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"No one can know the future," Darcy acknowledged. "But I believe two people who share a mutual respect, who can speak honestly to one another as we are doing now—such people have a foundation far stronger than many who marry for more conventional reasons."

She turned away slightly. "My fears are not easily dismissed, Mr. Darcy.”

"I understand your fears," Darcy said quietly. "But consider this. You are not your mother. Nor am I your father."

Her gaze returned to his.

"Your parents' story is theirs, not ours," he continued. "We may begin from a similar point, but we need not follow the same path."

"How can you be so certain?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I cannot offer certainty," Darcy admitted. "Only the knowledge that I find myself thinking of you even when we are apart. That I value your mind, your courage, your willingness to challenge me. These are neither feelings based upon fleeting attributes nor born of mere obligation."

Elizabeth's fingers twisted together in her lap.

"I do not feel very courageous. I wish I could trust this.” She paused for so long Darcy feared she would not complete her thought, but at last she took a breath.

"Not because I doubt your sincerity, but because I have feared this very situation for so long. "

"What have you feared?" he asked gently.

"Being trapped in a marriage without love," she replied, her voice breaking slightly on the last word. "Becoming my mother. Forever seeking crumbs of affection from a husband who views me with detachment or, worse, disappointment."

The depth of her distress struck Darcy like a blow.

"Elizabeth," he said, her name soft on his lips.

“I cannot promise that I will never disappoint you.

No husband could make such a vow and keep it.

But I can promise that I will never view you with detachment.

How could I, when it is your very spirit that I have come to value so profoundly? "

Her eyes searched his face, seeking truth in his expression. "You speak well, Mr. Darcy."

"Not always," he acknowledged with the faintest smile. "You cannot have forgotten our walk in the park.”

This drew a brief, genuine smile from her. "Perhaps not always," she conceded.

Emboldened, Darcy leaned forward slightly. "I am not asking you to dismiss your concerns. Only that you allow yourself to consider the possibility that what lies between us might grow into something neither of us anticipated."

She was silent for a long moment, the ticking of the mantel clock marking the passage of time between them. "And if, after time has passed, we find we do not suit?"

It was a fair question, though the very thought caused a painful tightness in his chest. "Then we shall address that circumstance with the same honesty we have shown today," he answered, though he found himself hoping such a day would never come.

She nodded slowly, as though weighing his words with careful deliberation. "I cannot promise more than consideration at present, Mr. Darcy."

"I ask for nothing more," he assured her, recognizing the courage it had taken for her to share her deepest concerns with him. "Only time, and perhaps the opportunity to prove that not all marriages that begin from unusual circumstances must end in regret."

“We do not have a great deal of time,” she informed him. “My mother will not leave us in peace for long.”

“Then we must take advantage of the time we do have,” he said, cursing her mother in his mind. Elizabeth was so skittish that one wrong push, even a well-meaning one, might cause her to dig in her heels and refuse him on principle.

He could not allow that to happen. Before he could say anything more, however, the sound of the front door opening echoed from the hallway, followed by Mrs. Abernathy's cheerful voice greeting the butler. Elizabeth straightened slightly, composing her features as footsteps approached the library.

"Mr. Darcy! What a pleasure," Mrs. Abernathy exclaimed as she entered the room. "I trust Lizzy has been keeping you entertained in our absence?"

"Indeed she has," Darcy replied, rising to his feet. "Miss Bennet and I have been having a most illuminating conversation."

Elizabeth rose as well, her smile polite but her eyes still holding the shadows of their discussion. "Mr. Darcy was telling me about his parents," she explained to Mrs. Abernathy, offering a simplified version of their exchange.

"How delightful," the older woman responded. "You must stay for luncheon, Mr. Darcy. Mr. Abernathy should return shortly, and he would be most disappointed to have missed you."

"You are very kind," Darcy replied, "but we have just had tea, and I have another appointment that cannot be delayed.

" Their time was limited, and he was loath to go, but he knew Elizabeth would need time to consider all they had said.

He could not afford to give her much, however.

"Miss Bennet, may I call on you tomorrow? "

Elizabeth hesitated for just a moment, then nodded. "Yes, Mr. Darcy. I should like that."

As he took his leave, bowing over Elizabeth's hand with formal correctness, Darcy found himself filled with hope and determination.

For the first time since their engagement began, he had glimpsed the true source of her reluctance.

It was not a disdain for him , but a deeply rooted anxiety born from watching her parents' unhappy union.

He had to think on what to do.

As his carriage pulled away from the Abernathys' residence, Darcy's resolve wavered. He could court her with the all the determination he possessed, but would it make a difference? Her fears were legitimate and would take time to address. Time she had just informed him they did not have.