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He stood, half amazed and half angry at the sight of his new bride running down the hill as fast as she could to get away from him.
    Almost as soon as she got to the bottom of the hill Elizabeth began to doubt the wisdom of speaking out in such a manner, but she was convinced she had been right to do so.
    "Impossible man!" she said to herself. "He claims to love his sister and have her best interests at heart and yet he would enslave her in marriage before she is ready, and to a man she does not love. To think that I thought he had changed for the better, that his disagreeable prejudices and notions of superiority were changed. Oh, Georgiana, how you will wish you had stayed in London."
    Elizabeth hastened to her room. She felt so cross she could not trust herself to do anything else, but once there, she paced up and down, all the while trying to reason with herself. However hard she tried, she could not forgive Darcy for his belief that Georgiana must do her duty in marriage to a partner he would select. An hour passed during which every torment of feeling, every contrast of emotion from indignation to remorse unsettled her. But she was most sorry that she had stormed off, surely leaving him feeling quite the superior by his attitude. "I must learn to curb my tongue," she thought, "for I am sure that shouting at my husband will only antagonise him. It is my temper I must control. I was too quick to show my exasperation and this will not endear me to him or change his views, I fear. In any case, I don't doubt he wishes to see Georgiana safely married. I know so little about her, truly, but from what I have gleaned from others, she has something of the Darcy spirit. I daresay I am being unfair, but a girl who was so easily persuaded to run away with George Wickham must have her own faults."
    More important and uppermost in her mind was the problem she now faced of how to apologise to her husband for her rash behaviour. Though not wishing him to think that he had been right, she knew her impulsive actions had done nothing to further her argument. With this in mind, she hurried downstairs to search for him.
    On poking her head around the saloon door she discovered Mr Darcy within standing by the blazing fire, which considerably cheered the aspect of this north facing room in winter. He turned as he heard her enter and they both began talking at once, declaring together their heartfelt sorrow at their misunderstanding. Within moments all was forgiven and forgotten, the lovers united by a tender embrace.
    "I wish we did not have to go out to dine this evening," said Elizabeth.
    "Oh, Mrs Darcy, I think you can read my mind," her husband answered with a smile. "How I wish we could stay here alone, away from the inquisitive eyes of our neighbours."
    "I must admit I have had quite enough of being stared at to last me a lifetime," Elizabeth replied. "Well, I daresay I can endure it for another evening if I must."
    "Perhaps I was not entirely honest when I described how our life at Pemberley might be, omitting to tell you how often you would be called upon to perform duties which are bound not only to be tedious but also irritating. Dining at the Eatons' tonight is, I fear, the last straw."
    "I do not consider such evenings to be so very tiresome, and I have enjoyed meeting the majority of your neighbours. I must confess, however, that I do have a particular dislike for Mrs Eaton who has on the two occasions of our meeting displayed an unsurpassed aptitude for conversation of a particular variety. She can relate an amusement in detail, tell a ludicrous story, and laugh at her friends with much vigour. At least it is not a requirement to join in. She is happy enough to supply her own replies."
    Mr Darcy laughed. "I am fortunate that her long-suffering husband is a good deal more pleasant."
    "Well, at least I shall be able to talk to him during dinner. It is after dinner, the ladies withdrawing from the dining table that I dread."
    "They