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PART I

Chapter 1. An inauspicious beginning

Posted on 2010-03-25

"It's tolerable, I suppose." The tall, dark and very handsome man, paused from his cell phone conversation, swept his eyes around the room, unknowingly overhead by Elizabeth, her own eyes searching for the blonde head of her sister's new boyfriend. Jane had convinced Elizabeth to join her and Charles as his closest friend was to be introduced to Jane that evening; she wanted the support of her sister as the auspicious meeting took place.

"Yes," the man continued, "he's dragged me here to meet his latest 'angel'. And her sister – one of them anyway; she has I don't know how many." His voice dripped with derision.

Elizabeth stood frozen to the spot, staring at him. His eyes very briefly met hers. He gave her a quick sweep with his eyes before turning away, his expression dismissive and cold. Could this be Charles' 'great friend'? Elizabeth thought. Thinking of Charles' generally jovial demeanour, it did not seem possible. Astounded by the unpleasant tone in the man's voice and the thought that she might be about to share a meal with him, Elizabeth could not help but listen further, hopeful that he would say something to either redeem himself or prove he was not Charles' friend.

"I don't know," he continued. "She's a teacher of some sort. Respectable enough, I suppose, but hardly noteworthy."

Thus he dismisses my sister's Master's of Childhood Education! Elizabeth was working herself up to a fine lather by this point. He was not finished quite yet, however.

"I've no idea," he replied to some unheard question. "They are from some no-where little town. Uncivilised no doubt." He sighed audibly before continuing. "I'm sure this angel is much like the others – beautiful and entirely unsuitable."

Unknown to Elizabeth, and to William's defence, he had been introduced to a number of 'angels', several in the last year alone as Charles began to feel a strong desire to settle down. The women, many quite pleasant and all very beautiful, ended up on Charles' discard list within a month or two once it became clear they were – uniformly – vapid, uninteresting creatures. William's expectations were no higher for this particular 'angel'. His expectation of having to converse with her equally vapid, uninteresting sister who would no doubt hit on him while Charles made goo-goo eyes at his latest love, did nothing to improve William's mood. Especially when he had far more pressing matters to deal with.

"I'd better go," the man continued. "You will take care of…" He didn't have a chance to finish, obviously interrupted by the person on the other end of the line. The man disengaged without saying a farewell and moved deliberately to a corner of the busy restaurant.

Elizabeth was startled out of her reverie by his movement. Realising she was in no state to be immediately civil she decided to take a detour to the ladies' loo. She splashed some cool water on her face and forced herself to relax.

Jane really likes this guy. Charles seems very nice. For Jane… she repeated to herself for several minutes until she felt her indignation retreat. As much as she hoped she was wrong, she had a strong feeling that 'that man' (as she called him) was Charles' 'great friend' as much as he didn't sound like he deserved the appellation.

When she felt calm enough, Elizabeth gathered her bag and exited the restroom. Following the direction 'that man' had taken Elizabeth resumed her search for Charles. She was quickly rewarded and was dismayed if not surprised to see Charles' companion. The man's face was a blank, although he did appear to be listening intently to whatever Charles was saying. Taking a deep, calming breath, Elizabeth made her way over, angling herself to catch Charles' eye and be able to semi-ignore his companion for a few moments longer. Elizabeth would remind herself many times that evening that she was being polite for Jane's sake.

As intended, Charles caught sight of Elizabeth and jumped up to greet her. "Liz," he cried happily and the two of them greeted each other with friendly smiles.

Elizabeth and Charles had met only once before, but Elizabeth already felt favourably inclined towards him. In addition to his obvious affection for her most-beloved sister, he seemed to be an open, friendly person, without guile of any sort. His face exuded happiness, warmth and an easy smile. At just under 6 feet tall, and of slight-medium build, he was also attractive, which to Elizabeth's mind, a man should be if he could at all manage it. He was a blue-eyed blonde, with streaks of light brown making his hair darker than Jane's but complemented her almost ethereal looks very well. There was no denying Charles and Jane made a very attractive couple, in addition to having well-suited personalities. Certainly Elizabeth knew her sister was more enthusiastic about her relationship with Charles than she had ever been about a relationship before.

In contrast to Charles was his friend. Taller by four or five inches, he seemed to dwarf Charles in part due to his larger build. His looks were darker; his hair was wavy and almost as dark as Elizabeth's own. Although she only got a flash of them, Elizabeth believed his eyes to be brown. Draped in an obviously well-made and expensive charcoal grey suit, he both looked like the quintessential English gentleman (even if his manner didn't live up to the expectations of such) and a model stepped out of an advertisement for an exclusive male clothier. There was no denying it; despite the look of disdain on his face, he was gorgeous.

Before Charles could introduce her to 'that man', Elizabeth gained herself a moment more to temper her ire by saying "You did get Jane's message? About being a bit late?"

Charles pulled out a chair for Elizabeth. Their table was round and he placed her between himself and William, leaving a fourth chair, opposite Elizabeth, for Jane.

"Yes," Charles assured her, a look of disappointment flashing quickly across his face, replaced almost instantly by his usual jovial expression.

It was enough for Elizabeth. She gently laughed and assured him, "Don't worry. She will be here before long. These meetings often run over."

William, upon hearing her musical laugh, looked at her intently. The sound and humour and affection of her laugh drew his attention and stirred something within him that he could not name. He saw an attractive but not conventionally beautiful woman of slight build, but relatively tall. Her dark hair obviously had some curl to it, but tied up as it was, it was not possible to judge its length. Quickly assessing her features, he decided it was likely her best feature and thus he was mildly surprised she didn't make more of it. Although the feeling her voice raised quickly dimmed, William continued to observe Elizabeth during the following exchange. He thought she looked vaguely familiar, but could not place her. He remained largely sunken in his own world, nursing the thought that he would much rather be at home and would be if Charles had not insisted on his attendance abetted by his cousin Richard practically pushing him out the door.

"So Jane explained," Charles replied, smiling pleasantly and somewhat self-consciously at her teasing. "But really, who sets a meeting at 3 pm on a Friday?"

Elizabeth laughed again at the forlorn expression Charles purposely displayed for her. "Poor Charles," Elizabeth said, causing Charles to deepening his 'pity me' look.

"It's hardly unheard of, even for you," William entered the conversation, unintentionally. His deep voice startled Elizabeth, who had been doing a good job of temporarily forgetting the unpleasant man was present.

"Thanks for the support, Will," Charles laughed. He then introduced his two companions. "Elizabeth, this is my good friend, William Darcy. Will, Jane's next youngest sister, Elizabeth Bennet."

Unhappy with the flash of emotion her laugh had caused and as determined to be displeased with the world as he was, it was all William could do to mutter "Ms Bennet" in reply to the introduction.

Elizabeth replied in turn, "Mr Darcy."

"Oh how formal, you two. I suppose I should have expected…" but before Charles could explain himself he caught sight of Jane approaching their table. He immediately stood, a look of pure delight overspreading his face.

"Hello everyone," Jane said sweetly. It was easy to see why Charles had described Jane as an angel. "I am so sorry I'm late," she continued as Charles gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and led her to the remaining spot at the table. Jane looked at Elizabeth then William, giving each a beatific, apologetic smile. "Lizzie," she said reaching her hand across the table. Elizabeth and Jane gave each other's hands a squeeze of greeting. The smile they shared showed anyone who was interested in seeing it the genuine affection that existed between the two.

Charles introduced Jane and William. William replied politely if not warmly and set to observing Jane, most particularly how she interacted with his friend. He had had firm expectations of what he would see, and so far she fit the mould. Beautiful: check. Blonde: check. Blue eyes: check. Gentle voice: check.

To his discredit, he assumed the rest of his list would similarly be filled with checks by the end of his evening. To Jane's credit, he was wrong.

The table turned to small talk, of the weather, the general nature of their days and comments on the restaurant, briefly interrupted by a server taking drink orders. Jane ordered white wine, Charles a beer and Elizabeth and William both ordered sparkling water. Recognising the immaturity involved, Elizabeth nonetheless felt annoyed that she and 'that man' had ordered the same beverage.

The four set to examining the menu offerings, chatting amicably about them – all but William who remained stonily silent. The server came to take their orders, asking each in turn and moving clockwise from Jane to William to Elizabeth and lastly Charles. When Elizabeth asked for the same main dish as William – a stir fry with tofu– she was dismayed to discover some similarity in taste with him. But as nothing else on the menu suited her tastes and diet, she could not effect a last minute change. William, used to having women act for his benefit, looked away, more determined to avoid any behaviour that might encourage Elizabeth. Elizabeth meanwhile, imagining the evening ahead, fantasized about running out of the restaurant, screaming.

While Charles and Jane chatted softly and animatedly to each other, William and Elizabeth took the occasion – separately – to examine the restaurant, pointedly not talking to each other. Their thoughts on the environment they found themselves within could not be more different. While Elizabeth appreciated the liveliness of the restaurant and the friendliness exuded by the decorations and staff, William found it unpleasant and indecorous. The atmosphere was too loud, too overstated. Charles and Jane, lost in the thought and reality of a new love, failed to notice the silence of their dining companions. Thus they remained until their starters arrived, all determined in their own ways: Charles and Jane to drown in each other; William to be displeased with everything and everyone; and Elizabeth to be pleased with all but William.

The arrival of food caused some little change in the conversation about the table for a few minutes, much to Elizabeth's relief. Charles and Jane carried most of the burden of initiating and supporting several topics of small talk, with Elizabeth an active participant, realising it was her only opportunity to salvage her evening. William added very little to the conversation. Charles, knowing William, thought little of it, aware as he was that his friend was never a talkative man. He further understood the reasons behind William's distraction that evening, but didn't consider that Jane and Elizabeth would have no basis for excusing his manner. Jane, as always determined to think well of everyone and especially of Charles' best friend, found William pleasant enough and simply accepted him as he was without much thought. That he was truly a beautiful man and she could occasionally take pleasure in looking at him was good enough. Elizabeth took his continued silence as further proof of his rudeness and arrogance. Clearly he found all about him – including her beloved sister – beneath his notice. She did not care what his opinion of her was, but his failure to immediately appreciate Jane – combined with his taciturn nature and the harsh words she had heard him spout when on the phone earlier – put him beyond her tolerance level.

Soon enough Charles and Jane drifted back into a quiet conversation, seemingly failing to remember they were not alone. William made no attempt to engage Elizabeth in any conversation, and kept his attention focused on his food, consuming it at a steady pace although without any apparent enjoyment. He did not seem to mind or notice that no one was talking to him. Only once did he exert himself by asking what Elizabeth did. Startled by his sudden attempt and still stinging from what she perceived as his contemptuous attitude toward everything around him, Elizabeth nonetheless replied.

"I work for an NG… a non-governmental organisation."

"I know what an NGO is," he assured her in a haughty tone, his face remaining a mask of stone, eyes focused on the table between their dinners.

If he had bothered to look at her, he would have seen Elizabeth roll her eyes – a move she did nothing to hide. "Environmental," Elizabeth elaborated, her tone suggesting something of a dare.

William cringed inwardly and returned his attention to his dinner thinking An ardent crusader, no doubt. I can only hope to make it through the meal without being hit up for a donation. With this, he retreated into his bubble again.

His evident dismissal of her work, without even knowing what she did, further convinced Elizabeth of his general disdain for other people. Elizabeth, very proud of what she did and what she had accomplished, labelled him a misanthrope and, in a worse indictment, decided he probably believed himself above such petty concerns as a sick and dying environment.

Although the four spoke more as a group thereafter, William and Elizabeth did not have any further exchanges. As soon as it was appropriate, Elizabeth indicated a desire to go home, declining Charles and Jane's suggestion of after dinner drinks at a nearby 'hot spot'. Citing a long week – true enough – Elizabeth's real goal was to get away from the unpleasantness of her dinner companion and be alone to nurse her indignation into submission. William, too, indicated a need to leave. His desire was to return home to wallow in his concerns. Charles and Jane were willing to send them both on their way, happy to have some alone time. Elizabeth and William were quick to depart, each gathering their belongings, saying good night to Charles and Jane who chose to linger in the restaurant a few minutes longer to discuss their plans, and walked to the front of the restaurant. Upon exiting, both remembered their manners enough to acknowledge the other with a restrained 'good night' before they went their separate ways.

At this point, if asked to describe Elizabeth, William would have said, succinctly, 'nothing noteworthy'. Elizabeth would have described William starting with words such as 'rude' and 'arrogant', with many similar ones following.

On Monday evening, Jane and Elizabeth spoke on the phone. Although Elizabeth lived in the city, Jane worked and resided in a smaller suburban community about a 30 minute train commute from the city centre. It made mid-week get-togethers rare, but the two sisters were sure to talk at least once or twice during the week.

Elizabeth sat in the living room of her flat, having changed into a pair of lounge pants and long-sleeved t-shirt topped by an obviously much worn brown hooded sweater when she came home from work. Her long, wavy hair was loose, unusual except when she was alone. She sat on her sofa, legs curled up under her, a cup of tea on the side table. Balanced on her lap was a note pad upon which she was jotting notes. Her flat was neat but not excessively tidy and despite its reasonable size, appeared somewhat cluttered due to the number of full bookshelves. Plants of various sizes were scattered about the space, adding an aura of freshness and life to the renovated Victorian flat. Living alone, Elizabeth had no qualms about spreading her work on the dining table.

Although not as strikingly beautiful as her elder sister, Elizabeth was generally considered to be quite pretty. Physically she was very different than Jane. Her hair was deep brown, almost black. When loose, it fell several inches below her shoulders. Her eyes were brown, speckled with gold highlights, in contrast to Jane's almost silvery blue eyes. Her skin was fair, but unlike Jane's almost translucent complexion, Elizabeth's skin was lightly spotted with freckles, a few deep in colour, but many more of lighter hue that served to add colour and warmth to her looks. Both sisters were on the tall side with Elizabeth slightly more so than Jane. Unlike Jane, her build was slight and while not boyish in figure, her curves were less pronounced than her rather buxom sister.

Jane spent some time telling Elizabeth about her weekend with Charles. It had been a very special one, Jane explained as she sighed and sounded most sentimental. Elizabeth felt quite free to roll her eyes and occasionally cringe as Jane waxed poetic about Charles. As much as Elizabeth loved Jane and was happy for her, she thought her sister was sounding a bit too fairytale-like in her description of both Charles and their relationship.

Elizabeth had shown herself, at a very early age, to be uncommonly intelligent. A remarkable sense of curiosity guided her to a lifetime of learning and discovery. She was also of a rational mindset, valuing logic and seeking clear explanation for phenomena both personal and general. Falling in love at first sight, as Jane claimed she and Charles had done, was not something Elizabeth believed was possible and as pleased as she was for Jane's present sense of happiness, part of her also worried Jane was in for a big let down when reality finally caught up with her. Nothing and nobody was as perfect as Jane was claiming. Elizabeth was, however, of an optimistic disposition and did hope that Jane and Charles would find their initial attraction deepen into something more.

As she sensed Jane coming to the end of her latest soliloquy on Charles' merits, Elizabeth was pulled from her review and revision of the to-do list she was working on. She heard Jane sum up her remarks by saying that Charles was just what a young man ought to be sensible, good humoured, well-mannered.

Elizabeth replied, "He is also quite handsome, which a young man ought to be, if he can manage to arrange it."

"Oh Lizzie," Jane laughed.

"And well off!"

She could hear Jane's exclamation of tolerance and affection at her obvious teasing. Jane then replied, "I hardly care about that."

"Yes, Jane, I am well aware of that."

Elizabeth quickly jotted down another item to consider on her pad of paper, while Jane allowed her thoughts to quickly wander.

"His friend is certainly handsome, too," Jane broke the momentary silence. "Beautiful, really," she added her voice trailing off slightly.

"Who?"

"Lizzie! William Darcy. The man you sat next to during dinner Friday."

"Oh. Right," Elizabeth replied, a distinct lack of enthusiasm in her voice as she recalled that man.

"He seemed very nice," Jane continued, "if a bit quiet."

"Nice?!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "Jane, he was arrogant, rude…" She could not continue her tirade as she was interrupted by Jane's admonishment.

"Lizzie…"

"Jane, honestly," Elizabeth interjected. "He barely spoke all evening and clearly found the venue and everyone he saw as beneath him. Even when you and Charles were lost in your own little world, he barely spoke to me. You should have seen the look on his face when I said I worked for an environmental organisation!"

Elizabeth purposely did not tell Jane about the conversation she overhead in which William had made it clear he expected little of Charles' latest 'angel'. With luck, she thought, he will at least have the grace to keep those opinions away from Jane's ears. Not that Jane would have any difficulty finding some way to excuse his remarks if she did learn of them.

"Lizzie, you are being unkind," Jane said gently. "We don't even know…"

"What, Jane? That he has some odd malady that keeps him from being civil? You are entirely too quick to think well of everyone!"

"And you are entirely too quick to think ill of them!" Jane returned. The sisters shared a laugh. It was an old argument, mostly turned joke by this point in their lives. Jane and Elizabeth, inseparable when children and still close, were in many ways very unlike, not only physically, but also in dispositions and outlook.

By mutual if unspoken agreement, the sisters changed topics. They spent some time talking about the week ahead. Jane told Elizabeth of the curriculum review she was working on as part of her job in the central government's early years programme, while Elizabeth outlined her week of teaching, revising a report and writing an update for a granting agency she dealt with.

"I don't know how you keep it all organised," Jane exclaimed when Elizabeth finished outlining the to-do list she had been working on earlier and that was still propped up on her lap.

"I don't mind," Elizabeth said of her at times quite demanding work schedule. "It keeps me out of mischief," she added with a laugh in her voice.

"And from meeting your own 'Charles'," Jane hinted.

"I'm not looking, Jane," Elizabeth replied, this time imbuing a serious and firm note into her voice.

"Lizzie…" Jane started to say softly.

"I'm not, Jane," Elizabeth reiterated. "Besides," she went on, trying to lighten the mood by returning the teasing tone to her words, "I think one madly in love Bennet sister at a time is the legal limit! We can't all be floating around on clouds at once. What would be left to vex Mother's nerves and drive her to distraction?" Jane was laughing along on the other end of the line. "You know how proficient I am at both," Elizabeth laughed.

"Oh, Lizzie!"

"Jane that must be the third or fourth 'Oh, Lizzie' tonight. Am I really such a recalcitrant sister?"

"You know very well you are the very best of sisters." There followed a short pause as both smiled unseen in their flats. "But you do delight in vexing me, Elizabeth Annabelle Bennet!' Jane interjected, doing a poor imitation of their mother Fanny's strident voice.

Both women burst into laughter and it was several minutes before the conversation could continue. Just as Elizabeth was about to say goodnight so that she could go do some chores before retiring for the night, Jane said unexpectedly and in a tone both pleading and demanding in a big sister sort of fashion, "Seriously, Elizabeth," the use of her full name was a sure sign of Jane's determination to get her sister to do something unpleasant, "I need you to come home at the weekend."

"Jane," Elizabeth began, quickly trying to think of excuses.

"Lizzie," Jane turned more pleading than demanding, "I'm bringing Charles to meet Mum and Dad. I really need you there."

"Why?" Elizabeth sounded almost whiny in her request for an explanation.

Jane went on, not giving Elizabeth more of a chance to argue or challenge her reasoning, something she knew from experience Elizabeth was more than capable of doing. The trick was to get her points across, applying a liberal bit of guilt, getting her younger sister to succumb quickly. If she let Elizabeth get so much as her toe into a 'discussion' of why she need not be there, Elizabeth would win, somehow managing to convince Jane that her presence – rather than a good thing – would be a terrible idea.

Jane started, "There are lots of reasons you should come home with me this weekend." Elizabeth scoffed, but Jane continued before she could say anything. "First, you haven't been home in weeks, probably close to two months."

Elizabeth once again tried to interrupt, but Jane moved on quickly. "Second, Dad misses you; you know he does. He's even talked about coming to the city to see you and you know how much he hates doing that."

Jane could hear Elizabeth's sigh of exasperation and Jane knew she was reaching a turning point. What she needed to do now was seal the victory. "Third, everyone will be home this weekend – Mary, Kitty and Lydia will all be there, along with Mum and Dad. We haven't all been home at the same time in months! And finally," she concluded, knowing a bit of humour could work wonders with Elizabeth, "I need you there to act as a reminder to Charles that not all of my relations are mad."

This did, as Jane had hoped it would, elicit an actual chuckle from Elizabeth, even if it wasn't a very strong one.

"Please, Lizzie," Jane summed up, "this is so important to me. He's the one, I know he is. I need everything to be perfect."

"Jane, you've known him a month, you can't…"

"I do know," Jane interrupted, knowing full well what Elizabeth was going to say. "I knew the night we met. He is perfect for me and I am destined to spend my life with him."

Although Elizabeth rolled her eyes and made silent gagging motions at such romantic drivel, she gave in. Sighing deeply and pointedly, she said through gritted teeth, "All right."

"Oh, thank you, Lizzie. You are truly the…"

"Yes, I know," Elizabeth cut in, feeling somewhat petulant as she had let Jane manipulate her into doing something she knew would bring her little pleasure. "I'm the most amazing sister ever," she added, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. If there was more annoyance than amusement in her voice, Jane failed to notice.

Thursday morning found Charles and William attending a business meeting. It was the first time the two had spent together that week as William had spent the early part of the week traveling for meetings outside of the city.

Both William and Charles were orphans; likewise, both had inherited considerable wealth upon the passing of their parents, especially William. Charles' mother and father had died almost three decades earlier in an airplane crash, leaving behind a 2 year old Charles and his two sisters: Caroline, then 3 and Louisa, the eldest at 5. The three had been subsequently raised by their paternal grandparents, who had not taken well to being thrust, in their retiring years, back into parenthood. Although they had provided their grandchildren with a stable home and ensured all their needs were met, they were emotionally distant. As each child came of age, they considered their duty done. Other than the sending and receiving of birthday and Christmas cards, there was little communication between the Bingley siblings and their grandparents, who now resided in Spain, surrounded by the Mediterranean and other retired Brits.

The three had shared their parents' wealth, earned as the result of a successful Bingley family manufacturing business specialising in household appliances. The business had been sold by the estate's trustees before any of the children reached maturity. Louisa and Caroline had chosen to live off their wealth, amounting to somewhere in the area of £10 million each. Charles had used his to enter into business with the Darcy family.

William and Charles met as students of a leading day school for boys when they were 9 and 8 respectively. Despite their divergent personalities – William already a serious student who tended to be an introvert and Charles an enthusiastic extrovert, determined to enjoy all elements of school – a deep, lasting bond had quickly formed between the two.

Given the cool nature of his own home life, versus that offered by the Darcy household, Charles ended up spending a lot of time with William's family. Anne and George Darcy were very pleased to see their quiet, shy son develop a strong friendship with Charles. Anne and George quickly became very fond of young Charles and considered him their second son. Although they had wanted more children, they had failed to conceive again after William's birth. Charles, who seemed to crave the loving, supportive atmosphere of the Darcy home, readily filled the role of sibling for William and another child to love and nurture for his parents.

When Anne Darcy died three years later, leaving behind an additional person in the form of baby Georgiana, Charles had been almost as devastated as William had. He had also provided the strength and support William needed to work through his grief for his much-adored mother. William's own disposition left him mired in grief and only too willing to retreat further into himself. Charles' extroverted personality had given William a lifeline to hang onto as he navigated the pain and void left by Anne's unexpected death. Charles was able to ensure that William found his way through the most difficult of times.

George helped guide Charles into manhood, alongside his own son, and when Charles came of age and into his inheritance, agreed to support Charles in his desire to invest his money to create a new subsidiary of Derby Academics, the publishing company owned by the Darcy family. The business had originally concentrated on academic books (and over time other learning resources) for university and post-graduate audiences, including being a lead publisher of conference proceedings. The company had slowly worked its way down to include other age groups. Charles' inheritance was used to start up CAB Books, which specialised in learning resources and books for preschool and primary children. Named for his parents – Carol and Andrew Bingley – the company grew to be a dominant force in the domestic market and a significant player internationally, backed as it had been by the mighty Darcy family business conglomerate. Derby Academics and its subsidiaries now created and distributed a variety of learning resources – books, games, CD-ROMs, workbooks and a variety of audio-visual supports – for all learning levels. The company was well known for its innovative and high quality academic products.

Upon George's death seven years earlier, William had inherited most of the family business and fortune. His sister Georgiana was left very well provided for – and certainly her devoted older brother would gladly give her whatever she desired – but George had believed it would be best if controlling interest in BGD Inc. – the conglomerate of which Derby Academics was a part – rested with one person only. Although Georgiana's inheritance amounted to only about one fifth of William's, she still had more wealth than she would ever need. It also meant that William was indeed a very wealthy man, consistently placing on listings of the wealthiest people in Britain and Europe.

Although in charge of BGD Inc., George had taught William the importance of surrounding himself with the best and brightest professionals and delegating authority to them. After a brief period of drowning himself in work following his wife's death, George had one day realised he was allowing his priorities to become perverted. His children, including Charles, required better of him and he thus set about making it happen. He saw to it that the various arms of BGD Inc. had excellent management structures, chose his own realm within the larger company – Derby Academics – with which to occupy himself and set about being the best single father he could be to the two boys, now entering their teens, and little Georgiana who was developing into an almost perfect reflection of her mother.

William and Charles had been almost inseparable in the year following George's death, Charles coming to live full time in the Darcy townhouse to both give and receive support from William and also to help then-eleven year old Georgiana deal with the loss of her most beloved father. After about a year, Charles had moved into his own condominium, both men realising some measure of independence would be good.

William continued his father's practice of nurturing, supporting and generously compensating the best and brightest people, creating not only an excellent employee base, but also making BGD Inc. a highly respected company which was often touted as one of the best employers in the country.

Like his father, William found his passion in books and decided to continue his father's direct management of Derby Academics. Charles ran CAB Books and given the intertwined nature of the businesses, the two friends-cum-brothers spent much time together. In truth, they were as close as Jane and Elizabeth. In addition to his role at Derby Academics, William also maintained a commanding presence operating the Fitzwilliam Darcy Foundation, usually known as 'the FDF'. The foundation funded socially-relevant research and provided support to numerous initiatives designed to fill gaps in government social services. William was very proud of the foundation's work. In addition to providing funding to support important research aimed at improving quality of life, he also saw it as a way to help offset the negative outcomes of government funding decisions which seemed to impact the most vulnerable first and foremost. He felt the FDF acted as the central method by which he could share his family's good fortune with others, helping to create – hopefully – a brighter future.

After their meeting, Charles and William adjourned to a nearby restaurant for lunch. It was a popular locale, frequented by many business people, and had seen its fair share of multi-million deals born.

Over their relatively simple meal of soup and sandwiches – not having the time for a more leisurely offering – William listened as Charles once again expounded on the wonderfulness that was his 'angel'. As it was the first chance they had had to exchange more than a few quick words since the weekend, Charles had a lot to say. William sat, as he usually did under such circumstances, steadily eating the thick vegetable soup and veggie burger that made up his meal. As was his wont, his expression remained neutral, except for a couple of pointed looks at Charles – which Charles failed to take note of – when William felt Charles was sharing a few too many details. Having allowed his mind to wander to other matters, William was startled back to the conversation by Charles' exclamation.

"But you've met her, now. You know for yourself how wonderful she is."

William's response was a noise that could be construed as agreement.

"And so beautiful," Charles went on, satisfied. He sat back and his face took on a faraway look for a moment before looking at William with a clear expectation that William would now say something.

William conceded. "Yes, she is beautiful." Charles smiled radiantly. William continued, "You always manage to find the beautiful ones." His words contained an added message, punctuated by his leaning back in his chair and looking Charles intently and directly in the eyes.

Charles quickly caught William's meaning. This was not a new topic of conversation. "Jane's different."

William looked sceptical, but did not say anything.

"No, really, she is. It is completely different this time. She's… genuine and sweet and honest. Not at all like…well…the others. She's the one. I'm positive."

William sighed. "Charles, you are far too inclined to jump in the lake without testing the conditions thoroughly first. So to speak."

"No, Will. Not this time."

"You barely know her," was the insistent reply. "Don't make promises you cannot keep."

"But I can keep them," Charles assured his friend.

William sighed once again and gently shook his head. He had been through many similar conversations with Charles and was genuinely concerned that in his recent desire to find the right woman – whatever that meant – and settle down, Charles would make a big mistake. His track record with women was not great.

By unspoken but mutual consent, they dropped the conversation. Being such old and close friends, each knew enough of what the other wanted to say – and the feeling behind it – to be bothered by any sign of discord. Charles knew that William was only concerned about his well-being and William knew Charles would forge ahead and if (when, he told himself) it ended badly, William would fill the comforting friend-slash-brother role one more time.

They ate in silence for a few minutes before Charles said, "So, this weekend."

William looked up, silently asking Charles to continue.

"Plans?"

"The usual," William replied.

Charles smiled brilliantly. "So nothing. You're not going to Pemberley?"

"No. It's an open weekend." William did not want to be at his country estate when it would likely be crawling with day visitors.

"Great," exclaimed Charles, the smile growing even wider. A small affectionate smile graced William's face at Charles' enthusiasm.

When Charles did not immediately continue, William asked, "Well?"

"I need you to come to Meryton with me."

"Where? And why?"

"Meryton. It's a town in Hertfordshire. Where Jane's family lives."

William was immediately on alert. "Charles…" he started to say, but was overrun by his friend's word stream.

"She's invited me to go up and meet them and I need you to come with me." He laughed. "She is one of five sisters! I'd like to even out the field a bit. Besides, I need the moral support. You know, meeting the prospective in-laws and all."

"Charles…"

"They have a farm or operate one. I don't quite remember the story. And there is a guest house. Basic, Jane said, but adjacent to the main house and big enough for both of us."

"Charles…"

"We can go up Saturday morning, stay overnight and come back sometime Sunday afternoon or evening."

"Charles…" Will's voice was steadily getting louder but not yet loud enough to attract attention from other diners.

"Jane is going up Friday after work," he looked chagrined as he said it, "but if we are there in time for lunch Saturday it will be fine, I suppose."

"Charles…"

"And there is some party in the town Saturday night. Jane said a lot of the younger crowd – our age more or less – will be there."

"Charles!" Will finally snapped, garnering a quick glance from a woman at the next table. She quickly did a double take to get a closer look at William and continued to stare for a moment until recalled by her dining companion, otherwise known as her less-than-pleased husband.

William had also managed at last to gain Charles' attention. He looked at William expectantly.

"No," William said firmly.

"Will, this is really important to me," Charles assured him.

William squeezed his eyes shut, and rubbed his forehead as though attempting to banish a headache. He made not a sound for a moment. He knew Charles would never utter those words if it truly wasn't so. Yet William honestly thought the weekend sounded horrific (A party on top of it all!?) and had no desire to go. A calming, lovely image of himself sitting in the library of his townhouse, frittering the weekend away reading and perhaps watching a video strolled through his head. It quickly left, slamming the door behind itself.

Sighing very deeply and not yet removing his hand from his forehead or opening his eyes, he muttered the fatal words, "All right."

Chapter 2. Weekend in Meryton, the first

Posted on 2010-03-28

Elizabeth and Jane arrived at Longbourn after the family had had dinner. Elizabeth had managed to convince Jane it would be best to delay the drive by a couple of hours to avoid the heaviest traffic – after having had to work until 5.30 pm as of course it had been impossible to end work early that Friday. Jane drove into the city to fetch Elizabeth and the two had eaten at a small Middle Eastern restaurant near Elizabeth's flat. After Elizabeth had then tossed together some necessities for the weekend, while Jane alternated between talking about Charles, her work and her hopes for the weekend and reprimanding Elizabeth for her blatant delaying tactics, they headed north to Hertfordshire.

When they arrived at Longbourn, the main floor of the house was full lit but quiet. Fanny Bennet, their mother, was the first to notice their arrival. Now in her mid-50s, it was easy to see why she had been considered a beauty in her youth. She was still an attractive woman, although her attempts to look younger than her age detracted from her looks. She was fair like Jane, although her hair colour owed far more to chemistry than biology now. Unlike her eldest's calm, gentle demeanour, Fanny exuded an air of agitation and at times aggression.

Jane and Elizabeth left Jane's car, gathered their weekend bags and walked toward the double front door at which stood their mother. As soon as they were within hearing range, her shrill voice was heard.

"At last! You are so late, I was sure you had an accident!"

Jane kissed her mother calmly on one cheek before passing her to enter the house. Elizabeth, who was trailing Jane, said, "Mother, I called you not an hour ago telling you when to expect us. We made very good time."

"Oh Lizzie," came her mother's exasperated reply. "You have no compassion for my nerves! You know I am sensitive to such stresses."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and entered her childhood home, Fanny turning and following her, shutting out the chilly early October night air.

"Not that you care, Miss Lizzie. It isn't as though you ever come to see us. Think yourself too good for us, I suppose," her mother sniffed.

"That right, is it Lizzie?" Rupert Bennet asked, leaning against the frame of the door leading to his study, some twenty feet down the hall.

"Oh, Rupert!" Fanny exclaimed before ushering Jane into the sitting room, leaving Elizabeth standing stiffly in the foyer, one bag slung over her shoulder and her laptop case clutched tightly in her right hand.

Rupert Bennet, older than his wife by almost a decade, regarded his daughter sardonically. He smirked at his wife's antics, preferring to make a joke out of most everyone and everything. Avoiding conflict or bother of any sort was his preferred course of action; both only detracted from his peace and pleasure. Seeing his second daughter – long his favourite – was certainly counted as a pleasure, thus his presence in the corridor. He had roused himself from his most comfortable armchair when it was evident Jane and Elizabeth had arrived. He wore dark brown woollen trousers that had been quite smart five years earlier, and a grey cardigan over a plaid collared shirt. A book was held loosely in one of his hands, his middle finger acting as a bookmark. His salt and pepper hair (more salt than pepper) was slightly unruly and overall he looked much as one would expect from a stereotype of a distracted older professor.

"Hello Dad," Elizabeth said, breaking the momentary silence.

"Home to see your old father at last, are you Liz my girl?" Elizabeth smiled at him, waiting for the tease. "I almost had to haul my tired old body to London to see you, you know."

"I have no compassion for your nerves," Elizabeth quipped and father and daughter chuckled. Rupert pushed himself away from the wall and walked towards her. They met, Elizabeth having deposited her bags out of the way for the moment, pushing Jane's hastily discarded things into a corner with her own. Elizabeth gave her father a quick embrace and the two moved to follow Jane and Fanny, Elizabeth removing her jacket as they walked. In the sitting room, Fanny was chattering away, telling Jane all of the preparations they had made for the momentous weekend visit of Charles. The house had been cleaned from top to bottom as had the guest house, much food had been purchased, neighbours had been alerted…

"Oh, I am just so happy! I am sure he is just a charming young man. Of course, who else would you bring home to meet me… us! He must be oh… and smart too, in books you told me. Well, I always knew how it would be. You couldn't be so beautiful for nothing! I am all anticipation for tomorrow. To meet him at last!" she stopped to draw breath and give her daughter an approving look.

"And his friend," Jane said, looking over at her father and giving him a smile as he and Elizabeth entered the room.

"His friend?" Elizabeth asked suddenly alert.

"Yes," Jane replied, "William is coming, too."

Elizabeth looked at her in dismay.

"Didn't I tell you?" Jane asked.

"No," was Elizabeth's reply. Her tone left little doubt as to her feelings on the matter.

"Oh yes, Jane, tell me more about his friend," her mother interjected, giggling a little. "Is he as handsome as Charles? What does he do? Is he well off? Married?"

Elizabeth sat down and rolled her eyes. "You could try asking him yourself, Mother, although you aren't likely to get him to answer." Her voice dripped with derision.

"Lizzie, he seemed very nice and he is Charles' closest friend."

"Yes, Jane, I believe you have reminded me of both facts. More than once!" The two sisters smiled at each other.

"Don't think much of him, Liz?" Rupert Bennet queried.

"No, Dad, I was not impressed. The four of us had dinner last weekend," she offered as explanation.

"Oh was he not good enough for you either, Lizzie?" Fanny started to gear up once again.

"I've been busy, Mother," Elizabeth said quickly, hoping to forestall her mother's usual rant.

"Too busy for your own family? Your sister isn't too busy to visit us. And she has a boyfriend on top of a very important job! Unlike you."

Before Fanny could continue, Jane asked, "Where is everyone else?"

Rupert, sitting back into one of the sofas, stirred himself enough to reply. "Mary is hiding in her room and Lydia and Kitty are out doing I do not want to know what."

"I'll go up and rouse Mary," Elizabeth said, jumping up and leaving the room before giving in to the desire to argue with her mother.

The next couple of hours passed as they usually did in the Bennet household when Elizabeth visited. Jane attempted to distract their mother from haranguing Elizabeth by discussing Charles as much as possible (not that it was much of a trial for her to do so). Elizabeth and her father discussed the farm, Elizabeth's work and current events. Their conversation was occasionally interrupted by Fanny's pointed remarks on Elizabeth's life and person. Mary largely remained on the periphery of the action, despite Elizabeth and Jane's attempts to bring her into either conversation. Fanny was only really interested in Jane's life and being sure Elizabeth knew how displeased she was with her, while Rupert really just wanted Elizabeth and her conversation to himself.

Near midnight, Elizabeth was able to make her escape and retreated up to what had been her room. As soon as she had moved out, her mother had redecorated the room and renamed it the second guest room. Jane's girlhood room was still known as 'Jane's room'.

Elizabeth's body woke her at 6 am Saturday morning, her usual work-week rising time. Her thoughts immediately flew to her discomfort at being at Longbourn and Elizabeth found herself unable to relax enough to return to sleep. Knowing how busy the house would be later on, she decided to get up and get on with her day. She showered and went down to the kitchen.

With a cup of tea in her hand, she read through the news section of the paper. After this – and her tea – was done, she made herself a simple breakfast of dry toast and some fruit, reading one of her books while eating the food. She then set to accomplishing the task her mother had thrust upon her the night before, making a pot of soup for lunch. Hoping to finish before the rest of her family started pouring into the kitchen in search of their own breakfasts, she looked through the pantry and fridge to see what was available. She worked efficiently, humming and whistling along to her iPod, which was plugged into the player that resided in the kitchen.

Just as the soup had started to bubble and Elizabeth was cleaning up, Jane wandered in. She greeted her sister, who turned on the kettle to make Jane some tea.

"Thank you, Lizzie," Jane said sleepily. "What are you making? It smells good, if indecent at this hour."

"Potato, spinach and chickpea with Indian spices. It should be warming at least. It seems a bit cool out today."

"I'm sure it will be delicious," Jane wasn't much for talking before she had a chance to properly wake up. Elizabeth finished clearing up, gave her soup another stir, and then sat down with her book and a second cup of tea. Mary made her way into the kitchen next, got a glass of juice and began to read the paper.

The three were soon joined by Rupert. The kitchen was still relatively quiet, with few words spoken even as Elizabeth saw to finishing her soup and storing it away to be reheated at lunch time. It was the quiet and calm before the remaining three Bennets joined them.

It was close to 9.30 am by the time Kitty and Lydia entered the room, giggling and outright laughing as they relived the finer points of the previous evening's entertainment. Fanny Bennet preceded them, her thoughts already spilling out of her mouth.

"Rupert, don't forget to go down to Goulding's this morning to pick up the bread. I ordered it yesterday. Five fresh loaves, there should be a variety on the table. Jane, you will change before Charles gets here of course. I'll help you pick an outfit after breakfast. Mary, don't just sit there girl! Get your mother a cup of tea. Elizabeth Annabelle Bennet, why are you just sitting there? Do you think you can just lounge around all morning reading? I told you to…"

"Soup's made, Mother, and in the fridge," Elizabeth interrupted, without looking up from her book.

"Hmm… I do not know how a daughter of mine was raised with so few manners, interrupting people when they are speaking and not even looking at them!" She was once again cut off, this time by Rupert, walking past her to the sink to deposit his mug.

"Good morning, dear," he said, giving her a light kiss on the cheek. "I'm off to my study. I've some papers to review." With that and a quick good morning to his two youngest, he left the room.

Meanwhile, Lydia and Kitty had greeted their two oldest sisters. After a quick hello, however, they sat down with large mugs of sweet coffee and resumed their discussion, detailing who had been at the party with them, what they wore, when and where they would next meet the cutest of the boys and why said boys would like one or other of them most.

Mary Bennet, the middle sister, had turned 21 early that summer. She was in her second year of university, having taken a couple of years break to help out with the family venture. She was still trying to decide what to study, battling – although she would not admit it – between what she thought she ought to want to study and what she really wanted to do. She was the least remarkable of the five sisters in many ways. That she enhanced this through her own choices was not unnoticed by Jane and Elizabeth. Elizabeth had, when possible, tried to encourage Mary, but having left home at barely sixteen, when Mary was only eight years old, there was little she felt she could do. Mary had made it clear recently that she did not value Elizabeth's advice, and Elizabeth had decided to stop offering it.

Catherine, or Kitty as she was usually called, and Lydia might as well have been twins, so similar were they. Physically they both resembled their mother quite strongly. A lighter shade of blonde than Mary, but not as light as Jane, both were very pretty and dressed and acted to attract as much attention as possible. The elder by two years, Kitty (19) was happy to follow her younger sister's direction, hoping by doing so to garner some of the attention Fanny lavished on her youngest child. Away from Lydia, Kitty could be a sweet, responsible girl, if not particularly bright or remarkable. When together, as they frequently were, they became silly, vain, lazy and irresponsible, living only to have fun.

With her father's exit from the kitchen, Elizabeth knew it was a matter of moments before her mother started in on her again. To avoid it, she got up to take her leave. Jane, watching her sister closely, guessed her intent and rose from the table as well. Remarking that they would make more space for those who had yet to break their fast, Jane assured her mother she would be readily available when Fanny was done with her meal.

"Lizzie," Jane called softly to her sister, causing Elizabeth to stop and turn. Mary walked by them, muttering about doing some reading in her room.

Elizabeth looked expectantly at Jane. "What are you going to do now?" Jane asked.

With an exasperated tone in her voice that Jane knew was not aimed at her, Elizabeth replied, "I'm going for a walk."

"Lizzie, Charles said they would be here at 11.30."

"Then I'll be back by 11.30."

"Lizzie…" Jane said a tone of apology in her voice.

"I need to get out of here for a while, Jane."

"She doesn't mean…"

"Oh please, Jane. I wasn't here half an hour last night before she had completely disparaged my job, my life, my clothes and every choice I've ever made…"

"Lizzie…"

"Forget it, Jane." She paused to take a deep breath, while Jane looked on sympathetically. "It's okay," Elizabeth assured her sister. She added, more teasingly, "Thus it always has been, thus it always will be. I know it and so do you. If I'm here, I might as well enjoy myself and that means going for a walk!"

Elizabeth wandered the beloved, familiar countryside around her childhood home for about an hour. Now early October, the weather was turning markedly cooler and signs of autumn were increasingly taking hold. The day was brilliantly clear, however. Elizabeth felt the exercise calm her as she observed the world around her, using both her eyes and ears and, occasionally, her hands. Meryton was still predominantly a farming community, although rural tourism was a rapidly growing part of the local economy. Although much of the local landscape had long ago been converted to agricultural uses, recent decades had seen portions of it protected and re-established or allowed to revert to woodlands and other natural systems. Elizabeth knew the land well and toured as many of her favourite haunts as time allowed.

By 11.00 am, Elizabeth was on her way back to the house, somewhat restored and ready to face the oncoming trials. As she emerged from the wooded shelterbelt that separated Longbourn's private gardens from the farmlands, she came face to face with William. After standing staring at each other silently for a moment, William – less surprised by the encounter than she was – greeted her simply.

"Ms Bennet."

"Mr Darcy," she returned. After another momentary pause, Elizabeth continued. "Jane told me you and Charles were expected at 11.30. I was just heading back to the house now."

"Ah, yes," William replied, rolling his eyes so slightly Elizabeth missed it and weighing his words carefully. "Charles was rather… impatient this morning. We left London earlier than originally planned."

"I see," Elizabeth said, imagining for herself Charles' insistence on setting out for Hertfordshire as early as possible. Not knowing much about the relationship between the two men, Elizabeth was surprised William had indulged Charles so.

"Jane and Charles? Are they…?" Elizabeth asked.

"Your sister suggested a walk. They are, I'm not sure where."

Elizabeth looked at him, eyebrows raised in question.

He looked a little sheepish, a look Elizabeth could not quite account for. He explained, "I thought I would give them a bit of privacy."

"I see," Elizabeth said again. "Well, we should be heading back to the house."

Elizabeth then did something that both startled and confounded William. She loudly, clearly and in tune whistled the opening bars of the chorus of Ode to Joy. She then cocked her head to one side, evidently listening for something. A faint whistle – a simple construct of two short and one long – was heard. Elizabeth indicated the staring William should join her and she turned and resumed walking toward the house.

His curiosity finally getting the better of him, William asked, "Ode to Joy?"

"Yes," Elizabeth nodded her head. Seeing he was looking for an explanation, she went on. "It is a technique Jane and I developed as children. We often lost sight of each other and this allows us to locate each other."

She paused, first her eyes then head following a bird that flew across their path. Her expression, observed unknowingly by Will, was curious and intense. It was a look discordant with William's image of Elizabeth and caused his curiosity to stir. It was also the first time he really looked at her and it was almost as if he were seeing her for the first time.

The bird now beyond her sight, Elizabeth resumed her walking and explanation. "Much more civilised than yelling at each other, as I'm sure you can appreciate. I have no doubt Jane and Charles will head back to the house as well now. She'll know we've met; how else would I know she was out in the grounds? And, given the time, she'll assume we will head inside. Was anyone other than Jane home when you arrived?"

Her question startled William out of his reverie. If he were to be honest, he would have to admit that she was far more attractive than he remembered from the previous week. Her hair, a lovely deep shade of chocolate brown, was wavy if not outright curly. Tied loosely in a knot, a few strands had fallen out during her walk, framing her face. Her skin was clear, with just a few light freckles on her nose and cheeks, adding interest. The sun seemed to be reflected by the gold specks in her otherwise brown eyes, making them shine. She was free of makeup, but the exercise and early autumn air had given her cheeks a slightly rosy hue. She was dressed simply in jeans, grey hiking shoes and a dark green zippered jacket. She looked fresh, healthy and confident and, to William's amazement, remarkably pretty even though she lacked her older sister's classic beauty.

"Um, yes," he recalled himself to the conversation. "Your father was there although I understand your mother and sisters had to run an errand."

Elizabeth nodded an acknowledgement of his answer and the two walked in silence for a moment before Elizabeth, thinking to be polite, inquired, "Your drive was pleasant, I hope."

"It was fine," William replied. "Is it always Ode to Joy?" he asked in a rush.

Elizabeth looked at him, puzzled.

"What you whistle, your signal," he elaborated.

She smiled briefly to indicate she now understood. "Yes," she answered. "It seems appropriate to the setting." She smiled more broadly this time, although her lips did not part, and looked fondly around herself. It was clear that she loved this place.

While they were talking, Elizabeth thought to say, "I heard that you were allergic to dairy. Other than the very obvious, everything at lunch will be fine for you."

Not waiting for a reply, Elizabeth resumed walking. She started whistling again, what to William's ear were bits of Beethoven's 9th symphony.

They exchanged no further words. Elizabeth thought nothing of it except a brief feeling of surprise that William had voluntarily said so many words. She thought that he had likely used up his weekend store of them and then chastised herself, hearing Jane's voice in her head saying she was being unkind. She quickly dismissed this thought though, reminding herself of his rudeness the weekend before.

Lunch passed as something of a nightmare to Elizabeth. Fanny had been all a titter at meeting Charles. His outgoing personality as well as the wonderful picture Jane had painted of him left her almost in awe of him. She felt, further, that it was part of her motherly duties to be sure Charles knew just how special Jane was and so alternated between praising Jane and fawning over Charles. She had given up on William after getting little more than brief, polite but cool replies to her initial queries. Lydia and Kitty could have little interest in the love affair of their much older sister; especially since it was obvious that Charles had little time left for them between his adoration of Jane and Fanny's effusions. His friend, further, was not inclined to flirt. Consequently, the two young Bennets sat together, gossiping and being as silly as they could be. Mary just ate her lunch, briefly replying to Elizabeth's questions on her studies and activities, but never asking questions in return or indicating any interest in furthering the conversation. Rupert was amusing himself watching the dynamics between Charles, Jane and Fanny, Charles looking almost dizzy trying to follow Fanny's questions and raptures over Jane's beauty and goodness. He had asked William a few questions, but not finding much to amuse in the young man's reticence, retreated to the position of audience. So intent was he on this task, really the best amusement he had had at his dining table in some time, that he even rebuffed Elizabeth's attempts to engage him.

William spent much of the lunch hour feeling at best uncomfortable and at worst horrified. Between the mother practically drooling over Charles and so obviously pushing Jane on him and the vulgarity of the two youngest sisters, William could do little but wish he was far away. Not being able to bring that wish to fruition, he was content to retreat into his shell, emerging to reply to Mr Bennet's brief queries and once to compliment Mrs Bennet on the soup. No one thought to correct his assumption.

Had Elizabeth been privy to William's thoughts, she might have thought better of him solely for his ability to imagine the many places he would rather be and things he would rather be doing. She was alternately exceedingly embarrassed by her family's behaviour, horrified at it being witnessed by Charles and William, annoyed at her feelings, bored and all together wishing she had found a way to stay at home for the weekend.

As they all rose from the table, Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief that it had not been worse. William would have been surprised to learn it could be worse, but he was no more privy to Elizabeth's thoughts on how it could have been so than she was his thoughts on alternative activities. At least, Elizabeth thought, there had not been any bickering and her mother's attention had remained focused on Charles and Jane. She recruited Mary to help her prepare and serve dessert and hot beverages in the sitting room and the two retreated to the kitchen. Elizabeth added some sliced fruit to the cakes her mother and sisters had bought in Meryton that morning when they had gone to pick up the bread. Fanny had decided to collect it herself rather than trust her husband with the chore after he had faked confusion over what was expected of him, causing her nerves to flutter anew.

Elizabeth and Mary's entry into the sitting room caused a little stir. William was standing, stiffly and extended to his full 6 feet 3 inches, his face a study in stone, while Fanny Bennet tried to extract far too many personal details from him. Charles and Jane were sitting eagerly chatting to each other. Rupert was hiding behind the weekend paper. Lydia and Kitty were sharing a sofa, not speaking but looking bored, Lydia yawning widely and not attempting to hide it. They had either run out of things to gossip about – never more than a momentary affliction – or were in the midst of one of their numerous spats.

William, seeing his chance of escape, quickly excused himself and went to relieve Elizabeth of the overloaded tray she was carrying. Elizabeth felt annoyed at his officiousness, reading his actions as a criticism of her actions and/or her abilities. She indicated a table close to Jane upon which he should deposit the tray. Elizabeth then attempted to retreat to another corner of the room, retrieve her book and hide behind it for a little while at least.

Jane moved to serve. When Fanny saw her, after having followed William and then Elizabeth's actions with displeasure, said, "Oh Jane, leave that. You and Charles just sit down and … well…" She stumbled for a finish to her thought. "Lizzie," she then hissed as though thinking the others, largely positioned between her and her second daughter would not hear her order, "get back over there and serve the dessert. Your sister has better things to do!"

Elizabeth gritted her teeth, rolled her eyes and reminded herself this was all for Jane.

"No, no Mum," Jane quickly said, "I can do it. Lizzie has done enough."

"Fine," Elizabeth said at the same time, almost managing to keep the annoyance out of her voice.

It was unnoticed by all but William who caught a hint of it and began to wonder at the dynamics between Mrs Bennet and her second daughter.

Elizabeth looked at Jane and gave her a slight smile. "I'll help you," Jane said.

Elizabeth had expected Mary to help, but her younger sister had quickly retreated to a corner. Unlike Elizabeth, Mary had managed to escape their mother's notice.

Elizabeth and Jane helped everyone to a hot drink – coffee for Rupert, Fanny, Lydia, Kitty, Charles and Jane, tea for Elizabeth, William and Mary. Everyone but Elizabeth and William took a piece of cake, Lydia, Kitty and Mary opting for rather larger pieces than the others did and Mary unsuccessfully hiding the second piece she took. Only William and Elizabeth ate the fruit.

William stayed, defensively, close to Charles following his one-on-one with Fanny Bennet. As Elizabeth chose to stay with Jane after serving everyone, it meant the four of them – Charles, William, Jane and Elizabeth – formed their own little grouping.

As had been the case the previous weekend, Charles and Jane kept the conversation going, Jane telling Charles stories about Meryton and about some of the people they were likely to see that evening. Elizabeth added her own, often amusing, side notes. William, feeling somewhat shell- shocked, sat silently, adding nothing to the conversation and often appearing, to Elizabeth, to be not listening. His behaviour did not surprise Elizabeth, but did serve to confirm her impression of him and prove her supposition that his earlier relative chattiness – when they walked back to the house – had been out of character for him.

One matter the four discussed was that evening's entertainment. Jane informed Charles and William of the plan to meet a few of Jane and Elizabeth's long time friends at a local pub. After dinner, the group would go to a party being held in Meryton's downtown. William wasn't sure what sounded more dreadful – a pub meal and party or more time spent in the company of Mrs Bennet and the younger Bennet sisters. Admittedly, lunch hadn't been as awful as it could have been if, for example, Mrs Bennet's attention had been focused on him instead of Charles and Mr Bennet seemed a likely source of intelligent conversation if it came to it, despite the man's apparent cavalier attitude towards his family. However, the two youngest sisters were a nightmare and the middle one had, apparently, little to say. Jane and Charles were too wrapped up in themselves and Elizabeth, well, he didn't expect much from her.

Well, she did seem interested in that bird earlier on. If worse comes to worse, he thought, I can always steer the conversation to birds.

Jane's voice intruded on his thoughts. "Maybe we should arrange a taxi for tonight."

"Meryton has a taxi service?" Charles asked surprise evident in his voice.

Elizabeth laughed at him. "Yes, Charles. Taxis do exist outside of large cities!" Charles smiled at her, joining in her mocking of him.

"We can take my car," William stated, his voice making it clear it was not a suggestion, but a decision. Elizabeth rolled her eyes, a move he did not notice, but Jane did.

"A taxi would save us worry about a safe driver," Jane continued, her statement overlapping with William's one.

Elizabeth replied to Jane's concern. "I won't be drinking, Jane. I could drive."

William looked at her intently, wondering if she had the presumption to suggest she would drive his car, no doubt thinking he had some fancy, luxury car. But are people who worked for environmental organisations even supposed to drive? Maybe she is just another environmental hypocrite.

Elizabeth, as though sensing his thoughts, clarified, "We could take Jane's car. I'll play chauffer."

"That won't be necessary," William stated, his tone still business-like, looking at Elizabeth. "I don't intend to imbibe this evening. I'll drive."

"Fine," Elizabeth replied, standing up, gathering their now empty cups and plates and returning them to the tray.

Jane offered to show Charles and William to the guesthouse so that they could settle in. Elizabeth excused herself, explaining she had some reading to do. William indicated a desire to do a couple of hours work and Jane and Charles decided to take a drive around the neighbourhood.

Ten minutes before they were due to leave, William made his way back to the main house from the guesthouse. He entered through the door at the back of the house, near the kitchen, to find Elizabeth there alone. She was standing, back to the countertop, leaning on it and drinking a glass of water. She had been in the midst of stretching out her neck and shoulder muscles when she heard the door open. Two hours of leaning over her laptop writing a paper had left her a little stiff and definitely out of sorts. Although she generally avoided working at the weekends, she had been unable to settle herself enough to focus on either of the books she was currently reading and had thus decided to do something more practical. William had likewise spent the afternoon hours reading reports and generally trying to stay away from anyone named Bennet.

The two nodded at each other, but did not say anything for a moment. William looked around a little awkwardly, listening to the sounds of Lydia and Kitty yelling at each other on the upper floor.

"Can I get you anything?" Elizabeth broke into William's thoughts.

He started then declined, saying tersely, "No. Thank you."

There was a momentary pause. Elizabeth expected him to either say something or leave the room, but when he didn't, she said, "Jane and Charles are talking with my father. I assume we will leave soon."

He nodded an acknowledgement, but did not say anything. Elizabeth found his refusal to say or do anything aggravating if not maddening. For his part, William was at a loss. It was clear that the younger Bennets were in the midst of an argument and he was sure he had just heard the middle one, Mary, he reminded himself, join the fray. He was embarrassed at witnessing what should be a family matter, horrified anew at their behaviour. At the same time, he thought he should perhaps wait for the others outside but was puzzled by Elizabeth's nonchalance in the face of the obvious yelling. And now the mother has joined in, he realised.

At the sound of her mother's voice, Elizabeth sighed and pushed herself away from the counter. She deposited her glass in the sink and said, her voice not particularly friendly, "Well, come on then." Although she considered telling William such arguments were commonplace in the Bennet household and that she had no doubt Lydia and Kitty would be best of friends again within the quarter hour, she wasn't about to waste words on someone who obviously didn't want to hear them.

Elizabeth walked out of the kitchen and, following her, William soon found himself standing at the heavy door of Mr Bennet's study. Elizabeth unceremoniously opened the door, ushered him in, followed and then closed the door behind her. It proved remarkably capable of shutting out the other household noises.

"Ah, Liz my girl," Rupert Bennet said upon seeing his favourite daughter. "Finished your work?"

William looked around the room and saw a messy if comfortable space, worn and obviously well used. The most prominent feature of the room was the many books, some haphazardly piled on various surfaces. The large desk, situated in front of the room's one window, was covered with piles of papers. He felt some desire to study the bookshelves, but remained rooted to his spot near the door.

"Well, I got enough done," Elizabeth replied. "For now. Jane, Charles, we should probably get going."

"Running off so soon, Liz?" her father complained. "Had enough of home life?"

"Lizzie," Jane said, pulling Elizabeth's attention away from her father, "we aren't meeting the others until later. Charlotte called. We have time."

Rupert Bennet added, "I've just served drinks to your sister and her beau. Relax a little. You are safe enough in here." He inclined his head towards the door. "What will you have?"

Elizabeth shrugged off the change in plans with just a brief thought to the extra work she could have done. "Nothing for me, thanks." She moved to sit with Jane and Charles, leaving William on his own.

Rupert turned to William. "Mr Darcy?"

William looked at the older man and replied in a serious tone, "I thank you, no."

"All right, then," Mr Bennet replied, taking a sip of his own glass. He moved over to engage the serious young man in conversation. Surely there would be something to him that would amuse? Or, if he was particularly lucky, stimulate? Rupert had noticed William attempting to read the titles of his books from his spot near the room's entrance after all. Charles had not so much as glanced at the book-lined walls.

Charles and Jane told Elizabeth about their tour of Meryton and environs. The three shared an animated conversation. Elizabeth genuinely liked Charles and more time in his company did not lessen his amiability. That he was clearly besotted with Jane and seemed to be holding up to her family fairly well were decided pluses in his favour. Jane was happy, in her steady, calm way. Elizabeth knew her well enough to know that below the cool exterior, Jane was very much enamoured with Charles.

William, as he observed the two intermittently during his conversation with Mr Bennet, was left less sure of Jane's affections, but could clearly see that Charles was deeply infatuated. He felt truly concerned for his friend and determined to keep an eye on the situation, knowing he might have to have a very unpleasant talk with Charles.

While one part of his attention was drawn to Charles and Jane, the remainder was centred on Mr Bennet. A few minutes allowed both men to determine the other was intelligent and that they could no doubt partake of interesting conversations should they happen upon a mutually agreeable topic. The two did chat for the next twenty minutes or so, Mr Bennet responding to William's softly spoken erudite questions. Elizabeth would have been surprised to see it, had she not had her back to the pair, but William found he could, almost comfortably, converse with Mr Bennet quite readily. Given the softness of his voice – he was after all standing right next to Mr Bennet – Elizabeth did not hear that he was contributing regularly to the discussion; she only heard her father's voice and assumed he was doing his best to engage William. She hoped that William was not being too rude. She further hoped that her father was not being too teasing.

Just as Elizabeth was starting to get anxious about the time, Jane agreed they should go. Obviously desiring to sit together, Charles led Jane to the back seat of William's car before moving to get in the back himself.

Seeing him, Elizabeth asked, "Sure you wouldn't be more comfortable in the front, Charles? More leg room." She looked at him hopefully, having no desire to have to struggle to converse with William on the trip, although it was, admittedly, short.

"No, no Liz. You take the front," he answered. "Get Will to show you the car's energy monitor. It is pretty neat."

Somewhat reluctantly but also somewhat intrigued, Elizabeth did so although she very much doubted William would voluntarily tell her anything about the car or otherwise. Elizabeth was surprised to see William's car – an eco-friendly red Toyota Prius, but she didn't let it show. He was so repulsed when I said I worked for an environmental NGO, she thought. She tried to puzzle out why he might be concerned enough to drive a Prius, yet horrified by her place of employment, while also studying the car's computer monitor, resisting the desire to fiddle around with it to see what information it would give her. She didn't really intend to ask William anything, but eventually her curiosity got the better of her and she asked a few questions about the car's operation and efficiency, nodding thoughtfully as he replied in a crisp tone, using as few words as possible.

With Elizabeth's guidance, William drove them to a parking spot that would work for both the pub and party. Although they would have to walk a few minutes either way, they would not have to drive between the events.

In the pub, Jane and Elizabeth quickly located their friends and loud greetings ensued. The sisters introduced Charles and William to their group, which included Charlotte Lucas and her younger brother Christopher, Amanda Chin, Mark Green and his partner Stephanie Kumar and Linda Goulding. As the group was seated, William found himself sitting next to Charles at one end of the long rectangle of the table. Sitting across from him was Amanda, an attractive woman about Jane's age. William quickly realised she was prone to flirting.

Wonderful, he thought.

Elizabeth was sitting on the opposite side of the table, toward the middle with Chris Lucas on one side, Linda Goulding on the other and Charlotte across from her. She was already engaged in an animated conversation with Charlotte, Linda and Chris looking on and all three listeners laughing. As she finished and joined the others in laughing, William was once again struck by her laugh. Without realising it, he was staring at her, appreciating the way her face and especially her eyes lit up as she spoke to her friends and then the way her laugh sounded almost like a joyous song.

A server asking for his drink order drew him back to his own seating companion. Charles was busy chatting with his new acquaintances. William tried to answer Amanda's many questions politely without offering any sort of encouragement. After what felt like an hour, their server returned with drinks.

"Lizzie," the young woman said, "Dad told me to tell you that he made a batch of your favourite veggie burgers."

Elizabeth smiled at her, "Oh thanks, Connie. That's brilliant."

Connie addressed the table, "Anyone else interested in one of our famous Chatfield veggie burgers?"

William spoke up and the sound of his voice startled Elizabeth. "I might be," he looked at the server. "What…" He didn't have much of a chance to finish his question as she seemed to guess what he was going to ask.

"One hundred percent vegetable matter – nuts, grains, I'm not sure what else, but I could ask if you have an allergy or something." She looked at him, stared really, more than willing to do whatever he asked. He didn't seem to notice.

"No cheese?" he asked. Connie didn't immediately answer, her thoughts temporarily taking a trip to a far more pleasant place than working Saturday night at the family pub.

"No," Elizabeth answered for the young woman. "No dairy. You'll be fine."

William looked at Elizabeth as she spoke and nodded his acknowledgement.

"I'll have one then, thank you," he told Connie, returning the large menu to her somewhat reluctantly. It had acted as a shield against Amanda's queries.

Charles spoke up. "Hey, you and Liz have discovered something in common. You are both vegetarians. Maybe now you can drop the Mr Darcy/Ms Bennet bit."

He laughed at them and several of the others, including Jane, joined him. Neither Elizabeth nor William laughed, and after simply looking at each other for a moment as though considering Charles' suggestion, looked away without speaking.

Elizabeth might, under other circumstances, have found a Prius-driving vegetarian worthy of some consideration, but his obvious dismissal of Amanda's attempts at conversation only added to her belief that he was a rude, arrogant man who thought himself better than his company, no doubt due to his obvious wealth. Why, if he intended to be so unpleasant, he had accompanied Charles to Meryton she knew not. Determined to have some enjoyment of her weekend at her parents' home, Elizabeth dismissed him from her thoughts easily enough for the moment.

The rest of the meal passed uneventfully for William, if not exactly pleasantly. Eventually, Amanda had realised William wasn't going to respond to her flirtation and she turned her attention elsewhere to his relief.

William found himself often drawn to Elizabeth throughout the meal. He tried to catch what she was saying that so interested and amused those around her and watched as she listened intently to others. He watched as she averted her eyes to hide her amusement as Stephanie said something unintentionally ironic – something no one at the table seemed to catch but Elizabeth and him. He began to suspect that there was more depth to her than he had originally realised.

Posted on 2010-03-31

The party was being held in a large open space above Goulding's Groceries. Tables lined the edges of the room, several deep, with a long bar in one corner. The middle space was occupied by small groups of chattering people, with the central area clearly intended for dancing. There was nothing remarkable about the place, and there were few decorations other than tea light candles on the tables. William overheard Jane telling Charles that it was somewhat of an all-purpose, casual meeting place for the town.

Jane, Charles, Elizabeth and William found a spot to the left of the bar, one row of tables away from the standing and dancing space. While Jane and Charles went to get drinks for the group, William and Elizabeth sat silently. William looked around the room seeing little to please; it was all a little too reminiscent of horrid university parties to which Charles had dragged him. Elizabeth, doing her best to forget William was even there in an effort to maintain her happy mood, looked around, smiling and offering small waves when she caught the eye of someone she knew.

Upon Jane and Charles' return, there was some conversation amongst the group. The room was already quite full and, combined with the music, quite loud which made conversation difficult. As he watched her sipping her sparkling water, William – he believed thoughtfully – assured her he would not have any alcohol and would certainly be fine to drive them home. She should feel free to have what she liked. She looked at him for a moment before replying.

"Perhaps I should assure you of the same." She thought a pint might help ease the perpetual scowl from his face. When William did not reply automatically, she added, "I am quite capable of driving. There are a couple of local brews that are reckoned to be quite good."

"No, thank you." There was a pause in the conversation, then he added, "But please, do indulge yourself."

"I never drink at parties like this," Elizabeth said, hoping to end the conversation.

William could not immediately understand why she would say something like this. Instead of verbalising a question, he looked at her intently. Elizabeth, sighing as she realised she would have to answer and extend her conversation with him, replied. "One, it is a long standing habit. Two, I have far more fun watching people make fools of themselves once they've had just the right amount to be tipsy. Not drunk, though. That is never amusing." With a smirk she added, "Sure you won't have that drink after all?"

William didn't know whether to take her second reason seriously or not and let the conversation drop without replying to her question. He had the uncomfortable feeling there might be a hidden message in her statement, but he could not quite figure it out.

Various people, some friends and some simply curious about the identity of the two men, stopped by the table and were introduced to Charles and William. After a little while, Jane dragged Charles off to talk to various people, leaving Elizabeth and William behind. A number of people continued to come by and chat with Elizabeth. Although Elizabeth introduced all of them to William, he did not say much beyond the initial greeting. Elizabeth repeated questions and answers several times over, some of them quite silly ('How's life in the big city?'), but always with a friendly smile and a few words that showed both her talent at small-talk and her ability to remember details of the lives of people she must not see frequently.

When the steady stream of people finally faded, Elizabeth sat for a little while, watching the room. William was observing her rather closely at this point, but he was unable to determine if she was actually enjoying herself and all of the mundane conversation or if she was only being polite. If the latter, he decided, she did a good job of hiding any irritation she might be feeling.

Groups were starting to dance in earnest by this point and Elizabeth found herself longing to move and perhaps sing very loudly. Both might release some of the frustration she was feeling, much of which she blamed – rightly or wrongly – on the man sitting across from her with his obstinate silence and his penetrating stare.

"I don't suppose you dance," she finally said, not looking at William but beyond him to the dance floor.

"No." Did she expect him to ask her to dance? That would never happen!

"Do you mind if I…?" she nodded her head toward the centre of the room.

"Not at all," he replied in a clipped tone, perfectly content to be left alone with his thoughts.

Thus Elizabeth left the taciturn William alone at the table where he remained for most of the evening, watching people, his eye drawn by a loud laugh or strident tone, now and then seeking out Charles, always with Jane by his side. But mostly his eye was drawn by Elizabeth as she talked and danced, clearly singing along to some of the songs. William could not help but notice that Christopher Lucas seemed intent on getting her attention, but was meeting with indifferent success.

Elizabeth gave little thought to William. When Charlotte mentioned him, Elizabeth was quite happy, however, to share her impression of the man.

"Oh," she said in exasperation, "he is so unpleasant. I swear all the time I was sitting at the table, introducing him to people, he said not more than a dozen words."

"Ah, but Liz, you have to admit he is one beautiful man."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "He might be if his arrogance didn't shroud his looks so much."

"Arrogant? Really?"

"You have not had the pleasure of his company. Trust me; it is clear that he is a class one snob." She told Charlotte of her overheard conversation the day she first met William and summarized their other interactions, making fun of William while doing so.

Charlotte laughed along with Elizabeth. In a more serious tone, Charlotte added, "But you know Liz, I've been watching him."

Elizabeth looked at her with a revolted look on her face.

"Oh come off it Liz, he is the best looking man to have entered Meryton in… well, ever!" The women laughed again. "Seriously though, I've been watching him and you know he does look at you a lot."

Elizabeth looked at her incredulously. "And if he does, I am sure it is not what you are implying. No doubt he is busy cataloguing all of my faults and shortcomings."

Charlotte gave her a knowing look.

"Trust me, Charlotte; he has given me no reason to think he can tolerate me any more than I can tolerate him. And that, my friend, is just fine by me!"

The following morning found William doing some reading in Mr Bennet's study. The two had discussed some agricultural research being conducted at Longbourn and Mr Bennet had offered to provide some related information for William's study. During his conversation with the older man the day before, William had learned that most of Longbourn's land was under the joint administrative control of the Department of Agriculture, Glenview School of Agriculture - _________ University and the Bennet family. Having been inspired as a young man by Rachel Carson's seminal work, Silent Spring, Rupert Bennet had a long-standing interest in organic agriculture as well as other forms of more environmentally friendly or sustainable agriculture. He pursued this interest as a student, knowing one day he would inherit his family's farmland. Not being terribly interested in the life of a farmer, Rupert had come up with an alternate use for it – research. Although he no longer was actively involved in research, researchers from the government and university pursued joint projects, aimed at better understanding how to grow food with less impact on the natural environment and human health.

The Bennet family – currently in the form of Rupert as far as he was willing to exert himself – were involved in the management side of the venture, including arranging to sell a portion of the farm's produce and making plans for researchers interested in using the facility. Volunteers, mostly high school and university students, worked the land during the growing season, and the Bennets were central to managing them as well. The family was granted the right to have input in the types of research conducted on the land.

When Elizabeth was younger, Rupert had hoped she would eventually take over operation of the farm's activities. Elizabeth had repeatedly told him it was a futile dream; it was not what she wanted to do with her life. Left unsaid was that she would never move back to live in the bosom of her family. Her relationship with Fanny Bennet had always been strained and the best way of preserving what peace they did have was distance and general avoidance. Rupert had never gotten around to deciding what to do with the farm when he was no longer able to run things himself. Elizabeth could not understand his unwillingness to see what was so obvious to her. Mary would make an ideal replacement. She had tried to demonstrate her interest many times and in many ways, but Rupert had ignored it all, still hoping that Elizabeth might eventually change her mind, particularly if the situation ever became desperate. Mary knew this and it did little to help the relationship between the two sisters.

Sitting in a comfortable chair, William quickly sorted through a small stack of papers and reports Rupert had left for him, selecting two of particular interest. Remembering Mr Bennet's offer, he decided to make his way to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. He had not seen any of the family that morning, choosing instead to quickly break his fast with some food Jane had left in the guest house and then taking a walk around the grounds until he knew the family – along with Charles – had left for church services. Mr Bennet had indicated the family would be gone for the better part of several hours, at least, as they usually had tea with the minister and a few prominent neighbours before returning home.

Feeling slightly awkward wandering around the empty home, William's thoughts were also distracted by questions arising from his brief perusal of the documents. It thus took him by complete surprise when he heard a sharp intake of breath and a loud exclamation of 'what the heck!?'

Emerging from his reverie, William himself gasped in surprise as he noticed Elizabeth standing not three metres from him, one hand tightly pressed to her chest, breathing deeply as though recovering from a shock, which of course she was. The two stared at each other for a moment as they reclaimed their equilibrium. Elizabeth glared at William, waiting for an answer to her outburst.

"Your father," he began then paused, for some reason having problems explaining in the face of her intense regard. "He…uh… he offered me use of his study this morning." Clearly this was not enough of an explanation for her. "There were some research reports, from the farm, I expressed an interest in."

"And he neglected to tell you I would be here?"

William nodded confused by the sense of antagonism he could feel radiating from her.

"Just as he neglected to tell me you would be in the house," she added, her eyes averted from him as though she wasn't necessarily talking to him. She let out an exasperated breath, removed her hand from her chest and shook her head. She looked at William and continued.

"My father's version of a joke," she thought to explain. "He no doubt was curious to see how long it would take us to realise the other was here. I don't suppose he thought that one of us could be caught in an embarrassing position." She gave a short, rueful laugh, and then added, again almost too softly for William to hear, "No, that thought probably made it all the more appealing to him."

Looking at him, she added with more humour, although William suspected some of it was artificial, "You will see. He will be all eagerness to hear what happened." She turned back to her task, which to William's confusion, seemed to be cooking. He spent a moment observing her while she ignored his presence, to his surprise. He thought perhaps she was simply pretending to do so for some mischievous reason of her own. Then, clearly satisfied with the state of something cooking on the stove top, turned back to him, eyebrows raised in question.

"Coffee," William offered weakly. "Your father suggested I make myself comfortable. Said I'd find some coffee …" his voice trailed off. To Elizabeth it seemed like he was waiting for her to supply the explanation for his presence.

"Right," she added when he failed to continue. She looked to the coffee maker located behind where she was working and noticed that the thermos carafe was in place, indicating there was likely a pot of coffee prepared. "You skipped breakfast," she said, stating a fact, not asking a question.

"I ate," he stated. She looked at him, annoyed at his inability to form more complete explanations. "Some of the food Jane left." She nodded, saying something very soft that he thought might have been I left then walked to a cupboard to fetch a mug for him.

"There is some bread over there," she indicated, "and help yourself to whatever you find. There is some fruit in the fridge and on the counter. Well, I'm sure you can find something you'd like, or that would be sufficient." She didn't know that he would deign to like anything offered to him but, nonetheless, she had to offer to feed him.

"You didn't go with them," he said, surprising Elizabeth enough that she turned to look at him. Seeing she didn't really understand what he meant, he continued. "To church. You didn't go with your family this morning."

"As you see."

"Why not?" William was beginning to find Elizabeth quite puzzling. She didn't seem to fit the image he had formed of her at their first meeting. If he had more self-awareness, he would realise he had, in fact, formed the image before meeting her.

Her irritation growing at his manner and interruption of what she had hoped would be a peaceful few hours, she almost spat out, "I would tell you, Mr Darcy, but I'm afraid I might shock you."

Believing her to be teasing, he simply continued to look at her, waiting for an explanation. Seeing he wasn't going to go without some explanation and hoping to annoy him as much as he annoyed her, Elizabeth replied. "I'm an atheist. Yes, an atheist not an agnostic or simply 'not a church goer'. I didn't beat around the bush or prevaricate in any manner. I do not feel the need to believe in a higher power nor do I feel the need to belong to a religious community. Therefore I do not accompany my family to church. This has been the case for many, many years."

"How long?" he asked, not in the least shocked or annoyed.

"What?"

"You said many years. You are not that old."

Her annoyance was continuing to increase as the man seemed incapable of realising she had no interest in discussing this – or anything – with him just as he had never seemed interested in discussing anything with her.

"How long have I been an atheist or how long have I not been attending Sunday services with my family? The two do not have the same answer."

William was feeling more and more intrigued, perhaps especially as the answers were coming out in drabbles, enhancing the sense of a mystery. "Both. Either."

Sighing, handing him the cup of coffee she had poured for him and then turning her back, she spoke. "I have been an atheist since I was quite young. I don't really remember quite at what age I decided I absolutely did not believe in a god. I was nine when I convinced my parents to let me stop attending services."

"How did you do that?" he blurted out.

Ignoring the question, she continued. "In exchange for my non-attendance, I was given the task of preparing lunch for the family, as you see." She waved an arm about the kitchen, which William now noticed bore the signs of considerable effort. Vegetables covered part of one counter as did several tins. It was obvious she was in the midst of cutting up some of the former.

"Did I shock you?" Elizabeth asked, breaking a silence she was finding uncomfortable, although she didn't know why.

"No," he replied. He smiled a little, shocking Elizabeth who had doubted the corners of his mouth could turn upwards. "You might notice I am not in attendance, either."

"Yes, but there are all sorts of possible explanations. You are not a Church of England adherent, you are uncomfortable attending a church other than your own, you needed a break from my mad family…"

"Or I just don't go any more than you do," he interrupted, giving her a look that might have been one of communal understanding, but Elizabeth could not recognise it as such. "Although," he added, "my sister does like to attend at Christmas. Like we did with our father." His voice trailed away and the slight smile he had worn vanished.

Elizabeth felt a momentary sympathy, that she quickly shook off as she turned to lower the heat under the pot on the stove, then returned to chopping carrots. She expected William to return to the study now, unless he intended to help himself to some food. When she heard no noise for a few minutes, she assumed he had slipped out of the room and thus his voice startled her anew.

"What are you making?"

Gritting her teeth that he had once again surprised her, she muttered, "Pasta sauce. Vegetable and lentil."

"What's the tofu for," he asked, completely missing the tone of her voice in his curiosity.

"A request of my father's. My mother is no cook and so I often do a bit extra when I'm back. Things for him to eat during the week." More than enough explanation, she thought. Surely he will go away now. Please.

Unseen by Elizabeth, William nodded then started to move about the kitchen, this time taking her up on her offer and helping himself to some bread. Elizabeth had left a plate and cutlery out for him next to the coffee maker. Finding some peanut butter in the refrigerator, he quickly made himself a sandwich and took a piece of fruit. By this point, Elizabeth was fully attuned to his movements and fervently hoping he would go away soon so that she could get back to her thoughts and cooking. She was finding both difficult as she could sense him staring at her. Why he chose this morning to be sociable, she didn't know especially since he was so bad at it.

William, meanwhile, stood with his back leaning against the counter upon which sat the coffee maker. A small pile of books caught his attention and he picked them up, examining the spines.

"Whose books?"

And there is the interruption, Elizabeth thought, putting down her knife and turning to see him holding three books, but looking at her expectantly.

She rubbed her hands off on a towel and then walked over to take the books from him, saying that she would put them away. She took the three books from him and moved towards the small sitting room that was adjacent to the kitchen. As she walked, she read the titles.

More to herself than in answer to his question, Elizabeth took one book in her right hand and said, "This one is not mine. Probably Kitty's. Or Lydia's," adding acerbically, "although I'm not sure she reads." She placed the book on the table in front of the sofa, intending it to be easily spotted. The other two she placed near a closed laptop computer which was on a small desk against the far wall. William had followed her into the room and watched as she separated the books into two groups.

Nodding at the two she placed on the desk, he asked, "Yours?" The slight note of surprise in his voice did little to change Elizabeth's opinion of him.

"Yes," she added shortly and a bit defiantly.

"Both?"

"Yes." A person less self-absorbed would have noticed Elizabeth's tone was less than happy. William, however, was intent on having his curiosity satisfied.

Moving past her to pick up the two books, William held them up and read out the titles, "The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty and Climate Wars. Rather serious reading." He turned his intense gaze on her once again, as though asking for an explanation or justification of her reading choices.

Elizabeth interpreted his remark as a criticism. "One I consider work-related and the other is for when I need a change of pace."

He looked at her, surprise at the edge he heard in her voice evident on his face.

After looking at each other for a moment in silence, Elizabeth shook her head, turned on her heals and moved back to the kitchen saying that she needed to get back to work. William, once again finding himself puzzled by Elizabeth and somewhat annoyed that she refused to fit his preconceived notion of women like her (whatever that meant), collected his coffee and food and returned to the study. In doing so, he assumed he was foiling her plan to have him follow her back into the kitchen and continue his attentions.

When the family returned from church, Jane asked if Elizabeth had had a chance to relax while the others were gone and scolded her sister when Elizabeth admitted to having spent the entire time cooking rather than taking the opportunity to rest. Rupert inquired if this included making his favourite tofu dish and made a joke about the benefits of having a non-service attending daughter who could cook, vexing Fanny who found it embarrassing to attend church with one daughter missing; she was sure everyone noticed and talked about it. Kitty asked what was for lunch. Lydia flopped herself down on a sofa and began leafing through a fashion magazine.
William did not re-emerge from the study until Charles and the others had come back to Longbourn and then stood or sat silently watching the family interact. He did not talk to Elizabeth. He thought that perhaps he should not encourage her to think he was interested in her as his earlier questions might imply.

Lunch was far less pleasant than it had been the previous day, at least as far as Elizabeth was concerned. Lydia was in a petulant mood, something that became obvious immediately. Yawning loudly and openly, she started whining about being tired and hungry and exclaimed loudly and repeatedly how boring services had been. Kitty stayed silent. She had rather enjoyed listening to Mr McIngram's thoughts on interfaith relations and thought they could all learn from them, but was not confident enough to say so (knowing her father was likely to tease her for doing so) or to speak up against Lydia's exhortations. Mary was wearing a decided scowl, looking at her youngest sister and doing nothing to hide her disgust with Lydia's behaviour. Mr Bennet, as predicted by Elizabeth, wanted to know how his little surprise had worked out and accosted first Elizabeth then William to tell the story. He was very disappointed when they both told a similar, bland tale: William had come in search of coffee; they chatted briefly and then continued on with their tasks. Thus denied a bit of expected fun, he replaced it by – almost as petulantly as Lydia – withdrawing behind the newspaper for the first part of the meal.

Mrs Bennet continued to demand the attention of Charles and Jane during the salad course, and then started talking to Lydia and Kitty about a proposed shopping trip and the latest fashions. William was then at least able to participate in Charles and Jane's conversation as was Elizabeth.

Elizabeth was in no mood for talking though. She was finding her family's behaviour – loud and silly (Lydia, Kitty and Fanny) or silent and petulant (Mary and Rupert) – mortifying in front of guests and serving as a good reminder why she resisted coming to Meryton more frequently. Although she had not learned to care for William's opinion, she was nonetheless upset by the sorry display her family was giving.

When no one stood to help Elizabeth clear the starter course and serve the main meal, William offered, much to Elizabeth's surprise. She waved him down, however, stating that as a guest, he should stay seated. Only when she returned and started to portion out the pasta dish and pass the plates did any Bennet take note. Jane, who had been too wrapped up in conversation with Charles, assisted her.

As everyone started to eat, there were a few moments when the only sound was that of flatware on plates. Into the quiet, William said, looking directly at Elizabeth, "This is very good. Thank you." He noticed she seemed to be only picking at her food, and wondered what was distracting her.

Elizabeth gave him a brief, puzzled look as though she found his compliment out of place, but then smiled at him and nodded an acknowledgement.

Jane smiled at her sister and said, "Yes, thank you Lizzie." To William she added, "Lizzie is a good cook. Far better than I am." She smiled at William then Charles, a look of self-deprecation on her face. "These lunches are a decided advantage to her not coming to church with us and I for one never encourage her to change her habits!" she added, smiling fondly at her sister. Elizabeth returned the smile.

"Of course Lizzie is a good cook. Lizzie is good at everything," Mary said, the first words she had spoken since returning home that morning. The bitter edge to her voice caused Charles to look embarrassed and focus on his plate and William to stare at her for a moment as though this would help him understand her attitude.

Elizabeth and her father replied at the same time.

Elizabeth said, "That is hardly true, Mary," in a quiet tone, hoping to forestall any more discussion on the matter.

Rupert teased Mary as he often did, saying, "Now, now, Mary, jealousy does nothing to brighten your complexion or what ever nonsense it is young ladies concern themselves with. Perhaps if you try very hard, by the time you are Liz's age, you might be as talented a cook as she is. Or perhaps not."

He smiled at Elizabeth, who rolled her eyes at him, shaking her head a little in a silent rebuke. She knew his teasing was aimed as much at her as at Mary. He seemed particularly keen to pit Mary against Elizabeth, playing on the former's insecurities by downplaying her achievements and overstating Elizabeth's.

This interlude gave rise to more general conversation and Mr Bennet put down his newspaper to join in. He engaged William in a discussion of what the latter had spent the morning reading. Elizabeth chatted a bit with Charles and Jane. William was surprised to overhear Elizabeth tell Jane she would not be returning to the city that afternoon as originally planned; she was going to stay until Monday afternoon to help their father with some of the farm's paperwork. William, out of the corner of his eye caught the disapproving look Jane gave Elizabeth at this news, to which Elizabeth replied simply, "Someone has to." Jane looked ready to argue with Lizzie but her attention was pulled away by Mrs Bennet.

After dessert had been served – poached pears and the remaining cakes and pastries from the day before – Elizabeth found herself becoming increasingly impatient to have the meal done with. She could sense an undercurrent of antagonism from her mother who had, so far this weekend, been relatively restrained. Elizabeth was worried that the situation would not last and Charles and William would be exposed to an even less-than-flattering side of her family. William, for his part, was looking forward to the meal being over as Lydia, Kitty and Fanny's boisterous conversation was giving him a headache.

"Lizzie!" Fanny's strident tone broke through the conversation, putting all of the Bennets on alert. Elizabeth turned to look at her mother.

"Mr McIngram asked after you," Fanny said, naming their minister and looking very displeased.

Before Elizabeth could reply, her mother continued.

"I do not know why you refuse to behave like… like a normal person. It is embarrassing to have to come up with excuses for your absence!"

Elizabeth closed her eyes, observed closely by William, with the rest of the table soon joining in. Fanny seemed to warm to her topic with Elizabeth's reaction and the attention their 'conversation' was garnering.

"You needn't roll your eyes at me Miss Lizzie."

Lydia snickered, enjoying seeing her elder sister reprimanded, deserved or not.

"It is so embarrassing to have to continually explain your absences and to such a nice gentleman, when he knows very well you are in town. No doubt…"

Elizabeth and Jane both interrupted at this point, not wanting to allow their mother to continue.

"Mr McIngram knows very well why I don't attend church and isn't bothered by it in the least," Elizabeth said, while Jane asked, "Mum, didn't you say Mrs Lucas bought a new car? Tell me about it."

This did manage to make Fanny pause, but Lydia was well prepared to jump in and keep the embarrassing scene going. Addressing her father, she whined, "It's not fair that Lizzie doesn't have to go to church. I don't want to go either. I… I… I don't believe!"

Elizabeth said, standing up from her chair, "Lydia, leave me out of your arguments."

Mr Bennet, in a louder tone, replied. "Elizabeth used her reason and intellect to make a decision about what she does and does not believe and what is right for her life. When you can prove to me that you can do the same, I will gladly accept your decision just as I did hers."

He was cut off by an irritated Elizabeth who had finally reached her breaking point and refused to be the subject of any more discussion. If she was to be, she refused to stay and listen. Above her father's voice she stated, "I am going for a walk. Would anyone care to join me?"

She gave her father a firm look, imploring him to stop and then looked to Jane. It was William who spoke, though, almost before Elizabeth finished her question.

"Yes, I will." He stood, prepared to leave the room immediately. He had seen quite enough.

"Jane? Charles?" Elizabeth asked, hoping not to be left alone with William yet again. She knew no one else from the family was likely to join them.

"Sorry, Lizzie," Jane said sweetly. "I promised Mrs Long I would bring Charles around to meet her mother and have tea. You're invited too, William," she added, looking at him.

"Fine," Elizabeth said, her tone belying the word. Glancing at William she said, "Meet me out back in ten minutes if you are still interested in going."

With that she left the room. William attributed her directness to a desire, perfectly understandable, to escape her family. Before he left to prepare for the walk, he had one question, however. Directing it to Mr Bennet he said, "How did she convince you?"

Rupert Bennet chuckled and looked at the younger man over the top of his reading glasses. "She gave me a twelve page paper, fully referenced, on the main arguments for and against the existence of a supreme being and outlining her reasons for not believing based on them. It was all very logical." He shrugged dismissively and waited for William's reaction. William continued to look at the older man for a moment, his eyebrows raised, considering. He then nodded and turned to leave the room. Tossing a quick "See you later" to Charles, he returned to the guest house to change into more appropriate clothing and refresh himself before joining Elizabeth. Although he blocked out the words, he did hear the youngest sister resume her argument with her father and Mrs Bennet loudly complaining about something as he left the house.

William noticed that Elizabeth had a small pack on her back as he joined her in the kitchen garden. Noting his gaze she told him it contained water and 'a couple of supplies'.

"I was planning to walk to Oakham Mount," she told him, looking beyond his shoulder. "It is the highest elevation in the immediate vicinity, but it is about a fifty minute walk." She turned to look at him, a blank look on her face. "I could suggest a shorter walk if you prefer. I don't imagine Charles and Jane will be back in less than two and a half hours anyway. Mrs Long is rather loquacious as is her mother."

As it happened, William did not prefer, and did not wish to spend more time with the Bennets than absolutely necessary. A walk with Elizabeth was preferable to further conversation with her younger sisters or mother.

Wordlessly, Elizabeth led the way. She started at a brisk pace, not noticing anything around her, working off some of her frustration and moving past the places she had visited the day before. With his long legs, William had no trouble keeping up. He was nonetheless glad when she stopped to look at a late blooming flower and then resumed walking at a more moderate pace.

After walking for about ten minutes, William broke the silence, his curiosity getting the better of him. "Did you really write a twelve page paper on the arguments for and against God? At nine years old?"

Elizabeth glanced at him and made a noise of exasperation. "I don't remember how long it was," she answered noncommittally. "I knew it was the easiest way to convince my father I was in earnest and had thought the matter through carefully," she added by way of explanation, hoping it would end the conversation.

William considered for a moment, his eyes darting between the path they were walking and the woman beside him. "Fascinating," he murmured so softly that if Elizabeth's hearing had not been so keen she would have missed it.

Fascinating? she thought. Who the heck is he? Mr Spock? Well he seems about as emotionless as a Vulcan. Unless disdain can be considered an emotion.

Elizabeth smiled to herself at the silent joke. William noticed it and was concerned that Elizabeth took his comment as a compliment or an indication he was interested in her. He resolved to keep his conversation more neutral.

After a few more moments, he asked yet another question. "Who is Mrs Long?"

Elizabeth was not glad to have to enter another conversation with him; she sighed but answered out of politeness. "Mrs Long was one of Jane's primary school teachers. For several grades, I suppose. She has always been very fond of Jane and in fact encouraged her to train as a teacher. She retired years ago now. Her mother is, hmm, close to 100 I guess and also very fond of Jane. I'm sure they will both be quite pleased to fawn over Charles for a while."

"Was she not a teacher of yours as well?"

"No."

William found her clipped tone odd. Seeing him examining her face quite closely, Elizabeth thought he required further explanation. "I went to a different school than Jane did."

Curious about why this would be – surely Meryton was not large enough to support two primary schools – William nonetheless did not query further. The conversation was once again becoming too personal.

The two continued on. The landscape was very pleasant. There were some woodland areas with trees of middle-age but not as old as were some of the trees further north and that William was more accustomed to. They passed some meadows as well and listened to the sound of gently running water, occasional bird song and the rustle of small animals going about their business. Combined with the pleasant weather – warm, mostly overcast but with sunny breaks – it made a very enjoyable walk. Elizabeth sporadically stopped to listen or visually examine something and although William desired to know what she was doing or thinking, he refused to ask.

No doubt, he thought, she wants me to. He was determined not to let her think he had come along for any purpose other than to get some exercise and fresh air. And escape her dreadful family. The thought flashed through his mind, causing him to internally shudder.

Their silence was broken only by Elizabeth's occasional directions, both lost in their own thoughts. Elizabeth was working through her usual frustrations with her family, trying to ignore a nagging sense of annoyance with Jane's almost single-minded focus on Charles. William was enjoying the quiet companionship, much to his surprise.

After a relatively easy uphill climb, the two reached the top of Oakham Mount. Elizabeth removed her pack and dropped it on a small, rock-covered clearing then went to stand off to one side, looking around at the view which was really quite lovely. The elevation, William noted, did provide an excellent view of the surrounding area. Farm fields of mostly small to moderate size were divided by greenbelts of various depths. Several housing developments were also visible as were woodlots and more open areas.

Enjoying the view, William was also on semi-alert, still expecting, well, something from Elizabeth. He was used to women overtly or subtly flirting with him, trying to gain his attention and although Elizabeth had not yet shown any signs of doing so, he remained on guard. As he watched her, more intently than he realised, he started to think that she was really rather more attractive than he had originally thought. He found her darker looks more attractive than the fairness of Jane and their other sisters, certainly. She was relatively tall – about 1.7 metres he guessed, with a slim build and trim figure that bespoke an active person, attentive to her health. The walk and breeze had caused some strands of her hair to escape the loose knot she seemed to favour. William watched as she briefly let her hair down, shook it out and ran her fingers through it before re-knotting it. It fell several inches below her shoulders and as he had suspected was wavy rather than curly.

I was right; it is her best feature, he told himself, then corrected the idea. No. Her eyes are. He was surprised by his thought. Definitely her eyes. He lost himself in further study of his subject who remained unaware of his scrutiny.

Elizabeth sighed deeply, exhaling audibly as though releasing a significant load of tension. Startled by the noise, William at first thought she was making a bid for his attention, but quickly realised she was still – apparently – ignoring him. She moved back to where she had left her bag, sat, opened it and extracted a metal water bottle and a small container.

"Which direction are we facing?" William asked, out of curiosity he told himself. He would not admit that he was trying to make her at least look at him.

Elizabeth looked up and held a second water bottle out to him. "Water?"

William moved toward Elizabeth, took the proffered bottle and sat about 60 centimetres from her. Opening her bottle, she took a drink. She then held out the container to William, who noted it contained some mixed nuts. He took a couple mostly out of politeness, trying to not feel impatient that she was not responding to his question. Elizabeth took a few of the nuts and continued to munch on them during their discussion. Pointing slightly to the left, she began her explanation.

"West. The manor house you see is Netherfield Hall. It is now a hotel and has a number of meeting rooms. People use it for weddings and other large parties, businesses hold retreats and meetings there, that sort of thing. The main building has a spa, pool and there are stables you can hire horses. On the other side – you can't see it from here very well – there are walking trails as well as riding ones. The houses around it are owned primarily by city folk as weekend or summer getaways. A few are rented out and a few locals live there permanently as well. The land used to be all farmland and pasture. Some of what was originally the Netherfield estate was bought by my family and added to Longbourn, by my grandfather and father. Meryton is behind us; you can't see it from here. The rest, as you see, is primarily farmland with some smaller residential areas."

They fell silent for a while longer, and then William asked about the local economy. Elizabeth confirmed that it was still agriculture-based by and large.

"But it has certainly moved more towards amenities and I imagine it will continue to do so. The farms are mostly small and most now include a lot of tourism-related activities – vacations, riding, birding opportunities, pick-your-own, farm markets and that type of thing. The area has become a lot greener since I was a kid, literally and figuratively. A lot more hedgerows and woodlots are apparent, some areas have been deliberately restored, but some have simply emerged as nature has been allowed to take over. Figuratively in the sense that many if not most of the farms are essentially organic now, even if they haven't gone through the certification process."

"The Longbourn example?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "Maybe."

They sat for a while longer while Elizabeth finished the snack she had packed. William sipped his water, grateful for her thoughtfulness in packing it. He refused more food though, suspecting her need was greater as he had noticed she ate little of her lunch. If he had thought to thank her or explain why he refused her repeated offers to share, it might have helped improve her opinion of him. As it was, she was simply relieved he didn't seem to be picking at her personally any longer; she had more than enough of that with her mother. Her level of stress declined and she started to feel almost relaxed, despite his presence. At least until their conversation on the way back to Longbourn.

"Do you always read nonfiction?"

Elizabeth and William were heading back down from Oakham Mount. They were following a different trail, so that their walk would form a loop. This path was bringing them closer to the little stream William had heard on the way up.

"I beg your pardon?" Elizabeth, thinking about how she could re-shuffle her to-do list to accommodate her unexpected extended stay in Meryton, had not heard his question.

"Your books. Do you favour nonfiction?"

Are we now to critique my reading choices? Elizabeth though. Out loud she replied, "Generally, yes, I suppose I do."

William nodded, considering this bit of information. "You said one was for work? Climate Wars, I presume."

Although it wasn't a question, Elizabeth nodded.

"I've not heard of it." This, apparently, was her cue to provide him with more details.

"In short, it is about the geopolitical implications of climate change. The other title I imagine was self-explanatory." It was. Why William didn't tell her he had recently read it is not something he considered.

"From one very dreadful issue to another."

"Is there a problem with that?" Before he could reply, she added, "I like to know what is going on in the world and I like to read different perspectives on the issues. It provides a much better sense of what can and should be done. Besides, they are linked, really, as are most if not all of our pressing issues, locally and globally."

He started at her statement as she continued, speaking quickly and with a great deal of conviction in her voice. "Poverty, continued poverty and efforts to alleviate poverty in developing states is very closely tied to addressing global environmental change. To consider one without recognising the other would be both short-sighted and doomed to failure."

"You seem quite sure of your opinion," William found the conversation quite interesting and would not object to continuing it.

"I am," Elizabeth replied firmly, not enjoying herself at all.

"Why?"

"I'd rather not discuss it." Elizabeth had far too many discussions along these lines that turned into debates as the other party or parties held opposing political views that coloured their perspectives. She assumed William – a wealthy businessman – would not agree with many of her sentiments and was in no mood to deal with it. Knowing she held some beliefs that were not common, Elizabeth had learned to be accepting of other people's points of view and to avoid conflict with them. She might not agree with what other people believed, but that didn't mean they were necessarily wrong.

William was not very pleased by her reluctance but decided he was not overly surprised. She no doubt read a few things, probably skimming through much of it, and held very strong views that she could not properly defend or justify. This seemed, to him, the likeliest explanation for her refusal to continue the conversation.

After a few minutes of negotiating a rocky, muddy stretch of the trail, William restarted the conversation. He was a bibliophile and liked to understand the reading habits of others. He considered it a good way to sketch a person's character.

"What type of fiction do you favour?"

Elizabeth shot him a look of disbelief. He missed it as he was watching his footing quite carefully.

He's judged my nonfiction choices as too serious. What next? Deciding my fiction choices are too pedestrian?

"Poetry?" he questioned.

"No."

"No?"

Elizabeth resigned herself to having the conversation. She thought of Jane. She thought of Charles and the fact that William was, for some unfathomable reason, his closest friend. She didn't want to insult the one (Charles) by being outright rude to the other (William).

"No, I don't particularly enjoy poetry. Some classic poetry I can appreciate. A little Blake or Cowper here and there is all right. But by and large, I avoid it."

"Hmm," was the reply along a gentle nod. "Prose? What type?"

Elizabeth sighed and stopped to look at the view. She had, unknown to William, led them slightly off the trail to an outlook over a small pond.

"Nice," he said shortly, meaning it sincerely but decidedly more interested in hearing her response to his question.

"I don't really read a lot of fiction." She stopped to consider. "I suppose I favour what is generally categorised as the classics. Uh, Dickens; the last bit of literature I read was Dickens, I guess."

"Which one?" came the quick question.

"Our Mutual Friend. It's a favourite," she continued before he could ask any more intrusive questions. "I first read it when I was approximately 13 and I decided to re-read it at the start of the summer."

Looking to see how he received this, Elizabeth thought, Again with the nod. Another little bit of information with which to disparage me, no doubt. Dickens; who reads Dickens other than students forced to do so, right?

Elizabeth assumed he had collected enough data for the present as he remained largely silent for the remainder of the journey back to Longbourn. For this she was profoundly grateful. She used the time to sort through the tasks she wished to accomplish with her father that evening and the next morning. She hoped – realising it was almost certainly futile – that her father could be made to focus and work efficiently so that she could catch the early morning train back to London. She would then be able to salvage at least the better part of her work-day and it might mean fewer late nights during the coming week.

William spent much of the remainder of the walk trying to figure out his reaction to Elizabeth. It was unlike him to be quite so curious about anyone, especially a woman like her with whom he could have little in common. Being, as he was, so often approached and pursued due to his wealth and influence (and single status), he had long ago learned to be on guard around people he did not know very well. His father had taught him that, until he was more confident in new acquaintances, it was wise to hold back, not give them an opening into his life or thoughts. It was too easy to move from this to being used or suffering disappointments. Not able to come up with an adequate explanation to his dilemma, William decided to conclude that Elizabeth simply was the least dreadful of her dreadful family (excepting Jane who seemed nice enough, he supposed) and thus had naturally drawn his attention this weekend. He would have no problem pushing thoughts of her from his mind once she was out of sight.