Author's Note: Please let me know if you see any inconsistencies or errors. I am trying to fix them as I go through, but I know I have missed a couple. Thanks so much, and I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 11

The next afternoon, Darcy arrived on the Gardiners' doorstep accompanied by a young lady. Elizabeth supposed the young lady was his sister, Georgiana Darcy, who would soon turn sixteen. Elizabeth and Darcy had discussed the girl several times, and on one of those occasions, Darcy confided some of the troubles his sister had recently been through. He did not state it directly, but Elizabeth heard enough to know that she had been disappointed in love, having been pursued by the worst sort of scoundrel and fortune hunter.

Georgiana Darcy was a lovely girl, appearing older than her age in looks, but her actions were those of a young girl. She was terribly shy and constantly looked toward her brother for confirmation whenever she spoke, so Elizabeth did all she could to make the girl feel at ease. Mrs Gardiner did the same, and within an hour, the three were speaking together easily. Darcy watched them, smiling at how quickly Elizabeth had made his sister feel comfortable in her presence. He realised she had a similar effect on him, as she had made him feel at ease from the first time they spoke together.

Finally, it was time to depart. "Ladies, I apologise for the extended visit, but I hated to interrupt your conversation before now. I am afraid we have overstayed, and I do have business to conduct yet this afternoon," Darcy said during a break in the conversation. The younger ladies appeared startled by his voice as they had nearly forgotten his presence in the room.

"Oh, I apologise, Mr Darcy; we forgot you and completely excluded you from our conversation. Do forgive me," Elizabeth cried.

"It is quite all right, Miss Elizabeth. I was pleased to see how easily you befriended my sister and contemplated other matters as you spoke. However, if you do not mind, I will call on you tomorrow morning by myself. Perhaps your aunt will also allow me to escort you to Darcy House afterwards for tea and perhaps a walk through Hyde Park."

Elizabeth turned to her aunt, who nodded, and the invitation was readily accepted before Darcy spoke once again. "Miss Elizabeth, I introduced you to my sister today as Miss Bennet, but I wondered … would you prefer to be introduced as Miss Tomlinson? Of course, we can wait until we consult with your other trustee to be certain, but well, I wanted to speak to my aunt and uncle about you and ask them to invite you to dinner soon. As you may remember, they were acquainted with the elder Mr Tomlinson, although they likely knew your father at least a little."

"Perhaps that should wait until we learn more from Mr Elliott. Today is Friday, and he will arrive in town next week: is that not what you said? Surely you can delay a little longer to tell your relatives about me?" she teased.

"I worry about what your uncle intends to do," Darcy confessed privately as Mrs Gardiner and Miss Darcy spoke together. "I have had too much time to think of scenarios where Mr Bennet could force you to somehow return to Longbourn and into a marriage with Mr Collins. I worry that I could lose you."

She smiled gently at him. "You told me that I cannot be forced to marry; even if Mr Bennet requires me to return, he cannot make me agree to marry that man or to speak the vows. I supposed we need to discover if he has a right to force me to return, do we not?"

"Elizabeth, he could do things that would make a marriage necessary. He could allow that man to take you somewhere and ruin you, and I do not mean only your reputation. I love you and would marry you regardless, but …" he stopped as he realised what he had revealed.

"You love me?" she said, her voice barely a whisper.

"I do, Ellie," he replied, his voice equally soft. "Your uncle commented yesterday afternoon that you would not have cried in my arms as you did had you not felt safe with me. I want to be your safe place always. I felt the first stirrings of love the moment you handed me a cup of tea at the assembly, and as I have learned more about you, I have fallen more deeply in love. I told Mr Gardiner I would marry you as soon as you would have me but wanted to wait until you were ready."

She smiled up at him, her eyes sparkling. "And how will you know when I am ready?"

He wanted to touch her, to pull her into his arms and show her his love. He mentally cursed himself for starting this conversation when they were in a room with her aunt and his sister. "I do not have the slightest idea, Ellie. I was hoping you would tell me?"

"Was that a question, sir, or a statement?"

"I think I told you I have never courted a lady before now, nor have I even wanted to do so before, and I tell you, and only you, that I do not have any idea of how to go about this, my dear. I am relying on you to assist me through this." He became aware then that the others were watching them as they spoke.

She sighed as she saw what he did. "We can continue this conversation tomorrow when we go for a ride. For now, I will ignore all requests or demands, should any come, for me to return to Longbourn. Surely, we can invent an appropriate excuse for me to stay at least until Christmas. But I doubt that Mr Bennet will attempt to do so before he has word from Mr Elliott agreeing to the match. Typically, Mr Bennet is not a very good correspondent. And I would love to know why you keep calling me Ellie," she said mischievously.

He grinned broadly at her. "It is what Jonathan and I called you that summer at Briarwood. I nearly forgotten about little Ellie until I made your acquaintance, but now I have a hard time thinking of you as anything else."

The two Darcys took their leave and soon departed the house. Mrs Gardiner began speaking almost immediately after the door closed behind them. "What were you and Mr Darcy discussing so intently at the end of the call?" she asked.

"He is anxious that Mr Bennet might attempt to call me home and do something to force me into marriage with his heir. I do not think he has a very good opinion of Mr and Mrs Bennet, and while I confess he has just cause, I struggle to think of him being so terrible as to be capable of what Mr Darcy seems to believe possible," Elizabeth admitted.

Mrs Gardiner looked at her askance. "What did he suggest?"

"That Mr Bennet might attempt to force the matter by having me ruined … in more than just reputation."

Gasping, Mrs Gardiner brought her hand to cover her mouth. "I would not think Mr Bennet capable of ordering that, but we do not know what Mr Collins might attempt if he believes he could get his hands on your estate. Mr Darcy thinks the man is most likely a fool, but is he so mean? Perhaps my husband and Mr Darcy should have him investigated to see what they can learn about the man."

"If they have not already considered it. Mr Darcy also asked whether I should be introduced as Miss Bennet or as Miss Tomlinson while I am in town. I deferred the question for now, saying it was best to seek the opinion of my uncle and Mr Elliott. I believe Mr Darcy would prefer to have me known for who I truly am, though I am not certain his reasoning is completely disinterested."

"Because you are courting, even if unofficially?" she asked. Elizabeth merely nodded, not ready to confess everything that had been discussed. She still needed to sort through her own feelings toward the man before speaking of them to anyone.

She had an opportunity to do that later that evening. As she thought over their relationship—had they truly only met a little less than a month ago—she realised that she did care a great deal for him. She had never felt as though she belonged in her home, and now she realised she had not. Longbourn had never been her home, and those vague memories the Bennets had waved away as fanciful were real. She wanted desperately to go home—to her real home. She longed to have somewhere she belonged and was not just a visitor.

The question of Mr Darcy made this all a little less clear. Briarwood was her home in truth as she had spent most of her first five years there. It was hers, or it would be, but she did not remember it, though perhaps when she arrived, she would feel some familiarity with the place. But would it feel like home?

She remembered the day before when she collapsed and was caught in Mr Darcy's arms. She had felt safe, just as he said. It had been heavenly to be held in his embrace, and she had felt a sense of belonging she had never before experienced. "Is this love?" she asked herself.

Still uncertain, she wondered if she could talk it over with him the following day when they called. Would it be improper for the two of them to ride together in an open carriage without a chaperone? She needed to speak about it with someone, and he seemed the ideal choice.

Darcy was cursing himself as the worst sort of fool. Making a declaration of love at that particular moment and in that manner was not what Elizabeth required. She needed time to become more familiar with him, to let the complexities of her changed circumstances sink in. She was confronting a substantial upheaval after discovering that her family was not truly her own and there were numerous other matters on her plate. Adding further pressure from him was the last thing she needed, especially as he was uncertain he would be able to court her, much less marry her before her birthday in August.

More than any other time in the last five years, he missed his father. He needed to speak to someone, though he did not know who. His cousin would never understand, not really, and he was uncertain what his uncle would say. Of course, Lord Fitzwilliam would be pleased that he was finally taking a wife and that the woman in question was an heiress, though he would have preferred him to marry a titled lady. However, the earl would scarcely allow for feelings to be a consideration and would gladly make the contract regardless of the bride's feelings—or the groom's. According to the earl, marriage was about building wealth and connections; the feelings of the parties involved were irrelevant.

No, he needed to speak to Elizabeth. He would apologise for pressuring her and reassure her that he would wait for her—however long that might be. He would speak to her uncle, Mr Gardiner, about ensuring she was well protected; the more he thought about it, he convinced himself Mr Bennet had had this plan in place for longer than they realised and would do all that was required to make it a reality. He wished he knew more about both men involved in the contract.

Feeling the need to do something, he sat down to pen a note to his man of business asking him to hire investigators to find out anything he could about Thomas Bennet and William Collins. To be safe, he also requested they investigate Mr Phillips, the solicitor in Meryton, and brother-in-law to Mr. Bennet. Darcy did not know his Christian name but felt Meryton was a small enough community that he would not be hard to find and discover what they could about the man. He wondered how much Mr Phillips would push for the marriage contract to be formalised regardless of the legalities involved.

This done, he next drafted a letter to his solicitor to create a marriage settlement. He knew it would be an unusual settlement since it would stipulate all property the bride brought into the marriage would remain hers, and he would settle an additional thirty thousand pounds on her. She did not need his additional funds, but it would serve as a dowry for a daughter or provide a good start for a second or third son should it be required. Darcy was suddenly distracted by two images appearing together in his mind—the image of his Elizabeth carrying their child and, the more tantalising of the two, the image of what it would require to get Elizabeth with child. It took him quite some time to return to his work after that thought crossed his mind.