Chapter 29

Later that night, found Lizzie, William and Georgiana is one of the smaller sitting rooms on the upper level of the house. Lizzie was reading, or as she'd come to accept by this point, she was pretending to read. It wasn't going very well, because she was utterly distracted by the siblings in the room, who were playing a ridiculous game which consisted of cards, pick up sticks and a game clock, like the ones you use to play competitive chess. They kept calling out random words too, which mostly sounded like gobbledygook to her. In fact, gobbeldygook may well have been one of the words. She was pretty sure this was a game they'd made up themselves, and despite having watched almost three rounds now, peering over the top of her novel, she still had no idea what the rules were. Let alone the premise of the game.

But what was truly distracting her, was Darcy's demeanour. Seeing him interact with Georgiana like this wasn't new to her. She'd seen the pair playing games together frequently since she'd started staying at their London house. Usually those were games like snap, or Mousetrap though, and she understood those rules perfectly. But this was different, Darcy was completely relaxed here, there was no lingering rigidness in his posture, no tense lines around his eyes or mouth. He wasn't wearing that intense stare that so rarely left his face when he was over thinking things. No, this was William Darcy, Lizzie realised, when he felt completely at home.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that Pemberley was his sanctuary. She'd known that all along, because he'd often disappear from the office for weeks at a time, unreachable, and she knew he was at Pemberley then. What she was having trouble grasping was why she was here. Georgiana was on crutches now, and she didn't need constant supervision. She was being weaned off her medication, and she'd been bathing herself, with a garbage bag covering her casts, almost since she'd left the hospital. She didn't need a caretaker, which was what Lizzie was supposed to be. Yet, still, here she was, feigning interest in F. Scott Fitzgerald, while she peered over the book at her… pseudo boyfriend? Playing cards with his sister!

It was at that moment that Darcy decided to look over at her and she fumbled to turn a page and make herself look busy. She caught a glimmer of his smirk, but was determined not to look back up and be caught, although she could feel herself blushing so thought her efforts were pretty futile. Darcy didn't comment, but instead he yelled.

"CHANGA!"

At his sister, swiped a card from the deck and hit the game clock timer, causing Georgiana to pout. No, Lizzie was quite certain she'd never understand that game, and refused to look up again for at least another ten minutes, just in case Will looked at her again.

She must have fallen asleep at some point, because she was woken some time later, the room much darker than it had been, lit not only by the dwindling fire, and she sprawled across the chaise lounge she'd previously been reading on. Georgiana was gone, assumedly to bed, and it was Will who was sat beside her, gently brushing hair from her face as he whispered her name.

"Hey," she said, her voice thick with sleep, making her wonder how long she'd been sleeping for.

"Bed time?" he asked with a smile. She was about to agree, as she began pulling herself upright to a sitting position, but suddenly she felt wide awake and just wanted to talk with him.

"Hmm, not yet," she smiled at him, he just nodded, but didn't say anything back.

"Is Georgiana asleep?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah, about an hour ago," he murmured, rubbing her leg, that was stretched out before her.

"You didn't wake me?" She asked as a tiny yawn escaped her.

"You looked too cute sleeping there, that I didn't want to disturb you,"

"So you watched me?" she teased, mirth in her voice, "That's not disturbing at all,"

He chuckled at that, and shrugged.

"Dare I even ask what that game was?" she asked, placing the book she'd been reading on the floor at his feet. He laughed again,

"I don't even know where I'd begin explaining it," he confessed, "We made it up as children, it's quite ridiculous, especially given Georgie is so much younger than me. Games made up by a five year old and a fourteen year old don't really make much sense." He said, "But I'll explain it if you like?"

She shook her head, it was his and Georgie's game, and she'd intruded enough on their sanctuary for one day.

"Maybe some other time," she smiled. He nodded his agreement and stood up from the chaise.

"It's quite late, are you ready for bed now?" he asked, when she agreed, he held out a hand to help her up which she took. He didn't let go after helping her up, but he led her from the sitting room and in the direction of the bedrooms. In the hallway, just before they reached the door to what should have been Lizzie's room, he paused and cleared his throat.

"Are you… sure you wouldn't rather stay in your own room?" He asked nervously. Lizzie didn't even dignify him with an answer to that, simply tugged on his hand, which still held hers, and pulled him further down the hall to his own door.

"Positive," she whispered as they reached it, and he pushed the door open, letting her enter first.

The next morning was Tuesday, and when Will woke up he was alone in his bed. The drapes were still drawn but the sunlight was slowly creeping in around the edges and he decided he should probably get up, at least to make sure Lizzie hadn't gotten lost somewhere on her way to the kitchen.

She'd clearly showered, because when he went into his bathroom her scent still lingered in the moist air. He let himself savor the fruity smell of her body wash and the vanilla of her perfume while he brushed his teeth and contemplated the simple domesticity of it all. He'd never fancied himself one for domesticity, but this morning, he decided, he quite liked it. Those kinds of feelings had been creeping up on him a lot for the past week or so. Whenever he'd come home to find Lizzie making dinner, or woken up to see her sitting in the lounge room in her pajamas, he'd had to take a second to pause and revel in the simple pleasure it made him feel. So no, he'd never been one for domesticity, but Elizabeth Bennett seemed to be changing that, and doing so at a surprisingly rapid rate.

He'd forgone a shower for now, and slipped on a t-shirt and bathrobe to cover the boxer shorts he'd slept in, and was padding, sock footed towards the kitchen. The sound of Ms. Reynolds iPod, playing through the kitchen docking station greeted him as he turned through the halls of the lower floor.

The kitchen was in its original position from the days when Pemberley was a grand country estate, so many people who own these houses were making them over in 21st century style, which Will abhorred. That wasn't to say things at Pemberley hadn't been updated for the creature comforts, but he wasn't ruining the integrity of the place by ripping out all the interiors and blocking off the older rooms like some of his neighbors had. He shuddered at the thought.

The kitchen was sunken, and mostly below ground, in what was once the servant's quarters. It had its own entrance from the back of the house down a set of cobblestone steps, and narrow windows ran across the top of the exterior wall. The hallways in this part of the house were narrow and winding, like a labyrinth running beneath the entire house, openings popping up all over the place so that the servants could come and go unnoticed. Back then anyway, these days the house staff was welcome to go wherever they needed to.

Will knew all of these corridors by heart from exploring them throughout his childhood, when he'd spent endless hours navigating them and hiding in them, using them to get from one part of the house to another without his father knowing. So it was with ease that he now followed the quickest path to the kitchen, towards that swinging 1940's soundtrack that Ms. Reynolds was so fond of.

When he came into the room, a woman was crooning about 'just being in love' through the speaker system and the two actual woman were laughing together as they made breakfast. Ms. Reynolds was beating a bowl of eggs with a whisk and Lizzie stood at the central island bench chopping an assortment of vegetables.

"Good morning," he said as he entered the room, a grin overtaking his face seeing Lizzie there, stood in her rainbow coloured socks, denim shorts and a fitted white tank top. Her hair was still damn from her shower, and hung around her face as she chopped.

"Good morning William," Ms. Reynolds greeted him, stopping her whisking and fetching him a cup of coffee. It was in his hands before he'd even managed to sit on one of the bench stools.

"Hey," Lizzie was giving him a shy smile as he sat down.

"You know, you don't have to cook here Lizzie," he said, taking an experimental sip of the coffee. It was perfect.

"I did try to tell her that," Ms. Reynolds interjected, "She's very stubborn William,"

Will smirked, "Yes, I know," he said, "It's one of the things I like most about her," Lizzie poked her tongue out at him and tossed a cube of carrot at him, it bounced off his cheek and landed on the counter.

"I just want to help out," Lizzie said, feeling self-conscious now. Will was rich, and this house had a whole staff of people working in it, just waiting at their beck and call to do whatever they asked. Lizzie didn't want to be waited on, but suddenly she felt like she shouldn't be doing this if it was someone else's job.

"You can do whatever you like Lizzie," Will said softly, making her feel like he could read her thoughts. She smiled weakly and moved on to chopping broccoli.

Lizzie had woken by five that morning, after her impromptu nap on the chaise the night before, and after tossing and turning, as much as she could without waking Will, she'd given up and gone to take a shower. When she finally found her way to the kitchen almost an hour later, Ms. Reynolds was already up too, and in the middle of what looked to be several jobs in the kitchen.

"Morning!" Lizzie had said brightly, Ms. Reynolds jumped, a little startled having not expected anyone up and about so early.

"Oh! Elizabeth! You startled me!" she'd gasped, she had knocked over a bag of flour and it had spilled out across the bench top.

"Oh god! Sorry Ms. Reynolds!" Lizzie cried, rushing over. Ms. Reynolds herself had stopped and put her hands on her hips, she was giving Lizzie a disapproving look, and Lizzie found it had to believe she would be reprimanded for accidentally causing her to knock flour over. That was exactly what she needed, to upset Will's lifelong housekeep on only the second day of their visit. Not.

"Elizabeth," she scolded, "Didn't I tell you to call me Maria!" She said with a smile.

"Of course, I'm sorry, Maria, let me help you clean this up," she righted the flour bag and started to sweep the spillage up. Maria tried to shoo her away, but Lizzie was insistent and soon enough she gave up trying to stop her helping, they were laughing together as they made breakfast for William and Georgie.

"What's this you're listening to?" Lizzie asked as she selected a knife to chop vegetables for the omelettes they were planning.

"Rosemary Clooney," Maria answered wistful smile, "My mother and grandmother used to play her records all the time when I was growing up," she sighed, "Music is one of the few things I allow myself to have from those days,"

"Sorry," Lizzie apologised, feeling bad for asking about something that had turned out to be rather personal.

"Don't you apologise Elizabeth," Maria reprimanded her, "I don't deny that I had a falling out with my family, but it was many years ago now. It wasn't always bad, and these songs, they remind me of the good times," she was smiling again now.

"Well, I like it," Lizzie said, gesturing to the iPod dock with her elbow, because her hands were full of veggies now.

"Good, I wish more people did these days,"

It wasn't long after that, that Will appeared, he was wearing a robe over his pyjamas, and white sports socks on his feet. Lizzie noted that there was also a t-shirt now covering his formerly bare chest under that robe.

Darcy was watching her, rather intently for someone who was just shopping vegetables. She kept flicking her gaze up but it didn't seem to deter him. Even when Maria started talking to him about estate business he didn't look away. Lizzie tuned out the estate stuff, it wasn't really her business and she didn't want to pry. Even though Will didn't seem to be all that worried about her overhearing anything. Instead she moved her attention to the music that was still playing in the background. It was pleasant to listen to, the woman had a soothing voice, she decided. Her attention was drawn to the lyrics when the woman sung a familiar name.

'Willie, I love you my darlin', I love you with all of my heart. Tomorrow we might have been married, but ramblin' has kept us apart. Beautiful, beautiful brown eyes…'

Will was staring at her still, his suddenly topical brown eyes boring into hers. His gaze, coupled with the song that was playing got her thinking.

Will had beautiful brown eyes, they were warm and giving, she couldn't help but wonder where their relationship might have been if it hadn't been interrupted three years ago. Would they be in love? Would they even, maybe, be married? Or would it have crashed and burned anyway? Would she be out of a job and a relationship?

Will asked her a question and drew her out of her musings. The rest of the song went unheard as Will started asking her what she wanted to do today. He had to take care of some things with his estate manager, who was coming for a meeting in an hour or so, but he'd be done by lunch and wanted to show her more of the property. She decided to spend the morning with Georgiana, and mentioned she might go for a little walk, and promised to meet him back here at lunch time. He seemed pretty happy to hear that and when he finished his breakfast and left to take a shower they could hear him whistling happily down the halls.

"I don't remember the last time William was this at ease," Maria said, taking Lizzie's empty plate with a warm smile. She wanted to ask what she meant by that, but Maria had turned on the sink and Lizzie decided to just let it go. She took Georgiana's plate out of the warmer and placed it on a tray with some juice, coffee and fresh fruit and taking the tray, ventured out to find Georgiana's bedroom.

Darcy was in his office in the back wing of Pemberley, his meeting with his estate manager had been quick and painless as they went over details for the next quarter. He was writing up notes about their meeting when the door swung open and the last person he was expecting to see, his cousin Richard, came bouncing in, unannounced and without knocking.

"Cousin!" his loud voice boomed, breaking the gentle silence that Will had been enjoying for the last fifteen minutes. He supposed he should feel lucky he'd even had those moments alone if Richard was in the house. Ms. Reynolds must have distracted him with baked goods as he came in, he thought he saw a crumb on his cousins lip.

"You're a right devil aren't you?!" Richard continued, flopping into one of the large arm chairs across from Will's desk.

"Excuse me?" Darcy asked, marking his spot in the books and looking up at his cousin.

"You finally closed the deal huh, cuz?" Richard exclaimed.

"Good lord Rich, how long have you actually been here?" Darcy asked, jotting down one final note and closing his ledger.

"About an hour," his cousin shrugged, "Maria said you were meeting with Smith so I went to visit with Georgie. Can you imagine my shock when I went into the music room to find Elizabeth Bennett sitting there playing a duet with your sister!" he exclaimed with a loud bark.

"Scratch that, why are you even here?" Darcy quipped, avoiding any conversation about Elizabeth. Explaining that particular relationship to Richard, at the stage it was currently at, was far too difficult for him to comprehend.

"Why am I here? Why?" Richard cried, "Will, it might be your company, but you can't just breeze through the offices that I run and not even say hello!"

"You were in a meeting," Darcy shrugged, "We just stopped off for five minutes on the way here,"

"Yes, well, Charlotte told me you'd 'stopped off'," he was using air quotes, "so I knew you must have been here, which made me wonder what you were hiding from this time! Now I find out that you're not the one hiding! You're hiding someone else!"

"Rich, I am not hiding Lizzie," Will said with a sigh, leaning back in his chair.

"You're calling her Lizzie!" Richard yelled, "That's it, I'm moving back to the London office! I'm missing far too much all the way out here at Lambton! When exactly did Lizzie cease to be Miss Bennett?" he teased

"Richard," Darcy warned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Daaarrrrccce," Richard whined, "Come on, don't hold out on me! I know how long you've been crushing on Liz, what's changed? Why is she upstairs in rainbow-socked feet playing piano with your sister, instead of sitting in her office sticking your voodoo doll with cushion pins?" he teased.

Now, Darcy knew that Lizzie had never actually used a voodoo doll in his image to stick pins at him, but he also knew the point Richard was trying to make. Last time his cousin had seen the two of them, early on the night of the benefit, Darcy and Lizzie has been sworn enemies, loathsome of each other for discretions long since passed. And for all Richard knew, she was suddenly a guest at Pemberley, where no one but family and close friends had been invited to since his father passed away. Richard didn't know about all the careful progress they had made to get here, all the air they'd had to clear to reach this point… he didn't know that they'd spent the last few nights in the same bed. He coloured slightly thinking of how his cousin would tease him about that and was rather glad he'd been keeping Richard out of the loop.

His cousin was sitting across from him still, slunk back low in the chair, his right leg was propped up on his left knee and his elbows rested on the arms of the wingback, fingertips met in front of his mouth and he gazed over them at Darcy, an almost expectant expression on his face. Darcy, never one to back down from a challenge, especially with Richard, whom he had always been rather competitive with, stared straight back at him. Making it clear he'd be sharing no juicy details with his cousin.

The stare down lasted for about two minutes before Richard relented. He always had been the more impatient one.

"Fine!" he cried, standing up and throwing his hands in the air.

"Fine, don't tell me!" he repeated, "But you can't keep it from me forever Will, I know something's happened!" he laughed boisterously and bounded out of the room. Will shook his head, amused, Richard would never change, and Will was glad of that. His cousin may have been an annoying git and a pain in the arse sometimes, but he was still his cousin, and his oldest friend and Darcy knew he only wanted Will to be happy.

"COME ON OLD MAN! LET'S EAT LUNCH!" Richard bellowed from down the hall, Darcy was already half way to the study door.

"Hey!" He yelled, offended, "I am literally only two weeks older than you!"

At this, Richard began cackling like a mad man and Will decided that he had no other choice but to chase him to the kitchen and give him a good whack across the head.