Daniella's Bureau

When Georgia Darcy entered the kitchen of her family's townhouse that morning, she was not surprised to find Elizabeth Bennet chatting with Mrs Reynolds as they shared breakfast duties. She had been home yesterday not two hours when William had returned home with Elizabeth in tow. For Georgia, it was a sign of things to come. Her brother had never brought a girlfriend home before.

Or rather, home as in the townhouse that their late parents had left them. Whenever they were in London and William had a date, he would take them to the apartment on Baker Street. This move however, confirmed what he had told her over the phone two days ago. He was serious about Elizabeth. More serious than he had ever been with any girlfriend before her, no matter what Caroline Bingley said.

Georgia was glad of this. Not just because she happened to like Elizabeth, and look up to her as role model in her career of choice, but because this was the first time in a long time, that she could remember ever seeing her brother completely happy. When their parents had died; their mother before Georgia had ever known her, and their father five years ago when she was eleven, her brother had seemed to loose his need for happiness overnight.

As Georgia grew up, she always saw him serious. Even when he and Charles had become friends, and she had only occasionally seen him smile, let alone laugh. Since Elizabeth however, his mood had been very different. Georgia had noticed the change from the moment he had called her the morning after what she presumed was their first night together. Her brother's tone of voice had seemed lighter somehow, as if a great burden had been suddenly lifted.

When she had noticed them together during her first round match, she had been struck by how right they looked together. Natural and accustomed to each other, despite only coming to an understanding just two days ago. By the time she had heard his match- having been unable to attend due to commitments with her continuing education -and learnt how easily he had slaughtered his opponent, Georgia knew for certain that Elizabeth Bennet was a good influence on her brother.

Dinner last night had confirmed this. The three of them had fallen naturally into conversation, and before she knew it, the evening was over. It had felt like they had always dined together. In the space of just one evening, Elizabeth had become family. And Georgia had watched her brother, as he talked, smiled and laughed, realised that he was happy, and rejoiced inside.

"Morning, Kate," Georgia said now to her and her brother's housekeeper, family friend and surrogate parent all rolled into one, as she walked into the kitchen. "Morning, Lizzy."

"Morning, Georgie," Elizabeth replied as she placed the table setting on the breakfast table in the centre of the large room, as if that had been her job every morning. Once again Georgia noted how natural it was to have her presence there. "Who do you play today?" She asked her.

"Sophia Grey,¹" Georgia replied as she took her fruit juice from Mrs Reynolds. "Where's William?"

"In the shower," Elizabeth answered, blushing slightly as she remembered what they had been doing in that particular part of his ensuite only a few minutes ago. "What time is your match?"

"First thing on court three," Georgia said as the kitchen door opened once again. She turned round, expecting her brother, but to her surprise it was someone else. "Richard," she cried aloud before setting down her juice and wrapping her arms around him. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see if your brother was free for a game this morning," Richard Fitzwilliam replied as he withdrew from the greeting hug. "Is he still abed?"

"In the shower," Georgia replied. "Have you met Elizabeth Bennet?" She indicated the third woman in the kitchen.

Richard grinned in surprise and turned to face her. "No, I've not had that pleasure." He stepped forward and shook her hand. "Richard Arundel Fitzwilliam at your service."

"Yes," Richard confirmed, while he raised his eyebrows in surprise, along with Georgia, at Elizabeth's use of Darcy's full first name. It was the first time he had ever heard a girlfriend of his cousin's using it. "See the family resemblance; brooding good looks?" He was blond haired and blue eyed, a complete contrast.

"Oh, definitely," Elizabeth replied in the same tone, causing them both to chuckle. "You have a match today?"

"Yes, Charles Hayter,²" Richard informed her as his other cousin entered the kitchen. He watched silently as Darcy kissed the three women one by one in greeting, saving Elizabeth till last, noting the length and the intensity. "You free for a match this morning, Darce?"

His cousin turned his face from Elizabeth to glance at him in consideration. "Actually," he began with difficulty, nervous about his presumption, "I was hoping...."

"No matter," Richard quickly replied, saving him the trouble of forming an excuse. "I should have noticed as soon as I entered the room that you would not be free."

William flushed, but could not help smiling as he noted the look of approval in his cousin's face. "Thank you, Richard."

"Well, what else did you expect?" Richard jokingly queried. "After witnessing you being crazy about this woman all last year, and now seeing you happy, I could not show disapproval of your choice. In fact, you'll need all the allies you can get."

"It has been the desired wish of our family, Elizabeth, or should I say, our Aunt Catherine, that Darce unites the fortunes of his family with Dakota Morgan-Debourgh. Personally, the rest of them don't mind either way, but she is usually known to screech her objections to anyone else the moment she hears."

William chuckled, surprising all present. "I can handle Aunt Catherine, Richard. When the time comes."

"Of that I have no doubt," the British number two replied, before falling into silence, as he watched the closeness between his cousin and Elizabeth Bennet. Seeing Darcy so happy, he could not help but smile.

The day was fine, so when Richard and Georgia had left with their coaches for morning pre-match practice, William and Elizabeth chose to head out. Heading in the direction of Hyde Park, he wrapped an arm around her waist, and asked her what she was thinking about.

"As far as my Aunt Catherine is concerned, yes," he replied, as the entered Upper Brook Street.³ "She has always insisted that her sister, my mother, and herself, made the promise while Dakota and I were in our cradles.

"But when I asked my mother about it the first time Aunt Catherine mentioned it- I must have been nine years old as the time -she denied it, telling me that I should only marry whomever I happened to hold the deepest love for."

He paused, to look at her, seeing if she understood, and was pleased to receive her blush in reply. "Whenever I felt obligated to fulfil such a promise, or became disheartened, I always remembered her words. And now I am so glad I adhered to their wisdom." He pressed his lips to her hair.

"Tell me about your family," Elizabeth requested after calming down the flutterings of her emotions from hearing his indirect proposal of marriage in the future. A year ago, she would have laughed or have been outraged. Now, she was flattered, and a little wistful at the thought of it.

"My father hailed from Pemberley," William began, "as you know, while my mother's family came from Matlock. She was the youngest of the three. The Fitzwilliams and the Darcys had always matched at some point or other through the ages, so their marriage was almost expected, if you will.

"My Uncle Matlock however, surprised everyone by marrying first an American, then a Canadian. From the first came Jolian, my eldest cousin, the second, Richard, who moved to England with my Aunt Delta when he was young. Aunt Catherine followed suit by marrying Lewis Morgan-Debourgh, bearing my other cousins, Detroit and Dakota. So Georgie and I divide our time away from the pro circuit between Derbyshire, London and America. What about your family?"

They crossed the double streets of Park Lane,⁴ and entered Hyde Park, walking along the area known as Lover's walk. "My father comes from Hertfordshire," Elizabeth began. "And my mother came from America. When they married, he settled into the London house, so we could be near Wimbledon. Uncle Edward is my mother's brother, he moved to London the year before my parents met. He and my Aunt first met while he was touring Derbyshire for suitable coaching candidates. I also have another Aunt, my mother's sister, Cassandra Phillips, who resides in California, so we rarely see her."

Passing the statue of Achilles,⁵ they turned into Serpentine Road.⁶ William slipped a hand into the pocket of his top and drew out his sunglasses, putting them on his face to provide instant anonymity. The habitual motion seemed suddenly strange, causing him to turn to his companion. "Elizabeth, I know we have only been dating for three nights and nearly three days, but I was wondering about what you think about us going public?"

"I thought we already were," Elizabeth replied as they came up to the Serpentine.⁷ "When I was watching you play yesterday, I felt the cameras flash at my presence in the players' box."

"I did too, when I was watching you," William continued, "but I didn't see anything about it in the papers. Even if there were some however, I was wondering what you wanted to do about it?"

Elizabeth halted, standing at the edge of the grass, looking at him steadily. They had only been together for nearly three days, yet already, she felt a connection, a bond that she had never felt with any other boyfriend before. She loved him, and had been in love with him since the beginning of the year and beyond.

Now that they were aware of each other's degree of affection however, it made a difference. Due to their status, both nationally, and world-wide, they were regarded as celebrities of their sport by the Fourth Estate. Which meant, sooner or later, the press would learn of their relationship. It was just a question of when and how they decided to let them. "What would you prefer?" She asked him.

"For the first time," he replied, "I really don't mind when they find out. As far as I'm concerned, this," he indicated their togetherness, "is not going away for a long time, if I can help it. But your opinion matters the most to me. If you want to keep this discreet, you just have to say."

"I don't," she answered him. "I want this to last for a long time. And I'm not going anywhere. I love you, Fitzwilliam."

When Georgia's match had finished- Miss Darcy winning 6-2, 6-2 -she and her brother accompanied Elizabeth to her family's townhouse for the evening.

Their presence caused quite a stir, to those who did not know about them, that is. Lydia was the most surprised to see them, an emotion which quickly changed into embarrassment as she recalled William's behaviour to her and vice versa when they last met. As for the rest of Elizabeth's siblings that were unawares,. Kitty and Mary were glad to meet them both.

Jane and Charles were also present, causing quite a full house as they all assembled in the living room. Michael Bennet held court over the conversation, his mixture of quick parts and caprice,⁸ along with a healthy dose of ready wit, managing to draw everyone in to contribute, even bringing out confidence in the shy Georgia.

These character traits, together with a varied education and years of experience, also enabled him to discover and understand the characters of his new acquaintances. By the time they had sat down to dinner, Michael had long established their personalities.

He had known both of the Darcys by association for a long time now, hearing about them through his brother and sister in law, Edward and Madeline Gardiner. Of their reputations, both professionally and personally, he had heard nothing but good. William's relationship with Elizabeth had caught him by surprise, however. Having heard her opinions regarding Darcy's break-up with Caroline Bingley a year ago, Michael had never thought to see such a reversal of emotions as he was seeing now.

He had learned some time ago that Darcy cared for his daughter. He remembered observing him while he had sat beside Elizabeth as she learnt of Lydia and Wickham. The young man's expression had been transparent. But until he saw their linked hands at Wimbledon two days ago, Michael had expected him to be eventually disappointed. Now however, he could see that while he had discovered William's state of affections, he had failed to observe Elizabeth's.

So observe them he did, for the entire evening, particularly when they announced their relationship to the family after desert. Then he could not mistake them. His daughter was happy, happier than she had ever been. Michael knew, that Elizabeth was most like him. Therefore, he knew that she could not fall in love with someone, unless she respected and valued them, that she looked upon him as equal, if not her superior. And all these traits, as he had discovered, William Darcy possessed, as well as an all-encompassing love for his daughter.

The discovery both gladdened and saddened Michael Bennet. While he knew that Elizabeth would be very happy with William Darcy, he also realised this evening, that he would soon loose his daughter.

When dinner had finished, William took his sister and Elizabeth back to his townhouse on Grosvenor Square. Georgia immediately retired, and her brother also led their guest to his bedroom, though for quite a different reason than sleep.

He closed the door behind her and took off his v-neck sweater, revealing the white shirt beneath. Silently he moved to the stereo and pressed play.

"I've had this song in my head all day," he explained as he moved back to her. Elizabeth gazed up at him solemnly, letting the lyrics and music wash over her. Tenderly he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Before either of them knew it, their lips were touching. William's hands moved into her hair of their own volition, cradling her head as their mouths opened and their tongues started to explore. Elizabeth found her hands wandering around the waistband of his trousers, and with a soft sigh surrendered to the temptation of pulling free his shirt to find the skin beneath.

His own hands did not remain innocent for long. Before he was conscious of it, William slid them down her back and set her short sleeved shirt free. He moved them round to the front and undid the buttons. Their shirts came apart at the same moment, and their arms moved of their accord to allow them to be taken off.

Air became a necessary requirement, and their mouths reluctantly broke apart. William sucked in a breath as he gazed at her wonderingly. Once more his hands moved without thought, cradling her elbows, the fingers stretching out to touch her chest, feeling the contrast between her smooth skin and the satin bra. The lyrics of the song playing repeatedly on his stereo came to him, as he realised again how true they were to them.

And all I have to do is hold you
There's a racing in my heart
I am barely touching you

Before either of them were conscious of it, their bodies had moved to stand by the bed. William kissed her again, grateful for the support of the structure behind, his legs suddenly feeling very weak. His hands moved from her elbows to her back, exploring under her long dark hair for the fastenings of her bra, and with practised hands easing out the hooks from the clips. When it fell loose, he moved to her shoulders and slipped off the straps. Elizabeth's hands moved down his front, causing him to utter a groan as she slid her fingers into his trousers and slipped her tongue into his mouth.