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T he morning after their arrival, the Fitzwilliams and Darcys joined Hertfordshire and his nephew for an early ride. The accompanying groom was leading a mare with a side-saddle on it behind him. In addition, two guards escorted the riding party.

The pre-sunrise morning was somewhat cool, but there was hardly a breeze to stir the leaves on the trees or the grass in the fields they rode across.

There were a few clouds moving lazily across the lightening sky.

For those who had lived in Derbyshire for the whole of their lives, the rolling topography of Hertfordshire looked flat in comparison to their home shire.

There was no surprise that they rode first to Lucas Lodge. As he could not give Charlotte a horse before they married, Anthony insisted on bringing the mare he had chosen for his wife-to-be and collecting her at her home for their rides in the morning.

“May I introduce my beloved to you?” Anthony requested of the Earl as he was the highest-ranked person present who had not met Charlotte.

“Please do,” Matlock allowed.

“Lord and Lady Matlock, Mr and Mrs Darcy, and Miss Darcy, it is my distinct pleasure to introduce you to my fiancée, Miss Charlotte Lucas of Lucas Lodge. Charlotte, Lord Reginald and Lady Elaine Fitzwilliam, the Earl and Countess of Matlock, Mr Robert and Lady Anne Darcy of Pemberley, and their daughter, Miss Georgiana Darcy.” Anthony completed the formal presentation after he had dismounted from his horse.

It was easy to see the strength of feeling which was displayed between the engaged couple. “Well met, Miss Lucas. I am sure my friend Leticia had almost given up on her son finding a woman he would want to marry,” Lady Anne stated in a friendly tone.

“Thank you, your Ladyship,” Charlotte responded.

Anthony led her to the horse, and with her permission, placed his hands about her slender waist; she rested her hands on his shoulders, and he easily lifted her onto the saddle.

Once Anthony had remounted his stallion, the group headed towards Purvis Lodge. Charlotte was riding between her betrothed and Miss Darcy.

“I have a sister who is right around your age. Her name is Maria, but she is rather shy around new people and has not had a desire to learn to ride,” Charlotte told the tallish, blonde girl riding to her left.

“I am like that too,” Georgiana admitted, “shy, that is, until I know people,” she clarified. “I have loved to ride since Papa gifted me my first pony.”

“Then you will enjoy meeting Eliza and Mary; they are very welcoming and will make you feel comfortable in no time at all. Eliza is my best friend,” Charlotte explained.

“Eliza?” Anna checked.

“I am the only one who calls her that. She is the Duke’s fiancée, and he and most others who know her call her Lizzy; her given name is Elizabeth,” Charlotte related. “And later, I am sure you will meet Cathy and Lydia. They are close to you in age. Cathy is close to thirteen, and Lydia is ten.”

“I was recently eleven,” Georgiana revealed.

Lady Anne turned in her saddle, looking over her shoulder towards Anna.

She was happy to see that Miss Lucas was drawing her daughter out of her shyness.

Anna was very much like she herself had been at the same age, but by the time she was fifteen, Anne Fitzwilliam had managed to move past her shyness.

She turned and looked at her love, Robert, as he rode beside her.

She wondered, had she still been cripplingly shy when she had come out at the age of seventeen, if her Robert would have noticed and pursued her.

As she was sure that their hearts called out to one another, Anne had to believe they would have found one another, even had she still been so very shy.

She was brought out of her reverie when she heard the Duke announce they had arrived at Purvis Lodge.

Elizabeth was standing next to Mary, with John and Brian behind them as the riding party, led by the man she loved, approached them. Even had she wanted to, she would not have been able to stop the smile and glow of pleasure which lit up her countenance.

The Fitzwilliams and Darcys had no doubt who the future duchess was or whether she genuinely loved their friend.

Her reaction to seeing him could not be feigned.

Intelligence shone from her eyes, and when they had been told she was a beauty, it had not been an exaggeration.

The younger lady next to her was also very pretty and stood beside her sister protectively.

Hertfordshire jumped down from his stallion, strode over to his fiancée, and bowed over her hand, bestowing a kiss on it before standing. Her blush of pleasure demonstrated how welcome the loving gesture was. Still holding her hand, he turned to those on the horses.

“It is my pleasure to introduce you to the woman I love, Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Next to her is her next younger sister, and one of my wards, Miss Mary…” He introduced those who were unknown to the Bennet sisters.

The sisters curtsied to those they had been made known to and passed on an invitation from the Gardiners to join the family to break their fasts after the ride, which was accepted without delay.

While Aphrodite was standing next to the mounting block for Mary, her fiancé lifted Elizabeth into the hated side-saddle.

With John and Brian adding to the escorts, they began to ride in the direction of Oakham Mount.

It did not take Elizabeth and Mary long to see how shy Miss Darcy was, so after a look at Archy to let him know what she intended and his answering nod, Elizabeth and Mary took up positions either side of the youngest Darcy.

“Miss Darcy, my betrothed told me that he is informed that you are rather proficient on the pianoforte, especially for one as young as you are,” Elizabeth stated, aware it could be a subject which would put the young girl at ease. “I play as well, but very ill.”

“That is rather brown, Lizzy,” Mary sang. She turned to Miss Darcy, who was not sure how to respond. “Lizzy is an excellent pianist, so do not allow her to tell you otherwise, and if you heard her singing, you would be enraptured.”

“You are a fine one to speak, Mary. You know your playing is far superior to my own paltry talents,” Elizabeth responded with a twinkle in her eye.

“I suppose I am better on the pianoforte,” Mary owned with mirth.

Understanding the sisters were teasing one another, Anna gave a half smile as she relaxed. “I do love the instrument, although I would not say I am a proficient,” Georgiana replied. “It is pleasurable to me to practise as much as I am able.”

“That is my problem,” Elizabeth admitted, “I do not enjoy too much practice, I always want to be moving, and I cannot when I am seated on the bench playing.”

“I cannot get enough time at the pianoforte, but Mrs Annesley, my governess, makes sure I pay attention to my other lessons as well,” Georgiana related.

She felt very comfortable with the Bennet sisters, as it was not her wont to speak this much to anyone, never mind a new acquaintance. “Do your younger sisters not ride?”

“They most certainly do; they prefer to sleep later than I do. Mary does not join me every day, but I find no matter how late I go to bed, I am up at the crack of dawn,” Elizabeth shared.

“That is just like William,” Georgiana revealed.

“William?” Mary enquired.

“My brother, he is twelve years my senior; he was to come with us, but…” Georgiana did not want to paint her brother in an unflattering light, but she also did not want to dissemble.

“William wanted to go spend some time in London before we arrived there.” It was basically true; she just left out that her parents were not happy with her brother’s attitudes.

Watching the Bennet sisters’ interactions with her normally shy daughter warmed Lady Anne’s heart.

At that point she was riding in a cluster with her husband, brother, sister-in-law, and Lord Archy.

“I have never seen anyone put Anna at ease like your soon-to-be wife and her sister have,” Lady Anne observed.

“I noted that too,” Darcy agreed. “Hertfordshire, you have found a good one.”

“The first time we met she was only six…” The Duke related their history, beginning with her scolding him at the parsonage in Lambton.

“I could tell she was special that first time, but all I saw was a little child, a pixie, as I called her. Later, when we literally bumped into one another, she was much as she is now. It was then when we began to see one another as more than common and indifferent acquaintances. By the time I decided to come to Netherfield Park instead of Falconwood for Easter, I knew my heart belonged to her if she would have it.”

Ladies Elaine and Anne were caught up in the romantic aspects of the story, while their husbands were sure their friend was marrying for all of the correct reasons.

Behind the group of five, Charlotte and Anthony rode, lost in their own world. Everything was obscured by the fog of love which enveloped them when together.

The group reached Oakham Mount with about twenty minutes to spare before the sun was to break the horizon. As it was not a steep path, everyone walked to the summit with ease. Those who had arrived from Derbyshire agreed that it was a sight well worth seeing.

“Miss Bennet, if you ever come to Pemberley…” Georgiana began to say.

“Please call me Elizabeth, or Lizzy, and use Mary’s name without the ‘Miss’ as well. I think we will be very good friends,” Elizabeth invited. “And yes, that includes after my wedding when I am a duchess, at least when we are not in a public setting.”

“I would enjoy that; please call me Anna,” Georgiana replied happily.

“As I was about to say, Lizzy , when you visit Pemberley, there is a hill about three times as high as this one just behind the house. My brother and I often ride up to the top to watch the sun come up and hit the Peaks to the west of us. It is a truly beautiful sight.”