I am going to take a little trip and won't have internet connection, so it will be a little while before I update again! hopefully will have a few chapters to post when I get back! thanks again for all the wonderful and encouraging reviews and for all bearing with my errors :( hope you enjoy!

Chapter 6

The warm summer had passed pleasantly in days filled with outside play for the Darcy children. While their father went to London a few times on business, the family never all went as neither of their parents felt the desire for much society besides that of their family and occasional home parties of close friends.

On this particular morning, Emma was staring out her bedroom window at the changing fall colors and considering if she could run outside for a little while before breakfast. The cool morning looked very inviting…

She left her room and bounced down the hall until she heard her mother's soft voice, reading to young Ben. Freezing in her tracks Emma tried to tip toe past the sitting room. It didn't work.

In the middle of the sentence she was reading Mrs. Darcy raised her voice saying "Emma, you had better not be going outside yet" before continuing on with the story. Disappointed, Emma changed plans and went to the breakfast room instead, thinking it rather unfair that her mother could go out walking early if she liked, but she couldn't.

There she found her father reading the newspaper with great interest, and her two brothers arguing lightly over who had the larger piece of sausage.

"Good morning Papa" Emma said, taking a seat next to him.

"Good Morning Emma."

"He hardly said good morning to us" Peter protested.

"See Emma, you really are the favorite child" William teased.

"I am not!"

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"Oh yes you are!"

"Children" Mr. Darcy frowned over his news paper at them.

"Yes Papa?" nothing could be more innocent than the three faces looking at him expectantly.

"Please eat your breakfast, and don't argue."

"Yes Papa" the three coursed like angels and shaking his head fondly Mr. Darcy went back to his paper. Emma stuck her tongue out at her brothers.

"Emmalyn" Mr. Darcy reprimanded her calmly.

"How did you know?" Emma asked astonished.

"Because I know you."

William and Peter snickered and Emma put her nose in the air and went to the breakfast bar for some food.

Elizabeth and Ben appeared and joined the others at the table. "The Finley's have invited us over tonight for dinner." Elizabeth said, speaking of the neighbors as she unfolded her napkin. Emma and Peter exchanged unhappy faces in dismay.

"Are we going?" Fitzwilliam Darcy asked, finally folding up his newspaper. He had learned from experience that Elizabeth hated to carry on a conversation around the piece of paper, and she had been sure to let him know when they were first married.

"I thought it would be nice, Mrs. Finley seems to be a well bred woman, and her husband seems knowledgeable."

Knowledgeable and well bred as they might be, the Finley's had one great failing, they allowed their children to do mostly as they pleased. Rather like Elizabeth's parents had done with her younger sisters. The children behaved themselves fairly well in the presence of the grown ups, but when alone they were not very pleasant, as the Darcy children discovered after dinner.

The Finley's, newly moved to the aria were eager to meet all the best of its citizens, the Darcy's were of course the most prominent. And so, eager to instate themselves, as soon as was proper after Mr. Darcy had visited them, they invited the Darcy's over to dine.

Emma and her brothers had met the children with their mother and governess a few days before in Lambton. William had not been impressed, seeing that the children were spoiled and selfish, much like other rich children he had met elsewhere.

Nothing had happened to change them on the day of the dinner. As it was still a good deal light outside, Mrs. Finley told her two boys they should go out and show the Darcy children the fine gardens. She was eager for the children to make good acquaintances as well, and couldn't help thinking that Miss Emma Darcy would do well for either one of her sons once she was grown up. The Finley's might not be so rich or have such an old name, but Miss Darcy could certainly do worse.

In the park surrounding the Finley's home, William led the way in exploring as the Finley's were not much into playing outside and were poor tour guides. Out near where the trimmed gardens turned to woods, he and Peter found a very interesting little cave in a small cliff. The Finley children, Henry and George, had not found it before, but were still unimpressed with William's discovery.

"Come on in Emma! It's really neat in here!" Peter called from in the cave. But Emma only looked at the rather dark small opening and shivered "no, it's too dark." Peter shrugged and followed William in, disappearing deeper into the cave, vanishing from sight and leaving Emma with the two Finley boys.

"I think Miss Darcy is afraid of the Dark" said Henry, the oldest; nudging his brother and the two began teasing the younger girl. Emma had never been teased in a cruel way before, her brothers liked to tease her, but out of fun, and not meanness.

Not knowing how to react to such treatment, they soon had her upset and near tears. Before she had a chance to run back to the house though, her brothers returned from their explore.

William saw what was happening the minute he came out "Leave Emma alone!" he cried, reaching her side in a second, followed closely by Peter.

"Oh? What are you going to do about it?" the older boy sneered.

William was much like his father, his sense of right and wrong were very clearly fixed in his mind, and he was always careful to do what he was sure was right. Not that he was one who spent too much time thinking. He knew his own mind and acted right away when he saw something was unjust. And if anything was unjust, it was some one being unkind to his little sister.

He loved her fiercely and would protect her from any one, no matter how much older. Therefore he didn't think a second time before punching the larger boy right in the nose. Sitting down hard, Henry Finley clutched his damaged nose and let out a howl. Seeing the two brothers as a united front, George Finley, afraid of getting the same, made a run for it.

Henry, angry enough to avenge his nose got to his feet and made for William, determined to give him as good as he had got. William not in the least intimidated, talked the older boy and they rolled on the ground, fighting. William heard frightened Emma calling "Papa! Papa!"

Such a ruckus was created by the shouts of the boys and Emma's cry's that in very short order the grownups and little Ben who had been sitting peacefully in the sitting room were out in the gardens looking to see what had happened.

The sight of Emma crying and the boys fighting was the last thing they expected to see.

"William! Peter!" Mrs. Darcy cried in horror.

"Boys!" Mr. Darcy's command was more effective and William gave Henry one last shove and climbed to his feet, dusty and with a few scratches. Henry looked a lot worse, with a blank eye. Emma with a sob, ran and clung to her Papa, burying her face in his trousers.

"What is going on!" Mrs. Finley asked, looking quite alarmed.

"They were picking on George and when I told them to stop, they both attacked me!" Henry answered angrily before turning to his brother who had reappeared, for support "didn't they George?" George agreed wholeheartedly with his brother's version.

William's mouth fell open and he took a step towards the older boy, his fists clenched in anger "That's a lie!" he had never been lied about before and was shocked to, he looked to his father sure he wouldn't believe them.

"What happened William?" Mr. Darcy asked, frowning, a hand on Emma's shoulder.

"They were teasing Emma as soon as we left; we or she never did anything to them!" Peter said hotly, answering for William.

Recovering herself, Elizabeth turned to her hostess "please excuse us, but I think we best return home."

"Yes I suppose so" Mrs. Finley said seeming rather shaken and as of yet not sure who to believe. Saying rather quick farewells and thank yous, the Darcy's had their carriage brought around and quickly loaded up their two dirty boys and teary Emma and drove the short distance back to Pemberley in silence, no one thinking they could improve things by speaking.

Mr. Darcy was silent because he wasn't sure how to handle such a situation just yet, Mrs. Darcy because she was trying to remember to be firm with her boys and not be amused by how William had taught the spoiled and unkind Henry a lesson. She had often wished to have such a brother when she was younger.

As for William, he was still seething, about the way Emma had been treated and the lies that had been told, as well as worrying what sort of punishment he might receive. And Emma was just being a little girl, who was already tired, had been treated unkindly and then frightened by the boys display. In short she was still sniffling.

Once at home again, Mrs. Darcy took charge of the children even as she took off her wrap. "Children, go upstairs and get cleaned up and ready for bed."

"Once you are clean, I want both you boys to come to my study" Mr. Darcy said.

"Yes sir" his Father sounded very calm and William couldn't tell if he was upset or not.

Once the boys had dragged their feet up stairs, Elizabeth turned to Darcy. "Don't be too hard on them" she pleaded "they were only protecting Emma."

"I know, but such behavior is still unacceptable."

Slowly William dragged his feet up to his room where he found a bath had been drawn for him.

He washed up quickly, knowing that his mother would not tolerate dirty little boys in clean beds. But he dawdled in going down stairs to his fathers study. A knock sounded at his door. Opening it he found Emma there.

"Thank you William, for making him stop" she said solemnly, I don't like the Finley's she added.

"Neither do I" William grinned, his mind made up he headed downstairs. He had done what was right, he was sure of it.

The boys took longer than they could possibly have needed to clean up before coming to his study. But that was alright, it gave Mr. Darcy time to think. Had some one treated Georgiana unkindly when they were younger, he would no doubt have reacted in exactly the same way. How could he reprimand them for something he would do himself without hesitation? And yet a gentleman didn't use his fists to settle things, he couldn't encourage it.

When William and Peter entered the study William didn't wait for his father to speak first but started right in. "It was me not Peter father, I was the one fighting, he didn't do anything."

"Very well Peter, you may go to bed. I will discuss this with William" Mr. Darcy dismissed his younger son, who wasn't sure weather to be relived that he had been spared any punishment or upset that he hadn't been able to claim that he had helped his brother too.

Mr. Darcy studied William silently for a minute, and the boy spoke again his chin held defiantly up "I did what was right, and I don't care if you do punish me, I would do it again, they were being mean to Emma. They deserved it.

"That is the truth, I am sure, Mr. Darcy began slowly "but you can not go around fighting with every one that hurts either you or some one else-"

"You mean I should have let them go on hurting Emma?" William cried indignantly.

"No, I mean that you should have protected her differently. I am not scolding you for protecting her, you are her brother, that is your job and I am proud that you did it so well; I just take issue with your methods. William cooled down and listened. "That is not your place, his parents must see to that."

"They probably won't" William muttered.

"Maybe not, but we read in the bible "revenge is mine sayeth the Lord, I will repay." It is not for us to seek revenge. If this were ever to happen again, tell them you will not stand for anyone treating your sister that way and bring her at once to me. Usually a bully only needs some one to stand up to him to end it. A gentleman, a man, uses violence as a last resort, or you will become too hot tempered and will have little to restrain you."

"Yes Father" William said thoughtfully.

"truthfully, William" Mr., Darcy said, laying a hand on his son's shoulder "had I been our age and some one had treated Georgiana as the Finley's treated Emma, I am sure I would have reacted the same way, not that it was right, but I understand what you did."

William grinned, a weight lifted from his shoulders. "In future though, let me deal with it if at all possible" his father finished.

"Yes sir!"