Darcy engaged the widow of a clergyman to accompany them on their journey and act as chaperone. As he was planning the trip Elizabeth suddenly realized he was assuming she and Jane would have maids traveling with them and let him know this was not the case.

This surprised him, "You left your maids at Longbourn?"

"We did not leave them anywhere. Neither of us have our own maid."

Such a thing had never occurred to him and now he wondered if he had offended her with his assumption. It must have shown on his face for she laughed and said, "You need not fear that I have anything against engaging one once I am Mrs. Darcy."

"I was not worried but it would be a good idea to put the word out now, at least with our friends here, that you are looking."

"Actually, I was thinking I would like to promote Rachel Baxter, she has been dressing me while I am here."

"Do you think her qualified? She seems a bit young."

"Not yet, but she is very eager to learn, she has been borrowing ladies' magazines whenever she can and learning from Miss Gale, Georgiana's maid, when she has time, just in the hope of having a chance to use these skills. She was pleased that I came without a maid."

"She told you all this?" It would not be good to have a lady's maid who was overly chatty.

"There was a small mishap with my hair (she took some bad advice from Miss Bingley's maid) and part of the story came out when she apologized. Also, I asked her some questions and I asked Mrs. Reynolds about her. I thought if everyone agrees she could be released from her other duties to train with Miss Gale full time until we marry. Do you object?"

"I have no objection —far be it from me to have any opinion on your lady's maid—but, you will have to hire servants from time to time."

"I am not trying to avoid it the duty but Rachel knew of my being placed in the mistress's room and from what I can learn the story has not spread. I would like, above all, to have a maid I can trust to be discreet and as I said she is so eager to learn. Also, I like her and, aside from the one mishap, I think she's done well with my hair."

"I think you judge well." He was pleased with her reasoning. It showed just the kind of instincts about people he had been telling his uncle Elizabeth had.

~.~

The journey to Hertfordshire went smoothly and they arrived at Longbourn on Wednesday at a reasonable hour. Mr. Bennet was clearly happy to have his daughters home, Elizabeth especially, and Mrs. Bennet was full of praise and attention for Mr. Bingley. From her way of talking anyone would think Bingley had rescued Elizabeth rather than bringing her sister to her. Her reception of Darcy was markedly colder.

He and Bingley had agreed between them that Bingley would speak to Mr. Bennet first. They had both expected him to retreat to his Library but his pleasure at having Elizabeth home kept him with them until Bingley was forced to ask for a word and the two went off together. This left Darcy alone with all the ladies of the family except Lydia who was away.

Mrs. Bennet was clearly delighted to have Bingley seek a private audience with her husband. She spoke of him in the highest terms, punctuating her statements with smiles at Jane and winks at the others. She also spoke of Jane's beauty and seemed oblivious to the embarrassment of her two oldest daughters. Did the silly woman not care at all about Elizabeth's abduction? She asked no questions about it. Or, was she simply waiting to speak about it until they were alone?

Watching Elizabeth's embarrassment, the glances she stole at him before averting her eyes, caused Darcy some pangs of regret. It had been cruel to point out her family's defects when she must be so painfully aware of them already and some of his own family members were no better. He wished he could find some way of communicating to Elizabeth that there was no need to feel alarm on his account. If she could endure his uncle's impertinent questions with such dignity and grace as she had shown he would seek to follow her example. Though he did wish Bingley would hurry up!

Suddenly Darcy realized how long he had been sitting observing all this without speaking. He ought to say something and try to make himself more agreeable. What could he say? It was so much easier to be agreeable to the Gardiners…that was it. At his first opportunity of doing so he said, "Mrs. Bennet, I had the honor of meeting the Gardiners while they were in Derbyshire."

Mrs. Bennet looked at him as if he were something nasty she had stepped on and did not reply. He needed to say something else, "I…liked them very much."

He cringed inwardly. His statement did not do justification to his admiration of the Gardiners but Elizabeth gave him an encouraging smile and Mrs. Bennet looked a little surprised saying, "Well. I am surprised at them for leaving Lizzy there all alone. If not for Mr. Bingley she would have been stranded."

"Mama, I was not stranded. Miss Darcy invited me to stay, and I was well chaperoned. There were two married ladies in the party, with whom my aunt had become acquainted, in addition to Miss Darcy's companion."

Suddenly Mrs. Bennet's expression turned cunning, "Where there many ladies visiting?"

"There were more gentlemen than ladies," Jane answered, "Mr. Darcy's cousin and several of his friends." Elizabeth shot her sister a dark look and from Jane's expression she seemed to realize her mistake.

"You ought to have stayed longer Lizzy," said Mrs. Bennet, "I certainly could have spared you and Miss Darcy must have wondered at your leaving so soon once you were there. There was no reason for you to hurry home when you might have gotten better acquainted with so many…"

Luckily Bingley returned at this moment and distracted Mrs. Bennet by proclaiming himself the happiest of men. Darcy took advantage of the excitement that followed to slip away unnoticed by anyone but Elizabeth. He almost approached her to give her hand a quick squeeze before leaving the room but caught himself and made do with exchanging a significant look. He stopped outside the library and took a deep breath before knocking. He entered at Mr. Bennet's bidding.

Mr. Bennet had taken up a book and only looked up a moment to say, "Oh, it is you. Take whatever you want as long as you are quiet about it."

"Excuse me?"

"Take whatever book you want. I will have to go in soon but I am waiting for my wife's initial raptures to die down. You are welcome to stay in here and read."

Oh, of course, he thought Darcy wanted a book, he would not give away his daughter so causally, "Actually, sir, I was hoping to have a word with you about Miss Elizabeth Bennet."

"Ah," Mr. Bennet put down his book, his expression turning dark, "Sit down Mr. Darcy. You must think me a very inattentive parent."

Confused by this turn in the conversation Darcy did not know how to reply. He did think Mr. Bennet inattentive but saying so was unlikely to recommend his suit and he didn't understand why this would come up now.

When he made no reply Mr. Bennet continued, "When Mr. Bingley arrived with news of Lizzy's abduction and offered to take Jane to Pemberley the following morning I had determined to follow them but I had business I needed to tend to first and, as Mr. Bingley already had a chaperone with him, I did not want to delay Jane. Before I could set out I received my brother-in-law's express. He said all was well and so I stayed home."

Feeling he ought to say something Darcy replied, "Of course. I understand the responsibilities of running an estate. We are not always free to fly about the country on a moment's notice as Bingley is, no matter how much we may wish to." He did wonder what sort of business could take priority over the abduction of his daughter but did not ask.

"I do have to wonder at my brother telling me all was well. He even advised me against coming."

"You would have been welcome to come but he was not wrong in saying all was well."

"Then something happened after the Gardiners left her? Mr. Darcy if you are here to tell me of my daughter's ruin please say so quickly and be done with it."

"Ruin? Certainly not! Mr. Bennet with all due respect you should know your daughter's character better than to think she would allow such a thing."

"I did not say she allowed it."

Darcy grasped the arms of his chair until his knuckles turned white and answered with carefully controlled anger, "Mr. Bennet, I am well aware that I did not behave agreeably when I was last here but I do not think I gave you cause to accuse me of anything so monstrous."

Mr. Bennet's mouth dropped open and it took him a moment to recover and reply, "I was not accusing you. I was speaking of her abductors. "

Suddenly Darcy saw the conversation in a new light. He sighed and said, "Mr. Bennet I can assure you nothing like that happened. Eliz… Miss Elizabeth Bennet was with me most of the time that we were held captive and for the brief time we were not together she was locked in a room alone. She assured me of this herself."

"I see. Well, I suppose that is better, at least she was with a man who has no interest in her."

Now Darcy was at a loss. If he corrected Mr. Bennet's impression he was likely to worry again. Finally he said, "Mr. Bennet I fear this conversation has gotten away from me. May I start over?"

"Please do."

"I am here to ask your permission to marry Miss Elizabeth Bennet."

Mr. Bennet stared at him as if dumfounded and Darcy was just about to ask if he was well when a look of comprehension dawned on his face, "You were alone with Elizabeth for a great deal of time then and people know this."

"Only you and my cousin know how much time we were alone, the others only know that Miss Bennet let me out of my cell and then we were walking most of the night."

"I see. I appreciate your wanting to do the honorable thing but I do not wish to see my daughter trapped in an unhappy marriage just for the sake of how things look."

That made very little sense but Darcy was determined not to let the conversation get away from him again, "I assure you. My love and admiration of your daughter predates our abduction by many months."

"But she only accepted you afterward?"

This time Darcy thought he understood the nature of the question, "That is true, but I had taken steps to protect her reputation should she wish to refuse me." He briefly outlined how this would have been achieved.

Mr. Bennet studied him carefully. "You wished to marry her and yet you did this?"

"Yes."

"You really do care about her happiness then."

"Yes."

"Well then, you have my consent. Please tell Lizzy I need to speak with her."

Darcy went away feeling greatly relieved. He had not expected Mr. Bennet to make things easy on him but he had also not expected to be so confused. At least this was the last time he would need to explain himself.

He returned to the others with a smile and let Elizabeth know her father wanted to see her. It was not easy to wait for Elizabeth's return but Darcy reminded himself again what she had endured from his uncle and did his best to be agreeable. Luckily not much was required of him beyond congratulating the happy couple and expressing his pleasure. He wondered how Mrs. Bennet would greet the news of her second daughter's betrothal.

This question was answered the next morning when he arrived to Mrs. Bennet's smiles but his pleasure evaporated when she told he had only just missed his aunt who was now out walking with Lizzy. He quickly made his excuses and went after them.

As Darcy approached the copse he heard his Aunt saying, "Obstinate, headstrong girl! I am ashamed of you! Is this your gratitude for my attentions to you last spring? Is nothing due to me on that score? Let me be rightly understood. This match, to which you have the presumption to aspire, can never take place. No, never. Mr. Darcy is engaged to my daughter. Now, what have you to say?"

"Lady Catherine!"

Both ladies started at the sound of his voice and for a moment they were united in looking equally guilty but then Elizabeth must have realized her own innocence and gave him a quick smile of greeting before saying, "Mr. Darcy, as you can see we had the honor of receiving your aunt early this morning. She has just been trying to persuade me to release you from our engagement." As she spoke Elizabeth lifted her chin and wore a determined expression he had come to recognize. Lady Catherine did not realize the sort of person she was dealing with.

"Elizabeth, whatever my aunt may say of me, I am not now nor have I ever been, engaged to Miss de Bourgh." He knew his aunt would be all the more infuriated that he had spoken to Elizabeth first but, considering her accusation, he did not care.

"I did not believe," said Elizabeth, "that you would have a made an offer to me if you were, I was just about to say as much when you arrived."

"Darcy!" cried Lady Catherine, "Have you forgotten what you owe to yourself and all your family? You know very well it was the dearest wish of your mother, as well as my own, that you marry Anne. While you were in your cradles, we planned the union: and now, at the moment when the wishes of both sisters would be accomplished, to be prevented by a young woman of inferior birth, of no importance in the world, and wholly unallied to the family!"

"That is enough!" Darcy took a deep breath forcing himself to speak more calmly, he said to Elizabeth, "Dearest, would you excuse us? I need to talk with Lady Catherine alone." Then, seeing that Elizabeth looked doubtful as whether she ought to acquiesce, he added, "Please."

"Very well." She made a quick curtsey to her ladyship and then turned and walked away, passing him closely enough to brush her hand against his as she went by. Even through the fabric of their gloves it was encouraging to feel her touch.

~.~

Elizabeth left them but she waited nearby for Fitzwilliam to emerge. When he did he looked so angry she was glad she had waited, "Shall we walk?"

He only nodded in reply and the two of them set out together. He walked quickly, taking long strides but Elizabeth kept up with him. After they had been walking some time and he looked a little calmer she said, "Fitzwilliam?"

He started as if he had forgotten she was there, "Elizabeth, I am sorry, I should not have kept you out like this."

"It is nothing; we have walked further than this. But, will you tell me what passed between you and Lady Catherine?"

"No."

She stopped walking stung by the abruptness of his reply, "Are we to have secrets already?"

He turned back to her his expression softening. "It is not a secret that she is very angry but her language was so abusive I do not wish to repeat it."

"Some of the things my father said to me last night made me very unhappy but they were not so different than what my own opinions once were. I trust that he will come to think differently just as I did."

"It was the same with my uncle but Lady Catherine's remarks went beyond that. We will not be speaking to her again. I have made it clear that all contact between us is now at an end."

"Fitzwilliam, I do not like to cause a breach between you and your aunt."

"You did not cause it."

"Even so…" She let her voice trail off realizing this was not the time to try to persuade him.

"Thank you for walking with me. I believe I have composed myself now."

"Shall we return to the house?"

"Do you mind staying out a little longer?"

"Not at all."

"Good." He drew her to stand beneath a large tree a little way off the path speaking in a very different tone of voice. "Before returning to your family I would like to improve my mood, so that I may behave agreeably toward them." He removed his gloves.

"I see," she answered with an arch smile, "and how is this improvement to be achieved?"

He stepped closer and reached up to untie and remove her bonnet. Just before their lips met he whispered, "I have a few ideas."

~.~

A few days later Darcy and Bingley arrived at Longbourn to find Jane and Elizabeth outside and were invited to walk with them. Always happy to have the ladies to themselves the gentlemen agreed immediately but there was something in their manner that made Darcy wonder if anything were amiss. He and Elizabeth quickly outpaced the others and he asked her if anything were wrong.

"Oh," she said, "Lydia has returned from Brighton declaring herself engaged to Mr. Denny but my father, while not outright refusing, has not given his approval. We thought to spare you some of the initial uproar."

"What is your opinion of Mr. Denny?"

"I do not know him well enough to form one. He is pleasant enough and I know no harm of him but he was only in the neighborhood a short time. His friendship with such a man as Mr. Wickham is against him but he may have been deceived, as so many of us were. It is an imprudent match on both sides. He has nothing but his salary in the militia and Lydia well; you know how things stand with my sisters and I." She blushed slightly as she alluded to it. Of course he had known about the entail and had not expected anything by way of a dowry but he had only learned yesterday that her father had saved nothing at all. Of course it made no difference to him but he resented for Elizabeth's sake that her father had not been more concerned for her future.

"If that is the only objection," he replied, "I can do something for them. I could get him a better commission in the regulars."

"Fitzwilliam, that is generous but I did not tell you this in order for you to fix it."

"I was not implying you had."

She looked thoughtful and he wondered if he had offended her. After a few minutes of silence she said, "My father may be right in withholding his approval. Lydia is… She is very young. It might be better to wait and see if her affection for Mr. Denny can stand the test of time before doing anything."

While agreeing with her about Lydia, Darcy thought there were better ways for Mr. Bennet to handle the situation than giving no answer but he kept this to himself and they walked on in silence. It was not the companionable silence they often fell into. Was Elizabeth angry at him? What could he have done? Or was she embarrassed by her family's circumstances? They walked for some time before he thought to ask, "Elizabeth, have I offended you in some way?"

She looked surprised by the question, "Oh, no, not at all I was only thinking. I had not really considered how much you were giving up in order to marry me."

"I will not pretend I do not understand you but…" he paused trying to think how to express what he wanted to say. "Elizabeth, do you remember the other night at Lucas Lodge when we were talking with Mr. Robinson and you asked him about the book he was reading?"

She looked confused, "Yes."

"Then you asked me if I had read anything by the same author and we got to talking about it. Even after you went away we continued to have an agreeable conversation because it was a topic we were both interested in."

"That is generally how conversation works."

"You think so because it comes to you so naturally. I have been practicing but still have not achieved your proficiency and the effort is usually exhausting."

"Is it really so difficult for you?"

"Yes."

"Then I am glad to have been of use but I do not see how it relates to the topic at hand."

"What I am trying to say is, I know this will sound arrogant but, if I had married a woman with a large fortune or noble connections she would only be bringing me more of what I already have. You have qualities that are to my benefit. With you at my side it is easier to be at my best. Your value to me is beyond compare."

She smiled at him and taking his hand she drew him off the path into a more secluded spot, stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. "Thank you Fitzwilliam. I had thought before that ours would be a marriage to our mutual advantage. I am glad you agree."

It was the first time she had been the one to kiss him and it pleased him for her to have done so without any hint of embarrassment almost as much as it pleased him that he had managed express what he wanted to say. He drew into his embrace. She was becoming bolder but he did not want to alarm her and cautioned himself not to press her too much.

She leaned her head against him, "Fitzwilliam, I wish you were not leaving tomorrow."

"As do I but I have sadly neglected my guests."

"I know."

Knowing that he would soon be losing Elizabeth, Mr. Bennet was not inclined to let her return to Pemberley to complete her visit. He may have also noticed that the couple tended to stand closer than was entirely proper and occasionally touched while talking without seeming to notice they had done so.

Darcy brought his lips to hers and at the thought of their impending separation the kiss quickly grew more passionate. Elizabeth moved against him in a way that enflamed his desire. He ought to stop this before things went too far. He would stop in a moment…she moved against him again, "Ahh…" they would be married soon what did it… no.

"Elizabeth" his voice sounded strained as he forced himself to say what was contrary to his inclination, "This is a most agreeable form of torture but if we do not stop I will be in danger of forgetting myself."

She stepped away from him and he was gratified to think it cost her some effort to do so. "Shall we return to the house?"

"Not yet I need time to recover."

~.~

The next day Darcy left for Pemberley to fulfill his duties as a host. The length of the letters he and Elizabeth exchanged during this period and how eagerly each of them looked forward to their receipt can easily be imagined. Whether Miss Bingley watched Mr. Darcy write his with the admiration for his correspondence she had once shown is less certain but Georgiana asked him to include her love and eagerly anticipated the day Elizabeth would return to Pemberley as her sister. The couple's separation was not a long one for Darcy's guests soon left for Scarborough and Darcy did not press them to stay longer. He departed for Hertfordshire within a few hours of their going away and if he did leave some necessary business undone he was quick to rectify the oversight as soon as it was brought to his attention.

A/N: I was sick for a while and then things were kind of crazy and I lost some momentum. I hate it when that happens. I hope to get the final written in better time. Mr. Bennet really should have gone to Pemberley but to be honest I didn't give him much thought until a reviewer brought it up. If his excuse seems weak its because it's the best I could come up with after the fact. I'm not quite done with the villains yet, their fates will be revealed in the wrap-up.