"You are not with child, are you?"

Elizabeth set down her piece of toast. She was not, she could not be...? Surely, her mother could not be serious. There was no way that she could already be carrying a child. Darcy had said that it usually took many tries before a child came.

But now that she thought about it, she had not had her monthly in a while.

"I am not sure," she replied, slightly dazed.

Mrs. Bennet clapped her hands. "We shall send for the doctor. He will tell us whether or not you are with child. Millie!" she called. "Go have someone fetch Dr. Thomas!"

After the maid left the room, Mrs. Bennet, in a burst of sudden affection, rushed over to Elizabeth, hugging her to her bosom. "A grandchild. How wonderful!"

Slightly alarmed at this unusual display, Elizabeth glanced over towards her father, silently pleading for help.

"Mrs. Bennet, you would not wish to frighten the poor babe? Let our Lizzy have some space to breathe."

Dr. Thomas came a couple of hours later. After a quick examination and some questions, it was determined that Lizzy was indeed pregnant. Her child would make his or her appearance seven months from now.

"Oh, Lizzy this is so exciting!" shrieked her mother.

"What is so exciting?" Jane asked as she entered the sitting room for her daily afternoon visit.

"It appears that our dear Lizzy will make her poor father and mother grandparents in less than a year's time," replied Mr. Bennet.

"Lizzy, that is such good news!" Jane cried as she hugged her sister. "How are you feeling? Are you happy?"

"This is all so new. I am not quite sure how I feel. If you will excuse me, I would like to lie down."

Alone in her room at last, Elizabeth looked at herself in the mirror. Placing her hand on her lower back, she stuck out her abdomen. She would be as big as a house when her waistline increased, she thought.

Sitting on the bed, she gently rubbed her stomach. "Hello, wee one," she cooed. "You are quite unexpected, but I find that that does not bother me much. I look forward to your arrival. What I am not so sure about is your dear father. Will he be as happy as I am? I do not know. You see, my child, your father and I had quite a row shortly after you were conceived. We have not spoken much since then. I hope when I do see him again we can sort out all our issues. Above all, I wish that you have a mother and father who love and respect each other. I grew up without that and I would not wish it on you, my dearest."

Darcy was almost to Longbourn. He considered stopping by Netherfield for tea, but his desire to see his wife prohibited him from visiting his friend. No, it had been too long since he had seen Elizabeth. He could not bear to be away from her any longer.

Dismounting from his horse and walking to the front door of Longbourn, he waited patiently while a servant announced him to the Bennets. He was shown into the sitting room where all the Bennets except for his wife were enjoying their afternoon tea.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Darcy."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Bennet."

"As you can see, Lizzy is not with us. She is feeling a bit under the weather so she is resting upstairs," Mrs. Bennet informed him.

A look of concern crossed Darcy's face. "Is she very ill?"

"Oh, she is quite fine, just a little tired. In fact, I bet she would like some toast and a cup of tea. You could go bring it to her if you would like," Jane offered.

"Yes, I think I will."

Taking the tray from the maid, he climbed the stairs to his wife's old bedroom. Knocking on the door, he heard a soft, "Come in."

As he stepped into the room, he caught Elizabeth in the process of brushing her hair. Modern fashion dictated that she wear her hair up, but he loved when she wore her hair down at night or in the early hours of the morning. He loved the feel of the dark mass in his hands, it smelt of flowers and felt so good against his bare skin.

"Fitzwilliam!" she gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"I was on my way back from London and I thought I would visit Netherfield and Longbourn before journeying back to Pemberley."

"Oh."

"They said you were ill. Are you feeling well? You look quite pale. I am used to seeing more color in your cheeks."

"I am quite well. How have you been? Were you able to take care of all your business in London?"

Sitting next to Elizabeth on her bed, Darcy gazed at Elizabeth, longing to touch her. Even though her anger had seemed to fade, he did not feel as if she would willingly accept his advances at the moment. Although he could not touch her, it felt wonderful to be near her, to look at her.

"Everything went as I expected. How has your visit with your family been?"

Elizabeth looked at him with a sad expression in her eyes. "It has been nice but I have missed you. I believe I would like to go home tomorrow."

Emboldened by her statement, Darcy took her hand in his and raised it, placing a kiss upon the back of her hand. "As you wish, my dear," he murmured.