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Elizabeth knew Mr Collins would ask her to accompany him to town after he finished his correspondence. He hinted at it during breakfast but thankfully for an unknown reason, had not asked. Arriving downstairs with letters in hand, he was perplexed to find her gone. He had thought he had been clear in his intentions. Mrs Bennet assured him that he had been perfectly clear but that she was often lost in her own little world. Next time he should be more direct and ask her.

Oakham Mount was far enough away for him not to come looking for her, and it would allow her to see him on the road to Meryton. She would then be free to return home. To her consternation, the other person she hoped to avoid was already there, sitting on her favorite log. She glanced about but saw no sign of his horse.

“Did you walk?”

“No,” he replied, standing.

“Where is Chiron?”

“He wandered off in search of better fodder.”

“How long have you been waiting?”

“Enough to get through a small book of poetry.” He said, patting the bulge in his jacket.

“Perhaps the poetry drove him away, as it does to love.” She laughed.

“I have always thought it made love grow.”

“An established love, I suppose. Nothing will grow if the seed is not there.”

This was not how he imagined their encounter to begin, and she must know why he had been waiting for her. He thought she would come to her senses and happily accept his proposal after a few days. Her comment had an ill-boding quality.

“Miss Elizabeth, I pray you have taken the time to consider our last conversation.”

“It would be a gross failure on my part not to contemplate a life changing decision such as marriage.”

Her reply gave Darcy hope, and for once in the past half-year, he felt joy in his heart. A feeling he had not expected.

“If I wanted to, I would be unable to accept.” She said, dashing his hope. “As I have heard, you are already engaged to your cousin.”

Darcy growled. “There can only be one source of that falsehood.”

“It did come from Mr Wickham.”

“It is nonsense. It is my aunt’s wish. She claims there was a pact between my mother and her as we were born days apart in my uncle’s home. My aunt only made it known after my mother passed. Since my father had no knowledge of it, I have to conclude that it is untrue. Even if such a pact were made I was not bound by it. More importantly, we have no desire to marry. Each other, that is.”

“Then I have something in common with your cousin.”

“I would never have asked you if I were already engaged, even if we were caught in flagrante delicto.”

“Mr Darcy,” she exclaimed, blushing in embarrassment.

“I am sorry if that disturbed your sensibilities, but I had to make my point.”

“You certainly did. While I would be a fool to say I had no interest in having your regard. I would also be a fool to say I wanted to be your wife because of baseless rumors.”

“It makes me feel better that this has not evolved from mercenary ambition. The fact still remains that the, umm.” Darcy paused as he contemplated his words. “That the unfortunate circumstances of that night are still in public circulation and will only worsen.”

“Unfortunate circumstance? Is that what you consider this?”

Darcy sighed and looked down briefly at the ground before looking her directly in the eyes.

“Miss Elizabeth. Like it or not, I am now an earl. You, on the other hand, are the daughter of a country squire. Society would consider the rumors true even if I were to crow the falsehood from the tallest tower of Westminster Abbey.”

“Then do so,” she declared, angrily throwing her arms up.

“You and your sisters have your reputations to consider, truth or not. With an estate entailed away from your family, how does your stubbornness help them?”

Elizabeth looked at him aghast. She began a reply but stopped. She raised her finger to point at him, but it fell to her side as she considered his words.

“I had always thought to marry for love. You do not love me, and I do not love you.”

“In that, you are correct,” he said solemnly. “I had not thought myself to ever be in this situation and have spent a great deal of effort to steer clear of the machinations of the families in town so that I might one day marry for love as did my parents.”

“Then why succumb now?” She asked in a defeated voice.

Darcy scrutinized her face as he thought of a reply. She would occasionally look up at him and then quickly glance away. Elizabeth felt trapped like an animal in a cage. She wanted to cry in frustration.

“Miss Elizabeth, we are beyond trying to stop what is being said. It has gotten out of even my control. No matter what I do or say, it will not change. Simply from your hesitation, I esteem you more than most women of society, who would leap at the chance to be my wife.”

“That is an arrogant statement to make,” she declared as an act of defiance in the threat of defeat.

“It is not arrogance,” he said softly, “but the sad truth. If it makes you feel better, I will temper it with the fact that it is not me, Fitzwilliam Darcy,” he said, tapping his hands to his chest, “they wish to marry. It is my family name, my fortune, and position in society. Before gaining this damned title, they sought the connection to have access to my uncle. Miss Bingley is a prime example of this… this base desire to claw or manipulate their way up the social ladder.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better, to be grateful?”

He shook his head, wondering how to get through to her.

“Ignore my title, ignore my wealth. I am a man asking a woman to marry him. I admit not for love, not yet. I have not known you long, but I have come to admire you. Oddly enough, your hesitation in this makes me admire you more.”

Elizabeth turned away, not wanting him to see the tears in her eyes. She flinched when she felt his hands on her shoulders but did not move. While it was a strange sensation, it was comforting, reassuring, and steady.

“Initially in any courtship, is it truly love or simple infatuation?” His breath so close to her ear sent a shiver down her spine. His following words gave her goosebumps and another feeling she could not describe. “Or lust? It is after marriage that any couple begins to know and understand one another, even if they have been acquaintances for years. Going through the trials and tribulations that two people adapting to becoming one in more than a simple sexual union.”

Elizabeth’s heart beat hard and fast in her chest. His words had taken her breath away and muddled her thoughts. She wanted to run from them, from him. The sanctuary of her home was no longer there, with Mr Collins in residence, and her father was potentially waiting to force her into making a choice.

“My father said much the same thing,” she said softly.

“Before my father passed away, he told me that a deep and true love comes only after being together for years.” She felt some relief when he pulled his hands away

“Will you look at me?”

She shook her head. The motion caused the tears in her eyes to spill out. She wanted to wipe them away, but then he would know she was on the verge of crying.

“I need time to think,” she managed to say, her voice breaking slightly. “This is all happening too fast. I barely know you.”

“True.”

“I have spent more time with your sister and cousin,” she said with a quiet sniffle.

“You have, and in my opinion, that is another good thing. They like you. More importantly, I believe they trust you. I wish you would look at me.”

She shook her head again, causing more tears to flow. “I must be getting home. I will go on alone from here.”

“I know this is not what you wanted, and I am sorry to have put you in this predicament. I will visit when I get back from London.”

Her reply was a nod as she started off, wiping her eyes when she thought she was far enough away for him not to see. It was all too much for her, and she made her way to the copse of trees within sight of the house.

Darcy watched her walk away. He stood there long after she disappeared from view. Her unwillingness at the moment to marry convinced him that she was the right woman to marry. His dilemma was he did not want her forced into the union by circumstance or by her father. His other dilemma was that his mother’s family legacy was on the line. If he did not produce an heir, the Earldom would go extinct. He let out a piercing whistle, and within moments, Chiron came happily trotting out of the trees towards him as he continued to chew what he had found in the undergrowth.

Hearing the call, Elizabeth stopped and turned her head. For some reason, she had not imagined Mr Darcy could produce such a sound.