"Miss de Bourgh, Miss Darcy, Mrs. Annesley, Mr. Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam," the butler of Longbourn announced to his mistress.
"Oh!" Mrs. Bennet exclaimed, leaping up in surprise. "How good to see you all this morning! I did not expect ... but please do come in! Welcome, welcome! Do come in, please do, and warm yourself by the fire. It is chilly out there, is it not? Not that I expect you were so very cold; I am certain your carriage is the best that money can buy! Oh Hill, Hill! Do call for tea. Lizzy, Jane, do entertain our guests. I must ... excuse me for just a moment!"
At this, Mrs. Bennet rushed out of the drawing room, leaving her guests in some confusion. Jane immediately took control by rising to her feet and saying, "Please do sit down. Mr. Darcy, would you care to take a seat next to the fire? Given your recent injury, you must take care not to catch cold."
Darcy opened his mouth to protest any special treatment, and then closed it when Elizabeth, who was sitting on a small settee near the fireplace, smiled at him blindingly. He decided that yes, he was rather cold, and should most definitely have a position at the fire.
The three female visitors exchanged glances with one another and walked over to a small group of chairs as far away from Darcy and Elizabeth as possible. Colonel Fitzwilliam followed them to where Miss Mary was seated, and the group made small talk for two minutes, whereupon the drawing room door opened again and Mrs. Bennet rushed in, this time with her second youngest daughter at her side.
"May I please introduce my second youngest daughter, Miss Kitty Bennet to you all?" the matron requested eagerly. "Kitty, Miss de Bourgh, Miss Darcy, Mrs. Annesley, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and Mr. Darcy."
Darcy had risen at the entrance of Mrs. Bennet and her fourth child, and he and Colonel Fitzwilliam bowed as the girl curtsied. Miss Kitty was, he noted in a distracted manner, looking rather wan, and her expression was timid. To his relief, Miss Lydia was nowhere to be seen and as soon as propriety allowed it, he sat back down and turned his attention back on Elizabeth.
"You were telling me about Oakham Mount, I believe?" he said.
"Yes," Elizabeth agreed. "It is more of a hill, but since we have nothing taller nearby, we proudly proclaim it a mountain! It provides a most pleasing prospect of Longbourn, Netherfield, and Meryton.
"I would enjoy seeing it someday," Darcy responded, "though it must be a cold walk."
Elizabeth chuckled and said, "That is true enough, but so long as the wind is not strong, and the air not too dreadfully cold, I have climbed Oakham Mount during winter. I very much enjoy observing how the trees and meadows and streams alter with the changing of the seasons."
"We must pray for a warm spell, then, so that you can climb again soon. It is both cold and windy outside today."
Elizabeth bit her lip, her face suddenly downcast.
"Is something wrong?" Darcy asked in concern.
She glanced over to the others in the room, who were in the midst of a now energetic conversation, and continued softly, "In truth, Mr. Darcy, I have not yet determined whether I will ever feel safe walking alone on Longbourn land. It is a great sorrow to me; I have always felt safe here, and now I do not."
Darcy felt his heart thud and he said, "Please, Miss Elizabeth, you must tell me; does my presence distress you?"
Elizabeth stared at him, confusion writ large across her expressive countenance. "Your presence, Mr. Darcy? Of course not! Why would it?"
"I merely worried that perhaps when you see me, it reminds you of last week's difficult experience."
"Oh," Elizabeth exclaimed, her face clearing. She hesitated, then boldly reached out to touch Darcy's sleeve with one gloved hand. "No, sir, I find great pleasure in your company. More than that, I feel safe with you nearby. You saved me from a dire fate, and I will always be grateful."
Darcy shook his head and said quietly. "If you will thank me, I hope you will accept my gratitude as well. You showed great courage at the time. Without your interference, the situation could have turned out very badly for me."
Elizabeth nodded and smiled, a little tremulously, as the drawing room door opened and two maids stepped in with the tea service.
/
Mr. Bennet stood in front of the bedchamber of his youngest daughter, took a deep breath and called upon the anger that had propelled him through the last twenty hours. Lydia had been absolutely impossible since he had announced that the Bennet daughters would no longer be permitted to visit freely with militia officers. She had kicked and struggled while being carried to her room, and then, once locked in, had shrieked and howled and thrown objects until two hours after midnight. His wife, too, had cried and sobbed at his decision, and only his disgust at his youngest child's behavior kept him from buckling under her wails and accusations. He hated fusses and disruption and wanted nothing more than to hide in his library, but he would not let the little beast win! Lydia was entirely out of control, and for her sake, along with her family's, she must be brought to heel.
He was thankful that several guests had arrived from Netherfield; Mrs. Bennet would be busy entertaining them, and probably throwing Kitty at Colonel Fitzwilliam, but it would allow him to deal with Lydia alone.
The master of Longbourn turned the key in the lock and stepped into Lydia's room. It was in shambles, with clothing strewn about, with the curtains pulled down, with various knick knacks scattered across the floor in broken pieces. Lydia herself was sitting on her bed, still wearing her dress from the day before, her face twisted into a ferocious scowl.
Mr. Bennet gritted his teeth, determined not to engage in a verbal contest with his spoiled child. No, Lydia was too far gone to be impressed with threats or lectures.
"James, Earl," he directed two of his male servants.
The two brothers, who had served the Bennets faithfully for ten years, stepped forward and boldly grabbed Lydia's arms. She gaped in astonishment as they carried her out the door, then she began thrashing and howling as the two men carried her up the servant's stair to the attic room which had been prepared for her in the last hours.
Lydia was dropped unceremoniously onto a simple straw filled pallet in the corner, and Mr. Bennet, who had followed the threesome, nodded to the servants, thanked them, and dismissed them.
"Father, what is this?" the girl exclaimed, looking around her in bewilderment.
"This is your new room, for the near future, at least. Since you chose to spend hours last night screaming and howling and destroying objects in your bedchambers, you will now be staying here."
Lydia rose cautiously to her feet, her eyes wide was horror. "But Father, this is one of the servant's rooms!"
"Yes, it is indeed. It is fortunate that we had not yet hired a new maid to replace Molly."
"Who is Molly?" his daughter asked in confusion.
"Oh, one of the maidservants; indeed, she was responsible for cleaning your room and Kitty's room, which is probably why she took a position at Lucas Lodge. I finally made the time to talk about your behavior with the Hill last night, and understand that you consistently make a ridiculous mess of your room and then scream and berate your maid when you cannot find the objects that you scattered so haphazardly. You will do better here, Lydia; if you behave yourself, I will permit you to have a few more items in your room, but needless to say, you will not be permitted to enjoy your trinkets and furbelows and the like; not that there are necessarily that many left after your outburst over the last day."
"You cannot mean to keep me here, Father! You cannot?"
"Cannot?" Mr. Bennet demanded, taking a few menacing steps towards his youngest child. "Cannot?!"
Lydia shrank at his unaccustomed tone but still managed to say defiantly, "Mother will not let you treat me so!"
"Your mother is not master of Longbourn, I am. The servants obey me, my wife and daughters obey me, except for you, that is. I can do anything I wish. I can beat you and starve you and no one can stop me. Fortunately for you, Daughter, I will not mistreat you because you are my daughter and I care deeply about you. But make no mistake, Lydia, you will not be permitted in company until your behavior has changed significantly. I am aware that I am responsible for making you into the selfish, greedy, ill-bred little monster that you currently are, and thus it is my responsibility to take drastic steps to induce you to change your ways."
Lydia Bennet, fifteen years of age, tall, bordering on plump, stared with terrified incredulity into the face of her father. She thought she knew Mr. Bennet well; he was sarcastic, indolent, and disinclined to take a strong stand about anything. She had always managed to get what she wanted in the past. Always!
But this time, there was set purpose in the gentleman's face, and a grim determination in his eyes. This time, Lydia would not get what she wanted.
She burst into noisy tears and collapsed on her simple mattress. This could not be happening!
/
"It was wonderful meeting you, Mrs. Bennet, Miss Kitty," Colonel Fitzwilliam, bestowing a bow over the hand of the mistress of Longbourn. "I do hope we will see one another again soon."
"Indeed," Anne de Bourgh added, "perhaps we might call on you again tomorrow?"
"Oh, as to that, Miss de Bourgh," Mrs. Bennet fluttered, "I fear we will be engaged tomorrow as my brother and his family are arriving from London to enjoy Jane's wedding!
"I understand completely," Richard said cheerfully. "I am certain that we will enjoy one another's company soon!"
"Thank you for coming," Elizabeth murmured, bestowing a special smile on Darcy.
He smiled back at her as he bowed at his hostess, and the foursome from Netherfield made their way out of the front door and into the carriage. Once the horses were set in motion, Darcy sat back with a sigh.
"Are you well, Brother?" Georgiana asked worriedly. "Does your arm hurt you?"
Darcy grinned at his sister and said, "I am very well, Georgie, very well indeed."
/
"Colonel Fitzwilliam is absolutely charming, is he not?" Mrs. Bennet exclaimed.
"He is indeed quite a gentleman," Kitty agreed, though in a more subdued tone than usual.
"If he is Mr. Darcy's cousin, he must be quite wealthy," her mother continued. "Oh, if only I could see one of my remaining three daughters well married, I would have nothing more to wish for!"
"He is a second son, Mama," Elizabeth said calmly, "and thus I doubt he is rich."
"Second son of an earl? I daresay he is prosperous enough, Lizzy. Not that I recommend you set your cap on the man; I think it unlikely he would appreciate your impertinent ways. Did you need me, Hill?"
"Yes, Madam. Mr. Bennet wishes to see you in the library."
"Oh, very well! Elizabeth, do talk to Mrs. Hill and the maids and ensure that the guest bedchambers are readied for the Gardiners."
"Yes, Mother," Elizabeth said obediently, thankful for an opportunity to escape from her family for a short time. She could not be mistaken about her conversation with Mr. Darcy today; he obviously admired her and enjoyed her company; the only remaining question was whether he cared enough for her to make an offer.
If he did, she knew there could be but one response ... yes!