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At an inn in Essex, George Wickham was writhing in pain.

Not even when he had fallen from a horse as a lad at Pemberley and broken his arm had he experienced such excruciating, ever present pain from the welts and cuts on his back.

The apothecary had given him more of the salve to stop infection and to try and ameliorate the pain, but it did little.

The only way that he could sleep for any amount of time was after a dose of laudanum.

When he slept, he dreamed of exacting his revenge and retribution on that Bennet woman.

When he was awake wracked with pain, his vengeance, and the pleasure he would take in exacting it, were all that he could think about.

How had the woman taken him in like that?

He was the one that did the deceiving, he was not supposed to be the deceived.

To make matters worse for his bruised and wounded ego, she had laughed at him.

He had never been so humiliated, and if that was not bad enough, he had been flogged, and it had cost him ten pounds!

After paying the apothecary and for his room for a week, he barely had four pounds left.

The only thing he could do with that was ride post back to London, to Edward Street and Mrs. Younge.

He knew that Karen Younge was not happy with him after their plans were spoiled by the arrival of the stuffed shirt in Ramsgate.

Not only had they not realised the mouse’s dowry, but she had been summarily dismissed without any further pay.

With the little money that she had; she took the lease for a big house on Edward Street that she converted to a boarding house.

She accepted anyone, even ladies of the night, some of whom plied their trade from their rooms. If she got a cut, Mrs. Younge had no scruples about what transpired under her roof.

Wickham knew that she was doing well for herself. She was certainly not flush with blunt, but she was making a profit which was far more than himself. So as soon as he was able to go to Edward Street and to Mrs. Younge’s bed, he would go.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

Early Saturday morning, before the sun made its presence known, Darcy was on his way to his beloved Pemberley.

He was starting to feel like the new man that he was becoming.

He would never be as affable and ebullient as Bingley or his cousin Richard, but he would be pleasant to be with, regardless of the status of the persons he was around.

He was keen to talk to his good friend, Mr. Patrick Elliot, who was the rector who held the livings of Pemberley, Kympton and Lambton.

Elliot would not mince words and always tell him the absolute truth as he saw it.

Yes, he was taught good principles, but he followed them in pride, arrogance, and conceit.

All his hauteur has disappeared when Lady Elizabeth placed a mirror in front of him.

That had forced Darcy to see himself through the eyes of another.

The experience had showed him how insufficient were all his pretensions, that he was not yet the man he needed to be to please a woman worthy of being pleased.

And Lady Elizabeth, Elizabeth deserved to be pleased.

The truth was that even with the drubbing that he had received at the tip of the rapier that was her sharp tongue, now with hindsight, he could see that she was angrier with him for his treatment of her friends and neighbours than with the way she was treated.

His statement to Bingley had just been the last straw that had unleashed her temper against him, and what a magnificent woman she was.

The fact was he was sick of civility, of deference, of officious attention.

He was disgusted with the women who were always speaking for, looking for, thinking of his approbation alone, and hunting him, and then if all else failed, attempting to force his hand.

Lady Elizabeth roused and interested him because she was so unlike them.

He could never hate her for taking him to task regardless of the pain that it had occasioned him.

He had long owned that he had deserved everything that she had hurled at him, and he knew, whether she was willing to see it or not, that he was no longer that man.

Darcy felt so much at peace with the man that he was becoming that he easily did something that he almost never did in a carriage, he fell into a deep and restful slumber.

Carstens, sitting on the rear facing seat, could scarce comprehend that the master was asleep and looking like he was no longer carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

On Saturday morning, rather than a gallop on the back of Mercury, Lady Elizabeth decided to take a ramble.

The Netherfield party, which included the Fitzwilliam brothers as guests who, for propriety’s sake, were not sleeping in the same house as their betrotheds, were invited to spend the afternoon.

Elizabeth was sure that Andrew and Richard would not wait that long and would be at the house to break their fasts with the rest of the Longbourn residents.

She would not wake Miss Jones, but Biggs and another mountain of a footman were waiting for her.

As she walked past the small drawing room, she noticed that the door was half open and sitting within was Lady Anne Darcy.

“Good morning, Lady Anne. I see that I am not the only one who rises before the sun.” Elizabeth smiled warmly at her.

“I trust that you had a restful night, Lady Elizabeth.” The elder lady inclined her head to the younger.

“Rather than ride this morning, I am taking a walk. Would you like to join me?” Elizabeth offered.

“Yes, I would like a good walk. Will you wait while I repair to my chambers to prepare?” Lady Anne asked. Elizabeth nodded and seated herself while Lady Anne ascended the stairs on her way to her chambers.

It did not take Lady Anne long to return with her pelisse and warm gloves.

Living in Derbyshire her whole life, the cold of winter did not daunt her, especially the milder winter in Hertfordshire.

For the first ten minutes the ladies walked in companionable silence while the huge footman trailed them.

Elizabeth, looked to her companion, and opened the dialogue that she was sure they would need to have sooner or later. “Are you not angry at me for the way that I spoke to your son?”

“This may sound counter-intuitive, but I think you may have done him and his family the biggest of services, whether that was your intent or no,” Lady Anne replied as she squeezed one of the younger woman’s hands to prove truth to her words.

“From things that Richard and Caroline have shared with me about your son, it could be that I misjudged him somewhat. I will never be sorry that I took him to task for the behaviour that he displayed while he was briefly in the neighbourhood, however I may have been too severe in the punishment that I visited on him,” she admitted to the man’s mother.

“As much as I love him, he needed the blow that you delivered. After the tragedy that took my dearest George, William had all the responsibly of Pemberley, Darcy House, and our other estates thrust upon him when others of his age were enjoying a grand tour or some such thing. I have never told William this, but I do not believe that my George’s death was an accident.

Like his son and daughter, he was born in the saddle and one of the most accomplished riders that I have ever seen, William included.

There was no proof to the contrary, even though there were signs of another horse close by.

It could have meant anything as the family and many on the estate ride in the forests, but my suspicion is that his godson had a hand in his accident. ”

“ George Wickham ?! I thought that your husband protected him. Why would he want to hurt the man that was trying to secure his future?” Elizabeth was astounded by Lady Anne’s suspicions.

“George did not know that I knew he was going to cut Wickham out of his will. His eyes had finally been opened when reports of his godson’s meddling with maids and other servants reached him.

I have never told another of my suspicions.

William was in enough pain without my adding to it.

” A tear ran down Lady Anne’s cheek as she spoke about her beloved husband that had been taken away from her and his children far too early.

“Enough maudlin thoughts, back to William,” Lady Anne directed the conversation as she dabbed her eyes with a silk square.

“You may have been severe on him, but in my opinion, he needed it. With the wealth and power that he commands, there are few who could make him feel the consequences of his behaviour. Do you know when I knew that the man that I believed he would always be, was emerging?”

“I have no idea, when?” Elizabeth asked, offering an open smile.

“When he refused to join us on this visit and for the wedding. He left for Pemberley this morning where he will keep busy and then return to town for the little season after the wedding.” Lady Anne returned her smile.

“From everything that I already heard, and with what you have added, I can tell that he is sincere in his quest to change his behaviour. I am more than willing to let it be known to my aunts, and through them the Ton, that your son is forgiven,” Elizabeth agreed.

“I appreciate that you are willing to do this. You realise that just like William, you are changing too.” Seeing the look of question on Elizabeth’s countenance, Lady Anne clarified her statement, “You have been known for your implacable resentment and unwillingness to forgive once someone had offended you. Do you not see that you are changing and growing just like my William is?”

“It is hard to argue with your logic. How did you know that he was changing just because he declined the invitations to visit now and attend the weddings? That he was not just protecting his pride at having to face me again?” the younger lady challenged.

“It is simple, he put the needs of others ahead of his own. You may have heard that he has always been the best master and landlord?” Lady Elizabeth nodded to acknowledge that she had.

“He was quite different with all of society, even his family.

His needs and desires came first, and like you, he was very quick to judge and would rely on his own council above all others.

“His main concern was that his presence would in some way detract from the enjoyment of the rest of us. Rather than be selfish as he was in the past, he is becoming selfless. This may sound strange, and it is up to you to act as you see fit, but I would request that you leave things as they are until a week or two before the weddings.” The ladies headed back toward the warmth of Longbourn, having had enough exercise for now.

“As much as I love my son and wish that he were here, he needs to feel the full weight of his folly so that he will never be tempted to fall back into his old ways,” Lady Anne added.

“Will he not be sad to be alone at Christmastide?” asked a concerned Lady Elizabeth.

“No, dear, he will not. The Fitzwilliams, de Bourghs, Georgie and I will arrive at Snowhaven a sennight prior to Christmas Eve. I will write to William to inform him so we will all be together for the holidays. We will leave before twelfth night to return to Longbourn for the final wedding preparations, and he will be at Darcy house a day or two after the wedding.”

“Will Andrew and Richard spend the season with the family or here?” she inquired.

“Lady Elizabeth Bennet,” Lady Anne playfully admonished her, “you are a highly intelligent young woman. Do you think that either of my nephews would agree to be separated from their betrotheds for a day, much less ten of them?”

“No, I do not suppose that they would,” said a smiling Elizabeth, pleased to see Lady Anne had a similar sense of humour to hers.

As they entered the house and were divested of their outerwear, Lady Anne again turned to Lady Elizabeth. “I also want to thank you for befriending my protégé. I have spoken to her, and your friendship means the world to her.”

“Caroline is a pleasure to know. She was completely honest about who she used to be and your role in putting her on a good path. You could not have bestowed your friendship and advice on one that appreciates it more than she,” Elizabeth replied with genuine warmth.

After their conversation that morning, Lady Elizabeth knew that she liked Lady Anne very well and Lady Anne knew that if her William could ever win her heart, Lady Elizabeth would be perfect for her son and the ideal sister and daughter-in-law.

Her opinion of Fitzwilliam Darcy was shifting, and he was no longer to be hated and despised.

Her thoughts as she watched him leave her home returned to her.

Elizabeth now fully believed that he was an honourable gentleman, and regardless of his prior behaviour, deserved the appellation ‘gentleman’.

Later that morning the house party was completed when the Duke and Duchess of Bedford, and the Earl and Countess of Jersey and their son and daughter arrived.

Longbourn was a large house, so even with over thirty guests in residence there were still many unused bed chambers.

After they changed out of their travel attire, the Duke of Bedford joined his brother and the other older men in the library and were soon joined by their other brother-in-law, the Earl of Jersey.

When the men were comfortable with their selected libations in hand, Lord Sedgwick Bennet looked at his brother. “Did you hear that Granville used your settlement that you gifted to Darcy?”

“Yes,” added Lord Jersey, “worked like a charm, it did.”

“I must apologise, Hertfordshire. William told me that he got the idea from you, and I forgot to mention that it saved Granville from an attempted entrapment.”

“We had other things to discuss, Matlock, so as there would have been no occasion to think about it so there is nothing to forgive.” Lord Reginald Fitzwilliam inclined his head to his host.

The three men who knew of the tale informed the rest and Lord Thomas Bennet felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

As much as he hated the time that he had been married to her , it had given him Jane and Marie and now he was able to make the lives of many bachelors tolerable in society.

He knew of the Earl of Granville, and when he saw him during the season, he would disclose the source of the settlement.