Chapter 1 -
At the assembly in Meryton

She was mortified at how the scene played out eventually. Mr Bingley offered her to him as a dance partner. He was already indignant when he turned, and their eyes met for a moment. He immediately turned back as if burnt and said the harshest thing possible to her ears.

"She is tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me; I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men. You had better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting your time with me."

Elizabeth wanted to scream that she was sitting out the dance so that others could enjoy the dance also. She had been considerate! She just wanted to help the other ladies! Elizabeth was indignant to the heavens. At the same time, she wanted a hole to appear and swallow her whole. 

Chapter 7 - At Netherfield

"Miss Eliza Bennet, let me persuade you to follow my example and take a turn about the room." Miss Bingley, desperate to claim some of Mr Darcy's attention, invited Elizabeth to join her in walking around the room. Reluctantly, she joined her, though she found the exercise silly.

Miss Bingley was right. Mr Darcy looked up finally from his book. She immediately invited him to join their party. He shook his head and courteously declined the opportunity. With good humour, he said that they could only have two purposes with their walking. On request, he divulged them. One was that they had confidences to share or, he could not believe he was saying that, they thought their figures appeared to have the greatest advantage in walking. "If the first, I should be completely in your way, and if the second, I can admire you much better as I sit by the fire." 

Chapter 6

Miss Bingley watched all this happening with rising alarm. Mr Darcy never paid her such a compliment of his attention.

"What would you like to know?"

"Anything really. Tell me about her." She put down her embroidery.

"She is Georgiana, after my father, George Darcy. It is only the two of us now for many years."

"I am sorry to hear that."

Mr Darcy nodded in acknowledgement.

"She does not look like me. At all. Well, she is tall as well. She took after our mother. She was blond, and Georgiana inherited the colour of her hair. There is a painting of my mother in her youth at Matlock, where she grew up. My sister looks just like her in that picture. I inherited my father's features." He coughed after his last sentence.

"That's interesting. Siblings are often like that. Jane is like my mother; I am told I look like my Bennet grandmother. There is a small portrait of her in my father's book room. If you have the chance, you can see it for yourself." She smiled.

Mr Darcy smiled at that as well.

"How old is she?" Elizabeth asked further.

"She is soon to be sixteen."

"Then you have quite the age gap between you two." Nodded Elizabeth.

"Yes, about eleven years."

"Yet, you seem close."

Elizabeth attends Jane at Netherfield

Chapter 9 - at breakfast on Saturday

Mr Darcy had decided to be more circumspect in his behaviour towards Miss Elizabeth. In his admiration, he had forgotten himself and had to chastise himself for it later before going to bed.

He did not have a good night; he tossed restlessly, sleep eluding him for a long while. His imagination offered up sweeter and sweeter images, and Darcy just wanted to catch one… He was in for some treacherous waters. For twenty-seven years, these feelings had eluded him; now, they came upon him like a bucket of cold water. It woke his longing for companionship.

Unfortunately, along with the desire, he heard the expectations he had heard so many times in his head. Consider well who you choose! Marry well! It wouldn't hurt to marry a girl of rank. Pick a good family and all that sort of thing.

He knew that he could very easily fall for her. Every new piece of information pushed him to consider her. In the end, he wisely, or so he thought, resolved to be particularly careful that no sign of admiration should now escape him. 

Chapter 9

Elizabeth sought solitude, taking a long, aimless ramble with little regard for her direction. It was an internal battle she was having.

It was not his fault. She knew that, but it still hurt. He rejected her at the assembly, and that hurt. This one was so much more. In her heart of hearts, she felt that she might have loved him. She was interested in him, admired him, and felt sympathy towards him. She felt her interest returned, but he had already made his decision. He would leave her behind. She was not enough.

At this realisation, she felt empty. She walked without looking where she went, and she hardly felt the cold, though her hands were freezing.

When she returned from her walk frozen, it was already luncheon. Mr Bingley worriedly admonished her for being outside for so long. She ate some, played a little on the pianoforte, and then went to the library to occupy her mind with a book.

Chapter 9 - in the library

Only when she sat down did she see Mr Darcy sitting in the high armchair at the window. He seemed tense; he determinedly ignored her. She sat without moving and looked at him. She did not have to wait long. He looked up from his book, and she looked at him questioningly. He looked away, embarrassed.

"I wish for you to feel at ease. You need not worry; I shall leave you in peace." Elizabeth finally spoke. She stood and left the room. She did not want to cry in front of him.

Darcy felt awful. For one, he behaved ungentlemanly towards a lovely woman, and two, he did it to tell her without words that they were simply acquaintances, and that was all he could offer. What blasphemy! She understood him.

He got up and went to the stable to get a ride. He punished his horse with a hard, long ride. He drove him to exhaustion. He wanted to feel nothing but fatigue.

Chapter 9 - still at Netherfield

"Indeed… How was your book?"

"Good, thank you."

"What did you choose?"

"Shakespeare. You can never go wrong with that. Not that there was a lot to choose from."

"True. Bingley is yet to learn the use of the written word." They both chuckled at that. "I like Shakespeare, too. What are your favourites? No, do not tell me; let me guess. One of the comedies?"

"You think you know me that well? But you are right. I do enjoy his comedies. Last time, though, when I was in London, we saw Romeo and Juliet. It was a remarkable performance, though the ages of the main characters on the stage were nowhere near the play's."

They both chuckled at the truth of it.

"And what do you think of that play? I myself do not care for it much. It seems such a banal story. It is such a waste of death for both."

"But that's just it."

"What?"

"Romeo and Juliet. They must die. The more accidental their death, the more tragic. They must die because their love cannot exist in this world."

"I do not understand." Darcy scrunched his forehead in thought.

"Well, at least this is how I see it. They must die because their love is too pure for this world shaped by wealth, power, and connections. It defies this world. As much as I always hope Romeo arrives later, they could not live happily ever after."

"That is… I shall have to ponder this further. It seems I must reconsider my former opinion; you make a most fascinating argument." He looked at her in awe.

"You do that."

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Chapter 20

"Charles, what has possessed you?"

Bingley paused, put his hands on his shoulders, looked him in the eye, and spoke earnestly. "I want you to feel, Darce. Feel, Darcy, do not merely think! You live too much in your head, barricading your heart behind walls of thought. Live, if only a little! Allow yourself to feel. If I can teach you anything in return for all your benevolence towards me, it is this. Live, Darcy." He turned and walked towards the big room, where the familiar swords clashing called him. He knew his friend; he would fight him (and himself).

Chapter 21

Bingley rolled his eyes. "I was referring to Miss Elizabeth."

Darcy missed his ball. He sighed. "I know. There is nothing to discuss, nothing to say. She is a wonderful lady…just not for me."

Next, Bingley hit the ball straight with force. Hit. He used the second to adjust his stance. He shook his head. "Why? What is the requirement to become Mrs Darcy?"

"Indeed, you know it all too well."

"The ton? Darcy, you have been skirting its edges for years. Have you found any ladies that compare? Has any lady of the ton made you want to dance a reel as you did in my parlour?"

Darcy played his ball. He did not hit it right. It was not his day.

"Your turn."

Chapter 27

Life. I choose life.

He opened his arms, looked up to the sky and just felt.

Chapter 28

"I want her with me, Georgie. I want her here. I do not think I could be with any other now that I know she exists in the world." He turned to the portraits. "Mother, Father. Please, be happy for me. I need Elizabeth. I think she will be a great mistress of Pemberley." He touched both paintings in reverence and sighed. He hoped his parents would approve if they knew what she meant to him. Elizabeth would make them love her, anyway; he was sure of it. 

Chapter 29

"Good Lord! Aunt Catherine, what were you thinking? Oh, heavens! This cannot be," he exclaimed out loud to the walls of his study. He was mortified. He winced and held his head in his hands in anguish.

She dared to call her a common…harlot! Heavens! He struck the wall with a fist.

Oh, Elizabeth! And I was not there. I was not there to protect you! What kind of a gentleman am I? I should have dealt with my aunt a long time ago. The weight of his regret was heavy, his self-doubt consuming. 

Chapter 29

He sighed. He went to the window and looked out. "We hardly know each other. I left because I was afraid of what I might do. When we met, I was an arrogant fool, yet she saw something in me and developed feelings for me. She never did or said anything per se, but it radiated from her. She was always the perfect gentlewoman. There're no pretensions in her." He turned back to his sister.

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