Elizabeth was up very early the next morning because she had not slept at all during the night. She put on her boots, her cloak and her gloves to treat out in the newly-fallen snow. She could see the footprints that her family had left the night before in returning to Longbourn from the ball and the tracks that the carriage had made. As she walked around the house, she saw hoof prints from a horse - one that did not travel on that particular path. The stables were on the other side of the house, and this horse seemed to travel a different way. There were no footprints to accompany it until she came to the horse itself. She saw footprints where the rider must have dismounted it and then she met the face of the horse. She swore she felt her heart stop; this horse was Mr. Darcy's. She heard the sound of someone walking in the snow and nearly screamed when she came face-to-face with Mr. Darcy himself. He wore his coat over his nightshirt and seemed to have gotten up without dressing and rode his horse to Longbourn.

"M-Mr. Darcy..." Elizabeth stuttered, her eyes wide and on Mr. Darcy's.

"I had to see you," he replied, standing perhaps one meter away from her.

"Mr. Darcy... Why so early?"

"I knew you would be awake."

"I don't understand... You must be freezing!"

"Not quite. I am quite fine, actually... Elizabeth..."

"Yes?"

"Elizabeth... Dearest, loveliest Elizabeth..." He closed the space between them. "My dearest Lizzie..." He took her hand in his and kissed it. "My one and only love..." Elizabeth closed her eyes and enjoyed the kisses on her hands and wrists, then opened them again when she felt his hand on her face. "I love you..."

"Oh, Mr. Darcy... My Fitzwilliam," Elizabeth murmured, kissing his hands as he kissed her brow.

"Elizabeth..." She looked up at him. "I love you."

"My Fitzwilliam... I love you dearly, my Fitzwilliam." He pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her, neither of them even focusing on their surroundings. A servant had seen them and ran off embarrassed, but Elizabeth was determined to show her Mr. Darcy - who had done so much for her and felt so much pain because of her - how much she loved him.

Mr. Darcy joined Elizabeth's family for breakfast and refused to sit anywhere but beside his wife, which was rather improper for a married couple. The two of them chatted away quietly and after breakfast, Mr. Darcy excused himself to return to Netherfield to dress. "Mr. Darcy, might I go with you?" asked Elizabeth. Mr. Darcy kissed her hands.

"I believe I would be much quicker if I were to go alone. I will return here within the hour. I promise I will," he told her, and he kissed her before leaving.

"Lizzie, you have never looked so happy," said Jane to her sister.

"I do not think I ever was until now..." said Elizabeth, and she ran upstairs to dress before Mr. Darcy returned. When he did, Mr. Bingley was with him and he asked to speak to Jane privately. Jane complied, and after a few minutes of silence, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy heard a cry of joy from Jane. Elizabeth was incredibly happy for her sister, knowing that Mr. Bingley had proposed, and in joy, she leapt into her husband's arms and he kissed her hair. "Fitzwilliam, Jane is to be married to Mr. Bingley!"

"I certainly have never seen him happier," said Mr. Darcy as his beloved took his face in her hands and kissed it.

"I cannot wait to hear the set date for the wedding!" Elizabeth exclaimed joyously as her sister and Mr. Bingley exited the drawing room.

"Oh, Lizzie!" Jane exclaimed as Mr. Bingley pushed past the group to Mr. Bennet's library. "He has proposed! Mr. Bingley has proposed! Mr. Darcy, I am so overjoyed!" Mr. Darcy embraced Jane when she ran to him to express her joy.

"I will be happy to accept Mr. Bingley as my brother," he told her, and Jane ran to Mr. Bennet's library to wait for Mr. Bingley. Elizabeth watched her overjoyed sister wait so eagerly and she felt Mr. Darcy's hand slide into her own. She looked up at him, smiled and turned to accept his embrace.

"Fitzwilliam, is there room for me at Netherfield?" she asked her husband.

"I believe that if I were to bring you to Netherfield after last night's event, Miss Bingley would perhaps turn mad," said Mr. Darcy.

"Is that a bad thing?" Mr. Darcy laughed and kissed the side of her head.

"Yes, my dearest, it is, even though you nor I are necessarily partial to her."

"There is not much room here at Longbourn and I do not wish to be separated from you." Mr. Darcy pressed his lips to her brow.

"Then allow us to remove ourselves to Pemberley."

"To Pemberley? Oh, Fitzwilliam... I would love to!"

"I shall prepare Georgiana and we shall leave sometime today. I do not know when, but when I am ready, I shall meet you here with the carriage."

"Must you leave, Fitzwilliam?"

"I shall return shortly. I love you, my dearest." He pressed his lips to hers and took his leave, while Elizabeth rushed upstairs to pack her things.

The Bennets were sad to see Elizabeth go, but they understood that she was a married woman and her place was by her husband's side. If he were three days away, then so was she. They took their leave and arrived at Pemberley three days later, Elizabeth both excited and nervous. She felt Mr. Darcy's hand squeeze her own and he bent over it and kissed it, then handed Elizabeth and Georgiana out of the carriage. Elizabeth gasped at the beauty of Pemberley surrounded by snow and she marveled at its grand appearance. She did not feel her husband tugging at her arm, but she was almost surprised when he lifted her up and carried her into the grand hall. While she stared at the intricate designs on the ceiling, he kissed her head and set her on her feet.

"I take that as a sign of interest?" he asked his wife, and Elizabeth nodded.

"It is so beautiful..." she murmured, and Mr. Darcy took her hand and led her on a tour of the estate, Elizabeth marveling at everything. When they came to the gallery, Elizabeth was faced with a bust of Mr. Darcy and she could not help but to stare at it. "You are a very handsome man, Fitzwilliam..." He chucked and held her in his arms, her back against his chest.

"If that is what you think, then I shall not challenge it," he said to her, lightly kissing her cheek. Elizabeth was delighted with the meal that was served for dinner, very much liking her husband's choices, and then he showed her to her bedchamber. "That door there adjoins this room to my own. Whenever you desire my company, all you must do is enter on your own will."

"Fitzwilliam, do you honestly think that I will ever sleep in that bed?" Mr. Darcy chuckled and kissed her.

"I would sincerely hope not." That evening, she did not. She joined her husband in his bedchamber and, since their wedding night, enjoyed a rather exciting and passionate evening.