So…it's been a while…again.

First a shout out for all the support, the reviews especially, but also the Favs and Follows. Really appreciate them all.

Special shoutout to my pesterers, you are mainly guest accounts so I can't thank you personally, but it really is appreciated. Every time I receive a review it does get me back to my laptop. And the review I got a few days back got me writing and one today worked beautifully forcing me to polish this huge chapter off, as I've been sitting on it for a while unable to end it. So they really are appreciated!

This chapter is a big one, I think it's 6K almost triple my earlier chapters, and certainly the longest so far. It did need a lot of attention which took time…but not quite the over a month you've had to wait. Sorry, is all I can say sheepishly.

Anyway, I do hope you enjoy the below confrontation. Enjoy!

Chapter Nine

Confessions

It took spare seconds for her mother to emerge catching her daughter in her incongruous behaviour. If her gasp hadn't been telling enough, Elizabeth's pale cheeks and wide eyes provided a mother more than enough evidence that she'd heard the most damning part of her parent's conversation. Her mother's own appearance wasn't much better, but she took in the distressed appearance of her second eldest daughter with concern.

"Lizzy you were supposed to be outside," she spoke sharply and pointlessly, unable to take in the consequences of her daughter's presence out in the hall. "Lizzy, dear, that isn't, what you've heard - It is not how we would have liked to…,"

Elizabeth could do nothing but stand there as her mother struggled to conform. She supposed there was a difference between words spoken in apparent private and being able to confess and confirm such truths in the face of the one who would suffer from them. Alas, this acknowledgement did very little to soothe the churning Elizabeth felt.

"Well now you know," her mother finally settled on, to herself mainly, but with a glare back through the doorway at her husband, she spoke significantly harsher, "She knows and that's what's important. There can be no more hiding it," she returned to face her daughter, deliberately softening her tone and expression before she spoke.

"It is for the best you know Lizzie, really," she pushed, making small moving gestures with her hands, "you'll be secure, your sisters will be able to make matches and I know that you care enough that you'll-" she cut herself of, reconsidering that avenue completely seeing that her words were doing little to soothe the expression of panic on her child's face. She moved to reach out, perhaps to offer what little comfort she could but then seemed to think better of it when her hand shook.

Elizabeth couldn't help but find some sort of comfort in that, at least her mother wasn't as unaffected as her previous words led her to seem. Nevertheless, she couldn't help put admire how pragmatic her usually silly mother appeared to be when the solution was the cast Elizabeth, her least favoured daughter, into ruin. The steady insecurities of her mother's favouritism for her other daughters was rightly enflamed, and Elizabeth could do little more than bite her tongue and meet her mother's gaze. Her mother was right after all, Elizabeth herself had come to that conclusion.

Mrs Bennet having abandoned her attempt at comfort instead choose to steady her own hands smoothing down her dress with firm strokes. Hands finding her pocket she took out a handkerchief that in itself must have suffered whilst conversing with her husband. Linen so creased it resembled more of a rag. She attempted to shake it out to little success, pitfully returning her attention to her daughter, "Go in and speak to your father. Speak to your father, and consider carefully Lizzy," she paused considering her words, "what you choose will affect us all." Mrs Bennet stared at Elizabeth for a pause or two seemingly wanting to say more, but unable to. Instead she stroked a hand down her daughters sleeve and placed the barely soothed white fabric in Elizabeth's weak hand with a strong squeeze, before moving past her daughter and down the hall.

Once again Elizabeth found herself rooted to a spot unsure if she wanted to proceed or not, she looked down at the slip of fabric in her hand. Some mockery of a ruined white flag.

She let the handkerchief slip to the floor.

"Come in Lizzy," her father's voice beckoned.

Her father was sitting in the armchair to the side of the room, his head lowered. As Elizabeth drew closer she could see his hands clasped tightly together indenting white pressure rings around his knuckles.

"Papa," he didn't even look up at her voice. She went to him further and knelt, this close she could see that his tightly clasped hands were doing little to negate their shaking. She placed a hand gently on top of his barely stilling them, "Papa, please look at me."

"Lizzie," his voice broke through as he looked up at his daughter searching her face, taking note of her eyes. Eyes that must have held some telling aspect as he closed his own in response breathing out roughly before addressing her. "You heard. More than just the, well, I hope more than just the last bit?" he gave her a somewhat sad sheepish look, clearly not sure if he preferred that she was aware of the full conversation or just the rather unfavourable term he had used to describe the arrangement Mr Darcy had proposed.

"Yes," she swallowed, giving her father an attempt at a smile, "well enough that I know what's expected of me. I think understand."

He took his hands gently from beneath his daughters, moving them instead to cover her somewhat smaller and more fragile specimens, sheltering them in his grasp.

"Nothing is expected of you Lizzie. Nothing, you hear me." Elizabeth looked down biting her lip. They both knew that wasn't true. Sitting up properly Mr Bennet drew his free hand over his tired face, "I don't want this for you," he spoke firmly, desperately, trying to instil a certainty neither of them felt into his words, "I don't want you anywhere near him."

"Father I," started Elizabeth, "I don't think I have much of a choice," she tried for a wry smile, attempting to cheer her father up, "On this very rare occasion I think Mama may be right." It fell on deaf ears. If anything her father looked even more distressed than before.

"But I can't let you. It's all my fault Lizzie, it's all my fault and I- I can't fix it," his voice broke. He had never been a stern man her father, nor one to shy from his emotions when the occasion had called for it, but seeing a father broken like this took something from her, something that Elizabeth didn't think she would gain back.

"No father, no I don't believe it," Elizabeth tried to comfort him, her words certain, "whatever has happened, you are not to blame." She tried to find a way to explain her own history, that the target painted on their back was due to her, that whatever that man had done to her family was her fault. It had to be her fault. In truth it was only right that it would cost her to fix it. The admission felt dry on her tongue, "Mr Darcy has a..a vendetta, whatever he has done-"

"No child, no," Mr Bennet looked at her softly, willing her to understand, "he is not to blame, I made the investments. I kept borrowing and" he closed his eyes at his foolish actions, "He is taking advantage yes, pressing a dishonourable advantage," he looked away from his young daughter swallowing where those words lead, "but he isn't the cause." Her father shook his head, "Such foolhardy investments. Your Uncle, even he cautioned me, but I didn't listen, I didn't-"

Keeping a grasp on her reality, Elizabeth remained firm withdrawing her hands completely standing up, "No Mr Darcy did this, Mr Darcy caused this."

"No, no Lizzy not directly, he simply acquired the debt. It is the only reason we are still in this house right now, in truth we should have been lost months ago. I was trying to find a way to fix everything. I borrowed more money to repay what I had lost, to delay losing the estate, but then the interest, god I can't believe I-" he dropped his head in his hands.

"He acquired the debt." Elizabeth repeated the words taking a step back as she turned the words over in confusion. "We are in debt. In debt to Mr Darcy," Her father made no move to elaborate and relieve her confusion. Wanting to pull her at her hair in frustration but choosing a less painful route she walked away. Her hands imprisoning a brunch of her skirts, finding herself missing that handkerchief she'd carelessly tossed aside. She couldn't afford to ruin her dresses anymore. She released the fabric almost as quickly, the creased lines still visible as she span around to face her father again who was now watching her carefully, "So what? He's faultless? I can't even hate him?"

Mr Bennet let out a pitiful laugh, framed in sorrow, "Christ child no, hate away. I believe in his desire to," he swallowed, "have you, he simply bought himself some," he near enough spat out the word, "leverage. He bought an estate so heavy in debt, few men would take on such a figure for such a small acquisition." He looked over to his daughter, "Why he has picked you out I cannot say, but it was not a simple kindness charity, he is a man wanting his just reward," her father looked about as disgusted as Elizabeth felt at the thought. She turned away from him once more, choosing to look out the window for a retreat, it was an easier audience. She needed to say it out loud.

"He wants me to become his mistress," she couldn't help but tear up the last word in her throat. It was a polite title, one that was even termed to the wife of a proud estate. But there would be no such flattery in this arrangement. Her father had termed it right. Mistress without marriage was simply a well-paid whore.

It wasn't exactly news to her, if she hadn't already had an idea about what Mr Darcy wanted from her she may have broken down right there and then, thrown a book or two, begged her father to damn her sisters and be done with it. But those were the actions of a child screaming to the walls that the world isn't fair. She kept her tears at bay. She couldn't see them from this side of the house, but her sisters were out there, her mother too maybe. She couldn't leave them homeless, she couldn't abandon them, she knew anyone of them, or at least Jane would take her place in a heartbeat would that they could.

"Lizzy I will find another option," her father insisted on his fool's errand. Elizabeth just shook her head, still staring out the window. Her acceptance seemed to make Mr Bennet even more determined to find another solution, "Mr Darcy is, well I don't believe he has good intentions, despite his claims," he kept his gaze on his daughters back, waiting for her to turn back to him, "He is aware of your dislike of him," he spoke carefully.

Elizabeth shut her eyes, but didn't turn around.

"Lizzy, I am certainly not accusing you of anything," her father treaded softly, "but there seems to be more to this Mr Darcy than a mere acquaintance. The debt he has taken on for little material gains…If there is something more than an acquaintance I would prefer to know."

"Barely," Elizabeth whispered to the window, "Father, that is, I mean," she couldn't even find the words, almost growling out in frustration as they came to her; "we were barely acquainted. That is what is so absurd, so ridiculous about this, about him. I must have only spent spare occasions with the man, a few verbal exchanges... Nothing of notable significance," Elisabeth declared as she ran through all their interactions before that day at Hudson. The words swarmed her now, almost incessantly, "You are aware that since his slight of me at the ball I had not looked upon the man favourably. On our further meetings his general countenance continued to be poor, and even other parties spoke ill of him. But in truth, my dislike of the man was distanced, I knew so little of him, and expected that I would have little occasion, nor will, to know more."

How she wished that was how it had remained, a man she had simply crossed paths with, a few unsavourily interactions never to be thought upon again. How had fate placed such a possibility so far from her reach.

"When his own cousin," she found herself continuing, words tinged with bite and mockery, "told me that he'd boasted on how he'd torn Mr Bingley away from such a unsuitable connection, that he prided himself on acting the friend, whispering doubts in trusting ears and congratulating himself on such resounding success," she felt that familiar anger a fresh at the man for hurting Jane so very deeply with so little thought causing pain. "I don't think I've ever hated a man more." Her father said nothing, listening intently to what his daughter was saying.

"And then," Elizabeth swallowed, "And then, he proposed to me," she finished bluntly.

"What! Lizzy-" Elizabeth winced at her father's tone, but continued, unwilling to stop there.

"He proposed after only knowing me for, what must have added up to only a handful of days of acquaintance, he proposed marriage to me, an arrangement that lasts a lifetime," she exclaimed in utmost disbelief at voicing the man's actions aloud, even now the thought of such a presentation from the man seemed absurd to her. "Even if I hadn't decided he was the worst man alive for ruining Jane's chance of happiness, he chose to bless me with a rather unique proposal." Finally having the courage to face her father she turned around, seeing she had her father's apt attention, "He expressed his struggle of how he had fought against his feelings, told me how my family were basically social priers and how he had decided to gracefully rise above his distain to allow himself to offer for me," she gave a slightly broken scoff at the ridiculous words he had sprouted. Her father was looking at her dumbfounded.

"He had taken no note or care of my feelings throughout his apparent attentions," Elizabeth continued, "had expressed no intention of courtship or affection before that point, and yet somehow expected me to have been anxiously expecting and welcoming of his offer."

"You" her father stuttered, "you refused him?" He clarified.

"Yes" Elizabeth confirmed softly, beseechingly, trying not to attack her dress folds again as she attempted to get a read on her father's judgement, "For all the reasons I've said but also simply because…I did not care for him father, not even in kindness. To marry a man I barely knew, and from what I did, I scarcely liked, seemed like the recipe for misery. Fine houses and riches aside…"

Thinking of their current situation now, a fine house and riches may not have been so easy to have dismissed all those months ago. Still she still could not bring herself to regret her decision. He may not have been Mr Collins, but she had judged him a fool and a brute of a different kind. If anything she was quite certain that she had judged Mr Darcy's countenance too softly when compared to his current actions. Her father however, may see it differently, "Please father, I hope-", she began. Mr Bennet held up a firm hand.

"Calm yourself Lizzy, easy. I am not mad, nor may I point out am I your dear mother," he gave her a weak smile, which in her worry Elizabeth couldn't find it in herself to return even as he continued kindly, "I can see quite rightly why you refused him. I would have, in fact, advised you to do so" he let out a small huff, "if, that is, I had been allowed to be involved in the matter of my daughter's marriage prospects at all," he finished with a pointed look. Elizabeth started to apologise again but her father waved her defence away.

"That fault is again with Mr Darcy's, he should not have spoken to you without speaking to me. But, that does not exclude your silence after the act though my dear. Although with your mother," Mr Bennet trailed off, lifting a hand in understanding, "I can see that with the debacle of Mr Collins why you kept numb around the whole thing."

"Yes, yes that's it exactly," Elizabeth let out, relieved, "I never expected any more to come from it, I never even expected to see the man again. Still, forgive me Father." Mr Bennet just gave her a wry smile, giving some slight humour to the irony to her apology.

"I dare say, my dear, that I shall forgive you this small thing, and many other sins in the future. Without a doubt any sins of yours will have little effect on the scales between us. They shall weigh heavy at my door far beyond my lifetime I suspect."

"No father-"

"Your refusal," Mr Bennet spoke over words he did not deserve and returned to the matter at hand, "he took it poorly I assume? No creature likes to be refused, but I would expect it Mr Darcy would take to it rather less well, having, I presume, such limited experience with the concept."

"He did not take it well," she confirmed nervously, and turned away from her father again to the safety of the window, attempting a lighter tone for her further confessions, "admittedly the manner of my refusal was significantly less kind than I should have been."

"Elizabeth," her father spoke with a groan, knowing his daughters temper well.

"After being pushed with such…invective words I was somewhat angered at hispresumption." She closed her eyes, recalling her own words that day, "I spoke bluntly, but truthful." she insisted, "we aired the truths surrounding Jane and Mr Bingley, which he admitted, I digressed on how he had treated Mr Wickham, which he laughed off and refused to comment on, his own ungentlemanly behaviour and-" she trailed off slightly, "I may have been quite decisive in my answer and stated how he would be the last man on earth I could be prevailed to marry," Elizabeth gave a weak laugh, "So you see father, it is me who has brought this particular wolf to our door."

Her father at least was a man familiar with Elizabeth's quick temper and sharper tongue, having suffered himself from such ailments.

"That was not well done Lizzie to anger a man already stung, as I'm sure you well know," he let the chastise lull in the air, "however you could not have foreseen our current affairs Lizzy, nor the severity of the reaction," her father insisted, "It was my actions that let him in, you should have been well protected from such things. You should have been protected from this situation."

Situation, another term used to skate around her future. The room seemed to breathe with the weight of her admissions, although her own chest seemed forever burdened. She felt her rather unpleasant future creeping ever closer thoughts of leaving her family, her home, to a future of uncertainty under the power of a man she barely knew. The room felt colder than a fire should allow, she rubbed her arms subconsciously to ward off this persistent inner chill.

Her father took the action literally and stood up and removed the guard to stoke the fire. It would do little for her she suspected, this cold was untouched by nature. For a few minutes the familiar sound of her father's tending and the peaceful image the window gave her the necessary lull to collect herself.

However this conversation wasn't over, her admission was only one piece of the puzzle, and only her father could complete it. She turned around to face the room once more, taking the steps closer, standing behind one of the arm chairs waiting for her father to finish with the fire.

The man in question seemed to sense the looming conversation and made to delay it a spell, ignoring his daughters approach as he tended the roaring flames quite extensively. At last, admitting his efforts futility he chucked on an extra log and stretched up to the mantel staring down into the flames.

Elizabeth, sensing her father's reluctance, broke the quiet, "I need to know your side father. All of it, please. Tell me what happened." Her father closed his eyes, but gave a firm nod at the request.

"Yes I suppose you do. You at the very least deserve that." But he didn't turn towards her, instead he left the comfort of the fireplace and went over to his desk. His hand flittering over a tumbler of golden spirit, deciding to abandon it instead with a clenched fist looking to his daughter, seeing her arms still wrapped around her small form, taking in her worried face. Not for the first time realising just how young his daughter was, and how little age mattered to the world.

"Take a seat Lizzy, you're cold, I can see you shaking from here," he spoke quietly. Elizabeth didn't bother correcting him, the true admission of her shiver would do neither of them any good and in truth maybe the comforting warmth from the fire would indeed help soothe her. She did appreciate her father's efforts all the same, that in itself was some comfort.

The warmth licked her skin as she took her seat, watching the fire fight for control. Its greatest flames licked the upper bricks of its prison trying to find its way out. With the guard now removed, embers spat out angrily in their attempt to escape the hearth, but they soon lost their glow turning lifeless, becoming soot on the stone.

Her father cleared his throat jolting Elizabeth from the flames, "Ask Lizzy, I will not hide a thing from you. Not now."

Elizabeth swallowed, there really was no soft footing, "How did it all go so wrong," she asked, clarifying futher needlessly, "to cost us the house, the land, everything?"

Mr Bennet wiped a hand over his stubble accepting his daughter's bluntness, his spare hand now firmly grasping the golden drink, draining the remainder. He looked over at the Tantalus across the room with consideration, but instead abandoned his empty glass to his desk and made his way to sit across from his daughter.

"I hope you'll believe me," he began slowly, earnestly, "when I say I had only good intentions." He wiped a hand over his face, "You have no doubt heard stories of men gambling away dowries on dice and cards. No, Lizzy, I promise you, that wasn't it."

This surprised Elizabeth very little, her father despite his flaws would never have been so remiss as to throw his daughters futures away on a whim of games.

"I just wanted you to have more." Mr Bennet continued, "For all of you to have more. I have often been accused of being too remiss in managing your futures, from your uncles in particular. And with Jane's heartbreak it crossed my mind that maybe if her dowry was a little more attractive, then perhaps…" he waved a hand into the ether, letting it fall harshly onto the arm rest, gripping the curve of the wood. "I saw an advertisement about an opportunity. A new insurance company looking for a group of investors to provide start-up capital. It was a thousand minimum to gain start-up shares, but I knew your uncle had invested in similar companies in the past and done somewhat well," Mr Bennet shook his head, "I, like the fool, took this as the rule."

"Oh father," Elisabeth spoke softly, trying to push into those words all that she felt.

Her father simply turned his head to the fire, "I remember feeling so damn proud Lizzie, I was so confident that this, this choice was finally a good one, and our family could only benefit from it," he shook his head, "I was such a fool," his voice cutting out as he delivered his self-assigned verdict.

"Father-" Elizabeth spoke again, reaching out attempting to provide some level of compassion but her father waved her away.

"The company was hit by increasing amount of claims so early on, it was unexpected, unprecedented or so they tell me. From there it was just a hole that I found myself sinking. If I wanted anything back from my investment I had to provide more funds to keep the business alive, to help it weather the storm," he tried to explain, looking at Elizabeth to see if she was following along, eyes helplessly starting to flicker to her face and down to his grasping hands on the wooden chair arms, "Within mere months the money was gone."

Elizabeth closed her eyes. It wasn't as if she didn't know how this story ended, but to hear it so bluntly, spoken so painfully by the man she esteemed so greatly, set alight a new agony. She changed her mind, she didn't want to hear anything more, she didn't want to share in the painful tale that could have been avoided, could have been stopped. It didn't matter none of it mattered anymore.

But her father continued unaware, seemly speaking to himself, providing his justification, "I kept thinking I just needed to put more money in to get the money back, I knew, I knew I'd stop the moment I had it back, the very moment I'd recovered all that we had lost. Luck would turn, it couldn't continue in this vain forever. But I never," her father swallowed, "I couldn't get it back."

"But for how long, why didn't you…" she began, but her father was shaking his head before she could even finish the question

"I wish I had, you or Jane especially, maybe you would have talked some sense into me, stopped me from what I was about to do….but I couldn't face you," her father continued, "and Lord, to confide in your mother, your mother who has fits of nerves over the slightest of things, who panics about these imaginary hedgerows every beat of the hour. How could I tell my wife that she was right to be afraid. To put her, any of you in that state of panic? No, I wanted to protect you from it all." Then her father scoffed, "and in such heroism, I managed to protect myself from the shame at the same time," he gave a dark chuckle filled with self deprecation. Elizabeth could do nothing but listen.

His repeated self-flagellation was bitter for a daughter to witness. And yet, somewhere in his confession Elizabeth couldn't help but feel a rise of her own anger. So helpless that she was to her own future, a woman, a daughter, so powerless in this world that she had no choice but to entrust her safety to the man who sat before her. Her father's actions, though had clearly pained him severely, could have been avoided had she, Jane, even her mother had been consulted on their future. Though she loved her father dearly, she found herself having to reign in her frustration at the foolhardy spiral he had refused to acknowledge.

"No this mess was mine and it was up to me to fix it, you would have nothing otherwise, and if Janes merger dowry was turned away before, penniless girls wouldn't even be looked at. No I thought to myself, I just couldn't let that happen so I," he paused, looking away from his child, "So I took money on the estate."

"You took money on- " Elizabeth's control over her tongue broke, eyes starting to sting, "How could you, father, just how could you risk it."

"I didn't know then, I didn't. I promise you Lizzy, I never would have risked our home I- I had thought that…. The estate, because at the time it was entailed so it would only be the income from the land. But when the entail broke…" he trailed off, looking over to the fire. As if sensing his gaze, it spat out at them angrily, an ember landing at his feet. This more than anything brought his mind back as he moved quickly to stamp it out.

Elizabeth had watched the proceeding with a sort of detachment, she was not certain had her father not moved to quench the spark that she herself would have done the deed. Longborn after all was no longer theirs. Seeing it go up in flames at that moment might actually have brought her some relief. Instead she found herself observing the black sooted rug with some regret, and she kept her eyes on it as she spoke some harsh truths, "But you did know father. You knew it was a possibility, you knew you were trying to break it, the entail, you told us that-"

"Yes," her father snapped, for the first time showing something other than sorrow and regret at his chastising daughter, "Yes Lizzy I had put things in motion, I had made loose enquiries, months before all of this - but I didn't think – not for a moment did I actually think that-", his rough tone continued, "you don't understand Lizzy, it's easy to say now, but the chance that it would happen were so slim, so minimal that I felt the risk was also-" Elizabeth stood up and went round the back of her chair unable to just sit there any longer, the action ending her father's speech as he watched her.

The cracking of the fire spoke more in the following moments than either of the room's inhabitants. While Elizabeth had never connected with her mother, her father was incredibly dear to her. Even though their tempers were similar they rarely had a cross word between them. Even as a child, it was more of a chastisement on her slightly less than ladylike endeavours, and firm toned words barely dimmed Mr Bennet's thinly vailed amusement when faced with a wide eyed mud drenched child.

She loved all her family dearly, and she wasn't blind to their faults, but never had any of their actions so fundamentally endangered them all, and besides dear Jane, she hadn't expected this consequence from her father of all her family members. It made her anger at him painful, sharp and more resentful. She had taken the steps away to try and find her sense of calm to some success, but it was difficult.

It was the elder who broke the lull first.

"Lizzie I never meant to-"

"I know," she snapped, unable to help it. Then she was annoyed at her own tone, among all of his faults her father did not suffer a lack of guilt. She knew he brought about his own suffering enough for it to be cruel to verbally attack him. She took a breath and tried again, "I know."

"I deserve it, I deserve your anger."

"The entail," she levelled her voice, ignoring that live statement, "you never did explain how you broke it. It seems so cruel; we were all so overjoyed when mother read out your letter."

"Yes, I remember," Mr Bennet gave her a weak smile, "that will teach me to dilly dally the morning away and leave your mother unattended with the post." he grimaced, "It was less me, more Mr Collins we have to thank for that. Fools run in the family It seems, do be wary of that Lizzy," he added as a side note, Elizabeth couldn't quite manage a smile at his attempt to lighten their disagreement. "Mr Collins let something slip about his father being the elder sibling not the younger. It didn't make sense, my father; the younger son inherited the estate?" Mr Bennet shook his head, "Something beyond the norm must have gone on, although I know nothing of it."

"And that matters?" Elizabeth made her way around the chair, listening to her father's explanation.

"Normally not that much, but I remembered my father saying that the ties between his brother were cut before he was even a man. It gave me cause to wonder, if my father was the younger son when they cut my uncle out of the inheritance, what age was he."

"He wasn't one and twenty," Elizabeth realised, taking her seat back.

"No, it turns out he wasn't. He was three months shy when he co-signed to renew to entail with your great grandfather, who consequently died a mere month after the signing, or so my lawyer and these documents tell me," he waved a hand at his desk littered with papers and books in no distinguable order, "The entail should never have been put on my offspring, by rights after my death the entail is broken and the estate should of gone to our dear Jane."

"Jane was actually an heiress," said Elizabeth

"Yes, yes I suppose she was. Mr Collins was after more than just her beauty I believe."

"You think he knew?" she questioned with some surprise.

"Oh yes, now I am quite certain of it," her father spoke grimly, "I think there was a lot more behind his marriage proposal than a charitable connection. He, like us, expected an engagement with Mr Bingley, and so turned his attentions to you. He may have been a fool, but now I cannot believe he thought you, with your spirit and intellect, a suitable match for him. But with one of my daughters he would have a stronger claim should this have ever come to light after my death, not to mention control of our family's welfare." Elizabeth grimaced at the thought of that.

"Yes," her father spread his arms out wide, "don't you see Lizzy how I and I alone have created our tragedy. If I had questioned the entail previously, Jane would have been a much more appealing wife and be happily married to Mr Bingley by now; your mother wouldn't be half the wreck she is; Mr Darcy would not have been able to buy the debt and Longbourn, in fact he wouldn't even be in the picture. Instead with my foolishness I have ruined us."

"Not yet," Elizabeth took a breath, "we are not ruined yet."

"Lizzy-" but was cut off when Elizabeth reached over to take one of his hands.

"We cannot change the past," she spoke with some effort, "and this is the situation we are in, and for whatever reason I am the way out of it. As long as you, Ma and my sisters remain here untarnished," Elizabeth gave a quick smile, "it will be worth it."

"I'm not sure it will be, to have you escape the clutches of that oaf Mr Collins only to end up under the power of Mr Darcy - Lizzy," he grasped her hand between his, looking at her earnestly, "Lizzy I promise it will not be forever, I will find a way to fix this, to pay off the debt."

"I know. I know you will try," she gave weakly.

"And if it becomes too much, if he… hurts you. Do not think that we, that is all of us, wouldn't give this life up." Elizabeth could only answer with a smile, she wasn't sure that was true, and it was a redundant platitude anyway, once she became a mistress, even with her identity protected, she couldn't fall back to her family, it would make everything she was about to sacrifice redundant. Her father however seemed somewhat satisfied at her smile and so released her hand letting her pull back to her seat.

"There are other things to discuss Lizzy, before we speak to Mr Darcy. Aspects of a… personal nature, assurances of your care with him, your future, discretion and… potential consequences…but forgive me but I think it's best to save these for another day, with, well… with your mother present too to assist in those conversations." Mr Bennet blustered slightly, causing Elizabeth some likewise embarrassment. Talking about such things with one's parent she suspected would never be comfortable, even more so in regards to relations outside of the arms of matrimony.

"Unfortunately now that he has made his intentions clear I do not think Mr Darcy to be a patient man."

"No father, I fear you are right."

I hope you enjoyed that!

Not sure if it's a bit too heavy and convoluted but I couldn't sit on/ or rewrite this chapter any longer. I know that there might be a few people who fundamentally can't get past the entailed estate, but I promise I have looked into this, this is a legitimate legal premise for an entail to be broken, and while I could go into it further... I really don't think that what people enjoy reading.

Personally, I so desperately want to write more Darcy and Lizzy and I'm sure that's what you're here for too. Thankfully that's up next!

Reviews are precious, they really do make all the time and effort worth it, so if you can spare the time, please let me know what you think. Constructive feedback and alternative views are welcome.

Stay safe out there dear readers x