"Friends…they cherish one another's hopes. They are kind to one another's dreams." - Henry David Thoreau

Chapter 12

Elizabeth's arrival at Longbourn was met with little fanfare. Though her father and Mary gave her a warm embrace and welcomed her home, Kitty and Lydia barely allowed her to step onto the porch before begging for all of the details from her trip.

"Did you attend many balls?" asked Kitty.

"Is Jane in raptures with all of her pin money?" Lydia asked with a look of envy.

"What were the dresses like, Lizzy?" Kitty continued before Lydia cut her off.

"Did you find a beau in London?" Lydia asked with a laugh.

Before Elizabeth could respond to any of these rapid fire questions, Mrs. Bennet yelled from within the house.

"Beaus? What would Miss Lizzy need a beau for? She has made it quite clear that she is intent on becoming an old maid!"

Elizabeth looked at her father and rolled her eyes as he chuckled.

"As you see, Lizzy, Longbourn is just as it was when you departed."

Mr. Bennet continued to laugh as he placed a kiss upon his daughter's head and stepped back into the house with his progeny following behind him.

Ever the devoted sister, Elizabeth did her best to answer her younger sisters' questions…that is, she responded to the least silly enquiries. When she presented the various gifts she had bought for each of her family members, she was surprised to receive the most sincere hug from Lydia that she could remember in recent years. Likewise, Elizabeth was pleased to find that her mother's ire lessened considerably after Mrs. Bennet tried on the new shawl that was purchased from Bond Street.

Settling in for her first night back at home, Elizabeth became slightly melancholy as she regarded the empty space that Jane used to occupy. However, she knew that her sister had married a good man who loved her dearly and this thought could only warm her heart.

The days passed slowly as Elizabeth became reacquainted with the countryside that she so loved. Her rambles through the surrounding wood were peaceful which had been sorely missed during her time in London. Although there was still a bite in the air, evidence of springtime was slowly appearing in the form of some green leaves here or a small pink blossom there. Elizabeth could not help but feel invigorated as she wander amongst budding new life.

Elizabeth found that she had never spent so much time attending to correspondence as she now did. Soon after her arrival at Longbourn, she received letters from Jane, Georgiana and Amelia. Mrs. Bennet was quick to demand more information on these new friends and was most happy to find that Amelia was the daughter of an Earl.

"You see! I knew that dear Jane would be sure to throw her sisters into the paths of rich gentleman!" She said gleefully. Then, turning towards Elizabeth, she continued, "I hope that you appreciate all that your sister has done for you. Good daughters do what is best for their family. Were you able to meet the Earl? Or, perhaps, the heir while you were in Town?"

Elizabeth was very glad to be able to truthfully answer in the negative to both of these questions. She thought that the inquisition would stop at that but then her mother continued.

"Now, Miss Darcy must be the sister to dear Charles' friend who was unable to attend the wedding, correct? His gift to Jane was very generous. Were you able to spend much time with Mr. Darcy, Lizzy?" Her mother asked hopefully.

Knowing that she would never rest should her mother find out how often she was in the company of such a rich gentleman, Elizabeth was as vague as possible in her response.

"Mr. Darcy escorted his sister to the townhouse occasionally. Miss Darcy is a very talented and lovely girl. It was she who suggested that I purchase that shawl for you, momma."

Mrs. Bennet's face lit up with this bit of news and it was sufficient to redirect the conversation from wealthy elder brothers to the current fashions of younger sisters.

In addition to the correspondence from London, there were also letters from Kent. Elizabeth's best friend, Charlotte Collins nee Lucas, had maintained a steady stream of missives since she had married Mr. Bennet's odious cousin. Charlotte stated that she was quite content in her new situation and had even extended an invitation for Elizabeth to visit following the Easter holiday if she could be spared so soon after returning to Longbourn. Mrs. Bennet held a list of grievances against Charlotte, not the least of which was the charge of conniving to steal Longbourn from the Bennet family. Unfortunately, when Elizabeth made the invitation known to her parents, Mrs. Bennet immediately railed against her for losing such a catch as Mr. Collins. However, after some thought, Mrs. Bennet's burning curiosity regarding the Collins' true living situation in Kent paved the way to consent to the scheme.

A few days before Easter, Elizabeth rose earlier than normal and decided to go for a walk before breakfast since her family would not be up for some time. Having no destination in mind, she simply ambled alongside the stream that ran along the back of her father's property. It was still quiet among the trees but for the sounds of the water gently flowing over the rocks. Elizabeth sat upon a large rock and listened with her eyes closed and her face warming by the rays of the rising sun. Suddenly, her eyes flew open when the sound of an approaching horse broke through the serenity.

Before Elizabeth could rise from her seat and depart, the horse and its rider were stopped at the stream in front of her. Great was her surprise when she recognized the horseman.

"Mr. Darcy! Whatever are you doing here?" she exclaimed.

The gentleman dismounted with a laugh and then bowed.

"Thank you for that warm welcome, Miss Bennet. I have missed your outbursts in recent weeks."

Elizabeth colored but was still not over her shock. She quickly curtsied before replying.

"Forgive me, sir, but I am all astonishment at meeting you here. Also, I believe that we have a previous agreement that allows me to speak freely when in your company. Or have you forgotten so soon that I am aware of how to retaliate should you choose to oust my bad manners?"

"No, no, Miss Bennet, I have not forgotten so soon. I would not wish you to tattle to my housekeepers."

They both laughed at this nonsense.

"Actually, Miss Bennet, I believe that my fate is in your hands at this moment."

"Whatever do you mean, sir?"

"Well, it appears that I have now ruined a surprise that our sisters have worked very hard at concealing from you."

A look of elation overcame Elizabeth's face as she asked, "Jane! And, Miss Darcy, are here too?"

At his nod, she exclaimed, "How wonderful!"

"Yes, I believe that the beautiful look upon your face at this moment is what they will be hoping to see this afternoon. I will not pretend that I am not grateful to be its recipient; however, I fear that you must be able to reproduce it for them or it will be my head."

"Oh dear, I do not know if it will be possible, sir. You know that I am not giving to dramatics." Elizabeth said in mock seriousness.

Remembering their first encounter, Darcy could not contain his laughter.

"Thankfully, Miss Bennet, I have every confidence that you will perform admirably."

Elizabeth smiled at this before he continued.

"Now, I believe that I must return to Netherfield before the others awaken and become aware of my unintended subterfuge. Since I have already ruined the surprise, I might request that you make yourself available in early afternoon. I believe that you will be called upon by some eager visitors."

"I look forward to it, sir." Elizabeth replied.

Darcy took her hand and bowed before saying, "Until then, Miss Bennet."

A/N: Whew! I just made it! : ) I'm working hard to maintain this posting schedule for you. I apologize that I wasn't able to respond to all of the kind reviews from the last chapter. R/L was busy this week. I'll try to provide a sneak peek of the next chapter to reviews from this update to make up for it. Sound good? As always, thanks for reading & reviewing!