*This story is copyright protected.

Elizabeth could not recall her journey back to Gracechurch street. She paid no attention to the plush upholstery nor the houses whirring past. She was too preoccupied at her own daring to call upon a gentleman alone at his bachelor residence in the early hours of the morning! What if she had been recognised? She could have made everything so much worse! It was now starting to grow busy outside. How long had she been there? Would the Gardiner's be awake when she got back? She scrambled desperately for a suitable excuse but the best her addled brain could produce was to say that she had gone to walk in the park to clear her head. She was known for her early morning walks in Hertfordshire. They would surely disapprove of her venturing out so early and without a chaperone, but it would be far better than the truth.

Thankfully, her worrying was for nothing. She entered the house all was still quiet within, except for a few servants in the kitchen preparing breakfast. She crept up to her room, just managing to change into her night dress before collapsing upon her bed and promptly passed out, allowing her exhaustion to finally overtake her. Elizabeth was so exhausted, she managed to sleep through breakfast, her aunt waking her just before luncheon. Elizabeth lay abed a little longer, stretching her limbs, before everything that had happened came crashing back to her. With everything that had happened recently, she was now as confused as ever about her feelings towards both Mr Wickham and Mr Darcy. She sat up and rubbed her eyes to clear the sleep from them, crying out in pain, she had forgotten her accident. She cringed, remembering vividly how she had bled all over Mr Darcy's study, and the cherry atop the cake, was having him plug her nostrils with his cravat, she groaned to herself in mortification at the memory!

Her hand flew up to her mouth in horror! Had her aunt noticed? Elizabeth scrambled off of the bed and dashed to the small vanity table in the room, pausing before trying to prepare herself. After counting to five, she hesitantly stepped toward the looking glass. Breathing a relieved sigh, seeing that there was no obvious bruising. She simply looked tired. At least she could relax, knowing there was no interrogation awaiting her when she went downstairs.

After selecting her pale green day dress, it was not her favourite, but her choices were limited. In her rush Elizabeth, had only packed three dresses in her hasty departure for London. She laid it upon the bed and quickly hurried to get washed and dressed, ready to join her family downstairs. Her hair arranged in a simple bun, she checked her appearance once more before leaving the room, she found her thoughts dominated by her meeting with Mr Darcy, but it was not just the words spoken that had her so distracted, it was Mr Darcy's image. Though she loathed to admit it, she was trying to look her best for when he arrived later that afternoon, that is if he should decide to honour his promise and call upon her Uncle Gardiner as they had planned.

So distracted was she, that she nearly missed a step. Catching herself and grasping the wooden banister to regain her balance, Elizabeth leant against the wall with a hand on her heart and thought of how different he had looked. His glare was still sharp and cold as usual, but he had been unkempt with his unruly hair slightly longer than she was used to seeing it and the shadow of stubble across his jaw giving his usually polished visage a rugged and dangerous handsomeness. Begrudgingly, she acknowledged that she had always thought him handsome, even if his manners were severely lacking! She had to give credit to him, after the initial shock at seeing her, he had behaved better than most would in that situation. Elizabeth felt a blush warm her cheeks and brought the backs of her hands up to them in an attempt to cool them.

"Goodness me, I must eat something before I become even more delusional!" scolding herself. A man as proud as Mr Darcy did not change, he was still hard and immovable as stone. How her father would tease her if he saw how she was behaving, over Mr Darcy of all…

"Papa!" she gasped. Shame washed over her. How could she be so self-absorbed, she felt a strong wave of remorse, her bottom lip quivering. She had not thought of him or Lydia since waking. Instead, she had been more preoccupied with the colour of Mr Darcy's eyes of all things.

"Oh, foolish Lizzy!" speaking aloud to herself.

Moving quickly down the last few steps, she headed straight for her father's room. Upon her arrival, she found that he was being attended to. Elizabeth asked to be informed when they were finished so that she could sit and read to him for a while. With a heavy sigh, she went down the final flight of stairs to the dining room to find her uncle and aunt looking up at her entrance. Elizabeth smiled to her to them both, noticing that the children were not present and must have already eaten. She wandered over to the sideboard to make herself a plate of cold meat cuts, cheese, apple and bread before sitting at the table opposite her aunt and to the right of her uncle.

"Now that you have joined us Lizzy, I have some astonishing news that might interest you both," exclaimed Mr Gardiner somewhat bemused.

"What is it Uncle?" asked Elizabeth, pouring herself some tea.

"I received a note from Mr Darcy," he stated. "I believe you are acquainted with the gentleman Lizzy. The same Mr Darcy that refused to stand up with you and supposedly treated Mr Wickham very ill!"

When Elizabeth failed to utter a word, he continued further. "Does this not shock you Lizzy? Especially after his behaviour in Meryton? Mr Darcy!"

"Yes, indeed uncle. What he could he mean by contacting you?" said Elizabeth feigning ignorance.

"Well, as you mentioned before, he truly is a man of few words..." He chuckled quietly. "He starts with the usual introductions and says that he has received some upsetting information regarding our mutual acquaintance with Mr Wickham. Mr Darcy goes on to say he does not wish to commit anything further to paper, but asks if he can call on me this afternoon, as he may be of some assistance to us." Finished Mr Gardiner looking to Elizabeth expectantly.

"Mr Darcy says that he wants to help us?" Mrs Gardiner said with a look of disbelief toward her husband. She then turned to Elizabeth, "But Lizzy if he is as disagreeable as you told us, why should he want to help us?"

"I am as shocked as you are, Aunt. I cannot imagine what has compelled him to offer his assistance."

"Was there anything else, Edward? Do you think Mr Darcy could have any answers?" said her Aunt, but her Uncle simply shook his head. "I have to say that I was a little shocked at your description of the young Mr Darcy, Lizzy. As you know, I grew up in Lambton, which is but five miles from Pemberley, and the Darcy's were always respected landlords and members of society. Their tenants and staff never have an unkind word to say about them. I confess, I feel slightly giddy at the prospect of him visiting our home Edward." She said nervously, squeezing her husband's hand who in turn smiled at her comfortingly.

Feeling a little uncomfortable for having to deceive them so, Elizabeth spoke to mask her discomfort.

"How did you respond, Uncle? Will you meet with him?" she asked, clearing her throat.

"Of course! We are in no position to refuse someone of his influence, especially as he may be the key to locating our Lydia. I am feeling a little more positive, that we may have some direction to go in after I meet with Mr Darcy." He said with sigh, his earlier exuberance waning at the reminder of the severity of the situation.

"Dearest Lizzy, I can feel your apprehension but let us try to be open minded. The gentleman must be a good fellow, for him to be offering to help us with such a delicate situation when it has no impact on him. What should it matter to him what will happen to our family? We should consider the possibility that since we were wrong about Mr Wickham's character, we may have been wrong regarding Mr Darcy's." stated her Aunt fairly, sounding very much like her dear Jane.

Lizzy thought much on the points, that her Aunt was making and did not have the energy at present to argue. The most likely reality of all this was that Mr Wickham would not have turned into the villain that he is, if not for the cruelty he had suffered at Mr Darcy's hand. Therefore, she looked at her Aunt and smiled reassuringly her gaze down to her plate with a slight frown. Her feelings and thoughts regarding Mr Darcy were so conflicting and always ended up making her head and heart ache. Elizabeth was completely at a loss with how thinking of Mr Darcy can cause her to blush and then cause such anger. No, he may be handsome, but he is a man who has taken joy in toying with people as his wealth and power have allowed him to all his life. Elizabeth vowed that she would not allow him to toy with her. He was helping because he should, being that he was the root cause of all that had occurred. Mr Darcy was still the same disagreeable man he was in Hertfordshire.

"How is Papa doing? I tried to see him before joining you, but they are seeing to him at the moment." Elizabeth asked, feeling guilty at not having asked sooner.

"He is still as he was and has yet to wake up. But do not worry Lizzy, the doctor said that this was to be expected and to send for him if he is unchanged by the week's end." Her Uncle covered her hand with his reassuringly.

"Oh, Lizzy I almost forgot," said her Aunt passing her a letter. "This came for you this morning. I believe it is from Jane. Forgive me for not giving it to you when it arrived, I thought it best I let you rest. You have been through a great deal." said her Aunt reassuringly giving her hand a squeeze across the table.

"You are right, I really did need to rest." she squeezed her Aunt's hand back before reaching for the letter.

Elizabeth tore the letter open impatiently, daring to hope that Jane was writing to inform her that Lydia had returned home, and this had all been a silly misunderstanding. Her shoulders drooped after reading in silence for a few moments. Once Elizabeth had finished the letter, she looked up to inform her Aunt and Uncle that Jane would be leaving to join them without their mother to help with their search.

"Jane says, we should expect her by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. I confess it will be a great comfort to have her here," Elizabeth said feeling her spirits a lift a little further.

"I am glad, Lizzy. I had sent an express to Longbourn before I retired to appraise them of your father's condition, which will reach Jane before she departs. In which case, we will ready our guest bedrooms in anticipation of Mrs Bennet wanting to be here for Mr Bennet. Do not look so worried Lizzy, it will be a bit of a squeeze, but we shall manage." With that, he dabbed his lips with his napkin and left to deal with his correspondence in his study. Elizabeth managed a slice of toast before she was told that she could visit her father. Mr Bennet looked so fragile and pale lying there steadily breathing in and out. Elizabeth bent to kiss him on the forehead and occupied herself for a couple of hours reading to him in anticipation of Mr Darcy's impending visit.


Upon Elizabeth's departure, Mr Darcy made a start in readying himself for his meeting with Mr Gardiner. He called for his two right-hand men, Taylor and Wilson to make some enquiries into the whereabouts of Mrs Younge, who had always been loyal to Wickham. Lord knows why! But Darcy was sure of one thing. If Wickham was in London, Mrs Younge would know where he was hiding. Not surprisingly, Wickham did not have many friends left that he could call upon for assistance. He was impressed that his men had used their initiative and kept up-to-date with Mrs Younge's movements and knew she currently resided in the North of London, in a boarding house, in the Stamford hill area.

The two brothers had been in Darcy's employ since the passing of his father. He had gone for a ride after his father's departure from this earth and came across Taylor and Wilson lying unconscious in the road just outside of the Pemberley's border. They had been injured when the carriage they were driving had turned over. Mr Darcy had them brought back to Pemberley and upon speaking with them a day later, ascertained that they had stolen the carriage from the inn in Lambton. To this day, he did not know why he had not turned them over to the magistrate, but something had not seemed right. It soon became apparent that they had been extremely tight on funds. They had been trying to raise money to pay for a physician to save their sick mother. He was unsure as to what made him come to their aid even now, but he had never regretted his decision. Darcy gave them the necessary funds and had moved them and their mother into a cottage on the grounds of Pemberley whilst she recovered. In doing so, he had secured himself two very loyal footmen, who cared greatly for his and Georgiana's wellbeing.

As he had a lot to accomplish before the afternoon arrived, he gave instruction to Taylor and Wilson to be back before two o'clock this afternoon with an update, he had asked Jarvis to have a bath prepared for him in his apartments. Once in, he submerged himself beneath the hot water and allowed it to soothe the tension from his taut muscles. The ache in his chest started to weigh heavy as he began to sober up and reflect on his unexpected visit this morning. He had thought he was finished with Elizabeth Bennet and had made his peace with things… well he was getting there. Mr Darcy promptly rose from his bath and donned his robe, before he called for his valet, Mr Bilford. He would need to make himself presentable again if he were to face London in the harsh light of day...

He wasted no time instructing Bilford to give him a clean shave and cut his hair into his usual style. In an effort to be efficient and save time, he had requested a hearty breakfast for the first time in months, to be sent to his rooms. He found that his appetite had somewhat shrunk, but he made sure to eat enough to aid him in sobering up as quickly as possible.

Following his breakfast, whilst he awaited the return of Taylor and Wilson, he penned a note to Mr Gardiner requesting to see him later this afternoon, then a letter to Mr Bingley asking to meet with him tomorrow evening. Mr Darcy had not seen Charles Bingley since he had visited him after his return from Kent back in April and blurting out that he had hidden Miss Jane Bennet being in London from him. Understandably, Charles had reacted badly to this information: however, Darcy did not feel comfortable taking the full blame on his shoulders for separating Charles and the eldest Miss Bennet.

Charles had approached him, after the Netherfield ball, and asked him for his honest opinion on Miss Jane Bennet's feelings towards him. Bingley had explained that he was left feeling uncertain of her affections after having asked the same of his sisters. From that alone, he could only guess as to what Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst opinions on the matter had been. Their only interest was climbing the social ladder, and they were more than happy for their brother to be the sacrificial lamb for their endeavour.

Miss Bingley had said plainly that they had never heard the eldest Miss Bennet speak of him or to him with any more affection than she had any other acquaintance, no doubt with Mrs Hurst agreeing whole-heartedly. Darcy had been present on more than one occasion, when Bingley's sisters had proclaimed that it would be insupportable to bond himself permanently, with a family such as the Bennet's.

With a heavy heart, Mr Darcy had said that he agreed with their observations of her feelings toward him. After all, was he not entitled to that opinion? It was not he, but Bingley's sisters, that had pushed him into leaving Netherfield to spend Christmas in London. He was a grown man and if he had felt so strongly towards Miss Bennet, he should have fought harder for her, stood up to his bullish sister's and requested the girl's permission for a courtship regardless of anyone else's opinion! A fact, which Darcy had mentioned to Charles that had only added to his displeasure. And, as he had not been his usual staid self, he had gone against his better judgement and carried on belittling Bingley's feelings, and they argued in a way he had not known his friend capable.

They had not seen each other since their argument but had kept up a correspondence. They never broached the topic of their argument in their letters and both decided it best if it were to be ignored; however, even through his letters, Darcy could feel their friendship was different, strained and awkward. Darcy now acknowledged that he owed him one hell of an apology for keeping Miss Bennet's presence in London a secret. He would do this in person, no matter how uncomfortable it made him. It was a petty thing he had done and not the actions of a true friend. He knew that Bingley would have wanted to know if Jane were in London and acted without a thought to his friend's feelings. It was no excuse, but he had not been himself. Darcy could only hope that he wasn't too late, and that Charles would forgive him…