Leaps and Bounds

As the Bennet's and Billy Collins walked up to the front of the club, Elizabeth noticed Darcy looking out of a window in the reception area. He spotted her and walked away from the window.

The moment they entered the ballroom, Jane spotted Bingley and walked over to him, while Elizabeth looked in vain for Wickham. Then his friend, Denny approached her. "Elizabeth, you look absolutely beautiful this evening!"

"Thank you!" she beamed.

"George asked me to tell you that he regrets not being here, but he had urgent business last night and had to leave this morning. So he won't be here tonight. Although I don't imagine this business would have been so urgent if he didn't want to avoid a certain person."

Elizabeth got his point and was very upset by this news; although she had already assumed that Darcy was in some way responsible for Wickham's absence, directly or indirectly, but she said nothing and just stared at Darcy with hate-filled eyes. Denny left her alone with her thoughts and went to find Lydia and Kitty.

Suddenly remembering where she was, Elizabeth spotted Charlotte in the crowd and went to tell her of Wickham's tale, but was interrupted by Billy Collins; he was anxious to dance. Unfortunately for Elizabeth, the first two dances with him brought her shame and misery.

The first song was slow. Kill me now! Somebody! Anybody! He placed his sweaty hands around her waist and his greasy head on against her face and sang the song to her, out loud. He also stepped on her new satin shoes a few times, so at one point Elizabeth held him at arm's length. It was so embarrassing, Elizabeth was already almost two inches taller than he was and with 2 and one-half inch heels on, they looked totally ridiculous. The second song was a fast song. Thank Heaven! But she was wrong in her assumption, it was much worse than the first song, Collins began by swinging his arms in the air and snapping his fingers and yelling 'Yeah, Yeah' or 'Ooh baby, baby' every few seconds. Then he started doing a dance that looked similar to 'the Charleston', then 'the funky chicken', 'the Jerk', 'the Running Man', and finally 'the Twist' and the song mercifully ended. Many onlookers were laughing at them. Elizabeth also noticed Darcy smirking and gave him such a look, it froze him for a moment.

Elizabeth was able to escape into the bathroom to shake herself violently, to wipe the grease off her face and calm herself. This night is not going according to plan! I hate William Darcy and I hate William Collins!

During the first hour or so, Darcy walked around the ballroom; although Elizabeth danced with a few acquaintances, he still sought her out and she noticed him. Darcy saw how stunning she looked in her dress and he ached to put his arms around her. Elizabeth noticed, with regret, how handsome he looked in his regency-style tuxedo.

Billy Collins had decided to pursue other ladies while Elizabeth was in the bathroom. He danced with Maria Lucas who was always up for laughs and she made the best of the spectacle; several other women turned him down. When Elizabeth came out of the bathroom, she instantly looked for him and saw him persuading Charlotte onto the dance floor. Poor Charlotte. Eeeww!

Finally, Collins went to the other room for refreshments and Elizabeth found Charlotte by one of the large bay windows. There, Elizabeth related Wickham's tale to her.

"This is extraordinary! And are you sure it's true?!" Darcy had left Charlotte wondering after his visit to the club, the other day. She went on her computer and couldn't find him or his records anywhere. When she asked her father for his social security number, her father didn't have it and said that Wickham had been out of the country for a few years and that there was some sort of mix up. But that's all she could find out. So she secretly started following him and was surprised at what she witnessed.

"Charlotte, how can it be otherwise! Every circumstance confirms it! And Mr. Darcy told me himself of his resentful, unchangeable..."

"Lizzy!" warned Charlotte.

"What?" said Elizabeth as Darcy came up behind her.

Elizabeth was so much surprised by his presence, that she began biting her bottom lip. She feared he might have overheard her conversation with Charlotte.

"Would you do me the honor of dancing the next dance with me, Elizabeth?" smiled Darcy.

"Why I... I had not... Umm, sure." Darcy left quickly, not wanting to show his joy at her acceptance. "Why couldn't I think of an excuse?! Hateful, hateful man! I promised myself I would never dance with him!"

"Lizzy, he pays you a great compliment in singling you out! Think about what you're doing? You'd be labeled a simpleton, if you let your fancy for Wickham lead you to ignore a man worth... one can only guess how much he's worth!"

When Darcy came back to take Elizabeth on the dance floor, everyone took notice. The music began and she cursed herself, because it was a slow song. Of course, Darcy had planned it that way. As they danced, Elizabeth, uncomfortable in the warmth of his embrace, tried to engage him in conversation. But he was lost in trance of just being able to hold her; then he felt her stiffen. 'Are you ignoring me, Mr. Darcy?' he thought he heard in the distance. He suddenly became aware of her glare. "No Elizabeth, I'm not ignoring you."

"That's the way it seems."

"I was trying to enjoy the music," he teased. "Do you often talk while you dance?"

"Sometimes it's best. It breaks the tension, whenever you're dancing with someone you don't know."

He didn't catch her last hint, he was too busy staring into her eyes. "I understand that you all were going to your aunt and uncle's that night we saw you on the street. Do you visit them often?"

"Yes, very often." Unable to resist the temptation to see him squirm, Elizabeth added, "When you saw us the other night, we were just making a new friend."

Darcy stiffened and cursed himself, but remained calm. "Mr. Wickham has the kind of manners that enable him to make friends easily, whether he is equally capable of keeping them will be up to his new friends," he said smugly.

"He's had the misfortune to lose your friendship in a way that he's likely to suffer from all his life."

Darcy was about to retaliate when, Bill Lucas bumped into them as he was passing through the crowd. "Allow me to congratulate you, Mr. Darcy! Such superior dancing is rarely to be seen! I'm sure you know that your partner is well worthy of you... You have singled her out as your special dance partner, when everybody knows that you don't like to dance. Good going Lizzy! I hope to have this pleasure often repeated, especially when a certain desirable event takes place! Eh Lizzy?" he winked at her and then glanced at Bingley and Jane dancing together. "What congratulations will then flow in... I hope they'll have the reception here!"

"Mr. Lucas, I..." said an embarrassed Elizabeth.

"Shh! Shh! I understand! Sorry to have disturbed you, I won't delay you any longer from your beautiful and bewitching partner! A pleasure to see you again, Mr. Darcy!"

The last part of Mr. Lucas's sentence was not even heard by Darcy as he pulled Elizabeth close to him; but Mr. Lucas's allusions to Bingley and Jane struck him forcibly; he was jealous. Darcy's eyes were no longer on Elizabeth, they were directed with a very serious, more like envious, expression towards Bingley and Jane.

Elizabeth seeing his concern toward them and silently cursing Bill Lucas, interrupted his thoughts, "I remember hearing you once say that you hardly ever forgave... That your resentment once created was unchangeable... I assume that you are very careful not to allow your anger to be created?"

"I am," he said with a firm voice.

"And never allow yourself to be blinded by prejudice?"

"I hope not... Why are you asking me these questions now?"

"I'm trying to make out your character."

"And what is the result?"

"I'm not sure. I hear so many different stories about you that leave me puzzled and confused."

The dance ended; Darcy reached for Elizabeth's hand to escort her off the floor. "Now is not the best time to attempt to sketch me. Whatever you come up with, won't do either of us any credit."

"Well, if I don't sketch you now, I may never have another opportunity to do it."

"Then by all means! I would never hold up any pleasure of yours," he coldly replied and walked away.

Both Elizabeth and Darcy were dissatisfied at their exchange. Elizabeth thought for sure that she would get a rise from him, maybe see him lose his temper even, but she only caught his cold stare. However, she could not erase the memory of his hands on her back. Darcy felt anything but anger toward Elizabeth. She has apparently fallen under his spell. I definitely don't want her, if she wants him. But if he hurts her, I'll kill him! Darcy went downstairs and directed all his anger against Wickham in the weight room.

Caroline had gone downstairs to retrieve some extra decorations, in case of an emergency, when she heard an angry male voice, cursing and a banging of some sort. She walked towards the sound and peered through the small window of the door and saw Darcy, punching a bag and cursing. What is he doing? She leaned in to listen, the first time she heard him mention Wickham's name and she froze. Oh my God?! What am I gonna do?! But then she heard him mention Elizabeth's name and some other wild statements. Immediately Caroline became incensed and cursed Elizabeth. But as she listened further, she heard only those two names mentioned and felt better. I'll just have to use this to my advantage. Caroline watched Darcy for a few more minutes, admired his physique and went back upstairs.

During dinner, Caroline confronted Elizabeth. "So, Eliza, I hear you're involved with George Wickham... No doubt he forgot to tell you, amongst his other stories, that he is merely the godson of the late Mr. Darcy," she giggled. Elizabeth did all she could to control her temper, so she said nothing while Caroline continued her barrage. "But Eliza, as a friend, let me recommend that you not give credit to all his claims. Wickham treated William in a despicable manner."

"Has he? How?"

"Well, I don't remember all of the particulars, but I do know that William isn't the one to shoulder blame... I pity you, Eliza, for the discovery of your boyfriend's guilt! But really, considering his downfall to nothing, no one would not expect much better."

"His guilt and his downfall appear, by your account, to be one in the same! But I've heard you accuse him of nothing more than being the godson of Mr. Darcy and he told me that himself!" she sneered.

"I beg your pardon!" Caroline spat. "Excuse my interference, I was trying to be nice." Then Caroline walked away in a huff.

By this time, Darcy had returned to the party. Caroline went straight to him and told him how Elizabeth continued to defend Wickham. Darcy was so upset by this tidbit of news, that he hadn't realized how Caroline could know anything about Wickham and Elizabeth.

Although Elizabeth did not believe Caroline for an instance, she was very upset by their confrontation. Jane overheard Elizabeth and Caroline's argument but didn't interfere. Afterwards Jane pulled Elizabeth to a corner and whispered, "Charles did say that although he doesn't know the whole story, he thinks that George Wickham is by no means an honest person."

"Does he know George Wickham?!"

"No, not at all!"

"Then whatever he knows, he got from Mr. Darcy! I have no doubt of Charles' sincerity and it does him credit to believe his friend, but I will continue to think of both men as I did before."

A few minutes later, Elizabeth, already upset by her argument with Caroline, had to stand by and watch her family embarrass themselves. Mary sang, via the open mike, as bad as anyone could have imagined; Mr. Bennet interrupted Mary at the beginning of her second song, making the situation even worse. When Billy Collins found out Darcy was the nephew to Lady Catherine, he cornered Darcy and spoke for 15 minutes without taking a breath and definitely needing some breath mints, the look on Darcy's face told the story. Mrs. Bennet talked loudly of Jane and Bingley's 'upcoming marriage,' and later, Lydia and Kitty showed their lack of upbringing on the dance floor, by bumping and grinding with the entire amateur tennis team, all at one time.

Elizabeth and Jane were so ashamed at their family's display, even more so than they had ever been before. Jane was able to save face, it was in her disposition to look unflappable. Elizabeth, however, wore here feelings on her sleeve and she was inconsolable through the rest of the night, especially with Billy Collins hanging around her and breathing on her.

All night long, Caroline tried everything in her powers to degrade Elizabeth in Darcy's eyes, but he was wise to her plan and ignored her. Sometimes he even walked away, but she would follow him. She tried to get him on the dance floor, but he only remembered his dance with Elizabeth and therefore wouldn't even attempt to dance with Caroline. She tried cooing and batting her eyes at him, but he only remembered Elizabeth's beautiful and sparkling eyes. Everything Caroline tried repulsed him to no end.

Darcy eventually left the party, at the same time Elizabeth was sneaking out. They nearly ran into each other at the door. She glared at him and ran out of the parking lot; he walked to his car fast enough for him to make sure she was safe, yet not fast enough to catch up with her. Elizabeth peeled out from the parking lot and headed straight for Longbourn and Darcy drove off to Netherfield.

Mrs. Bennet made sure that her family was the last to leave. She made all sorts of comments and praises to Caroline on the decorations and began to intimate to Caroline about Jane and Bingley when Mr. Bennet practically dragged her to the car.

Bingley drove Jane home with Caroline, Louisa and Jimmy in tow. Bingley and Jane were having a private conversation in the front seat when Caroline chimed in from the back. "I hope dear Eliza isn't really sick. She's always running off somewhere claiming illness. She looked so pale tonight. Maybe she's pregnant?"

Jane gasped, but before she could retort, Bingley jumped in. "Caroline, apologize right now! There was no need for that crack! I don't know what you've been thinking about lately, but I'm tired of it and I'll be taking you home immediately! Now apologize!"

Caroline hung her head. "I'm sorry Jane. I must be tired, please forgive me." Jane only nodded her head, still shocked at the assault on her sister. "Charles," she sang prettily, "please don't take me home tomorrow. We will be leaving in a few days anyway. Why make two trips? I promise I'll be a good girl."

Bingley was not particularly satisfied by Caroline's apology, but he gave in. "You promise?" Caroline nodded her head. "Alright then."

They drove up to the cottage and as they saw Elizabeth's car, Jane and Bingley heaved a sigh of relief. He escorted her to the door, kissed her on the cheek and left.

Elizabeth and Jane had breakfast over at the house with the rest of the family and Billy Collins; they all had a lot to say about the party last night, especially Mrs. Bennet. Elizabeth was very quiet at breakfast and Jane worried about her. Lizzy's been running away from things lately. I wonder what's wrong.

Billy Collins was also very quiet at breakfast; no one really cared except for Mrs. Bennet. She kept asking him questions and he answered her in short responses. I'll ask her today! But how will I do it, with all her family around? I'll ask her in her office.

Jane and Elizabeth walked to the office and talked about the party. It was evident that Jane had a wonderful time, but when Jane asked Elizabeth what she thought of the party, Elizabeth just said it was 'nice.'

About 2 hours later, Billy Collins knocked on Elizabeth's office door and came in. Elizabeth was surprised at the visit, but she was even more surprised when he made his declaration of love with hopes of marrying as soon as possible. "Almost as soon as I entered the house, I singled you out as the companion of my future life! But before I run away with my feelings on this subject, perhaps it would be advisable for me to state my reasons for marrying..."

Yuck!!! Marrying a cousin is disgusting! I think I'm going to be sick! Elizabeth tried to stop him as she held her stomach with one hand, "Mr. Collins!"

But he continued his proposals, he went on and on of his position, his employer, and the fact that he was to inherit Longbourn after Mr. Bennet's death. "And I hope to lead you to the altar before long!"

Elizabeth refused him, of course, in no uncertain terms. "Please accept my thanks for the compliment you are paying me. I am honored by your proposal, but it is impossible for me to accept it."

But Collins did not waiver. "I realize Elizabeth that it is the custom of most females to, at first, refuse the hand of the man they truly wish to marry, or should I say, play hard to get. And I must therefore conclude that you are not serious in your rejection of me. You are, in fact, wishing... hoping to increase my love by suspense!"

"Hard to get! Really, Mr. Collins! I don't understand you! Listen," she moved to him, "Sit down." Elizabeth almost pushed him in the chair. "I'm not playing hard to get. I just believe that I'm not the one to make you happy and I'm da..." she caught the curse before it came out. "I'm convinced that you can't make me happy either."

"Elizabeth," he grabbed her hand and patted it. "I am convinced that your refusal is nothing more than words and the next time I ask you, I know that you will not refuse me."

"You will never get the answer you're looking for, not from me anyway! Can I speak any plainer?!"

"Oh Elizabeth, you are so charming! I can't wait till you're my wife!" squealed Mr. Collins, as Elizabeth left the office.

Billy Collins followed her to Jane's office, until she slammed the door in his face. "Jane did you hear that?!"

"No, I was on the phone. What happened?!"

"Billy Collins proposed to me!"

"What?! Are you kidding me?!"

"No! He was just here! He's probably still standing outside your door!" Elizabeth collapsed in one of Jane's chairs. "Don't that just beat all!" she laughed.

Jane began to laugh too. Soon the laughter became hysterical. Billy was listening at the door and waddled back to the house to beg Mr. and Mrs. Bennet to force Elizabeth to marry him.

Mrs. Bennet was waiting for Billy Collins to return, so she was the first one to hear the news. Billy Collins was blubbering and coughing out his story. When she realized that Elizabeth refused him, she ran into the library to her husband to beg him to make Elizabeth marry Mr. Collins. He would not. Mrs. Bennet was so distraught and complained bitterly.

Billy was so upset that he hadn't heard the knock on the door. Charlotte had stopped by to talk to Elizabeth about the party and what she found out about Wickham, but when she opened the door and saw Billy crying, she went to comfort him and he told her his sad story.

By early evening, the discussion of Billy's proposal was now nearly at an end. Mrs. Bennet had gone in and out of the library almost all day to insist on her husband's support, but he continued to refuse.

By 3:30 p.m. Mrs. Bennet marched over to Elizabeth's office to rail on her and it wasn't very pretty. There was some serious screaming and hollering going on until Jane stepped in and soothed Mrs. Bennet back to Longbourn.

As for Collins, his feelings toward Elizabeth were mainly expressed by his resentful silence. He scarcely ever spoke to her, and the constant attentions which he had paid to her before, were transferred for the rest of the day to Charlotte, who listened to him whine and cry.

Darcy didn't sleep last night; he tossed and turned thinking about Elizabeth and Wickham. By morning, he made up his mind to go to the club, have it out with Wickham and try to find out what he told her.

"William, where are you going?" asked Bingley as he ran out of the door chasing after his friend.

"I'm going to the club to see Wickham!"

"I think I'd better go with you, then." They got into the car and drove off.

Darcy and Bingley had first gone to the indoor tennis courts to find Wickham, but he wasn't there. Darcy and Bingley went into the reception area to question Charlotte. However, Charlotte was sitting there with a shocked look on her face and holding a clear ziploc baggie.

"Hello Charlotte," said Bingley. "Is George Wickham in today?"

"What?! Uh, no."

"Is your father in his office?" asked Darcy.

"Uh, yes. Wait, let me ring you in." Charlotte dialed Mr. Lucas to tell him that Darcy wanted to see him, he assented and she buzzed him in.

"Charlotte is something wrong?" asked Bingley.

"No. Um, Charles, I believe this belongs to you," handing him the bag. "Well, I mean it belongs to Caroline."

"What's this?" He took the bag, examined its contents and saw an earring, a clump of hair and a short note written on a little piece of paper. After reading the note, Bingley froze and was speechless for a few minutes. Charlotte had gone to the water fountain to get him some water; she knew he would need it. When she came back, she dragged him to the big leather sofa, fed him the water and asked him repeatedly. "Charles! Charles! Are you alright?"

Finally after several more minutes, he snapped out of it. "Charlotte, tell me," he pleaded. "You know everything that's going on around here. What's this all about?"

Charlotte turned bright red. "Um, well, um..." she stuttered and stopped, but finally blurted out what she knew.

Bingley stood straight up, red with anger. "What?!?!" Charlotte continued to tell him what she saw and Bingley was even more shocked, to say the least. He thought back to one particular day and remembered something that made him shudder. "Thank you Charlotte. Could you tell William that I'm in the car."

A few minutes after Bingley left, Darcy came running out of Mr. Lucas's office. "Where Charles?"

"He's in the car."

Darcy ran outside to the car and saw Bingley sitting there mumbling and cursing. Darcy jumped in and peeled out from the parking lot. "I have to leave. I have to go to Pemberley immediately."

Bingley snapped out his trance. "Why?"

"Because Wickham has left town and is probably heading that way." Wickham had known Darcy well enough to know that if he left town even for a few hours, Darcy would run to Pemberley and wait him out down there. That way, Darcy would be out of the way when Wickham pursued Elizabeth. "I've already called ahead to warn the staff. I'll be packed and gone by this afternoon."

"Sure. We're leaving today also."

"I thought you weren't leaving until the end of next week?"

"Plans changed..." Bingley wanted to say more, but didn't know to say it or how Darcy would react to it. So they rode back to Netherfield in silence.

Bingley helped Darcy pack, as he couldn't face Caroline at this time. He didn't know whether he could keep himself from strangling her. But he did tell the staff to let his family know to pack their bags immediately. That they were leaving for D.C. at 3:00 p.m. sharp and anybody who wasn't ready would be left.

Bingley walked Darcy to the car, they hugged and Bingley said, "I hope everything works out. I hope Wickham doesn't show up down there. I'll call you in a few days. Okay?" Darcy nodded and sped out of the driveway.

Bingley slowly walked back into the house and up the stairs to Caroline's room. He knocked.

"Come in." Bingley went in. "Charles, how do you expect me to be packed and ready by 3:00 p.m.?! Why are we leaving now?! You promised that we wouldn't leave until next weekend! You promised!" Caroline went on and on; the more she went on the angrier Bingley became.

Bingley knew that he couldn't out shout his sister, so he went over to her as she was sitting at the vanity, put his hands around her neck and began to squeeze. She jerked away from him. "What are you doing?!" she coughed.

"Trying to make you shut up," he smiled. Then his face tightened and he railed, "I have had it up to here with you Caroline!" Waving his hand above his head. "You have managed to destroy my 2 month vacation in one fell swoop! You have embarrassed me to no end! I can't believe I let you stay here with me, when I never wanted you to come in the first place!"

"Charles, what's wrong?! What did I do?!"

Bingley pulled out the baggie from the front pocket of his trousers. "Does this look familiar?!"

Caroline gulped, but smiled. "It's my favorite earring! Wherever did you find it?!"

"Read the note Caroline." She read it quickly.

After Caroline read it, she jumped up from her seat. "Th, th, this is not what it looks like!"

"What does it look like?"

"It looks like Wickham and I... What he meant was..."

Bingley cut her off. "It looks like Wickham, in the sauna, with an earring! Get a clue Caroline and get packed!" he sneered.

"H, How did you get this? "

"Charlotte gave it to me! He left it in her desk before he left town! And if Charlotte knows anything, everybody knows it before long! And she knows everything!"

He walked to the door, opened it and turned around to face her. "If I have to, I will drag you out of here by your hair, if you're one second late!" he sneered through gritted teeth.

Caroline, still in shock, hurriedly packed her bags. She surprised herself, by packing all her things, make-up included, in less than 1 hour; which meant she had time to be devious.

She sat for 30 minutes trying to devise a plan that would break up Bingley and Jane. Sweet as she is, my brother can do better! Caroline had decided to write Jane a letter destroying all her hopes and schemes of being with Bingley and perhaps of ever trying to contact him in the future.

Caroline was sure that Bingley hadn't had time to call Jane. I'll make sure he doesn't call her tonight, but what will I do about the rest of the time? I can't think about that now. I'll just have to handle it when it comes... Now what about William and Eliza? Humph, Eliza is already taken care of; she hates the sight of William. And William is heading straight for Pemberley. He'll forget her fine eyes, soon enough. Then he'll be mine! All mine! As she left the house, Caroline handed the sealed letter to one of the maids and asked her to have it delivered to Longbourn in the morning.

Caroline sat smugly in the back seat of the Suburban and smiled as they got on the highway. Charles may be mad at me today, but he never stays mad at me for long.

On their way back to D.C., Bingley received an emergency call on his car phone, from his secretary. It seems that he had 2 new patients in dire need of heart transplants. "I'm on the road right now. As soon as I drop my family off, I'll come to the hospital."

Mrs. Bennet's nerves were frazzled and she was livid every time she either saw Elizabeth or thought of her. Collins was also in a state of angry pride. Elizabeth had hoped that his resentment might shorten his visit, but he was determined not to change his plans.

After breakfast, Elizabeth felt the need to get out of Mrs. Bennet's way, so she joined Kitty at the club, as her mother was in no condition to go there.

Wickham was already back in town. Elizabeth went into the reception area, but Charlotte wasn't there. Charlotte, unbeknownst to Elizabeth, went to Longbourn to again comfort Collins. Elizabeth wandered around the club and found nothing to interest her, so she went to the indoor tennis courts to find Wickham.

Once found, Wickham gave this answer for not attending the party, "Well, I had an emergency that took me out of town... No, I can't lie to you Lizzy. I found as the time came close to the party that I had better not meet with William. Things might've become unpleasant... out-of-hand."

Elizabeth believed him and they played a little bit of tennis and asked him to dinner.

While in her office, Jane received Caroline's letter; she read it, folded it up and put it away. At dinner Elizabeth noticed Jane's mood, but decided to wait until they went back to cottage to privately ask her what was wrong. Back at the cottage, Jane related to her the contents of the letter. Elizabeth was shocked, but she tried to console Jane and assure her that Bingley would soon be back at Netherfield.

The night before, Bingley was true to his word, he dropped his family off and went straight to the hospital. He checked both patients, talked with his surgical team, called the Donor Network and slept in his office. Today, he again checked the patients, looked in his medical journals for alternate procedures and treatments and awaited word from the Donor's Network.

Darcy arrived home the night before, made sure Georgiana was all right, and went to bed from exhaustion. Today, he woke up, spoke to Mrs. Annesley, called Rick, talked to the local police and called his private investigator.

Thanksgiving passed, for some, as though it was just another day.

Bingley received one heart, and that night he performed surgery on Mrs. Tuttson. The surgery was completed in the wee hours of Saturday morning and he slept in his office, while she recovered. Wickham came to visit Elizabeth at her office. Elizabeth invited Wickham to lunch at the cottage; Jane and Mr. Bennet joined them. Charlotte visited with Collins for 3 hours. Darcy checked all the windows and doors of Pemberley, while Georgiana was at work.

The Bennet's had lunch at Lucas Lodge, and Charlotte paid every attention to Collins. As far as Elizabeth and the rest were concerned, Charlotte was just helping out her dear friend. But Charlotte had other motives. She hoped that Collins's attentions would turn to her, since, it would be highly unlikely that she would be courted by anyone in Charlottesville, because she was so plain.

Bingley checked on both his patients, paced the floor and wrote some notes in his journal. He went home and slept. Darcy paced the length of the house, called to retrieve his messages, read his email; he was completely bored yet restless.

Wickham called Elizabeth twice today, they had dinner that night, he kissed her on the cheek and left.

Early in the morning, Collins escaped out of Longbourn to throw himself at Charlotte's feet. She accepted him, of course. Though, he warned her, that their engagement would hinge entirely on Lady Catherine's approval. They planned that he should say nothing of it to the Bennets, because she wanted to tell Elizabeth herself.

Mr. and Mrs. Lucas were speedily asked for their consent; and, of course, they approved with joy. Collins's present circumstances, his employer for one, made it a very good match for their daughter, and his prospects of future wealth were even better. Mrs. Lucas began to calculate how many more years Mr. Bennet was likely to live.

Collins called Rosings and told Lady Catherine of his engagement. Lady Catherine insisted on speaking with Charlotte and interviewed her over the phone for more than 4 hours. She apparently liked Charlotte, because she gave her approval after the marathon session.

Meanwhile, Wickham bought a packed lunch to Elizabeth as a surprise. She was really beginning to like him. He came back to join her and Jane for dinner.

At dinner at Longbourn, Collins said nothing of his engagement to Charlotte; he only talked of his return to Longbourn in a couple of weeks. Mrs. Bennet was pleased, because she thought he would come back to ask for one of her other daughter's hand, maybe Mary's perhaps.

Bingley got word that a heart might be available, he packed some clothes and left for the hospital. When he got there, he and his surgical team prepared for a long night, but they found out later that the possible donor had too much damage to his heart when he died, so the surgery was cancelled. Again, he slept in his office.

Darcy realized that Wickham was probably long gone, but wasn't sure enough to leave. So he and Georgiana spent the day at the beach.

In the morning, Bingley checked on his patients and went home. He planned on calling Jane, but Caroline insisted that he go to bed and he assented. That evening, Bingley got a call from the hospital, a possible match was found in Toledo for his second patient, Mr. Kasinsky, and he went to the hospital.

After Collins left that morning, Charlotte visited to tell Elizabeth the good news. Elizabeth was more than surprised at her friend; she thought it impossible that someone she regarded so highly would make such a stupid lifetime commitment.

Later that evening, Elizabeth was sitting in the living room with her mother and sisters, reflecting on what she had heard, and doubting whether she was authorized to mention it.

Suddenly, Mr. Lucas appeared at their door, sent by his daughter, to announce her engagement. With many compliments to them, and much self-congratulation on the prospect of a connection between the two houses, he unfolded the matter-to an audience not merely wondering, but in shock. Mrs. Bennet, lacking politeness, protested he must be entirely mistaken, misguided and mad.

At length, Elizabeth told her family that the engagement between Charlotte and Collins was true and that Charlotte had told her that morning.

Wickham came over later to talk and try to cheer up Jane. When he left, he softly and quickly kissed Elizabeth on the lips and her passion for him grew. Nothing proceeded beyond the kiss, but Elizabeth was beginning to really like him.

Darcy spent the entire day pacing and thinking about Elizabeth. He had been too busy in the past few days to think about her, but now that he believed Georgiana to be in no danger, his mind wandered to Elizabeth. He thought of every reason to forget her, but he kept seeing her beautiful eyes, the mole above her sweet lips, her jet-black hair, those long beautiful legs and her shapely figure. He couldn't come to any real conclusions about her feelings for him though. He knew that in those last days Elizabeth had sided with Wickham and his lies, so finally, Darcy decided to forget her.

Not until that morning, did Bingley's team receive the heart. But by that time, Mr. Kasinsky was not in any condition for surgery, so they had to wait. Again, Bingley slept in his office.

For the last six days, Caroline had tried to get in contact with Wickham, but to no avail. This morning she got her wish.

"Hello."

"I could kill you!" she sneered.

"Caroline?! Sweetheart, is that you?!" he smiled as he picked up a little metal box and clicked one of the buttons on it.

"Don't you sweetheart me! First, you left me high and dry! Then you leave evidence of our little tryst for Charlotte to give to my brother! If I didn't know you better, I'd think you were trying to get back at me for something."

"No sweetheart. I had to leave town and didn't know when I would be back. So I put it in Charlotte's desk for safekeeping. I hid it, so no one would find it! But apparently that didn't work. I was gonna give it to you when I saw you next. Honest!" Caroline didn't respond, so he went further. "Caroline, come on... You know those last 2 weeks were the best I've had in a long time."

"You're forgiven," she mumbled and he smiled.

"Thanks sweetie. Now why did you call?"

"I need your help."

"You need my help?! Oh, I am privileged and honored. You need me!"

"Shut up and listen! Is there any way, you can erase messages on an answering machine."

"There are plenty of ways, but it'll cost ya." Caroline and Wickham discussed their options, at length. "All I need is their answering machine message and I can get that myself."

"Good! Then get to work!"

"It'll be done by tonight." Wickham called one of his friends and got a discount price on the equipment. Caroline had expressed him the money he estimated it would cost. He expressed his friend the amount of the purchase and pocketed the rest. By late afternoon, Wickham received the equipment and did what he was paid to do.

Mrs. Bennet was still in hiding. Elizabeth and Jane invited Wickham to dinner and before he left, he got what he came for.

Early Wednesday morning, Mr. Kasinsky's condition improved and Bingley performed the procedure, but Mr. Kasinsky's recovery was not as was expected. Bingley thought he might be rejecting the transplant, so he waited and watched and paced. By Thursday evening, Mr. Kasinsky was stable and Bingley went home and fell asleep until early Saturday morning.

As soon as he got up, he picked up the phone to call Jane, but realized that it was way too early. Instead, Bingley called Darcy; he knew that Darcy was an early riser and he wanted to know how things were going. Darcy and Bingley talked for a good 2 hours, Bingley told him about the surgeries and Darcy told him that Wickham hadn't shown his face at Pemberley, although someone thought they saw him in the Nags Head area.

After he hung up with Darcy, Bingley went jogging to clear his mind. By the time he got back, Caroline was on the phone, gossiping, of course. So he went upstairs, got washed and dressed, then Louisa knocked on the door with his breakfast. "Good morning, Charles."

"Good morning, sis. What day is it?"

She laughed. "It's Saturday."

"Saturday?!?! Oh my God, I need to call Jane!"

"Caroline might be off the phone by now," Louisa wrinkled her nose.

Bingley picked up the phone as Caroline was gossiping with one of her friends. "Caroline," he interrupted. "How soon will you be off the phone?"

"In a moment Charles. Is it important?"

"Yes."

"Then, I'll get off right now. I'll give you a call later, Marisa. Ciao."

"Ciao, darling."

By this time, it was 9:10 a.m., Bingley dialed Jane's number and got the answering machine. He left a long message, including apologies and all his phone numbers, and his pager number.

Meanwhile, Darcy returned to D.C.

The relationship between Elizabeth and Charlotte had become strained and guarded, since the engagement. Collins returned to Longbourn only to visit Charlotte daily and to continue to confess his undying love for her.

Mrs. Bennet was really in a most pitiful state. The very mention of anything concerning the engagement threw her into agony, and whenever she went to the club, she was sure of hearing it talked about. The sight of Charlotte was sickening to her. As her successor in that house, Mrs. Bennet was jealous and hateful. Whenever Charlotte came to see them, she concluded her to be anticipating the hour of possession; and whenever she spoke in a low voice to Collins, Mrs. Bennet was convinced that they were talking about the takeover of Longbourn.

Meanwhile, Wickham's presence was enjoyed by the Bennet's, he had, at times, turned away the overall gloominess hovering over the family. They saw him often, and he became a favorite visitor. He told the Bennet's the same tale he told Elizabeth. Eventually, everyone knew of his misfortune and they were all pleased to think how much they had always disliked Darcy, before they knew what he had done to poor Wickham.

Collins had spent most of his time with Charlotte. She had already quit her job at the club, so she heard nothing of the gossip. Collins left again on Saturday, December 14^th.

Caroline wrote to Jane again:

Elizabeth tried to comfort her, but Jane took off the bracelet that Charles gave her and threw it in her jewelry box.

Mrs. Bennet's brother and his wife came to visit Longbourn that Monday, December 16^th.

Later that evening, Elizabeth took Mrs. Gardiner aside to tell her of Jane's misery. Their aunt agreed with Elizabeth and decided to ask Jane back to D.C. for a change of scene and society. And maybe, just maybe, meet up with Bingley.

The Gardiners visited Longbourn for a week and were always out and about as Mrs. Bennet had planned. And when they were at Longbourn, Wickham was a frequent visitor. Mrs. Gardiner talked enthusiastically to Wickham about Pemberley, as she had grown up in Kill Devil Hills, but her family moved to Philadelphia when she was 12 years old. Mrs. Gardiner, however, was not thrilled about all the attention Elizabeth's was paying to Wickham. There was something about him that she couldn't put her finger on, so she decided to speak with Elizabeth on the subject.

Mrs. Gardiner went to visit Elizabeth in her office on morning the Gardiners were to leave town. "Elizabeth, what's going on between you and George Wickham?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. Don't try to stall."

"Nothing really. He's very handsome and nice and kind and considerate..." Elizabeth chuckled. "Why?"

"I don't know... There's something I don't like... something I don't trust about him."

Elizabeth had been lounging back in her chair, now she sat straight up. "I, I... hadn't noticed anything." Elizabeth valued her aunt's opinion, even above her own. "What... Can you tell me what it is?"

"No, I haven't figured it out yet. But it's something about his eyes. And haven't you noticed that all he ever talks about is what this William Darcy person did to him?"

"No... Yes... No. I hadn't really thought about it."

"What do you know about him, other than his misfortunes?"

"Well, he, uh... He's... um. Hmm, I really don't know about him. I'll ask him tonight and I'm sure he'll have no problems telling me."

"I hope that your right, my dear. I really do. I had, we had hoped that you would find a young man equal to you in spirit and ambition, but if you have chosen him, I hope he'll make you happy."

Elizabeth barely heard this last sentence; she was lost in thought about how little she really knew Wickham, even though she had seen almost every day for almost a month. "I appreciate your concern auntie. And I promise that I will not give my heart to someone I barely even know."

"That's good. But sweetie, if I have upset you in anyway, I'm sorry. It's just that you have so much going for you and... Well, Edward and I are very concerned about you."

"You haven't upset me in the least. I know that you're concerned about me, but don't worry about me. I have nine lives, remember?"

They both chuckled. Mrs. Gardiner kissed Elizabeth on the cheek and left. She then went over to Jane's office and talked about their plans, trying to cheer her up all the while.

Later that night after dinner, Wickham visited with Elizabeth at the cottage. He thought they were going to do the horizontal mambo, since Jane was gone, but instead she drilled him with questions about his past.

He thought, I'm not going through 20 questions just to get laid! She's not worth that much! Besides, there's that new girl, Mary King, who's staying with her uncle. They say she's got stupid money! She's an only child and her parents are dead. Humph, I'll just make up an excuse to get out of here. "Elizabeth, it's getting pretty late. I think I should be going. I have an early session tomorrow. I'll call you. Okay?"

"S, Sure. Okay."

Collins returned to Longbourn soon after the Gardiners and Jane left it. But this time, he stayed at Lucas Lodge, as Thursday, December 26^th was the wedding day. On Wednesday, Christmas Day, Charlotte paid her farewell to Elizabeth and asked her to visit when her father and Maria came to Rosings in March.

Meanwhile, Charles was so distraught that Jane hadn't returned any of his calls that he took a quick trip down to Pemberley for Christmas. Then he went to Europe for a 6-month teaching sabbatical from the hospital, where he would travel to different hospitals and teach his procedures and techniques.

January and February 1997 passed with no great events. Sometimes Elizabeth would go the club to diversify her days. She missed Jane terribly, even though they talked on the phone almost every day; it just wasn't the same without her. Every once in a while, she would think of Darcy and their dates, but she would find some source of hatred for him and he would disappear from her thoughts.

Kitty had a birthday party with just family members on January 8^th. Her old car was a hand-me-down from Mrs. Bennet, then Jane, then Elizabeth, and then Mary, so they got her a new one. Actually, the family, or rather Elizabeth decided to, put a sizeable down payment on it, the rest was up to her, but the monthly payments were so low that she could afford it with ease. All-in-all Kitty was very happy.

Charlotte wrote often of her comforts and the luxury in which she now lived and Elizabeth returned her letters with the usual standard news.

Jane called Elizabeth to say she went to visit Caroline and Louisa, she only stayed for a few minutes since they were going out. Caroline promised to call her, but she saw nor heard anything from them regarding Bingley.

A few weeks later, in early February, Jane called Elizabeth heartbroken. "Lizzy," she sobbed. "Lizzy."

Elizabeth froze; she had rarely heard her sister crying. Oh my God! Who died? "Jane?! Jane! What's wrong?!" Jane paused to blow her nose. "Jane, please tell me what's wrong?"

Jane sniffled. "Caroline came over for a visit today."

"Oh?"

"She came over to see me, but mainly she came to tell me about Charles and William's sister," she sniffled again. "She told me that he's always loved her and... and... they've set a wedding date for later this summer. Oh Lizzy," she trembled and put down the phone.

"Jane! Jane! Where are auntie and uncle E? Jane! Jane! Do you hear me?!" Elizabeth had heard her weeping uncontrollably, but kept screaming her name until Jane picked up the receiver again.

"I'm here," Jane sniffed.

"Oh Jane, I'm so sorry," Elizabeth began trembling, but felt in her heart that Charles couldn't do something like this. This is probably something Caroline and William cooked up. "Jane, I think that you should call Charles and ask him about it. He would at least tell you the truth."

"He's not here. He's down at Pemberley with William and her right now!"

Elizabeth didn't know what to say. "Do you want me to come and get you? I could be there in a few hours."

"No, I think I'll stay right here. There's so much to do here and... I need to stay busy. At home, I would have nothing but time, to think of him." She paused to gain more of her famous control. "I'll forget him soon enough. You know he never made me any promises. Nor did he try anything past a few kisses. I blame myself for thinking it was something more." Jane had never fallen in love before; men flocked to her but they never talked to her like they would to an intelligent person, mostly they assumed she was a dumb blonde and treated her as such. Therefore, most of her boyfriends lasted no more than a week or two.

Elizabeth was about to tell her that everyone thought as she did, but instantly realized how stupid that would be, so she said. "Is there anything you want me to do?"

"No... I'll be fine. Aunt Miriam will take good care of me and find plenty for me to do."

Jane went on talking; trying to persuade herself and Elizabeth that she was already mending. Elizabeth listened, gave a few encouraging words and they hung up.

A couple of days later, Mrs. Gardiner called Elizabeth to tell her about Jane's condition and moods and to ask her about Wickham.

"He's moved on."

"Really? How? Why?"

"Well I don't exactly know why, but he is now seriously involved with a young lady who has inherited $3,000,00 and is currently staying with her uncle. You remember Mr. King, don't you."

"Yes, I do. You mean little Mary King? Oh, that's right, I do remember hearing something about her parents. Such a shame."

"Yes, it is a shame, but it's a stroke of luck that she was able to find someone to love and comfort her in so short a time. I don't hate him though. And since I was never in love with him, I wish him all the best."

"That's a good girl. Now when are you coming to visit?"

"Well, I'm going to visit Charlotte in Pennsylvania around the end of March with Mr. Lucas and Maria. How about if we stop there for a couple of days? I can't think of anything I'd like better than to see Jane. Would you mind?"

"No, not at all. We may have 4 children, but we always have enough room for guests. You call me and tell me if the Lucas's agree and the date that you're coming and I'll make some plans for shopping and plays, etc."

"That's sounds great. I'll call Mr. Lucas tonight and see if he agrees and I'll call you tomorrow."

"Alright, my dear. Talk to you tomorrow. Good bye." They hung up.

That night Elizabeth called Mr. Lucas told him the plan, he agreed and they set a date.

At first, Elizabeth had not thought very seriously of going to visit Charlotte, but since she and her aunt made plans, she readily looked forward to it.

Around the middle of March, Wickham visited Elizabeth before she left for Pennsylvania, he reminded her of what she was to expect from Lady Catherine.

Then suddenly, his manner changed. "Elizabeth, I would wish you could believe that... Had circumstances been different..."

"Had Mr. Darcy never had a son? Humph, life is full of these trials, as my sister Mary reminds us daily... Oh George, we wouldn't have been happy anyway," Elizabeth said as she tried to sound nonchalant and unconcerned. "But I truly wish you happiness."

"You're very forgiving," Wickham said not really knowing what she meant.

She laughed, "I know, it's hard to believe, but I am! I think Jane would be quite proud of me."

"I hope you and I, at least, will always be good friends?" Just in case things don't work out with scary Mary.

"I'm sure we will, George." Jerk! His visit didn't last much longer.

Mary King had just gone back to Tallahassee, Florida and Wickham was on his way there to pursue her money or perhaps, if that didn't work out, there should be plenty of other wealthy young, gullible women for him to shag and snag.

Caroline's birthday was March 3^rd and of course she threw herself a big bash at Charles' house while he was away. She was very disappointed when Darcy didn't show up, however, her disappointment didn't last for long, she got drunk, wrapped herself around a 'Young Republican' who didn't seem to mind at all; she woke up with a whopping headache and another notch on her bedpost.

Mr. Lucas, Maria, and Elizabeth travelled to D.C. to visit the Gardiners and Jane for a few days. They arrived there before noon. As they drove to the Gardiner's door, Jane was at the living room window watching for their arrival; when they entered the hall she was there to welcome them, and Elizabeth, looking earnestly in her face, was pleased to see it healthful and lovely as ever. The day passed most pleasantly away; the afternoon in shopping; and the evening at one of the theatres to see 'Miss Saigon'.

While at the play, Elizabeth sat next to her aunt. Their first subject was Jane; and she was more grieved than astonished to hear that although Jane struggled to control her moods in front of others, there were periods of dejection. It was reasonable, however, to hope that they would not continue long. Mrs. Gardiner gave her the particulars of Caroline's visit to Gracechurch Street, and repeated several conversations occurring at different times between Jane and herself, which proved that the Jane had, from her heart, given up on any friendship with Caroline.

"But Lizzy, I'm so proud of you and how well you've handled the Wickham desertion."

"Oh that. As I told you before, since I was never in love with him, I wished him happiness with Mary King."

"What sort of girl is Mary now?"

"I believe she's a nice person. Kind of quite, though. I haven't heard anything bad about her, though I didn't see much of her at home."

"Hmm. I think Wickham's actions were very mercenary in so suddenly changing his directions towards her, after her father left her such a fortune. Especially since he paid her no attention before."

"A man in distressed circumstances has no time for getting to know a woman before he falls in love with her. And if she doesn't object to it, why should we?"

"Just because she doesn't object, doesn't justify his actions. It only shows her lacking in something... self-esteem and sense, I think."

"Whatever! He can be mercenary and she can be foolish! What do I care!"

"Oh Lizzy, I don't wish that on either of them. I was just thinking out loud. And I would feel horrible to think badly of anybody born and raised near my hometown."

"If that's your only reason, then I have a very bad taste in my mouth for all men born in or near Nags Head, and their friends who live in D.C.! I'm sick of them all!"

"Lizzy, that sounds a lot like disappointment."

Elizabeth said no more, she really didn't want her aunt to know that she was disappointed. Not only was she disappointed of Wickham, but Darcy too. I've just failed at two relationships and I'm not getting any younger!

Before they were separated by the conclusion of the play, she had the unexpected pleasure of an invitation to accompany the Gardiners on a trip to all the grand estates and plantations of the old south, which would be taken during the summer.

"I think we should start in Virginia, then to North Carolina and South Carolina, and maybe even Georgia."

"Oh auntie, you have made my year! I can hardly wait!"

The next two days, they visited some museums, malls and exhibits.

Mr. Lucas, Elizabeth, and Maria travelled to Rosings Park in Kent County. They were greeted at the door, as Charlotte was happy to see them all. Charlotte greeted Elizabeth warmly, while Collins showed off his comfortable surroundings to his guests, particularly to Elizabeth. He told of their dining at Rosings Park at least twice a week, the attentions of Lady Catherine and her friendly feelings toward Charlotte. He was in his glory, but Elizabeth was prepared for it.

Later that day, a limousine drove up to the gate of the Collins' house, causing a commotion amongst the household. It was Lady Catherine's adopted daughter, Anne, and her companion, Mrs. Jenkinson.

"She's a frail little thing, isn't she Lizzy?" inquired Maria as she looked out the window.

"I like her appearance. She looks sickly and cross. Yes, she will do very well," Elizabeth chuckled as she too looked out the window, instantly thinking of Darcy. "She will make him the perfect wife."

"Who Lizzy?" asked Maria. Elizabeth laughed but didn't answer her question.

Later, they ate in silence, except for Billy's constant comments on how wonderful the Lady is, to invite them to dinner the next night.

They went to dine at Rosings and the drive to the house, Collins commented at length, on all the fabulous details of the estate. Elizabeth thought the outside of mansion was rather large and pompous, just as she suspected. Once inside though, Elizabeth found it quite impressive though a bit showy. She also found Lady Catherine as she had heard from Wickham; her behavior uncivil and menacing and her manner self-righteous. She was even more so than Darcy.

The dinner, however, was very nice and there were more servants than she had ever seen in her life. After dinner, though, Elizabeth showed a bit of her sassy wit to Lady Catherine and the Lady was not at all pleased.

One evening, during dinner at Rosings, Lady Catherine informed everyone that Darcy was expected there sometime before Easter and that she was in hopes of him proposing to Anne while he was there. Oh God, this is worse than I expected. Not only do I have to deal with Chatty Cathy and Silly Billy, but now the Iceman cometh! Elizabeth thought about making up an excuse to leave suddenly, but nothing that couldn't be checked out by Charlotte. Damn! But I shouldn't really worry; he's going to marry Anne. Anne! He would break her in half just by staring at her! I wonder if that's true or is Cathy only hoping it. He needs someone with zest and... a sense of humor. Someone to make him smile! I managed to do that on several occasions. Whoa Lizzy, what are you thinking?! Remember what he did to Wickham... Such a waste of good-looking man, to be so utterly despicable!

Mr. Lucas stayed only a week and took the bus home, but his visit was long enough to convince him of his daughter's well being and of her finding such a wonderful husband and such a grand neighbor. He would praise them to the skies when he got home and everyone would be jealous. Especially Mrs. Bennet, who presumed that her beautiful daughters would not only marry first, but marry well.

The Collins's and their guests were invited back to Rosings to dine once more that week. Elizabeth found the dinners so boring, Lady Catherine talked as much as Collins, however, she rarely let anyone into her conversations and even more rarely let anyone answer the questions that she herself posed to them.

During this first week, Elizabeth spent most of her time either with Charlotte and Maria; reading books; calling Jane; or walking alone in the Park whenever the snow allowed it. More often than not, she was still trying to come up with an excuse good enough to fool even Charlotte.

Richard had driven to Pemberley to meet up with Darcy, then they would travel to Rosings Park to visit their aunt. After dinner, the two men went to the beach to walk off the meal.

Richard had noticed Darcy's distracted demeanor over the past few months, he was almost oblivious to all conversation through the day. He thought this would be a good way to draw him out. "So Wills, now that everything is fine with Georgie and Wickham is nowhere to be found, at least not down here, what are your plans?"

"We're going to visit Aunt Catherine, remember?" Darcy knocked himself in the head to mock his cousin.

"Duh? I know that! I meant afterwards. You won't be presiding on a bench until January 5^th of next year. You have plenty of time on your hands, why don't you find some special lady and settle down." Rick laughed.

"What?! The confirmed bachelor suggesting that I get married! Ha, that's a laugh."

"You never confirmed yourself as a lifelong bachelor. In fact, I remember you specifically stating late last year that you needed a good woman in your life to make you smile. I had thought that you would have found her by now."

However much he denied it, Darcy knew that he had found her. The day after his Elizabeth's second date, Darcy called Richard and told him things might be changing, nothing in particular, but something along that vein. By this time, Darcy knew that he would never get Elizabeth out of his mind, even though it been several months since he saw her last. And Richard bringing up the subject of a wife brought her to his mind again. How is it that she is always in my thoughts? Oh yes, I remember, it's those eyes and that mouth! Ah well, she is probably in love with someone. Hopefully not Wickham! What in the world would I do if she were? I could make him disappear from the face of the earth or I could...

"Wills! Hello! Where are you?!" Richard was beginning to feel genuine concern for Darcy, who had always seemed in total control of himself and his surroundings. However, during the past few months, he had noticed Darcy's distracted behavior on several occasions, and he and Georgiana had puzzled over the reason for it. At first, Richard thought Darcy was still worried about Wickham, but when he asked him about it, Darcy said it wasn't about Wickham anymore. "Well, anyway, you need a woman around here. A wife would bring some sunshine to your otherwise gray life." Richard started to laugh, until he saw Darcy's face grow flushed. Is that it? A woman?!

Darcy began walking really fast down the beach towards his boat, making Richard run after him. Once he reached the peer, Darcy stood and looked out at the ocean. "Rick, I really don't marriage is in the picture for me, at least not anytime soon... I haven't... I just couldn't marry someone outside... No matter how beautiful she might be... And although, I might be enchanted, no bewitched, by her sweet lips and her sparkling eyes, I... I'm going to be a judge soon and I need a wife that won't embarrass me." With his head down, Darcy walked to the edge of the peer.

Richard stood at the beginning of the peer watching his cousin and wondering. What the hell is he talking about!

In the morning, Darcy and Richard were planning their trip and Georgiana was playing 'Unforgettable' on the piano. Darcy began to smile broadly, but he had that same far-away look in his eyes that he had seen so frequently in recent months.

"She plays well, doesn't she?"

Darcy looked startled. "What?! Oh yes, yes she does..."

"What is with you man?! You have disappearing from radar a lot lately."

"I was just remembering that someone else played that same song while I was at Netherfield."

"Caroline?"

"Oh God no! She plays... well, I guess. But when she plays there's a lot to be desired, some life perhaps. She plays just to display her technical proficiency, not for the enjoyment of the music."

"But you smiled just now. Who else played for you?"

"There was... there is this young woman... she played..." Darcy drifted off into never-never land again. "She played and sang like she was part of the song, like she wrote it or someone wrote it for her." Darcy walked back to the house, leaving Richard to wonder.

After lunch, Richard decided to try once more to determine what, or who, was the cause of his cousin's distraction. "William, you never did tell me about your visit to Charlottesville with Charles last year. I seem to recall some phone calls from you regarding changes, but you never revealed what they were... Other than Wickham, did you enjoy yourself in down there?"

"A little, yes. The campus had ample sources of amusement, the club was sufficient and most of the people were nice. But some of them were ridiculous and obnoxious, of course, and Wickham came later, but..." Darcy hesitated.

"But what?"

"Well, um... There was this one young woman, a Ms. Elizabeth Bennet..." Darcy chuckled. "A very interesting young woman. Rick, you would've liked her," he chuckled, "she's opinionated, outspoken, can talk rings around anyone, beautiful and very sexy."

"Opinionated, outspoken, pretty and sexy. Then you and her..."

"No! Well actually, we did go on a few dates... But later when Wickham came to town, she chose him instead."

"What?!?!?!" Richard was shocked that any woman that Darcy preferred would even consider Wickham. However, he could see that that faraway look on Darcy's face again and saw that he didn't hate this young woman.

Darcy nodded. "Apparently, he told her some lies about me and she believed him." Darcy saw the question on Richard's face. "The last time I saw her... we were dancing at the club and she accused me of abusing my friendship with him."

"You mean she fell for him, even after you told her about him?!"

"I didn't tell her," Darcy said matter-of-factly.

Richard paused. "You didn't tell her?" Darcy shook his head. "What if tries to do something to her? What if he hurts her? Did you think about that?"

"Yes, I thought about it a little, but I was too worried about Georgie. And Wickham only wants a woman, preferably a young girl, with money. She has none, so I don't think he'll do her any harm..." Darcy drifted off. But what if he breaks her heart?! What if he... Darcy shuddered and snapped himself out of his reverie. "Anyway, it doesn't matter, I'll probably never see her again."

"Why is that? How can you be so sure?"

"While we were there, Charles was dating her older sister and for some reason it didn't work out."

"What do you mean it didn't work out?"

"I really don't know what happened, I thought they looked great together. She, Jane, is the complete opposite of her sister, sweet, refined, composed; almost angelic. Well anyway, we left right before Thanksgiving, I came here to search for Wickham and Bingley and his family went back to D.C. and that's when things went wrong. She never returned his calls," said Darcy as he shrugged his shoulders.

"You didn't play 'knight in shining armor' again did you?" Darcy looked at Richard with a question. "You didn't interfere and rescue your friend from the clutches of an unworthy wench, did you?"

"No! That was earlier last year. That lady was suspected of poisoning her husband! But, I had nothing to do with this one. In fact, I really thought this one would work out... You know, lifetime and all." At length, Darcy offered, "Come on, Rick, it's time to go. It's going to be a long two-day trip to Rosings and even longer once we get there."

Darcy and Richard traveled to D.C. and stayed the night. Then traveled to Philadelphia the next day, Darcy wanted to visit an old friend from Wharton and they stayed the night. Then early the next day, they traveled another 2 hours to Rosings. The two men didn't talk much when they were alone, but Richard was determined to find out more about this Elizabeth Bennet.

Darcy and Richard's arrival was soon known at the Collins's; because Billy Collins was walking the whole morning within view of Rosings Park. They greeted their aunt with regency bows and as she required. They both smiled at each other and rolled their eyes.

The two men ate lunch with Lady Catherine and Anne and while the Lady captivated their attentions in gossip and idle chatter, she mentioned, "The Collins's have 2 guests staying with them for a few weeks. One is Charlotte's sister, Maria, and the other is a rather brazen young woman named Elizabeth Bennet."

Both men almost choked on their food. Richard shocked at the coincidence and Darcy confused as to why she might be here.

"Aunt Catherine," Darcy finally spoke up. "Is Mrs. Collins's family from Charlottesville, Virginia?"

"Why yes! Do you know her?"

Maintaining his composure, Darcy stated, "I had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Collins, her sister, and Ms. Bennet when I went with Charles to his new ranch in Charlottesville this past fall. I had no idea that the former Miss Lucas had married Mr. Collins."

"Oh yes, now I remember. Mr. and Mrs. Collins both mentioned something about meeting you, but I dismissed it entirely as I thought they were only saying that to please me. I had no idea that your friend had property in such a backwater place. You might want to rethink your friendship with this Mr. Bingley. He may want to go slumming, but I am sure that you do not."

Darcy immediately angered by his aunt's constant attempts to control his life from her throne, was about to say something that she would most definitely disapprove of, when Richard spoke up.

"I think we should pay them a visit then. Don't you think so William?" Darcy merely nodded his head. "I think it fitting that we pay our respects and give our congratulations to the newlyweds."

"Then you should do it immediately. But don't dawdle, I don't want them to think that you prefer their company to mine. Though I know that not to be true." Both men smiled into their napkins, excused themselves and walked to the Collins's house.

Collins was using binoculars to peer out the window for any sign of the two gentlemen and when he saw them about a mile away, he began shouting. "They're coming! They're coming! Mr. Darcy and Mr. Fitzwilliam are coming to pay a visit. Charlotte, you don't have time to clean the house again, so make yourself presentable! Elizabeth and Maria, put on something pretty. They'll be here in a few minutes!"

Maria ran to her room to change clothes, while Charlotte went into Elizabeth's room. "I think this visit must be due to you, Lizzy," she smiled. "William would never have come to visit me so soon, if you hadn't been here."

"I believe you're mistaken Charlotte. I know he dislikes me as much as I do him."

The men came into the house and Darcy introduced Richard to everyone. Richard entered into conversation directly with Elizabeth, but Darcy sat for sometime without speaking to anyone. The main reason Darcy couldn't or wouldn't speak is that he was savoring Elizabeth's beauty, but the other reason is that Collins had cornered him and talked endlessly about nothing in particular, again needing breath mints and a toothbrush.

"I'm pleased to meet you, at last, Miss Bennet," said Richard.

"At last?!" Good looks must run rampant in this family!

"Yes, yes. I've heard so much about you and when I heard you were here, I practically dragged Wills down here. And believe you me," he looked her over, "none of the praise has been exaggerated, I assure you."

"I find that hard to believe. Mr. Darcy is one of my severest critics."

"Not from what I gathered," he paused to look over at Darcy. "Anyway, I hope we'll see you frequently at Rosings, while we're there? Wills told me that you could talk rings around anyone and I love animated conversation."

This one at least can talk in public! "And this you don't find at Rosings?" she joked.

"Well, my aunt does talk a lot, but seldom requires a response. My cousin over there, speaks hardly a word when he comes into Kent, although he's lively enough in other places." He paused as Elizabeth inadvertently looked at Darcy, remembering their dates. "At Rosings, nobody plays, nobody sings... I've heard that you play and sing Miss Bennet?" Rick was trying to give Darcy signals to come over and join the conversation.

"Call me Lizzy. And I play a little, and not very well. I don't think you should be sitting around waiting to hear me play, you'll be thoroughly disappointed."

"I'm sure you're just being modest. But, any relief from my aunt's conversation will be extremely welcome."

Richard laughed and Elizabeth smiled, this time catching Darcy's attention. After a few moments, "Can you tell me why Mr. Darcy keeps staring at me? What do you think offends him?" Richard looked puzzled, but said nothing.

Darcy noticed that both Elizabeth and Richard were looking at him and he walked towards them. "I hope that your family is well?"

"Thank you, yes they are all well... My sister, Jane, has been in D.C. since before Christmas, I'm surprised that you never saw her."

"No, I'm sorry, I didn't have that pleasure," said a confused Darcy. He walked away to look out a window, situated behind Elizabeth. You are an idiot William Darcy! Why can't you just talk to her?!

Elizabeth knew perfectly well that he hadn't seen Jane, but she wished to see whether he would betray anything; he did not. "Mr. Darcy and I are not the best of friends, you see," teased Elizabeth.

"Well, I'm very surprised to hear that," Richard replied.

"Why are you surprised?! I can't even imagine what he might've told you about me, but once his good opinion is lost, it's lost forever." Darcy heard this and turned towards her. She continued, "So you see, it's a hopeless case, Colonel Fitzwilliam."

Darcy said nothing; Richard smiled, as did Elizabeth. "Call me Rick." Wills, you're a fool of the worst kind!

Darcy and Richard soon afterwards went away. There was so much Richard wanted to say to Darcy on the walk back to Rosings, but he wasn't quite sure what to say. And he wanted to do a little more investigating.

Elizabeth decided to write to Jane instead of calling her. She wanted to tell of her of all the current events, the visitors, and the Collins's without having her conversation overheard and/or interrupted and Lady Catherine has been known, according to Charlotte, to listen in on phone calls via her scanner.

It was some days before they were invited again to dine at Rosings, since Lady Catherine had the company of her two nephews, the Collins's and their guest's attendance was no longer necessary. Richard came to the Collins's house very often, Darcy, on the other hand, they had only seen once since his visit, and that was at church on Easter Sunday, where they were invited to Rosings once again that afternoon for tea.

After they arrived at Rosings and took tea, Richard reminded Elizabeth of her promise to play on the piano. She shook her head, but after so much pressure from him, Charlotte, and Darcy, she obliged and Richard took a seat beside her. Darcy wanted to sit by Elizabeth and was jealous that Richard was so close to her. Lady Catherine took the opportunity, during Elizabeth's first song to hold Darcy's attention by praising Anne's probable proficiency at the piano, if she had ever learned to play it.

As Elizabeth began to play a second song, Darcy approached them. "Do you mean to frighten me, Mr. Darcy, by coming all the way over here to hear me play? If that is your intent, then I won't be alarmed. You can't scare me. My courage always rises with every attempt to intimidate me," teased Elizabeth.

"I, I'm sorry that you think that I came over here to scare you." Darcy was about to turn away, but then he looked at the smile on her face and decided to play her game. "I know that you find immense pleasure in expressing opinions that aren't always your own," he smiled.

Elizabeth laughed, "Rick, your cousin would have you not believe a word I say! It isn't very kind of him, is it?"

"Not very, Wills." Richard gave Darcy a look that said Lighten up!

"Ill-advised too! Because it provokes me to retaliate, and say something of his behavior in Charlottesville, that may shock his family," she joked.

"I'm not afraid of you," Darcy smiled.

"What are you accusing him of? I would really like to know how he behaves amongst strangers," laughed Richard.

"Well, the first time I ever saw Mr. Darcy was at a party at our club, where he didn't even dance, even though there weren't enough men; and more than one lady was in need of a partner." Elizabeth laughed heartily. "I'm sorry to pain you, but that's how it was."

"I believe it!" laughed Richard.

"I'm... I'm not comfortable just walking up to strangers and asking for a dance," said a slightly embarrassed Darcy, nervously twisting his pinkie ring.

"I don't know why! A party is the perfect place to meet someone, even if you just want to dance." Darcy shrugged his shoulders. "I think we should we ask him," she said as she looked at Richard while playing a little ditty on the piano. "How can a man of sense and education, who has probably been all over the world, believe himself uncomfortable to walk up to strangers and say 'Wanna dance'?"

"I don't have the gift or the talent that some people possess of talking easily with strangers."

"And I don't play this piano, as well as I might want to. But that is my own fault, because I wouldn't take the time or trouble of practicing."

"You're absolutely right," he smiled and leaned on the piano. "You've spent your time much better, but absolutely no one admitted to the privilege of hearing you play and sing, can think anything lacking in your performance." He paused, "We, neither of us, perform to strangers."

"What do you mean?" asked Elizabeth as she raised an eyebrow to him.

"Well, you, as soon as you walk into a room full of strangers, they would either be drawn to you or you would go right up and introduce yourself to everyone. So within a half-hour, if someone asked you to play or sing or dance, none of them would be strangers and you would oblige them. And me, well, I would do just the opposite, I would never open my mouth. And if someone asked me to play, I would refuse and probably leave," he smiled cheekily.

Elizabeth had no retort; they just stared at each other. And when Lady Catherine interrupted, she was grateful. Lady Catherine continued her remarks on Elizabeth's performance, mixing with them many instructions on execution and taste. Elizabeth received them with grace, and, at the request of the two men, stayed at the piano until Collins finished slurping up every word the Lady uttered.

Elizabeth was sitting by herself the next morning, and writing to Jane, while Charlotte and Maria went grocery shopping, when she was startled by the doorbell. She was half-expecting Richard, but to her surprise, Darcy entered the room.

"I'm sorry, I thought that Charlotte and Maria were home. I should go."

"You're here," Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders. "Why don't you come on in." They sat down and for a while seemed in danger of sinking into total silence, until Elizabeth inquired, "Charles and his family were well, I hope, when you left D.C.?"

"Yes, they were. But I haven't been in D.C. that much, only for Christmas," he said stiffly.

Elizabeth thought for sure, he would have been in D.C. to breakup Jane and Bingley. "I understand that Charles isn't planning to return to Netherfield."

"It's possible that he may spend very little time there in the future."

"If he plans to be there so infrequently, then it would be better for the neighborhood that he should sell the place."

"I wouldn't be surprised, if he were to sell it as soon as any reasonable purchase offers were extended." Having nothing else to say, Elizabeth was now determined to leave the trouble of finding a subject to him. He took the hint. "This seems to be a comfortable house... Aunt Catherine, I believe, did a good deal of work to it before Mr. Collins came."

"I believe she did," she chuckled. "I'm sure she could not have bestowed her kindness or money on a more grateful toad, I mean... person."

Darcy thought so too and chuckled. "Mr. Collins appears extremely fortunate in his choice of wife."

"Yes he is... Although others may have difficulty believing it, after meeting and talking to Billy, but it's a very good deal for Charlotte as well."

"It must be very nice for her to live so close to her family."

"Close?! It's more than 550 miles! A whole day's ride!"

"What's 550 miles of highway. Yes, I call it very close. It could've been on the West Coast."

"Near and far are relative terms. It... I guess, it's possible for a woman to live too near her family," she said as she thought of Jane and Bingley and what Caroline had implied in one of her letters about their mother.

"Exactly," said Darcy as he drew his chair closer to Elizabeth. "You wouldn't always want to be near Longbourn, would you?" Elizabeth looked surprised and Darcy experienced some change of feeling; he drew back his chair, took a newspaper from the table, and, glancing over it, said, in a colder voice: "How do you like Kent County?"

Again surprised at his sudden coldness, a slightly angry Elizabeth said, "It's alright, and it is close to Philly... I guess if I had to live here, I would look forward to visiting there every weekend, maybe even everyday."

A short discussion on Philadelphia's historical cites ensued, on both sides calm and concise, not like it was on their first date. Then Charlotte and Maria came in with grocery bags and this little tête-à-tête surprised Charlotte. Darcy related his mistake, helped carry the rest of the bags in from the car and went away.

As soon as he was gone, Charlotte turned to her friend and teased, "He must be in love with you Lizzy, or he never would've come here by himself."

"Surely you jest! Most of the time he was silent, and the few times he did open his mouth, he didn't have much to say."

"Then why did he come by at all?!"

"You'll have to ask him."

"I still believe he has feelings for you."

"Come on Charlotte, if that were true, he had the perfect opportunity to confess them while you were gone."

During these 10 days, the invitations to Rosings were as frequent as they had been when Elizabeth first arrived. In between, both Darcy and Richard came to the Collins's, at various times, sometimes separately, sometimes together, and now and then accompanied by their aunt or Anne. It was apparent to all, that Richard came because he enjoyed their company, but they puzzled over Darcy's visits, because he said very little when he came. Charlotte continued to suspect, but did not say so, that Darcy might truly be in love with Elizabeth. Charlotte watched Darcy whenever they were at Rosings, and whenever he came to their house; but without much success. He certainly looked at Elizabeth a lot, but the expression of that look was disputable.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth would take early morning jogs or walks in the park, and sometimes she would unexpectedly run into Darcy doing the same.

To prevent it's ever happening again, Elizabeth informed him, at their first meeting, that this particular path was a favorite haunt of hers. Darcy took it to mean that she didn't mind if he took the same path or even joined her from time to time. The first time, he said nothing much to her, but offered to walk her back to the Collins's. The second time, they talked a little more. The third time, he brought up subjects that they had both enjoyed when they were together in Charlottesville. The fourth time, the questions he asked her seemed to imply that the next time she came to Kent that she would be staying at Rosings. She thought, Could he have Rick in mind? Nah, Rick wouldn't need him to be his Cyrano. Rick has no trouble talking to me and if he wanted to ask me something, he would come out and say it. So what's he up to?

After the fourth and last time, Elizabeth was actually beginning to want Darcy's company. She actually enjoyed their conversations and when they dined at Rosings, they both began to relax around each other, though they still referred to each formally, i.e., Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennet. In actuality, Elizabeth began to remember why she liked Darcy and had some small doubt as to Wickham's claims. Surely, he would've slipped up by now and mentioned something about George. Even Rick has never mentioned anything, unless it's a family conspiracy. I'll have to do a little more prying.

Elizabeth continued to write to Jane of all the current events and the daily visitors. Meanwhile, Jane related to her aunt the contents of each of Elizabeth's letters. The more Mrs. Gardiner heard of the correspondence, the more she began to think that Elizabeth's attentions had turned elsewhere. Mrs. Gardiner was determined to find out more about Darcy, so she questioned Jane about him, even though she knew it would cause her pain to think about Bingley. Jane told her about their dates, Elizabeth's initial and subsequent feelings regarding Darcy and the way he was always looking at her or searching her out in a crowd. Mrs. Gardiner started to formulate a plan.

That afternoon, while Elizabeth was walking at the far end of the park, she saw Richard. He was jogging and exercising as he did most every day, but he normally did it at the crack of dawn. He asked her to join him and she did. They began by talking of the beautiful grounds at Rosings; the conversation then turned to the privileges of the rich, then to him.

"I was wondering how you managed to stay single all these years. I think you'd make a great catch for some woman, any woman."

"Lizzy, you get straight to the point, don't you?" He laughed. "Seriously, I'm a confirmed bachelor." Elizabeth gave him a raised eyebrow. "No really! I have yet to meet a woman who would make me give up my life as I know it."

Was that meant for my benefit? "That's a pity then. No man is an island, you know."

"Yes, but after a few years after marriage, every man wants to be an island or at least be on one!" he laughed. Elizabeth said nothing and Rick noticing her dismay, changed the subject. "Speaking of islands, my cousin Georgiana, works in the Outer Banks in North Carolina. Have you ever heard of it? It's the most beautiful stretch of land on earth. Jagged mountains, the Atlantic Ocean, wetlands, sanctuaries. All the peace and tranquility that earth has to give."

"Oh yes, I've heard of it, but I've never been there. I've also heard a lot about Georgiana."

Richard winced. "What have you heard?" he asked tentatively.

"Nothing bad, if that's what you mean?" Elizabeth saw Richard exhale deeply. At this moment she knew that something happened with Georgiana and that Wickham was probably true in his story of her. "I've heard that she is smart and beautiful. Caroline Bingley talks about her all the time. Do you know Charles Bingley?"

"A little. I know Caroline better though. When she left modeling, she tried acting and did a couple of military training films at Ft. Bragg and we dated for a little while," Elizabeth silently gasped. "So I got to know Charles through her. I do know that Charles is one of William's closest friends."

"Yes," said Elizabeth dryly. "Mr. Darcy is uncommonly kind to Charles, and takes a tremendous deal of care of him."

This is how I can help Wills. I'll show him as a kind, caring friend... a protector. "Yes, I believe he does... My cousin recently saved Charles from a very scandalous relationship."

This caught Elizabeth's ear; she inquired for more information. He continued how Darcy removed his friend from this young lady's presence, because there was "some strong objections to the lady herself."

This bit of news upset Elizabeth to the depths of her soul, because she believed Richard was talking about her sister, though he had no names to give. "Who is he to judge?!"

"Do you think Wills was wrong to interfere?"

"I don't see what right Mr. Darcy had to determine or decide in what manner his friend was to be happy! But," she continued, recollecting herself, "as we know none of the particulars, it's not fair to judge or condemn him... I suppose there was not that much love or affection then."

He laughed, "I don't know if it was love on her part, but I know Charles fell for this woman, hook, line and sinker. Wills did everything he could to separate them and it was quite a triumph, from what I hear."

Elizabeth's head was spinning at this revelation. It was him! What right did he have to do such a thing? He must've done it for his sister! I would've sworn that Caroline was behind this intrigue! Suddenly she felt sick to her stomach and begged to return to the house.

They walked back to the Collins's quickly and Richard left as soon as Elizabeth went upstairs to her room. The agitation and tears that flowed once she closed the door to her room, she cursed and screamed in silence, it brought on a headache and it grew so much worse towards the evening. They were all supposed to dine at Rosings, but with the headache and her unwillingness to see Darcy, she determined not to attend.