I held a sleeping Georgie while Darcy drove the open topped carriage. The events of the night were just beginning to catch up with me, and I felt myself squeezing Georgie tighter against me. Strangely enough, I didn't feel any anger at what had happened, merely an intense yet strange mixture of relief and anxiety. Relief that it was all out in the open, that we could go home now. And anxiety that it was all out in the open. I observed the passing scenery and realized that we were going to Longbourn. I hadn't been sure exactly where Darcy had intended to go, but Longbourn surprised me.

I twisted around in my seat and spoke up to Darcy, who was driving the horses.

"Where are we going and what are we going to do now?"

Darcy turned his head slightly so he could talk to me and keep an eye on the horses at the same time.

"We are going to Longbourne to get your things, and then we are going to go straight to Pemberley. I cannot stand the thought of staying in this town a moment longer, and I think we need some time to gather our thoughts.

I nodded my approval of the plan and turned back to cuddling Georgie. By this time she was over a year old, and I was struck by the fact that I didn't know how old she was exactly.

"Darcy," I asked.

"Yes?"

"How old is Georgie?"

"She is... about a year and a half now," Darcy said.

I looked down at the sleeping child. She was small for her age, delicate yet sturdy, and a very pretty baby. I assumed that she took after her mother in that regard, and I could even see some of Darcy in her.

We finally pulled into Longbourn, and once Darcy had tied the horses, I handed him Georgie and ran inside to begin packing. Once in my room, I realized that I had completely abandoned Jane and Vivian at the ball. What did they think of everything that had happened? Ah well, not much could be done about it now. Besides, it wasn't as though they were all alone. They had Charles and Albert, respectively.

I quickly stuffed all of my garments into the very same carpet bag that I had brought with me from America originally, and then sat down to write Jane a note. I quickly summarized my sorrow at leaving her and the others, but the necessity of it. I also asked her to not tell anyone where we had gone, for I was sure we would return to say goodbye before we left for America, and that she shouldn't worry about us. I also asked her to thank Vivian, Charlotte, Charles, and Albert for me. I left it on Jane's pillow.

Once that letter was finished, I then penned another note, this time to Lydia. I thanked her for her support that night, and noted that I understood how difficult it must have been for her to stand up not only to Wickham, but Caroline as well. This one I wasn't sure where to leave. I wanted to make sure that Lydia got it, and that Kitty didn't find it first. Finally, I decided the best option was to fold it, and write her name on it and leave it for Jane to give to her.

That completed, I quickly scanned the room to make sure that I hadn't left anything behind, and then took my carpet bag down to where Darcy was waiting for me in the driveway. On my way out, I passed Betsie in the hallway. I hastily gave her a hug and thanked her for her kindness while I had stayed there. I then hurried out the door and heaved my carpet bag into the carriage, took Georgie from Darcy, and we were off.

The trip to Pemberley was spent mostly in silence. The bumping of the carriage, and the warmth of Georgie in my arms soon lulled me into a peaceful slumber.

I was jolted awake as the carriage came to a stop. Instinctively, I tightened my hold on Georgie. I looked around, and realized that we were at Pemberley. Had we really gotten here that quickly? I was startled by Darcy, appearing suddenly beside the carriage, taking hold of my carpet bag and my elbow at the same time. My mind still blurry with sleep, I let him help me maneuver out of the carriage holding Georgie, and then into the mansion that was Darcy's home.

Even half asleep, I was once again struck by the grandeur of Pemberley. It seemed even bigger than I remembered. Still, all I wanted at that point was a nice, soft bed so I could put Georige down, for my arms were numb from holding her, and then collapse myself.

Darcy helped me up the grand staircase, down several halls, and into a bedroom. He then promptly dropped my carpet bag on the floor, took Georgie from me and laid her gently in a crib on the far side of the room. Meanwhile, I had spotted the bed and was struggling with the buttons on the gown. Darcy came over and helped undo the numerous ribbons and buttons on my dress, and then remove the pins from my hair. Once my hair was down and I was stripped to my shift, he pulled back the covers of the bed and I gratefully climbed between them and sunk into the pillows. I could hear him undressing, and then he was climbing into the bed beside me. He wrapped his arms around me and I snuggled into his chest before falling into a deep sleep.

I was woken by the sound of Georgie's chatter from her crib. I cracked my eyes open to see her standing up in her crib, babbling happily away while she watched Darcy and I sleep. I smiled at her before I rolled gently over to see that Darcy was still sound asleep, and after that I didn't move for I didn't want to wake him. He had driven half of the night to get us here, I realized.

I didn't know how long we laid there before Darcy began to wake up, but it was long enough for Georgie to fall silent and start playing with a doll that was in her crib, and for me to begin to drift off to sleep again. But finally, I felt him begin to stir, and watched as he came awake. He slowly stretched and yawned and I moved my head off of his arm so he could stretch it out. He then grinned sleepily at me, and then wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in my hair.

I smiled contentedly and wrapped my arms around him as he began to kiss my neck. Just then, Georgie must have realized that we were both awake for she started talking happily away again. It was mostly baby chatter, but with a few random words thrown in. Darcy and I watched her for a moment, smiling. Then, she stretched out her arms to us, and we climbed from the bed and went to pick her up.

After we had changed and tended to Georgie, Darcy said we should get dressed for breakfast. I agreed, and we set Georgie into her crib with a few more toys. Then Darcy pulled a sheet that I hadn't noticed the night before across a line that divided the room in half and blocked Georgie's view of us.

I smiled and then went to open my carpet bag, which was still on the floor where Darcy had dropped it the night before. The rest of our clothes were still spread out across the chairs and chest that were in the room. I ignored them. As I began pulling my clothes from the carpet bag, I realized that I had done a horrible job of packing them. Every item of clothing was wrinkled. I snorted in disgust, and Darcy came up behind me.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I turned around to tell him, but my breath caught at the sight of him and I couldn't seem to find the words. He was shirtless, wearing only his breeches. And he was beautiful. I had not seen many shirtless men before. None, as a matter of fact. I could see the muscles across his arms, chest, and abdomen, with a dark dusting of hair across his chest.

I realized I was gaping at him when he smiled sheepishly and reached for his shirt. Before I realized what I was doing, I reached out and touched his chest. He froze, and so did I. But the sight of him had made me bold somehow, and I ran my hand across his chest and down his arm. He shivered slightly, and I quickly snatched my hand away. I felt my face growing warm and was about to turn away when suddenly he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me hard. I was stunned, but then quickly gathered my wits and began to kiss him back. His hands roamed down my back and then back up into my hair, as they always did, and I wrapped my arms around him as well. But this time was different. I could feel it. Suddenly, he lifted me up and carried me to two steps to the bed and deposited me on it. I grasped his shoulders to make sure that he didn't stop kissing me, and he trailed his lips across my cheek, down my neck, and across my collar bone. His hands then moved from my ribs to my waist, and kept moving down to my hips and then legs.

Everywhere he touched me felt hot, and I realized, unashamed, that I wanted him to touch me everywhere. I ran my hands around across as much of his back as I could reach. It was smooth and muscled.

I felt like I couldn't breath, and that I was on fire. I lost track of how long we laid there, simply kissing and touching but it felt so wonderful that I never wanted it to stop. I could sense that there was a certain line that we weren't crossing, but at that moment it was fine by me.

We were jolted out of our embrace by the sound of Georgie calling out for us, and as much as it pained me to leave the warmth of Darcy, our duty as parents overrode our passions.

I realized then, that we were truly Georgie's parents. We were responsible for her, and we would be raising her. She was our daughter, truly. The thought made me smile and almost giddy with happiness. I voiced my newfound revelation to Darcy, and I could see the joy in his eyes. We quickly collected our clothes, dressed, and then, after kissing me slowly again, Darcy went to pick up Georgie.

I quickly twisted my hair up, and then ran my fingers through Darcy's to make it somewhat presentable, and we exited our room and Darcy led me to the breakfast room, still carrying Georgie.

The breakfast was simple and delicious - eggs, bacon, fresh rolls with butter, and tea. I fell on the meal as though I was starving, which I realized that I was. I could see that Darcy felt the same way as we struggled to eat properly without stuffing ourselves. I could tell that the staff at Pemberley was limited, as I only saw one butler through the entire breakfast. I asked Darcy about it, and he told me that while he was away, Pemberley functioned with very few servants.

After the breakfast, which I realized after the fact was closer to a late lunch, since it was not until two in the afternoon that we ate, Darcy took us out to the grounds again.

We spent the rest of the day exploring Pemberley, both the grounds and the house. Every few minutes Darcy would kiss me, whether on the neck, cheek, or lips. I treasured each one, and was surprised to find that I felt comfortable enough to kiss him as well. I was still beginning to realize that I could kiss and touch him whenever I wanted to, and so I began taking advantage of that fact.

As we walked, we talked as well. Darcy told me more about his childhood, and about his sister Georgiana. He also told me more about how and why Caroline had tried to blackmail him as she did. Caroline had had her sights set on Darcy ever since she had first come out into society, and Darcy had spent a lot of time dodging her at balls and other social functions. He told many stories about when, as a boy, he used to play tricks on Georgianna and Lydia, and I was surprised to find that he had been, in fact, good friends with Jane when they were younger, and that Jane and Charles had known each other since they were children.

I also told him more of my childhood with my adopted family, working on the farm and being chased by and playing with my siblings. Of getting lost in the woods one day, and my brother pretending to growl like a bear. I had been only six at the time, and so frightened. When I found out it was only him, I had whaled on him with the first stick I could get my hands on, and it had been a big one. As a result, I badly bruised his arm and we were both punished by our parents with extra chores for several weeks. I had to muck out the stalls for him, because he couldn't lift the rake with his sore arm. I detested that job, and after that made sure that whenever I hit my brother that I didn't badly hurt him so I would never have to muck out the stalls again.

We continued to exchange stories like that for the rest of the evening, and at some point Darcy asked about my incompetence with the donkey when I had first arrived. I felt like an idiot all over again when I explained that I could deal with most animals, but had never encountered a donkey before. Most farms only had sturdy but gentle oxen and horses. He then inquired after the pig, and my only excuse for that was that I had been taken by surprise.

Eventually, it began to grow dark. We started back for the house. The cook had prepared another simple meal for us, and we ate quickly. Afterward, as we were walking down the hall to our room, Darcy turned to me and asked almost shyly.

"Would you mind if I put Georgie into a separate room for tonight?"

I looked at him, and quickly caught on to his meaning. "I wouldn't mind at all," I tried to say lightly. Inside, I was nervous.

Once Georgie was put to bed, we retired to our own room. I was unsure what to do, so I decided to just treat it as if it was a normal night. I undressed down to my shift again, but when I turned around and saw Darcy without his shirt once again, my nervousness suddenly disappeared. All I wanted to do was touch him, and so I did, running my hand across his chest. He closed his eyes for a second, before looking at me again. His eyes were dark, and he gently ran his hands down my waist and hips to grasp my shift at my thighs. He looked me in the eye, and I saw the question there. I simply raised my arms in answer, and he pulled the my shift over my head and off.

I heard his breath catch, and before I could cross my arms over myself or run for the shelter of the blankets, his arms were around me once again and he was kissing me, gently this time, whispering words of love and endearment as he picked me up, and carried me to the bed again, and this time, there were no lines to stop at.

Hi everyone! Thank you for all of those lovely reviews on the last chapter, I hope you enjoyed this one as well. Just as a heads up, I only have two more chapters for this story, which I will be posting tomorrow and Thursday.