A/N: Wow, almost seven months. I am truly sorry for the extremely long wait, especially after last chapter's cliffhanger. Life had gotten extremely busy the past few months, but I am trying my very best to get back on track with writing. This chapter should be good!

Please read, review and enjoy this chapter!

Blessing in Disguise

Chapter Twenty-One

Hearts Racing

As soon as she stepped into the room, she was taken aback when she was plunged into the darkness of the room. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, as they darted to the center of the room which lodged a large mahogany desk. However, contrary to what she expected, there was no one nestled behind the large, imposing desk nor was there anyone in any place of that room.

Lizzie frowned slightly as she turned around and stepped back into the safety of the hallway. She knew though, she was also slightly glad that Darcy wasn't in the room. She wasn't as brave as she thought she was merely moments before, her heart still racing from the expectation of finding him there. She wasn't exactly certain how she would have handled that conversation or how she would have handled his explanations. To be honest, this entire experience was disconcerting and rather baffling. The Darcy she saw here in Pemberley, in the comfort of his home, was entirely different from how he was in New York, in her home. She couldn't reconcile the two contradictory versions of Darcy, but she supposed that there was still a lot about Darcy she still had to learn.

She slipped out from the house and back to the grounds. Lizzie tried to slow down the racing of her heart, but it seemed that her own heart was of its own accord. Once she heard her aunt's beckoning for her, she dismissed her racing heart and rushed to find her relatives.

"Lizzie!" her aunt called out again, once she saw her niece run towards them from the direction of the house. Maddie quickened her steps to meet Lizzie mid way. "Lizzie, we were looking all over for you! Where have you been?" Her aunt looked behind her and asked, "Where's Mr. Darcy?"

Lizzie searched her aunt's worried face before she glanced behind her to look at equally worried faces of her uncle and Charlie. Caroline seemed unusually interested in the trees above her. Subtly rolling her eyes, Lizzie shifted her attention to her aunt. Lizzie smiled, "Darcy left to answer a business call. I just went back to the house to use the restroom."

Her aunt looked skeptical at her response, but she nodded slightly as if Lizzie's answer would suffice...for now. Lizzie winked at her aunt before she noticed Georgie run towards them behind Caroline.

Georgie looked at Lizzie and asked the strikingly similar question to her aunt. "Where's my brother?"

Lizzie laughed softly before she re-iterated to Georgie were her elder brother was. A slight frown appeared on the younger girl's face before she erased it with a beam, directed behind Lizzie.

"You were asking for me?" remarked a deep, husky voice behind Lizzie. Startled, Lizzie turned around on her foot before she found herself rather too close to Darcy's chest. Her eyes darted up his chest to his neck and finally up to his face to meet his striking, intense gaze.

Lizzie's face suddenly flushed as she shifted her attention to her feet. Darcy frowned slightly before he addressed his other companions. "Forgive me for taking up so much time. I was just finalizing the details for tomorrow."

Lizzie's head shot up at his final comment before she asked him, "What's tomorrow?"

Her aunt and uncle had equally puzzling expressions. Darcy's smile faltered slightly before he explained, "I was wondering if your aunt and uncle and yourself, of course, would like to join myself, Georgia and the others to a night at the theater in central London."

Caroline gasped slightly at the mention of inviting them. "Darcy, surely Eliza and her aunt and uncle are busy tomorrow -"

She was interrupted by Lizzie's excited expression. "The theater? I had always wanted to go!" Her enthusiasm brought a warmth in Darcy's chest, as he felt pride in having brought that enthusiasm to her face. Lizzie flushed slightly with embarrassment before she glanced at her aunt.

"Would we be able to go, Aunt Maddie?" she asked earnestly. Her aunt was definitely taken aback by the rather generous offer; however, when she noticed Darcy's smile directed at Lizzie, she understood the true intentions behind Darcy's offers. She glanced at her husband and a nod and a twinkle in his eye told her that he had noticed Darcy's tendre for their niece. Unable to deny their favourite niece, she looked at Lizzie's expectant face and laughed slightly. "Of course, Lizzie."

Lizzie let out a breath of relief, as she rushed to hug her aunt, laughing in joy. Darcy was immensely pleased with the turn of events, as he started to relay the details of the event the following night. After they had made the arrangements for the next day, Lizzie's uncle remarked that they had stayed far longer than they intended and that they needed to meet with one of Maddie's childhood friends.

Reluctantly, Darcy bid farewell to Lizzie and her companions, but was consoled with the fact they would be meeting tomorrow. As he walked towards the room where he had left his sister and friends, he fondly remembered the eager and enthusiastic expression on Lizzie's face as they had discussed the details of the event. The night out at the theater was definitely a shot in the dark, but he had never felt so accomplished when he saw Lizzie's enthusiasm for the event. Also, he had noticed that something changed between them the past couple of days. The dynamic between them shifted, and he wasn't quite sure of what to make of it. He smiled widely as he walked into the room, reveling in his memory of her face.

"Darcy!" Caroline exclaimed as she saw Darcy enter the room. "Georgie and I were just discussing Eliza. We agreed that she looked so different, I hardly knew her."

Darcy's rapid glance at his sister exposed to him his sister's true thoughts on the subject. Georgie shook her head slightly before she rolled her eyes at Caroline's dramatic critique of Lizzie.

Charlie, seated on the loveseat, with a drink in his hand, piped up, "I think she looks remarkably-"

Caroline interrupted him sharply, as she saw Darcy grab a drink of water before seating himself beside his sister. "She looked so different! Don't you agree, Darcy?"

Darcy glanced at his sister before taking a sip out of his glass. "I suppose she did look a little different - a bit tanned. Not too surprising since she has been traveling the past few weeks."

"Tan? She looked positively brown! I can hardly call that attractive!" Caroline exclaimed. She hesitated slightly, before her lips curled up into a smirk. "I particularly remember you thinking she wasn't particularly pretty. What do you think now of that woman who is way too tan for her own good?"

Darcy grit his teeth and clenched his right hand into a fist. If his sister hadn't placed a comforting - or was it restraining? - hand on his clenched fist, he would have said something he would have regretted. He stood up suddenly and silently acknowledged the sheepish smile on Charlie's face. He walked towards the exit of the room, before he turned around and exclaimed to Caroline, "It's been many months since I have thought that Elizabeth was one of the most - if not the most beautiful woman I have ever known. I think she looks remarkably well even if she is way too tan for her own good."

He turned on his heel and exited the room but not before reveling in triumph over Caroline's shocked face.

Darcy woke up rather early, both nervous and anticipatory of the day ahead he had planned with Lizzie and her aunt and uncle. They had planned that he would pick them up from their hotel and would go to the airport to take his jet to Heathrow. His driver would then be waiting at Heathrow to take them to central London for that night's theater performance. He slightly flinched in memory when he recalled Lizzie's slight turn of countenance when he mentioned the arrangements including his private jet. However, her expression changed so quickly that he supposed that he just imagined it.

Nothing would ruin this day, he declared as he left Pemberley to go pick up his intended guests. Georgie, Charlie and Caroline had planned to meet Darcy and the others at their private jet at the airport later that morning. Caroline was still reeling from the insult from the night before, and Darcy was unable to stop his feeling of triumph over Caroline. Even though she was his best friend's sister, there were times when even his patience was tipped off the brink.

The entire ride to their hotel was unnerving for Darcy, as he truly did not know what to expect of that day. He only wished that the glimmer of hope the past few days had presented to him did not disappear that day.

Once he reached the hotel, he entered the elevator to the fourth floor where Maddie had said they were staying. He stepped out of the elevator, his hands clammy and his heart racing rapidly in his chest. Why was he able to hear his heartbeat in his throat?

He surveyed the room numbers and stopped when he had reached room number 415. He wasn't entirely sure who stayed in that room, as Elizabeth's aunt and uncle mentioned that they were in a separate room from their niece. Heart hammering in his chest, he was about to knock on the door when he heard soft sobs from the other side of the room. Shocked, he tried to open the door and was surprised to found it unlocked. He pushed open the door and his heart dropped with the image presented to him inside the room.

Elizabeth, her hair disheveled, cheeks tear-stained and eyes rimmed with tears, frantically threw in her clothes into a suitcase, while trying to stifle her sobs. Darcy, unable to contemplate what could have brought Elizabeth to this state, stood still, not sure of what to say. His heart plummeted when he noticed her furiously wiping away her tears as she tried very hard to place the clothing into her suitcase, without it being in complete disarray.

He finally whispered, "Elizabeth."

Lizzie looked up and her eyes widened in shock, halting in her actions. "Darcy," she whispered as if she couldn't believe he was there. She looked down at her suitcase and back at him, unable to bring herself to face him. She placed her chiffon white top onto the top of her suitcase, her hands just lingering on the clothing - unsure of what to do.

Darcy stepped towards her until he was a few inches away from her. Lizzie trembled when Darcy used his thumbs to wipe the tears from her face.

She was afraid to look up into his eyes, more so because he might see what was in her eyes - shame, regret, embarrassment.

"Elizabeth," he tried again, "What's wrong?"

Elizabeth trembled as his thumb fell from her cheek and his entire hand clasped her right hand. His strong grip onto her weak hand seemed to only aggravate her fears - that he would not look at her the same, not comfort her the same after he found out what had happened. She looked down and whispered, unable to bear the shame of what had pushed her into this mess. "It's Lydia. She's missing."

Always exploring and unleashing,

ღ rEd RoSe-StArFiRe-RoSeFiRe