Lost Company
by Carissa

Chapter One

Fitzwilliam Darcy walked the hall from the lift to his
office. 'It is my office, for another day, it is my
office,' he thought to himself.

Fitdar Ltd was his family company; Fitz Darcy had been
trained his whole life to take over control, and now
he was forced to relinquish it. It was not that Fitz
was a bad manager or businessman; it was the actions
of his aunt that led to his change in circumstance.

Fitdar was one third owned by Fitz's aunt, one third
by his mother, and the last third had been owned by
the lawyer who had worked faithfully for the family
and contributed vast knowledge to the creation of the
company. Mrs Darcy and her sister, Mrs De Bourgh, were
the only children of Mr James Fitzwilliam. James had
inherited the business from his father, who had
inherited it from his father before him. The company
was well over a hundred years old. The final third of
the company had been passed through the lawyers
family. 

Fitdar had changed lawyers when the company moved its
head offices to London, but the third portion of
ownership had remained at the original lawyers
disposal, who remained as silent partners. None of the
Fitzwilliam family had kept track of them, the
company's accountants and lawyers had maintained all
the links that were required and, as far as Fitz knew,
the last third may have been divided among family
members of the original lawyer; it was not relevant to
him, as, between his sister, himself and his aunt,
they controlled over half the stock. Fitz never saw
any changes coming.

He never thought that the owner of the 'silent' third
would come forward and be less silent, and with the
enough power to remove him from his twentieth floor
office. But the job change was the least of his
worries. The news of his job change came after he
returned from the holiday from hell.


Flashback - 2 months ago

Fitzwilliam Darcy sat in his seat on a plane to
Bermuda. He had finished a find dinner of roast beef
and vegetables and settled into a comfortable
position, finally relaxing. It had been a difficult
two years for him, both personally and professionally.
His father had died eighteen months ago while flying a
helicopter. Though he had died doing something he
loved (unlike Mrs Darcy who was crossing a road to
collect her daughter from school when she was killed
in a hit and run incident) it didn't make the pain any
less for Fitz or Georgie, his younger sister. On top
of his personal grief, Fitdar Ltd had undergone a 
great expansion, causing no little stress and much
work for the CEO. Now, two years since his last
holiday, Fitz was on his way to relaxation.

"Please return to your seats to their locked and
upright positions. Fasten your seatbelts, as we
prepare to land. The weather...." The captain spoke
and Fitz tuned out. He buckled his seat belt and
drifted into thoughts about his sister and his
parents.

"...and enjoy your stay." Realising the seatbelt light
was now off and the commotion had started in the
aisle, Fitz collected his belongings and made his way
out of the plane and the airport.

The first week at the resort was pure heaven for Fitz.
After contacting the office each morning, he did laps
in the pool before breakfast. During the morning he
would take a walk or sit by the pool and read and by
lunch he was ready to eat and watch people.

Some guests at the resort were  his class; rich and
successful and not bad on the eye, others were the
hangers on and those who attempted to raise their
station by appearing to be rich and successful and
hopefully find a rich husband (or wife, but the men
didn't seem to bother Fitz much). It was people like
this that Fitz did not like and he showed his distaste
in his behaviour to them. He was always polite, as his
mother had taught him, but Fitz knew he was better
than these people, he didn't need to try to look
successful, he was. Of course he was better than most,
his mother's family could be traced back many
generations, to the titled gentry of Britain, and were
some of the best people of their times. The company he
now ran was started by those same ancestors and was
the longest running family business of its size.

It was on the eighth day of his holiday that he first
noticed a lady who would distract him for the rest of
his stay.

She was not pretty in the sense Fitz usually thought
of it (in fact he didn't see her the first few times
she crossed his path) but her long dark hair and
petite figure and the expression in her eyes when she
smiled captured his attention.


Present time

Mrs Debourg was a widow with one daughter. Mr Debourg
had managed all of their business affairs and as far
as Catherine knew, they had looked after themselves.
Unfortunately for Catherine and her daughter, this was
not how things worked. Ignoring the advice of her
nephew, that she should hire someone to manage her
business interests, she decided that she could do it
herself. 

In less than a year, Catherine managed herself into
bankruptcy and the only way out was to sell her share
in Fitdar. Even in this transaction, Catherine was
totally taken in. George Wickham, posing as a
stockbroker, offered Catherine an unbelievably bad
deal, controlling shares in a company of questionable
solvency for all her shares in Fitdar. She accepted;
Catherine was nothing if not a control freak.


Chapter 2

<i> For a few days Fitz was happy to just watch the
woman with the dark hair. He forced himself to go out
more often, rather than sitting in his own room
reading, for he was not likely to see her in his room.
After three days of watching, Fitz learned the lady's
name was Liz and that her friend managed the resort.
This knowledge caused Fitz to reconsider his actions.
Liz may have been a guest at the resort, but was
likely one of those (like his friend's sister) trying
to find a rich husband so she could gain position and
money with no work. As these thoughts ran through
Fitz's head, he pulled himself out of the pool in time
to witness a rather animated discussion at the end of
the pool. He looked up and saw the subject of his
thoughts clearly arguing with a man who Fitz had seen
a few times. William Collins had been proclaiming to
any person who would listen that he was to inherit a
moderate (but not small) sum when his uncle died.

"But, Liz, I know you do not mean what you are saying.
I will have my uncle's company..." Fitz was deciding
if he should step in when the lady interrupted
William.

"Will, do not doubt my word. I do not want to go to
the dance with you. Now stop asking me."

"Surely you cannot mean that, your family..." Fitz was
quite ashamed of himself for enjoying the spectacle of
this odious man being set in his place by Liz.

"Will, I do not like you; I will not go to this or any
other dance with you."

"But..." As Will tried to continue, a very frustrated
Liz turned quickly to walk away. Unfortunately for
Will, he was not so well balanced or coordinated and
created quite a large splash as he inelegantly entered
the pool while he still held his towel.

Fitz dismissed his earlier thoughts about Liz and, as
he towelled himself dry, began to plan what he would
wear to the resorts costume masquerade ball.

* * *

Fitz entered the ballroom dressed as Prince Charming.
He quickly scanned the room looking for Liz. It took
barely five minutes for Fitz to realise it would not
be easy to find her. 

Fitz spent the first hour of the ball pacing around
the perimeter of the room. He thought he had seen her
once or twice, but neither Morticia Addams nor a pink
fairy were Liz.

Finally he found her. It took him ten minutes to ask
Cinderella to dance. (Liz had wanted the pirate
costume but she had left her costume selection so
late, or perhaps her friend Charlotte, the resort
manager, had arranged that the only costume left was a
very fancy ball gown and glass shoes.) Eventually the
opportunity to ask her to dance arrived when she sat
out a dance for the first time all evening. He walked
up, studying her face. It was her eyes that convinced
him that he had found the right lady. Even behind a
jewelled mask and under a blonde wig, those eyes still
shone.

He gallantly bowed (as his character would) and held
out his hand. This costume had done wonders to
dissipate Fitz's shyness.

"Would you do me the honour of the next dance?"

"Why..." she looked at him, trying to identify who it
was. In a flash it came to her, the man who had been
watching her for days. She looked around for an escape
but saw a worse alternative slithering up toward her:
only Will Collins would dress as a toad for a ball. 

"Thank you, sir, I am honoured." She took his hand and
allowed Fitz to lead her to the dance floor. To his
mind the other dancers disappeared as he turned her
about the room. It was a dream as she danced on her
feet so lightly and so well. Fitz hoped the song would
never end. It did.

Fitz didn't want to let her go, but they had spoken so
little during the dance and he didn't know what to do.
Slipping back into his character, as that was safe and
would allow contact with her for a little while
longer, he bowed, kissed her hand and left her.

Fitz left the ball immediately, returning to his room
and planning to speak with Liz the next day about
their date. Fitz did not doubt that she would agree to
a first date, and any others beyond that he would care
to ask her to.
</i>

Mr. Wickham had debts, big debts to various companies,
so he decided to sell his shares in Fitdar, and in
order to get the best deal, he found another
shareholder in the company. He had no intention of
doing Fitz Darcy any favours, so the best of both
worlds was to sell to another shareholder.

Wickham approached, and after much negotiation, sold
his shares to a lawyer. He attempted to charm the
lawyer, win her with his smile and what ever else he
could offer her, or have her offer him, but in the end
the negotiations ended. It was finally agreed that,
with a few conditions, Wickham would sell the shares
to the lawyer, thus settling his debt with the firm
and having a little money left over. Wickham would
have liked a lot of money, and perhaps some more
personal interaction with the attractive lawyer, but
he was desperate and his debt to this lawyer was
rather large. 

All was not lost as Wickham met a younger, very
flirtatious girl on his way from the office and she
seemed more than willing to share her assets with him.


<i>
Fitz couldn't sleep after the ball. By 5am he decided
to get up. 'Surely some laps would help,' he thought
to himself.

When he got to the pool, there was only one other
person there. He was glad for the relative solitude
and dived into the pool and began to swim.

After half an hour, Fitz stopped and decided he had
had enough; swimming was not distracting his thoughts
and he kept reliving the dance with Liz in his mind. 

He pulled himself out of the water, picked up his
towel, and dried off. He turned to leave as the other
swimmer was drying off. 

She took the bulging swimming cap from her head and
shook her long hair loose. Dark hair cascaded down her
back. She wrapped the towel around herself and turned
to leave. She stepped forward and straight into Fitz.
He brushed off her apology and began his own.

"I am so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going..."

She laughed "I will forgive you, if you forgive me my
clumsiness. Have a nice day," she said rather happily.
Swimming always relaxed Liz and early morning was her
favourite part of the day, even if she had been
dancing the night away. She started to leave the pool
area.

"Wait, please." She stopped, thinking perhaps she had
left a belonging behind. "Liz, I don't usually ask
this of someone like you, heaven knows my family would
not approve of my actions or you, but would you come
to dinner with me tonight?"

"What?" 

"I asked you to dinner. I will meet you at 7."

"Is that what you call it? No, do not interrupt me. I
will not go to dinner with you, not tonight or any
other time. You have followed me around, watched
me--some would say stalked." Fitz was stunned; she was
talking to him the way she had to Collins. He went to
speak, but she held up her hand to forestall him. "You
have told me your family would not approve of someone
like me, but I can only say I do not approve of you.
You are barely civil to those around you: I have seen
you while you watched me, I have seen the way you
speak to others. You have not attempted to get to know
me before deciding what I was like. You categorised me
without knowing me."

Fitz was dumbfounded. He had never been refused by a
woman and did not deal with the new situation well. He
went straight to his room without another word to Liz.
He showered, changed and packed. He left the resort
after a breakfast in his room and was in his penthouse
by dinnertime.

* * * 

Fitz didn't call his sister to tell her he was home.
He skulked about the rooms, tidying and rearranging
and re-rearranging for three weeks. He didn't call the
office and he didn't leave his home. His housekeeper
arrived in the third week and found a man quite unlike
Fitz.

She reminded him that Georgie would be home at the end
of the week. Acknowledging the truth of that, he
exerted himself to eat and return to his usual routine
of self-maintenance. Georgie could not know his
problems, she had enough of her own, nor could the
people at work know his problems. It would do no good
for the CEO to be less than 100% after such a long
break.

By his first day at work, he had mastered his charade
and nobody would know the difference.</I>




Chapter 3

The first day at work greeted Fitz with many messages and letters on 
his desk. It took nearly a whole day but he had nearly go through 
them. There was a letter from a law firm whose name he had not heard 
before - Bennet and Partners. He did notice the return address was 
that of the town where Fitdar was born, but beyond that it meant 
nothing to him. If he was more his old self, Fitz may have made the 
connection but he didn't. Fitz was exhausted and decided the letter 
could wait until the following day.

At home, Fitz settled into his favourite chair with a book as he 
listened to his sister practice her violin. 'This is real relaxation, 
not a holiday to a strange resort with... No Fitz, do not think of 
her, you must be in good spirits for Georgie.'


Fitz cleared his office, moved to the one downstairs, as Head of 
Marketing (he was damned if he was going to leave his company for 
some new upstart; he still had a third of the shares to protect). He 
reminisced about his office, first time in there as a kid when it was his father's, the first time in there as the new CEO after the death of his parents...


His second day of work started badly and ended worse. The letter from the lawyers sat on his desk but he had a meeting to attend, so left it until later to read.

The meeting progressed well, and all areas reported they managed 
satisfactorily in his absence. Fitz returned to his office to find 
his secretary preparing coffee. He took it gratefully and opened the 
letter as he sat at his desk.

The letter was dated a week earlier.

'Mr. Darcy,

Through circumstances that I am sure you are aware of, majority 
ownership of Fitdar, Ltd. is no longer controlled by Mrs. DeBourg, 
Miss Darcy and yourself.' 

Fitz put the letter on his desk and leaned back. He was aware of no 
circumstances and, as his sister could not dispose of her shares, he 
knew Catherine was the only person who could answer his questions 
without him looking foolish to his lawyers, accountants or other 
employees. He buzzed his secretary and had her arrange to get 
Catherine to his office as soon as possible. 

Fitz picked up his letter and found it got better and better. Not 
only had he lost control (Catherine instructed and demanded but 
rarely formally participated in actual decisions) of his company, but 
he was to be removed from his job. 

'The new CEO will arrive on the 28th of the month. Ms. Bennet will 
require a briefing by all division heads the following day. She is 
happy for Mr. Darcy to take the recently vacated Head of Marketing 
position on that date. She understands that this is the position he 
held when his father ran the company.' 

He read this portion aloud to ensure he had not misread it. 

Fitz completed the letter, read it again, and then folded it and put 
it on his desk. He sat back in his chair and let out a sigh. He 
closed his eyes and let it sink in. The place he felt secure in after his personal humiliation ("but what did she say I didn't deserve?"), the job he thought he did better than any other person, his job - CEO of Fitdar - was just that, or so he thought.

The phone rang.

Fitz picked it up, knowing who it was likely to be. Catherine could 
be relied on to phone when her presence was requested.

"Catherine."

"Fitzwilliam Darcy. What are you doing? Ordering that I, your aunt 
and nearly your closest living relative, attend you in your offices. 
The offices of that company that I no longer have any interest in."

"That is what I want to speak with you about."

"What is there to tell you? Anne needed things. Mr. Wickham, that 
friend of Georgiana's, offered me Willowcorp for my shares in Fitdar. 
I took it. Now I have a company and I am in charge."

"WICKHAM?!? He is no friend of Georgie's and Willowcorp is little 
more than a rubbish tip, actually it is an unprofitable rubbish tip 
and that is all it is. As to Wickham, how could you sell to that 
scoundrel? He is the cause of ..."

beep beep beep

Fitz hung up the phone, picked up his jacket and walked to the door. 
He turned, collected the letter from his desk and instructed his 
secretary to have the marketing department's manager's office cleaned 
and furnished to suit his tastes. He did not answer her questions but 
told her that she had until the 27th to have it done. He also had her 
arrange a heads of department meeting for the 28th where he would 
expect a detailed status report.


Fitz picked up his boxes and as he left what was his office for the 
last time, Liz, the girl from the resort, walked in, wearing a 
suit. 'What could she be doing here?' Fitz asked himself. 'She made 
it abundantly clear she had no wish to see me again, but here she is, 
in a suit. Surely she does not work for me. Either way, I can show 
her that she was wrong, or at least that I have changed.'

"Good day, Liz. Please excuse my familiarity but I do not know your 
last name."

"Good day, Mr. Darcy," Liz said, she had not expected that he would 
still be here. Liz was hoping to enter an empty office to become 
familiar with her surroundings before she was confronted by this man. 
She knew it had to happen, even at the resort she knew that this day 
would come, but to have him before her, politely greeting her was not 
what Liz had expected. "And my last name is Bennet."

"Well, Miss Bennet, I must say it is quite unexpected to see you 
here." Fitz recognised the name but he was not sure from where. As 
Liz began to speak a light switched on in his head, the lawyers, her 
name is the same as that law firm that sent the letter, and now that 
he thought about it he realised that was the name of the lawyer who 
had held one third of the shares in Fitdar all those years ago.

"Did you not receive the letter? I asked it be sent to you weeks ago?"

Fitz was a little shocked as the reality of the situation cleared in 
his mind, and he didn't like what he now knew. "The letter, the 
letter did not state the name of the new CEO of Fitdar, but I can 
only assume that it is Liz Bennet?"

"Indeed. I apologise for the surprise. As I said, I had a junior 
assistant (my youngest sister is dead she thought to herself) prepare 
the letter and she did not show it to any person before sending it. 
As you have deduced, I am the new CEO of Fitdar."

Attempting to control his voice so that he only showed his 
curiosity, not his frustration at the change in circumstance, Fitz 
continued. "I recall the name Bennet as that of the lawyer who was 
involved in the creation of Fitdar, but he only had one third of this 
company, that is not enough to gain control."

"No it is not." She did not like his questioning, but Liz decided 
that a bit of patience would be a good thing; he was being remarkably 
well-behaved for one who had lost so much. "Perhaps we should step 
into the office to continue this discussion." They did. Fitz noticed 
that she referred to the office as 'the office' not 'your office' 
or 'my office'. 

"And... Wickham would not give any power to a woman, excuse me but 
that is how it is, so how do you come to be CEO?"

"Well, Mr. Darcy, my uncle was the last holder of the stock in this 
company in my family. It had been long ago decided that it would not 
be broken up among siblings to prevent the stock moving where it was 
never intended," she gave a questioning look to Darcy who chose to 
ignore her implications. "And my uncle decided that, when he passed 
away, I would inherit his share in this company."

"If you don't mind," Darcy interrupted. "That is still only one 
third, I know my aunt 'disposed' of her shares to a rather 
disreputable individual, but that does not give you control."

"Ah, Mr. Wickham had a small legal matter. My father represented him 
in his difficulty, but before the agreement was reached, the payment 
was settled (we had heard rumours of Mr. Wickham's notoriously bad 
record for paying his debts) and all he had were shares in this 
company. It took a great deal of bargaining but I was able to 
convince Mr. Wickham that, as we had shares in this company already, 
they would not go back to the original owners. Mr. Wickham was in 
quite dire legal straights and had little alternative but sell his 
shares to the firm in exchange for his representation. I must say, 
Mr. Darcy, Mr. Wickham was very specific in his desire that you not 
see any control of those shares, actually, as a part of the agreement 
for the sale of the shares, Wickham insisted that you be removed as 
CEO for a period of not less than a year."

"That scoundrel," Fitz growled.

"Indeed. Though I am pleased with my new position, it will be quite 
the challenge. I would not be here if it were not for the agreement 
Wickham forced. I do hope that we can get along for the 'not less 
than a year' and then reassess the situation."

Fitz was struck dumb. The lady he was rejected by, that he has been 
thinking about for many days, who was clearly revolted by him in the 
past was giving him a little hope. 

Fitz had to think; he had to leave and go to his new office. He moved 
toward the door, picked up his boxes and turned to Liz.

"Ms. Bennet, I must get these items to my office."

"Of course, Mr. Darcy."

"Perhaps we can meet later today?"

"I will contact your secretary. Mine is not to arrive until tomorrow."

"Thank you," he said quietly as he turned to leave. Liz heard this, 
the genuine thanks in his voice was something Liz had never expected 
to hear from this man. She slowly walked about the office and closed 
the door as she passed it. Liz also had some thinking to do.

Chapter 4

Liz was woken from her reverie by the arrival of a couple of moving 
men with her boxes and a small sofa. She thanked them as they put 
them down and left. She walked to the door and closed it again. It 
was almost closed when she flung it open and walked out. She went to 
the lift, stepped in and the doors closed. The lift stopped two 
floors down and three people stepped in, pressing the buttons to 
indicate the floor they wanted to go to.

One got out at the next floor, Liz had not yet pressed a button. She 
looked at the panel of buttons as the lift stopped. A light went out 
and another stepped out, a man in a smart green suit. The door closed 
and Liz turned to the woman left in the lift with her.

"Excuse me, could you tell me where Mr. Darcy's office is?"

"Mr. Darcy?" Liz nodded at the woman with sharp features and a 
sharper voice. "He is the CEO, if you don't have an appointment you 
might as well go on down to the lobby and leave the building." The 
lady said in a shrill voice that rang with self-importance.

Liz had had enough. The lift stopped on the 7th floor and the lady 
got out. With no better option and a good dose of curiosity, Liz 
followed her. The woman stepped past an unattended reception desk and 
into an office. Liz paused to read the name on the door - "C. 
Bingley, Manager - Production."

Liz walked into the office. The two occupants of the room stopped 
talking, they had clearly been disagreeing animatedly and loudly. The 
woman Liz had followed was standing, and the man who was sitting 
behind the desk stood.

The man was young, perhaps thirty, handsome and friendly looking. He 
was well dressed in a dark suit, with blue eyes and blond hair that 
didn't seem to want to be combed down. The lady was the polar 
opposite. She was tall, very slim, with pointed features, where his 
were round and friendly. She had dark hair but the same blue eyes, 
and for some reason in the man's face they looked happy but in hers 
they looked shrewd.

"Miss, I told you, Mr. Darcy's office is on the 20th floor..." The 
woman said rather impatiently.

"I came from there, Miss..."

"Miss Bingley," she said in a tone that implied the name should scare 
Liz.

"Oh, so you are our manager for production."

Before the lady could answer, the man spoke "She is not. I am."

Miss Bingley interrupted "I am Mr. Bingley's," she indicated him with 
a sweeping motion but continued to speak down her nose at 
Liz, "assistant and we are very busy." She turned back to the man who 
was now sitting behind his desk again. "Charles, I did not see Fi-"

"Caroline," he chastised, and looking past her he stood again and 
began to walk towards Liz.

"Now, Miss," Caroline began to speak to Liz as if she were explaining 
a difficult concept to a child. "I have told you that the CEO of 
Fitdar will not see you now and if you do have reason to see him, you 
will need to try and make an appointment. I believe his schedule is 
quite full for the next three months."

"Caroline? Did I hear your name correctly? You would be wise to 
ensure you are aware of your facts before speaking this way to any 
person in this building."

"I know my facts and the CEO..."

"Further," Liz interrupted the outburst before it got in full 
swing. "This company depends on clients and you do not know my name 
or who I represent. You would do well to be more careful."

"I think you should leave," Caroline spat as she picked up the 
phone. "I am calling security."

Liz ignored her and walked to Mr. Bingley who stood beside his chair, 
not sure of how to deal with the situation unfolding before him. Liz 
walked around the desk and stood beside Mr. Bingley. She spoke 
politely but with an air of authority, totally ignoring Caroline.

"Mr. Bingley, as it appears I may not speak with the CEO." She 
glanced at the smug looking Caroline who had placed the phone down, 
clearly preferring to argue than call security at this point. "May I 
have a moment of your time?"

"Mr. Bingley is not available to a person who follows me out of a 
lift," Caroline said rather snobbishly. Miss Bingley moved toward Liz 
in an attempt to get between this outsider and Charles. Unfortunately 
for Caroline, Mr. Bingley had different ideas.

"Caroline, return to your desk. Contact Mr. Darcy and arrange a 
meeting for this afternoon before the managers' meeting, five minutes 
will be sufficient."

Caroline did not like to be dismissed, especially in front of this 
person from the lift. She was not going to be sent away like this by 
her brother for some nobody. Liz stepped back, addressed primarily 
Mr. Bingley, "Mr. Bingley, my name is Liz Bennet." They shook hands 
and he introduced himself properly.

"How may I help you, Ms Bennet?"

Sitting herself on a chair facing his desk, Charles returned to his 
seat. "I met your assistant in the lift and asked her to direct me to 
Mr. Darcy. She abruptly informed me that I must have an appointment 
as he is on the 20th floor, is this true, Ms Bingley?" Liz turned to 
face Caroline as she said the last.

"It certainly is. And, Charles," Caroline continued in a whining 
voice "This woman told me I was not correct. Shall I call security 
now?"

"Charles," Liz ignored the glare from Caroline and the surprise from 
the man she addressed by his Christian name, "I believe you are aware 
of some organisational changes, please, neither of you interrupt, so 
Mr. Darcy is not on the 20th floor and I certainly do not need an 
appointment to see him, as a matter of fact, he was in my office this 
morning."

Caroline was stunned. She had no idea any changes were occurring, 
least of all ones that would see Mr. Darcy leave the 20th floor (and 
her Fitz would tell her if there were any changes) and began to 
speak. Charles stood again as a figure appeared at the door. 
Caroline, almost as if she had radar for this man, turned and changed 
the target of her comments. After all, what was Charles when she 
could address Fitz?

"Fitz, darling, I have not seen you all day and now this chit," 
swinging her arm towards Liz, "tells me you were in her office. I 
have never seen her before, so the only 'office' she may have would 
be a broom closet, as I think a new cleaner was to start today."

"Miss Bingley, return to your desk, I have business with Charles and 
Ms Bennet, and you should be more careful with your words to and 
about visitors to my...oh...the company." He ushered her out and 
closed the door.

"Charles, I do wish to speak with you before this afternoon's 
meeting. I had meant to send a memo but the meeting seemed a better 
opportunity to tell you, and the other managers...well I will tell 
you later." He looked at Liz, then continued as if he had not spoken 
the last. 

"This afternoon I will inform all senior management that I am no 
longer CEO of Fitdar, I am to be manager of the marketing division. I 
will detail this later, I just wanted to let you know." Fitz looked 
at his feet for a brief second. Liz saw the sadness at his 
declaration but could do or say nothing: after all, what would it 
feel like to him to be comforted by someone who humiliated him 
personally and then took his job?

"Fitz...How?...Why? Who will be the new CEO?"

"I will answer your questions this afternoon. For now, I suggest you 
have a discussion with your assistant as I am certain the new CEO 
will not appreciate her manners." Fitz gave a quick glance to Liz as 
he left. Liz stood and followed him from the room.

Fitz and Liz left the office as Bingley called his sister in. She 
glared at Liz as they passed, but Liz and Fitz were too busy looking 
to the door to consider the reactions of Caroline Bingley.

Liz and Fitz walked directly to the lift and then to the lobby. They 
left the building and walked to a small coffee shop, they had many 
things to discuss, and as much as neither of them were looking 
forward to this interview, it had to come sooner or later. 
Unfortunately, it was to be sooner.

Chapter 5

They arrived at the coffee shop after following a short lane and 
narrow road. Liz gave Fitz some puzzled looks as they walked but she 
did not comment. This was not a discussion either of them wished to 
have near the office.

Fitz opened the door to a small shop, to look at the small number of 
tables and small selection of muffins on the counter it was clear 
that this coffee shop had been there, and probably run by the same 
family, for many years. They both ordered white coffee (the choice 
being white or black) and sat down in a corner.

Looking around the room she was sitting in, Liz doubted that Fitz 
would know a place like this existed. "Very nice. I would not expect 
to see you in a place like this," she said, not unkindly.

Rather than rise to the bait, Fitz decided that he would do his best 
to show this woman that he was not what she thought he was. He had 
changed, because of her... He quickly banished these thoughts: he 
could not think about how he had seen her at the resort, she was his 
boss, she owned controlling interest in his family company. But, oh, 
her eyes shone and... 'No Fitz, don't think like that, answer her 
quickly.' "That is exactly why we are here." She looked at him 
questioningly. "I did not wish for this conversation to be heard by 
anyone; it is nobody's business but our own what we have to say to 
each other."

Liz was a little unsure if this meeting would be business or 
personal, she suspected it would be a bit of both. Their coffee 
arrived, each had two small biscuits on the saucer. Liz smiled at 
this, this is the type of service she used to get in the corner store 
near her parents' home.

Fitz saw her smile and his resolve to think only of business 
dissolved, how could he when she smiled like that? They both took a 
few silent sips of their coffee. Liz stifled a giggle as Fitz dipped 
a biscuit into his drink and then gobbled it down before it 
collapsed. Her smile at this made Fitz a bit self-conscious, but he 
was glad she was not scolding him, and he noticed she did the same 
with her biscuit, though a little more elegantly to his eyes, before 
he spoke.

"Ms Bennet, allow me to apologise for my greeting earlier today. I 
was a little surprised to see you."

"Of course."

"I would also like to say, from the beginning, that I hope that we 
are able to work together in these unusual circumstances. Not that it 
is unusual for ownership of a company to change it is just that..."

Liz interrupted. "It is just that our last conversation was ended on 
not so friendly terms."

"Exactly. I am sorry for what I said then." Seeing her complexion 
change and her eyes narrow, he hurried to clarify. "I should not have 
spoken to any person in that way," in a little lower voice, "Your 
reproof ensured I was aware of that."

Liz pretended not to hear the last bit of his statement, so she 
changed the subject. "Shall we discuss this meeting today?"

"Of course. I had intended to send a memo to all divisional heads 
this morning but you arrived earlier than I anticipated. The meeting 
I had arranged the day I received the advice of the change of 
management. Perhaps you would like to inform them of the changes 
yourself?"

"I don't know. I do not know the people or their work except by 
reputation. I am glad that you are remaining with the company. Your 
help will be invaluable."

"Of course I am remaining with the company. I will not be leaving my 
family company in the hands of... Oh I am sorry. I am still a little 
sensitive about the change and..."

Liz waited for him to finish his sentence. It became a waiting game, 
Fitz did not wish to finish that sentence: the other thing that had 
been plaguing his mind concerned his holiday, more specifically, Liz. 
She suspected this may be the case and decided it would be better 
discussed.

Two long minutes later, Fitz continued, "and another personal matter."

'Well now is as good a time as any,' Liz thought to herself. 'It is 
for the best in the long term.' "Mr. Darcy, I want us to be able to 
work together. This personal matter won't prevent that will it?"

"Why should a personal matter..." He put his head in his hand for a 
minute. "Ms Bennet, I will be able to work with you, this personal 
matter will not interfere, but I will not pretend that I did not meet 
you, nor will I pretend that I had not shown any interest in you, but 
I am certain that this will not cause any problems for us working 
together."

She looked at him with such concern. This proud man who had just lost 
control of his company to her, who she had lectured mercilessly, had 
opened himself to her. He was so vulnerable, and today he had been so 
pleasant, perhaps she had been wrong about him earlier. "Thank you, 
Mr. Darcy. I believe we will be able to work together, and in moving 
toward that, please call me Liz, all of this formality is making me 
tense." She dipped her second biscuit into her coffee as he replied.

"Okay, Liz. Call me Fitz" He said this a little uncomfortably, after 
all he usually did business with peoples last names, and they rarely 
used his Christian name. She nodded her head in acknowledgment. "Now 
as to the meeting today..."

Liz and Fitz decided that Fitz would arrange for all the managers to 
meet half an hour before the meeting began so that he could speak 
with them before the meeting properly began and the minute-taker 
arrived. This would give the other managers a chance to digest the 
information before she arrived and discuss the new arrangements 
without any official record of the discussion. Liz would arrive in 
time for the meeting. Fitz would chair the meeting and Liz would 
observe for the most part. She had no intention of making changes on 
her first day and wanted a chance to see the managers as they were 
now. Fitz also informed Liz that Caroline Bingley was to take the 
minutes of this meeting and an evil sort of grin spread across her 
features as she realised she would be able to witness Caroline 
Bingley becoming aware of who she had insulted.

Liz and Fitz walked back to the office with little conversation. 
There was still a tension when it came to speaking of matters not 
totally work related. Fitz was seeing things in Liz that he could not 
possibly have seen before and finding himself falling in love with 
her, while Liz was trying to make out the man walking beside her. She 
was having very little success; he seemed more comfortable here in 
his natural environment even though he had the disappointment 
of 'losing' his company to her. 

When they entered the building, Liz declined a tour of the building, 
as she did not want the gossip to precede the announcement of the 
change. On Level 20, however, the change had not gone unnoticed. That 
floor was primarily boardrooms and offices that were occupied only 
when out of town managers visited. A few receptionists and an empty 
PA desk were all that was to witness Liz moving her stuff about the 
office.

At his own office, his faithful PA Mrs. Raymond, had arranged his 
office to suit his needs. He immediately called her in and arranged 
for the seven other managers to meet him in the meeting room half an 
hour before the formal meeting.

* * * 

Fitz arrived in good time to the meeting room. Charles Bingley was 
already there, with Caroline. Fitz strode up to them, avoided 
Caroline's attempts to straighten his tie, and informed her that she 
was not needed for another half hour. She purred and attempted all 
she could to be allowed to stay. As she was finally leaving, she 
turned to Fitz, "But Fitz, darling, surely you can tell me what this 
is all about. I won't tell and it is bound to come up in the meeting 
and I will be there."

"Caroline," Bingley started. "Go back to my office, there are a few 
letters that need typing before the meeting." He turned his back on 
her and turned to face Fitz and they began to speak of their plans 
for the weekend, consciously excluding Caroline from the 
conversation. She glided from the room as two other managers entered. 
Five minutes later, there were eight people in the room and they all 
sat at the round table in the middle of the room.

Fitz took his usual seat, with Charles Bingley on his right and Fred 
Simmerton on his left. The four men and three ladies looked at Fitz 
expectantly. It was not normal for another meeting to be called so 
soon after the last. Rumours had been rife; mainly due to Caroline 
Bingley, about a strange woman who was able to order Fitz about. The 
members of the management team were expecting to be told about 
increased security; they were not expecting what was said.

"Good afternoon. I am aware that rumours today have been quite 
prevalent, mostly sourcing from a certain PA, but she is not totally 
incorrect in her assertions. It is true that a lady, unknown to all 
here, I believe, was in the building, requesting, and was granted an 
audience with me."

Fitz was interrupted here when the door flew open and Caroline 
unceremoniously entered. "I knew it, Fitz, how could you do this to 
me? And now she is here, outside these doors."

Charles stood. "Caroline, how dare you? What do you think you are 
playing at?" He turned to those at the table, "I am sorry for the 
interruption..." Fitz put a hand on Charles' shoulder, urging him to 
sit down.

"Ms Bingley, kindly wait outside and I would advise that you do not 
speak with Ms Bennet." He turned back to his colleagues, paused to 
ensure that Caroline had time to leave the room, close the door and, 
more than likely, hover near the keyhole while looking daggers at 
Liz. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I have an announcement to make, and 
though I would have preferred more time, and less interruptions, I 
will tell you outright. Fitdar has a new CEO. I am to step down to 
Marketing Manager to allow the new owner to take her position. Ms. 
Elizabeth Bennet will be the CEO for a period of not less than a 
year."

A surprised silence fell over the room, a split second before a 
shriek was heard through the keyhole. Fitz took the lack of questions 
and comments as a signal to allow Liz to enter the room. What could 
they have said? Nobody in the room saw this coming and none of them 
had any prior knowledge of Liz. Sure, they all knew the ownership of 
the company was split between the Fitzwilliam/Darcy family and a 
lawyer with the name Bennet, but that was all they knew. 'No,' Fitz 
thought to himself, 'there is nothing they will ask that Liz may not 
hear'.

As he opened the door, it was to a sight that caused all in the 
meeting room to laugh. Caroline Bingley had not moved from her 
station at the keyhole and she was clearly stunned. Her mouth was 
open, her eyes wide and she was at the most unladylike she had ever 
been seen. Charles Bingley casually stood, walked to his sister and, 
placing one hand under her chin and the other under her arm, stood 
her up, closed her mouth and guided her into the meeting room. He 
took her to her usual seat (for minute taking) sat her down and 
whispered, "Caroline, the meeting is about to begin, I suggest you 
sit here, take excellent notes and be quiet". Then he resumed his 
seat in time to see Fitz usher Liz to the seat he had vacated and 
seat himself.

The minutes of the meeting were supplied to all attendees and other 
managers (five were absent, eight were permanently located away from 
the head office) and, when Caroline presented them to Charles, they 
began with the following:
"Mr. Darcy introduced Miss Bennet as the person who is to usurp his 
rightful place as CEO of FitDar.

"No person in the room could speak for five minutes and when they 
did, all were too scared to voice their displeasure with the new 
arrangement.

"Miss Bennet took control of the meeting and unreasonably insisted on 
detailed reports from all divisions on recently completed and 
currently active projects."

The reports were then detailed in the minutes.

"Miss Bennet then closed the meeting, reminding all that she was 
firmly in charge now and all issues must be raised with her and not 
Mr. Darcy.

"Meeting closed 11.55am"

Chapter 6

On reading his sisters version of the minutes, Charles was stunned. 
He had found the new CEO pleasant and friendly and very professional. 
She had ended the meeting by informing all that "my door is always 
open and if any person within the organisation has need of me, I will 
be happy to see them if I am available, or by appointment made with 
my PA [Personal Assistant]."

Charles thought it best to alter the minutes himself as, although his 
PA was lacking in respect (Liz hadn't mentioned it, showing herself 
to be a good person), he did not want her to lose her job - mainly 
because Caroline would move into his apartment if she lost her income.

Charles fixed the minutes, and two days after the meeting, took them 
to the 20th floor himself. He was not expecting what he saw. Sitting 
outside Ms. Bennet's office was a vision of beauty, an angel, he 
thought to himself. The lady was blond, with green eyes and a smile 
that Charles could drown in.

"Good day, may I help you?" she asked in a cheery voice.

"I...er...I," he held out the papers to the lady as she took them he 
recovered use of his voice. "I would like to leave these for Ms. 
Bennet."

The lady behind the desk laughed as she took them and put them in a 
tray. Charles looked confused and a little hurt. Liz stepped out of 
her office in time to see the laughter cease and her PA begin to 
speak.

"Oh, I am sorry for laughing, it is just..."

"Charles!" Liz exclaimed; the meeting had put all management on a 
first name basis, "I see you have met Jane. Jane, this is Mr. Charles 
Bingley." Liz didn't need to explain where he was from as Jane had 
done her homework and knew the names of most of the managers, which 
division they were responsible for and she had even seen their 
pictures.

Noticing that Charles seemed not to have met Jane (nor read her 
nameplate on her desk) Liz continued. "Charles this is Jane Bennet, 
my personal assistant. She is also my sister. I hope this explains 
her laughter. She is, I am afraid, a little jet-lagged. She has had a 
difficult trip returning from her holiday."

"Of course, no offence taken," Charles said, smiling at Jane. Liz 
picked up the minutes and went back to her office.

Neither Jane nor Charles noticed her leave. Nor did they notice the 
entrance of Caroline. Jane recovered herself as Caroline stepped up.

"Good day, may I help you?" Jane said with a smile on her face and in 
her voice.

"Hello, you must be Miss Bennet's PA." Jane smiled quickly at 
Charles. Caroline saw him as if only just noticing the presence of an 
unwelcome child. "Charles, you have a meeting in three minutes," she 
said curtly.

"Yes, of course. Goodbye." He smiled at Jane and left. Caroline 
continued without missing a beat.

"A group of us have lunch every Wednesday and thought you may wish to 
join us as that is today."

"I am sorry, I did not catch your name, Miss?"

"Miss Bingley. Charles Bingley's PA. Shall we say 12.30?"

"Of course. Where are we lunching?"

"Café Café, on the roof of this building."

"Yes. I shall see you then, Miss Bingley."

Caroline returned to her desk to make a list of every piece of 
information about Liz Bennet she wanted to extract from ... 'Oh 
Shoot' she thought to herself 'I didn't get her name; well, lunch is 
only two hours away'.

Meanwhile, Jane was thinking about all she had heard from Liz about 
Caroline Bingley and her brother. 

While Miss Bingley thought about one Bennet sister, her brother 
thought about the other. He had only spoken to her for a couple of 
minutes but his mind could not list all of her virtues. Charles mad a 
mental note to try to find out all he could about his new boss's 
sister and his boss - how would Liz react if he asked Jane out?

Caroline arrived promptly to collect Jane for lunch (Caroline had not 
been doing any work so could easily time her arrival to precisely 
12.25 for a 12.30 arrival at the café). It was at the moment that the 
three ladies already at the table stood to greet Caroline and Jane 
that Caroline remembered that she did not know Janes last name. Never 
one to show any ignorance to her peers, Caroline donned her 'I am 
great, just ask me' face and strode half a step ahead of Jane.

The three ladies stood, not only to greet Caroline but to check out 
the 'new girl' she had brought along.

Caroline turned to pull Jane forward, "Jane, darling, come meet the 
girls." Pointing as she named them, "This is Louise Hurst, Lucy Steel 
and Fanny Dashwood. Girls, this is Jane, the new CEO's PA." Caroline 
seated herself, soon followed by 'the girls'. Jane was a little 
hesitant - she knew a bitch session when she saw one coming - but sat 
down with a smile on her face, 'perhaps they are not like that at 
all'.

"So, Jane" Louise started, "how long have you been with Ms Bennet? I 
have been with Phil for seven years now."

Four sets of eyes were looking intently at her. Jane answered 
politely "I have worked with Liz for a number of years now."

"So you know her well?"

"Yes, I think I know her better than any other person." Jane laughed 
lightly, the others at the tabled tittered a little but no real 
amusement showed through their eyes--they just wanted dirt.

"Really?" Fanny said doubtfully. "Perhaps you could tell us all about 
her then?"

Caroline interrupted, "Yes, Jane dear, we must be friends so you can 
help us to deal with Miss Bennet, perhaps something to help dear 
Fitz." She said the last lightly but her attention made it clear she 
would cling to any answer.

"Caroline" Louise admonished as Lucy and Fanny scowled. Surely 
Caroline had to realise that Jane may have some loyalty to Ms Bennet.

"I don't understand what you are asking. Mr. Darcy is still working 
for the company and he does appear reconciled to the situation and 
beyond that I cannot help you."

The conversation was interrupted as the waiter approached and took 
their orders. After he departed, the four 'old girls' started 
gossiping about their bosses and by the time the food was delivered, 
Caroline had switched the conversation to complaining about Liz 
Bennet.

"And that woman, Elizabeth Bennet, as she calls herself," Caroline 
had clearly forgotten Jane's presence and was oblivious to the scowls 
being directed her way by the other three at the table, "How dare she 
come in and force Fitz out of his..."

"Caroline," Louise interrupted, "Remember that you speak of the 
person who can sack you without a second thought."

"Charles would never let that happen," she answered confidently.

They ate in silence for a while. Gradually, Lucy, Fanny and Louise 
started chatting and including Jane, then Caroline joined in too.

Finally it was time to go. The ladies paid the bill and stood, saying 
their good-byes. Louise said good-bye to Jane at a point when the 
other ladies were silent. "Good-bye Jane, it was lovely to meet you." 
Jane returned the pleasantries and Louise continued "I am sorry, 
Jane, I didn't catch your full name."

"Jane Bennet," she said simply, as a shocked silence came over the 
group and Caroline went an interesting shade of white.

Chapter 7

While Jane was at lunch, Liz retreated to the nearest park. The park 
was a fifteen minute walk, a nice change from the walls that 
surrounded her desk, as nice as the walls are they could not replace 
her love of the outdoors. At a little coffee shop, she picked up a 
salad roll and a drink and continued to the park.

She found an unoccupied bench, considered sitting on it then spied a 
nice patch of grass in the dappled sun. A childish smile spread 
across her face and Liz walked and sat on the grass. She tore open 
her white paper bag and began to eat her lunch while watching the 
people around her.

As she ate, Liz thought about her new job. Most people seemed 
pleasant enough--yes, most of them. And the company was so well 
organised it was a credit to the previous occupant of her job. This 
thought led her mind to Mr. Darcy.

Liz didn't know what to think of that man. When she met him he was 
proud, arrogant and self absorbed, and then when she met him again, 
walking into his office to take over his job, he was gracious and 
polite. 'Is this the same man?' she thought to herself. 'I must ask 
him if he has a twin?' she laughed to herself before returning to her 
original thought. "Is it the same man?" she asked the tree she sat 
under. Not surprisingly, the tree didn't answer, and it remained 
silent as Liz continued to question it and draw an image of the man 
who was Mr. Darcy. 

By the time Liz was finished, she had also finished her lunch. She 
picked up her rubbish, brushed off the grass on her clothes and 
laughed at herself for holding a conversation with a tree. 

The entire walk back to the office, Liz kept reliving all her 
interaction with her Head of Marketing and by the time she entered 
the building, she had no better idea of what made him tick than she 
did when she left.

The lift doors closed and Liz was alone. She let herself fall with 
her back against the back wall of the lift. "All that and he..." 
Ding. The doors opened. "..is handsome too." Liz was saying aloud. 
She opened her eyes, that had lightly closed as she relaxed in the 
lift, to see Fitz standing before her looking a little puzzled and 
amused. Clearly he had heard some of what she had said.

"Good day, Ms. Bennet."

A rather flushed Liz answered, "Hello, Mr. Darcy," and she stepped 
quickly from the lift. Fitz followed. "Can I help you?" she asked 
politely if a little distractedly.

"You seem distracted. Would you like to move our meeting?"

"Oh yes, sorry, I mean no, now is fine." Fitz followed Liz into her 
office for their quick meeting.

Fitz had lunched with Charles at the café in the bottom of the 
building; they had chosen it knowing that Caroline and her girls 
would be at Café Café.

Bingley had barely attended the conversation as, every time his eyes 
closed, he saw Jane Bennet's smile. Fitz fared barely better. Though 
his mind had for so long had a portion set aside for Liz Bennet, a 
quiet relaxed lunch with a barely communicative colleague and friend 
allowed his mind to wander to her fine features and fiery temper.

After an hour of daydreaming and little eating or conversation - the 
conversation often including 'Oh sorry, I was not listening, what 
were you saying?' or words to that effect, both men went back to the 
office, resolving to focus on work. Neither was able to follow 
through on that resolution, Fitz because he had a meeting with the 
object of his reverie and Charles because he was busy creating a list 
of reasons to visit the 20th floor.

For the next two months Liz got to know the ropes of Fitdar and 
nearly all of the employees came to appreciate her skills and, above 
all else, her attention to all aspects of the business including the 
staff.

One day Liz would be seen speaking with a manager and the next day 
she would be speaking with Josie the cleaner about her grandchildren. 
Liz was almost universally liked. The only exception being Caroline 
and her ever-shrinking contingent. Carolines main reason for 
disliking Liz was no better than the way Fitz looked at Liz and 
seemed to agree with her and take her side. As far as Caroline was 
concerned, Liz had stolen Fitz's company and -the worse of the two - 
she had stolen his attention.

Fitz worked slowly on his personal relationship with Liz. Once 
rejected, he was wary of another confrontation. Many times he stopped 
himself asking her out at the last minute. He would stop speaking mid-
sentence, turn an interesting shade of red, then brush his right hand 
through his hair and take his phone from his pocket with his left. He 
would mumble something about a call he had to make and hurry away. 
Liz was amused at first, but as she got to know Fitz she began to 
like him and as his necessary phone calls increased, she began to 
understand that he did not want a personal relationship with her.

Not one to be easily distressed, Liz decided to concentrate on her 
work and live vicariously through Jane.

Jane and Charles progressed from sneaking looks, to shy smiles within 
a week. Another week had pleasantries exchanged and two weeks later, 
Charles and Jane could be found at the 'after 5' bar on the Friday 
evening.

Liz was delighted to see Jane so happy. The drinks had turned into a 
number of dates, dinners, lunches and movies. Though this 
relationship pleased Liz (and Charles and Jane) it soon became clear 
that Caroline did not look favourably upon it.

Chapter 8

Caroline had taken to refusing to pass messages that Jane left for 
Charles and even went so far as to inform Jane that Charles was 
interested in someone else and was only using her until Georgie was 
available.

If her brother spent time with Jane Bennet, then, at times, her Fitz 
would spend social time with Liz and that could never be. So Caroline 
attempted to use Fitz to break up Jane and Charles. 

Despite Caroline's persistence, Fitz would not interfere in his 
friend's relationship. She pestered and pleaded with Fitz all to no 
avail. Carolines attempts to win Fitz to her cause led to his taking 
to hiding when he saw her coming, and she eventually decided to think 
of another method to separate her brother from Jane.

Unfortunately for Caroline, this obsession with separating Jane from 
Charles occupied all of her thoughts. So much so that she became more 
and more negligent of her work. At first Liz tried to overlook it 
when another PA or manager presented narratives of Caroline's 
attitude because Liz didn't want to cause problems with Charles; even 
if it wasn't for Jane, Liz liked Charles.

Eventually, the complaints that Liz received in her regular 
conversations with staff got too much. Liz decided that she would 
talk to Charles about his assistant.

Liz saw Charles in the lift the next morning. It took very little 
convincing to get him to accompany her to her office. Liz quickly 
explained her concerns to Charles.

"Liz, I know. I have tried to speak with her but she dismisses me. I 
have removed her from her reception duties and if she is not 
improving by the next week, I will have to...that is..I plan.."

"Charles, wait. I know this is hard for you so I will speak with her. 
Fitz told her I would not stand for this behaviour and I have been 
more than generous. Don't worry, I am only going to speak with her, 
scare her a little and remind her that I am in charge of Fitdar not 
you, her or Fitz."

"Thank you, Liz. I understand. I will send her up."

"No need. Why don't you and Jane go get a coffee so I can have a 
casual chat with Caroline."

Within minutes Charles was assisting Jane with her coat and walking 
her to the lift doors. Liz waited a couple of minutes then picked up 
her phone.

"What do YOU want?" an abrupt voice said as they picked up the phone. 
(It is worth noting that Caroline had a display phone and it told her 
the number that had contacted her, so she knew it was Liz.)

"Miss Bingley, I would like to see you in my office."

"Why? You come to me if you want me, I am not here at your whim. You 
come in and take things over, that is your way."

"Caroline Bingley," Liz's calmness surprised even herself, "Please 
report to my office immediately."

"It is not yours--it is Fitzy's. How dare you presume..."

"Caroline, I have been CEO for many weeks now and that makes it my 
office and you my employee..."

"No. You are wrong." The phone line dropped out. Liz sat down and 
looked at her computer. 'You have new mail' flashed up on the screen.

Liz opened the message.

From: Caroline Bingley

Subject: I quit.

Liz was shocked but was not about to beg this woman to stay. She hit 
reply.

From: Liz Bennet

Subject: Resignation

Resignation accepted. You may finish the week.

So Caroline Bingley packed up her belongings in a photocopy paper box 
and left Fitdar that day.

After a week she could find no work so, much to Charles' discomfit, 
she moved in with her brother.

Chapter 9

Caroline's ability to affect the Bennet sisters did not decrease, 
just became more personal and less veiled. She refused to leave 
Charles' apartment whenever Jane was expected to visit, she deleted 
phone messages from the machine and did not pass on any she took. She 
attempted to accompany Charles whenever he went out incase he were 
meeting Jane.

Although this made their relationship difficult, Charles and Jane 
persisted.

By December, Liz was very comfortable as CEO of a prospering company. 
She decided, to reward the staff, to expand the annual Christmas 
drinks to include an old style ball, and encouraged the staff to 
dress in gowns and attire of the early 1800's.

With Jane's help, Liz was able to obtain Pemberley as a venue. 
Pemberley was a very classy function centre that was built with high 
ceilings, a large ball room and a reception room suitable for a 
cocktail party.

On December 1, Liz had Jane send out a memo to all staff.

<blockquote>"Congratulations to all staff of Fitdar. In these 
troubled times we can be proud of the year that is ending and look 
forward to the coming one. This in mind,

Dear "employee" (each letter had been personalised, of course)

You are cordially invited to the annual Christmas drinks and a ball 
that will follow. The ball will be in the tradition of the early 
1800's and costumes will be optional.

The date of this event is Saturday December 21. Drinks and light 
refreshments will commence at 6pm and the dancing and ball at 7pm. 
Please indicate your attendance plans to Jane Bennet by COB 15 
December.

Sincerely,
Ms. Elizabeth Bennet</blockquote>

On 15 December at 6.30 Liz walked over to Jane and they both left for 
the day. In the lift, Liz asked how the numbers for the ball were.

"About 300 for cocktails and 100 for the ball."

"That is a lot not showing for either."

"Liz," Jane gently reminded, "It is less than a week before 
Christmas."

"I know, Jane, I know. I just wanted to reward the staff for the hard 
work they have put in. We can only hope that all who attend have a 
good time."

"Truly, Liz, they appreciate the fact you invited all of them to the 
one function, even those who could not come were sincere in their 
thanks for the invitation. I am sure we will all have a good time. 
Now as to our gowns..."

"Yes, Jane, we collect our gowns on Friday," Liz hadn't noticed the 
lift stop or the doors open, or that standing before her was Fitz and 
Mrs Reynolds. Fitz and Mrs Reynolds stepped into the lift, exchanging 
greetings with the sisters. The doors reopened on the 7th floor and 
Charles stepped in with a couple of others. The now full lift 
continued to the ground floor where all but Jane, Charles, Fitz and 
Liz got out. These four continued to the basement parking. They 
exchanged farewells and left for their respective homes.

****

For four days, Fitz sweated. After hearing that Liz was wearing 
a 'gown', he resolved to, and did, hire an outfit suitable for the 
nominated period. His next step was to convince Liz to go as his 
partner, or at least agree to a dance or two. Fitz knew he could 
dance the dances planned, he just did not wish to take the floor with 
any other person.

Finally, on the Friday before the party, Fitz had his opportunity. 
After chickening out of asking and berating himself later; he was 
resolved to ask. He pressed the up button next to the lift doors and 
waited, rehearsing in his head what he would say. 

The doors opened and Fitz stepped into a, thankfully empty, lift. He 
rode to the 20th floor, pacing the small area that was his 
transportation. The doors opened and he was faced with Jane holding 
her coat, bag and what appeared to be two dress bags. Fitz was 
extremely tempted to ask to see the gowns but did not.

"Hello, Ms Bennet." Fitz had not got used to first names, so he 
tended to be more formal, especially when he was nervous.

"Hello, Mr. Darcy," Jane echoed his formality. "I was just leaving, 
is there something I can help you with?"

"No thank you, Ms Bennet. I was hoping to see your sister though."

"She is in her office, Liz has decided that the air outside is 
perfect for a walk. Good-bye."

Jane stepped into the lift Fitz had been holding. He allowed the 
doors to close, leaving him one step closer to Liz.

He walked over to her office and tapped a little hesitantly on the 
door.

"Come in," sounded from within. Fitz opened the door and walked in. 
Even after all this time it was strange to walk into this office and 
see the rug on the floor and the panoramic landscape photo on the 
wall. 

At first he couldn't see Liz; it was only that she had called to 
allow him in that convinced him she must be in the room. A flick of 
thick curly hair was followed by a happy, childlike face of Liz who 
was seated on the sofa. "What can I do for you Fitz?"

He was staring but couldn't help it. It was written all over her face 
that she had planned to do something she enjoyed, and it was all Fitz 
could do to stop himself walking over to her and pledging undying 
loyalty and love. "Sorry." He said as he recovered himself. "I didn't 
see you there."

"I was changing shoes for the walk home. You have no idea what these 
things-" She pointed at her shoes on the floor "-do to your feet, and 
I do enjoy a nice walk home at this time."

"You are right," he said with a smile that Liz returned, "I have no 
idea what those things do to your feet, but I thought they kept them 
off the floor." The smiles lasted a little longer, then Liz recovered 
herself, remembering that he had been leaving her company whenever 
the conversation took a personal turn.

"What can I do for you Fitz?"

"Oh...yes...well...I have been thinking...this ball...tomorrow...I 
mean, if you don't already...if you aren't going with anyone...would 
you consider...I would understand if you would rather not...I mean I 
remember what you said..." Fitz knew he sounded like a schoolboy but 
couldn't do anything about it. His face turned pink then red and Liz 
took pity on him and interrupted his stammering.

"Fitz, I would be happy to accompany you to the drinks tomorrow 
evening."

"I am glad, but I was hoping, if it isn't too much to ask, if you 
would also accompany me to the ball." There. He had said it.

"Fitz, I didn't realise you were a dancer."

"I am not, usually, that is to say I choose the occasions when I will 
dance, and I figured since you have a gown and I have an outfit, 
perhaps you would dance with me."

"I would be honoured." Fitz smiled at Liz and she smiled back, both 
in an embarrassed sort of way. "I will meet you out the front of 
Pemberley at quarter to 6?" Seeing the confusion on his face she 
explained, "Jane and I will be at the function centre from 5 ensuring 
all is prepared."

He had been hoping to pick her up but this would do.

"Quarter to 6 it is then." The smile on his face as he said this was 
unmistakable, he was the cat who had the cream. Liz smiled to herself 
as he walked her to the lift and then to the door so she could begin 
her walk.

It was a silent ride in the lift as Fitz didn't wish to ruin all he 
had gained.


Chapter 10

The Ball

Jane and Liz had just completed their checks of every detail at 
Pemberley when Charles entered the room. Both ladies were clutching 
their gowns, shoes, etc., and were on their way to the dressing room 
when Jane first saw him. 

Liz held out her already heavily laden arms to take Jane's burden. 
Jane handed it over and ran down the stairs to greet Charles. Liz 
chuckled to herself and took the outfits to the change room. She hung 
the gowns and then remembered something she needed to check with the 
host. Quickly she ran down the stairs and into the kitchen.

After a brief discussion, Liz made her way back up the steps to 
dress. As she entered the room, Liz saw Jane finishing her hair. Jane 
turned and smiled at Liz.

"Jane, you look gorgeous."

"It is the gown, Liz," Jane said, smiling and looking radiant.

"As you say, Jane," Liz replied with a broad smile, knowing it would 
be pointless to argue that Jane was always gorgeous: Jane would 
always deny it, Liz would always confirm it.  They didn't have time 
for that little circle.

Jane left, and Liz slipped (or struggled) into her outfit. Once she 
had all the requisite layers of corsetry and clothes on, it was time 
to turn to her hair. She opened the door for light and air.

Liz's naturally curly hair was perfect for this outfit. With a few 
twists and pins and flowers, and a quick look in the mirror, Liz was 
satisfied. She picked up her combs and pins and turned to put them in 
her bag. As she turned, she saw a handsome gentleman in the doorway.

Noticing the lady turning his way, the mesmerised Fitz bowed formally 
and held out a single rose to Liz.

"Good evening, Miss Bennet. Your sister informed me of your 
whereabouts."

"Good evening, Mr. Darcy." Liz executed an elegant curtsey with her 
eyes downcast. She stood straight and smiled at Fitz as she accepted 
the rose.

"Jane neglected to inform me of the vision of beauty I would find 
upon entering this room."

"Mr. Darcy, please. I have not yet completed my face. If you could 
excuse me for another minute, I will be out directly."

Fitz graciously left the doorway and, as she reached for her bag, she 
thought she heard a whispered, "you look perfect to me," as he bowed 
and turned.

Liz was quick, as she wore little make up, and was met by Fitz at the 
top of the stairs. He offered his arm and Liz placed her hand in the 
crook of his arm as they walked down the stairs.

It was 6 o'clock by this time; Liz had spent too much time organising 
and left herself barely fifteen minutes to dress, so Liz and Fitz 
entered a very full cocktail party.

Fitz was quite possessive of Liz and stayed in character for the era. 
He ensured she was escorted about the room in a manner befitting a 
lady.

The cocktail party progressed well. Lucy Steel attempted to make 
moves on Fitz, but he rebuffed her advances with all the dignity and 
manners of a gentleman. Eventually she gave up and attached herself 
to Robert Ferars, a not so attractive young man whose main virtues 
were his expected inheritance and the general belief that he would be 
the next manager of marketing.

Seven o'clock came and those guests attending the ball began to 
filter into the ball room. Those who were not intending to stay for 
the ball either left, or followed into the ball room to watch the 
first dance, and quite a spectacle it was!

Three quarters of the dancers had dressed up so it was an interesting 
sight that greeted Liz as Fitz escorted her into the line. The room 
was lit with candles and soft ceiling lights as the string quartet 
struck up a pleasant tune and Jane and Charles opened the ball. That 
Jane and Charles were at the top of the line of dancers was more luck 
than management. Liz had refused when Fitz attempted to escort her to 
the top of the line, but when Jane and Charles drifted into the room, 
each very distracted by the other, they just ended up at the top of 
the line.

Liz and Fitz had very little conversation, just enjoying the dance as 
they progressed down the line. 

The band played a few more 'structured, traditional' dances and the 
dancers made an effort to dance them, much to the amusement of the 
spectators and dancers. By 8.30 the band was changing to the more 
modern music that inspired far less structured dances. To see these 
dances attempted in gloves and gowns was nearly as entertaining as 
the older style dances.

Fitz and Liz were standing near a drink table, talking with a couple 
from the packing rooms, when Charles came over to them looking very 
agitated.

Fitz noticed him first.

"Good G-d, man, what is the matter?"

"Fitz...Liz...Jane"

Liz had turned to the stuttering Charles as Harriet and Rob made a 
discreet departure.

"Charles, where is Jane?"

"Up in the change rooms..."

"Why?" Liz asked impatiently. Fitz wasn't sure what to say. He and 
Liz had been having a good time, but now...

"I don't know. Her phone rang, she looked at the number, lost a 
little colour and went to the foyer to answer it. About 2 minutes 
later, she came running into the room and told me she had to go and 
asked me to find you."

Liz was worried and she could see confusion on the faces of the men 
facing her. "I have to go to her," She said mainly to Fitz.

"Can I...Can we help?"

"I don't know. I have to go." She looked at him with such intensity 
that Fitz began to hate whoever had called Jane. To have called Liz 
away from him when they were getting on so well. Liz hitched up her 
skirts and ran to the staircase and up to meet Jane.


Chapter 11

Jane was half-dressed in her normal clothes, still clutching the 
phone as she cried into her other hand. Liz sat down beside her and 
flicked off her own shoes. As she put an arm around Jane's shoulders 
and gently took the phone with her other hand, Liz asked her sister 
what had caused this state.

For a second Jane listened to the music from below before 
answering. "Lydia..." *sob* "...is in.." *sob* "jail"

"Now, Jane, it can't be that bad." Liz attempted to comfort her 
sister as Jane sobbed. "Tell me what has happened. This isn't the 
first time Lydia has been arrested." And in an undertone, mainly to 
herself "and doubtless won't be the last either."

"It isn't the same," Jane said as she recovered herself, "This isn't 
over lipstick or a hat...she is being questioned over thousands of 
dollars. Her and George Wickham."

"What?" Liz stood and stopped her attempts to undo her dress 
fastenings. "I will leave tonight."

"I am coming with you, Liz. You know mother and you won't be able to 
work unless you have...help."

"OK, Jane. I know Dad will appreciate your presence so he will be 
free to help me."

"Liz, what about Fitdar? Can you just go?"

"Of course. Fitdar functioned well before I came and it will be fine 
with me gone."

"Gone?" A surprised and hurt male voice sounded in the doorway. Both 
turned to see Fitz, shadowed by Charles.

Liz went to speak with Fitz, attempt to calm him, as Charles edged 
past to comfort Jane.

"Fitz, Jane and I need to go...visit our parents. Hopefully we will 
be back by New Year." Fitz was a little stunned and Liz 
continued. "Would you mind, I know it is awkward..."

"Of course. Do not worry about Fitdar."

"I will check in at the office in Newcastle whenever I can..."

"Liz" He said with more emotion than he intended. "The company will 
be fine. Will you?"

"Thank you, Fitz," Liz said, a little unsure how to react to his 
obvious concern. "I am sure we, Jane and I, will be fine. I should 
change now, we have a plane to catch." Liz stood and began to reach 
for the button behind her neck.

"Allow me" she swept her hair out of the way as Fitz stepped forward 
to undo the buttons. The touch of his fingers sent a tingling 
sensation down Liz's back and up Fitz's arms.

'Why is it I must go as I start to feel, no Liz, you can't think like 
that now, Lydia needs you, and doubtless Fitz will feel differently 
when he discovers Lydia's folly.' Aloud she simply said "Thank you."

Fitz slipped back into the character of his dress, he found this an 
easy way to deal with his emotions. He stepped in front of Liz, took 
her hand in his and bowed over it as he placed a gentle kiss on the 
back of her hand before releasing it. He turned and left without 
another word as chills spread up each of their arms from the contact.



Liz and Jane arrived at Newcastle a little after midnight. Mr. Bennet 
met them as Jane had called when she knew what time they would arrive.

The car ride was very quiet. Nobody knew what to say until they 
turned into the Bennet family driveway.

"Dad, is Lydia at home?"

"No, Liz."

"So why..."

"Liz, even your legal prowess is unlikely to impress police at this 
time of the morning."

"But..."

"No, Liz. I have the details inside. I know what you need to know; 
remember I am a lawyer, too. Best to be prepared and a little rested 
when we go in the morning."

Liz could push the issue no further. The tone in her father's voice 
was unmistakable. To vent their displeasure at the situation, both 
Liz and her dad stepped from the car, stood straight, sighed, and 
slammed the door. If it wasn't such a poor situation, Jane would have 
laughed at their similarities.

While Jane stayed in the loungeroom with her mother, Liz greeted her 
mother briefly and followed her father to the study.


Chapter 12

After a long night with very little sleep, Liz knew all her father 
did about Lydia's situation. Apparently Lydia and Wickham had been 
arrested for obtaining funds by deception and fraud, amongst other 
things. (It is not the purpose of this narrative to delve into the 
legalities of the charges and the law, but, suffice to say that Lydia 
was in a complex situation and her sister will be quite busy 
untangling it.)

In the morning, Liz went to have a chat with Lydia and the police. 
These two discussions gave Liz a remarkable insight into the 
problems. 

At first, Lydia didn't want to say anything that could harm her 
George, but eventually, Liz convinced her sister that the truth could 
not cause trouble, but have everyone on their way sooner. Liz 
neglected to mention that the way that George may be on was unlikely 
to involve setting foot outside prison any time soon.

"Lydia, start at the start and tell me everything."

"But, Liz..." Lydia whined.

"I won't tell Dad and Mum, but I need to know what happened."

"Alright, Liz, George told me that he had a way to make enough money 
for us to go away. All I had to do was let him into the spare office 
at Longbourn and he would do the rest."

"Lydia, let me interrupt here," Liz said, though it was clear that 
Lydia thought that was all the story. "How did you meet him?"

"Oh, that was at your office, back before you left for London. I 
heard you talking about shares or stocks or something and money and 
you seemed to respect him.."

"Lydia." Liz admonished. "My 'respect' for that person was purely his 
due as a client. And beyond that, my respect for a person never 
influenced your decisions; you choose friends based on my dislike 
before my respect. Tell me the truth, Lydia, or you will lose more 
than your job; you will likely be in jail for a long time."

"Okay." Lydia spoke meekly. Clearly Liz had scared her sister into 
cooperation.  Lydia was nothing if not scared of jail. "I heard the 
way he spoke to you. I could tell he was desperate for it, why he 
chose you I do not know, but to flirt with you like that he must have 
been.." Lydia shied her eyes away from her sisters glare. "Okay, I 
heard how much was on the cheque you gave him and figured we could 
have a good time."

"Okay, Lydia," Liz sighed, "So you let him into the office, then 
what?"

"Yeah, when I went to work one morning. I don't know what he did, I 
gave him passwords so he could use the computer, and I had Mr. 
Radcliffe sign the papers George asked me to and that was it."

"So how did you end up here?"

"Oh that - Well, George and I had been in the honeymoon suite after a 
busy night and not much sleep-" a glare from Liz returned Lydia to 
the subject "-and we were in the restaurant when George got up all of 
a sudden and left. I turned to see the cops running everywhere. One 
grabbed me and as they put me in a car.  I saw two struggling to 
shove poor George into a car. He called out to me 'Say nothing, call 
nobody' and here I am. I didn't call anyone.  The guy at the desk, 
the one who plays golf with dad and Mr. Lucas, did. George will be so 
upset with me." Lydia began to sob.

"Lydia" Liz said gently, though she was angry with her sister, "It is 
right you told me. I have to go now but I will come back tomorrow."

"Liz...Do I...Do I...how long will I be here?" The fear in her voice 
reminded Liz of how young Lydia really was. Liz took her little 
sister into her arms and comforted her for a minute. 

"I don't know, Lydia, I don't know."

As it turned out, the police and judge agreed that both Lydia Bennet 
and George Wickham should remain in custody until the trial. The main 
reason for this decision being George was under investigation for 
many similar offences and had been known to disappear while on bail. 
The extent of Lydia's participation was yet to be established so she 
was also kept in custody.

Luckily, a trial date was set within a month (this is fiction!) so 
Liz and Jane stayed with the family rather than return to London. Liz 
explained to her father that "Between our visits to the Newcastle 
office and Fitz overseeing things, all will be fine."

"I am sure it will, honey, but what about the deal with Wickham?"

"I think he is a little preoccupied." Mr. Bennet gave his daughter 
the 'do be serious look' she was very familiar with and she 
continued. "And besides, I am the CEO: I am still running things, 
Fitz is merely reporting to me and acting as a go-between."

And that is how it was for two weeks. Liz and Jane would go to the 
office every day and Liz would talk to Fitz and any other managers or 
staff who needed her, while Jane would e-mail with Charles as she 
dealt with Liz's mail and messages.

Fitz sent any important mail to Liz either by courier or fax, and 
talked to her on the phone, but this was killing him.

By the 9th of January, Charles and Fitz were out for a drink, 
thankfully without Caroline, and they decided that a regional visit 
was in order.

The following day, they made the arrangements and by that evening 
they were in a motel.


Chapter 13

Liz and Jane usually got to the office around 10am, so, to ensure 
they did not get an empty phone line when they tried to phone London, 
Fitz and Charles aimed to beat them to the office.

At 9.00am, the receptionist at Fitdar Newcastle saw two handsome men 
enter the front door. Fitz instantly realised that this was not 
someone who would recognise him. Charles smiled, no doubt 
anticipating a happy reunion with Jane, leaving Fitz to deal with the 
receptionist.

"Good morning.  How can I help you?"

"Good morning.  Would you be so kind as to direct us to the office 
Ms. Bennet is using while she is here?"

"I am sorry. Ms Bennet is not here at present. If you would care to 
leave a message, I will arrange an appointment."

"I think not. We have important messages that need to be delivered as 
soon as..."

"What are these messages?" Liz asked with mock sternness. Jane looked 
at Charles and he at her. They walked to each other and Charles took 
Jane's hand.

"It is fine, Susan," Liz said to the receptionist. "Mr. Darcy, Mr. 
Bingley, would you like to come through?" Liz and Jane led their 
guests into the office.

Fitz wasn't lying when he said they had brought messages. He didn't 
wish to risk a negative reaction from Liz so he found all the 
documents that needed to be couriered to her and brought them with 
him. There were enough reports, memos, and documents to keep Liz busy 
for a week, even if she didn't have any other commitments.

Then Liz, Fitz, and Charles went through the documents, and other 
business that needed to be discussed while Jane dealt with e-mails 
and others still in the office in London. By midday, the four of them 
decided to take an early lunch.

Over lunch, it was decided that, although Charles could work from 
Newcastle, Fitz had to go back in the next couple of days. "It will 
not do for the CEO and the company overseer-" Fitz laughed when Liz 
explained that this title meant acting CEO but couldn't say it to 
avoid further issues with George Wickham's contract, "-to be away for 
an extended period." Fitz agreed to the necessity of his move back, 
and could think of no excuse to remain without putting Liz in an 
uncomfortable position. Fitz was not confident enough of her 
affection to risk it.

On the second day of Charles's and Fitz's visit, the four of them 
were walking about the park. Charles and Jane walked a number of 
yards ahead, leaving Fitz with Liz. Fitz knew not to push the 
relationship too fast so turned the conversation to matters that 
concerned Liz.

"So, can I help you help your sister?" Jane had explained the 
situation to Charles, and obviously Fitz had heard the details from 
Charles. What Liz didn't know was that Fitz had done some further 
research to get more detail about Wickham's current situation.

"I think Charles is doing fine there," Liz laughed.

"You are right, but I meant Lydia. Pardon my intrusion, but I would 
like to help."

Liz paused before she answered. "Lydia is only guilty of gullibility, 
but how do you prove that Wickham has been working in this way for 
more years than Lydia has known him? That is what I cannot do. He is 
claiming that Lydia is the mastermind and he merely a pawn."

It was Fitz's turn to pause. He chose his words carefully, not 
knowing how much to tell. "That sounds like George Wickham's way to 
get out of things: blame an innocent, or nearly innocent."

"Yes, you seem to know something of him." Hope glimmered in Liz's 
voice. She knew that Wickham knew Darcy, but had overlooked that 
Darcy would know a great deal of Wickham in order to deserve such 
maliciousness from him.

"I think I may be able to help, or at least point you towards help. 
Can we go somewhere-" He looked around "-more private?"

"My office?"

"That will be good. Shall we tell Jane and Charles?"

"I don't think they need to come with us. I will tell them." Liz ran 
up to Jane and told her that she and Fitz would be back at the office 
and Liz would see Jane at home.

Liz and Fitz grabbed coffee on the way back to the office. They went 
directly to her office, shut the door and sat down.

"Liz, only the most serious situation leads me to tell you this. Many 
of these details are painful to not only myself so I depend on your 
secrecy and discretion."

"Of course."

"I know. I am sorry, I need not have said that. I know you will keep 
my confidence and not share this information unnecessarily." He took 
a sip of his coffee and put the cup on the table and looked at it as 
he began to speak, almost to the coffee rather than to Liz.

"I have known George Wickham all of my life. His mother worked as the 
daycleaner at my home and his father worked closely with my own. I 
played with George as a child, but it was before our tenth year that 
I had noticed his true colours.

"Mrs. Wickham quite doted on her only child and overindulged him 
terribly. She died when he was eleven and by the time he was fifteen, 
George had dropped all pretence of friendship with me. If I showed 
interest in a girl, he would do his best to distract her attention, 
all the while offering to remove his interest at a cost. By eighteen, 
he was doing his utmost to endear himself to my younger sister, she 
was ten at the time.

"His father died when George was twenty. My father had respect for 
Mr. Wickham, senior, and a blind spot where the son was concerned. My 
father supported George through university--the parts he completed--
and even for a while beyond that. My father had George working at 
Fitdar, and he had made it clear that he wanted to look after George 
in his career. My own father died not yet two years ago.

"After my father's death, George appeared in my office, demanding 
that I promote him and increase his salary and benefits. I refused, 
and further decided that he was not fit to work for my company so 
dismissed him. In recognition of my father's wishes, I made quite a 
generous 'redundancy' payment to him. At this point I thought all my 
connection with him cut."

"Fitz, stop, please," Liz interrupted. "I knew something was wrong 
about George Wickham. I didn't realise he was this bad, but I do not 
see how this can help."

"Liz, surely, knowing his character cannot hurt and there is more." 
He looked at Liz for her confirmation that he should continue. Liz 
nodded. "Over the years, while George still worked for Fitdar, I had 
heard rumours of his behaviour and interactions with other 
corporations, but nothing solid, not until...until he was found in my 
house, in my sister's room. This was not two months after he left my 
employment. Thankfully when I arrived, they were both, well, er, 
dressed, but I believe half an hour longer would have made a great 
deal of difference to their...relationship.

"I sent George away, and speaking with Georgie, my sister, over the 
weeks that followed, I learnt just how compelling his promises and 
endearing his manner can be. Through Georgie's eventual confessions 
and presenting me with a paper George had asked her to sign, I learnt 
his intentions." Fitz picked up his warm coffee and sipped as if it 
were boiling hot. He placed the cup back on the table and continued.

"George had been 'comforting' Georgie after the loss of our father 
and had convinced Georgie they were in love. George told Georgie the 
contract was a formal engagement and her signature would be a show of 
her love for him. Do not think Georgie stupid: George had moulded her 
mind well, with the grief of the loss of our father and her trust in 
George over many years, she was vulnerable. In actuality, the paper 
was a well written document, signing her entire inheritance over to 
his control when they were married. Georgie was planning on signing 
the papers after midnight, as it was her eighteenth birthday, and 
then leaving to elope with George." Fitz stopped and picked up his 
empty cup, a little surprised that there was no longer any coffee in 
it. After five minutes of studying the cup, he continued.

"I tried to track Wickham and catch him out somewhere else. I could 
not put Georgie through the process of exposing Wickham to the world, 
and he had done nothing illegal with her that I could prove, but I 
wanted to deal with George.

"Whenever I got near to him, a sniff of a scheme, old or new, he was 
gone often with a boost to his bank balance. I can supply you with a 
list of the companies who have lost money by his actions. I believe 
the police know only half of them; most would be too embarrassed to 
come forward without coaxing."

"Thank you" was all that Liz could say. It seemed they both knew 
there was no more to be said, and Fitz was emotionally drained. They 
walked from the office to the car. Liz dropped Fitz at the hotel and 
bid him farewell as he was to fly out in the morning.

Chapter 14

The Crown V Lydia Bennet was tried as a separate case to The Crown V 
George Wickham. This was done for a number of reasons, mostly due to 
the reasons Miss Bennet's lawyer brought to the prosecutor's 
attention. Wickham's clear intentions of pinning the entire crime on 
Lydia, and the number of other companies that had come forward, 
leading to charges against George Wickham were the two most 
compelling reasons for a separation of trials.

Lydia was to be tried first as it was likely to be a short case. The 
date set was a month after her arrest.

As predicted, the trial was short. It took only one day in the 
courtroom for Liz to convince her sister to make a deal and hope for 
little, if any, prison time. Lydia's plea was changed but the 
sentencing was left till the following day. The judge wished to 
consider the proposal put forward by the prosecution and defence.

The day of Lydia's trial was also the day Charles returned to 
Newcastle. Though his work had permitted him to remain in Newcastle, 
he had other concerns to check on at home.

Fitz had been unable to get back to Newcastle and the longer he was 
away, the more he doubted Liz's feelings for him, and the more time 
that past, the less he thought she would want him to return to her.

With his apparent 'realisation' had come the depression, similar to 
that he had fallen into after his holiday, and Charles was worried. 
What worried Charles more was the effect his sister's behaviour.

Caroline would go to Fitdar - confident Liz would not be around - and 
follow Fitz out of the building or to his office. The weekend was 
worse. Caroline would pick up coffee and muffins, knock on Fitz's 
door offering breakfast and herself. 

During his visit home, Charles did all he could to curb Caroline, 
but, as Fitz rarely left the office, and never allowed Caroline into 
his home, Charles felt secure returning to Jane.

Charles arrived at the Bennet house after the family returned from 
court. He gave Liz a work update, to which she listened for any 
mention of Fitz and was disappointed, then he asked Jane out to 
dinner. 

With a little urging by her sister and father, Jane agreed and left 
with Charles for dinner.

Charles and Jane had a quiet night out. Charles did all he could to 
reassure and comfort Jane, and he returned her home at a reasonable 
time so she could rest well for the following day. He promised to go 
to court with her in the morning.

Jane walked into a dark and quiet house. She went to the only room 
with a light on, the kitchen and found her father sitting over an 
untouched glass of milk.

"Dad! Is everyone else in bed?"

"Yes dear, but I couldn't sleep." Jane sat opposite her father at the 
table.

"I am sure all will be fine. Tomorrow we will know what the judge 
decided. You and Liz have done a great job for Lydia."

"Yes, Jane, it appears that your sister did a lot of research or has 
widespread resources. I just wish she were happy. She has been 
working so hard on this, but as everything seems to look better, she 
seems quiet and withdrawn."

Jane didn't know what to say. She had noticed Liz withdrawing from 
family and work and focussing solely on Lydia, but she didn't know 
what to tell her father. Jane was usually Liz's confidante but not 
this time. Having nothing else to say, and knowing her father would 
prefer to be alone, Jane rose and said, "Goodnight, Dad. We can talk 
tomorrow." She kissed his forehead and went to bed.

When the Bennets arrived at the courthouse, Jane was a little 
disappointed to find Charles not yet arrived. She looked around, but 
family matters (mainly Mrs. Bennet's nerves) soon claimed her 
attention.

The family went into the courtroom, Liz took her seat next to Lydia 
at the defendants' table with the barrister, while Jane, Mr. and Mrs. 
Bennet and Liz's two younger sisters filled the bench behind them.

"All rise for Judge Matlocky." The judge walked in and took his seat. 
He indicated that all could sit.

Lydia was nervous; wringing her hands, sitting on the edge of her 
seat, her face a pasty white colour. Liz did her best to reassure her 
younger sister with looks, but it did little. The only thing that 
would help would be for the sentence to be passed.

The judge began, "The case before this court is decided. A guilty 
plea has been entered and accepted and the prosecution have proposed 
a sentence. At this point, I have a few words to say Miss Bennet." 
Lydia looked up, petrified with her eyes fixed on the judge. "From 
the papers before me and the one day of evidence presented, my 
conclusion is that you, Miss Bennet, need to be more careful in your 
choice of associates and show more respect for those who employ you." 
Lydia was nodding vigorously, and Liz thought this lecture good as 
Lydia would not have listened to anyone else.

'Perhaps,' Liz thought to herself, 'This may turn out to be a good 
thing for my little sister.' These thoughts meant that Liz missed a 
good deal of the Judge's lecture but Lydia's looks indicated that she 
hadn't missed a word and intended to follow his advice.

"Enough of this. Would the defendant and council stand." They 
did. "Miss Lydia Bennet, you have been found guilty of.." someone in 
the gallery had a coughing fit as the judge stated the crimes, but 
everyone knew what they were. "I have modified the sentence 
agreement." Lydia when ghostly white and Liz looked shocked but held 
her composure. "Miss Bennet, you are to complete not less than 800 
hours of community service, to be approved by the court. Further, you 
are on probation for 6 years. You are also expected to appear for the 
prosecution as arranged." He banged the gavel and Lydia fell into her 
seat.

"All stand." The clerk said. The judge rose and left the room. Lydia 
fell into her chair again, relieved that this was over.

Mr. Bennet and Jane comforted Mrs. Bennet (who had hopes the judge 
would dismiss the charges and not give Lydia any punishment.) as Liz 
turned to the dumbfounded Lydia.

"Lyd, that was good."

Lydia turned to her sister with tear filled eyes. "I know, Liz. When 
he said he was changing the agreement...I thought...I thought he 
would send me to jail, but he only added more community service."

"I know, Lyd. You need to think about what to do for the service 
though, 800 hours is a lot of time to spend doing something you 
detest."

"But, Liz, I am so lucky." Lydia started to let the tears flow, but 
as Liz moved to comfort her suddenly mature sister, Mrs. Bennet 
interrupted.

"My poor Lydia." She gushed, before turning on Liz. "What have you 
said to her? Surely you could have fixed it so poor Lydia didn't have 
to do that community service, and what the judge said to her. And now 
you have gone and upset her." Mrs. Bennet scolded her second 
daughter. Lydia didn't know what to say. She at least was grateful to 
Liz. 

Luckily Jane and Mr. Bennet stepped forward. Mr. Bennet took his 
wife's attention while Jane led Liz from the courtroom and out of the 
courthouse. As they walked, Jane tried to comfort Liz after their 
mother's abuse, but no matter how Liz tried to control herself, tears 
rolled slowly down her face and slight sobs caused her shoulders to 
shrug.

Jane continued her attempt to comfort Liz but didn't know what to 
say. Over recent days, Jane suspected Liz was troubled by something 
beyond the trial. Not Mrs. Bennet (an outburst like the one in court 
would not usually reduce Liz to tears) and not work, but something 
Liz hadn't spoken about.

It was while Jane was attempting to figure out what was causing her 
sisters pain that she saw Charles and a very anxious Fitz approach.

Fitz spoke quietly to Charles, who nodded and moved to Jane. Fitz 
took up position next to Liz, sitting on the steps.

Charles led Jane away a little. She embraced him and received his 
kisses, the he stepped back a little. The first words that passed his 
lips were "Marry Me." Jane looked at him, shocked, then she nodded. 
She smiled at Charles and allowed him to collect her in his arms.

Over Charles' shoulder, Jane looked over at Liz and Fitz. Jane was 
satisfied she could do no more for her sister and allowed Charles to 
lead her inside to her family who had congregated in the foyer.

Meanwhile, Fitz sat beside Liz. He took her hand and placed gentle 
kisses on her knuckles to let her know he was there. Seeing her so 
hurt, Fitz was not sure what to do so took the risk with the kisses.

"Liz?" he asked gently. "Liz?"

She sat up straight and looked at the man beside her and threw her 
arms around him and cried onto his shoulder.

Neither Liz nor Fitz knew how long they staid like that, but 
eventually, still stroking her hair with his hand, Fitz spoke. "Liz, 
I think it is time we..."

Liz stood quickly. "Yes, it is," She said rather formally, 
disengaging from all physical contact with Fitz.

Fitz was confused by her action, but given her emotional state (and 
his belief she didn't care for him) he was not going to push the 
issue. What Fitz could not know was the confusion his presence led 
her into.

Liz remembered herself as she heard Fitz's voice. Instantly she began 
chastising herself for her lack of control, so she removed herself 
from his arms and returned to a businesslike facade that had done 
them so well for many months.

Charles and Jane approached Fitz and Liz. Jane went straight to Liz. 
If the expression of joy, mixed with concern, didn't explain what had 
occurred, Janes first words "I am getting married" spelled it out in 
detail.


Chapter 15

A smile spread across Liz's features. It showed all three people 
before her how genuinely happy this news made her. For the next few 
minutes Liz forgot her confusion and enjoyed Janes happiness.

Fitz was happy for his friend but his congratulations were delayed as 
he watched the happiness diffuse through Liz. He still didn't 
understand why she drew away from him, and, unlike Liz, his worry 
could not be totally displaced temporarily by Charles's and Jane's 
engagement. Sure, he was jealous of their happiness but he still held 
hope that he would marry a Bennet before long. If only Fitz knew what 
was going on in Liz's smart and very pretty head.

Over the next days, Liz did her best to avoid Fitz. Liz and Jane had 
decided to see out the current week at Newcastle and Fitz and Charles 
found they were needed at the Newcastle office, too.
 
Mrs. Bennet was excited to distraction with Lydia home and Jane 
engaged to a rich man, she barely had time to pester Liz about not 
having a man or Lydia having to do community service. Liz was still 
withdrawn, at least to Mr. Bennet's, Jane's and Fitz's eyes. While 
Jane had her father and Charles, Fitz did not have the luxury of 
discussing his thoughts with anyone. Liz put on a good show, 
convinced her younger sisters, mother and Charles that all was well. 
Nobody at the Newcastle office noticed her smile didn't reach her 
eyes or that her laughter was rare and strained. Nobody she spoke to 
or e-mailed in London noticed her formal manner.

Liz knew she was withdrawing, but couldn't help it. She knew the 
cause - Fitz. It was nothing he did or nothing he said; it was more 
the way she suspected she felt about him - the way she was sure he 
didn't feel about her.

For three days after the trial, Liz went to the office early, ordered 
lunch in and went home late. She attempted to refuse dinner with 
Charles, Jane and Fitz on the Friday night, but Jane and Mr. Bennet 
managed to convince her to go.

Liz said little to anyone all through the meal but when she was left 
alone with Fitz (Charles and Jane were taking a turn around the 
dancefloor) she dreaded what the time alone with him would bring.

Fitz was not sure what to say. For three days Liz's conversations 
with him consisted solely of Fitdar business and now, here he sat 
with the woman he very nearly loved. After three minutes, Fitz 
decided it was time to break the silence. "So, Liz, are you leaving 
your family soon?" Not the best opening line but he couldn't think 
when Liz was around.

"Yes. Jane and I return to London on Monday."

"Are you sure you have spent enough time here? I mean, perhaps a 
holiday would do you good."

Fitz hoped she would understand the concern he was trying to express. 
Liz didn't appear to be inclined to answer so Fitz continued. "I 
mean, you have been working hard, you have done remarkably well for 
your sister and I hear George Wickham is to plead guilty and take a 
minimum of ten years in jail. You deserve a break."

"Thanks," She answered a little casually. It wasn't that she wasn't 
grateful for his words, but to know that she would be seeing him 
every day at work was hard, especially now that Jane was to marry and 
move out of the unit they shared.

"Liz," Fitz said gently and affectionately, "Is there anything you 
want to talk about?" He paused and Liz looked blankly at him. "It is 
just...after the sentencing...you seemed...upset...and I thought..."

"I am going to Sydney," Liz interrupted.

"What?"

"The office in Australia has been requesting assistance with a few 
matters so I am going until the wedding."

"Liz, surely someone else could..."

"Mr. Darcy, it is my job to see to the well being of the company, 
and, as you said, a holiday will do me good." 'So will the distance' 
she thought to herself.

Resigned and disappointed, Fitz tried to sound friendly, but his 
disappointment was clear to any casual observer, though Liz wasn't 
noticing. "When do you leave?"

"Next Thursday. I am looking forward to the trip. I hear the scenery 
is so different to here."

"I understand it is. I hope it is all you need. I will be here when 
you get back." She smiled at him. To the couple at the next table it 
appeared two lovers looking at each other, and that is what Jane and 
Charles saw as they approached. By the time they stepped up to the 
table, the conversation had moved and Liz and Fitz were discussing 
Fitz as acting CEO.

"Liz?" Jane questioned.

"I am going to Sydney. Sylvia has asked for help. I will be back for 
the wedding."

"You are cutting it fine," Fitz said, hoping Jane could talk her 
sister out of this trip.

"I know. I may return earlier."

"I hope so." Jane said. "Even if it is just a visit to get a dress. 
My maid of honour must be well dressed."

"Of course, I will come home a week before the wedding."

"Thank you, Liz," Jane said as she hugged her sister.


Chapter  16

For four weeks, Fitz and Liz each threw themselves into their work. 
They both lived for their phone conversations, even though they only 
spoke of work with a few comments about Charles and Jane or the sites 
Liz was seeing when she went sightseeing on weekends.

Liz's spirits were rising. She e-mailed with Jane and Lydia and Mr. 
Bennet and took time out on weekends for short trips. 

It was on the first weekend that Liz discovered just how big 
Australia is. She asked at the car rental place how long it would 
take to drive to Perth. When she was told a few days, after much 
laughter by the rental guy, she changed her weekend plans to the four 
hour drive to Canberra instead. She had great weekend in the capital 
city and intended to go back again, later.

Over the other weekends, Liz enjoyed the beaches and mountains around 
Sydney. In all this time, Liz began to be her old self. She missed 
Jane, but visited Mrs. Gardiner, an old friend of the family. She 
resigned herself to a friendship and colleague relationship with 
Fitz. Liz was happier than she had been in a while and it showed. 

Fitz was starting to notice the change and was planning what he would 
say when he next saw her in person. Unfortunately, this would come 
sooner than planned.

Late in the fourth week, Liz got a tearful call from Jane. 

The call started with the usual greetings and family chat, but Liz 
could hear that Jane wounded ill. At first Jane said it was nothing 
to worry about but as the call progressed, and Jane coughed and 
sobbed as she spoke, Liz began to get the feeling Jane had more than 
a physical illness.

"So, Jane, tell me all about what is happening, the truth."

"I have a cold Liz, that is all."

"And?"

"And I went to stay with Charles, but...but...but now I am home 
again."

"Why, Jane? Did you fight?"

"Charles and I didn't fight. I only went to stay while I was sick."

"But Jane, you are still ill. What happened?"

"Liz, it is Caroline." Jane said reluctantly. "You were right. I 
heard her talking to Charles when she thought I was asleep. She was 
telling him how wrong I am for him. I couldn't stay there." Jane 
burst into tears.

"Of course you couldn't" Liz comforted.

"But...But..I cant stay with Mum either. She keeps telling me what to 
say to Charles, how to act - she wants me to get pregnant so that he 
will not leave me. Liz, I can't stand it." Jane sobbed.

"Jane, I am coming home. I will be there as soon as I can. I will e-
mail Lydia; she can stay with you until I get home."

"Thank you, Liz, but you don't have to. I will be fine."

"I know, Jane. I will be there soon."

True to her word, within 48 hours Liz was at her sister's side. She 
hadn't informed anyone in London beyond Jane and Lydia that she would 
be home.

Liz fussed over Jane and found that TLC and chicken soup was what 
Jane needed so Liz prepared ample servings of both. Jane slept most 
of the day and Liz communicated with the office by e-mail as she had 
from Sydney. She didn't intend not to deceive them as to her location 
but the subject just never came up.

One evening, just as Jane and Liz sat down to watch Buffy (Lydia had 
gone out to dinner with a friend), there was a knock at the door. 
After cursing the timing of the visitors, Liz secured Jane under the 
doona, got up and opened the door. 


Chapter 17

Bingley's bright smile welcomed Liz back to England. His surprise was 
quickly superseded by his welcome and then his quick movement to get 
him to Jane's side. As he moved, Liz saw a stunned Fitz in the 
doorway.

Fitz was holding a small bunch of flowers in his hand. In his head, 
he knew they were for Jane, but he also knew that he dearly wished he 
were in the storyline of a corny movie, the ones where the hero has a 
small bunch of flowers for the sick sister and a huge bunch of red 
roses, tied elegantly with flowing white ribbons and a single red 
ribbon with a diamond ring attached, for his love. Unfortunately for 
Fitz (and Liz if the truth be told) he had only the small bunch of 
flowers with a cute 'get well' balloon in the middle.

"Charles asked me to come and see Jane."

"Oh." Liz said, perhaps a little distracted.

"May I?" he asked. Liz looked at him questioningly. A significant 
look from Fitz got the desired result. Liz stepped aside and waved 
her arm to indicate that he should come in.

"Of course," She said remembering herself. "I am sure Jane will be 
happy to see you."

Fitz stopped just inside the door, giving Liz enough space to close 
it. 

"I am sort of hoping you are glad to see me," Fitz said a little 
sheepishly.

"I am," Liz said quietly. Fitz continued on. 

"When you left...I was...That is to say...I missed you Liz."

"I missed you, Jane, and Charles too. There was work that needed..."

Fitz put a finger to Liz's lips to silence her. This time apart 
convinced Fitz he had to say what he wanted to say and hope Liz 
agreed.

"Liz, I know that you didn't want to talk about it, but that day, 
outside the court - no please let me finish - I will never trouble 
you with this again but please allow me to finish now." Liz nodded 
warily. "Outside the courthouse you looked so upset and unhappy and 
all I wanted to do was take you in my arms and tell you everything 
would be OK." Liz looked at him, stunned. Fitz continued. "I was so 
happy to see you and I thought you felt the same way and then you 
didn't want to see me. Liz, I have missed you." Desperation was clear 
in his voice, mixed with longing and hope. "I love you, Elizabeth 
Bennet," he said simply.

"You what?" Liz said surprised.

"I had to tell you. I understand if you want me to go. Please give 
these to your sister." He handed the flowers to Liz.

"Go? Fitz, no!" She took his arm rather than the proffered 
flowers. "Don't open the door, stay."

"You want me to stay?"

"Fitz, of course I want you to stay."

"But..."

"I left because I thought you didn't want me, not after Lydia..." He 
dropped the flowers on the floor and took Liz into his arms.

"Don't go again. Not without me." He mumbled into her hair as her 
tears fell on his shoulder. After a few minutes they released each 
other, Fitz picked up the flowers and took them over to Jane.

Neither Jane nor Charles had noticed the exchange near the door, but 
Jane did notice, when Liz approached, that Liz's colour and features 
had improved tenfold.

Charles and Fitz stayed for dinner, Liz and Fitz cooked. They watched 
a bit of TV before the men left.

Jane was feeling much better by the time they left. She put this down 
to Liz's return and improved spirits, so Liz and Jane sat up talking 
about Liz's trip. 

They went to bed quite late and both slept in. Lydia had phoned to 
say she was staying at a friend's house till the weekend so when Jane 
and Liz got up they were still alone. Liz continued her travel 
stories, the weekend trips and the people in the office. Jane had not 
seen Liz so happy in a long time, so when Liz finished her narrative 
at the phone call from Jane, Jane said "It seems the trip has done 
you the world of good."

"It did, but coming home has helped too." Liz laughed as Jane smiled 
hesitantly, a little unsure of what her sister meant. "It is simple, 
Jane: I missed home, the people, my job and my bed. Holidays, even 
working ones are good but I needed to get back to my own life."

"I am glad you are home," Jane said as she hugged her sister, 
satisfied with the answers Liz gave. Jane did not have a suspicious 
bone in her body so if Liz was not telling all, Jane didn't notice.

Lydia got back at the weekend as planned, and Jane was sufficiently 
recovered to return to work on Monday.

Liz and Jane were both returning to work on Monday. On Sunday night, 
the three sisters sat down to dinner. As they ate their dinner, Liz 
moved the conversation.

"So Lydia, how have you liked your visit?"

"Oh, Liz, I know I came to care for Jane, and I am sorry you were 
sick Jane, but this has been great."

"What do you mean Lydia?" Jane enquired.

"Well, I have been able to catch up with Maria--you knew she moved 
here last year. And it has been nice not to have..I mean I love Mum 
and Dad and all but..." Lydia let the thought hang, Liz obligingly 
completed it.

"It is nice to be away from them."

Lydia nodded, chewing her lips while their eldest sister 
exclaimed "ELIZABETH BENNET"

"Jane," Liz said in a sweet tone. "You know it is true."

"I know Liz, but to say it, out loud! Anyway, Lydia, what are your 
plans?  You know you are welcome to stay whenever you want."

"Actually Jane, I was hoping to stay a bit longer. I have found a 
children's shelter who are willing to have me for my community 
service and I have even found a job."

"Lydia, I am surprised, pleasantly, but surprised."

"I know, Liz, but in London it is a new start. You know better than 
anyone how scared I was in the trial and I have a second chance and 
Mum means well but...I need to be where nobody knows me."

"Lyd, we understand and of course you can stay," Jane said as she 
cleared the table.

"But," Liz said very seriously, "There are conditions."

"Okay, what are they?"

"One. You help around the house," Jane said. Lydia nodded.

"Two. Let us know if you aren't coming home. We do the same," Lydia 
nodded to the condition Liz added.

"Three. You don't need to pay rent, but you can help with the 
groceries and phone bill."

"Of course, but I wanted to pay my way, rent and all..."

"Lydia," Liz said, "You will be paying your way, your community 
service and part time work and we don't need the rent money, but the 
final house rule may lead to a change of your mind." Liz smiled at 
Jane as Jane rolled her eyes.

"What is it, Liz?"

"Okay, Four. You tell Mum and Dad you are staying here and never tell 
Mum on the phone that either of us are home. Just tell her we will 
call her back. The safer option is to let the machine get it." Lydia 
nodded solemnly then broke into laughter as even Jane laughed.

The next week passed well. Liz and Fitz had lunch and dinner a few 
times, neither telling anyone about it, not yet. It was not as if 
they were ashamed; neither wanted to share the other just yet.

Lydia spent Friday night at the shelter, getting home around 
midnight. 'I am enjoying this community service too much' she thought 
as she opened the door to a dark apartment. The light on the 
answering machine was flashing six messages (not very unusual). Lydia 
flicked the lounge room light on, dropped her coat over a chair and 
pressed the play on the answering machine as she walked into the 
kitchen and put the kettle on.

"Jane...Jane are you there? It is Mum."

"It never ceases to amaze me," Lydia said aloud to the empty room "we 
have all known that voice for so long yet she insists on telling the 
machine who it is calling."

The message continued. "It is only a week until the wedding and we 
need to talk about.." *beep* Lydia pressed the next button and added 
another tick in Janes section of the  'Mum called' notebook.

"Jane, It is Mum again, I really need..." *beep* another tick.

"Lyd, honey, it is Mum. Have Jane call me. How are you? I do wish you 
would come home soon, I will make that pudding you like." *Beep* 
Lydia was in the kitchen so wasn't able to hit the button. She put a 
tick on her tally page, hesitated then put sort of a half tick in 
page of the Mum called book.

"Liz, It is your mother, have Jane call..." *beep* Lydia shrugged and 
put a tick on both the Jane and Liz pages.

"Lydia, Liz, I am staying at Charles' see you in the morning." *Beep* 

"At least Jane knows how to leave a brief message," Lydia said as she 
laughed to herself as the next message started.

"Liz, honey, can you have Jane call your mother. She is driving me 
crazy. She wants me to drive her up there to see you all and make 
sure everyone is okay." *Beep*

'Thanks for the warning dad,' Lydia thought as she deleted the 
messages and wrote a note for Liz saying that Jane was staying out. 
She picked up her tea and went to bed.

Lydia got out of bed around 9.30. Sleeping in was a luxury between 
work and the shelter. She had indulged in a bubble bath and went to 
the kitchen to make her breakfast.

A very relaxed Lydia walked into the kitchen. She saw the note she 
had left for Liz on the table, unmoved, and shrugged to 
herself. 'Perhaps Liz was already in bed'. Lydia made her breakfast 
and sat at the table. Surely Liz would be out soon.

As Lydia finished eating, the front door opened and Jane and Charles 
came in.

"Coffee? The pot's hot."

"Thanks, Lyd." Jane went to the kitchen as Charles sat down. Jane set 
a cup infront of Charles and one for herself as she sat at the table.

"Where's Liz?" Jane asked.

"Don't know. I figured she was still in bed."

"Liz? Still in bed at this time, even on a Saturday. Something must 
be wrong."

"I'll go check," Lydia said as she went to the bedrooms. A minute 
later she came back. "Jane, she isn't there and I don't think she has 
slept in her bed."

"Did she call, say she wasn't coming home?" Jane asked the obvious.

"No, nothing."

"That isn't like her. Are you sure she didn't just go out early?"

"No, Liz doesn't leave her bed that tidy on a weekend morning." Lydia 
was getting worried. Since her legal trouble, Lydia had grown close 
to Liz.

"I am sure she is fine, Lyd. I'll go check the office, you stay here."

Charles broke his silence at this point. "Jane, honey, you stay here 
with your sister. I'll go check the office and come back. I'll only 
be an hour." He kissed her forehead and left.


Chapter 18

After a little over an hour, Charles got back to find the sisters 
still at the table with cold coffee in front of them and the cordless 
phone sitting between them. "Jane, I had an e-mail, Liz asked me to 
look after the office while she is gone."

"Is that all she said?" Jane asked, showing her surprise and concern. 
Charles nodded. "That is not like Liz," she stated simply.

"No, it isn't." Charles said. "There is more. 'Why didn't she ask 
Fitz?' I thought, so I called his house. Georgi is home from Uni and 
said he wasn't there. He left a note saying 'Don't worry, I will be 
back soon' and that's it."

Jane dialled Liz's mobile phone number again. It went straight to 
voice mail. Charles looked at Jane. "Just tried her phone again, no 
luck."

"I didn't have any luck with Fitz's either."

"You don't think..." Lydia couldn't quite voice her idea even though 
she was not alone in the thought.

"I don't know, Lyd. She will be back by next weekend, I am sure, but 
beyond that I don't know."

When Jane got to work Monday, she had a brief e-mail from Liz. No 
detail, just that they would be back for the wedding. 'At least this 
confirms they are together,' Jane thought to herself.

For a week, Jane, Charles and Lydia were swinging between worried and 
busy. Charles had the added stress of Caroline.

Rumours were wild at Fitdar. The absence of both Liz and Fitz with 
very little explanation was noticed. Charles and Jane did their best 
to ensure all knew Fitz and Liz were away on business but with no 
real reason or answers to give, they were not able to quell the 
rumours. 

Caroline still had lunch with the girls on occasion. It happened that 
this week was one of those occasions and Caroline found out that Fitz 
was away on business but nobody knew where of for how long.

Charles felt his sisters wrath when he got home. "Why didn't you tell 
me?"

"Hello, Caroline"

"Well?"

"I don't want to guess," he tried to walk past her.

"Fitzy is missing," Caroline whined.

"Fitz is not missing. He is on a trip."

"Where? For how long? You will have to cancel your wedding."

"Why? I am not cancelling my wedding, and besides, Fitz will be back."

"So, where is he?"

"Caroline, if he wanted you to know, he would have told you. Now I 
have to go." Charles made an unexpected visit to Jane, but he hadn't 
heard the end of Caroline's arguments.

Friday night Caroline started again, but he couldn't escape to Jane 
the night before their wedding.

Fitz had phoned earlier, reassuring Charles he would be there as best 
man if he was still wanted for the post. Liz had made a similar call 
to Jane. Caroline was insisting the wedding be called off, Charles 
gave up arguing and the phone rang. Charles left the room to answer 
it as his sister called out "But poor Fitz, he would want to be 
there, to dance with me, the first dance of course."

Charles came back to the room two minutes later. "I have to go out. 
Oh, and Fitz's first dance will be with the maid of honour." He left 
as Caroline called out her opinion of Janes choice of maid of honour.

Charles arrived at Fitz's house fifteen minutes after he left his 
own. Fitz let him in the front door. In the lounge room, he saw Jane 
and Liz. Charles sat next to Jane and Fitz sat next to Liz.

Fitz spoke first as Jane could only give Charles an 'I don't know' 
look in response to his own. "Liz and I have been on a small trip, 
together."  Jane and Charles thought 'we know, get on with it' or 
thoughts to that effect, just a lot nicer. Both were too polite to 
speak, though they were slightly tempted. 

"We wanted you to be the first to know," Fitz continued. "We got 
married." 

Stunned silence filled the room, soon followed by congratulations, 
hugs and many "When? Where?" type questions. Liz and Fitz didn't need 
to answer any of the questions as Jane kept saying, "Oh Liz" and 
hugging her sister. Anyone would assume that the noise and excitement 
would bring Georgi from her room but she had spoken to Fitz when he 
arrived home and he had told her some friends would be over late.

Eventually, Jane and Charles sat back down on the sofa and Liz and 
Fitz sat on the other.

"So Liz, tell us from the start."

"I'll tell you details later, Jane." Liz said with a smile for Fitz. 
Charles and Fitz seemed grateful they wouldn't be forced to sit 
through the 'details'. "But I think we should tell you a brief 
version now." Jane and Charles nodded. Liz continued, knowing Fitz 
wouldn't want to tell it himself, but they had decided to tell.


Chapter 19

"Fitz and I decided that we needed to be alone to discuss...us. We 
left you messages so you wouldn't worry and went to a little village 
about an hour and a half drive from London. It only took us the drive 
to decide we wanted to marry and barely half an hour to decide we 
wanted a small, private ceremony. I am sorry we excluded you, Jane 
and Charles, but we couldn't go through the ordeals with mother." 
Fitz interrupted.

"Nor could we allow further misunderstanding." Liz and Fitz exchanged 
lovers smiles, lost in each others eyes for a few moments. Fitz 
continued, "Charles, we have asked you both here tonight, not only 
because we wanted to tell you first, but also because we don't want 
to cause any problems tomorrow." Charles looked curious, Fitz 
continued, "Tomorrow is your day. We do not want to steal your light 
so we will not announce our marriage until the following day. We did 
want you to know first--not wait until you returned. That is why we 
have you here."

Jane smiled and looked toward Liz, who was twisting her wedding 
ring. "But, Liz," Jane said, "Mother will notice your ring."

"We had thought of that" Liz said ruefully. "I am to wear gloves, I 
will leave them on. Don't worry, Jane, I will not wear any engagement 
ring so nothing will show through."

"Liz," Jane asked "You aren't wearing one now."

"I know" Liz was clearly teasing her husband and he rose to the bait.

"Liz, you will have an engagement ring once we design the resetting 
of Grandmother's ring," Liz smiled lovingly.  

"Of course you knew I was playing with you." They both smiled.

"Look at the time!" Charles exclaimed. Liz looked at her watch.

"Ooh, come on Jane, we have to go." Liz stood, pulling Jane by the 
hand. It was eleven pm and Jane needed to sleep and they couldn't be 
there after midnight--bad luck for Charles and Jane and all of that 
wedding tradition.

"Darling," Fitz said calmly. "Where are you going?"

"To stay with Jane," Liz said as if it should be obvious.

"But?" Fitz asked while Charles and Jane were saying goodbye as 
Charles would drive his own car home.

"I have to stay with Jane. I will be back tomorrow, forever. Why 
don't you have Charles stay here? It will make his life easier and 
give you some company." She smiled sweetly and he kissed her deeply, 
passionately. Together they walked to Charles and Jane.

"Charles," Fitz called. "Why don't you stay here. We can pick up the 
suits from your place in the morning."

"Thanks, Fitz. I didn't want to see Caroline now and in the morning, 
your presence will help."

"Only because it is your wedding day will I agree to come with you. 
But for now, we must get the ladies to their last night in their 
apartment." Those words reminded Liz and Jane just how much their 
lives were changing.

Fitz and Charles drove their ladies home. After a looong good-bye, 
the ladies went in. Charles and Fitz drove home, had a nightcap and 
went to bed.

Liz and Jane went to bed, not two minutes later Jane was sitting on 
her sisters bed asking for the details Liz wouldn't tell earlier.

Liz obliged and they talked until they both fell asleep. Lydia found 
them on Liz's bed at 8am. She woke them up and the wedding 
preparation began.

The wedding progressed much as expected, the groom was dumbstruck by 
the brides beauty, the best man barely saw the bride for the 'maid' 
of honour. The bride's family were ecstatically happy, the groom's 
sister didn't care for the wedding but she did spend a great deal of 
time staring at the best man and hoping he would be receptive to her 
advances at the reception.

Liz, Fitz, Jane, and Charles were all smiles as they paraded into the 
reception centre.

Fitz did not leave Liz's side, he greeted guests with her, spoke with 
her family and nearly followed her to the loo. Caroline had watched 
them the entire time and took her chance to pounce.

"Fitz," she said as she laid a hand on his arm and he resisted the 
urge to shudder at the action and voice. "I haven't seen you in ages. 
You have to dance the first with me," She cooed.

"Hello, Miss Bingley," he said as he removed her hand with his left. 
Though Liz had covered her ring, he had not. He considered switching 
it to his right hand but dismissed the thought; he was proud of his 
wife. "I am committed," a slight pause, deciding exactly what to say 
to finish the sentence. He decided that he needed to stick to the 
original plan and not reveal the marriage yet: "To dance the first 
with Liz."

"Surely the next dance then," she cooed.

"The next dance?" Liz walked up with a smile as she spoke.

"I was talking with Fitzy," Caroline said possessively, placing one 
arm through Fitz's and the other hand on top of his elbow.

If Liz wasn't amused by the display, she would be jealous, but Liz 
was sure of Fitz's regard so was content to be amused. "Well," Liz 
answered sickeningly sweetly, "Fitzy is needed by the groom." Liz 
took his other arm with a smile for Caroline. Fitz again removed 
Caroline's arm and hand from his arm and happily allowed Liz to lead 
him away as she said to Caroline, "If you would excuse us."

They walked a little way in Charles and Janes direction when they 
detoured out a side door and into a little space between two 
hedges. "Mrs. Darcy," He said as he pulled Liz into his arms. "I do 
not see Charles anywhere here."

"You don't? Well perhaps we should make the best of it." She snaked 
her arms up and around his neck and allowed him to kiss her with such 
longing that led to responses in Liz that made her consider leaving 
her sister's wedding that moment. Eventually they separated.

"Mrs. Darcy (I love saying that) I missed you last night and have 
hardly seen you today and have not had you to myself at all," He 
sulked before kissing her again.

"Alas," Liz said "I believe we can not be alone much longer as Jane 
and Charles will be wanting to dance."

"It is only for the pleasure of dancing with you," he said as they 
walked in the door, "that I am going inside."

"And the second dance?" she asked impertinently. He kissed her 
forehead gently.

"With you, all with you." Liz smiled and they approached Charles and 
Jane.

"We are about to dance, are you two ready?" Charles asked. Liz and 
Fitz smiled, mirroring Charles and Janes happiness.

Charles stepped back to Jane, held his hand to her, she took it. 
Rather than have the MC get everyone's attention, Charles tapped a 
glass gently with a fork. He signalled the band and led Jane to the 
dance floor. The music began and they danced, oblivious to the people 
around the floor, watching.

After a minute or two, Fitz stepped around, in front of Liz, held out 
his hand and bowed gallantly. She put her hand in his, he lifted it 
to his lips as he stood. A sharp intake of breath came from the other 
side of the room but it was not noticed by Fitz or Liz as he led her 
to the dance floor and they began their own bridal waltz. Gradually 
other couples joined the dance.

After watching Fitz as her brother danced with his new wife, Caroline 
was planning how long she had to wait until she could cut in and then 
she saw him kiss her hand. Caroline gasped in the silent room and 
watched as they danced. Other couples joined the dance as the first 
tune finished and the second began. Caroline began to walk toward 
Fitz. She reached to tap Liz's shoulder as Fitz turned and dipped Liz 
infront of Caroline. 'That should be me,' she thought, 'a minute 
later and it would be'. What happened next caused a great deal of 
excitement.


Chapter 20

Rather than lift Liz to upright (so Caroline could cut in), he leant 
down and kissed her. With remarkable balance and care he returned Liz 
to her feet without releasing her lips from his own.

An action like this was sure to gain attention. Some watched out of 
curiosity, two people who were 'only friends' as far as anyone knew, 
making such a display. Others watched fascinated by the coordination, 
balance and love displayed. Caroline didn't watch. She stumbled, 
gasped and found her way to a chair.

Charles and Jane had seen the display and smiled to each other. 
Charles whispered to Jane briefly and she nodded. When the music 
stopped, Charles moved to the band, indicated his intention to speak 
and stepped up on the small, makeshift stage and was soon joined by 
Jane.

"Jane and I would like to thank everyone for coming to celebrate our 
day. I promise this isn't another speech, we had them earlier, but we 
do want to say something." Fitz and Liz looked at each other, not 
sure what to expect but a smile directed their way by Jane gave them 
an idea. Jane motioned for Liz and Fitz to join them and no 
bridesmaid nor groomsman could refuse the bride. They walked up 
holding hands.

"We weren't going to say this, well Liz and Fitz weren't, but Jane 
and I decided" a smile exchanged between Charles and Jane. The 
Bennets were looking very curious. Charles continued. "I don't know 
how to say this."

"Just say it!" was called from the crowd. This was followed by a bit 
of laughter in pockets around the room and other comments murmured. 
Charles continued.

"Okay, I will just say it. May I present-" Dramatic pause. "-for 
their (nearly) first dance Mr. and Mrs. Darcy." The band got the hint 
and began to play. Fitz bowed to Liz, held out his hand. She placed 
her hand in his. He closed his hand around hers, pulled her to him, 
kissed her chastely and led her to the dance floor. 

They were oblivious to their surroundings. Fitz held Liz close and 
they danced in silence until they were joined on the floor by Charles 
and Jane. Other couples gradually joined, more hesitant than the 
previous bridal waltz, but still they joined as Fitz whispered to Liz.

"So Liz, how does it feel?"

"To be held in your arms or for it to be known that we are man and 
wife?"

"Both," He said simply.

"To be in your arms is perfect. I want this song to be played forever 
and never to leave my place in your arms."

"Oh Liz, I love you."

"And, at present it is wonderful to be known as man and wife, but I 
fear this night is far from over."

"I believe you are right." 

Liz looked around and noticed Charles and Jane beside them. Charles 
soon noticed that Liz and Fitz were looking at him. "Mr. Darcy, may I 
take a turn with the beautiful Mrs. Darcy?"

"Of course. And Mr. Bingley, may I have the pleasure of Mrs. Bingleys 
company for the same dance?"

The gentleman swapped dance partners, an impertinent remark that 
sounded liked "Do I get a say in this?" was heard coming from Mrs. 
Darcy's mouth.

As the two couples danced, around the room opinions were being 
exchanged.

The Bennets were all stunned. Mrs. Bennet could not speak beyond "two 
daughters married" in a high pitched squeal. Lydia, Kitty and Mary 
were dumbstruck at first. Mary was all indignation and censure for 
her sisters behaviour. To anyone who would listen, she would state 
how 'inappropriate it was to marry without her family's sanction, 
knowledge or witness.'

Kitty was merely disappointed that another large wedding with many 
cute eligible males as guests and a new outfit to wear would be 
missed. "Perhaps," she said to Lydia "We can convince Liz that she 
should have a wedding, and if she doesn't agree, I am sure that 
mother will and will force Liz to do it."

Lydia was a little hurt she wasn't told. She was confused as she had 
been living in Liz's home and had no clue, well perhaps only a clue, 
that Liz was seeing Fitz, and here she was married. Lydia looked at 
her sisters as they danced and saw how happy they looked and all 
thoughts of where Lydia would live left her head.

Mr. Bennet stood a little separate from his family. Liz, his 
favourite child was married and he didn't even get to give her away. 
Mr. Bennet knew his daughter deserved the happiness he saw on her 
face, but he barely knew the man who was now his son in law. He 
hadn't had the chance to ensure this man deserved Liz. He hadn't had 
the chance to see Liz happy through an engagement, and then he 
remembered his wife and her behaviour with Janes wedding preparation. 
He looked over to his daughters as they returned to dance with their 
own husbands. He chuckled to himself as he walked over to cut in and 
dance with Liz as he had with Jane earlier. He had to let her know he 
was happy for her.

Jane and Liz's friend, Charlotte (the manager of the hotel Liz and 
Fitz met at) was present with her fiance, Will Collins. The sight of 
Fitz and Liz dancing grated on Will, and then the way he kissed her, 
Will was certain that Fitz would be rewarded with a fierce slap but 
the kiss lingered. Will figured that, when Liz was rightly on her 
feet, the slap would come, but it didn't. Will turned to his fiance, 
hoping to express his outrage to a favourable audience, but as he 
looked at her, Will found Charlotte openly admiring the conquest her 
friend had made. Will wanted to leave there and then, but Charlotte 
refused, stating "It would not be seemly to leave before the bride 
and groom."

This convinced Will. After the announcement of Liz and Fitz's 
marriage, Will very near collapsed on the floor. Charlotte clapped 
and cheered with many others in the room before leading her fiance to 
the car. As they walked, Charlotte chose not to hear Will's muttering.

"Why would she marry him over me?" All the while, Charlotte reminded 
herself that she was marrying someone to help at the hotel and keep 
her bed warm. He was not cruel or too repulsive. And so Charlotte 
left before she was able to congratulate her friend.

Caroline Bingley was shocked at Fitz's behaviour on the dance floor. 
She convinced herself that he had drunk too much and did not know 
whom he kissed. This thought comforted her even though she had not 
seen a single drink in his hand, nor could an intoxicated person 
perform that balancing manoeuvre and remain upright, but jealous, 
angry people are not rational.

Caroline was cursing Jane Bennet for selecting Liz as maid of honour 
rather than herself. To Caroline's mind, as sister to the groom, she 
had as much right to the post as Liz, and with Fitz as best man, 
Caroline felt her entitlement to the post increased. It was as this 
thought went through her head that the music stopped and Charles and 
Jane stepped up to the stage. Caroline listened, considering the 
display her brother was putting on 'What a fool that family is 
turning my brother into.' When she heard "Mr. and Mrs. Darcy".

It was only that people were standing so close that prevented an 
undignified arrival at the floor.  Caroline gasped and stared with 
her mouth agape. Fitz, her Fitz, was leading another woman to the 
dancefloor without a look in any direction but the eyes of the woman 
he led. 

Caroline found herself a chair, and, as if to twist the knife in her 
own stomach, she watched their every move until she could stand it no 
more, she ran through the centre of the room, an orange ribbon 
falling from her dress, and outside. She got into her car and drove 
until she was out of sight of the reception. Caroline stopped her car 
and sobbed over her steering wheel, chanting, "Why would he do this 
to me? He can't love her and she doesn't have my breeding. She 
doesn't deserve his money."

Just after Carolines departure, Jane and Liz went upstairs so Jane 
could change from her wedding gown. Fitz decided to take the 
opportunity to thank Charles for his announcement so set off to find 
him.

Finding Charles wasn't difficult, what was difficult was getting him 
alone. Eventually, Fitz was able to lead Charles to the relative 
privacy of the base of the stairs.

"Congratulations Charles, you and Jane will be very happy together."

"Thank you, Fitz, I am sure we will. And you and Liz, I am sure you 
two will lead a happy life, if not peaceful."

Fitz chuckled, "You are right." Liz and Jane came down the stairs and 
joined their husbands. "I wanted to ask you, Charles," Fitz was 
saying as Liz slid under his arm as if she were made to stand there. 
Fitz's arm rested comfortably on her shoulders, "Why did you decide 
to announce our marriage?"

"I hope you didn't mind," Charles said a little hesitantly.

"Not at all," Liz took up the conversation, "It is just-" she looked 
at her sister "-today is your day."

"Oh Liz," Jane moved to embrace her sister, "we decided to share our 
day with you."

"Thank you," Liz said, "And now we need to get you two back to say 
goodbye."

"Liz?" Jane asked, "Are you going to work on Monday or are you having 
a honeymoon?"

Fitz smiled knowingly as he said, "We had our honeymoon, and Fitdar 
needs Liz."

The two couples moved into the main room. Charles and Jane said their 
goodbyes and drove off with cans and streamers flowing behind a well-
decorated car.

The guests drifted out and home, leaving only the Bennets. Georgi was 
not present as she barely knew Charles and knew Caroline better than 
she ever wanted.

The ladies headed towards Liz. They wanted details, the how, when and 
where. Mrs. Bennet wanted details about her son-in-law's net worth, 
his family and any brothers. This amused Liz as the Bennets were not 
poor and their share of Fitdar was quite valuable. 

This distraction of the ladies allowed Mr. Bennet a chance to 
evaluate his new son-in-law.

Mr. Bennet had only met Fitz Darcy once and that was during Lydia's 
trouble so he had very little inclination to get to know him. Charles 
was an open book, Mr. Bennet had seen his admiration for Jane the 
first time he saw them together but Fitz Darcy....

"Mr. Bennet," Fitz turned to his father in law as he spoke and 
extended his hand.

"Mr. Darcy," Mr. Bennet said, not extending his own hand, "I have had 
quite a shock today." Fitz lowered his own hand as subtly as he could.

"I am sorry for that. We had intended to tell you tomorrow but 
Charles decided to speak today."

"It would have been a shock then, too," Mr. Bennet said dryly. "Liz 
has been unhappy of late, though today I did notice she is extremely 
happy..." Mr. Bennet paused. "We did not even notice your interest in 
her, or hers in you. Forgive my bluntness, but why did you marry my 
Liz?" The reference to 'my Liz' did not escape Fitz's notice. Mr. 
Bennets protective behaviour pleased Fitz, even if he wished he was 
not on the receiving end. The question concerned him.

"I love her," He stated simply.

"I hope that is true and this has nothing to do with Fitdar," He said 
it. It was like a red rag to a bull.

"How can you say that? I love Liz, I want her with me always. I 
cannot imagine a day without her. Beyond that, Fitdar is such a small 
part of my holdings. Though I am sorry for its loss, I would not 
marry to get it back." Fitz said loudly and with emotion he rarely 
displayed.

"Settle young man," Mr. Bennet said calmly. "I am simply worried 
about my Lizzie; I want what is best for her."

"As do I," Fitz said sincerely.

"That is good then. Welcome to the family," Mr. Bennet extended his 
hand. Fitz took it and shook, though still looking at his father-in-
law warily. Liz arrived at this point and kissed her fathers cheek 
before taking her husband's arm.

"So Daddy?"

"Congratulations again, Liz. We will talk later." Liz nodded and 
began to lead Fitz by the arm. She called good-bye to her family over 
her shoulder and left with Fitz for their new life.



The marriage of two Bennet daughters had a great impact on the Bennet 
family. Mrs. Bennet spent the first two weeks after her daughters' 
marriages bragging to her friends, acquaintances and any person who 
would listen about the advantageous matches that were made. The next 
two months were spent in attempts to convince Liz - either directly 
or through Mr. Bennet, Jane or Lydia - that she needed a large, 
society wedding in order to make her wedding official. Liz was calm 
in the face of her mothers attempts, and answered only that her 
marriage was official, and though she was sorry that none of her 
family could attend, she would not have a 'pretend' wedding to 
legitimise her wedding. 

Eventually, Mrs. Bennet was resigned to the fact that her second 
daughter would not provide her with a society function to throw her 
unmarried daughters at eligible, rich men, so could only hope that 
there would be Darcy and Bingley grandchildren soon.


Kitty and Mary underwent material changes with the marriages of their 
sisters. They visited their sisters, of course, but neither met their 
future partners through these connections. 

Kitty met an artist while she was at University. She completed her 
degree and then began the transient life of an artist's partner. They 
travelled Europe and Africa, always returning to England to sell his 
paintings and her photographs. Kitty was happy and had two children. 
After the birth of the second child, Kitty and Frank settled in 
Scotland. They never did get married, the idea never came up.

Mary did not marry, and though her mother attempted to force the 
marriage state on her daughter, Mary insisted she was happy. She 
studied to be an accountant and rather than go into practice, she 
worked for Fitdar. Living in London, Mary was able to spend time with 
her sisters, and indulge herself in travel for work and pleasure with 
no ties to prevent it. 

Mr. Bennet missed his daughters dearly. Although they had already 
left their parents home, the fact that they, especially Liz, were 
married and now had a man in each of their lives that came before 
their dad was quite a blow. Mr. Bennet visited his daughters whenever 
he could find a reason for his work to take him to them, and Fitz 
grew in his estimation as the gentlemen became better acquainted. To 
arrive at his daughters office only to find the door closed and Jane 
blushing as she informed her father that Liz was 'in a meeting with 
her production manager' was quite the experience. Mr. Bennet found 
himself often having an impromptu coffee with Jane while waiting for 
his second daughter to finish her meetings.


Caroline Bingley was Caroline Bingley until the day she departed this 
life. Caroline was certain that one day Fitz Darcy would leave his 
wife and come running back to her. Until that day, Caroline lived off 
her brother's charity. She attempted to gain invitations to join her 
brother and his wife at the Darcys' whenever she could and did all 
she could to drive a wedge between Fitz and Liz. Her attempts were 
met with a refusal to admit her to their home on future occasions and 
she had the satisfaction of knowing that she was removed from Fitz's 
life through no means but her own.

Jane and Charles Bingley lived in London where they both continued to 
work at Fitdar until Jane gave birth to their first and only child. 
Jane stopped working and dedicated her life to the care of her 
husband and daughter. The Bingleys stayed close to the Darcys both in 
friendship and geographical location. 

Lydia was grossly affected by the change in her sisters' marital 
status. Now she had a large apartment, with no sisters to keep her 
company. Once she got over the shock and disappointment of Liz not 
telling her about the relationship with Fitz, Lydia was extremely 
happy for her sisters, and as time passed, Lydia saw how happy her 
sisters were and her own life was complete. 

Lydia Bennet continued to work part time and complete her community 
service. After her compulsory hours were complete, Lydia continued to 
work for the shelter. At Liz and Janes urging, Lydia gave up her job 
and studied to be a councillor while she continued work at the 
shelter. Eventually, Lydia Bennet was employed at the shelter, 
finding her niche in life. The number of lives she affected 
positively is hard to determine but the feeling of self-worth coupled 
with the love of a very handsome fellow councillor made her very 
happy indeed.


Chapter 21

Six months after the Bingley wedding, Liz and Fitz Darcy found 
themselves back at the Bermuda hotel where they first met. Charlotte 
Lucas was joined in holy matrimony to William Collins. Despite many 
objections on the grooms part, Charlotte insisted that her good 
friend Liz Darcy and her husband be amongst the small number invited 
to celebrate the union.

The ceremony was brief as the bride had decided that she did not wish 
to recite personalised vows and did not want her betrothed to recite 
his own either. A short ceremony, followed by an elegant dinner was 
the order of the day and it went off without a hitch.

Liz was worried about her friend. She saw no signs of the regard and 
affection that marked her own marriage, and it did not help that Liz 
had a profound dislike for William. Memories of their last visit to 
Bermuda haunted both Liz and Fitz's stay.

Through the warped sense of revenge held by William, Liz and Fitz 
found themselves in the room that Fitz had occupied on his previous 
visit. It was one of the best rooms in the resort, but that was not 
enough to ensure a good night's sleep. Fitz paced the room. He tried 
to convince Liz that it would be romantic to sleep beside the pool 
and he even suggested that they depart the directly from the wedding. 
Although Liz would agree to the departure, it wasn't possible, so 
they found themselves in that suite.

Liz walked out of the bathroom with the intention of preparing for 
bed, but a quick look around the room showed her Fitz, pacing. She 
walked up behind him and took his arm to stop his walking.

"Fitz, I know that this room has bad memories, but it is well now."

"I know, Liz, but it reminds me of that holiday and what I was, and 
how close I came to living my life without you."

"But I am here now."

"I dreamt you would be here, with me, and I was such a...I was so..."

"But I am here now." Liz said simply as she placed a finger on his 
lips to stop his speaking and, removing her finger placed a lingering 
kiss on his lips. "Now what were those dreams you spoke of?" Liz 
asked as she linked her fingers behind his neck.

"I don't think they are fit for a ladies ears." He began to 
smile. "Now that we are able to deal with those dreams, how about we 
make some new memories of this room."

Fade to black. (authors note - well you don't want the details, and I 
am blushing too much to write them anyway)

Fitz and Liz did not leave on the first available flight the next 
morning, they decided that a late breakfast in their room would be 
the best way to make the most of their trip.

It did not take long for Liz and Fitz to decide that a holiday was 
necessary. They had returned to Fitdar, and worked for a few months 
before Liz introduced the idea of a holiday to Australia. The idea 
began with a request from the Australian office for Liz to return to 
complete the jobs she started during her last visit. In addition, Liz 
was not against the idea of returning to Australia and visiting the 
places she did not get to visit last time. 

At first, Fitz did not see any reason for the visit to another 
country, so far away, but as Liz spoke about it, and encouraged him 
to think of the various places they can visit while they are there - 
the beaches, the forests and the desert - and the way her eyes lit 
up, Fitz could not deny her.

It was while they were at the top of Telstra tower overlooking the 
sunset over Canberra that Liz informed her husband of the expected 
increase to their family. To say Fitz was overjoyed at her 
announcement would not cover it. His joy was only surpassed on the 
day that his son was born. Stephen was soon joined by a sister and 
then another brother.

And so it is, that Fitz did not lose when his company was no longer 
under his control, he gained far more than he could ever lose. 
Reflecting at the end of his life, thinking about his three children, 
five grandchildren and two great grandchildren, and his beautiful 
wife, Fitz could not have been happier about the way his life turned 
out.


The end