Double Pride, Double Trouble

by Srebrna

Bennet and Darcy met at a summer camp and immediately hated each other. They were just too similar for this to end peacefully. OR "How to get Lizzy and Will to finally agree on some topic." Slight crossover with Parent Trap (or rather, the original book - "Lisa and Lottie" by Erich Kastner) [If you want to comment/interact, please do so on AO3] [I DELETE GUEST COMMENTS]

15. So come and let's be bold

AN: Sorry for the long wait, but, well. This required some work :) I'm glad you liked the small flashback chapter :) Now we're back to the story itself.

####

The cleanup crew had carried away all the detritus of Anne's and aunt Catherine's life in Pemberley and he felt somehow lighter at that thought. It was a bit of a good fortune that the crew had been already booked for that weekend and could be asked to deal with the additional task, as he wouldn't have had the heart to deal with it all by himself. And, frankly, there was nobody else to ask - certainly not Mrs Reynolds, and not Georgiana. Some of the students actually seemed strangely satisfied with the unappealing duty and he chose not to listen too closely to their remarks, which tended to be mostly in the area of "at last" and "just desserts". They were quite justified in their feelings, after all - most of them were in the group that had worked on the grounds during summer and had no few run-ins with aunt Catherine.
The girl who had found the 'leaves in the bag' (and what the leaves were was quite obvious to all of them, starting with Sergeant Hanners, of course, and hadn't that been a fun conversation...) was actually one of the few new ones in the group, probably just recruited in September, so he was fairly certain that she had no axe to grind with the De Bourgh ladies, but others weren't even hiding the glee at the policewoman's pronouncement of "suspicious plant-derived substance, to be verified by the laboratory in Matlock as to its provenance". Still, the removal of the boxes to the attic was finished efficiently and the few official-looking documents they had found were already waiting for him on his desk, moved there by Elizabeth once the crew had pronounced the rooms empty and as clean as they could be made without actually scouring all the surfaces with wire brushes and hot water. He couldn't fault the cleaners for being just a little bit bitter about his aunt's attempts to lord over them. He had his own share of bitter thoughts about her and as much as he had made sure she wasn't abusing the temporary workers, he had never managed be everywhere and was quite sure she had attempted to bother them more than once when they were working in the main house.
He had considered throwing her things away completely, but his lawyer suggested that keeping them in safe storage for the time being would be more prudent since this didn't give aunt Catherine the possibility of accusing him of wilful property damage. As it was now, he had only secured the items she had chosen to leave behind and, as they hadn't removed anything but obvious trash, he could and was ready to hand over any and all objects should she request them.
Through her lawyer, preferably.

#

The corridor floor was freshly washed, the windows crystal-clear as he looked outside to check on the crew's progress. They were still collecting the apples, together with his estate workers and there was another group equipped with long rakes cleaning the lawn of all fruit too spoilt to be even considered as destined to anything but the compost heap and the leaves that fell during the fruit collection.
In his study, he checked the calendar just to be sure, but he already knew that it would be the last raking the lawn would undergo that year - fortunately, as everyone mostly hated that task, with its mind-numbing boringness and palm-shredding physical effort. From now on, it would be only the mowing of the leaves into finely shredded pieces that would later on become a perfect natural fertiliser. Ever since making that slight change - one of the constant point of contention between him and aunt Catherine - he had managed to save significantly on the spring lawn maintenance.
He combed back his hair with both hands, trying to organise his thoughts again. His thumbs touched the slightly rougher patches made by the greying of hair at his temples.
You aren't getting younger, William. Time to finally do something about your so-called personal life. Now.

#

He pulled out the paper folder and spread its contents on the desktop. He sat for a moment, blinking and looking at, but not really reading, Rose's documents. School reports, birth certificate, custody agreement... They'd have to make a new version of this, and one for Mina, too, to ensure the rules of visiting, the alimony payments, the... He swallowed, painfully. Not that he didn't trust Elizabeth, but it would be better for all four of them to have it properly in writing, just in case someone tried something. Someone like aunt Catherine or Maura De Bourgh. Or, for some insane reason, Elizabeth's parents. They didn't seem very interested in their eldest grandchildren for the time being, but who knew what craziness may sprout in the least fortunate moment.
He pressed his fingers to his eyes again.
The next moves were set and the decision was made. He couldn't renege on the promise he had made to Rose and Lizzy, however much it felt like a stab to his heart. At least he got Elizabeth to accept money for the girls' upkeep, and that meant transferring them to a better school - hopefully soon - where they could have a fresh start - all of them, including Elizabeth herself. A new place, where he could visit them if he played his cards well.
He opened the laptop again to review the research done in the middle of last night. It all looked fine. A bit of useful work done for Lizzy, to take some pressure off her. She would be able to just take this list and simply visit the flats at her convenience. He chose places in a reasonable price range - nothing too posh or too shabby, just average, to avoid putting too much pressure on her and creating a feeling of indebtedness that a more expensive localisation could engender. The schools in these areas seemed promising, too. He had checked Mina's current school and it had, in fact, a fairly good ranking (but not the best), so he used that as a baseline and looked for ones at least better than that.
He tapped his fingers on the side of the keyboard for a moment, trying to make up his mind.
Oh, well.
He added the most promising-looking private schools to the list. He certainly could afford the expense and if only Elizabeth agreed, the girls would be much better taken care of than in any state school. And he could expect their situation to be taken into account by the teachers who would look out for any inappropriate behaviour...
Yes, definitely. And since it's for the good of the girls, she will agree.
Not that he was happy about tricking Elizabeth in any way, but it really was for the girls' benefit. So there.
The flats he had picked were all around the city but it probably wouldn't matter that much if they stayed close to her old place or not. From Rose's terse description there was no love lost between Elizabeth and most of her family - except for Jane and Charles, obviously, and probably Kitty and Mary, if Rose's observations were correct. He snorted at the thought of Lizzy's father, who still seemed to be the epitome of a doddering university professor with no connection to the reality of his supposedly favourite daughter's life. And with no regard for her needs and likes. The way Rose reacted to the issue of Elizabeth's craftwork made William search his memories in panic, trying to identify whether at any point he might have managed to disparage it in any way. He couldn't be completely sure, but he had never felt anything but highest respect for her skills in that area, so he deeply hoped he hadn't happened to dismiss it unwittingly.
Other than the closest relatives, well, he could only guess how Lizzy got on with her extended family, but when Rose described the party at the Bennets' house they had attended, he recognised some of the catty older ladies as the sister and cousins of Mrs Bennet, and if that was the society that Lizzy was keeping, she wouldn't suffer for the loss of it. It was no wonder she had problems with self-image after prolonged exposure to that little coterie.
Fine, he had to admit he had contributed to that, too. But if she gave him - them - a chance, he'd spend the next thirteen heaping praise on her, daily, without hesitation or effort. He could easily find more than enough reasons to do so, should she only allow him.
And even if they couldn't see each other daily, he would visit them every week if Elizabeth agreed. Being one's own boss had some perks, working remotely included (as long as he wasn't required on one of the sites). Maybe he could drive the girls to school a few times - or walk with them, or pick them up. He definitely should show up at a school concert or two - that would settle down all the cats in the School Council, or whatever these were called. Nobody would be telling a kid of his that she's inadequate. Nobody would be treating being brought up by Elizabeth Bennet as some kind as a disadvantage to his daughters. Of course, the best solution would be for them to be transferred to a new, normal school, but if that was not possible immediately, he would make sure that his daughters - and their mother - were treated properly.
His fingers curled around the armrests, soft leather giving in under pressure.
He dared them to say something to the contrary. They would see that it wasn't only the Darcy girls who could hit people.
Well, he would be using well-aimed cease-and-desist orders. They caused less damage.

#

He made a neat stack of the documents and slipped them into a larger plastic envelope. He'd have to discuss them with Elizabeth, probably go to London... Maybe he could actually go to London with them? Not to visit the flats - he would give her the list and she could make the decision herself - but to sign any paperwork at the school that would be needed...
Would Mina or Rose want to change their names? And if so, which way?
He could imagine Rose wishing to change her name to 'Bennet', just as a show of solidarity with Mina.
He could also imagine Mina changing her name to 'Darcy', to finally end the incessant bullying. But that would mean leaving Elizabeth, in a manner of speaking, 'alone' with her own maiden surname, and the girls changing 'away' from her.
Hyphenated. That would work. It didn't mean that one's parents were necessarily married, but it also gave a suggestion that they are in a relationship, somehow. And the girls would be left with both their original surname and get the 'other one', too.
He stood up to see what the grounds crew was up to, but they had apparently dealt with the trees directly next to the house, picking the last of the fruit still hanging, too. The lawn and the alleys were empty, except for, well. Except for Elizabeth.
She was wearing something he hadn't seen her in yet - and he quietly catalogued all her outfits from the previous week, making sure he had stored the memories, just in case - it was a long, dark red dress, no sleeves, no decoration he could see from that distance. And she had undone her braid from the morning, letting her hair flow free.
And she was barefoot.
She stopped by a stone bench and spread something on it, then sat down and turned her face to the sun.
He was out of the study door before he noticed he was moving.
His steps faltered in the middle of the corridor and he turned back.
The documents.
No.
He pivoted in place and quickly marched towards his bedroom.
Yes. Oh yes.

####

Up close, it was rather obvious that Elizabeth had been...
Is she crying? Why is she crying? Something happened?
"Lizzy?"
Her head turned to him in a jerk, eyes red and nose a bit runny.
"W-Will."
Even her stuttering was adorable. Even her red nose and eyes and blush and...
I am so screwed.
"What's wrong?" he found himself asking, like an idiot, very suave, William, but still, there was no better way to phrase it.
She shrugged, that shrug that said "something very important, but I can't tell you, because you'd never understand anyway". The same one she'd always given when he asked her about her conflicts with Aunt Catherine, or about her studies, or... or about mostly anything. And he had to admit he had never tried asking for more details. He had never asked for an actual explanation. It had been more comfortable to interpret that shrug as "not important". The easy way out, at the same time not doing anything and having the justification of acquiescing to her wishes. Not a particularly adult behaviour, he had to admit now. Now he knew the cost of such interpretation, and he was right there, looking at her profile, her reddening nose and her puffy eyes, and it was a heart-rending thing if he had ever witnessed one.
"Come on, Lizzy" he sat down on the grass in front of her and very cautiously reached out to run his thumb along the instep of her foot, which was the part of her closest to him. "You... I can't bear this, right now. What's wrong? I thought we agreed this would be the best way to organise this? I know it will be hard for... well, all of us, at the beginning, it will definitely be a challenge for me, but we can work it out, can't we? Now that we are talking like proper grown-ups should?"
She took a shuddering breath and he took the chance, drawing the thin foot closer, tracing the muscles and delicate bone, kneading the tension away.
"I spoke to Mina about... Well, about what we discussed. William, what are you doing?"
His eyes snapped up to hers as she snatched the foot away, looking at him in surprise mixed with apprehension.
"I..." he coughed "you seemed- stressed? I thought, maybe, you know..."
"Oh."
She sat, all stiff, for a moment, blinking at something in the distance. He watched her silently, hands on his knees, and tried to anticipate her next move. He could hope for some physical closeness - however limited - but, of course, wouldn't push for it, by any means. Finally, he saw the tension bleed from her shoulders and she smiled tentatively.
"Just..." she swallowed. "Don't press too hard?"
He nodded and, for a moment, simply held the grass-stained toes in his hand, warming them up, as Elizabeth tried to find the place where she had lost her focus.
"Mina said..." she rubbed her eyes for a moment. "I..."
"You told her about our discussion?"
"Yes!" she sighed with a small smile. "And she asked me about Christmas, and that got me thinking that maybe we should make some plans" she said finally, her voice unsteady. "How to organise it all. I mean, it will be pretty up here and I know Lambton is making a big celebration, and there will be the skating rink and all... but London will be nice, too. Despite all the smog. There will be shops and everything, and the theatres and Rose has never seen any Christmas ballet!"
He grinned a bit.
"I have to admit, she didn't. There was no occasion."
"She could, this, year, you know" Elizabeth looked at him... pleadingly? "You could bring them on the twenty-second, it's going to be a Friday - or, or maybe the school will agree to let them out a bit earlier? And we... I mean, you wouldn't have to, if you don't want to, obviously, but we could go somewhere, all four of us. So that they can, you know. Get proper family-like Christmas everything, with us both, the theatre and the shopping and maybe a walk to see the decorations. I know they are not little kids anymore, but we have so much to... And I could take them to an early dinner at my mother's, so they could meet all the family together, and take part in the singing and... And then you'd take them back for the evening, and be here by nightfall. I know you do more of a supper than a dinner, so that wouldn't be that hard to organise..."
"Wait, wait, Lizzy, what are you talking about?" he frowned, trying to visualise what she was saying. He squeezed her foot slightly, his hands following the movements he thought long forgotten. "Why would I be bringing them down to London? I wanted to ask if I could visit you all for Christmas and maybe take a small trip somewhere, just the four of us, together."
She blinked the tears from her eyes.
"What?"
"We've discussed this yesterday, didn't we? I just told Rose to pack a bag and I wanted to give you the papers you'd need to transfer her to a new school properly."
And I'd much rather have it not be Mina's school, but rather some place where teachers won't treat my Lizzy like a second-rate parent...
She hiccuped.
"I just, I just told Mina I'd bring - hic - her things next weekend and - hic - wanted to collect all the papers you'd need..." she trailed off, confused. "Oh, dear."
"I thought we agreed yesterday that they would be going with you to London" he squeezed a bit harder, trying to understand what had happened. "It makes more sense for them..."
"It wasn't what we agreed at all...!"
"Wait, but you said yourself...!"
"No, you said they should stay with the parent who can care for them better... and you offered to make sure they'd have a place to live together..."
"Well, yes, I offered to pay for anything you'd need to move out of your current flat, and I did some research where you could move..."
"Wait, what?"
"I made a list of suitable flats you can view" he pulled out the folded sheets and dropped it on the bench next to her. "Just a short one, but all places have some very nice schools nearby."
"William."
"And I added a few that seemed reasonable, but of course, you'd have to check them..."
"William."
"Liz?"
"Why did you make me a list of flats to rent in the city where I live - I've lived almost all my life - and that you rarely even visit?"
He looked up at her, surprised.
"I thought you'd be happy to have less work..."
She sighed deeply.
"William, you know next to nothing about London. About the neighbourhoods. About the distance from the Tube."
"But, Liz..."
"William!" she pulled her foot down and stood up, breathing deeply, opening the list and scanning it quickly, but then sat back down. "I don't really want to discuss this, but, Will, this list is useless. This one" she pointed out "is in an area with no buses. Twenty minutes to the Tube. This, this looks like..." she trailed off "...like the area around my old primary, actually. And that's bad. And the others are similar. William" she folded the papers back and pressed her lips into a thin line "I dearly hope you hadn't set up any meetings with these agencies."
He blushed.
Like a wee boy caught with his hand in a cookie jar. What is it with me and being an idiot today?
"William! Are you... No, no. No. Not doing this. I don't even... This is presumptuous and... No. Simply no. Do I really look that helpless? Like I can't find a flaton my own? I may be short, but I'm a bloody grownup. And I know that city. You got lost on the Millennium Bridge, for chrissake!"
Looking at it from that point of view... yeah.
He cringed. And she was walking away.
"Liz, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" he stepped in front of her and held his hands up, begging her not to go. "Please? Can we talk? Because it seems we still have some serious points to discuss and, despite what both of us apparently thought, we didn't really discuss them yesterday."
She turned her head away and breathed deeply.
"Fine. But I am not happy. This-" she pointed to the sheets of printed paper, now merrily fluttering over the lawn "this is like... like an insult. I know you meant well, but..." she sighed.
"I see your point, Liz. I really do" he caught her elbow and navigated her back to the bench. "It was... OK, it was stupid. But, to my defence, it was the middle of the night and I was kind of high on the fact that we had come to an agreement - which we obviously hadn't - and started thinking what I could do to make it easier all around. And started clicking..."
"And then" she brought up one of the pages and pointed to the timestamp of the printout "it was four o'clock in the morning and you felt like you've accomplished something major?"
He grimaced.
"I might have?"
She sat down and leaned forward tiredly, and he immediately took the spot in front of her again.
"This all doesn't make sense and is completely useless" she said finally, sighing. "Because they should stay at Pemberley anyway."
He looked up when she fell silent and saw her blinking away the tears.
"They belong with you" he replied and bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from blurting out something more. "You are the parent they need."
Elizabeth covered her face, her shoulders shaking, and for a moment, he couldn't find anything to say.
"We're both idiots" she managed. "But they definitely belong with you."
"I think it will be better if they both go with you to London" he said stubbornly.
"But they will be so much better off here!" she protested, wiping her face with her much too small handkerchief. "London is big, dangerous and... and dirty, and here they'd have all the fresh air they need, and..."
"They need their mother more than they need fresh air. You can always move a bit farther outside the city - and you know best where that would be, yes, I admit - but" he grimaced. "I can't provide them with a replacement mother."
He trailed his fingers up her foot again, massaging each inch separately.
"I could come every weekend" she whispered, face fully covered by her hands again. "They should have a stable, proper home at least, and I can't providethat. My flat is barely enough for me and... one of them, you know. And even with your help and a new flat, I'd have to depend on my parents for interim before we'd move."
No, you wouldn't. I just promised you yesterday that I'd help with everything, but, well, I know you, Elizabeth. Despite everything, I know you, and I see you now.
He moved his hand just a bit higher, rolling her ankle in all directions, relaxing the tense muscle all around it.
"They need their father, too, you know" she said finally. "Mina asked me about you a few times last year. I kind of... tried to explain..." she sighed. "But I could never get it right. She was always slightly angry later and I think it would do her good to stay here and get to know you properly. I..." she sniffed. "I think they may be a bit disappointed with me now."
He switched to the other foot, drawing it down to his lap - from experience, a small massage would distract her and they both definitely required some relaxation right now. He kneaded the stiff sole carefully as she took long, calming breaths.
"Why would they be disappointed?" he asked softly. "You are, by all accounts, a wonderful mother. Rose was so happy when she told me about that month spent with you that I was a bit jealous, actually. You did everything for her, and all the stuff that I can't. Even with Georgiana here Rose never had a chance to... to be taken care of, properly."
"Because I ripped us all apart" she said so softly he had to lean closer to hear her. "Just because I was a proud, spiteful little witch. When I told Rose - because she asked me directly - that it was all about that bloody pre-nup, I felt so stupid. I broke us just because I couldn't explain it all to you properly. It was easier to pack and run than to stay and talk."
His fingers crawled up to her ankle and worked on this joint too, trying to loosen it up a bit.
"It wasn't your fault" he said, not raising his head, completely focused on the thin-boned, narrow foot in his hold. "I wasn't the best man to explain things to. I was a bloody oaf, actually. I thought if I told you to do things, you'd do them, simple as that. I didn't want to hear anything to the contrary."
"I should have tried harder" she sighed and he felt her fingers tangling in his hair, combing through them, tracing the lines of silver from his temples back to the nape of his neck.
"You shouldn't have had to" he corrected and reached up for her, pulling her down from the bench, tumbling, into his arms. Her head still fit neatly on his chest, just like it used to, her cheek felt just perfect pressed into the soft knit of his sweater, her hands easily went around his back, fingers buried in his hair. "Oh, Lizzie, you shouldn't av ad te..." he whispered into her tousled mane.
"You're playing dirty" she moaned softly.
"Ah dunna" he murmured. "Ah dunna know what'ya mean" he prodded her head with his nose, gaining access to her cheek and covering it with small kisses.
"Will! What would your very important investors from all around the country say if they heard you speaking like this? You sound like a... a farmer!"
"Ah dunna care about'em" his breath washing her neck sent a shiver through her. "Now, Lizzy, will ye be a reasonable gel and stop makin' gran' plans of goin' away and leavin' us all alone 'ere in this big ahs?"
She sighed and leaned back, to look him in the face.
"You are a very, very bad boy, William Darcy" she said with an effort. "Damn you and your damned se... damned accent. We're too old to play games like that."
"Maybe I should have proposed like this, all these years ago, when we were so much younger" he smirked at her. "Because, really, the way you react makes me think I didn't use the right approach at the time."
She opened her mouth again, but before she managed to produce an adequate retort, he kissed these annoyingly pink lips and, just for seconds, everything went gloriously, blissfully away and he could focus only on her.

####

"OK. Looking at the situation outside, I'd say you can stop packing, Rose" Mina said with a relieved sigh.
"What? Is it raining?" Rose straightened and looked out surprised. "I thought the forecast said it's going to be nice."
"Well, no, not raining. But I think Mom is not going anywhere" the younger sister pointed outside. "They are kissing. On the lawn."
Rose was by her side in a split second.
"Wow" she managed. "Dad is... what are they..."
"Yeah" Mina grimaced. "Someone should remind them this is actually an almost public place."
"They are not doing anything that bad."
"Sure, but still..."
"What we should be doing is unpacking, before they notice."
They looked back at two backpacks - one full, one still open - and cringed.
"Yeah, we'd better get all these things back in the closet" Mina bit her lip.
"And to the kitchen."
"OK, I unpack here, you run to Mrs R and give her the food back. I hope she can somehow arrange it in the kitchen so that Mom doesn't notice it..."
Mina quickly opened the zipper and started pulling out the clothes, blankets and the sleeping bag. Rose picked up the boxes of sandwiches and cookies and checked the situation on the lawn again.
"It should be clear, they are still hugging, run!"
As Rose sneaked out, Mina started re-folding the warm clothing they had packed for this little excursion and stuffing it all back into Rose's wardrobe. The blankets were taking most of the pack anyway, so she didn't have all that much to put on the shelves. She quickly stashed most of the items in their proper places, rolling the bags up and pushing them under the sports equipment.
They had spent the last three days - from the moment Rose was allowed back into her room - carefully planning their excursion. Whichever option their parents picked - and especially if they decided to split them yet again - a small game of hide and seek would force them to, for one, delay the operation, and, two, cooperate. Dad, of course, knew the area better than Mom, but not better than Rose. Especially not when it came to the places where two not so tall and rather thin girls can conceal themselves for longer stretches of time. Rose had already picked an unused barn out in the woods - something she had found by herself the previous summer, the building untouched by human hand, either cleaning or restoration, but still quite sturdy and with full, solid roof. They had roped in Mrs Reynolds, who - although she had expressed some concern - provided them with food and water bottles and made them promise to take their mobiles.
Considering the state of their parents - snogging like crazy, with Mom apparently laughing and crying in turn, still on the back lawn by the fountain - they could most probably relax now and be ready to eat dinner like civilised beings, at the main table, and not in some dusty old storage somewhere on the grounds.
Rose was back by the time Mina had removed the last traces of their conspiracy, so they made their beds - slightly messed up in the process of packing - removed any forgotten items, like shoes kicked under the bed or a baseball cap waiting on the desk, and finally threw themselves onto said beds, putting the tablet on a chair between them and turning Netflix on again.
"Go back to that scene with the machine" Rose suggested. "I wanna see it once more."
"I bet" Mina giggled. "Peggy looked like she couldn't keep her hands away from him. I've read that actually the actress reacted like this herself, and they kept it in the movie."
"I'm not surprised" Rose stretched out. "Oooh, that's nice."
"M-hm!"

####

In the kitchen, Mrs Reynolds slowly shook her head at the small heap of sandwiches brought back by the girls.
"Well" she said into the empty kitchen "at least we have the cleaning crew to feed today, so they will remove this evidence quite quickly."
The sandwiches found their place in the fridge, the boxes and water bottles went back to the right cupboard and all the little snacks to the 'sweet box' she kept in the corner of the counter. The cookies were transferred into the tin in the cupboard, which hid their number quite nicely.
Good thing in this is, Miss Lizzy wasn't here since yesterday, so she won't notice and they will not know how the little ones were plotting. One day it will be an amusing story to tell, I'm sure, but maybe just not yet right now.
She looked at her own arrangements with a smile and pulled the heavy chair back to the table, fixing the tablecloth so that it looked as if it had been there all the morning.
That particular chair was of a perfect height and weight to be wedged under the handle of the storage closet door and withstand any attempts at battering the door open up to kicking the door apart, and that was something dear William would probably not have done, even if someone had by accident locked him away with Elizabeth, now would he? She had tested the sturdiness of the solution with the heartiest of the estate workers, specifically chosen by Brian for his muscle mass and size, quite similar to William's own.
Now that the dear children had apparently resolved their issues by themselves - surprise of surprises! - and the girls seemed pretty sure of the outcome, too, she could relax finally. Tea. Yes, tea. They would need tea once they came back to the house. Definitely.
It was nice to finally not worry about them.
Silly children. Even if quite grown up.

####

"Wiliam."
"Mmm?" he wasn't particularly talkative as he nuzzled her neck with his cheek.
"Will, we have to talk at some point."
"No, we don't."
"We have to."
"We dunna" he smirked as she stiffened slightly at the deeper rumble in his throat.
"Stop it" she managed to push at his chest and make him look at her straight. "There is a lot we have to organise. The school. My flat. Me getting a new flat, somewhere here."
His eyes narrowed.
"What flat?" he asked, slightly surprised, but... not that much, really. It was Elizabeth, after all.
"Well, I..." she made a small, fluttering gesture with her hands. "I'm not sure..."
Oh, no no no. You are not doing that. You're not retreating and removing yourself.
"Well, I am bloody sure" he growled as he caught her wrists and brought them up to his lips, kissing first one, then the other. "You can call me presumptuous all you want, but I am quite, quite sure you'll be getting no flat in Lambton or anywhere around because you'll be moving in here. Very simple, really. Because I'm not letting you go. I've waited thirteen years to say this, but, Elizabeth, if you leave, I'll be broken. More broken than I've ever been. I need you. They need you, too. They don't need a weekend mother. They need the both of us, and I need all of you. And you, you strong, resilient, independent woman, you need all of us, whether you admit it or not."
"Oh, so Mister Darcy decides for me what I'm supposed to do?"
"Mister Darcy, my dear, is trying to tell you he's..." he swallowed. Now or never. "Mister Darcy would like to ask Miss Bennet whether she would be amenable to try again."
She made a small, desperate sound.
"But we can't just pick up where we left off!"
"Of course we can't" he confirmed, kissing the delicate skin of her left palm again. "Because that place was bloody awful, we were barely speaking to each other and you'd been in a constant depression for months by then. And I've been an ignorant, stuck-up git who was surrounded by women he couldn't understand, so he just burrowed in his manly cave of a study and ignored the storm outside as well as he could. So no, we won't just pick it up there. We'll make big steps back and start again from when we were still so in love that I couldn't bear the thought of even the smallest worry touching your heart and you woke every day happy just because we were together. Does this sound like a good deal?"
"Will..." she stuttered again. "What will everyone say?"
"Which everyone?" he asked, his eyes narrowing again. "Our families? Well, as far as mine is concerned, only Georgiana counts, and she'll probably steal some whisky from my study and get drunk out of sheer relief. Your family? I'm not sure I care all that much - except for maybe catching Charles in a secluded part of the house one day and clonkin' 'im ont th'head."
"Will."
"The rest, I don't know. Do you care? Is there anyone specific that will tell you this is a bad idea? Or will complain? Will try to change your mind? Actually, what is it that you're so afraid of?"
She pulled herself up and a bit out of his hold.
"I am not afraid of anyone" she declared hotly. "I just... What about our..."
"This is about your mother, isn't it? I know she was never a fan of mine, and she's been probably saying things..."
Elizabeth made a face. That face, and that whole body posture, when she turned away from him and drew her arms about herself.
"Lizzy" he paused and steadied his breathing. "I'm sorry to say, but your mother, the esteemed matriarch of the Bennet family, the grandmother of my dearest daughters, is an idiot. She is the reason Charlie almost gave up on Jane - he was kind of scared Jane would one day turn out the same as her. I've been witnessing that woman trying to cut you down to her size ever since we've met - and she had started long before, too. Don't let her bring you to her level of unhappiness with the world."
She rubbed her face and shrugged - again, turning slightly away.
We'll have to deal with a lot of that, I suppose. I'm the one who left her with an even greater baggage of that kind, too, so I suppose it's my duty to undo as much of that as I can.
He heaved a sigh and hugged her closer. "Elizabeth. You can talk to me. You can shout at me if you need to. I'm no longer that guy. I listen. Or, at least, I try. I've been listening to a daughter and a sister for a long, long time. I can, if you allow me, listen to a fiancee, you know. As long as she actually speaks, mind you."
She looked up at him, frowning.
"A what?"
"Well, you never actually said you wouldn't marry me" he explained with a tiny smirk. "You just left, leaving that note. Dramatic, I admit, but still not definite. Also, it contained a request I can't fulfil without your participation."
"I've also left the rings" she said stubbornly.
"Just a precaution, to make sure they were safe when you were travelling" he provided quickly. "Actually" he reached into his pocket. "You may have them back if you wish."
She gasped at the sight of the blue velvet box.
"Have you been carrying them all that time?"
"I just might have" he shrugged innocently. "Now, Miss Bennet. May I have the honour of asking you for your hand? Again?"

####

"What are they doing?"
"Shush, here, take my binoculars."
"And you?"
"I have my camera... The lens here is just fab. Dad bought it when I wanted to photograph birds."
"Wow."
"Is this a ring?"
*snick*
"It looks like three rings, actually."
"Wow."
*snick* *snick*
"Mom is crying."
"Well, I just hope he will..."
"Yeah, he will."
"Nice."
*snick* *snick*
"You got it all?"
"I suuuure did."

####

Georgiana frowned at the lock in the library door. It had been a mistake not to take a photo of it before she had started meddling with it, but well, it was too late now and anyway she was fairly sure she had succeeded. She slowly screwed the plate back in place and pressed the handle a few times, checking whether it correctly retracted the locking mechanism. All looked fine. All looked like it was working correctly, at last.
Since the girls had barrelled into her room, squeaking happily, she had been hard at work trying to bring the old lock back to a working condition. Fortunately, the mechanism she had managed to break in the early morning was a rather simple, antique arrangement, so putting it back into working order was doable, if tedious. She could only hope Lizzy and Will would take some more time and not surprise her at her work.
That would have been a bit... hard to explain.

####

"Lizzy?"
"Mmmhm?"
"It's getting a bit cold here, you know?"
"I'm comfy" she snickered into his shoulder.
"Yes, because you're sitting on me. I, however, am starting to feel all forty-two of my years, and my bones are very, very unhappy with me. So, would you please stand up, find your shoes and could we go inside, to continue this in front of the fire? Or at least in a nice chair by a radiator?"
She grinned at him and leaned in for a kiss.
"Poor William, feeling so old" she whispered against his lips. "Let's go inside, definitely. We wouldn't want you to get sick now, would we?"
"Well, if you promised to sit with me and read me stories..."

####

"They will kill us if they find out you've caught all this on the camera..."
"They shouldn't be doing this in plain view of the whole house then" Rose shrugged and carefully capped the lens. "It will make for a fabulous material for a future blackmail, you know."
Mina leaned back on the desk chair.
"I'd rather take that last one and send it..."
Rose was already connecting the camera to her computer.
"To?"
"Well, aunt Janey, for starters" Mina giggled. "She's so afraid she turned her phone off because she thinks Mom will kill her over the phone line or something."

####

Brian wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled, shaking his head. He looked out of the car shed and crept towards Elizabeth's car quietly, bringing the compressor on its small trolley with him.
Good thing William had bought this thing. I'm not sure I'd have managed to inflate these tyres with the manual pump in any reasonable time.
He screwed the compressor tube over the tyre valve and switched the machine on. Quiet rumble made him look cautiously around, but fortunately, nobody had noticed. As the tyre reached the expected pressure, he switched to another.
Yes, it hadn't been the best idea, but he couldn't think of anything else to do. Of course, Elizabeth would have noticed the tyres and she could - and probably would - have pumped them herself with her hand pump, but that would mean either her spending much more time in Pemberley or William assisting her with the operation. Either way, a delay and yet another chance for these two - he switched to another tyre - to communicate. He knew Mrs R had been plotting something and he was pretty sure the two little nightmares were, too, because they were in the stable at an unhealthy hour in the morning, whispering and preparing for something. He didn't go to check, he didn't even want to know, so that once their parents found out, he would have been free to say he had no idea what the two had cooked up. Considering both of them had been suspiciously quiet in the previous days... Well, Mina had been stuck in her room, but he hadn't seen a trace of Rose in that time, except for the stables. And that meant they had more than enough time to come up with some cunning plan.

####

Jane's tablet produced a small *ping* sound just as she was wrapping her hair up with a towel.
"Charles? Be a darling, check the notifications and tell me what it is?"
Before she managed to find her glasses, she heard her husband laughing and coughing violently at the same time.
"Charles!?"
"Oh God, Janey!" he managed to wheeze out. "Really! I'm never ever checking anything for you, again!"
"Get me my glasses and show... Oh, my."
"Your sweet little nieces were taking photos."
"Of their parents."
"Making up, I suppose."
"Definitely making out. Outside. On a lawn."
"Your sister is a very bad influence on my friend, I'm afraid."
She smacked him on the shoulder.
"Ah-ha. Domestic violence now, what next?"
"Well, I hope a wedding, but with these two, who knows."

####

The armchair in the library was soft and covered with thick, plush blanket. Elizabeth found herself deposited on it and covered with yet another blanket of the same material.
"I'll be right back" Will kissed her forehead. "Just... don't go anywhere."
"Wasn't planning to" she smiled and tilted her head back, trying to will away the oncoming after-cry migraine. She blinked and then kept her eyes closed, blessed darkness against her overstimulated eyes.
Very soon - her internal clock was still off a bit after that week - William was back, something clinking and sweet-smelling accompanying him.
"I thought we could use the quintessential British way of overcoming difficulties" he said before she made up her mind to look, and there was a cup of - by smell - very, very milky tea being pressed into her hands, and a cool hand stroking her cheek. "And it seems Mrs Reynolds had already anticipated my idea. But I had to factor in your specific needs. Take your painkillers, and drink the tea. Or you will spend the afternoon suffering. We both know that this doesn't go away by itself."
She opened her eyes just enough to see him, sitting on a low chair next to her, a leaf of her anti-migraine medicine in his hand.
"Thank you, Will" she reached out and for a moment held onto his wrist, caressing the thin skin there with her fingertips.
"Always, love."
She pressed out a pill and swallowed it, chasing it down with tea. Over the rim of her cup, she saw William watching her carefully, the crystal blue of his eyes focused on her face.
"This will not be easy" she said quietly.
"I know."
"It will hurt."
"I hope not."
"There are people we need to inform."
"School. Work."
"My parents."
"Ah. The flat."
She rolled her eyes. Trust him to be more practical.
"Yes, my flat. It's considered good form to inform one's landlord."
"Indeed."
"And I think we should, at some point, you know..."
He cocked an eyebrow in question.
"Tell the girls?"
William Darcy blinking in surprise was a funny sight.
He stood up and busied himself with pouring another cup of tea, letting her watch him move around the small table. He still had a rather good figure. The physique of a rugby player apparently never left one, if one worked out reasonably - or practised a sport. His shoulders, from her vantage point, looked rather impressively muscled, straining the dark blue cashmere...
Wait a moment.
"William, what the blazes are you wearing?!"

####

The tea was perfect, the cookies had just the right amount of cane sugar to make them slightly sticky - Elizabeth actually ate two - and the company was a dream. William, having discarded the jumper and combed back his slightly dishevelled hair, was quite unable to let go of her - or at least one of her hands.
"William, we do need to discuss some points" she said sternly at last. "Starting with how do we go on from here - how do we define what... what we have? How to organise the school transfer? Moving my things? And" she looked down and a bit away "the room arrangements, well."
He sputtered on the rest of his tea and she couldn't help but snort.
"Now, Liz..." he started. "I... I think, well..."
"The current room" she said calmly. "Will do for now" she looked up at him, raising one eyebrow. "Hmmm?"
"Yes, certainly" he swallowed quickly. "I wouldn't want you to feel..."
"Exactly" she smiled slightly.
"So, the current room, definitely. All the other things, well. There has to be some procedure for people who move to transfer their children between schools. I suppose there is some education department that manages that? And they may have a webpage?"
"They definitely have" she smiled. "I checked, but it's a bit vague, so we'll have to check with the school."
"We can call on Monday morning and ask them" he suggested, pouring her another cup. "The headmaster... ugh. This will be one messy explanation" he grimaced, sitting awkwardly next to her, his long legs folded up due to the low chair he chose.
"We'll have to untangle this finally" she sighed. "And I'm almost sure I'd rather explain this to the Lambton school officials than to these idiots back in London."
"That was why I made a list of schools, too" he mumbled. "So that you didn't have to do this. Just, you know. Transfer both of them out of their current schools..."
She leaned closer and pressed a finger to his lips.
"Shut. Up" she commanded quietly. "Now. We'll need to drive to London anyway, Monday the latest, to organise everything. We can go to Lambton early in the morning and meet the headmaster and ask him for suggestions on how to do this, and then, armed with his input, we'll be able to deal with Mina's school easier. In, demand the needed documents, out."
"That's a nice strategy, Lizzy. Will you need my presence at the school, or would you rather do it all yourself?"
She suppressed a smile.
"Let's make it half and half. We go to the school together, but you wait in the corridor when I talk to them. If I need you, I'll ask you in. However, I hope they won't try to pull some idiotic argument about needing the signature of the other parent. They tend to do this as if they forgot after a while that some kids have just one parent, and not always because the parents are..." she stuttered.
"Separated" he provided. "Really? They ask widowed people for a co-signature of their dead spouse on some school paperwork?"
"At least two other mothers complained about it and that was despite the fact that they had already filled in paperwork saying they are single care providers for their kids."
"That's stupid in some very new way" he grimaced. "Fine. I'll wait in the corridor, but the moment they try to be obtuse, I'm coming in. If only to look at them heavily and carry your purse for you."
"William, my purse is my business" she scrunched her nose. "And I am the sole person responsible for the fact that sometimes it does, in fact, weight five pounds. You can carry the school documents, certainly. If you still have that impressive monogrammed briefcase, that will be even funnier."
"But of course I have it" he snorted. "Mrs Reynolds uses some special leather cleaner on it and it looks as decadent as when I got it."
"God, that thing looks like it should be only used to carry the Crown documents."
"Oi! That's a very nice briefcase, thank you!"
"With a gold-stamped monogram on the lid."
"Well, yes. And the Pemberley silhouette over it isn't very subtle either, I know, I know. Do you seriously want me to dig it up?"
She rolled her eyes.
"Yes. Let's make them choke."
He drew her into his lap, capturing her lips again with his.
"Naughty Lizzy" he laughed into their kiss. "You want these poor people to assume I'm some kind of secret agent?"
"I'm considering whether you should wear that three-piece with blue pinstripes or the leather jacket, right now" she clung to him, trying not to fall from her awkward perch.
"If I go for the leather jacket, they will think you've taken up with some organised crime. I'll opt for a suit, thank you."
"We wouldn't want the school authorities to consider Mina endangered due to her exposure to the criminal element, would we?"
"We" he kissed her "we certainly would not."

####

After holding her phone motionlessly for almost ten minutes, she burrowed a bit closer into William, pulled the blanket over the both of them and choose a number from her Contact list.
"Elizabeth?"
"Dad, I..."
"What's going on, Lizzy? Where are you two?"
She took a long breath and leaned on William's shoulder.
"Dad, Mina was sick. She had a very bad viral infection."
She heard something hitting the floor with a small crunch.
"And you didn't tell me? Lizzy, you just dropped off the face of Earth for a week!"
"Ah, no, Dad. No. It... it wasn't..."
William pulled her closer to him and she breathed slower, closing her eyes.
"Dad, Mina wasn't in London. She was at Pemberley."
"What? How? Where are you, Elizabeth?! Are you there?!"
"Um. Dad. Stop shouting at me. I'm at Pemberley, yes. I came here to see Mina because she and Rose switched places during the vacation. And when Mina was ill - and you know she is ill every fall, right? - she asked for me, so... Georgiana called me, and I'm here. With Rose."
"And with him."
"Yes, Dad. With William."
"What are you planning now, Lizzy? What about your flat? Your work?"
"I'll be coming to London next weekend, to pack up my flat. You can start looking for a new tenant from Monday after. Maybe Lydia is willing to take a brave step and finally become a grown-up, you know."
"Lizzy. You know he is not good for you."
"Dad, nobody is good for me, in your eyes. But the important part is that the girls shouldn't be separated, ever again. And what happens between me and William stays between me and William, Dad. We're quite grown up, and I think we're able to make better decisions now than ever before."
"Elizabeth, please, darling. Don't do this."
"Dad, I love you, but you can't manage my life like this. I am going to take this chance - for the girls and for me. Please, do try to be a bit happy about this. I'll see you at home, we'll come to drop off the keys."
She pressed the disconnect button and dropped the phone wearily on the floor. William's arms were immediately all around her, pulling her into full contact with his body.
"You are marvellous" he whispered into her hair. "I was a bit afraid..."
"He is just sorry to lose his only willing chess partner" she said finally, getting her breathing under control. "He always saw me as some kind of extension of himself - replacement son, or something. He was quite put out when I not only turned out to be a separate person, but also an actual adult human being of the female persuasion. You know, my pregnancy kind of threw him off."
"He would have never done that, I suppose."
"He never considered an IT engineer to be able to get pregnant. He could imagine a girl graduating in STEM, but somehow it didn't make a connection in his brain to the general idea of an engineer being able to become - terrible, terrible - a mother."
He tried to keep a straight face but failed spectacularly. She joined him in that laughter - tears prickling the corners of their eyes, noses running, maybe a bit of hysteria hiding in the shadows. He was quite sure they must have sounded rather mad like this.
"So" he wiped her face with a napkin. "First thing on Monday, our school. Then London. Then back by supper, so we can both spend the evening with the girls."
She nodded.
"And... what do we put on the paperwork?"
He looked down as she frowned and considered his question.
"Meaning?"
Her lips looked so enticing, he could barely put the right words together.
"Bennet? Darcy? Technically..."
"Bennet-Darcy" she said immediately. "Or Darcy-Bennet. But both, definitely."
"And you...?" he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"Bennet-Darcy" was another immediate answer. "Because, really, nothing else makes sense."
"There will be a ton of paperwork to get this all straightened out."
"Oh, you love paperwork."
"No, not really."
"You do. Fiddling with little details, specific wording, checking if using another tense would produce a clearer meaning..."
"I'm just good at my job!"
"You should write a novel one day. You'd be able to play with vocabulary..." she trailed off, seeing him suddenly blush. "William?"
"I kind of might already have."
"Anything I might have read?"
"From what Rose said..."
She groaned.
"...you have the whole set."
He felt her face pressing into his shoulder.
"Considering that you're definitely not Terry Pratchett..."
"No."
"And Ilona Andrews is actually two people..."
"Nope, not Ilona."
She rubbed her face, trying to cover the smile.
"That means you... Oh, God. I'm never touching these books again."
"Lizzy!"
"Come on! I should have known! 'The Gentleman from the North'? Full ten volumes of pure Regency smut? Really? Ooh, and I wondered why some of the descriptions sounded so familiar! You used Kympton parish for the house! I wonder what the poor retired bishop that lives there would say about the way you used his parlour."
"Most crucial question is, how did Rose know you have them."
"Most crucial question is, how did Rose know to tell you I have them!"
He closed his mouth with a snap.
"A-ha!"

####

As they emerged finally from the library, they found the rest of their family waiting for them in various mock-relaxed poses in the hallway outside. Georgiana tapped something on her phone and calmly said "hour, twenty-five". Mina and Rose looked at each other and smiled.
"OK, what is this supposed to mean?" Elizabeth crossed her arms and looked at the trio with narrowed eyes.
"We were measuring how long it will take you to join the rest of us and maybe - you know, just for fun? - tell us what is going on?"
"Ah" Elizabeth's voice caught in her throat. "We..."
"Everyone is staying" she felt William's warm presence behind her as his hand curled possessively around her hip. "You two" he nodded to their daughters "start preparing for Tuesday. School is waiting. And you" he turned to his sister. "Come here and meet your sister-in-law."
Georgiana was suddenly wrapped around her in a bone-crushing hug.
"For real?" she asked in a choking voice.
"For real" Lizzy held the younger woman tightly. "Well, not yet, but we've come to an agreement on the general idea."
"This year?" Georgiana asked immediately. "Christmas!"
"Reverend Bliney doesn't allow Christmas weddings" William reminded her kindly.
"Then... Your birthday! The sixth of January is actually Saturday, I think."
Lizzy looked up at William questioningly.
"Birthday sounds fine..." he smiled. "But I think not mine."
"William."
"We have to discuss this in detail, of course" he held her a bit closer, forcing Georgiana to finally stand straighter and let go of Elizabeth.
"Mom?"
Mina and Rose were looking at them with two identical faces of surprise.
"You are getting married?" asked... one of them.
"We... I agreed, well, yes. Yes, we are."
"Can we be flower girls?"
"Aren't you two a bit big for flower girls, kitten?"
"We are too young for witnesses, I suppose. So I want to be a flower girl."
"I think we two first have to discuss exactly what kind of wedding we'd be having" William intervened. "Give us some time, kids. She only just said 'yes' two hours ago!"

#

They slowly migrated downstairs, received a heartfelt congratulations from Mrs Reynolds and sat around the table to discuss things over a light dinner. Elizabeth had to actively stop herself from holding Will's hand under the table and he had, quite obviously, the same problem. To dispel the pull that they were both so affected by, she reached for the basket of rolls and smiled at him.
"Just to clarify" she said quietly. "Except for the list of flats - and you'll be calling them today and cancelling all these appointments, right? - is there any other surprise waiting for me that you might have forgotten to mention?"
He frowned and then smiled uncertainly.
"Y-y... well" he bit into his own roll and chewed for a moment. "There might be?"
She sighed and closed her eyes.
Count to ten, Lizzy, and breathe.
"And what would that be?" she asked finally.
"I am building a house" he looked down, to his hands on the table.
"Yes, I know. A lot of houses."
"No, Lizzy" he glanced up at her. "I'm building a house for us. All of us."
"Yeah, Mom" Mina piped up. "Dad showed me the place. It's cool. And he had shown me all the plans..."
"Wait a moment" Georgiana pressed her nose with two fingers. "What are you talking about?"
"We'll be moving to a new house next year" William said, just a tad uncertainly. "It's not far, just up the hill along the road, exactly where the historical gardens end."
"OK. Nice. New house. Kids, cover your ears. Why the fuck am I only now hearing about this, brother?"

####

So, how did you like them finally talking?

(also, I have absolutely no idea how Derbyshire accent would work, but I hope I managed to get it correct )