"I must say I am most thoroughly relieved that the matter has finally been resolved." Bingley sighed, the relief rolling off him in visible waves, as he walked into the Netherfield library.

Darcy had chosen to take refuge in this room - for whatever reason, he himself could not decide - as the Bingley siblings sorted out their debacle this morning. It was a debacle, it seemed, that had been resolved as satisfactorily as could be possible, given the circumstances.

"I am glad he agreed to marry her," Darcy remarked as Bingley collapsed into the seat across from him.

"We had to threaten him with debtor's prison, of course." Bingley ran his hand over his face. "But your information has at least helped us in locating Wickham as quickly as we could. I hate to admit it - but he did seem more eager once I promised that my sister's dowry would be delivered as if this were a respectable marriage."

Darcy pitied his friend for the way he had to spit out the word.

He folded the book he had barely been reading and slid it on the table beside him. "Dare I congratulate you?"

"If you must, congratulate me for having finally rid myself of Caroline." Bingley slumped further into his chair. "And for the fact that the Bennets have not rescinded their permission for me to wed Jane."

"That is kind of them."

"Indeed it is."

A brief, contemplative silence set itself upon the room.

"I am sorry that he sought out your sister," Darcy said a moment later, meaning every word. His disdain for Caroline Bingley, however deep, could not match his disdain for Wickham. Bingley grimaced before offering a single nod from his own seat. "While I cannot ever commend her way of addressing the results of her own affair, I do believe that she came into Wickham's attention only because of our association. I grieve for the harm I have brought unto your family."

"Do not worry yourself too much about it. As far as I know, Caroline entered the arrangement willingly. And she is only being made to lie in the bed she has made for herself."

"Forgive me, Bingley."

"If you can forgive me - for ever having believed Caroline in her efforts to foist herself and her bastard child upon you."

Darcy breathed in deeply, allowing the air to cleanse his lungs, before sighing his sorrows away.

"It is all settled now. Let us speak no more about it," he said.

"I agree." Bingley's own sigh was sharp and short. He rolled himself off his chair and back upon his feet. "And now, shall you join me in calling at Longbourn? I do believe we need some better female company."

Darcy smiled before rising as well.

"And if we were never meant to be brothers through Caroline," Bingley added as he walked towards the library door, "perhaps we will be brothers in another way instead."

Darcy hardly had the time to comprehend Bingley's implications before they were on their way.

The sound of joyful chatter leaked through Longbourn's windows as Elizabeth walked the modest gardens on her own. She had managed to slip out just before any callers had arrived. The news from Netherfield this morning, scribbled in a rush by Mr. Bingley to Jane, had been welcome, if on the overwhelming side.

How was she to face Mr. Darcy now that he was finally free of Miss Bingley's clutches? She felt relief for the man. It would have been wholly unfair to have him marry a woman he hadn't compromised and father a child he hadn't sired. But his newfound freedom did not necessarily mean that he now wished to court Elizabeth.

Words said under a rush of emotions, uttered by a trapped man, could hardly be taken seriously.

The sound of a man clearing his throat drew Elizabeth's eyes upward.

She swallowed before she smiled, as politely as she could. "Mr. Darcy."

"They said you were walking." He did not seem to feel the need to be as formal as she, and he strode over in three long steps until he stood before her. His eyes searched hers. She wondered what he thought to find.

"I often am," she answered softly.

"Of that I have no doubt." He smiled at her, his features brighter and lighter than she had ever seen them ever before. It was as if she had always seen him in the dark - and someone had finally held a candle close to his face to illuminate his features.

They were handsome features, she had to admit.

"I did not know you wished to walk as well," Elizabeth said.

"Only if you will allow me to join you."

She rolled her shoulders before gesturing around them. "By all means, sir."

He nodded gallantly and offered his arm. It was not entirely proper of them to walk this way unchaperoned, but they had hardly been on the right side of propriety for a while.

They walked together for a minute or two, with nothing but cultivated nature surrounding them. After stolen kisses and hidden trysts, their actions felt almost ludicrously tame. Yet they held meaning all the same.

Then he spoke. "I hope you are willing to congratulate me today, Elizabeth."

"Over what?" She pressed his arm slightly more.

"Over my recovered status as a single man - and my ability to now pursue the woman I truly wish to marry."

Elizabeth felt her throat dry, and she breathed deeply to calm herself. "I congratulate you, sir."

"Thank you."

He smiled at her, and her heart ran amok again.

It was a most unruly heart whenever he was around.

"I hear that Miss Bingley is to be wed tomorrow," she directed their words towards safer shores.

"She is."

"Were you be present?"

"No, although Bingley assures me that she most certainly will be married."

"I am glad to hear that."

"As am I." He paused very briefly before continuing, "And I believe that I have you to thank for my deliverance."

"Me?"

He stopped walking and turned to face her, their arms still entwined. "Would you have me believe that your dear, angelic sister - the soon-to-be Mrs. Bingley - worked out the paternity of Caroline's child on her own?"

Elizabeth felt herself flush, uncertain if she wished to claim credit to such a dubious achievement.

"I hope you do not blame me for meddling."

"How could I? When you have delivered me from a doomed life of eternal unhappiness?" He pulled her closer. She looked up until their noses nearly touched.

"And now you are a free man," she whispered with a smile.

"I'm afraid not," he surprised her with his reply.

"Oh? And who - "

"How can I be a free man, Elizabeth, when my heart is irrevocably lost to you?"

The weight of his words washed over her, drowning her in happiness and relief. "Will - "

He kissed her warmly, then deeply, the touch of his lips lingering and languishing with a previously unknown luxury. She reveled in his kisses, responding to them with all the tenderness and adoration she possessed.

He smiled when they parted. His words sounded airy yet sure. "I am doing this all wrong, am I?"

"Well, not exactly."

"But not exactly right either." His eyes twinkled at her.

Elizabeth bit her lip to hide her grin. "Perhaps not."

"Well then." He pulled back slightly, his hands still remaining on her waist - a most gratifying place they had wandered to during their kisses. "Bingley is determined to have a ball in Netherfield to celebrate his engagement. Mrs. Hurst has agreed to play the hostess. May I, Miss Elizabeth, be given the honor of your first set for the ball?"

The request, so proper in every other courtship, sounded silly and happy and ridiculous in theirs.

Elizabeth smiled until she could not smile any wider. "Very well, Mr. Darcy, I suppose I shall."

A/N: I thought I was being obvious about the child being Wickham's, but I guess I wasn't. And now it all looks so rushed and tidy. Lol. Sorry!