A/N - Yeah, you probably thought, I died. I'm painfully aware that OVERCOME has idled for over a year now. I've not given up on it, and it actually is never far from my mind, but my headspace has been firmly set within the Modern AU sphere of P&P fanfiction and other fandoms for quite some time now and so far I wasn't able to wrap it back around the Regency era. I will wrap this up one day but from experience I think we can safely assume that I should rather not give a timeline for that ;-)

And maybe furthering your disappointment, this is not a full chapter. More a proof of life - the short, but pivotal scene of the next chapter that has been tickling my hard drive for sometime now. It's pathetic, really, but I wanted to get at least something out, given you didn't hear anything from me for such a long time.

It takes place in a theater in London on an outing with the Bingleys, Jane, the Colonel, Georgeanna, Darcy and Elizabeth and in which "our man" starts his campaign to win Elizabeth over with his newly discovered personality.

And before this A/N becomes longer than the text below, I close with my deepest thanks for your continued interest and following.

.

Chapter 8 (excerpt) - Overcoming first impressions

.

In a surreptitious manner Darcy slightly leaned down and towards her, so he would not be overheard by anyone but Elizabeth while he offered her his arm to climb the stairs.

"Do not be alarmed – I will try to reign in my obvious urge to behave inappropriately around you, Miss Elizabeth. You should be safe from me this time."

Elizabeth's eyes blinked repeatedly when her head snapped around to him, not believing what he had just said. For all she knew, he could not be possibly teasing her, could he? It took her a moment to gather her scattered thoughts at least to the point of regaining her ability for speech, although her senses seemed to not keep up.

"Oh… well! That would be quite… lovely… for a change," she stuttered quite stupidly, only to shut herself up when her mutterings registered with her brain. After a moment of silence, she shook her head as if to rid herself of her bafflement, took a deep breath and refocused on their path up the stairs towards Bingley's family box. It gave her time to reconnect her wit with her mouth. "I honestly applaud your effort! I just hope you will not suffer too abominably from bending over backwards in order to apply this new regime of extraordinary self-control."

Darcy was hardly able to restrain his lips from curling into a smug smile while his heart nearly skipped a beat. How I have longed to be at the receiving end of your razor-sharp wit again! He could not wait to pick up the gauntlet Elizabeth had so carelessly thrown to his feet. So he straightened again and looked ahead, trying to master an expressionless mien. "Why, my lady, I must thank you for your concern for my well-being. But pray, be reassured that I am in prime physical condition so that bending over backwards should not hurt me. In truth, I find myself looking forward to the exercise."

Shocked into temporary immobility, Elizabeth came to a jarring and unladylike halt, slighly jolting Darcy around on his arm she was still holding with a firm grip.

"You, Sir, are impertinent," she protested with incredulity. Darcy raised one eyebrow in playful challenge.

"Says the teacher to the pupil," he retorted without missing a beat in a low voice, followed by a deep, quiet chuckle.

Elizabeth was stunned speechless as she could not remember having heard Mr. Darcy ever chuckle… let alone with such clear merriment such as this. The deep, rolling sound of his quiet laughter did things to her body that left her heart beat wildly in her ribcage. It was easily the most memorable sound she had ever heard.

Then he floored her completely when he flashed a heartbreakingly boyish, dimpled grin that lit up his entire face. "I learnt from the best," he concluded, obviously deeply amused. It felt so good for him to just act upon his impulses and show her his true feelings – even if it was just amusement and playfulness. And to watch her reaction to it turned out to be priceless.

Elizabeth was practically gaping at the man in front of her because her brain desperately tried to reconcile this openly entertaining and teasing character with the stoic and indifferent gentleman she had known Mr. Darcy to be … at least to date. Smiles, dimples and laughter?

And the man in question did not relent as he seemed to enjoy himself immensely. His benign smile was accompanied by raised eyebrows and a cocked head. "Now, pray tell me, Miss Bennet. Could I be witness to the rare incident of you actually being lost for words? On my account, no less?"

Who are you? Elizabeth thought dumbstruck for a second, only wanting to die of embarrassment a moment later when she realized she had uttered her thought aloud for the gentleman to hear. Before she could berate herself for this slip of tongue, though, she was caught by another surprising wave of laughter from Darcy although it was shorter and died quickly, leaving a meaningful smile in its wake.

"The man who wants to prove to you that he took your words from Hunsford to heart."

.

.