I KMOW THIS ONE TOOK A WHILE BUT I DIDN'T QUITE KNOW WHAT SORT OF CHARACTER I WNATED THE EARL TO BE

ANYWAY ENJOY

Andrew Fitzwilliam, Earl of Matlock had always been a good-natured, well-meaning man who unfortunately could be quite easily led, on occasion. It did not help that he had spoiled his daughter in her younger years and was now unable to deny her anything. Upon hearing that it was her "greatest wish" to see her friend and cousin joined in holy matrimony, and politely listening to her well thought out list of reasons as to why the match would be beneficial to all, well almost all, parties there was very little begging needed on Juliana's part. But there was one rather vital opinion that had been overlooked in the excitement of his daughter and the joy of the Earl himself upon watching her dance around the parlour as she had done as a little girl. It was not until he saw his wife limply clutching the letter from the nephew he had come to see as their own, he realised how he had not even consulted Darcy during his talks with Lord Taylor. And although there had been not formal agreement between the two families, he knew that the Taylor's were now expecting a marriage and it would not be long until London in its entirety would know of their supposed alliance.

Since arriving at the Taylor's London home and entering Lord Taylor's study, neither the earl or his son have been able to even mention Elizabeth as he had barely taken a breath while talking about all the compliments he had received while at his gentlemen's club, concerning his daughters match. "And the Earl of Bedford, he was saying that they will make a fine pair and is greatly looking forward to the wedding. He was also wondering whether the two of them would be at the theatre on Saturday night." He stopped his chatter to take a swig of brandy.

Finally being given a chance to say something, the Earl said quickly, as to not risk being interrupted, "Yes, I believe that my nephew is planning on attending."

Taylor's face brightened and he leant forward saying, "Well then we must discuss setting arrangements. Will your nephew sit in our box, or will my daughter sit in the Darcy's box? You see, they must be seen together in public."

Andrew Fitzwilliam shared a quick glance with his son. He took a deep breath before beginning. "Since we last met, I have informed my nephew of the arrangements we have made and he would like to make the decisions for himself from now on," the Earl said, not quite ready to tell him the full extent of what they had done quite yet.

"I understand that. But where do you believe he will wish to sit?" Lord Taylor said, without really comprehending what the Earl had said.

Earl Matlock was now gapping at the portly man on the opposite side of the grand mahogany desk. Lord Taylor was completely unwilling to even consider the possibility that Darcy wouldn't want to marry his daughter. Matlock and his son were suddenly realising that this would not be as simple as telling him the truth of the situation and drawling a line beneath the issue completely. If they did not tread carefully, then this could lead to social ruin for the Fitzwilliam's and the Darcy's.

Seeing his father was unable to answer and sensing his concern over the Lord's reaction, the colonel carefully considered his words and then said, "I think what my father is trying to say is, my cousin will let you know his decision when he has made it. If you do not here from him before Saturday, I suggest you make other arrangements."

The Lord furrowed his brow and slowly nodded at the younger mans words, suspicious that there was something they weren't telling him.

They did not stay much longer and were soon breathing a sigh of relief as they climbed into their carriage. Although he had not been able to bring himself to confess the full extent of his mistake, the Earl was confident that he had made good progress. The colonel on the other hand was dreading Saturday night when Elizabeth, who he was quite fond of, would be up against the entirety of the ton.

Back in Cheapside, Lady Matlock was having similar concerns to her youngest son. "Fitzwilliam, have you mentioned the theatre to Elizabeth yet."

"He has actually and I'm greatly looking forward to it," Elizabeth said, turning away from her betrothed to address the Countess. All thoughts of her confrontation with Miss Taylor were forgotten, replaced with happy imaginings of being seen for the first time with Darcy.

"What is it Aunt?" Mr Darcy asked, "something is bothering you."

"Are you sure you want to be seen by the ton before we sought out your uncle's mess?" Alice Fitzwilliam worried at her bottom lip, not being able to stop herself from picturing the bloodbath which is sure to occur when the ton found out about her nephew's engagement.

Elizabeth sighed and lent forward to take her new Aunt's hand. "I'll be fine Lady Matlock. I have only had one conversation with Miss Taylor but I already know, that she is not much of a problem."

"I thought the issue had been resolved," Mr Bingley said from beside his fiancée. "Miss Elizabeth is aware, which was our main concern and we all know that Darcy has no obligation to Miss Taylor and she cannot claim otherwise."

"And in a perfect world that would be enough," Lady Matlock murmured, lost in thought. Shaking her head and concentrating on the situation at hand, she turned to Miss Elizabeth and said, "we may know that they are not and never have been engaged, but the rest of London do believe the Taylor's."

There was a moment of silence as all came to comprehend the situation that the earl had forced them into. They were interrupted by a maid coming in to speak quietly to Mrs Gardiner. She dismissed the maid before turning to the others in the room. "Are you planning on staying for dinner?" She asked politely.

Both gentlemen quickly agreed and thanked Mrs Gardiner for her offer. Lady Matlock on the other hand, shook her head saying, "I best get home. It seems that I must speak with my daughter." She stood and was shown to the door by Mrs Gardiner. "Thank you for having me Mrs Gardiner."

"It was a pleasure Lady Matlock." The two women smiled at each other before the Countess stepped out into the street and into her carriage.

Arriving at her London home, Alice Fitzwilliam stormed into the music room where she had been informed her eldest daughter was by a maid. "What have you done?" She thundered, the normally rational woman unable to contain her rage.

"I wouldn't worry about it mother, Allison and I took care of the little chit trying to force her way into our family," the young lady sneered, getting up to face her mother.

"How dare you! Elizabeth is a wonderful young woman who your cousin is completely in love with!" The lady's face was red and if she was any less of a gentlewoman, would of been inclined to strike her daughter at any moment.

"After the bore that Edward married, Allison is exactly what we need." Lord and Lady Matlock's eldest son Edward had fallen in love with and married a quiet young woman named Harriet, who although lovely, is not quite the type of woman that suit Juliana's extroverted personality. Juliana had tried to talk her brother out of the marriage and towards her friend but it had been too late.

"Do not speak badly about your sister. Your brother loves her and that is all that matters." Juliana huffed at her mother and left the room sending servants scurrying out of her path. After she had disappeared, her mother collapsed onto the nearest sofa with her head in her hands.

It was a half hour later that her husband found her. She did not look up as he entered the room and didn't even notice his presence until he sat beside her and gathered her into his arms. "It will be alright," he reassured her rubbing his hand up and down her back comfortingly.

"I promised her Andrew. I promised your sister when she died, that I would make sure that her children were happy. That they wouldn't be influenced too much by Lady Catherine." She was now sobbing into her husbands shoulder as she clung to him. Lady Matlock had been close with the Earl's sister and was devastated when she had died.

"This isn't your fault. It never was. We both know that I am entirely to blame for this mess and am solely responsible for fixing it." His wife was yet to stop sniffling but was able to pull her face from his coat to look at him. She laughed softly, agreeing with him.

"You need to fix this quickly. I couldn't stand to watch either of them hurt more than they have to."

"I know darling. I know." The two of them slipped into quiet contemplation, both at some semblance of peace while together. "So what's she like then? This girl who put our nephew in his place?"

"Very much like Anne. Not in looks, but in character."

"So she's perfect then?"

"No. Not perfect. She has her faults, but I think she is very aware of them and has learnt to accept them as part of her. I imagine she has had to change her ways and opinions just as much as Fitzwilliam has."

The Earl nodded and said, "The opposite of Miss Taylor."

"Yes, I do believe so."

"Not only have I almost ruined my nephews engagement, I have done so by trying to marry him off to a woman who I doubt he could ever feel any affection for, let alone love." Here he chuckled at his own folly and smiled fondly at his beloved wife. "I promise you, all will be well."

"I know. I love you," she said tenderly, taking his hand.

"I love you too," her husband replied. He pause to reach over and tug gently at a curl of hair that had fallen into her face like he had done when they were young and first married. His hand fell to her cheek and cupped her jaw softly. Closing her eyes, his wife turned into his hand and kissed his palm. The loving moment was broken when the front door opened loudly and low male voices were heard, signalling the arrival of their sons. "Well then," he began, "Dinner?" He rose from the small sofa and offered his hand to his wife.

"Dinner," she replied.

NEXT CHAPTER: THE THEATRE

ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR CHARACTERS YOU WANT INCLUDED OR SCENARIOS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED

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