Mr. Darcy watched Elizabeth Bennet sleep on the bench across from him. She had fallen asleep almost instantly after they had left the inn. He had noticed that she had not asked to retrieve any belongings from the inn. She must have told the truth when she said that she had nothing. Mr. Darcy had heard of poor, naive country girls forced to work in brothels in London, but Elizabeth was neither poor nor naive. He adjusted his position and leaned back against the carriage.

For her to be so desperate as to take a carriage offered by the 'family' she would be employed by, must mean her family was in dire straits. He flicked his eyes back to the sleeping woman across from him and dragged his eyes along her well-worn dress that no longer hugged her body as he had seen it do before. Elizabeth must have been starved or worked nearly to the bone for she was alarmingly thinner. Mr. Darcy eyed what had previously been an admirable pair of breasts but was now smaller. Her hips as well did not excite him as they used to.

Mr. Darcy tilted his head up to stare at the ceiling and cool his ardor. He had dreamed of Elizabeth, her hips breaking the line of her dresses, her breasts filling out her dress, her plump derriere swaying as she walked away from him. Now the only asset she had left were her large whiskey-colored eyes in a too thin and pale face. He would give Cook at Pemberley orders to plump her back up.

His eyes were drawn again to the bedraggled woman. Even though it was obvious she was starving, owned nothing, she still would not compromise her principles. She was an admirable woman. His smile dimmed as he knew what Elizabeth had said earlier was very much true, her reputation was ruined. Even though she had never touched the brothel in London, the fact that she worked without a chaperone in a common public inn for many weeks meant she was no longer of society. She would be shunned by people that were once her friends. Her relatives would not want her to live with them for she would taint their families by association. It was an unfair situation she was in through no fault of her own.

Mr. Darcy filled with anger and rage at those men that had tricked Elizabeth. He glared out the window. How dare they take such a wonderful woman and force her to run for her life? She should never have ended up working her clothes threadbare, starved in an inn far off the main roads. She should have been wed to an intelligent man who would have appreciated her wit and nature.

He turned his head to stare at her again. What would he do with her? Elizabeth was right in that by bringing her to Pemberley, his reputation but most importantly his sister's reputation would be affected. But that was only if anyone knew.

Mr. Darcy knew his servants would not talk of the happenings inside Pemberley. But how could he keep Elizabeth away from his sister? He shook his head. He could not.

He punched his bench in ire. Damn and blast! He refused to let Elizabeth live in lowered circumstances. He would not turn his back on her though it warred greatly with his duty to stick to the laws of society and be the perfect gentleman. Would he not be a gentleman by helping one less fortunate? Someone he had once offered for? Society rules would state that he was to avoid her like the plague.

Mr. Darcy shifted on the bench and crossed his arms. It was a deuced problem and he still did not know what to do as his carriage swiftly rolled on to Pemberley. He had better come up with something and quickly as they would arrive just after nightfall.

Elizabeth finally awoke confused until she stared at him, then she flushed.

"You slept for many hours. We still have a few hours before we arrive at Pemberley. There is a posting inn we will reach soon where you can change and get some supper."

Elizabeth flushed even worse and looked to the side of him. "Thank you. That will be quite welcome."

Mr. Darcy debated whether to ask for the last time she had eaten. Elizabeth was significantly thinner than the last time he had seen her at Rosings Park. She was thin with red and worn hands. Had she only been there three months?

Elizabeth glanced at him and looked away. He studied her clothing and frowned. She would not be able to go into the posting inn wearing that threadbare dress. She had probably worn that dress every day for a few months. It was worn so thin it was nearly transparent in places. He could not stop staring at the thin transparent fabric of her dress across her chest. Her chemise was also so worn that he could detect the darkened skin underneath of her areola and nipple.

Mr. Darcy swallowed and dragged his eyes away. It must have been a trial keeping men's hands off of her while she worked at that inn. She never should have been reduced to that life. He scowled that men could prey upon daughters of gentlemen without repercussion.

The carriage slowed and turned into the yard of their next stop, another posting inn.

Mr. Darcy cleared his throat. "I think it would be best if you stayed in the carriage."

Elizabeth flushed and again did not look at him, but slightly to the side. "Thank you, however, I need to refresh myself."

He flattened his lips at the only other solution. "Then I will send a maid from the inn with a chamber pot and you can stay -"

She finally looked at him."No! I will not use a... refresh myself in the carriage with a stranger!"

Mr. Darcy looked away. "Miss Bennet, your dress is so worn it is transparent. I wanted to save you the embarrassment of being in public."

Elizabeth quickly covered herself. "I did not think it was noticeable!"

Mr. Darcy pulled at his fitted jacked until he could pull his arms out and offered it to Elizabeth. "You may cover yourself with this."

Elizabeth flushed again. "Thank you, but will that not make matters worse if I am wearing your jacket without a wedding band? The patrons of the Inn will think I am your mistress or worse. I think it would be better if I did not wear it."

Mr. Darcy quickly glanced at the front of her dress, then quickly looked away after shifting on the bench. "You are unaware of the state of the front of your dress, Miss Bennet. If you do not want to embarrass yourself or have men propositioning you, you will most definitely need my jacket to cover yourself."

Elizabeth looked down in confusion. "I know my dress is well worn, but that would not embarrass me anymore. I have been used to it and I am sure no one will recognize me."

He frowned. "Then you are aware I can see your nipples through your worn dress and chemise?"

She gasped and quickly covered her breasts. "Of course I did not know! I would have never worn this without a scarf or...or something over me!"

Mr. Darcy relaxed against his seat. He smiled at her furious blush and shifting on the bench to present her back to him. She was either truly an innocent or a quite good actress. He held out his jacket which she grabbed in fury and turned her back to him to push her arms in the sleeves and hold it tight over her chest. He liked the look of her wearing his jacket, even if she was disheveled and in clothing, he wouldn't give to a beggar.

As Elizabeth turned away to fix her hair, he adjusted his cock stand. It would not do to rescue her only to have her running from him due to his obvious ardor. He had planned to treat her as he always had, but found himself thinking thoughts that scandalized him. Mr. Darcy prided himself on his ability to behave like the perfect gentleman, but what scenes played in his head was not of helping a gentleman's daughter surreptitiously regain her place in society. He envisioned her lowering her dress to expose her large breasts to him, smiling in enticement, tupping her in the carriage -

The knock on the carriage door startled him out of his daydreams. He used the distraction to adjust his cock, again. The tiger opened the door and helped Elizabeth down the steps. A sudden spike of jealousy surprised him but he could not stop glaring at the tiger's hand that touched Elizabeth.

Mr. Darcy walked towards the inn without his jacket, feeling uncomfortable at being partially dressed in public. He ignored the stares directed at Elizabeth and the knowing smirks at him. She was right of course, they all thought she was a light skirt.

They walked into the inn with Mr. Darcy immediately catching the eye of the innkeeper.

"Good evening sir, and welcome to The Raging Bull."

"Thank you. I need suppers prepared for two to take with us. My... friend also needs to ..." Gadzooks, he sounded like a young tongue-tied lad again.

"If you could direct me to the ladies' retiring room, I would be grateful."

The smile disappeared from the innkeeper's face as he looked at Mr. Darcy. "I am afraid sir, that your companion will have to refresh herself outdoors. This is a nice establishment and there are ladies present."

Mr. Darcy glanced at Elizabeth's chalk-white countenance and glanced back. "I believe you have misconstrued the situation. But I am willing to pay you for the suppers the use of your retiring rooms."

The innkeeper held Mr. Darcy's stare but finally looked down. The innkeeper informed him as to where the retiring rooms were located, and that he would have their suppers ready for them in a few minutes.

He held Elizabeth's elbow and walked next to her down the hallway. That display was proof of how she would be treated by society if they knew that she had spent the last few months employed as a maid in a posting inn, of all places.

Mr. Darcy collected their meals in a basket and they walked back to the carriage in silence.

The carriage started and Mr. Darcy opened the basket containing their meals. They did not speak while they ate tasty shepherd's pie. It was not until everything was placed back in the basked and that one of them finally spoke.

"If you would not mind, I would like to keep your jacket as I warm with it on."

"I would rather you did." Elizabeth flushed. He could have kicked himself. "No, I did not mean it in that manner. The fabric of your dress and chemise is worn so thin -"

"I understand." Elizabeth looked away and stared out the window into the black of night.

Mr. Darcy was sure she did not understand why he wanted her to continue to wear his jacket. He breathed deeply and slowly to cool his ardor. Once his mind was clear, he wracked his mind for solutions to how Elizabeth's reputation could be hidden and she returned to society. Though the thought of her leaving let alone marrying some other man had him clenching his jaw.

"While you were employed, were you recognized or did anyone of society enter the inn?"

Elizabeth glanced at him. "There were many of society that stopped for refreshment. Since the flooding, it seemed everyone in society visited that inn."

Mr. Darcy turned and looked out the other carriage window. The problem had just become decidedly more impossible to solve. If she was to enter society after pretending she was a lady's companion or governess, she could still be recognized. He was positive the men would recognize her for she drew his eyes like a moth to a flame.

He turned to study her again. She looked decidedly different than when he had known her in Meryton and Rosings Park. With her much far thinner face and body, her hair poorly braided on her head, he doubted anyone would recognize her unless they had thoroughly stared at her while they were at the inn. It might have occurred, but who remembered a maid? A man who wanted to tup her and was turned down. Mr. Darcy frowned.

The rest of the ride to Pemberley passed in silence. His eyes kept returning to her figure no matter how often he turned his head away. There was only one solution he could think of for the problem of Elizabeth Bennet. Whether she would agree would be highly debatable. Whether he would ever bring it up to her was also highly debatable.

Had to take it down as I published it on Amazon. All parts are in one book in Kindle Unlimited on Amazon now!