her. "Do not blame yourself, Lizzie. There are precautions we all should have taken, but forgot to. There is too much blame present to lay upon each person. Yes, perhaps you should have warned the maids to be extra cautious and they should have locked the doors after themselves anyway. Charlotte should have been more aware of her son's whereabouts and William's nurse should have known exactly where he was at all times and not made any assumptions. We all should have kept an eye on him; after all he is only two. Do not fret over something that has been done, for now we will take extra precautions. It is lucky that you thought to search the attic for extra winter clothing. It was you who found him."

He ran his hand over her back in soothing motions until she quieted. Embarrassed at her tears, she took the handkerchief that Darcy offered her and dabbed her eyes.

"I don't know what's gotten into me lately," she apologized. "I used to be so logical and pragmatic; something like this would never have upset me so."

"You still are logical and pragmatic," Darcy said firmly, looking her in the eyes.

Elizabeth's lip quivered as she thought of something else. "I'm also a coward," she admitted softly.

Darcy's eyebrows shot up. "Why, because you were afraid for William?"

She shook her head and fiddled with the handkerchief in her hands. "No," she said quietly, "I am a coward because I've been too afraid to ask you something."

"What is it?" he asked, perplexed.

Elizabeth hesitated, twisting the handkerchief mercilessly. "How you felt about children," she said in a rush, hardly audible as her cheeks warmed.

Darcy stood and drew her to her feet; she was surprised to see that his cheeks were slightly red. He swallowed. "Are you—are you with child?" he asked as his face reddened further.

She shook her head and she was further astonished to see hiscountenance fall. After a moment's hesitation, she placedherhand gently on his cheek. "Do you mean to say that you do want children?"

He nodded. "Why would you think I did not?" he said softly. "I thought we had discussed it before we married."

Elizabeth blushed. "I did not know if you had changed your mind or…it just did not seem as large an issue before now. I suppose I believed that if later you did not want children I would not mind. And then Jane told me her news and I started wondering if perhaps I would mind if you did not want children. When William came, I could hardly think of anything else I wanted more than children of our own."

Darcy smiled gently. "Did you not guess that I wanted an heir?" he teased.

Elizabeth frowned. "Of course you want an heir. But, but do you truly want children? Is there a difference?"

He pulled her to him. "I am glad you see that distinction. Yes, there is a difference between wanting an heir to carry on your name and fortune and wanting children to love and care for. But Lizzie, I do want children for us to love and to raise together, to be constant reminders of our love for one another. I see the happiness shared between Charles and Jane as they await their first child, and though I do not envy them, and I—I want something similar for us, to share that same kind of intimacy with you."

Elizabeth smiled and buried her face in his chest, feeling as if a heavy, suffocating cloak had been lifted from her shoulders. They stood in a tight embrace for a few moments before Elizabeth looked up at him.

"I love you, Fitzwilliam," she murmured, her lips brushing his. Darcy paused for a momentbefore their lips met in a gentle, profound kiss.

"I love you, too, Elizabeth," he said as he released her lips and carried her to their bed.