Back in the mansion and after the long, enlightening and emotionally exhausting ride, Elizabeth excused herself to change from the borrowed riding clothes into her trousers and a clean shirt. Not that she wasn't looking well, but she wanted, she needed, some time of solitude to process all that had been revealed to her since she crossed Pemberley's iron gate.

As she lay on bed, staring at the ceiling of a guestroom that was bigger than Longbourn's living room, she reviewed the last 20 hours of her life.

That Darcy's staff loved him was obvious and there was no reason to waste her time thinking about it. His horses and dogs loved him too, but they were his animals, his pets, so that didn't count either. But there was no denying that he behaved very nicely towards her and her family. And he apologized, something she had never expected him to do. She smiled as she recalled how vulnerable he looked at that moment, how sincere and repentant that it really touched her heart. 'I didn't mean for it to happen that way. I didn't mean what I said, not in the way I said it' he said. How sweet (sigh). She wondered what he meant by that. Did he mean that her family wasn't peculiar? That she wasn't an childish, immature, ill behaved, low class brat? What if he meant that he wasn't crazy about her? She frowned at the possibility, because it WAS a possibility.

When Darcy invited her to ride with him, Elizabeth thought that he would use that opportunity to ask her out again. Not that she wanted or expected him to do it; no, not at all, but she thought he might do it. But he didn't. So if he didn't ask her out on that perfect and secluded setting, when they were having such a wonderful time together, the possibility that he didn't like her any more wasn't that remote. On the other hand, he was being very nice. Too nice to be just politeness, so he had to be interested in her. No man that was just being polite would offer her to turn the heat on only because her hair was wet. That spoke of his sweetness and caring disposition, and above all, interest. That's why he apologized, because he was still interested in her. But, as Georgiana said, he was overprotective sometimes, and perhaps he just acted instinctively, to prevent a problem. Instinct or not, that was the sweetest thing she had heard in her life.

Trying to put some order in her thoughts, she rolled onto her stomach. Now, if he apologized, it could be because: 1) he still liked her; 2) he didn't like her any more but he was feeling guilty for being so insulting and just couldn't live with his conscience; 3) he wanted to sell Solstice and was being nice just because of the deal ; 4) someone told him to do it.

On the other hand, if he didn't ask her out again in that perfect place it could be because: 1) he was dating tall and attractive blonde and didn't care any more about her; 2) He was dating tall and attractive blonde but wanted to dump her first before asking her out; 3) she had scared him off permanently; 4) he wasn't crazy about her any more (pout); 5) he was giving her some time to think about it, allowing things to flow naturally, and was preparing the territory for his next move.

Gosh, she made that sound as if he were some kind of wolf or something.

Lunch was a relaxed, pleasant event. With his sister present to do all the talking, Darcy returned to his contemplative and silent self, following with a pensive smile the ladies' enthusiastic chat about the most diverse subjects. Once again Elizabeth hat the chance to see how unostentatious the Darcys were. The menu was simple but delicious, the family dining room was intimate and the conversation was intelligent and fluid.

A tour around the house, hosted by the two Darcy siblings, followed. Elizabeth was able to see the official living room -very large-, the fantastic library, the music room, the dining room -with a table that could accommodate 40 people-, the trophy room and some others she couldn't remember.

"This is a very handsome room," Elizabeth ran her hand over the flowered pattern of the sofa in front of the bow window. Of all the rooms she had seen, this particular one was the one she liked best. It was small, luminous and so feminine.

"This is my favourite when I'm here at Pemberley. My mother decorated it. Will says it was her favourite, too." Georgiana smiled.

"Yes," said he as walked closer to the ladies, "I remember she liked the view very much."

"I understand why," Elizabeth gazed out of the window. "It's lovely."

"Yes, that's one of the things that I miss most when I'm at Manchester." Georgiana interjected.

"Do you live there?"

"I do, most of the year. I moved into an apartment when I started to attend Manchester University. Though I try to come to Pemberley whenever I have a break."

"What are you studying?" Asked Elizabeth.

"Music, and I want to study visual arts too."

"So, you are the artist of the family."

"Yes," Georgiana laughed, "Will builds the buildings and I decorate them. Well, at least I will do it after I graduate."

'Builds?' Elizabeth glanced at the man, who didn't seem to give much relevance to what his sister was saying.

"Excuse me," a maid appeared at the door. "There is a phone call for Miss Elizabeth. Line three. And Miss Georgiana," she added quickly. "Mrs. Reynolds needs you for a moment."

"Oh, yes!" cried Georgiana, "I promised I would help her with today's menu. "You don't mind that I leave you to continue with the tour, don't you, Will?"

He shook his head.

Georgiana left and Darcy showed Elizabeth where to take the call. He then walked towards the window to allow her some privacy.

The conversation was brief and, for what Darcy would guess, unpleasant. Elizabeth initially answered the call in good spirits but soon her mood changed. The disappointed 'so early?' quickly became a concerned 'what happened?' and after several attempts to extract more information from the caller, she hung up with a resigned, 'Ok, I'll wait for you here'.

"It was my uncle," she said. "He's coming for me in half an hour."

"Is there a problem?" Darcy asked with a frown. She was looking nervously around the room, as if avoiding his stare, her eyes already brightening with tears.

"I don't know, he didn't tell me." her voice was shaky, "he only said that something happened at home and we must return immediately."

"I hope that ... Good God, Elizabeth!" He closed the distance between them when he saw her turn as white as a ghost. He caught her by her arms and sat her on the sofa, sitting next to her. "Do you want a glass of water?"

"No, thank you," Elizabeth sniffed and wiped her tears with her fingers. "I ... I would like to call home ... do you mind if I use your phone?"

"Oh, no, please, use it." He handed it to her.

She dialled the number and waited until her sister answered. "Mary?"

"Lizzy! I'm so glad you called! You don't know what happened! That friend of yours, George, came this morning and took Liddy away." Mary answered hurriedly. "I wasn't here, but Jane told me that ..."

Elizabeth rubbed her forehead nervously. She couldn't raise her eyes, but she was feeling Darcy's piercing ones over her. "I would like to talk to Jane, please."

The phone changed hands and Jane's soft voice was heard. "Lizzy? Thank God you called. Uncle Joe said that you weren't at Helen's and I was desperate to talk to you."

"What happened? Mary said that George took Liddy away."

Darcy stiffened and straightened up.

"Oh, Liz." Jane said in despair. "He came this morning and loaded her in a trailer."

"What? He broke into the farm just like that? He can't ..."

"No, he didn't break in, he came and said he was taking Liddy away until dad pays him what he owes him."

There was an intense silence. Nothing else needed to be said to understand what was going on. Elizabeth's expression hardened and she continued in a cold and composed voice.

"Did he say how much?"

Darcy observed her with concern. This sudden change in Elizabeth's countenance worried him even more.

"I will tell you when you are home, I ..." Jane hesitated.

Elizabeth realized that she didn't want to talk in front of her other sisters. "OK."

"He gave us a week to get the money."

"Where's dad?" Her voice was impersonal. She wasn't ready to learn about the consequences of her father's irresponsibility right now.

"I don't know. He left after that. He said something about trying to get the money. Mom's hysterical and shoved him off the house until he fixes this mess." Jane sounded exhausted. "There is another problem, Liz."

"Oh, no, what now."

"The bank. Dad had been using the money of the mortgage too."

"Okay, Janie, we'll talk later. Don't worry, we'll fix this in one way or another. Take care. Bye." Elizabeth sighed and hung up the phone.

Like any child of a vicious parent, Elizabeth had learned to steel herself to the problems that his doings created, building a mask of distance and indifference, shuttering what was impossible to ignore. She had cried over it many nights, she had argued with her parents in her teenage years, but with time, she had learned to live with it. They had a little time of happiness in the past years, wishing rather than believing that his habit was gone for ever, but now reality struck them again and the only thing they could do was to resolve it, as they always did. With resignation, she acknowledged the fact that her life had been ruined. Her dreams, her expectations, everything had just been plundered because of her father's weakness. But what really bothered her was the fact that she suspected that something like this was happening and she dared to hope and dream anyway.

"Elizabeth," Darcy's voice brought her back to reality, "will you tell me what happened?"

She slowly raised her glassy, inexpressive eyes. "A problem back home."

"Tell me." He commanded gently.

Elizabeth smiled bitterly before answering. "My father ... he returned to his old habits, gambling, you know, and it seems that George Wickham had been financing him. Now we owe him a few pounds." Her tone spoke of anger, resentfulness and pain.

Darcy felt a cold run through his spine. The cynicism in her voice scared him. "You said he took Liddy away. Who's she?"

"My mare, the one you saw me training, the one that I jumped at Towcester."

"He stole her?"

"No, he just came, in the middle of the day, loaded her in a trailer and took her off to God knows where until we pay him what we owe him."

Darcy didn't like the 'we pay' and 'we owe' thing. He stood and began to pace the room.

"Is she marked or chipped?"

"Freeze marked."

"Who owns her? You didn't sign any transfer papers, did you?" He inquired earnestly.

"Dad and I are the owners. But that isn't the point. He doesn't want a horse, he wants money."

"I see. Liddy is an excellent horse, but is valueless without her papers. He won't be able to sell her in the show jumping circuit without them."

"I know," She shook her head, "and he won't obtain a good sum for her either if she isn't jumping successfully. I don't know how much money we are talking about, but I doubt that Liddy's actual value would pay it. Without her papers and a decent jumping career, she's just another headstrong horse."

Darcy made no answer. He seemed scarcely to hear her, and walked about the room with a gloomy air.

"And to know that I could have prevented it! I knew who he was!" Elizabeth's surrendered to her anguish. "I could have warned my family!" She cried in despair. "How am I going to pay him? We only have a week! I can't even sell Liddy! How can I sell a horse I don't have?"

He stopped and looked at her. He couldn't believe that she was assuming the responsibility. "Did anyone call the police?"

"These are illegal gambling debts, we can't. God knows what will happen if we call them." She rebuilt her composed, resigned mask.

Darcy looked away. This was his fault. He knew that Wickham was up to something with Elizabeth's father and he didn't tell anyone. His inaction had jeopardized the future and probably the life of the woman he loved.

"I'm very sorry that you have to end your visit so abruptly and under these circumstances," his voice turned suddenly cold and serious, "I hope that you can work things out."

Something in his demeanour told her that an enormous breach was opening between them. She looked at the distant, unreachable Darcy she once met and realized that all the expectations she could have about him were in vain.

"Thank you." She tried to sound unmoved. A man like him would want nothing to do with her. "I would like to ask you one last favour, if you don't mind."

'Please, Elizabeth, ask me to help you' his eyes were saying. "Yes, of course."

"Please don't tell anyone about this. It's something I am not proud of."

"As you wish." His voice faltered slightly.

Georgiana's return prevented any further conversation on that subject. The girl noticed the palpable change in the air and with no little disappointment, she learned that Elizabeth and her family weren't able to stay for dinner because of a sudden change in their plans. They waited for the Gardiners' arrival in that same room, each one immersed in their own worries, all three regretting the abrupt end of what had been a very pleasant day.

Darcy accompanied his guests to their car with his heart aching for seeing Elizabeth in such despair. He exchanged a few words with Joe and then watched them go, promising to himself that this would not end this way.

Elizabeth closed her eyes as they crossed the ornamented iron gates of Pemberley. She would never see him again.

It was already dark when the travellers arrived at Longbourn. The night was cold and the very light rain that was falling only increased Elizabeth's sense of dread and hopelessness. At home, everything was desolation. Thomas was still out, Fanny was under the effect of her sleeping pills, Phil had taken Kitty to bed, and with Mary secluded in her room, it became Jane's duty to tell them the news. Keeping some details to herself, with a very tired voice, Jane narrated for them the actual situation of the family. She told them about Wickham's appearance that morning, Fanny's crisis and her father's departure. The Gardiners remained at Longbourn for the night, waiting for Thomas to return but knowing it was highly improbable, accompanying the girls on this difficult night.

"Jane," Elizabeth asked her sister once in the solitude of her bedroom. "Why do I feel that you didn't tell us everything?"

Jane sighed heavily. "No, I didn't. I couldn't. I feel so ashamed of this that I just couldn't tell Uncle Joe."

"Tell me about the bank. You said that they were claiming some delayed payments, is that all?"

"No. A new notice arrived so I went to speak with the account manager yesterday."

"What did it say?" Elizabeth's voice was small and scared.

"Look." Jane went to the drawer, searched for a paper that she handed to Elizabeth.

"How can we possibly owe them that much?" cried the younger sister. "It can't be! How long had dad been ..."

"Enough, plus accrued interest, plus whatever else was written in that tiny letter that can make a few pounds turn into a fortune."

"What are we going to do?" Elizabeth shook her head.

"Pay, if we don't want to lose the farm. I have some money that I had been saving and I think I can ask Mr. Simmons for some more. I'll ask the account manager if that will stop the seizure."

"Seizure?"

Jane nodded.

Elizabeth bent her legs and embraced her knees. "And what are we going to do about Liddy?"

"I'm sorry, Lizzy." Jane's eyes clouded with tears. "We can't fix both things. We just can't."

"I know." Elizabeth sniffed. "But I am not so naive as to think that they will stop there. They are keeping Liddy just to show us what they are capable of doing. They will come after us if they don't get them what we owe them."

"We don't have many choices, Liz." The sisters looked at each other in understanding, sorrow and fear. It didn't take long for them to embrace and cry until they had no more tears.

"William, I was telling Charles how much I am missing the competing season. It hasn't been the same since you decided to take this break." Caroline commented from her seat in Pemberley's dining room.

"The horses need to rest if we want to jump them successfully in the following year." Darcy responded without raising his eyes from his meal.

"Of course." She touched his forearm. He immediately raised it to take his glass. "You are so careful and responsible. Tuareg is too valuable to be risked."

Darcy didn't answer. He just took a long gulp of wine.

"What a pity that Elizabeth couldn't stay for dinner, Will, I was very desirous to see her after so long." said Charles.

Darcy was about to respond when Caroline interrupted.

"Elizabeth? You mean, Elizabeth Bennet? She was here?"

"Yes, she stayed for lunch." Georgiana replied for her brother. "She came with her relatives. They were looking for horses ."

"What?" Caroline smirked. "She can't afford a horse from Pemberley stables!"

The sound of metal chafing china made Georgiana glance at her brother. He was cutting his meat with such energy that she feared he would break his plate. "They were invited to dine, too, but unfortunately they had to leave earlier."

There was irony in Caroline's voice when she replied. "Really? I'm sure she was greatly impressed with the facilities."

Darcy mumbled a 'yes'.

"I always thought she was a very impertinent girl." Caroline looked at her sister, who agreed with a quick nod of her head while chewing her beef enthusiastically. "Some men might find her interesting, attractive in a rural sort of way, but I think she is terribly vulgar."

"I think she is very nice, Caroline." Charles' sounded slightly annoyed.

"Oh, Charles, you'll never change. The girl was your stable hand!" Caroline wrinkled her nose. "I don't know how anyone could consider her one of Meryton's beauties. She's so plain, don't you think, Louisa?"

"Absolutely, dear."

"If I'm not wrong, you found her pretty once, William." Caroline turned to him. "Surely you changed your mind."

"Not at all. I still think she's beautiful." Darcy answered without raising his eyes. Caroline's smile fell instantly.

Georgiana knew that her brother was a patient person, that it was quite difficult to put him out but the tension in his shoulders revealed that Caroline was on her way to achieving it. The youngest Darcy sibling decided that it was time to change the subject to a less disturbing one. "Did I tell you about this fabulous shop I found at Manchester, Louisa? Where I bought the dress for the party?"

"No, dear." Louisa smiled at her. "Tell me, I'm dying to know."

As soon as that miraculous word was spoken, the ladies' conversation turned to clothing and accessories. A fully detailed description of the dress, shop and almost all the party followed in Georgiana's attempt turn the subject onto safer topics so Caroline wouldn't nourish her brother's ire. She succeeded in entertaining their guests for a while but Caroline was determined to return to the previous subject.

"One of the things that I hated most while at Netherfield was the little shopping options we had."

"Awful; you don't know how miserable I was. We didn't go shopping in all the time we stayed there." Louisa nodded.

"I thought it was because we were training, Lou." Ted's voice was heard for the first time. "If you were so interested in shopping, why didn't you go to London?"

"You know I hate London's traffic and you refused to drive me." Louisa spat.

Ted shrugged and returned to his meal. An argument with Louisa was the last thing he wanted when he was faced with such exquisite Merlot.

"Now I understand where those Bennet girls got their clothing. With such limited choices it is very logical that they dress like that." Caroline returned to her preferred target. "And Lizzy is the certainly the worst of them all."

"You are right, dear." Louisa agreed.

Charles' eyes went from one sister to another, pondering which one he would kill first. From what he could see, his friend was having the same thoughts.

"Tell me, William," now Caroline concentrated her attention on Darcy. "I heard she became friends with that man that worked for you once. What was his name?" She pretended to think, increasing the suspense, "Oh, yes, George Wickham."

Georgiana's eyed widened and she turned to her brother. Darcy was livid. He had stopped cutting his meat and he was still, staring at his dish with clenched jaw. Slowly, he raised his eyes, resting them on Caroline's with a coldness that would freeze hell. The others just stared at him in astonished muteness.

"Caroline, unless you have something civil to say about Elizabeth," he said in a low, even voice. "I would ask you if you could please change the subject."

Caroline swallowed and was unable to respond.

The others remained silent until Georgiana, trying to distract the attention from her brother, inquired about an upcoming show. All of them, with the exception of Darcy, began to discuss their expectations and doubts for the Leicester championships.

The Gardiners left Longbourn after breakfast. They would have liked to wait at least until Thomas was back but they had their children waiting for them at home and a riding school to run.

Elizabeth and Jane were now alone in the task of reorganizing the house. Fanny was in some kind of trance -no one knew for sure if she was acting or under the effect of her sleeping pills- and remained in bed staring at the ceiling, only interrupting her depression to ask -impatiently- for food or tea to be served in her room. Mary was gone to work and Kitty and Phil were doing everything they could to help.

Thomas returned home by tea-time, too ashamed to face his daughters. He greeted them quickly and went to his study where he remained for the rest of the evening. After a couple of hours waiting for him to emerge, Elizabeth decided that if he wasn't ready to discuss what had happened, she was.

"Dad?" she entered the library.

A loud sigh was her answer.

"Dad? Can we talk?"

"I'm sorry, Lizzy. I never thought that this could happen."

Elizabeth walked to his armchair, where he was sitting by the window. She pulled the chair from behind the desk and sat in front of him. "Dad, why?"

"I didn't realize what was going on until it was too late, until I was so immersed in it that I couldn't get out. George was coming every day, tempting me, saying there was no problem, that I could pay him later, and then he ...." Thomas sighed and shook his head. "Oh, God, I can't blame him, this is my fault."

"We all thought you were over it, that you were cured, or otherwise we would have helped you." She took his hand in her and stroked it with the other. "Why didn't you ask for help?"

"I just couldn't stop, Lizzy, I couldn't and when I tried, it was too late."

"We'll fix it up."

Thomas looked at her with tired eyes. His daughters were so strong, so responsible, even when faced with his own weakness they were beside him to fight. He smiled sadly and squeezed her cheek. "Yes, we will."

When Thomas emerged from the study, he looked an invigorated, renewed person, but only in appearances. Though he was destroyed, devastated for putting his family in this situation, he couldn't sit there doing nothing while his daughters fought to save their home. He gathered them in the living room and the family, together, decided what they would do.

The bank situation needed to be resolved, and quickly, so it became Jane's task to negotiate with them. Elizabeth's duty was to claim delayed payments from their students and Thomas called all his contacts trying to find more horses to house during the winter.

The days that followed were hard, but not completely fruitless. Jane had obtained an interview with the regional manager and marked an appointment for the following week. Thomas departed to Aylesbury to talk to Joe and asked him for help on the other matter. He managed to obtain a part of the money he owed Wickham but he knew it was not enough to keep him from acting again with worse consequences against his family. Fortunately, and despite that these were gambling debts, Joe was willing to help him. But Joe imposed some conditions: He would be the one to deal with Wickham as he didn't trust Thomas in handling the money; Thomas would repay him everything, no matter how long it took him and he would ask for professional help.

As the days passed, fear and uncertainty grew stronger in the Bennet household. George hadn't contacted them, not even to remind them of their deadline. They hadn't succeeded in raising the whole amount they owed him yet but having no news, no calls, only increased their sense of insecurity.

"Jane?" Phil entered the little room where Jane had set up her office, "may I talk to you?"

"Sure, Phil, come in." Jane raised her eyes from the microscope.

Phil shifted his weight from one foot to another and looked at his hands, unsure of how to begin. "Well, I ... I wanted you to know that ...," he hesitated, "... I ... I have some money I was saving, for the baby, you know, and I want you to have it." He raised his eyes to look at Jane's teary ones. "It's not much, just 200 but I want to help you in this."

Jane was so moved by his gesture that she didn't know what to say. She swallowed the lump that was growing in her throat and smiled. "Thank you, Phil, I ... thank you. I'll let you know if I need it."

The knock at the door awakened him. The man rolled to his side and looked at the clock, 3 PM. The rent of the small apartment had been paid and not many people knew he was living here so he couldn't imagine who would be calling at this hour. They knocked again, very impatiently, and he decided to get up.

"I'm coming!"

He rose from the bed and pulled up a pair of trousers before answering the door. "Darcy!" His eyes widened on seeing his ex-employer in front of him.

"Carl." Darcy eyed him from head to toe. This thin, sickly and very dishevelled Carl Younge was the shadow of the 'man' that was once his assistant.

Carl was astonished. He had never expected to see William Darcy again. "What do you want?"

Darcy entered the tiny cubicle and waited for the other man to close the door behind him. "I need to find Wickham."

"George?"

"Yes."

Carl began to laugh. He laughed and coughed, a cough that showed that the same disease that was affecting his body was destroying his lungs. "So you need my help to find George? What do you want, revenge? You should have killed him then, Darcy, when you had him in front of you."

"Where is he?" Darcy said in a menacing voice.

"Why should I help you?" The younger man sat in a chair and reached out for a cigarette.

Darcy walked around the table, scanning the untidy apartment with a displeased frown. "Money?"

"You always fix things with that, don't you?" Carl's voice was cynical.

"Isn't that what you need?" He gestured around him. He knew Carl, and most of all, he knew his weaknesses. "You used to have good place to live and from what I see, you seem to be in desperate need of whatever it is that keeps you alive."

"Always the same direct and sincere Darcy." Carl smiled bitterly. "What are you going to do when you find him? I'm dying to know."

"Where is he?" He was becoming impatient.

"You need my help, don't forget about that." Carl inhaled the smoke of his cigarette and then coughed.

Darcy pulled some money out of his pocket and threw it over on the table. "Where is he?"

"Now we understand each other." Carl took the money and smiled. "West Thurrock, a place called The Pig, you can find him there."

"Thank you." He turned to leave but Carl called him back.

"Now I'm intrigued," said Carl, "why are you looking for him?"

For a moment, Darcy pondered if he should reply to that question. He needed all the information he could get and perhaps Carl was willing to supply it. "A gambling situation. He snared a friend."

Carl studied Darcy through narrowed eyes. He owed no loyalty to this man but he didn't owe it to George either. After all, he was the one who made him lose the best job he ever had. "George isn't the boss, he's just a pawn. If you really want to get rid of your problem, you must talk to him."

"Who?"

"Those are dangerous people, Will, you wouldn't want to mingle with them." Carl said mockingly, ignoring that he was playing with fire.

"I'll be the judge of that." More money was dropped on the table. "Who is he?"

"I don't know."

Darcy grabbed him by the throat and pushed him against a wall. He was in no mood for this game. He raised his hand so Carl's feet were barely touching the ground and tightened his grip. "Now, who is he?"

"I don't know." Carl choked.

Darcy's fingers tightened around his throat.

"Little John."

Darcy released him and stepped back. He pulled some more money out of his pocket and threw it over on the table. "Buy yourself some medicine."

He walked out of the apartment and closed the door behind him.

"Yes." Darcy answered the phone in his London flat. "Will, there you are." Richard was relieved for finding him. "I've been looking for you for two days."

"You didn't look in the right places. I've been here."

"If you were, you didn't answer the phone." Richard's voice showed his concern. "What's going on? Georgiana called and said that she was worried about you. She says that you left Pemberley driving like a freak."

"I'll call her to tell her I'm fine." Darcy answered in the tone he usually used when he wanted to end a conversation. "Anything else?"

Richard cursed. He hated when his cousin was being difficult. "Yes, there is something else, if you don't mind. Tell me what is going on."

Darcy rolled his eyes. He should have known by now that this would never work with Richard. "I have some matters to resolve here."

"All right," his cousin answered slowly, "you have ten seconds to spit it out or I'm making you say it."

"From Matlock?" Darcy smirked.

"I can make it to London in two hours."

"You bet."

"Enough, Will, Georgiana is worried sick. You disappeared three days ago and didn't call her."

Darcy cursed under his breath. "It's none of your business, Richard."

"When will you be able to act like a normal person and talk about your problems without having to get drunk?"

"I don't have a problem." Darcy's voice softened.

"You'll have one if you don't tell me." Richard's did the same.

"All right." he sighed. "I must find Wickham."

"Who?" Richard wasn't sure he heard right.

Darcy related him all what happened back at Pemberley and his wish to help Elizabeth out of this. He told his cousin about the visit he paid on Carl and his intention of finding George.

"You are not intending to go into that place alone, are you?"

"It's my decision, Rich, not yours. I don't want anyone involved in this. It's too dangerous."

"Will, if you are thinking that I will allow you to enter a place like that by yourself you are crazy." Darcy tried to protest but Richard continued anyway. "I'll be there in two hours."

"Take your time. I don't want you to get killed on the road." Darcy teased him and hung up the phone.

The Pig was an old, big house situated on a street of West Thurrock where very few people would venture if they didn't belong to that world. When the shiny, grey Mercedes made its appearance in the area, it called the attention of its usual residents, whose greedy eyes wondered what a big shot like that would be doing in their territory.

The interior of The Pig resembled a jungle, a zoo, where different human sub-species converged in the most bizarre combination of colours, sexes and types that Darcy had ever seen in his life. There were men that looked like women and women that looked like men and some that looked at nothing at all. A half naked dwarf was performing a strange dance on a platform in the middle of the salon, observed by some, ignored by the others. When the two young, attractive, well-dressed and undoubtedly heterosexual gentlemen entered the smoky salon, looks that mingled surprise, distrust and lust followed them as they passed through.

Darcy had always thought that this kind of places were merry in their particular way, that people were having fun, but this wasn't. It was dark, oppressive, sinister and only steeled his determination of breaking any kind of connection between these people and Elizabeth's family.

Wickham was sitting in the darkest corner of the salon when Darcy saw him. He was with another man and they were both leaning on the small table between them, deep in conversation, smoking hand-rolled cigarettes. Not regular tobacco. When Darcy appeared, Wickham startled but when he saw Richard coming up behind him, he froze. Nonetheless he recovered quickly enough and sat back with a half smile.

"Well, this is a very unexpected surprise." George looked at the newcomers from his seat. "I would never expect to see the dearest cousins in a place like this. Looking for some fun?"

"We need to talk." Darcy said.

"Talk?" Wickham chuckled and raised his eyebrows. "About?"

"The Bennet's horse."

"We'll talk later, Dan." George dismissed his companion, who left immediately. George gestured for them to sit down.

"Nice nose job, George." Richard sat across him.

Wickham smiled, but not in happiness. "I owe it to you." He snapped his fingers and called the waiter. "Can I offer you something to drink?"

The cousins shook their heads and Wickham dismissed the waiter. By no means would they drink anything in a place like this.

"So you want the Bennet's mare, Willy?"

"I do."

"The old man owes me some money. The horse is a guarantee." George leaned back in his seat.

"I can pay his debt and keep the horse."

"She's good, isn't she?" George smiled at Darcy's immutable face. "But you've seen better. Anyway, you won't be able to jump that mare in the circuit."

"That is my problem."

"Oh, come on!" Wickham laughed, "Why do you want a horse that you would not be able to jump or breed? It's ridiculous!"

"Not really." Darcy replied calmly.

"What are you going to do with it without its papers?" Wickham wasn't stupid and this didn't make sense. Darcy was too honest to do something illegal and Liddy was useless to him under these conditions.

"I told you, that will be my problem, not yours," Darcy continued, his voice serene and even.

George studied him for a while. Then, realization came into his mind. "I bet you have another reason. Maybe you are after something else, aren't you?"

This time Darcy made no answer.

"Don't tell me you want one of the girls. Oh, please!" George waved him off. "You can get any of them without the horse with just showing yourself in your big car. Which one, Jane?" He insisted, becoming aroused just by the thought of other people having sex. "Beautiful, isn't she? But I don't think she's your type. Kitty? No, too stupid. I bet it's little Lizzy." he grinned wickedly. "With that ass, even I would be tempted by it. I didn't know you liked the robust, spirited type, Willy. Good choice, she'll give you a good ride."

Darcy remained immutable.

"I didn't know you looked at women now, George," Richard interjected, still incredulous that his cousin didn't react to that comment.

"Why not? Sometimes a little variety is good, Ricky, you should try it." George winked at him. Richard shot him a dark look. "Well, Willy, which one?"

"Does it matter?" Darcy asked with an uninterested air.

"Not really." George shrugged. "Let's go back to the horse. The old man owes me some money."

"Owes you?" Darcy chuckled with an air of self-sufficiency. "That's not what I heard."

"There's no difference. I have the horse." George said challengingly.

"Exactly, you have a horse," Darcy leaned on the table and spoke slowly in a low, menacing voice, "and I'm sure that your boss is delighted with the idea of having that beast grazing in his backyard instead of his money." George just stared at him. "The Bennets can't pay you and that mare, without a transfer, only serves to pull a cart. I want to make a deal, George, but with someone who makes decisions. You are just the guy that collects the garbage."

"If you want to close a deal, you will have to talk to me." George's anger rose.

"I don't make deals with the second line."

"Don't push your luck, Willy. You won't get out of this place in one piece if I say so. I only need to snap my fingers and you are history."

"I saw you snap your fingers already and you only produced a waiter." Darcy confronted him. "Now, take me to Little John."

George looked around nervously, hoping that no one had heard him. He knew he didn't have much time to resolve this matter, that his 'superiors' were expecting results quickly and he was well aware of the Bennet's situation. "You will have to give me some money in advance. I have to convince him that you are willing to pay."

In two seconds, Darcy placed an interesting amount on the table and covered it with his hand, not allowing George to take it.

"I'll ask him." George exhaled.

"Now."

"That's impossible." George's eyes went from the money under Darcy's hand to his face.

"I said now."

"It's not so easy!" cried George. "I can't just go there and ..."

Darcy was about to put the money away when George stopped him.

"All right. Wait here for a moment, I'll be right back."

Longbourn was a big house. It was one of those old country houses that could hold a large family. The living room was large and comfortable, it had a study, the kitchen had been remodelled some years ago and the bedrooms were ample and numerous. But there was one room that Elizabeth liked better than the rest. It was the sewing room. It was an old sitting room with full view to the west that her mother transformed into her little personal space many years ago. Here, Fanny created the loveliest dresses for her daughters, knitted their sweaters or repaired the knees of the ripped trousers.

When she was a little girl, Elizabeth adored playing in this room, surrounded by all those baskets with laced rims full of coloured reels of thread while her mother sewed by the window.

Her mother had not sewed in ages.

Elizabeth curled her body into a ball, embracing her knees as she looked out of the window of that same room where she had been so happy many years ago. It had snowed during the afternoon and now, under the bluish light of the full moon, the shadows of the trees over the blanket of snow looked longer and tenebrous. This was the time when everything seemed worse, when the future seemed even darker. It was at night when she felt more lonely and vulnerable and overwhelmed by this horrible sensation that everything was lost, that things will never improve.

"Lizzy, here you are." Jane entered the sewing room. "I was looking for you."

She looked at her sister and smiled sadly. "Here I am."

"It's cold in here," Jane braced herself.

Elizabeth only shrugged.

Jane sat by her side and stroked her sister's back. "Everything will be all right, you'll see. Dad will resolve this and you'll have Liddy back."

"Yes, perhaps."

"It's not just Liddy, isn't it?"

Elizabeth rested her chin on her knees. "No."

"What's going on?" Jane asked gently.

"Remember when I called you the day that George took Liddy away?" Jane nodded. "Do you know where I was?"

"No, I just know that you weren't at Helen's."

"No, I wasn't. I was at Pemberley, at William Darcy's house."

Jane raised her eyebrows. "Pemberley?

"He invited me to have lunch with his sister and him." Elizabeth continued to stare out of the window.

"But Liz! You two had a terrible fight! He invited you to his house anyway?"

"Yes, and you know what?" Elizabeth turned to face her sister. "He was nice and sweet and apologized for his rudeness back at Hunsford and when I thought everything would be all right, Uncle Joe calls and tells me the news in front of him. He knows everything."

Jane became embarrassed for her sister and for herself too. This situation was disgraceful enough for itself but to know that people like William Darcy or Charles Bingley would know it made her feel even worse. "Did he say something to you?"

Elizabeth blinked out the first tear. "Other than 'I'm sorry, I hope you can fix this'?"

The elder sister looked pensively at the dark night. "Do you think he will want anything to do with you again?"

"What decent man would?"

The Mercedes had been parked outside the apparently abandoned warehouse for nearly an hour. The occupants of the car were anxious, nervous about what was awaiting them inside and the sinister surroundings did very little to appease the sense of dread that had been growing inside their stomachs since the beginning of this crusade. If they made it out of this place intact and with this matter resolved, they should consider themselves very lucky indeed.

"Will you stop that? You are making me crazy." Richard was about to strangle his cousin at any moment.

"Does it bother you?" he continued his incessant rapping of the wheel of the car.

"Yes!" barked Richard.

"I never asked you to come." Darcy stopped to look at him with that haughty air he managed so effectively.

Richard chuckled and shook his head. This was the first time he saw his immutable cousin this anxious. "Will you please calm down? You'll break the wheel if you continue like that."

"It's my car." was Darcy's stubborn response.

"Will." he pleaded.

"He's been in there for nearly a hour." he was becoming frustrated. "Something must be wrong."

"I don't understand." Richard said lightly. Darcy looked at him with a frown. "I've seen you competing in the most stressful international shows without even blinking and this idiot is taking you over the edge."

"This is something I can't control, Rich. That's what's making me crazy."

"Will, if you want to live a long and happy life, you will have to learn that there are some things that even you aren't able to control." Richard said mockingly.

Darcy smiled at his cousin; he already discovered that at Hunsford.

Richard patted his shoulder. "Patience, Will."

Just then George appeared and opened the gate for them. "Lucky day, Willy," he said merrily. "He's in the mood for visitors today."

The cousins parked the car and followed George inside the building. They crossed the warehouse and climbed the narrow metal stairs at the other end. At the top of it, there was a small waiting area with three men in it. Two of them -resembling Libyan terrorists, sporting small machine guns hanging over their chests- were guarding the door on the opposite wall. The third one was a red-haired little man that looked more like a leprechaun than a man. George went to the door and opened it for Darcy and Richard to enter.

What was waiting for them behind that door was something they never expected to see. The room was long, narrow, and with very poor lightning. There were a few chairs and crates spread around and on the other end, a large wooden desk. Behind that desk sat the fattest man they had ever seen in their lives.

Darcy exchanged looks with Richard before following George closer to the desk. Oddly, and he presumed that moved by some instinct of self preservation, Darcy's thoughts weren't directed to dangerousness of their current situation but to decipher how the fat man managed to exit the room. Certainly it could not be through the door they just entered, he was too large to cross it and most certainly not through that narrow staircase. After quickly scanning the room, he realized that the man's existence was confined to these four walls, that there would be some kind of bathroom or bedroom behind the walls as he doubted that the man would be able to move his enormous corporal mass very far away.

When they reached the desk, George told them to sit in the chairs in front of it, just under the light of the single bulb that was hanging from the ceiling.

Darcy blinked to adjust his eyes to the new source of light and looked at the man in front of him. He was huge. From his calculation, this man weighted over 600 pounds and couldn't be older than 45 years old. Behind him stood a large black man, arms crossed over his chest, with a pistol tucked in his belt, presumably his bodyguard.

"This is Little John, gentlemen." George introduced the fat man to Darcy and Richard as he leaned on one of the crates. The leprechaun did the same on the opposite side while the Libyan terrorists stood behind them.

"George said you wanted to do business with me." Little John addressed Darcy in a voice that was both husky and whistling.

"That is right," he answered.

"I don't usually deal with debtors or their 'agents', but I must confess that I found this petition was very intriguing. Go ahead."

Darcy realized that he would have to tell him what he wanted. "I want to pay Thomas Bennet's debt and acquire his horse."

"Oh, yes, the horse that George obtained. I sent him to collect my money and he brings me that beast." Little John shot a sideways glance at George, who immediately averted his eyes. "But tell me, why a man like you would want to pay another man's debts?"

"I have my own reasons," Darcy answered evenly.

"Are you an altruist, sir?" Little John studied him through narrowed eyes.

"Perhaps."

"You know, mister, I may be surrounded by the dirtiest scum that mankind has produced but I do appreciate good qualities in people when I have them in front of me. You seem to be an honest man, sir, and I respect honesty. I am very intrigued about the reasons that would move a man like you to risk his 'integrity' by entering this place only to pay someone else's debts."

Darcy nodded but remained silent. He held the fat man's eyes and Little John understood.

"Boys," Little John addressed the others, "the gentlemen and I want to have a private chat." At that command, everyone, with the exception of the black bodyguard left the room. "Now, sir, as I said, I am intrigued."

"The Bennets are good friends of mine and I would like to liberate them from this situation. I want them free to rebuild their lives," Darcy responded.

"That is very generous of you and loyal too. I can't even find that in my own people." The fat man continued.

Darcy bowed his head slightly in acknowledgment.

"Men are prisoners of their own weaknesses, mister, and my business is to provide them with what they want. You may think that I am taking advantage of them but you and I know that if I don't do it, they will look for them elsewhere. I've seen people ruining their lives, loosing everything because of their vices, but not even that had stopped them. I like to think that I was placed into this world to fulfil their needs, to satisfy their weaknesses, with an interest rate, of course. It's some kind of ... investment." Little John paused as his voice faltered. "I told George not to finance this Bennet man so much, that it would bring me trouble, but the little fairy did it all the same and here are the conseq ..." He drank some water from the glass on the desk.

Darcy observed him silently. This man was speaking of other people's weaknesses when he was condemned to his own self-provided prison of fat and inactivity. This condition would surely kill him in a near future and he suspected that Little John was very aware of this situation.

"As I was saying," he continued as he recovered his breath, "I just obtained a horse."

"And as I said, I want the horse and to cancel the debt." Darcy said.

Little John sighed and looked around his desk, his decision made. Just an inch out of his reach, there was small yellow paper. "Dozzer, give me that." The black man moved closer to the desk and gave him the paper. Little John extended his arm towards Darcy for him to take it. "Bennet's debt."

Darcy eyed it and put it away, his expression unmoved by the amount.

"How do we know that that sum has not been increased?" Richard's voice was heard for the first time.

Little John smiled. "You will have to trust me. I may be a criminal, an opportunist to you, but in this world we have our own rules, our codes. Let me tell you something," he continued biblically, "a man owes, a man pays, no more, no less. I don't steal from my clients, because if I do it, they will never deal with me again."

Richard nodded and smiled. It was hard to believe that he was having a philosophical debate with one of the leaders of London's Mafia.

Darcy was desirous to conclude this meeting, but there was still an unfinished matter. "There is something else." Little John raised his eyebrows in inquiry. "I wouldn't wish Mr. Bennet's 'weakness' facilitated or encouraged again."

"Are you asking me to lose a 'client', sir?"

"If you put it that way ... yes."

"I am not very agreeable with that." Little John frowned.

"Everyone has his price." Darcy smiled, but his eyes were deadly serious.

Little John considered the matter for a second. He valued honesty and loyalty and Darcy had them both. "You touched my heart, sir. Add 20.000 to that sum and it's done. Your friend will not be able to 'play' with us again thoughI do not respond for the other dealers."

"That's apart from what I already gave to George?" Darcy asked his last question.

The fat man's expression darkened, he had not been informed of that. "George." He said slowly. "What am I going to do with him? I keep telling him how this works but he refuses to listen. We'll have to 'refresh' his memory." Little John waved them away, the interview finished. "Titus will call you tomorrow morning, sir," he addressed Darcy, "you'll give the money to him."

"And he'll give us the horse." said Richard.

"Oh, yes, the horse," Little John suddenly looked exhausted. "He will take you to it. Good evening, gentlemen. It was a pleasure to do business with you. I hope we can repeat it some other time."

"I sincerely hope not." Darcy bowed his head slightly.

Little John nodded back and then watched them leave. "Dozzer, bring George here. We'll have to explain to him a couple of things."

Ten days had passed since Elizabeth left Pemberley. Ten days of insecurity, of negotiations with the bank, of Fanny's 'we're ruined!' cries, of no news about Liddy. All that Elizabeth knew for sure was that her uncle was dealing with Wickham, but nothing else. Joe and her father were having long chats on the phone every day, but they were being so secretive about this subject that there was no way of finding out what was going on. The only thing that was certain was that the 'deal' wasn't closed yet.

"Lizzy! Lizzy!" Kitty called her from the house.

"Yes?" Elizabeth put the shovel down.

"Uncle Joe called." The pregnant girl trotted towards her. "He's talking to Dad now; I think he has Liddy!"

"What!"

"Yes, come!"

Elizabeth hurried towards the house. When she entered the living room, her father was just emerging from the study and asked her to follow him inside.

"Well?" she asked him.

"It's done, sweetheart; Liddy is at your uncle's."

"Oh Dad! I can't believe it! How did it happen? Uncle Joe said that nothing was clear not three days ago and now she's with him!"

"Apparently, he paid Wickham. That was enough to set all matters." Thomas smiled sadly.

Elizabeth noticed his unhappiness. "Dad, what's wrong?"

Thomas collapsed in his armchair as all the tension of the last weeks took the best of him. "Everything is wrong, Lizzy. This should have never happened, and I wasn't able to resolve it. I will be indebted to your uncle for the rest of my life."

"We'll pay him back," she knelt in front of him, "we already agreed on that and I'm saving every penny I have to do it."

"I know, darling." He touched her cheek. "But you will not. This is my debt and I am going to pay for it."

"All right." She smiled at her father. "I'm going to Aylesbury tomorrow morning and bring her back home. This has been inconvenience enough for Uncle Joe and I know he doesn't have much room for her there."

"That is already fixed too, Lizzy. He'll send her in a trailer tomorrow."

Elizabeth's smile broadened. "I never thought I would have her back before Christmas! Now we only need to close the matter with the bank and everything will be all right. Jane is very hopeful. I'm sure that her next interview will be a success."

"Hopefully, it will." Thomas sighed. He couldn't be prouder of his daughter's strength. "Everything will be fine now."

That morning Elizabeth couldn't remain in bed for long. Though it was cold and a heavy snow had fallen the previous night, she was up and about early to help Phil with the horses, but most of all, to wait for Liddy's arrival. Joe has called them informing of the mare was already on her way back home and Elizabeth could barely contain her anxiety of seeing her again. When the trailer crossed through Longbourn's gate, she ran towards it.

"Good morning, miss," The driver said with a strong Irish accent. "Is this Longbourn farm?"

"Yes, it is." She smiled, a little out of breath.

"Then I believe this horse is for you. Where shall I park?"

"Over there will be fine." Elizabeth pointed.

Phil ran to the harness room to pick up a halter and a rope and joined them by the trailer. The partner of the driver lowered the ramp and Liddy was unloaded without problems. Though she was covered with a winter blanket, Elizabeth could tell that she was fine, except for the little nervousness in her eyes that she attributed to the trip.

"Should I take her to her stall?" Phil asked her.

"No, Phil, why don't you release her in the circular pen so she can stretch her legs?" She also wanted to see her in movement.

"OK." Phil took the mare towards it.

Elizabeth turned to the man that was lifting the ramp and securing the latches. "How much do I owe you?"

The man turned to the driver. "Hey, Rufus! The lady is asking how much she owes us."

The Irish driver popped his head out of the window and shouted back. "Nothing! Mr. Darcy already paid me!"

Elizabeth's jaw fell.

"Lucky day, miss, no bill for you." He climbed into the truck and they parted, leaving an astonished Elizabeth standing, mouth open, in the middle of the snow.

Elizabeth's stupor from the information she received continued until long after tea. In fact, it lasted past dinner. She made a considerable effort to appear normal during the meal while her family chatted enthusiastically about Liddy's return but her state of shock was such that she barely touched her food. All that she wanted was to ring her aunt right away, but she couldn't find the opportunity without attracting the others' attention.

On the following morning she woke up early, with the sole intention of calling Maddy and learning what Darcy had to do with all this, but of course, that wasn't so easy either. She waited for the appropriate time to ring, only to reach the answer machine. She left a message and sat by the phone half of the morning, waiting for her aunt to call back.

Her anxiety soon turned into agony. She dialled; Maddy answered the phone but told her to call back in an hour because she was busy with the children. By the time she finally reached her aunt, Elizabeth was in a state of barely contained hysteria.

They made polite talk at first, but within the fist two minutes of conversation, Elizabeth lost her nerve and asked a direct,

"What does William Darcy have to do with Liddy's recovery?"

Silence.

"Aunt Maddy, are you still there?"

"I am, sweetheart." Maddy exhaled.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ask it that way, but ..."

"No, Lizzy, it's fine. It's just that you were not supposed to know about it."

"Why?"

"It's too complicated. I can't tell you on the phone."

"I'll be on the next train to Aylesbury in 5 minutes." Elizabeth answered quickly.

Maddy burst out in laughter. "Why don't you come tomorrow? We can have lunch together."

"I'll see you tomorrow."

Friday morning, an anxious Elizabeth found herself sitting on the train, trying to imagine the connection between William Darcy and Liddy's return. Dozens of hypotheses came to her mind, some of them utterly ridiculous, and none of them satisfied her completely.

Elizabeth reached her uncle's house and was welcomed by the children who ran towards her as soon as they saw her at the gate.

"Lizzy!" Karen grabbed her hand. "Come and see our new horse!"

"Hi, Karen, Pete." Elizabeth kissed the children and allowed Karen to drag her towards the stables. "You have a new horse?"

"He's so beautiful. Daddy says I can ride him!" Said Karen enthusiastically.

"You, riding a big horse? That's amazing! What is he called?"

"Solstice!" the two children cried at unison.

Elizabeth looked up and saw the gelding she had ridden that day at Pemberley. Solstice was at her uncle's. That meant that Darcy had been in touch with her uncle more than she had imagined. And of one thing she was sure: that her uncle wasn't able to afford the payment of her father's debt and Solstice's cost at the same time.

She needed to have a very long chat with her aunt.

"He jumps, too." Peter continued, "Dad says we will have to wait until he gets used to us to ride him, but the man that brought him said that we must not be afraid."

"What man?"

"William, he said he is very tame." Peter gave Solstice some carrots. "Do you like him?"

"I do." Elizabeth smiled at the children. "Let's go into the house, it's cold."

"I was surprised to find Solstice here." Elizabeth commented in her most casual voice while pouring herself and her aunt a cup of tea.

"The children told you? Those kids, a new horse arrives and they tell the entire neighbourhood. He arrived yesterday afternoon." Maddy replied while putting the dishes away. It was not until after lunch that the ladies find the opportunity to converse without interruptions.

Elizabeth felt a pang of disappointment for not being informed about that. "As you didn't mention him again, I thought you weren't interested in acquiring him any more."

They both walked towards the table in the kitchen and sat in opposite chairs. "It all happened so quickly. We didn't think it appropriate to talk to you about that while you were all so worried about Liddy and your father's problem."

"I understand." Elizabeth shrugged. "I must suppose you saw William Darcy then?"

Maddy couldn't help but smile. "Quite a lot. He dined with us a few of times during the past week."

"He came all the way from Derbyshire to negotiate Solstice?"

"No. He was staying in London, I believe."

Elizabeth inhaled and went directly to the point. "Well, tell me. I need to know what he has to do with Liddy's recovery."

"Let's start from the beginning." Her aunt said after sipping her tea. "Two of days after we left Pemberley, William called your uncle. He told him that he had been making some inquiries and that he had information about Wickham." Maddy paused and frowned. "Who would think that George was a criminal?"

"No detours, Maddy."

The elder woman smiled. "Your uncle was very reluctant to talk about the subject, especially on the phone, so he asked William to come here. We didn't know why was he so interested in that or how he obtained the information he was referring to so your uncle preferred to act cautiously."

"And?"

"William told us that he knew that your father and George were involved in something obscure long before this happened and that he was feeling responsible for not telling anyone."

"He knew? But how?"

"He saw them together at the Olympia in a somewhat suspicious attitude. He knew that nothing good could come from that meeting."

Elizabeth recalled that day with a frown. Her family made their best effort to make a spectacle of themselves in front of Darcy. "I didn't know that George was there."

"It seems he was. And William feels guilty for not telling you."

"Guilty?" Elizabeth protested. "But it's not his responsibility! How could he know about dad's gambling problem?"

"I know, I know; but he blames himself for not exposing him then or at least telling you or Jane about George's true character sooner. He said that if it weren't for his reserve this could have been prevented."

Elizabeth looked down at her cup pensively. At the time she was so mad at him that she wouldn't have believed him either had he told her so.

"He told us he was tracking George and three days ago he called to say that he had found him, and that he was meeting him that same night."

"He went after Wickham himself?" She asked, incredulous. Darcy had all the reasons in the world to avoid Wickham and nonetheless he went after him?

"There was nothing to do that he didn't do himself, Lizzy. He found George, paid your father's debt and brought Liddy home, personally."

"But Dad said that Uncle Joe ..."

"Your father doesn't know the truth. Joe only talked to George once, and that was before William came. From then on, William handled the situation himself."

Elizabeth was still trying to process everything she had learnt. She sipped her tea, not knowing what to say.

"Lizzy," Maddy placed her hand over her niece's, "there is one more thing."

"What?" She raised her eyes.

"From what I know, William didn't close the deal with George." Maddy saw Elizabeth's confused expression. "George was working for someone else, and William went to see him to be sure that your father would be completely out of this problem."

Elizabeth's eyes were as big and round as two saucers. "How do you know that?"

"William called your uncle right after his meeting with George. He said that he was on the way to see George's boss and that he would call once he was finished to tell us the outcome of the meeting. Joe stayed up until three in the morning, waiting for William's call. When the deal was closed, William phoned to inform us that he was going for Liddy on the following morning."

"Wow." Elizabeth was all astonishment.

"He didn't give us many details about it, but I assume he put himself in a very dangerous position."

"But why didn't you tell me about all this?"

"William asked us not say a word about his interference. He said that this was his fault, that this was his responsibility and he closed the subject before it could be argued."

"Pretty headstrong."

Maddy chuckled. "If we must accuse William of something, is of being obstinate. That is his real defect, if it can be called that way."

Elizabeth smiled inwardly. She was utterly proud of his obstinacy.

"When we finally had Liddy with us, Joe then called your father to tell him that the matter was finished."

"Dad thinks Joe paid his debt. He says he will repay him every penny."

"Lizzy," Maddy covered her niece's hand with hers, "you and I know that that is not going to happen. Your father is ill, he needs help. If you uncle took the responsibility of the negotiation and payment of the debt it was because he knew that Thomas could not rusted. The last thing we wanted was to see any of you harmed by these people."

"And Solstice?" Elizabeth inhaled sharply as she fought back her tears.

Maddy smiled, thankful for the change of subject. "Well, your uncle was very interested in acquiring him, so in one of those dinners we shared with William, Joe brought up the subject and they came to an understanding."

"I good understanding, I assume for your expression." Elizabeth smiled sadly.

"To be honest, I believe William was too generous with us. Solstice's cost was a little out of our reach, so he offered us one half of him with the promise of jumping him in regional shows with our students. He said that it's very good publicity for the stables to have many horses competing on the amateur circuit."

She sighed. "I'm such an idiot. I can't believe I thought him capable of doing those horrible things George said."

Maddy suspected that there was some kind of shared history between William Darcy and her niece, but if Elizabeth was not ready to talk about it yet, she was not going to ask. "William is such a nice man, Lizzy, though too serious for someone so young. I like him. He needs to be little livelier, but I'm sure that the appropriate woman would help him to change."

'Yes, the tall and attractive blonde he is dating is probably softening him right now.' Elizabeth thought as she played with the spoon. "Yes, I suppose."

"The sly thing didn't mention your name even once." Maddy continued teasingly. "He thinks he can fool me, but he can't." She looked at Elizabeth's astonished expression. "And I just played along with him. I only hope that that would not prevent us of visiting you at Pemberley once you are married." She finished with a suggestive brow.

"Maddy! You are impossible!" Elizabeth laughed.

Elizabeth began the trip back to Longbourn with her emotions all mixed up. She was confused, she was humbled, she was ... she was at a loss of what to think. William Darcy, the man she had once rejected, who had every reason to despise her, for no apparent reason, had saved her family from the claws of unscrupulous criminals. Did this man have any idea of how much she owed him? Did he have any idea of how grateful she was for what he did? No, he didn't; and probably he never would.

But why did he do this? Why would he risk himself to recover a horse? They were only common acquaintances, they weren't even friends! So, why? Her heart was telling her that he did it for her. For her? That sounded so vain, so presumptuous. Of course he didn't do this for her, she had refused him!

She rested her head on the cold glass. It was so painful to know that she was indebted to a man that would never receive anything for his generosity, not even an expression of gratitude. The chances that they would meet again were so scarce and she knew she couldn't call him on the phone to thank him, it would be so ... impersonal.

With a long, tremulous sigh, Elizabeth acknowledged the fact that William Darcy was lost forever. A man like him would want nothing to do with the daughter of a gambler.

That Christmas, Elizabeth was able to see her family from a different perspective. Every time she looked at them, the feeling that she didn't belong there, which had been growing inside of her since she returned from Rosings, became even stronger. She almost felt like an outsider, like a spectator, watching a movie from a distance.

Her father had forgotten about his debt the second after it was paid. Though he was attending his therapy and they were all very enthusiastic about the disposition with which he had begun it, Elizabeth knew it was too soon to see positive results and she distrusted his ability to administrate the house. Fanny, now that the matter was over, returned to her selfish self, blaming everyone but herself for everything that happened and not assuming any responsibility in the household. Mary ... well, it was better not to mention her. She was so absorbed in writing the world's best (erotic) science fiction novel that she was even thinking of quitting her job to dedicate the story the time it deserved. Kitty was still the same lazy Kitty, her usual state of inertia only increased by the weight of her five months of pregnancy.

Only Jane had common sense in that house. Neither she nor Elizabeth were the same persons that they had been a couple of months ago. What they learned from this experience was that they were the designers of their own future, that if they remained at Longbourn much longer, they would become responsible for people who were totally careless about their own lives. No matter how much they loved their family, Elizabeth and Jane knew that their progress in life was in their own hands.

"Well?" Elizabeth anxiously asked her sister.

"I can't believe it! They accepted!" Jane collapsed on the couch with a loud sigh. She had just arrived from a meeting with the bank.

"We are not losing the farm?"

Jane took off her boots. Her feet were aching. "This man, Robert, the regional manager, told me that there is a new policy, something about regional economies. I didn't understand a word of what he said but he told me that the bank has a new program to support country developments."

"So?"

"They refinanced, with very good terms." Jane grinned as she massaged her toes. "We'll have to pay something in advance but nothing we can't afford. The rest of the debt will be paid in monthly payments."

"Will that stop the seizure?"

"Yes." Jane smiled brightly. "So sister, now your only concern is how you are going to pay for your Uni."

Elizabeth leaned back on the couch. "Wow."

"Just one more thing." Jane stood up to go to the study, "I must send them the money on Monday but I can't because I must accompany Dr. Lucas to the racing course. Will you go in my place?"

"Sure."

"Great. Come," Jane gestured her to follow her. Once in her study, she explained to Elizabeth all that she had to do.

That morning Elizabeth was at the Bank of Development and Investments for the South East waiting to see Mr. Robert Weston. She gave him the check and listened carefully while he explained to her how to fill out the forms they needed for the refinancing.

"Well, Miss Bennet, Elizabeth," he winked at her, "just bring me these forms tomorrow and everything is done."

"All right, Mr. Weston, I'll ..."

"Robert," he offered.

"Robert," she repeated as she stood and shook his hand, "I'll bring these back tomorrow. Good day."

"Good day."

Elizabeth exited the small office and said a quick 'bye' to the secretary who was now answering a call. She was not two yards away when she heard her say.

"Mr. Weston, Mr. Edward Fitzwilliam is calling."

As she had done on previous nights, Elizabeth remained a long time in bed staring at the ceiling, trying to decipher what was going on. First of all, Fitzwilliam wasn't a common name (not that she knew, anyway). Second, Richard had a brother named Edward. Third, the Fitzwilliams were very rich but they were from the North, so if they owned a bank it would be called the Bank of Development and Investments for the North East or North West or just the North but not the South East. Perhaps this was a subsidiary.

Had Darcy something to do with the refinancing of their debt? Probably. No, it was impossible. How would he know about it? Easy: her aunt. But Maddy said that he never mentioned her name during their conversations, so there was no way he learn about that. Also, her uncle was a very private man and he wouldn't talk about that either. If she wasn't wrong, Jane talked very little about that matter with her uncle when they returned from Derbyshire. She didn't mention the seizure at the time but that didn't mean that her father didn't tell her uncle about it later, on the phone. Well, perhaps her father did tell her uncle about it and then her uncle told Darcy and Darcy told Richard or Edward and they fixed it up. Or not, perhaps it was just a coincidence. She frowned. She preferred the first alternative, Darcy doing this for her, obviously. Yes, Darcy finding out and making the inquiries was definitely more romantic.

But why didn't he mention her during his conversations with Maddy? Was he avoiding her? Why did he do all this if he was not coming back? Why would a man go after a criminal, negotiate with the mob, pay her father's debt, recover a horse and fix their situation with the bank if he was not going to ever come back to her? Why, why, WHY?

Too many questions, and one answer. He wasn't crazy about her any more. But if he wasn't, why did he ...? Her rambling began all over again. Tired of her own obsessive stupidity she grabbed the pillow and covered her face with it. Her voice sounded muffled when she spoke.

"I will forget about him. I will never, EVER think about him again. If he comes back, good, if he doesn't, I can handle it. Goodbye Mr. Darcy, you'll be out of my mind forever. Go with your tall and attractive blonde and be happy, I don't care about you."

She closed her eyes under the pillow and groaned.

"Bitch."

Charles Bingley cursed under his breath. First, the phone rang when he had just stepped into the shower. Of course, he didn't make it on time to pick it up. And now, just when he had his entire body covered with body shampoo, some idiot was knocking at his door. Banging his door. He rinsed himself and left the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his hips.

"What is your problem?" barked Charles on opening the door.

"Hi, Charles." Darcy eyed him from head to toe. Charles was soaking wet and a trail of water marked the path he walked from the bathroom to the door.

"Will! You said you would come at seven!" cried Charles in disbelief. He couldn't be late, again.

Darcy showed him his watch. It was 7.15.

"Aha! So you are late." Charles laughed triumphantly. Fifteen minutes late was quite a record for his friend.

"I came later just to see how unready you would be with a fifteen minutes delay." He entered the apartment with a lazy pace. "And I called you to tell you I was on my way."

Charles frowned. So it was him. "I was in the shower. You hung up before I could get it."

"Are you intending to dine in your Tarzan costume?" Darcy eyed him up and down.

His friend secured the towel with his hand. "How did you get in? I didn't open the front door."

"I helped a lady with her keys and she allowed me in." Darcy sat on the couch and looked around the untidy apartment.

"A lady, huh?" Charles went to his bedroom to get dressed so they continued the conversation from the distance. "Nice?"

"Hmmm." Darcy shrugged. Charles would never change. He could swear that half of what he unpacked was spread around the living room "How was the trip to Victoria?"

"Remind me never to travel with Caroline again. Besides that, it was great, the weather was fabulous and I found some free time to go to the beach." Charles's voice was a little muffled as he pulled a sweater over his head. "Do you really want to dine out? I'm a little tired, why don't we just order pizza?"

"Ok, as you wish."

Darcy leaned back on the couch and counted the clothes that were spread around. He stopped counting when he reached fifteen. Then, a pile of woman's clothing called his attention. If Charles was involved with someone, all his plans to return to Hertfordshire were history.

"What's this?" he knitted his brows.

"What?" Charles asked from his bedroom.

"This." He hooked the strap of a black laced bra with his forefinger and raised it to observe it closer.

"What?" he popped his head out. "Oh, that."

"Are you seeing someone?"

"No." Charles went to the bathroom.

Now he wrinkled his forehead. "It's not yours, I suppose."

Charles' laugh echoed in the tiled walls of the bathroom. "Mine? No, it's Caroline's. She bought so many things that they didn't fit in her case so she put some in mine."

Making a face, Darcy dropped the bra on top of the pile. Charles had joined him and was ordering the pizzas. "How is that matter of the will going? Any progress?"

Charles sat in his armchair with a loud sigh. Being the lawyer of the family, he was named the executor of his father's testament after he died three months ago and he'd been battling with his sisters for the inheritance since then. "Thank God it's over. Caroline said she wasn't interested in the properties in Australia until she saw them. Then she claimed she would love to have a house by the beach. Of course Louisa liked the idea too and we argued for three days until we finally reached to an agreement that was good for everyone."

"Did you keep the estate in Leominster?"

"Yes. Lou preferred the house in Hampstead. That and some stocks and we were done."

"Good." Darcy bent over and rested his elbows on his knees. He stared pensively at his hands for a while. He cleared his throat and spoke in a voice that combined pride and shyness. "We obtained the contract for that tower in St. Albans that I mentioned to you."

"You did? Great! I hope that you are doing the engineering this time instead of only the financing."

"Perhaps, it will depend on how close we'll follow the equestrian calendar this season. I want to be more involved in the operational aspects of the company." Darcy smiled at his friend. He had never used his knowledge as a structural engineer in buildings of that dimension, though he had worked on smaller projects of the family's construction company. It was time to work in what he really liked and combine this with his professional show jumping career. "I have to go down there for a couple of days to review the terms of the contract, do you want to come?"

"To Hertfordshire?"

"Yes, I thought that while we are there we can go to Longbourn. We left so abruptly and ..."

"Longbourn?" Charles whispered.

"Yes, Longbourn, Jane Bennet ... pretty blonde ... a vet, your angel, don't you remember?" Darcy answered mockingly.

Charles was in a state of bewilderment. "Of course I remember; how could I forget about her?"

"So?" he waited expectantly.

"It's been a long time, and I never called her and ..."

"Call her."

"She might be dating someone else; after all, I left without a word and ..."

"What if she's not?" Darcy held his eyes and then looked down.

Charles considered the matter for a moment. "I don't know. She probably hates me."

"I don't think so. I bet she's still expecting your call."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"You'll never know if you don't try."

Charles sighed, not convinced of his friend's words.

"Come on, Charles, we can pay them a visit while we are there and if you think she's not interested in you anymore, then we'll leave and end of the subject."

"Yes, maybe you are right. I'll never know if I don't talk to her." A slow smile brightened Charles' features. "I would love to see her again."

Darcy grinned, it was done.

The doorbell rang Charles rose to answer it. "When are we leaving?"

"In a couple of days." Darcy's only wish was that Jane wouldn't be resentful towards them and didn't shut the door in their faces.

Charles brought the pizza with a new spring in his step. His tiredness forgotten, his spirits restored, all he did during dinner was to talk about what was he going to do when he saw his adored Jane.

The new year began cold and snowy, too cold and snowy to stay outside. Together with Phil, Elizabeth tried to finish her work in the stables as early as possible and usually by noon they were free to come back into the house.

One thing that Elizabeth loved to do in those moments of peace when everyone was out, was to stand in front of the fireplace, warming her backside while she watched her sister Kitty knitting for her baby. Her plans to forget about William Darcy had failed miserably, so she usually tried to distract her thoughts with some other matters. And one of them was accompanying Kitty while she knitted on the sofa. Sometimes, Phil joined them and that was when she was able to view the young couple in full action. They were like children. They were children. They quarrelled over the remote and other insignificant things and two seconds later they were acting like turtledoves. Would she ever find someone to love?

Today Phil was gone to Meryton and Kitty was finally finishing the little sweater with which she had been struggling with for the last two days. She showed it to her sister.

"It's not very neat but at least this time I managed to reach the neck without undoing it twice."

Elizabeth walked towards the sofa and sat next to Kitty. "Yeah, much better than the previous one. I like the colour, though lilac won't be very appropriate if it's a boy."

"Do you think so?" Kitty raised her eyebrow. "I guess you are right but it was the only wool I had."

"Well, you can knit me a sweater in that colour." Then she added as an afterthought as she studied the stitches. "That is, when you have more practice."

Kitty bit her lip and pushed her away. "You bet. Your next sweater will be lilac. And very nice too."

Elizabeth laughed and went to pick up the book she was reading. She sat crossed legged on the couch to read. Kitty was knitting quietly beside her while the TV filled the atmosphere with the sounds of an evening show.

"Lizzy, isn't that the guy you used to work with? The tall one, the one you hate, what was his name?" Kitty said when she saw a familiar face on the screen.

Elizabeth raised her eyes and her jaw fell. It was William Darcy. She blinked. He was still there.

His concentrated face filled the screen. Then the front of a luxurious truck appeared. The camera focused on Tuareg's front legs, stamping the ground impatiently, as he always did when he was about to compete. She heard the roar of the engine, the camera pulled back and showed them in the start line of what seemed to be a cross-country race. A shot was fired and horse and truck bolted forward, running side by side until they parted in different directions.

The dynamics of the commercial was incredible. Scenes of the horse jumping natural obstacles alternated with images of the truck crossing all kind of roads. They splashed ponds, climbed hills, flew over fences, ran across mud, crossed open fields, showing the driver's and rider's dexterity until they both reached the finish line at the same time.

Her mouth was still open when she read:

Elizabeth closed her mouth and swallowed. God, she needed to record this on tape.

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