Author's Note: I know it's been nearly three years since this story was last updated. I was going through my computer the other day and stumbled upon this file. The chapter was only half written, but I decided to finish it anyway. It was the least I could do before I decided to post it just in case anyone out there still following this story might be curious to read a little more for old time's sake. Not entirely sure yet whether or not I will finish the story. If enough people are interested, I will definitely consider it as a possibility. Life's winding down a bit for me now, and I just might have some time on my hands this summer to write before graduate school ensues. Drop a review and let me know! As always, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

The large walnut colored door swung open before her, and Elizabeth gasped in surprise. She had not even raised her hand to ring the doorbell yet and was already greeted by a formally dressed man with gray hair who was roughly in his sixties. She soon realized that it was not Will who had opened the door, but his butler.

"Welcome, Miss Bennet." The butler politely nodded as he merrily greeted Elizabeth with a friendly twinkle in his eyes, "I hope I haven't startled you by opening the door so swiftly. Mr. Darcy did remind me many times to keep a close eye for the arrival of his guest."

"Not at all, sir," Elizabeth said with a hasty nod as her attention was quickly diverted after she stepped into the monumental house.

The ceiling of the entry was high and spacious, as it elongated the circular room and added to its grandeur air of elegant beauty. In the middle of the dome shaped ceiling hung a crystal chandelier that cascaded its way down in a spiral pattern. Its glittering shards caught the light in different angles as they danced to the cool evening breeze ushered through the door.

As the butler drew the door gently to a close, Elizabeth found a strong furry force slam into her. Before she could turn around to see what had run into her, she felt her hand grow moist with slobber. With its paws on her waist, a large German shepherd had decided to introduce himself with multiple licks all over Elizabeth's hand. Elizabeth grinned at the dog and petted its head.

"Koda!" A disapproving voice nearing the entry room rang.

At the sound of his master's voice, the dog immediately let go of Elizabeth and succinctly dropped to the floor, its eyes looking intently toward the direction of the approaching footsteps. Its ears perked up and it immediately sat obediently, as if it knew that its behavior warranted some form of punishment.

"I'm so sorry, Elizabeth, please excuse—"

"I didn't know you had a dog!" Elizabeth exclaimed, her eyes still settled wondrously on the dog that had so warmly greeted her.

Will scratched his head and looked slightly embarrassed. "Sorry, you would think he would have been trained with better manners by now," he explained, nodding at the dog.

"Better trained? If you ask me, I'd say he's made a quite charming first impression," Elizabeth said before dropping her voice to a low mutter, "a charmer quite unlike his owner at first glance."

Will winced at Elizabeth's comment. He remembered how taciturn and unlikable he had first come off to Elizabeth. However, he quickly shoved aside the unpleasant memory and shrugged.

"In my defense, I didn't know you liked to be greeted by slobber and drool," he said, "or I would have brought Koda along to do that job for me in the first place. "

"Oh, Koda? That's his name?" Elizabeth exclaimed as she turned over to give her attention to the dog once more. Elizabeth always had a soft spot for dogs. "Well, aren't you a handsome dog," she remarked fondly as Koda enthusiastically wagged his tail.

"Of course," Will said with a snort, "don't you know by now that dogs take after their owners?"

Elizabeth turned to shoot a mock glance of disapproval at Will. She rolled her eyes and suppressed a smile before continuing to scratch behind the dog's ears.

The butler who had been standing by the door this whole time now cleared his throat. "Ms. Bennet," he said as he bowed, "please allow me to escort you to the dining room where dinner awaits."

Will nodded and signaled for Elizabeth to follow. Elizabeth had almost forgotten about the butler who was in the room. She uncomfortably trailed behind the butler and struggled to fit in with the formality of having Will's staff in the house. She didn't think she would ever be able to live Will's lifestyle, constantly having people watch her every move even at home. Even though the staff was obviously hired to make Will's life more convenient, she shuddered at the thought of having people who were not her part of her family lingering around her house. She would surely be suffocated in the prim and proper atmosphere shrouding the mansion.

A couple sharp turns in the halls and a few quick peeks into several ornately decorated sitting rooms later, Elizabeth found herself in an elaborate dining room. The white marbled floors shone against the bright yellow lighting, and heavy cream-colored drapes adorned a large arched window across the room. A long, chestnut wooden table stood in the center of the room. At a closer glance, Elizabeth noticed the intricate carving that decorated the legs of the table, and her eyes traced the swirls and twirls of the complex patterns.

"Please, Miss Bennet," the butler said as he pulled out a chair on the other end of the table for her.

Elizabeth's head snapped up and she spotted the waiter pulling out a chair on the far side of the room at the other end of the table. After Will was seated across from her, the waiter bowed out graciously and promised to return with their meals.

"Well this is certainly something new," Elizabeth steadily observed, glancing around at the rather empty and large dining room around her. "Do you always eat with a party of one at a dinner table set for twelve?"

"No," Will said defensively, as if Elizabeth's comment had struck a deep chord in his bachelorhood that he was ashamed of. "Koda and I usually eat elsewhere."

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows.

"So you eat with your dog every night," she said as she stared at Will, trying to keep a straight face.

Will crossed his arms. "There's nothing wrong with that," he said with a purse of his lips. "It's not like I eat his food."

"Why don't you eat with your butler? I'm sure you have other staff around the house as well," Elizabeth said thoughtfully. "Any company is better than none."

Will's eyes widened as if Elizabeth had said something completely imaginable.

"Eat with Mr. Timmons? I can't eat with my butler," Will sputtered, his face now cast with a slight frown.

Elizabeth returned his frown with another. "And why ever not?"

"Because that's totally improper!" Will exclaimed. "Mr. Timmons has his own quarters where he eats at."

Elizabeth threw a quizzical look at Will from across the table. Even though Will's pride was much softer than when she first met him and his personality much more approachable, it was clear that he was still firmly planted in his aristocratic roots.

Taking a heavy sigh, Elizabeth threw her arms into the air, "That's what I don't get about you rich people. Don't you ever get tired of the formality that goes around the house?"

Will's face now contorted not into a look of anger, but into one of sheer confusion. He could not imagine why anyone would want to dine with his or her house staff.

"Mr. Timmons is a man just like you with friends and family," Elizabeth continued on, "Koda's quite the companion and all, but he's no human being."

Will wondered why the presence of a mere butler made Elizabeth so uncomfortable. All his life, this was all he had ever known—to be waited on hand and foot by someone else. His parents had taught him that this was the way, a privilege of the wealthy that everyone else in the world sought after but only few attained.

"I guess I just don't see Mr. Timmons as someone more than an acquaintance." Will answered with a softer voice, "Growing up, we were constantly switching staff and butlers. In fact, Mr. Timmons just started working for me two months ago, and I don't really know him. I never got close to those working in my house. I view them more like employees and less as friends."

"But I'm your employee and we're friends, are we not?" she argued with half a smile.

"Yeah, but that's completely different," Will immediately retorted before dropping his voice. "You're different."

Elizabeth's eyes softened before giving Will a more encouraging look as she replied, "Maybe that's what you need to learn. You should see your employees a little less like workers. I mean—don't get me wrong—there are definitely boundaries in the work place, but you shouldn't be so quick to cross them off your list of friends."

She eyed Will with an understanding face. She knew that they had both came from completely different family backgrounds. She had never had a chauffeur, butler, or even a maid growing up, and experiencing Will's style of living was certainly something strange and foreign to her.

Before Will could respond, Mr. Timmons appeared in the room again with another terse bow as he held a silver platter and set it gingerly in front of Elizabeth. Elizabeth eyed the platter with curiosity and wondered who in the twenty first century still ate dinner served so properly like that every night. She watched as he reached down with his hand to unearth the platter and reveal the contents of her dinner. But as soon as the lid of the platter was lifted in the very slightest, Elizabeth uncontrollably gagged at the smell of what was underneath.

The gag reflex was unlike anything she had ever felt before. She cringed at the smell and her eyes bulged from the overwhelming odor. Lobster—that was what it was. She had identified the scent in one whiff. Without warning, she felt her stomach lurch and she turned her head away from the table. Elizabeth groaned and wondered why her heightened sense of smell in her pregnancy had to work against her now of all days.

Will hastily stood up in alarm and rushed to Elizabeth's side, as the butler quickly covered the food up again with a loud clang. Elizabeth fumbled from her seat and stood up, bending over slightly to catch her breath.

"Sorry," she gasped, "Smell—unpleasant—makes me want to—sorry—I'm fine."

The two men in the room exchanged confused looks for a fleeting moment before Will signaled for the butler to take away the silver platters. As he waited for Elizabeth to recompose herself, his felt a nervous flutter in his stomach.

Had it really been so that long since his last guest that he had forgotten how to properly plan an appetizing dinner menu? He had thought that lobster soup would be a most appropriate way to begin the dinner. It certainly was one of his favorites.

"I'm so sorry," said Elizabeth, with the color now slowly returning to her face.

Will wondered why Elizabeth was apologizing when it was obvious that he had been the on who had fallen short of his hosting duties. "Don't be," he quickly reassured her, "I should have asked you what you preferred to eat beforehand. This matter is completely my fault. Please accept my apology for what my lack of consideration."

Elizabeth lifted an eyebrow and stared at Will. 'So Will thinks it's his fault that I disliked the food he ordered the chef to put on my plate,' she mused to herself.

Flustered and red in the face, Will quickly added, "I totally understand why you don't like lobster. The creature is absurd—bright red, scaly, long antennas, fat claws that totally outsize the proportion of its head—I can't believe I almost made you eat such a thing. My apologies—"

Elizabeth laughed before Will could even finish his panicked sentence.

"You obviously don't know a thing about pregnant women," she teased with a wide grin.

Will stared at Elizabeth. "Your baby dislikes lobster?" he questioned with wide eyes, surprised that an unborn being can be such a picky eater.

"No, no," Elizabeth answered as she shook her head, "Pregnant women have a heightened sense of smell. Sometimes, certain things just don't appeal to us for some reason."

Elizabeth thought back to just two weeks ago when the smell of her favorite dinner at a particular restaurant sent her swiftly running to the bathroom.

Still not quite exactly understanding what Elizabeth was saying, Will gave her a slow nod. He had heard accounts of pregnant women behaving oddly before, but decided against questioning it.

"So what are you in the mood for?" he asked hurriedly, sensing that she must be very hungry by now. "I could ask the chef for filet mignon? Do you like scallops? Foie gras?"

Elizabeth thoughtfully stroke her chin before giving Will a wide grin.

"Can I have some spaghetti?"

Will stared at her as if she had asked for something completely outlandish. All this time he had been planning for a fancy dinner to impress her, and she just wanted pasta.

"That's it?" he asked, eyeing her skeptically. "Of all things out there to eat, you just want a plate of pasta?"

"Two," Elizabeth corrected with a show of her fingers as she gave a hearty nod. "I'm starving," she said as she patted her stomach.

"All right, let me get my butler to ask the chef for some then," Will said with good humor.

Elizabeth scrunched her nose. "You're going to ask your chef to whip us up something as simple as spaghetti?"

Will shrugged. "That's what I hired him for," he replied with nonchalance. In fact, he couldn't even remember when he had last stepped into the kitchen.

"Then let's give the poor guy the night off," Elizabeth answered, "It's so simple, we can make it ourselves."

Will cringed. He was never quite the cook. Growing up in a family as wealthy as his, such was never the necessity. He distinctively recalled losing a card game in college and had the honor of making everyone breakfast the next day. Five omelets and innumerous bites full of eggshells later, he had become the laughing stock of his dormitory. That was the last time Fitzwilliam Darcy ever cooked again.

"I—err—I don't really belong in a kitchen," Will said with his head bowed as he awkwardly shuffled his feet and wringed his hands nervously.

"That's preposterous!" Elizabeth exclaimed as she crossed her arms, "How can anyone not belong in a room of his own house?"

Will remained silent and gave Elizabeth an uncertain look. Without another thought, Elizabeth pushed Will towards the doorway and groaned.

"Goodness Will, am I going to have to drag you all the way there?"

Will sighed and threw up his hands as his eyes met Elizabeth's. "You're really stubborn, did you know that?"

"Me, stubborn?" asked Elizabeth with an innocent voice as she feigned a surprised look. "Who's the one refusing to step foot into his own kitchen?"

Will cracked a smile. "Well, who goes into another person's house and insists on making her own dinner on a date?"

It took all but a second for Elizabeth to turn red in the face. The word "date" had struck a feeling in her that she did not exactly recognize. What she thought about dinner at Will's tonight was debatable. Even though the possibility of them being on a date tonight could not be denied, she had only let herself think that it was casual dinner between two good friends spurred on by an eager matchmaker. Technically speaking, Gia and her husband were supposed to be there with her anwyays.

Elizabeth recomposed herself and decided not to dwell on the thought. She couldn't be dating—not during a divorce—and most certainly not while she was pregnant.

"So, where is your kitchen? I would find it myself, but getting lost in a place such as this would be rather problematic," she said playfully to Will.

Will turned and signaled for Elizabeth to follow him. When they arrived in the kitchen, Elizabeth's eyes were immediately distracted by the rows of cabinets that spread out across the room.

"This is the cook's kitchen," Will quickly explained, "Sorry if it's not very pleasing to the eye. The one that actually looks decent we never use."

At the sound of Will's voice, a plump man with a mustache exited from a nearby pantry and nervously strode over to his superior. The chef then offered a profuse apology over dinner before Elizabeth explained the situation to him and Will dismissed him for the night.

After the chef left, Elizabeth took one good look around the kitchen and gaped at Will. The kitchen looked like the kind one would find in a large restaurant.

"Are you expected to feed a village with a kitchen like this?"

Will shrugged. "Not that I know of. It came with the house."

The wooden cabinets of the kitchen had glass coverings that made their contents visible. Every cabinet was readily stocked with spices and ingredients.

"All this for one person," Elizabeth muttered to herself. The amount of food in Will's kitchen ought to be blamed for world hunger. Elizabeth could not imagine why one person would need so much and use so little.

"I'm hungry," Will complained as he regretted letting the cook go so soon.

"Then let's get started!" Elizabeth said with a bright smile, "Where are your pots and pans?"

Will groaned. "I don't know where anything is in here," he said as he tried to hide his annoyance with himself, "I don't ever come here."

"Well then," Elizabeth said as she crossed her hands on her hips, "it's never too late too learn."

"You grab the pots and I'll try to see if I can find the ingredients," Elizabeth said, already opening several cabinets to locate what she needed.

It took a good fifteen minutes for Elizabeth to locate the things that she needed. Will, however, was nowhere to be seen.

With a sigh, Elizabeth called out, "Will Darcy, have you lost yourself in your own home?"

Immediately, a clatter of pots and pans was heard, and Will stumbled out of a cupboard.

"Here you go," he said triumphantly as he handed Elizabeth his prized discovery. "We may commence the cooking now," he finished with confidence.

Elizabeth gave him a dubious look. "A skillet?" she asked with a lifted eyebrow, "You intend on boiling water in a skillet?"

Realization struck Will as he murmured a curse under his breath, silently berating himself for clearly not thinking.

"Sorry," he muttered, "I'll go get you another."

As Will retreated back into the cupboard, Elizabeth smirked to herself while she opened the package of spaghetti and sliced the fresh rosemary for seasoning. When she was done, she put the ingredients neatly a pile and drummed her fingers on the counter as she waited for Will.

In the small storage room, Will was rather pleased with himself. The skillet obviously wasn't deep enough to boil water, but this pan surely was. He pulled out the pan and decided to go surprise Elizabeth with his second attempt at helping.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Elizabeth saw Will tuck something rather large behind his back.

"Put that back, Will," she said. "Don't even think about it."

"Wha—why? This is what you're looking for, isn't it?" he asked confusedly as he pulled out the pan from behind his back.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. When she spoke, her tone was monotonous.

"A wok? Are you going to make me some stir-fry?"

"Oops," Will answered, his eyes downcast.

Shaking her head hopelessly, she took the wok from Will's hands. "You can learn another day. For now, go sit over there while I finish making the food. At the rate you're progressing, we should be aiming for breakfast instead."

Will took a seat from a stool across the room, propping his elbow on the table as he watched Elizabeth bustle about. She was a wonder to behold in the kitchen, moving to and fro with well-rehearsed actions, humming as she cooked. Before he knew it, a deliciously smelling plate was under his nose.

"Dinner is served," Elizabeth announced as she plopped down next to Will with satisfaction.

Before she even lifted a fork to her mouth, she saw that Will was already wolfing down his food.

"You eat like a vacuum cleaner," she observed as Will had already scraped half of his plate clean in a matter of minutes.

Will looked up, clearly embarrassed as he wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"Sorry, I was starving," he said, twirling more spaghetti onto his fork. "You're an amazing cook!"

"It's just pasta," Elizabeth said, "spaghetti is hardly a good judge of anyone's cooking. Actually, I'm probably the worst cook in my family."

"You're kidding," Will said, "have you met me?"

Elizabeth laughed, "Making a simple dish is not that hard. You should try learning."

Will shrugged and his eyes caught the glimmer in Elizabeth's as she laughed.

"If I ever want to set my kitchen on fire, I'll consider it."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, and the two continued to chat as the rest of the spaghetti on their plates disappeared. After they had eaten, Elizabeth scooted off her stool and took Will's plate.

A hand gently touched her arm and took the plates from her.

"You did the cooking, I'll do the washing," Will said as he walked over to the sink to turn on the water.

"What a gentleman," Elizabeth teased as her lips quirked to reveal a slight smile. She was a little surprised that he hadn't called a member of his staff to come and do it for him.

Elizabeth followed him to the sink and stood next to him as she began to clear the counter. She put away the rest of the unused ingredients and set out to wiping the counter clean. Out of the middle of nowhere, a puddle of water splashed onto her the right side of her face, drenching half of her hair. When she turned to see what had happened, she saw a very mortified Will looking back at her.

"I am so—incredibly—sorry!" Will yelped as he hurriedly reached to turn off the water.

Elizabeth fought back a laugh upon seeing Will's wide-eyed expression.

"I just was trying to get a better angle to wash off the marinara sauce so I tried to use this hose-like thing, and I had no idea this thing would explode all over you."

"It's fine," Elizabeth said. "Stop panicking. Water dries off, you know."

Will stared at Elizabeth, looking as though he would never forgive himself.

"Please excuse me."

Will swept from the room and Elizabeth wondered why had had left in such a hurry. Elizabeth decided not to chase after him, but frowned in confusion. It was such an innocent accident and she wondered why he took it so heavily. She sighed and continued washing the dishes where Will had left off.

A minute later, she felt a familiar body come up behind her as something gently dabbed her face. Elizabeth held her breath, turned off the water, and slowly turned around. She found herself face to face with Will, as he gently dried where the water had splashed. His eyes were focused upon Elizabeth's wet hair, and Elizabeth looked at him in wonder, pondering why he hadn't just handed her the towel to dry her own hair instead. When he was done, his eyes trailed down to meet Elizabeth's, and both held each other's gaze for a long moment.

Elizabeth broke the eye contact and shyly glanced to the side.

"You didn't have to," she whispered. "I could have dried off myself."

Will chuckled and brushed a stray strand of hair out of Elizabeth's face.

"I wanted to."

Elizabeth felt her stomach lurch. Not like before with the nauseating smell of lobster, but in an enticingly pleasant way. She remembered this feeling—she had felt it once upon a time with George.

George. She stopped dead in her tracks and drew away from Will. She wasn't about to let her feelings run away with another man. A man named Will Darcy washes some dishes for her and she goes weak at the knees?

'You are much too weak, Elizabeth,' she thought to herself in reprimand.

At Elizabeth's sudden withdrawal, Will tensed and averted his gaze. He sensed that she was apprehensive about something, but was too scared to press her with his question. And yet, something that he had wanted to ask her for a long time now gnawed at his mind and nothing he did could keep that thought at bay. He closed his eyes, took a heavy breath, and spoke with a soft voice that took all of his effort to steady.

"Elizabeth, will you go out with me?" he asked, holding his breath as his eyes searched hers for an answer.

It took her while to process his question, and when she did, she felt her skin tingle with goose bumps. Noticing her silent reaction, Will continued hastily onward.

"I know that this is hardly a way to ask a woman out. I had you cook a dinner I was supposed to plan, and allowed you wash dishes that were mine to do," Will started, "I ought to have taken you out to a suitable place—somewhere where you were the focus of the night—as I had originally intended it to be."

Elizabeth stared blankly at Will, not know what to say. His words sounded blurred to her, and her heart pounding loudly in her chest made it even harder for her to concentrate.

"I should be the one apologizing," Elizabeth managed to get out, "I messed up your dinner plans."

"No, don't be sorry. This is exactly what I admire about you," Will said. "You embrace simplicity and make do without complexity. How many women out there would be okay with eating a plate of spaghetti on a date?"

Elizabeth wearily massaged the temple of her head and sighed.

"This wasn't supposed to be a date. Nobody told me, or I wouldn't have come."

Will closed his eyes. The worst had come. Perhaps he was wrong, and Elizabeth was not interested in him after all.

"I'm sorry that it had to be through Gia that any of this was possible," he said with in a troubled tone. "You know I was never any good with words. I wanted to make my intentions clear about tonight myself. I just couldn't get the right words out of my mouth. Sometimes, it's just hard for me to speak with you."

Elizabeth lifted a brow. "You speak fine with other people as you do in court. Do I intimidate you?"

Will shook his head. "You have no idea," he said with a grim smile. "Never have I felt the nervousness and anxiety that comes to me when I speak to you." He threw up his hands in defeat. "I admit it—deep down, I am a total coward when it comes to things like this."

Will gently drew closer to Elizabeth. "But you must know that I behave the way I do because I'm afraid to lose you."

Elizabeth stared behind Will and avoided his gaze. She knew that she had developed feelings for this man within the last couple of months, but she never saw her feelings coming into fruition. Her feelings with Will were supposed to be kept in the dark, not exposed. She never really even seriously thought about the possibility of them being together. It was too soon after the divorce, and a part of her still ached over the failed relationship.

"You can't lose something you've never had, "Elizabeth whispered. "We should keep it that way because I know what it is like to truly lose somebody."

Will's gaze was firm when he found Elizabeth's eyes again.

"I know you are apprehensive about starting something new," Will said as he placed a hand on Elizabeth's shoulder. "I completely understand. But I must let you know that I very rarely allow myself to hope. However in this case, I found myself defying my better judgment, daringly hoping that you would be open to starting something with me. It may be completely inappropriate for me to even ask you that question, but my mind would not let me rest until I did."

Elizabeth's shoulder burned where Will had placed his hand, and she awkwardly shrugged it off.

Eyes downcast, she replied, "I don't know what to say."

"I don't expect you to know what to say, or answer me right away," Will said quietly. "But if you could keep my proposition on your mind and think about it, I shall be content."

"The last time I followed my feelings and disregarded my logic, I ended up in a disastrous marriage," Elizabeth said with a sad look on her face. "I vowed to myself that I would never do the same again."

Will's eyes turned stony and cold at the reminder of what George had done to Elizabeth. He completely understood why Elizabeth was so hesitant on lending her trust. If he were in her position, he would do exactly the same.

"We have grown much closer to each other within last couple of months, Will," Elizabeth said. "There's no denying that. However, whether or not our relationship constitutes as a mere friendship or something more is what I cannot tell you just yet. I'll have to think about it."

Will let out a small sigh of relief. At least she didn't completely reject him. If there was still time for her to think, there was definitely enough time for him to convince her that the prospect of them being together was worth pursuing.

"Thank you for a charming night, Mr. Darcy."

"The pleasure was all mine," Will answered as he led Elizabeth out of the kitchen to his front door.