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T he carriage that Elizabeth had seen upon exiting the house with Mr. Darcy fairly flew up the driveway. Who drove their carriage in such a fashion on a private lane? She was certain she had never seen such a thing before.

“Are you expecting visitors?” Mr. Darcy asked her as they headed toward the garden.

“I was not told of any, and my mother is not one to keep that sort of news to herself.” She looked over her shoulder at the carriage, which had now come to a stop in front of Longbourn. “It looks to be a rather expensive equipage.”

At this, Darcy turned toward the front of the house, and Elizabeth saw his eyes close and his jaw clench.

“Do you know who it is?”

He nodded and blew out a breath. “Has your cousin sent any letters to his patroness?”

Elizabeth’s eyes grew wide as she looked between Darcy and the carriage, where steps were being hastily put in place. “Is that your aunt’s carriage?”

Again, he nodded. “Did you see any letters being posted?”

She shook her head. “But it may have been done when I was not around to notice it.” She pressed her hand more firmly against Darcy’s arm. “We will weather this.”

He smiled when he looked at her, but his eyes still held worry. “Say you will marry me.” There was a pleading tone to his voice. “Before you meet my aunt, say you will marry me.”

“Do you think that I will be put off by an unreasonable relation?” She had not thought he had so little faith in her resolve to be his wife. And did he not already know that she was capable of tolerating relations of the annoying sort? Not even after meeting Mr. Collins?

“No, no, that is not it,” he assured her.

“I just need things settled in a rather permanent fashion before I confront her. I know this is not how you deserve to be asked, nor is it the best place to come to an understanding, but…” He blew out another breath and looked excessively troubled.

“She will attempt to enforce that fictitious betrothal between my cousin Anne and me. She is a trying and demanding woman of little sense.”

Elizabeth smiled softly at him, attempting with the gesture to calm his obvious anxiety.

“Yes, I will marry you. I would like nothing better. You may think of this as my formal promise.” She motioned to Jane and Bingley who were just at the edge of the garden, waiting to see what would become of the carriage.

Jane, with Bingley close behind her, immediately came to join Elizabeth.

“That carriage belongs to Mr. Darcy’s aunt, and I have just given Mr. Darcy my word that I would be his wife. Can you both stand as witnesses to this?”

“Do you need a witness?” Mr. Bingley asked in surprise.

“This is Lady Catherine de Bourgh,” Darcy said with a pointed look at his friend. “Elizabeth is wise to make the request.”

“We have no papers, and my father has not yet announced anything,” Elizabeth added.

“Unhand that woman,” her ladyship cried as she exited her carriage. “You will come to me directly. I have need of you, Darcy.”

“We should all take a turn of the garden,” Bingley muttered, drawing a chuckle from Darcy.

“I would take you up on that idea if it would not make matters worse and put Elizabeth’s family in the path of the storm,” he said before looking down at her. “I will go to her as she demands, but I will not unhand you, unless you wish it.”

“I am not afraid of a little trouble,” Elizabeth replied with a smile.

“This will be a great deal more than a little trouble,” Darcy cautioned. “It will be quite ugly.”

“I will still stand with you,” she assured him with no little amount of firmness, though her nerves were fluttering.

“Unhand that adventurer at once.” Lady Catherine turned toward Darcy rather than the house. “You are not free to marry,” she continued as she stomped her way towards him at precisely the same time that he and Elizabeth walked towards her.

“Unhand him.” Darcy’s aunt had now turned her attention to Elizabeth. “I do not know at what you are playing, but you will not steal my daughter’s betrothed.”

“I am not betrothed to Anne,” Darcy said.

Lady Catherine stopped walking and smiled like a cat about to devour an unfortunate mouse.

“Yes, you are, and I will make you pay if you breach your promise.” She tapped some envelopes she held against her hand.

“Your father and mother would be excessively disappointed to see you playing court to the likes of this…” She waved her hand in a circular fashion in Elizabeth’s direction as if searching for an insult that was appropriately scathing.

“I say, Lady Catherine!” Richard called as he trotted towards them. “I did not expect to see you until spring. You are in luck, though, for not just Darcy and I are here, but Georgiana is in the sitting room.”

Lady Catherine’s attention was turned from Darcy and Elizabeth for a moment, but only a moment.

“I have no intention of entering a house with such a small garden, and I would think that you should know better than to have Georgiana associating with people who possess such an apparent lack of understanding in regards to proper refinement.”

“Aunt,” Richard’s tone was stern. “What would my father say to hear that you were standing in public berating his nephew?”

This caused Lady Catherine to pause. “I would not need to do this in public if he would unhand that woman and join me in my carriage.”

“I will do neither,” Darcy replied.

“You see,” Lady Catherine waved a hand at Darcy as she talked to Richard. “This is why I must conduct my business in a reprehensible fashion, standing on a driveway that is neither grand enough nor long enough to present a house properly.”

Richard crossed his arms over his chest. “Very well, then. Out with it. What is your protest? Be quick so that we can get to the end of this matter before the Fitzwilliam name is truly damaged by your outrageous behaviour.”

Lady Catherine lifted her chin and glared at Elizabeth. “Darcy is in breach of promise if he does not marry Anne as he agreed to do before his father died.” One eyebrow arched as if to tell Elizabeth that this was her doing.

“I am not –” Darcy began, but Richard held up a hand to cut off his words.

“And do you have proof of this?” Richard asked. “For just today, Darcy has entered into a betrothal with one of the ladies of this house.”

“It will have to be undone, because I have his signature on this.” Lady Catherine held up one of the envelopes. “And this –” She held up the other envelope. “—is the license with which he will marry Anne once we travel to Matlock House.”

Elizabeth could not have kept her lips from parting and her eyes from growing wide at the comments if she had been trying to do so. Had Darcy’s aunt truly brought a license with her? How was that even possible?

“What precisely do you have my signature on that makes you think I would willingly marry your daughter?”

Lady Catherine smiled as broadly as one might expect a lady of her standing to do, which is to say, her lips curled upwards. “A betrothal agreement.”

Her reply was only three small words, but to Elizabeth, they landed upon her as if they were boulders of a substantial size.

“What agreement?” Darcy sounded both incredulous and angry. “I have signed no agreement.”

“You may say that all you wish, but I found this in the study at Rosings, hidden behind the account books you always peruse when you come in the spring,” Lady Catherine explained. “And it bears your signature.”

“What? How?” Mr. Darcy seemed to be utterly confused, and his bewilderment was a balm to Elizabeth’s nerves, which had taken flight.

“Let me see it.” Richard held out his hand to his aunt.

“I have never seen any document hidden behind the books at Rosings, and you know I spend most of my time there with Darcy as he goes over things. Indeed,” he continued as he took the letter from his aunt, “hiding a document behind an account book would be a poor place to hide it, since your steward should be adding numbers and items to the ledgers. He is doing his job, is he not? You have not allowed him to draw a salary and do no work, have you?”

Lady Catherine huffed. “I most certainly would never allow such a thing.”

“Then, how was this just now discovered?” Richard demanded as he opened the envelope he had been handed.

“I see no way that this letter could remain hidden year after year without your steward finding it. It seems rather conveniently timed.” He gave his aunt a pointed look before unfolding the document.

Elizabeth watched his eyebrows rise as he perused the document.

“Have you ever seen this?” he asked as he came to stand next to his cousin and held the document so that both of them could see it.

Elizabeth leaned into Darcy’s arm so that she could peek at what they were reading.

“It looks like your signature,” Richard said softly.

“But I have never seen this!” Darcy plucked the paper from Richard’s hands. “I am fully unaware of this.”

“It bears your signature and that of your father,” Lady Catherine said. “I would remove my hand from his arm if I were you,” she said to Elizabeth. “It is not becoming of one of your station to be fawning over a gentleman who belongs to another.”

“My station?” Elizabeth repeated. “I am sorry to say I do not understand what you mean by that, my lady. You say it as if being the daughter of a gentleman is something to be spurned.”

“I will give you that your father is a gentleman, but what of your mother?”

“She is his wife,” Elizabeth answered, “and as I am certain you are aware, your ladyship, she joined him in his standing when she took his last name in front of a parson at a time long since past.”

“But she is from trade.”

“On that you are correct, my lady. My mother’s father was a solicitor, but she is not a tradesman’s wife.”

“Her lineage stains her,” Lady Catherine protested. “It is likely her influence which has taught you to be grasping and cunning enough to attempt to reach beyond where you should for a husband. You are just following her example, after all.”

“I dare say she is not!” Bingley cried. “She is a gentleman’s daughter, and Darcy is a gentleman. They are of the same standing.”

“Do you know who my brother is, young man?” Lady Catherine asked.

“I do, but that is your brother and Darcy’s uncle. His title does not determine how society classifies Darcy. He is a gentleman – one with a noble family tree and ancient roots, but he is still just a gentleman.”

“With a great deal of money, of which I am sure this –” Again, Lady Catherine seemed lost for an appropriate slur to cast. “– this… female is fully aware!”

Bingley laughed. “She did not pursue Darcy. He pursued her. You will have to try again. Miss Elizabeth is no fortune hunter.”

“This cannot be real,” Mr. Darcy muttered. “I never signed this.” He tipped the paper one way and then the other, scrutinizing the signature as he did.

“It could be forged,” Richard said. “But does it matter?”

Mr. Darcy’s head bobbed up and down. “How much do you demand?” he asked his aunt.

“What do you mean how much do I demand?” she replied.

“How much do you wish me to give you for this piece of kindling for my fire?” He smiled at Elizabeth. “I will not give you up,” he assured her.

“You cannot be serious!” Lady Catherine cried. “You must marry Anne. A Fitzwilliam does not break his promise.”

“I am a Darcy.”

“Your father was honourable!”

“He was, and so am I. According to this piece of paper, which I have never before seen but which appears to bear my name, I must break one of two promises. For you see, this says I am promised to Anne, but my words and my heart belong to, and have been accepted by, Elizabeth. My heart is worth more than any amount of money that you demand. I will not give up the lady I love no matter how loudly you shout about a previous arrangement. Now, state your demands, my lady, and I will send word to have the money delivered to Rosings.”

“But what will become of Anne? Will you truly leave her shunned?”

To Elizabeth, Lady Catherine appeared to be beside herself with indignation.

“How, pray tell, will she find a husband as a spurned woman? Spurned at the hands of her own cousin! Your family deserves better than this!”

“It cannot be helped,” was Mr. Darcy’s only reply, which did little to dampen his aunt’s fury.

She snatched the document from Darcy, leaving a corner of the paper in his hand. “We will see what my brother has to say about this. He will see things put to right.” She lifted her chin. “I take no leave of any of you. I send no regards to anyone.” Then, she stomped towards her carriage.

It was only then, when the carriage door was opened, that Elizabeth noticed a young woman sitting next to an older woman inside the vehicle.

“Is that your cousin?” she whispered to Mr. Darcy.

He nodded.

“And she heard all of this?”

“I am sure she did, but it cannot be helped.” He turned toward her. “I will not give you up. I cannot.” He pulled her close. “And I will let everyone know that you are mine and I am yours and that nothing shall ever part us – if you will let me.” His gaze had shifted to her lips.

She knew what he was asking, and with her heart beating loudly, she smiled and said, “I am yours. Forever,” only moments before he kissed her.