All of you who are reviewing this are amazing. I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this new chapter. Thankyou Sydneyer, 3 guests, CaReader60, lizzyt7, and reisova! I wish I could reply to your comments individually, but I don't seem to be able to. So this will have to do . The longer review by one of the guests was very interesting! A few short responses (** small spoilers ahead**) The meeting between the siblings will take sometime because G is taking her time to heal, as she needs. Wickham definitely has things coming to him. As guardians, I completely agree!

Fallout from first meetings. What will Lizzy do? Do you think G will forgive her? And how will Darcy react.

Bit of a longer chapter, starting on 15 February 2024.

While writing this story, I'm coming to realize that at its core it is a story about G, Lizzy, and Darcy. While the other characters are important, ultimately it is the story of the changing perspectives of these 3 more than anything else. Please do drop a line and let me know what you think about the relationships among these 3.

Lizzy felt stupid, nervous, and off centre. How could she have bee so wrong? How had she forgotten everything she'd been taught and practiced? She'd crossed a line here. G could've contacted her brother anytime but had chosen not to. She barely ever mentioned anything about her life before being married. G was Georgiana Wickham, she'd known that much from the contract she'd signed, but her maiden name had never come up. How was she to know of any possible connection to Will Darcy? While it was an excuse of sorts, it didn't change the facts. She would have to tell G what had happened and the longer she held it off the worse it would be. Lizzy drove over to the centre immediately, deciding to take the morning off from work and settle things with G, more like grovel. The whole way there she considered what she'd done and subject herself to the direst form of self recrimination. She was supposed to be good at her job, was Mr. Darcy right, was she a two-bit lawyer who thought of herself as extremely capable? She tried to laugh it off, no she knew herself. But wasn't that her own pride? The drive to the centre normally 50 minutes at this time took her over 2.5 hours. She found no resolution, no clarity. She had some answers but not enough to give G about why she acted the way she did apart from the idea that she was obviously acting on her own prejudices about the man. But she knew that she needed to get this over with sooner rather than later.

Though she was never unwelcome, Mary was surprised to see her during her normal work hours. Mary asked what had happened, she hadn't seen Lizzy look so nervous before. "Mary, I screwed up. I need to talk to G before I tell you anything."

Mary was curious at the response from her older sister but knew better than to interfere with her work.

Lizzy began abruptly, "G, darling – good morning. How are you today?"

G had started opening up to Lizzy, but this kind of an overly effusive question and conversation were still not her forte. So, in reply she mumbled back, "hi."

Lizzy was still unsure how to approach this. Normally she would trust her intuition and let it play out. She'd not taken a moment to think her actions through and it had all gone quite wrong. So, she was at a loss. She'd hoped the words would come to her as they usually did. But now when she needed them they failed her. She looked a bit stricken.

G noticed this and tried to make her comfortable as Lizzy had done for her so many times in the past. "Lizzy, you look troubled. Is there something I can help you with? A cup of tea perhaps?"

Taking that as a cue, Lizzy got up and started pouring water into the kettle.

This action confused G even more. She had no idea what to do, so she waited. After a few minutes the kettle whistled and water was poured letting the tea steep. Lizzy had run out of things to do and knew there was nothing but to say it. "G, I think you're going to be rather upset with me and I'm not sure where to start. I promise I would never have gone down this path had I known any of it. I don't think I've made a bigger blunder in a long time. So, I apologize in advance for what I'm going to say. It wasn't my intention to take away a single choice from you, I thought I was helping."

G was surprised and hurriedly tried to reassure her friend saying, "no, never, I know you wouldn't do something to purposely hurt me."

Lizzy gave her a small smile, "you have no idea what I did. You can't mean that yet. But I hope you don't think of me as too interfering. It's just that I reacted the way I would if you were one of my sisters. You'll like Jane, she returns tomorrow finally!"

G was trying to follow the tangents of the conversation. She smiled but said nothing, happy that she was being treated like a sister, waiting for Lizzy to continue.

Lizzy sighed deeply and mumbled something that sounded like, nothing doing… "G my dear, do you remember when you told me that you thought someone was following you?"

G nodded.

"Well, you were right. It was a PI, he'd been hired by someone to find out information about your current whereabouts."

G sharply took in a breath, not sure what this would lead to. Lizzy waited. G finally softly asked, "was it, was it Wickham? But he'd have no money to do that."

"No, it wasn't Wickham. Though you know that I'll deal with him if you ask me to. I helped Maria with her unfortunate problem, Wickham will be dealt with as soon as you give the word." She took a few deep breaths and continued, "I knew the man following you. He works for a family friend, Lee."

G was taken aback but waited.

"I made sure to get all the information that he had collected about you. He was paid buckets of money by a Will Darcy."

G 's eyes became huge like saucers and she wasn't sure what to say. Lizzy waited and gently asked, "do you know why a person like that would ask to find your whereabouts?"

She quickly realized that Lizzy must've done something more because so far her actions hadn't been problematic. She looked at the normally sure Lizzy looking somewhat nervous and asked the first question that came to her mind, "what did you do?"

Lizzy sighed, "I'm sorry G, this is the bad part. I know you gave me permission to act as a lawyer, but I might have overstepped. Will's lawyer is a Mr. Edward Gardiner, do you know him?"

She nodded.

"He helped me set up a meeting with Mr. Darcy and I wanted to get to the bottom of why the CEO of such a big corporation was having you followed. Please know that I only did all of this to try and protect you."

G was stunned, "yy-you met him?"

It was Lizzy's turn to nod now, "I did. And I wasn't very nice. I yelled at him for trying to invade your privacy and said that you were under my protection." She felt sheepish describing her actions in this way but she had to be honest with G.

G nodded but said nothing just trying to process her own thoughts. She loved her brother and despite the bitterness of her parting with him, he was still her brother. She would always love him, even if she didn't know how to face him. She didn't know exactly what had occurred between Wickham and him and she'd thought that there was no way Wills could be anything but disappointed about the way they left things. She had been so sure of her decision, but the way it had all worked out meant that all she was left with was regret. She didn't know if he would want to see her again. But hiring a PI put a different spin on things, maybe he did want to contact her, maybe he did want a relationship with her.

Lizzy was bad at sitting silently. Unlike Jane or Mary, it wasn't something she'd ever learnt to do. Her own mind was always on, always churning. It was this reason that to everyone but herself she always seemed busy. Now, she wasn't sure what was going on in G's mind. But she wondered if G would ever forgive this betrayal. She'd done the one thing she had sworn to herself she'd never do – she'd taken a choice away from someone. She wanted to tell her the rest of it, but also didn't want to interrupt G's thoughts.

The steam wafting up from the cup in front of her brought G back to the present and the silence in the room was deafening. She looked at Lizzy. Not sure what to say so she decided to have some of the tea. It was nice, the warmth of the tea, the way they made her feel better even in the tumult of her own mind, like a magical elixir. On one hand, Lizzy had no right to do that. On the other hand, that Lizzy was treating her as she would her sisters was heartwarming to say the least. She decided to hear out Lizzy and see what she thought after. So, in a soft voice she started, "will you tell me the rest of what happened with Wills please?"

Lizzy nodded eagerly, "of course. Let me start at the beginning ..." With that Lizzy narrated the meeting at Pemberley, hoping that G would forgive her. She reiterated that she only wanted to protect her and that by the end of the meeting it was clear that he hired a PI because he wanted to find out more about G without intruding on her life. Like G he too was unsure about whether she'd want to meet him after everything that happened 4 years ago.

It was clear to G that Lizzy didn't do any of this out of malice, quite the opposite, it was out of protectiveness. G had rarely ever felt that kind of love and had already forgiven Lizzy by the time she ended narrating the incident. She didn't feel betrayed, but she did need to take a few days and think about all the information that Lizzy had given her. So, parting ways for the evening, G said to her, "I know you did what you did out of love and affection. And I understand that, but I need to think about how to handle this from here."

"My dear G, of course you do. Just know that I'm here in whatever capacity you need me to be. A sounding board, a confidant, a lawyer, or any other. Just ask me."

G smiled, standing up. Lizzy stood up too, kissed her on the forehead and left G to her own thoughts. When Lizzy saw her going, it dawned on her that maybe in a roundabout manner she'd actually helped preserve G's choice. If she hadn't gotten involved, Lee would've shared the information he had about G with Mr. Darcy and would likely have given him more information than she had, including where to find her. By going to Mr. Darcy herself, she was able to keep her location away from him.

G was touched by Lizzy's actions and the same roundabout thought was in her own mind too.

15 January 2024

I understand that Lizzy did everything out of love. But Wills would say the same thing about how he behaved 4 years ago. Lizzy's mistake wasn't terrible. I think she might've even bought me some time in the way she presented herself as my lawyer bound by confidentiality as she is. I love her, all the Bennets. I'm still so scared that he will find me. When Lizzy said that the man was a PI it felt like my heart fell through my chest. At least 'he' hasn't been able to find me. Despite therapy I still find it so difficult to be certain of any decision. I see the life Lizzy is leading and find myself envious. She went through something similar too and she's found the courage within herself to create a life that she can be proud of. I think I'd like to start slowly doing the same. Imagining what my life could be like and taking steps to create it. It's what I'm working through in therapy too. I no longer want to be Mrs. Wickham. Let that be my first step.

…

Will was quite unsure how to approach any of this. It was clear that Elizabeth Bennet was a formidable and fiery woman with a lot to say. It was also clear that she had taken Georgiana under her protection and for that he was grateful, but it also meant that she had access to Georgiana while he didn't. Did Georgiana even want to meet him? Had she forgiven him and what was he to do about Elizabeth? He hated being unsure of himself and at work he rarely was. Most unlike himself, he was browsing the internet rather randomly and found himself searching for her. Hearing about her from Gardiner and what had been hinted at by Caroline made him curious. She'd graduated top of her class and gone into a big law firm for her articles. She had then suddenly quit the corporate world after only 3 years and set up her own practice a few months later. He couldn't help but be impressed at some of the news articles about her. She seemed to be very good at keeping the Hertfordshire government accountable, she worked on an eclectic range of issues from discrimination related cases (on gender, sexual orientation, and differently abled) to labour disputes cases having recently won a huge lawsuit for workers compensation against North Shore Corp, settling the case out of court for a sealed amount. He knew from experience that corporations wanted to keep the amount sealed, especially if it was high. It was some audacious and truly phenomenal work. He watched a video of her talking to the press after the case and was surprised at the poised and graceful way she spoke, and the authority she carried. So, he was wrong. Not a two-bit lawyer after all. And rather tempting, the thought came from nowhere.

He picked up the phone and dialed, "Gardiner, you know Ms. Bennet, is it by reputation?"

The abruptness of the speaker might've disarmed him, but Gardiner knew Will well. "Hullo, Will. No, she was my protégé and interned with me while in law school. I wanted to do more, but she wouldn't let me. She refuses any help from anyone and will do whatever she can to stand on her own two feet. I'm sure you've looked her up by now, she's one of the most talented young lawyers in the country. And probably going to be changing the face of human rights law in England despite no longer having to adhere to European Court standards."

He needed to know more. "She said that Georgiana is under her protection. You know a bit about Wickham, can she be trusted?"

Gardiner replied thoughtfully, "there's more you need to understand, Will. I may have five nieces, but she is my favourite."

Will was surprised by the revelation that they were related but pressed on. "I hear you. But can she be trusted?"

"She will protect Georgiana like her own sister. Trust me if you don't trust her."

Will was perplexed, "how can I trust her? I only just met her."

"I understand, son. I don't know if you want my advice. But I would ask you to talk to Lizzy and don't do anything rash. It's been a trying day for you. Sleep on it and see how you feel tomorrow."

Will decided that he would wait till tomorrow. He'd waited this long, after all. And now he knew that Georgiana was safe. He looked at his calendar and remembered that Bingley might be a good source of information since Caroline had mentioned the relation. He called Bingley the next day.

"Hello old man," was all Bingley could say hoarsely.

Darcy smiled at the nickname he'd been given in his Cambridge days because of his dour personality, "Bingley, why do you sound like that?"

"I just woke up."

"It's 10 am, I know you're a late sleeper, but isn't that a bit much?"

"I just got back from my honeymoon. We had to delay because I caught the flu."

"Oh, better now, I presume?"

Charles smiled, "yes, much. As much as I liked being away, it's good to be back."

Will tried to make a joke, but it landed poorly, "what, already bored of married life?"

"No, you couldn't be further from the truth. Honestly, Jane missed her sisters…"

"Don't say you missed yours," interrupted Darcy.

Bingley bellowed out a laugh, "not exactly, I just missed being in Meryton. How's Caroline?"

"Same old, same old. But more frustrating that she has power now and I have no choice but to meet with her. I need to hire someone more permanent and adept soon."

"She won't like being demoted after getting a taste of power."

"That's not really my problem. Anyway, your sister isn't why I called."

"Well?"

"What do you know about your Jane's sisters?"

Bingley guessed that maybe he just wanted to know more about his friend's family and thought nothing more of it since Darcy had never really shown much interest in women apart from the flings he'd try to keep private but would wind up online anyway. "They're lovely. All of them. I never got to meet the youngest before she left home, but the other three are phenomenal. Lizzy is the second eldest, she's very pretty and extremely focussed. She was a year behind Caroline in law school. I believe she graduated top of her class. She's perhaps the most passionate person I've ever met and extremely driven. You're possibly the only person I know similarly driven though your pursuits are wholly different. Mary is quiet and a bit dour and she and her partner Maria have a baby girl on the way. Kit is a wonderful young woman, she's just out of university. She's smart and has taken to managing the Café like a fish to water and made it even more successful." As an afterthought he added, "why do you ask?"

"Well, I know nothing about the family you've married into. I had a visit from Elizabeth Bennet yesterday."

"Oh, is she suing you for something?" Bingley jested, never knowing what Lizzy got herself into.

"Not exactly. I can't really go into the details." Darcy sighed.

"Ok, fine. I believe you. But listen, if you want to know more you should come down to Netherfield tonight. We're throwing a coming home party as a sort of end to our honeymoon. It's nothing big and mostly just a few friends and neighbours. You can meet the sisters and see what you think for yourself."

"Bingley, you know I don't do that sort of thing."

"The door is open and the choice is yours." Bingley laughed.

"I'll think about it, but that's all I can promise."

Bingley had a feeling he would see Darcy tonight.

…

That morning, Jane surprised Kit at Longbourn café. As soon as she entered the door Jane heard a loud squeal and found herself enveloped in a hug from Kitty and bombarded with 20 questions. "Breathe Kitty, I promise I will tell you everything. But first text Lizzy and tell her to meet us at the centre."

Kitty nodded and shirked off her apron.

L, come to the centre.

Half way there, Kit.

"Lizzy was already on her way. I bet it has something to do with G. Mary said she was very quiet and removed yesterday."

"Oh, is everything ok?"

Kitty shrugged, unsure what was going on. Just relaying information from Mary. "Well, you can see for yourself," she said with a flourish opening the door to the centre without knocking.

They found Mary in her office, when she looked up and saw Jane she gave a rare Mary smile. "Kit, can you make us some tea? We'll be there in a minute. If Lizzy comes don't tell her, I'm back!"

"This'll be fun!" Kitty smiled sweetly. It was at times like this that she most missed Lyddie. Losing Lydia had been hard for her. With Kitty two years older and away at uni she hadn't been able to keep in touch with Lydia as much as she hoped to be able to. And she felt guilty, maybe if she'd been there none of this would've happened. But losing her had made the other 4 sisters closer and she knew that if anything happened, she could always trust her sisters.

Jane smiled and looked at Mary, now standing next to her. She gave her a long kiss on her forehead. "I'm so glad to see you, dearest."

"As am I. Lizzy and Kitty can be too much to handle without you."

When they entered the kitchen Lizzy was talking to Kitty, "I don't know, Kit. I think I messed up. I'm not sure how to fix this with G. I say she's like my own sister, but I don't know her as well as I know you, and don't know what she will respond to."

Jane was alarmed at what she heard, and forgot about her surprise, "what's this, Lizzy?"

Lizzy turned around so fast that it was surprising her head was still attached to her neck. "JANIEEEE!" Lizzy ran and tackled her in a bear hug.

"OOOOF, my darling. Yes, yes, I'm here. Now spill."

Before she did Kitty yelled out, "group hug!"

Even Mary joined and they stood there in the middle of the kitchen in their own embrace, foreheads touching, arms all tangled in each other.

G heard the commotion downstairs unsure what was happening and raced down to the kitchen. That's how she found them. Kitty opened her eyes, "join us, G?"

G smiled and blushed but mumbled that she was sorry to intrude.

Jane was the one who stepped out of the embrace and walked over to her, "hi G. It's so good to meet you in person. I hear in the short time I've been away you've got a tight rein on these monkeys? Could I give you a hug?"

G nodded.

The morning turned into one of celebration. Past problems forgotten. The tea turned cold while the 5 of them chatted, Lizzy was happy to see that G wasn't being as withdrawn as she was yesterday and knew it to be a good sign. Though perhaps it was only Jane's presence that brought it out. Jane brings out the best in everyone because that's all she sees thought Lizzy ever in awe of her sister's ability to do so.

As the morning drew to a close, G turned to Lizzy and took her hand squeezing it gently, "can we talk?"

"Of course."

"Lizzy, I want you to know, I wasn't upset by what you did. I was honoured to hear the lengths you would go to protect me. I don't blame you. If you'd left it the PI would probably have told Wills more than I was ready to tell him. So, I really appreciate it. I can't express how much. But things with my brother... I'm not ready for that yet. I just need to take things at my own pace. I'm still considering taking you up on doing something about Wickham. I just don't know what. I don't think I want to be Mrs. Wickham anymore."

Lizzy smiled, glad that G had forgiven her misstep even if she still blamed herself. She was also heartened to see G thinking about how she wanted to take control of her own life. "Darling, you don't have to decide today. But would it help if we went through the different options together?"

G smiled relieved, "yes."

"Ok great, we can do that tomorrow. But tonight, Jane and Bingley are throwing a party for coming home, would you come?"

"B-bb-ingley?"

Suddenly concerned by her hesitation, "Charles Bingley, he's Jane's husband."

"Oh! I had no idea. I, no. I can't see him. I can't." Her eyes were shining as tears started leaking out.

Lizzy was growing increasingly alarmed at this reaction. "G, what's the matter?"

"He's, he's Wills' best friend. I can't see him. He'll tell Wills. Please. Don't say anything to him. Just leave it be, please Lizzy."

Lizzy nodded, hugging G softly to calm her down, "of course, I will. I'll talk to Jane and the others and make sure no one says a thing if that's what you want."

"Thank you, Lizzy. Thank you."

Lizzy was surprised at the information she had learned. And since she had decided to take the whole weekend off the moment that she saw Jane, she decided to enjoy herself. Once G left it was only her and Jane left in the room. Jane had been watching this interaction closely but said nothing until then.

"Come Lizzy, let's go for a walk. I feel like there's tons I've missed since I've been away."

They left the centre and moved onto the Meryton street to walk over to their favourite part of the city. The banks of the river Lea that eventually joined the Thames. The wilderness just a few minutes from where they lived had always been a refuge for the 4 Bennets. They would often walk these trails both together and alone. Lizzy, the most dramatic would always think of Childe Harold, "there is a pleasure in the lonely woods," after all.

After the quiet of the trail washed over them, Lizzy launched into her tale of what had happened in the past month since G had come into their lives. She told Jane most of it while still keeping G's confidences, "Jane, if we had the chance to save Lydia, our sister would we have not done anything we could? We'd have given anything to find her and give her the choice to come back to us, would we not be her greatest champions in her second chance? What does the sign outside the centre say? Mr. Darcy didn't check up on her for 3 and a half years while she was so mistreated. You didn't see her when we met her. It's as if he thinks he's better than everyone else and reacts that way, even to his loved ones. What does that say about him? That girl is precious and her brother threw all that away, gave up his sister because she dared to defy him. That is a kind of conceited pride, a paternalistic attitude, that I can't abide by."

"Lizzy, don't be so harsh. You only know one side about what happened back then."

She ignored Jane. She might've only heard one side of the story but she knew in her bones what had happened. She'd hated the man before she even met him and then that meeting had proven what she'd already known. She prided herself in her good judgment of character. It was a finely honed skill that she had cultivated because of her work and so she was certain that she was right. To further prove how right she was she told Jane about meeting him. "Can you believe that he said, 'you cannot tempt me into giving you a pence,' who talks like that in 2023?"

Jane said laughing, "that sounds just like him. I've only met him once."

"Why wasn't he at your wedding?"

Jane shrugged, "some business trip I assume."

"This would've been easier if I knew more about G, or if I didn't stick my nose in where it didn't belong. But my actions put G in an awkward position because she's not ready to talk to her brother yet. She says she forgives me, and that what I did was out of protectiveness. She recognized that Lee would've given him more information and by not saying much to him I actually helped buy her more time."

Jane reminded here, "Lizzy, as always, you did what you thought was correct. And G is right, forgive yourself. You can't be perfect."

Lizzy shook her head. While she knew that she didn't have to be perfect. It was part of her job to think actions through. "I was wrong, Jane. Even if it worked out in this case, I shouldn't have let my prejudice against the man play out that way, even if I'm completely right about him. I'm stubborn, not an idiot. The road to hell is paved with good intentions as they say."

"My dearest, you need to forgive yourself. You can't always be right."

Lizzy mumbled, "my job depends on discerning the character of a person in front of me quickly. And while I know I was right about Mr. Darcy, I wasn't right in how I handled the situation. I overlooked G's needs to get to the bottom of a mystery."

"Oh, love. Your business card says something, doesn't it? Your motto, what is it, Lizzy?"

Lizzy sullenly responded, "we're here to do good things."

"Remember that simple mission statement. You may have overstepped a bit, but you are doing just that. Especially for the people you love."

"But Jane, that man. He got under my skin in a way that hasn't happened in a long time. To abandon his 18 year old sister to a monster, who could do that? What an idiot."

"Lizzy, don't. You're upset that he criticized your skills as a lawyer. And it's ok to be upset at that but don't let that cloud your judgement about him. From everything Charlie's told me, Will is a good person if a bit reserved and prickly on the outside."

"You're too good, Jane. No wonder you always try and see the good in people too. I don't know how you do it."

Jane just smiled and said nothing as they enjoyed the rest of their walk.

So, what did you think, lovelies? Reviews much appreciated.

How do you think Darcy will behave - will he go to the party? Will he talk to Lizzy?