Prologue

The Darcys and the Johnsons had just finished eating dinner at Pemberley and had returned to the family room with the idea of watching a movie together. They were nominally celebrating the tenth anniversary of Will and Elizabeth Darcy and the first anniversary of Milton and Giana Johnson. The two couples' wedding anniversary dates were only ten days apart: July 11th and July 21st.

Will had trouble believing that he'd been married to his beloved a decade ago as the time of being happy felt so much quicker than the long lonely months when he thought he'd blown things for good (although their five-year-old daughter Lizzy-Beth, who was absent as she had a weekend playdate with the Bingley twins, was a reality check on the elapsed time). And wasn't it just the other day that he'd been walking his sister Giana down the aisle? And wasn't it just a few weeks before that when she was a moody teenager who perpetually hid herself behind earbuds, scraggly black dyed hair, and answered any question with a shrug, a snort, or silence, only truly expresding herself through the written word.

Giana retrived her large handbag, pulled a flat package out of it and slipped it into Will's hands before scurrying back to sit with her husband Milton (a tall skinny guy with dark green framed glasses, gray eyes and floppy, wavy dishwater blond hair).

"What's this?" Will asked, his eyes crinkling up with his smile as he gazed at his sister.

"Oh, nothing much."

Giana ducked her head shyly and tilted it to one side, half hiding her eyes with her long blonde hair, before leaning into Milton's side. He gave her a quick squeeze and said, "They'll love it." With a gentle hand, he stroked her hair back and kissed her cheek. After these gesture of reassurance, Giana looked up, less embarrassed and less shy.

Will and Elizabeth, in observing all that, shared one unspoken thought, He really is good for her.

Will handed the present to Elizabeth for her to open it for the two of them.

"You didn't have to get us anything!" Elizabeth exclaimed from her seat next to Will, while her fingers teased a taped seam open from the striped paper. "Not that we don't appreciate it," Elizabeth was quick to add, pausing in her unwrapping, all too aware of how any little thing that sounded the least bit like criticism could make Giana wilt, or even become a watering pot. Elizabeth explained, "As we've never done this before," she gestured back and forth between them, "we didn't get you a present."

"It's nothing much," Giana whispered, embarrassed.

"I'm so curious, but in the best way!" Will enthused. He turned to his wife, reaching out his hands. "Come on Lizzy, open it up already or I'm taking it back."

Lizzy twisted her lips, amused, and promptly ripped the paper in two to reveal . . . a slim custom hardcover book. The front was titled "Will and Elizabeth: A Love Story." It had a digitally printed charming sketch of a couple framed by a heart, with the tiniest "G.J." in the corner.

Will leaned in and pointed, "It's us!" He traced a finger along the edge of the heart, grinning at the adoring look on sketched Will's face as he brought sketched Elizabeth's hand up, just on the verge of kissing it, her expression one of pleased surprise.

Will pivoted toward his sister. "Wow, Giana, you never let us look at any of our drawings! Are there more?"

Giana shook her head, "Not really, the inside, well its-"

"Emails!" Elizabeth exclaimed, having flipped over the cover.

"Yes, emails," Giana confirmed. "You see, I saved all your emails to me, Will, and . . . well, in those early days you wrote about Lizzy a lot."

Apparently embarrassed about talking so much, she half hid herself against Milton, who stroked her head, took up her hand, and took over the explanation. "Giana told me about them and showed me some. The emails provided a whole history of your relationship . . ." he quirked his lips, "even when most of it was just in Will's head. It was really something special in them all. I helped her to excerpt them, and arrange them."

"Oh Will, that long? September 29, 2012?" Elizabeth exclaimed, her eyes fixed on the first email, oblivious to anything else.

Will leaned over Elizabeth's lap and pinked a little bit as his eyes caught his past words, words he had edited several times before sending them to his sister, really his only confidante back then as she had the sensitivity that Rick lacked (Rick would have just teased him about all of it).

Milton told Giana, "What did I say? It's a good book. I think we ought to take off. I guarantee that they're going to be pretty distracted for a while and we're just getting in the way."

Giana looked over at the Darcys as they poured over the book and glanced back at Milton. "Good idea."

They stood and said goodbye. The Darcys mumbled their goodbyes in return, but didn't look up. The Johnsons showed themselves out.

A/N: Yesterday my husband of 28 years forwarded me pictures of two letters he sent a female friend that discussed his new relationship with me. The friend had come across them and sent them to him. It was so sweet to read his hopeful words when everything was new. It then occurred to me that Darcy might have similarly written to his sister about Elizabeth. I thought I'd do a one shot, but in writing this opening it quickly became apparent that to do it right, it has got to tell their story through his emails. I've read some regency stories that include some letters from Darcy to Georgiana, they are one detail among many. Here, I want to make the letters the star, and tell a current-day story that way. This will be a sweet story, a nice contrast to my last PP story. As I have many irons in the fire, expect progress to be slow. So follow if I have peaked your interest.