Undoubtedly By Design (A Pride and Prejudice Variation)

She put the letter — a slip of paper holding the power to change so many lives — back on the table and glanced towards the window against which Darcy leant.

She watched his uncharacteristically defeated posture and slumped shoulders for several minutes, not wanting to interrupt his thoughts, until he eventually turned away from the window, looking expectant, waiting for her impressions.

For a long moment, Darcy and Elizabeth simply stared at each other, both too astonished to utter a single word, the letter lying open on the table, a sudden barrier between them.

The light-hearted delight and joy that had brightened their morning had swiftly turned into confusion and incredulity, the exhilaration into anger and guilt, just like dark clouds had suddenly covered the sun.