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She glanced up at him and then turned to lean against the railing, looking out across the water.

“I had not thought about it in quite that way before, but you are right. Jane’s garden has several very proper rose bushes…

all very neat and well-behaved. Mary tends to be a bit more practical; she began working on a knot garden of herbs several years ago.

“You might be surprised, but Kitty actually has a lovely sense of landscaping… what to plant where so that the colors and bloom times create beautiful combinations from season to season. Unfortunately, these last years she has been spending far more time with Lydia than in the garden.” She sighed.

“My youngest sister spends a day or two in the spring rushing around fussing, planting, and transplanting, but she never bothers to care for it. Her border would be nothing but a weed patch if Jane and I did not look after it.”

Elizabeth’s thoughts flickered back to Longbourn and she wondered briefly if their father had continued his efforts to improve his daughters’ behavior.

Although he very much wished to ask her about her own garden and tell her of Pemberley’s, Will saw that her mind had drifted to something more serious. Guessing, he asked, “Have you heard from Longbourn recently? Is everyone well?”

“I received a letter from Jane yesterday.” Elizabeth shot a smile at him. “I would not say that they are all perfectly well, but they are all healthy.” Remembering that she wanted to speak to Mr. Darcy about his letter and her father’s awareness of it, she sighed and turned to him.

“Mr. Darcy, I wished to speak to you about…”

Elizabeth was interrupted by the shriek of the ship’s steam whistle. Both turned to look toward the bow and were surprised to see that the crew was readying the lines as they maneuvered into the dock at Kew.

Fitzwilliam dearly wished to know what she wanted to say to him, but clearly there was no time. “Miss Bennet, I should very much like to continue this conversation but I fear we must prepare to disembark. Perhaps later?” He caught her eye, hoping that she would understand .

With a pleased smile, Elizabeth agreed and they both turned to check on their party.

Mr. Gardiner had lifted young Tommy to his shoulders and was trying to convince the boy to stop grabbing his father’s ears as handles, much to his mother and Miss Darcy’s amusement.

Jonathan and Rebecca were following Sir James like a pair of ducklings, obviously enthralled by the older man’s stories.

Darcy was about to offer Miss Bennet his arm when he noticed that her attention had been distracted by a little girl with curly brown hair who had latched onto her cousin’s skirt. He smiled when blue eyes peeked around at him.

“Lizzy, he’s very tall,” whispered the girl.

Elizabeth’s eyes sparkled mischievously. “Amelia, you have met Mr. Darcy, have you not?”

The little girl nodded but remained silent, still peering up at the gentleman.

Fitzwilliam grinned and knelt down on one knee. London Society’s ladies might terrorize him but he was quite comfortable with six-year-old females. “Should you like to ride on my shoulders like your brother, Miss Amelia?”

The offer garnered him a brilliant smile. “I would be taller than Jonathan!” She darted out from behind Lizzy’s skirts and had just taken Darcy’s hand when the deck shuddered beneath their feet.

Holding tightly to the little girl and reaching out a hand to steady Miss Bennet, Fitzwilliam looked around to see what had happened.

Noting her new friend’s anxiety, Amelia patted his arm. “It’s alright, Mr. Darcy. We’ve just pulled into the dock. It goes bump.”

Fitzwilliam stood and noted that she was quite correct. Turning his attention back to the little girl, he smiled. “Quite right, Miss Amelia. It is a great comfort to have an experienced sailor such as yourself to sooth my fears.”

She nodded calmly. “I was scared the first time Papa took me on a boat.” Seeing that the others were heading toward the ramp, she reached up to take her cousin’s hand while still holding on to Mr. Darcy’s. “Let’s just walk now. You may carry me when we’re on the ground… it’s not tippy there.”

Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth shared a smile and then obediently followed the rest of their party.

Will’s sister caught sight of the trio descending the gangplank, the two adults swinging Amelia forward between them. Georgiana smiled wistfully, easily imaging what the couple would be like as husband and wife with children of their own.

This pleasant exchange set the tone for the day.

The weather could not have been lovelier; a warm, sunny, spring day with a clear blue sky and a hint of breeze.

The open carriages that Darcy had arranged were waiting at the docks for them and in short order the party was descending to meet their guide at the front gate of the Royal Botanic Gardens.

Darcy’s servants served coffee and buns and soon the group was ready to begin their walking tour.

The guide was a rather odd young man named John Smith whose innocuous name and quiet manners belied a vast knowledge of plants from around the world and the history of those planted at the Kew Gardens in particular.

Mr. Smith and Sir James were rapidly assured of their mutual passion for natural history and soon the party was being led about by the two men, closely trailed by young Jonathan Gardiner who appeared to have been infected by their enthusiasm for botanizing.

Darcy was pleased to see Bingley deep in conversation with Mr. Gardiner, the pair paying little attention to their surroundings. Knowing something of the similarities in their backgrounds, he had every hope that Elizabeth’s uncle might prove to be a mentor for the younger man.

Finding Elizabeth trailing behind the group, he offered his arm and nodded genially toward his sister.

The normally shy Miss Darcy was chattering away with Mrs. Gardiner, surrounded by the younger Gardiner children who appeared to have cheerfully adopted her as a playmate.

“I have not seen her so happy since our father died, and perhaps not even then.”

Elizabeth smiled easily. “My aunt and uncle have that effect on people.”

“I am very pleased to have made their acquaintance. They are truly excellent people.”

Elizabeth glanced up at him and he caught her eye.

She nodded, accepting the implicit apology for his past words.

“Jane and I have always treasured our time with them. I miss Longbourn, of course, but the house on Gracechurch Street is so much more...” She paused, searching for the right word.

“Sensible? That does not quite encompass it.”

Darcy nodded. “They understand you; they share your intellect and character. And it is easy to see that they have an excellent relationship.”

Elizabeth smiled sadly. “After seeing the contrast to our own parents, Jane and I promised each other that we would only marry for the deepest love.” Suddenly remembering to whom she was speaking, Miss Bennet blushed a rosy pink and tucked her chin.

Feeling the tension but recognizing that it provided him with the opportunity he sought, Fitzwilliam cleared his throat. “I wish more of our society shared your resolution. It is what I hope for my own sister…” He hesitated before continuing more quietly, “and for myself.”

There was a pregnant pause as both thought desperately of what to say. Even the sound of their steps on the gravel path sounded incredibly loud .

“Miss Bennet…”

“Mr. Darcy…”

Both spoke at once, but Will motioned for Elizabeth to go first.

“I only wished to apologize for how I spoke to you… in Kent. Your letter…”

“Please, Miss Bennet, do not make yourself uneasy…”

“But the things that I accused you of!”

“What did you say of me, that I did not deserve? For, though your accusations were ill-founded, formed on mistaken premises, my behavior at the time had merited the severest reproof. It was unpardonable. I cannot think of it without abhorrence.”

Elizabeth had come to a halt and turned to him, looking into his eyes with absolute seriousness. “As was my own behavior.”

Without thinking, Darcy took her hands in his own. “You have nothing to apologize for. I drove you to anger…”

Lizzy pursed her lips and paused before rolling her eyes and turning, tugging on the gentleman’s arm so that they continued to walk together.

“Mr. Darcy, we should not quarrel for the greater share of blame annexed to that evening. The conduct of neither, if strictly examined, will be irreproachable; but since then, we have both, I hope, improved in civility.”

“I cannot be so easily reconciled to myself. The recollection of what I then said, of my conduct, my manners, my expressions during the whole of it, is now, and has been for the last month, inexpressibly painful to me. Your reproof, so well applied, I shall never forget: ‘had you behaved in a more gentleman-like manner.’ Those were your words. You know not, you can scarcely conceive, how they have tortured me.”

“I was certainly very far from expecting them to make so strong an impression. I had not the smallest idea of their being ever felt in such a way.”

“I can easily believe it. You thought me then devoid of every proper feeling. I am sure you did. The turn of your countenance I shall never forget, as you said that I could not have addressed you in any possible way, that would induce you to accept me.”

“Oh! Do not repeat what I said then. These recollections will not do at all. I assure you that I have long been most heartily ashamed of it.”

Darcy mentioned his letter. “Did it,” said he, “did it soon make you think better of me? Did you, on reading it, give any credit to its contents?”

She explained what its effect on her had been, and how gradually her former prejudices had been removed. “I soon believed your account of Mr. Wickham, for I knew you to be a devoted brother and one who would never tell such a story if it were not of the utmost importance.”