Title: Dare to Refuse Such a Man
Rating: T (PG-13) – Most of this story is turbulent, but relatively innocent. However, there are some scenes which hint at/depict domestic violence.
Disclaimer: Though I write stories based on the novels and characters of Jane Austen, this work belongs to ME and no one else. Unless given express permission, no one besides myself has the right to distribute or profit from my intellectual property. All rights reserved.
Setting: Regency
PSA: I hope that you and yours are safe and healthy during the COVID-19 crisis. Take precautions for yourself and others and please don't hoard any goods that your family doesn't need; we're all in this together, even while we remain physically apart.
Thanks: Many thanks to R, my sometimes beta and legal researcher, for her suggestions related to Darcy's "Plan B" and Collins' ultimate fate.

Summary: It had never occurred to Fitzwilliam Darcy that, once he had chosen a bride, her father might dare to refuse his consent. However, a woman worthy of being pleased is also worth fighting for. DE, Regency, clean romance.

"He is the kind of man, indeed, to whom I should never dare refuse anything which he condescended to ask."

Mr Bennet, Pride and Prejudice Volume III, Chapter 17

Chapter Thirty-Six

Tuesday
November 19, 1811
En Route from London

Darcy tapped his fingers rhythmically against his knee as he watched the scenery pass by his carriage window, jittery with impatience to be back in Hertfordshire where Elizabeth was waiting for him. He had anticipated his return for a week now, ever since leaving so precipitously to tend to Georgiana's unfortunate business, but it had not been until earlier this morning that he had felt any real concern at the prospect.

As he had been preparing himself to leave, Mr Clarence had announced Lady Catherine and Darcy, feeling that such a confrontation was inevitable, had invited her into his study to say her piece before he departed. She had stormed in in a flurry of lace and indignation to confront him about his engagement to Elizabeth, insisting with much vehemence that he must give her up and marry Anne instead. It had mattered little over the years how often he had repeated the same refrain, but Darcy had done so another time – he would not marry Anne, had never had any intention of doing so and there was nothing Lady Catherine could do to persuade him otherwise.

But this had only been Lady Catherine's opening sally. She had proceeded to complain about his choice of bride, the unsuitability of her family, Elizabeth's own supposed cradle betrothal to the toadying parson – on and on without cessation until Darcy had barked at her to desist. Then, to his shock and horror, Lady Catherine had informed him that she had been just the day before to Longbourn where she had been treated most infamously by his prospective in-laws. "A bunch of grasping, artful charlatans, the lot of them. How you could ever conceive of tying yourself to them for the rest of your days, I cannot even begin to imagine! Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted with the likes of Miss Elizabeth Bennet and her shameful relations?"

Darcy, aghast, had demanded to know what had possessed her to inflict herself upon the Bennets. "What have you done?"

"What I must," had been her haughty reply. "Not that I could bring any of them around to reason, but that matters little. You will oblige me, I am sure. It was an excellent thought to take yourself away to London before you became even more embroiled in their schemes."

"I assure you, Madam, that I engaged myself to Miss Elizabeth with a clear mind and I have no intentions of going back on my word," he had informed her in his most firm tone, the one which brooked opposition in almost no one.

Save for his cantankerous aunt, of course. Lady Catherine had scoffed at him, her color rising along with her irritation. "Nonsense! If not to escape Miss Elizabeth Bennet and her machinations, why did you return to Town?"

Darcy was not about to reveal Georgiana's folly to Lady Catherine who, for all her purported loyalty to family, would not hesitate to use the circumstance as a weapon against him in order to have her way. Instead, he had simply utilized the ubiquitous excuse of all gentlemen and said, "Urgent business. But that is neither here nor there; I wonder you took the trouble of going so far merely to make yourself unpleasant to the Bennets. What could you propose by it, Aunt?"

Through a long back and forth in which Lady Catherine danced around the matter, Darcy eventually elicited from her a confession that she had received word from her pet parson that the betrothal between Elizabeth and Mr Collins had been broken. Startled, Darcy had pressed for further details, but Lady Catherine was not forthcoming with them. However, he was successful in ascertaining that Mr Bennet had refused to oblige his aunt either by reinstating the engagement to Mr Collins or denying his consent for Darcy's own suit, which had given him such a surge of hope that he had immediately pulled the cord for a servant and ordered his carriage readied post haste.

Lady Catherine had not been pleased at this maneuver and complained that she had not yet done with her objections, but Darcy could not be dissuaded from his mission. If Collins was now out of favor, and Darcy no longer expressly forbidden from marrying Elizabeth, nothing could stop him from returning to her side with all possible swiftness and insisting on an immediate wedding date. Perhaps all of his alternate plans to strong arm Bennet into granting consent could be dispensed with. The special license burned in his pocket as he took hasty leave of his aunt and raced downstairs. Behind him, Lady Catherine's shrieking threats of going to her brother, the earl, echoed throughout the house.

It had not been until later, when Darcy was already on the road and on his way to Longbourn – he had told his driver to go directly there instead of stopping first at Netherfield; there was little time to waste, in his mind – that his excitement had cooled enough for him to wonder what sort of event had brought about this significant change in his fortunes. It was not considered wise to look a gift horse in the mouth, but it was impossible not to be curious as to the circumstances which had effected such a shift in Mr Bennet's formerly implacable attitude. The longer he was on the road, the more anxious Darcy grew on this score; had Collins taken his leering to the next step and imposed himself upon Elizabeth? Was she harmed? Had the lout instigated some sort of scandal which could not be ignored? Rather than a gift horse, the situation could turn out to be a Trojan one and Darcy was wary.

Whatever had occurred, Darcy was on his way and would put everything to rights. He could marry Elizabeth immediately and whisk her away, though there was little he could do for the remaining Bennets if they were somehow caught up in whatever disaster Collins – or Bennet – had wrought. Darcy hoped desperately that his imagination, so inclined toward thinking the worst, had gone wild and that there was some sort of simple, harmless explanation for whatever had taken place at Longbourn in his absence.

Finally, after what felt like twice the amount of time the trip should have taken but was probably only the usual four hours, the carriage pulled up outside of Longbourn and Darcy leaped out without so much as pausing for a servant to lower the steps. He hurried up to the front door, rang the bell and waited with further impatience for someone to open it and admit him.

At length, the door was opened by the woman Darcy recognized as Longbourn's housekeeper, Mrs Hill, and he was invited inside with a wide smile. It was unprofessional for an upper servant to be so expressive, but here in the country it mattered little and Darcy was not inclined to be offended. Indeed, Mrs Hill's cheerful greeting seemed to him a good omen of his reception. "I am here to see Miss Elizabeth," he informed Mrs Hill, who smiled wider, "and Mr Bennet."

"Come right this way, sir – oh, but let me take your things."

Once Darcy had hastily shed his outerwear, he followed Mrs Hill deeper into the house to the parlor the ladies of the house had entertained him in before. Once he was announced, he heard a swell of enthusiastic tittering rise within.

"Oh, Lizzy! He is here! He is here!"

"He came back, just as you said he would all along – "

"'Tis just like in a novel..." A whimsical sigh.

Then Mrs Hill stepped aside and Darcy crossed the threshold. Inside the parlor, he looked around at each Bennet – all the ladies were at home to visitors, it seemed – and bowed in response to their curtsies. He finally spotted Elizabeth over next to the window seat and his heart began beating at an increased staccato. When she rose to her full height and he saw her face, however, it stilled in his chest.

All intentions of issuing polite greetings and casually sweeping Elizabeth out of doors for a private walk fled from Darcy's mind the instant that he saw the bruise darkening one side of her face along the ridge of her cheekbone. He stalked across the floor and stopped immediately before her, ignoring all sounds of surprise at his movements, and gently, tentatively, brought his hands up to cup along her jawline. With yet more gentleness, he tilted her head to the side so that he was afforded a better view of the injury. "Oh, Elizabeth," he said, his words flowing from him in a breathless rush. "What happened?"

Elizabeth, who was watching him through her periphery with her brilliantly green gaze, replied, "I am well, William. Truly, it looks much worse than it is."

Darcy prayed that this was the case for it looked quite awful. The contusion was obviously several days old as it was fading from purple to yellow around the edges, but it was still an ugly indication of some terrible act perpetrated against his beloved. As this thought flooded his brain, Darcy's mood took a sudden shift from concerned to thunderously angry. Like a tempest rolling in, he was instantly filled with stormy rage. "What happened, Elizabeth? Did your father do this to you? Collins?"

Elizabeth reached up and grasped his hands; she did not remove them, merely held them more securely to her face. She straightened the angle of her head so that their gazes were connected as she soothed, softly, quietly, "Not Papa, Mr Collins. He was not inclined to take my rejection at face value and attempted to...persuade me to marry him before your return. I refused most vehemently, he grew angry and slapped me. Truly, I am well now that he is gone."

Darcy was not yet appeased, not by any measure, and so his tone was gruff when he responded, "And your father allowed this to happen?"

"Not precisely."

"What, precisely, did happen?"

"Oh, Mr Darcy, it was everything terrible!" Darcy tore his eyes away from Elizabeth as Mrs Bennet's exclamation demanded his attention. She sat in her favored chair halfway across the room, flailing her handkerchief about and clearly gripped by some manic emotion. "That horrid, horrid Mr Collins hit our Lizzy – you see what he has done for yourself – and proved himself to be the worst kind of brute! Why, I have never been so beside myself, not ever! But Mr Bennet came and threw that miscreant from the house – indeed, he did. I did not see it myself for I was...indisposed, but I am told that he grabbed Mr Collins up by the front of his clothes and literally tossed him into the hedgerows!"

Darcy looked back to Elizabeth who confirmed her mother's tale with a nod. "He did. I saw it myself; Mr Collins has since been banned from the estate for the duration of my father's lifetime."

"But that did not stop him from returning with that awful Lady Catherine a few days later!" Mrs Bennet continued, indignantly. She whipped her fan open with a sharp flick of her wrist and began waving it rapidly to cool herself.

Miss Bennet, who hovered near her mother, laid a hand up on Mrs Bennet's forearm and gently reminded her, "Mama, Lady Catherine is Mr Darcy's aunt."

Mrs Bennet snorted derisively. "Then he knows as well as we do what a terrible harridan she is!"

Darcy might have laughed at this (very accurate) characterization of Lady Catherine had he not still been so enraged at what he was hearing. "I believe I must speak to Mr Bennet," he announced as soon as the opportunity presented itself, his voice tightly controlled.

Mrs Bennet's expression changed instantly from indignant to cheerful, her mouth spreading into a broad smile and her eyes wide with excitement. The hand holding her fan dropped to her lap, its instrument forgotten for the moment. "Oh, yes! Yes, do go speak to Mr Bennet – he has changed his tune, you will see. And then do come back down and take some tea with us, Mr Darcy. And, of course, you must stay for dinner."

Darcy nodded, though he made no promises; he could not until after he had spoken with Mr Bennet and settled what was going to happen going forward. Darcy was presently inclined to bundle Elizabeth into his carriage, cart her off to London and present his special license to the first clergyman he found, regardless of the consequences. After first having some strong words with his impending father-in-law. But time would tell the outcome of their interview.

"If you will excuse me," Darcy bent his head in an automatic bow and dropped his hands from Elizabeth's face so that he would be free to make his exit. He pivoted on his heel and stalked back through the door from whence he had recently come, intent on what he was about to do.

No sooner had he tromped from the room and into the hall than he heard his name called by the dearest, loveliest voice in the world. "William, wait."

He would have ignored any summons except hers. Turning back, he found Elizabeth approaching him along the length of the corridor. She stopped when she was immediately before him and reached out to grasp his hands. "I beg that you would not be excessively hard on Papa, William."

Darcy's stormy rage stirred at this request. "After all he has done, Elizabeth? After all he has allowed to happen?" He released one of her hands to trail a finger down the contusion marring her cheek. He could not help but grimace at the ugliness mottling her delicate skin.

Elizabeth leaned her face into his palm and nuzzled it. "Yes, though do not believe for an instant that I have forgiven or forgotten all of the strife he has caused. I ask for your sake, and mine; it does no one any good to bestir further conflict."

"I am always in control."

With a soft smile, Elizabeth shook her head. "I once thought so, until I saw the look in your eye a moment ago in the parlor. You look as if you are ready to do something unwise in your anger."

"It is nothing less than he deserves!" Darcy barked, then gentled his tone. "I cannot ignore the damage he has caused, nor should I. Do not ask it of me."

Elizabeth sidled a little closer to him before saying, "I am not. I am only asking that you calm yourself before you go up there lest you do something regrettable. And, also, keep in mind that my father appears to feel some amount of remorse for his part in Mr Collins' actions; you should have heard him defend us to Lady Catherine. I am not at all saying that he is free from culpability, but he is not a monster. And you, my love, look ready to slay a dragon."

Darcy breathed in deeply and exhaled a sigh which took a bit of the wind out of his sails. She was correct, of course; it would do no one any good to storm up the stairs and approach Mr Bennet with such unrestrained hostility. There were certainly things to discuss, yet more to demand with no quarter, but with a cool head rather than a hot temper.

When Elizabeth raised up on her toes and tilted her head, Darcy bent low and met her lips at the halfway point between them. The kiss was soft, it was loving and it was calming to the tempest brewing inside him. He lingered there for several long seconds, stroking her face and reveling in the petal softness of her mouth, until the most potent feelings of rage had been soothed away. Only then did he break their embrace and sigh.

"I am more collected now, my love. And I must speak to your father."

Elizabeth, still easily within range, nuzzled his nose with her own. "I know. When you are finished, do come back downstairs and escort me on a walk. I have missed our constitutionals."

After another short but tender kiss, Darcy replied, "As have I. They have been the focus of my dreams of late."

"And mine."

A few more murmurs of endearment, one last sweet brush of the lips, between them and Darcy broke away to ascend the staircase, now at a more controlled, sedate pace. He was ready to face Mr Bennet and make his demands more collectedly.

Upon reaching the door which Elizabeth had indicated was Mr Bennet's study, Darcy rapped on it with a series of sharp taps from his knuckles. A voice from inside beckoned, "Enter."

Darcy opened the door and stepped through it to find Mr Bennet seated behind his desk, various ledgers and papers scattered across the surface of his work area. Darcy, having heard much of Mr Bennet's indolence, was slightly surprised to find him working rather than indulging in one of his more entertaining tomes, but then supposed that without Elizabeth to assist him Mr Bennet must necessarily tend to his own estate. What was more startling than Mr Bennet's sudden industry was the way his green eyes, so like his daughter's, lit up at the sight of him.

"Mr Darcy," Mr Bennet rose out of his chair and extended his hand to shake, smiling lightly as if greeting an old friend.

Darcy looked at the hand and then back up at Bennet; he did not deign to shake it. "Mr Bennet."

Mr Bennet, rather than immediately lowering his hand after his gesture of welcome had been disdained, waved at one of the chairs settled before his desk. It was slightly dented as if it had been treated roughly at some point, but appeared comfortable enough. Darcy, however, could never bear sitting when he felt as tense as he did at that moment. "I thank you, but I prefer to stand."

"As you will." Mr Bennet lowered himself back into his own seat and wove his fingers together before resting them against his abdomen. "I suppose I need not ask to what I owe this pleasure. Judging by the look on your face, you have already seen Lizzy."

"I have," Darcy agreed, gruffly. In spite of Elizabeth's calming influence, he felt his ire rising against the man before him as he pictured the injury which had been done to her enchanting face. "And I have come to demand that you grant your permission for an immediate wedding."

"Done."

Darcy startled. He had expected more argument, or at least some resentment, but Mr Bennet appeared relatively at ease. His expression was serious without any sign of sarcasm or teasing, but Darcy was not inclined to take his agreement so immediately. "That is all you have to say after all of your previous objections? All of your meddling?"

Bennet shrugged and sighed with a certain degree of weariness. "What would you like me to say, sir? I have no defense; I was selfish and wrong. The only way to correct even a small portion of the damage I have wrought is to allow your marriage to Lizzy without further complaint or stipulation. You may marry the moment the banns are complete, if that is your wish."

"I have a special license." Darcy reached into his pocket and pulled out the document before handing it over to Mr Bennet.

Mr Bennet leaned forward and accepted the parchment before unfolding it, perusing the contents and nodding. He tossed it aside upon his desk before saying, "Very well, then you may marry as soon as it suits you. With this," he waved his hand at the license, "you could practically do it without my input in any case. Is there anything else?"

Darcy, still somewhat shocked at this new amenability in Mr Bennet, stared at his host a long moment before withdrawing another bundle of papers from his coat. "Yes, I have taken the liberty of drawing up marriage articles. There are four copies there – one for you, one for me, one for my solicitor and another for yours. They only await your signature."

Mr Bennet nodded and reached for his pen, dipping it into his ink pot. After a cursory read through, a few grunts and more nodding, he signed all four copies, sanded them and then passed two back to Darcy. "I suppose now you will wish to determine a wedding date. It was my thought, of course, that we would have to wait for the banns, but the special license changes things; have you discussed possibilities with Lizzy?"

Darcy shook his head. "There has not yet been time, but I know that she would not wish to wait long. I would take her to the church tomorrow, if it were entirely up to me."

"I am afraid I must object to that, sir." Upon seeing the dark scowl forming on Darcy's face, Mr Bennet laughed at him and elaborated, "Not for myself, but for my wife. Mrs Bennet would be entirely beside herself if you gave her less than a day's notice prior to one of her daughters' nuptials. As she has been anticipating the event almost as much as Lizzy, I beg you not to be so cruel. She deserves some consideration on this point."

Darcy contemplated a moment and conceded that Mr Bennet was correct. Mrs Bennet had been of unrivaled assistance during the ongoing reluctance of her husband and had earned a boon for herself. "Very well, but I am willing to wait no longer than a week."

"It is settled, then," Mr Bennet agreed, reclining back into his chair. "You shall marry Lizzy on the twenty-sixth of November, exactly a week from today. Assuming the ladies are in agreement."

"Agreed." How unexpectedly simple. However, there was more to discuss than wedding dates and documents. "Mr Bennet, I must say something before we conclude this interview. As much as I...appreciate," he choked slightly on the word and Mr Bennet smirked at him, "your new willingness to accommodate our union, it does not entirely mitigate the damage you have wrought before this point. I need not mention that the violent actions of Mr Collins," at this point in Darcy's speech, Mr Bennet cringed visibly, "would not have occurred had you been more reasonable from the start, nor the emotional wounding you have caused Elizabeth, for I am sure you have divined as much yourself. It is well that you apparently feel some remorse for the things you have done – or not done, in some instances – but an apology is hardly enough considering the circumstances.

"I cannot speak for Elizabeth and whether or not you will ever experience her forgiveness, but know now, sir, that you will never have mine. I will tolerate your presence in our lives if – and only if – Elizabeth wishes it, but do not make the mistake in believing that I will ever forget what you are capable of. Do not anticipate an open invitation to Pemberley, or that I shall ever deign to acknowledge you more than is absolutely necessary. I cannot have you potentially poisoning our happiness or that of our children in the future. And, rest assured, if I get word that you are repeating your mistakes with your wife or other children, I shall do all in my power to render them aid with no thought to the consequences to yourself. I will be their protector where you have not. Do I make myself perfectly understood?"

Mr Bennet watched him steadily throughout this impassioned monologue and, at the end of it, nodded once. "I understand. However, as little as I deserve it, I must entreat your support on a most important matter."

Darcy's jaw tightened but he invited Mr Bennet to proceed. "Go on."

Mr Bennet's apparent insouciance remained as he made his request, though his fingers fidgeted restlessly with one another where they sat intertwined in his lap. Darcy's impression was that Mr Bennet was more agitated than he would like to reveal. As well he should be; Darcy was not, in that moment, at all inclined to grant him any favors. "I have been in consultation with my Brother Philips in regards to what is to be done about Collins."

In spite of his disinclination to assist his future father-in-law in any way, Darcy's intrigue was piqued by this notion. He had been formulating increasingly violent and outlandish punishments for his aunt's toadying little parson in the back of his mind since first witnessing Elizabeth's black eye, but he had yet to set his imagination toward a feasible plan to ensure Collins' everlasting suffering. He was curious to hear Mr Bennet's thoughts on such a subject. "Indeed? And have you come up with a plan?"

"In part, yes," Mr Bennet nodded again, his expression serious, "but much of its success, I suspect, will depend upon your input."

Darcy's teeth clenched together as his frustration again began to mount. It seemed that Mr Bennet was still inclined to let others perform any task which he himself found tedious. "How so?"

After a self-deprecating chuckle, Mr Bennet expounded upon his meaning. "I see what you are feeling – you think that I mean to enlist you to do my dirty work. Well, you are partially correct, though not quite in the way that you are thinking. In lieu of setting the magistrate after Collins – a circumstance which would likely only exacerbate Lizzy's humiliation and create nasty rumors – my Brother Philips has suggested that we instigate a lawsuit against my cousin. It would put him in his place and, as an added benefit, any proceeds from the settlement could be added to my younger daughters' dowries and possibly provide a better income for Mrs Bennet should I predecease her. However, I am concerned about the level of influence Lady Catherine might exert on Mr Collins' behalf should I take this step."

The nature of Mr Bennet's true request was becoming more clear now. His expression relaxing somewhat as enlightenment dawned in his mind, Darcy surmised aloud, "And you wish for me to use my own influence to mitigate any defense my aunt might put forth?"

"Yes."

Darcy deliberated the proposal for a stretch of some few minutes, contemplating the validity of Mr Bennet's concerns and what would be best for Elizabeth. He could not fault Mr Bennet for wishing to keep the incident quiet amongst his neighbors as it took very little to damage the reputation of a lady – or, in this case, several of them – and a lawsuit seemed an appropriate measure to take in light of the potential consequences to innocent parties. It was definite that something must be done as the thought of allowing Mr Collins to injure his beloved and walk away essentially unscathed himself was more than simply distasteful, it was insupportable. However, Mr Bennet was reasonable in his assumptions that, if Lady Catherine were to involve herself in the matter on Collins' behalf, such injustice might actually come to pass.

With all of this considered, Darcy's response was all but inevitable. "I shall do what I can to assist you in your suit against Mr Collins. My solicitor, Mr John Knightley in London, will also be at your disposal for anything that Mr Philips is not able to accomplish himself. Further, if you require funds in this pursuit, they are yours. I will do everything to ensure that Mr Collins receives his just desserts for striking Elizabeth. As for my aunt, she might have some measure of influence in high places, but it is nothing to mine."

Mr Bennet's shoulders loosened and drooped slightly in apparent relief. "I thank you, sir. I am exceedingly grateful that you are willing to put aside our differences to be of aid to my family. It shows a generosity of spirit which I, most shamefully, had not attributed to you before this."

"If you must thank me," Darcy countered with some asperity, "let it be for your daughter's sake alone. I do none of this to aid you; I think only of Elizabeth and what she would wish."

"Fair enough," Mr Bennet conceded with a weary sigh. He then continued, "To all this I must add yet another request. If I should die unexpectedly and Collins should inherit before my other daughters and Mrs Bennet are otherwise settled by the measures I am currently undertaking," he waved at the piles of ledgers and papers scattered across his desk, one sheet of which outlined the proposed lawsuit in a spidery hand, "I ask that you not leave them at the mercy of my cousin. There is no telling what he is capable of and I would not wish any of my family subject to his whims. I made that mistake once already, and I…" Mr Bennet's eyes glazed over a moment and he blinked rapidly to clear it away. After clearing his throat, he concluded, "I would not wish to make it again."

In spite of the tenderness expressed by Mr Bennet, Darcy bristled. "I have already said that I would protect them."

"I know, Son." Darcy ground his teeth together at being referred to as Mr Bennet's "son," though he supposed on Tuesday next that would be essentially the case, however little he liked the thought. "I only wished to elicit this specific promise from you. One last bit of selfishness." Mr Bennet completed this thought with a half hearted little smirk.

"Very well," conceded Darcy, figuring that this request was not so unreasonable and actually represented a proper way of thinking for Mr Bennet. "I shall look after them all, to the best of my abilities."

Mr Bennet rose from his chair and extended his hand again. This time, though hesitantly, Darcy accepted it and the two men shook on the promise. When Mr Bennet spoke again, his tone was jesting, reminiscent of Elizabeth's style of teasing. "Thank you. Also, if it is not too much to ask, I would very much wish to see your library at Pemberley one day. Lizzy says it is something magnificent."

Darcy felt the corners of his mouth curling upward in a slight smile. He could not quite help it. "Perhaps. After a probationary period."

Author's Note: Darcy and his implacable resentment won't be so easy for Bennet to overcome, but at least they understand one another and are united on the front of protecting the Bennet women from Collins. It's about as good as it's going to get for now. More detail on whether or not Bennet ever sees the Pemberley library in the epilogue. (No, we're not holding a vote, lolz.) From here, we're mostly just tying up loose ends and setting up the HEA. Also, ODC gets a more proper – or rather less proper – reunion in Elizabeth's POV (coming up next).

As of last chapter, this story has officially achieved more than 1,000 reviews here on FFnet! More than that when you count those received on A Happy Assembly and DarcyandLizzy Forums, but whatever. Can't you just hear Mrs Bennet squealing "One thousand reviews!" XD

Speaking of reviews, thanks to everyone who has defended me and this story against the nasty reviewers. I strongly suspect that it's really just one or two specific trolls coming back over and over again to make trouble/hurt my feelings, but it's nice to feel your support regardless. I am endlessly appreciative of all the kind words and constructive criticism I have received over the past year, on this story and others, and so THANK YOU!

Next Update: July 20, 2020 (MONDAY)
Expected Completion: July 31, 2020

– MrsMarySmythe