A/N: Hello Readers! A very Merry Christmas to you all, I hope you're all enjoying the run up to the holidays!

Here is this week's chapter; a shorter installment but I hope it enjoy it nonetheless! We're nearing the end now...

Thank you again to everyone who has taken the time to review; your words mean an awful lot to me and keep me posting!

What a Difference

Chapter Eleven

Elizabeth and Will sped through the deserted streets of Meryton towards the 'Lodge'. Elizabeth stole a look at Will. His face was focused as he navigated the country roads, and even in her fear, she felt almost indescribably grateful that he was with her. She felt safe.

'We've got company.' A small smile appeared on his lips as his eyes flicked to the rear view mirror.

Twisting in her seat, Elizabeth turned to see Jane and Charlie behind them. Charlie waved from the passenger seat while Jane, ever the cautious driver, kept her eyes on the road. Elizabeth smiled as she half-heartedly returned Charlie's wave. She turned back around as the car drew closer to the centre of Meryton.

'Where is this place?' she asked suddenly, an odd thought growing in her mind.

'You know The Archway?'

Elizabeth nodded slowly, remembering the small square of seven or eight small shops known as The Archway, only accessible on foot by passing under an old stone arch. She'd often stopped at the bakery there on the way home, or spent an afternoon curled up in one of the leather armchairs of the small bookstore.

'There's an alley in the corner that's a short cut to the train station; it's down there.'

Elizabeth pictured The Archway in her mind; sunshine bouncing off the flagstones, bright flowers blooming in the hanging baskets at each door. It seemed a thousand miles away from the kind of place she imagined The Lodge to be. Swallowing, she asked the question that had been mounting in her mind.

'So… how do you know where it is?'

Will's face was inscrutable as he looked at her.

'Are you asking,' he slowly replied, 'if I've been there before?'

Elizabeth hesitated.

'Of course I have,' Will supplied. 'Great memories.'

Elizabeth's eyes widened in shock as she turned to look at Will. In that moment, a hundred scenarios played through her head; she was actually being kidnapped; it was all a set up; she'd willingly got into his car; what had she got herself into? All these thoughts evaporated as Will grinned good-naturedly at her.

'You should see your face!' He laughed.

She smiled as she breathed a small sigh of relief. She playfully punched him on the arm. 'You should've heard what was running through my head when you said that – I was getting ready to throw myself from the moving car!'

He laughed again as the car wheels thundered across the bridge over the railway lines.

'I know where this place is for two reasons,' he explained. 'Firstly; that short-cut is the quickest way to the station from my house, and secondly,' Will paused for a beat and looked at Elizabeth. 'George used to go there a lot when we were younger,' he continued softly. 'Before the trouble. I joined him once for about ten minutes. Never again.'

Will looked back to the road and Elizabeth felt a pang of nervousness in her stomach as his eyes left hers. She looked out the window as the familiar sights of the village centre came into view. The rest of the world seemed to be asleep.

'Here we go,' murmured Will as he pulled into a parking space. Jane and Charlie pulled up next to them a moment later.

Elizabeth shivered as she stepped into the night air; it felt cooler after being in the car. She ran across the road, Will hot on her heels.

The mouth of The Archway loomed ahead; its dark mouth swallowing the square behind. Will grabbed Elizabeth's arm as they arrived on the brink; 'Wait.'

She spun around, meeting him face to face. Her breath came fast and heavy, and as her eyes met his the dark world around her seemed to disappear, her vision full of only him. He seemed impossibly close; his lips parted as his laboured breathing brushed over her face. I've barely run a hundred metres, Elizabeth thought absently; why is my heart pounding? His brilliant blue eyes were locked on hers; his touch on her arm sent shivers right through her, spreading heat as she trembled.

He stepped past her, releasing her arm as Jane and Charlie caught up. She looked blankly at Jane for a second before quickly following Will into the shadows.

Thanks for reading all the way to the end! I'd love to know what you think.

Merry Christmas!

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