A smooth, black car shot down the empty bypass, glittering under the lights hovering above. It flew through the crossings and made a slick exit onto a small country lane barely sign posted.

"Are we there yet?" Elizabeth asked from the passenger seat, tugging at the blindfold William had insisted she put on around ten minutes ago.

"What did I say last time you asked me that...?" Will sighed. "Around two minutes ago."

"We'd be there in five minutes?"

"So guess the answer."

Lizzie folded her arms around her chest and pretended to stare out the window in a sulk. He chuckled at her under his breath knowing full well she wasn't looking anywhere as he had made sure she couldn't even see the lights on the dashboard through the thing. He'd already managed to give away the party but he'd be damned if he was going to give away the location.

"This is pointless." Her pale, slender fingers tugged at the cloth wrapped around her eyes. "Can I take it off now?"

"Nope." The road disappeared under the tyres as he rounded yet another corner leading to an even slimmer road.

"Please."

He shook his head and then realised she couldn't actually see him. Even still, he knew she knew his answer.

"This is completely messing up my curls though." She remarked.

"Oh is it now..." The car slowed to a crawl as they waited for the golden gates to open allowing them access.

"And it's not even like my hair is the easiest to curl."

"That's nice." A short smile lit his face as Lizzie huffed. " But I don't see why you curl your hair anyway."

"Thanks honey, I love you too." She muttered, dryly.

"But you have naturally curly hair so..." He tried not to take his eyes off the road as the car climbed the final hill leading up to their destination.

"But it's not the same curls."

"Curls are curls."

"These are more like ringlets." She twirled one around her finger and leaned back on the seat. "And my curls are more like fifty million tangles."

"I like your fifty million tangles." He grinned, knowing just the reaction he would get. "I think they're cute as hell."

"And it's every girls bloody dream to be as cute as hell!" She shook out her hair and leaned her elbow on the car window. "Plus, those curls are not cute. They are annoying, comb breaking, douchebags. Literally."

"Still think they're cute though." He turned to the side quickly and smiled at her adorable little frown. "Or was cute not really what you were looking for?"

He sat up, turned his body around and balanced his weight by placing his arm gently on the corner of Lizzie's chair so he could back into a lone parking space.

"You're evil Will... Did you know that?"

"I believe you've informed me a few times."

Once the car was successfully parked he told Lizzie they had arrived but made sure she understood that she still had to keep the blindfold on.

Despite her protests he got out of the car, opened her door and picked her up before kicking the door shut behind him and locking the car.

He managed to make it up the steps (Which were higher than he remembered), through the lobby and into the bar before she started complaining again.

"Can you put be down now?"

"Nope." Carefully, yet quickly, he walked through the bar until he reached the glass doors leading out into the gardens.

"I'm starting to feel sick." She grumbled, frown still in place.

"Ever the whiner as always Lizzie." He could see the lights looming over head and quickened his pace.

She rested her head on his chest and her hand groped around until she found his tie, which she wound around her fingers.

"Sorry... Just slap me if I get all bitchey again."

"Sure thing Lizzie, sure thing."

His shoes sank into the fresh grass under foot as he finally stopped in front of the 'surprise'. He set Lizzie down on her feet carefully and then stepped back to her side, falling behind her slightly.

"Can I take it off now?" Elizabeth asked into nowhere, unsure of where Will had disappeared to.

"Of course." He replied, his hot breath against her neck sending shivers down her spine.

Those long pale fingers once again brushed against the dark cloth, struggling to find the knot. As she fumbled in the darkness Will remembered a promise he had made to her earlier.

Don't say surprise.

He mimed behind her back to where they all stood huddled around the table.

What did he say?

He saw several people whisper to each other.

Go shout surprise.

Mrs Bennet mimed in reply. William tried to correct Mrs Bennet by waving his arms wildly, mouthing no and making a frantic cutting sign in front of his throat. However, Mrs Bennet would not be moved and started telling everyone to shout even louder. Before Darcy had chance to intervene the blind fold fell like a feather from around Lizzie's head into her hands. Everyone jumped up, streamers were pulled, silly string- for some reason- flew through the air and party poppers boomed from their owners hands, barely heard over the joint yell of "SURPRISE!" There was nothing William could do but drag his hand down his face and assume that, after all, Jane had not got his text. Well... this was surely the start of a disastrous night after all. Reluctantly he turned to Elizabeth praying that she wasn't glaring at him with claws drawn ready to kill. Dread, worry and panic pulsed through his veins scolding him inside to out. What if she hated it? What if he had ruined yet another birthday for her? When he finally looked at her, she was turned away from him, still staring at the table in shock. Was it a good shock? Or a bad shock?

At least she hadn't screamed or anything . Yet.

While Darcy stood next to her drowning in raw, unadulterated panic, Lizzie stood there frozen; unable to say word. It was fair enough to say she was having a completely different experience to him. Very different.

As soon as the cloth had fallen from her eyes revealing the sight stood in front of her, she had been thrown back to just under two years ago on a night similar to this. She could still feel the grass tickling her legs as she lay on the damp field next to Will, the stars and moon their only light. She could feel the wind dancing through her hair and taste the fresh, unexplainable smell of the nature surrounding them.

"You know" She had said randomly "When I was younger we use to go to this French castle all the time for dinner. Well, kind of all the time. At least once every month."

"Okay..." Will laughed, confused at the sudden swing of conversation.

"All of us use to go, like my family and all of my mum and dad's brothers and sister's families. We had to rent out this HUGE table to fit us all on... In the end they put is in a private room because there were so many kids and we weren't exactly the quietest bunch." He chuckled in agreement just imagining the havoc a young Lizzie and her sisters alone could cause. "It was beautiful this castle. Really magical..." She sighed sweetly and then turned on her side to face him. "We stopped going there when I was about seven because dad fell out with his brother, Collins's dad, and then we moved down to London. It was impractical to keep driving up there... I wish I could go there again." She weaved her fingers through the silver, moonlight grass and tugged at it slightly. "You know when you think you remember something and then you really think about it and it goes all hazy and, in actual fact, you remember barely anything?"

Carefully he rolled onto his side too and lay his head opposite Lizzie's. "No, but carry on."

"I've always said that one day I'd go back there. It's like a childhood thing I think. I mean, the food wasn't that nice for the price but... I can remember running through these gardens... These really beautiful gardens, and standing at the top of the steps looking out for miles and seeing all these forests and hills and just being breath taken. And the actual castle itself was like something out of a fairy tale."

"Why don't you?" Will asked, clearly missing something.

"I have no idea what it's called or where it is. I just know it was over an hour away from where I lived and that it was French."

"How do you know it was French?"

"It was called the chateau something and I think it was built by a Frenchman for his wife, but then one of them died before it was finished." She squinted slightly in deep thought and then said. "Or maybe she was French..."

Will stayed silently for a moment processing everything she had just told him.

"What made you think of that anyway?" He asked finally.

"The stars."

"The stars?"

"Yeah." She laughed quietly to herself and then answered Will's unasked questioned. "In the evening they had this bar thing where all our parents used to go while we played outside in the gardens. Right in the centre they had this gazebo that's ceiling was completely covered in these amazing fairy lights. I can remember them most clearly... I used to think they were little stars in glass shells when I was little. They literally shone like stars."

Another reason Elizabeth had never gone back to the castle when she was older (Apart from her being poor) was that she knew it would never live up to her memories and expectations. Things had funny way of doing that... of disappointing you... However, what she was seeing now was sweeter than all of the memories she held of it altogether. And those lights, they still shone like stars.

Under the gazebo she had dreamed of for years sat a table adorned with candles, flowers and the finest of tapestry, surrounded by all of her loved ones. All of them standing there smiling, looking at her and waiting.

It occurred to her that she was going to have to say something or do something.

A small part of her wanted to slap herself for being such a bitch before. Another part of her was fretting over how much all of this must have cost and how much time must have went into this. But the majority of her? The majority of her just wanted to burst into to tears, grab William and hug and kiss him both profusely and passionately for being one of the best things that had ever happened to her.

She turned to Will slightly and asked, with her voice catching in her throat "You did this?"

He nodded, unsure of what she was going to do next.

She stepped closer and raised her arm causing Will to flinch. Before he could even think Lizzie was on him, legs wrapped around his waist and arms around his neck singing "Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!"

"You like it?" He gasped.

"YES! Oh my, it's- AH!" She pulled his face closer to hers and kissed him with all of the emotion she felt exploding inside of her.

Over the ringing in her ears she heard the cheers behind her (Amongst her father's yells that there'd be 'none of that thank you very much') she remembered that they weren't the only ones here. She unravelled her limbs from around Will before pulling away, straightening out her dress, taking his hand and pulling him towards the table.