Pride4

Picking up where we left off, and Elizabeth bumped into Fitzwilliam out walking, and he let it slip that in conversation Darcy had explained to him how he'd recently done a friend a favour by saving him from a disaster of a marriage. Whilst no names were mentioned, Elizabeth assumed that her dear sister Jane was being referred to, and this made her blood boil. With rather bad timing, almost immediately after this had happened Darcy himself was back round to the parsonage, and it was at this point he chose to finally unburden himself and explain that he was madly in love with Elizabeth and that he wanted to marry her. Unfortunately, he went on to explain that it was all against his better judgement, and that he was in love with her despite all of the hopeless faults of her family. Given that she already wasn't feeling too good about Darcy in light of the news from Fitzwilliam, plus the fact that he was a swine to Wickham, hearing that he was in love with her despite her having a rotten family wasn't the clincher Darcy was hoping it was going to be.

Elizabeth told him to shove right off, and to quote: 'I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry.'

Darcy left, and was due to leave to go back to London the next day. Just before going he gave Elizabeth a letter. In it he sought to explain the two main charges against him - that he wronged Wickham, and that he put Bingley off Jane. Initially Elizabeth was pretty convinced as to his argument about Wickham, as it turns out that Wickham was a waster and the one with the gift of the gab who has been sponging off Darcy. On further reflection, she realised that it has most likely been an honest mistake with Jane as well, with a misreading of Jane's reticent character by Darcy.

Shortly afterwards Elizabeth went home, collecting Jane on her way, and for a short time all of the family were reunited a Longbourn, but the youngest sister was soon off to Brighon, chasing after the soldiers who had decamped in that direction. Elizabeth was soon travelling again as well, with her aunt and uncle (the Gardiners). Their plan had originally been to have an extended summer holiday in the Lake District, but because of a delay caused by the Gardiners, they ended up travelling to Derbyshire, where by happy chance, Darcy's home, Pemberley, was to be found. As the Gardiners had some connection, they called in for a visit, although to Elizabeth's great relief, Darcy himself was away on the day of the visit. By this time, and after much reflection, Elizabeth's feelings for him had changed considerably, and she regretted the way in which she'd spoken to him previously.

To Elizabeth's great surprise, Darcy appeared at Permberley during their visit, and to her even greater surprise, was nice to her, and the visit was extended with invitations of further meetings for her and her relatives. The rest of Darcy's party arrived the next day, including Bingley's sister (clearly something of a love rival), but clearly seeing more of Darcy in his natural habitat, the more appealing he'd become.