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Chapter Eight: Love

Posted on Monday, 28 May 2007

From the dim light coming into Darcy’s room from the hallway, Elizabeth could tell he was asleep. His hair was in disarray and his brow was slightly furrowed but he laid perfectly still, his chest gently rising and falling. She sat on the edge of the bed adoring her slumbering prince. She smirked; even in his sleep he was serious and contemplative.

Gently she rubbed her fingers across his knitted brow, trying to smooth it and ran her fingers along his cheek, feeling the roughness of his unshaven face. He emitted a soft sigh. She brushed his cheek again with the back of her hand, and saw his brow start to loosen. He murmured something unintelligible as he stirred slightly, causing her to smile.

“William” she whispered. He stirred again. “William,” she whispered again, this time a little louder. When she got no response, she closed the door to his room and then lay down in the bed next to him, watching him sleep and gently stroking his cheek until she could feel his brow was completely relaxed. Apparently the man slept like the dead; there would be no waking him tonight. “I love you William.” She whispered to the sleeping form next to her. She smiled to herself; she had said it and she had meant it. He may have to wait until tomorrow to hear it, but she had said it for the second time, and there was no turning back now.

Darcy woke up the next morning confused for no particular reason. Only half awake, he probed the soft figure under his arm. Unable to account for it, he turned his head, surprised to see a mass of brown hair on the pillow next to him. Fear gripped him as he tried to recall any event last night that would lead to this, but nothing came to mind. Perhaps he had imbibed more brandy than he thought. With bated breath, he gently pulled back the mass of hair to determine the person next him. He let out a silent sigh of relief at seeing Elizabeth’s sleeping face buried in the pillows.

His mind started racing. He was certain she hadn’t gone to bed with him last night, but could not remember her entering. Then, realizing the particulars did not matter, he settled down next her and watched her while she slept.

His heart sighed at the sight of her. She was beautiful. Her hair was a mass of unruly strands spread wildly over the pillow, her face was relaxed, except for an odd smile he noticed that was induced by her tendency to chew on her bottom lip. With a tender chuckle, he gently caressed her bottom lip to keep her from chewing on it, fighting the urge to kiss it himself.

Not being a terribly deep sleeper, it didn’t take Elizabeth long to wake. Feeling Darcy’s fingers gently caressing her lip caused her to smile and she sleepily looked up at him. “Good morning beautiful” he said in a low voice. He wrapped his arms around her, bringing his face inches from hers. “I think I woke into the most wonderful dream.”

Elizabeth held his cheek and looked him in the eye, a tender smile on her face. “I love you William.” William froze for a second as his heart leapt out of his chest. He was certain it did because he could hear it pounding rapidly in his ears. She had said it to him before, but this time there was the tender look in her eye; she had meant it this time.

He whispered hoarsely, “Tell me I’m not dreaming.” Elizabeth pinched him on the arm, and then giggled as it jerked away. Then putting her arms around him, looking deeply into his eyes said, “You’re not dreaming.”

A lump rose in his throat, making talking almost impossible. “Say it again,” he choked out. Holding his gaze she said in a strong soft voice, “I have completely fallen for you. I love you William Darcy.”

A tear streaked down his face, absorbed by the pillow beneath his head, as he closed his eyes absorbing Elizabeth’s words. He pulled Elizabeth to him. “Elizabeth.” He breathed as he claimed her lips. “I love you” he murmured. “Please don’t ever doubt my love for you.”

Elizabeth stiffened for the briefest of moments, understanding what he was alluding to. Despite her first instinct she was determined not to let “her” ruin the moment. Patience and understanding, she told herself. That’s all he needs. He gave it to me, I can return it. In defiance, she returned the kiss, possessively at first then deeply and tenderly, filling it with all the love she held for him.

They loved each other that morning. Kisses deepened, caresses given and returned, each one being a statement of love and affection, all accompanied by moans and gasps of pleasure. It was heavenly as their bodies joined in the physical manifestation of their joined hearts. At that moment, they truly did only love one another.

It was mid-morning when Elizabeth started to carefully untangle her limbs from Darcy’s, but he tightened his arms around her preventing her from leaving. He buried his face in her neck. “After waiting this long to find you in my bed, you think I’m going to let you leave so quickly?” he said in a playful menacing voice. The reverberations of his voice sent shivers through her.

Elizabeth laughed, fighting him uneffortlessly. “It’s not my fault you sleep like the dead.” She answered his questioning look. “I came here last night, but you wouldn’t wake up.”

Darcy growled playfully, “I’m plenty awake now.” In a single movement, he brought her lips to his, while sliding his body once again on top of hers.

Their limbs entwined, they lay together blissfully content. They were disturbed only by the growling of Darcy’s stomach. The first time it growled, they both ignored it, preferring the warmth and serenity of each other’s arms. The second growl came from Elizabeth stomach. She laughed lightly and began to move out of the bed. Darcy pulled her back again and nuzzled his face to inhale her honeysuckle scented hair. “Stay here.” He murmured. “I’ll have breakfast brought to us.”

Elizabeth chuckled. “Love, it far past breakfast and almost near lunchtime.” Darcy sighed dreamily at her appellation. He turned on his side, and propped himself up with his arm and began lightly tracing her jaw, her neck, and her collarbone with his finger. Kissing her lightly on her cheek, and making his way to her neck and ear, he said suggestively, “No matter, I plan to take all our meals in here today.”

Elizabeth laughed and pushed him over onto his back. She planted a chaste kiss on his lips and then scooted her way off the bed. “A pleasant thought, but I have work to do and we need to head back to Chicago. I have a busy week.” Darcy groaned. “Very well.”

It wasn’t until eleven that morning Darcy showed his face; his usual serious demeanor was gone; his brow was smooth and he was practically glowing. Richard was in the kitchen reading the paper, waiting for Darcy or Elizabeth to wake to determine the travel plans back to Chicago. Knowing both of them were early risers he had surmised the events of the morning and Darcy’s face only confirmed his suspicions. It was a development he hadn’t anticipated, but he was happy to see they had apparently resolved the issue of Sylvia.

He greeted Darcy with a suggestive smirk and shake of the head. Elizabeth entered the kitchen a few minutes later, while Darcy and Richard were still exchanging challenging looks. Realizing what was being ‘discussed’, she turned red from head to toe. “Cas! Not a word!” she warned, causing Richard to bust out laughing.

Later that afternoon Elizabeth found Darcy working in his study. She took a deep breath, and gathering her courage entered the study. She had delayed this long enough, and for that morning’s full meaning to be realized, she knew it couldn’t be put it off any longer.

Darcy was hunched over his computer, but at the sound of his door opening turned to identify the intruder. Seeing Elizabeth, he reclined in his chair with a loving a smile.

Elizabeth could not help return the smile. His face was gentle and tender, and his eyes soft and inviting. Without a word, she clasped his hands and led him to the sofa.

Darcy followed eagerly. A few minutes of distraction could help me refocus. Before he could bestow a kiss on her lips however, Elizabeth held out a small white box for him. With a small quizzical smile, Darcy opened the box. Inside the creamy satin folds was seated a platinum ring with a small diamond solitaire. He examined the ring for any hints to its meaning, and then returned it to its original resting place. His brow was furrowed when he looked back up at Elizabeth, questions clearly marking his face.

“His name was Adrian.” Elizabeth began. She swallowed, finding it difficult at first to look at Darcy. She looked down at her hands for a moment and then returned to look Darcy in the face. “I met him when I first started working at Longbourn. He was an engineer in another section.” Lost slightly in fond memories, a small smile appeared on her face and her eyes were distant. “He was a good guy. Smart, dedicated, honest, kind, generous. We dated for a couple years.”

Darcy remained silent uncertain of where this was leading. He felt his breathing becoming more labored. He clenched his jaw, forcing himself to listen further and schooling his unruly thoughts. Nervously he fingered the small box in his hand.

Elizabeth shook her head slightly, removing the past memories. She looked back at Darcy. “We had talked about getting married, but then there was an accident and he…” Her voice cracked, and she paused to swallow. She noticed the way Darcy had stiffened at the word marriage, but said or did nothing. “He died.” She said finally.

Elizabeth took a deep breath and continued. “His parent found that ring in his room sometime after the funeral and gave it to me certain that was his intention.” She turned her head and looked at the floor, no longer able to make herself look at him. “I would have said yes… I loved him.”

Darcy remained motionless except for his rapidly blinking eyes that indicated he was having difficulty absorbing what he was being told. He felt his heart twist in a knot at hearing her say she loved him, hearing the tenderness and admiration in her voice for him, hearing she would have married him.

Elizabeth continued. She looked at her hands, now spread in her lap, as if she could still see the ring on her left hand. “For several months in fact I did wear the ring, I like feeling like he was still near. It made it feel his absence was less permanent.” She sighed softly and said in a stronger voice. “After a while, Jane convinced me to take it off. But I could never seem to put it away.” She looked up at Darcy again, her eyes sad and pained. “He was my first love.”

Uncertain of what else to do, Darcy pulled Elizabeth to him and wrapped his arms tightly around her. “I’m so sorry.” He whispered.

Thankfully Elizabeth said nothing else, and in the silence he was finally given time to think. He abhorred the idea of her with another man, of her loving someone else. At the same time, he was moved, understanding what courage it took for her to tell him this.

His mind bounced from thought to thought, not following any particular path. She had been essentially been engaged to the man! The knot in his heart twisted tighter. Had the man not died they would be married by now!

Possessively he tightened his embrace until he heard Elizabeth gasp. His Elizabeth had almost been another’s! She had loved him! It was almost too much conceive! Wait! Unable to stop the words from coming out of his mouth he asked, “Do you still love him?” His voice was earnest yet hesitant.

At his question, Elizabeth took a deep breath gathering her courage and hoped he would understand. “Part of me will always admire him and yes, in a way love him.” She looked up at him and said more earnestly, “But not in the way I love you.”

Darcy pushed her away but maintained a grasp on her. His brow was knitted in a look of confusion. He had expected her to say no! He searched her face for something to help him understand her response.

Elizabeth smiled softly. “He was like you in many ways, or you are like him. The things I love about you are the same reasons I will in some way always love him.” She pressed her palm to his cheek, her smile remained. “But you must know, if he was still alive, and I had to choose, I would choose you. You are my love.” She stroked his hand that contained a tight grasp on the white box. “I’ve given you my heart William, and because that ring held a piece of it, I needed to give that to you too. I love you.”

Darcy closed his eyes and swallowed hard. He was dumbstruck. He had thought he loved her, but the love she was returning was so much deeper than anything he had felt. She had touched a part of his heart he didn’t know existed. Part of him was scared and wanted to run; the other part of him felt blessed to be the object of such love. He did the only thing that came to mind; he pulled her onto his lap, needing to hold her close.

In silence he held her. How is it that a man over thirty still had so much learn about life and love? And could he ever return that same love? Pangs of guilt filled him. Despite everything, despite Sylvia, she still loved him and loved him completely. He would not betray that love. “I love you Elizabeth.” He whispered finally.

Let it never be said that Darcy did anything half-way. After Elizabeth had declared her love for him, Darcy threw himself completely into showing her his love the best way he knew how. Anytime that was not spent at the office was spent thinking of her and finding new ways to surprise her. To that end, he showered her with tokens of his love.

Any day she was in the office, she would receive a package from Darcy. The first item was a fine lace doily; then came a crystal vase. Then she started receiving single flowers at different times of the day – sometimes more than one a day; each one she added to the crystal vase. The gifts varied; sometimes it was a small simple thing like flowers or balloons, other times it was pieces of jewelry, but with each gift accompanied a statement of affection.

When Elizabeth was on travel, he would call her and leave messages on her phone or send her emails.

Elizabeth smiled with each token of affection. At first she had called him to thank him each time. After the first few she would send emails or wait until she saw him next. It was a bit overwhelming at times, but she accepted the gifts with the affection with which they were sent. She felt truly loved by him and knew he thought of her often.

Thoughts of Sylvia and feelings of jealousy quickly faded, and it felt as though things were progressing. She couldn’t remember being happier. The man she loved, returned her love – and for the first time in many years, she had to admit Jane was right – love was a great thing.

Darcy stood in the jewelry store, absently looking over pieces of jewelry watching Charles carefully inspecting each piece. Occasionally a piece would catch his eye and he would examine it a little closer, but then would find something he didn’t like about it and move on.

“What do you think of this one?” Charles asked, holding out a platinum ring. For what seemed like the hundredth time today, Darcy inspected the ring, shrugged and nodded. “It’s nice.”

Charles grunted in frustration. “You’re supposed to be helping!” Darcy chuckled. “Perhaps if I knew what you were looking for I could be of better assistance.”

“The ring.” Charles said exasperated. “I’ll know it when I see it.”

Darcy threw back, “That is hardly enough for me to be able to provide any assistance.”

Charles volleyed, “Well perhaps you should be doing some looking of your own.”

Darcy looked sharply at his friend, who returned a mischievous smile. In a stoic tone he said, “Elizabeth and I aren’t ready for that Charles, and you know it.” Seeing the exacerbated look return to his friend’s face Darcy quipped, choosing his words carefully, “Besides, should that time come, I don’t need to shop for a ring, I already have one.”

Charles looked up in surprise, reading more into Darcy’s statement that he should have. “You already have one?” Darcy smiled slyly. “Yep.”

At Charles quizzical glare Darcy said, “My mother’s engagement ring. Actually, the ring has been in the family for several generations.”

Charles sighed in envy and frustration. “Lot of good that will do me.” Darcy chuckled. “Charles. Jane will love any ring you give her that comes with a promise.”

His friend’s comment did nothing to mollify him.

“So when do you plan on asking her?” Darcy asked. Charles grinned. “Valentine’s Day.” Darcy shook his head. “Always the romantic.”

Charles shook his head in return. “Don’t tell me you haven’t planned something for you and Elizabeth.” Darcy feigned wounding. “Of course I have. In fact, I was going to invite you to dine with us at the club. I thought Jane might enjoy sharing her joy with her sister.”

Charles grinned knowingly. “Thanks, but I’ve got other plans. Wouldn’t mind taking a raincheck on the dinner at the club though.” Darcy smirked. “Very well.”

Charles continued browsing the selection of rings. “You are right about Lizzy though.” Darcy looked up, concerned where the conversation was going. “About what?” he asked tentatively.

“About Jane wanting to tell Lizzy.” Darcy nodded, content with the direction of his friend’s thoughts. Charles added, “Why don’t you come over to our place after dinner. You can either help drowned me in my sorrows if she rejects me, or raise a glass.” Darcy chuckled. “Certainly. But Charles, she won’t say no.”

A few moments later Charles shouted excitedly. “That’s it!”

The jeweler pulled out a platinum ring with a square diamond solitaire. There were two smaller stones of aquamarine on each side. Charles proudly handed “the ring to Darcy, who nodded in affirmation. “The blue stones will match her eyes.” Charles explained, only to receive and slow shake of the head from his friend.

Pleased with his selection the two left the jeweler. “Don’t say anything to Lizzy about it. I want it to be a surprise. And I expect to see you at our place after dinner on Valentine’s day.” Darcy clapped his friend on the shoulder. “We will be there.”

Red, pink and white hearts had decorated the office for the last few weeks. Elizabeth had never liked Valentine’s Day and considered it nothing but a merchant’s holiday. She abhorred the idea of paying twice as much for flowers on the day and the mere obligation the holiday put on people to show their affection. She had never celebrated the day, even with Adrian but knew that tradition of hers would soon end.

The office that day was filled with flowers and candies and discussion of special dinners and gifts to be given and received. Elizabeth smiled at them, knowing Darcy had planned something, but uncertain of what. She couldn’t help the small wicked grin crossed her lips as she recalled her plan as well. If it has to be celebrated, at least have some fun.

Darcy, having previously made arrangement with Elizabeth’s secretary Anne, was notified when she arrived. About twenty minutes later, Darcy arrived at her office with a bouquet of star gazer lilies. “Happy Valentine’s day, my sweet,” he said upon entering her office unannounced. Valentine’s Day or not, he couldn’t help but smile at the picture in front of him.

Elizabeth was busy at her desk and for a full minute stared at him in surprise. She wore a dark colored suit, that was mostly hidden behind piles of folders and documents, arranged in what he could only imagine were organized piles. She looked every bit the corporate executive.

Recovering her wits, a large smile emerged. Despite her instinct to jump giddily into his arms, she maintained a business-like demeanor, as she made her way to the other side of her desk and greeted him with a chaste kiss on the lips.

Darcy said in a hushed teasing tone, “You have to do better than that. I think we’re being watched by the entire office. I know I was on my way here and you wouldn’t want to ruin my reputation now would you?”

Elizabeth looked at the walls surrounding her office. The office blinds were closed and what wasn’t covered in blinds was opaque frosted glass. “My dear, no one can see in here.”

Darcy pouted, making Elizabeth laugh. “Hmmm. Maybe we should open the blinds then.” He suggested.

Elizabeth laughed and pulling Darcy closer, gave him a lingering kiss. “Much better.” He replied with a grin.

Elizabeth returned to her desk, and invited Darcy to sit down. “Now, restore my faith in you and tell me you didn’t go out like a fool and spend all sorts of money on today.”

Darcy sat down in a chair across from her desk and laughed. “I didn’t not spend all sorts of money on you today. Just the flowers, the gown, and dinner, and if I’m lucky, lunch.”

Elizabeth eyed him warily and sighed in exasperation. “Just? Exactly how much time and money have you spent on this ridiculous holiday?”

Darcy feigned distress. “I’m under a lot of pressure here you know. You are dating Chicago’s most eligible bachelor. The entire city is waiting to see what I do for Valentine’s Day. I’ve heard there are bets!”

Elizabeth groaned playfully. “Is it always so tedious being you?”

Darcy, no longer content to sit across from her, moved to the other side of her desk and pulled her to him. “Only when I’m dating the most beautiful woman in Chicago.”

“Flattery will get you no where sir!” She giggled as he nibbled on her ear.

She pulled away from him, not leaving the embrace. “What are the plans for the day then Mr. Darcy?” she asked, a smirk on her face and an archness in her voice.

Darcy sat on her desk, exchanging the embrace for holding of hands. “Well Miss Bennet.” He returned smugly. “Dinner tonight with Richard and his date at the club; your gown will arrive here later this afternoon.” He said with a wry smile. At Elizabeth’s pointed look, he added, “As for lunch, I thought I’d let you decide.”

Elizabeth sat down in her chair and said serious voice. “Fine, then lunch is take-out in my office. I have work to do.” Darcy protested, pretending to be mortally wounded. “Madam! Have you no concern for my reputation?”

Elizabeth laughed. “Very well, I will take you to lunch somewhere… Maybe Anne can find us someplace,” she replied, stressing the word I.

“Would lunch at Geno’s offend your apparent delicate sensibilities?” Darcy asked with an air of indignation.

Elizabeth chuckled. “Not at all.”

“Charlotte, I need your help.” Elizabeth said over the phone in a mischievous voice. Charlotte giggled. “Oh! An intrigue! I’m always up for that.”

Elizabeth nodded. “I need your help picking out a dress.” Charlotte’s face fell. “Not much of an intrigue.” She complained. “A dress?”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. The woman needed to get out more. “A special dress for Valentine’s Day.”

Charlotte smirked. “I see. Where is hunk of the year taking you?” Elizabeth groaned. “His name is William, and he won’t tell me where he’s taking me.”

Charlotte intoned, obviously bored. “So what are you looking for? Some elegant and sophisticated I suppose.”

Elizabeth grinned wickedly. “Not this time. I want something that will knock his socks off when he sees it.” Despite the constant reminders of his affection for her, the thought of Valentine’s Day made Elizabeth’s insecurities run high; she was dreading running into Sylvia again. She decided she was going to make certain Darcy’s attention was on her.

Charlotte threw her head back and laughed. “Its about time! And I know just the place!”

Darcy arrived at Elizabeth’s office for lunch about 11:30. Monica had already called ahead and Geno’s was more than happy to reserve a table for them. At lunch, Elizabeth walked out of the office holding Darcy’s arm, noticing the gaze of every woman in the office. She whispered, “Now I know how a fish feels.” Darcy chuckled.

They were greeted at Geno’s by a few members of the local news teams and local papers. Thankfully the cameras quit flashing about fifteen minutes after they arrived. They chatted and laughed through lunch, trying to ignore the looks they got from other people in the restaurant. Elizabeth agreed to let Darcy pay, only to allow him to maintain his masculinity in the public eye, but warned there may be retribution later.

After lunch, Darcy convinced Elizabeth to take a leisurely stroll through Lincoln Park with him. It was unplanned, but after lunch he was simply not ready to relinquish her company just yet. They walked through the park, discussing sculptures and other on-goings. Had either of them not been such closet romantics, they may have enjoyed it more.

As promised, a gown arrived at Elizabeth’s office after lunch. It was an elegant red floor length gown, resembling the gowns she had worn to the charity dinners during the holiday season. With it, came a pair of white elbow length gloves and matching red shoes. Elizabeth smiled at it; it was what she had imagined. He was still predictable, but as she remembered the dress she had picked out for the evening, she decided that predictability had some advantages.

When Darcy arrived at her office to pick her up for dinner, Elizabeth already had her coat on, much to his disappointment. Her hair had been pulled up into a mound of large soft curls adorned with orchids.

Darcy was not by any means one for fashion, but he did know the purple of the orchids would not match well with the red of the dress. He looked down at her shoes noticing she was not wearing the gown or shoes he had sent. Confused, he asked, “My love, was there something wrong with the gown sent to you?”

Elizabeth returned a knowing smile. “Not at all. It was quite beautiful.” Not satisfied by her answer, Darcy gave her an expectant look, but she ignored it, taking his arm and she headed towards the door.

The limousine picked up Richard and his date Caitlin and arrived at the club around eight. As coats were removed and checked, Darcy spoke with the maitre de about their table. He didn’t notice Elizabeth until he felt Richard nudge him and saw him staring intently at something. He followed Richard’s gaze to see Elizabeth in a dark purple filmy gown that accented the curves of her body; it moved and swayed with her every move. The front displayed only a teasing amount of cleavage, and the mid-thigh high slit in the gown showed the matching heels that strapped around her ankle. The sheer shawl that hung off her shoulders did little to hide the fact the dress was held up by only few thin strings.

Darcy was speechless.

As if that wasn’t enough, when she turned her back to him, he saw the dress was backless except for a few additional decorative strings. Suddenly the collar of his shirt suddenly seemed at least one size too small. Darcy made his way to Elizabeth’s side, his gaze dark and intent. “You look lovely my dear.” Darcy said lowly, testing the strength of his voice.

Elizabeth, seeing Darcy’s leering stare, threw him a suggestive flick of the brow with an impertinent smile. It was only then Darcy realized exactly how trying this night would be, and that he was completely unprepared for it.

Throughout dinner, Darcy tried to keep his eye diverted to his plate, in an effort to avoid announcing his lecherous desires to the rest of the table. He ate very little; all his control was required to remain in his seat and maintain light dinner conversation. A few outbursts of Elizabeth’s melodic laugh, made him shift uncomfortably.

Richard watched his friend with great amusement and further testing the tenuous nature of his self-control, Darcy suffered a multitude of jabs and teasings.

Other dinner conversation was pleasant. Caitlin was a charming woman who had recently returned from Senegal working in the Peace Corps. She talked of her adventures there and the political climate. Elizabeth was surprised to see find she had more substance than Richard’s usual dates, and couldn’t but wonder if she would soon be relinquishing her nickname for him. Of course as any Chairman of a fundraiser, Elizabeth encouraged Caitlin to consider volunteering at the hospital with her and Richard.

During a moment alone, Darcy leaned over to Elizabeth and said in a low coarse voice, “My love, you should torture me like this. I would like to maintain my status as a gentleman in polite society.”

Elizabeth laughed lightly. “I got tired of the usual evening gown. I wanted something more fun.” With a suggestively raised brow, she asked in saucy tone, “Perhaps you know of a dark corner in which I could ease your suffering?”

“Teasing Minx!” he groaned, desperately fighting the urge not to drag her out of her seat immediately and take her up on her offer. Elizabeth only threw back her head and laughed.

She inched her seat closer to him and placed her hand on arm affectionately. In turn, he placed a gentle kiss on her head and inhaled the scent of lilacs and orchids. Dangerously testing his fortitude, he put his arm around her, feeling the softness of her skin through the thin shawl. Touching her was wreaking havoc on his sensibilities.

Elizabeth relished the warmth of his hand on her bare skin, and the heat emanating from him. She felt his breath become ragged and imagined his heart beating fast and wondered if it was keeping pace with hers. She had wanted to knock his socks off, but she had not anticipated the affect her success would have on her.

The evening was coming to an end and Darcy was anxious to get some time alone with Elizabeth. Unfortunately a text message from Charles reminded him the end of the evening still had one last errand. He would have to test his forbearance a little longer.

As the group received their coats, Darcy called for the limousine; Richard assisted both ladies with their coats.

While assisting Elizabeth, he said in a low voice, “Liz, you look marvelous tonight, but you shouldn’t test my poor cousin’s self-control like this.” Elizabeth laughed and said smartly, “You seemed to be enjoying yourself at dinner at his expense. Am I not entitled to some fun as well?”

Richard smirked. “If I was more certain you two wouldn’t cause a scandal in the coat room, I’d have no objection!” Elizabeth threw her head back and laughed. “Your cousin is a perfect gentleman.”

Richard shook his head. “But you are threatening to be his undoing!” Elizabeth only returned a proud pert smile.

The limousine dropped Richard and Caitlin off and then headed towards Charles’. Not wasting anytime, Darcy planted a deeply passionate kiss on Elizabeth, not letting up until she was breathless. He trailed a few more kisses along her jaw and down her neck, satisfied only when he could feel her chest heaving deep labored breaths. It was then that he sat up and moved to the other side of the limousine.

Elizabeth looked at him incredulously. Darcy returned her look with a smug grin. “Now you know how I’ve felt all evening.”

Elizabeth sat motionless in stunned silence for several minutes, until she heard Darcy’s chuckle. She turned a vengeful glare and was about to quip a smart retort when she realized they should have arrived at his apartment by now. Looking out the window to get her bearings, she asked, “Where are we going?”

Darcy grinned knowingly, but refused to say anything.

Her lips still tingling from his kisses, she challenged, “If it is games you want Mr. Darcy, it is games you shall have!”

The two sat in amused silence on opposite sides of the limousine, exchanging the occasional amused or suggestive looks until they arrived at Charles’.

The two had just stepped out of the limousine, when Elizabeth saw Jane running outside to greet them. She hugged Elizabeth and exclaimed, “Lizzy! I’m engaged!” Elizabeth gave Jane another hug. “I’m so happy for you Jane!” she exclaimed taking a look at the ring. The two sisters returned to the house arm in arm as Jane conveyed the story of how Charles proposed.

Charles greeted Darcy with an all consuming grin.

Darcy clapped his friend on the shoulder and shook his hand in congratulations. He saved the ‘I told you so’ look for another time.

As the coats were removed, Jane exclaimed, “Lizzy! You look fabulous!” Elizabeth smiled broadly and turned around so Jane could see the entire dress. “Thanks. Charlotte helped pick it out.” Jane shook her head knowingly amused.

Jane’s exclamation attracted everyone’s attention and upon seeing the dress, Charles did a double take and then gave Darcy a meaningful look. Darcy rolled his eyes and nodded, causing Charles to chuckle and shake his head in amused sympathy.

The four made their way into the kitchen where a bottle of champagne was opened and a toast was raised. Elizabeth took a sip of champagne, and remembering the challenge raised in the limousine, waited until she knew Darcy was looking at her and then licked her lips in a quick seductive manner causing Darcy to almost choke on his champagne.

Oblivious to the game that had started between Elizabeth and Darcy, Charles suggested taking the champagne and dessert, a chocolate cake, into the living room. Following their hosts, Darcy took Elizabeth’s arm and while Jane and Charles weren’t looking, put a feather light, well placed kiss on Elizabeth’s neck, sending shivers down her spine. He delighted in the playful disapproving slap Elizabeth rendered him.

The four sat down in the living room, chatting while Jane served dessert.

When they were settled and conversation was well underway, Elizabeth took one of the orchids out of her hair, teasing it between her fingers. When she caught Darcy’s eye, she waved it tauntingly under her nose, letting it brush against her lips.

Darcy coughed to stifle the groan that was about to escape, and turned his attention back to Charles almost studiously.

A few minutes later, Darcy, determined not loose, stood and walked over to the fireplace mantle feigning interest in one of the artifacts. As he returned to his seat, he walked behind Elizabeth and placed a brief caress on the back of her neck. He was rewarded, by seeing Elizabeth shift in her seat as he sat down again.

Determined not let Darcy win, Elizabeth caught Darcy’s attention and taking a small finger of frosting seductively licked it off her finger. Darcy shifted uncomfortably in his seat and shot Elizabeth a warning glare of surrender.

If Jane and Charles witnessed any of these acts, they certain didn’t let on; Jane and Elizabeth talked about wedding dates and plans; Charles and Darcy talked about Charles’ plans for obtaining Mr. Bennet’s permission and Charles’ ability to survive planning of the wedding.

The evening came to an end and final congratulations and goodbyes were made.

Elizabeth entered the limousine first and as Darcy entered he said to the driver in a low voice, “Take the long way,” and entered without waiting for a response from the driver.

The door of the limousine had barely closed before Elizabeth was in Darcy’s lap fervently kissing one another. Elizabeth blindly undid the buttons to Darcy’s shirt, sliding her hands against his heated skin. Darcy left hot trails of kisses along her neck, while his strong hands caressed her thighs, pulling her closer to him. The driver did as he was instructed and so by the time they had reached the apartment, the two were merely a gasping pile of tangled limbs.

Straightening their clothing at an attempt at modesty, they walked quickly to the elevator. However, their tangled hair and disheveled appearance did little to hide their previous actions.

At the sound of the closed elevator doors, Darcy pinned Elizabeth against the elevator wall, feasting hungrily once again on her delicate skin. He had never dreamed the presence of a woman could touch and excite him to such a level! All his usual reserve and concerns about discretion and propriety had been shed.

When the elevator opened to his apartment, Darcy picked up Elizabeth and carried her to his bedroom, tasting every accessible piece of skin on the way. “I hope you are not tired yet, because the night is far from over!” he growled before attacking her neck with kisses and nibbles. Elizabeth moaned and clamored for his lips, throwing out all ideas of being in control of the situation.

They collapsed on his bed together where animalistic desires were unleashed. Their love making was heated and lustful, unlike anything either of them thought capable, and as promised continued well into the night.

The following morning Darcy woke first and grinned at the hastily removed clothes strewn amongst his bedroom. It would be a Valentine’s Day he would not soon forget. After tending to some initial toiletries, he headed to his study to check his email. His face turned sour and his pleasant mood fled upon reading one of them. With a heavy sigh he closed his email and headed to the kitchen in search of coffee. It was too early to think of the repercussions of that email. He would need at least one cup of coffee for that.

Chapter Nine: Turmoil

Posted on Thursday, 31 May 2007

Darcy sat in the conference room surrounded with his other executives listening to the presentation. The presenter was a dark haired gentleman in his mid-forties. The light in the room was dimmed to facilitate viewing of the slide presentation. The man before him was talking animatedly and earnestly. His role was not an easy one; he had a lot of convincing to do, but he was doing it well. He was presenting a solution Darcy had not expected, but the evidence in front of him had convinced him of its correctness.

Darcy couldn’t help but smile to himself; his team was good, and after the dressing down he had given them last October he was certain they had done their homework. The thoroughness of the presentation thus far supported that conclusion as well.

He should have been paying closer attention to the presentation but his thoughts kept wandering to Elizabeth. The timing could not be worse; though that was simply from a personal perspective. He admonished himself with one of his father’s favorite quotes. Personal feelings have no place in the boardroom. That couldn’t more true than it was now.

Darcy re-schooled his attention. By the sweat beading on the presenters face, Darcy was certain his distraction was evident and was causing consternation. He attempted to calm the gentleman by showing his approval and interest.

After several minutes, again his thoughts floated in the direction of bewitching brown eyes. What a cruel twist of fate this had become. How was he going to tell her? When should he tell her, or should he simply let things proceed? And when she did find out, how would she take the news – would his friend and lover prevail or would the shrewd executive in her win? Sometimes it was hard to believe they were the same person.

He listened to the comments and suggestions of his other board members, and of course provided a little insight of his own. After delegation of action items required solidifying their position, the meeting adjourned and Darcy returned to his office. He looked at the calendar and his meeting notes, within a month the news would break. He had a month.

Darcy continued the next weeks as he had spent the last few, showering Elizabeth with tokens of his affection. More than once he had shown up at her office with dinner when he knew she would be working late. On other occasions, she would arrive home to flowers or balloons or messages on her voice mail from him.

Elizabeth had returned the favors in kind, thought never reaching Darcy’s volume; Darcy’s favorite was the homemade muffins that arrived unexpectedly via courier at his office. Additionally, Elizabeth found herself spending the night at his place more frequently though using her room at his place less frequently. And then there was the time he had arrived home late from a business trip to find her asleep on the couch waiting for him.

The pinnacle of these exchanges was a weekend trip to San Francisco. Darcy had suggested it and Elizabeth had rearranged some travel and some work at the hospital to accommodate. It was just the two of them and each of them greeted it with anxious anticipation. It was the first vacation they taken together, alone, without any other agenda - of course the laptops and cell phones tagged along, but contrary was absurd.

The first morning in San Francisco, Darcy took Elizabeth to the wharf for breakfast. Afterwards, he sat safely near the piers while watching Elizabeth climb along the rocks. His ever present loafers did not permit him to safely join her - something Elizabeth vowed to remedy before their return. Darcy learned of Elizabeth’s affinity to water and the beach; he was certain if they never left she would be content for the rest of her days. He smiled at the pretty thought and the picture presented before him; his Elizabeth, her hair blowing freely in the wind, jumping from rock to rock as if nothing else existed.

The second morning they drove to a sandy beach with a sunrise breakfast of pastries, granola, and coffee. Though breakfast was forgotten though the moment Darcy pushed Elizabeth into the surf and she retaliated in kind. Both wet, they proceeded to muddy themselves by building a sand castle together; something Darcy could not remember enjoying more in his life. This was followed by a walk along the beach.

The last day he took them farther down the coast where Darcy had rented two horses for them. He was surprised to find Elizabeth to be an excellent rider; one could say she was better than he, though he would not readily admit that. At his surprise she cheekily said, “Of course I know how to ride, what country girl doesn’t?” Darcy could only laugh at her self-deprecation.

She proceeded to tell him of her two horses at her parents place, Tristan and Boudica and bemoaned the fact she didn’t get to ride them enough. They decided to have one of them sent out to Pemberley for the spring pilgrimage that was tradition.

The afternoons were wandering around the restaurants and shops of the pier. Darcy learned the wonders of the farmer’s market and Elizabeth’s negotiating skills with the locals; Elizabeth learned the beauty of the area vineyards, and the special treatment the Darcy name afforded when they were given entrance and tours of vineyards closed to the public. They took the trolley around town, visited Chinatown and other attractions.

Little work was actually completed by either of them that weekend.

The evenings were spent at Darcy’s flat in each other’s company. Elizabeth was surprised to learn Darcy knew how to cook and was quite good at it. Even more surprising, they learned the two of them could manage to cook a meal together without arguing – something they had not previously anticipated given their personalities. Darcy, not surprisingly was a bit of a health nut, but Elizabeth welcomed it noting her diet certainly had room for improvement.

Darcy’s new found talent, made Elizabeth even more thankful for the trip to the farmer’s market. She mentally noted regular trips to Chicago’s farmer’s market this summer would be needed.

By the end of the weekend, transformations of both were complete. Darcy had been seen in public in linen cargo pants and shirt, complete with sandals and Elizabeth had delighted the town in a designer outfit and shoes.

Unlike Elizabeth however, Darcy had ruined a pair of Italian leather loafers, two pairs of dress slacks, two pairs of socks and a shirt; he deemed it all worth while though mentally he made a note a purchase of more Elizabeth proof clothes was in order and would have to start accompanying his usual portmanteau.

The weekend was tiring but fulfilling. They relished in each other’s company and were surprised at how little they really knew about each other.

Almost a month after Charles and Jane’s engagement, Darcy reluctantly held an engagement for the two of them at his place. He rarely held large social gatherings at his place; it conflicted too greatly with his reticent nature. He didn’t mind the occasional intimate dinner with close friends, but his place full of people he rarely spoke to, or in this case hardly even knew was unheard of. However, for Charles he would make an exception. It would not be proper for Charles to host his own engagement party and as the best man it fell within the obligations of duty.

From Darcy’s perspective, the only redeeming part was Elizabeth had agreed to be the hostess of the event and he smiled as he envisioned the two of them being host and hostess together on future occasions. Thankfully, Darcy convinced Charles and Jane to limit the number of invitations, so it was not the usual crush of people at Charles’ place.

As she greeted guests with Darcy, Elizabeth silently amused herself at how much things had changed in the last couple months. She had never dreamed she would be in love, much less with William Darcy, or that she would be playing the hostess in his apartment. She even began to enjoy the few raised eyebrows she received as the arriving guest noticed her role. Yes, she was the maid of honor, but her attachment to Darcy was clear. She had to admit to herself that things seemed almost perfect.

The evening hummed along. Guests, food and wine were everywhere. As Elizabeth heard the familiar ding of the elevator doors opening again, she made her way to greet the latest arrivals, meeting Darcy on the way. Both of them stopped in their tracks as the elevator door opened.

The first person off the elevator was Caroline, dresses in a blue miniskirt and tight, low-cut off-white shirt. Her hair hung around her shoulders instead of in the usual twist. Behind her stepped off a familiar looking brunette, Sylvia.

Elizabeth and Darcy both looked at each in stunned silence, both hoping it was simply a coincidence they had arrived at the same time. Darcy took Elizabeth’s hand and the two of them made their way to greet the newly arrived guests.

“Will!” Caroline intoned, audaciously hugging him. Darcy rigidly accepted the embrace, his hands held his side and until he was able to pull away; he did not attempt to hide the surprise or embarrassment on his face. She then greeted Elizabeth with little more than a nod and then turned towards the brunette. “This is my friend Sylvia Brenham.” Caroline intoned, as if the two had never met. Darcy nodded graciously. “Sylvia.”

Elizabeth swallowed hard and then took a slow deep breath. In the sweetest voice she could muster, she said, “Caroline. It’s good to see you.” Turning towards Sylvia, she said, “Ms. Brenham, it’s nice to see you again as well.” She was about to direct them to Charles and Jane when she was interrupted.

Sylvia looked around the apartment and then noticeably looked Darcy up and down. “You’re looking good, William.” Darcy clenched his jaw and stiffly put his arm around Elizabeth. His actions however did not have the desire effect.

Sylvia took Darcy’s free arm and walked towards the rest of the party, causing him to let go of Elizabeth.

Elizabeth suppressed her distaste and motioned to Caroline to enter who returned a smug smile and followed just a pace or two behind Darcy and Sylvia. The four of them settled into the kitchen, while Darcy and Elizabeth poured drinks for them.

“William,” Sylvia simpered, taking Darcy’s arm. “Give me a tour of the place?” Caroline followed suit, taking Darcy’s other arm. “I don’t believe I’ve ever been here Will.”

Darcy looked helplessly at Elizabeth, who only glared at him. “Go ahead William,” she said coolly, “I’ll tend to our other guests.” With that, she turned and headed towards another room. She wanted to see Jane who would calm her.

Jane was chatting happily in a corner with some friends, a soft smile across her lips. As soon as Elizabeth saw her, she decided against her plan; she would not ruin Jane’s night because Darcy couldn’t say no to his ex. Trust him. she told herself. He won’t hurt you. He was patient with me, I need to be patient with him. With a forceful exhale, she removed the pain in her chest. Then with shoulders squared she made her way around the rooms talking with guests, a tight polite smile chiseled on her face.

Darcy watched Elizabeth stalk off and sighed to himself. The last month had been wonderful and it seemed to be crashing down. He would have to find a way to make this up to her.

Turning towards Sylvia he noticed her gazing at him affectionately. He quickly turned to Caroline who was smiling smugly watching Elizabeth leave. The first one inspired feelings he couldn’t place, the second inspired feelings of disgust and anger. He decided to focus on the second, Caroline; at least with her he knew where things stood - he couldn’t stand her, and he would hang on to that to keep from thinking about the hand resting on his other arm. Of course what she was doing with Sylvia, he had no idea and was certain it was better he didn’t.

Graciously, though a little woodenly Darcy gave the two of them a quick tour of the rooms the guests were currently occupying, managing to loosen himself from both of them during it.

When the tour was over, Sylvia looked over the crowd and took Darcy’s arm once again. “Not your usual crowd William.”

Darcy replied stoically, “This party isn’t for me.”

Caroline chimed in, “Syl, I told you, this party is for my brother, he unfortunately is getting married to some country chit.” She then simpered, “But really Will, you should host a party for Sylvia, introduce her to your friends. She’s used to running in the same circles you know.”

“I hardly think that would be appropriate Caroline.” Darcy said flatly. “If you’ll excuse me I have other guests to attend to.” With that, he left both guests standing in the middle of the room and sought out Elizabeth.

He let out a calming sigh as he scanned the room. These encounters with Sylvia were becoming too frequent and besides wreaking havoc on his equanimity, were causing problems for him and Elizabeth. How he was going to explain things, he wasn’t sure. He didn’t understand the hold she had over him; how he was supposed to convince Elizabeth that he was over her was beyond him.

He found Elizabeth laughing and talking with a group of Charles’ friends. She smiled politely at him, took his hand, and continued her conversation with the others. If something was bothering her, she didn’t show it.

The rest of the evening passed uneventfully. Elizabeth continued the night as if nothing untoward occurred; even spending the night at Darcy’s as originally planned. Though if either of them were honest about it, there was a definite coolness in their interactions. Neither of them spoke about Sylvia’s appearance, though for different reasons, and much like the previous encounters things returned to normal after a few days.

After the party, Darcy sat in his study and pulled the little white box out of his desk. He opened it and stared at the ring. The day Elizabeth had given it to him crashed into his memory, her words, her tone and the look on her face; they were all there.

He took the ring out of the satin fold, placed it on his pinky finger and stared at it. ‘I’ve given you my heart’ reverberated in his ears. “I love you to Elizabeth” he said out loud without hesitation.

He thought of Sylvia earlier that evening in his house, and was struck by how wrong it seemed. For a moment he wondered what he had ever seen in her, and the memory of their last fight, that he had thought securely locked away with other painful memories, came unbidden.

They were in his office, where he had been spending every waking hour. “Please don’t make me choose!” he pleaded with her. “Besides Georgiana, you’re all I have.”

Sylvia stood firm though tears were falling from her face. “I can’t do this anymore Will. You don’t need me anymore.”

“Of course I do! But I have to get things back in order. The books are a mess, and nobody knows what is going on! It’ll just be for a little longer. Sylvia, please!”

“Will, you’re here from dawn to dusk and then some.”

“You know why I have to do this!”

“You don’t have to! You could sell your shares and turn the reigns over. I don’t understand where this loyalty is springing from! You can’t win his approval anymore! The company or me Will.”

And then the words that sealed things. “The company.”

His chest ached at the memories. It had been a painful time, one he did not willingly think about and even less seldom dwelled upon. He could now see clearly she hadn’t left, he had pushed her away. He had pushed everyone away then. He was good at it.

He looked back at the ring on his pinky. He knew what he felt for Sylvia wasn’t love anymore; and even it was it was nothing compared to what he felt for Elizabeth. What it was though he still couldn’t identify.

Elizabeth. She was being patient with him, he knew that. But how long that would last he didn’t know. He had hoped the problem would just go away. Things like this were just supposed to go away, swept under the rug. Forgotten. They weren’t discussed. They weren’t supposed to be discussed. It’s the things were done. Hadn’t he learned that as a boy?

With a resigned sigh Darcy returned the ring back to its satin bed and headed for his room.

“Lizzy!” Jane exclaimed, greeting her sister. It had been ages since the two of them had talked and Elizabeth desperately needed the comfort of her sister. Jane’s good heart always saw the best in people and she needed someone else’s assurances that her trust in Darcy was not unfounded. After usual updates on work and family news, Elizabeth asked, “Have you met any of Charles’ former girlfriends?”

Jane’s eyes widened and she looked at her sister incredulously. “No, why?”

Elizabeth smiled tightly, suddenly having second thoughts about discussing Sylvia with her. “Just curious.” She answered nonchalantly.

Jane frowned, knowing something was bothering Elizabeth. Elizabeth turned away trying to ignore her sister’s silent prompts. In the end, her need for consolation won out. “I met Darcy’s former girlfriend.” She muttered, while playing with her lip.

Jane chuckled her sister’s consternation. Elizabeth never really dated, so she could understand this being a new problem for her. Though insecure was not a trait used to describe Elizabeth, yet it was the only explanation for the current discussion. “Lizzy, he probably has a lot of ex-girlfriends. I’m surprised you haven’t run into more of them.” She gave Elizabeth a consoling but patronizing pat on the hand.

Elizabeth scowled at Jane’s description of Darcy as a free-wheeling womanizer. “William isn’t like that Jane. He doesn’t throw himself at women.” With an audible sigh she added, “Besides, I met the one he almost married. I met Sylvia,” as if Jane would know the names of Darcy’s former girlfriends.

Jane’s eyes went wide. “The one he almost married?”

Elizabeth snorted softly. Then mockingly said, “And of course she’s rich and beautiful and undoubtedly approved of by the family.” Elizabeth threw her head against the back of the chair she was sitting in and let out a loud frustrated groan.

“Lizzy. Darcy loves you. Anyone who sees him with you knows that.”

Elizabeth shot back, “Anyone who sees the two of them together might doubt that.”

Jane’s brow furrowed in a most unbecoming way. “Lizzy, you’re talking nonsense. He was probably just nervous about introducing you.”

Elizabeth shook her head in disbelief. “Jane,” Elizabeth cried in exasperation, “We’ve seen her three times, and he’s positively speechless in front of her and forgets I’m even present!” Elizabeth dropped her head in her hands and muttered. “I finally love someone and he’s still in love with his ex-girlfriend but won’t admit it.”

Jane’s countenance suddenly turned and she glared at her sister. “Elizabeth Abigail Bennet, don’t you dare sabotage this one! William is the best thing that’s happened to you.”

Elizabeth’s head shot up, her eyes wide in disbelief. Jane rarely called her Elizabeth and a full name calling was unheard of! Jane’s disapproving look spoke volumes. She stared at her sister for a full two minutes. Jane was blaming her! This was not how this was supposed to go!

“I not the one ruining it Jane.” Elizabeth finally replied harshly. “I love him.”

Jane’s eyes grew wide in surprise. “Really Lizzy? Have you told him?”

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose and quirked her brow to prevent the conversation from getting too mushy. “I told him everything.” She said flatly.

Jane hugged her sister. “Good for you.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, contemplating the statements of the other. Suddenly Elizabeth smirked and let out a long a rueful chuckle. Her sister’s words had given her the epiphany she had been looking for.

Jane watched her curiously. There was the light of understanding in her eyes, but her chuckle was not a happy one, and it showed no signs of abating.

Elizabeth finally regained control of herself. With a smirk and chuckle in her voice she said, “It’s not me this time Jane, it’s him!”

It had been four days since the engagement party where Sylvia had once again reared her ugly head. The timing could not have been worse.

Darcy sat in his office looking over the press release. He had read it several times and in fact didn’t need to read it again. He was simply delaying the inevitable and he done that long enough. It will better if she hears it from me.

“Hello dear.” Elizabeth answered her phone.

Darcy smiled to himself. She didn’t often use terms of endearment and when she did it made his heart swell.

“Elizabeth, I need to speak with you. I know it’s late but can I come over?”

Darcy’s voice sounded tired and concerned. “Of course. I was just finishing up some work.” Elizabeth responded. “Is everything alright?”

Darcy closed his eyes momentarily, leaning back in his chair. “I’ll be over in few minutes.”

Twenty minutes later, Darcy arrived; his face was tired and drawn, and he was obviously tense. Elizabeth greeted him with a warm embrace, and a chaste kiss, but grew concerned when Darcy did not let go even after several minutes. Finally he pulled back and said, “I’m sorry love. I just really needed to feel you in my arms.” He walked over the glass doors that led to the balcony. He stood straight, his arms folded across his chest, looking at the city below.

It was the first time he had been inside her apartment, but he only noticed the view from his current perch. Had circumstances been different he might have been surprised at the simplicity of it in contrast to his place.

Elizabeth sat down on the sofa, watching him. “What’s wrong?” She asked softly.

Darcy stared out the window at the city for a while, trying to figure out a way to tell her. He had known it was probable since the first failed attempt, but didn’t want to think about until he had to. Things were going to good between them and he didn’t want to think about any more obstacles. Their work and travel schedules, and Elizabeth’s less then warm welcome by the rest of the family was enough. And to that was added Sylvia’s presence in Chicago.

“There’s no good way to tell you this.” He scoffed softly. “In fact I shouldn’t be telling you this at all. But I wanted you to hear it from me.” He turned to look at her. His brow was furrowed and there was a look of pain across his face.

Elizabeth became more concerned and watched him intently.

With another deep breath Darcy said, “PMB is making a bid for Longburn.” Darcy closed his eyes, afraid to look at Elizabeth.

At his words, Elizabeth froze. She swallowed hard once, then twice. “Another purchase attempt.” she said slowly, repeating his words, hoping he would inform her she had heard him wrong. She looked down at the floor; neither could look at each the other. When Darcy didn’t say anything, she asked, “Just Medical Devices?”

Darcy shook his head. “No, the whole company this time.”

Elizabeth’s heart started beating rapidly. Her first reaction was to wake herself up. Realizing she wasn’t dreaming, her hand automatically went to her lip as she processed the information. All the implications that were held in those few statements raced through her mind. She would be working for Darcy. Her ideas of COO in a few years would be gone. She could be laid off! “The whole company.” She said quietly to herself.

Darcy finally rallied the courage to look at Elizabeth. He could see the different emotions playing across her face, surprise, betrayal, concern, understanding. He could see them battling and wondered silently which one would be the victor and tried to prepare himself for the worst.

Without saying a word, she walked to kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine. She called from the kitchen without looking at him, “Do you want a drink?”

Darcy looked at her puzzled; her expression was blank except for the slightly furrow of her brow. He had seen that look before and realized she was still processing the information. “Brandy?” he asked. “Scotch?” she countered. “Sure.”

Elizabeth settled back onto the sofa, nodded towards a nearby chair for Darcy. After sitting in silence for a few more minutes, each of them intently studying their drink, Elizabeth sat up straight and in the most business voice she could muster at the moment, she asked, “What are you going to do once you’ve bought it?”

Surprised, Darcy studied her face and what he saw made a small smile appear. She had regained her footing and the executive in her had won. Feeling a little more comfortable, Darcy settled into the chair a little more and took a drink of the scotch. With a shrug he said, “The usual thing. Keep what we want, sell off the rest. Obviously one of the primary purposes is the Medical Devices Division.”

Elizabeth nodded as she played with her lip, contemplating her next move. After a few minutes a challenging smirk crept across her face. “You know I’m going to fight you every step of the way.”

Darcy let out a guttural chuckle. In that one statement she had told him what he had most wanted to hear – she was not angry at him and they would find a way through this. Meeting her smirk with a challenging glint in his eye he said, “I’m counting on it.” He moved over the sofa and placed an arm across her shoulder. His face was relaxed and he looked as if the day was just beginning. “You never cease to amaze me my love.”

She returned the soft look in his eyes with a saucy look of her own. “Remember that when I beat your boys again.” She placed her head on his shoulder.

As she settled in against him, a sadness came over her. She couldn’t help feeling like this was the beginning of the end. They had figured out how to work around the small complications, like work schedules, but things were about to get ugly and fast. Her mind went back to the first time they had met in the conference room and she wondered what it would be like this time. They had both been completely drained afterwards and she wondered if this time it would just suck away any love that existed between them.

Then she realized she wouldn’t be part of the final negotiations, this time she had less control, this time she would just be in the background. Part of her was grateful for this, the other part was disappointed. She felt almost powerless, a feeling she abhorred.

Looking up at him Elizabeth asked, “How soon are you announcing the offer?” Darcy placed a kiss on her forehead. “Two days.”

Elizabeth heaved a deep sigh. “You know we won’t be able to see each other until this is over.”

Darcy pulled away and stared at her. He hadn’t realized that, but he knew she was right. They would be on opposite sides of the table and while they knew inside information would not be shared between them, they needed to maintain an ethical appearance. The idea of a prolonged separation gripped his heart a little harder than he expected. They had gone days, even a week, without seeing other before, but this time felt different. “I want to spend tomorrow night with you then,” he said almost as a command.

Elizabeth nodded.

In another minute, he pulled her close to her, wrapping his arms around her, as if he could stop time by holding her tight enough.

Elizabeth’s cell phone rang, but she didn’t recognize the caller ID. It was a Chicago phone number so she answered the phone thinking it could be someone from the office. “Elizabeth Bennet.”

“Miss Elizabeth.” George said smoothly.

“George, I told you not to call me anymore.” She said into the phone loudly.

“Tell me Miss Elizabeth, did the great William Darcy take you out for Valentine’s Day? I didn’t see it in any of the papers.” The blond man replied.

“That is none of your business. Good bye.” Elizabeth rolled her eyes. The man would just not take no for answer. At least all he does call. Maybe its time to get a new number.

The following night the two met at Darcy’s. Conversation that night was subdued, neither of them wanting to admit they wouldn’t be seeing each other for a while after tonight or what a separation could mean. They tried to talk about anything else but that.

To Elizabeth, it felt like they were saying goodbyes and the pain in her chest at that thought would not be quelled. She had done her best all evening to hide her fears but she was certain Darcy had seen some of it.

Finally, unable to avoid the topic anymore, Darcy looked at her sadly and said earnestly, “Elizabeth, tell me not to do this and I won’t.”

Elizabeth smiled sadly at his plea, she knew what he had meant by it and she knew the emotions around it. Part of her desperately wanted to tell him not to do it. She hated the idea of spending the next couple weeks not seeing or even talking to him, and that was if everything went smoothly. But she convinced herself that this was nothing but a business transaction, and in that respect it was the right thing for him to do. With a comforting and challenging smirk, Elizabeth said, “It’s a good move for you. I’d do it in heartbeat if the tables were turned.”

Darcy could only chuckle in admiration at the strength she was exhibiting. Darcy closed his eyes. “I love you. No matter what happens I love you.”

He wasn’t sure what prompted him to give her such assurances of his love for her, but they had come pouring out. Perhaps it had to do with the look in her eye that evening, that distant almost sorrowful look.

Elizabeth snuggled up closer to him. “I love you William.”

Parting that evening was difficult. They had attempted to reassure each other of their love, but neither of them could shake the feeling that this goodbye was more final.

A few days later, Darcy was in his office reviewing financials of the proposed Longbourn deal with three other executives when Monica entered. “Mr. Darcy, I have an important message for you.”

Darcy looked up at his secretary, prompting her for the message. She looked pointedly at the other gentlemen whose backs were to her. Understanding her, Darcy said, “Gentlemen, let’s break for lunch.”

At the prompt, the others silently exited his office.

Monica closed the door and with an air of confidence said, “Mr. Darcy, I was just informed by a reliable source that Miss Bennet’s services at Longbourn have been temporarily suspended.”

Darcy’s eyes grew wide at the news. He clenched his jaw. He had not expected this twist. His first thought was Elizabeth had done this and hadn’t told him of her plan. “When was this effective?” He said in a low voice, trying to keep control of his anger.

Monica said professionally. “My source says she was given an hour notice and escorted off the premise at ten am this morning.”

Darcy wasn’t sure if he was angrier or less angry at hearing it wasn’t Elizabeth’s decision. Certainly Elizabeth hadn’t expected this, nor was it necessary. “Thank you Monica” he said through gritted teeth. As soon as Monica had left his office, he called Elizabeth on her cell phone.

Elizabeth was sitting in Lincoln Park as she frequently did when she needed to sort through her emotions or problems. She saw the caller ID and smirked. “Good ol’ Anne. At least he wouldn’t find out through the grapevine.” However, she was still sorting through her emotions and wasn’t ready to talk about it, so she let the call go to voice mail.

Thirty minutes later Elizabeth saw Darcy heading towards her. She couldn’t help the corners of her mouth that turned up.

“I thought I’d find you here.” He said in a soft voice. Without giving it a second thought, Darcy took a seat next to her on the ground.

Elizabeth was thrilled to see him. She had been sitting there for nigh two hours and was still not any closer to coming to terms with the morning’s events. She had essentially been called disloyal, dishonest, and unethical by her own company! They didn’t believe her when she had told them that she and William had agreed not to see or talk to each other during the purchase. She understood why they did it, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.

“You shouldn’t be here” she replied flatly. She maintained her gaze on the construction in front of her as she swallowed the lump in her throat. She fought the urge to curl up in his arms and let him tell her that she was not the person they had accused her of being. However, the stronger side wouldn’t allow her that; it was her problem to deal with, tears and self-pity wouldn’t change anything and could make things worse if they were seen.

“I had to see if you were okay.” He returned tenderly.

Elizabeth forced a tight smile. “No, I’m not. But I will be.” A tear fell to her cheek and she quickly brushed it away. She quietly cursed her weakness, she hated crying.

Darcy’s heart ached for her, he knew her statement was one of raw emotion, and he knew how much she was hurting for her to so openly admit that. Had the pain been anything less she would have said ‘I’m fine’. He wanted to wrap her up in his arms and make the pain stop, but she was still trying to be strong and he wouldn’t ruin that for her. Instead, he put a hand on her arm and said softly, “I’m sorry.”

Elizabeth nodded. “I’m not ready to talk about it.” She said, her eyes never looking at him. Darcy nodded but didn’t move.

Several more minutes of silence passed before Darcy said softly, “I need to get going.” Elizabeth nodded. He had taken a few steps towards the sidewalk when she called after him.

At hearing her voice, Darcy turned and took a few steps toward her. She stood up. “Thank you.” She said quietly. Darcy smiled and nodded, his eyes were soft and tender, acknowledging the pain she felt. He gave her quick a tight hug. “I love you.” he whispered in her ear. With a kiss on the cheek he turned and left.

Elizabeth smiled a small smile as she watched him walk away. He risked a lot coming here. There is still hope for us.

The next day Elizabeth woke up at her usual time, around six in the morning. She was standing in her closet determining what to wear when she realized she wouldn’t be going into the office today. With a resigned sigh, she went to the kitchen for some coffee but thought better of it as queasiness in her stomach took over. Instead she settled for some peppermint tea.

Looking down at the sidewalks below, noticing a few suit clad people making their way to office as the city began to wake up. Soon the sidewalks would be filled with people, going to the office. She envied them. They had a purpose for the day. The quote from Atlas Shrugged came to her mind. The most depraved type of a man is a man without a purpose.*

She curled up in the chair, looked around her apartment and tried to determine what to do. She had no idea what to do with herself, but she would not sit idle. After fixing herself a breakfast of peppermint tea and toast, which seemed to settle her stomach some, she absently read the newspaper and checked her email. Then with pen and paper in front of her, she made a list of things to do over the next few weeks, alone. Without William.

*From Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. This is not a direct quote, but a paraphrasing.

Chapter Ten: Time alone

Posted on Monday, 4 June 2007

After the task list for her forced vacation had reached an acceptable length, Elizabeth started with the first item on her list - the terms and conditions under which she would work for Darcy. Realizing this was more than probable she needed to make sure the ground rules were set before returning to work. She knew of course the conditions would of course have to be agreed to by him, but if she was reasonable, she would have his concurrence. Giving up her company – at least presently - was not an option. She laughed at herself as she referred to Longbourn as hers. In actuality, she only considered a small part of it hers - the Medical Devices Division. That part was hers, of that she was certain; she had created it – before her it didn’t exist; she had poured many years of her life into making it what it was; it was part of her.

Elizabeth shook her head to clear the memories of the building years and returned to the task at hand. The first item on the list was she would not report directly to Darcy. That would be non-negotiable. She wasn’t sure how she would leave her company if he didn’t agree, but surely he would see the wisdom in the request. She struggled with the idea of him being her ultimate boss, but if things went well, there would be little interaction under those circumstances.

The second item, they would address each other as professionals, never by first name – unless that was the culture of PMB, which she highly doubted. She would not allow their familiarity outside of work be flaunted at the office. It was going to be hard enough to earn the respect of her peers, she didn’t need their relationship to be constantly thrown in their face.

The third item no office trysts; no secret office meetings, no hand delivering of memos. Things must be kept strictly professional. She smirked as she wrote that and her thought began to wander. She thought of Valentine’s Day when he had shown up with a bouquet of lilies and kissed her soundly in her office. Her hand brushed against her lips feeling the tingle of his kisses again. She felt a tingling heat spread through her at the memories of that night. She shook her head and chuckled lightly to herself. Definitely no office trysts!

With a sigh to remove the feelings of loneliness creeping through her, she tapped her pen on the table as she examined her list. She added a few more items to it and then considered it complete. On to the next task.

The second item on Elizabeth’s task list was to strengthen ties with her other sisters. Jane and she had always been best of friends and having seen Darcy and Georgiana together, she realized her relationship with Jane had been to the detriment of the other siblings. But which one to start with?

Kitty was married, and that relationship would take a lot of thought and effort since Elizabeth didn’t care for her husband, not to mention the fact that military life had them constantly on the move.

Lydia, well to be honest, Elizabeth was not ready to deal with her. She appreciated Lydia’s youthful exuberance, but not her self-destructive tendencies. The fact that she had pointedly ignored any advice from Jane or herself on the subject did not help either.

That left Mary. A phone call later had secured a visit from her sister. Mary would arrive in three days and stay for ten – which would thankfully consume half of her ‘vacation’ time.

Mary was a middle child. She did not receive the favor of being the first born, nor was she the baby of the family. In short, she was almost invisible in a family of five siblings. Her natural disposition, which took after Jane more than Elizabeth, that is to say it was gentle and meek and soft spoken, did not help either. On top of her mild disposition, she was shy and from lack of proper encouragement from her family, her self-esteem suffered, so she kept mostly to herself.

She had a rather dreary and draconian philosophy towards life that resulted in excluding herself from most social settings. So it was not surprising she had very few friends and despite being twenty five, Elizabeth couldn’t remember her ever having a boyfriend for any length of time. She spent her days reading, playing the piano, needlework, and tending to farm chores.

Elizabeth hoped that some time away from the isolation of the farm and small city would help Mary open up to the world around her. Her goal was to show Mary the potential of her environment, rather than take things at face value and judge them. It was a lofty goal, but a goal nonetheless.

Having received an acceptance to her invitation, Elizabeth spent the rest of the day planning her sister’s visit. She would take her to a play or two, a concert, and a couple of museums, the parks, the zoos and some of the other local attractions.

The day before Mary’s visit, Elizabeth surprised Charlotte by showing up at the bank looking for a lunch date. The two had not eaten lunch together during the week in years and Charlotte jumped at the opportunity.

After receiving assurances that Elizabeth had not been diagnosed with a terminal illness and the end of the world not near, Charlotte asked, “Lizzy, why aren’t you working today?”

“My services have been temporary suspended, until the purchase of Longbourn by PMB or another company.” Elizabeth replied in her best imitation of a Human Resources officer.

Charlotte looked at her stunned. “Why?”

Sarcastically Elizabeth replied, “Because they don’t like people sleeping with the enemy.” At her friend’s quizzical look she continued. “They know about my relationship with William.”

Charlotte grinned jealously. “How is Mr. Every Woman’s Fantasy?”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes playfully. She told Charlotte about the trip to San Francisco and a few other things, and chuckled as her friend sighed jealously. She finished with, “I’m guessing he’s hip high in paperwork right now.”

Charlotte grinned dreamily. “And what lovely hips they are!”

Elizabeth pushed out the enticing image of Darcy with his shirt half unbuttoned that had immediately entered her head. “Charlotte!” She chided. “You’re a married woman and you’re talking about MY boyfriend.”

Charlotte sighed again. “And what a lucky woman you are Lizzy.”

Elizabeth shook her head at her friend and chuckled. Charlotte took a sip of coffee and said, “Anyway, you’re not working because…”

More than happy to be off the topic of Darcy’s hips, Elizabeth replied, “Apparently the entire world knows about our relationship, and my company believes there is too big of a conflict of interest.”

“Lizzy, I’m just a bank teller, not a business person, remember?” Charlotte prodded.

“My company believes I would feed William insider information - potential competitors for the purchase, inside information on project valuations, pending contracts, things like that.”

Charlotte looked at her incredulously. “But you would never do something like that if you weren’t supposed to.”

Elizabeth grinned sarcastically. “Yes, well, tell that to the board.” She added, not deigning to disguise the vehemence in her voice. “And apparently fending him off the first time wasn’t proof enough.”

Elizabeth growled in frustration. “They might as well have said I have no integrity, and I’m untrustworthy. I’ve worked for them for years. I always did my best, I always put the company first! This is how they treat me!”

Charlotte gave her friend a comforting pat on the hand. “So what are you going to do now?”

Elizabeth groaned, “I invited Mary down for a week, after that, catch up on some stuff for the hospital, clean out some my closets, and help Jane a little with the wedding.”

Charlotte laughed. “Lizzy, do you understand the concept of a vacation?”

Elizabeth smiled sarcastically, “Yes, and I took one already – we went to San Francisco.”

Elizabeth looked at the test result with a sigh of relief. The last thing she needed was more complication and a baby was the very definition of complicated. She was still suffering from ‘bouts of nausea but chalked it to a nervous stomach – laughing as she realized she sounded like her mother. Brushing aside that disturbing thought she decided a visit to the doctor was in order. She would not turn into her mother and knew she had for the most part come to terms with things.

Determined she was not going live on tea and toast for the rest of her life, she made a doctor appointment. Fortune was finally on her side and she obtained an appointment after Mary’s visit and before the trip to Milwaukee for Easter with Jane and Charles. At least she wouldn’t have to explain anything to anyone until she knew more.

Mary jumped at the chance to visit Chicago. It wasn’t that she wanted to go shopping or anything like that; she just wanted to get away from the farm. The chance to get away from her mother’s constant nagging and moaning of how she would never find a husband was incentive enough. But even she had to admit it was time for someplace that brought more diversions than equipment breaking down or a dog getting into the chicken coup.

The time during Mary’s visit passed quickly. The two passed time shopping, dining out, the theatre, concerts, and museums, and a few visits with Jane and Charles. Elizabeth had even dragged Mary along to the VA hospital and put her to work in the Children’s ward, reading to the kids while she did preparations for the summer open house that was to be held in July.

By the fourth day of her visit, Mary seemed like a new person. Elizabeth had convinced her to add a little color to wardrobe, and to go along with it, Mary agreed to an attractive new haircut. Surprisingly, Mary even sat for a complete makeup session, though decided against purchasing any of it – not that Elizabeth could blame her.

The pinnacle of her visit was the visit to the Garfield Park Conservatory. Elizabeth had always enjoyed the serenity of the place and but for Mary it was something different. She stood in awe at the different plants, examining each one carefully noting the name plates by each one.

They happened upon one of the grounds keepers and in Elizabeth’s friendly fashion she struck up a conversation with him. The young man eagerly showed them around the conservatory, pointing out some of the more rare plants, discussing its origin, as well as any stories or myths that surrounded it. Mary was completely captivated. She was especially interested in learning about the exotic plants that were used for medicinal purposes. When the grounds-keeper mentioned they were always looking for volunteers, Mary’s eyes lit up in a way Elizabeth had never seen and she couldn’t help but smile.

Mary had found a new purpose in life and Elizabeth hoped it was botany, though the attention Mary was receiving from the young grounds-keeper Jonathan probably didn’t hurt either. She would talk to her sister about it again, when the charm of the young man’s smile had worn off.

By the end of Mary’s visit Elizabeth was exhausted in a way she never was from work. She was surprised to she had slept in until ten that day and was still feeling tired. Perhaps she really was sick. Which again, she ruminated, was something that never happened when she was working. She decided to take a day to herself to recuperate and mill around her place, taking care of odds and ends.

Sitting on her balcony, watching the people below she couldn’t help but think of Darcy and wonder what he was doing and how things were progressing. She had thought about him often during the past two weeks, especially when her and Mary had visited places the two of them had visited previously like the theatre or specific restaurants. She smirked as she realized how many restaurants they had visited that reminded her of him and wondered if she had picked those subconsciously. She wouldn’t deny she missed him. Occasionally thoughts of Sylvia had entered, but she quickly dismissed them; she wouldn’t do that to herself or the time apart would become unbearable.

Darcy’s time alone was not entertaining as Elizabeth’s. The hours were long and tiring. He had eaten all of his meals for the last two weeks with disposable utensils, and the only company he kept was his computer or another co-worker.

When the documents began to look the same and numbers seemed to dance in front of his eyes, he went home or stretched out on his office couch few hours of rest, only to repeat it the following day. Thankfully he was so tired he rarely dreamt, as he knew his dreams would undoubtedly include Elizabeth and increase his loneliness.

The only rewarding part of being so busy was he had successfully managed to avoid Caroline’s visit to his office twice in as many weeks. Even more rewarding was Monica’s report that one of the missed visits had included Sylvia. The visits to his office were bad enough, but the timing of them could have been disastrous. He was lonely and in his general tired state, he didn’t trust himself in Sylvia’s presence. Not only that, but he would have dreaded having to explain to Elizabeth why he was entertaining guests - especially Sylvia while he was supposed to be working.

Darcy rubbed his face tiredly and looked out over the city lights. His thoughts wandered to Elizabeth and he smiled as he watched the lights below turned into a pair of sparkling eyes. He sighed. He wanted to hear her voice, see her smile, and taste the ambrosia of her lips. He wondered what she was doing, what she was wearing, and most importantly how she was doing. She had looked so melancholy the last time he had seen her. Charles had said she was doing better and he had to believe it, anything else would be detrimental. He hated taking other people’s word.

Darcy shook his head out of his reverie and returning to his desk scratched out a reminder to thank Monica for her handling Caroline. With a stretch he picked up his keys to head home. “Just a little longer.” He muttered to the empty office. If things went perfectly, from here on out, the deal would be wrapped up before Easter.

Two days before the trip home, Elizabeth was busy cleaning out closets and packing for the weekend, when the phone rang. By the end of the phone conversation all previous thoughts of packing and cleaning had vanished. She hung up the phone and sat in stunned silence. There had to be a mistake! As the words of the nurse sunk in she let out a shocked laugh.

“Pregnant,” the nurse had said. The symptoms seemed to match, but her and William had taken precautions; they were not stupid; they had been careful! And the home test had been negative!

She laughed hearing the nurse’s assurances there had been no mistake echo in her ears.

Slowly a smile crept across her face. A baby. William and I are going to have a baby! A giggle escaped and she was thankful for her solitude. How I should tell him? When should I tell him? How will he react?

She laughed at herself as different scenarios ran through her head like a series of shooting stars. Some were serious, some flippant and obnoxious, some that involved things like Darcy fainting were down-right hilarious. She rubbed her stomach. A baby!

She returned to packing, the implications of the news wearing a track in her mind.

The next day however the tumult of emotions was different. We’re not even married, not to mention he’s still not over “her”. I can’t raise a baby on my own and work at the same time, well not an executive’s job; then again, I may not have a job when this is over. Ugh! I should have never gotten into this relationship. She laughed at herself, knowing full well she loved William and did not regret their relationship. So much for uncomplicated!

She shook herself out of that line of thinking and set her mind to deal with the situation at hand. There was still a week left in the original estimate of how long the purchase would take; she had a week before she would see Darcy. That would give her time to consider all her options and start planning. Regardless of Darcy’s reaction, she would know how to proceed.

She took some comfort in having formed a plan and let her thoughts dwell on Darcy. She desperately wished she could find out how things were going. How he was doing. She knew he would be tired, these things always required long difficult hours. Then Sylvia plagued her thoughts. Had he seen her? What would she do if Darcy left her? A chill ran through her. She shook her head violently. No! She would not think about that. He loves you!

Despite the heavy workload the purchase of Longbourn was placing on Darcy, he made time to go to Minneapolis for Easter. It was a tradition in the family and he knew Aunt Margaret would not settle for the excuse of the work. So it was on Good Friday that Darcy and Richard made their way to Minneapolis.

Richard conned Darcy into driving, citing the beautiful weather and fresh air. Darcy, not in the mood for an argument agreed; he even agreed to let Richard drive the Aston Martin, something he would probably regret later, but so long as it gave him some time to work, he wouldn’t think about that now.

For the first few hours of the drive, Richard contentedly listened to music, and entertained himself by silently mocking Darcy during phone calls. However, the friendly persona could only take so much of a one sided conversation and he broke the silence. “Where’s Liz? Why didn’t she come with you?” Richard asked.

Darcy not really paying attention replied flippantly, “I don’t know. Probably went home.”

Surprised by the reply, Richard asked, “How do you not know?”

Darcy continued focusing on his computer. “I haven’t talked to her in a while.”

Richard furrowed his brow. These were not the responses he was expecting. “How is she? I haven’t seen her in a while, but I’ve been in the field.” He asked glancing at his friend.

Darcy’s brow knitted tighter, hoping his cousin would notice his attempt to focus on work and leave him alone. Not looking up from his laptop, he replied lowly, “She’s fine, last I heard.”

Richard’s alarm was steadily growing as his thoughts went back to the encounter in New York with Sylvia. Eyebrows raised, he asked, “Last you heard?”

Darcy shifted in his seat. He finally looked up at his cousin and rolled his eyes, trying to emphasize his annoyance. “We haven’t seen in each other in a while that’s all. May I continue my work now?”

Richard was now fully alarmed. He had taken his cousin’s terse answers as an attempt to avoid the discussion and that meant he was trying to hide something. In a dangerous, yet cautious tone he asked, “And why is that?”

Darcy let out an audible groan of frustration. “Because we can’t see each other right now, it wouldn’t be ethical.”

At this reply Richard’s patience ran out. He growled, “Is it Sylvia?”

Darcy’s breath hitched. He had been working to put her out of his head and focus on PMB and Elizabeth. The last thing he needed was Richard bringing up that sore topic. “Why didn’t you tell me you had seen her and she was moving to Chicago?” He shot back angrily, admonishing his cousin’s accusation.

Richard felt the heat of anger creeping up his neck. “Because I thought you had moved on.”

“I have.” Darcy bit back. “But she showed up at my place with Caroline Bingley of all people.”

Richard’s anger dissipated and he laughed. “What are Caroline and Sylvia doing together?”

Darcy smiled inwardly at successfully turning his cousin’s focus. He snorted and said sarcastically. “I think they’ve formed the ‘Snubbed by William Darcy’ club.”

Richard laughed. “Other than Sylvia is the one that left you.” Richard became alarmed again at Darcy’s sudden quietness. He was pretending to be focused on his laptop, but Richard could see the vacant look and knew he was thinking about something else, actually someone else. Needing to turn Darcy’s thoughts to another lady, he asked, “So what’s going on with you and Liz?”

Darcy closed his laptop, giving up all attempts to work. “I love her.” He said quietly.

Richard watched his cousin carefully. His cousin’s reply would tell him what he needed to know. In a sincere voice he asked, “Darcy, as a friend, are you over Sylvia?”

Darcy nodded and said a little too emphatically. “Yes. I’ve moved on. Elizabeth is everything to me.”

Richard smiled tightly. “Are you convincing me or yourself?”

Darcy said nothing in return and turned to look out the window at the passing scenery.

Realizing he wasn’t going to get anything more out of his cousin down that route, Richard asked in a lighter tone. “So why haven’t you seen Liz? Why isn’t she with us?”

Darcy smirked and looked his cousin in the face. “Because people like you won’t let me work.” At Richard’s quizzical look he explained, “PMB is attempting to purchase Longbourn. It would give an unethical appearance if we were to be seen together. The sooner I can finish the purchase, the sooner we can see each other.”

The earnestness in Darcy’s voice mollified Richard, at least for the time being. He was certain the issue of Sylvia hadn’t been fully put to rest, but Darcy’s heart was pointed toward Elizabeth. That would have to suffice for now.

For Easter, Jane, Charles, and Elizabeth went home to Milwaukee. The three arrived at the Bennet farm by late afternoon.

Mrs. Bennet had insisted Charles’ visit, and when Jane could no longer find excuses she gave in. At first Elizabeth sympathized with her sister, knowing what kind of weekend it would be for her and Charles. However, in light of recent news, Elizabeth was thankful for Charles’ presence on the long drive – it gave her time for reflection. Not only that, but Elizabeth was certain had it been only Jane and herself, Elizabeth would not be able to withhold the news of her pregnancy, and no one should find out before Darcy.

The news of Jane’s engagement had of course reached home only days after the proposal. So, on top of the usual flurry of a major holiday, Mrs. Bennet was busy collecting color swatches, bridal magazines, and photographer names, and potential wedding dates and available halls, all to discuss with her daughter.

Unfortunately for Jane and Charles, Mrs. Bennet, having missed the ability to plan a wedding for Kitty, who had eloped only a few years ago, was determined Jane would have a proper wedding.

Elizabeth could only laugh at Jane’s horrified look when she entered her bedroom to the stacks of her mother’s collections.

Mrs. Bennet’s preoccupation with Jane’s wedding was a blessing for Elizabeth. Not only did it give her plenty of time to herself and catch up with her father and talk again with Mary, but it prevented her mother from expounding her attentions to her and her relationship with Darcy.

Thomas Bennet showed his daughter the improvements of the farm and the two took the horses out for a good long ride. Elizabeth did suffer numerous questions about William, from her father, but they were pointed and didn’t revolve around the size of Darcy’s wallet. She was thankful for the opportunity to share information about Darcy, especially things that would help her father develop a favorable impression of him. She shared perhaps more than she was wont – but under the circumstances a favorable impression would be important when she finally broke the other news to her him.

Thomas listened with interest to his daughter speak of her boyfriend. It was clear to him his daughter was in love again – something he was both happy and saddened to see at the same time. She seemed genuinely happy, which is all he had ever wanted. Of course with the source of that bliss being William Darcy, he also knew there was no hope of Elizabeth coming back to claim the farm as he had always wanted. On the other hand, Elizabeth was in love and everything he had heard thus far told him Darcy was a good man.

Elizabeth’s time with Mary was fruitful as well. Mary’s interest in plants had not diminished in the week she had left Chicago. Elizabeth had brought a couple books on botany with her, which were received with the eagerness Elizabeth had hoped. The two discussed some of the options Mary had, one of which included Mary moving to Chicago and living with Elizabeth for a while.

It was just after dinner when Richard and Darcy finally arrived at the Fitzwilliam’s. They were greeted warmly by Margaret and Peter Sr. and then with a surprising amount of elation, Georgiana greeted Darcy, and then Richard.

Darcy was about to ask the source of such unadulterated felicity when he saw it standing behind her.

At the sight of Sylvia, Darcy’s jaw went slack in disbelief. He looked to Richard and then back to Sylvia again. He could not believe it! The woman was intruding into all aspects of his life again! Despite his surprise and annoyance, years of training forced him to at least acknowledge her, so curtly he nodded to her.

Margaret smiled gently as if nothing was amiss. “William, I know you and Sylvia have a past, but it was a long time ago. Sylvia’s alone now and I know how much Georgiana has missed her.”

Darcy glared at his aunt. “I should thank you for looking after my sister’s happiness, but since it as my expense, you’ll excuse me if I have difficulty in expressing my appreciation.”

Margaret waved off Darcy’s displeasure. “William. I’m sure you and Sylvia can work things out. You’re both older and more mature now.”

Richard looked to his father for help, but his father couldn’t help watching the scene unfold with some amusement. It wasn’t that Darcy’s uncle was unfeeling, he was simply ignorant of all the details. He had heard Darcy was arriving alone, and took that as a sign that his relationship with Elizabeth had ended. Had he known the opposite to be true, he may have been more inclined to help.

Darcy clenched his jaw and took a deep breath. Finally he said slowly and evenly, “There is nothing to work out. I am quite happy with Elizabeth.” He then picked up his suitcase and stormed towards his room. As he was leaving, he heard Richard saying something rather vehemently to his parents but didn’t care to know its contents.

The following morning Darcy secluded himself in the library, knowing he would most likely not be disturbed there by anyone other than his uncle or Georgiana. His aunt rarely entered the room, and Richard spending time in the library was almost laughable.

He heard the door to the library open and smiled expecting Georgiana to enter. He hadn’t heard his uncle’s footsteps and having not seen much of Georgiana thus far, knew she would be looking for him soon. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Georgiana that entered. To his alarm, Sylvia entered. Unwittingly, Darcy jumped out his chair.

Sylvia entered the room and quietly closed the doors behind her. Darcy watched her nervously. He was stopped from making any progress towards quitting to the room by Sylvia initiating a conversation.

“I’m beginning to think you’re hiding from me William.” She said nonchalantly. “You retired right after dinner last night and you missed breakfast.”

Darcy took a deep breath and decided this would end here and now. His mind was too preoccupied to try and avoid her presence all weekend. He narrowed his eyes at her and in a firm, low voice he asked, “Why are you doing this Sylvia?”

Sylvia sat down on the sofa next to the chair Darcy was occupying when she first entered. She smiled warmly at him and said, “Isn’t it obvious?”

Darcy sat once again in the chair, his back straight as a board. “I’m seeing Elizabeth.” He replied coldly.

Sylvia smirked. “And you think she can make you happy?”

Darcy glared at her. In a firm but flat tone he replied. “Yes. She makes me very happy.”

Sylvia shifted until she was sitting on the edge of the sofa and leaned towards him. Sweetly she countered, “I see the way you still look at me William. Things could be like they were before, me, you, and Georgiana.”

Darcy opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. Her forwardness had shocked him. She wanted him back! It hadn’t been his imagination or his ego! Of course the question was now what did he want? And how could he be certain?

He studied Sylvia’s face, as if it would hold the key to his angst. He knew this would be his only chance if he was to resolve his inner conflict. They were alone and he could act freely. He didn’t have to worry about other looks or feelings.

He noticed as Sylvia shifted nervously under his intense stare, but continued in silence. His eyes were drawn to her lips. They were red and shiny, like a candy apple. He was pleased to find though he felt no impulse to taste them. After another minute of silence he was hit with an epiphany, and with it came a wave of clarity. Darcy reached out and took Sylvia’s hands in his. “Sylvia,” he said in a calm and gentle tone. “I didn’t treat you right when we were together, and I apologize. You deserved better, you deserved more than I could give you then. I’m sorry.” He could stop the corners of his mouth turn upward as he said, “But I’m in love with Elizabeth, and she loves me, and she loves me for who I am.” His face turned serious again. “I’m sorry if you thought there was ever a chance for us again. There isn’t. There will never be an us again.”

Sylvia looked down at her hands enfolded in Darcy’s. She swallowed hard once and after a deep breath said, “If you’re truly happy with her Will, I won’t interfere anymore.” She looked up at Darcy’s face again. “After I married and during the divorce proceedings, I realized what I had lost walking away from you. I had to try, and I wasn’t going to give up until you told me it was hopeless. I hope you understand.”

Darcy couldn’t help feeling a little flattered. He smiled slightly. “I’m very happy with Elizabeth, and am very much in love with her.”

Sylvia nodded in surrender. Then she leaned over and gave Darcy a kiss on the cheek. “I wish you both the best.” She whispered.

Just as Sylvia was kissing Darcy’s cheek, the library opened and Richard walked in looking for Darcy. As the doors opened, the occupants of the room immediately stood and Darcy dropped his hold on Sylvia’s hands.

Noticing the close proximity of the two inhabitants, Richard stared at them wide-eyed. His face flushed with anger. Sylvia glanced at Darcy for a moment as if saying goodbye and quickly left the room.

Darcy had only the time to say, “It’s not what...” Before he felt Richard’s fist connect with his jaw sending him to the floor.

Recovering, he turned to see Richard towering over him. “How dare you!” Richard barked. “How long were going to string her along!”

Darcy glared back at his cousin, rubbing his jaw. He was about to attempt to stand up, but seeing the fire in Richard’s eyes decided the floor was safer. He heatedly ground out, “It wasn’t what you think! She was saying goodbye!”

Richard heard Darcy’s retort but he didn’t accept it. He turned and yelled as he strode towards the doors. “I’m leaving for Milwaukee in thirty minutes. If you want your chance to explain to Liz first I suggest you start packing!”

Darcy scrambled to his feet. “Richard!” he bellowed to his cousin’s back. It had no impact. Richard left the library, slamming the doors behind him.

As promised, thirty minutes later found both men back in the Aston Martin on their way to Milwaukee. Richard tersely gave his leave to mother and father; Darcy said goodbye to Georgiana, promising explanations would be coming.

The initial hour of the drive was quiet. They had each carried their raging anger to the car and each was content to stubbornly stew. Finally Darcy broke the silence. “It wasn’t what you think.” He said in a low hot voice. “We were saying goodbye. Something we didn’t do last time.”

Richard stared hard at the road ahead. “You were holding her hands and kissed.”

Darcy shot back, “Yes. She gave me a peck goodbye on the cheek! I dare say you’ve probably received the same from Elizabeth!”

Richard turned a glare to Darcy and then returned his attentions to the road. Silence again enveloped the two, though the anger was slowly dissipating. After another twenty minutes in silence Richard asked, “You swear that this it between you two?”

Darcy nodded and said in a softer tone. “Sylvia is nothing more than a friend now. The hold she had over me is gone.”

Richard looked at Darcy and was surprised by what he saw. He glanced at the road again and then back to Darcy. Darcy’s face was surprising calm. His brow was smooth, the jaw slack. He looked like a weight had been just been lifted. In a word, his face was serene.

Darcy shifted in his seat, feeling his cousin’s stare. In a sincere tone he said, “My future is with Elizabeth. I love her.”

Richard couldn’t help but smile. He turned his attention to the road and the two sat in silence contemplating Darcy’s last statements.

They were two-thirds the way to Milwaukee when Richard said in a friendly tone, “Your jaw alright?”

Darcy chuckled and rubbed it. “I think so.” He turned and looked at his friend. “I’m glad I can count on you to look out for her.”

Jane, Charles, Mary and Elizabeth were gathered in the Bennet living room talking and laughing. Mrs. Bennet had taken Lydia shopping for accessories for her Easter dress after the younger had declared her current ones were inadequate. Mr. Bennet was out tending to the farm.

Elizabeth started at the sound of her cell phone, she hadn’t been expecting a call from anyone. Upon seeing the caller ID, she flew out of her seat. It was a week too soon for him to be calling! A bit more frantic than she had hoped to be she answer the phone, “William! Is everything alright?”

Darcy laughed on the other end. It was heavenly hearing her voice again. “Everything is fine, especially if I’m standing outside the correct house.”

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