Author's Note: I think we're winding down. Let me know what you think.

Chapter 38
Thursday, 26 March 1812
Rosings

A fortnight after the ball that introduced Elizabeth to the ton, the Darcys left London for Rosings. Jane decided to remain at the Gardiners since Mr Stanton continued to visit. Not long after meeting her mother, he had asked Jane for a courtship, but Jane had wanted her sister to meet him before she accepted. Since Lizzy liked him and Mr. Darcy had only heard good things about him, Jane agreed to the courtship, though after the debacle with Mr. Bingley, she was determined to wait. However, the news about her father's ill health made her wonder if that was wise. Regardless of her decision, the power to ask ultimately was in the gentleman's hands.

Elizabeth was beginning to feel better as her pregnancy progressed. She was even more confident now, though she had not yet felt the quickening. One morning, soon after Elizabeth had begun to suspect her condition, she and Mrs. Gardiner met to discuss her symptoms. Mrs. Gardiner told her to expect to feel the baby by the end of April, and Elizabeth was looking forward to that time. Darcy was also, though Mrs. Gardiner had told her it would be longer before he could feel the baby move from the outside.

Though Elizabeth felt better at their townhouse, the constant motion of the carriage did not help matters. The carriage made multiple stops to help alleviate the queasiness caused by the rocking motion. Instead of arriving in the mid-afternoon, they arrived closer to dinner time and had Fitzwilliam not ridden ahead when they reached Bromley, their family would have been very worried about them.

When the couple finally arrived, the entire family, including Lord and Lady Matlock and Lord and Lady Ashbourne, was already gathered in the drawing room. The couple rushed to their rooms to wash themselves and dress for dinner. Elizabeth briefly considered asking for a tray to be brought, but since they were not ready to announce her condition, she agreed it was best to go down.

However, she did not count on Lady Matlock suspecting what made them so late, so when she asked a question rather more loudly than she realised, most of the room quickly became aware. Kitty and Lydia had been retrieved from school and joined Anne, Mary, and Georgiana earlier that week, so when it became apparent what Lady Matlock meant, all five girls rushed her to confirm what they heard.

Darcy could only shrug and send Elizabeth a conciliatory smile before stepping beside her and saying loud enough for all to hear: "Yes, we believe we are expecting an addition to our family sometime in September. We merely have our suspicions so far, which is why we had not planned on making an announcement at this moment" — he shot a reprimanding look at his aunt as he said this, to which she only smirked — "but it appears likely."

Lord Matlock and Fitzwilliam stepped up to congratulate him while the ladies all spoke rapidly to Elizabeth. All the unmarried ladies were excited about this news and began to pepper Elizabeth with questions while Lord and Lady Ashbourne remained in their seats, watching the frivolity with a certain amount of distaste.

Fitzwilliam paused in his teasing to roll his eyes at his cousin at his brother's general incivility and disinterest, and the two men briefly wondered how they could all be related. Fitzwilliam whispered that his father had made the two join them since they had skipped the family Christmas celebration, and they were even less pleasant to be around than usual.

Darcy pulled Fitzwilliam aside to ask him if he had made any progress toward a decision about Anne. The colonel sighed heavily. "I spoke to a few married friends. Like you, they said maintaining love in a marriage takes work and that if I chose to love Anne on a daily basis, we would be happy together. I realised that I do like Anne, quite a bit, and I could see myself married to her. I mentioned the idea to my father just to see what he would say, and, as we both expected, he supported the idea wholeheartedly."

"I am not surprised. So will you ask her?"

"Why should I ask her? She already suggested as much to me." Fitzwilliam blurted, then looked slightly offended when Darcy laughed.

"Because she is a woman and deserves at least a little romance. If you were to ask my wife, I believe the proposal I offered her was rather scrambled, but she accepted me regardless. Anne deserves a little consideration from the man who will promise to love and respect her for the rest of her life," Darcy replied, giving his cousin a scathing look. "I believe I have improved since, but most women would prefer a bit of romance when contemplating marriage."

Fitzwilliam scoffed. "Darcy, you may have married, but I have far more experience with women. I know what I am about."

Darcy shook his head. Before his marriage, he knew he had been inept at courting a worthy woman, but Elizabeth had taken him on as a student. The two had discussed their hopes for Richard and Anne lately, and Elizabeth was the one who mentioned that a woman desired romance in a proposal.

That comment had caused Darcy to apologise for his bumbling effort, though Elizabeth had only laughed it off. "The proposal from my dreams was so poorly expressed that your 'bumbling effort', as you call it, was much appreciated. As I recall, I accepted you rather precipitously, not allowing you to make a proper offer."

"I was surprised by your quick acceptance," he admitted.

Elizabeth laughed. "As was I. But I am so happy to have done so and to have been given a second chance."

Darcy grinned in reply and leaned over to kiss her, ending all conversation of a courtship between their cousins.

At breakfast the following morning, it became apparent that Fitzwilliam and Anne were in some manner of discord. Since no engagement was announced, Elizabeth and Darcy merely exchanged a slightly amused look as they ate their breakfast in silence. The younger girls were unaware of the reason for the tension and seemed distributed by it, and the Matlocks and Ashbournes had yet to arrive downstairs. In the case of the latter, they had requested trays in their bedrooms and were not expected below stairs any time soon.

Finally, Fitzwilliam stood to leave the table, but not before asking Darcy to join him for a ride. He quickly agreed, and both men went to their rooms to dress for the activity.

Only a moment later, Anne stood and asked Elizabeth to join her when she finished her meal. Elizabeth hid a smirk but quickly joined her new cousin, sure she and Darcy would be working to advise the couple and help them reach some sort of agreement by the end of their stay.

"Why are men so incredibly foolish?" Anne asked the moment Elizabeth entered the room.

"It is a wonder, Anne, that men who can do so well in so many matters can be so … maladroit at courting a woman. William can infuriate me like no other, but at the same time, he can be so charming and romantic. I think part of it is that men are trained from infancy to solve problems, but what makes a man truly good is his ability to adapt and change when he realises he is wrong. Neither of us is perfect, and we have had our share of disagreements already, but we learn from each other and find ways to agree. We are each individuals, but we are slowly learning to be a couple. You and Richard will have to learn the same lesson and learn to care for each other and put the needs of the other ahead of your own."

"He told me he agreed that we should wed and then informed me he would go to town on Tuesday and see to the settlement. Then, I was further informed we would marry in April and that he would handle all the arrangements. Would it have been too much to hope for an actual proposal from him? I realise I started the whole thing, but well …" Anne trailed off, uncertain how to continue.

"You wanted a bit of romance from the man who would promise to love you for the rest of your life?" Elizabeth finished for her.

"Well … yes!" Anne exclaimed.

Elizabeth chuckled slightly. "I have hopes that my husband will explain that to him. How did you reply?"

Letting loose an enormous sigh, Anne sat down heavily. "I called him an overbearing fool and entirely too much like my mother."

Unable to restrain herself any further, Elizabeth released peals of laughter at hearing this. "I cannot imagine he appreciated that at all."

"He did not. He asked me why I had suggested a marriage between us when I had no intention of following through with it and then accused me of attempting to manipulate him for my own pleasure. It only grew worse from there."

Elizabeth grimaced. "You were able to be in the same room with each other this morning, at least. How do you feel about him now?"

"I was angry and said many things I did not mean. I need to apologise, but I am not the only one." When Anne began speaking, she was obviously contrite, but when she said the last, she sounded far more like a petulant child. Her hands, which had been at her sides, were now crossed in front of her, and her cheeks were a brilliant red.

The two women spoke another half an hour before they were interrupted by the younger girls seeking their company. Naturally, the conversation had to shift to other topics, though Anne felt a little better and was determined to seek our Fitzwilliam before too much more time had passed.

Outside, Fitzwilliam had ridden as though the devil himself were chasing him. Darcy remained near, though he did not attempt to keep up with his cousin, waiting for him to calm down enough to speak. That took approximately half an hour.

Fitzwilliam pulled on the reins to slow the horse and allow him to rest. Darcy came alongside, though he remained quiet. Finally, Fitzwilliam spoke. "Do not look so smug, cousin. I recall how difficult a time you had winning Elizabeth's hand."

Darcy barked a laugh. "I did warn you, Richard."

"Damn and blast, Darcy. I thought Anne to be a rather complacent girl. In all the time we have visited Rosings, I have rarely heard her speak above a whisper and certainly never in anger. I assumed she would continue as she always had. Granted, I was surprised when she suggested the two of us wed, but I still thought she was much as she always was. It never occurred to me that she would be so angry at my attempt to make things easier."

"What did you say?"

"I told her I thought we should marry and would go to London to arrange the settlement next week. I thought we could be wed sometime next month."

"Did you ask Anne's opinion on any of this? The settlement is to protect her, and Rosings is hers. I dare say she would like some input into the settlement. Have you discussed what will happen with Rosings when you wed? Who will make the decisions?"

"No, I assumed I would be in charge of that. I would ensure she had plenty of pin money and everything she wanted, but as the man, I would naturally be in charge of the estate."

Darcy did laugh this time and continued to do so for several moments. "Anne has finally escaped from her mother's control and is able to make decisions for herself. I know that you and my uncle spent time with her earlier this year, helping her become accustomed to her duties, and her letters to me have seemed to indicate her pleasure in being able to make the decisions herself. Do you truly think she would want to cede control to you? I do not think she would want to do it all herself, but do you not think you should ask her what she desires?"

Fitzwilliam stared at his cousin for a moment. "I had not given what Anne wanted any thought," he finally admitted.

"Then it is time you do. Go back to the house and speak to her about what she wants from a marriage to you."

Once again, Darcy laughed when Fitzwilliam, always a man of action, immediately spurred his horse and raced toward the house. Darcy followed, though not at the same pace, and hoped that the talk Elizabeth inevitably was having with Anne would soften her enough so the two could agree sooner than later.

He was unsurprised when Elizabeth met him just outside the stables. "Richard returned, raced inside, and asked Anne if the two could have a private conversation. The two of them are walking somewhere, agreeing it would be best to have the conversation outside. I think Anne is far more like me than I realised."

Darcy smiled at his wife and kissed her lightly. "I am not as dirty as Richard, but do you mind walking with me anyway?"

Elizabeth smiled and took his arm, and the two wandered the paths until they found a grove.

"I know this place!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

"What do you mean?"

She did not speak for a moment. "I met you here … in my dream. This is where you gave me the letter," she replied.

He groaned. "While I do not regret that dream, and I am incredibly thankful the events in it did not come to pass, I wish it could be forgotten entirely."

Elizabeth turned to embrace him. "But that dream is what led to my falling in love with you. Had you returned without it, I would not have received you anywhere near as willingly, and I would not have accepted your proposal so readily. That dream showed me your true character and made me realise your love for me. I was wary of you at first, but when we met and spoke the following day … well, let me just say that had my dream not prepared me, you would have gotten far worse than what Richard did from Anne."

Darcy caressed her cheek. "Then I will be grateful for it, though I do cringe at the thought of the words I said to you."

"You are not that man anymore, William," Elizabeth replied.

"I am not," he agreed, kissing her forehead. "I love you, my dearest Elizabeth."

She smiled up at him. "As I love you, my darling William."