Elizabeth Bennet...

I now remembered why I had always wanted to come to Italy—why I had always wanted to explore my roots here. Why is it that a land you don't live in can seem so magical while the city you did grow up in seems so magical to others? I think it has something to do with the mysteriousness of it—the idea that you can discover something new around every corner. For me, Italy was about history and about family. I may have trouble controlling the family I did come from, but I had relations here in Italy that I loved dearly—an aunt who I had written to regularly since I had learned to spell 'c-a-t.' I may have loathed the idea of coming here with the 'man from Hades' but I was determined to make the best of it by visiting my relations. Lord knows, I needed the break from the 'man of the hour.'

Walking along the streets of Rome, I sighed as I let myself enjoy the night. God the man infuriated me! And yet, I couldn't stop thinking about the big dolt. It's as if he had ingrained himself inside my head, and I just couldn't shake him. Damn! The walk seemed to clear my head, and I shivered slightly as I realized what I had just done back at that restaurant. What was wrong with me? Why didn't I just quit my job? I needed it, this is true, but did I really need it that badly? For that matter, why didn't he just fire me? It was as if we were testing each other to see who could provoke the other the most. I couldn't even understand why I had asked him to teach me about propriety. Or didn't I? I think it was an unconscious effort on my part to be alone with him. It's not as if I took it very seriously. I ask again, what was wrong with me?

I stopped as I realized I had come up on the street I had been aiming for before climbing the stairs of an apartment complex. I lifted my fist to knock only to be almost bowled over when the person I had come to see suddenly raced through the door, stopping in mid-stride when she caught a glimpse of my face.

"Lizzie!" the woman exclaimed before shrieking, hugging me with enthusiasm. "My dear niece. How wonderful to see you!" She remarked in quick Italian before grabbing me by the arm and pulling me after her. I laughed as I tried not to trip. Her frenzied excitement, whether from anger or from some other emotion, was contagious.

"Zia (aunt) Gardiner?" I proclaimed laughingly as I stumbled after her. "Where the hell are you going in such a hurry?" I asked breathlessly as she started scrambling down the street. She shrugged as if this wasn't the first time she had seen me face to face since her trip to America when I was about fifteen. Instead, she kept rushing forward while I followed at a more leisurely pace. Talk about stumbling onto your relations. And here I was looking for peace and quiet. With my family, I should have known better. My zia shook her head and started grumbling incessantly.

"Ahhh, it's that big loaf of an uncle of yours! We had a huge argument about why it's important to help me around the house. He told me that he would lift a finger when God gave him wings to fly so I informed him that I was headed to the church to light him a candle and pray to God to give him the gift of flight." She explained before raising her brow at me.

"And what is the cursing for, my dear. I see you could use a moment in confession yourself for that little habit." She remarked as I roared with laughter. I couldn't help it. Now I remembered why I had enjoyed her letters so much. She reminded me too much of myself—independent and, at times, a little flamboyant. I just controlled my nature a little better than she did. But if you ever pushed the right buttons…well, you get the picture.

"I could definitely think of a few people I could light a candle for." I stated off-handedly as my zia threw me look that said 'ohhhhh.' I shrugged.

"It's not worth the curiosity." I mumbled as she threw me another 'ohhh' look as if she knew I was telling a lie. Another reason to do Hail Mary's I suppose. She laughed suddenly.

"You can tell when you are telling a lie, bella. Your entire face turns pink. Should I worry for any reason?" She asked me with mild amusement, and I smiled softly as I noticed the mischievous glint in her eye. I just didn't think I had it in me to tell her the truth right now. She seemed to understand because she pulled me into a picturesque cathedral before pulling me down the aisle and forcing me to kneel in front of a group of candles.

"Light the candle for whatever devil man is possessing you, bella." She commented vaguely before kneeling next to me and lighting her own candles while grumbling about my uncle again. I rolled my eyes before lifting up my own match and lighting one as well. I didn't speak aloud as my aunt did, but I managed to 'think' aloud every unforgivable thing about Mr. Darcy that I could think of. It made me itch to drag him here myself and have the priest perform an exorcism. My aunt had stopped talking beside me.

"If you scrunch your nose up much more, mi bella, it will stay that way." My aunt stated in wry amusement as I felt my cheeks start to burn again. How come the man fazed me so much? I looked over at her sheepishly.

"May God save my soul because I think I've sold it to Lucifer himself." I remarked sagely as Zia Gardiner sat back on her heels and studied me a moment. It was really the first time she and I had scrutinized each other since she had nearly knocked me down. I may not look much different, except in height and other female attributes, than I did when I was fifteen, but I could tell by the way her eyes softened that she realized I had grown up. She knew from my letters that I had taken on the burdens for my family, knew that I was normally completely level-headed, not because that was my personality, but because I had learned to be that way. I had to. But, Fitzwilliam Darcy brought out the tiger in me, the animal I kept hidden from view unless it was necessary to unearth her. My zia smiled suddenly.

"Then my dear, you should think about dousing 'the man of flames' with a bucket full of cold water." She suggested demurely as I laughed out loud.

"Already accomplished that feat not so very long ago." I replied in amusement as my zia laughed. She knew me. We shared equal tempers.

"Then maybe it is time, mi bella, to teach him that buying a soul costs a pretty price." She remarked as I looked over at her thoughtfully. Maybe she was right. I looked at her quizzically as I noticed her knowing smile.

"You know who I'm talking about, don't you zia?" I asked her curiously as she shrugged.

"Why do you think that I was not so very surprised to see you? I read the papers, mi bella, and I saw pictures of Darcy and his entourage in it under an article discussing appearances or sightings of the 'media mogul' here in our country. It was quite a good article—one about his venture here and so forth. Of course, the picture was a little fuzzy but it was shot upon his arrival and included yourself and a few others in it as well. Besides, your mother rung me up and you know how she goes on and on. Therefore, I assume your problem is your new boss." She explained thoughtfully as I just continued to stare at her. My aunt was a bright woman.

"And you want me to use the element of surprise on Mr. Darcy?" I asked her slowly as my aunt grinned wickedly.

"Why not, mi bella? What is his biggest hang up?" Zia Gardiner asked me purposely. I didn't have to think about that very long.

"Pride…propriety." I answered honestly as my zia shrugged before grinning even more widely.

"And what do you think would surprise and annoy him the most?" She asked me again as I laughed suddenly. The hell with my job! She was right.

"If he's so worried about my lack of decorum, then why not actually give him something to worry about. Is that what you're getting at?" I asked her with a smile as she pulled a flask out from inside her purse. I raised a brow up at her.

"I don't drink." I pointed out cautiously as she looked at me pointedly.

"You do now." She murmured as I shrugged before taking the object from her. In the background, I could hear the priest yelling from inside the confessional.

"You best not be drinking in my church again, Anna Gardiner!" He proclaimed as my aunt rolled her eyes and I smiled winsomely. How at home I felt right now, not on edge or defensive. I could feel the burn from the liquor as my zia looked over her shoulder.

"It's for medicinal purposes, father." She exclaimed as I heard him mumble something about the two of us being expected to spend time in confessional.

"How about I help you to your residence?" My aunt asked as I took another drink and nodded almost groggily. Why not?

Author's Note: I am so enjoying this story and all of your reviews. Hopefully you are enjoying reading every new element. I am trying to keep with the orginal storyline with only a few twists. But, I suppose, that is what I love about fan fictions. You can play with the original story and just plain old have fun with it. I hope you guys are having fun too. Thank you SOOO much for your reviews. They are truly appreciated and every one of them read. For you rubic-cube for throwing out the fact that you wanted to see our Catholic Elizabeth in a cathedral and a confessional. Besides, it opened a door for Eizabeth to challenge Darcy herself. There will be quite a bit of adventure left in this week in Italy before they return to England at the end of the week. Lots of happiness to you all.