Elizabeth took a deep breath and reminded herself to maintain her composure before turning around. It did not help. HE was standing in front of her only a few feet away. His brilliant eyes looking at her intently. She saw curiosity in his gaze. Before the silence that she could not seem to break stretched on too long Georgiana appeared at her side.

"We had no one to perform the office when we encountered one another, but I may do so now," she said with a smile. "William, may I present my friend Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Long . . .' Here Georgiana turned a worried glance at Elizabeth. Her friend's distress helped Elizabeth shake off whatever it was that had immobilized her.

"Longbourn," she whispered to her.

"Yes, of course," Georgiana resumed, her smile returning, "Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn. She is staying at Barlow Hall with her aunt and uncle. Miss Elizabeth, this is my brother, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy."

Dropping into a curtsey Elizabeth responded in her most polite, best grown-up voice, "it is a pleasure to meet you Mr. Darcy. Miss Darcy and I happened upon each other in the woods. She was kind enough to walk with me for a time."

His lips twitched ever so slightly, and Elizabeth lamented the way her heart responded to that and to the twinkle she saw in his eyes.

"To hear her tell it you rescued her." He offered, glancing at Georgiana with a smile. Seeing her friend's blush Elizabeth once again found her tongue.

"I doubt she said any such thing. Miss Darcy was not in need of rescuing." Then uncertain how much Georgiana had relayed in the moments before they approached her, she added, "we both simply needed a different perspective."

"Ah yes," he nodded, then seeming to drop that thread entirely asked, "would you allow me to call a carriage to take you home to Barlow Hall?"

"That is not necessary, sir. I am quite capable of making my own way."

"It is nearly three miles." He told her, haughtiness creeping into his voice. "It is almost dusk. You would not be home before dark. I am afraid I must insist."

Nothing calculated to do so could have more effectively and fully broken the spell Mr. Darcy had seemingly cast over her since she first saw him.

"If you feel you must go ahead and insist, however; I am under no obligation to you. I appreciate your offer and concern, but I will be on my way presently." She dropped another curtsy and then turned to Georgiana, "it was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Darcy, and I hope we will see one another again soon," glancing at the tall man who stood unmoving beside her, "if your brother does not find that objectionable."

"As you have just indicated no concern at all for my will or opinion, I wonder at your qualifying the possibility of pursuing a friendship with my sister based upon my approbation," he said, his tone harsh. Ready to explain how little she did in fact care for his opinions Elizabeth looked up at him once again. His mouth was set in a hard line, but his eyes were telling a different story. They seemed to sparkle with barely suppressed mischief. Elizabeth's heart stuttered. Perhaps the spell was not entirely broken. Thanks to her father Elizabeth was quite used to teasing, she was fairly certain this was teasing, and nothing could have put her more at ease with this gentleman who was clearly much older, much richer and much more worldly. She could not be his equal in most ways, she knew, but this, this was where she already excelled.

"You mistake me, sir," she informed him. "I am concerned for you. It is your well-being I am consulting when I refuse your kind offer," she could not resist emphasizing this not quite accurate word, "it is clear from only a brief observation that you would not be able to keep up with me and I would not want for you to feel badly about that."

The brief chuckle and shake of his head made Mr. Darcy even more handsome and resulted in a wayward curl planting itself on his forehead. Before Elizabeth could get too distracted by this he spoke again, "I must apologize then for so misconstruing your motives. I have done you great wrong. Please allow me to make amends by calling a carriage to take you home."

Georgiana was looking between them, her head going from one to the other as they spoke as if watching a very interesting tennis match where she was not entirely certain who to route for.

"If you really want to make amends you can do so by forgoing the carriage, blessing my friendship with your sister and saying farewell."

"That seems reasonable," he responded, and Elizabeth was almost disappointed their banter would come to such a quick end. But having gotten her way she wasn't too upset. "May I offer an alternative?"

Elizabeth nodded her head, eager to continue the conversation.

"I will do all three of the things you ask, adding only a modification to the location as to where the last one will take place."

She had to think for a moment about what she had said," You are offering a new place to say farewell?"

"I am."

"Where then?"

"At Barlow Hall. I will escort you home," he said and when she made to object, he added, "I will walk with you there."

Georgiana, who had continued to observe the conversation without daring to interject did so now. "Oh yes, Miss Bennet please do allow William to attend you. I would not wish to walk so far alone, so close to nightfall."

"This aversion to long solo walks feels new, Miss Darcy," Elizabeth observed. Georgiana had been ready to walk all the way to her uncle's estate, one county over, just an hour ago.

"That is true," Georgiana admitted. "But you talked me out of it and I am so glad you did. It would have been terrible to walk all that way alone. Please let William walk you."

Elizabeth wanted to think it was her new friend's concern that caused her to accept Mr. Darcy's offer and in truth that was weighed in the balance. However, it was mostly the prospect of nearly an hour, more if she walked slowly, in Mr. Darcy's company that truly decided her.

"Very well, Miss Darcy, to ease your worry I will allow your brother to escort me at least part of the way to Barlow Hall," she said, as if she were a queen bestowing a great favor on a lowly subject.

"Thank you, Miss Bennet," Georgiana exclaimed, smiling brightly. "I hope we will meet again soon."

"Georgiana, go inside directly. We will finish our conversation when I return."

Though his tone sounded overly serious to Elizabeth his sister did not seem bothered. She merely nodded her acquiescence and skipped off toward the house.

"Miss Bennet," Mr. Darcy swept his arm toward the path and Elizabeth stepped forward. A walk with Mr. Darcy . . . the excitement, hope and dread swirled inside her as he fell into step beside her.