As the girls left, Elizabeth decided to go in search of Jane, but was pulled up short.

"Miss Elizabeth, I fear I owe you the biggest apology yet."

There, right at the foot of the alley not ten feet away stood Mr. Darcy, looking as handsome as ever, staring at the ground in apparent shame, while kicking the dirt with his boot, which was becoming quite scuffed. His valet was going to throw a fit. It was obvious he had overheard the conversation and was feeling guilty about it, but less obvious was why he did not just fade away to the end of the alley when he had the chance or walk in the back door of the White Horse.

"Mr. Darcy, I believe I can save us some time and consternation in future."

Surprised by the unexpected reply, Darcy fell back on reflex and asked, "How so, Miss Elizabeth?"

He was still staring at his boots, so Elizabeth just stared at him until he finally looked up to her eyes and kept his eyes on her face.

"Mr. Darcy, let us just stipulate that you are a true gentleman and will rarely if ever act in an ungentlemanlike manner. You have apologized a good half-dozen times to me, only one of which was required or deserved. Henceforth, unless you do something far worse than overhearing a conversation that I should have taken behind closed doors, I will neither expect nor accept apologies from you… particularly, as in this case, where you appear to be apologizing for my behavior."

The little outburst had the desired effect, and Mr. Darcy smiled, just slightly.

Elizabeth laughed a bit in reply, and for a minute or so they both just laughed at the predicament.

Finally, they both stopped, and Darcy said, "I app… well, I shall explain in lieu of an apology. I was sneaking out the back door of the White Horse to avoid someone I did not want to talk to. Not very gentlemanly, but effective. I saw you and your sisters and went to greet you but heard the beginning of your discussion with your sisters. I had seen a couple of soldiers following me a few yards behind. I saw the door starting to open, so I planted my foot under it to prevent their egress, which worked but left me in position to overhear. I could not think of a way to avoid it without further embarrassing you."

Elizabeth laughed again, and said, "I see. So, you are apologizing for protecting me from my own folly. Well, in that case, you are forgiven, Mr. Darcy… and this time, I mean it."

The gentleman laughed at that, and then asked, "I see you sent your sisters home, Miss Elizabeth. May I escort you to wherever you are going?"

Elizabeth had not really thought about what she would do once she was done with her younger sisters. In truth, Jane would have entirely forgotten her after the appearance of Mr. Bingley, and Mary was most likely busy with a spade burying Mr. Collins in the back garden, so she really had nowhere she needed to be.

"If you are at your leisure, you might escort me to Longbourn, Mr. Darcy."

The road to Longbourn was a mile, just a twenty-minute walk. It was public so there was no need to worry about propriety, but it had open fields on both sides, so they could be assured of some privacy, while still being perfectly visible to all.

Mr. Darcy extended his arm and very gallantly replied, "It would be my pleasure, Miss Elizabeth."

Elizabeth had not really thought about whether she would set tongues wagging in Meryton by walking publicly with Mr. Darcy, but she was certainly not going to be churlish enough to deny his arm. She took it with pleasure, and they set off for Longbourn.

"Mr. Darcy, if we go out the back and behind the feed store, we will avoid most of the town gossips, but it is public enough to not raise any alarms."

"I am not afraid of you, Miss Elizabeth. Behind the blacksmith, through the middle of the village, through the middle of your Aunt Philips' drawing room; you choose. No harm will come to us from a bit of tongue‑wagging."

Elizabeth thought that might be understating the case, but she decided she was not going to hide in the shadows anymore, so she led the gentleman back into the thoroughfare, and they walked on towards Longbourn.

Going through the village, the pair talked about all the commonplaces. Elizabeth introduced Mr. Darcy to a few people he had never met and sent word to her aunt about her plans in case Mary finished murdering Mr. Collins early and wondered where she was.

Once they left the village, Mr. Darcy turned the conversation.

"Miss Elizabeth, I should not have overheard you, but I did. I obviously will not pry into details… that would be ungentlemanly…"

Elizabeth just giggled.

"…but may I ask just one thing?"

Elizabeth just nodded, since it was impossible to talk to Mr. Darcy about his sister without giving the girl away or driving Elizabeth mad. Through her inability to control her temper, she was having a conversation she should not be having at all with the last man in the world she should be having it with.

Finally, she decided a nod was insufficient, and replied, "You may ask anything you like, Mr. Darcy. You will not overstep."

She had no idea why she added that last little bit, or even how she knew it; but it was said, and she did not regret it… not entirely.

"About the young lady… I will not ask who she is, or where or when the event occurred, but I will ask this. Is she all right? Is there anything I could do to help her?"

"Help her! Why?"

Elizabeth was both surprised by the question and distressed about her inability to ask more decorously, but she just could not do any better and hoped the gentleman would not be offended.

"Because, Miss Elizabeth, I have the capability to do so, and I would choose to use it. That is part of what my father taught me. With great power comes great responsibility."

"Voltaire, Mr. Darcy?"

Darcy sighed, and continued, "I cannot help everyone in the world, but I can help quite a few. I have a dozen or two living around Derbyshire, London and Kent under my protection because they found themselves in my circle and in trouble. There are at least another dozen helped by my father, and his father before him. It is mostly young ladies who have been taken advantage of, but sometimes young men who lost parents and have nowhere to go, plus the odd widow with no money. I do what I can, so if I can help this young lady, I will."

Elizabeth was astonished by the entire statement.

"I did not know it was common for property owners to do that, Mr. Darcy. I do happen to know my father intervened once or twice when I was younger, but I did not think others did."

"Many do, and many do not. My parents taught me to do my duty, and so I do it and a bit more."

"But you said you helped people in your circle. How does an unknown lady in …"

She managed to omit the word 'Ramsgate', just barely, and continued, "… come to be in your circle."

"Through you, of course."

"Me!"

Darcy looked at the lady, and in some consternation saw that he had somehow frightened her, although he had no idea how.

"Please, do not be alarmed, Miss Elizabeth. I mean no more nor less than that you are my friend, and if a lady was harmed in front of you, I would consider both of you in my circle of acquaintances. Please… be easy. In this case, I am only talking about my duty, though it is a duty I perform gladly. I cannot erase the experience, but I have the resources to ease her path if it will help."

Somewhat less alarmed, Elizabeth thought for a moment until her heart returned to somewhere near its normal beat and replied.

"I thank you for the offer, Mr. Darcy. I… I… I do not actually know the young lady, but I know of her. I believe she has a family that will see to her needs quite well, and as far as I know, she is unharmed. She will suffer nothing more than guilt and regret; and I believe she will grow out of those in time."

Darcy nodded, then asked gently, "And you, Miss Elizabeth. Are you unharmed?"

Elizabeth looked at the gentleman carefully and answered with even more caution.

"I am well, Mr. Darcy."

"But not unharmed."

The simplicity of the statement brought the beginnings of another tear to Elizabeth's eyes, but she did not let them fall.

"Not unharmed, Sir… no… but… but… I am well."

Darcy decided that he may as well use the opportunity to push his luck once again, since it seemed to work in the past.

"Is that where you sustained your injuries last Summer, Miss Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth gasped, and asked, "How do you know about that?"

"Your father told me."

"You seem to be becoming more intimate with my father than I am, Mr. Darcy."

Darcy looked at her carefully again, then stopped walking so he could face her and speak clearly.

"Perhaps, Miss Elizabeth. I like your father. I lost mine when I was not much older than you are now, and my mother when I was twelve. I find Mr. Bennet's company enjoyable and his advice thoughtful."

"I imagine."

Darcy looked carefully at her face before replying.

"However, Miss Elizabeth, I would be remiss if I was not completely honest. Your father told me that the first time I met him, the day of that first apology over the chessboard, while you were still hiding from me."

Elizabeth just stared back, wondering what form of madness had overtaken her normally sensible father.

Darcy continued, "I do not believe he is aware of the… er…. incident you discussed with your sisters. He only knows about the injuries, and I do not believe anyone in Meryton knows about any of it."

"So, the people that know are my aunt and uncle, my father and you?"

"Apparently… and perhaps the young lady."

Elizabeth looked perplexed, and finally replied, "I do not understand him, but thank you for telling me."

Wanting to be done with the awkward conversation, Elizabeth took his arm again and pointed him back down the road. Once they walked a dozen steps in silence, she said, "I will not even ask if you will keep my confidence, Mr. Darcy."

He just chuckled and felt the world tilt on its axis just a bit.

For the next quarter hour, the pair moved their discussion from the difficult topics to easier ones. Strategies for chess and whist were discussed but not exhausted, as well as a short discussion about pigs and sheep of all things. Out of habit, Elizabeth turned them off the road into a small wilderness. She was so involved in the discussion, that she was entirely oblivious to where she was going until she looked around with a gasp.

"Miss Elizabeth, are you all right?"

Elizabeth just chuckled a bit, and replied, "Do you see that stump, Mr. Darcy?"

"Yes"

"I sat on that stump, cursing your horse for hours the first day you came to apologize after the assembly."

Darcy could not resist such easy bait, so he jumped over to the stump and sat down.

"I can see why you would curse my horse. It is nowhere near as comfortable as this stump."

Elizabeth had to laugh. She had been correct. Mr. Darcy had a subtle sense of humor that she found she quite enjoyed. Surprising herself, she sat down on the stump beside him.

They sat in contemplative silence for some time, both cognizant that they really should not be there alone together, but neither truly ready to rejoin the world. Elizabeth knew nobody would find them, since nobody ever had. Darcy assumed she knew what she was doing, so he did not worry either. What was the worst that could happen if they were observed?

"Miss Elizabeth, did you know Bingley is planning to hold a ball at Netherfield?"

"No! When?"

"The 26th of November."

Elizabeth found herself with a bit of a strange feeling. She felt both safe and perilously exposed at the same time sitting there with Mr. Darcy. She had no fear from the gentleman, nor did she believe he would allow her to come to any harm that he could prevent… but she still had to guard her secret. She had come perilously close to disclosing it earlier that day, and with a sinking feeling, thought its disclosure would be inevitable if she spent much more time with him. She knew that he would take it to the grave even if it was exposed, but then they would both be thinking about it for quite some time. It was a hard thing to let go of, and she saw no profit in having three people trying to get past the incident instead of two. What would be gained by that?

While she was lost in thought, Darcy asked very quietly and somewhat shyly, "Miss Elizabeth, would you do me the honor of dancing the first set with me?"

Elizabeth was completely taken aback by the request. She should not have been surprised, but she was. She had worked so hard to make the idea firmly fixed in her mind that Mr. Darcy was an indifferent acquaintance, that the idea he might ask her for the first set had never even occurred to her.

"It would be my pleasure, Mr. Darcy."

She tried once again to regret the acceptance that had come out without any conscious thought but could not quite muster the energy to do so.

"In fact, Mr. Darcy. Not that I would disdain tempting you to dance anytime, but that specific dance will be quite convenient. You see, my father's cousin is visiting. He is the heir presumptive to Longbourn, as it is entailed on heirs male. He is an odd man, always blathering at great length about his 'noble patroness', Lady Catherine de Bourgh. I believe he will probably try to dance the first with one of us, and I expect it to be a painful experience."

Darcy looked shocked, and said, "Moderately tall, balding, heavy looking?"

Elizabeth's eyes rose, and she said, "Yes, have you seen him?"

Darcy chuckled and replied, "Not in Hertfordshire, but in Kent. You see, Lady Catherine is my aunt… my mother's sister. If your cousin is her parson, then he is…"

At that, he decided if he was going to uphold the standard of gentlemanlike behavior that Miss Elizabeth had attributed to him in Meryton, he should stop talking.

Elizabeth, under no such scruples, helpfully filled in, "Odd, awkward, verbose, nonsensical."

Darcy laughed, and said, "Yes, all my aunt's parsons are like that. She prefers it that way."

Elizabeth giggled a bit at that, but then said, "He has been clinging to me like a leech these days. I just know he will ask for the first set, and it is such a relief to be able to deny him."

Darcy laughed, and said, "So I am in improvement over your cousin?"

Elizabeth laughed, and replied, "Well, no, but you did ask first."

They both laughed together a bit, then Darcy asked, "How about if we protect you for the first couple of hours at least. Will you accept Hurst for the second, and Bingley for the third?"

"Do you arrange all those gentlemen's dances?"

"No, but they will be happy to oblige. You have seen Bingley, and Hurst is quite a good dancer if you catch him before the fourth set."

"Well then sir, I shall consider my first three sets taken… and I thank you."

Darcy looked a bit sheepish, but finally added something even more surprising.

"One more thing, Miss Elizabeth. This is more an offer than a request. I would like to offer you the opportunity to dance the supper with me if you ask, or any dance after supper. I know it is not protocol, but I will make the offer just in case you wish to escape any disagreeable partner. Allow me to be of service."

Elizabeth was quite taken aback by the offer.

"Supper would set tongues wagging, Mr. Darcy."

"I understand. That is why I am not asking, I am offering. It would not do to require you to refuse the dance, but I want you to have the option. I would also be happy to sit out any set with you if you choose."

"Why?"

She regretted the question almost as soon as it was said.

His answer was quite surprising.

"Are we friends, Miss Elizabeth?"

"Yes, of course."

That answer surprised her more than anything else that had been said.

"That is what friends do, Miss Elizabeth. They enjoy each other's company, and they help each other out."

Feeling reckless, Elizabeth stuck her hand out to the gentleman, and said, "Friends?"

Mr. Darcy took her hand, but instead of shaking it, he brought her hand up to his mouth for a kiss, and replied, "Friends."

A/N: While technically the power and responsibility quote is from Voltaire and in the right timeframe, I actually lifted it from Uncle Ben in Spiderman ;)