(A/N:)

Don't be shy to Review

Jane Austen Works RP:

: / www . fanfiction forum/Regency-Roleplay/176463/

Italiacs is a Flash Back

A Family Secret:

"What did he mean Darcy? 'Tell Georgiana's father I give my hellos' There must be more to it Darcy. You promised me, no secrets. I have kept that promise, but you are not." Elizabeth said as she pressed her husband for information on what Wickham had meant.

Elizabeth may have passed it off as Wickham trying to rattle her, had it not been for Darcy paling in complexion at the very incident of it.

Now Darcy sat in a chair in the parlor while Elizabeth sat in front of him.

Darcy finally let out a sigh. "You are right. I am nothing if not a man for my word" Darcy mumbled, almost regretting having made such a promise.

"Wickham and I, stumbled upon some things we should not have when we were children...as we did so quiet often. But, we discovered something much bigger then either of us knew at the time. Georgiana always stayed out of it all, and to this day she does not know..." Darcy began.

"What does she not know, Darcy?" Elizabeth pressed again.

"I'm getting to that. My mother and father... while they were both such generous, and caring people, they did not love each other. Or at least, my mother did not love my father. As I soon found out..." Darcy trailed off as he remembered when he had first learnt of any misshapens in his parent's marriage, telling Elizabeth his entire account of what he had seen 7 years after Georgiana's birth.

...

"This way!" Wickham laughed as he led Darcy along through the servants halls. The two were not meant to be out of bed, but there was a ball at Pemberley, and the two young lads could hardly stay away form such excitment.

While they could not attend the ball as they were too young, only around the age of thirteen, Wickham had decided to make their own fun, which mostly consisted of bothering the guests, and playing pranks from the shadows.

"Come on, I think I spotted Lord Lokas heading into the library!" Wickham exclaimed as he led Darcy down one of the secret passages the servants used to get from room to room without being in the way of anyone.

Darcy followed his best friend easily, eager to play a prank on the balding Lord Lokas, it was not that the boys hated Lord Lokas, but he was so serious all the time, they wished to see what would happen.

Silently, Wickham pushed open a book shelf in the library just a crack, it was a small bookshelf, made light as a door to cover the servants passage. Darcy peeked an eye through the small crack that Wickham had made, while Wickham knelled on Darcy's back so he might get a view too. Wickham's knee dug into Darcy's back, but he remained silent so as not to get caught.

They could not see much, but across the room, the two boys could see the library door open, and in stepped Darcy's mother. This greatly confused Darcy as he got even quieter, what was his mother doing alone in the library with Lord Lokas?

"We should not be doing this anymore...especially with what happened" Darcy could hear his mother say.

"You mean Georgiana? My dear, please, you must not say such things...You had her, and as much as it pains me to watch her be raised by a man who is not her father...I can not bear to lose you both" Lord Lokas replied.

Darcy and Wickham looked at each other in confusion but continued to listen, were they hearing it all right?

Lord Lokas then took Darcy's mother's hands, and kissed them. "I love you Anne... I have loved you since we met all those twenty years ago, and I will continue to love you for twenty more, thirty even, or forty! What is my life without you?" The Lord asked quietly, it was then the Lord leaned down and began to kiss Darcy's mother.

"What is this?!" Wickham exclaimed loudly, unable to help the outburst.

Darcy's mother shoved Lord Lokas away, and threw open the bookshelf, causing both boys to topple out. "What are you doing up?! You should be in bed!" She yelled, though she was more angry with herself then the boys.

"We... We wanted to see the ball, mother" Darcy replied, watching as Lord Lokas stood behind his mother, Straight and stiff as ever.

Anne Darcy then lowered herself, and a hand on Darcy's shoulder, and her other hand on Wickham's. Looking into their eyes, she spoke. "Fitzwilliam, George. You must never speak of what you have seen tonight...What I've done is shameful, and if ever spoken to a single soul, it will bring shame on our dear ones. I will never do such an act again, but I beg of you both, my sons, you must not say a word." Mrs. Darcy told them pleadingly, then waited for them to agree.

Wickham and Darcy looked at each other, clearly shaken by what they had seen, but nodded.

...

"What do you mean to tell me?" Elizabeth asked, trying to process what she had heard. "That... the late Mr. Darcy... he is not Georgiana's father...?" she asked, Elizabeth sat back in a chair, lost in her own thoughts. "And Georgiana, she does not know...?"

Darcy stood and walked to the window. "No, I thought it best to protect Georgiana... My father raised her, I do not know if my father knew about my mother's long affair or not, though I suspect he did. I also suspect he knew about Georgiana's true heritage, but did not care, or at least, did not seem too." Darcy then turned to look at Elizabeth. "You can't tell her, or anyone else Elizabeth. Georgiana is sweet, and is very strong, but even if she does not show it, I do not wish her to have the devastation of finding out she is considered illegitimate, and I do not wish her to feel as though we are not truly family, or any other bad feeling it may lead her too. She is my sister, and Mr. Darcy was her father, despite what blood says"

"I will not tell her, only for her own good." Elizabeth agreed as she looked at her hands. "And Lord Lokas, what happened to him? I have never heard of him" Elizabeth asked.

Darcy sighed and bowed his head as he walked back over.

"Lord Lokas's wife died several years before my own mother... after my mother got sick, and died, Lord Lokas became a shut in of sorts...for years, no one saw him, but then suddenly he was found on the streets rambling about love to a sack of bird seed. He was deemed insane, and is, to this day, locked away." Darcy informed Elizabeth. "It's sort of, a hard thing to bring into a conversation as you might imagine" Darcy then said, Elizabeth only nodded in agreement.

"But, why would Wickham choose to bring it up now?" Elizabeth asked, already feeling the dread in her stomach.

"I can't say for sure, perhaps he said it to rattle me, or perhaps... I fear he is planning something. Only, he had promised never to say a word of it again..." Darcy added with a frown. "But then, when has Wickham ever kept his word."