As they sat in Mrs Gardiner's parlour, waiting for the gentlemen, Jane fidgeted so nervously that Elizabeth nearly feared for her dress. She could barely restrain her laughter; she had never seen her sister so distracted before, much less with such a conventional source. Jane's anxiety after Lydia's elopement was nothing to this; she had then been somewhat collected at least, while now, she scarcely seemed to have an idea of where she was. Mrs Gardiner hid her smiles, and Elizabeth resolved to tell Darcy about it later, when they were relatively alone. It would make him laugh.

"Mr Darcy, Miss Darcy, and Mr Bingley, ma'am."

Elizabeth very nearly started with astonishment. Darcy had only said that his sister was at Pemberley, but would come down to Hertfordshire for the wedding. She suspected - although it was not a matter she, or he, could speak of - that he was not eager to have Georgiana exposed to the young ladies who lived around Meryton, especially Kitty. Nevertheless, here she was.

She looked rather frightened, although this was so habitual an expression with her, it was difficult to tell if she was upset by anything in particular, and clung to her brother's arm. They all greeted her warmly, however, and she seemed somewhat reassured.

"I am very glad we are to be sisters," she told Elizabeth shyly. "I thought - that is, I hoped - well, my brother has always thought very highly of you, and he is so happy . . ." Both glanced at Darcy, who was speaking earnestly to Mr Gardiner about something. He seemed to feel the attention, and glanced up, smiling briefly before returning to his conversation. "It is - pleasant," Miss Darcy struggled on, "to see him do something - to please himself. I was very afraid he would end up with someone who just liked him for his fortune and consequence."

Darcy was too clever and too perceptive to be fooled by the most accomplished fortune-hunter, and Elizabeth nearly made a remark to that effect, before recalling Georgiana's own experience. The younger lady's face was very grave and pale as she spoke, and Elizabeth impulsively touched her hand. "He has much to recommend him besides that," she said, smiling. "I am certain many could have liked him on his own merits."

Miss Darcy smiled shyly. "My brother is a great man," she said simply. "All those who know him are fond of him."

"I am very glad to hear it. Somehow, I had the impression that he was not on very friendly terms with your aunt."

"Oh, well, Lady Ravenshaw is . . ." The younger girl looked briefly caught. "I do not think she likes young people very much, especially handsome ones - and Fitzwilliam - "

" - is very handsome indeed," cried Elizabeth, laughing.

"Yes. I . . . everyone says I look like my brother, but I am not half so like as she is, and by blood, she is only my mother's cousin. I wish - I always feel - " She stopped, looking at Elizabeth with large anxious eyes.

"Miss Darcy, we are to be sisters." Guided entirely by instinct, she reached out to press her warm hands around one of Georgiana's cold ones. "You may say whatever you wish to me."

"I do not know what it is like," Georgiana said timidly. Elizabeth could feel the strong slender fingers shaking beneath her own. "I have never had a sister. Even my cousins are much older than I am, except Cecily, and Fitzwilliam does not want me very friendly with her."

Elizabeth with an effort concealed her surprise at this. "Well, I am certain he wishes you to be very friendly with me."

The other girl returned her smile tentatively. "Yes, he does. I . . . I was only going to say, Miss Elizabeth, that . . . when I am next to Fitzwilliam or Lisle or Ella or Lady Ravenshaw or - I always feel so dreadfully homely."

Elizabeth felt an instant sympathy. Georgiana suffered nothing worse than the awkwardness of a girl caught halfway between child and adult. The Fitzwilliam features were too strong for her round girlish face, but that would change in time, just as she would grow into her tall womanly figure.

"I understand," Elizabeth assured her. "My own sister - well, you have seen Jane. No one but your brother would ever think me her equal, and even he did not, at first."

Georgiana blushed fiercely. "He only wanted to make Mr Bingley leave him alone," she said earnestly. "He can be terribly persistent sometimes - Mr Bingley, I mean. Not my brother. Although he can be, too . . . not terribly, of course . . ."

"Your brother told you about that, did he? So you see, he did not think me even very pretty and fell in love with me nonetheless. You need not be concerned, Miss Darcy, for you are much handsomer than I."

"Oh no, I am not. And he did think you very pretty, he said so, when - " Elizabeth's eyebrows rose. "He wrote to me about you . . . quite a bit. Fitzwilliam and I always write about everything, because we have been apart for so much of our lives. It was only a few weeks after you first met that he said you were a beauty after all, but not the way other women were. He said it didn't mean anything with them - it was just how they looked - but that you were different." She frowned. "I am still not quite certain what he meant by that."

"We shall have to ask him, then!"

"Oh, I couldn't." Miss Darcy glanced towards her brother, her expression both awed and affectionate. "I probably should not have mentioned it - but you are to be married and you shall be my sister, so there is nothing wrong with it, is there? Or should I have asked first?"

"My dear Miss Darcy," said Elizabeth, "I am quite sure he will not mind."

"I - Miss Elizabeth, I - I hope it is not - impertinent of me to ask, but - since we are to be sisters, would - would you mind using my Christian name?"

"Certainly not," Elizabeth said warmly, "if you will call me Elizabeth, or even Lizzy, as my own sisters do."

Georgiana smiled shyly. "I would like that, E-Elizabeth. I think that is a beautiful name. My great-grandmother was an Elizabeth, though everybody called her Lizzy. She died before I was born but my brother was very fond of her."

"That explains why he insists Lizzy does not suit me."

"I do not suppose he spends much time thinking of her when he is with you," Georgiana said, then blushed fiercely. "Oh dear - did I say that aloud?"

Elizabeth laughed. "I will not tell him, I promise."

"Oh, I would not keep anything from Fitzwilliam," Georgiana cried. Her fervour startled Elizabeth, until she recalled the girl's history. The confidence subsisting between brother and sister - however unbalanced the attachment seemed to Elizabeth - had saved her from the life that awaited Lydia. The thought immediately sobered her.

Once again, Darcy had arrived without Bingley, and was closeted away in Mr Gardiner's study. After a moment of speculation, the latter emerged, and smiled rather wearily at Elizabeth.

"Please come in, Lizzy," he said. "Mr Darcy would like to speak to you."

Elizabeth started at the formality. "Why - "

"On what might be termed business," Mr Gardiner said gently. Elizabeth's brows furrowed, but she gave her parcels to a servant and followed her uncle into the study. Darcy was standing near the window, looking as deeply uncomfortable as she had seen him in a long while.

"Elizabeth," he said, then continued in a practised tone, "I will of course give this to your father and we may discuss it a later juncture, if you would like, but I thought you might prefer to make, er, your wishes known at present, while we are still in town and it is simpler to make adjustments."

"Adjustments? To wha - oh." She looked at several papers neatly piled amid Mr Gardiner's organised clutter and felt Darcy's palpable anxiety briefly settling over her. Nonsense, she told herself. I always knew this would come. She had felt the disparity between them from the first; indeed, he had made certain that she and everyone else knew of it. Perhaps it had not seemed quite real until lately, but she could not be surprised, she was not surprised. Nevertheless, it was impossible to be easy. Mr Gardiner patted her shoulder sympathetically.

"I am - I do not really - I trust you, Fitzwilliam," she finally managed to say. Darcy relaxed a little, and he gave her the first open, warm smile she had seen for days. She held out her hand. "This does not matter, really - I would have loved you if you only had a tenth as much - you know, and I know, and we are the only ones that matter."

His fingers curled around hers. Even now, when they stole kisses every evening and most mornings, it was enough to make her shiver a little. She hoped it still would do so years into their marriage. "Yes, of course," said he, a little breathless. Mr Gardiner gave them an amused, affectionate smile. "Nevertheless, it is important, Elizabeth. You will be my wife, and it will reflect on you, on my regard for you. It is not - right, but that is how it will be seen. You do understand?"

Reluctantly, she nodded. She did not have to like it, but they could not pretend that society had no claims on them. They were not only who they were, but what they were. She was marrying a wealthy man, and such things were only to be expected. Even this practical resolve, however, was quickly overwhelmed as he outlined the terms of the settlement.

"Almost five thousand a-year?" she protested. "What on earth would I do with that?"

"Four thousand nine hundred sixty-seven pounds a year, and that only after I am dead. I would not leave you dependent on anyone else's generosity, Elizabeth," he explained. Elizabeth shuddered a little. Looking at him right now, tall and handsome and in the full vigour of youth, it seemed impossible that one day - No. I shall not think of it. "It may not be precisely that sum," he added, "it depends on inflation and taxes and so forth. Naturally my income during the marriage will vary somewhat."

"Naturally." Elizabeth arched an eyebrow at him, and he sighed, before elaborating on her jointure.

"Fitzwilliam, I do not need - oh, never mind. Let us hope you will be the survivor, my love - everything will be much simpler that way."

Darcy blinked, then said cautiously, "Pemberley is not entailed."

"That is a great comfort to me - and to my mother."

Mr Gardiner, who had just sipped on his tea, choked violently.

"Are you quite well, sir?"

Mr Gardiner nodded weakly, and Elizabeth bit her lip.

"Fifty thousand pounds will be set aside, at present, for any daughters and younger sons, to be divided at our discretion," Darcy continued serenely.

Elizabeth caught her breath. "Fifty thousand? Fitzwilliam, what have you done?"

"Oh, the family has acquired a bit of that sort of wealth, here and there," he said vaguely. "It seemed a nice round sum."

"A nice rou - " Her eyes narrowed. Was he teasing her? Surely not in such a grave matter - he was! She laughed in delight; Mr Gardiner looked pleased, presumably that his lively niece need not provide all the spirit in their family. Darcy himself only smiled a little.

"That is what I have been so busy with - consolidating my interests so that I might provide adequately for you and our children."

"Only you," said Elizabeth, smiling affectionately to hide her very real discomfort, "would consider fifty thousand pounds merely adequate."

"Anything will likely have to be augmented later on," he said practically. "I might as well set the bulk of it aside now."

Of course. Even fifty thousand pounds, split among two younger children, would not equal the present Miss Darcy's fortune. Elizabeth was not so much of a starry-eyed romantic as to fail to realise why he had been so unprepared for these arrangements; he had expected to marry an heiress, who would supply much of it herself. Money was a topic they were still rather uncomfortable discussing. Elizabeth did not particularly care about Darcy's fortune - he had enough to support them comfortably, and that was all that mattered, or so she told herself. Nevertheless it remained an awkward, unpleasant subject, and of course children had to be thought of.

Really, she had not considered them at all, except as the natural consequences of marriage. Elizabeth glanced at Darcy. She would never accept a man for his looks, but she was glad her children would have handsome parents. Would they be tall, like their father and aunts? would they have Elizabeth's brown skin and dark eyes, or Darcy's fairer colouring?

With a sudden fierceness, equal to anything she had felt at the height of her humiliation in Hertfordshire, she longed to be married, to leave Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn behind and become Elizabeth Darcy of Pemberley.