Hi everyone.

Thank you for continuing to read this story. I loved reading your reviews, including your answers to my question about the PnP characters you love/hate the most. Lizzy is the overall winner for most loved. For most hated/disliked, there was quite a variety of answers but I think Wicky takes the trophy.

Special thank you to the following reviewers:

midnitewanderer, Levenez, Deanna27, Colleen S, Janwel, Eleoopy, pemsnowy, liysyl, crispill, Vesper1931, PDS1, Shelby66, ChrisM0519, Motherof8, Lisa, RHALiz, loritahubbard, Jansfamily4, roses0002, srhittson, Maria Teresa C, lpinney

After reading your comments, I wanted to write the next chapter straightaway but I chickened out. This chapter's contents had been fixed in my mind for a while but the scenes that would follow keep changing in my head… so we shall see… Plus I got distracted by another plot bunny which I won't write about anymore because when I checked on Google, it has been written about already (PnP/Titanic). I guess that is good because I know nothing about ships. ;-)

Back to business -- I did signpost that there will be more about Darcy and Lydia so please, read on.

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With her heart pounding, Lydia nervously stopped in front of another door. She was convincing herself to go through with her decision.

Yes, I am going to do it!

Very carefully, she entered the room and looked around in the near darkness. She tried to locate her bearings and slowly crept towards the piece of furniture she needed to reach. Ever so gently, she pulled the drawer open --

"Lydia?" a sleepy voice called out to her.

Starting to panic, Lydia stayed paralysed to the spot. A wave of fear swept over her and her hands trembled. In her mind, she knew she had to do this and face the consequences but she was too frightened to move.

"Lydia, is something the matter?" she heard the worry in her sister's voice.

As Lydia continued to stand motionless with her back turned, Lizzy rose from her bed and went over to her. Even in the dimness, she could sense that something was troubling Lydia. Taking one of her hands, she wanted to calm and reassure her. The hand she held was cold to the touch and she heard Lydia begin to whimper. She put her arms around her youngest sister who was, at first, hesitant to receive her loving embrace but eventually clung to her desperately. Lydia's body was now shaking and her sobs were gradually becoming more audible. By this time, Jane had awoken to the noise and watched them in concern.

"Lizzy? Lydia?" she spoke to in a quiet voice.

"Will you come and sit by my bed?" she offered when no answer was heard.

Once Lizzy felt that Lydia had regained some composure, she silently guided her to sit on Jane's bed.

"Please tell us what is bothering you, Lydia. Are you feeling unwell?" encouraged Jane in a mild voice. To this, Lydia responded by shaking her head.

"You do know you can talk to us about anything, Lydia. Jane and I are always ready to listen. Please let us help you," Elizabeth said, putting one arm around her waist.

Lydia turned to face Elizabeth and with tears streaming down her cheeks, these words left her lips,

"I am sorry, Lizzy. I am so, so sorry. Please forgive me. Please, Lizzy. Please…"

She then held something to Elizabeth, intending her to accept it. Confused, Elizabeth received it and asked,

"What is this, Lydia?"

"It is yours, Lizzy. I… I… took some money from you. I came here to put it back in your drawer."

"But why would you take money from my drawer? Have you any need to buy something?"

"No. No, It is not like that…"

"Then what did you need the money for?"

"I did not need it. Not for myself anyway."

"I do not understand."

Taking a deep breath, Lydia decided that she ought to make her confession.

"I was going to give the money to Mr Wickham," she barely whispered.

"To Mr Wickham?" Jane and Elizabeth both exclaimed in surprise.

After Lydia nodded, Jane wanted to know more about how this had happened.

"Why would you give him money? Did he threaten you?"

"No! No, he did nothing like that. He was always kind to me. He did not harm me."

"Then why would you think to give him money? He is a grown man who can earn his own living."

"Because… because… I thought… he wanted to marry me… and that he was saving the money for our future together."

"Do you mean to say you have already given him money before?" Elizabeth questioned.

"Yes. On two occasions. I am so sorry, Lizzy. I truly am. I should not have done it."

"I honestly do not know what to say, Lydia."

"Say you will forgive me, Lizzy. Please. I will not do it again. Please, Lizzy."

"Oh, Lydia! I wish you had known what kind of a man he is. He is such a scoundrel, to be taking advantage of young girls like you."

"But you did warn me, Lizzy. That night when we argued. Stupidly, I did not believe you then. I was so foolish to believe a man I barely know over my own sister. I am sorry that I have disappointed you. And hurt you. Papa is right -- I am the silliest girl in all of England."

"Listen to me, Lydia. Do not believe that. You can be a very clever girl when you want to be. You have made a mistake, and you must learn from it. Much as I am disappointed with what you did, you are not entirely at fault," Elizabeth replied.

"Lydia, I am relieved that you had admitted the truth to us, and that you know to never repeat this mistake again. Do you how much money you have given him?" Jane asked.

"I am not certain. I did not actually count the coins that I took from the drawer."

Elizabeth felt the little parcel wrapped in cloth that Lydia returned to her and thought those coins would probably not amount to much. Not for a man like Mr Wickham anyway, who was prone to gambling. Besides, she did not tend to keep a large amount of money lying around in her drawer.

"I must make it clear, Lydia, that we are most unhappy with what you did. We have never been unfairly selfish with you. You do realise it is very wrong to take what is not yours," Jane said in a firm tone.

"Yes, I know, Jane. And I truly am sorry. Lizzy."

"You are my sister, Lydia. I forgive you. But you should be aware that we have to tell papa about this. I do not know what he will say about the matter."

Lydia was not pleased to hear the last statement but she accepted that their father had to be informed.

"It is still dark. We better get back to sleep. We can talk to papa after breakfast," Jane suggested.

Once Lydia was back in her own bed, she felt more at ease. At this point, she did not really give much thought into Mr Wickham's wish to get his hands on the letter from a certain "Georgiana" nor their planned elopement. She did not take the letter and she did not even know what the letter was about nor who this "Georgiana" was. It might not even be the same person as the "Georgiana" that Mr Wickham was acquainted with. As to the elopement, she could never run away with him now so she concluded there was no need for anyone else to know lest she cause more disappointment about something that will never happen anyway. Mr Wickham had already deserted Meryton and in her mind, it meant that this chapter of her life which involved that man must come to an end.

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Mr Darcy was awake by three in the morning. He immediately noticed that he had slept holding the book he had lent Elizabeth. Carefully, he touched the top of the book and tried to feel if the page marker was still in place. He did not want to return it in a creased or mangled state. Actually, he had no wish to return it. If only he would be allowed to keep it for himself. Assured that it had not been jostled out of his position during his sleep, he again let his mind wander to his interactions with Elizabeth yesterday. After a short while, he decided he had better start his morning ablutions as he and Richard would need to leave Netherfield in about an hour's time.

After he was dressed, he took the book to his desk and checked that the pressed flower was likewise securely placed between the pages. While he was doing so, he saw that there was some paper peeking out from between the last page of the book and the back cover. He hastily looked to see what it was, wishing it was a message from Elizabeth. It turned out that it was not a note from her, but rather, his letter from Georgiana.

Mr Darcy was relieved that he had regained possession of the letter. He had, of course, trusted that Elizabeth would keep it safe. That letter was very important to him and it also contained personal and sensitive information that he did not want anyone else to discover. That was why he mostly kept the letter on his person rather than leaving it in his room at Netherfield while he was out. Thinking of Georgiana and other innocent people whose lives Wickham had affected detrimentally, he understood how important it was that they succeeded in capturing Mr Wickham.

At this time of the year, the sun rose just after half seven and dawn cracked at about half six. The plan was that he and Richard would be in the vicinity of the Kings' residence about two hours before dawn to wait for Wickham to appear. Colonel Forster had designated some of his men at various spots in the village but they wanted to personally see to it that Wickham was finally brought to justice.

Truth be told, he felt some guilt for not dealing with his childhood friend sooner. He could have and should have curbed his immoral ways many years ago but he could not bring himself to do it out of respect for his father's memory. His father had been very fond and protective of Wickham hence he felt that it was his duty to continue making provisions for his former friend's welfare. But he knew that he could no longer tolerate Wickham's despicable behaviour. He could not bear the thought that more unsuspecting people would be deceived by that fraudster. To protect the Bennet family and other residents of Meryton, he was determined that he would finally do the right thing with regards to Wickham.

When he went down, he saw that his cousin was likewise ready.

"Good morning, Richard."

"It is too early in the morning for it to be good," Richard grouchily replied.

The two men started walking to the breakfast parlour to see if there was anything they could consume quickly before they left the estate. Bingley had assured them that he had asked his staff to have something easy and simple prepared for them. Although it was too early compared to their usual start, the staff were more than willing to do their best especially since their master spoke to them with genuine civility, in contrast with how Miss Bingley used to treat them so rudely.

"Are you not supposed to be accustomed to unusual hours, being in the army?"

"Yes, but I am not on official duty now."

"If we succeed today, it will be well worth the lack of sleep. You can sleep as much as you like afterwards."

"I just want to get my hands on Wickham. Even now, he is causing problems and making us lose sleep."

"You should have taken a nap during the carriage ride instead of eating all the candy."

"I only ate half, at most!"

"My, you really are irritable today."

"I am just mentally preparing myself for our mission. We need to focus on our goal, which is Wickham!"

"He will not be able to evade us. Colonel Forster had tasked some of his men to be stationed at strategic places."

"Are you sure about this?"

"What do you mean?"

"About making Wickham pay his due. You always had a soft spot for him even if he never deserved your generosity."

"Yes, I am absolutely determined to go through with this. It is time."

"There will be no turning back once he is captured."

"Of that, I am fully aware."

"Very well. Let us have some strong coffee to keep us alert and awake," the colonel suggested then continued, "Why are you carrying a book?"

"Oh! I… uhh…"

"You do not intend to read a book in the dark while waiting for Wickham, do you?"

"No, of course not! I thought that I would ask Miss Bennet if she still needs this book that I lent her. I shall keep the book in my coat pocket."

"She already returned it to you. Are you exchanging correspondence via a book, Fitz? That is highly inappropriate!" the colonel exclaimed. "What did you write in your letter? Let me have a look. You probably have no idea how to write a love letter. I can help you."

"No! She would not do such a thing as writing a letter to a man unrelated to her."

"And how about yourself? Would you write her a note?"

"No, I would not do anything so improper."

"Ah… there lies the problem. You would need to actually DO something, Fitz. To show your affections and good intentions."

"Let us focus on our goal today, Richard. We have very serious business to attend to."

"Of course. Wickham. He is our target. Are you ready to go?"

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I must say that I thought more of you would have guessed that Lydia would confess.

Well done, Maria Teresa C!

PDS1 and Janwel: Yes, the letter was in the book. That was why Lizzy returned the book even though she has not finished reading it (hence the bookmark and the pressed flower were also there). She could not be seen giving Darcy a letter so she had to find another way before he left.

So the next question is (if you care to share answers, that would be appreciated!):

What would you like to know more about the PnP story that was not thoroughly discussed in the book?

I have quite a few but I think the one foremost on my mind right now would be:

More about Darcy's family background (parents, how he grew up, that "engagement" from birth, the Fitzwilliam side)

Other minor ones: Bingley's family background (parents, the saintly aunt in Scarborough), Anne and her health, more on the epilogue, names of characters (the colonel, Mr and Mrs Bennet etc)

Thank you for reading and please stay safe. ;-)