A/N: Thanks for reading and your comments. I see that Anne's behavior has impressed you in different ways. When I started the story, I had meant Anne to be the means of uniting our ODC. After a while, she kind of snatched the spot-light onto herself. I must admit that toward the end of the story, she has endeared herself to me so much that it took me quite a long time tocome up with a good ending for her future. So stay tuned to the very end of the epilogue.

There are also those who feel that Anne's modeling so much of her reactions to unfamiliar situations on the novels she reads seems not credible. I had meant this plot device as something of a satire in reverse. Fanny Burney's novels were considered very accurate depictions of the people's lives during that time (~30 years before the time of P&P). I thought then I should use the events she described to affect the lives of the people in 'real life', ie., the lives of the people in my story. In any event, I have been known to watch movies about high school to get some idea on my daughter's high school experience when she was in high school. She laughed when I told her that, much like what some of the readers do when they see what Anne does. On the other hand, it does not erase the fact that some people rely on some media to teach them things they do not know and wish to learn. By the way, one movie was 'Clueless'. I do believe that I watched it also because it was supposed to be based on 'Emma.'

~. ~

Once inside, Anne ordered trays to be brought up to her room so that they could talk in private.

While enjoying a lavish spread of meat pies, fruit and cheeses, Anne recounted her misadventure with Wickham on the phaeton. When she told Lizzy about Wickham's brazen attempt to compromise her in broad daylight and in public, Lizzy gasped and almost dropped her teacup. She asked anxiously, "Anne, do you think there is any danger of your reputation having been ruined?"

Anne said, "Wickham meant to force me to marry him. However, since I do not plan to marry anybody, what could be the consequence? Do you think my uncle's reputation, or Darcy's, would be tarnished because a servant behaved dastardly toward his betters? It is far more likely that he will be flogged. Besides, who could have recognized me? I do not know anyone in town."

Elizabeth could not help admiring the courage and the clear thinking of her friend. When Anne told her that Wickham had unceremoniously dropped her off in the middle of a busy road after she told him that he would have nothing to gain if they married, Elizabeth assumed Wickham realized his game was up and he wanted to make sure Mr. Darcy could find nothing against him since his cousin had not been harmed.

Anne continued, "Lizzy, about what you asked earlier of my fortune, that was why I had asked you to come here today because I have some news. However, before I break the news to you…"

Just then someone knocked on the door, and Anne went to answer. A footman was there with a message from the doctors.

Anne returned to Elizabeth and said apologetically, "Lizzy, I must go to my mother. She is awake. I left the house so early this morning that I did not have the chance to see her. Please excuse me for a few minutes. It should not take long."

After Anne left, Lizzy thought over the eventful two hours she had had that day. The most distinct impression that invaded her mind was how Mr. Darcy took charge of the situation with his commanding presence. She felt foolish to have rushed to him without thinking through whether there had been real danger to her friend. She remonstrated with herself: I must stop doing this before he is forever convinced that I am a silly, witless girl.

Just then, there was another knock at the door. Elizabeth thought that perhaps Anne had sent a message about her mother. When she opened the door, she was unprepared to see Mr. Darcy standing there. All the awkwardness that had existed between them since the proposal returned in full force now that the crisis was over, and they were alone.

Mr. Darcy recovered a moment later, put on his usual austere mask, and asked hesitantly, "Good afternoon, Miss Bennet. I thought Miss de Bourgh was with you. Is she within? How does she fare?"

"Oh!" Elizabeth muttered, as if she had not been expected to be asked these simple questions. She closed her eyes for a moment to compose herself before answering, "Anne is with her mother. The doctors sent for her. Lady Catherine has woken up."

Mr. Darcy's countenance relaxed a little after hearing that his aunt was doing better. He said cordially, "This is good news. Even though Dr. King has been reassuring us that Lady Catherine will live, it is good to hear that her condition has improved."

They both stood silently at the door. And then both started speaking at the same time:

"Anne is well…," said Elizabeth.

"Did Miss de Bourgh tell you…" inquired Mr. Darcy.

They each smiled a little nervously about speaking over the other. Mr. Darcy made a gesture that Elizabeth should continue. Elizabeth recounted the failed compromise attempt outside of the gentlemen's clubs and ended with how Mr. Wickham of his own accord dropped Anne off in the middle of Piccadilly. She shook her head in amazement and said, "She appeared to think of the events as an adventure more than an ordeal."

Mr. Darcy seemed surprised by this account of the events at the beginning, and then he smiled, which so transformed his countenance that he bore only the faintest resemblance to the man who wore a scowl on his face even while proposing marriage to her. Elizabeth could not help staring at his uncommonly handsome face with slightly parted lips.

Mr. Darcy saw those enticing lips and had to restrain himself from doing something indecorous and surely unwelcomed. He said as pleasantly as he could manage, "I have been extremely impressed by Miss de Bourgh in the past few days. Without her mother controlling her every move, she seems to have been reborn, as if she had been cleansed by a renewing spirit. Using the ruse of having given her fortune away was brilliant."

Elizabeth felt a pang in her heart after hearing such warm praises from Mr. Darcy about his cousin. She had to admit that the two cousins would make a very eligible match. She then scolded herself silently for being so ungracious. She observed after a long moment, "Yes, I have also discovered that Anne has far more depth of character than I first estimated. But then again, my ability to read people has been proven wrong time and again. I am quite certain that I would not have had her fortitude when faced with the villainous acts of such a scoundrel."

Mr. Darcy immediately responded, "Miss Bennet, you possess an exceptional…quality of wit and courage. It is quite evident to me that without your help, Miss de Bourgh would not have discovered those depths that none of us knew existed. In the past twenty years, I never saw even once the assertiveness and savvy that she has exhibited since she arrived here. I must commend her astute discernment of your merits, which have been most beneficial to her."

Elizabeth was tempted to say that he hardly looked at his cousin in those twenty years and therefore could not know how she behaved, but she decided that he was not accustomed to being teased and desisted. She said instead, "You are too generous, sir. I wish, rather than believe, that you were right. Oh, I saw you chasing after Mr. Wickham. Were you able to catch up with him?"

"Unfortunately, no. My groom and I almost caught up with him, but Wickham swerved his phaeton dangerously close to two carts carrying barrels and food stuff, overturning them in the process. The grocer driving one of the carts broke his shoulder when he fell off. He narrowly escaped more severe injuries when the cart landed on its side inches from his legs. I decided to give up the chase before any more innocent bystanders came to sustain loss of property or even their lives. Instead, I sent my groom to Lord Westerham's stables – the coat of arms on the phaeton is Westerham's – and he was told that the phaeton would be returned sometime tomorrow.

"Westerham is a notorious rake. He is known to drive his phaeton recklessly and to frequent disreputable places all over the city. Wickham must have met him at one of the gambling dens and somehow got hold of the phaeton to use for a time.

"I have also asked the men from the Bow Street Runners to continue to watch Mrs. Younge's boarding house, and two of them have gone to Meryton to watch for his return to the regiment. I feel that keeping watch of these places is the better strategy to get hold of him than to chase him all over this vast maze of city streets and niches in view of his propensity to completely disregard other people's lives and livelihood to suit his own purpose. I had told him….," Mr. Darcy hesitated but decided to continue, "at Ramsgate that there would be dire consequences if he came close to my family again. I must make him see that I meant what I said, or else I shall have to live with his mischief the rest of my life, and I would have only myself to blame for that."

Elizabeth thought for a moment and said, "I do applaud your finally taking steps to stop Mr. Wickham's treachery. He may not be causing troubles just for your family, but also to people in the neighborhood where he resides." Here Elizabeth also hesitated to continue, but decided that she should say it, "After reading your letter, I asked Miss Maria Lucas, who is visiting her sister at the Hunsford parsonage, to write to my youngest sisters on how Mr. Wickham ran up debts and dallied with maidens. Just this morning, I received a letter from my sister Mary telling me Miss King has been taken away from Meryton by her uncle. She had recently inherited ten thousand pounds and agreed to Mr. Wickham's courtship. Once the truth about Mr. Wickham had started circulating in Meryton, her uncle lost no time in removing with her to Liverpool."

Mr. Darcy, on hearing this, winced perceptibly and felt his cheeks warming up. He was thoroughly chastened by what Elizabeth just said even though she did not sound accusatory. He paced back and forth interminably in the hallway, making Elizabeth feel that perhaps he resented her for taking actions against Wickham.

Finally, he stopped pacing and faced Elizabeth, "Miss Bennet, I hope you will forgive me for my selfish behavior regarding Wickham." He paused, reflecting on what had been on his mind since writing the letter to Elizabeth. Her harsh words had caused him to analyze his behavior to others, but he could not understand why her censure of him was so severe and so unjustified. However, after what she just told him – how she tried to stop Wickham from perpetuating his harmful acts everywhere he went – he felt as if logs were removed his eyes, and he could see clearly why she felt his behavior to be so reprehensible.

He continued almost as if in a trance, "As a child I was taught what was right, but I was not taught to correct my temper. My parents, who, though good themselves, allowed, encouraged, almost taught me to be selfish and overbearing; to care for none beyond my own family circle; to think meanly of all the rest of the world.

"Miss Bennet, you have taught me a hard though infinitely advantageous lesson by showing me how a noble, selfless person behaves. You have agreed to help my cousin, Miss de Bourgh, out of the goodness of your heart and were so concerned for her well-being that you wanted to venture to the seedy part of the city to be of use to her. You have rescued a young woman from a life of misery by letting it be known that she was deceived by a practiced deceiver who wanted only her dowry. All this could have been avoided if I had dealt with Wickham long ago, even before his dastardly deed with….an innocent and naive young lady who remains heartbroken and guilt-ridden almost nine months after the near disaster. Yet believing that he would not dare act against me and mine again after my strong reprimand, all I have done has been to buy up some of his debts to use against him, if necessary, but I did not do anything to ensure that he would not endanger others not in my family. I, who have everything to gain by putting him permanently out of reach of his potential victims, did not do it, whereas you, who have nothing to gain, have done everything possible to make sure that Wickham could not harm those who are wholly unconnected to you."

Elizabeth was extremely discomfited by this long and severe self-reproof by one who had seemed so self-righteous and above censure. She wondered what Mr. Darcy would think after Anne had disclosed that his cousin had given away a grand fortune to benefit her – she had no doubt that she would be one of the beneficiaries, if not the only one. He would surely think that she deluded his cousin for this selfish gain! Who would not? She shook her head to chase away this unpleasant thought and said somewhat meekly, "Mr. Darcy, your efforts to ensure Anne's safety has been exemplary…"

Mr. Darcy tried to interrupt here, but Elizabeth motioned that he should let her continue, "I think you wanted to say that Anne is family. However, there are many who would not do what you have done for a sibling, let alone a cousin. Anne told me that you have not been in the habit of caring for each other. You could have just dispatched a few men to look into my request for help, but you decided to do it yourself despite the potential risk to your person. I could tell you that if it had been one of my sisters in a similar situation, my father would have gone immediately to my Uncle Gardiner, let him do all the hard work and make all the difficult decisions. I love my father, but…."

Just then, Anne was coming down the hallway. Elizabeth heaved inwardly a great sigh of relief and abruptly left off her conversation with Mr. Darcy and hurried to her friend. She had not planned on exposing the weakness in her father's character so unkindly, but her father's lax attitude toward his obligation to take care of his family had been bothering her for some time. She felt bewildered and was embarrassed by her sudden frankness with someone who already despised her family.

"How fares your mother, Anne?" Elizabeth asked more anxiously than she had intended.

"Mother seems more lucid and can now speak with enough clarity, and yet she still cannot recognize me. She kept saying that her daughter was only seven years old, and I was nothing but an imposter or a bastard child of my father. I do resemble him, and he was twenty years older than my mother. Dr. King told me just now that he and Dr. Taylor believed that mother might have lost her memory of the last twenty years. Dr. King says that as far as her life is concerned, she is out of danger, but there will be a long period of rehabilitation, and there is a chance that she might never regain the lost memory, which is in truth not a bad thing. I remember an indifferent mother but not controlling. It was after she had taken over as the mistress of Rosings for a few years that she became intolerable. I guess the power she felt she owned had gone to her head."

Anne noticed that Mr. Darcy was standing close by but did not pay him any attention, as that had been their accepted mode of interaction for as long as she could remember.

Mr. Darcy came up then and greeted his cousin, "Good day, Miss de Bourgh. Forgive me for listening in on your conversation with Miss Bennet. Please accept my good wishes for Lady Catherine's complete recovery. It is good news indeed that she is out of danger."

Anne's countenance instantly turned stolid, but the former meekness was not present. However, when she spoke, she still did so without looking at her cousin, "Ah, Darcy. I hope I did not interrupt your conversation with Lizzy. Both of you looked exceedingly solemn when I came upon you. Should we not go somewhere to talk about what happened?"

Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth looked at each other and raised an eyebrow, marveling at this take-charge version of the formerly mousey woman.

Mr. Darcy suggested that they remove to their uncle's study to continue their conversation as he still needed to find out from Miss de Bourgh herself the whole account of Wickham's misdeeds.