The sun had barely started to rise when Elizabeth made her way outside. This would not be just a quick morning walk. She was in need of respite, away from the bustle of Longbourn. When she informed the housekeeper of her intentions, the kind woman saw Elizabeth outfitted with food, a flask of cider, and a small blanket before she left the house.

Though she intended to go to Oakham Mount she instead found herself walking toward the border of Netherfield and Longbourn. There was a copse of large sycamore trees she favored, and she thought that would be a good place to enjoy some of the food Hill had prepared for her.

As she approached, she noticed the chestnut brown horse with a mane and tail of a lighter brown. It was a beautiful animal, tall and well-muscled. His ears perked up at her approach and he stopped his grazing to look at her. She scanned the area for the former occupant of its empty saddle, Mr. Darcy. He was also tall and well-muscled, she thought. She had seen him with the horse at Longbourn only yesterday, though her attention had been focused elsewhere. "Hello, beautiful boy," she slowly moved closer, holding her hand out. The horse gently nuzzled her hand as if looking for treats.

"My sister indulges him, sneaking apples and carrots to him. He is most likely expecting the same from you. I should caution you though, if there are none to be found he would be just as happy with your bonnet." Darcy spoke quietly so as not to startle either of his companions.

Hearing his voice behind her, Elizabeth scanned her surroundings once again. She saw him seated on the ground, leaning against the very tree she herself had sought. He was wearing a dark green jacket and his hair was tousled from his ride. She thought he looked very handsome. For the first time, admitting she found Darcy attractive did not dismay her. She took it as another step toward accepting he was not the man she had previously imagined him to be.

"I thank you for the warning, Mr. Darcy." She was just able to move out of reach as the horse took a sniff of her bonnet.

"Frank, no," Darcy spoke to the horse like one would a dog. Frank, in turn, nickered and returned his attention to grazing.

"Frank? I admit I would have imagined your horse to be named Caesar or Zeus."

"I will tell you a secret. With those I do not know well, I sometimes tell them he is named after Sir Francis Drake, for what better namesake for the beast that would accompany me on my travels than a man who circumnavigated the world. But to be honest, he just looked like a Frank."

She ran a hand along the horse's side. "Well, Frank is a very solid name, and I am sure he is quite as intrepid as the explorer, regardless. Are you not, Frank?" The horse started to nuzzle her hand again. "Why do you spin such a tale for others?" Elizabeth wondered at 'with those I do not know well'. Was he suggesting he knew her well?

"Perhaps it is because people assume I would have a horse name Caesar or Zeus, as if it is a indicative of some natural arrogance they expect me to possess. And my life is consumed with managing expectations. I do not mean to single out you for your comment, Miss Elizabeth. I am just tired." Elizabeth thought he did sound weary. He had not even stood when he noticed her. She took no offense but felt a bit of embarrassment for her thoughts had been similar, because, of course, the proud, disagreeable Mr. Darcy would name his horse after a great general or Greek god.

"Would you like to be alone? I can leave you to yourself, if you like," she said.

"You may stay if you wish. I imagine you have greater claim to this spot. I do not even know if I am on Netherfield or Longbourn land."

It was part of Longbourn, but Elizabeth gave a vague response for she knew he would leave if he knew. Instead, she removed the blanket from the basket Hill sent with her. She placed it to the left of Mr. Darcy, claiming a side of the tree for her own. She leaned against the tree and took in the early morning. Darcy was only a foot or so away, but he was not in her line of sight. They could speak quietly without looking at each other.

"You do not like me, do you Miss Elizabeth?" Darcy asked with no preamble. It was a few minutes before she responded.

"Mr. Darcy, I am afraid I am coming to like you a little too well. Eat this." She handed him a warm meat pie, wrapped in a serviette.

Darcy took the pie but did not eat as directed. "How am I meant to respond to such a statement?"

"Well, when somebody says eat this, you eat. You will feel better once you do. Then we can talk."

They ate without speaking, sharing the cider between them. Once they finished the pies, she handed him a pear. Elizabeth ate half of hers, giving the remainder to Frank. She returned to her seat, still facing away from Darcy.

"Thank you for sharing your repast with me, Miss Elizabeth. I do feel better."

"Longbourn's cook makes an excellent meat pie. The staff get them more frequently than I and I am always quite jealous."

"Can we speak of your last statement now?" Darcy began to wonder if eating was such a good idea. His stomach was in knots.

"Very well. I should not have said anything, but I appreciated your honesty and your efforts to thwart Mr. Collins yesterday so I feel as if I owe you the same honesty."

"I do not believe any good has ever come because one feels like they owe another," Darcy mumbled grumpily, though Elizabeth ignored him.

"If you would have asked me if I liked you just three days ago, you would have received a different answer. You came into our community, convinced of your superiority, and you were disagreeable and rude."

"I feel as though my honesty yesterday had a much different trajectory than yours. There is no need for you to continue."

"Stop grumbling and let me finish. I think you will want to hear it."

"Go ahead, then."

"Oh, thank you, so magnanimous of you to allow me to finish answering a question you asked."

"And sarcasm helps, does it?"

"Fine! You can be so exasperating!" Elizabeth took a deep breath to steady herself. "I have been reevaluating our discussions and debates of the past. I find I judged you too harshly on some occasions and let some of my own prejudice color your words. But I have never had more stimulating conversation than with you. Even now with this bickering, I would rather talk to you than with almost anyone else I know. However, I am having trouble reconciling such a realization with the way you acted since you came into Meryton."

Darcy was stunned at her admission. She did not give him time to ponder what she said.

"Why would a man of education and sense deliberately show disdain to those who had no wish other than to welcome him into their community. Mr. Bingley accepted it as was proper. What great tragedy has befallen him by being nice? Of course, there is his relationship with Jane, but beyond that he has made the acquaintance of some kind people and delighted the town with his own hospitality. Nobody tried to lure him into shady investments or to take advantage of his good nature."

"But you like me now?"

"Perhaps I was wrong about the you being a man of sense. That is not the point."

"Actually, I think it is. And what happened to change your mind over the course of three days?"

"I think I have been frank enough-"

"Not you, Frank," Darcy said when the animal started to amble over.

"As I was saying, I have been fr-candid enough for the time being. It is your turn." Still, they remained on different sides to the tree, unable to see each other's expressions.

"When you ask why I would behave as I did upon my arrival and in subsequent encounters, I have no excuses. I do think my prejudices influenced me just as yours did. I was unkind and it was unfair. It was not my finest hour. I had just arrived; I was tired from travel and immediately set upon by both Bingley and his sister. I had also recently experienced a very profound personal failure, that resulted in harm to the one dearest to me, the wound of which was, and is still, very raw.

"I did not want to be pleased with anything or anyone. Then, within minutes of my entrance I hear a report of my annual income, along with comments on my appearance – a fine figure of a man, much handsomer than Bingley, and so on. More than anything, I was insulted for my friend. He has a pleasant countenance, and easy, unaffected manners. He thrives in company, yet here he was being overlooked by his neighbors, based on my more advantageous situation. Of course, that thought would never occur to him. And that made me unhappy with him, I thought him naïve and blind to not see the disrespect shown him. So, I wanted to dismiss everyone as they did him. That all this coincided with my own disinclination to dance or speak with others served me nicely and, thus, Bingley was touted as the superior character. And I was happy for it.

"As I said, I have no excuses only explanations, but it would be disingenuous for me to suggest that this was not my usual behavior. I know I am of a taciturn, resentful nature. I wield name and duty as weapons to protect myself and those I care about because, unfortunately, that is the reality of my situation. My trust is very hard to gain but quite easy to lose."

"And your disapprobation endured." Elizabeth resisted speaking of what she was most curious, the one dearest to Mr. Darcy. Was it his sister or was he romantically attached to another? She had never bothered to inquire. Given Miss Bingley's pursuit she assumed there was no romantic entanglement, but she could easily believe Miss Bingley might attempt to entice someone of Mr. Darcy's status and wealth, even if there was a previous understanding.

Darcy was unaware of the thoughts speeding through Elizabeth's mind. He just wanted to get this next part out. "Not for everything. When next we met, your smile and laughter attracted me, and I realized how much I regretted my behavior at the assembly, that I should not have said…well, never mind."

"Mr. Darcy, I know what you said and that you did not wish to dance with me. It does not bother me so much anymore."

"I am sorry. It should never have been a cause for bother. It was a falsehood and I should have never said such a thing. It is true I did not wish to dance, but I could have expressed myself better. And I find you much more than tolerable. In fact, I think you one of the most handsome women of my acquaintance."

"You never said anything."

"We both know we are saying more than is proper even now. So early in our acquaintance, I could not, for a variety of reasons. When we finally had the opportunity to speak, I, too, valued our conversations. I thought you might…but then I realize that, often, when you laughed, and even in our conversations at Netherfield, you were making sport of me. Though, there is no doubt I deserved it."

"How do we find ourselves here, then?" asked Elizabeth blushing at that truth.

Darcy finally rose to stretch his legs and fetch Frank who had wandered away a bit. He just shrugged, "You said you liked me."

"You asked me if I liked you," Elizabeth countered.

"When I saw him standing so close to you, I knew I had much to consider. I could not stand idly by."

"So, we have Mr. Collins to thank for this remarkable candor?

"Well, him too."

Elizabeth's brow furrowed as she thought back, "Mr. Wickup?"

Darcy chuckled, "Wickham. George Wickham. I had not allowed myself to acknowledge my feelings for you, but then I saw that scoundrel Wickham standing there, the smug bounder. Needless to say, I had a visceral reaction; I could think of nothing but keeping him away from you, from hurting you. And then, yes, there was Mr. Collins. I realized that I very much dislike the thought of any man standing next to you but me."

"Is that a declaration, Mr. Darcy?"

"It could be." He sat down again, this time in front of her, crossing his legs and pulling them in close to his body. He looked very young, Elizabeth thought.

"What is required for such a declaration?" she asked.

"A willing recipient would be nice," Darcy replied, still unsure of Elizabeth's intentions. "You said you liked me."

"As you have reminded me once before."

"And you have evaded me once before. What changed three days ago?"

Elizabeth plucked at the grass beyond the edge of her blanket, "It will sound odd to say this, but Mr. Wickham and Mr. Collins also led me to some realizations. I saw your actions and words in a different light. You may not have wished to converse with Mrs. Long at the assembly but, ultimately, you did her a greater good by ensuring her nieces were protected from the likes of Mr. Wickham. You may not think highly of my family, but you are not standing in the way of Mr. Bingley courting my sister. You may not find me as accomplished as other young ladies, but you do me the courtesy of listening when I speak and respecting my intelligence. I feel as if a veil has been lifted and I am able to see things differently." She chewed on her lower lip for a few seconds, as if unsure if she was done speaking, before she blurted out one final statement as she looked away. "I think you are among the most handsome men of my acquaintance, too."

"Of course you do," Mr. Darcy tone was full of arrogance and she whipped her head back to glare at him only to find him smiling sheepishly.

"I am teasing, Miss Elizabeth. You need not worry I have reverted to my previous behavior. I just did not want you to feel embarrassed. I am pleased you think me attractive. I will not apologize for finding you so. And I find you attractive in so very many ways." He was thoughtful for a moment, then continued, his decision made. "May I call on you later today at Longbourn?"

"You have to know what my mother will make of that. I am not trying to dissuade you, but you need to be prepared for what her reaction may be."

"That is a yes?"

"That is a yes, Mr. Darcy, and a warning. Please be sure you truly know your own mind about this."

"Bingley will have my head if I do not, I am sure."

"Has Mr. Bingley so much influence over his friends?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

"It appears he does, and I do not think I can begrudge him that." He ran his hand through his hair in a nervous gesture. "I should return to Netherfield. I have a very important visit for which to prepare. I shall have my valet lay out my finest waistcoat," Darcy stated.

He stood and helped Elizabeth to her feet. Elizabeth gathered up her things as Darcy mounted his horse. He remained, watching her as she headed back toward Longbourn. When she had gone maybe twenty feet, she turned back to wave, then cupping her hand to the side of her mouth, she shouted, "The grey and blue one. Your waistcoat. It is my favorite."

Darcy turned back to Netherfield with a grin on his face.