Seven years ago

Gone was his perfect attendance record at Harvard Law School, Will had decided to play hooky. He'd never once missed or been late to a class. That is until now.

Something had compelled him to drive upstate to visit his sister. Their conversation on the phone last night had left him feeling uneasy. Georgiana had sounded off. So much so that he'd decided to skip his Friday classes to visit her at her boarding school.

He made a pit stop at the Sunoco to fill up his tank. He pumped his gas and headed inside to pick up a Snickers for him and some gummy worms for Georgiana. As he filled a styrofoam cup with coffee, he noticed a man out of the corner of his eye who looked strangely familiar. He didn't get a good look before the man headed out the door, but he could have sworn he'd just seen George Wickham.

On the drive to the Emma Willard School where his sister received her education, his mind was flooded with memories. And not particularly fond ones. George Wickham was the bane of his existence. The bag of bones he couldn't shake. The parasite he couldn't treat. The cockroach he couldn't exterminate.

He hoped upon hope that his eyes had been seeing things. The last thing he needed was another run in with George.

George Wickham had been the only son of his parents' housekeeper, Barbara Wickham, a single mother and lovely human being. His parents, George and Anne Darcy, had always had a soft spot for her. She was treated like family and lived in their guest house. At the tender age of 12, George lost his mother to cancer. Will's parents had footed the bill and had promised to take care of her son for her before she passed away. They'd become his legal guardians and had taken great care of him.

Unfortunately, George had seemed to resent this. He felt entitled to all the luxuries the Darcys afforded him. Will couldn't count the times his father had woken in the middle of the night to bail George out of jail from everything from public intoxication to possession of illegal substances to vandalism. Will knew hate was a strong word but the fact that the last five years of his father's life were filled with so much stress and worry…Will couldn't help it. It was just how he felt.

Even as kids, Will knew something wasn't right about George. It was little stuff like stealing little trinkets and toys from other kids' desks in elementary school or how he'd always throw rocks at any squirrel he saw in a tree or his outrageous lying. At a young age, he was so charming people would believe his lies. Everyone that is except Will.

One day in high school, he'd gathered up the courage to address this issue with his father. To his surprise, his dad was well aware of George's true personality.

"He hasn't had the easiest of lives," his father said. "His mother passed away. He has no idea who his dad is. We're the only constant in his life. I know he has some rough edges. OK, maybe a lot of rough edges, but your mom and I are convinced if we continue to show him love and support that with time he'll become a better person."

And that's what his father and mother had done. Right up until they'd both been tragically taken from him his freshmen year of college. Then, all the responsibility was put on his shoulders to bear. His parents had left Georgiana in his care but they'd also made a side note about George. They'd asked him to give him his best shot in life.

At eighteen, Will had taken on an enormous amount of responsibility as well as an enormous amount of wealth. Fortunately, he was of sober mind and did not spend his inheritance carelessly. George, on the other hand, continued to be reckless. He received a monthly allowance that he blew threw each month. Debtors constantly knocked at Will's door and he paid them off time and time again like his father would want him to.

Then, one day, he'd had enough. His first year of law school he'd wrote George a check for $500,000 to help him finish up his last year or two of undergrad and to give him a little seed money to get on his feet after he'd graduated. That had been a year and a half ago and from what he'd heard George had already spent all the money. He fully expected to receive a call from him any day now.

Georgiana, his sweet, lovable sister, knew nothing of George's true character and had been upset when he'd told her that George wasn't invited over for the holidays anymore. He'd told her that when she was older he'd explain it all to her. At the tender age of fourteen, she was just too young for that conversation.

"Hey, Georgie," Will said as his sister opened the door.

"Will!" Georgina exclaimed, rushing to hug him. "What on earth are you doing here?"

Stepping back from her, Will's eyes scanned his sister. It didn't escape his notice that her hair was disheveled and her eyes were bloodshot.

"You OK?" Will asked as he stepped in to the dorm room he'd spent extra to make sure was private. In one corner, stood her keyboard with sheets of music piled on top. A half-eaten turkey wrap and a glass of grapefruit juice was on her desk. Laundry littered the floor and books and pages of notes were strewn about her bed.

Georgiana waved off his concern. "Sorry about the mess. Finals are coming up soon."

"Yeah, our finals are next week."

"You nervous? Of course not, that was silly of me to ask. You're a rocket scientist. You are probably gonna pass all your tests. A plus plus plus. Then, you'll marry Caroline and live happily ever after or as happily as you can with someone with such a sour of a disposition as her." Georgie giggled.

Will was on high alert. His sister was acting weird. She was all giggly and although he knew Georgiana had never been a fan of Caroline's she'd never uttered a disparaging word against her. This wasn't the sister he knew. Something had changed and he was going to find out what it was.

"I'm going to use your bathroom."

"Wait!" Georgiana cried, trying to block him from entering. "Let me clean up in there a bit first."

Will ignored her as he opened the door and found what he was pretty sure was causing her sudden change in mood on the counter.

Picking the bottles off the counter, he read the labels. "Adderall. Zoloft. Who is prescribing you these medicines? I am your legal guardian. I'm supposed to be contacted whenever you visit the doctor."

"I'm having trouble staying focused and staying on top of my schoolwork. My friends said Adderall would help with that."

"So you're taking a medication for people typically diagnosed with ADHD?"

"I mean that's probably what's wrong with me."

"You don't take this type of drug without a diagnosis from a doctor. It's not safe. And Zoloft too?"

"It helps with the anxiety. There's just so much pressure right now, Will. To make good grades. To be this musical prodigy. It doesn't come easily to me. I don't have mom and dad around like you did. I'm sorry I'm not perfect."

Will bit his cheek. Half of him wanted to scream and shout that things didn't come easily to him either. Heck, he was a 25 year old in charge of his baby sister. He should be living carefree. Charles had invited everyone to spend the weekend on his yacht. He'd much rather be spending time with them instead of dealing with his sister's drug problem. He wanted to yell and scream and pour out all his resentment about having to grow up so fast. But he didn't. Because the other half of him always won. The one that was responsible and caring. The one that knew that family was and always would be the most important thing in his life.

Taking the bottles, he emptied them into the toilet and flushed. Turning towards her, he said, "This stops today" before throwing the bottles in the trash.

Georgiana nodded mutely before being encircled in his embrace. "I'm sorry Will. I'll do better. I promise."

The next day Will returned to check on his sister. He'd had a conversation with the headmistress earlier asking for an extra close eye to be kept on Georgiana. He planned on checking in with her more frequently too over the next couple of weeks. Then, she'd come home over the summer and have time to fully heal from all this mess.

As he turned down the corner of his sister's hallway, his eyes fell upon a sight that was even more horrific than finding prescription pills in his sister's bathroom.

Seeing red, Darcy lunged forward, pulling George Wickham from the arms of his sister. Spinning him around, he punched George square in the jaw. "Get the hell out of here!" he roared, pushing him towards the exit.

Grabbing Georgiana by the elbow, he took her inside her room and slammed the door.

"Will…" Georgiana said nervously as her brother paced the floor.

"What is he doing here?" he snapped.

"He comes to see me sometimes. We talk on Twitter and Snapchat sometimes. I get lonely here. It's nice to talk to someone I know from home."

"I don't want you seeing him anymore," Will barked.

"It's harmless…"

"Harmless? He was kissing you! You're 14. He's 25. That's illegal in every state. No matter what you feel for him or what he pretends to feel for you. It's not right and you know it."

Tears slipped down Georgiana's cheeks. "It's just I want to be in love so bad. To have what mom and dad have. I thought with George…"

"Georgie, he's preying on you. It's not your fault. He's taking advantage of your youth and naiveté to get at what he really wants…our money. But I won't stand for it. I'm pressing charges."

"Will, no!" Georgiana gasped, grabbing his shirt. "Please don't do that. Let's just forget this ever happened. I'll stay away from him. I promise."

Will smiled as he watched his little sister play the piano. It was amazing what a couple of months could do. She was seeing a therapist regularly. She was shiny and happy and back to her old self. He'd taken her concerns into account and had decided the pressures of a traditional college prep school were too much. Her passions didn't lie there and it was causing unneeded stress so they'd done some research and decided that a performing arts boarding school would best suit her needs. She was enrolled in Walnut Hill for the fall and was beyond excited.

It was a beautiful summer evening. His friend from school, Charles Bingley along with his sisters, Caroline and Louisa, were here for a few weeks. He and Charles spent their days fishing, hunting and playing polo. In the evenings, they'd all gather together for dinner to listen to Georgiana perform and to play games.

He became increasingly aware as the days went by of Caroline's feelings for him. She was quite beautiful. Tall, brunette, impeccably dressed. She was just the sort of woman who would suit him and where he wanted to go in life which may or may not include a run for senate. He'd contemplated asking her out many times but could never bring himself to do it. There was something missing. There just wasn't that spark.

The doorbell rang as Georgiana played a piece that she had written over the summer.

"I wonder who that could be?" Caroline asked.

They found out soon enough as George Wickham entered the room unannounced with a harried and apologetic housekeeper behind him. Georgiana immediately quit playing. The silence in the room was deafening.

"What are you doing here?" Will asked, eyes shooting daggers at the other man.

"Just come to have a little chat with an old friend. Georgiana, you're looking lovely."

The urge to strangle George Wickham flowed through his veins, but years of self-control and strict adherence to decorum kept him reined in. Instead, he waved off the other other man. "We've said all we needed to say months ago. You should leave."

"I have something to show you," George smirked. "You will really want to see it."

Charles, ever a true and loyal friend, stood. "If Will asked you to leave, you should leave."

"It's OK Charles. I'm sure this will only take a minute," Will said before leading George to his study.

"So what's this all about?" Will said sitting in the chair that his father and grandfather had sat in before him. He was nervous. He didn't know what kind of crap George would pull. He prayed for the wisdom of his father to be with him today. To make all of this go away.

"I've got a little video to show you," George said taking out his phone.

Will sat and watched numbly as he witnessed his sister giggling, talking about school, and then swallowing handful of pills. He heard George's laugh and him calling it her fuel to get through the day.

"So?" Will said, trying to be nonchalant. He could already guess what this man was after. "This is not news. I know about it and Georgiana is doing much better now."

"She looks that way yes. Good for her. See I would hate for this video to be posted on Twitter or Instagram or something I know the media would eat it up. The Darcy name is untarnished. After this video is shown, I don't know if it still would be. But I've got bills to pay and leaking this might help me alleviate some of my debt."

"What do you want?"

"Two million dollars and I'll delete the video."

Bile rose up Will's throat. This man was a pile of garbage. In the digital age, he knew there was a 100% chance that George had multiple copies of this video in other places. His hands were tied. He'd do anything to protect Georgiana even if it meant paying this odious man off.

"Fine," he said. Grabbing a piece of paper, he scribbled quickly. "I want to watch you delete it from your phone and from the cloud. Then, I want you to sign this non-disclosure agreement that you won't show any other copies or talk about this ever again."

Georgiana knocked on his office door later that evening. He'd spent the past hour with a scotch in hand. Being blackmailed wasn't the greatest feeling in the world.

Charles had come in earlier to commiserate but Will hadn't shared any details with his friend. The general idea that George was a grade A douchebag yes, but he'd kept the specifics private. This was a family matter and it would stay that way.

"Hey," his sister said, meekly entering the room. "What happened?"

Will mentally debated whether or not to tell her what had really gone down, but eventually decided she needed to know so that in the future she could protect herself. "He had video of you taking pills and being visibly high. He wanted money. I gave it to him. I watched him delete the video and had him sign a non-disclosure. If he comes after you again, he's going to wish he'd never been born."

Georgiana's face crumpled. Covering her face with her hands, she wilted into a chair sobbing. "I'm so sorry, Will. I'm so sorry."

Will went over and patted her shoulder. "It's OK. It's OK, Georgie, it's OK."

"I'm such a terrible person to have put our family through this. I don't deserve to have an amazing brother like you. I'm so sorry, Will. I'm so sorry."

Will lifted her up and took her in his arms, rubbing her back. "Shhh. It's going to be alright. Everything will be alright. You're not the one to blame here. You made a bad choice, but you learned from your mistakes. George Wickham is the one who should feel ashamed, taking advantage of a fourteen-year-old."

"You know what's so pathetic? I thought he loved me. I thought I loved him. I'm never going to find anyone. I'm going to die alone."

Will couldn't help but laugh. "Georgie, you're fourteen. Much too young to have your fate so decided and final. You'll find someone I promise and he'll be worthy or he'll have me to answer to."

Present day

After brunch, Will, Georgiana, and Lizzy decided to take a walk in the park and let Jake blow off some of his pent up energy. Lizzy felt a little self-conscious as Will grabbed her hand and held on to it as they walked. Funny how they'd created a child together but had never held hands before this moment.

As they watched Jake play, Georgiana smiled and said, "He is just the cutest. I've only known him for a minute but I love him to pieces already. So Lizzy I've heard a little bit about you from Will but I'd love to hear about your family."

"Well, I have four sisters and of course, my mom and dad. My dad owns a hardware store a couple towns away. It's still kicking after all these years. You might have heard about my older sister Jane. She's 27. She teaches at the same school as me."

"Yeah, I've heard a lot about Jane. Charles was really quite crazy about her. Is she seeing anyone?"

Lizzy shook her head. "Not really."

"Charles isn't either. He's become quite the workaholic much like somebody else I know used to be," Georgiana said, motioning toward her brother. "But becoming a dad has changed all that."

"I just want to be half as good of a dad as my father was," Will admitted.

Lizzy squeezed his hand. "You are," she whispered.

"So Jane is still available for Charles," Georgiana continued, ignoring her brother's side eye. "What about your other sisters?"

"Mary is 24. She's a barista at Starbucks and takes an odd job every now and then. She's trying to save up enough to move out. Like you, she's into music but her tastes are a little more religious. Girl, plays a mean organ at church."

"Oh, I love all genres of music. I'd love to meet her one day."

"Maybe your parents and family could come to our home in New York for Christmas next week?" Will suggested.

"Oh, I don't know," Lizzy replied, a little taken aback at Will's sudden suggestion. "Everything is moving really fast."

"That's a great idea! It would be so nice to have the house buzzing with people again. Think about it will you? For me?" Georgiana begged.

"I'll call Jane and my parents and see what they think, but no promises," Lizzy answered.

"Wonderful!" Georgiana exclaimed. "Sorry. Got you off track. So there's Jane and Mary. Who are the other two?"

"Kitty is 23. She got married right out of high school to a guy named Jeremy Denny. He's in the air force. She lives with him and their 3 year old daughter on the base. She's expecting baby #2 in the spring. And finally, there's Lydia, the youngest. She just turned 21. She's bartending in New York City and models every now and then. That's her dream to be a model."

"You are all so different. I really do hope your family will be able to come over for Christmas."

"Well, I've told you about my family. What about yours? I know your parents died when you guys were kids. What were they like?" Lizzy asked eyeing Will. This was an area they didn't really discuss but she was desperate to know more about. She wanted to know all the things about him, good and bad, to build that intimacy she so longed for.

Will continued to hold Lizzy's hand in silence as Georgiana began. "Our parents were George and Anne Darcy and they were the world's best parents. I was only seven when they passed, but I have the most beautiful memories of them. We did all sorts of stuff together. We laughed. We had fun. Christmas was always the best time because we'd get like a dozen trees and put them all over the house. We'd decorate. We'd watch Christmas movies and drink hot cocoa. We'd bake cookies. It was mom's favorite time of year. Dad was kind of a pushover when it came to mom. He'd always agree to her every request and say "Anything that makes you smile, my darling." He and my mom were so in love."

Nudging Will gently, Lizzy asked, "What do you remember about your parents?"

Will swallowed before finally answering. "I remember how everybody absolutely loved them. They were charming, kind, generous. They were always throwing parties for different charities. Georgiana is the spitting image of my mom. Blonde, willowy, elegant. My mom was musical too. She loved to play the piano. I guess I look most like my dad. We used to go fishing or riding whenever we were at Pemberley. He taught me how to fence."

"You know how to fence?" Lizzy asked surprised.

"Yeah, he's really good at it," Georgiana chimed in. "He's got medals and trophies to prove it."

"You learn something new everyday," Lizzy breathed. "After your parents died, was it just you two? Do you have any other family?"

"We have an aunt, Catherine de Bourgh, and a cousin Anne. Aunt Cathy means well…" Georgiana began.

"But she sticks her nose where it doesn't belong," Will honestly finished.

"Did you say Catherine de Bourgh? Like of The Regency Hotel?"

"Yeah, that's her," Georgian replied.

Lizzy laughed. "My cousin William Collins is the manager at her hotel. He worships your aunt. I wouldn't be surprised if he has a shrine to her in his closet."

Will chuckled. "I run into him from time to time and he's definitely a brown noser. Didn't your friend Charlotte wind up with him?"

"Yes, unfortunately," Lizzy replied. "I really should go and see her soon. She's about to have her first baby in the next few weeks."

"Well, if we had Christmas at Pemberley, you could kill two birds with one stone," Will said. "You could see your friend and our families could meet and get to know each other."

"Yes," Georgiana nodded emphatically. "And you could meet my new boyfriend too."

"You never got a chance to tell me about him last night since Jake interrupted us. What's his name?" Will asked.

"Henry. Henry Crawford. I really think he's the one."