When they were ready to leave for Lambton, the ladies were assisted into the carriage by the footman who had been assigned by Darcy to accompany them wherever they wanted to go. Then he climbed up to sit beside the coachman. Georgiana explained to the other ladies, "Fitzwilliam suggested that Brian go with us as he is from Lambton and knows almost everyone there."

Mrs. Gardiner was interested in hearing this, "Brian, what is your family name?"

"Curtis, Ma'am."

She thought for a moment, "I remember the Curtis family, but I did not know them well. Brian, do you remember my father, the Reverend Donald Barrie? He was the pastor in Lambton until he was asked to take over a parish in London. That was quite some years ago."

"I recall the name being mentioned, but that is all. I must have been a youngster when you left."

"It was about twenty years ago, so I imagine there have been quite a few changes in the village since then. I hope that some of my former friends are still here."

Even though the ladies chatted merrily all the way to the village, Elizabeth took the opportunity to look carefully at the grounds, fields, and woods that were part of the Pemberley estate. She marveled at how extensive they were, especially compared to Longbourn. She could not help but think, 'To be mistress of all this would be something, indeed.'

The ladies had an enjoyable time in Lambton. Georgiana eagerly pointed out her favourite shops and they descended from the landau to walk in the center of the village. Georgiana invited them to enter several shops to inspect the goods they carried. Elizabeth, from her knowledge of the importance of the local gentry's trade in a small town, made sure to purchase something in each shop, as did her aunt. When Georgiana told the shopkeepers to put the costs on the Pemberley account, her offer was rejected by the two ladies, who said that they had sufficient pin money with them. Of course, they did this very politely so as not to offend the young lady, thanking her for her generous offer.

Elizabeth noticed the excitement that the Pemberley landau caused wherever they went; it was obviously well known. She was pleased to note the respect they received in the shops and by everyone who noticed them; this reception showed that the Darcys were held in high esteem in the area. In each shop Mrs. Gardiner explained who her family was and asked about friends she had known when she lived here. She was pleased to hear that several of them were still in the area. Brian, who had carefully followed them into each shop, made note of the names that she said she would like to visit so he could guide her to their homes whenever she was ready. He was sure that word of her arrival and interest would soon be known by everyone in Lambton.

All three ladies were satisfied with their excursion and decided to repeat it, both to visit the shops again and so Mrs. Gardiner could visit her former friends. As Brian expected, word of their trip to the village was soon spread throughout the area. That the former Madeline Barrie, who was now Mrs. Gardiner, was staying at Pemberley as a guest of the Darcys elevated her significantly in the view of all her former friends and everyone who remembered her father. Speculation ranged widely about her niece, this Mrs. Elizabeth Collins, who was soon known to be a widow. Was she merely accompanying her aunt or was there something else? Those who met her said that she was very friendly and polite. Everyone in the area wanted only the best for both Darcys, so they would be questioning the Curtis family to find out the reasons for their visit. Surely Brian would have an idea about this.

The ladies were having tea in the drawing room when Darcy and Mr. Gardiner came in. From their smiles, it was obvious that their fishing expedition had been successful. Mr. Gardiner was the first to speak. "Fresh fish for dinner tonight! This was the best fishing I have ever had." He looked slyly at his host. "I hope we left some for the next time we go out."

Darcy just laughed, "I am not worried about that; there are plenty more left." He turned to the ladies, "Mr. Gardiner certainly showed his expertise today. The fish never had a chance. His skill put me to shame."

They all laughed at this. Mrs. Gardiner replied, "Edward, I hope you will be able to tear yourself away from the fish to accompany me when I want to visit my friends in Lambton. This morning I learned there are several still here that I knew quite well. I am eager to see them again."

Georgiana spoke up to her brother, "Mrs. Gardiner's family is well remembered by everyone we talked to. They all said they were sorry when the Reverend Mr. Barrie left to go to London."

This led Darcy to comment on what he had heard about that, even though he was quite young when the family left. They then spoke about what their plans were while they were here.

The rest of that day was spent pleasantly by everyone. Darcy had to spend some time with his steward on estate business, so Georgiana invited Elizabeth to practice a duet while the Gardiners rested. After dinner, the young ladies entertained everyone with lively music, laughing whenever either made a mistake in their duet. Darcy sat back, once again dreaming of spending many evenings in this exact manner. He only had to convince Elizabeth, as he thought of her, to accept his attentions. After the way she had accepted his embrace, he expected that he eventually would be successful if he went about courting her properly. He was quite sure that together they would overcome her fears.

The next morning when Elizabeth came down early, she again found Darcy waiting for her. He offered his arm, which she was pleased to accept as she was feeling more comfortable to be with him. This time they went farther from the house and followed one of the paths that led into the woods.

After speaking of inconsequential things, he finally turned to the most important topic. "Mrs. Collins, I have been considering everything we spoke about yesterday. In my mind, the most important potential problem that you raised was your concern if you could accept any man's attentions. If I may be so bold, I would like to make a suggestion, if you will allow me." He looked at her, waiting for her response.

"Please, go ahead. I am listening."

"I certainly do not want to embarrass you, but when I held you in my arms, you did not seem to object. I know what I am about to say may be most inappropriate, but I understand your concerns. I can only hope that you have been considering what I said and have not rejected my hopes out of hand."

When she did not respond, he continued. "My suggestion is that we slowly work on your fear of being held close by me to try to overcome it. I believe we made a start on this as you are able to take my arm when we walk, then my holding you. I would like to continue to take you in my arms quite often, with the understanding that you may stop me as soon as you begin to feel uncomfortable. Please do not think that I only want to take advantage of you or to compromise you. My suggestion may be inappropriate, but I believe that the end result, if it is successful, will be satisfactory to both of us. To be completely honest, I cannot begin to tell you how much I enjoyed having you in my arms; it just felt right." He hoped he was not embarrassing her too much by his candor. He tried to smile encouragingly at her, which she noticed.

She responded, "I have also been considering our discussion. As you are being very honest with me, I feel that I should be as well.

"Mr. Darcy, while our first acquaintance in Meryton did not begin well, I have come to appreciate that you are a good man and a real gentleman. I still believe that I do not know you well enough to decide if we would make a good couple, but I am willing to give our relationship a chance. I was surprised that when you held me, I was not repulsed as I had expected I would be; I actually found it comforting. I am willing to try what you suggest." She then smiled up at him.

He took this as an invitation, so he put his arms around her and gently pulled her to him. She allowed herself to accept this and instinctively put her head against his chest. He murmured, "Oh, Elizabeth! This feels so right. Please give us a chance. Let me love you. You deserve to be loved."

She pulled herself away from him, although slowly, surprised by his words. She looked up at him, "Mr. Darcy, please do not go so fast. Give me a chance to get to know you better and to see if my feelings for you will grow. I have to learn to accept you." She took his arm and began to walk slowly back to the manor house. "I have to admit that being held by you does feel good. When you said that I should let you love me, I did not know how to respond. Since my marriage, I have not thought that I would be loved by any man. My experiences with men have not led me to believe that. First, my husband," he could feel her shiver, so he pulled her closer to him, "then Mr. Wickham, then your cousin. They all wanted me only for something other than love.

"I will need time to accept this, but I will not reject your hopes out of hand."

Darcy found that he was smiling, "Will you accept my request for a courtship? That will give us time to get to know each other better."

"I would much prefer to get to know you better before we formalize anything, if that is acceptable to you."

"Certainly. As long as there is a chance for us, I will do whatever you want."

When they arrived back at the house, once again everyone looked at them closely to try to determine if any decisions had been reached.

As soon as Mrs. Gardiner found a chance to speak to Elizabeth alone, she asked her about her relationship with Mr. Darcy. "Aunt, to tell you the truth, I am confused. He spoke to me about a possible future together, but I told him all my doubts about the differences between our positions and my fear of men. He is being very patient with me and has actually held me in his arms twice. I have to admit that I found this comforting and not disgusting as I had feared. I do like and admire him, but I still have concerns if my history will allow me to be a proper wife to any man. I will say that he is the first man that I have ever considered in such a positive light."

"Lizzy, I am pleased to hear that. I can only suggest you do not rush into any decision. Give yourself time to see if you will be able to love him. In truth, I hope you do as I believe he could make you happy; I know he is a very good person. You saw how respected his family is in Lambton."

Her aunt's words had a strong effect on Elizabeth as she was sure that the Gardiners wanted only the best for her and her whole family.

The few days until Elizabeth's sisters arrived were full but extremely enjoyable. The Gardiners made a trip into Lambton, accompanied by Brian who took them wherever they wanted. Mr. Gardiner spent more time reducing the number of fish in Pemberley's waters. He could not have hoped for a better vacation. Georgiana spent as much time as she could in Elizabeth's company, having realized what her brother's hopes were. When she spoke to him about this, she told him how much she hoped they would find happiness together.

When Kitty and Lydia arrived, they were greeted excitedly by both Elizabeth and Georgiana. The girls talked excitedly about Jane's estate and how they had enjoyed their time in Warwickshire. The three youngest became inseparable and were always together. Mrs. Gardiner spent many hours in Lambton, sometimes accompanied by Elizabeth or her husband whenever he could be persuaded to leave the fish alone and she was not in Darcy's company. Their growing closeness was obvious to everyone, which led to many whispered comments among the young girls, who tried to think of ways to encourage them. Naturally, this meant that usually Darcy and Elizabeth often ended up alone as their conspiring chaperones always managed to go off separately. This pleased him as he took advantage of the situation by holding her as often as he dared. He even began to murmur compliments to her without being too overt in his attempts to convince her they would make a good couple. On her part, Elizabeth found that she even looked forward to these alone times. She even began to initiate their close contact and took his arm whenever she could. Darcy began to wonder when he might even kiss her, even if it was just on her forehead or cheeks. He was sure that he was making good progress with her.