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Fitzwilliam turned the book over in his hands again so that he might read the title.

Sheepish over his pause, he looked up at his sister.

“Yes, although as your guardians, Richard and I shall probably live to regret it.” He smirked.

“And for Heaven’s sake, don’t ever speak of it to your Uncle Henry! ”

Georgiana giggled and in short order, the siblings retired for the night with a warm feeling of camaraderie between them.

Darcy fell asleep quickly but woke well before dawn, his mind stewing with anxieties over the coming day.

Unable to remain in bed, he pulled on a robe over his nightshirt and wandered into his private sitting room.

He picked up and set down several books before finally slumping back in a comfortable armchair where he could look out of the window at the blue-black pre-dawn sky.

Even with Charles and Georgiana’s assurances added to his own observations, Will was still wholly uncertain of Elizabeth’s opinion of him.

Certainly she had smiled at him more in the last week than she ever had in their entire previous acquaintance, but his experience in Kent had left him thoroughly uncertain of his ability to guess at her thoughts or feelings.

Darcy groaned and rubbed his eyes but before he could come to any resolution, there was a soft tapping at his dressing room door. He called to come, guessing correctly that it was his valet. “Hawkins, I’m sorry to have disturbed you. I woke early and couldn’t fall asleep again.”

His man knit his brows for a moment. Few gentlemen would make such an apology; most would consider it the servant’s duty to know his master’s needs before he did himself. Mr. Darcy had always been a generous employer but in the last month he had become a more liberal one as well.

“Not at all, sir. Shall I fetch you some coffee?”

“That would be excellent, thank you.” Mr. Darcy pursed his lips and then gave his valet a look like a mischievous schoolboy. “Would you also check on the preparations for our outing today? Without making Wilkins or Davies think that I’m looking over their shoulders again?”

Hawkins couldn’t quite quell his own answering grin. The cook had grumbled excessively the previous evening over the Master’s ‘nerves’ nearly ruining her meal. “Of course, sir.”

In short order, Darcy was drinking his coffee and nibbling on a pastry. He cracked the window and was relieved to see no hint of rain clouds in the dawn sky. Listening to the sounds of London coming awake, Fitzwilliam returned to his earlier quandary.

He had no doubts that he loved Elizabeth with all his heart and soul. However, he had to admit that he had seen new dimensions of her to appreciate during their recent meetings in London.

Bingley’s comment came back to him. “I think her words were ‘the man I thought I knew turns out to have been a figment of my imagination…’” And with that memory came Fitzwilliam’s solution.

If he wished to further his relationship with Elizabeth, then he must allow her to know him.

He had to trust her; to drop his mask and allow her past his defenses.

And that meant talking with her; he must not again make the mistake of assuming she could intuit his thoughts and character from the blank face he habitually presented to society.

Even as he was forming his new resolution, there came a new tapping from the hall door. With a smile, Darcy invited his sister in to his sitting room and sent for a fresh pot of tea. He had a favor to ask.

Oddly enough, a similar conversation had taken place the previous evening at the Gardiners’ residence.

Sitting with her aunt and uncle after the children had been put to bed, Elizabeth did her best to summarize her history with Mr. Darcy as delicately as possible.

Though she left out the actuality of a proposal, the Gardiners were given to know that the gentleman had professed an admiration with honorable intentions but the lady had refused him based on misconceptions.

She also told them of how her father was in possession of all the details and had encouraged her to reassess the man, should the opportunity arise.

The Gardiners were not tremendously surprised by the story; Mr. Darcy obviously admired their niece and they were glad that she seemed ready to know him better.

In short order it was agreed that, as long as the young couple did not venture out of sight or do anything excessively improper, the Gardiners would allow them a certain amount of privacy to talk while the party explored the gardens.

Elizabeth settled into her bed with a great feeling of satisfaction.

Tomorrow, she would have the opportunity to work on the puzzle that was Fitzwilliam Darcy and she was determined to make sense of him, however much questioning, teasing, or arguing it took.

She fell asleep thinking that, if all else failed, she might bribe the Gardiner children to push Darcy into the duck pond.

Surely no man could maintain his stoic demeanor while dripping wet and covered in pond scum.

Miss Bennet need not have worried. The next morning, Mr. Darcy arrived determined to please and be pleased. By the time they had all boarded the paddle steamer, Elizabeth was certain that she had never seen the gentleman more eager to interact with his companions.

Darcy himself was impressed with the prompt service that his party received on the small vessel.

It was not until they had pushed off and were chugging steadily up the Thames that he heard one of the ship’s officers addressing Mr. Gardiner by name.

He soon came to understand that Elizabeth’s uncle owned a share in one of the companies that ran steam ship excursions up and down the river.

Mr. Gardiner grinned and bowed slightly with a twinkle in his eye. “You have excellent taste in transportation, sir.”

Darcy admitted that he had asked around and chosen the line with the best safety record and soon the pair were involved in a good-natured discussion on the potential of steam-powered ships and the need to regulate traffic along the river.

They became so engrossed in the subject that neither noticed the passage of time until Mrs. Gardiner and Miss Darcy joined them.

Suddenly recalling himself, Fitzwilliam looked about to check on the whereabouts of his party. “I apologize, Mrs. Gardiner, Georgie. I have been so involved in our conversation that I forgot to check on your comfort.”

He was pleased to see Georgiana share a warm smile with Elizabeth’s aunt even as Madeleine spoke gently, “It’s no matter, Mr. Darcy. Your uncle has been entertaining us all.”

Darcy turned and was amused to observe his Uncle James, attired in his informal tweeds, energetically pointing out various species of birds to the children, Elizabeth and Mr. Bingley at his side.

Mr. Gardiner chuckled. “Between Lizzy’s knowledge of botany and Sir James’ mastery of ornithology, we have no need for a guide!”

His wife laughingly disagreed. “Oh no, Edward. Elizabeth was telling me just this morning that she heard that the curator at Kew Gardens may be setting up a seed exchange just as the Chelsea Physic Garden does. She has every hope of procuring some mysterious new plants for Longbourn’s gardens.”

Seeing that the Darcys were intrigued, Madeleine explained; “Mrs. Bennet and her daughters have always been very involved in planning the estate’s gardens.”

The Gardiners told the history together, with the ease of a happily married couple. “When Fanny and Thomas married, Longbourn had been without a real mistress for nearly twenty years. Elizabeth’s grandfather made sure the yard was kept trimmed, but it was nothing very… attractive.”

“Fanny spent her first year as a married woman redecorating the house. When she was finished with that, she needed a new outlet for all that energy so she turned her focus on the gardens.”

Madeleine smiled fondly. “She spent her first confinement reading gardening magazines and planning. Fanny once told me that, with the maiden name of Gardiner, it would have been a great embarrassment if Longbourn’s park was wasn’t the envy of the county!”

“Are you speaking of Mama and her gardens?” Darcy turned and was delighted to see that a smiling Elizabeth had come to stand at his elbow. “One of my earliest memories of my mother is of her trying to teach me to recognize the difference between spring clover and sweet pea seedlings.”

Mr. Gardiner grinned. “I believe Jane was barely six and you were four when Fanny decided that each child should have your own bit of soil to plant.”

His niece rolled her eyes impishly. “Yes, I’m afraid that was just after I had pulled up some of her prize lupines, thinking that they were weeds…” The group laughed with her.

Determined to follow his resolution to speak more, Darcy inquired. “I don’t believe I saw more than the front yard at Longbourn. Are each of the gardens as unique as each of the Bennet sisters?”

Elizabeth smiled with obvious pleasure in the topic. “You visited Hertfordshire so late in the autumn that there was not much left to see, I’m afraid.” She sighed, her eyes looking out across the water. “And April was so wet this spring that we weren’t able to do much more than plan. ”

Edward Gardiner put one arm around his niece, hugging her shoulders to him. “Ah, my poor, dear girl. We do appreciate you giving up your ‘planting season’ to stay with us in the big, ugly city.” Everyone laughed at his turn of phrase.

Elizabeth grinned up at her uncle. “Well, it shan’t be a complete loss, thanks to Mr. Darcy’s invitation!”

At that moment, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner were distracted by the approach of their children with Sir James Darcy. When the others turned away, Darcy was pleased to see Elizabeth remain at his side.

He spoke softly. “You did not answer my question about the differences among your sisters’ gardens.”