Carriage after carriage rolled slowly down the gravel drive into Pemberley Estate, its occupants taking in the scenery of lush grass, perfectly manicured gardens, and an incredibly large pond rif with fish ready to be caught. Darcy was thankful that the weather was on his side; a cloudless sky with a brightly burning sun made Miss Elizabeth's tanned skin shimmer. Soft streaks of urban weaved throughout her brunette hair when the sun touched it as she shifted slightly in her seat so that she could better view the Estate grounds. Darcy's eyes lingered on the subtle change of colour, wondering how he had never noticed it before.

The Bingley's, having been guests at Pemberley many times before, sought to assist the large group of amazed visitors from their carriages. Everyone was eventually standing at the base of the stairs that would lead them into the foyer, waiting for the bride and groom to be. The Bennett family looked a little out of place standing before such a lavish Estate in their humble attire. Although Miss Elizabeth wore the same style of hand-me-down dress, the way in which she held herself and her gentle beauty more than made up for it.

"Oh, Lizzie, is this not spectacular?" Charlotte exclaimed as she bounded over to where the soon-to-be-wed couple stood, taking her best friends hand in her own.

Miss Elizabeth drew her eyes away from the imposing building towering above them to smile at her friend. "It is certainly large."

The door to the foyer burst open, and Darcy did not need to turn to see who it was making such a ruckus. Her footsteps crunched on the gravel as she hurried to where the group was admiring the splendor, growing closer by the second, though Darcy remained motionless, keeping his eyes trained elsewhere.

"Brother!"

In one swift movement, Darcy spun on his heel and grabbed his young sisters waist, pulling her off the ground as he spun her around. The soft giggles were like music to his ears. How he had missed his only sibling in the weeks he had been gone.

"Hello, my dear sister," he said lovingly, placing her back on her feet after a few spins. A single curl came loose and he moved forward to tuck it behind her ear. "Have you been well?"

"It has been lonely, and the maids refuse to play with me, saying they are much too busy," she pouted. Darcy noticed when her blue eyes darted behind him, to where he could feel Miss Elizabeth watching their exchange. "Is this her?"

Straightening his spine, Darcy gestured for the young lady to step up to his side as he answered his sisters question. "It is. Georgiana, this is my fiance, Miss Elizabeth Bennett."

"It is very nice to finally meet you, Miss Georgiana," Miss Elizabeth said with a gentle curtsy, the smile on her face unmistakingly genuine.

"My brother has written to me often with details of the woman he has become infatuated with. I feel as if I already know you." In a surprise turn of events, the small girl threw herself at Miss Elizabeth, tightly wrapping her arms around her waist and squealing. "We're going to be best friends!"

Darcy took a single step forward before his fiance shook her head at him to stop. "Georgiana..."

"It's quite alright, Mr Darcy," she told him

"Mr Darcy?" Miss Caroline's bored voice alerted Darcy that he still had guests to attend too. She stood beside her brother, eyes fixed on Miss Elizabeth with a narrowed eyed surveillance that grated at Darcy's insides. "Surely you are still not so formal with one another."

It was his fiance who fought back by stating, "We are not married, Miss Bingley. How else am I too address him?"

"Lizzie..." cautioned Mrs Bennett.

Mr Bingley, seeing the tension rise a little between the two ladies, jumped into the conversation. "I think she means to say that it has been a few days since the announcement of your engagement, and although most of that time was spent travelling, the two of you ought to have grown close enough to lessen the level of formality with one another."

"It doesn't seem at all that you two are engaged if you ask me," Miss Caroline scoffed.

"No one did," deadpanned Miss Elizabeth.

There seemed to be some sort of a staring match between the two ladies before Miss Caroline huffed, turned towards the doors of Pemberley and stormed inside. The Bennett's, quiet until now, began tittering about the carriages to unload their luggage. Butlers and maids ensured them that they did not need to worry before ushering them inside as well.

Not willing to share Miss Elizabeth with her family so soon after their long travel, Darcy turned to his fiance. "Shall I escort you on a tour through Pemberley's estate?"

"Certainly," she smiled. Bending down so that she was closer to Georgiana's height, she leaned in to whisper in the girls ear, obviously remembering from his story that Darcy can hear extremely well, if her next sentence was any indication. "If you manage to sneak some sweets out of the kitchens, then I shall come find you later when I escape your brother's company. We can have a girls only night."

"Can your sisters come, too?" Georgiana whispered back, the excitement causing her voice to rise.

"I would hope so."

"Okay!" She all but yelled before leaping up the front steps and disappearing inside.

With the sun slowly rising to the centre of the sky, a soft breeze rustling the tops of every tree, the couple remained under the shade of the canopy, strolling along a path that wrapped around the side of Pemberley Estate. The pond reflected the light too harshly, so Darcy steered Miss Elizabeth to a more suitable section of the gardens. He found his attention continuously drawn to her face as they continued forward, not entirely understand what he was searching for in the gentle slope of her nose or the wonder in her eyes as she glanced about.

The ladies' conversation from ealier was stirring in his mind, slowly biting away at him until he eventually could not refrain from voicing his question. "Do you believe it would be unorthodox of me to request you to use my first name when addressing me?"

"Was this brought on by your own wish for me to do so, or is it due to the comments made by Mr and Mrs Bingley?" She questioned without missing a heartbeat, managing to stop whatever train of thought he had.

"Both," was all he responded with.

"Then I shall, if it pleases you."

He carefully gripped her fingers, pulling her to a stop on the path. A bird overhead began singing, shaking a thin tree branch as it hopped up and down, a single leaf loosening itself. It floated through the air, lazily flipping this way and that before landing in Miss Elizabeth's updo of curly hair. Darcy kept his eyes on hers as he reached up and plucked the leaf from her hair.

"I care very little of my own thoughts on the matter, Miss Elizabeth." He held out the golden leaf for her to take, where she twirled it around by the stem. "It it solely under your own discretion."

Debating what to say next, she placed the leaf into a pocket hidden by the folds of her skirts fabric. Miss Elizabeth glanced back up at him with a glint of mischief in her chocolate eyes. "Only if you agree to also use a more familiar title with me - in private."

"In private?"

"Yes. That way it is more... intimate." Cheeks slowly growing rosy with embarrassment, the young lady began walking once more, cutting off Darcy's clear view of her expressions, therefore cutting off his insight into her mind. "On the topic of intimacy, Mr Dar - Fitzwilliam, last night at the Inn..."

When she failed to continue her musings, he said, "You may speak of anything with me, Elizabeth."

Instead of speaking right away, he followed as Miss Elizabeth crossed a small open field of grass, knowing that she sought the shaded refuge under the hazelnut tree on the other side. Her nature was a gentle one, and so it was unsurprising she saw the beauty in every living thing. Miss Elizabeth laid her palm flat against the bark of the hazelnut tree, not caring of the ants that ran up and down its base. Darcy, however, cared very much of the little critters with their pincers, and so he moved forward to place himself between the tree and his fiance.

Her round eyes bore into his own unblinkingly. "You stopped because you believed yourself about to lose control, correct?"

"I did," he said cautiously, not fully understanding her line of questioning.

"Well I think you are wrong." There was so much conviction in her eyes and no hint of falter in her voice that Darcy knew she was speaking her heart. It is why he did not cut in no matter his personal thoughts on the matter. "For a moment I did - in the way that you held me down - fear that you'd lost all sense of who you are, but then your eyes met my own. They were the gentle eyes of the caring man I have deep affectionate feelings towards." A pause as Miss Elizabeth took a step forward, towards the danger, and raised a hand to place on his chest just as she had done with the hazelnut tree. "In that single moment all my apprehension melted away because I knew in my very core that - while you believed yourself to be slipping - I was safe."

"You could not have been sure," he muttered.

"I am. That fateful night when you allowed the worst side of you to take control, I saw the eyes of the monster - the thing - that made you like this," she told him, not allowing his own self hatred to impede on what she was trying to communicate. "And that was not the eyes of the man who I shared a bed with last night."

Sighing, he moved to lower her hand back to her side, the subtle sadness that touched the corners of her eyes as he did so causing his heart to crack. "No matter what you believe to have seen, it was still unfair of me to place you in that position."

"But-."

"I wish to show you something," he cut in swiftly.

Without allowing her time to reject, Darcy once more gripped her hand in his to guide her past the Hazelnut tree, deeper into the gardens surrounding the Estate until the foliage grew thick. There was no path, and no break in the canopy above them for sunlight to penetrate through, leaving the moist, lush grass underfoot thick and soft.

Ten minutes later they abruptly came to a stop with zero indication. Darcy watched as Miss Elizabeth glanced around them, eyes roaming every bush, tree and weed for a single clue as to why they were here. Eventually she turned her quizzical eyes to Darcy, a hidden question written across her face.

"The story I shared with you at the Inn, of the maid whom I killed when I lost to my most basic instincts, is buried here." At his words, the young lady's eyes widened a fraction before she regained composure and remained silent so that he may continue. "Her grave remains unmarked for all these years. Myself and Charles alone know that beneath this lush grass lays the remains of a human whose soul has long since left this world. And now so do you."

It was a few heartbeats before she responded in a quiet voice. "Why did you bring me here, Fitzwilliam? To scare me?"

"No. It is to warn you. What you believed to have seen - something less monstrous than what I am in my core - was the work of your imagination."

"I do not believe that, and I can tell that neither do you. How can I make you understand that you are not a bad person?" She asked earnestly, not hiding her true thoughts from him.

Miss Elizabeth was too self sacrificing for her own good. Despite everything he had put her through, everything he had forced onto her, all the pain and suffering, she still wishes to make him feel better about what he is. Somehow this beautiful woman truly believed that he was not a monster. Nothing he said or showed her would change her mind, so perhaps he needed to work with her rather than against her.

"Time, Elizabeth, is all I need," he started, hoping that his answer was enough to sedate her for now. "If I can resist draining every last drop of blood from your body, then I shall lower myself to my knees and apologise for causing you undue stress. Until then, however, we must remain cautious."

Miss Elizabeth's expression turned sheepish and she glanced down, confusing Darcy of what she could possibly be thinking until she muttered, "We could practice..."

His own eyes widened in surprise at her unbashful comment, but he quickly schooled his features. "Only if you find it necessary, though I doubt we will have much alone time to accomplish such a thing with a house full of guests. You can be quite loud when you're-"

"Okay, that's enough," she exclaimed loudly, all former shyness gone. Miss Elizabeth began heading in the direction in which they came as she spoke. "Let us return. I have a wedding to plan."

"As you wish," was his reply.

Upon arrival, the newest occupants of Pemberley were spread throughout the entire building, gushing over furniture finishing, artwork and tapestries, and even commending the kitchen staff on the excellent assortment of biscuits that were served with tea. It was clear that Miss Elizabeth was embarrassed by her family's unabashed behaviour, if her grimace was any indication. Darcy, however, did not mind as he knew having her family here made her happy.

The large party remained congregated in the main receiving hall until late afternoon, talking and laughing while enjoying sweets, the youngest Bennett sisters growing increasingly close to Georgiana. Miss Elizabeth stayed seated beside Darcy the entire time, and he grew ever more delighted whenever she would bump her knee into his own, giving him an assuring smile at the same time. She was happy and content. He felt as if his whole world, in this moment, could stand still and Darcy would not complain.

All too soon the ladies of the group announced that wedding discussions were to be had and promptly asked the men in attendance for some privacy. Calling staff to escort Mr Bennett and Mr Gardner around the Estate, knowing that it was he who should be playing host, Darcy watched the men hurry off down the corridor. Charles excused himself, stating that he needed the library's resources for work relations. Pretending to be busy himself, Darcy closed the doors behind him as he exited, though he remained on the other side, discreetly standing close enough that his sensitive hearing could easily follow the conversation held between the women within. He loathed himself for feeling the need to eavesdrop, but leaving Miss Elizabeth in the claws of the entire Bennett family, plus Caroline Bingley, left a sour taste in his mouth.

It was Mrs Bennett who kicked off the conversation, her shrill tone leaving Darcy's ears ringing even from behind a closed door. "We will need to go into town in order to find the perfect wedding dress, dear. Fittings and alterations, as well as accessories, will all need to be organised. So much to do and so little time!"

"Actually, Mother, I was thinking I could re-use your wedding dress," Miss Elizabeth said in an even tone.

Someone snorted, and Darcy had zero doubt that the noise came from Caroline. Everyone in the room seemed to ignore it.

"Mine? Why would you want to wear that old thing? Surely you would want a nicer, more expensive wedding dress of your own?"

"Not at all. Wearing the dress you wore while marrying our father would mean the world to me. We can just as easily have it altered in time for the wedding."

Darcy couldn't help but smile softly at the goodness of Miss Elizabeth's heart. While he could not fathom finding Mrs Bennett attractive in any sort of dress, picturing Miss Elizabeth in a wedding dress, even one once belonging to her mother, took his breath away.

"Well, I did not bring it with me, Elizabeth, and it is far too long of a carriage ride home to retrieve," Mrs Bennett told her.

"I know, Mother. That is why I brought it in my luggage."

"You-."

"We asked Father's approval," cut in Miss Jane.

Miss Elizabeth was quick to add, "It would make me tremendously happy if you would consider allowing me to wear it."

There was a pause, and Darcy considered barging into the room to shout at Mrs Bennett for making his fiance think she had done anything wrong. Wanting to be closer to your mother and to make them proud was not a good enough reason to be reprimanded. He remained frozen, though, as he knew this was not his battle to fight.

"Then you shall wear it, Lizzie," her mother finally conceded.

From there the ladies' conversation steered in multiple directions; the younger members of the party gushed about eligible bachelor guests that would be in attendance, while the older women chatted less excitedly about arrangements, location and colour pallets. Darcy considered leaving in pursuit of his male guests, but his thoughts were halted when Mrs Bennett added a new topic of discussion.

Her voice was pitched lower, no doubt so that the younger ladies could not overhear as they continued to prattle on about meaningless things. "We will need to discuss what is to come after the wedding, Elizabeth. As Jane and Charlotte are old enough, they too shall be offered the knowledge and insight."

"Mother, I do not think now is the time," Miss Jane exclaimed.

"Now is just as good of a time as any," their aunt, Mrs Gardner, stated.

Mrs Bennett agreed by adding, "It is just us ladies here, and I do not believe we will have too many moments alone before the big day. I wish for my daughter to be as prepared as she can be."

For all her self-absorbedness, boisterous attitude and complete lack of decorum, it could be said that Mrs Bennett did care a great deal for her daughters. Wanting a perfect match for each of them so that they may live in comfort was not a bad thing. However, considering their upbringing without a governess or seemingly any rules, it is a surprise that her daughters turned out as well as they had.

Miss Elizabeth softly cleared her throat in a way that made Darcy believe she was nervous. "Please, I do not think it is necessary."

"Of course it is!" Clinking of ceramics followed her words, as well as a shifting sound of sorts before Mrs Bennett continued. "Now, first thing to think of when alone with your new husband is how to undress while remaining poised, confident, and attractive. No-one will be with you to help unlace your garments, Lizzie. So we shall practice until you are able to remove all items of clothing in a dignified manner."

"Can we please speak of this another time?" Miss Elizabeth asked breathlessly, trying unsuccessfully to hide her anxiousness at their current topic.

It was Charlotte who jumped in then, respectfully saying, "I also do not believe my parents would approve of such conversation."

"You are more than old enough, child," Mrs Gardner pointed out.

"Yes, but I have not been with a man before, either. None of us have."

It was at that moment, when Charlotte uttered those final words, that Darcy heard Miss Elizabeth's heart pick up pace, thumping against her ribs as if attempting to leap from her chest. He could only imagine what was going through her mind in this moment. She should be as pure as her friend - as her family - claimed her to be. She should be blushing, curious as her mother and aunt explained how to prepare to lay with a man for the first time. She should be experiencing anticipation in the wake of their wedding. Instead of all this, though, she was carrying the weight of what he had done to her, keeping it hidden all this time in fear of shaming her family in society.

"Lizzie, are you all right?" Miss Jane's kind voice interrupted Darcy's scattered thoughts.

"I... Please excuse me."

Her footsteps were uneven as she rushed across the room - and straight out of the door Darcy was hiding behind. He stepped out of the way so that no-one inside the room could see him, and also so that Miss Elizabeth could easily exit into the corridor. The door closed with a soft click behind her, but Darcy still did not make himself known, watching from his place along the wall as her shoulders slumped. All the air seemed to exhale out of her before she took a big breath, and then another. Doing this seemed to calm her rapidly beating heart.

It was quiet for a long time after, with the occupants of the room remaining silent in the wake of Miss Elizabeth's abrupt exiting. Darcy's eyes lingered on her back, tracing the way the fabrics of her dress clung to her waist before free falling in folds to her ankles. She wore boots with a small heel, the difference barely adding an inch to her height. As he watched, Miss Elizabeth pulled something from her pocket, fidgeting with whatever it was while remaining where she stood.

"Part of me knew you would be listening," she muttered gently.

"I apologise."

"At least you don't try to hide the fact." Turning to face him, the haunted look in her round eyes was hard to miss. Darcy's gaze very briefly flickered to the gold leaf she held between her fingers, the one from their walk. "You heard everything, didn't you?"

"Yes."

A single heartbeat. "It's not your fault."

Darcy felt his eyes narrow as anger swiftly flowed from his chest to warm his entire body. "How is it not my fault, Miss Elizabeth?"

"What I meant to say was-."

"That I stole everything from you? Do not try to spare my feelings. You believe me to be righteous - a fictional version of the monster that I am." As his anger grew, so did his control on his actions. Darcy drew closer to the lady, not stopping his approach even when she backed up a few steps, giving him plenty of indication that she was uncomfortable. He glared down at her once she was backed into a wall. "Just because your mind fabricates the world around you, it does not make the threat any less real."

"Step back, sir," she demanded, managing to keep the fear that he could smell on her out of her voice.

He did not. Instead, Darcy reached between them to grasp Miss Elizabeth's hand, the golden leaf crushed in the process. "There is no way for me to get through to you, is there? I thought I could pretend... I thought perhaps all I needed was time. Listening to how you reacted in there, your heartbeat, your breathing, your lack of words - it makes me sick. I am responsible for your suffering, so why do you continue to act as if I have done nothing wrong?"

"You want me to tell you what I truly think, Mr Darcy?" There was an edge to her words.

"I do."

Miss Elizabeth yanked her hand from his grasp, and drew closer to him in the same movement. Her eyes bore into his own until Darcy feared he would fall in and lose all sense of direction. "You let this other side of yourself control who you are, too afraid that something may go wrong. Hiding yourself away from the world - from people - will only continue to weaken your heart and your mind." A deliberate pause as she placed her hand over his heart. "And until you're able to understand just how much I care for you as you are, I cannot see this marriage being one filled with love or trust."

Each truthful word she said cut him like a knife. "Miss Elizabeth-."

"Goodnight, Fitzwilliam."

He did not stop her as she stepped away, letting the leaf scatter on the floor beneath where she walked. Darcy's eyes remained locked on her back until she was out of sight. A maid was promptly sent after Miss Elizabeth so that she may be escorted to her room, which was in the same wing of the Estate as his own.

The conversations between the ladies in the adjoining parlor continued, with Mrs Bennett and Mrs Gardner going over the intricacies of pleasuring ones husband with the gentlest of touches. It would seem that the two mothers wished to share their knowledge with or without the betrothed present. Listening to them speaking of such things brought back recounts of memories he wished to remain buried. But Miss Elizabeth had been correct in her assumption that Darcy was allowing the monster within him to control how he interacted with the world - and those he loved.