I am so sorry! It has been forever since I updated, I know. I hope you enjoy this one, the next will probably be the birth of their child, as I want to speed things along, then the Bingley wedding, then Collin's appearance with Lady Cat, and finally, the end! So almost done, maybe 5-6 chapters left! Stick with me!

"My dearest Charlotte,

You cannot comprehend the joy I felt at receiving your latest letter. I have missed you greatly; I admit that I too would be overjoyed to introduce our children to each other, so that they may have the friendship we once had. That being said, I wish to inform you that we shall be traveling to Kent for Christmas this year, to visit Lady Catherine, and of course, after Jane's wedding. I had hoped to see you there, but I understand that would be quite impossible. I wish you the greatest joy in the remaining months of your pregnancy, and for the future health of your child.

Much love,

Elizabeth Darcy"

She turned to look at her sister, arching her brow. "Well?"

"It sounds very, ahem, detached" Jane admitted.

"I thought it was rather civilized, all things considered" Jane patted her sister's gloved hand.

"Your letters are usually full of emotion, wit, lively epithets of some trivial event that made you smile. Lizzy, this letter is only a half of a page long, usually you write a small novel"

"I do not wish to further strain our relationship. She has extended an olive branch, however skewed it may be. I will keep my tongue in check, she was a dear friend once"

"You are getting soft" Jane laughed.

"It is mother. I am desperate for any sort of distraction, I am willing to write to Charlotte" Lizzy laughed. "I shall go mad if the two of them keep conspiring against me, together"

"They both want what is best" Jane consoled. "You are now in your confinement period, you must go easy"

"I would be lying in bed all day if William had his way"

"You must admit it is amusing to watch Mama interact with him. I am surprised that he tolerates her so well now"

"He does it on purpose, to anger me. It simply serves to amuse me" Lizzy retorted. "I shall have the last laugh though, when I win the bet"

"And what shall you have him do?"

"Whatever it is I want," Lizzy simply replied. "Now, enough about me, I want to hear more about you and Mr. Bingley! Has he kissed you yet?"

Jane turned pink and averted her eyes, causing her sister to laugh.

"Lizzy!" Jane finally admonished after a few minutes of her laughter. "Stop it, please"

"I am sorry Jane, you just looked so flustered" Jane pouted prettily, glaring the best she could at her sister. "I take it as a yes?"

"Yes, he did" Jane sighed softly, "Oh, Lizzy, it was absolute bliss! If only Mr. Hurst did not walk in!"

Lizzy lost herself to the laughter once again, imagining with delight the scene Jane was now describing.

"We were standing in the library, we thought that we would not be discovered in there of all places. He was so nervous, he launched into this little speech, and oh he was so polite! He recited this poem, I do not even know who the author is, but it was so beautiful. And then, he asked if I would allow him to kiss me, and I agreed! I felt so wanton" Lizzy was still giggling over her sister's love-struck tale, and of course, picturing Mr. Hurst.

"Tell me about Mr. Hurst walking in" She urged. Jane sighed, and continued.

"We-we were up against the bookshelf" Jane whispered, cheeks flushed red. "Mr. Hurst walked in with a cup of brandy. He dropped it to the ground in surprise. We broke apart as the glass shattered. Mr. Hurst just stood there smirking. In truth, I've never seen him so awake looking! I-I was so flustered that I fled from the room,"

"Oh Jane, it is not that bad" Lizzy assured her. "What did Mr. Bingley do?"

"He berated Mr. Hurst for not knocking, then ran after me" Jane smiled softly. "I cannot wait to be his wife, Lizzy, I really cannot"

"You have only a few months left" Lizzy stated. "Has Mama finished all her plans?"

Jane went on in detail to describe the content of her trousseau, the newest lace she had purchased for Lydia's dress, and the morning coat that Mr. Bingley would be wearing. The sun was fast setting when Jane finished detailing every possible aspect of the upcoming wedding.

"We should get going, Fitzwilliam will worry" Lizzy stated, looking to the setting sun. Jane frowned a tad. As if conjured out of thin air, the master of the estate appeared in the distance, shouting out both of their names.

"We are over here!" Lizzy called. One of their hounds was dancing behind him, nipping at his heels.

"You did tell him we were going out, did you not?"

"I might have mentioned it" Lizzy replied absently. She laughed as Jane pulled a funny face.

"Apollo" Lizzy called, yelling for the hound as it recognized her from afar. In a blur or black and brown it was upon her, licking her face.

"Charles wants to start breeding hunting dogs, but Caroline cannot stand them" Jane remarked as William slowly made his way over.

"Apollo has a lady love who we expect will have pups by the wedding. Perhaps you wish to give one to him as a wedding gift" Lizzy suggested. "William will not mind"

"I will not mind what?" He asked, finally approaching the two sisters.

"Allowing Jane to adopt one of Apollo's pups" Lizzy replied.

"For Charles?" Jane nodded. "Of course not"

"Thank you, William"

"We have several dogs too many, I am afraid." He told her. "Now, the hour grows late. You shall not have very long to get ready for dinner, Lizzy" Lizzy huffed from her position on the ground. She was not looking forward to another dinner with her mother.

"I would rather stay here" He gave her a small smirk.

"I just spent the whole day with her, allowing her to criticize the way I decorated the nursery, or the way they papered the walls, or heaven

forbid, the wrong lace" He snapped playfully. "You can handle dinner"

"Alright, help me up" Lizzy grumbled. He easily pulled her pregnant form from the ground, and then helped Jane as well. With one on each arm, he escorted them back to the estate. Once they entered the foyer, Jane scurried off to get ready for dinner, while Lizzy languidly made her way up the stairs. With every stair, she groaned for dramatic effect.

"My back aches terribly" and "My feet are so swollen" were her favorite complaints. Her husband kept a step behind her, smiling at her dramatic performance.

By the time they reached their chambers, they had only a few minutes to prepare for dinner. Lizzy hastily changed out of her dirty walking dress and into a soft blue muslin and lace concoction that Georgina had given her a month ago. William helped her put on her slippers, as she couldn't quite reach over her expanding bump.

"You get lovelier every day, Mrs. Darcy" He commented as he brushed a stray curl from her face.

"Why, thank you Mr. Darcy. I do believe you are trying to butter me up" She grinned, leaning forward to kiss his cheek. "It will not work, I shall not save you from Mama"

She scurried as fast as she could out of their chambers, her husband hot on her heels.

"I do not need to be saved, just assisted at times" He called, catching up easily. He tucked her hand into his elbow.

"You picked your side of the bet, Mr. Darcy" She reminded him. "If it helps, Jane says that Mama fawns over you more then Mr. Bingley now"

Her smile and laugh did nothing to alleviate the horror he felt at that statement.

Dinner was a quiet affair. For the first week of their stay, dinner was an all out occasion, but as Jane and Mrs. Bennett settled into life at Pemberely, it was decided that it was not needed. Her husband held out her chair as she sat, and the moment she was tucked in, her mother began.

"Lizzy, you look tired. You must sleep more"

"I merely had a long day, Mama" She would reply.

"You should not walk so much! It is not good for the babe"

"I enjoy walking Mama, and the doctor from London tells me it is good for the baby"

"I never once walked the distances you travel, and I had five perfectly healthy daughters"

"Mary was quite sickly Mama" Lizzy reminded her.

"Mary has allergies" That was the truth, but as a babe, she had colic. "Your face is filthy, did you not wash before dinner?"

And so on, and so forth went the conversations. Eventually, around the second course, Mrs. Bennet would tire of her daughter, and move on to her son in law.

"William, dear" She had been given leave to refer to him by his Christian name. He regretted it almost immediately. Her topics of choice always started with her crooning out his name, looking at him with a gentle gaze. It was as mother like as Lizzy had ever seen her.

Tonight's conversation included the baptism, which considering the child was not even born yet, was quite a ways off. Mrs. Bennet assured them that it was a relevant topic, as regardless of the sex of the child, a baptism gown must be procured, and must be made of the finest lace.

Two hours later, Lizzy was granted permission to retire for the evening, taking her husband with her. She had admitted to feeling fatigued, and he backed her up, saying that she needed more rest. Mrs. Bennet tried to protest, as there was many a thing they needed to discuss, but she had said earlier that Lizzy needed more sleep, and she was loathe contradicting herself. Neither Lizzy nor Mr. Darcy knew who was more grateful for it.