Chapter 38: Meeting at Pemberley

"Miss Bennet, these photos that you have done so far are spectacular," Mr. Dodson told her. "The detail, the character of each home..." he smiled with pleasure. "Well, they are exactly what we hoped they would be."

"Thank you, Mr. Dodson; I hoped they would be what you were looking for," Elizabeth told him.

"They are perfect. Now then, I have one more estate for you to photograph for us. It really is the most beautiful home architecturally speaking of all the older estates we wanted to feature." He said as he opened the files in front of him. After a few moments of shuffling through some papers, he seemed to find what he was looking for. He handed her a small slip of paper with a map and direction on it. "Pemberley Estates, it's near Derbyshire, so you will probably need to plan to be there for a few days. We will of course pay for your accommodation and travel expenses," he told her.

Elizabeth took the paper from him. She couldn't believe what she heard. "Pemberley...you want me to go to Pemberley?" she repeated.

"Why yes, of course, this article cannot possibly be complete without Pemberley being included," he told her then asked, "It will not be a problem for you, will it? I have been assured by Mr. Darcy's caretaker, Mr. Rupert, that the family will not be home for the next week and that the staff has been instructed to cooperate with you completely."

"Does Mr. Darcy know that I'm the photographer coming to do the photos?" she asked.

"No, I don't believe so Miss Bennet. When I spoke with him concerning our story, he gave his permission on the condition that we don't send our photographer or writing teams until the end of summer when the family would be away. He said that a member of his staff, Mr. Rupert, would stay present while we work and that those were his conditions if I wished to include his home," he told her. "Of course we agreed, as I said there is no way for us to do this issue of the magazine without Pemberley estates being a part of it. You have to go."

Elizabeth nodded her head, "All right Mr. Dodson, I will make my travel plans and leave the day after next," she told him.

"Very good," he told her as he got up from his desk. "I will notify Mr. Rupert that you will be arriving within the next few days."

"Very well," she said. "I will get the photos to you on Monday of next week," she told him before leaving his office. She couldn't believe this was happening; here she was thinking that by getting back to work she would finally be able to put Will out of her thoughts and instead she was going to be spending the next several days taking photos of his house. She looked at her watch and decided she better head home so she could pack her things and make arraignments for her trip. She would need to book the hotel and rent a car, riding her motorcycle would not be possible with all her equipment on such a long drive. At least she knew from Georgiana's latest email that the family really was on holiday and there would be no chance of her running into Will.

Darcy was doing his best to be patient with Caroline, her snide comments, and overly flirtatious attentions toward him were becoming more annoying with each passing day. It was clear she was hoping this group vacation would bring her and Darcy together as a couple, but he had no desire or inclination of affection for her. He was just about to lose it with her altogether when he received a telephone call from one of his business partners he was working with concerning the purchase of a technology company located in the United States. He hated the idea of abandoning Georgiana, but it was only for a day, or two and Richard would be there with her. He was busy making arraignments to fly back when Charles interrupted him.

"Richard did say you were heading back to Pemberley a few days earlier so I guess it must be true," he mentioned as he came into Darcy's room and sat down.

"Yes, I'm afraid I am," he told him. "Sorry to be cutting things short here, but I left some files I needed back at the house, and I really do need to attend to this right away. Richard said that if I don't, the deal could very likely fall through and there are a lot of jobs on the line."

Charles waved him off, "No need to explain to me Darcy I know the business world is not one to wait," he told him. "Although I do believe Caroline will be heartbroken to see you go," he teased him.

Darcy stopped what he was doing and took in a deep breath, "Charles can I speak with you honestly?"

"Of course," Charles told him as he waited for Darcy to continue.

"I hope I haven't given Caroline reason to believe that my feelings for her go beyond anything other than friendship. I don't want to lead anyone on or cause her to think there is more going on than there is," he told him truthfully. "She's your sister, and I will always welcome her as such, but my feelings really don't go beyond that."

Charles almost laughed, "Darcy I never meant my teasing to be taken seriously by you," he told him. "I realize Caroline isn't your type. I know she can be very demanding in her attention toward you. But I will make sure she understands that you were only trying to be a good friend and host in your attentions toward her and nothing more. Don't worry about it, if she has allowed herself to get caught up in some fantasy it's of her own making and she will soon get over it. Caroline always does."

"Thank you, Charles, I considered speaking with her myself, but I didn't want to embarrass her. I really do think that coming from you will be the best way to deal with this," he told him as he went back to packing. "I really need to get back to packing. I still need to speak with Georgiana before I leave and Richard has me on a flight within the hour."

Charles stood up to leave, "Well I wish you a safe trip, and I will see you in a few days at Pemberley."

Richard knocked on Georgiana's door and waited for her to reply, "Come in," he heard her call out.

As he opened the door and came into the room she smiled, "So is our plan taking shape?"

Richard nodded his head, "Everything is on track. I just got the call from Rupert, Elizabeth arrived a little over half an hour ago. As soon as I finished the call with him I went straight to your brother and made up some nonsense about him needing to return to Pemberley for this business deal we have going with the Americans. I have my friend Sean from the states calling him requiring some final numbers later this afternoon," he explained. "Of course Darcy was concerned about leaving and disappointing you, but I assured him I would be here with you," he told her.

Georgiana smiled, "Oh I knew as soon as Rupert told me that Heritage Magazine called to finalize their plans to send a photographer this would be the perfect chance to get the two of them together again. I remembered Elizabeth having to take photos of both Netherfield and Rosings for that article," she told him. "Thank you for going along with my little plan."

Richard smiled, "Well usually I would warn you against such an intrusion into your brother's private life, but in this case, I think the situation warranted it," he told her. "Darcy is going to come to see you anytime now and tell you about how sorry he is, and how bad he feels about having to leave. You have to play it just right, so he won't be suspicious of us. Don't be too eager for him to return to Pemberley, but don't be so upset that he doesn't go."

She arched her eyebrow as a devilish smile played about her mouth, "I will be convincing, but not too clinging," she assured him. "Oh, Richard I just know once they spend time together they will both realize how much they care about each other and how miserable they have been apart and then..."

Richard didn't want to squash her enthusiasm, but he reminded her, "Let's leave the 'and then' part to Darcy and Elizabeth, our mission is just to get them together, what happens from there is up to them."

She nodded her head, "Of course." she agreed.

Elizabeth sighed as she snapped another picture, Pemberley truly was a beautiful home. Even though she had been taking pictures all morning, she wasn't the least bit tired of exploring this wonderful home. The house itself was beyond anything she had ever seen before. When she was last here with Georgiana, she saw only some of the house, but now to be here alone and have the freedom to wander throughout the entire place gave her a chance to really see Pemberley in all its magnificent splendor. Elizabeth finished taking photos of Georgiana's room, and all the guest bedrooms, she had to go to Will's room next. Her mind was distracted as she headed down the hall. She kept thinking what it must have been like growing up here as a child, as she came around the corner she almost collided with someone. Her mouth opened in embarrassment and shock washed over her face, "Will!" she called out his name surprised to see him there.

Darcy stopped abruptly, "Elizabeth!" he said just as shocked as she was.

Elizabeth lowered her gaze. "I didn't know that anyone in the family would be here," she told him then quickly added as she looked into his eyes, "I was told you were on holiday, or I would have arranged to take the photos of Pemberley at another time."

"It's all right, really," Darcy told her. As glad as he was to see her he was wondering why she was there taking photos, "I don't mean to be rude, but why are you here taking photos?"

Elizabeth knew it he was unhappy with her being there. "I was sent by Architecture Heritage. I'm the photographer doing the layout for their magazine, remember. The editor spoke with you before, and you gave permission to come while the family was away on holiday."

Of course, that was where he had heard of the magazine before, he agreed several months ago, to allow them to include Pemberley in their magazine article. "I forgot about that, I have been a little distracted lately."

Elizabeth felt very uncomfortable, she let out a small sigh, "I can arrange to come back when it is not an inconvenience for you," she told him trying not to sound too nervous.

Darcy could see that she was agitated and he desperately wanted to put her at ease. "Please, it's completely my fault that I'm here and not on holiday. I had urgent business that couldn't wait, that's why I had to cut my holiday short and come back here. Something came up, and I left my files here before we left so I had to return early."

Elizabeth nodded her head, "Oh," was all she said.

Darcy searched for something to say; he didn't want her to hurry off, "So have you been able to get any decent photos?"

"Yes, I have," she told him. "I arrived last night, and I came over first thing this morning. Rupert said that since I was a friend of the family, he thought it should be fine to allow me to work without being bothered."

"Yes, of course, you may go wherever you like," he told her. He tried to think of something to say. "And where are you staying while you are here?" he asked her.

"I'm staying at the Inn in Lambton," she told him.

"Did you ride your motorcycle down?" he asked trying to make small talk.

"No, I rented a car," she explained. "I had all my equipment with me, so I needed the extra storage space."

"I know you enjoy riding your motorcycle, but still it's a beautiful drive out from Lambton to Pemberley even by car. Especially in the fall when the leaves have begun to change on all the trees," Darcy told her.

Elizabeth was surprised at how nice he was being; she expected that he would still be angry because the way she criticized him when they were last together. "I imagine that it's very lovely in the fall, perhaps I will make a trip back to take some photo," she said softly.

Darcy watched to see if she was just being polite or wishing him to be gone. He ran out of things to say; he didn't want her to leave. He had to think of something to talk about. "So how long will you be staying then?"

"Well I was going to stay through to tomorrow afternoon, but I think now that you are here I should reschedule my plans and come back when it is better for you," she told him.

Darcy took a small step closer to her; he longed to take her hand in his and to assure her that he desperately wanted her to stay, but thought better of it. "I hope that you will stay and finish what you came to do. You are not causing me any inconvenience at all," he told her then quickly added, "Besides, Georgiana will be home tomorrow afternoon, and she will be very upset with me if she finds out that you were here and that I let you leave before she got to see you."

Elizabeth smiled, "I would very much like to see Georgiana. I will see if the inn can accommodate me for a few more days."

"You are welcome to stay here at Pemberley if you would like?" he offered.

Elizabeth shook her head, "No I think it best if I head back to the inn and stay there."

"Of course," he told her wishing that there was some way he could let her know that he was sorry for what had transpired. A part of him thought about bringing up their argument they had the last day at Rosings, but he didn't want to upset her either.

An awkward silence settled in as neither one of them could think of anything to say. Elizabeth finally held up her camera and politely smiled, "Well I guess I should be getting back to work."

Darcy nodded, "May I ask what rooms you have already photographed?"

"Well I have finished the guest rooms and some of the family's private quarters," she answered then added, "Georgiana's rooms, I have finished in her rooms."

Darcy lowered his gaze for a moment, "So then you haven't taken any photos of my bedroom?" he asked hesitantly.

Elizabeth laughed at the sudden blush on his face. "No, I have not taken pictures in your private quarters yet Mr. Darcy," she teased him purposely using his surname. "But I promise that if I should come across an unmade bed or a pile of dirty laundry, I will not divulge your secrets to anyone."

Darcy laughed even though she referred to him by his surname she did so in such a playful manner that it reminded him of their time at Rosings. "Well I'm sure that Rupert has most of the very glaring defects taken care of for me," he told her. Just as he was about to say something more Rupert appeared at the end of the hall. "Sir, there is a telephone call for you. I do believe it is the one you were expecting."

"Thank you, Rupert," he said as he turned back to Elizabeth. "Excuse me, but I really do have to take this call." Darcy walked away but stopped and turned to look back at her. Perhaps he would have a chance to show her he had changed and how deeply sorry he was.