I waited! I waited most patiently. I had not the slightest idea what precisely I was waiting for, but I waited. I expected an explosion of some type, or a leave-taking, or some argument, or… Actually, I knew not I expected. Once again, I wondered why I could not prevaricate with this man. I lied to our curate every day. I lied to our perishers and the people of the village, at least by omission every time I saw them. I sat in the parson's pew every Sunday and lied to the entire congregation. I lied to Lady Catherine and Miss de Bourgh; so why could I not keep my opinions to myself with this man of all men. There was a time when I would have stomped my foot and asserted he was an insufferable man, but this time, I believed I was the insufferable one. He had paid me a great compliment, and I repaid it by questioning his dedication to his duty; nay, his very character; but I could neither retract nor soften the blow. Why him? What hold did he have on me?

When I could finally look up from my clasped hands at his countenance, I saw him deep in thought; but with no apparent anger or desire to depart my company.

He finally said, "You are correct, Elizabeth. I have not done my duty. It is imperative that I produce an heir. I believe I have known this for some time, but have been unwilling to admit it. I do however believe I have a solution, and I would like to discuss it with you once I have worked out all the particulars."

This surprised me. I still had no idea why he was my confidant, but my choices were limited. He, on the other hand was master of a great estate, known to many. Why would he need me?

Confused, I asked, "Why me, Mr. Darcy?"

He looked at me and said, "I am not the only confidant here, Elizabeth. You are now my most trusted advisor. Only you speak the absolute unvarnished truth to me without prevarication or guile or expectation. I will depend on your wise council, should you decide to give it."

Once again, the man completely baffled me, but since this was only the latest of the baffling changes in my life, I decided I could work it out later.

"Of course, Mr. Darcy! I am at your disposal. Perhaps, one day we may call each other friends."

He simply smiled, and said, "Yes, perhaps."

I poured more tea, and was happy to see my hands did not shake. By all rights, I should be afraid of Mr. Darcy, but I had lost my fear of nearly everything some time ago.

He said, "You have given me a lot to think about Elizabeth, and I appreciate it. I cannot express how much I appreciate it, but suffice to say your advice will almost certainly be life changing. However, I noticed you also managed to deflect us from your problem at hand. Are you averse to returning to it?"

I asked, "Are you not the one deflecting now, Mr. Darcy?"

"Not really. I need some time for reflection, but I assure you, we will return to the previous subject another day. We are by no means done with the discussion."

This time I had no reaction whatsoever to the assertion that we would talk another day. I had been correct that he must leave me, but he did not have to do so today. Since I had just practically flayed him alive over his character, I believed I must now address mine.

"Yes, Mr. Darcy. I have consulted women who know these things. More than one actually. I know how the act is done, and forgive me if this sounds arrogant, but getting the participation of the male part of the operation should not be that difficult. I know at least five farmer's or tradesman's sons who would happily do the honors. I do not think poaching so close to home will be to my advantage though, so I shall go a bit farther afield. I do not foresee any great difficulties. I am told boys take to the activity with very little provocation."

I knew not if it was my shocking language, or the matter of fact way I discussed such a delicate topic that bothered him; but I could clearly see his face falling as I spoke. I was puzzled by this, as all I had done thus far was state the obvious. Was it possible he did not even understand how it was done, or had never participated? A man of his station would have ample opportunity for such delights. I knew for a fact that Wickham regularly indulged, and had always assumed all men in the first circles did.

He seemed to take it all in, and then asked in his usual forthright way, "You mention sons from trades. Why sons? Why tradesmen?"

He seemed genuinely curious, and I thought it might be useful to get the opinion of an intelligent man, so outlined my thinking.

"It cannot be a married man, for obvious reasons. I still have some honor left. For older men, that leaves single men past marriage age, who are as likely to be rakes or otherwise unsuitable as anything else. I want a child, Mr. Darcy, not the French disease. I want a boy so I do not have to share him."

My forthright discussion of the risks of the endeavor seemed to shake him even more. I did not know if it was the actual risk or my discussion of it that was most troubling, but he was certainly troubled.

I continued, "That means I need a young man. A young man may enjoy the act for what it is and will not trouble me for more than I can give. I may need more than one; as that would make the likelihood of success greater, and would also confuse the parentage should the question arise later. That means I will need a few tradesman's sons. It is really quite simple if you have thought about it as much as I have in the last few days."

He shook himself and asked, "Why not a gentleman? For example, why not me? I am convenient and proven discreet."

His revenge was now complete, as I was shocked into silence for several moments. The very idea of him in particular had never even occurred to me. It was practically unthinkable. Not the kind of unthinkable as to bring a level of disgust, but so unthinkable the idea never even came close to my mind. However, I had thought about using a gentleman and discarded the possibility.

I carefully answered, "To be honest, I never even thought about you Mr. Darcy. It does not seem the kind of thing that you could do, and… well, I do not think of you in that way. Also, based on our earlier discussions; I believe you have… other places where such efforts should be spent."

He looked ready to say something else, which I had no desire to hear, so I quickly rushed ahead.

"I discard gentlemen for a few reasons Mr. Darcy. The first is that lower status younger sons are easier to find. I know at least five that are suitable just in this parish, but I do not know a single gentleman that could do the honors, unless I went back to Meryton and engaged one of my childhood friends; a prospect with its own drawbacks."

Again he wanted to interrupt, and I quickly set about getting the rest of my thoughts out.

"The other reason I reject gentlemen Mr. Darcy, is that I want to walk away from the natural father and never see him again. It would be unfair to ask a young man to give up his chance for a proper family just for a roll in the hay, and they need never know either my goals or the results. They will perform the office with no harm done. With a gentleman, particularly one of means, I would have to worry about him interfering in my life."

I gave him the hardest stare I could, but gently said, "Even had I thought of it, I could not ask you Mr. Darcy, because you are a powerful man. Could you allow your natural son to be raised by another without a word from you? Would you allow a question to arise about the most proper heir to Pemberley when you have one older natural son and another legitimate one? Could you resist the temptation to intrude on my life, as would be your right as the boy's natural father? If I did this with any gentleman of your status, or any gentleman of any means at all, I would be beholden and in fear of them for the rest of my life. It would be as bad as being married to him, but without any of the benefits."

I took a deep breath and said, "Please, I beg of you not to take this wrong, but as the most powerful man I know, you are assuredly the last man in the world I would wish to have an illegitimate child with."

At this, he just nodded and went back inside his own thoughts, so I left him to it for a few minutes, then cleaned up the tea things, and bid him to return to Rosings. I doubted very much that we were done with either conversation, but we were certainly done for the day. I had endured all I could take, he looked like he had as well, and it was time to prepare supper.

A/N: This is probably the last posting for my first day, so hope you're enjoying it. There are probably another 15 chapters to go, and 5 are mostly written. I believe I will finish in the next few weeks.

Quite by coincidence, I had just posted my Letters from Cheapside, a story entirely in letters, and had written about half of this one when I stumbled on Letters from Elizabeth by I found my Mr. Darcy. It is both a letter format, and is a similar story to this one, except with Elizabeth unfortunately having a more realistic reaction. Wives of abusers frequently just take it and even make excuses, so I recommend that story. I can't post a link, so just search for the title.

I'll be back with more chapters in a day or two. Hope you're enjoying it.

Wade