"Darcy."
Darcy did not respond. He was staring at his book without seeing it. Lizzy hated the empty look in his eyes.
"Darcy," she tried again.
Finally, Lizzy reached out and grabbed one of Darcy's hands, and he, at last, adjusted his gaze.
"My apologies," Darcy half mumbled.
Lizzy frowned. She knew what occupied Darcy's mind. "Shall we discuss it?"
"It's nothing new," Darcy sighed. He ran his free hand over his face and sat forward in his seat. "Right," he said with a determined air. "Charms. You said Flitwick gave us some questions requiring short answers? Have you those questions?"
Lizzy ran her thumb over Darcy's knuckles as she considered how to respond. "You're not ready to focus on what you missed of class," she said finally.
"I need to focus on something, Elizabeth," Darcy said lowly. "The questions?"
"Yes, you do need to focus on something, but this isn't it," Lizzy said decidedly. "Put your books away."
"What?"
"Put your books away," Lizzy insisted. She ignored Darcy's unintelligible grumbling as he complied with her demand and she shoved her own texts away. Over the past two days, she had tried multiple things to appropriately distract and redirect Darcy, but he seemed unable to get his mind away from his tenants that had been so cruelly murdered and unwilling to give up the blame. She had thought it might be best to keep him from estate matters for a time, but such was seeming to only increase his feelings of guilt.
Darcy folded his hands on the now clear tabletop in the library. "Well, Elizabeth?" he asked expectantly.
Lizzy scooted her chair around the table so she was sat directly next to Darcy, instead of across him. "Your estate business," she said, "pull it out."
Darcy slowly shook his head. "Elizabeth, there's so much classwork – "
"I know you have your ledgers and your most recent letters from your stewards in your bag," Lizzy continued on stubbornly. "Get them out. Tell me about your responsibilities."
"Elizabeth, I will be well with time," Darcy sighed. "I can deal with these matters later, in my common room. Let us get back to Charms."
"A wise man once told me that, though I may be able to handle whatever is thrown my way on my own, I do not have to do so," Lizzy said with pluck. She was rewarded with a slight twitch of Darcy's lips. "That same infuriatingly stubborn man refused to leave my side even when I started shouting at him and has inspired my current steadfastness."
"Infuriatingly stubborn?" Darcy asked with a weak smile. "I thought you called him wise?"
"He is a character of many dispositions," Lizzy said dismissively. She then gently set her hands over Darcy's. "I am here. You do not have to suffer through this alone."
Darcy heaved another great sigh, then slowly did as Lizzy had asked. He drew from his bag a bundle of letters, two ledger books, and a map, which he spread before him. "This is Pemberley," he said proudly, gazing at the map.
Lizzy felt her jaw slacken as she took in the size and scaling of the map. She had known Darcy to be wealthy, and known Pemberley to be a grand estate, but without even looking at the ledgers she could tell his income had been grossly underestimated. "You took charge of all this at seventeen?" she asked quietly.
Darcy's shoulders seemed to stoop from weight and his face aged in the blink of an eye. "I was not meant to do so at such an early age."
Lizzy shook her head and gathered herself. Marveling at Darcy's holdings was not her intention. Helping him was. She took one of his hands in her own as she began studying the map. "Where did the Millers and Robertsons live?"
Darcy automatically pointed the place out. "They each had a decent piece of land under their care. It's completely vacant, now that…"
Lizzy squeezed the hand she gripped without looking over at Darcy. Instead, she examined what was around the lots he pointed out. "Have you had the woods over here searched? It looks like a good place to hide for a time while waiting for an opportunity."
Darcy nodded. "There was some evidence of a person camping, but not enough to determine who."
Lizzy hummed thoughtfully. She wanted to direct Darcy's attention to what he had control over, and the actions of whatever monster had unleashed fiendfyre on his estate did not fit that category. Of course he had done everything he could possibly think of to locate the perpetrator. Likely, that is what had kept him from Hogwarts so long. She needed a different approach.
"What are your plans for the land, now?" she asked after several minutes of studying.
Darcy looked affronted. "Elizabeth, they are hardly cold in their graves!"
Lizzy knew her current path could easily be construed as cold and calloused if taken out of context. "Darcy," she said gently, "they can hardly take offense. You need to consider what is best for your remaining tenants."
"I cannot condone dismissing such a great tragedy by settling the land on other families so quickly!"
"I am not suggesting dismissing the tragedy," Lizzy said patiently. "Bear with me, Darcy, and be strictly practical, only for a few moments."
"I can't," Darcy said sadly.
Lizzy gave him a warm and sympathetic smile. "Between the two families there were eight children, were there not?"
Darcy responded by setting his face into his hands and hunching miserably over the table.
Lizzy reached out and grabbed Darcy's chin, forcing him to meet her gaze. "Everything here is labeled with its purpose," she said, tapping the map without looking at it. "I do not see a school."
Darcy slowly straightened. His brows furrowed. He looked carefully at the map. "How had I never…" he said under his breath.
Lizzy waited patiently and was delighted to see Darcy calculating. He was, for the first time since he had returned, focused with a true purpose. He looked like himself, rather than a shallow facsimile.
"You brilliant, beautiful creature," Darcy breathed after a few minutes, turning his attention to Lizzy. "It is a perfect solution."
Lizzy blushed at the praise. "I'm sure you would have come up with something eventually," she said.
"It would not have been nearly so genius," Darcy said. "I will wait a month longer, to allow for a more fitting mourning period, and then begin construction as soon as possible!" He grinned. "The building will be named for one family, and I shall set up an account to be used for those of my tenants' children requiring funds to study a trade in the name of the other! They would be so pleased to know what their land is to be used for. Oh, Elizabeth!" He grabbed her hands and kissed each of them multiple times.
Lizzy felt tears in her eyes, such was her pleasure and gratitude for Darcy returning to himself. "That sounds like a wonderful plan."
Darcy released one of Lizzy's hands and used the now free limb to grab the ledger books and begin leafing through them. Over the next hour, he pointed out various accounts to Lizzy and explained how he planned to adjust each one to accommodate the expenses that would be required by the school.
"I am determined that food will be provided for the students while they study," Darcy declared as he looked over the budget for the kitchens. "Mrs. Miller never sent anyone away from her house without something in their belly, children especially."
Lizzy leaned forward as much as she was able in her chair to look more closely at the various gardens surrounding the great house. "It looks as though there might be space here to expand the vegetable garden. Can your orchard take one a few extra trees, as well? And perhaps you might consider sacrificing a small part of the woods to set up an extra lot to raise cattle or pigs for the express purpose of the school."
Darcy enthusiastically agreed that all such things were possible. He grabbed a fresh scroll, a quill, and an inkwell to begin scribbling down the ideas before he could forget any. Lizzy laughingly took the tools from him, stating she doubted he would be able to comprehend the notes later, he was so rapidly jumping from one idea to another.
After another two hours, Lizzy and Darcy were both collapsed against their library chairs, tired but satisfied with their endeavors. They had written letters to his stewards, those that managed his accounts in London, and a few of his landed neighbors to give them various details and ask for any further ideas or support. They had discussed how to go about hiring teachers, when the appropriate time came. They determined what the inside of the school should look like. Lizzy helped Darcy figure out which family to name the building for and which family to name the fund for further education after. Curfew was very nearly upon them, but neither felt compelled to move.
"Thank you, Elizabeth," said Darcy heartfully after several minutes of companionable silence.
"I am glad everything has worked out agreeably as possible, considering the circumstances," said Lizzy, lolling her head to the side to look at Darcy. "And I am glad to see you smile again, William."
Darcy, slowly and with purpose, leaned forward in his chair toward Lizzy. "Say it again."
Lizzy felt her smile widen with Darcy's earnest tone and expression. "How strange that my saying your name has such a dramatic effect. You will make me believe such will enable me to have complete and total control of you, William."
"Please say you will let me kiss you."
Lizzy started. Darcy, judging by the widening of his eyes, was surprised the words had escaped his mouth, but he did not rescind them. Instead, he grinned in sheepish anticipation.
Gripped by her teasing nature, Lizzy leaned forward slightly, and even let Darcy put a hand to her neck before whispering, "You have my permission, sir, but you shall have to find a more fitting time and place than this."
"When could be a better time than after what you have done for me today?" Darcy asked lowly, his eyes flicking between Lizzy's eyes and her lips.
"I think I should like to be surprised," Lizzy said impishly. "A girl likes to see her man's passionate nature, after all."
"Be careful what you wish for, Elizabeth," Darcy warned. He moved toward her again.
But Lizzy had meant what she said. Knowing, as she did, that Darcy respected her wishes and her person, she wanted to be surprised by him, and she was not overly fond of the idea of her first kiss being in the library, either. Driven by her playful nature, she masterfully slipped out of Darcy's grip and slung her bag over her shoulder.
"Elizabeth!" Darcy half whined.
"Goodnight, sir," Lizzy said with mocking formality. She curtsied and, as she turned away, heard Darcy collapse onto the table in frustrated defeat.
Over the next few weeks, Lizzy and Darcy teased each other mercilessly. Whenever Lizzy indicated she thought a time might be appropriate for a kiss, Darcy feigned complete ignorance. Whenever Darcy thought the time might be appropriate, Lizzy danced just out his reach, laughing the entire time.
"You're going to regret playing stupid so often before long, old man," Bingley had said to Darcy after witnessing one such occurrence on the way back from a Hogsmeade trip. Elizabeth, in frustration, had grabbed Jane's arm and sped ahead with her sister.
"I have been learning how to enjoy the moment, Charles, and find the game highly amusing," said Darcy, staring after Elizabeth with a wistful smile. He suddenly turned to Bingley with an arched brow. "Have you very much advice to give on the subject?"
Bingley blushed a violent red and redirected the conversation.
"This tournament is to last a whole four days?" Lizzy asked, completely aghast, in Flitwick's office during a dueling lesson.
"Now that the candidate pool has narrowed so far, the rules for elimination become much more complicated," Flitwick explained. "Forty will enter, four will remain. In the first round, the loser of each duel will be eliminated. In the second, you will have to lose twice. The last ten will each face all the remaining competitors, and judges will select four to compete in the international competition.
"The first day will be the first round, the second the second, and the third round will be broken up between the last two," Flitwick continued. "Lord Matlock, true to his word, Miss Bennet, has offered to sponsor you."
Lizzy gasped. "You must be joking!"
Flitwick smiled brightly. "I would not be so cruel." He reached into his desk and pulled out a pair of folded documents. "I have here your entry forms. Yours, Mr. Darcy, I have already signed as your sponsor. Sign below, please." Darcy did as he was told without hesitation while Lizzy stared at her form, which bore the Earl of Matlock's signature and seal.
"Sign, Elizabeth," Darcy encouraged.
"But he should be sponsoring you," Lizzy objected. "He is your uncle!"
"Miss Bennet, I have already argued with Lord Matlock on your behalf at length," said Flitwick, holding out a quill to her. "He says he has no intention of sponsoring his nephew, as his nephew requires no additional backing to be taken seriously. Unfortunately, such is the disposition of our society. I have been brought around to Augustus's way of thinking in this matter. He will respect your decision if you chose to decline his sponsorship, but I must encourage you whole heartedly to take advantage."
Still somewhat numb with shock, Lizzy signed her name below Lord Matlock's.
"Excellent," said Flitwick, sealing both letters with a flick of his wand. With a few more maneuvers, he had sent the forms off with his personal owl. "Now that is taken care of, we are to the grounds."
"Professor?" Lizzy asked as Flitwick started toward the door.
"Come along, now," Flitwick encouraged.
Lizzy and Darcy exchanged confused looks before following Flitwick.
"Ah, beautiful weather!" Flitwick said cheerfully upon throwing open the doors to the school. "You have spent an extraordinary amount of time dueling each other," he continued as he led the way across the grounds. "It is good practice, certainly, and you have both improved a great deal. In preparation for this next challenge you face, however, I thought it would be a very good idea for you to be put up against a different caliber of opponent."
"You have brought in guests for us to practice with?" Darcy asked.
"Not exactly," Flitwick said evasively. He entered the forbidden forest without breaking stride.
Neither Lizzy nor Darcy had any objection to being in the forest. Lizzy was in there often enough helping Hagrid or, though she would firmly deny ever having done so in front of Kitty and Lydia, wandering about on her own when she could find the opportunity to sneak in. Darcy's thestrals traveled through the forest with the Hogwarts herd, and he checked on them at least once a week. Being brought in by Professor Flitwick for the purpose of dueling, however, made the forest seem more ominous than ever.
Lizzy gasped, then laughed when she saw who Flitwick had roped into dueling. Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Slughorn were all present.
"I hope none of the Hogwarts pranksters recognize how many authority figures are absent tonight," Darcy commented.
"Between the other professors and our very diligent Head Boy and Girl, I think the school might just be kept in order well enough, Mr. Darcy," said Dumbledore with an amused twinkle in his eye.
Lizzy was excessively glad Flitwick had come up with such a scheme. She was able to duel all of her professors multiple times and learned a great many things from her various failures and successes, as well as watching Darcy's. After each duel, none of which Lizzy or Darcy won, a thorough discussion of what had taken place happened. Such conversations were, perhaps, the most helpful of all.
When Lizzy finally eased herself into bed that night, her muscles aching, she was grateful for the humility gained, as well. She had begun to think her skill was truly accomplished overall, rather than just for her age. Being defeated time and again by her professors brought her back to the reality that her knowledge was nowhere near complete yet and that she still had much to learn.
"Well, Elizabeth, with how many of our opponents are you on friendly terms?" Darcy asked as he and Lizzy looked around the large room.
"Quite a few," Lizzy answered after exchanging a quick greeting with someone. The couple was not able to speak much, which clearly irritated Darcy. As her sponsor, Lord Matlock was privileged to serve as Elizabeth's escort, and so she was on his arm, rather than Darcy's. Before long, Lizzy and Darcy were separated completely.
"Ah, of course Crouch managed to get one of his children through," said Matlock to Lizzy. He pointed to a man of average height who, though he wore a smile, looked as though he was actively cataloging the weaknesses of everyone in his vicinity.
"He looks to be a very quick man," Lizzy said in reply.
"Oh, he is," Matlock agreed. "And over there is Felicia Daelyn, aunt to your friend Miss Weasley. She's as fierce a duelist as I've ever seen."
"Surely she is above the age of competition," Lizzy said.
"Correct again, Miss Bennet, but she has passed her skill on to her stepdaughter," said Matlock, nodding to a wispy looking blonde girl beside his original quarry. "Oh, the girl is pleasant enough outside the ring, but do not underestimate her skill with a wand."
"Matlock, is that you?" said an unfamiliar voice just as Lizzy began to think if Phoebe had ever said anything of her Aunt Felicia. "I heard rumors you were working your way back into the ring!"
Matlock turned himself and Lizzy to face an older couple. It was the lady who had spoken.
"Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom, how good to see you!" Matlock greeted boisterously, extending his hand to shake. "This is Miss Elizabeth Bennet, the bright young witch I have come to sponsor."
"Your sisters are Lydia and Kitty, are they not?" asked Mrs. Longbottom. "Stayed at our son's over the holidays, they did."
"Yes, ma'am," Lizzy answered politely. "My sisters were quite thrilled with the hospitality they experienced. You have raised a good man."
"Of course we have!" said the elderly Mrs. Longbottom.
"Who brings you here today?" Matlock asked.
As the grandparents of Lydia's friend engaged with Matlock, Lizzy looked quickly over her shoulder. Darcy had gone off in the other direction with Flitwick and was being introduced to a tall witch with a square jaw. She quickly directed her attention back where it belonged, and just in time, for Mr. Longbottom had just asked how things were shaping up in the realm of Quidditch at Hogwarts.
Another hour passed in which Lizzy floated through the crowd with Lord Matlock, meeting various sponsors and competitors, as well as people that had come simply to witness the day's spectacle, as was the case with the Longbottoms. Only a select few times did Lizzy feel as though she was being looked down upon by anyone else in the room. Such a feeling seemed strange, considering all the notable persons present, and she was not sure whether she ought to let herself enjoy it or not. Was she being approved of because of Lord Matlock's influence, or was his presence merely allowing prejudiced peoples to look at Lizzy, herself, rather than her blood status?
Lizzy did not have overly long to contemplate the weighty question, once it occurred. She and Matlock found Darcy and Flitwick, and the group sat together in the leveled seats that had been conjured around the single dueling circle that was the focal point of the entire venue.
"Are we to be drawn at random again, Professor?" Darcy asked once settled.
"At your last tournament, you were noted for various strengths and weaknesses," Flitwick answered. "In this first round, you'll be put up against someone whose strength is your weakness."
Lizzy and Darcy exchanged a loaded glance. They were both well aware of their own weaknesses and frequently took advantage of such in their own dueling sessions. To be noted for such and pitted against someone because of said weaknesses was not a pleasant thought to either of them, especially since, in that respect, they complimented each other very well. Lizzy desperately hoped she and Darcy would not be made to go against each other in the first round.
Luckily, Lizzy's worry did not come to fruition. She was called in the third match of the day against a sturdy looking boy from Scarborough by the last name of Howard. Briefly, she wondered if her opponent might be distantly related to Bingley, as they were from the same area and had a few similarities in coloring. In the time it took for everything to be set exactly right for their duel, Lizzy observed her opponent carefully. He would be slower than she was, which was to her advantage.
"He's left-handed, Miss Bennet, so be wary of that," Lord Matlock coached. Unlike previous tournaments, sponsors were allowed to supervise their competitors from just outside the ring, rather than the spectator seats.
Lizzy and Matlock had a hushed conversation on how to adjust strategy for fighting such an opponent, and Lizzy was excessively thankful such an opportunity was afforded her. Matlock was full of suggestions which she eagerly absorbed, having never actually dueled someone left-handed before.
When called to do so, Lizzy drew her wand from up her sleeve and took her place across Howard. Once spells started flying, she was again grateful for her experience of dueling with her professors. Her opponent had a similar flair to Slughorn, which allowed her to quickly hypothesize what his weakness might be. Such might have been to her decided advantage, if not for the fact that Howard, soon after, discovered her weakness as well.
Lizzy forced herself to take deep breaths to keep from panicking. Howard was a formidable adversary and had certainly earned his current position. As Lizzy barely blocked a spell that would have had her flat on her back, she set part of her mind toward adjusting strategy. Howard was quicker than she had assumed, and very decisive. She had figured out his dueling weakness quick enough, that his mass was such that it made it almost impossible for him not to give away what he was doing before he did it, but that was proving not to be enough. Lizzy chose to go onto the defensive to give herself a chance to better study her opponent.
Before long, Lizzy saw sweat beginning to drip down Howard's face, and his chest began to heave. As she danced out of the way of or blocked a quick succession of spells, she saw a flash of annoyance flit across his face and had to repress a smirk from creeping across her own. Howard had little endurance, and the physical energy he had already expended was beginning to affect his mental state.
Lizzy snapped back to offensive spells, though she purposefully aimed to just miss Howard most of the time, forcing him to execute many quick movements, further draining him. She had just begun thinking how to begin her final assault when she felt a sharp pain on her arm, followed by a warm, trickling sensation. She knew herself to be bleeding quite a decent amount but did not let herself look. Her time had just been severely limited. She offered Howard a grim and humorless smile, to which he replied with a quick smirk. They both knew what the other was about.
As she set a Shield Charm, then tumbled out of the way of a wave of conjured hail, Lizzy entertained the idea of using a healing charm on her arm. Already, she felt her breath coming in shorter intervals. The time it took to do so, however, was incredibly valuable, and she was not sure she could risk it.
Lizzy felt herself stumble clumsily after exchanging another few spells. Despite the fact that she had now seen a few droplets of blood flick off her fingertips and that Howard was basting in his own sweat, neither was giving the other any decent opportunities at victory. Lizzy had to figure out a way to break him.
Suddenly, Lizzy restrained a burst of laughter that threatened to escape. She had been so distracted by her own physical ailment she had failed to notice Howard's and take advantage. With a complicated twist of her wand, she sent a freezing blast of air toward Howard. Such shocked his overheated body so much as to allow her just enough time to land a Stunner.
When the overseer of the duel declared Lizzy the winner, she was immediately set upon by a healer. Lord Matlock was not very far behind.
"Well fought, lass!" Matlock boomed with a grin.
Lizzy smiled weakly and took the potion that was being offered to her by the healer.
"You looked about ready to swoon a few times, but you did a marvelous job," Matlock continued.
Lizzy rather thought she might swoon now, she felt so very drained. She turned her head, finally, to look at the gash on her arm and flinched at the sight of her own insides.
"Nothing major was opened," the healer said soothingly. "Would have stopped the duel, if that was the case."
Lizzy found it remarkable that such a wound was not considered grievous enough to stop the duel, but supposed she was grateful. Cessation to deal with such an injury would have resulted in her loss.
"Howard. How is he?" Lizzy asked, remembering how flushed Howard had begun to look by the end.
"A few good meals and some rest and he'll be right as rain," the healer answered. "You come back by me before you leave for the night, Miss, and you'll be just fine."
Lizzy smiled at the friendly face and promised she would do so before taking the hand offered her by Lord Matlock to get to her feet.
"Are you well, Elizabeth?" Darcy asked worriedly. He grabbed the hand of Lizzy's uninjured arm as soon as he was able to do so.
"The healer says I may die at any moment now," Lizzy said with excessive gravity, "but I insisted I should come back to the stands, rather than go to St. Mungo's for more extensive treatment."
Darcy's brows drew together in expression of his displeasure at being teased so.
"I am tired, but I will be well," Lizzy promised, and she patted Darcy's cheek comfortingly.
Darcy did not release Lizzy's uninjured hand, though he maintained he was still not pleased at her failure to take her health seriously, and turned his attention to the next duel which was only seconds away from starting.
After the tenth duel, a break for lunch was announced. Lizzy had been preparing to ask Flitwick whether they would be returning to Hogwarts for the meal when Howard approached with his sponsor.
"How's your arm, Bennet?" Howard asked politely after introducing his older cousin as his sponsor.
"I doubt it will scar," Lizzy answered smilingly. "You were a worthy opponent, Howard, and I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to duel you."
Howard expressed the same sentiments, then said he hoped Lizzy and her entire party would join him and his cousin for lunch, as he hoped Lizzy might show him some footwork he had noticed her use.
After conferring with her group, Lizzy accepted the offer, and the whole party went out together. She noted the ease which Matlock, Flitwick, and Howard's sponsor all expressed as they began discussing some of the finer details of a new spell they had all just read about. It did not take her long to recognize that she, Darcy, and Howard were exhibiting the same ease in talking of the duels that had already happened through the day. Lizzy thought this was quite a pleasant way to exist, and decided she should like to remain a part of the dueling scene as long as she possibly could.
Upon completing a pleasant meal, the whole party returned to the dueling venue. Howard said he planned to watch the rest of the tournament to learn all he could from observing other young masters. "Will we be able to stay, Professor, if we are eliminated?" Lizzy asked Flitwick eagerly.
"It is expected of you, Miss Bennet," Flitwick answered.
"It's thought to be bad form if you storm out after your defeat," Matlock added.
Lizzy thought back to her very first opponent in her first tournament. She had not considered it at the time, but the room at large had seemed rather displeased with his abrupt departure.
Darcy was called in the first round of the second half.
"Good luck, Darcy," Lizzy said quietly, then kissed his cheek.
"You, Elizabeth, are infuriating sometimes," Darcy growled lowly.
Lizzy fought a blush. "That was not meant to be a part of our little game!" she objected at a whisper.
"And that is exactly what makes it so infuriating," said Darcy with a snort.
Flitwick loudly cleared his throat, and Darcy quickly squeezed Lizzy's hand before heading down to the ring with his sponsor.
Lizzy shook her head at Darcy's back and decided against trying to understand exactly what he had meant.
Darcy's duel was against Felicia Daelyn's stepdaughter, Phoebe's cousin by marriage. They were incredibly well matched, and Darcy's victory was very narrow.
"Did you note how that was accomplished without any severe injuries to my person?" said Darcy archly upon his return to his seat.
Lizzy rolled her eyes dramatically. "You might as well know, I suppose, that I did, indeed, arrange by injury with Howard before the duel began, all for the express purpose of causing you discomfort."
"I knew it had to be so." Though he spoke flatly, there was a teasing glint in Darcy's eyes that Lizzy enjoyed immensely.
By the day's end, the pool of forty candidates to represent England in the international tournament was narrowed down to twenty, Lizzy and Darcy among the number.
"Come along, Miss Bennet," said Matlock as he rose from his seat after the last duel. "Lady Matlock and Georgiana are expecting you most anxiously."
"I am to return to Hogwarts, I thought," Lizzy said confusedly, looking to Flitwick.
"For the sake of assuring the both of you get proper rest and are not pried for details by your peers, arrangements have been made for you to stay off grounds for the duration of this tournament," said Flitwick.
"Should you prefer, I can take you to Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner's," Matlock offered, "but, as your sponsor, I thought it highly appropriate you stay in my home and be looked after by my family."
Lizzy considered how excited her young cousins would be to see her and was already exhausted at the thought. "Perhaps I can send a note requesting to join them for dinner tomorrow night," she said carefully after a moment. "I shall take up your generous offer of hospitality, Lord Matlock."
Lord Matlock was very pleased with Lizzy's decision and brought her to Matlock House via side-along apparition, where she was immediately set upon by Georgiana and, though much more sedately, Lady Matlock.
Author's Note
Monday. Nailed it.
Your opinion is highly valued by me. Please share it!
