It took Darcy a full day before he was able to successfully absolve any outward emotion once more in the presence of others. The pain of Elizabeth's words was too much for even Darcy to share with Richard, his closest confidant, and when his cousin realized that he would receive no further explanation on Darcy's sudden cold behavior, he let it rest. There was much to be done before Wickham would stand at the altar.

Within a few days, the funds, arrangements, and chapel were secured in London for the quick nuptials. Lydia, beside herself that she was not to marry in Longbourn to gloat in front of all she knew, quickly quieted once Wickham reappeared and she chose to simper over him.

Mr. Bennet, Mr. Gardiner, and Darcy silently sat in the first pew of the church. Realizing that Darcy needed a small reprieve of some kind, Richard stood up with Wickham at the altar, while they all waited for Lydia and Mrs. Gardiner to approach. Although by no means elated with the current situation, Mr. Bennet watched Darcy most carefully from the corner of his eye. His son-in-law remained stony and silent; and if it were not for his recent conversations with the fellow, he may not have made anything of it. But Mr. Bennet felt as if he understood Darcy more now, and, from what sat beside him now, it aroused some alarm.

They all stood after Mrs. Gardiner joined them, Lydia not far behind. Darcy heard not a word of the proceedings. His main focus was removing any and all emotion from the scenario for fear he should allow Wickham any more bait in which to torment him.

Luckily, the ceremony was quick and the lot immediately all departed for Longbourn, the Gardiners with the newlyweds, and Darcy in an another as a reprieve with Mr. Bennet. Richard delayed their departure a few minutes to speak with some officers nearby, but soon joined the party outside the carriages astride his stallion.

After a long moment of traveling in silence, Mr. Bennet turned to Darcy. "I know not how to repay you, but I anticipate most of my effort will be attempting to convince you there is in fact a great debt to be paid."

Darcy paused a moment before turning from the window and meeting his eyes. "You forget, sir, that my previous transgressions were a direct cause of our current - felicities. You must believe me when I say that I had much to gain from this outcome."

"Your transgressions are nowhere near to what my own lack of care in my daughters caused the pain you have recently endured in doing business with such a man."

Darcy pursed his lips and bit the inside of his cheek. "You are mistaken, sir. No such pain has been inflicted upon me. I have, however, been a selfish being all my life." He took a breath before continuing. "Which most any person seemingly can report to whomever may listen. I refuse to entertain any sort of claim of debt. You will not wish to argue with me on this. I consider the matter closed."

Mr. Bennet chuckled dryly but it held no humor. "I shall not argue on that point, Mr. Darcy, but I shall not allow such language directed toward yourself." His expression softened. "I have the honor to call my son-in-law one of the country's finest men. I know not where we would all be without your kindness."

Darcy swallowed hard at the compliment, embarrassed. "I dare say very few would agree with you, sir, so, alas, I have the majority on my side."

Mr. Bennet did not laugh at the attempt at humor this time. Their carriage rounded the bend into Meryton. "I care not for the opinions of others, especially those who make judgments based on sheer gossip or idle curiosity. Therefore, I chastise myself in front of you and beg your forgiveness for my earlier prejudice of you. It quickly became apparent that the majority is in fact incorrect whence you married my daughter. That alone proves good sense and a taste of fearlessness that I admire."

Darcy gave the older man a small smile, although it came across as a grimace. "There is no apology nor ridicule necessary, sir. I am well aware how I come across to others whom I do not know intimately, and I admit that I had not much cared what they thought of me, that was, until Elizabeth enlightened me. I have none to blame but myself."

Mr. Bennet scrutinized him for several moments. "I do hope that this enlightenment you speak of has brought you every happiness with Lizzie and not the opposite effect." He watched silently as Darcy blanched. "You and I are not the only ones with faults, Mr. Darcy. Lizzie is an incredibly bright and thoughtful young lady; she however possesses quite a bit of pride. I will not inquire after details as, I can assure you, I terribly do not want to know. I only ask that you allow her a chance to make amends if that is your current situation."

Darcy pursed his lips and stared out the window a long time. How Mr. Bennet guessed that a plight occurred with Elizabeth, he knew not. His own pride, however, could not be placated at the moment. Finally, he turned back to him as they entered the final stretch to Longbourn. "My wife, your daughter, has brought me every happiness in marrying me. I shall never love another as I love her. Whether I shall ever return this felicity to her, I fear not."

And before Mr. Bennet could retort, the carriages stopped, and Darcy departed immediately. They had arrived to Longbourn.

It had only been a few hours, but Darcy hastily made his escape from the inside of the house and into the nearby gardens. The stone bench he found beneath a bare willow tree was icy and frozen, but it was more becoming and warm compared to staying within the same walls of Wickham, Lydia, and Mrs. Bennet. Darcy took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

A snap of a twig caused him to open them immediately and look for the source. He found Jane standing just to his right, bundled in a fur shawl and a winter bonnet. Her cheeks were pink and lovely, and she gave him a tentative smile. Darcy realized that Bingley did not dramatize her beauty - she was very handsome, and Darcy could feel the warmth of her calming presence. He stood immediately and bowed. "Miss Bennet."

Jane curtsied back, and her smile grew slightly. "I believe it is custom for siblings to refer to one another by our given names, Mr. Darcy. If you are comfortable, of course."

Darcy gave her a smile back. "Of course, Jane. Please, call me Fitzwilliam. It would be my pleasure to speak to you easily as a brother."

Jane's smile grew and she indicated toward the bench. Darcy, surprised she would wish to sit in the cold, made room for them both to sit quietly together. For several long minutes, they sat together in silence, but neither of them felt uncomfortable about it. The quiet calm was precisely what he needed in that moment, and he realized Jane somehow knew this.

Finally, she spoke. "I do hope you are not offended that I do not wish to celebrate with the others inside. The last several days have been most trying, but I know from my father and uncle that you put in an enormous amount of effort to achieve today."

Darcy nodded quickly, both still looking off into the gardens. "I dare say it must have been upsetting for you, although I can understand why you aren't explicitly happy with the outcome."

Jane swallowed a moment before replying. "This is the best possible conclusion for Lydia, I know, after her foolishness, but I cannot bear to think of her tied forever to such a man as Mr. Wickham. For she is not only foolish but naive, and there is no love between them, only infatuation." She paused a moment before adding softly, "Infatuation leads only to heartbreak."

Darcy turned to look at Jane and digested her words. No, Lydia would not end up happy in the end, although Darcy hoped his and Richard's plans developed some form of future for her. However his mind turned only to Jane at that moment, and how his past decisions affected her.

He took a breath before looking back to the gardens. "Infatuation is most alarming when there is no love to support it. I myself have feared such an outcome for my sister, as well as my closest confidants." Jane listened closely and nodded in agreement. "But it is for each man and woman to decide if love exists in a relationship, and no other shall interfere. And that is what I became, dear Jane - an interferer in your relationship with Charles Bingley."

Jane's eyes flew to his, and he realized with a pain in his chest that she was not surprised by his admission, but that he was owning up to it at all. She was a clever woman, much like her sister, and she knew more than she let on. "That may be so, Fitzwilliam, but Mr. Bingley is his own man, and he makes his own decisions."

Darcy turned his body to her and almost took her hand but thought better of it. She would not be happy with him in a moment. "You know not the entirety, Jane. Charles was swayed by Caroline and me to leave for London, a brief trip we declared, but once there we badgered him into submission that you did not care for him as he did you. He never knew that you were in London. We kept any mention of you or your family from him, but he has been most miserable without you. He only believes you do not love him." Darcy cleared his throat. "I mistakenly believed you did not care for him, but Elizabeth has since opened my eyes."

Jane gaped at him, unsure what to believe. Without a verbal response, Darcy continued. He looked once more to the gardens. "It is true that Charles can be easily swayed, especially when his own happiness is at stake. You are much the same in that regard. He only cared for what was best for you, and when he finally believed you indifferent, he chose not to pursue you any longer so that you could find love and a future."

Jane swallowed hard again, finding her voice. "Why are you telling me this now? Does Mr. Bingley know all this?"

Darcy nodded sadly. "Once Elizabeth had shown me the error of my ways and that you truly loved him as he loves you, I told him as soon as I next saw him - my wedding - of my interference. He left immediately after the ceremony to pursue you in London as that was where we both thought you to be."

Jane covered her mouth with a hand. "But I was on my way to Longbourn for Lizzie."

"Precisely. He has since requested my assistance in meeting you once more. I invited him to Pemberley for the single object of seeing you once again if I assisted in orchestrating your arrival."

"He needs this much encouragement?"

"Charles is one of the best men I know, but he does often second guess himself and lacks the nerve on occasion.""

Jane took a moment to digest this. "You orchestrated this without Lizzie? Why?"

Darcy grimaced. "Elizabeth believes that I do not care to see her family ever again, and she believes that I think you below me." Quickly, he added, "I do not blame her for judging me in this way as before my marriage, I did think that your station was below mine and Bingley's. I was wrong, Jane. She refused to speak to me regarding her family after my previous actions. I decided to take matters into my own hands, but again, I was interfering once more. I should have refused Charles entirely and forced him to depart for Longbourn at once if he wished to speak to you."

They sat together in silence for a long time as Jane processed everything. "And Mr. Bingley is currently still at Pemberley?"

Darcy nodded. "Yes, although I am unsure how much longer I can detain his sister there. She is knowledgeable of everything, as she is a most accomplished eavesdropper, and she still does not wish for you and Charles to unite."

Jane arched an eyebrow so similarly to Elizabeth, the effect felt as if she struck him. "And what do you wish, brother?"

"That is not for me to decide."

A few snowflakes softly fell around them, casting a soft glow in the cold air. "What happens now?"

It was Darcy's turn to arch an eyebrow. "Tis whatever you wish, Jane. I will no longer interfere on either side. If you wish to see Charles again, then do so. He shall be at Pemberley until month end. Say the word, and my carriage will arrive within a night or two from London. Whichever your relations are also invited to provide as chaperone."

And now he did take her hand in his gently. "But if you decide not to rekindle a relationship with him, I shall understand entirely. This decision is yours alone, as is the decision to seek you is of Charles. I should never have indulged my stupid pride and meddled in the first place. In saying this, I do hope you can one day forgive me for these many transgressions."

At this, Jane gave him a full smile and squeezed his hand in return. "I have forgiven you a long time now, ever since you entered marriage with dear Lizzie. I only hope you have both found happiness together, and that both Mr. Bingley and I can find the same outcome, whether together or apart."

Darcy looked away then. He could not continue the conversation. Instead, he recommended escorting her inside before she caught a chill.

There were seemingly endless hours to the day. Darcy successfully avoided Wickham for most of it, and his incessant smirks. Finding shelter in Mr. Bennet's study, both men read quietly until being forced to dinner. Darcy departed the room with a few borrowed books he somehow did not possess in his own library, including one in particular that caught his eye.

Dinner was a terse affair on one end of the table and a loud, raucous celebration on the other. In their one corner, the Gardiners accepted Darcy's invitation to Pemberley as a happy diversion, something that especially delighted Mrs. Gardiner as she grew up not far from the estate.

Finally dinner had ended and the parties were ready to depart, albeit in separate directions. The Gardiners were to visit friends nearby - or perhaps an easy excuse to leave Mrs. Bennet and her raptures. Darcy and Richard were to depart for London before making their way to Derbyshire within a day or two. And the Wickhams - who assumed their new station in life would also be a return to town, were given a newlywed surprise instead.

Wickham sauntered over to Darcy and Richard by himself, no doubt looking to twist the knife further in Darcy's chest. "Darcy, dear chap, my own brother. I do hate bringing the topic of money into this lovely day, but you have yet to provide your end of the bargain."

Before Darcy could reply, two officers on horseback arrived, causing Richard to wave them over and to smirk back to Wickham. "Do not fret, Wickham. His Majesty's army has arrived to escort you to your new station as a newly minted officer of the crown."

Wickham physically puffed out his chest.

Richard continued to smile. He attempted and failed to remove the gloating from his voice. He handed Wickham an envelope. "Tis all there, as I promised. Try not to spend it within a fortnight."

Wickham thumbed through the notes with a gleam in his eye. Seeing the money, Lydia skipped over and swooned. "Oh Wickham, we are rich, my darling! How fun we shall have! How many balls I shall attend!"

Darcy attempted not to glower at her shallowness. "I am afraid, dear sister, that your husband is not stationed in town, nor anywhere close to it in fact."

The officers now stood by their horses, their faces stony. Richard continued, "You see, ever since the Rebellion, we English have not been seen in the best light to the Irish. An entire company is permanently fixed there with no end in sight, I'm afraid. Conflict with the Irish after the Union is one of the very last things Parliament desires." The color in Wickham's face began to fade. "You are now stationed in Dublin with a permanent situation and a steady income with housing. These fine chaps agreed to escort you there, you see."

Lydia gasped. "Ireland? You can not mean to send us to Ireland! I have no friends there! What balls shall I be invited to? Oh mama! Do not make me go!"

Darcy bowed to her slightly. "No need to fret, Lydia. I am sure you will find Dublin diverting and up-and-coming. You shall have your own inner circle. You see, as a gesture of good will to the Irish, the wives of the militia orchestrate soup kitchens and widows' shelters throughout the country. You shall be well taken care of, and, I do think, supported by these fine women as they assist the effort."

Both Lydia and Wickham gaped. The only sound that could be heard was Mrs. Bennet trying to appease her youngest. Mr. Bennet clapped a hand on Lydia's shoulder. "Take care, Lydia. This arrangement is certainly a blessing to you, whether you see it now or not. But please, do grow up. There's a good girl."

For once in his life, Wickham had nothing to say. With his commission and destination settled, and the leering soldiers just over the shoulders of Darcy and Richard, he gulped hard. The notes in his hand shook. There was no feasible way out of his situation.

Despite himself and after everything Wickham had done to him, Darcy gave him a look full of pity. "Take this as the opportunity you need, Wickham. Think of Lydia and any future children you may have. We shall never see one another again."

Wickham rocked his jaw back and forth in anger, embarrassment, and finally bravado. "Excellent, Darcy. Truly excellent. Lydia," he called, embracing her to his side, ignoring her wails and sniffles. "We shall have a grand life together - full of love -" He gave Darcy a pointed, sneering look. "- and adventure."

It took some time before Lydia finally settled enough to enter her carriage. Mrs. Bennet tearfully bid farewell to her youngest, while the remaining sisters looked on with Mr. Bennet. Having already made their farewells, Darcy and Richard entered their own carriage, and make the trek to London.

Elizabeth was sleeping in her bedchamber when a soft creak woke her. Lying in the darkness, she waited until she heard another creak and then another. Sitting up, she waited a few more moments before she realized they were footsteps coming from the master bedroom. At this time of night, the servants would be asleep. Elizabeth leapt from her bed.

Darcy.

Eagerly, she walked into her bathing room and entered through the enjoining door. Beyond it came the light of candles and the rustle of clothing. Elizabeth entered his bedchamber and smiled.

Darcy was removing his waistcoat when he turned towards her as if against his own will, automatically drawn toward her. He gave her a quick once over before focusing back to the task at hand.

She rushed into the room closer to him. "I had no idea you were arriving tonight! Why did you not send a letter?"

He continued to inspect the buttons before removing his shirt. "Forgive me for waking you. I attempted to be quiet."

Elizabeth chuckled and moved to stand in front of him. The single flame of his candle cast shadows on his skin and she flushed with warmth seeing him bare. "Forgive you? I am just happy to see you. I had begun to worry."

Darcy cocked an eyebrow at that, and he sat while removing his boots. "Happy, you say?"

She blinked with confusion at his tone. "Why, yes. I am happy you have returned safely."

"Ah."

Elizabeth's brow creased with frustration. "Darcy, is something the matter? Are you well?"

He stared at the flame. "I am quite well, thank you, but I must beg your leave. I am tired from my journey."

She stared at him a long moment knowing she should allow him to rest, but curiosity and stubbornness won out. "Darcy, you are clearly cross with me." She folded her arms in thought. "I can only imagine the effort it took you to assist in finding and marrying Lydia, and I will be the first to thank you for it. You did a great service to my family." She waited a beat before adding, "But was it truly so terrible?"

It was Darcy's turn to laugh but it was hard and cold. He stood and faced her. "My trip was enlightening to be sure."

"What does this mean?"

Darcy stared at her long and hard, causing her to squirm internally until he seemed to finally decide upon something. Walking briskly to his coat that was thrown haphazardly on the end of the bed, he retrieved a stack of letters. Pausing a moment to be sure on his next move, he turned and held them out to her silently.

Confused, Elizabeth took the paper and almost immediately blanched at the sight of her handwriting on the outside, all addressed to Wickham. It had been so long since she last wrote to him, and in her mind, the enticing and alluring young man stationed in Meryton had vanished the instant the news broke of Lydia's flight. She attempted to clear her throat. "Darcy…"

Darcy's blue eyes flashed dangerously. "Are you quite sure that you'd like to ask me if I suffered so terrible a fate as to search tirelessly for a young and stupid girl and the very man who almost ruined my sister? Who turned my last relations against me and Georgiana? The very man who created the only wedge between me and my late honored father?" He leaned in towards her and hissed, "The very man my wife was sending money to, crying about her horrible circumstances in her marriage to me - lamenting to the very man she wished to wed instead. Do you truly wish to ask this of me?"

Elizabeth's throat was parched. It took her a long time before she was able to stutter out a response. "Darcy, you are perfectly right. It was foolish and naive to correspond with Mr. Wickham, but please, do not be so despondent over these letters and my words. This all happened before I -" She paused a moment, her words stuck, but her eyes pleading him to read her mind and grant her mercy. "Before I -"

Darcy finished for her. He spat, "Before what, precisely? Before you decided I am not the monster you envisioned? Before you admitted that I have a heart?" He stepped closely to her, grabbing her hand and placing it hard on his chest. "A heart that has beat for you for longer than I care to admit." Their eyes locked for a long moment, his hard and cold, and hers filled with tears. "Or was it before you claimed this heart as your own," he added quietly, "And ripped it from my chest?"

After another moment, he tore himself away from her and turned his back. He attempted not to hear her quiet crying. "I wish to retire. Good night."

Gulping, Elizabeth nodded before fleeing to her own room. There she spent the remainder of the night sobbing into her pillow about how badly she had hurt the man she now had come to love.

I am open to ideas on how Lizzie can reclaim Darcy's good favor.