The Quest of Time

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Chapter-13

"Mrs. Reynolds, where is Miss Bennet?" Darcy asked as soon as he and Georgina stepped inside Pemberly late in the afternoon and the woman greeted them at the door.

She replied while hugging Georgiana adoringly "She is having a picnic with Philip and Anne. They will return soon Master Darcy. Do you want me to send someone to summon her?"

"No, that will not be necessary" Darcy said quickly and told Georgina "You should settle down and freshen up for supper, you will see her then."

"Yes Brother, but first I want to quickly look around to see what has changed in my absence." Georgina replied with a huge smile, she was definitely happy to be back home.

"I will show you around Dear, most of the things are same as you left them but Miss Bennet had made quite a few changes to the kitchen and back garden" Mrs. Reynolds held her hand lovingly and guided her to the kitchen "and I will also arrange for some tea and cakes for both of you, you must be tired and hungry after the long journey."

"That would be splendid Mrs. Reynolds, I will be in my study" Darcy smiled and went to his chambers, he thought he should clean up and change his dirty clothes before seeing Lizzie.

It was around six, Darcy was waiting for about two hours for Lizzie and still she wasn't back from her picnic, were they having a picnic in Scotland, what was taking them so long? He was growing impatient, he should have listened to Mrs. Reynolds and send someone to summon her home, he was dying to see her. After being away from her for almost two months, those two hours felt like a lifetime, he could not give his full attention to her sister who was splendidly playing the piano in the parlour.

He heard some ruckus outside and went out to see if that was her and he couldn't stop his smile when he laid his eyes on her. She looked different from the last time he remembered her, she was tanned, she must have spent a lot of time outside, her hair was longer and less bluer, if that was even a word, Darcy wondered, but some things were exactly the same, like her smile, her amusing eyes and the fire of her spirit, nothing could alter that.

He watched her silently, Philip, Anne and Lizzie were arguing about something and they wouldn't allow Mrs. Reynolds to say even a word. She struggled to tell the news about Darcy's arrival as Philip said irritatingly to everyone "Of course I am angry, after waiting patiently for four hours, I finally caught a fish and then Lizzie threw it back in the lake. Who does that? She is crazy, she has no respect for all the hard work and time it took me to catch that fish and it wasn't something small, it was a huge fish and because of her it's all gone, lost forever."

Philip pouted like a child fretting over the lost game, Anne looked at him sympathetically and Lizzie tried to suppress her laugh and rolled her eyes "Come on Phil, the game was to catch a fish, it didn't mean we had to kill it afterwards. There is no need to act like a petulant child and throw temper tantrums now."

"I'm not acting like a child" Philip was angrier and stomped his foot "You are the one who is acting like a child. Tell her Anne, tell her I am right. And what she did was wrong."

Anne looked from Phil to Lizzie, she was unable to take anyone's side, she looked at Mrs. Reynolds to pacify the childish situation because in her opinion both of them were acting like children but saying those words would mean being in the receiving end of both of their wrath, it was the time to be diplomatic.

Before Mrs. Reynolds could scold them to be quiet, Darcy interrupted the merry group of people "I am away for six weeks and this is what happened to all of you? You are fighting over lost game and childish tantrums."

"Master Darcy?" Philip and Anne squealed in surprise watching him appear from behind them but he was only looking at Lizzie's face, to see if she was happy to see him or not.

He was pleased to see her first being surprised and then excited, there was a huge smile on her face "Mr. Darcy, you are home. It's about time, you said a week and you went for more than a month, I was thinking here that a time vortex sucked you into another century and I won't get to see you again."

Darcy looked from Lizzie to everyone else's face, how could she say something like that in front of everyone, wasn't she scared people would discover her secret but he saw everyone's puzzled expression and felt relieved, none of them understood her joke and they ignored it the same way they ignored most of her out-of-the-world ramblings they cannot make any sense of. He answered cordially "Of course not Miss Bennet, I do not have your luck." And he added hesitantly "You look splendid, I assume you had a wonderful time here without me to interrupt you."

She laughed and replied amusingly "You won't believe it but I actually missed your interruptions and arguing with Phil is not as fun as arguing with you. I'm glad you are back."

"I am glad to be back too." He replied with a smile, it didn't matter if she didn't feel the same way for him as he did for her, but knowing that she missed him, even a little, meant a lot to him.

"Has Georgiana come with you? Where is she, I really want to meet her?" She asked excitedly looking around to find his sister.

"Yes, she came with me, she is in the parlour, come, I will introduce you to her." He took her to the parlour where his sister was still playing the piano oblivious to the world, she was glad to be back in her old seat beside her favourite piano. He touched her shoulders gently and she looked around startled and saw him and Lizzie.

"Oh, please forgive me, I did not notice we had company." She said embarrassingly jumping from her seat and looking from Lizzie to her brother.

Darcy put an arm around her to comfort her, she was always shy around people and it took lot of time and patience to bring her out of her shell. He introduced the two ladies hoping they would become better friends than he had hoped for "Miss Bennet, this is my sister Georgiana, the life and laughter of Pemberly and mine too and Georgiana, this is Miss Elizabeth Bennet, a friend of my old business associate Mr. Smith from America, she is staying with us here till she finishes her work."

Georgina bowed and gave a friendly smile and before she could exchange greetings with Lizzie, she was surprised by her excitement and friendliness. Lizzie embraced her tightly "It's so nice to finally meet you Georgiana. Anne, Philip, Mrs. Reynolds, everyone talks so much about you, I feel like I already know you."

She gave an alarming look to her brother but Darcy only smiled and nodded in encouragement. It was a new feeling for Georgiana, she had carefully kept her distance from everyone for so long, it was quite a shock when a stranger was breaching all her space but Lizzie was friendly and inviting and for some strange reason her brother trusted her and she knew she could trust her too. She finally smiled and returned her embrace with warmth and love "It is a deepest pleasure to finally meet you too Miss Bennet, Brother had told me a lot about you too. I sincerely hope we could be friends."

Lizzie let her go and gave Darcy a questioning look "I hope he didn't tell you everything about me" he shook his head to convey that her secret was safe and she added with an amusing smile "It'll ruin the suspense and pleasure to know each other ourselves. And please call me Lizzie, that's what all my friends call me."

"Only if you call me Georgiana" Georgiana replied.

"Deal" Lizzie put out her hand and they both shook on it, a perfect start of their journey together.

The rest of the evening passed amidst beautiful melody of piano, fine wine, delightful feast and wonderful company. Darcy was very interested to know what Lizzie was doing in his absence and to his surprise Lizzie was more interested in knowing about him, the work he had been doing, places he had been visiting, plans he had for the future. She also asked about Richard and his Aunt but Darcy only replied those questions with very short answers.

After the dinner and the tea Georgiana presented Lizzie the scarves she had brought for her from London "I searched so many shops to find something perfect for you, I hope you like them."

Lizzie hugged her, she was surprised by that kind gesture, Georgiana reminded her so much of her own sister "Thank you Georgiana, you shouldn't have troubled yourselves. Yes, I love them, they are so beautiful."

Georgiana shook her head "It was no trouble at all. Brother mentioned that you once jumped into the ice cold lake to save your sister's scarf and I thought it would a be a nice gift for you, it will always remind you of this place."

"Oh yes I did, it was very stupid but your brother was very kind and gave me his coat and today you are giving me this, I can never repay your kindness" Lizzie said. Darcy astonished her, he was a completely different, and unrecognizable when he was with her sister. Maybe she was too fast to judge him because the more time she spend with him, the more she heard about his kindness from other people, she realized she should have been more patient with him and she was determined to mend her mistake and give him time.

Darcy only shrugged his shoulders in reply and added "It was my duty and it is our pleasure to have your company Miss Bennet." He was very glad to be back at home with his family and for some weird reason he included Lizzie in his picture of family.

After a while Georgiana announced she was tired and left to go to bed early, Darcy was glad to have some moment alone with Lizzie.

"Georgiana is more wonderful than everyone had said" Lizzie said.

"She is" Darcy replied with pride of a father because he was the one who raised her and he was happy to take all the credit for it.

"She reminds me so much of my sister but she is more shy than Jane."

"Yes, she is shy around new acquaintances but once you get to know her better, you would not even recognize her as the same quiet person you have met now." He said remembering how exuberant she was before the tragedy of last year, as if life itself was shining out of her as a bright Sun.

"I'm glad I got the chance to meet her before I left."

That comment set off Darcy the wrong way "You are leaving? Have you found a way to go back home so soon?"

Lizzie sighed with despair "No I haven't, and quite frankly, I'm running out of ideas and things to do to find my way back. I don't know what I'll do all alone if I'm stuck here forever."

Darcy thought of reassuring her, it would not be so terrible for her living at Pemberly with him and Georgiana but he could not find the courage to say those words to her. Instead he went to the table and retrieved his present to her, the one perfect gift he searched for so long and he knew she would love it too. He handed the nicely wrapped gift to her "Maybe, this will help you."

Lizzie's frown turned into a smile as soon as she saw his gift "You brought me a present too." She quickly undid the ribbon and paper and her smile grew wider because her guess was correct, it was a book "Thank you Mr. Darcy, you are very kind.

Darcy was pleased that she liked his present but he was not prepared for what happened next. As soon as Lizzie saw the book cover and read the name her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped a little, she quickly opened it and when she read the preface and publication details she squealed "Oh my God, oh my God, is this for real."

He did not understand what she was asking and why she was suddenly so excited and over the moon. Lizzie took couple of steps towards him "Is this really the first edition of Newton's Principia?"

Darcy nodded "Yes, it is. I was thinking of getting you something useful that will help you with your work, and then a close friend of mine, who is also interested in science, recommended me this and he knew a rare book collector who had a copy and I bought it for you. It is more than hundred years old, I hope you like it."

"Like it? Like it?" Her voice went couple of octaves higher "This is the most precious thing I have ever held in my hands. I can't believe you got this for me, this is so wonderful that I could kiss you right now."

Darcy had no response for what she said, he was happy that she was happy but he was not sure about her kissing him because there was no coming back from it. So when Lizzie actually came close to him, he automatically took a step back, he could not cross that line with her but he realized his mistake in the very next moment, her arms were wide apart and her smile was faltering slowly, she was only going to hug him to show how much she appreciated the present but his hesitation ruined the moment.

She awkwardly took a step back too "Oh yeah, propriety and stuff, sorry, I forgot."

Darcy stood there awkwardly too, he was embarrassed for creating that uncomfortable situation for both of them. If only he had swam with the tide, it would have been a pleasant and cherished memory for him, having her arms around him, feeling the beating of her heart close to his heart but he had lost that wonderful opportunity and he regretted his lapse in judgement.

To end the ever-extending awkward silence of the room Lizzie said quickly "Thank you Mr. Darcy, this is precious but I can't accept this."

"But why?" Darcy was solemn, did he made her so angry by his actions that she no longer wanted his gift, the one he so lovingly chose for her.

"You have any idea how invaluable this is" She held the book out to him "One day your great-great-great Grandchildren could sell it for hundreds and million of pounds, I can't keep it for myself."

That was not acceptable to Darcy, he could not think of his life beyond few years, how was it possible to comprehend the lives of his great-great-great grandchildren. He persisted "Miss Bennet, this is a present for you, you have to accept it."

"I said I can't take it with me, I'm not saying I won't use it" She smiled as she carefully leaved through the pages "Of course I'm going to use it, how can I not, I'll read it from cover to cover" she frowned a little realizing a problem "but I need to learn Latin first."

Darcy realized another wonderful opportunity to mend his previous mistakes, he replied enthusiastically "I can help you with that, I'll translate the Latin text into English for you."

"You will?" She was surprised by his generosity and his kindness, had he been abducted by aliens or brainwashed into a brand new personality in the past month. Everything he did then surprised her but she wasn't complaining, she was grateful.

"Yes, we can start first thing tomorrow" He assured her.

She suddenly beamed remembering something else and said with a satisfied smile "Maybe later because I have a surprise for you tomorrow morning."

"What is it?" Darcy was astonished by her proposal and he was eager to know.

"You know what surprise means, right?" She asked amusingly and he sighed frustratingly "I've been working on it for weeks and waiting for you to come home. Now, that you are here, tomorrow morning is the prefect time to show it to you."

"Then I will keenly wait for the Sun to rise tomorrow morning" Darcy could barely contain his joy, she not only missed him, she made something especially for him and was waiting to show him, he could not ask for anything more from the Lord.

"You don't have any problem in waking up at five in the morning, do you," She asked "because it's better to do it when everyone is asleep. But if you are too tired with your journey, we can do it day after tomorrow."

"No" Darcy said quickly "tomorrow is fine, I'm not tired at all."

"Cool," She said happily "sleep tight then, we have a long day ahead tomorrow."

Darcy nodded, he could not speculate what they would be doing, what that wonderful surprise was, the morning couldn't come faster for him. In his excitement and eagerness, he barely slept, he woke up every time the clock chimed announcing the hour and as soon as the clock rang for half past four, he jumped out of the bed and got dressed. He lifted the curtain and saw outside his window, the sky was starting to light up into the beautiful shade of red and he wondered what Lizzie has planned for him away from prying eyes, it had to be something related to her world, that's why she wanted to keep it a secret and with anticipation he went out to see if she was ready.

He paced at the bottom of the stairs for fifteen minutes and there was no sign of her, it was almost five o'clock and he was scared that she was still asleep, he quickly climbed the steps and forgetting about the proprieties he made his way to her bed chambers, he would just have to wake her up himself. He didn't need to go too far because he saw Lizzie walking towards him, she was fussing with her rucksack and did not notice him.

"Good morning Miss Bennet" Darcy greeted her before she ran into him accidently like before.

"Oh" Lizzie was startled for a moment, then smiled instantly "Good morning Mr. Darcy, I didn't see you there. Are you ready for your big surprise?"

"I can hardly wait" He replied.

She laughed "I hope you got a good night sleep because you need to be very attentive and on your top of your games for this."

Darcy nodded and instead of lying about his lack of sleep, he said "I will certainly try my best and I would have prepared for it if only I knew what we would be doing."

"You'll find out in few minutes" she chuckled mischievously.

Half an hour later Darcy was sitting in Lizzie's car in the field next to the lake where she had crashed months ago. In his absence, she had been very busy, she had found a way to make bio-diesel and recharged the battery and her car was up and running again and since he was so fascinated with it, she thought the best present for him would be to teach him to drive the car all by himself.

"So, are you ready to try it yourself now," She asked him patiently "or do you want me to repeat everything again?"

Darcy nodded at once, he was more than ready, he was very eager to drive the car himself "I remember everything… ignition, clutch, gear, accelerator, steering, break, everything. I'm ready Miss Bennet."

"Ok, then lets swap places."

The next minute Darcy was sitting at the driver's seat, he checked the neutral gear, hand breaks, rear view mirrors as per instruction. He turned on the ignition at Lizzie's go and felt the car purr at his fingers.

"Now, press down the clutch, put the first gear and then slowly let it go and press the accelerator." Lizzie instructed and he did exactly as she said and he was beyond thrilled when the car slowly started to mover forward. She smiled approvingly "You're doing great Mr. Darcy."

"It is not difficult as I previously imagined it to be" Darcy was proud at the speed of his progress, he was easily steering the car around in a wide circle and he was quite enjoying it too, instead of being nervous as he was afraid earlier. All that time he was amazed at that wonderful piece of machinery and he was in awe of Lizzie's talent at driving, and while driving himself he realized that it was not that different from riding the horse, one need to take the full control of the car just as the horse and guide it to the right path.

Lizzie encouraged him enthusiastically, Darcy was a fast learner and it would have been impossible to tell that he was driving for the first time, his confidence at his skills could fool anyone. He started to take steeper turns and his hold on the steering wheel was strong, his senses were alert and he was ready for more. She was little afraid when he increased the speed but since it was an empty field, there was no fear of traffic or accident, she didn't stop him, only advised him to be safe "Take it slow Mr. Darcy, you are doing great, don't rush into anything, you have time to practice."

Darcy smiled, he was enjoying the speed, it was thrilling "Do not worry Miss Bennet, I have complete command of this vehicle. This is quite fun, is it not."

Lizzie laughed hesitantly "Yes, it is fun but if the car breaks down, there is no mechanic to fix it here, so lets not take any risk. Alright?"

"If you insist." Darcy agreed reluctantly but he was eager to test his ability on rougher terrain and asked expectantly "It is quite easy to drive in the fields with no obstacle, should we try on the real and narrower roads?"

Lizzie was nervous at his suggestion, she tried to be diplomatic "It's almost six Mr. Darcy, people would be waking up, we don't want to be seen, do we?"

"Of course not, I will take the secluded road near the hills, no one goes there" Darcy tried to reason but she was still hesitant, so he said shrewdly "One never learn to swim at the shore Miss Bennet."

Lizzie chuckled at that and finally nodded "Okay but be extra careful, don't hit any trees and keep your foot at the break all the time for just in case."

Darcy beamed and manoeuvred the car towards the same forest where she came crashing down from, the trees were making it harder to speed but he twisted and turned the car cautiously, it was a good exercise to hone his skills. Lizzie was not saying anything, her eyes were fixed on the road ahead, Darcy also tried to concentrate on the road but he couldn't help stealing glances at her. She was looking little worried but she didn't ask him to stop the car, she trusted him and Darcy was grateful. He said "I never got the opportunity to thank you Miss Bennet for this wonderful present. This is one of the best presents anyone has ever given me, this is just as good as receiving my first horse on my seventh birthday. And I feel the same excitement driving this car as I felt riding my horse."

"I'm glad you enjoying this Mr. Darcy and you are just as good at driving as you are at riding. Are you sure you've never driven before?" Lizzie asked.

"I swear Miss Bennet, I have not."

"You could have fooled me. I bumped my father's car to a rubbish bin and almost ran over the neighbours' dog during my first lesson. Neither Mr. Wills nor my Dad were pleased and I wasn't this good until my tenth lesson. You are a natural Mr. Darcy." She stated with admiration.

He thought he was happy while driving the car, it was of no comparison to the happiness he felt hearing the woman next to her say that. He would be lying if he said that he wasn't trying to impress her, because he was. He always felt she was very accomplished and men in her world were more capable than him too, this was his opportunity to shine, to show Lizzie he was no less than any man in her time, he could do everything they could do and he was showing off with his recently acquired driving skills. What better way to impress her and prove himself then to show he was just as good as her, if not at being friendly and having knowledge about science but at driving the car.

He replied graciously "Thank you Miss Bennet, it is all because you are a wonderful teacher."

"And you are the best student, at least a much better student then I was." She replied just like him and added "It's time to go back, before everyone wakes up."

Darcy was in no mood to return but Lizzie was right, the servants were about to wake up and start the chores around the house, staying there every minute increased the risk of getting caught. He turned the car around towards Pemberly and sighed "Yes, you are right, we should go back but honestly, I have not had enough yet."

"We'll do this again soon Mr. Darcy" Lizzie assured him.

Darcy smiled like a child "Promise me, your soon will come very soon Miss Bennet."

Lizzie laughed "I promise" and held his hand that was on the gear stick, it was a natural and friendly gesture, nothing to think twice about, certainly Lizzie was not thinking of anything when she touched him ever so gently but it wasn't the same for Darcy. All his senses shut down, the only thing he could feel was her soft and cold hand on his. It was funny how when she touched him, his first instinct was not to retract but to take her hands in his own and only less than ten hours ago when she was trying to hug him he took a step back. Things change so quickly, circumstances change so quickly, feelings change so quickly. Maybe seeing each other after so long, sharing a huge secret, confiding each other's childhood stories, teaching each other the things they always wanted to learn, brought them closer, made then friends and bonded them with an invisible connection.

Darcy smiled at the warmth he felt, sitting couple of feet apart from her in a close confined space, he was not embarrassed by that, it was in fact welcomed and his smile lingered even when Lizzie removed her hand after couple of seconds.

What brought him out of his blissful trance was the shriek that came out of nowhere, actually it came from the woman sitting next to him and he realized his mistake a second later. Lost in his thoughts, he forgot to watch the road and he was going to hit a tree few yards in front of him and he panicked.

"Watch out" Lizzie yelled and turned the steering wheel herself to avoid the collision, Darcy had no idea what to do, he had forgotten all the instructions he had received from her and the only thing going inside his head was, how horrible death would be, not because of the hurt and pain of the crash but because he had barely lived the life he wanted to live and what will happen to Georgiana after him, she would be all alone in the world.

"Breaks…. Push the damn breaks" Lizzie shouted at him again, she was panicked and scared out of her mind, it was like that stormy night, the night that took her world away from her, but she wasn't ready to die yet, she had to go back to Chris, see him again, kiss him again and his thoughts was keeping her determined enough to not loose control of the steering wheel. Darcy wasn't helping, he was looking at her, looking at the trees ahead, looking at everywhere but do what he was ordered to do.

"Mr. Darcy," Lizzie said again urgently "push the breaks" and Darcy nodded but he could not remember which pedal to push, so he started to push each and everyone his feet could find and it wasn't helping, instead of slowing down, the car gained speed.

"Oh God, we are going to die" Lizzie said horrified, she shouldn't had allowed him to drive in the forest, they should have stuck to the plain and empty field but it was no time to regret, it was time for action. She steered the car herself to take them out of the forest and as soon as she saw the lake in front, she put the hand breaks on and the car stopped with a huge jerk. The air bags popped out on their faces and the inside of the car was filled with white powder, smoke and noise of coughs.

Darcy felt like he entered into one nightmare from another, the belts around his chest were so tight that he could barely breath, something exploded right on his face and he hit his head on the glass window and his ears were ringing in pain. But to his relief, he felt the door open and saw Lizzie's red face right next to his.

"Mr. Darcy, are you alright" He heard her worried voice, she quickly deflated the balloon that was choking him and then he felt her hands all over his body, she turned his head around to look for injury, her fingers then swiftly ran across his neck, chest and to his abdomen. He wanted to reply that he was all right but no words were coming out of his mouth, she was literally all over him, and the next moment he felt a huge relief and understood why. She was only trying to remove the rope that was imprisoning him to the seat and with one click he was free.

Lizzie then pulled him out of the car and he felt he got a new life as soon as his feet touched the grounds and his lungs filled with fresh air. They both plopped down on the wet grass and took a sigh of relief together. Nobody said anything, they just lied on the ground, relishing on the open space and oxygen.

Once the fear and panic of death subsided, Darcy looked at the car, it was scratched on few places and smoke was coming out from the front, Lizzie looked out of breath but she did not look injured and he thanked heaven for that small mercy. He could have never forgiven himself for hurting her and he never will for putting her life in danger. The other thing he would never forgive himself for was ruining the small amount of trust and friendship he had built with her. He knew Lizzie would be very angry at him for everything, for endangering her life, destroying her car and all the things she made to make it functional again, he was scared she would never talk to him again and that made him sad.

Darcy could not find the words to apologise for his mistakes, the guilt and misery was choking his throat and he could not even look at her. He thought at least he should thank her for saving his life when he failed to protect hers. He would gladly endure all the punishments for his actions but before he could say anything he heard her laughter.

Lizzie was laughing like a maniac, punching the earth with her fists, Darcy was confused, for a second he was afraid that she had lost her mind. Maybe she had because she could not stop herself when she realized the austerity and absurdity of the whole situation. She was a twenty first century woman teaching an eighteenth century man how to drive a car and almost got herself killed, how many people in the whole wide Universe in the history of time could say that. Her whole life she was never satisfied with what she had, she always felt she led a sheltered life and something was missing, she wanted more, she wanted adventures, she wanted to do something no one had ever done before and she got her wish, it all was coming true and she was happy and sad about it and she just kept laughing at how her life had turned up. It was an out of body experience.

"That was fun, that was the best damn thing ever" She laughed harder than ever "Wasn't it Mr. Darcy?"

Darcy just stared at her dumbfounded, she shouted excitedly "Come on, you have to accept it, it was fucking fantastic. We came so close to death and escaped it, we are the two people in the world who are living a life no one ever will, a life we never imagined. Who else in my world can say that they've been to eighteenth century England and who in your world can say that they drove a car."

Darcy understood what she meant, they are the only two people who could understand this, their shared experience had bonded them for life and it was irreplaceable and priceless. He started to laugh too, she was right, no one in the world is like them and he understood what she meant.

"It's the greatest fucking thing ever," Lizzie asked him "isn't it? Come on, I know you agree, so just say it."

Darcy did agree but he was not sure he would put his feelings in those exact words but Lizzie insisted, "Oh come on, live a little, do what you want to do, say what you want to say. I promise I won't say it anyone else, it'll be our little secret" she added mischievously.

"Alright, it was the greatest fucking thing ever" Darcy said boldly, somehow she was breaking all the walls that was hiding him from the world, keeping him safe and instead of being scared of coming out of his safe place and face the world, he felt free.

"It was so fantastic, I want to do it again." He shouted, he felt like he was injected with a new life drug, the fear he had when he thought he was about to die was overtaken by the new wave of thrill and adventure, it had swept his inhibition away and he wanted to conquer his fears and the world too. He wanted to live the life he imagined.

"Crash the car?" Lizzie asked.

"Why not. It was the best damn thing I ever did." Darcy was a new man at that moment.

Lizzie laughed and stood up, she shouted in that air "People of the world, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberly just cursed…. And in front of a Lady of top of that."

"Miss Bennet?" Darcy was surprised and embarrassed by her actions "You promised you will not say it to anyone."

"I lied" Lizzie replied with a crooked smile and ran as a child who broke the expensive vase and was afraid of retribution. And Darcy chased her "People of the world, do not believe Miss Elizabeth Bennet, she lies." They were six years old again, playing the game of cat and mouse, no fear of death, no fear of getting caught by the world, no fear of what will happen next, nothing could touch them at that moment. They were in fact free.

Darcy had not felt like that in a very long time, he had few vague childhood memories of feeling so happy and free but he could not confidently say if those were real memories or only his dreams. His life had never been same after the death of his beloved mother who died after childbirth, and he was left with an infant sister and a broken hearted father. Then his father passed away few years later, he was not even out of the University and he had the responsibility of his young sister and large Estate. He barely enjoyed his childhood or his adolescent years, no wonder he always thought he never had the chance to live the life he wanted to live. But that early morning, he felt it was not too late, he could be happy again, he could live the life he always dreamed of and that life consisted of him, Georgiana and Lizzie. The unsettling feelings, that made him restless all the time when he was away, was gone. He had made up his mind and a decision, that brand new day would be a start of a brand new chapter of his life.

Darcy not only learned how to drive a car that morning, he also learned what he wanted from his life and that was to keep Lizzie with him for the rest of his life as his wife.

Hope you enjoyed that chapter

Happy reading :-)