Elizabeth wasn't aware of actually waking up. She just realized that she had gone from some strange sleep land to being on the couch, eyes staring at the ceiling with the faint trickle of light coming through the window.

Her eyes felt puffy and she imagined she must have fallen asleep crying. Elizabeth realized it wasn't as though she had thought everything that had happened was a dream. It wasn't as though she woke up and felt a flood of realization from what she had seen and read the night before. When she found herself staring at the ceiling, she knew it was a continuation of her thoughts from before, a dull ache from where Darcy's words had stuck painfully.

She would have some time before Charlotte woke up, but not much. They were supposed to leave by 9. Dragging herself off the couch, Elizabeth went to the bathroom and washed her face. In the mirror, she looked the same as she felt: tired.

Heading back to the couch, she sat down to try and work through exactly everything that had happened.

Darcy loves me.

Darcy kept Jane from being in a relationship with Bingley.

Wickham is a snake.

Wickham broke Darcy's sister's heart.

Darcy is a better judge of character than me.

Darcy loves me.

She tried to address them one by one. It was crazy that Darcy loved her. He barely knew her. Plus, she specifically recalled him putting her down the very first time they met at Charlotte's party. But then, he had danced with her, and only her. And he did buy that book after saying he had already read it. Not to mention that whole weird episode in Collins's living room where he was awkward and hardly said anything.

The second, where he kept Jane and Bingley apart was inexcusable. She wondered if he really imagined Jane to be indifferent, or if he only saw what he wanted to see. Still, even if he was doing what he thought was best for Bingley, could she really be mad at him? Yes, she determined, that was still a check on her side. He was wrong to separate them and interfere with their love life. It was none of his business.

On the third count, Wickham. This one was tough for Elizabeth to imagine and accept. It was true she only knew Wickham based on what he said. She had no evidence for either. But, Wickham did seem to badmouth Darcy only after he had left with the Bingleys. He acted like he would go to the ball at the Netherfield house and then, like a coward, didn't show up. She also recalled the conversation between charades where he said he didn't know Darcy's sister. If one of them were lying, she could bet it was Wickham. Darcy had no reason to lie. Caroline had said something too about him. As much as she really hated to admit that.

For four, Darcy was intentionally vague about his sister's relationship with Wickham, but if she was 16, anything that happened between them would be absolutely despicable on Wickham's part for preying upon a little girl. She felt genuinely sorry for Darcy's sisters and wondered how she would react if that had happened to her own sister. For the first time, she saw Darcy's pride not as an arrogant thing, but as a matter of honor to him. He worked hard to preserve his father's company and name. In the same token, his complete devotion to his sister was something Elizabeth couldn't belittle.

With five, she could barely admit to herself that it might be true. Darcy saw through Wickham the entire time while Elizabeth was blinded to his charm. Darcy criticized her mother and sisters, while Elizabeth was too proud to admit that they were behaving ridiculously. Especially with her mother going around telling people Jane and Charles were going to get married. How embarrassing that would seem to someone like Darcy.

And finally, he said he loved her. She didn't know what else to do. Of course the whole matter was closed. He offered, she said no and they were done. Why, then, did Elizabeth have that pit still rooted in her stomach?

The sun was streaming through the window completely now and Elizabeth knew that she had to start packing her stuff to go home. She was never so excited to go home in her entire life. She wondered how much she would tell Jane. Her first thought was to tell her everything, but she was afraid hearing all the stuff about Bingley would upset her. Then she wondered if it would be lying too much to keep that from her.

She ran her fingers through her hair and nearly laughed at how silly she must have looked. The door to the bedroom opened and Charlotte emerged, dressed and ready to go.

"Why didn't you come to sleep last night?" she asked as she pulled her hair into a ponytail.

"I slept on the couch."

"Why?"

"Oh, I was checking emails and stuff and didn't want to keep you awake," she lied.

"You wouldn't have bothered me," Charlotte mumbled.

The way she looked at Elizabeth though made her wonder if Charlotte noticed the puffy eyes and traces of mascara. Charlotte dropped it and moved to look out the window.

"Is David awake?"

Elizabeth replied that he wasn't and stood up, "I'm going to pack all of my things."

In the room, Elizabeth shoveled her clothes into her bag without really caring where everything went. When she was all ready to go, she went back into the living room. She could hear Charlotte and David laughing in the kitchen. They seemed happy enough. Elizabeth wondered then if she had made a huge mistake. If she had told Darcy she loved him back then maybe she would eventually be set for life with an income from one of the largest publishing houses. But would it be fair to Darcy? Just like it wasn't really fair to Charlotte. David wasn't in love with Charlotte, but he needed someone to marry eventually. And Charlotte, too, knew that this wasn't the prince charming for her, but he was a good guy with a steady income. He was security.

Sighing, Elizabeth wondered if those kinds of things ever got easier with time. When she married, she wanted to be sure it was because she was absolutely, completely, undeniably in love with that man, whoever he may be.

"You ready?" Charlotte asked, disrupting her thoughts.

"Sure," she said with a forced smile.

They packed the car and Charlotte said her long goodbye to David as Elizabeth returned into the house to get something she "forgot". When she was heading back towards the front, Collins walked in.

"Well, cousin, thank you so much for visiting," he said.

"Thank you for letting us stay."

"As you can see, I'm very happy in my home and my relationship."

Elizabeth almost laughed out loud. What a weirdo. "I'm so happy for you both, David."

She patted him on the arm before heading back out towards the car. When they left, they drove by the large gates of Rosings. Just think, Elizabeth mused, Her highness could have been my aunt.