Elizabeth and Miss Darcy, along with Mildred, arrived at Longbourn just as my charges and I were heading upstairs after breakfast. Elizabeth waved Miss Darcy in our direction as she turned down the hall, presumably to find her father.

"I hope you do not mind if we join you for a little while?" Mildred asked me.

"Not at all. Kitty and Lydia could use the company," I said.

"Lizzy told me about the wooden books your father wanted you to use when you dropped the books you were balancing on the stairs. Do you have them now?"

"Yes," said Lydia, "but they are not quite wooden books. Come and see." She hurried up with the other two girls following.

"What are they?" Mildred queried as she and I ascended more slowly.

"When John, the footman assigned to the task, asked me what size blocks I wanted I decided to make his job a little easier. I told him they didn't have to actually look like books. I suggested he use a dried log, a little smaller in diameter than a dinner plate. I had him saw it into slices of varying widths of between an inch and two inches. After he removed the bark, I asked him to sand each slice well so that we would not get splinters in our hair. It was easily enough done and now we have our extra-fashionable wooden headgear." We chuckled together over the idea.

We entered the schoolroom to find Lydia already walking with what she called her "wooden bonnet" on her head. Kitty was gently placing another wooden slice atop Miss Darcy's hair, clearly being careful not to hurt the injured girl's shoulder or arm. I looked inquiringly at Mildred, still a bit worried, but she nodded her approval. All three girls practiced gliding around the room.

Although it was clear Miss Darcy was a bit off balance due to the injuries, she had no trouble keeping the wood slice balanced as she walked. It did fall off as she tried to sit, but that was caused by suddenly turning her head to look as Elizabeth opened the door and entered.

"They do not exactly look like books," she said in approval, "but I think that is a clever solution. I will have to try one later. For now, though, I need to speak with you all. Mama is remaining in her room this morning, so we can use the drawing room. Jane and Mary are already there. Would you all please join us?"

Kitty put away the wood slices and we all headed down to the drawing room. We found Mr. Bennet waiting there along with Jane and Mary. Even Lydia realized the discussion was likely to be serious. She seated herself quietly as the rest of also found places, although Elizabeth remained standing.

"Well, Lizzy," said Mr. Bennet with a quirk of his eyebrow. "We are all gathered now. You have the floor."

"Thank you, Papa," she said with a quick curtsey. She moved to a spot where we could all see and easily hear her.

"Are you all aware of the confrontation we had a few days ago with the Earl of Matlock when he tried to remove Georgiana from Will's care?" Everyone nodded.

"The burly servant the earl brought with him is a man that Richard, the colonel, recognized. Richard's older brother, Viscount Milton, likes to gamble and often goes to dangerous places in London to do so. That man serves as his bodyguard when he does."

"Some bodyguard," snorted Lydia, "if Teddy can stand up to him and Mrs. Evans can tell him off." A chuckle went around the room in response, with Mr. Bennet being loudest of all.

"No villain stands a chance against our Teddy," said Elizabeth with a smile which dropped away as she continued, "You also know that Will had to go to London Friday to deal with a business issue?" We all nodded again.

"Will had a pleasant visit with Aunt and Uncle Gardiner that evening. He joined them for dinner and then discussed his business with Uncle that evening. Will had reason to suspect a man he had partnered with on an investment was cheating him. He felt Uncle Gardiner, with his extensive business experience, could give him a clearer perspective on the situation. Based on their discussion, Will decided to end the partnership with Mr. Hampton, even though that meant he had to pay a forfeit to do so." She noticed Lydia fidgeting and added, "I know this isn't very interesting to you, Lydia, but you need to know so you will understand what follows." Lydia nodded and stopped squirming.

"Saturday morning Will met with Mr. Hampton. He told him he was concerned at the losses they had suffered and decided to end their partnership. Even with the forfeit fee, Mr. Hampton did not want to cooperate, but Will insisted. He paid the fee and had his former partner sign documents releasing Will from any further association with their venture. As he was leaving, Will was surprised to see his uncle, the Earl of Matlock, going into Mr. Hampton's office. They did not speak to each other."

"My uncle is very set against tradesmen," Miss Darcy cut in. "That is why my brother was so surprised." All of us nodded in understanding.

"Will went back to Darcy house to change clothes and get his belongings together before he headed back to the dower house. He was caught in the snowstorm on the way back, but made it safely to the inn at Redbriar village." She looked at Lydia and added, "Now we get to the important bit." Lydia smiled at her.

"Will tells me that one side of the dining room is set up with booths to give the diners privacy. By chance Will was sitting in a spot where you cannot really make out what people in the booth behind him were saying if they speak normally, but a whisper carries clearly. He did not intend to eavesdrop, but he caught the sound of his own name and discovered the two men in the other booth were plotting to kill him and carry Georgie off."

Both Jane, Mary and Kitty gasped at this information, but Lydia and Mr. Bennet leaned in with interest. I was rather interested myself. Elizabeth continued after a short pause.

"Fortunately Will was able to call the innkeeper quietly over to hear some of the conversation. He and the innkeeper got up without being seen and called for the constable. They detained the two men and took them off to a secure store room to question them. One of the two was the viscount's bodyguard. Will had heard enough to know that they were being paid by the earl and that the money had come from Mr. Hampton that very day."

"They were being paid Will's money to kill him?" Mary asked in shocked surprise. "And the earl ordered it?"

"My uncle wanted to marry me off to one of the men my cousin lost money to at cards," said Miss Darcy sadly. "He knew Will would not allow it. He also probably thought he could get money from Pemberley if he had control of me." She started to sob. Kitty, who was sitting next to her on the sofa, put an arm around her and gave her a gentle hug. Jane gave her a handkerchief to dry her eyes on.

"Is there any danger now?" asked Mr. Bennet.

"Will and Richard have gone to Redbriar this morning to speak with the magistrate. The two men are still being held and with the snowstorm it is unlikely the earl knows yet that his plan has failed."

Mr. Bennet nodded thoughtfully. "Mr. Baxter is magistrate there. He is an older man who will probably advise not pressing charges against the earl unless they have better evidence than just the word of the two servants. Of course, the earl would have to be tried in the House of Lords if any charges were brought against him. It is unlikely he would receive any kind of sanctions unless he was found by another peer standing over Darcy's dead body with a bloody knife in his hand, perhaps not even then." He shook his head.

"He cannot just get away with it, can he?" asked Lydia indignantly. "After all, Mr. Wickham was killed just for trying to kidnap Georgie."

"He probably can," said Mr. Bennet sadly. "Our justice system is not always very fair, especially when a peer is involved. I am glad to see you begin to understand Mr. Wickham's guilt," he said a little more severely. "He was punished for many things in addition to the attack on your sister and Miss Darcy. The military can provide swifter judgment and punishment than the civilian courts can for serious offenses. Any case regarding a peer has to be handled in the House of Lords with all the resulting posturing, bribes and favoritism. It can take a very long time for an issue to be settled and justice is rarely properly served."

"That is not fair," Lydia responded.

"No, it is not," said her father quietly. He turned to Elizabeth. "Does your young man have a plan for dealing with his uncle?"

"It will depend in part on what the magistrate has to say, but Will and Richard expect the same kind of response that you do. At the least they are hoping to have the two servants detained for a while to give them time to put a plan into action. Will's godfather is the Duke of Montrose. Where the earl might not listen to either his son or his nephew warning him off, we expect he will listen to the duke. When he returns from Redbriar, Will plans to send an express to his godfather asking him to ensure that the earl understands his plot is known and that he would gain nothing from any actions taken against Will, Georgie, Richard or any of us."

"The Duke of Montrose is very influential. His censure would carry a great deal of weight," said Mr. Bennet thoughtfully. "Does Darcy think he will respond well to the request?"

"He does," answered Elizabeth. "Apparently the duke has never been terribly friendly towards the Earl of Matlock."

"Very few people are," Georgiana put in with something between a hiccup and a laugh.

"What is there for us to do?" asked Mr. Bennet.

"Nothing for now except to be aware of what has happened. I wanted you all to know so you can be careful." She looked around the room at each of us. "If you see anything suspicious or something just does not feel right then say something. Tell Papa, tell Will or Dr. Burrows or the colonel. Call in Teddy to protect you if need be." We all laughed.

"That young man will end up a royal bodyguard before he is through," said Mr. Bennet, still chuckling.

Mr. Bingley and Dr. Burrows were announced just then. As they came in Elizabeth indicated that our group meeting was finished. "Jane, Mary and I will update them," she said.

Before we left the room Kitty stopped her father, who had risen to return to his study. "Papa, I was wondering if you would be willing to teach me how to play chess."

Mr. Bennet looked at her in shock. Off to the side I could see Elizabeth, who had heard the request, raise an eyebrow in surprise. After a moment of silence Mr. Bennet answered, "Of course, child, if you truly wish to learn."

"I want to at least try, Papa," she told him. "Miss York says she used to play with her father and it is a fun game. I know you will not be able to play with Lizzy as often after she is married, so maybe you will have the time to play with me."

"I would like that," he said. "Miss York, can you spare her for a first lesson now? Mr. Tanner and Mr. Barnes left this morning and I cannot think of a better way to celebrate having my study back than to teach my daughter the names and moves of all those little wooden figures." He smiled and winked, but his eyes looked suspiciously misty. I could tell the request had touched him.

"Of course, sir." I said. He nodded and gestured for Kitty to go ahead of him to the study. Elizabeth looked at me and nodded approvingly. I had the feeling we would chat about the request later.

Mildred, Miss Darcy, Lydia and I all returned to the schoolroom.