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Clutching the canvas as if it were the most precious thing on Earth, Mrs. Gardiner had immediately gone to find her husband and children.

She was finally able to introduce her sons and daughters to their grandparents and her beloved husband to his in-laws.

Later, in private, she admitted to Edward that she had begun to forget what their dear faces looked like and had feared facing their graves with such guilt.

By luncheon, Madeleine had recovered enough to tell some merry stories from her childhood and by the end of the meal, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner declared their intention to drive into Lambton that afternoon and visit the cemetery.

The children would be resting and Elizabeth, sensing that her aunt preferred to visit her family’s graves this first time with only her husband, indicated her preference to remain at Pemberley to write letters and perhaps explore the library.

After they waved the Gardiners off in a curricle, Georgiana gave her brother a pointed look and announced that she would be spending the afternoon at her lessons.

Finding himself agreeably alone with Miss Bennet, Fitzwilliam was just about to ask if he might join her in the library when, much to his irritation, another footman arrived to inform him that he was needed.

However, upon hearing that Mr. Jenson had arrived to assess the plumbing problems, Darcy knew that he could not ignore the summons.

Sighing, he turned to Elizabeth. “Miss Bennet, please excuse me.” Her understanding smile went only so far toward appeasing him.

Even in his impatient state, it was nearly two hours before Darcy was free to go in search of his favorite guest. The discussion with Jenson had begun with a short list of required repairs but had rapidly escalated to advances that had been made in plumbing since Darcy’s grandfather had installed the facilities nearly fifty years before.

After poking around the exposed pipes in the walls and ceilings, they had climbed to the roof to inspect the cisterns that captured and stored the rainwater.

Darcy was always interested in modernizing Pemberley and found the craftsman’s suggestions fascinating.

However, on this occasion his desire to return to a certain guest was greater and he finally detached himself, leaving Timmons to see to the man and requesting a full proposal be prepared for his perusal.

After a quick stop in his chambers to clean up, Fitzwilliam was finally free to seek out Elizabeth.

However, after checking the library, music room, and sitting room without discovering the lady, he began to feel as though he was in a romantic novel in which the author would never quite allow the hero and heroine enough time alone to reach an understanding.

By the time Will met his housekeeper in the hallway, he was done with disguise. “Mrs. Reynolds, do you have any idea where Miss Bennet might be?”

The servant’s lips twitched at the half-petulant, half-eager expression on her master’s face.

“Yes, sir. I believe that the young lady left for a walk but a few minutes ago. I thought she might appreciate the prospect from the old stone footbridge by the willows, so I recommended that she walk around the lake towards the south woods.”

Darcy’s face broke into a broad smile and he impulsively kissed the older woman’s cheek before turning toward the front door and calling over his shoulder, “Thank you, Mrs. Reynolds! You are a treasure!”

Standing on the front steps, Will shielded his eyes from the afternoon sun and studied the distance. Catching a flash of color from between the trees, he smiled to himself and took off at a quick pace along a tack that would intercept her.

It was lucky for Elizabeth that she noticed the gentleman well before they met, for her composure might not have survived had the focus of her thoughts appeared unexpectedly before her.

As it was, she blushed when he kissed her ungloved hand and averted her eyes when he straightened to look her full in the face.

Preferring to walk, she tugged his hand slightly and he fell in at her side without argument. “And how was your morning, Mr. Darcy?”

As they strolled along the edge of the lake, Elizabeth encouraged him to speak of the encounter with Mr. Blake.

When he described the happy resolution, she became serious. “You did well to attend to the problem yourself.”

Embarrassed, Fitzwilliam attempted to brush it aside. “I did no more than any estate owner would have done.”

Elizabeth turned and, arms akimbo, looked him sternly in the eye. “No, sir. I’m quite certain that my own father would never have left his study. Had this man been honest and his cart damaged, you would have assisted him, would you not?”

At Darcy’s nod, she turned abruptly and began walking again, arm gestures displaying the strength of her emotions. “Papa would have avoided getting involved at all cost, and most likely made the man’s misfortune into a joke.”

Fitzwilliam was becoming uncomfortable, uncertain what had prompted the lady’s critique against her father. “Miss Elizabeth…”

Elizabeth sighed and touched his arm. “Forgive me, Mr. Darcy. I am out of sorts this afternoon; I was reading some letters and the contrast to your devotion to your responsibilities was striking.”

Rapidly sorting through what she had said, Will ventured a question. “Has something happened at Longbourn?”

Lizzy shrugged. “Nothing out of the ordinary. Charlotte— Mrs. Collins— wrote that her father had mentioned a certain ford is in need of repair. Technically it is in common land just beyond Longbourn’s border, but the Bennets have always taken responsibility for its maintenance.

We had a very wet spring and a flood washed out the gravel to the point that it is unsafe for horse or wheel. ” She sighed.

Something tickled the edge of Darcy’s mind. “How is it that Mrs. Collins came to write of this to you?”

Elizabeth smiled sardonically. “It has always been so with us. Even as mayor, Sir Lucas was often too genial to press any of his neighbors and I am one of the few who has any influence over my father.” She sighed again.

“And if it’s unlikely that I can cajole him to do it, then I simply arrange to have the work done and inform him of it after the fact.

However, I have not been home very much this spring. ”

The couple walked quietly for some minutes as Fitzwilliam considered all that Elizabeth had said and intimated.

He was amazed; every time he thought he understood her, she revealed a new dimension.

Although he had observed Mr. Bennet’s unenthusiastic attitude toward his estate, he had not realized quite how lackadaisical the man was nor what an active role his second daughter took in counteracting her father’s carelessness.

After thinking for several moments, Will turned to Elizabeth with an intent look and inquired, “What do you know of indoor plumbing, Miss Bennet?”

The lady laughed delightedly and admitted that she had overseen much of the installation of a new plumbing system at Longbourn several years before.

Improvements at the Gardiners’ house in London had caught her mother’s eye and, after months of near constant nagging, Mr. Bennet had finally capitulated.

Unfortunately, he had done little other than sign the contract with the craftsmen.

Fearing the repercussions of a poor job, eighteen-year-old Elizabeth had stepped into the void and done her best to oversee the work in her father’s name, writing to her uncle with questions when she needed information.

Darcy found himself eagerly explaining Pemberley’s existing system and discussing the possibilities that Jenson had suggested. The pair entered into an energetic conversation that lasted until the path turned and broke from the forest.

Elizabeth stopped in mid-sentence and clapped her hands together. “Oh, how lovely!” Before them was a picturesque stone bridge that arched over a little brook, framed by two enormous willows.

The lady stepped to the center of the bridge and looked out upon the prospect with awe. The lake before Pemberley House currently reflected blue sky and puffy white clouds, making it appear that the edifice of creamy limestone was floating on an island in the sky.

Darcy’s feet might still be on the ground, but emotionally the sight of his beloved standing so had launched his head into the clouds. “Elizabeth…” he barely breathed her name but she heard him. Their eyes met and Will saw more affection and trust in them than he had ever dared hope for.

She held her hand out and in an instant he was by her side, looking into her eyes and cradling her hand as if it were the most precious thing on Earth. “Elizabeth… I… do you…” He felt too much to articulate the questions he was desperate to ask.

Fortunately, she knew precisely what he needed to hear. Bringing their clasped hands to rest on his chest, she touched his cheek, running her finger lightly against his skin.

His face seemed on fire where she touched him and he leaned closer. “Elizabeth?”

For a moment, she closed her eyes and tucked her chin. Had her hand not remained on his cheek, he might have been concerned. As it was, his patience was rewarded when, a second later, her sparkling eyes met his.

“You are the best man I have ever known. ”

“Do you… dare I ask…”

Elizabeth smiled brilliantly though her eyes were glassy with unshed tears.

“Do I love you? Oh yes… so much that I do not know how I could not always have felt so.” Her eyes traced the features of his face.

“My heart is so full that I feel I shall burst with happiness. I can only pray that your affections and wishes are unchanged.”