“Is there any action that you or I should take immediately that could mitigate any of this?”
“None, sir. If I knew what to do, I would be doing it.”
“Do you believe my Lizzy to be in any immediate danger?”
“No sir. What little I have heard suggests the opposite.”
Mr Bennet nodded and sipped more brandy. “I am a procrastinator of the worst order, and you look a bit nervous. Shall we continue our discussion over the chessboard?”
“It will be my pleasure.”
“Unless you areveryskilled, that may prove optimistic.”
Two hours later, Darcy had lost decisively, but he had told the entire story—from the ignominious beginning to the mortifying proposal, Elizabeth’s subsequent flight, and his entire encounter with the horsewomen. On a normal day, he might be evenly matched with Mr Bennet, and looked forward to a rematch—but that day, he had been thoroughly bested.
Bennet picked up a tobacco pouch lying near the chessboard, tamped his pipe, took a brand from the fire, and lit it, thinking furiously.
“That is quite a story. Funny, I would not have expected Jane to bring you to heel.”
“She did not do it alone, but she very well could have. There is more strength in her than meets the eye.”
Bennet went to his desk and retrieved a letter.
“What do you think of this? It seems my Lizzy can lie with the best of them—without being unfactual.”
Darcy examined the letter. “A red herring if I ever saw one. The way she specified her location she could be anywhere from Bedfordshire to Scotland. Her hosts could be anything from a shopkeeper to a banker.”
Mr Bennet laughed. “And look at the atrocious writing on the direction. She obviously had this ‘Margaret’ write it just to put me off the scent.”
“My theory, which my cousins agree with, is that she is running out the calendar. Withtwoawful proposals in four months, she wants to get on the other side of her majority. I admire her very much for her courage and only repine that I made it necessary. It was very clever.”
“So, is she almost as clever as you are?”
“Reverse the question and you will be on the right track.”
“She will certainly keep you on your toes,” Bennet said with a chuckle.
“Yes,ifI can ever find her, andifshe will give me another chance. I have not earned it, but I shall ask all the same.” He lowered his gaze in shame. “I can do better. Much better!”
Bennet relit his pipe and smoked in silence for a few minutes. “Tell me—all that folderol about her acceptance in your society—is it a valid concern? I will not see my Lizzy put upon by the jackals in London.”
Darcy gave a grim chuckle. “That is the stupidest part of the whole thing. If I take her into society for a month, it will happily cast me aside and keep her.”
“Well said. She needs a man like you. And you need a woman like her.”
“Not a womanlikeher. I needher!”
“Even better said! I will make you a bargain.”
Darcy was not certain he wanted to enter a bargain with unknown conditions, but if he proposed this gentleman as a father-in-law for the rest of his life, he thought it would behove him to trust the man.
“Yes sir.”
“Lizzy will make her own decision, in her own time, and for her own reasons. She told you I stood by her when my idiot cousin proposed?”
“She did not, but Ja—err, Miss Bennet told me.”
Bennet chuckled at the near miss. “What Jane does not know is that I had no choice. Had I approved the match, she would have walked out that door right there, and I would not have seen hide nor hair of her until her majority. Nobody makes her do anything she does not want to. Her mother thinks to wear her down, but she would have better luck stopping the tide. Stubborn girl, my Lizzy. “
