A/N: I love all my reviewers; thank you so much. I still don't own Pride and Prejudice. A reviewer asked me where on Lake Michigan Meryton is supposedly located and my answer is that it's somewhere near Charlevoix. My idea is that it's located on the northern part of the Lower Peninsula.

Chapter Twelve: When Darkness Blinds You

Lizzie's POV

Friday morning, I woke up to find out that George, Will, Rick, Evelyn, Logan, and Connor had all left town the night before. I was sad to see George, Rick, Evelyn, and their kids gone, but I was glad Will was gone. I couldn't believe he'd asked me out the night before. Why on earth would I ever want to go out with him after everything he'd done to Damien? I just wanted to forget about the bastard. Unfortunately, he had sent me an email in an apparent attempt to convince me that he wasn't as evil as I knew he was.

To: "Elizabeth Bennett"

From: "William Darcy"

Date: Thursday, March 27, 2008

Subject: Give this email a chance

Lizzie,

Before you delete this, be aware that I am not going to repeat those things that you found so repulsive yesterday. I will not ask you out ever again; I can promise you that. However, I do want to defend myself against the charges you have levied against me. I will start with the accusations of attempting to end the relationship between my good friend, Charlie Bingley, and your sister, Jane.

Did I try to end their relationship? Yes, I did. I honestly believed your sister to be in different with Charlie. She always seemed so laid back and as if she didn't care whether or not he was around. Apparently this is not true and I'm very sorry about that. I'm also sorry about everything that happened to Jane after Charlie dumped her. I'll be honest with you. I'm very protective of the people I care about and sometimes I refuse to see the world around me. I honestly believed that your sister was indifferent to Charlie and now I know I was wrong. I wish there was some way I could make up all the pain I caused your sister. I'm terribly sorry about that. I really am. I know saying "I'm sorry" sounds horribly empty and it means nothing to you, but I am really and truly sorry. If there is ever anything I can do for you or your sister, please let me know. I'm horribly sorry, as I keep repeating, and I feel like a complete and total jerk for what I did to your sister and to Charlie. I am going to apologize to Charlie and maybe someday I'll have the guts to really and truly fix things between those two. In all honesty I happen to believe that they are perfect for each other and I screwed up a really great thing.

Now on the charges leveled about destroying Damien Wickham's life. I'm not sure what Damien told you, but I have a few guesses. I will attempt to tell you as much of the truth as I know. Damien was the son of my father's most trusted employee, advisor, and friend, Andrew Wickham. When Damien was born, my father was named his godfather and he took this role very seriously. Fourteen years ago, when Damien was sixteen, his father died very suddenly. And the once good-natured, friendly, respectful boy who had been my father's darling and pet, the joy of his life, and one of my closest friends turned into a monster. He started drinking, skipping school, dabbling in drugs, and womanizing. He slept with every girl he could get his hands on. He would seduce girls who were several years younger than he without caring about the legality or the consequences. Basically, he destroyed himself and he broke my father's heart. He also upset more than a few protective older brothers and fathers.

Eight years ago, my mother died and then my father's heart was broken once and for all. His health started to deteriorate and worse still, he wouldn't believe that Damien wasn't the wonder child anymore. Every time Damien asked him for money, he gave him twice what he had asked for. And then he left 10 of his money to Damien in his will provided that the executor of my father's will (my Uncle George; George and Rick's dad) felt that he deserved it. (The other 90 was to be split between my sister Georgiana and myself.) And then five years ago my father died and my uncle refused to give Damien a penny. Immediately, he blamed me and started taking legal action against me. Unfortunately for him, all of this failed completely and utterly about a year and a half ago. At this point, he found a new way to attack me. He started dating my little sister, Georgiana who had nothing but positive memories of him. Their relationship progressed rapidly and against my advice. In early June of last year, Damien date raped my sister, who trusted him completely and totally. She thought he was the greatest guy on the face of the earth. And then one night at a party, she got drunk and he raped her. She would tell you that it was consensual; I believe he took advantage of her. Then when she confronted him about it, he dumped her saying that she "wasn't even any good anyway." In August, Georgie found out she was pregnant.

My sister was nineteen years old and a student in the honors college at Loyola University in Chicago; she was studying cellular molecular biology with the intent of attending medical school. Suddenly, she was pregnant and alone. She took a year off from college to deal with having a baby. In February, Emily Anne Darcy was born. She was born early for various reasons, all of which my sister's OB-GBYN explained to me the night my baby niece was born. I have no intention of ever letting Damien know that his daughter exists. He has no right to see her or contact her ever. Emily has done nothing to deserve Damien and I intend to protect her from him in all possible ways.

If you doubt anything I state in this email, you can ask either of my Fitzwilliam cousins to verify it and they would do it gladly. Rick was one of Georgiana's legal guardians until she turned 18 and George has just been one of my closest confidantes over the past few years. Rick's email address is George's email address is They would both be willing to answer any and all questions you have.

I'm very sorry to have offended you so severely. I hope that some day you can forgive me for all the offenses I've committed against you. I will never renew my professions of love and admiration for you again. And I never would have spoken at all if I had known how you felt about me. Please accept my heartfelt apologies and know that if you so desire, I will leave your life forever.

Sincerely yours,

William Darcy

I was shocked as I read his email. The first time I read it I thought he was lying about Damien and I wanted to ask his cousins to tell me the truth. But then I realized that he wouldn't have given me the opportunity to disprove him if he was lying. People just don't do things like that. If you're going to lie to someone, you wouldn't give them an opportunity to prove you wrong. I couldn't believe all that about Damien Wickham. Okay granted the guy did seem to be terrified of Will Darcy, but I'd just chalked that up to all the horrible crap he'd told me that Will had done. And then he had told me that he would never tell anyone except me about all the things Will had done to him, but now I was finding out in emails from my sisters and other people back in Meryton that he was telling them horrible stories about Will. Jane had told me in her email yesterday that "there is no way that the Will Darcy I remember from this past winter could be capable of all the things of which Damien is accusing him."

I had to agree with Jane and I was starting to believe Will more and more. I was thinking about it and I knew that Will was right. Damien had lied to me and manipulated me for too long. I'd only dated the guy for a month and he was still manipulating me three months after he dumped me. Damien may have been more aesthetically beautiful, but internally Will was the better one. He was more honest; his long nose did not come from a lifetime of lying and manipulating people.

Now you have to understand that I didn't draw these conclusions over the course of an hour or two. After I opened Will's email, I spent the rest of the day in my room reading and rereading the email. Maria and Char both kept checking up on me, very worried that I was sick or something. I wasn't physically sick, but I was emotionally distressed. I was so confused and I didn't know what to think anymore. I completely understood why Jane had chugged rum and tequila after Charlie dumped her. When someone messes with your mind, they can mess with your heart too and vice versa. Will introduced a whole slew of thoughts and emotions into my mind that I'd never even considered for a second. Damien had manipulated me and twisted my thoughts so badly that I'd looked down on every member of Will's family as self-absorbed and arrogant. But now that I thought about I realized how wrong that was. Will, Rick, Evelyn, and George were some of the most giving people I'd ever met in my life. Mrs. DeBourgh and her daughter were a little weird, but the rest of them were really nice people.

I didn't know what to do with myself anymore. I'd always thought of myself as a nice reasonable person who gave people chances and didn't make snap judgments about people. Then I found out the truth about Will and Damien. I was really going to need to reevaluate my life. And I wanted to do that back in Meryton; I wanted to go home and talk to my wise older sister. Jane had always been smarter than me; why should that change now? Granted Charlie had broken her heart less than two months earlier, but she was still a fount of wisdom on so many topics.

Saturday morning, Maria and I flew home. Thankfully, God showed mercy to us and Jane picked us up from the airport. "Katie and Lydia were going to come, but then Mark called and said his dad needed two extra waitresses for a wedding reception this afternoon and he couldn't get anyone on this short of notice and could we please send Katie and Lydia to him? Dad said yes, of course. Mr. Lucas has loaned us waitresses in the past, so why shouldn't we show him the same kindness. Plus I knew you wouldn't want to listen to them babble about boys the whole way home."

I smiled; I'd told her about our drive to the airport and she'd been very sympathetic. "Thank you so much," Maria told her. "Lizzie and I both really just need some peace and quiet right now."

"Of course," Jane replied sweetly. "Don't worry about it. Just fall asleep and I'll wake you up when we get home."

She was too kind; we definitely hadn't gotten such a kind offer from Ethan on the drive to the airport this morning. He'd babbled the whole drive about his upcoming wedding. Char had been in the car, trying to get a few words in edgewise, but mostly it was just her deranged fiancé. Maria and I had both been hoping to talk to her about our bridesmaid dresses, but we'd never gotten a chance. All we knew was that she was coming to Meryton for Memorial Day weekend and we'd handle dresses then. She had picked out a few styles on David's Bridal's website and she'd email us the link to look at them. She wanted us to pick the dress we liked best and let her know which dress that was. The wedding date was set for August 16; Char was coming home August 7 to arrange everything for the wedding. She knew that was short notice but she could only take so much time off from work. If and when I ever get married, I'm having my wedding in the summer. Since I'm a teacher, I'm free from mid-June to mid-August, so therefore early July would be the perfect time to get married.

In all honesty, after this past week I was more excited for Steve and Becca's wedding than I was for Char and Ethan's wedding. I love Char; she's like a sister to me, but Ethan isn't good enough for her. He's so pompous and self-centered; he doesn't seem to understand how important Char's job is to her or how much her family and friends mean to her. I couldn't explain my dislike for him. He's my cousin and I should love him, but I've always found that to be incredibly hard. He doesn't look at marriage in quite the same way that I do or that Char does; maybe that's because his parents are divorced, but still. He didn't understand why Becca's parents were uncomfortable with the idea that their pastor wanted their marriage vows to say "for as long as we both shall love" instead of "for as long as we both shall live." I understand this completely; marriage is a commitment for life, not for as long as some feeling lasts.

My other problem with Ethan was the fact that he was taking my best friend away from me. I know his job was taking him to New York and I know he used to commute back and forth between Chicago and Meryton on a weekly basis, but still. I love Char and I have a feeling our relationship will change drastically now that she's going to be so far away from me.

Monday morning, I was back in the classroom teaching and I was thrilled to be there. There were two months left in the school year and the seniors were definitely full of the dread senioritis, but at least this was something routine that could distract me from thinking about Will. Teaching sophomores about Spanish weather vocabulary and the difference between the preterit and imperfect verb tenses is always easy than trying to figure out your own mind or that of anyone else for that matter. Damien Wickham was also around complicating my life, again. He was living in the Longbourn and Katie and Lydia were throwing themselves at him. When I'd seen them around him the day before, all I could think of was the fact that he was thirty years old and that he was the father of Will's baby niece.

Will's POV

I was thrilled when George and Rick agreed to leave Aunt Catherine's house when I left Thursday night. My reasons for leaving were partially because of Elizabeth but also due to the fact that I couldn't listen to my psycho aunt for another minute. So while Rick and Evelyn flew to Chicago and George went back to Seattle, I merely went to the Pemberley Resort and Spa in New York. I stayed there for a week and then went back to Chicago for three days to see Georgie and Emily. It was during this visit that Georgie told me she didn't want to be called "Georgie" anymore. "It's too immature, little girly."

"What do you want to be called now?" I asked.

She shrugged. "You could call me Gianna; it's the other half of my name."

I smiled. "All right then, Gianna it is."

It might seem like a simple, pointless conversation to most people but to me it was a sign that my sister was growing up. She'd changed so much in the past year and now that Emily was actually here, present in our lives, she was becoming a woman. I was proud of her but also a little sad to see the little Georgie I'd grown up with vanishing.

After my three days with Gianna and Emily, I went to Seattle to visit my cousin, Alicia, and her family. Alicia is George and Rick's younger sister and she got married about a year ago to Robert Egan. She had her first child, a baby girl named Hannah Clarissa Egan, the Monday before Easter. I grew up being very close to George, Rick, and Alicia; they were almost like siblings to me and I was very excited to see Alicia's new baby. Contrary to what many people believe, I actually really like babies and small children in general. I love spending time with Connor and Logan; I think they're great kids. Hannah looks so much like Alicia that it's almost scary. She has dark brown hair and bright blue eyes and porcelain skin, but who knows how long that skin will last? It might get darker or something with age and exposure to sun.

During my whole trip, I couldn't stop thinking about Lizzie. I spent time with my cousins and my aunt and uncle; it was great, but I couldn't get her out of my head. She hadn't contacted Rick or George as far as I knew. But I couldn't help wondering what her response to my email was. I figured she probably wanted me out of her life; after that speech she'd given me at the beach, what else could I ever presume to believe? I was pretty sure she wouldn't be happy unless I went to hell or something like that.

Charlie was going up to Meryton on a biweekly basis to check up on the Netherfield. He would only stay for a day or two and he never saw Jane; he didn't make any effort to do so either. He told me that he saw no point in seeking her out. It would only cause him more pain. "I loved Jane once," he told me over the phone one night. "But she clearly doesn't feel the same way about me so why should I bother pursuing her or anything like that? I've given up on her, Will; I'm done with her."

But I could tell by his voice that he'd given up on Jane in the same way I gave up on Lizzie. If there was ever any possibility she'd be interested in me again, I would totally pursue her again. Whoever said that "love is a many-splendored thing" was clearly delusional. Love is many-faceted. It has its highs and its lows; its ups and downs. Love can be very painful. My heart hurt because the girl I loved was in no way, shape, or form interested in me. I smiled. "Charlie, what a pair of fools we make. We've fallen for a pair of sisters who don't care for us."

He snorted. "Will, you're in a completely situation from me. Jane was interested in me. It's just that apparently she didn't care about me in the same way I did. You're dealing with completely and utterly unreciprocated love. Jane didn't hate me or anything like that."

"Whereas Lizzie thinks I should go to hell," I replied quietly.

"I'm sorry, man," he said. "But maybe you just need to find a different girl. My sister is interested in you."

"Hell no," I exclaimed without a second thought. "Charlie, you're a great guy and all, but Caroline is not my type. I can't stand her."

"I know she's a little ditzy and really into the social scene, but she does have a good heart. She is very loyal to the people she scares about. Even though she's dated around a lot, she's really saving herself for you. She wants to be with you."

Yeah, in bed and with my money I thought but didn't say. Charlie didn't seem to understand that while Caroline had tried to paint a picture of Jane as a "money-grubbing whore", it was his own little sister who was the "money-grubbing whore." I sighed again and finally spoke. "Look, Charlie, it just would never work between the two of us. Caroline is attracted to my bank account, my stock portfolio, and the fact that I'm handsome enough that no one would accuse her of marrying an ugly man. She's not actually interested in me as a person. She and I could never sit down together and watch Braveheart or Gladiator. She's just not that kind of person."

"Oh and Lizzie is?" he asked.

"Yeah she is," I told him. "I've actually talked to her about it. She loves those two movies. She also loves Disney movies and action movies; she's pretty versatile when it comes to movies."

"She also likes old movies and chick flicks," Charlie said. "I'm saying that before you do. I get the picture that you know her really well. The thing is that she doesn't know you very well. Now maybe she never really let herself get to know you; maybe she only judged you based on first impressions and preconceived notions. Maybe all of that is true, but the thing is that she really just need to an opportunity to get to know you."

I nodded. "I wish she would just give me that chance. It would make life that much easier. And it's not even that I want her to fall in love with me; I just don't want her to hate me."

The first night I was back in Chicago after my return from Seattle, I went out to a bar with Charlie and three other good friends of ours. We were meeting up with Greg Williamson, Jake English, and Jonathan Gilbert. We had all been at the University of Chicago around the same time and had become good friends. The five of us had all lived in a house together our last two years at U of C. These were some of my closest friends and the people I wanted to keep close to me for the rest of my life. These were the men for whom I'd jump in front of a speeding bullet. They were the only guys other than Rick and George with whom I'd ever talk about my relationship with Lizzie.

"You know it's been a really long time since all five of us actually sat down at the same table and talked," Greg remarked.

"Yeah, that's because Will and Charlie running off to deal with their business empires," Jake remarked. "Some of us have to be content to stay in the Windy City and lead our petty little lives in one place."

"Because your life is so boring and stationary," Charlie teased. "Where's your next business trip to? Are you going to Prague or Paris?"

He laughed. "I'm leaving on Friday to spend two weeks in Dusseldorf." Jake works for an international banking and brokerage firm that sends him traveling around the world on a monthly basis. He's a perpetual bachelor, a fact which is probably due to the fact that he's always on the road and he spends more time in hotels than he does in his own apartment.

Charlie shook his head. "You complain about the amount of traveling Will and I do, but at least we stay in the US. I'm only going up to Northern Michigan and while Will does visit places like Seattle and South Carolina, we're staying in the US. You can see the world on GlobaTrade's ticket."

Jake shrugged. "I guess so, but I mean our jobs just bring different things into our lives. Look at Greg and Jon; their jobs keep them rooted in Chicago and they rarely ever travel for business. Will's job lets him travel some, but that's only to cities where Pemberley has hotels. Charlie travels to meet with authors he wants to sign with Bingley Publishing or to check up on his hotel."

I nodded. "It's just that Jon's married, Greg's in a serious relationship, and Charlie and I are both looking for someone with whom we could have a serious relationship. And you're single with no relationship prospects."

"Actually, I'm engaged now," Greg inserted.

"What?" Jake gasped.

"When did this happen?" I asked.

"Two days ago," he replied. "Melissa and I went to visit her parents in Columbus and Saturday night, we were at her parents' house for dinner. After dinner she and I went out in the backyard and I proposed. Then we all celebrated over one of her mom's amazing desserts."

I smiled. "Congratulations. I'm so happy for you; you guys are finally getting married."

Greg had started dating Melissa Baker three years ago after they met when he was working in Minneapolis and she was working on her master's degree in business. We'd all been waiting for him to propose for the past year. Melissa was the third of eleven kids in a large Irish Catholic family from Columbus, Ohio. She had gotten her bachelor's degree from the Ohio State University and I'd gone to law school at the University of Michigan so we were always picking on each other the week of the UofM-OSU game. She was always telling me that her wedding colors were going to be scarlet and gray. My perpetual response was "Then I'll find a woman who will let our wedding colors be maize and blue."

"Why is everyone getting married?" Jake asked. "Jon's married and Greg's getting married. Charlie and Will are both looking for marriageable women. Am I the only one of us who isn't looking for a wife?'

I laughed as Charlie shook his head. "It's part of life," Jon remarked. "Most of us all grow up and find women we want to marry at some point in our lives."

"But I'm not sure that's what I want," the globe-trotting banker protested. "Maybe I'm okay with being a perpetual bachelor. Maybe I don't want to get married and have two point five kids in a house in the suburbs with a dog and a white picket fence."

"Then stay single," Greg told him. "No one is forcing you to get married. And it's not like Will or Charlie is going to get married anytime soon."

"Thanks for the reminder," Charlie said, taking a large swallow of beer. "Man, I should just spend all my time around guys who remind me that I have no prospects."

"Hey at least your pregnant girlfriend didn't run off with your car," Jon teased. This was sort of a running joke although it really did happen to Jon's wife's cousin. He had gone away on a business trip for the weekend, and when he got back, his pregnant girlfriend had taken off for Florida with his car. It pretty much sucked for him until she got arrested for stealing his car and he ended up with custody of his kid.

By the end of the night, I was convinced that I wanted to get married within in the next five years. And I still wanted to marry Lizzie Bennett. I knew she probably hated me but I was praying that God would bring us together again under better circumstances so we could make things work. I wanted a second chance with her. She was a great girl and I wanted to show her the good guy I could be.

A/N: Please review! I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'll try to update again within the next week.