"Edward," she repeated, rather surprised at finding him standing before her within the grounds of Rosings. He wore a long somewhat crumpled grey coat, even though the weather was fine. "What on earth are you doing here? When did you arrive?"

"I must admit I was rather disappointed at your lack of welcome. You flew right past me in such a hasty departure, quite oblivious of my presence. I was left looking rather the fool. My pride would have indeed been sorely bruised if you had not but also nearly knocked your poor butler to the floor. Poor man, he did not know what hit him." He grinned at her. 'Though she be but little she is fierce'. Thankfully in his surprise he was easily persuaded to point me in the direction in which you fled."

"You must forgive me I was so distracted, I had not... You are quoting Shakespeare?"

"Does that surprise you?"

"I would not have thought a Midsummer Night's Dream quite to your taste."

"No perhaps not. But it is yours. You may recall it was during the interval of that same play in which I first saw you again, though I paid it little attention at the time. I must confess I've grown rather fond of it; I took great pleasure in reading it. I cannot deny I prefer it a damn sight more than Romeo and Juliet."

"Well, it is a comedy."

"So is Romeo and Juliet."

"What slander, tis not," she laughed with mock afront. She smiled at him warmly, feeling her stress of the mornings events all but evaporate in his company.

"I am not one to normally contradict a lady, but I shall stand by my observation and say that it very much is."

"How can you draw such a conclusion; it is one of the Bard of Avon's greatest tragedies."

"A comedy of errors I assure you; is it not comical that two such lovers can only hope to be so reunited in death? "

"That is the very reason for it being such a tragedy, it is rather the point."

"Well, I for one would not wish my future happiness to fall prey to such an ending. I very much intend to spend as much of this life with the one I love, just as much as the next."

He walked forward until he stood before her. He took in her pale complexion and noticed the slight puffiness to her cheeks and the redness of her eyes.

"You are upset?" he asked suddenly a fierce edge to his voice. "What has happened, is it your mother?"

"Oh no, tis nothing. Mother is quite well I assure you. It has been but a trying morning. You see mother and I argued and she then left for the house in Bath at sunrise. Also it is not only you who has called upon Rosings most expectantly. Richard arrived this morning and.."

"Richard is here? He asked his voice raising. "What has he done to upset you so? Where is he?"

Anne looked at him with surprise, she had never seen him look so formidable. "He is gone. Do not be alarmed I am fine. He proposed to me if you can believe such a thing."

"Oh, I can believe, only too well, that the gentleman would do just that."

"You knew?" Anne asked perplexed by Edwards reaction.

"Not exactly, he had previously informed me that you and he were already engaged."

"He did what?" Anne asked her voice raising in alarm. "Edward you must know that to be completely untrue. When did he tell you such a falsehood?"

"Upon your sudden departure from Harts. He told me you did not did desire my attentions and were to be his wife. Naturally I could not believe such a story."

"But it was not true! My mother fell, I specifically told Richard to tell you what had occurred. Why would he tell you such a thing?"

"Well, I know the truth of it now," he said gently, his voice steady. "But at the time I felt quite close to throttling the man. I wrote to you, but no reply came. It was only after I spoke with Miss Bingley, I decided I should..."

"Miss Bingley!" Anne cried standing up to her full height of a mere five foot. "What part does that woman play in all this!"

"Why it was she who informed me that such a story was indeed false and that you had gone to your mothers aid."

"Oh really," Anne remarked rather scathingly. "Is that all she had to say? Did she also happen to inform you that she had, but not the day before her ball at Harts, called upon me? Seeking my confidence and well-wishing to your very own forth coming nuptials."

"She did what? My forth coming nuptials to whom?"

"To herself of course! She told me how you had all but proposed while at Epsom. Of course, I knew it could not be so, her lies were easily discovered and upon my speaking with Lady Fraser..."

"You spoke to Lady Fraser of this?"

"Of course."

"But not to me!"

"Well, I was rather mad at you."

"Why in the devil were you mad at me? What had I done?"

"Is it not obvious? Miss Bingley is all that I am not. Although I knew it to be a great falsehood, I could not help but believe there must be some truth to her lies. Where there is smoke there is fire. I could not understand why she would risk her words being so easily exposed. She must have been confident that a match would occur. She would not risk ruining her reputation for no reason."

"Well, I can assure you; no such match has or ever will take place. I am rather offended that you think I would place myself at the mercy of such a woman."

"It did nothing to reassure my pride upon finding you her willing partner on the dance floor at Harts."

"You are mad at me for that? What could I do? Darcy was not present for the opening set; you should know, for you were with him. I did not know any of this. I simply stepped in as a replacement for that of another. You know full well it is only you whom I desire as my dance partner. Did I not come to you as soon as I noticed you finally in attendance? If you had arrived before the first set, I would have already been your dance partner. I do not know why you should feel cross with me when I had no idea what conspiracies were at play."

She looked down, slightly embarrassed by her outburst. In truth she knew she should not feel so put out. "It would seem we have both been rather duped."

"Yes, it would appear so." He ran his leather gloved hand through his thick black hair. He let out a sigh of exasperation. What the devil did Miss Bingley intend to achieve by such a scheme? He knew there was more to her sudden exchange of friendly information than met the eye. Yes, her conscience must have been heavy indeed, but to say such a thing to Anne, was quite unforgivable. He paused suddenly as another thought entered his head.

"You have not yet told me your answer."

"My answer?"

"To your dear cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam's proposal. Am I to wish you joy?" His words were thick with sarcasm, yet his mouth twitched at the corner, as though supressing a smile.

She looked up at him as he towered above her. She placed her hands on her hips, vexed that he could joke about such a thing.

"You know full well I refused him. How could I accept him when I love..." she trailed off, biting her lip. She had said too much. She fingered the skirt of her dress nervously. She wore no gloves, having discarded them alongside her sketching supplies; she could feel her palms sweating.

"When you love?" Edward repeated stepping forward to close the gap between them.

"When I am in love with another."

"Is that so," he said, his voice low and soft. She felt her spine tingle, she adored the musical vowel tones of his voice. The distinct Scottish accent had been long supressed by formal education and society, but it was still subtlety present, soft and musical.

"Yes."

"I see." He leaned forward. "And tell me, is the gentleman in question privy to such knowledge? Perhaps he and I are acquainted?" He smiled sardonically, he wished to hear her say it.

"I do not... Well, he... what I mean to say is..." She suddenly stomped her foot and let out a small squeal of frustration. "Edward Tiberius Montgomery Colville if you do not ask me to marry you this instant I shall scream!"

"My, my Hermia what a temper you have. Indeed, I would not dare be so bold as to displease you." He laughed at her forceful request, his smile wide and happy.

"Edward, do not joke. You should not tease me," Anne said in a small voice.

Upon hearing the waver in her voice Edward reached for her hand. "Oh, darling do not look so forlorn. I am sorry, you know my nature; I merely joke when I feel a situation grow too serious. You must know I would never do anything to upset you intentionally. Though in all honesty, it is I who should be rather cross with you. For you see, my dear, you have rather upstaged me and beat me to the punch. I rode all night to be near you, to see you. I had planned such pretty words. I intended to list your many merits; the many wonderful qualities that make me so desirous for you to be my wife."

Annes eyes grew wide as her heart began to beat so furiously, she thought her chest may explode.

"You rode all night?"

"Indeed, I did and I would do so again. Darling, I have loved you since the moment I found you crouched under a table playing with Angus's savage brood. You have become dearer to me than anyone of my acquaintance. It took me a rather long time to realise it, but when you left to return to Rosings; I did not know what to do with myself. Never had I felt so low, such a dark cloud I could not lift. I thought I had lost you, before I even had time to realise it was you I had found. Then seeing you in London, being in your company once more, how could you doubt my affections? I knew from the moment I saw you again I would not be content until you agreed to be my wife."

"I did not believe such a happy idea could be true. Indeed, I shall not lie, I was blind for a time. I was perhaps the last to know of my feelings for you. You are all that is good, you can not imagine how dear you are to me. I have come alive since knowing you. I did not think I could be deserving of such happiness."

"Anne, you are deserving of so much and more. I can only hope that I will be deserving of you."

He let go of her hand and ran his hand through his hair once more. This was not going quite as smoothly as he had planned. He coughed slightly, feeling a little awkward. He stood tall, for he felt he should look tall and in control before asking his most important question. "My darling Anne, I love you. Would you do the honour of agreeing to be my wife?"

No sooner were the words from his lips than he was almost sent backwards with the force at which Anne hit his chest. She buried her face into his coat. He breathed in the familiar rose water scent of her hair and marvelled and the heat from her body as she pressed so firmly against his own. He took his arms and placed them around her, holding her close. He felt her shoulders shake slightly. He tightened his grip protectively, allowing her time to compose herself.

"You must forgive me," she laughed a moment later, lifting her head from his chest and taking a step back. "That was not how I had planned to react to such a happy declaration."

Edward had to restrain himself from reaching forward to pull her back against his chest, so perfect had she felt. "You have not given me an answer?"

"Oh Lord, yes. Of course, it is yes, that you could for a moment be doubtful." She smiled at him widely, her eyes shining and bright. She had never looked more beautiful.

He looked at her, taking pleasure in seeing her so genuinely happy. He was smiling from ear to ear like a schoolboy. He kicked the soft earth beneath his boot, he was not quite sure what to do next, suddenly feeling quite bashful.

"Well, I suppose I should travel directly to your mother and seek her approval."

Upon hearing this Anne's face fell. "She may not grant it."

"Then it will be a gesture of formality only. Do not think you can escape me so easily, for you have already said yes. No such refusal from your mother shall stop me from making you my wife."

"You truly mean that?"

"Anne I could not be more serious; the devil himself could not deter me. Let your mother show her displeasure however she chooses. From what you describe of her I am more than up for the challenge. If you love me that is all that matters."

"I do love you, there is nothing I want more."

"Well then do not fret about your mother, you will never need worry about facing her on your own ever again. You shall always have me." He took her hand again and with excitement continued;

"If you have no objections you and I can arrange to be married by first week of October. It will be the highlight of the wedding season, a society wedding like no other. Anything you want you shall have; nothing is too good for the future Viscountess of Arbuthnot. Where should you like to honeymoon? I shall let you decide. We can spend the holiday season either in one of my own estates, or perhaps Elgin with your family; or even here if you so should wish? We shall do whatever shall make my darling bride happy."

She laughed at his enthusiasm. Her cheeks ached from smiling.

"And what do you think of Rosings Park?"

"Well from what little I have seen; it is just as you described. Rather breathtakingly beautiful, but entirely too grand. I feel I must visit during an open house in order to benefit from a well-rehearsed lecture. You forget, but I have only seen the foyer. I could not quite believe the size of the driveway this morning. My poor horse, I feared he would not be up to such a task!" He grinned at her. "I must admit I am rather glad I was able to follow you to this very spot, for I shall need your expertise in order to find my way back."

She laughed at his teasing response. His easy playful turn of phrase was one of the many things she loved most of his character. "Well once we are married this shall all be yours too."

"No, my dear," he said taking hold of her arms gently by the elbow; drawing her so close to his chest that it pressed against her own. "This house shall always be yours. And if we are so fortunate to be blessed with a daughter as strong and as beautiful as her mother; Rosings Park shall one day pass solely onto her."

And there, under the shade of the lakeside pavilion, as the honeysuckle crept its way silently across its faded beams; Edward leaned forward and kissed his bride. It would be the first kiss of many.

THE END

Hello All - We've reached the final chapter! (insert Rocky music here)

Thanks again to all those who have read along, and even more so to those who have sent reviews and messages. I shall miss writing about Anne.

Please leave a comment and let me know what you have thought of this, my first ever story! Geez Louise, this one shot really took a life of its own!

I'm toying with another idea, another tale for a minor character. Let me know if this would be something you would be interested in.

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