Chapter 6

"I wish to speak with you privately, Mr. Darcy," Elizabeth demanded as soon as Darcy walked inside his home. "Right now, if you please."

Darcy was struck by the harsh tone of her voice and wondered what had happened. He had stayed out all day so that he could stop thinking of her but had failed miserably. He visited a gambling hall, attended dinner with his friend from university, and attempted to speak with several beautiful ladies to keep his mind off the bewitching woman, but he could not find one single person who could spark his interest as Elizabeth Bennet had done.

He followed her to the library and closed the door behind him. "One would think you were the mistress and I, the employee, Miss Bennet." He chuckled. "I feel as if I am being called into the headmaster's office."

"It is of no laughing matter, Mr. Darcy!" Elizabeth retorted. "How could you... I thought better of you but you are... Such pride, not considering... You... insufferable... arrogant... arse!" She was fuming in anger and could not speak further.

Darcy, never having been chastised in his life before, bellowed, "Of what are you speaking?! HOW DARE YOU TALK TO ME IN SUCH A WAY?!"

Elizabeth immediately responded in kind, "HOW DARE YOU?! You placed a large amount in my account without considering how someone would perceive such a transaction! I am sure he thought I was your mistress! I had to lie to the bank manager about my father selling a plot of land because you were thoughtless and placed TWO THOUSAND POUNDS into my account. TWO THOUSAND POUNDS! What in the world were you thinking!?"

Darcy took a deep breath and rubbed his face as he contemplated her words. "I am sorry, Miss Bennet. I should have had my solicitor clarify with the bank manager but I did not think it through. How can I make amends? I will speak with him. I..."

Elizabeth walked up to the tall man and glared at him, "I hope you do not have any ideas of making an indecent proposal, Mr. Darcy. I know I am poor and your employee but I would never reduce myself to an immoral lifestyle and you should have discussed it with me first. I would have been Georgiana's friend regardless of your money and if I had not needed the funds due to my family's situation, I would have befriended your sister without expecting a farthing in return!"

"Do you not see?!" Darcy argued, "Now you can be her friend and no longer be in my employment! You have funds now to have independence to do as you wish."

"Because of YOUR money!" Elizabeth yelled. She took a deep breath and quieted her voice. "You paid for me to be here and you paid for my two dozen dresses, and you will pay for our travels. Do you now expect for me to fall before you in gratitude and to do anything you please for your generosity? I will not be owned by you or anyone else, sir. I think I must leave. I will return all of the funds to you. I withdrew £5 today but I will also return that. Cancel the dresses and I will go back to the Gardiners and look for another position." She pulled out the £5 and placed it on the table. "I will continue to be Georgiana's friend but I cannot stay here if you do not show me the respect I need as a woman and a rational creature."

Darcy softly pleaded, "Do not go, Elizabeth. Please stay."

Elizabeth stopped her movement, "But how can I stay?" She whispered as she faced him.

"Because Georgiana needs you. I need you." Darcy confessed. "If you leave, Georgiana will become sad again and I cannot go through it again. She was miserable and I never wish to see her devastated again." He released a deep breath and looked at Elizabeth, "She attempted to hurt herself before, did you know? All laughter was lost in my home and after George Wickham broke her heart, I found her sitting on the edge of her window in her room as if she contemplated jumping out. She promised me that she would not harm herself after I was able to get her down but her windows had been nailed shut until only last week when she began to laugh again." He stepped closer to Elizabeth and smiled affectionately. "You do not know what you had done for her, Elizabeth, and my only joy in life is my sister. Without you, without your friendship, I might have lost my dearest sister forever and I would have been alone. Completely alone in the world. All the wealth I possess would not have done a thing if it were not for you. You saved more than one life when you walked into Darcy House last week, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth saw the pain in his face and closed her eyes to consider what to do. A few moments later, she looked at him and asked, "Will you take the money back, then? Let them know that it was a mistake and that it went into the wrong account?"

"But can you not please accept it as a gift?" Darcy begged. "I had spoken to your uncle about it already and he approved of it, although it had been £1,000 at the time and I added more." He walked closer to her, "You will no longer be my employee and you will be independent. I cannot promise that it will be the last of my gifts but you will truly be staying with us as Georgiana's friend and not as a companion." He smiled softly, seeing that she was reconsidering her stance, "You will never be harmed under my roof, Elizabeth, and after we meet your parents, we will not be telling an untruth when we inform everyone that we are family friends. Do you know how much I paid George Wickham for his silence after Ramsgate?"

Elizabeth shook her head in the negative. She had been told of Georgiana's version but did not know what had happened to the rascal.

"I paid him £3,000 after he brought her misery and pain. That bastard did not deserve it but I paid him that much so he would keep quiet." Darcy reached for her hand and gently caressed it. "I would give you ten-fold more for the joy you brought to my sister and me." He looked into her eyes. "Please stay. Do not go. Please stay with me."

Elizabeth nodded in agreement. She could not argue with his logic and he had been extremely kind. She had been attracted to the handsome master but knew that there was no way she would be considered an appropriate marriage partner and had hoped he was not thinking of asking her to be his mistress. She saw his concerns of making the best decision for Georgiana and to be no longer be in his employment was better than having to find work as a governess.

"It is such a large sum, Mr. Darcy. Perhaps only one thous..." Elizabeth began but was interrupted.

"I will add another thousand if you continue to pester me, Miss Bennet." Darcy jested with a smile. "I will personally speak with the bank manager." He walked to the table and picked up the £5 note to handed it back to her. "I am an insufferable, arrogant arse, remember?"

Elizabeth blushed, "I am so sorry, Mr. Darcy. I spoke in anger and I should not have said such a thing."

Darcy chuckled, "No one had ever corrected me before, did you know? Will you call me 'William' in private? You are a very dear friend to me as well and I am no longer your employer."

Elizabeth laughed, "Perhaps. It is not common to call each other by our given names but I suppose our friendship is rather unconventional and we must make adjustments. Thank you for your generosity. I had not expected it and I do believe that having my independence is the best resolution to stay with Georgiana. It is an incredible amount, sir."

"Do you not know that I am extremely wealthy?" Darcy smiled, "This is your opportunity to be as mercenary as you wish. I can set you up with a dowry as large as my sister's if you will only be her friend."

"Good lord, I do not know what to do with what I have been given!" Elizabeth replied. "Stop your nonsense and no more surprises, William!"

Darcy beamed and kissed her hand. "Yes, Elizabeth. Whatever you say."

Elizabeth smiled and left the library with a light step. She was astounded with Mr. Darcy's gift and planned on discussing what to do with it when she spoke with Mrs. Gardiner and her father next. She wished to help her family as much as possible and hoped that an additional two thousand pounds would keep Longbourn safe for a while.

Darcy stayed in the library and slowly fingered his own lips. Being near Elizabeth was intoxicating and his heart had nearly broken when she spoke of leaving him. After several days of residing with her, he could not let her go and he now knew she would never accept being his mistress. He dearly hoped that after more time with Elizabeth, he would find other defects about her that would discourage his heart to make her his wife. Her lack of fortune was nothing to him, since he had enough income to buy half of London, but her position in society and lack of connections were his main obstruction from declaring himself. Although Elizabeth's manners were a mixture of sweetness and archness which made it difficult for her to affront anybody, she would still be unacceptable in the eyes of the haute-monde.

Although Darcy did not care for Miss Caroline Bingley, a daughter of a wealthy merchant, her manners were more appropriate for the world he belonged to and knew that the crass woman would be considered a better wife by society. He groaned in disappointment and decided to invite Charles Bingley and his sister to Pemberley next month. Even if he would never take Miss Bingley as his wife, he wished for a distraction from the woman who haunted his dreams and to remind himself of what kind of a proper lady he should be pursuing instead.

AN: Thank you for reading my story. Full story was available for a limited time only and will be released on Kindle/Amazon on 4/15/19. Thank you for your support!