Hi everyone. Yes, I am still here.

Thank you to all of you lovely readers who have stuck with me. Special mention to the reviewers:

Motherof8, Colleen S, Deanna27, ChrisM0519, lpinney, Jansfamily4, RHALiz, Lisa, Maria Teresa C, srhittson, Shelby66, Levenez, MK543

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By the time Darcy woke up from his nap, it was almost midday. He had overslept and had missed breakfast. After a quick change of clothes, he went down and was greeted by his cousin.

"Good morn- oh, afternoon," Richard said with a smirk.

"You should have woken me up," Darcy grumbled.

"I am sorry to take your future felicity into consideration, my dear cousin. I did not want you to look haggard when you call on the lovely Miss Elizabeth. You know how ill-tempered you can be, what more when you are not well-rested. You do not want to scare her off even before you can make a move," Richard taunted.

"Hmpf!" was all Darcy could muster.

"Bingley has already left for Longbourn. His staff has been instructed to prepare nuncheon. Come. I had a late breakfast, but I could always do with something sweet. They make delicious cakes, buns and tarts here," Richard said while heading to the dining area.

"Gluttony," Darcy replied.

"I would rather call it food appreciation. I have a healthy appetite as I am a very active, hardworking man, unlike some wealthy men who are fortunate enough to have stewards to oversee their grand estates and servants for every corner of their properties," Richard said.

Darcy rolled his eyes at hearing this comment. "What happened with Wickham?"

"I have successfully delivered him to Colonel Forster. He said he will deal with the scoundrel expeditiously. I will pay him a visit while you are spending time with your lady," Richard stated and wiggled his eyebrows.

"We are not… I have not… well, I do have something to ask her--"

"Finally! Now that Wickham is out of the way, you have all the time to woo her. But can you not take too long? I would like to attend your wedding before I am summoned for duty."

"I am going to speak to Mr Bennet first--"

"Oh yes, it is better to have the father's permission to court his favourite daughter—"

"It is not about… I need to tell him about what happened with Wickham first."

"Of course. Deal with that first, then afterwards, you can –"

"Richard, I realise you want to help, but I think I know what to do."

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Mr Bennet and Darcy only had a brief conversation in the study. The older man was too mortified to detail Lydia's foolishness more than necessary, and instead opted to describe the plans to improve her behaviour and education, though he had almost no involvement in the activities. After expressing gratitude to Darcy for his and his cousin's generosity and brave actions, he then announced that he had other matters to attend to.

Moments after, Darcy joined the others in the parlour and chose to sit near Elizabeth. The usual pleasantries were exchanged with polite smiles and nods. Mrs Bennet made sure to thank him excessively for his part in Wickham's arrest, and the gentleman reacted as calmly and as graciously as he could. It was truly noteworthy how Lydia appeared so composed and disciplined throughout all this.

"It is quite sunny outside. I declare it is a fine weather for enjoying a walk in our gardens. It is not too cold in the afternoons. Do you not agree, Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy?" Mrs Bennet said.

"I heartily agree, Mrs Bennet. That is such an excellent suggestion. If Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth would be so kind as to accompany us, I am sure my friend would have no objection to engaging in a leisurely stroll together," answered Bingley cheerfully. The party was soon suitably dressed for the outdoors. During the course of the walk, each pair created some distance from the other, wanting to give each couple some privacy.

"Mr Darcy, please allow me this opportunity to thank you and Colonel Fitzwilliam for your assistance in the capture of Mr Wickham. The whole of Meryton is in your debt," started Elizabeth.

"There is no need, Miss Elizabeth. Your father, as well as your mother, have already expressed more than enough gratitude on behalf of your family. I believe, even without me and my cousin, Colonel Forster and his men have the skills to bring about his arrest," Darcy humbly replied.

"That makes your service even more admirable. You did not have to come to our aid, yet you did. You paid off that man's debts and sat down to discuss plans and strategies with Colonel Forster. I shall forever remember your show of goodwill, sir. You do not know how much it means to me. My sister, Lydia! Your actions have secured – "

"Say no more, Miss Elizabeth. Please. I was determined to do the right thing, which I should have done years ago. If I have helped in some small way, think no more of it. I did it willingly, but not in order to gain your gratitude," Darcy said in a gentle voice.

"You have put yourself at risk, sir. You could have been very seriously hurt… or worse…" Elizabeth looked down at his bandaged hand.

"My hand is not badly injured, Miss Elizabeth," he whispered and stopped walking, holding his hand up for her to see. "The bleeding has stopped, and the wound should heal quickly." Instinctively, Elizabeth tenderly caressed his hand and fought the urge to kiss it.

"I… I am very much relieved to know that, sir," she said, releasing her hold of his hand, and bowed her head.

"Were you worried for me, Miss Elizabeth?" he spoke softly and tilted her chin up so he can gaze into her warm eyes, and perhaps see a sign of hope.

"Yes… yes, I was," she quietly admitted.

Darcy stepped closer to her and started to say,

"Miss Elizabeth, I… I would like to ask…" Darcy paused as another thought entered his mind.

"Yes, Mr Darcy?" Elizabeth prompted him to proceed and held her breath.

"I… I am sorry. I got distracted. Pardon me. I was going to ask you something about Mr Wickham," Darcy recovered himself.

"What about Mr Wickham, sir?" Elizabeth tried to hide her disappointment. The spell between them was now broken.

"He said something this morning that makes me very curious," Darcy shared his thoughts.

"What did he say?" Elizabeth questioned.

"He said something about you and my sister sharing letters and confidences," he replied.

"I do not know what he meant by that. I have not met your sister. It is not possible for us to have written to each other," Elizabeth sounded confused.

"I know that. But why would Wickham say that? What did he mean by sharing confidences with my sister?" Darcy continued asking her.

"I have no idea, sir. If it really bothers you that much, I suggest you ask him instead. I know nothing about what he spoke of," Elizabeth replied.

"I am sure you will understand if I prefer not to have to face him again. He is a person who cannot be trusted. That was why I thought to ask you about what you may know," Darcy declared.

"Perhaps he is trying to play games with your mind. No offence, sir, but I suspect he is keen to take advantage of your vulnerabilities," she answered, beginning to feel that she was being interrogated.

"I suppose you are right," Darcy conceded. "But… why would he mention letters and confidences… unless he knew about the letter from Georgiana…"

"Sir, I assure you that I told no one about the contents of that letter, or even its existence," Elizabeth said in a firm tone.

"I am just wondering, Miss Elizabeth. I should be concerned as this is about my sister too. It could potentially be damaging to her. It must have been a very random lucky guess for Wickham to conjure up something about letters and confidences…" Darcy replied.

"Mr Darcy, I have returned the letter to you as soon as I could. The letter is safe in your hands. Mr Wickham could not have known about that letter. Not from me. In case you have forgotten, I was ill and confined to the house for some time so I would not have had any chance to see or talk to him," Elizabeth was getting tired of this conversation.

"I know it could not have been you. You say you have told no one and I believe you. I am just wondering what made him say that... Do you think someone else… like… perhaps Miss Bennet have seen the letter? You mentioned that you share a room with your sister and that she was the one who looked after you when you were unwell--" Darcy persisted.

"Sir! My sister Jane would not read letters which are not addressed to her. She is not that kind of person. I trust my sister completely and she would not do anything to harm anyone," Elizabeth defended her sister.

"I do not imagine she would. But is it not possible for someone to see the letter—"

"If she had, she would have told me or asked me about it. She would not hide anything from me," Elizabeth answered.

"No, I did not mean… I was not accusing her--" Darcy started to form a response but Elizabeth had had enough of their discussion and cut him off.

"Then what did you mean? I… I beg your pardon, sir. I apologise for my outburst. I feel I am developing a headache. I… I must return to the house. Have a good day, sir," she said and left in a hurry.

"Miss Elizabeth!" Darcy was about to follow her, but Jane intervened. She had noticed that her sister separated from her walking companion in haste.

"Leave my sister be, sir," Jane told him resolutely. "Excuse me, Mr Bingley, I need to check on my sister. I thank you for calling today."

"What happened, Darce?" Bingley asked his friend.

"We were just discussing something… and then Miss Elizabeth… she said she has a headache… then she left…" Darcy was trying to recall their last exchange as he answered Bingley.

When the men returned to the house to take their leave, a written note was handed to Darcy.

"This was delivered by a member of the militia while you were out in the gardens, Mr Darcy," Mrs Bennet said.

The gentleman quickly read the message from his cousin and folded it back carefully afterwards. Colonel Fitzwilliam had written:

Wickham has accepted all the accusations brought against him. Colonel Forster thinks this would easily result in him rotting in debtors' prison. Before he is transported from Meryton, Wickham's final request is to have the opportunity to speak to you one last time. He said he wants to offer his confessions and apologies to you in person. Your decision.

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Thank you to the replies to my last question.

If you feel like answering this next one, I would love to hear from you:

Which PnP characters would you—

a) Snog

b) Marry

c) Avoid (or maybe push off a cliff)

For a and b, Darcy? Can it be the same answer? But I think he can be hard work… LOL. Maybe the Colonel F or Bingley would be easier to live with. For c, Wickham… and Mr Collins, he would drone on and on… but I guess I could just leave and he won't even notice.

One other thing… I have slowed down on writing. If you read my profile, you might have an idea as to why.

In case you have not read my profile, I am feeling unsettled after finding out that some of my stories were "added"/shared/reviewed/rated on Goodreads. You may think there is no big deal -- there were 21 ratings and 9 reviews, and someone added them to their "reading challenge." I do not believe there was anything malicious about this, and the reviews/ratings were not cruel. So, if the readers who were involved are reading this message, I would like to assure you that I am not angry. But… it makes me uncomfortable. Am I justified in feeling like this? Maybe not.

I wrote my stories and posted them here. I have posted three chapters of "Grateful" on AO3 months ago but have not had time to continue there. For now, I would like my work to remain on this site and on AO3. Is it too much to ask that comments, if any, be left on the sites where I have chosen to post? I am not writing to sell books or for my work to be given "ratings" either. To me, I see reviews as feedback and a way to communicate, not a form of judgement.

Anyway, that is how I feel. You may, of course, disagree with me.

So, where do I go from here?

I think about writing everyday, honestly. But I am not keen to write happy/silly/funny stories at the moment. I thought of maybe taking a break, or finishing all my work quickly so I am done...

I think I will just continue and see how it goes. Hopefully, I will get into the swing of things again soon.

I have a few chapters of my other stories written up before. I will dig them up and update. Really sorry if you have been waiting.

Stay safe, everyone!

I will be back, promise!

Clarification: The stories added on Goodreads show the author's name as Lizzieanne16 (capital L instead). So at least the stories did not appear as someone else's. My point is, it was not me who added/shared them there.