Leaps and Bounds

"Why yes! How did you know?! Were you one of my students?"

"I was and you were one of my favorite professors," Darcy smiled while Elizabeth was dumbstruck. "I graduated from Wharton in 87."

"Well, Lizzy graduated from there only a few years ago!" A stunned Darcy turned to Elizabeth and stared in admiration, again she couldn't meet his eyes. He slowly turned back to Mr. Gardiner. "Goodness, I can't even remember that far back. You'll forgive me for not remembering you, Mr. Darcy, won't you?"

"Of course... Professor Gardiner, do you still like to fish?"

"Yes indeed! Well, that is, whenever I get the chance."

"If you have time, Sir, you must come and fish in my trout stream. Or, we could go out on my boat and go deep-sea fishing... I would be happy to provide you with rods and tackle and show you the best spots."

Mr. Gardiner's face lit up. "Why don't we walk down now!"

As Darcy led Mr. Gardiner to the trout stream to talk and to point out the choicest areas, the ladies shared a look of surprise. Elizabeth had listened very attentively to all that passed between them, amazed at the connections between herself and Darcy. Mrs. Gardiner pulled her arm so as not to follow so closely behind the men. "Is this the William Darcy that you and George Wickham told us about?"' she whispered. "He's so easy going and friendly. Nothing slimy about him at all."

"I'm as amazed as you are! I can't imagine why he's so changed," said a stunned Elizabeth.

"You can't?!" asked Mrs. Gardiner, though knowing full well the reason.

Mrs. Gardiner and Elizabeth were still walking arm-in-arm; Mrs. Gardiner was chatting away but Elizabeth could say nothing more, her thoughts were rapidly running through her mind. Why is he so different?! It can't be for my benefit! Is it possible that he could still be in love with me?!

After catching up to the men, who were standing at the edge of the stream; Mrs. Gardiner faked fatigue and took her husband's arm for support, leaving Elizabeth alone.

Darcy, seeing Elizabeth alone, turned, "Miss Bennet," gesturing for them to walk back towards the house. After a short silence, he started, "I, er..."

"I..." said Elizabeth at the same time.

"Please... continue," replied Darcy.

"I was going to say again, how very unexpected your arrival was. If I, we, had known you were going to be here, we would have never dreamt of invading your privacy. The tour guide assured us you wouldn't be here until tomorrow."

Darcy puzzled at this statement. I've been home since yesterday. I'll have to talk to Mrs. Reynolds. "Please don't worry yourself about it." Darcy paused to think of something to continue their conversation. "I'm expecting company." He paused, nervously twisting his pinkie ring. "Charles and Caroline."

"Oh!" she whispered.

"Charles is flying in from Bucharest tonight. He's just finished his teaching tour and I invited him to come here first for his birthday... And Caroline is flying down tomorrow to surprise him." After a few moments passed, Darcy continued as they walked. "There's another person, who more particularly wants to know you... Would you allow me to, um, or do I ask too much, to introduce my sister to you, during your stay."

"I'd like to meet her," said a surprised Elizabeth, as she looked away.

"Thank you," he smiled at her; though she didn't see it.

Hands folded behind their backs, they walked towards the house and talked about Elizabeth's trip so far. Darcy told her about some interesting sites that were a bit off the beaten path.

Once at the house, Darcy asked, "Would you like something to eat or drink? Or would you like to sit down for a while? You must be tired from all this touring."

"No, I'm fine. Thank you." She saw the disappointed look on his face and said, "My aunt and uncle might want to rest or something to eat, though. Why don't you ask them?"

"I'll do that." Just then, the Gardiner's approached them. "Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, would you like to come in and rest a bit, or maybe have some refreshments?"

"No thank you, Mr. Darcy. We have plans for this evening and we need to get back to the hotel."

"Please, excuse my ignorance. Call me William." They both smiled and he turned towards Elizabeth. "Elizabeth, can I bring my sister to visit you tomorrow morning on her way to work? Is 8:00 a.m. too early?"

"That's fine."

Darcy extended his hand to help Elizabeth into the jeep. As he felt her hand in his, he had an almost uncontrollable desire to pull her into his arms. Please stay? Don't leave me here, alone, with nothing to do but think about you. But, he reluctantly let go of her hand.

"Thank you, William" smiled Elizabeth as she turned to sit in the jeep.

"Until tomorrow then. Good evening, Mr. Gardiner, Mrs. Gardiner. Elizabeth," he said as he closed her door.

Darcy stood there and watched as the jeep drove off, but when he saw her hair blowing in the wind, he caught his breath as he remembered her on horseback at Netherfield one morning. He was about to turn around, but then Elizabeth turned back to look at him and smiled. He was comforted by her smile and he exhaled. He watched until the jeep was out of sight, then turned and walked back into the house. He still couldn't believe his luck. Had she really been here at Pemberley?! Or was I just dreaming?! He pinched himself. Nope, she was really here!!! He looked up toward heaven. Thank You God!

A few minutes later, Darcy bounded up the stairs to take a shower and change. While he lathered, his mind wandered back over the afternoon's chance encounter. Again, he couldn't believe his luck in finding Elizabeth at Pemberley. He fantasized about Elizabeth and himself at Pemberley, walking hand-in-hand. With a deep sigh, he let the water beat on his face for a few minutes, then he quickly stepped out of shower, grabbed a towel and dried himself off.

Meanwhile, on the drive back to Lambton, the Gardiners began their observations of Darcy.

"He's polite and kind, just as I remember him at Wharton," said her uncle. But as soon as he said it he regretted it.

Mrs. Gardiner gave her husband a sharp elbow to his rib section. "I did notice a little pride in him," replied her aunt. "But nothing out of the ordinary for someone of his background."

"I was a bit surprised by his behavior to us though. I mean, we were invading his privacy. And he was more than nice; he was really interested; and there was no need for such attention," said her uncle.

"Truly! But, Lizzy, how is it that you told me that he was so arrogant and conceited? We didn't see any of that."

"He was, at first, but... he..." stumbled Elizabeth as she remembered his proposal. "But, yes. He's much more different than I've ever seem him with people he doesn't know."

"Well, from what we've seen," continued her aunt, "I would never have thought he would've been so cruel to George Wickham. He doesn't look devious. On the contrary, he does this little quirky thing with his mouth and it's so cute. But those dimples. My, my, my!"

"George Wickham is not at all what he claims to be!" exclaimed Elizabeth and Mrs. Gardiner jerked her head around to look at her. Elizabeth realizing her faux pas, quickly said, "I, I mean that from what I've heard, Mr. Wickham is not above a little embellishment of the truth."

Mrs. Gardiner was concerned; but as they were now approaching the place of her youth, every idea gave way to recollection of her childhood. They were to dine with an old friend of Mrs. Gardiner's and had only an hour to change.

After changing, they drove a few miles inland to the home of her old school buddy, Mrs. Alicia Whitton-Walker. When they arrived at the house, Mr. Walker first greeted them, and later, Mrs. Walker and her 2 children came downstairs.

The occurrences of the day were too full of interest to leave Elizabeth much attention for any of these new friends; and she could do nothing but think, and think with wonder, of Darcy's kindness, and, above all, of his wishing her to meet his sister. Elizabeth was pleasant enough during dinner and tried to pay attention, but she was in and out of consciousness, until Mrs. Gardiner mentioned Darcy's name and that they met him at Pemberley this afternoon.

"What?! Well, that's a surprise in itself! He never does anything like that!" exclaimed Mrs. Walker.

"Why is that, Allie?" asked Mrs. Gardiner. "Is he a recluse or something?"

"No, no! William is just... he's just a very, very private man. I've known his family for years and when he was little, he was so sweet. But after his parents died, I don't know what happened to him. I suppose the shock of it all, changed him, but... it seemed as though he had the weight of the world on his shoulders."

"Well that's probably true," Mr. Gardiner interjected.

"You know, he was just 16 and Georgiana was barely 4 years old when their mother died." Both Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner gasped and Mrs. Walker continued. "And Georgiana was not even 10 when their father passed. So it's no wonder, she's shy. But William... he became so introverted himself. I think he was mad with the world or God to take his parents away from him. It was just so sad."

"Yes," Mrs. Gardiner could only utter; tears were beginning to well up in her eyes, as well as Elizabeth's.

"I tried to help them, you know. I invited them to dinner. I even asked to sit with Georgiana while he went out with friends, but he refused me every time. He's still a sweet boy, always polite, but he rarely talks." Mrs. Walker looked around the table at her friends and saw their long faces and decided to change the subject. "I think if he finds the right woman, he'll smile again. And lately, he's been out and about. He's stopped by several times to see how we were all getting along. And others have told me that they've seen him all over the place this summer. So strange though, it happened so suddenly... Well, anyway, it was really surprising of him to greet you."

"Well actually, Lizzy knows him." Mrs. Walker sat wide-eyed. "Yes, they met through friends last year."

"Really?!" Mrs. Walker dragged on the word like it was her last.

Elizabeth blushed. "I, I only know him a little... We met last fall and had a few conversations, but nothing else other than that."

Mrs. Walker looked at Elizabeth then to Mrs. Gardiner; and Mrs. Gardiner gave her a look that said. Don't push her Allie! So, Mrs. Walker shrugged her shoulders and left it alone.

Meanwhile, back at Pemberley, Darcy got dressed and drove to the airport to pick up Bingley. Bingley's plane landed safely and on time and they drove back to the house. On the drive back, Darcy told Bingley that Elizabeth and the Gardiners were in the area and that he was going to see them tomorrow morning.

Bingley was surprised and happy. "Do you mind if I come along?"

"No, not all! In fact, I was hoping you would."

When they reached the house, Georgiana ran out the door and hugged Bingley. "How are you Charles?! How was your trip?!"

"Fine Georgie," he squeezed her. "I'll tell you all about it over dinner."

Darcy and Bingley and some of the staff brought in Bingley's luggage. Over dinner, Bingley talked about his journeys, and Darcy told Georgiana about meeting Elizabeth while she was at work, and going to see her in the morning; Georgiana was surprised, to say the least, but happily agreed. They all laughed and talked until Bingley said he was tired and they all went to bed.

With his mind more at ease, Darcy undressed quickly and jumped into bed. But as he closed his eyes, Elizabeth's face was before him. This night, he wouldn't push her out of his mind. "Oh Elizabeth," he cried. "Will I ever have you here with me?!" The longing became almost unbearable; his throat felt dry and he tingled all over. He knew he would get little sleep tonight. But for once, he felt encouraged.

That night, Elizabeth dreamt of Darcy and their unexpected meeting. She dreamt of how devastated he must have been to lose both his parents at such a young age. Then she dreamt of how he looked in that towel; so muscular, so strong, so... She woke up suddenly; her heart was pounding wildly. She felt uneasy about the feelings inside her. Then eventually she let those feelings overwhelm her and fell again to sleep.

At 7:45 a.m., Elizabeth was dressed and ready for the arrival of her guests, she called the Gardiner's room, but they didn't answer. They probably took a walk on the beach or ate breakfast in the lounge. Nothing to worry about, they'll be here to support me.

At exactly 8:00 a.m. came a knock at the door. Elizabeth knew in her heart that it was Darcy and Georgiana arriving before the Gardiners and she knew it would take all she could muster to keep her breakfast down; she was excited, to no end, in anticipation of their coming.

"Good morning, William," she smiled. "Please come in."

"Good morning, Elizabeth," he smiled as he walked past her. Once in the room, he turned around. "Georgiana, this is Miss Elizabeth Bennet."

"How are you this morning?" Georgiana smiled. "I hope it's not too much of an inconvenience to meet you so early?"

"No, not at all. I'm very glad to meet you, Georgiana," smiled Elizabeth. "I've heard so much about you!"

"The same here!" smiled Georgiana.

"Charles is here with us this morning," interrupted Darcy, "and he very much wants to see you. I asked him to wait in the lobby until I received your permission. Can I go get him?"

"Why yes, of course!" smiled Elizabeth. "I'd like to see him, as well."

Elizabeth turned back to Georgiana as Darcy left the room, "I understand that you have a passion for music and play the piano very well."

"I don't play as well as I used to. I don't have much time to practice, but I'm still very fond of the piano," responded Georgiana. "But, I would really love to hear you play and sing. My brother told me he has rarely heard anything that gave him more pleasure."

Elizabeth shyly giggled. "Alright. But I warn you; your brother has grossly exaggerated my talents. No doubt for some mischievous reason."

"Oh no!" Georgiana cried, "That couldn't be true! My brother never exaggerates, he always tells the absolute truth... Except that sometimes, I think he is a little too kind to me."

"The perfect older brother, huh?"

"Oh yes! I couldn't imagine a better or a kinder one."

"I'm very jealous of you, you know. I have no brothers at all, only four sisters."

"I would've liked to have had a sister. A brother is well... not like a sister," she scrunched her face up. They both laughed and were immediately interrupted by footsteps entering the room.

"Lizzy!" smiled Bingley as he crossed the room and shook her hand vigorously. "I can't tell you how thrilled I was when William told me you were only five minutes from Pemberley. How have you been?!" Elizabeth smiled, but before she could answer, he interrupted. "I can see that you're doing just fine!"

"Yes I am. Thank you," smiled Elizabeth.

"Good. Good. Excellent! And what about your family, how are they?"

"They're all doing well," she raised an eyebrow.

"Yes..." he prodded her to continue, but she didn't. "Tell me, are all your sisters still at Longbourn?"

"All except one..." Elizabeth paused, knowing he was inquiring of Jane. "Lydia is at a tennis summer camp in D.C."

"Ah!" smiled Bingley. Georgiana returned to her brother's side while Bingley continued. "It's been way too long since we've seen each other."

Elizabeth knew Bingley was struggling, but she wouldn't give in. "Yes, several months now?"

"It's been more than 8 months! I haven't you since the 26^th of November, when we were all dancing together at the club."

"I think you're right."

"You know," Charles started to drift away in thought. "I don't think I can remember a happier time than those 2 months I spent in Charlottesville..."

"Elizabeth," Darcy interrupted, realizing where the conversation was going, and knowing that he and Bingley did not have the chance to go over the phone records. "My sister has a request."

Georgiana moved closer to Elizabeth and Bingley. "Elizabeth, my brother and I would love it, if you and your aunt and uncle would be our guests at Pemberley for dinner. Would tomorrow evening be convenient?"

"Thank you, Georgiana," beamed Elizabeth. "And I believe that I can answer for Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, wherever they may be, that we have no plans for tomorrow night."

"How about 7:00 p.m.? Nothing formal, though."

"Sounds great!"

"And will you play and sing for us?" inquired Georgiana.

"If you insist." Georgiana nodded her head and both Bingley and Darcy smiled. "Then yes I will."

The visitors left almost immediately afterwards, because Georgiana needed to be at work by 9:00 a.m. A few minutes after the Darcy's and Bingley left, the Gardiner's knocked on her door.

"Where have you been?!" exclaimed Elizabeth as she let them in the room. "You were supposed to be here for me... to help me! Oh God, I hope I didn't embarrass myself!" Her arms were flailing once again.

"Elizabeth, you didn't need our help," comforted Mrs. Gardiner. "We only wanted to give you time alone with your friends. And I'm sure you didn't embarrass yourself."

"How would you know?!" she railed.

Mrs. Gardiner paid no attention to Elizabeth's outburst. "Because we saw them leaving and they were all smiling."

"Really?" Mr. Gardiner nodded and smiled. "Oh auntie, uncle E, I'm sorry. You know how I get when I'm panicked. I apologize for my behavior." Elizabeth buried her head in her hands.

"Lizzy, we are well acquainted with your outbursts. Thank goodness you only do it in private," interjected Mr. Gardiner as he patted her on her shoulder.

"Lizzy, I'm only going to tell you this once." Elizabeth looked up at her aunt. "With these outbursts of yours, you're only hurting yourself, the ones you love, and the ones who love you back."

Elizabeth was dumbstruck at her aunt's words. Does she know?! No way! No, she is all too familiar with my childish behavior, she is only referring to family occasions. "You're right auntie, more than you know. I'll try my best to control my temper, from now on."

Elizabeth related Darcy, Bingley and Georgiana's visit and dinner request; they were delighted, of course. They were inclined to like him and they could see Elizabeth's previous opinions had drastically changed.

Last night, Mrs. Gardiner called a few of her old friends to ask about Darcy. They all said the same thing. Yes, he was proud, but also kind and generous. She also asked if they remembered Wickham; each said that when he left, he left many debts behind him and Darcy paid them all.

Even though Elizabeth and the Gardiners continued their history tour, visiting many former plantations turned attractions, Elizabeth's mind was hardly on the houses or her company; she thought and wondered all day and well into the evening about Darcy. Her dreams the night before, were enough fuel to stir the fire deep within her, but heart fluttered whenever she thought of him, and she didn't know what to make of it.

Meanwhile, Georgiana went to work in her car and Darcy and Bingley drove back to Pemberley. Darcy took Bingley into his study where he had all his phone records from the months of November, December and January. They carefully circled each call to Charlottesville. There were plenty of calls to support Bingley's claim and he was truly relieved.

"There! I told you I called her!"

"I believed you Charles! We just needed proof and here it is! You'll get Jane back and all will be right with the world. Now relax, will ya?!"

"What are you going to do about Lizzy?"

"You let me worry about that."

"William, I told you this before, you need to start letting your friends help you. There are some things that you can't do all by yourself."

Darcy put his head on the desk. "I know. If I had let my friends and family know about a lot of things, I wouldn't feel so weighted down all the time. But Charles, it's hard to let go!"

"I know. I see you struggling sometimes. At Netherfield I even heard you scream out in your sleep a couple of times. But you never let anyone in!"

"Alright, okay, you win!" Darcy paced the room for a few minutes. "Charles, I love her, plain and simple. But, I have 2 strikes against me and it's the bottom of the ninth. And you know what happens if I swing and miss."

"William stop talking sports for a minute and tell me straight up. What do you mean 2 strikes?"

Darcy walked across the floor. "When we were in Charlottesville, I had her within my grasp and I let Wickham get in the way. Strike one. When I saw her again in Kent, I let everything else get in the way. Strike two." Bingley didn't understand and Darcy could tell that by the look on his face. I just can't tell him about the proposal, he would laugh in my face. Just as she did. "In Kent, we argued something terrible, I told her that her family was beneath me, she accused me of breaking up you and Jane and destroying Wickham's life." He collapsed on the couch. "Oh man, it was horrible in every way! I said some terrible things to her and she slapped me."

"What?! What did you say?!"

"Things that I'll regret everyday that I am upright and walking on this earth. And if I told them to you, you'd probably slap me too."

"But she didn't seem angry this morning."

"Yesterday neither. Maybe my letter did some good? Nah, I doubt it, I was still angry when I wrote it."

"What letter?"

"That night after I pr... after we argued. I wrote her a letter, explaining myself, my behavior, my having nothing to do with you and Jane, Wickham, everything."

"Everything?" Darcy nodded. "Then that letter must have done the trick. I think if you ask her in person to forgive you, she might." Darcy just sat and nodded his head.

Later that afternoon, Darcy found Charles in the A/V room. "Come on Charles, we have to go to the airport."

"I just got here! Why am I going to the airport again?!"

Darcy laughed. "I'm expecting another guest and I know I'll need your help with the luggage." Charles frowned at his friend, but complied.

On the drive to the airport, Bingley kept asking who this other guest was and Darcy kept quiet. Once inside, they walked from the parking lot toward gate #24. Darcy planned it so that his guest was already waiting for them, so when they walked past gate #23, they heard. "Chaaarles! Wiiiilliam!"

Bingley winced, pulled Darcy's arm and said under his breath, "Remind me to kill you later!" all the while smiling. Darcy just shrugged his shoulders. "Caroline! It's good to see you, sis!" Bingley hugged her and pecked her on the cheek.

"I'm not the only one here!" she exclaimed. "Look, I brought Louisa and Jimmy with me!" Caroline winked at Darcy and he flinched.

As Bingley hugged Louisa and shook hands with Jimmy, Darcy cursed Caroline. The least she could've done was call me and tell me she was bringing them!

Caroline noticed Darcy's demeanor and ran over and hugged him. "I'm sorry daaaarling. I forgot to call!"

"That's alright Caroline." Darcy said, as he pushed her away, never hugging her back. "I'll just call Mrs. Reynolds from the car. Louisa, Jimmy, what an unexpected pleasure!" Louisa gave Caroline a quick sharp look. "Glad I drove the Suburban." He turned around and started walking back to the car. "I'll be parked at the baggage claim."

The 2 hour drive home was long for Darcy, he had to listen to Caroline chatting away in between Bingley's stories of his travels, which he had heard the day before. However, as he waited for them in front of the baggage claim area, he managed to call Pemberley and warn Mrs. Reynolds; she being more capable than most housekeepers, assured him that all would be taken care of before they arrived.

Georgiana was waiting for them; they ate dinner, talked, laughed, and later they all went to bed.

Both Darcy and Elizabeth slept fitfully in anticipation of their upcoming dinner together. Darcy tossed and turned, thinking over every possible instance of the evening to come; what Elizabeth might like or dislike, how she might look, would he be able to show her how he's changed, would she change her mind about him, and could she ever love him, even a little. Elizabeth wrestled with her pillows and cover, also thinking of the next evening; why was she so excited to see him again, what he might wear, would she be able to tell him she no longer hates him, and could he ever forgive her, completely.

Elizabeth woke up early and ate breakfast in her room, all the while still worrying about tonight. She pushed at her eggs, crunched and crinkled her bacon, and stirred and swirled her coffee until it was cold. Later that morning, she went with the Gardiner's to visit more old friends of her aunt, again, she was as pleasant as possible, but not her usual flip and glib way.

Darcy awoke early and went downstairs to find Mrs. Reynolds; he would make sure that everything ran smoothly; nothing less than perfection would do.

Mrs. Reynolds followed him around the house, just shaking her head at his instructions. "Mr. Darcy, we've had special occasions here in the past, Sir. Haven't we done a fine job?"

"Yes, of course, Mrs. Reynolds. I was just..." At that moment, Darcy realized that he was overstepping his bounds as far as Mrs. Reynolds was concerned. He laughed at himself. "I'm sorry Mrs. Reynolds, please forgive me. You and the staff have always made me proud. I have no excuse but to say that I'm just a bit anxious about tonight."

"I can see that, Sir. Now, if you'll just tell me why this night is so special, I'll make sure that everything, absolutely everything, is perfect."

He breathed in deeply and exhaled. There were times in his life that Darcy had run to Mrs. Reynolds for comfort or to fix something, now would be another time. "There is a young woman that I'd really like to impress." Her eyes lit up and he smiled. "If it was up to me, I would have a nice, quiet romantic dinner for two. But, that's not the case, since we have a house full of guests and she's coming here with her aunt and uncle."

"Are you talking about the young lady that was here the other day?"

"Yes I am," he smiled, this time showing his dimples and Mrs. Reynolds knew that this girl might be the one.

"Sir, leave it all up to me. I would never disappoint you and tonight you needn't worry about one detail. Now you go and prepare yourself. What are you wearing?"

"I don't know. It's just casual, nothing formal."

"Well, you always looked good in that blue jacket you had made a few years ago, but black goes good with your hair and eyes," she smiled and patted him on the back. "First, you need to eat breakfast, then you decide about tonight. I'll get with you in about 2 hours and let you know what I have planned. Okay?"

"Okay," Darcy smiled sheepishly.

The rest of the morning, he entertained his guests. Later, Mrs. Reynolds advised him of the menu, flower arrangements, etc.

At lunch, Louisa noticed the staff buzzing and fixing, and polishing and primping. "What's going on William?" Everyone looked at him.

"We're having special guests for dinner tonight."

"Well, they must be special, Will. Your staff always does a top job, but I've never seen them this crazy," Jimmy inserted.

Darcy blushed. "They've never dined here before and I wanted to make it special for them."

Caroline was very interested. "Who are your guests?"

"Elizabeth Bennet and her aunt and uncle, the Gardiners," Darcy heard Caroline gasp as he mentioned Elizabeth's name.

Caroline snapped her head in her sister's direction, rolled her eyes and whispered loud enough for Bingley to overhear. "What are they doing down here?!"

"Mrs. Gardiner is from this area," chimed in Bingley. "And they've been visiting historical sites up and down the East Coast."

"I'm sure," Caroline sneered.

After lunch, Caroline ran upstairs to search for the perfect outfit to put Elizabeth in her place. That tramp just keeps popping up! But tonight I'll show her! Just then Louisa knocked. "Come in," she sang, in case it was Darcy, and Louisa came into Caroline's room.

"Caroline, don't do anything stupid."

Caroline jumped up from the bed. "What do you mean stupid?" she glared over the top of Louisa. "I'm not going to let her just waltz in here and take William away from me!"

"Caroline, I, I agree with you, but you need to be calm about this! You know he likes her, so if you start ranting and raving, you'll just make him mad. There are other ways to show her up, without using that sharp tongue of yours."

"You're right. I'm smart enough to cut her down to size any day, but I'll treat her with kindness. I'll be as sweet and innocent as she pretends to be."

"That's my girl!" Louisa left Caroline to her thoughts.

The first order of business is to wear something that will pop William's eyes right out of their sockets! Caroline finally chose a sparkly orange lame catsuit, cape to match and 6-inch heels to boot; Caroline liked the cape effect on herself and she especially liked the color orange.

Darcy and Georgiana were in his room, he thought he'd ask her for help. "What do you think, Georgie?" he asked with a mixture of worry and nervousness on his face.

"I like black on you better." She smiled. "If you just wear these black slacks and your black shirt with the red Darcy crest on it, you'll look very handsome tonight." She giggled at him. "But I do believe it would be better for you to try to calm down first. How can you and Elizabeth become better acquainted if you're so... nervous and jumpy?"

"You're right, Georgie." Darcy tried breathing in and out. "I just want everything to be perfect. I think I'll break into pieces if something goes wrong."

"William, nothing can go wrong! However..."

"However?"

"However, you must make every effort to talk to her." And I'll make every effort to help you out.

"I will, I promise."

"And... keep Caroline away from her!" They both chuckled. "You know she's in there plotting something right now."

"Yes, I know. But you know what? Elizabeth has always been able to ignore Caroline. That's one of the things I admire about her. I think I'll take her way on this."

"Good!" Georgiana breathed heavily. "I thought we might have a fight in here. Not that I would mind seeing Caroline get her butt kicked, but I'd hate to see Elizabeth get down and dirty with her." Darcy was shocked at his little sister, he picked her up in the air and swung her around and they giggled and laughed for a long while. "I'd better get ready myself! Good Luck!"

"Thanks. I'll need it!" he yelled to her as she closed the door.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth took great pains in dressing for tonight; she so much wanted to make a better impression on Darcy. She had only brought a few nice outfits with her on the trip, none of which he had seen before. But which one! She finally chose a creamy white sundress and matching short jacket. The outfit was made of soft cotton, with little fine squares in the material. It had a heart-shaped bodice with thin shoulder straps and from the waist it flowed silkily to just above the knees. She twisted and turned in the mirror to make sure that it did so and while she was spinning she noticed that she could see right through the dress. She almost panicked, instead she called her aunt to ask if she had a half-slip. Of course, Mrs. Gardiner had one and she would send her uncle with it immediately. The last obstacle would be her hair, she finally decided to pin it up with cream-colored combs and let a few strands hang down around her face and neck.

Mr. Gardiner knocked on the door with the slip and told her to be ready in five minutes. She put on her shoes and started pinning her hair, but it kept falling down. I'm way too nervous for this!

"Elizabeth!" called Mrs. Gardiner as she knocked on the door. "If you don't hurry up we'll be late!"

Elizabeth ran to the door. "Auntie, I need your help!" And they both ran back to the bedroom. After a few minutes, the ladies walked out and Mr. Gardiner sighed. "We're ready now," Elizabeth smiled at her uncle.

"I took the liberty of putting the top on," smiled Mr. Gardiner as they rode down the elevator.

"Thank you sweetie," said Mrs. Gardiner as she kissed him on the cheek, then she turned to Elizabeth. "Make sure the man you choose as your husband is as considerate as mine." Elizabeth blushed.

Convinced as Elizabeth now was that Caroline's dislike of her had originated in jealousy, she could not help feeling how very unwelcome her appearance at Pemberley must be to her, and was curious to know how Caroline would react.

Darcy waited impatiently for the Gardiner's car to appear on the horizon. He paced back and forth in the hallway. Georgiana and Bingley came out and grinned at him, and Darcy stopped pacing and sighed. They heard the car approaching, and Darcy took a last, deep, calming breath and opened the door.

"Look Lizzy, he's waiting for us!" exclaimed Mrs. Gardiner as Elizabeth blushed again.

Georgiana went back inside the living room to see Caroline's reaction first hand, while Darcy came up, helped Mrs. Gardiner out of the car while Bingley helped Elizabeth. "Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, this is one of my closest and dearest friends, Charles Bingley." Bingley shook their hands, but was stunned at Mrs. Gardiners' beauty.

As they approached the house, Darcy put out his arm. "Elizabeth may I escort you inside?" She looked up at him with sparkling eyes and took his arm. "You look absolutely beautiful!" he whispered.

Elizabeth breathed in deeply. "Thank you," she exhaled as they walked into the entryway. "You don't look so bad yourself." He raised an eyebrow and she chuckled.

They walked through the entry way and down a long corridor and through to the other side of the house. "This side is a duplicate of the other, except for the furniture!" squealed Elizabeth as Darcy chuckled.

"Yes, this side is our side, Georgiana's and mine. It was built during the Civil War to confuse the Yankees." He laughed again.

As they walked into the living room, the others stood up and Darcy started the introductions. "Elizabeth, you know everyone in the room, so there's no need for formal introductions." Elizabeth went right in shook everyone's hand and smiled. "Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, may I present my friends and Charles' family. This is Jimmy Hurst, Mrs. Louisa Hurst and Caroline." They all shook hands. "And this is my sister, Georgiana."

"Welcome to Pemberley, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner. We're so glad that you could come," smiled Georgiana. They all sat and talked for a little while.

A little later, Elizabeth walked over to the refreshment table where Darcy was and Caroline had followed him. Darcy was trying to figure out a way to get Elizabeth alone. "I understand that you were on your way to the conservatory when we happened to meet the other day. Are you interested in flowers, Elizabeth?" She could only nod, because she felt his warm breath on the back of her neck and she stood frozen. "We have some of the most beautiful species in the world, if you'd like to see it later?" She was about to answer him, but he stopped her, noticing that Caroline was about to invite herself. "But, I think it might be a little too windy outside, you wouldn't want your hair messed up. Maybe, whenever you have the chance to come back here, I'll show it to you."

She turned around and looked into his dark eyes. "You could pick me up tomorrow, if you're not too busy." Caroline gasped in disgust.

He gulped. "Sure!" his voice cracked. "Yes, that'll be just fine." Just then a bell tinkled. "Dinner time." They all walked to the dining room; Caroline fumed as she lagged behind the rest.

Mrs. Reynolds was careful about the seat placements: Darcy at the head of the table, of course, to his right Elizabeth, Mr. Gardiner, Louisa and Bingley at the opposite from him. To his left were Georgiana, Mrs. Gardiner, Jimmy, and Caroline.

During the meal, Darcy, Elizabeth and Georgiana talked on all matter of subjects, they were in their own little cocoon of conversation. And when Elizabeth asked Georgiana to describe her job, Georgiana brightened and talked animatedly; Darcy grinned and showed those famous dimples again.

During dinner, Louisa announced that she and Jimmy had purchased a house in Roxbury, Massachusetts and will be moving there by the end of August. Congratulations were made to the happy couple; although Bingley was a bit saddened, his cook was no more and Caroline was thoroughly put out, her confidante and co-conspirator would be of no help, so far away.

The Gardiner's and Bingley tried to hold Caroline in check with their conversation and praise of her style and flare. But every once in a while Caroline would yell down to the end of the table about one thing or another. "Eliza! Why aren't you eating? Are you trying to watch your weight?" Or "Eliza where did you get that lovely dress? Off the rack I suppose." Or "Eliza, I'm sure you're not used to such grandeur. I'll be happy to point out the things you don't know." Darcy felt every muscle in his body tighten each time Caroline spoke across the table.

Dinner ended and they all adjourned into the living room. They all sat down and talked for a while, Georgiana had noticed the conspiratorial looks and whisperings between Caroline and Louisa and interrupted Elizabeth as she conversed with Bingley and Mrs. Gardiner.

"Elizabeth, excuse me. Would you play for us?"

"Sure, if you'll sit with me."

Caroline sneered and glared in Elizabeth's direction. That's my job! I always entertain after dinner!

As Elizabeth and Georgiana walked toward the piano, Darcy tapped Elizabeth on the shoulder and she turned around to him. "What are going to play?"

"I might surprise you."

"How's that?"

"I've been practicing," she smiled, wondering if Darcy caught her meaning.

"So have I," Darcy said huskily; Elizabeth gulped then trembled as she looked into his eyes, realizing that he caught it and more.

Darcy took a seat next to Mr. Gardiner. This seat would afford him a good view of Elizabeth as she played; he knew he was in for a treat. The song Elizabeth played was an old Billie Holiday song, 'The Very Thought of You' and one of his favorites.

Elizabeth sang it with a smoldering sensuality, mesmerizing Darcy; he couldn't take his eyes off her.

"Absolutely marvelous!" exclaimed Bingley. The entire party clapped in appreciation and Darcy's smile broadened to show his dimples as he continued to stare.

Eventually, the conversation of the rest of the party took Darcy's attentions and eyes from Elizabeth.

"Won't you play again?" asked Georgiana. "You played that song so beautifully!"

"Not very beautifully," doubted Elizabeth. "Not faithfully at all... You must have seen how I fudged and slurred my way through the difficult passages..."

"But that's what made it so beautiful." Georgiana leaned over to whisper. "I think someone here thought it was very sexy," she winked and Elizabeth blushed, trying not to look in Darcy's direction.

"Hmm, it is a beautiful instrument, though," said Elizabeth trying to change the subject.

"My brother gave it to me last week. He's so good to me. I don't deserve it."

"I'm sure you do. Your brother thinks you do. And as you know, he is never wrong," said Elizabeth as both she and Georgiana looked over at Darcy. He caught their teasing glances and smiled slightly, questioningly. Elizabeth quickly stood up from the bench. "Now, it's your turn!" Georgiana looked petrified. "Oh, I absolutely insist!"

"In front of all these people?!" exclaimed Georgiana and Elizabeth nodded. "But it's been so long!"

"It would be so gracious of the host to oblige a guest's request," Elizabeth teased as she flipped through a music book to one of her favorites and pointed to it.

"Okay, I'll play, but I won't sing," she conceded.

"If you like," smiled Elizabeth before she strolled across the room for something cool to drink.

As Georgiana played, "Eliza!" exclaimed Caroline; full knowing that Darcy would now be looking at her. "Is the amateur tennis team still in Charlottesville?"

"No, they are now staying in D.C."

"And what about the tennis instructor?"

"I believe he's also in D.C."

Caroline gave her an insinuating smile. "Those must be great losses for your family?"

"We are enduring it, as well as we can, Caroline," she replied smugly.

Still not pleased with Elizabeth's response. "Oh, I meant nothing by it. I just thought that one man's absence might have caused a particularly painful whole in your heart?"

You're the one that slept with him! "I can't imagine whom you mean?" said Elizabeth as she saw Darcy fidget with uneasiness on the turn of the conversation.

"I understood that certain females, namely Bennet's, found the friendship of George Wickham, hard to resist."

Georgiana heard what was going on and fumbled on the piano; Darcy jumped out of his seat. But before he could move to his sister, Elizabeth moved quickly to her. "I'm sorry, I'm neglecting you, Georgiana. How can you play with no one to turn the pages?" Elizabeth said softly as she turned a page in the music book. "There... allow me."

Georgiana, pleased that she was able to disrupt the flow of the conversation and save Elizabeth from Caroline at the same time, played on. After 3 years of therapy, the love of her family, her friends, college, and work, Georgiana was no longer traumatized at the mere mention of Wickham's name.

Elizabeth, assumed that Georgiana had misplayed because she heard Wickham's name mentioned, was relieved that she was able to handle the situation with delicacy and speed. Georgiana would not be embarrassed and neither would Darcy. She slowly lifted her head and glanced over to Darcy and saw him looking at her, intensely, a heart on his sleeve kind of look, and a smile creeping in the corners of his mouth. Her eyes could not leave his.

Darcy, who also assumed the same as Elizabeth, was amazed at her quickness to diffuse the situation at hand. He also noted that she showed no particular sign of concern at the mention of Wickham's name. Yes Elizabeth, you would make a good wife for any man, especially me! He looked at her longingly with gratitude, appreciation, and love.

Bingley, who had been oblivious to the whole thing, as he was talking with Mrs. Gardiner about Jane, suddenly jumped up. "Elizabeth, is it possible that William and I might talk with you privately?"

"Yes, of course," she looked at her aunt with concern.

"How about my study?" Darcy pointed the way; Bingley went out the door first, Elizabeth and Darcy followed. They left the rest of the party bewildered.

"What is this all about?" she looked at both men as they entered the room.

"I told Charles that you and Jane never received his messages. Charles emphatically says that he called and we now have his phone records as proof. Here is December and January."

Elizabeth sat down at the desk and carefully looked at the records. "Can I have a pen please?" She saw that they had marked all of the phone calls to Charlottesville in yellow magic marker. She marked off her home number, which totaled 38. "Did you make copies?" They nodded. "I'll have to take this home to Jane or do you want to do it Charles?"

"Let me think about it, Lizzy?" Bingley sat down on the couch near the window.

There were 2 Charlottesville numbers that didn't immediately register to her mind. She pointed. "These 2 numbers here are not very familiar to me, one seems vaguely familiar, but I can't remember right now."

"Are you finished?" whispered Darcy as he leaned over her chair. "Then Charles and Jane can get back together?"

"That's really up to them, William," said a shaky Elizabeth, a bit disconcerted that his lips were so close to her ear.

Two down and two to go! "What time should I pick you up tomorrow?" he whispered again.

Elizabeth closed her eyes and calmed herself. "What time would you like to pick me up?"

He laughed a throaty laugh. "I'd like to pick you up at dawn, so that you could see the sun rise over the Atlantic. It's almost as beautiful as..."

Elizabeth jumped up from her chair. "I know whose number that is! It's George Wickham's!" Bingley was stunned and turned a bright red while Darcy was hurt and turned a darker shade of red.

"What?! Let me see!" Bingley pushed past Darcy. Bingley put his fingers on his temples and yelled "Caroline!!!!" Darcy burst through the french doors and stormed out of the house, Elizabeth followed him.

"What did I do this time?!" Elizabeth touched his shoulder and he shrugged it off. "Please tell me?!" Darcy walked away down the beach. Elizabeth thought about what just happened, then the lightbulb went on. Oh my God! You're an idiot Lizzy! She ran down the beach after him, catching up to him and jumping in front of him. "I'm sorry William! I didn't mean anything by it!"

"Why is it that I can't get rid of him and you can't forget him?!" he railed, then turned and walked away from her.

"That's not true! You, in no way, remind me of him! Please hear me out! Please!" she cried, tears streaming down her face. She ran after him again and grabbed his arm. "Don't do this, William! Don't do this to me." Darcy's heart melted as he took Elizabeth into his arms. Finally after a few minutes of crying, she looked up at him. "He never meant anything to me! You have to believe me ... It's been hard these last 2 days! You just don't know how I felt, how I feel!"

"Put yourself in my place!" He grabbed her arms and peered deep into her eyes. "Imagine that you're whispering sweet nothings into my ear and I scream out... Caroline's name."

She sniffed and chuckled. "I would kill you."

"Exactly! And don't believe I didn't think about it!" he smiled wryly and pulled her close to him. "Oh Lizzy, can we start over?" Elizabeth nodded. He leaned down, his lips close to her ear and whispered. "The sun rise is almost as beautiful as you are."

Elizabeth blushed and trembled and he felt her shaking and squeezed her tighter. "You don't want to see me at dawn. Ack!" she tried to laugh.

He laughed. "I doubt that. But why don't I pick you up at 11:00 a.m.?"

"Why don't you pick me up at 9:00 a.m. and we can spend the whole day together?"

"Okay," he said, startled again by her forwardness.

"What a pair we are," she laughed and threw her head back. "I d..." before she could finish her sentence, Darcy kissed her; deep and long. They stayed clinched and groping for at least 15 minutes, until they remembered where they were.

Meanwhile, Bingley called the other mysterious number. It was a 'Western Union' office in downtown Charlottesville. After hanging up the phone, he walked calmly into the living room. "Caroline, can I speak to you for a minute, please?" he said through clinched teeth. Before she could answer, he practically dragged her from the loveseat into the study, slammed the door, and threw her into a chair. "Why is George Wickham's number on my phone bill?! And don't even open up your lying mouth until you're ready to tell me the truth!" Bingley then slammed the french doors.

She twisted and turned in her seat, but at length, Caroline began. "I, I called him to tell him off for embarrassing me," she cried fake tears. "I'm sorry, I know it was stupid, but..."

"Stupid! Stupid!" Bingley stalked around the room like a madman. "You think everyone is stupid! Including me!" Then he walked to her chair, leaned on the handles so that his face was one millimeter away from hers. "You will go upstairs, pack your bags and be out of here on the next plane! And when you get to D.C. you have exactly 7 days to get out of my house!"

"But Charles, why?!" she cowered as he backed off.

"Because you've been lying and conniving and I've put up with it all my life! But I won't do it anymore!"

"It's the truth! I told you the truth!"

"You're only telling half the truth, Caroline! Why did you call the 'Western Union' office?"

"He, he was blackmailing me! So I expressed him some money to keep him quiet."

"Caroline, you've slept with worse than Wickham. Why is it that you decide to pay this one off?!"

"I, I..."

"Caroline, I'm giving you one last chance to redeem yourself. You obviously charged the pay off. So tell me the absolute truth. Please!"

Caroline still didn't tell Bingley the truth, she knew that he would never forgive her for what she did. He went back into the living room with Caroline and by that time, Elizabeth and Darcy had just returned all smiles and blushing.

"I'm not feeling well, please excuse me," apologized Bingley. "Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, it was a pleasure meeting you and I hope to see you again. Elizabeth, I'll call you. Good night."

Everyone was worried about Bingley and Darcy went up after him. Bingley lied and told him he was fine, but the jet lag was finally catching up to him. The rest of the evening went so well, that Elizabeth and the Gardiners were invited to stay longer for a late-night aperitif. They accepted and the rest of the night went as though Elizabeth, the Darcys, and the Gardiners were old friends. Caroline didn't have much to say to anyone and Louisa had taken Jimmy upstairs to put him to bed.

Darcy and Georgiana attended Elizabeth and the Gardiners to their car. Elizabeth was aware of Darcy looking intently at her, and when he said good night to her she felt very strange. His eyes were searching her face, and she was faintly blushing, as she forced herself to look into his eyes. She got this momentary impulse to kiss him, but she couldn't. Not here! Not now! So she just waved and said "Good night! Thank you for a wonderful evening! See you tomorrow."

Meanwhile Louisa had returned to the living room and she and Caroline were venting their feelings and criticisms about Elizabeth.

As it was getting late, Georgiana went straight to her room and Darcy walked slowly back to the living room. He thought of her face, the expression on it as she said 'good night.' There had been something in her eyes... he sensed, that she wanted to say something else, something more... maybe even kiss him. I'll call her as soon as I get up to my room!

Caroline couldn't help repeating some part of her revelry when Darcy appeared in the doorway. "Eliza looks so unhealthy, William. I've never in my life seen someone so changed since last winter. She's entirely too tanned, brown even, and her skin is wrinkled and coarse!"

"I agree!" interjected Louisa.

"Louisa and I were just saying that we hope she and her family leave the area soon, otherwise we would have to pretend we like her. Don't you agree, William?"

Darcy didn't like Caroline talking about Elizabeth, not even when he wasn't in love with her, he coolly replied, "I didn't notice any difference... She is a little tanned, but that's hardly surprising. It is summer time, you know?" Duh?!?!

"Well, as far as I'm concerned, I never saw any beauty in her face. Her features are not at all handsome, her complexion has no brilliancy! Oh, her teeth are okay, but nothing out of the common way... And as for her eyes, which I've sometimes heard you call fine, I could never see anything so extraordinary in them." Caroline moved toward Darcy and Darcy moved to the couch to get away from her. She was nearly desperate now and continued her barrage, so that Darcy might speak up and join in. She thought if she pushed him to the edge of embarrassment, he would see that Elizabeth was beneath his admiration. "And in her attitude, she's too smug and self-assured without reason, and I find that unbearable." Louisa snickered. "And remember when we first came to Charlottesville, how amazed we all were to find her a so-called beauty; and I particularly recall you, William, one night saying 'If she's a beauty then her mother's Albert Einstein'!" Caroline and Louisa laughed. "But later she seemed to grow on you, I even believe you thought her pretty at one time."

"Yes, I did" replied Darcy, who could contain himself no longer, "but that was only when I first knew her," he said as he walked toward the door, then he turned slowly around to glare at Caroline. "But since then, I've come to believe that she is the most beautiful woman I know. Inside and out!"

Caroline just stood there stunned as Darcy stormed out of the room.

Meanwhile, when they reached the hotel, Mrs. Gardiner said, "Lizzy, Edward and I are going for a midnight stroll on the beach. We'll probably take some blankets and pillows and spend the night out there. Would you like to join us?"

Elizabeth laughed. "No way! What do I look like, a third wheel?!"

Mr. Gardiner winked at Elizabeth. "Excellent!" He put his arms around Mrs. Gardiner and nuzzled her neck. "We were just trying to be polite."

"I know," teased Elizabeth and they all laughed.

Elizabeth and the Gardiner's rushed to their rooms, neither saw the blinking message light on their telephone.

Later that night, as everyone slept, Darcy called Elizabeth's room. "Lizzy."

"Hi," she said breathily. "Is something wrong?"

"No, I just wanted to hear your voice," he heard her gasp. "Is that alright?"

"Yes... William, I had a wonderful time this evening."

"So did I... Lizzy, tell me I'm not dreaming. Tell me that I actually held you in my arms and kissed you."

Elizabeth closed her eyes and let his silky baritone voice pass over her body. "It happened. It wasn't a dream."

He exhaled heavily. "That's good... Lately, you know, my mind's been playing tricks on me."

Elizabeth feeling the need to change to subject before it got too heavy. "Do you have anything planned for tomorrow?"

Darcy smiled to himself. "Not really. I thought about taking you up in my sea plane, or taking you hang gliding off the cliffs at Kitty Hawk."

"Are you trying to kill me?!"

"No," he chuckled. "I'm trying to..." He cleared his throat. "I'd just like to show you how beautiful it is down here. My own little paradise."

"Why don't we try the sea plane? You'd be wasting your time trying to get me to hang from a kite." They both laughed. Was that him that I saw hang gliding the other day?

"I'll have Mrs. Reynolds pack us a picnic basket for lunch. And we could skim the waters for crabs or go fishing and cook out on the beach."

"That sounds wonderful," she sighed.

"Good. Then I'll see you tomorrow. Good night."

"William."

"Yes?"

"Don't hang up... Talk to me until I go to sleep," asked Elizabeth and Darcy sighed and smiled. "Or you could play your sax for me. Just don't hang up."

They talked for a little while longer; each not wanting to bring up their past behavior, and, at length, fell pleasantly asleep with the receivers still at their ears.

They both forgot to set their alarm clocks and overslept. Darcy waking up with a jolt and seeing the clock blink 8:45 a.m. called out, "Lizzy! Lizzy!"

"What?!" she jumped up and the receiver fell to the floor. Elizabeth picked up the phone. "I'm up! What time is it?"

"It's almost 9:00 a.m.!"

"Oh! We're going to miss most of the morning together!"

"I'll get Mrs. Reynolds to pack us a lunch, but it's going to take a little while. I'll come as soon as I can. Okay? See you later."

"Bye." They hung up and hurried to get ready.

As Elizabeth waited for Darcy, she thought about last night and their kisses and then her thoughts turned to Jane and Bingley. She realized that she hadn't heard from Jane in days and decided to call her at the office and tell her what's going on.

She called the office first, and there was no answer, but she pressed number 0, so that it would ring at the house.

Jane picked up the phone. "Hello," she said shakily.

"Jane! It's Lizzy! How's it..."

"Lizzy, thank God you called! We've been trying to reach you all night!"

Elizabeth heard the panic in Jane's voice. "Why?! What's going on?!"

"Lydia has run off with George Wickham!"

"What?!?!"

"Oh Lizzy, it's been horrible! Please come home!"

"Jane! When did this happen?!" she cried.

Jane breathed in deeply and exhaled through her tears. "We hadn't heard from Lydia for about a week and then we got a letter in the mail yesterday. It seems that they are hiding out in D.C. and he wants half-a-million dollars to marry her. He says he'll take her even further away, get her pregnant and leave her with nothing and no one! Mom has been in hysterics ever since, and Dad is beside himself for letting her go to D.C. by herself, but he's already left for D.C. And Kitty and Mary are no help! I called the police, they came over to question us and got her graduation picture. But there's not much they can do since she's 18. And I've been trying to call you since last night! I even tried auntie and uncle E's room, but I didn't get an answer there either."

"Oh God, Jane! What are we going to do?!" sobbed Elizabeth.

"Come home! We need uncle E's help!"

"Okay, okay! They're on the beach somewhere, but I'll find them and we'll come home as soon as we can!"

As soon Elizabeth was able to stand up, she ran for the door and as soon as she opened it, there appeared Darcy about ready to knock.

"Lizzy, I came as..."

She interrupted, "Not now William!" she cried. "I have to find my aunt and uncle, immediately! I don't have a moment to lose!"

"Good God! What's the matter?!" Elizabeth fell into his arms and cried and mumbled things he couldn't understand. "I'll get them, you sit down right here."

"No, I..." she said as she tried to go through him, though her legs trembled beneath her.

"Lizzy, I insist! They're just next door," he said as he grabbed her arm and led her to a chair. "Are you sick?! Should I call a doctor?!" he said as held her hands and sat down.

"No, I'm not sick!" she sniffled.

Still holding her hands. "Is there anything I can get for you before I go next door? Some water?" She shook her head no. "Seriously, you look like your going to be sick."

"I need to find my aunt and uncle!" She sobbed. "They are on the beach somewhere!"

Darcy cursed. "Why don't you tell me what's wrong?"

She cried harder and he held her tight. "I just called home and... Jane... um." Elizabeth burst into tears again and for a few moments couldn't speak another word. Darcy could only hold her until she quieted. "My youngest sister has... has run away... She has fallen into the clutches of... of George Wickham!" Darcy stiffened in shock, but said nothing. "They've run off together and are hiding out in D.C... You know him too well to doubt the rest!" A tremor shook him throughout. "He wants half-a-million dollars to marry her or he'll get her pregnant and dump her!" He leapt from his chair at this remark. "When I think that I could've stopped it! I knew what he was! Had his criminal past been known, this never would've happened!" she cried. "But it's too late now!"

"I'm sorry, Lizzy. Sorry and shocked... But, is it certain, absolutely certain?"

"Yes! They sent a letter!"

"Has anything been done?! What's been done to find her?!"

"The police were called in, but she's 18! My father went to D.C and Jane says that we need my uncle's immediate assistance... I hope that we'll be able to leave within half-an-hour!" Elizabeth jumped up and paced the floor. "But what can be done?!" She began to cry again. "I know that nothing can be done, but to give him the money... But then what?! After a few years, he'll want more! How is such a man to be controlled?! How are they even to be discovered?!" At length, she dabbed her tears. "I don't have the tiniest bit of hope. She's lost forever, and our whole family must share in her ruin and disgrace."

Darcy held her close. Damn you Wickham! You've done it to me again! I swear the next time I see you, I just might kill you! As Elizabeth cried, Darcy just stood there motionless, completely unable to speak. He just held her and tried to quiet her cries.

Suddenly, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner knocked and called from the other side of the door. "Lizzy! Open up! We got Jane's messages!"

Darcy swept Elizabeth up in his arms and took her into the bedroom, put her down on the bed, went to open the door and pointed the way. Mrs. Gardiner ran straight to Elizabeth with the men following her. "Lizzy, what happened?! Jane's message said she needed us to come home ASAP!"

As Elizabeth told them the whole story or as much as she knew, Darcy paced the room. Mr. Gardiner listened intently, but noticed that Darcy came to a halt every time Elizabeth sobbed or gasped for breath. After she finished the story, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner ran next door to pack and Elizabeth began packing, seemingly unaware of Darcy's presence.

Darcy stopped Elizabeth from packing by taking her hands in his. "I should leave now," said Darcy as she sniffed and nodded her head. "It's apparent that this unfortunate affair will prevent us from seeing each other again."

Upon hearing his last words, and realizing it was over before it began, Elizabeth hung her head as tears rolled down her face. "Please don't tell anyone," she sniffed.

"Your secret is safe with me."

"Thank you."

"Good-bye," he said barely above a whisper. And with one serious, parting look at the door, he went away. He hated to leave her, but if he stayed another minute, he wouldn't have been able to stop himself from taking her in his arms, kissing away all her tears, and making love to her till she thought of Wickham no more.

Elizabeth collapsed on the bed and cried. He never wants see me again! After a few minutes of shedding tears, Elizabeth started packing again.

Within an hour, the Gardiners and Elizabeth were checked out of the Inn and gone.

Meanwhile, Darcy went to the gym to pound out his frustrations on a punching bag. She blames herself now, but eventually she'll get around to blaming me! And it is my fault! If I hadn't been so stupid... so proud and arrogant! She'll never forgive me now! I'll just have to kill him and then I'll make him disappear from Georgiana and Elizabeth's nightmares! Later he went home.

Thankfully, his guests were occupied elsewhere, so he went up to his room to call his private investigator. "Mr. Crawford, this is William Darcy. What have you learned since we last spoke?"

"Um, yes, here it is. Wickham has moved and is now currently residing in the Congress Heights section of Southeast, D.C."

Southeast! The Gardiner's live in Southeast. "Do you have an address?"

"No, not yet. But he's been using his credit card around the neighborhood. He lost his job at the Tennis and Racquet Club in less than 2 weeks after he started. He obviously has no money."

"He's run away with a young girl named Lydia Bennet from Charlottesville. Can you dig anything up on her?"

"I'll do my best, Mr. Darcy!"

"Thank you... I'll be up there tomorrow morning, I may need your help. Can I see you around 10:00 a.m.?"

"I'll be here, Sir." They hung up.

Meanwhile, Bingley called the airport and booked a ticket for Caroline for tomorrow morning. He told Caroline the plan, she was livid, of course, but she said nothing and went upstairs to pack her bags. Louisa and Jimmy decided to leave also and called the airport for the same flight.

Later, Georgiana came from work, she was surprised to see her brother there. "William, I thought you and Lizzy where going out today?"

"Georgiana, I need to speak with you privately, please." Darcy said as he practically dragged her from the living room into his study. "Georgie, Elizabeth had to leave... there was an emergency at home and... she had to leave."

"Oh." Georgiana noticed Darcy's furrowed brow and red eyes. "Is there something else?" He looked at her questioningly. "Are you going after her?"

Darcy smiled wearily. "Yes. I'm leaving early tomorrow morning... I need to help her Georgie... she, oh Georgie, she was so upset." He hung his head and Georgiana hugged him. "If anyone asks, tell them that I had important business in D.C."

"You can count on me." She kissed him on the cheek and let him loose. As he was turning to leave, Georgiana asked him, "Does this have anything to do with George Wickham?"

Darcy froze in his tracks. He turned around with tears welling up in his eyes. "Yes." Georgiana just nodded and they both left the room.

The rest of the day was pure agony for Darcy. He had so much work to do as he thought about Elizabeth, he packed a few bags, readied his plane, told his guests and staff that he was leaving for an undetermined amount of time, and asked Bingley to ride with him.

After dinner, the Darcy's and their guests gathered in the living room. While Georgiana played on the piano for them, Darcy concentrated on what he would do when he reached D.C. Planning his search for Wickham and Lydia was the only thing that kept him from thinking of Elizabeth.

Caroline interrupted his thoughts, and said, "You've been very quiet this evening, William. I sincerely hope you're not pining for the loss of Eliza Bennet's company?"

"What?!" he snapped. Then realizing that he had no desire to hear Caroline rattle away any longer, Darcy said abruptly, "Excuse me," and stomped from the room, leaving his sister and friends in stunned silence.

As he ran up the stairs to his bedroom, he knew there would be no sleep tonight. There would be only memories of Elizabeth, of their chance meeting the other day, of her beautiful face looking at him across the living room, of her kisses the night before, and of her tears that morning at the Inn. He tossed and turned all night, although he knew he needed rest for plane trip.

Meanwhile, on the drive home, they discussed the situation at hand. Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner tried to console Elizabeth, but then when she related Wickham's criminal past, they were at a loss for words. They reached Longbourn that evening.

The four Gardiner children ran up to their parents with lit up faces, happy to see them. Elizabeth jumped out of the jeep, hastily kissed them and ran into the house. Jane had run to the entryway and she Elizabeth embraced with tear-filled eyes. Elizabeth asked whether anything had been heard of the fugitives. Jane shook her head and related all of the news. Then Jane, Elizabeth and Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner went to Mrs. Bennet's bedroom, where she was lamenting over Lydia's ruined reputation.

Later, before they went to bed, Elizabeth went to Jane's room and privately said to her oldest sister, "Oh, Jane! Don't you see that this mess has ruined more things than Lydia's reputation?!" Elizabeth ran to her bedroom, collapsed on her bed and cried. She couldn't help but think of Darcy, when suddenly a knock came to the door.

Jane entered, "I didn't think you'd be in bed yet?" She walked over to Elizabeth and reached for her hand. "I've been thinking about what you said. That it's not only Lydia's reputation that has been ruined."

"Jane, I was angry and upset. I shouldn't have said it, you know how I get."

"You meant, that you and I, and Mary and Kitty, have been tainted by association. And that our chances of finding decent and upstanding husband's have been considerably damaged by Lydia's disgrace."

"The chances of any of us finding decent husband's were never very good, at least not down here. Now, they are non-existent. No one will come near us after this! William Darcy made that very clear to me."

"William?! How does he know our troubles?"

Elizabeth stumbled as she did not want Jane to know too much about Darcy and Pemberley, "He, uh, he stopped by right after you called... He was very kind, very consoling and comforting, but he made it very clear, that he wanted to be as far away from me as possible... He won't be coming down here anymore and he'll probably make very sure that Charles doesn't come here either."

"I never really expected Charles to come back, Lizzy." Amongst all the chaos, Elizabeth forgot to tell Jane about the phone bills. "I've gotten over him ... And surely you don't want William down here bothering you, do you?"

"No," she tried to laugh, "I don't."

"But do you think when you were down in North Carolina, he was intending to propose to you again? Do you think he's still in love with you?!"

"I, I don't know." She again tried to laugh. "I don't know what he was intending to do. All I know is that now he, or any other respectable man, won't want anything to do with us." Jane left the room, as there was nothing more to say.

That morning as Darcy was piloting the plane, Bingley asked. "William are you going to tell me why we couldn't take the same flight as my family?"

Darcy inhaled deeply and sighed. "Charles, Lydia Bennet has run away with Wickham. They're hiding somewhere in D.C. and I'm going there to see what I can do."

Bingley, of course, was shocked. "You and Wickham have been arch enemies for a long time, am I right?" Darcy nodded his head. "What caused all of this?" Darcy told Bingley the whole story. Bingley twisted uncomfortably in his seat during the tale and sat for several minutes without uttering a word. At length, he offered, "If you need my help, I'm there."

"Thanks Charles, but I have all the help I need right now. I have my private investigator working on it and he's well versed in hand-to-hand combat and so am I, for that matter. But I'll try not to get myself killed, okay?" Bingley smiled slightly. "I will, however, need you to promise me that you will never speak a word of this to anyone. Rick knows, as he is Georgiana's legal co-guardian and Lizzy knows because... well, because. And one more thing, whatever my role in fixing this... this thing, I don't want anyone to know."

"You have my word. I will never repeat what you have just told me, to anyone." Bingley sat silently for a few moments. "I do have a reason for wanting to help you with Wickham though... Did you ever wonder why we left Charlottesville in such a hurry, the same day you left? Why my plans suddenly changed?"

Darcy shook his head. "I assumed you had your reasons and didn't want to discuss them with me at that moment." Bingley told Darcy about Caroline and Wickham; a shocked Darcy let go of the gears for an instant and the plane started to dive. Quickly recollecting himself and grabbing the gears to correct the plane, he exclaimed. "You must be... you have to be kidding?!"

"I wish I were, my friend, but unfortunately it's true."

"So that's why Wickham's number was on your records. What did she have to say for herself?"

"She lied and said that he was blackmailing her and she was paying him off."

"I wouldn't put it past him."

"She's lying and probably still sleeping with him. A brother knows these things. And I've given her 7 days to get out of my house, so do you mind if I stay with you?"

"No, not at all."

The flight from Nags Head to D.C. had been accomplished in the least amount of time, though not as fast as Darcy wished for. He docked his seaplane in his rented space on the Waterfront and he and Bingley caught a cab home. Later, Darcy went to Mr. Crawford's office to see if there was any news. Mr. Crawford still had not pinpointed Wickham's whereabouts.

"I have another piece of news that you might want to start digging information from. On December 3^rd of last year, Wickham received a large sum of money via Western Union, is it possible for you to find out what he might've done with it?"

"We might. I have his phone records right here. Let's see now..." Darcy and Mr. Crawford perused the records and found that later that day a call was made to a number in Alexandria. They called and found it to be a store for electronic equipment. Mr. Crawford then hacked into their computer database and found out that Wickham purchased an interceptor. Mr. Crawford explained that an interceptor was some expensive equipment that would intercept all phone calls to a particular number, without the caller or the receiver's knowledge, via an answering machine, and later, it could return all or some of the calls back to the receiver's answering machine.

"That might be why Jane never received Charles' messages! Do you have the number to the landlord where Wickham was staying in Charlottesville?"

"No Sir."

"Well, um, maybe I should call the club, they probably have it." Darcy called the club and spoke to Maria, she quickly gave him the name of the landlord and his number. Darcy then called the landlord. "Mr. Lewis, this is William Darcy."

"Oh, Mr. Darcy! What a pleasure it is to hear from you. Are you calling about a rematch?"

"No Sir, I'm not. I'm not in Charlottesville at the moment."

"Oh. Well, when are you returning?"

"I, I'm not sure, Sir... Mr. Lewis, I'm calling about George Wickham."

"That scoundrel!!!" Mr. Lewis interrupted. "What do you want from him?!"

"I was wondering if he still had a room there at your apartment building?"

"No! He gypped me on 3 month's rent and I had his things removed about 2 month's ago!"

"Two months ago, huh?" Darcy paused, remembering that Mr. Crawford had previously told him that Wickham had purchased some other expensive computer equipment. "Did you give his things away or throw them away or try to sell them?"

"Well some of it. He left some kind of electronics and computers and such down here, so I sold it to the computer store to retrieve some of the money I lost. Can't blame a man for trying to feed his family, can you?"

"No Sir. You had every right to do it. Do you have the number to the computer store?" Mr. Lewis confirmed that he did; he went to look for it, found it and gave it to Darcy. "Thank you very much. Oh, Mr. Lewis, if you haven't recouped your total losses, please send me an accounting and I'll pay them directly."

"What?!" Mr. Lewis exclaimed, taken aback by the generosity of one he previously thought a bit snobbish. "You're a good man Mr. Darcy. Give me your address and I'll send it to you." Darcy gave him his home address. "Wait until I tell the fellas about this! I can..."

"Mr. Lewis, I would really appreciate it, if you didn't say anything to anyone. I believe that we can settle this matter between ourselves without having the whole town know."

"Why sure, Mr. Darcy, whatever you want. Thank you." They hung up.

Mr. Crawford called the computer store; they still had all of the equipment. Darcy authorized him to have it expressed to his office, immediately.

"Have you heard anything on Wickham's early release yet?"

"No Sir, I'm waiting for an update. I should have some information tomorrow."

"Then I'll be back tomorrow." Darcy left Crawford's office and went back home. When he arrived home, he found Bingley in his kitchen, cooking. "What's this?!"

"I've always known how to cook. Well, actually just a few things like hot dogs, chili, and meatloaf. And I can make a darn good pasta salad too!" Darcy laughed. "Well, since Louisa wanted to cook for me, I didn't stop her. But I guess I have to get used to doing it again."

Darcy helped Bingley cook, they ate, and talked about the news of the day, listened to some music, watched some sports and finally Bingley went to bed. Later, when he was sure that Bingley was asleep, Darcy played 'The Very Thought of You' over and over again and thought of Elizabeth; Darcy didn't want Bingley to think he was a lovesick fool.

Meanwhile, the Bennet family expected to hear from Mr. Bennet, but received not a word. So Mr. Gardiner left for D.C. that morning.

That morning, around 10:00 a.m., Darcy and Bingley went to Mr. Crawford's office.

"I have some very interesting information for you Mr. Darcy. Is it alright if I speak in front of him?"

"Mr. Bingley knows all about this. Please go on."

"Well, first, I've heard from the Criminal Courts and found out that no one had petitioned Wickham for early release."

"I knew it! But how did it happen?!"

"It seems that someone broke the security code to their system and changed some records." They all looked at each other, knowing who it must have been. "Well anyway, we, Mr. Hinton from the records department and I, went further and checked on some of his old cohorts, and as you already know, they too had been released early. You'll be happy to know that Mr. Hinton has finally pieced back Wickham's prison records and notified the proper authorities. He and his friends will be picked and returned to jail as soon as they're found."

"Good work Mr. Crawford!" smiled Bingley.

"What other goodies do you have for us today, Mr. Crawford," teased Darcy wearing a bright smile.

"The equipment has arrived. Would you like to come into the back room gentlemen?" Both men nearly knocked each other down trying to follow Mr. Crawford. "This is the interceptor I told you about. The only thing on it, is a message, then there are a few hundred calls." Mr. Crawford pushed the play button and after a few moments two voices were heard that startled both Darcy and Bingley. It said 'Hi, this is Jane and Lizzy. We aren't at home right now, but if you'd like to call us in the office, press 1 for Jane and 2 for Lizzy. If you'd like to speak to some other human press 0, otherwise, please leave a message.' Mr. Crawford pushed the pause button. "Would you like to hear all of the messages?"

"No!" said Darcy. "But I need you to tag it for evidence. And I need you to make a copy of the tape for me to take home."

"Already done, Sir." Mr. Crawford smiled. "They're in my desk." Darcy and Bingley were about to leave. "Don't you want to see the rest?" Both men stopped in their tracks.

"You have more?" asked Mr. Bingley.

"Oh yeah!" Mr. Crawford picked up a mini tape recorder and pushed the play button. As it played, Bingley fell backwards into a shelf, knocking a few things off. Mr. Crawford pushed the pause button while Darcy got Bingley a chair to sit in. "Are you okay, Mr. Bingley?"

"Yes," he said breathlessly. Then he turned to Darcy and said, "Tell me I didn't hear what I just heard." Darcy hung his head; they had just heard the conversation between Caroline and Wickham plotting to break up Bingley and Jane by erasing all of his messages to her answering machine. Bingley jumped up and headed for the door. "I'll kill her and then I'll kill him!!!"

"Wait!" Darcy grabbed Bingley's shirt halting him from going further. "Charles, I know this is a shock, but you need to calm down! Here's the additional proof you need to get the woman of your dreams back!" Bingley drew out a trembling breath, he wanted to say something, but he could only nod his head. "Mr. Crawford, I wouldn't suppose that you have already made a copy of this tape also?"

Mr. Crawford smiled. "In my desk!" he pointed. "I have more!" Both men sighed and this time Darcy had to find a seat. "Here is a disk from Wickham's computer over there. He was checking into the Bennet's accounts last November. Yes this is a copy, I have the original already tagged," he said as he handed the disk to Darcy. "Oh, and Lydia Bennet is one of the Bennet's five daughters, but I can't find anything else out. She has no credit cards, so she can't be traced right now."

"Is that all, Mr. Crawford?" asked Darcy and Mr. Crawford nodded his head. "Thank you for a job very well done. I still will need your help when we finally find him. Rest assured, Mr. Crawford, you will be well taken care of when we're finished. Thank you, again."

"You're welcome, Mr. Darcy" said Mr. Crawford as they walked back into his office. "I'll let you know, immediately, if I find something else out." He handed him the tapes from his desk drawer and watched them leave. As he sat back in his chair, Mr. Crawford smiled because Darcy had always taken care of him, either by passing his name to some very wealthy clients or by making his life very comfortable with his bonuses and such. This one's going to be a doozy!!!

Darcy and Bingley went home, they first put in the tapes of Jane and Elizabeth's calls. Bingley heard his messages and brightened considerably. But he refused to listen to the tape of Caroline and Wickham again; he had heard enough for a lifetime, but he asked for it and Darcy gave it to him. Instead, they looked at the disk, it contained financial information about the Bennets, both could clearly see that there was plenty of money in the bank and other assets. One would say that they were pretty well off, actually, very well off. They decided, amidst their shock, not to look any further.

Later, after they went out to eat, Darcy and Bingley planned how Bingley was to present his case to Jane. By then it was late and both men went to bed, each dreaming of their ladyloves.

Meanwhile, Maria told Kitty that she had heard from Darcy and the questions he asked. Kitty didn't have much to say on the subject, since she knew nothing of Darcy or Elizabeth's feelings for each other. In fact, when she went home, Kitty didn't even mention her conversation with Maria.

Elizabeth was too stressed out during the day to think about Darcy. Her mind was occupied heavily on the business and trying to liquidate some of the stocks, etc. for Lydia's $500,000 dowry.

Nothing in particular happened on this day. The Bennet's went to church, minus Mrs. Bennet, she couldn't face the townspeople and their gossiping and surmised that today's sermon would be on promiscuity and the roles and responsibilities of raising children. She was, however, not that far from the truth. According to Elizabeth, everyone stared and snickered while Reverend Goulding spoke on Hebrews 13:4 and Revelations 22:15 (Authors note: read it and you'll know what I'm talking about).

Darcy and Bingley went to church also, but they heard nothing in particular to interest them. At the penthouse, they tried to occupy themselves by watching baseball. But that wasn't enough, they were restless and anxiously waiting for Mr. Crawford's call; though he never did.

Late in the afternoon, Mr. Crawford called Darcy with Mrs. Younge's address. Darcy had previously requested her address, remembering her and Wickham's prior conspiracy during the Georgiana incident. Her address coincidentally was in the same neighborhood as Wickham's credit card charges appeared. Since this was such a bad neighborhood, drugs, gangs, etc., Darcy decided that it would be better if he and Mr. Crawford went to visit Mrs. Younge tomorrow morning.

Elizabeth and Jane went to work as usual, but neither was mentally to the task. Basically, they sat and thought of Darcy and Bingley and their futures. Sometimes during the day, one would walk to the other's office, just for company, nothing much said mostly sighs.