Chapter 1 – Shocking Elizabeth

"In vain have I struggled, I can bear it no longer. You must allow me to tell you how much I love you, most ardently. Please do me the honor of accepting my hand."

Elizabeth stood staring at the man before her in complete shock. Could this truly be happening? Mr. Darcy, in love with her? It was beyond comprehension. As her thoughts swirled in her mind, she suddenly realized that she had yet to respond to his question and he was looking most troubled. Taking pity on him, Elizabeth finally found her tongue.

"Sir, I do not wish to cause you pain as I can clearly see that your words are heartfelt. However, I must be equally frank regarding my own feelings. The truth is that I have never been more shocked in my entire life than to hear you profess your love for me."

Seeing his surprise and confusion at her pronouncement, Elizabeth felt she should continue.

"To be sure, Mr. Darcy, for most of our acquaintance I was under the impression that you thought quite meanly of me and looked at me only to find fault." She added gently.

He desperately interrupted her, "You mean to tell me that you had no knowledge of my regard for you? You were not expecting my addresses?"

Elizabeth shook her head slightly in the negative.

Darcy looked searchingly into her eyes and must have found truth there. Elizabeth saw new emotions sweep over his face…hurt and disappointment. He put some distance between them and moved toward the window. Elizabeth sat awkwardly, wondering what would happen now.

The interview with Mr. Collins last autumn had been uncomfortable; however, nothing compared to this. Elizabeth had been certain that Mr. Collins was not in love with her; therefore, she held little fear of wounding anything beyond his pride with her refusal. Mr. Darcy, on the other hand, was undoubtedly affected by her response. She thought again of the earnestness of his proposal and his declarations of love. Unbidden, tears welled up in her eyes and she tried to discreetly wipe them away with her handkerchief. Mr. Darcy caught the movement and looked at her once again. He knelt next to her chair and took her hand.

"Oh, no. Please do not cry, Elizabeth. I am so sorry that…" He stopped and looked away before taking a deep breath and beginning again.

"I almost said that I was sorry for distressing you, yet that is not entirely true. While I would never want to intentionally upset you, I cannot regret telling you how much I cherish and adore you. I will admit that I hoped for a very different response to my proposal; however, I cannot help but hold you in higher esteem knowing that you chose to be completely honest with me."

Realizing that his position was likely making her uncomfortable, he gently squeezed her hand before moving to sit in the chair opposite her.

"If you would be so kind as to indulge me, I would like to discuss this more with you. I know now that you do not return my feelings…or were even aware of my feelings for you. This is a shock to me because I thought that I have been fairly open with my regard for you."

Elizabeth took a fortifying breath before responding.

"I will admit that I have noticed a change in your manners towards me during my time at Hunsford. I was surprised to find you so often during my walks here or so willing to converse when we met. Perhaps these were signs of your new interest in me but…"

Darcy could not let her continue.

"Elizabeth, I have loved you since Hertfordshire." He said forcefully.

She gasped at his outburst.

"But…but how can this be?" She exclaimed.

He dropped his head into his hands.

"I have made such a mess of this." He muttered quietly.

A wave of compassion swept over Elizabeth as she gazed upon the man before her. Without a thought, she placed her hand on his shoulder. Her touch brought his attention back to her.

"Mr. Darcy, perhaps we need to begin again. It seems that we have both misunderstood one another for most, if not all, of our acquaintance. Call me vain, but I am rather inclined to come to know better the man who spoke so lovingly towards me moments ago." She said with a small smile.

Her words brought hope to the man before her and, with a slight nod of agreement, he took a seat near her.

"You are too kind to allow me an opportunity to rectify the debacle I have made of wooing you. Perhaps it was impetuous to request your hand so quickly yet it has been all I have thought of for months. I see now that you were not occupied by similar thoughts. I am honored that you wish to know me better and would gladly give you opportunity to gain a better understanding of me. Would you be amenable to entering into a courtship?" He asked pleadingly.

Elizabeth looked upon the gentleman as she contemplated this new offer. Although this was still more than she intended when she requested that they begin again, she could not deny that he had touched her heart this evening. That was enough to spur her to agree.

"Yes, Mr. Darcy, I will allow you to court me." She answered.

Mr. Darcy's response was to, once again, reach for her hand.

"You have made me so happy, Miss Bennet." He said quietly before gently kissing her hand.

Elizabeth could only nod in response.

"I shall leave tomorrow to speak with your father. I wish to proceed with our courtship on the correct footing and he should be made aware."

This comment brought Elizabeth's own objectionable remarks about Mr. Darcy to mind that she had liberally spoken in her father's presence. She bit her lip as she pondered how to proceed.

"Mr. Darcy, I would ask that you allow me to first speak with my father before you inform him of our courtship. I am afraid that he will require some convincing to believe that I willingly agreed." She said sheepishly.

Mr. Darcy looked pained once again.

"I see."

"Given the changes that this evening has brought, I believe it would be best if I returned home sooner than originally planned. That would allow me to speak to my father on all that we have discussed and allay any reservations he might otherwise have had when you approach him. Would this suit you, sir?" She asked.

"Yes, of course I will agree. I am sorry that my behavior in the past has caused such difficulties. I will not deny that I am eager to gain your father's approval and hope to speak to him soon."

"I will need to contact my uncle and request that he send his carriage for me sooner than expected. I will write to him tomorrow."

Darcy's mind immediately began calculating how long it would take to arrange for Miss Bennet's return to London and then Longbourn via her correspondence with her uncle. He quickly came up with an alternate plan.

"Might I be so bold as to offer my own carriage to take you home? You could leave on the morrow directly to Longbourn and I could follow you the next day. Then there would be no need to inconvenience your relatives and we might have things settled with your father more expediently."

"Although I would not wish to appear ungrateful to Mr. and Mrs. Collins for their hospitality, I believe I will accept your kind offer, sir. I believe that I would not be good company to them in any case since I fear that I shall only be able to think of the surprising events of this evening for the foreseeable future." Elizabeth laughed lightly.

"It pleases me to know that I shall occupy your thoughts, Elizabeth." Mr. Darcy said solemnly causing Elizabeth to blush profusely at her slip of tongue.

"I will take my leave of you now so that I may make the necessary arrangements for your travels tomorrow." Mr. Darcy said as he stood. Elizabeth joined him in the entrance of the parsonage. Before he walked through the door, Darcy again took Elizabeth's hand in his.

"Until tomorrow, Elizabeth." He said softly.

"Goodnight, Mr. Darcy." She replied.

With one last gentle squeeze of her hand, the gentleman left the house. The night concluded differently than he had anticipated yet he was full of hope for the future. A future with Elizabeth by his side.

A/N: Welcome dear readers! I hope that you enjoyed this first chapter. If so, please be sure to let me know. You will find that this story will differ from my past P&P stories. I anticipate only 6 – 8 chapters in total. Join me for this fast & fun ride.