My heartfelt thanks are to truthfultoafault, she edited this chapter, it's now so much better, and of cause the other reviewers/writers who helped me, and I sincerely hope you all keep doing so. All errors remaining are mine and mine alone. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy it.
Pemberley, Derbyshire
At Pemberley, Thomas was in their study. Two massive mahogany desks were situated in the room. He occupied the one near the east windows, having had a few difficulties with tenants to resolve, he felt relieved to be done with it.
He was going to Hertfordshire, to Bingley's new estate. It would be fun, with William and Charles, riding, billiards, chess, reading a few books and shooting every bird out of the Hertfordshire sky. Yes, he said to himself, this will be the playtime I am looking for.
A footman knocked and entered through the open door with an express letter. "Sir, an express arrived for you."
"Thank you, John." He thought, an express from William, I hope all is well with him, and opened it while John was leaving the study.
After reading the letter four times, Thomas sat in the study for a long time going over it in his mind, William married in a month…married?!
After the call that lunch was served, he stood up and went to the dining room, where Georgiana was waiting for him.
"Georgiana, dear, I received an express from William. He has some surprising news."
"Oh...tell me. It is nothing bad, is it?"
"No, no, calm yourself. It is rather unsuspected news, but not bad, I hope."
"So, tell me then, brother."
"I will let you read the letter yourself. I do not know what to make of it. When you finish reading, we will talk about it, would that satisfy you?"
"Oh, yes, Thomas. It will." She exclaimed excitedly, so he handed over the letter and let her read.
When she finished after a second reading, she looked up at Thomas and asked bemused.
"What do you make of this? What would he mean by Magic working his Magic? Why does he have to marry?"
"Georgiana, I can handle only one 'what' at a time, love." He said with a half smile.
"I think that William had some small accident with Magic, involving the girl, Miss Elizabeth and it had to be compromising. I do not sense any scheme or plot, it must have been just that, an accident. And I must say, William does not seem distraught. He sounds quite hopeful, don't you think?"
"Yes, but I want to go to Hertfordshire, and as soon as possible, I want to see him. We have to make sure he is all right.''
"So do I, Georgie, so do I!" Before they had their lunch, he summoned the butler to make travel arrangements for the morning to come.
London
After two and a half days of travel, Thomas and Georgiana reached their London Townhouse. As they entered the house, Alexander greeted them.
"Thomas! Georgiana! So good to see you. What did William do?" He cried.
"Alexander, brother, so good to see you too." They hugged and kissed.
"What do you want to do, sister, talk right now, or go and wash up before tea?"
"I will go wash and change clothes before tea, Alex. See you in a minute. We are still in shock over his letter, but we will talk later, in the blue room, perhaps?" Georgiana looked at her brothers for their approval.
"Yes, Sis, that will do." Thomas answered and went up the stairs, to the family chambers with Georgiana in tow.
After a quick wash and change of clothes, they met in the blue room, where Alex had called for tea.
"Alex, let us have a talk, and decide when to leave for Hertfordshire." Thomas said.
"Well, if I have to decide, I want to go now." Alex said smiling. "I want to see for myself what is going on there. I never would have thought that William, would have to marry, because of a compromise."
"Neither did I. I have to go to the study and see if there are letters from the solicitors; if not, I'll have to get them. Then we can go to Hertfordshire. We may go tomorrow, morning, at sunrise?" Thomas asked.
Both siblings cried YES simultaneously.
London
Matlock Townhouse
Lord James Fitzwilliam, Earl of Matlock looked at the letter in his hands in utter surprise. "Sarah!" He called while walking in search of his wife. A footman informed him she was in her private sitting room, so he walked directly to her room. "Sarah?" Upon entrance to the room, he saw her with Richard, his second son, in conversation. Richard had a letter in his hand. "So, son? You had one as well, I see. What do you, make of it?" Mother and son, looked up to him, and had the same startled look on their countenance as he.
"Well, father, this is something I would have never expected from William, I am in shock." Richard replied.
Looking at his wife the Earl said "Well, dear, and you?"
"James, it is unexpected to say the least. I cannot comprehend how this has happened, but he does seem content with it."
"Yes, he seems content, but I am very anxious to go there, and see for myself what kind of people they are. I will send a note to Darcy house for Thomas, saying that I will travel to Hertfordshire with them. He will be in town in a few days, I guess," said Richard. "I am sad Aunt Isabel died, but I am eternally grateful for the estate she left me just four months ago. I will be able to live a gentleman's life now, and visit Bingley at leisure." He added. "If these girls are as beautiful as he says his betrothed is, maybe there is one for me too. I can marry now, aye mother? You would be happy!" Yes, as happy as you were, when I resigned my commission, my dear mother.
"Richard, hold your horses. You must be careful when choosing a wife. I will have no country nobody in my family, do you hear?" The Earl exclaimed.
"I have been doing my best to find one in our circles, father, but failed miserably so far. Why am I making this up, I've never even been tempted to even court a lady? Richard thought. "I may give it a chance. You never know, we might be pleasantly surprised given the tone of his letter."
"Richard, we will see, but be careful." The Earl said.
"If you find a suitable girl there Richard, write to me, and I will come." His mother said laughing.
"Be prepared son, for I will come too." His father declared.
Longbourn
William walked into the drawing room where the ladies sat. His eyes sought out Elizabeth directly and when he saw her he smiled a joyful smile. 'She is more beautiful than I remember from yesterday, and that smile, those eyes. She seems really glad to see me.' She beamed at him. 'He is the handsomest man, I have ever seen. He does not even look at Jane, which is a new experience, it is as if he does not see anybody but me. I love that.'
He acknowledged the rest of the ladies, addressing them one by one and bowed. They curtseyed, then he walked to Elizabeth and kissed her hand.
"Mr. Darcy, it is a pleasure to see you today." Mrs. Bennet said with a shy smile.
"Mrs. Bennet, I am sure it is my pleasure to see all this loveliness in one room." He said, all the ladies blushed at the compliment. "And the weather is glorious, so there is nothing to want for me."
"Mr. Darcy, would you like to sit down, and some tea or coffee, perhaps?" Elizabeth asked him.
"I would like to have some coffee please, Miss Elizabeth. But then I would like to see if my horse still has a limp. I must take him to a blacksmith for a new shoe. Once I have accomplished that, maybe we could go out and take a turn in your garden later today?" Elizabeth agreed to that and said she would call her father; he would like to show William the stables.
After a pleasant, half hour of general conversation, but without any time to talk privately to Elizabeth, she went in search of a footman to get Mr. Bennet from the stables to come and fetch Mr. Darcy.
"Mr. Darcy, a pleasure to see you again. You want to see your horse, I am sure. Please, follow me, sir." They went out the back of the house and turned a corner.
William's mouth fell open, and he stayed there, like a statue, for a few seconds. He then, looked at Mr. Bennet. "Of course 'Longbourn.' I should have known. This is splendid, sir. We have beautiful stables at home but this…this takes my breath away. And if my uncle, cousins and brothers see this, they will go wild, I am sure."
He saw two big stables well maintained, grooms working, a blacksmith's workplace and fields with the most gorgeous horses he had ever seen. Different breeds, colours, and ages. They were magnificent.
"We took good care of your horse, sir. His limp is gone and his shoe is mended. I think he is one of our stables, is he not?"
"Yes, sir, he is. I bought him from a friend of mine, Mr. Stanton. Do you recall him? He grew up in town and thought to have a stallion and ride only in the park. He could not work with him, too feisty for Mr. Stanton. I am more than content with him; he is a great horse and I have called him Magic."
"Magic, sir?'' Mr. Bennet smiled.
"Yes, he changed like magic. From feisty and disagreeable, to compliant and agreeable when I bought him. It was most pleasant, for he was a bargain." They started laughing. "And he brought me to Miss Elizabeth, if that is not magic, I do not know what is. Well, that is what I wrote to my family, you see, they will want answers. I am sure there will be an invasion of relatives soon."
"Are you troubled by that, sir?" Mr. Bennet asked.
"No, sir, I am not. I am my own man, and I do as I see fit. They know me, and they are aware, I do not make decisions that would harm my family."
"Your adventure, yesterday, could have turned out very different, Mr. Darcy."
"I know that, but I could have reacted differently too, kind sir." Darcy said with a knowing smile "I have had a good education in the years past, and I know, there is always another choice to be made."
"Well, sir. I think that we must be grateful for your reaction, then?"
"No, Mr. Bennet. It is I, who is grateful that it was your daughter that was there at that moment of time and nobody else." He said with a grin. "I think, if I would have met her in different circumstances, I would have pursued her anyway. I like her, and she is good for me too."
"Mr. Darcy, I am so glad to hear that. It did not feel good to make her marry a stranger. She is my favourite. I know, I should not say that, for I have four other daughters, but it is what it is."
"Shame, she has a fear of horses, for all the beauty in her backyard."
"Yes, I agree with you, but she is as stubborn as she has said already," Mr. Bennet said with a tender smile on his face. "She had a scare when she was but five years of age, and refused to go near them again."
"Nevertheless, she knows everything about them. Pedigree, age, name, colour and everything that is to be known; she does the books and correspondences, you know. She practically runs the estate with the steward, and teaches her sisters to do the same. She always tells them that the Bennet girls must be prepared to run an estate and can do anything they set themselves to do."
Darcy laughed. "Then, she will have to take her own advice, and learn to cope with horses."
"That, dear sir, I will leave for you to accomplish. I know it will be a challenge." Mr. Bennet said with a grin. "So, let us have a look at your Magic then." They went in to the stables and did not come back for a good hour.
Back in the house Darcy sought out Elizabeth, and asked Mrs. Bennet if they could go outside for a turn in the garden. Her sisters Jane and Catherine went with them to chaperone.
Outside with Jane and Catherine, Darcy and Elizabeth strolled in the garden. When Darcy saw a nice garden bench, he asked her to sit down, which she did willingly.
"Elizabeth, we do not know much about each other. My brothers and sister love to play games and I suggest now we play a game of question and answer. This way, we can get to know each other a little better, if it is proper to do so. You can be impertinent without feeling embarrassed." Darcy said grinning widely.
"William, I love games and am willing to play. Indeed, this will be a way to get to know each other, and be impertinent sans consequences." She replied saucily.
"Come on then, Elizabeth, you may ask the first question."
"I will, let me think….Oh, yes. William what do you expect of our marriage?"
"That is a not an easy one, you could have given me an easy one to start with, you know." Giving Elizabeth a full grin, he resumed, "I have been thinking about that for a whole day now." He looked at her with an impish little smile on his face, which turned serious after a few moments of thought. "I want a partnership with my wife. I suppose, I mean equality and a loving relationship, which we have to work for, so you have said. Furthermore, I think it is important to respect each other's views and opinions...Now, it is my turn and I will ask you the same."
"You thought about it for a full day? Sir, I am impressed with your conclusions." Elizabeth said smiling. "I would want the same as you. I always hated the thought of only being an accessory in a marriage, hanging on to my husband's arm, only allowed to bare children."
Darcy laughed aloud and answered. "After meeting you, I do not want an accessory on my arm. I like your opinion too much. But, I would not mind having you in my arms, I think. I might say that is new to me."
Elizabeth blushed beet red, but managed to reply, with an impertinent grin. He will not have the upper hand; I can play that game too. "I am glad it is as new for you as to me, so, this is another thing we have to work at."
"Yes, indeed. An important issue in marriage. When would you like to begin working at it?" He asked, flirting shamelessly, which surprised him to no end. Oh, I like her so much I wonder if I am in love already, I do not know for sure for I have never been in love before.
"We will see, sir, we will see." She said blushing.
"Elizabeth, Mr. Darcy? It is time to go inside now, luncheon will be served in a few minutes." Jane called.
He was invited to stay for luncheon, accepted and had a good time with the whole household They were lively, and seemed to enjoy making light hearted sport with each other. Darcy, really felt at ease with them. After luncheon, he excused himself for he had to go to Netherfield, and ride the estate with Bingley. After all, that was his reason to come in the first place.
"Would you walk me to my horse, Miss Elizabeth?" She looked at her mother for approval. I like that. They are a close family and have high standards for propriety. He mused as they walk to the door. "Miss Elizabeth, I have had a very pleasant time with your family and you of course. Have you thought more about what occurred yesterday, and the consequence of it for our future? Or do you have questions for me perhaps?" He asked seriously.
"No sir, not at this moment. I am still stunned and affected, but, it will sink in, eventually, and when it does, I will think things through and then I will have so many questions you will think me a plague!"
"No, I do not think so Lizzy. I will be hanging on your every word, you intrigue me immensely, dear lady." He replied with a big grin.
"Sir, you are a flatterer by nature I think, but still no complaining on my part"
He started laughing. "Well, I know my family will tell you differently. I think you bring out the flatterer in me. I hope to flatter you on a horse someday."
"Do not hold your breath, sir. You may be without it, before I will be on a horse." She smiled mischievously.
"We will see, Lizzy, who has the most breath. I would take on a challenge from you, any day."
"Well, then. We would not want you bored would we? Let that be my challenge." She laughed mischievously.
"I cannot wait Lizzy. I love to see what you have in store for me." While saying that he took hold of her hand and kissed it, looking her straight in the eye, lingering a tad too long, seeing her blush made him smile once more. "Farewell for now, and I hope I may call on you tomorrow morning?"
"Yes, sir. Nothing has changed, you are still handsome and good fun." He laughed aloud.
"Thank you. You are too kind, Elizabeth. It will not be long before my relatives come. I have had three express letters telling me they were on their way from wherever they were.
"We will make a merry party with so many people, sir, for I hope that they will not be too unhappy with me." She said shyly.
"I think they will like you well enough, Elizabeth. I really do, so do not be nervous. All will be well."