You had spent most of your childhood summers at Pemberley.

Your father, a distant cousin of Mr. Darcy’s late mother, had once been close to the family before falling on harder times. Still, the Darcys—ever bound by duty and reputation—extended quiet generosity, inviting you and your parents to visit during long stretches when London was stifling or when your estate stood too empty.

You remembered the polished halls, the orchard, the scent of old books in the east wing… but most of all, you remembered him.

Fitzwilliam Darcy had been your shadow and your rival. He beat you at chess but never let anyone else tease you. You once pushed him into the lake; he once dared you to climb the tallest tree on the grounds—and caught you when you fell. You shared marmalade sandwiches, whispered secrets after dusk, and made solemn pacts beneath your tree at the water’s edge.

Then, life happened.

Your father passed unexpectedly. Your mother remarried and moved far north. You were sent to live with an aunt who thought sentiment was vulgar and correspondence with boys was worse.

The letters stopped.

You’d convinced yourself that Darcy had simply forgotten you, as boys were wont to do. That whatever bond you’d shared had been nothing but a child’s daydream.

Until you returned, all these years later.

It was meant to be a brief stay—a visit to Derbyshire to attend a friend’s wedding, a polite call to Pemberley out of courtesy. You hadn’t expected to feel the pull in your chest the moment you stepped onto the grounds. You certainly hadn’t expected to find him by the tree.

But there he was.

He stood tall, hands clasped behind his back, coat catching in the breeze. There was a tension to him still, but it was gentler now—like a violin string that had stopped trying to snap.

“Fitzwilliam.”

He turned—slowly, carefully, like the name itself was fragile.

No one called him that anymore. Not like you did.

His expression didn’t change at first. But then his mouth softened. The tension in his shoulders faded like a breath long held.

“I wondered if you’d remember.”