Thank you for reading and reviewing. I hope I don't disappoint you too much, but let me know anyhow, this is definitely a learning process for me.

Big thanks to my betas, especially Darcysfriend she did more than correct my writing. Not to forget, Eb Evans, and Patricia, I love you all. There will be one more chapter after this, which will be posted tomorrow.

Chapter 8

She hurried home. The tall accompanying footman had to lengthen his strides to keep up. When she reached the safety of her home she locked herself in her bedchamber. Elizabeth must have met with Mr. Darcy earlier, why was he there? Why had Elizabeth not contacted her about seeing him?

God almighty, this was utterly horrible. She had to warn her sisters post haste. Seeing Mr. Darcy enter Elizabeth's home scared her beyond reason. Mr. Darcy was now, an extremely wealthy and influential man; he could ruin her husband and her family in a heartbeat. She did not want to think about what her husband would do to her, if he ever found out. Not to mention the families of her two other sisters involved.

Mr. Darcy had been aggravated and impetuous in his last letters to their father. It made her pause at the time, but they had gone that far already, and there was no turning back. It was never spoken of in the family, but an idiot could see that William was Mr. Darcy's son. Elizabeth had been fortunate again though: Mr. Lloyd was a tall dark-haired man himself, so they could disguise William's features as his.

Thinking back in time, it was always supposed to be her - she was the one destined to make an advanced marriage to save her mother and sisters from homelessness in case of their father's death. Longbourn was entailed away from the female line and the current heir would have the malice to put them out when that came to be. But Elizabeth refused that fool Collins' proposal of marriage and failed to save her family from eviction with the help of their neglectful father. Not that that would have come about, the patriarch still lived and she was sure, Mr. Collins, his heir, would never see Longbourn as his home. No, that privilege would go to Elizabeth's bastard... life could be so unfair. Father should have seen to it that Elizabeth did their mother's bidding.

It was not that she had loved Charles Bingley... that was not the reason she had done what she had done - he was second best - but he was the only one who courted her. Still, he left her like yesterday's newspaper, which thoroughly humiliated and shook her profoundly. But Darcy was the one she wanted – Darcy would and should have raised her status to what she deserved. With Elizabeth out of the way, she could have received Mr. Darcy and he would have seen her eligibility, sweetness of spirit and superior beauty which would have him bid for her. She had made herself available at Longbourn for Mr. Darcy, but he never came.

But if she could not have Mr. Darcy, neither would Elizabeth. She made sure of that. Her shock had been great when Elizabeth told her she had given Mr. Darcy her virtue and she learned the result of it. Fortunately for her and her sisters, Elizabeth found Mr. Lloyd who saved their family from shame. Otherwise the consequences of the disaster Elizabeth had created would have been dire for the whole family.

No, it should have been this way. With no dowry and no connections, it had to be her to strike the best match. How could Elizabeth have her beau while hers deserted her? She could hardly understand it, and it irked her greatly. Elizabeth had no real beauty, was a bluestocking and had sarcasm to match their father's. Their mother always said that no man would ever want Elizabeth. She had believed it. Elizabeth was destined to be a spinster. Elizabeth was to teach and occupy her children in the future. That was what was to happen. But for her to catch such a formidable man was not to be borne. So from the start she steered her away from Mr. Darcy, seeing his admiration for her sister. Elizabeth, in her stubborn and stupid belief of her superiority of mind, had not seen it. Hah! Her sister always thought herself to be a good judge of character – in the beginning of their acquaintance the fool had thought that Mr. Darcy looked at her for fault. Not that her interference had had any effect she wished for. Later, she learned that Elizabeth had been in love with him, and he with her. If not for her, that man would have married Elizabeth. She still thought it unbelievable.

Now she was stuck with a husband who had an estate the size of Longbourn, and a small townhouse in the wrong neighbourhood. Her bloody sister Elizabeth, on the other hand, had a sizable country house near Meryton, which her husband bought especially for her so she could walk in the country. Which man would buy his wife a house so she could walk in nature? Not to forget their townhouse, that house and location would bring no shame to an Earl. To make it worse, her brother-in-law the present Earl of Sussex, was her neighbour.

She hated Elizabeth for that. But she never showed it. It had taken her years to perfect her poise, disguising her true feelings and donning her mask of sweet contentment. Everybody loved her, admired her. Nobody recognized her proficiency at deception. She always thought that no real accomplishment was needed as long as she looked sweet and beautiful – at least, that was what she thought then. Now, confronted with reality, she knew better. She had Francine educated in the manner that Elizabeth was. Her plain daughter! Who loved her sister Elizabeth and her family like they were hers. What had the world come to for her to have a daughter like that?

He had embraced his love again! Feeling her, experiencing her alluring fragrance – all had driven away the numbness and hatred he had felt for so long! And his son! Good Lord, he had another son. A son he could be proud of just as he was with his other children. This was a gift from God for all the suffering he and Elizabeth had endured. He had to tread carefully now; he planned to have them all in his life from now on. William had been a very pleasant surprise, amiable and mature in the face of what he had heard. The boy was not one and twenty but had a backbone and decisiveness he himself wished he exhibited, twenty years ago! He had made many mistakes in his years, but the awful way he had handled the aftermath of their wonderful liaison was of epic proportion, and he could feel the guilt severely. He should have left everything and gone to Longbourn to get her! Hindsight indeed made everything clearer and easier to understand. Well ... it was as it was; he would do better from now on. He would get to the culprit of this tragedy, and he or she would know what it was to be devastated and hurt beyond reason. The perpetrator deserved just that.

When he separated from his mother and Mr. Darcy, he went to his chambers to think. Only this morning he was the proud son of Mr. William Lloyd, husband of Mrs. William Lloyd nee Elizabeth Bennet. Now some hours later, he was the son of the same woman but his father was Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. Unbelievable but true, so it seemed. His emotions had left him numb. The moment he saw his older and haggard looking, self-same image, he was lost in a world of regret. As much as he had and still loved Mr. Lloyd, he now regretted not to have grown up in his natural father's home. That, of course, left him feeling guilty for having said feeling, but he had to be honest with himself.

Now he desired to know his father, as well as Mr. Darcy's other son and daughter. There was another aunt and uncle, with two other children; they practically raised his other siblings he was told. He wanted to know them all. He felt unworthy and greedy, but the impulse to see them and talk to them was greater. He had always felt somewhat like the odd duck out, and now he understood. He was reserved and taciturn in the company of strangers, or greater gatherings; his family was not. Heck, his siblings and mother talked to all and everybody with great ease and pleasure. Albeit the same colouring, his siblings had different features, they were a mix of Mr. Lloyd and his mother. His eyes where dark brown, from his mother's side he thought, but now he knew he had them from his father. His siblings had hazel-coloured eyes like Mr. Lloyd; his mother had light brown eyes with a touch of green and gold. But it was the mannerisms, common with Mr. Darcy, that had baffled him the most. At one point of the conversation he had seen them both in a looking glass, they had stood together and to his amazement they had stood in a pose alike. Tired of it all he decided to eat in his rooms before he would meet his mother and siblings after dinner.

When Darcy got home he saw he had visitors. His sister Georgiana and her husband Richard were waiting for him in his library. When Georgiana saw Darcy's haggard face, she was concerned. "Dear brother, what is troubling you? We are all worried about you, you know." She said with determination, indicating she wanted answers.

"Well, sister dear, if your amiable husband will hand me a drink like he has himself, I will tell you the whole sordid tale." He rubbed his hands tiredly over his face, as though to clear his mind out of cobwebs as well.

Richard handed him a drink and they settled down to talk. At first it was extremely difficult to relate all the things that had happened, though the longer Darcy talked the easier it became. It was as if more grief was lifted off his heart. When he was done, Georgiana and Richard sat speechless, staring open-mouthed at him for at least a minute, before his sister sputtered in utter confusion and disillusionment. "But... but, how can this be? Who could have done something so despicable? Your poor son and Mrs. Lloyd! What is to be done?" Georgiana sat in bewilderment, almost speaking to herself. "Who would do something as horrible as this to you? You deserve nothing but good; you are the best of men."

"Thank you, my dear. The only person I know who would have been capable of doing something like this is Miss Bingley or Wickham, but Miss Bingley was not there when it happened. Plus, she would not have been able to interfere in the Bennet household, no matter what. The same goes for Wickham. Neither Mrs. Lloyd nor William could think of a person in their family who would be capable. It is a mystery. But I will find out and I will make this person pay. This person destroyed about twenty years of our lives. No matter what, I will have William, Mrs. Lloyd and the rest of her family in my life from now on, whatever it will cost me in so called 'polite' society. I hope you will understand?"

Richard had not said anything until now, but when he spoke it was with conviction. "Of course, Darcy, we will support you and the Lloyd family. Surely you did not doubt this? You have helped me time and again when I needed you, now we will embrace your new family as our own. As will Georgiana. Won't you, love?"

"But of course, William. We will conquer this together as a family should. You will have to tell Grayson and Anne, though, and you will need to do that soon. Before gossip reaches their ears."

"I know. Mrs. Lloyd will talk to the rest of her children tonight, maybe I will do that too. Do you think I should tell Sophie and Harry too? Or will you prefer to do that?"

"No, we will be in attendance when you relate the story. I think they need to hear it together. They see themselves as brothers and sisters and I think Sophie and Harry would feel left out." Richard said, before exclaiming. "Dear God, Darcy, did this really happen? I cannot believe it, it is too cruel."

The children of both families had been stunned by the revelations. In both households, the youngest ones had more trouble understanding all events, but Elizabeth and William, separately, patiently explained everything to them, after which everything seemed to have sunk in. Naturally, the repercussion of having a child out of wedlock would be grave – as it were, the children did not have full comprehension of it yet, but they all pledged to understand the entire predicament and vowed support for their family. Lauren stated she would not mind to wait a season to come out, so she would have the time to get to know Mr. Darcy and his family, before she left her father's house. The emotions ran high and everyone was glad to go to their chambers for some much needed rest.

Thank you for reading and please let me know what you think. Tomorrow I will post the last chapter. However, if I did not disappoint too much, and I get enough reviews today, telling me how much you would like to see the last post. I will post tonight. Have a great day you all.