A/N: Thanks for reading and commenting. ChrisM0519, thanks again for fact-checking on the state of the Rosings dower house. I just assumed Lady Catherine would make sure that her dower house was more than just up to snuff.

Why does Mr. Collins have to face the unfortunate fate that seems inevitable? It is because the author wants Charlotte to have a better life. Will she, or will Jane get the HEA with the doctor?

I set out to write a story about how Lizzy reverses her super negative opinion on Mr. Darcy in a shorter time than in canon. It must be very difficult for a spirited and opinionated young woman to so drastically change her mind. I have a mental image of Lizzy as a novice driver trying to turn an18-wheeler around in a narrow country lane. I think she is almost there in this chapter. Once she is facing the right direction, she is going to charge right ahead and mow down anything in her path. So hold on tight!

I have found from the reviews/comments of readers elsewhere that the story is really about Anne - how she, with Lizzy's help, finds liberation from her tyrannical mother. It is a fine interpretation, and I have begun to see it myself. I am tickled that my readers teach me things about my own story. Anne is a scene-stealer. isn't she? If you have the same impression, please let me know, but do spare some love for ODC.

~ . ~

The tutorial on estate management began in earnest two days after their arrival. Mr. Darcy, Mr. Wright, Anne, and Elizabeth were ensconced in the library while Jane and Miss Darcy entertained themselves.

Mr. Darcy let Mr. Wright take the lead in explaining how the estate's accounting system was structured, as he looked on from the side. Shortly after beginning, it was clear that Anne was bored and confused. She could not absorb so much information thrown at her at once, especially when much of it contradicted what she heard her mother say over the years. Elizabeth, however, was all ears and asked numerous questions.

Anne finally said, "Mr. Wright, there is no need for me to know the intricacies of the account ledger. That is under your purview. I just need to know how things are purchased, and how income is accounted for in the Rosings coffers. Lizzy seems to enjoy the talk on credits and debits and such nonsense. Perhaps Darcy could teach her those." She looked over to Mr. Darcy, and said, "You are sitting idle anyway."

Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth should not have been surprised by this take-charge Anne, but they were. They glanced at each other and became silent while Mr. Wright resumed his tutorial at a more general level.

Mr. Darcy rose and came over to Elizabeth and asked, "Miss Bennet, would you want to know more about how to examine the Rosings accounts? Every master…and mistress of an estate should have a working knowledge of managing accounts to ensure that the steward makes the entries properly. Lady Catherine fancied herself quite an authority on the subject, although Mr. Wright and I knew better."

Elizabeth was in fact intrigued by the complexity of the books she had seen: the Rosings system was far more sophisticated than Longbourn's, having so much more of everything – tenants, expenditures, and even taxes. However, she dreaded being in such close proximity to Mr. Darcy in what could be seen as a rather intimate situation.

Lately, ever since the day she came to suspect that the gentleman loved her still, she had been inordinately sensitive to his presence: his speech, his posture, and his interactions with others. She was intent on detecting more signs of his ardent love to confirm or negate her suspicion. While so busy watching the gentleman's every move, she had neglected to analyze her own feelings. Nonetheless, she had not ignored the warmth and sometimes goosebumps that she felt when he had the occasion to place himself near her. Now that the moment to be alone with him came, she did not feel ready. In service for her friend, however, she acquiesced.

Once they had removed themselves to the other end of the library, Mr. Darcy began the pedagogical venture with his most austere Master of Pemberley mien. Anything less would have revealed that he was by no means less affected than Elizabeth in this secluded setting.

Once the tutorial began, Elizabeth found herself tolerably composed.

"Is this called the double-entry system, sir?" asked Elizabeth while looking at the columns of numbers in front of her.

"It is. Do you employ this system at Longbourn, Miss Bennet?" asked Mr. Darcy matter-of-factly.

"Longbourn's system is far simpler than this. We have rent income quarterly, and expenditures from our accounts with Meryton's tradesmen monthly, and our pin money also quarterly. My father has his own account for books and such that only he sees. That is about it," said Elizabeth, also quite drily.

"Ah, Rosings has income from several sources, and expenditures due to debts that you are fortunate not to have at Longbourn," quipped Mr. Darcy.

Elizabeth was curious about this last proclamation. She had heard that grand estates could be quite hollow inside, but Rosings did not look debt-ridden. She examined the columns, and studied each figure attentively, looking for the debts and forgot that she was supposed to feel awkward with Mr. Darcy sitting so close.

"Oh!" She gasped loudly when she found the number for Rosings' indebtedness. She looked at Mr. Darcy with round eyes and exclaimed, "Fifty thousand pounds! Heaven forbid! How is even half such a sum to be repaid?"

Mr. Darcy, enchanted by every animated expression on Elizabeth's countenance, especially her eyes, had to gather himself before answering, "Fifty thousand pounds is not an inconsiderable sum. However, for an estate as large as Rosings and with its cash reserve, it is not out of the ordinary. Unless Anne becomes more extravagant than Lady Catherine, the debt will be repaid in time."

"Look here! The interest payment every year is almost four thousand pounds, which is eight percent! How egregious! And that is the total yield of an estate the size of Netherfield Park, or twice that of Longbourn!"

Mr. Darcy tried but failed to maintain his aloof attitude in front of this captivating passion. He stared at her intently and forgot to answer. Elizabeth looked up then and met Mr. Darcy's eyes. She could not deny that the feeling in those deep, shapely green eyes was not disdain but something else – something fiery, something of desire.

This realization made her lower her head, feeling suddenly very bashful. After a moment, she said, "Mr. Darcy, I think I have had enough lessons on accounting for today. I shall go back to Anne to see how she fares with Mr. Wright." She hurriedly rose, curtsied, and returned to Anne.

Mr. Darcy sat there alone, completely dejected by the sudden desertion of the one he could no longer keep at a distance. He had loved her, and he loved her still. He was now sure of that. In the past week, he had deluded himself into believing that Elizabeth's animosity toward him had been completely removed after their frank exchange in the hallway of Rockingham House. Their adventures together in saving his cousin Anne and her sister Miss Lydia had made him feel even closer to her than ever before. However, these tender feelings appeared to be entirely one-sided. What would the future be for him if he managed to chase her away talking about assets and liabilities?

He of course stood up immediately when Elizabeth left their table and was painfully aware – and ashamed – of the physical ardor that would be considered extremely unseemly if observed. To him, to avoid this shame and predicament in the future was to absent himself. He made up his mind to leave Rosings in two days' time.

Meanwhile the lady in question could not understand a word out of ten from Mr. Wright. Anne turned to her to ask a question, but Elizabeth seemed startled and said, "I am sorry! I did not hear you."

Anne scrutinized her friend for a few moments, narrowed her eyes and said, "Did the indomitable accounts stupefy you, or did Darcy's scowl scare you witless?"

Elizabeth almost said, "It is his eyes!" but checked herself in time. The only thoughts running round and round in her mind were, "Was that ardent love in his eyes? Do I love him back?"

Soon after, Anne declared that she had learned enough to be able to tell what she did not know, and when she would have to consult Mr. Wright.

She and Elizabeth then went to the drawing room to order tea. Jane, Miss Darcy, and Mrs. Dobson, Dr. King's sister who had just arrived with Dr. King's two younger daughters, were already gathered there. After introductions, the ladies engaged in pleasant conversation.

Miss Darcy, missing her brother at tea, went looking for him and found him still sitting in the library in front of some account books.

"Brother, are you still working on the Rosings accounts? You did not join us for tea. Did you not finish working on those at Easter?"

Mr. Darcy was very pleased that his sister appeared to be coming out of her shell. She had not worried about his having tea or not or many other things for a long time. He smiled at his sister and said, "When I was showing Anne and Miss Elizabeth the accounts, I was reminded of some urgent business that must be attended to at Pemberley as soon as possible. We shall be leaving the day after tomorrow."

Miss Darcy's face showed the disappointment she felt, but she meekly complied, "Oh, I shall get ready then."

Mr. Darcy watched his sister closely and asked, "Would you prefer to stay, sweetling, to get to know your new friends some more? If Anne does not object, you could stay, and I will come back to fetch you."

Miss Darcy gave her brother such a heart-felt smile that there was no mistake what her inclination was. She asked nonetheless, "Truly, Brother? That seems too much travelling for you."

Mr. Darcy answered with a tender expression, "For you, sweetling, nothing is too much. You are all I have."

Miss Darcy was very moved, but she could sense a feeling of melancholy from her brother. Now that she felt so much better about herself, she decided to cheer her brother by painting a felicitous picture of their future, and said, "Oh Brother, you are all I have as well. Perhaps you should marry and produce a few little Darcys. Mrs. Dobson, Dr. King's sister, just arrived with Dr. King's two young daughters. They are little angels and so well behaved! It would be so wonderful to have our own little darlings running around the halls of Pemberley."

Mr. Darcy was alarmed at his feeling choked up, a sensation that had happened only once in his life; it was when he found out at Eton that his mother had died. He forcefully willed the tears that were already coming into his eyes to retreat, and with a smile that he feared might look more like a grimace, said with an unnatural cheerfulness to his sister, "I am not ready to share you and Pemberley with anybody else yet. I think we do rather well just by ourselves. Now run along to your cousin and ask her whether she would invite you to stay unless you want me to ask for you."

Miss Darcy felt that her brother was not quite himself but did not know what else to say. She then said, "I shall ask Cousin Anne. I am not afraid of her anymore. Should my confidence fail me, I would ask Miss Elizabeth, which amounts to the same thing, and she is so much more approachable." She then curtsied and left her brother without noticing the sudden veil of sadness that came over his face.

In the afternoon, the ladies went to visit the first of the tenants, Elizabeth and Anne in one phaeton, and Jane and Miss Darcy in another. Elizabeth welcomed this activity which took her mind off what had happened in the library. While on the way, Elizabeth decided to ask Anne about Rosings' debt and to suggest a remedy for it.

"Anne, are you aware that Rosings carries a debt of fifty thousand pounds?" asked Elizabeth tentatively.

"Mr. Wright mentioned something like that and admonished me to never spend more than six thousand pounds a year if I did not want to add to it."

"Do you not want to repay it as soon as possible?" asked Elizabeth, somewhat incredulous at Anne's nonchalant attitude to so large an obligation.

"Mr. Wright said nothing about repayment schemes. He has it well in hand. In any event, I have no wish to replaster the ceilings or build any more follies. Buying all the published novels in print does not even cost as much as a quarter of a chimneypiece, and my mother had planned to buy five of them last year. Besides, Mr. Wright said that Rosings could earn as much as a third more a year in just a few more years. I shall be able to pay back the debt in no time."

"However, Anne, if you use your dowry to pay it back, you can still gift each of us four thousand pounds, a considerable sum that would make us all very grateful."

"You know well enough that I no longer have any dowry, and so it is not a possibility. The terms on the Bennet ladies' dowries are the same as my own. You cannot touch it unless you are not married by age seven-and-twenty. The only possibility is if you asked your future husband, and at least two of your sisters' husbands to return the dowries to Rosings, and they agreed, which would be highly unlikely. Your scheme would never work," answered Anne, amused by the futility of Elizabeth's scheme.

"I think I should be able to persuade my husband to do that, and then you will have more than half the debt paid off," said Elizabeth with confidence.

Anne turned to Elizabeth and looked at her with interest, making Elizabeth squirm, thinking that perhaps she had said too much. At length, Anne said, "Very few men could afford to let their new wives give away their dowries, unless they are as rich as my uncle, or Darcy…Is Darcy whom you are thinking about marrying? It cannot be. He is leaving in two days to go to Pemberley, and you may not see him again until next year."

"Oh! He is leaving so suddenly again? Did he give his reason?" asked Elizabeth sharply before looking contrite.

"Again? Whatever do you mean? Ah, you must be referring to when he left after Easter. He did not explain his reason then, but this time he told Georgiana that he was reminded of an urgent problem he needed to solve while looking over the accounts this morning… with you. Did he give any indication as to what in the Rosings' ledger had anything to do with Pemberley's?"

"Oh, no…., no. I do not have any inkling what it could be. You know I am just starting to learn about the accounting system of such a complex household. For the life of me, I would not be able to discern subtle problems."

"Georgiana said whatever the problem is, it must be very important and may have quite unpleasant consequences. She said her brother looked troubled, and perhaps even sad."

Elizabeth was puzzled. "Sad? What could have caused that?"

"Oh, here we are. We were so absorbed in our conversation that we have reached the tenant house without noticing it. I hope that Georgiana and Jane have had an enjoyable ride as well." Anne stopped the phaeton outside of a neat farmhouse, and the four ladies alighted from their phaetons. The tenant and his family were very glad to meet the new mistress and the sister of Mr. Darcy, who had through the years been very kind and dependable, and made certain that their needs were met. The ladies' friends, the Miss Bennets, were the ones who were making most of the friendly conversation. The mistress did hand them the baskets of food and was very genteel, though quite non-communicative.

On the way back to Rosings, the ladies dropped in to visit at the parsonage. Sir William Lucas had arrived earlier in the day, and Charlotte and her sister Maria felt relieved to have him present. It was clear to everyone that the end for Mr. Collins was near. Anne reverted to her public persona – laconic and distant, but she did let Charlotte know that she should not fear being evicted from the parsonage anytime soon even if the worst happened. That was a comfort for all the residents of the parsonage. She also issued an invitation to dinner at Rosings the next day if the Hunsford party felt up to it.

Jane and Elizabeth again stayed behind when Anne and Miss Darcy took their leave.

At dinner was when Elizabeth saw Mr. Darcy again. It was obvious to Elizabeth that he was making a monumental effort to be friendly and personable, especially to the new guest, Mrs. Dobson. To herself, he was almost as distant as when they met the first time at the Earl's dinner. There was no chance to talk to him at all as he busied himself talking to Mrs. Dobson who was seated on his right side.

Elizabeth was extremely puzzled. She had the distinct feeling that Mr. Darcy's renewed coldness was due to her, but she could not figure out why. The most likely reason she could come up with was that he regretted still having residual feelings for her, and he wanted to distance himself to make sure that she did not get the wrong impression, and she should not expect a renewed offer from him.

"Vexing, vexing man!" Elizabeth muttered to herself.

Elizabeth was so distracted that she paid no attention to what was happening around her. Anne, who had been sitting next to her after dinner, heard the somewhat indistinct but still comprehensible murmur and asked playfully, "Lizzy, who is this vexing man? You have been absent-minded all evening. Is it because of this mysterious man?" Anne drew out the last word, making no mistake that she was determined to tease out the answer from her friend.

Elizabeth was very disconcerted that she should have been overheard. Before she could come up with a plausible answer, Anne followed with another impertinent question, "He could either be Darcy or Dr. King, as we are predominantly ladies here tonight. Which is it?"

By then, Elizabeth had thought of a prevarication to explain herself out of her current difficulty. She smiled at Anne and said, "Neither. I was thinking about the letter I received this afternoon just before dinner. It is from my father and was forwarded here from Gracechurch Street. He commanded Jane and me to return home to Longbourn because he could not handle my mother, who has been having constant attacks of the nerves; and my youngest sister, who was whining and nagging him all day trying to make him change his mind about not allowing her to follow the regiment to Brighton. I, on the other hand, am not so compliant as before. It is high time that my father exerted his authority to restore respect and harmony in the family."

"Oh, the way you said 'vexing man' made me think that you were thinking about matters of the heart. At least in the novels I have read, that would be the case. From what you just said, you mean to defy your father's order to leave here soon?"

"Yes, that is exactly what I think I will do. I shall send him a letter tomorrow telling him that I have obligations here and cannot just come and go as I please. I am certain, sad as the occasion may be, that he will be in Hunsford before long. I shall tell him then about the dowries, and that I cannot, and should not abandon you to your new responsibilities after having agreed to help."

"I do thank you for staying until I am more used to being in charge here. Just look at this evening! Without you here I would have been quite helpless to cater to the needs of all of the guests. It was not so lively a gathering, but it would have been far worse without you and Jane."

"Anne, I am sorry that I am so distracted. With Lady Catherine so severely indisposed, everybody understands that we should not be too gleeful."

Mrs. Dobson moved over then and started talking to Anne and Elizabeth. She started by thanking Anne for allowing her and the King children to stay at Rosings so their father could see them every day.

"David, my brother, is very close to the children. He gave up his lucrative medical practice in town after his wife's death and moved the family to Swanley so he could stay with the children while they are under my care. I cannot abide the dirty air in town, you see."

The two ladies expressed their condolences about Dr. King's wife's death.

"Marianne, my late sister-in-law, was the love of my brother's life. It was heart-wrenching to watch him suffer these past few months. His dedication to his work is what saves him from falling into melancholy. I have been urging him, very subtly of course, to remarry and give the children a new mother as I cannot be depended on to bring them up much longer for my own daughter will be giving birth in a few months.

Miss Elizabeth, your sister, Miss Bennet, seems very gentle and kind. She is of course very beautiful, far more so than Marianne was. What is her situation? Please pardon me for my directness. I have watched her and David since my arrival, which admittedly has not been many hours, and they seem to seek each other out for earnest conversation."

Elizabeth was quite shocked to hear that. How could she have missed this completely? She glanced over to Jane and indeed saw her deep in conversation with Dr. King. However, she was not going to betray her sister's confidence, and casually said, "Mrs. Dobson, I am not aware of any attachment between Dr. King and my sister. She met him only a few days ago and has not had many occasions to meet with him since. She has a new-found interest in the medicinal uses of certain plants and will latch onto anyone who would help her gain more knowledge on that topic. Besides, you said Dr. King loved his wife deeply. He is probably not ready to move on."

"You are of course right about David not ready to find a new wife. I meant to tell you in case your sister might be starting to become attached that it will be at least six more months before he is out of mourning. It was kindly meant." She continued, "Miss Bennet would be an excellent mother and wife. David would be lucky to have one so kind and beautiful. David's practice in town brought in more than one thousand pounds a year. He had been regularly consulted by the Royal household. He will be quite eligible if, and when, he thinks about marrying again."

Elizabeth pondered a moment and said, "I see. I shall be sure to mention the time constraint with respect to Dr. King's mourning, but I am almost certain that my sister is also not thinking about matrimony at present. Perhaps in six months, if they have occasion to meet again, it will be good timing for both."

Mrs. Dobson nodded in acknowledgement and moved to Miss Darcy's side to talk to the young girl, who was sitting by Mr. Darcy.

Elizabeth turned to Anne and said, "I hope she is not trying to find out the situation about Miss Darcy."

Anne said, "Well, I am sitting right here, and yet she did not try to find out about my situation, and I am a known heiress, and so are you, in fact, although you are not yet known. I do believe that she likes Jane and intends to let her know through you that her brother is not free to be attached for quite a while, and she should not lose heart if he does not offer for her soon."

"Anne, you are so wise. How is it that I misread people every time?" exclaimed Elizabeth softly.

"But I cannot read you. I am quite certain that something important is occupying your mind, but I do not know what. Out of all the novel characters I am acquainted with, I have not encountered one like you. The same is true with Darcy."

"Ah, that means that you will need to read a lot more novels!" cried Elizabeth. From there the two friends talked about the new novels that Anne had purchased in town and which ones she had already started reading.