Chapter 20

"...and I must say it was quite unpardonable of her to do such a thing without first inquiring of me as to the proper way to finish it. While others may have praised her for her fortitude in completing such a daunting piece, I found it to be lacking the finesse she could have achieved with my assistance." Lady Catherine finished her speech with a dismissing wave of her hand before reaching down to pick up the muffin on her plate. Breathing a sigh of relief, her two nephews both shared a look of exasperation before Darcy decided to take advantage of the short pause in her conversation.

"Pray tell, aunt, when are we to have the pleasure of Mr. Collins' company and that of his new wife?"

"Mr. Collins?" Lady Catherine huffed. "Why I see no need for his company whilst you are here. I am sure we will see him and his family Easter Sunday at church. I dare say that will be soon enough."

Frustrated, Darcy replied through gritted teeth. "While I am sure we shall indeed see your parson at church, I still believe it would be unpardonable to wait to wish Mrs. Collins joy upon her marriage since we are already acquainted."

Shocked that Darcy would speak in such a manner to her, Lady Catherine looked up from her plate to see a look of angry determination flashing in his ice blue eyes. Unwilling to admit to the fear that overcame her at his look, she quickly waved him off while saying, "very well. I suppose we might invite them to tea tomorrow. Surely that will be soon enough for proprieties sake. In the meantime, I have much need of you Darcy. I am certain that my new steward is not as qualified as he claims to be. I believe he has been falsifying records and is stealing from Rosings. I need you to assist me in going over the records from the past year to assure that all is as I believe it to be."

"Very well, aunt. I would be honored to attend you," Darcy said fighting the growing despair inside. Their visit was to only last a little over a week, and he wanted as much of that time to be spent with Miss Elizabeth. Now he was facing a week sequestered with his aunt trying to prove that her suspicions regarding a steward he had personally recommended were false while she tried to push a marriage to Anne on him.

Sensing his cousin's disappointment, Fitzwilliam quickly spoke up. "Aunt, I do believe Darcy and I were planning on touring the park over the next few days. I remember you telling my father in your last letter of several improvements that were made over the winter at your discretion. We were both looking forward to the opportunity to oversee these improvements ourselves."

Seeing a brief look of hope and gratitude cross Darcy's face, Lady Catherine grew quite angry that her nephew wished to be relieved of his duty to her. "Nonsense, Fitzwilliam. There is no need for Darcy to attend you on such a journey; and seeing as you have not an estate of your own and no prospects of ever owning one, I see not why you need go. If you so desire, go yourself. Darcy will remain here assisting me as I am in great need of his help. I will go with him if it is deemed necessary. In the meantime Darcy I expect you to meet me at one this afternoon as soon as my steward is available."

"Yes, Aunt," both gentlemen mumbled as they turned to finish their breakfasts ignoring their aunt's further conversation.

As the inhabitants of Rosings were leaving the breakfast room, the butler approached the group with an unreadable face. "Mr. Collins is here to see you madam." Before her ladyship could refuse his admittance, Darcy stepped forward and with a smile said, "how marvelous, Mr. Cowell. We were just discussing when we would be given the opportunity to congratulate Mr. Collins on his recent marriage."

Shocked that Darcy would desire to meet with the pompous parson, the butler shot him a quick look of uncertainty. Upon seeing the pleading look in Darcy's eyes the butler knew that it was not Mr. Collins he was desirous to see, but the ladies at the parsonage as well as the chance to escape from Lady Catherine. With the slightest nod of his head, and struggling to contain his smile of amusement, the butler said, "very well. Shall I show him into the morning parlor then madam?"

Not failing to miss the look of satisfaction on her nephew's face, Lady Catherine agreed before determining in her mind that she would punish Darcy for his lack of respect towards her wishes. Ever since arriving the day before, he had been too anxious to leave her company to visit the parsonage and she was far from pleased.

A few minutes later found the party in the morning parlor while Mr. Collins was expressing his great pleasure in renewing Darcy's acquaintance as well as meeting another of her ladyship's most illustrious nephews. His effusions were received with gratitude from Lady Catherine while Fitzwilliam shot looks of disgust towards his cousin who was showing an unusual amount of enjoyment. Uncomfortable with his cousin's unusual easiness, Fitzwilliam decided to try and deflect the parson's attentions away from himself by asking how Mr. Collins enjoyed Hunsford. The question had the opposite effect of the one he was hoping for as Mr. Collins began to wax eloquently on her ladyship's great condescension towards himself. This of course led to the greater amusement of Darcy.

"For you see sir," Mr. Collins finished after several minutes' worth of praise, "there is nothing that needs to be done that her ladyship, whom you are most fortunate to call aunt, does not see to for herself. I know not how I could have made it this far in life without her careful guidance." Ending with a flourishing half bow from his seated position towards Lady Catherine, Mr. Collins missed the sneers of disgust on the other gentlemen's faces.

"Mr. Collins is indeed most fortunate that I have decided to take him in under my care," Lady Catherine said haughtily. "For if I had not, he would not have been so blessed in life. I am sure you are aware Darcy that it was under my own careful guidance that Mr. Collins sought out a wife suitable to his needs. There is no one better suited to guiding a man in regards of choosing a bride than I," she said with a pointed glance towards Anne.

Forcing himself to keep a stoic expression, Darcy carefully avoided looking towards his sickly cousin at his side and addressed his aunt in a way that he hoped would garner his and Fitzwilliam's escape. "Indeed I do believe that Mr. Collins has greatly benefitted from your advice aunt and I am sure he could not have chosen a better bride." Ignoring his aunt's pleased expression and Mr. Collins voiced gratitude Darcy continued. "In fact, I was mentioning to Fitzwilliam last evening how pleased I am to have a chance to meet her again. If I remember correctly, Mrs. Collins is a very agreeable lady full of pleasant conversation. You are to be greatly admired for having obtained her hand, sir."

All eyes were upon Darcy in shock at the end of his speech, and a quick glance at Fitzwilliam nearly caused him to break out in laughter. Surely the colonel knew what he was after, therefore, Darcy felt there was no reason for him to act so surprised that he would openly compliment a woman in order to gain a reprieve from his aunts company. Thankfully Mr. Collins was the first to recover.

"Mr. Darcy, you do me and Mrs. Collins a great honor sir." He said standing up to perform a full bow.

"Nonsense, Mr. Collins, I am merely saying what I know all to be thinking," Darcy quipped. "I do hope you will pass on my congratulations to her, sir. I know I spent many evenings enjoying the company of the Lucas family and that of Mrs. Collins whilst I was in Hertfordshire. I would hate to have her think I would disregard our previous acquaintance now that she is so advantageously married by not giving her my sincere compliments at the earliest possible moment. And pray tell your wife sir that I hope to have to opportunity to meet her again very soon."

"I would be very happy to pass along the message to Mrs. Collins sir. Although I doubt I could express your kind sentiments in as eloquent a manner as you have."

With a slight smile, Fitzwilliam shot a conspiratorial glance towards Darcy as he decided to help finish setting the trap that would ensnare Mr. Collins thus setting them free to visit the parsonage. "Now Mr. Collins that would not do at all. I am sure you must understand a woman's sensibilities to be a delicate thing. If you are unsure of your ability to deliver my cousins compliments adequately then you had best not mention them at all."

"While I do agree with you, cousin, regarding the sensibilities of the fairer sex, I would hate to think of sending Mr. Collins home without a word to his wife. As I said before, I enjoyed her acquaintance and it is unpardonable that as the nephew of her husband's patroness I would not wish her joy at the earliest opportunity. We cannot expect Mr. Collins to return home after coming to specifically welcome us into the neighborhood without a greeting for Mrs. Collins. But alas, what is to be done?" As Darcy finished, he had to hide his smug look from his aunt's narrowed eyes as he watched Mr. Collins scrunch up his face in thought.

"You are right, Mr. Darcy. I must have something to say to my wife and her guests, yet I would not wish to misconstrue your words and accidentally cause offense to you or my benevolent patroness. Perhaps I should return home so that I may bring Mrs. Collins to Rosings to hear your words for herself."

"My dear sir," Darcy said exasperated with the man's stupidity. "While I agree it would be best for me to deliver my compliments to Mrs. Collins directly, we cannot ask you to impose so upon my aunt nor leave her guests behind. You forget that I am also acquainted with Misses Lucas and Bennet. As it is, it is a shame that you have called here today and propriety demands that we cannot visit the ladies whilst you are here calling upon us."

Horror at the thought of importuning his patroness caused Mr. Collins to utter words of apology while bowing profusely. It was during the middle of one of his bows, however, that Darcy's final words seemed to hit him. Standing up abruptly, eyes wide with realization, he turned to Darcy and hesitatingly began. "Sir, of course you cannot call upon the ladies whilst I am here. How unfortunate that I have preempted your own visit for surely you must have planned to do so this morning. I must humbly beg your forgiveness for depriving us and our guests of your call upon our humble home. Perhaps you would be so kind sir as to allow me to accompany you and the colonel now. The ladies, I assure you, would be most gratified of your condescension I assure you."

Feeling a surge of satisfaction, Darcy inclined his head. "Thank you Mr. Collins. Colonel Fitzwilliam and I would be most honored to accompany you. Shall we go now?"

Standing, all three gentlemen began to take their leave of Lady Catherine and Anne when the former finally regained her voice. "Darcy," she said "surely you have forgotten your duty to me this morning. I assure you that you shall have the opportunity to visit the ladies soon. I, however, will not be kept waiting. Fitzwilliam may take your compliments for you."

"I assure you aunt, I have not forgotten our appointment," Darcy said with a barely contained sneer. He was determined not to wait any longer before seeing his beloved. "However, if I remember correctly, your steward would not be available until one o'clock this afternoon, and until I have spoken with him, I will not know where to start. In the meantime, please do not let us gentlemen keep you from your other responsibilities. We shall return before long."

Without looking back, Darcy walked past the other two gentlemen and stalked to the door where a footman and a smirking Mr. Cowell were waiting to hand him his coat, hat and gloves. As the servants turned to help Mr. Collins struggle into his own coat, Fitzwilliam leaned in and whispered quietly, "You are aware that she will not let you get off lightly for this I assume."

Smiling, Darcy turned towards his cousin and whispered in reply, "I am, yet I would be an even bigger fool to let another minute pass without seeing Miss Elizabeth again. I assure you that her regard is of greater importance to me than Lady Catherine's pleasure."

Unsure of the changes he had been witnessing in his cousin over the past several days, Fitzwilliam quickly followed him out the door as they headed towards the parsonage. Along the way, Mr. Collins continued to expound on her ladyships kindness as well as the unparalleled beauty of the park. Will a roll of his eyes, Fitzwilliam turned to look at his cousin shocked to see that he was oblivious to all around him. At that moment, Darcy's eyes were bluer than he had ever seen them as they shone with hope and determination. With a slight shake of his head Fitzwilliam wondered yet again what kind of woman Miss Elizabeth Bennet was to have so affected the impenetrable heart of Fitzwilliam Darcy.

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"Eliza! Maria! You will never guess the honor to which we are to be bestowed." Charlotte Collins said with bated breath as she rushed into the sitting room where her sister and friend were attending to their needlework.

"Oh dear," Elizabeth said with a sarcastic smile. "Surely it could not be the archbishop now would it?"

"Eliza!" Charlotte scolded before breaking out into laughter while her younger sister sat horrified that Elizabeth would make light of such a personage. "No indeed. It seems Mr. Collins has returned early from his visit to Rosings."

Shocked that Charlotte would consider her husband's early return an honor, Elizabeth looked up and began to wonder if her friend was feeling ill. "Now Charlotte, surely there is no need for such excitement."

"Oh but there is. For you see, he does not return alone."

Unable to control the sudden beating of her heart, Elizabeth knew without hearing the rest of Charlotte's speech that Mr. Darcy would soon be there. Despite her many attempts over the winter, she had not been able to rid herself of dreams where Mr. Darcy or the fair haired stranger with his blue eyes invaded. Her dreams had only increased ever since hearing Lady Catherine declare that he and another nephew would be joining her at Rosings soon. She was still undetermined if such news brought relief or discomfort to her.

It had not taken long after his departure from Hertfordshire when she began to doubt the sincerity of his words as he apologized in the lane leading to Longbourn. A voice deep in her mind which had become a near constant companion ever since the day she encountered him in the library in Netherfield whispered that he would not return and his apology was not to be relied upon. This same voice whispered that his leaving had to do with Jane's heartbreak and confirmed her opinion that Wickham had been treated unfairly. While she could not explain why she held this voice in high esteem and trusted it, the way her heart beat when thinking of Darcy seemed to betray other feelings that left her disconcerted.

Having been so lost in her own thoughts that she missed the rest of the conversation between Charlotte and Maria, Elizabeth was quite surprised to discover her friend sitting next to her and reaching out to grab her hand. "I may thank you, Eliza, for this piece of civility. Mr. Darcy would never have come so soon to wait upon me."

Before she had a chance to dispute her friend's words, the doorbell rang announcing the arrival of Mr. Collins and the nephews of Lady Catherine. Before long, the three gentlemen entered the room being led by the one she could only assume was Colonel Fitzwilliam, the younger son of the Earl of Matlock. Although not of a handsome countenance, his smile and demeanor were quite pleasant and she saw many familial resemblances to his cousin who had entered hesitantly behind him.

The moment Mr. Darcy entered the room, Elizabeth found it a struggle to breathe. His blue eyes immediately captured hers and while it appeared he was bowing to the room at large, she could not help but feel it was directed at her. Visions of the light haired man began to replace him once more and she felt a longing for him that she could not describe.

Before she could dwell further on these thoughts, Mr. Collins entered the room and, with more pomposity than she had seen from him before, began to introduce the Colonel to the ladies. The Colonel immediately began to converse with Elizabeth and Maria while Mr. Darcy complimented Charlotte on her marriage and her gardens. The difference Elizabeth saw in the two gentlemen was so great she found herself wondering how they could possibly be from the same family.

After a few minutes, Maria, feeling overwhelmed with the company of the son of an Earl, moved to the other side of the room where her sister sat conversing with Mr. Darcy leaving Elizabeth and the Colonel alone.

"I must say, Miss Bennet, I have been quite looking forward to meeting you. I have heard so much about you that this is surely a great pleasure." Eyebrows raised in surprise, Elizabeth expressed her doubts that what he had heard would be flattering to her. "Indeed I disagree, Miss Bennet," he was quick to contradict her. "I have never heard my cousin speak so of a woman as he does of you."

The idea that perhaps Mr. Darcy thought highly of her sent warm shivers down her spine, and the sense of longing returned. Looking across the room, she noticed he was watching her in much the same manner he had done while in Hertfordshire while barely speaking to the Collins' or Maria. Immediately the voice began to whisper to her that the Colonel must be wrong in Mr. Darcy's estimation of her, else he would not look so dour.

"That would be because Mr. Darcy is my severest critic, Colonel," she replied with a teasing smile trying to ignore the sudden pain in her heart.

Confused, yet too much of a gentleman to show his surprise the Colonel looked at her trying to detect any falsehood. Discerning that she truly believed her words, he hesitatingly spoke. "I am sure you are wrong, Miss Bennet. Yet I do not wish to begin what I hope will be a very welcome acquaintance with a disagreement."

"You are very wise, Colonel." Elizabeth said relieved that he showed no interest in furthering the topic. She was further gratified when he began to ask her if she had had a tour of the park yet. This began a pleasant discussion on the many paths she had thus far enjoyed while he shared some of his favorites. Before long, however, they were interrupted by Mr. Darcy who came over to inquire after her family.

"They are very well I thank you," she replied confused as to the concerned look in his eyes. After a short pause during which she expected him to speak again, she added, "My eldest sisters has been in town these three months. Have you never happened to see her there?" She was quite confident that he had not, yet wished to determine if he was, as she suspected, privy to keeping Jane's presence from Mr. Bingley known. She was instead surprised to see him smile.

"Indeed I was most fortunate to come across your sister two days ago while she attended to her young cousins in the park. I must say it was quite a welcome surprise as I was unaware of her presence there. I only regret that I was to travel here to Kent the next morning thus making it necessary to decline her kind offer of tea."

Shocked that he seemed sincere in his regret, Elizabeth stared up at the man before her. She had been so sure that he, like Mr. Bingley's sisters, disapproved of his friends' attachment to her sister thus helping to separate the two. That she had not heard from Jane yet in regards to this recent meeting mattered little. Was it possible she was wrong? Before she could reflect further upon his remarks, she heard the voice tell her to ask after his own sister.

"I...I am glad to hear that you met with Jane, sir, although it is a shame that it was only so recently and not sooner. And may I inquire after your own sister? I understood from you, sir, that she was quite ill when you left Hertfordshire last November requiring her removal to your estate."

"Georgiana was ill?! Why was I not informed?" Colonel Fitzwilliam nearly bellowed as he bestowed a mighty glare upon his cousin. Looking at the Colonel, Elizabeth saw anger suffuse his features while any trace of a smile disappeared from Mr. Darcy's.

"It is of no matter, Richard. She is recovered and it was of short duration." Mr. Darcy said nervously trying to placate his cousin's anger.

"Yet it must have been quite serious enough to have removed her to Pemberley for the entire winter as well as your own self from a neighborhood I heard you describe as quite pleasant."

"Richard, please," Mr. Darcy begged quietly.

"I am confused," Elizabeth interjected looking back and forth between the two. "I understood her to be severely ill, yet you are now saying that she was never in any danger? And forgive me, Colonel, while your concern for your cousin is quite admirable, if she is indeed recovered after only a short time, why should it matter to you to be informed of it?"

"I am joined in guardianship of Miss Darcy with my cousin here," the Colonel replied trying to check his anger. "To hear from a new acquaintance that my ward suffered an illness that I was not informed of, yet an entire neighborhood is aware of, I find extremely disturbing."

With the Colonel's words, Elizabeth chanced a look up at Mr. Darcy and saw him look away guiltily. Suddenly all her doubts regarding his innocence in regards to her own sister and Wickham disappeared. He was not the honorable man he claimed to be, using his sister as an excuse to leave a neighborhood he deemed beneath him. She watched as he hesitatingly met her eyes, and upon seeing the hardness and disgust in hers, his lost all depth as they changed to a black color.

Suddenly she heard a warm chuckle fill the room and knew it to be the voice she had so often heard. The voice brought her comfort as it seemed to confirm to her Mr. Darcy's guilt. Although she knew no one else could hear the voice, she was surprised to see Mr. Darcy looking around the room as if he was looking for the source of the chuckle. When the laughter died down, his gaze returned to her, and she saw anger and loss written upon his face before he excused himself to once more converse with the Collins'.

Confused at what had just happened and wondering if Mr. Darcy could also hear the voice, she tried to turn her attention once more to the Colonel, yet found her attention wandering towards the other side of the room where he was.

Elizabeth was grateful when a few short minutes later the gentlemen took their leave expressing their hope of seeing them again soon. When they had left, Charlotte walked over to her and took her hands in hers asking if she was alright.

With a hollow laugh, Elizabeth looked into her friend's eyes and said she was perfectly well especially since she now had proof of Mr. Darcy's dislike for her. Although Charlotte refused to believe as Elizabeth did, she did not press her further and the ladies soon returned to their needlework while Mr. Collins retired to his own room.

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"Darcy you had better start explaining yourself right now!" Fitzwilliam shouted at his cousin's back as he struggled to keep up with Darcy's long strides.

Suddenly Darcy turned forcing Fitzwilliam to stop, a look of extreme anger in his eyes. "What would you like me to explain, cousin? Perhaps you would like me to tell you how you perhaps have just ruined any chance I might have had with Miss Bennet?"

"I did no such thing Darcy. You lied to Miss Bennet. You are completely to blame!"

"I did...I did not lie to her...I did not lie." Darcy said as his shoulders slumped in defeat, the anger leaving his eyes to be replaced by pain.

Unwilling to forgive his cousin so easily, the Colonel merely folded his arms across his chest as he watched his cousin. "So Georgiana was truly ill? In that case you have lied to me! Which is it man?"

"Georgiana was not ill," Darcy said. Sensing his cousin was about to start berating him again for lying to Miss Elizabeth he quickly held up his hand to stall him. "She was, however, suffering a relapse of the poor spirits she first experienced after Ramsgate. You had already left for the continent at that time, and I knew that she would recover quicker at Pemberley than in town. As for telling the people of Meryton, what else was I supposed to say? You know what kind of stigma our society puts on such emotional states; I could not expose her to that."

"William I...I am sorry I had no idea. And now Miss Bennet thinks you lied to her and her entire neighborhood?" Seeing Darcy's nod, Fitzwilliam strode over to a tree and leaned against it in his own despair. "Why did you not tell me before?"

"I did not think it important to inform you," Darcy replied watching his cousin carefully. Upon seeing Fitzwilliam's disbelief, he sighed and continued. "With you away on the continent, I did not wish to give you anything to worry about here at home. When you finally returned, she was so well recovered that I saw no reason to remind her of painful memories. I had not thought that Miss Elizabeth might mention it, else I would have warned you sooner." Sighing, he looked upon his cousin pleadingly. "Please, Richard. I know now that I was wrong in more areas than one. Can you forgive me for not informing you sooner?"

With a slight smile, Fitzwilliam reached out to grasp his cousin's hand. "Of course I can, but only if you forgive me for accidentally turning your enchanting Miss Bennet further against you."

"It is of no matter. As I said before, she is determined to think ill of me. You are not at fault." As he said the words, Darcy knew he was not speaking of her so much as he was the mysterious being. As soon as he had mentioned seeing Miss Jane Bennet in London, he felt the being's presence in the room as what little warmth that shone from her eyes disappeared. When the laughter filled the room, he knew that although he had been granted another opportunity to help her remember, his every move would be watched and countered by whoever it was watching over them.

Quietly the two gentlemen resumed their walk back to Rosings. One was watching the other curiously wondering how hard his cousin had fallen for Miss Elizabeth, while the other thought of ways to discover the mysterious watchers identity.

When they finally arrived at Rosings, Darcy excused himself as he had a desire for some solitude before meeting with Lady Catherine. Fitzwilliam watched as his cousin ran up the stairs with a heavy heart. He could not deny that he found Miss Elizabeth quite enchanting, yet he had never seen his cousin so distraught over a woman. Deciding that he wished to help Darcy as much as possible in finding happiness with the lady, Fitzwilliam set his shoulders and set out to find out as much from his aunt as possible regarding the one who had gained his cousin's love.


AN: Hi everyone! So, I finally have my set days off from my new job, band is almost over, and I've got a pattern down for completing homework for my online class which means I should finally have more time to write! YIPPEE! Believe me, no one can be more excited than me about that! Well...at least I think so. ;-) Anyway, long time, I know, I'm sorry, and here's to hoping for another chapter even sooner!

Love you all so much and cannot thank you enough for your support, reviews, and understanding in regards to my slow posting! It means more to me than you know!

-Allahteeah