(A/N) So funny story. . . . ok I got nothing. I just didn't feel anything coming from this story and I would rather wait until I was feeling it than give you a shit chapter. I made you wait a really long time and for that I'm sorry. It really doesn't seem like it is as long and then boom 6 months have went by. I literally had to read the whole story over to make sure I had all of the story line correct.

Happy Reading

Recap: Darcy and Lizzy got engaged after a long wait because Darcy was in London. The Bennet, Darcy, Bingley, Matlock, and Spanish clans have all went to Pemberley to plan the wedding. Wickham is trying to be a greedy bastard and Lydia is trying to be a spoiled brat.

Chapter 36

Lydia Bennet was determined, more determined than she had been in quite a while. She was going to marry better than her sister but not only better but sooner. She knew exactly who her target was. Mr. Darcy's cousin the future duke. She knew he wasn't married nor was he betrothed. She had talked to Georgiana about her cousin last night. She knew it would be a challenge because he was always surrounded by one of his family members. She needed a reason to get him alone and that was her goal for the day. She only had two weeks until the wedding. La! What fun it shall be to brag about my match. All my family will have to bow and curtsey to me and call me your Grace. Duchess Lydia, how nice that shall sound.

"Please find out the location of the Lord Delgado. I should like to speak with him." Lydia said to her maid as she put the finished touches on her hair. As the maid left, Lydia began to plan. She knew she would have to makeup with Kitty and Mary if she wanted to get any closer to Georgiana. She needed to get to Georgiana to get closer to Lord Delgado's sister. From there she would be closer to her goal.

Lydia left her room and walked across the hall to the suite that Mary and Kitty shared. When they had arrived she had felt a twinge of annoyance when her sisters were placed together and she was left out of the loop again. She had watched Kitty slowly drift away from her and did not know how to fix it. Kitty had always been such fun and was always willing to go on adventures together. She wanted life back to the way it was.

Lydia barged into the bedroom that was Kitty's and stopped when she saw her sister Mary. Kitty was standing next to the maid who was finishing Mary's hair. She hardly recognized her. Mary stood when the maid curtseyed and left the room. Her hair had been curled and piled on top of her head with a few curls escaping by her temple. There was a large pale pink flower tucked into her hair. She was even wearing a new ivy green dress with intricate pink stitching on the bodice and hem. She did not notice until today that her sister had a figure that rivaled her own. She wore such ugly and drab dresses all the time that Lydia barely saw the family resemblance.

"That dress would look much prettier on me." Lydia said to cover her jealousy.

"Then you may purchase one of your own but this dress has been made for me. Thank you for thinking that it is becoming." Mary stated simply before leaving the room. She had no care for her younger sister's moods nor the constitution to indulge her with the attention and argument she was seeking.

"La what is her problem?" Lydia asked before flopping down on Kitty's bed.

"You are." Kitty stated simply before sitting at the vanity table Mary had just vacated.

"You have been ever so mean to me lately, Kitty. I am not sure if I shall ever forgive you. "

"I know not how I shall bear the disappointment" Kitty stated blandly.

"You must make it up to me."

"Must I?" Kitty asked incredulous at the gall of her younger sister. How did I ever follow her?

"You must. I have a great idea of a joke for Lizzy."

"You will do nothing!" Kitty yelled with a furious look on her face and she stood from the vanity table and turned to face her sister.

"Oh Kitty don't be so bothersome. Of course we must. It will be the last time we are with Lizzy and it would serve her right.

"How would this serve her right? What has Lizzy ever done to you?"

"She is always calling us the silliest girls in England. Just like Papa. She is always saying that we have no decorum and she is all around boring. She is almost as boring as her fiancé. I know not how she will be able to stand their wedding night."

"Lydia!"

"Well it is true. I am sure it shall be no fun at all."

"You should not know this nor should you be speaking of it."

"I heard it from the officers when I was sneaking out of the house."

"You were doing what? When? How?"

"That is for me to know and you shall never find out, ha!" Lydia loved knowing something her sister didn't. They had been close before she started to listen to Lizzy and Jane.

"Lizzy is happy! She is in love and she deserves the support of her sisters. You are her sister, as unfortunate as that can be for the rest of us. If you have any love for others left after you have loved yourself, you will stop this plan. Do not do this to Lizzy. She is under a great deal of pressure. She is going to marry the godson of a duke and a princess. He is the son of an earl and the grandson of a Spanish duke. Anything that you do will reflect badly on her. His family will view her as less worthy. Even more than they already do. Lizzy is the daughter or a poor country farmer. She is not the match that they expected nor wanted. They have all been incredibly kind but they still consider it, I am sure. It is not about you right now. You will have your time but it is not now." Kitty finished softly before walking to her door.

She turned and looked at the angry and sullen look on her sisters face. "Lydia, if you do anything that will hurt Lizzy, I will come after you. You are my sister and will have to deal with me forever. You do not want to play this game. You will lose little sister." With that obvious threat she walked out of her room.

Wickham had finally made it to Lambton, his old home. He knew he had left many displeased people in this town so he had to tread carefully and hope that no one noticed him until he reached his final destination. He knew that he was taking a chance. The man he was going to meet was just as liable to shoot him than listen to him. But Wickham had always been a gambler and he was hoping the years had mellowed his former friend.

Wickham walked to the back entrance of the tavern and walked in. As his eyes were adjusting to the darkness he noticed a large figure looming before him. Before he could open his mouth a fist landed under his chin with enough force to knock him back out of the door he had just stepped through.

"I told you years ago that you would never be welcome here again."

"You got your money."

"No, I got Mr. Darcy's money. You had nothing to do with it."

"You were paid. I fail to see why it matters who it came from."

"You always were a snake. I want nothing to do with you and your schemes."

"Who is to say that I am scheming?"

"Snakes are always scheming, you don't know any other way."

"You are right of course. I am scheming but this time it will be enough of a payout to let you retire to the coast with a pretty woman and a good bottle of whiskey." When he did not immediately reply Wickham took that as encouragement to continue. He knew how short of a temper Paul Crowley had and he was not interested in feeling the large man's fist again. "Mr. Darcy is getting married."

"NO."

"Listen! I know his bride and her entire family. All I have to do is get one of her sisters alone and we will be rich. She will be ruined and I will marry her for a large fee. Darcy will do anything to keep her reputation intact at this point. It is only days before the wedding so he will be easy pickings to extort with so little time to think of alternatives. Do you want to continue picking up after farmers and blacksmiths all of your life. Your brother will inherit the tavern and you will continue wiping glasses until you are old and gray. We made a lot of money together when we were young. One last job that is all we need."

Everything he said was true. Paul Crowley knew he would not inherit the tavern. The picture Wickham painted of his future was bleak. The worse part was that it was accurate. He would work for his brother and then maybe his nephew if he lived that long for the rest of his life. He did not make enough to support a wife and no woman would want a suitor who could barely afford to put food on the table. "Tell me of this plan and I will consider it"

Wickham smiled and began to lay out his plan.

"We have a problem" Kitty said to Mary when she found her in the music room.

"What is it?" Mary asked

"Lydia. I do not know what she has planned but she asked me to help her play a joke on Lizzy."

"What type of joke?"

"I don't know I yelled at her before she told me."

"Well that was a poor idea." Diego said from across the room where he sat with his sister.

Shocked Kitty dipped into a curtsey. He was the scariest of Mr. Darcy's Spanish cousins

"I do not know your sisters well but Miss Elizabeth is soon to be my cousin and I protect my family. What may we do to help?"

Paul Crowley may have been poor as a church mouse but he had never been accused of being stupid. One thing he knew, going against Mr. Darcy was indeed stupid. That thought is what led him to Pemberley's front door in his Sunday best two days after he met with Wickham. He had never been to the great house and he was even more nervous now that he had reached the front door. He knocked three solid times and waited. When the door opened the butler immediately recognized him. "Mr. Reynolds. I need to speak with Mr. Darcy, sir. It is about Wickham and the future Mrs. Darcy."

Mr. Reynolds did not waste anytime ushering the man into the house and into Mr. Darcy's study.

(A/N) So things are about to get angsty! I really did miss you guys! Its great to be back