Elizabeth was ready to collapse. After 18 hours on her feet she sank into one of the sofas in the corner of the luxury hotel bar. Her feet were throbbing and her head was pounding; she couldn't wait for the event to be over tomorrow. Although Lizzie had worked in events for 6 years now nothing could prepare you for the intense agony event organisers experienced after a day rushing around after delegates, speakers & clients.

As one of the senior event managers on the AGM she had hoped her workload would be easier with a team around her; that is ease it enough for her to at least have time for a coffee in the day but what with Mr Darcy and the four overly excitable event graduates she was directly responsible for she was exhausted and her patience had worn thin.

Now it was her free time and she would rather have a drink in the bar alone, with a view to retiring early and sinking into the bath than face it partying with her colleagues; conferences to everyone were a time for them to let their hair down and liberate themselves because it was the unofficial events code that states what happens on conference stays on conference.

Teasing her hair out of her band, she shook it out, causing the soft brown curls to fall upon her shoulders and down her back; god that felt good.

It was the penultimate day of the conference and so far the majority of the event had run like clockwork; they'd only had to evict one fake delegate on the first day and sober up an alcoholic speaker this morning, who had divulged to a bemused audience that his wife was sleeping with the milkman and that he hadn't got laid in three years; although Lizzie and her team thought it was privately amusing it had shocked everyone that was expecting to learn about how body language could influence sales not witness the breakdown of one of their colleagues.

"Tough day?" The waiter laid down a napkin and placed a shot of whiskey on it.

"JD?" Lizzie pointed to the drink and waited till the waiter nodded before she necked it and banged the glass back down on the table, "life saver."

"Are you attending the IT event, you don't look like much of a techie." The waiter had a toothy Hollywood smile, with ash blonde hair, big blue eyes and a tall athletic physique that Lizzie would have found attractive if only she were a few years younger and not suppressing her attraction to a self important, tall, dark and handsome man.

"and what exactly do techie's look like, there are some hot men and women at this event."

"Well if that includes you, I'm willing to review the stereotype."

Lizzie laughed, taking her phone from her bag she gave her emails a cursory glance "Look . . ." she pulled him closer in order to view his name badge a little better "Alex Croft from Kent, I could do with another drink."

The boy blushed as he stepped back from her; she was pretty certain he was a university student working to raise extra cash to fuel an expensive drinking habit that students inevitably adopt in the bright lights of London, hell even Jane had gone over to the dark side for a short period during her time at university. As he walked to the bar, Lizzie turned her head sideways making up a life for him in her head and wondering what subject he was studying when a gruff cough came from behind which made her sit upright and stiff.

Lizzie knew who it was before she even turned around "Tickle in your throat, Mr Darcy?" Folding her arms across her chest she surveyed him with narrow eyes. Since their first meeting on Monday when he was unconscionably rude to her she kept feeling him eyes on her and he had requested her assistance on several tasks, that could have been completed by one of her less experienced team but he kept asking for her and no one could say no to him.

Darcy was giving her that intent stare again but in place of his usual stiff haughty mood, a faint smile was turning up the corner of his mouth, "Am I interrupting you staring at that boy's posterior."

Uninvited Fitzwilliam relaxed into the chair opposite her and casually crossed his one leg over the other. The billionaire infuriated her, he seemed to relish every opportunity to undermine her but my god had Charlotte been right, there was something so sexy about him and the view of him in his jeans, shirt and pull over was making her feel a little hot under the collar.

Lizzie tried to distract herself but his presence affected her terribly and when he gave her that look that was a cross between amusement and impatience it made her want to rip his clothes off and take him right now.

For several minutes they both sat in silence, he didn't take his eyes off her and she impatiently tapped her phone on the table, when suddenly she looked down to find one of his large hands gently closed over the top of the hand that had been tapping the phone, causing her to stop it.

"Nervous twitch?"

"I was staring at Alex but only to guess what course he's doing at university, so . ." she had been thinking over her answer to his earlier question and although he hadn't said anything again she stuck her tongue out at him even though she knew it was childish but he made her feel two inches tall and as such she couldn't help but act like a child around him.

Darcy didn't smile, he waited for the server to put the drinks down and walk away before he answered "Psychology."

"Pardon."

"The boy, he's studying psychology."

"How would you know? . . . I think he's a Law student."

"He'd never be taken seriously as a solicitor."

"Why?"

"He can't even serve drinks without flirting with you, that'll never endear him to his clients, their wives maybe but they'd be pretty quick to run him out of town when they find him cuckolding their wives."

"That is a very arrogant stance to take."

"Well, this is a pointless argument" with that Darcy pushed himself up to his full height, necking the brandy that had been sitting in front of him and turned away from her but instead of leaving the bar he strided over to the waiter and spent several minutes chatting with him, eventually returning to the table with two drinks and a smug smile on his face. "Psychology with Law."

"That's what you were asking him."

"Of course, it would have been a fruitless argument if there wasn't a conclusion . . . as it turns out we were both right."

Lizzie just couldn't work him out; Darcy seemed so sure of himself all of the time and at every given opportunity he had been incredibly rude to her but his eyes betrayed a certain kindness, they weren't cruel and they made her stomach flutter and twist into knots every time she looked into them.

"Mr Darcy, are you always so sure of yourself?"

"Not at all Miss Benedict, in fact around you I find I am not sure of anything."

Lizzie narrowed her eyes at him waiting to see if he was making fun of her but the expression of his eyes didn't change; he was being completely sincere.

Time passed, the drinks kept flowing, the conversation came easier and Darcy and Elizabeth were laughing together like two teenagers in the corner of the bar, completely at ease in each other's company. They talked about everything from previous relationships, to work, to family, to what they wanted to do in the future and as the drink took a greater hold of them, they flirted more outrageously with one another.

Glancing around Lizzie noticed that everyone else had left the bar, the lights had been turned off and the waiters had gone home; they were all alone and suddenly she felt very aware of his presence. Shooting up from her seat Lizzie failed to realise how much she had drunk and although Darcy caught her, she ended up falling into his lap.

Darcy could feel her sweet breath on his neck, her eyes were glistening like stars in the moonlight and he became very aware of the hand she was resting on his thigh, which was making his heart thrash about uncontrollably in his chest. God he had loved listening to her and every time she ran her fingers through her hair his senses went into over drive.

Now in such close proximity to her he couldn't help himself; he swept a loose curl of hair out of her eyes and gently brushed his finger tips along her cheekbone.

Lizzie had been determined not to fall for him, not to let his hypnotic eyes and dazzlingly smile affect her but she couldn't help it when every look he gave her seemed to stare into her soul.

Where his fingers had trailed across her cheek it felt like it was tingling with electricity and she couldn't help but turn her head into his hand, closing her eyes to savour his touch.

Darcy slowly leaned in, cupping her soft rosy cheek with his hand and just as he was about to place his lips on hers, she left out a sigh which made him pull away suddenly, causing her to open her eyes.

"I . . ." before he could continue, she cut him off tentatively pressing her soft lips to his. As she attempted to move back he caught her face and lowered it to his; slowly tracing his thumb across her cheek, staring into her eyes before placing a tender kiss first on her forehead, then on the tip of her nose before finishing on her lips. The kiss started slow and tender but became more passionate as she entwined her fingers in his silky brown hair. Lizzie took Darcy's bottom lip between her teeth, biting it gently, causing him to growl with hunger.

Darcy drew Lizzie closer to him, moving her legs either side of his thighs so that she straddled him in the chair. Their lips never left each other once; Lizzie trailed her hands up his jumper, feeling the muscles in his chest flex as she moved them to the opening of his shirt, where she ran her fingers along his collar bone as he kissed down her neck, causing her to gasp.

As the flames of passion increased so did the temperature in the room and they were both becoming more eager to remove the materials barriers that separated them; so in a gentlemanly move Darcy swept Lizzie into his arms, kissing her gently on the nose before carrying her to his presidential suite.

Darcy blinked, trying to refocus his thoughts, he hadn't been paying attention on the drive from Jane's to Elizabeth's but sometime ago they had turned off the busy main roads onto quiet country lanes which were enclosed by green fields that were being tended to by dedicated farmers and trees and hedges that were just starting to bloom back to life after the winter months; they had even had to navigate around a few thrill seeking rabbits as if they were London cyclists.

After a few more minutes the Bentley took a sharp left turn onto an inconspicuous sandy stone driveway. Slowly the car purred towards the house at the end, the car's tyres crunching over the stones that finished in a small courtyard which was the entryway to a modern terracotta brick and wooden beamed barn house. A yellow fiat 500 sat in front of a double garage which was set to the side of the house, Darcy could sworn Lizzie had just bought a new red Audi, so whose was the yellow thing; her boyfriend?

When the car came to a stop, Darcy stepped out pulling the buttons of his suit jacket together and ran his hand through his hair, breathing out deeply. Turning around he took in the surroundings; the house reposed in a forest of trees and fields, and had a large number of spring flowers shooting up from the tended gardens in the front and back, it was perfectly situated. This is right, Darcy thought, Elizabeth lives here I can feel her here.

Taking a deep breath, Fitzwilliam instructed the driver to park the car beside the garage and made his way to the front door; knocking on it sternly before he could back out. Almost immediately a woman in her mid forties answered the door accompanied by a beautiful brown haired baby boy that was resting on her hip.

"Can I help you?" the woman smiled at him, trying to wrestle with the small child who was reaching out to Mr Darcy expectantly.

The little boy could have been no more than two years old and he was the most enchanting child Darcy had ever seen. He had deep chocolaty brown hair that fell about his ears in waves and large brown eyes that made his stomach churn; why did those eyes look familiar?

Darcy felt this overwhelming need to take the little one in his arms and never let the evil of the world ever enter his life. The boy was smiling a wide expectant grin at him and Darcy noticed he had a tooth missing from his bottom set and he kept sticking his tongue through the gap.

The boy kept squirming in the woman's arms, struggling towards Fitzwilliam; it was obvious the little one was not used to being restrained, with eyes like that he probably always got what he wanted and even Darcy felt like he would be powerless to deny the child anything.

The little boy's bottom lip started to quiver and his eyes began to tear, causing him to wipe them with the back of his chubby little hand; he was desperate to touch Fitzwilliam and he had to admit it felt kind of nice.

"Is Miss Elizabeth Bennett home?" After he spoke Darcy couldn't help himself, he reached to tickle the child, he couldn't bear to see him upset, it broke his heart; why was that?

"She's not here I'm afraid, she was due back a little while ago but I expect she's running late, typical Lizzie." Alison looked to Mr Darcy but he was now completely mesmerised by the boy, "he likes you."

It was becoming increasingly difficult for Alison to restrain William; he kept squirming towards Darcy and grasping at the lapels of his jacket. Instinctively Darcy reached to take the boy in his arms and although Alison hesitated at first, the man wasn't a complete stranger to her; he was the illustrious billionaire Mr Darcy that Elizabeth and Jane were working for. Alison reasoned very quickly that it was also going to be the only way to calm William down, who was now hysterically crying because he was so frustrated that he couldn't go to the stranger. Alison had never seen William act like this before, she couldn't remember them ever having met but for some reason he was desperate to get his hands on the gentleman and she couldn't help but acquiesce.

"What's your name, little fella?" Darcy was hesitant at first as she transferred the boy into his arms but he cradled him to his side, stroking his face and bounced him up and down gently; for some reason Darcy felt right at home, he had this overwhelming feeling of love and affection for the infant, he was powerless to deny him anything and why would he when he looked so familiar.

"His name's William. Would you like to come in?" Alison stepped back from the door to let him pass and led him into the conservatory. "You're Mr Darcy, of dArta Software right, Lizzie and Jane are organising a conference for you."

"Well it's nice to meet you William, my name is Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy." Darcy was rocking the boy back and forth in his arms, he was even so caught up in amusing William that he didn't even pay attention to any of the interior aspects of the home. "Yes on both accounts, Miss Bennett is working to organise the same event she did for us a couple of years ago."

Now as Fitzwilliam stared into Elizabeth's eyes he realised that he had been mistaken; the reason William looked so familiar was because he was Lizzie's son, not Alison's. It was so startlingly obvious that he couldn't believe he had missed it; Williams eyes were a mirror image of hers and the soft lines of his face were a younger and rounder version of hers but he figured the colour of his hair and nose must have come from his father because Williams nose was more angular than Lizzie's and although her hair was dark his wavy deep rich brown hair was almost black, a lot like mine he thought.

"He looks like you." Lizzie looked up from William's distracting face, to look at Mr Darcy who was addressing her but looking at William; the great Mr Darcy was obviously smitten with William and it wasn't hard to see that Will had fallen in love with his father.

"No, he looks more like his dad." That made Darcy look up, a mixture of confusion and sadness spreading across his face. He didn't know what to say, it never crossed his mind that his Elizabeth might have a family by now and it actually didn't bother him; sometimes the best roads to drive down are the ones with the greatest obstacles.

'How can you be so blind, he has every good feature of yours, he is handsome and noble, he looks like you . . . William is your son.'

"What are you doing here, Mr Darcy?" Elizabeth moved away from them and picked up one of William's teddy bears, raising it to her nose and inhaling its scent; it smelt of William, his sweet baby smell, a little bit like Johnson's baby lotion.

"I came to see you Miss Bennett, in an attempt to find out the truth but it appears I am even more in the dark than I was before."

Elizabeth moved into the kitchen, Mr Darcy following her still holding William "Tea or coffee?"

"Coffee please, no milk and . . ."

"Two sugars, I remember" she finished.

Elizabeth set the freshly brewed coffee down in front of him and took William out of his arms; kissing him on the forehead and feeding him a rusk.

"So William, what do you think of Mr Darcy?"

"Bada, Mumma" William played with the hair that had fallen loose from her bobble and ran it through his fingers, watching as the light glinted off coppery strands. Elizabeth smiled, he hadn't quite mastered talking yet; Alison came into the room with a basketful of laundry which she set down and took William from Lizzie.

"See Mr Darcy I said Lizzie would be late, where were you?"

"Yes alright alright, I had to go into London with Jane." Lizzie gave Mr Darcy a sideward's look since it was him she was meant to be going to see. "William doesn't seem feverish anymore."

"I think he was trying to keep you home, clever boy, but he fine after you left he perked right up when he saw Mr Darcy, I had a tough job trying to restrain your son from doing himself an injury from trying to get to him; didn't I Mr Darcy?" Alison winked t him, which made Darcy smile; he didn't know the relationship between the two women but it seemed to be one that involved a lot of affectionate teasing.

"I noticed. William seems to be firm friends with Mr Darcy already. Ali, would you look after William while Mr Darcy and I go for a drink at the Farthing."

"The Farthing?" Mr Darcy chimed in looking a little confused.

"It's a pub, I figured you want answers and I'm willing to give them to you but only if you agree to join me for dinner."

Darcy smiled, he liked this turn of events "It would be my pleasure."

Authors note:

Sorry it has taken me a few days to update but work has been mega busy and although I wrote this chapter a few days ago I did it while watching the UK General Election live and unfortunately, it was not my best work so I have rewrote a lot of it and here it is.

I wanted to show with this chapter a little bit of Darcy and Elizabeths past and obviously recap from where we left off last chapter with William and Darcy.

Please keep revieiwing, it helps the creative process and makes me want to update faster, kind of not sure about this chapter so would like some guidance as to whether you think it needs updating. :)

Kx

P.S. The next chapter will reveal quite a few surprising things including a bit about Alison, the introduction of George Wickham and the confessions of Elizabth Bennett to an unwitting Mr Darcy.

Thank you for your review biteme1994, just want to clarify this, although George Wickham is in the story (boo, hiss, groan) nothing of what happened in P+P will happen in this story because that always kind of annoyed me, he will cause from friction but there will be no Lydia + George debacle. Geroge will link to Lizzie's past not Darcy's.