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The lady took one last moment to relish the strength of his embrace before stepping away and taking his hand. Leading him toward the stairs, she checked her watch and was startled to discover that barely two hours had passed since the de Bourgh carriage had arrived so unexpectedly.

“Come, I’ll tell you all of it but not here.” Still holding his hand, she led him straight out Longbourn’s front door, across the yard and toward the same ancient copse where she had so recently exchanged words with Lady Catherine.

Settling on an old stone bench, Lizzy rubbed her eyes, suddenly exhausted. When Darcy sat beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, she leaned against him, feeling his breath tickling her ear and sighing in contentment.

“Elizabeth?” Her actions had reassured Darcy that she was not angry with him but he was still desperate to know what his aunt had said and done… and what had prompted his cousin’s bizarre pronouncement. He felt rather than heard her take a deep breath.

“I’m not even sure where to begin.”

“At the beginning? ”

Lizzy managed a short laugh. “Always logical. Lady Catherine arrived and, upon being shown in to the drawing room, asked to speak with me alone. We came out to this ‘prettyish little bit of wilderness’ as she termed it, at which time she demanded that I renounce any claim I have on you and proceeded to detail the myriad of reasons why you and I should not and could not marry. I shan’t go into detail as I’m sure you’ve already heard them. ”

Darcy hugged her more tightly against his chest. “Indeed. I’m very, very sorry that you were forced to endure her vitriol. My Uncle Henry and Aunt Eleanor have asked that I offer their apologies for her conduct, as well.”

Elizabeth turned her head slightly and was rewarded with a kiss. “Honestly, I feel more pity for her than anger.”

“Why?!? Though you’ve told me very little, I’m certain that her words to you were insulting, at the very least!”

His lady tucked her head against his chest again.

“From what I heard today, she has not had an easy life.” Although wishing she could forget it, Elizabeth summarized Mrs. Hill’s story for him and they both remained silent for some time as they considered the implications for how Lady Catherine had been treated during her marriage.

Finally, Darcy tightened his arms around Elizabeth.

“My father disliked the de Bourghs intensely. He did not particularly like Lady Catherine but he truly despised Sir Lewis. He must have known something.” He was silent for a moment, thinking back.

“Perhaps that was why we were not at Pemberley during the epidemic. Aunt Catherine and her family came to visit not long after Georgiana was born but Father took me to Matlock before they even arrived, supposedly to help Uncle Henry with a drainage problem but I wonder if the real reason was that he could not stand to be in the same house with de Bourgh.”

Lizzy turned so that she could see his face. “That was when your mother died?”

Fitzwilliam’s eyes were staring into the past, trying to make sense of a child’s memories.

Lizzy felt him kiss her hair before speaking; “Apparently Sir Lewis and his sons were already ill when they arrived at Pemberley.

I remember hearing that they probably caught the pox at an inn on the trip from London.

The village was quarantined not long after they departed but by the time word was sent, it was too late.

Grandmother Darcy kept Georgiana safe at the dower house and somehow Aunt Catherine and Anne survived at the main house but Uncle Lewis and his two sons died… and Mama, and so many others.

“My father and I were at Matlock for at least a month before the quarantine was lifted… it felt like years. Papa was a changed man; before that summer he had always been jolly and easy-tempered but after, it was as if all the laughter had been burnt out of him. I remember he had terrible ro ws with Uncle Henry about going back to Pemberley; he kept saying that he should be at his estate, not sitting on his thumbs at Matlock.”

“He felt guilty that he was safe while so many were ill,” reflected Elizabeth, feeling a deep compassion for the father-in-law she would never meet.

Darcy was silent for some moments before speaking in a gruff voice.

“Indeed. I’d never understood it rightly before.

When I was a boy, I simply thought that he was sad because Mama had died but it was more than that.

He felt responsible for everyone associated with the estate and there was nothing he could do except make sure supplies were sent in until the sickness burned itself out. ”

Fitzwilliam’s mind swirled with a new understanding of his father. George Darcy’s altered demeanor and subsequent melancholy were suddenly far more comprehensible to his grown son, considering what he himself might do and feel in a similar situation.

Guessing where his mind had wandered and not wishing him to brood on things he could not control, Elizabeth asked softly, “Did you know of the de Bourgh brothers’ proclivities?

I suppose I should not have been surprised after Aunt Gardiner’s story of how her parents broke all connection with her father’s family but still…

it’s one thing to hear of them seducing some nameless young lady at a country house party decades ago; quite another to hear such a story from Hill.

She’s been our housekeeper since before Jane was born and is all that is kind and honest.”

Darcy shook his head sadly. “I can’t recall seeing Sir Lewis de Bourgh more than two or three times in my life and that was always in London.

He had never come with Aunt Catherine to Derbyshire before that summer and I don’t remember him being at Rosings on the occasions that I visited Kent with the Fitzwilliams.” He made several startling connections.

“Freddy and Herbert—Anne’s brothers—were older than me.

When we visited, they were either away at school or…

” his brows settled in a grave expression “… or they were out with Ashbourne.”

“Ashbourne?” queried Elizabeth, still puzzling out her fiancé’s family tree.

Darcy sighed. “The Earl of Matlock’s eldest son and heir, Viscount Ashbourne. Richard’s brother.”

“Oh, of course—Lord Edward Fitzwilliam. I met him in London,” she added absently.

Darcy’s entire body tensed and he loosened his arms enough to look her in the face. “You met Ashbourne?” he asked carefully, well aware of his cousin’s predilection for ‘taming’ beautiful women with Elizabeth’s sort of spirit.

Lizzy eyed her fiancé, uncertain of his motivation. “We were introduced at the Carlisles’ ball in April. I doubt he would remember; we exchanged little more than a few sentences.”

Darcy shook his head wonderingly at the coincidence. “I attended that ball—how odd that we didn’t see one another.”

“It was quite a crush.” Lizzy smiled at him knowingly. “And I don’t suppose you were dancing?”

Fitzwilliam rolled his eyes. “And of course, you were never without a partner. I spent most of my time that evening lurking in corners. I danced but one dance… with Ashbourne’s wife, Lady Alameda, as a matter of fact.

” His face became serious again. “Though I dislike bringing up another example of my family’s poor behavior so soon after Lady Catherine’s display, I must warn you; do not trust Ashbourne.

He’s my cousin but he is not a moral man, particularly around women. ”

Elizabeth’s eyebrows rose at what from Mr. Darcy amounted to a sweeping condemnation of one of his closest relations.

Will sighed. “Hopefully there won’t be many opportunities for him to be in your company; rest assured I will do everything I can to protect you.

But… do not allow him to get you alone. You understand?

” When Elizabeth nodded seriously, he continued in a strained voice, “There was a good reason why my father appointed Richard as Georgiana’s other guardian, though most would have expected him to choose Ashbourne given Edward’s position as the Earl of Matlock’s heir. ”

Elizabeth might not share Jane’s sunny view of the world but she was still disturbed by Fitzwilliam’s certainty of his cousin’s faults. “Is he really so…”

“Rakish? Dissolute? Immoral? Unfortunately, yes.” Before Darcy had time to explain further, the sound of a carriage arriving made it clear that their bit of solitude was nearly over.

They held each other for some moments longer before sharing an understanding look and turning to walk toward the house.

When they emerged from the copse, Elizabeth realized that not just one but two carriages had arrived.

Georgiana had already descended from the Darcy coach, followed by Mrs. Annesley and a worried-looking Mrs. Jenkinson, while Mrs. Bennet and four of her daughters burst forth from the Bingley carriage like brightly colored birds, chattering away.

With his taller vantage point, Darcy was able to catch sight of Mr. Bingley himself, caught among a maelstrom of skirts and bonnets. He spoke softly to Elizabeth, “Charles must have brought your mother and sisters back from Meryton. I shall speak to him about staying at Netherfield.”

Lizzy nodded her understanding. “Lady Catherine and Miss de Bourgh are welcome to remain at Longbourn; it might be simpler as they are already settled in their rooms.”

In agreement, the pair began to gently disperse the mob. Mr. Bingley was happy to offer his hospitality and in short order the two carriages were in motion again.

Mrs. Jenkinson insisted on staying with “Miss Anne” and Elizabeth was glad to see that Miss de Bourgh’s companion, although generally silent in company, appeared to harbor a genuine concern for her charge.

After making the necessary introductions and explaining to Mrs. Bennet that Lady Catherine and her daughter had been overcome by exhaustion from their extensive travels and were resting, Elizabeth guided her mother into the house.