Hello my dears! I had such a busy time the last couple of weeks that I decided to take the weekend to recharge - mostly. Someone commented that Georgiana hadn't been seen or mentioned for a while, and it made me realize that her husband would certainly have been invited by Darcy to help take care of that slimeball Sir Frederick. Thus, I went back to chapters 28 through 30 and inserted Darcy's sister and her husband where and how I thought worked best. No major changes to what you have read already, but certainly go back and read those chapters before this one if you wish.

That said, my "weekend" off turned into something like two weeks as I got hit with another downswing in my depression. Some stuff going on in my personal life absolutely did not help at all. Getting this chapter finished was a struggle, and it doesn't end where I had originally intended, but it's done for now.

Than you all again, as always, for your support and encouragement. You are awesome.

Chapter Thirty-One

Little more than an hour had passed since the events of the morning when it was forcibly brought back to Elizabeth's attention by the arrival of Jane.

After having a brief word with the other ladies in the house, she had retreated to her study to attend to some correspondence, and Simmonds had almost no time to open the door and announce her sister before Jane came marching into the room.

"Tell me it's not true, Lizzy!" she demanded. "It cannot be!"

Though certain she knew to what Jane referred, Elizabeth sat back and clasped her hands together in her lap, the picture of serenity. "My dear sister, to what, specifically, do you refer?"

"Oh, do not pretend you do not know!" Jane cried. "Caroline came charging into my home screaming at Charles for 'ruining' a business venture of Sir Frederick's, and he told her that if attempting to seduce a marchioness and then attempting to blackmail her when she refused him constituted a business venture, then he felt sorry for her, because her husband was an addlepated fool. Caroline denied that Frederick would do any such thing, to which Charles replied that he had six other witnesses to the incident involving you and her worthless husband if she required proof."

Seeing that Jane was becoming highly agitated, Elizabeth rose and moved around the desk; taking her sister by the arm, she guided her over to the settee before the fireplace.

"Come, sit and do the breathing exercises your physician taught you, that you do not trigger one of your episodes," she said calmly.

Jane only nodded as she began to draw slow, deep breaths through her nose, exhaling each one slowly through pursed lips. After six breaths, she looked at Elizabeth and said in a calmer voice, "Is it true?"

Elizabeth nodded. "I am afraid it is. Last night, Sir Frederick touched me inappropriately at supper, and as I had heard that he intended to try and seduce me—and blackmail me if I refused—I sought to gather witnesses to my confronting him. Charles was one of them—as Sir Frederick is his brother, it thought it only right he should be included in the scheme."

"Who were the other six?"

After drawing a breath, Elizabeth shared with Jane her plan to catch Sir Frederick in a trap essentially of his own making and stated that it was "Darcy who suggested that the principal men of my family should be included."

Jane's gaze narrowed for a moment, then she asked, "So it is true, then? You and Mr. Darcy are courting?"

"It is not technically true, no," Elizabeth replied. "Mr. Darcy has expressed a desire for courtship, but I have told him I am not quite ready to take such a step."

"I should think not," Jane declared. "After all, dear brother Henry has been absent only a year. And you would lose your title if you married a commoner."

"By law, yes, but not by courtesy. From what I gather as to how the peerage works, it is quite likely that I will still be considered the Marchioness of Stashwick and addressed as such, due in large part to my almost impeachable reputation and countless good works since taking on the role," Elizabeth explained. "There is also the fact that the present marquess is only nine and can hardly fulfill the duties which will be required of him when he is of age. Therefore, I must continue to be allowed to represent the marquessate as Lady Stashwick until he is."

Jane blinked in mild astonishment. "I see," said she. "Oh, Lizzy, I am so very sorry for bursting in here as I did. You know I have been doing so well this last year or so, managing my anxieties, but Caroline was so furious!"

"I wonder what she was angrier about—that her husband's schemes were thwarted, or that I was the object of his desires," Elizabeth mused.

At this, Jane giggled softly. "I daresay she was more upset that he had set his cap at you."

Elizabeth chuckled. "Indeed—of all the ladies he could wish to bed, it had to be the one who refused to give her notice."

"Lizzy, Caro has been envious of you ever since you told her of your engagement in Madame le Blanc's shop all those years ago," Jane confessed. "I tried so hard to ignore her rantings after Charles and I returned from our wedding trip, because I just wanted her and Louisa to like me and accept me as their sister. I must own that her jealousy made it so much more difficult to ignore my insecurities about Mamma and whether she would be angry with me for my beauty not securing the marquess instead of Mr. Bingley."

Elizabeth slipped an arm around her sister's shoulders and gave them a light squeeze. "I know I have said this before, but we must remember that while she is essentially responsible for many of the insecurities we have both of us dealt with, our mother was not intentionally cruel. Her lack of deeper understanding prevented her from seeing how her comments hurt rather than helped us. All she could think of was her concern that we would be homeless and essentially penniless if father should die while we were unmarried."

Jane nodded and sighed. "I have long ago forgiven her. Our poor mother… To be so frightened for herself and her children must have been deeply distressing—and to think we so often made sport of her nerves."

"Well, the 'nerves' she so often complained of were all in her mind—and you notice they have all but disappeared since the miraculous birth of our brother," Elizabeth observed. "But now we are both mothers of daughters ourselves, and we have a better understanding of her motivations."

"Indeed, though I hardly think you have any reason to fear for your girls—Bella and Meg have forty thousand each and a courtesy title besides."

"True enough," said Elizabeth with a nod, "but I have considered a time or two how very different my life would be if I had been forced to marry Mr. Collins, even with the prospect of a son of ours inheriting Longbourn."

Beside her, Jane shuddered. "Oh, Lizzy, even I can admit you would have been miserable with him. As kind and well-intentioned as he was, our cousin was rather ridiculous, and not nearly intelligent enough a match for so lively a mind as yours."

"Be grateful for your dear Charles, then, even if he was a little misguided for a fortnight," said Elizabeth with a smile. "For had it not been for Mamma's assurances you were all but engaged to him, Mr. Collins would surely have directed his fumbling attentions to you."

It amused Elizabeth that Jane, for a moment, looked horrified at the prospect of having to accept Mr. Collins. Her sister then sighed again and said, "I thank God every day for my husband, Lizzy, but oh… I fear that had he not shown me such particular attentions, Mamma would indeed have directed our cousin at me, and I would have been so bent on pleasing her that I would have accepted him as my duty to her and to my sisters."

After giving Jane's shoulders another light squeeze, Elizabeth said, "Well then, let us both be grateful that those tenants at Netherfield—whoever they were—squabbled to such a point that the steward believed his master must absolutely get involved. And I shall be forever grateful that Mr. Bingley was able to come to mine and Henry's aid that day, for I honestly do not know what I would have done had he and Mr. Lewis not come along."

Jane chuckled. "I am sure, dear Lizzy, that you would have faced your former aversion to riding and climbed atop the loose horse in order to ride to Longbourn for Father and what footmen could come."

Elizabeth laughed with her. "I suppose I would have done. Now, are you feeling better, dearest?"

Jane drew a deep breath and nodded. "I am, Lizzy, thank you. And I am so terribly sorry that Caroline's husband did such a vile thing. I… I have known for some time that they were unfaithful to each other, but like so many in society I ignored it because it did not affect me directly. I never imagined Frederick would try anything with a member of the family—and one of my own sisters besides!"

"It was rather brazen of him," said Elizabeth. "Now, should you like to stay and keep me company for a while? I could use a respite from the many letters of business on my desk."

"I should like that, Lizzy," Jane replied with a smile.

Elizabeth stood. "Then I shall ring for some tea," she said as she moved toward the bellpull. As she started back to her sister's side, a memory flashed across her consciousness, and she could not help but chuckle.

"What is it, Lizzy?"

"Oh, Jane," said Elizabeth when she sat next to her again, "I was suddenly brought to mind of a night at Netherfield during your illness there. You were above stairs in bed, of course, and I was in the drawing room with the others. Caroline was attempting to engage Darcy's attention and commented that letters of business were odious, to which he replied that she ought to be grateful that they fell to his lot and not hers. And yet here I am, also a woman, and yet I am besieged by them."

"But would not they be Henry's responsibility were he still with us?" asked Jane.

Hiral, the housekeeper, arrived then in response to the summons; after tea and biscuits were requested, Elizabeth replied, "Most of them, yes, I imagine—anything having to do with the estate in Berkshire, the tenants, the salaries of the servants… But now it has all fallen to me, and I have been quite busy this last hour with penning replies not only regarding such matters, but also my charitable work. In fact, I've just finished a letter to my man of business allocating money from the trust to be distributed to two hospitals, the training college, and both of the schools in Stashwick. Robert also wrote to me about damage to the church roof, so I've had to allocate funds for that as well. And on top of all that, I've social events to accept or turn down for both myself and my children, as well as our cousin."

Jane chuckled and shook her head. "Oh, Lizzy… To think I sometimes complain about managing a household and two children. I cannot imagine having to take on so much—you bear your burdens remarkably well, I must say."

"Thank you, dearest. I appreciate you recognizing that they are burdens," said Elizabeth. "Most of which I bear with greatest alacrity. But I am forced to agree with Caroline in that they can sometimes be odious. Or perhaps I just think them tedious, when there are so many requests and demands to be dealt with."

"I can imagine it all wears on you," observed Jane. "Especially now that you've no longer a partner to share those burdens with."

Elizabeth nodded. "Indeed. I told Adelaide just the other day that what I missed most about Henry's death was no longer having a partner in life."

Tilting her head, Jane regarded her with some scrutiny before saying, "Then might you not give some consideration to accepting Mr. Darcy's attentions? I know that I agreed a year of mourning seems too little, but I can tell you, Lizzy, that he really is a good man. I've got to know him so much better than we did when he first came into Hertfordshire with Charles ten years ago. If he admires you, surely he will come to love you."

Elizabeth sighed and flashed a brief smile. "So I have been told."

-…-

When Darcy and Clara arrived at Stashwick House on Saturday, the Parkers were only a little surprised to see them. Elizabeth noted—and ignored—the knowing glance shared by the couple as the last of the breakfast guests were shown into the drawing room.

"Diana, Sidney, I hope you do not mind a couple of additions to our family party," said Elizabeth. "I received word from Mr. Darcy on Thursday that Miss Darcy was hoping to see her new friends again soon."

"I do not mind at all, Your Ladyship," said Sidney Parker. "The more the merrier—and with your relations in residence with you also at table, we shall be a merry party indeed!"

"I agree with my husband, Lady Stashwick," added Diana.

Elizabeth then turned to Darcy with a grin. "And I am certain you, Mr. Darcy, will enjoy having the company of another gentleman, rather than only ladies and children."

Darcy returned her smile. "While I am certainly pleased by the presence of Mr. Parker among us, my lady, I feel I should point out that I have not once complained about being surrounded only by women and children."

"Papa likes you very much, he wouldn't complain at all!" cried Clara cheerfully, before gasping and clapping both of her little hands to her mouth.

"I'm sorry, Papa, I didn't mean to tell!"

Darcy cleared his throat, glanced at Elizabeth with a smile, then looked down to his daughter and said, "'Tis quite all right, Clara. Lady Stashwick is already aware that I admire her a great deal."

Clara's eyes widened, but before she could reply, Simmonds came into the drawing room to announce that breakfast was ready.

Mary took the hand of her youngest daughter and Charlotte offered her hand to Margaret, then they followed behind Mrs. Gardiner to lead the children out of the drawing room. Darcy observed them, and encouraged Clara to join her friends before looking to Elizabeth and asking, "All the children will eat with us?"

"Of course," she replied. "Why should they not?"

"No reason at all," returned Darcy as he and Elizabeth brought of the rear of the procession. "I confess I am merely used to only dining with children who can feed themselves."

Elizabeth quirked an eyebrow as she glanced up at him. "Do you mean to say that you, a man who has raised a daughter almost entirely on his own for six years, did not allow her to sit at table with you until she could feed herself?"

Darcy chuckled. "Point well made, my lady. Allow me to rephrase—I am used to it in my aunt's house."

She nodded. "Yes, that is Lady Disley's way," she said. "Besides, do you not recall that we all ate luncheon together at your house? Meg and Sarah can feed themselves—they only need a little assistance every now and then."

"I remember now," said Darcy. "Forgive my momentary lack of recall, Your Ladyship. I have heard that memory is the first to suffer when one enters old age."

Elizabeth laughed as the two entered the dining room together. "Old age? La! What a notion, Darcy! You cannot be more than six-and-thirty."

"I am impressed," Darcy replied. "Though, in fact, I shall be eight-and-thirty come August."

"And I shall be one-and-thirty the following month," Elizabeth said.

Darcy leaned closer as they joined the queue at the sideboard and said softly, "And yet you've not aged a day since that on which I first saw you."

Though she felt heat warming her cheeks, Elizabeth retorted, "I did not think you a purveyor of false flattery, Mr. Darcy."

"If a man means what he says when he compliments a lady, his flattery cannot be labeled false," Darcy parried smoothly.

Her neck and face grew hotter, and Elizabeth knew that she blushed furiously. It was also something of an effort not to smile as she delicately cleared her throat.

"You are too kind, Mr. Darcy," she said softly.

Darcy only smiled in response, then turned his attention to observing Clara, who chattered away with Isabella, Prudence, Meg, and Sarah under the watchful eyes of older girls Rose Parker and Catherine, as well as the other ladies.

As the meal progressed, Elizabeth was pleased to note that Darcy did interact a good deal with Mr. Parker, the two men discussing the management of their respective estates and the joys of being father to a daughter, which Sidney said was "a whole different experience compared to raising sons. One day, Darcy, you'll know what I mean."

The last he said with a sidelong glance and smile in Elizabeth's direction, which she pretended to ignore despite feeling a heated blush come to her cheeks. Darcy, to her relief, deflected the comment by saying,

"If God should so bless me, I would be eternally grateful. Until He sees fit to do so, I am quite content to have just Clara to love and spoil."

After breakfast, the mixed brood of children played for well over an hour, and the parents discussed the upcoming family musicale that was just two days hence. Diana asked Charlotte if her daughter would be taking part, to which he replied, "Cathy isn't family, so we will be content to merely listen."

"What nonsense is this?" cried Elizabeth. "Of course, you are family! Catherine is family by blood, and you have been a sister to me since the day we became friends too long ago to remember."

"Just because your first husband is no longer with us does not mean you are not still family," added Mary.

"You are both of you far too kind," said Charlotte with a smile. "I confess I do still think of you all as my family, even though Mr. Collins has been gone several years."

Much more chatter about various subjects was passed around before the Parkers elected to take their leave. Darcy announced to Clara that they would also be departing, to which she protested with a "But Papa, we are having so much fun!"

He lifted an eyebrow and regarded her with a firm gaze. "Miss Darcy, we will see all your friends again come Monday at the musical party, remember? Do be a good girl and begin saying your farewells."

Clara sighed dramatically. "Yes, Papa. Very well," she said, before turning to the other little girls and saying, "Papa says I must go home now. I hope you will miss me, because I will miss you!"

Margaret threw her arms around Clara and held her tightly. "I wish we lived together so you didn't ever have to leave!"

Elizabeth was a little surprised to hear her youngest speak thusly, but was altogether stunned when Isabella replied with a softly spoken, "Maybe one day we will."

She could feel Darcy's gaze on her, but Elizabeth found she had not the words to speak. Her attention was divided when the parkers' carriage was announced, and they and their three children were donning their outerwear in the hall; she said her goodbyes but also could not help wondering…

…how would her children really feel if she decided to marry again?