A couple more chapters - you can see I am still on holidays for now :-)

A big Thank You to Lena for spotting a mistake with Longbourn's income in the prologue (now corrected); I also corrected a small inconsistency in chapter 3 regarding Lizzy's visits to London, thanks to a guest reader - I currently do not have a Beta reader, and even though I re-read my work, I do not pick up everything, so do not hesitate to shout if I leave any other inconsistencies.

Chapter 6 – Loving and Leaving

During the confrontation between her cousin and her parents Elizabeth had felt crushed, then with Darcy's arms around her, she had felt safe; She looked at him, her heart was full, and she smiled broadly as understanding of her own feelings dawned on her. He was home, her own haven, and she trusted him as she had never trusted any man; she loved him, that beautiful, proud, shy, caring man.

"You must not worry about me," she answered,

"There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me."

(Pride and Prejudice, chapter 31)

"Then perhaps, you may have enough courage to grant me a few minutes of your time?" Darcy asked stepping away from her to retain his composure. He knew her feelings for him were no longer what they were in Hertfordshire, and her looks, her smiles had given him such hope as could not be restrained, yet he feared she was not ready to love him and would run away from him. Neither noticed Isabella and Georgiana locking arms and quietly slipping through the door to the sitting room where the Bennets had been only a few moments earlier. They were alone, with the open door maintaining some semblance of propriety.

After a silence of several minutes, he came towards her in an agitated manner, and thus began:

"In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you."

(Pride and Prejudice, chapter 34)

Elizabeth's pleasure was beyond expression. She stared, coloured, smiled at him, but remained silent.

"I am aware that declaring myself at this time, when your life has so recently been thrown into disarray, may be premature; I fully intended to give you time, and court you as you deserve. But I cannot, will not let you depart without securing my happiness. I am a selfish man, Elizabeth, and I have known for some time that I want you, need you in my life. I want your liveliness, your beauty, your kindness, your tendre care, all for myself. Please, will you marry me?"

Elizabeth, feeling all the importance of the situation, forced herself to speak; and immediately, though not very fluently, gave him to understand that her sentiments matched his, making her receive his assurances with gratitude and pleasure.

The happiness which this reply produced, was such as he had probably never felt before; and he expressed himself on the occasion as sensibly and as warmly as a man violently in love can be supposed to do. Had Elizabeth been able to encounter his eye, she might have seen how well the expression of heartfelt delight, diffuse over his face, became him; but, though she could not look, she could listen, and he told her of feelings, which, in proving of what importance she was to him, made his affection every moment more valuable.

(Pride and Prejudice, chapter 58)

Their time alone, however, was soon over; and the other two young ladies were soon apprised of the engagement and rejoicing with the happy couple; the invitation for Christmas for both the Darcys and their cousins was repeated and gratefully accepted. Discussions lasted well into the night; eventually the Darcy siblings returned to their home, with a promise to reach Adlington Hall as soon as they possible could, and most certainly in time for Christmas eve and the beginning of the celebrations.

A little after Isabella Bennet's carriage had left Audley Street on a cold and foggy morning, less than thirty miles away in Hertfordshire Mrs Philips was running to Longbourn to share news she had just received from the butcher's boy.

"Jane, you sweet girl, have you heard," she said, ignoring her other three nieces, "Netherfield Park is reopening, Mr Bingley is coming back. I have it from the butcher, the servants have been recalled as it was all a mistake on Miss Bingley's part. What a fine thing for you my dear."

She slumped into a chair, out of breath from so much running, and gossiping. Jane remained calm, however she was greatly relieved, as she had feared that her parents would try and get her to wed Mr Collins if they could not find that Lizzy. With Mr Bingley back in Hertfordshire, Mary could have the parson, he would be good enough for her, she thought unkindly.

"We had not heard, aunt," was her reply, "do you know whether his sisters will accompany him? I will be happy to see Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst too, as they are good friends."

But Mrs Philips had no more information to impart, so after some repetitions of her hopes for Jane, and some regrets that her own sister was still in London, she left to spread her news further in the community.

Mrs Phillips was not an intelligent woman, but she genuinely cared about her nieces and nephews, and as the five girls from Longbourn were close enough for her to visit several times a week, she had grown to love them as if they were her own girls. Knowing Thomas loved his daughters as she did, she believed the story her brother-in-law had told her about Elizabeth, and thought her niece, poor thing, had simply panicked, misunderstood her parents' good intentions and would come back soon and all would be well.

After an extensive round of calls to many of her neighbours, for everyone must know Mr Bingley was coming back, she went home and wrote a letter to her brother and sister in London, appraising them of her beliefs about poor little Lizzy, and how they must all help her get over her perfectly natural wedding nerves. While not being a letter worthy of sharing, having been written by a scatter-brained woman, it showed clearly her love for her niece and her faith in her, and over time, would allow their relationship to be repaired, even if they would rarely meet, and that only in London when the good-hearted elder woman would visit her brother.

"Jane," Mary asked after their aunt departed, "do you not think we should start telling people the truth about Lizzy's departure? After all Mr Bingley won't be happy if he finds later that you were not truthful." Of all the sisters, Mary was the one who missed Elizabeth the most, although she suspected Kitty also cared, and she prayed that her sister would not be found; her love for Elizabeth was genuine, if little expressed, and knowing how romantic her next older sister was underneath her lively carefree appearance, she did not wish her to be forced to marry their pompous cousin. Despite feeling that she herself would be an ideal parson's wife and helpmeet, Mary also knew she would refuse Mr Collins as well, for he was just too ridiculous and ignorant; of course, he was unlikely to ever ask for Mary for she was not outwardly pretty, or not as much as her sisters anyway.

"Certainly not, Mary," Jane snapped back, "none of you will say a word about it. We must remain in appearance a happy, loving family, just as Papa ordered. Lizzy's defiance and insolence would most likely injure our chances at marriage, as who would want to be connected to such an impertinent hoyden. In any case, she is not as clever as she thinks and Papa will find her and bring her back, she can marry Collins and go to Hunsford, where she cannot harm our prospects any longer."

Kitty and Lydia giggled, but Mary remained silent, saddened by what she now saw as the real Jane. Just like Elizabeth, she had long believed her elder sister to be a gentle, kind soul; recent events had revealed a selfishness and a shallowness that were impossible to love and strongly resembled their mother's character. In appearance, Jane was unchanged, and Mr Bingley or the rest of their neighbours were not likely to notice any defect in her. Except for Charlotte Lucas, perhaps. Mary would go see her later that day, and maybe Charlotte would know what to do, and be able to send some warning to Lizzy.

At the Gardiner's home, in Gracechurch Street, the atmosphere was tense. When the Bennets and Mr Collins had returned the previous evening, all three of them angry and upset, Mrs Gardiner had finally extracted the real story behind Elizabeth's departure from Longbourn and she was not happy. Until that time, she had believed her bother-in-law's account of Lizzy accepting the parson publicly in front of most of Meryton and then running off without a word to anyone, creating a scandal that could damage her sisters, even though that was very out of character for her niece. Knowing now that Elizabeth was instead cast out for refusing the man, who was in every way the fool Elizabeth had described previously, Margaret Gardiner had quickly reassessed her support for Thomas, and was now trying to persuade Mr Collins to look for a different wife, one more suited to being mistress to the Hunsford parsonage.

Edward Gardiner was simply angry; Elizabeth had always been his favourite niece, being bright and educated, and he abhorred deceit, as Thomas had indeed tried to deceive them just to harm Elizabeth, he was close to asking him and his wife get out of his home should their attitude not change quickly.

"Oh, Mr Bennet," Fanny was wailing and crying, "what if this ungrateful child does throw me out as your niece said. I will die in the hedgerows, and it is all your fault for raising such a hoyden."

Margaret was losing patience. "Fanny, the interest of your dowry will keep you comfortable in a small cottage in Meryton, so please stop this constant noise. And Lizzy is a perfectly charming young lady, who has the right to reject a suitor that is not well matched to her. Indeed, as a woman, to reject of a suit is her only power, and you should not continue thinking of this marriage."

She rubbed her forehead, feeling the beginning of a headache, and continued: "Mr Collins, you are an educated man, and must see clearly now that Elizabeth's temper and nature are not suited to yours. If you insist on choosing a Bennet, then Jane and Mary are your only options, the other two girls being far too young and frivolous for a clergyman's wife. Mary is lovely," she saw the parson mouth turn down at this, proving that he only cared for external beauty as she suspected, "but she is also very quiet; I am unsure she would deal well with your great patroness or with recalcitrant parishioners. This leaves you with Jane, and should she reject you or should you decide she is not suitable, not being a very practical girl, you will have done your duty and may look outside the family without any regret."

After spending several weeks with his cousins, Mr Collings was surprisingly disinclined towards the eldest Miss Bennet. While he saw she was beautiful and had spoken often enough with her to know that her temper was good, he had strongly felt that she believed him beneath her and somehow inadequate. Despite his natural conceit and his pride in his station and prospects, William Collins knew he needed a strong wife, someone with character; he would never admit it aloud, but Lady Catherine terrified him; Miss Elizabeth, lively and outspoken, would have managed his patroness perfectly well, but neither of the two sisters he was now offered would. Perhaps it was better to look closer to home, for a lady who already knew what to expect from Rosings Park.

Not knowing Mr Collins' musings, Mrs Bennet let out a loud moan at this while uttering "Oh, Mr Bennet!", ready to start another rant about her second daughter to ensure the parson would not want her beautiful Jane, who was very obviously destined for a much greater future.

Mrs Gardiner was not finished: "Thomas, the responsibility of securing your daughter's future is yours and yours only. I will no longer prevaricate; your laziness and your selfishness have controlled Longbourn far too long. From now on, you must forget trying to control Lizzy, as I very much doubt you will manage to even locate her before her birthday in May; I expect her cousin and the uncle, Mr Jones, have hidden her away from London at a friend's house; as you know nothing of either of their lives for the past five years, you will not prevail. You will return to Longbourn, learn to be a better master and start saving for the other girls' future."

Her husband took this opportunity to have his say: "Indeed Margaret is correct. It is time for you and my sister to return home and look after your remaining daughters, while Mr Collins can return to Kent and decide his own future knowing he has done what was needed to mend the relationship with your family." He nodded at the man at that point. Mr Collins was ridiculous, but he was a good man, and Gardiner hoped, for his sake, he would choose not to ally himself to the Bennets.

"We will assist you, I think, by taking Mary under our care. She has been neglected by both of you, and we will arrange for a few lessons to complete her accomplishments while she helps Margaret with the children, before giving her a season or two here in London. While we do not mix with the first circles, we have a large circle of friends in the upper business class and the lower gentry, which will suit your Mary very well, I am sure. If you provide me with a letter giving me full authority for Mary, you will not have to expand any energy for her future, and Margaret and I provide her with a modest dowry and look after her should anything happen to you." Thomas said nothing, so Mr Gardiner continued: "For your other girls, the choice is yours. I would advise you to take the younger girls in hand and improve their behaviour, but that will be your choice. You currently have just under three thousand pounds in investment with me, which will give each of them a thousand-pound dowry in addition to their share of their mother's portion after her death, or should they not marry, it will give Fanny and the girls the interests of eight thousand pounds to live off, which will be comfortable if they are taught how to manage their budget well."

He stood up, indicating the visit was coming to an end.

"Return to Longbourn, I will send my carriage with a maid before the end of the week to bring Mary to London. We will not be coming for the holidays this year, as we will need to settle Mary into her new routine, but we may come for Easter to see how things are progressing. If Jane marries, we will come earlier, but otherwise letters will do. And just to be clear, you will not come uninvited and unannounced again into our home." Bennet said nothing, and his wife poured out her thoughts uninterrupted, "Oh, you can have Mary if you wish, but she is so plain that she will never attract any suitor, so she can remain to look after your children forever. You would do much better giving the money to Jane and Lydia for their wardrobes and dowries for they will marry much better."

Gardiner was disgusted by his sister's speech and silently left the room, followed by Margaret who started ordering the servants to help prepare for the guests' departure that very morning.

Edward went straight to his book room, which he used as a small home office when he did not want to walk to his warehouse, to write a note to Elizabeth and inform her of the conclusion to her parents' visit.

My dear Elizabeth,

Margaret and I would like to apologise for not replying earlier to your missive. As you can guess your father had send an express the day you left home with a story we now understand was fabricated. As convinced as we were that your father loved you, we believed him without question.

Yesterday your parents and Mr Collins, who came to London with them, visited your Bennet cousin. What happened at her home, I do not know, but upon their return, and taking advantage of the confusion and heightened emotions of the moment, we managed to get the truth about your departure. Dearest girl, what worry and pain you must have felt.

I am sad you chose not to come to us, but I understand, and indeed, I now think you decided correctly. While we would love to see you, we will wait to ask for your location until after your birthday. This letter, future ones, and any responses, can go via Audley Street for now if your cousin allows it.

As for your family, we are sending them back to Longbourn, and for this year will not join them for Christmas. Instead, I have demanded your father to send Mary to us, with the authority to see to her future. You have often mentioned to your aunt that your next sister is neglected, well no more. She will have any tutor she asks for and will get a few seasons in London and remain with us. I hope this meets your approval, dear girl. We could not help you, so will atone by helping your Mary.

Whether your father accept any of the advice we gave him, and we did give him quite the lecture I assure you, remains to be seen, so do not let your guard down.

The children send their love and will prepare pictures of their activities to be included in the next missive Maddy sends you.

With all our love,

Your affectionate aunt and uncle,

Edward and Margaret Gardiner.