Chapter 10

"Gardiner, I have to be honest with you," Matlock said as he settled himself into a chair and motioned for Gardiner to do the same. "I invited you hear today to discuss the situation further with you. My nephew, Darcy, has made an educated guess as to just what type of situation this Collins creature used to force Mr. Bennet's consent. He has charged me with finding out which daughter was ruined and my son, Richard, with purchasing a husband for her out of the officers he knows and a common license so they may marry right away. He does not wish Miss Elizabeth to know that he is responsible for resolving her family's trouble. I won't lie to you, he hopes to make her his wife. He does not want her to feel he purchased her. He is planning on courting her while at Matlock. Of course given he almost blurted out a proposal more then once last night, I doubt he will manage to court her terribly long before he is laying his heart at her feet and requesting her hand in marriage."

"What's this? Your nephew?" Gardiner said slowly, thinking over the evening and recalling that Darcy had certainly been more invested in Elizabeth's situation then usual for a casual acquaintance. Darcy concern had mirrored his own so much that he had thought nothing of it. The Fitzwilliams had been concerned and wished to help but Darcy, now that he thought of it, had been determined to sprint Elizabeth away, offering his own estate to go to, his escort in his carriage while his cousin escorted Darcy's own sister and companion at a later date.

"Yes," Matlock said seeing the understanding dawn on Gardiner's face. "Your family was to distressed last night to realize it or I am sure you would have been demanding my nephew inform you of his intentions. For clarifications sake only. Had you of been more observant you would have absolutely had no doubt what they were. Poor Lizzy appeared very confused. I gather he did not leave the best impression behind in Hertfordshire. If Lizzy's situation had not been so stressful I suspect you would have had a good laugh over him. I can assure you your niece is not about to end up married to that bounder, even if he were to show up on my estate's doorstep, special license and parson in tow with my sister loudly demanding the marriage take place. Darcy is determined enough, rich enough and arrogant enough, that he would ban them from the property and whisk Elizabeth elsewhere, refusing to allow the marriage to go through regardless of any consent from her father."

"He impressed me last night with his decisive handling of the situation and how kind he was to my niece, which now makes a bit more sense. She had mentioned him unfavorably to my wife, but I saw nothing in his manner to suggest he was not a good man. The question is, is he arrogant enough to believe he does not need consent?"

"I believe the only consent he imagines he would require would be Miss Elizabeth's, though he will seek her father's as well naturally. Up until Friday, he also had the mistaken belief that her consent was a foregone conclusion. An idea my wife disabused him of as she enlightened him to how your niece felt about him."

"And he still wishes to offer such assistance and persue Elizabeth?"

"As I said he his a determined sort. I won't share with you exactly what he said," Matlock said remembering how Darcy had hotly declared he planned to still propose and Elizabeth could learn to like him, "but my nephew is tenacious and direct. Once he makes his mind up about something, he does not change it, nor will he alter his path. He has decided he is going to marry for love and nothing less, which means he is determined to gain your niece's heart and hand. Susan believes they are well matched. She even admitted that he is better suited to Lizzy then either of our sons," Matlock finished with a chuckle.

"Well, if that is the way the land lies, I shall not be to proud to accept his assistance. I will not lie, it is a relief off my mind that Elizabeth has another suitor, and such a determined one. I worry that her sense of responsibility would cause her to follow through with the engagement her father consented to. My brother-in-law is to prone to taking the easy way out, especially since his accident, and is often selfish, putting his wants above what is best for his children. He loves Elizabeth, but while he may have initially been against allowing Collins to actually marry her, he is far to likely to decide to follow the easier path and insist on the marriage, once he realizes the effort required to marry Lydia off and hide her ruin," Gardiner said and went on to share the minimum of detials about the situation and Lydia.

"No wonder Darcy insisted Richard find an officer, it sounds like that is all the girl will consider without creating a greater scandal," Matlock said wryly.

"That and I think it would be best if she did not remain in Hertfordshire. While Lydia is less likely to make a fuss and cause a resulting scandal if she ends up married to an officer, her future husband would have a better chance of moderating her behavior further away from her mother."

…

"Your bethrothed was favored by my nephew, my daughter's fiancee, with a dance at this ball you say?" Lady Cathrine de Bough demanded of her parson at tea. Her nephew avoided dancing when at all possible. His disdain for the activity and the ladies of society she relied on to see him married to her daughter one day. She thought furiously of what this meant. He must have a care for this chit, possibly intentions to marry her. Her plans would not be ruined by some country miss with aspirations above her station.

With a cruel smile, Lady Catherine reflected that she would enjoy bring this Miss Elizabeth Bennet under her thumb and causing Darcy to suffer in the process. A broken and beaten Darcy would bow to her will finally. Interrupting the flow of words coming out of her pet parson's mouth, she declared, "You will marry immediately. I shall see to obtaining a common license for you so that the banns may be dispensed with, and attend your wedding myself to ensure all goes off accordingly. I shall verify that the marriage has been consummated immediately after you do so before we leave Hertfordshire. No one will be able to come between you and your bride once I have verified you took her maiden head. Your cousin will host us all at his estate. I suggest you apply yourself to diligently getting the chit with child."

Lady Catherine did not wish to take any chances that her nephew would seek to save the girl from a marriage she did not wish, or fight to annull it. The boy had far to grand a sense of honor and from what she gathered of Mr. Collins the girl had been spirited and unwilling to accept his proposal until her father forced her too. She was determined that not only would she have Pemberley, she would ensure Anne's precious son was miserable. She did not think much of her parson's health and if he sired a child, she was confident she could convince him to name her as the guardian in the event of his passing, keeping this chit her nephew dared care for under her control using the girl's offspring.

…

Lady Matlock hid her amused smile at Darcy's antics. As soon as their party descended from the coach Darcy had offered to escort Elizabeth on a walk. Elizabeth had given him a beaming smile and declared nothing would suit her better after being cooped up in the carriage all day. The way Darcy had pulled her closer to his body once her hand rested on his arm spoke volumes about how he felt about her. Her nephew, like her eldest son, usually held himself stiffly as far away from the lady attempting to latch onto his arm as possible. Darcy had gently covered her hand on his arm with his free hand and appeared to be caressing Elizabeth's fingers it looked like from Lady Matlock's viewpoint as she chaproned them at a distance close enough to keep them in view, but far enough away to allow private conversation.

"I have reserved a floor for us," Sutton said as he joined his mother. "How goes William's courtship?"

"He appears to be barely keeping in respectable bounds," Lady Matlock said dryly. "If I did not know better I would think no one had told him it was improper to practically hold a single young lady's hand unless there was a formal understanding."

"Er, I believe Darcy's honorable intentions provide him some leaway. How would you have him court her?"

"Seeking my advice now? Winning Lizzy's mind over with tales that do Darcy credit as Master of his estate is not a bad strategy. I would avoid doing it to brown though. If you sing Darcy's praises any louder, Elizabeth just may begin to doubt their sincerity. From what I know of them both, they are well suited. She merely needs time to get to know him."

"I dare say she will end up with more of an opportunity to do so under the current circumstances than over tea and trips to the theater if he were forced to court her in town," Sutton said.

"Oh I do not doubt William would have done very well courting her in town. Such a setting would have allowed for all their common interests to naturally draw them together and provide ready topics of conversation. While he may be free to spend more time with her, he will have to converse, rathern then merely watch the enjoyment on her features as he squires her about. He will be forced to seek topics that will show their compatibility rather then those topics occuring by consequence of their locations. "

"Miss Elizabeth is easy to converse with. Her conversation is not dull, I see Darcy having no problem speaking to her."

"You forget how quiet he was at dinner. He has spoken up more today, but having a livley conversation is not the same as showing a lady that everday activities and amusements are rendered more enjoyable with the right companion."

"From what I gather, Miss Elizabeth is just as enamoured of country pursuits as Darcy, so our sojurn in the country will allow their common interests to draw them together, inspire conversations and show how much more enjoyable those pursuits are with the right companion. I have no doubt Darcy and Miss Elizabeth will put the walking paths at Matlock to good use."

"That is what I fear. I just hope William keeps himself under good regulation, since he will be provided far to many unchaproned opportunities. I have noticed how he enjoys the reassurance of having physical contact with Lizzy."

"You cannot believe that someone as honorable as Darcy would act inappropriatly with Miss Elizabeth," Sutton said shocked.

"I believe that someone as in love as Darcy, who I am sure hides great passion behind his calm facade given he is a man of action, with someone like Lizzy, fierce and passionate, who is far from indifferent to him, may find themselves breeching proper behavior if Elizabeth's regard for him grows. Both are to sensible to act dishonorabely in a manner that would nescitate a quick wedding, but Darcy has proven himself to be a tactile individual as far as Lizzy is concerned."

Sutton chuckled and said, "Never would have thought it would be Darcy taking liberties with a young lady. But then again it never seemed like Darcy would fall in love. I always assummed he would eventually setttle down with some society miss in another ten or so years when he felt he could no longer put it off and begin to duitfully fill his nursery as a mater of course."

"Is that what you see yourself doing?" Lady Matlock asked her son.

"Not if you find me another Miss Elizabeth," Sutton said with a grin. "Perhaps I should expand my travel to include areas not frequented by the ton. I would rather have a wife that I share a relationship with like you and father's then barely tolerate, like many of my generation settle for."

"Your father and I had the advantage of always knowing we were expected to marry and cultivated a life long friendship before we came of age and married. I to would rather not see any of you settle for a partner you only tolerate, even if it is plebian of me," Lady Matlock said with a smile.

…

As they strolled to stretch their limbs after being cooped up in the carriage, Elizabeth drew a deep breath and prepared to ask Darcy the question she knew would likely anger him. If his aunt was right, and given his attention to her it appeared she was, Elizabeth knew to properly consider Darcy as a suitor she would have to resolve the issue of Wickham once and for all. Why did he deny him the living? It was beyond question that Wickham did not deserve the living, but she needed to understand Darcy's reasons. Was it pride? Or was it care of the souls that would be under the clergy's purview?

"In the interest of understanding your character better, may I ask you an impertinent question that will likely offend you?" Elizabeth asked raising her eyebrow at him.

"I would have you ask me any question that will help you sketch my character. I want you to know exactly who I am," Darcy ssid caressing her fingers. "I have a tendency to be a private man but I suspect my complete transparency will be necessary to gain what I want," Darcy said with a significant glance down at her hand under his on his arm, causing her to blush at his unsubtle reference to her hand in marriage.

"Why did you deny Mr. Wickham the living? He undoubtedly should not have been a clergyman, but I would like to hear your side of the tale."

"Then you shall," Darcy said and proceeded to detail for her his history with Wickham and what he knew of the man's character and want of principles or morals. The money Wickham received to sign away the rights to it, his return to demand it. Darcy's refusal. Then finally his attempted elopement with Georgiana.

"I am so sorry. What must you think of me? To berate you at the ball on behalf of that monster. How does your poor sister fair now?" Elizabeth asked her eyes glistening with tears.

"She is recovering," Darcy said as he gently reached out to wipe away a tear that had escaped her eyes. "And I think you are wonderful, to stand up for someone who presented you with an injustice. To be so kind and compassionate. He lied to you, but you, your actions were commendable. You would not allow anyone, no matter their sation in life, to act in a way that was not justified and honorable. You are remarkable. "

"I was foolish and vain," Elizabeth said with a tremble in her voice.

"Wickham is an accomplished liar, he has decived far older and worldly individuals then you. You had no reason to distrust him or suspect him of being untruthful. You had never encountered such a dishonest individual before and had no experience to suggest you should not trust him."

"To blindly trust a stranger is the province of a fool," Elizabeth argued.

"To mistrust every stranger is the province of a fool, for he may very well miss one of life's greatest opportunities, " Darcy argued back. "To be kind and welcoming is a boon. I would not wish for you to go through life mistrusting all you meet and expecting the worst from them and unable to make friends."

"That sounds like a dreary life, one that would not suit me," she said with a smile. "It is true that I enjoy meeting strangers, but it clearly behooves me to take my time in judging them. Naive I might have been, but I have read enough of the world to know that it was foolish to trust a stranger's word because he had charm. Charm, like beauty, is only skin deep. I should have based by sketch of his character off something more substantial and waited to sketch him until I had something of substance to use to do so. I shall think of this as a learning experience and an opportunity to grow. I have perhaps not had many such opportunities so I will take each and everyone I can get so that I may guide myself to a greater understanding of the world when my aunt and uncle are not present to offer me their guidance and advice. Your character is much clearer to me now, and I offer you my apologies. You truly are a good man." Smiling mischievously at him she added, "I am thrilled to be able to absolve you of the crimes I accused you off, whether they were vocalized by me to others or only spoken in my own head. You may go forth Mr. Darcy content in the knowledge that you have secured the good opinion of your character from a mere country miss, for what it is worth."

"When you are the miss, it is worth quite a bit. Your good opinion of me is something I always hope to strive for by actions and words. Your words to view your experiences as an opportunity to learn are very wise words, Miss Elizabeth," Darcy said with a serious expression, but silently he added that he hoped to provide her with more opportunities to explore the world and he hoped she would turn to him for guidance. He knew he would never dismiss her, or mock her. That he would seek to help her and offer up whatever knowledge and assistance he possessed that she needed from now on.