Short chapter. But special shout out to DW.618 for the very kind review.

Will the progress ODC has made so far amount to nothing? Some angst ahead (it will get worse before it gets better).

Starts 7 March 2024

After the snowstorm Lizzy had been busy. A Mr. Collins was in Meryton for a short stay. He was Lady Catherine de Bourgh's lawyer. For some hysterical reason he referred to her as 'his esteemed patroness'. He was there to try and convince Elizabeth Bennet to drop a suit she had recently filed against Lady Catherine about a land dispute on her great estate, Rosings. Of course, Lizzy wasn't going to let this Lady get much say, even if she was a member of Parliament. She was an absolutely ludicrous person who despite some of her beliefs that the world still worked the way it did in the late 19th C had been elected to Parliament. Lizzy really hated the type of person who thought that money and titles mattered, especially in this day and age. She wasn't all that different from Mr. Darcy in her opinion.

Will for his part had been focussing on very little except Elizabeth Bennet. He had no idea why she had captured his mind in the way that she had. She had been polite and careful, guarding as she was a big secret. He might have spent a weekend with her in the same house, but he didn't understand her much more than he had before that weekend. He wondered if he was now at the point where he had no choice but to try the most direct route into her confidence and find out more about Georgie's situation.

Georgie had spent most of the week taking care of things around the centre, knowing that Mary would be taking some time off when Olivia came. This was all quite strange to her, she now had full control over the centre and the lives of people around her. She liked making her own choices and leaving room for others to make theirs. She wasn't even sure how the time had passed till she saw Lizzy in the middle of the week realizing that though she had thrown herself into her work she had missed her friend. She ran through the room and jumped into Lizzy's open arms both of them laughing.

Lizzy smiled, "well dear, next time you miss me why don't you give me a call?"

"I was busy, you were busy," said G.

"None of that now. I'm here, let's taaaalk!"

Talk they did. Georgie filled her in on her week and Lizzy then hesitantly started. "The snowstorm last weekend when you had a headache and decided not to come to Jane's... That was the right call. Your brother and Caroline showed up unannounced."

G was nervous, she knew Wills could be dogged when he wanted to be. She also knew Lizzy would protect her. "What did you tell him?"

Lizzy was still astonished about this and didn't hide it. "He didn't ask about you at all. He just silently watched. He did urge me to tell you about something though."

She looked at Lizzy inquisitively.

Instead of saying anything Lizzy went to her car and pulled out her violin from somewhere and started playing, hoping that G would actually recognize the Beethoven she played.

"You play so well. We should play together! You're my best friend and you never told me."

Lizzy laughed, "I'm glad I'm your best friend. Though, I think of you more like a sister."

That brought the seriousness back into the conversation, she knew that Wills was persistent. And that he wouldn't just leave things alone. In fact, she was surprised that he had so far. "You'll need to tell him something. What'll you say?"

Lizzy put the question back to her, "what do you want me to say?"

G shrugged, trying not to let her anxiety betray her, "I'm not sure. That I'm safe. That I'm not ready to be contacted yet. That seems sufficient for now."

Lizzy had to talk about something else too, "ok, I can do that. I also need to talk to you about the divorce stuff. I found out today that Wickham is no longer in Blackpool. And inquiries haven't yielded any results. We need an address to file. Let me see what I can do about that, though? There might be a creative way to sort it. But you might have to wait a bit, is that alright?"

G replied, weary, "yes, I can wait a little while. As long as I have you all."

"You never need ask that, G," said Lizzy fondly. A text notification chimed on her phone. "Oh, my. Look at that. I was right, Maria is in labour. We should get to the hospital now."

Georgie smiled and clapped, showing her innocence. It was always nice for Lizzy to see her like that.

Lizzy responded, "come on, I'll drive."

And so, they all waited in the hospital waiting room. Marking out the minutes till they would be able to see Olivia and hold her. Lizzy looked around the room, noticing the motley crew assembled here, her family. Her parents weren't here, and truth be told though she loved them they had little part to play in her family. Jane, Charles, Kit, Char, and Georgie and the two who'd gone into the hospital room they were waiting to hear from. Only one person was missing. She tried not to think about that, else she would become rather morose. This was it. Her family. And she would protect them as long as she possibly could. She knew too that Mr. Darcy would soon make an attempt to seek her out. How could he not.

6 hours later they met her. Olivia was a perfect child. When Lizzy held her, her first niece something changed in her. She wondered about her resolve to not have children and while she was still sure she didn't want to. There was a moment where she could admit that maybe her declarations at 16 should be re-examined knowing what she knew about the world today. At that moment she heard her phone chime an email notification. Handing Livy to G, she exited the room to not disturb anyone.

Ms. Bennet,

I hope you are well.

Please forgive this abrupt email but I hope we can further our discussion from earlier this month when we met at my office. We can talk over the phone or meet at your office. Let me know what you prefer, I am available during the week.

Sincerely,

Will Darcy

A terse email from a terse man of course. She knew she should reply, and she was normally good at that. But today, on her niece's birth-day she couldn't think of what to say. The next few days were taken up by her family. Though there was work, and there was always work, having her own chambers meant that she was her own master. She worked on a brief for the Kent case, but either cancelled her meetings or simply spoke to clients on the phone. It was a few days before she could get back to the email and respond to it. She wasn't really procrastinating but she also didn't want to have this meeting. She might have spent time with him and learnt that perhaps he wasn't the world's most infuriating man. But more than that she wasn't willing to yield. He was still abominably proud and frustrating. She wondered if this meeting too would devolve into a shouting match or if it would be a battle of wits or something else entirely.

...

Why wasn't she replying, Will wondered. He wasn't used to being ignored. Was this another tactic to keep him away? He'd begun to tear his hair out, he'd have to wait a few more days to talk about the one thing he wanted more than anything right now.

Mr. Darcy,

Thank you for your email. I am currently out of office and won't be taking any new meetings until next week. Would Monday morning at 7am be amenable?

Sincerely,

E. Bennet

Short and to the point he thought. Within a few minutes got a response that he would be there. It was already 3 weeks into his 6 week time period to figure out more about Georgie. He knew that she was ok. But that was all. He needed to get to her before Wickham did and that was one of his worries. What if he found her? Would Elizabeth be able to do anything if Wickham became violent? She knew self defense, but to what extent? Why was he even thinking about this, he wondered.

…

When he entered her office 15 minutes early, he looked around. It was not a polished office one would expect from a big law firm. Rather it was eclectic and homey. It reminded him of Longbourn and its style. There was a miniature sculpture of Medusa holding Perseus' head rather than the other way around.

Elizabeth walked out into the reception area watching Darcy look at one of her favourite pieces. She'd met Luciano by chance at a small café in Italy years ago. He'd seen her Medusa tattoo and struck up a conversation with her telling her about his sculpture. She'd fallen in love with it immediately. They stayed in touch over the years, and he'd sent her the miniature and a note when she opened her own chambers.

Will stared at the note not realizing that he was being watched. A few sentences stuck out at him, something rising in his stomach. "If I had known you when I created this piece I would've dedicated it to you and your work," … "I have rarely seen your passion in this passionless world,"… "I've told you before that I didn't know why I was creating this statue. Perhaps it was some form of foresight that I was always doing so for you." That he spoke of her with such affection wasn't surprising. But that he spoke to her in such familiar terms with endearments was strange, it made his feel angry almost, jealous maybe. No that couldn't be it.

Lizzy called out his name and he followed the sound of her voice making his way over to her and sat down in a chair near her. She stayed silent, an open invitation for him to talk.

He wasn't sure where to begin. He got up and sat down again, unsure what to do with the nervous energy about him. "Ms. Bennet, you must know why I'm here."

"I can guess," she smirked.

"Let me be perfectly clear then. I need to know where Georgie is."

She said nothing. Waiting for him to elaborate. Once again, she played the waiting game to her advantage and it was Will Darcy who spoke, "I don't ask this lightly. She is my sister, is she alright? Where is she?"

She used all her training to remain calm, "Mr. Darcy, let me begin by answering your questions directly. She is certainly alright. She is learning to live her own life and for now that is what she wants. She has requested I not tell you about where she is for the moment."

His face paled. She didn't want to see him. He took a few moments and looked at her, "what are you doing to protect her from Wickham?"

She closed her eyes for a second, "exactly what she has asked me to do. I'm certain you understand lawyer-client confidentiality."

"This is the only response I'm to get then?" asked Will, his ire rising at this conversation. "She is my sister. I have a right to know."

"She is an adult and can do as she chooses," this was what she wanted for G, after all.

"Chooses? She's an immature child. She ran away with him and that's what put her in this situation in the first place," he said somewhat derisively.

She balled her fists but otherwise remained steadfast. "I've seen no evidence that she's either immature or a child. Yes, she made mistakes. But who doesn't? Who can live life without making a single mistake? She is learning from those mistakes and doing it on her own terms. As an older brother isn't that what you would want?" How could he be so obtuse? This aggravating man. She just couldn't understand how the man thought so much of himself when he'd been so obviously wrong about everything. He couldn't even see that she was a fantastic lawyer despite what he knew about her. He really was a fool. But she took a deep breath, reminding herself that she was brilliant, that she would not be bullied by this man in front of her and that her courage rises at every attempt to intimidate her.

"Mistakes? Is that what you call it? A mere mistake? No, a mistake is a calculation error or forgetting to buy milk. Eloping with a man I told her she shouldn't isn't a mistake. It's a level of idiocy that she partook in knowingly," his voice was rising without meaning for it to.

"Answer this question for me, Mr. Darcy, and maybe you'll understand. When she made this mistake, as I will call it what it is. Did you once talk to her, really talk to her and tell her your concerns about Wickham?" Her voice never rose, there was a forthrightness to it, but she knew how to play this game.

He thought about her question and said nothing for a few minutes.

It was Elizabeth who replied, "no, you didn't. You treated her in a patronizing manner just as you are doing now. You didn't talk to her. You didn't ask her about why she wanted to marry him. You ordered her not to. What 18 year old will respond well to such a patronizing attitude? It's no wonder she isn't ready to meet you."

He was aghast that this woman was telling him how to care for his own. "You think you know everything. You think you understand, but you don't. The Darcy name is an old one. We can't just do what we please. Duty and honour bind us in ways someone like you could never understand."

She almost started giggling at this backwards attitude. "You say duty and honour binds you. Do you even know what those words mean? They're not some lofty ideals to be aspired to and never reached. Living by those ideals means doing the best with what we have and making sure to treat everyone with dignity and allow them to make choices. That is the duty of each individual, and of course as a human rights lawyer that is what I espouse to. That we learn from our mistakes, course correct decisions when required. Duty and honour to a name and ghosts of the past is the last thing any sensible person should be working towards."

"I'm sure your youngest sister is very happy with her life having run away with her drug dealer." As soon as he said it, he knew he shouldn't have. That was a low blow. But his calm façade had been obliterated during this conversation. This woman somehow pressed his buttons in a way that he'd never known before.

She spoke through gritted teeth, "you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. I'd thank you to never use Lydia as an excuse for your behaviour. But I will say this. All of us in this family have learnt from our past mistakes. Can you say the same? You come in here all high and mighty as if you have the monopoly on righteousness. But your attitude hasn't changed one iota from what it was four years ago. From the first time I heard about you having your sister followed by a PI and every subsequent meeting, your manners and behaviour demonstrated arrogance, conceit, and a selfish disdain towards everyone and everything else. You think poorly of everyone who isn't you and make no room for the possibility that people are different. Just because you care about money, wealth, and social standing doesn't mean that everyone does. Let me be 100% clear. Until I see that you can change your behaviour, allow G to make her choices and learn from your mistakes, I'll be advising her not to meet with you." she took a breath, "do show yourself out. I've got another meeting now."

…

After waiting a few weeks for his damned wife to show up, Wickham had slowly travelled to London, taking almost a month making sure that neither his creditors or Darcy's minions were following him. He hoped one of his old contacts would help him. he couldn't really call them friends, luckily he had very few debts in London. He wouldn't be truly harmed, just snubbed. Unfortunately, it took him a week to even find a person who might be willing to help him. Surprisingly, it was the woman who had helped him in the first place. She of course still had a vested interest, if he could get his wife back then he could finally hope to ensure that this time her trust fund would be dispersed, even if he had to wait a few more years. Maybe he could figure out a way to do that without this.

Did you notice some of the paraphrasing from the Hunsford proposal, since Collins made an appearance it just felt right to use those words?

Will the regret from this conversation be enough to change Will? Or will Will need a more direct push?