Author's Note: I wrote the opening of this story some time ago, and it eventually turned into A Different Impression. However, I came across just this opening and began writing again, and ended up with this story. I don't know how much of this beginning overlaps, but they are two different stories stemming from the same opening lines. They are vastly different stories.

Chapter 1

"Come, Darcy, you must dance." Charles Bingley said to his friend. "I hate to see you standing about in this stupid manner."

"Charles, you are fully aware that the sole reason I am present is to avoid being alone with your sister," Fitzwilliam Darcy responded with a brusqueness not uncommon to him. "Had you informed me of tonight's assembly, I would have delayed my journey by a day and waited to arrive tomorrow. It would be wise for you to remind your sister that I have no intention of ever proposing to her—no matter how persistently she pursues me. Now, return to your partner and enjoy her smiles. I have an excruciating headache and no desire to partake in dancing tonight, particularly not with a lady I am not acquainted with."

Unnoticed by both men, a young lady slightly behind the men smiled slightly at the conversation. She had seen the predatory lady in their party who had grabbed at the taller gentleman's arm from the moment they walked in and had wondered about it. She had also observed him repeatedly attempting to extricate himself from her—much to the lady's displeasure and her own amusement. Some unknown impulse had made her recognise that he was in pain even before he had said so to his friend. Surprised by this realisation, since she had only briefly encountered the gentleman earlier, she wondered if there was anything she could do to help alleviate his pain.

Walking into the kitchen attached to the assembly room, she prepared a glass of willow bark tea and carefully returned to her spot by the gentleman she understood to be Mr Darcy.

Careful to keep herself hidden from the rest of the room, she quietly spoke to the gentleman. "Sir, I apologise, but I overheard you speaking to Mr. Bingley about a headache. I have prepared some tea with willow bark, which my family often uses to help with the pain. It tastes horrible, but it should help your head if you want to try it."

He startled and then turned slightly to look at her. She appeared vaguely familiar, but the pain in his head had kept him from paying much attention to the introductions. "I also must apologise as I do not remember your name, Miss. While I appreciate your effort, I am not accustomed to accepting drinks from unfamiliar females. In my position, it is unwise."

"I had not considered that, sir, but having watched how Miss Bingley seems to be pursuing you, that seems a wise position to take. I reassure you that I have not added anything unseemly to your drink, but I also realise you have little reason to trust a stranger. My name is Miss Elizabeth Bennet, by the way. We were introduced earlier, but if your head hurts as much as it appears, I dare say it makes it hard to remember so many introductions in such a short time," she replied, keeping her voice low and attempting to avoid notice. "I will leave the beverage here if you decide to drink it, and then I will leave you so my mother does not observe me talking to you. I must confess she is one to watch out for, although she is my mother."

He barked a laugh and quickly covered it with a cough. "I appreciate your help, Miss Bennet, and I believe I will take a chance and trust that it is as you say. It was a pleasure to meet you."

She dipped a shallow curtsy and made one final comment before slipping away. "My elder sister is Miss Bennet, sir. I am Miss Elizabeth, and I hope the tea will alleviate your headache."

Darcy watched her as she left and laughed inwardly at her pertness. She was unlike most women he knew, and he thought it was refreshing to meet a woman who did not immediately defer to him and seemed to exhibit genuine kindness. She had brought him tea to relieve his headache and did not attempt to curry his favour or to press her advantage. Reviewing their conversation, he thought incredulously that she even warned him about her mother's matchmaking schemes.

He desired to get to know this woman better; however, he wondered if there was any point. In this small market town, it was unlikely that she had a fortune or any great connections, and since his infancy, his duty to marry for fortune and connections had been drilled into him, first by his parents and, since their deaths, by his uncle, the earl. Could he truly throw those expectations to the side? Shaking his head, he wondered what had come over him and how a short conversation that she had been careful to ensure no one had observed could have caused him to begin pondering marriage to a woman he had just met. Perhaps it was simply that she had not attempted to attract attention to their conversation and the genuine kindness in her actions.

From across the assembly hall, Caroline Bingley kept a watchful eye on Mr. Darcy. She observed him conversing with an indistinct figure, the identity of whom eluded her, as the person remained in the shadows. Her keen eyes detected him sipping from a cup of tea, leading her to believe he had been conversing with one of the attendants. Caroline was well aware of his reluctance to attend the assembly; her brother's insistence had coerced him into this social gathering, after all.

This visit with her brother presented the perfect opportunity to secure him as her husband; she was certain of t it. If persuasion failed, she had contingencies in place, prepared to ensnare him, and the necessary arrangements had been discreetly set in motion long before his arrival. Although her brother did not overtly endorse her designs, he remained well-informed, having faith in Darcy's honour to choose the path of righteousness. Before they departed from this provincial town, she was determined to secure an engagement to her brother's closest friend.

At this juncture, Bingley felt an almost desperate urgency to marry off his sister to anyone—willing or unwilling. Her extravagant spending habits were siphoning his own resources, and frankly, her disposition made her a challenging companion. Darcy and Bingley had been acquainted since their days at Cambridge, but in recent years, Bingley had made a concerted effort to attach himself to Darcy's social circle, hoping to elevate his own status. While Darcy tolerated this association, as he genuinely liked Bingley, he harboured a strong aversion towards his unmarried sister. Their decision to stay at Bingley's leased estate for a fortnight resulted from repeated requests, primarily from Bingley himself. Darcy had only agreed after being assured Caroline would not be present and had not been happy to find her not only in residence, but his hostess. This, coupled with the upcoming assembly that evening, had nearly led to Darcy returning directly to London. However, after some coercion from his friend, he reluctantly consented to a shortened stay, in part to assist his friend in his endeavours.

Caroline's sister, Louisa Hurst, was also aware of this plan for a compromise, having been informed of it by her sister and had told her husband all its particulars. Gilbert Hurst intended to be on guard and would apprise Mr Darcy when the plot was ready to be acted upon. Both genuinely appreciated Darcy's company and did not run the risk of injuring the relationship or his connections.

Therefore, the two kept a wary eye on their sister and Mr Darcy and were ready to act when necessary. They did not inform the man himself, but Hurst's valet and Darcy's were and kept each other apprised of any developments. When this was first discussed, Hurst had been very amused to learn that the man always slept in Darcy's dressing room and took extra efforts to protect Mr Darcy whenever he was in the same house as Caroline at that gentleman's request. The valet was very familiar with his master's insistence that he would never marry Miss Bingley regardless of the circumstances, which was reasonably well known, at least by the staff.

With all this in mind, both Hursts kept an eye on both, and Hurst, from his location sitting near Darcy, had observed the exchange with the young lady and had likewise noted Darcy's pleasure in it. "This will be interesting to watch," Hurst observed silently. When they returned, the couple would discuss what they had seen in great detail that night.

The rest of the dance proceeded as one would expect. Bingley danced every dance, two with the eldest Miss Bennet, which was observed with mixed emotions by those in attendance. Darcy, whose headache had largely abated by the end of the evening, did not dance but did speak again briefly to Miss Elizabeth to thank her for her assistance, and he found that, once again, he thoroughly enjoyed her conversation. It had ranged beyond a simple thank you into their shared love of books and nature. In fact, they had spoken for the entirety of one dance, giving them a full half hour in each other's company.

When the Netherfield party departed, Caroline spent the ride complaining bitterly about the assembly and the lack of breeding displayed by the entire company. Only Miss Bennet was spared from the general disdain and was given scant praise as being "passably pretty." So determined was she that she never noticed no one else spoke the entire way to express either agreement or disagreement with her words.

In the Bennet carriage, the conversation centred on the charming Mr Bingley and his equally charming sisters, although the other gentlemen of the party did not receive such praise. Mrs. Bennet had observed Mr. Darcy speaking to Elizabeth toward the end of the evening and was unhappy about that development. Mrs Bennet knew that the possibility of Elizabeth marrying well could potentially harm the rest of her family, which was a well-kept family secret only she and her husband knew. As a result, Mrs Bennet glared at her and disparaged that "unpleasant Mr Darcy" at any opportunity.

Mrs Bennet spoke to Mr Bennet once all the girls were in bed that night. Few in the neighbourhood remembered that Elizabeth was not a Bennet, although she had gone by that name most of her life. In reality, Elizabeth was their niece, the daughter of Bennet's younger sister, and her husband, the heir of a large landholder from the north in Staffordshire. Her father had died in a horse-riding accident shortly after his wife learned she was pregnant with their first child. Bennet's sister returned to her brother's estate after her husband's death and gave birth in Hertfordshire. She also passed away shortly after Elizabeth's first birthday, leaving Elizabeth an orphan.

This was when the deception started. Elizabeth's grandparents were aware of the child but did not feel they were prepared to raise her, as they were rather elderly and had little extended family. The Bennets had been prevailed upon to take charge of the child and were given a stipend from her grandfather each quarter. Since Bennet's sister had not left the house very often, and Mrs. Bennet had miscarried around the time Elizabeth had been born, no one in Meryton seemed to realise that Elizabeth was not, in fact, a Bennet. Once or twice, she did visit her grandparents at their estate, but those visits occurred before her fifth birthday, and only vague memories still existed. If she spoke of those memories to Mrs Bennet, she was reprimanded for being fanciful and daydreaming. If she spoke to Mr Bennet of them, he laughed them off as memories of stories she had heard and actual memories.

When Elizabeth's grandfather passed away when she was just six, just a month or two after her grandmother, she had been left in the custody of Mr Bennet. Still, her inheritance was left to the trusteeship of two gentlemen responsible for overseeing her fortune and estate until she married or came of age. Mr Bennet continued to receive a generous stipend for Elizabeth's care from the estate, which was used by Mr and Mrs Bennet to provide for the family and not necessarily for Elizabeth's care.

At first, they had worried that one of the trustees would attempt to account for the money sent for Elizabeth's care, but no one ever did, and by this time, little of the stipend was actually spent on Elizabeth. Most was spent on dressing Mrs Bennet well, along with Jane and Lydia, and ensuring that Mr Bennet's library was well stocked.

Elizabeth, of course, was aware of none of this. As far as she had ever known, she was the second daughter of Mr and Mrs Bennet, although she had often wondered why she looked so unlike the rest of her siblings. Jane and Lydia took after her mother, while Mary and Kitty were blends of mother and father. Elizabeth looked like neither, having taken after her father's side of the family, and her dark hair and green eyes made her stand out from the rest of her family. She bore a slight enough resemblance to Mr Bennet that no one remarked on it much, but it had always bothered her.

This past summer, Elizabeth had turned twenty years old, and Mr. and Mrs. Bennet began to worry about what would happen when Elizabeth came of age. They were unsure if the trustees would inform Elizabeth of her inheritance and what would happen to the stipend they had come to rely upon. Without that stipend, they would have to seriously cut back on their spending, leaving them with little for the extravagances they had come to believe were necessary.

Most importantly, they wanted to ensure Elizabeth did not marry before she came of age, believing that if she still lived with them when that happened, she could continue to ensure they received the stipend. In their general selfishness, neither party ever considered that Elizabeth would be anything but grateful when she finally learned the truth.