The books do not lie

Due to the fact that Little Lizzie likes numbers, Mr. Bennet teaches her about accounts. When she unexpectedly notices anomalies, he becomes rather vague in his answers. She notices other oddities as well, like the fact that no matter how many books her father buys, the shelves never overflow. When tragedy strikes and she is sent to London in the care of strangers, she finally gets the answers that she longed for

AN: After careful consideration and more than a little cringing, I have pulled "And not a one like the others." Although many enjoyed the story in the manner it was intended, as a farce, the idea of woman sleeping around in such a fashion just doesn't sit well with others or with me. As a person who has been faithfully married for over thirty-five years, it just doesn't fit. I hope that nobody will be too offended that I pulled it.

This story, on the other hand, might once again require a little suspension of disbelief. Still, I hope that you enjoy it.

1794 – Lizzy is three

"M... O... T... H... E... R," Lizzie puzzled for a moment before saying "mot-her?"

"Mother. The T and H together make a "thhha" sound.

Lizzie processed this and said, "Mother... Is that the same as a Mama?"

"Yes."

"I miss Mama and Janey. Why did God and the fever have to take them away?"

"I do not know. Sometimes people get sick. It happens to everyone. Sometimes they get too sick for their bodies to heal. When their bodies stop working, God comes and takes them home to live with him."

Lizzie snuggled into her father's lap and sighed, "I wish they hadn' got sick."

"I do too. What is this word?"

"F... A... T... H... E... R... father? Like you, Papa?" When he nodded and squeezed her, she furrowed her brow. "Why do 'Cat' and 'Father' both have one 'A', but sound different?"

:That is because our language grew up over a long time when different people from different lands came here, all speaking differently. They all learned each other's words and put them all together. So sometimes a word will sound one way, when another word that looks almost the same will sound very different. As you learn new words and how to say them, it will not seem so confusing."

Prior to inheriting the estate of Longbourn from his brother, Thomas Bennet had taught the classics at King's College, Cambridge. When he discovered how intelligent his second daughter was, he resolved to speak to her as a little adult, not a silly child. She did not always understand, but over time her vocabulary and comprehension proved his idea: treat a child as if she is already that which you want her to become.

"Can we go see Mr. Potter? He said that Boots will have kittens soon."

"I suppose that we can. Let us put the book away properly first."

1797 – Lizzy is six

"So when I get past nine, I leave the first digit down here and put the second digit here?" At her father's nod, Lizzy scrawled out the long list of numbers, carrying the second digit, and arrived at the number one-hundred and thirty-two. Is that right, Papa?"

"It most certainly is. Now I want you to keep practicing and do all of the problems I gave you."

"Yes Papa," Lizzy answered, her attention already focused on her work with her tongue sticking out one side of her mouth. Thomas had been advised by his sister-by-marriage to hire a governess, or at least a tutor for his Lizzy, but Thomas enjoyed teaching her himself. Others had skewed ideas on what a girl-child should learn. He wanted her to learn as much as she wished about as many subjects as she wished.

1799 - Lizzy is eight

"Papa, why do you not put your extra money in a bank like Uncle Edward said?"

"Because I do not trust banks to keep it safe. I have not told you the story of how my brother Henry, your uncle, died. He was planning to find a wife and get married. So he worked very diligently to improve the estate..."

"Just like you do."

"Yes, just like I do. Back to my story. Your uncle scrimped and saved every farthing he made and put it into a bank. Then one day the people running the back lost everything in bad investments..." he had explained investments to Lizzie just the month before, "... and that meant that your Uncle Henry also lost everything he had saved. When he learned of it, he had an apoplexy and died."

Lizzy hugged her father as both shed a tear. Then she asked, "What do you do with your extra then, Papa."

"That is a secret. Some day you will learn of it, but until then I keep that information hidden away. Mr. Collins lives nearby and he is always trying to find a way to get his hands on my estate."

"He will have it when you die someday? Why can he not wait?"

"He is older than I am and greedy."

"I want you to live many, many more years, Papa."

"And I hope that I shall."

1800 – Lizzy is nine

Lizzy was reading her copy of Gulliver's travels when she glanced over at her father for the fifth time. "What would you care to ask me, Lizzy?"

"Papa, why do you have two sets of ledgers? I spilled ink on the ledger book, but the one you have does not have the spot."

Thomas Bennet sighed. He was getting slower and slower these days... and obviously not cautious enough. "Come sit beside me, little one." When she did, he touched her shoulder, "If I tell you something very secret, will you promise to never share it?"

Lizzy nodded, "You know that I am trustworthy, Papa."

"I do know that, but this secret is so important for your future that only a very few people can know it. Right now the only other person is a friend from Cambridge. And he would never reveal it."

"If you tell me, then I will never tell."

"Very well. When the influenza took your sister and your mother... and the baby she was carrying, it also took many more. One of these was your Uncle Phillips, the solicitor who had all of the estates' and my personal legal documents. My cousin, Mr. Collins, as you know, is also a solicitor. Your aunt Eunice is a silly woman and Mr. Collins talked her into marrying him right away. And when she did that, all of the documents for the estate fell into his hands."

"That is not good."

"No, it is not. In fact, it was very bad. By the time I became well enough to manage my own affairs, he had altered many details of the entailment. He would have done more, but he did not believe that I would survive. Everyone in the area knows that I am the legal owner, so it would not be easy for him to throw me out, but he could make it so that anything that the estate earns above and beyond the upkeep of the estate and our living expenses had to be held in trust for the next heir... him."

"How can he do that?! That is not fair!"

"The world is seldom 'fair,' my Lizzy. But I have been too weak since then to have a long legal battle with the man. So now he has the right to look at my ledger whenever he wishes and I must show it to him."

"So you keep a second ledger so that he cannot see that one? Does that mean the first one is not accurate?"

"Precisely. It has not been easy, but I have managed to set aside a pound here, and a pound there for your future."

"But where does it go if it does not go to the bank?"

"That, my dear, is a secret that I will keep to myself until later. When the time is right, you will be told all. But first your future must be kept safe from our cousin."

"Okay, Papa. Just... please be well?" Lizzy no longer asked him to live forever. She could see each day that he was becoming weaker and weaker.

1801 – Lizzy is Ten

Lizzy was always an observant person. She took note of many things. But after her father's caution the year before, she was learning to also be circumspect. Now she saw, but she did not ask, and she never told her father's secrets.

Like the fact that Uncle Edward sent her father a crate of books ever few months, but no matter how many times a new box arrived, Papa's shelves never grew overcrowded. In fact, some of the books that she knew that her father loved the most were no longer on the shelves... even though she never saw them leave.

But when Mr. Collins made his surprise visits to the house with his horrible son and looked over everything with his greedy eyes, the man never noticed. And Lizzy kept her own counsel.

1802 – Lizzy is Eleven

At Longbourn

It was dark when the carriage came up the drive, and cold. Lizzy shivered as her trunk was loaded, then she delicately hugged her beloved Papa in his rolling chair. She knew that when she rode away that night she would never see her Papa again. It broke her heart, but she tried to stay strong for him. He had always been honest with her, so she had known for years that he was dying. Now his time was close.

"I cannot leave you here at the mercy of Elias Collins and his son William, my Lizzy. When the time comes I need to know that you are far, far away and well looked after by someone who I trust... someone who has the power to protect you. Then I can join your mother and your sister in peace. We will watch over you from Heaven."

"I know, Papa. But I cannot like it. Why would God not heal you?"

"He did something better: he kept me alive when I should have died so that I could see you grow up to be an intelligent, precocious, and beautiful girl. And he let me create a future for you despite everything that a man like Mr. Collins could do to prevent it. So please do not be bitter against God. That would break my heart."

Lizzy wiped her tears away roughly, "I promise, Papa. Say hello to Mama and Janie."

And then she was gone.

Three days later, at Snowcliff Heights in Derbyshire

Lizzy had never imagined such a house as the one in front of her. It was set against the backdrop of a snowy mountain and around the house there were trees, rocks, and trails as far as the eye could see. A handsome older man and a pretty, smiling woman were there to greet her. "Hello, Elizabeth. I am Baron Bancroft and this is my wife, Lady Patricia. Your father Thomas was one of my very best friends in school and college, so when he asked me to watch over you, I was happy to agree."

"Marcus, dear, let us get the poor dear in out of the cold before we bend her ear," Lady Patricia extended a hand and Lizzie was happy to take it. All of the fears she had built up over the past few days of travel with only a maid for company had almost overset her. Now she knew in her heart that she was safe.

When she was shown to the room where she would sleep, she was astounded to learn that it was not one room, but an entire suite. The place set aside for her was as big as Longbourn's drawing room and morning room combined! But the best was that three walls were lined with bookshelves just like in her father's study... though they were empty.

When the Baron saw her expression, he grinned, "Do not worry. You have enough books to fill those shelves and then some."

"But... how?"

"Your father has been sending me crates of books to keep for you since you were only three. Once you have had a good rest, I will have the servants carry them up and we can see about shelving them."

Lizzy, who had been struggling not to cry about her dear Papa, asked instead, "Please, Sir, I have been sleeping in the carriage. I am rested. If it is not too much trouble, could I begin now?"

The crates began coming up. Biggins the butler, already charmed by the new miss in the house, broke open the first crate. Lizzy lovingly picked up the first book on the top, a copy of the Illiad that her father had read with her several times. Rather than place it directly on the shelf, she began to flip through the pages... then she gasped as two one-pound notes slipped out onto the floor.

Baron Bancroft saw it as well and a thought struck him. Reaching for the second book on the stack, which was Pythagoras, he opened the book... and found a single one-pound note. Looking from Lizzy, to his wife, and then to the butler, he said, "Have all of the crates brought up, then have the servants go on to other duties, Biggins. I want no word of what you just saw to leave this room. It seems that my friend saved up a dowry for his dear daughter after all."

Once the crates were all up, Biggins sent the house servants on to other tasks. Then he stood at the door to Miss Lizzy's suite to insure that nobody but the family went in or out. Inside Lizzy and her guardians worked together in a combination of amazement and amusement as they realized that, even sick, Thomas Bennet had overcome the schemes of his cousin. When the last book was divested of its treasure and then lovingly placed upon the shelf, Lizzy had a library fit for a scholar... and almost nine-thousand pounds in one-pound notes.

"Miss Lizzy, if you will allow me, I will deposit this in a bank so that your dowry will grow over time. You are only eleven now, so by the time you turn one-and-twenty you could have a very respectable dowry in ten years."

"Papa did not trust banks because of what happened to Uncle Henry," Lizzy answered with very serious concern and wringing hands.

"I understand. While I do not agree with him on this, I will not press the matter. He did trust your Uncle Edward, however. If we invested your dowry with him, then it would grow even more."

"Papa liked Uncle Gardiner and he was the one who helped him with the crates of books." She smiled, "Can we do that, Sir?"

"Of course. Now, I know that your father was very concerned about Mr. Collins. I think it would be best if we let everyone think that you came to us without a farthing to your name and we are providing all you need. Will you agree to this?"

Lizzy nodded. "I do not want Mr. Collins to get anything else from my Papa or me. He has already taken too much."

St. Paul's Cathedral, London, 1811

Fitzwilliam Darcy stood nervously at the altar, flanked by his good friend Charles Bingley, and waited for his bride. Many in the Ton were surprised when the seemingly confirmed bachelor finally chose a bride. After all, the girl was only the ward of a Baron, not even the daughter of one! His own aunt, Lady Catherine, had gone so far as to openly confront the young woman in her own home, but his betrothed had faced the woman down without flinching and with all of the grace and witt that Darcy had come to love.

She was well-acknowledged as an accomplished young woman who played the pianoforte beautifully and sang like an angel. Her guardians had also seen to it that she had all of the best tutors in all of the "necessary" subjects. Very few knew her true intelligence, nor her gift for anything related to math, but Darcy had already promised himself to make her his partner in financial matters

The Ton also could not object to her dowry. Only a few knew that it was so large due to Elizabeth's uncle in trade. Mr. Gardiner and Elizabeth had taken the nine-thousand saved by Elizabeth's father and turned it into twenty-four thousand nine years later. The war had, in fact, made for better returns than was usual, but still it was a remarkable accomplishment.

Yet to Darcy, and more so to Elizabeth, the best part of her dowry was not the money, it was a collection of thousands of books that her father had left her. When he heard the story of Mr. Collins, Darcy had been incensed, but when he heard of how Mr. Bennet overcame his cousin, he had laughed with his betrothed. The story was comical, but the personal library she would add to his own rather magnificent collection was remarkable.

None of that truly mattered, though. What did matter was that in his Elizabeth Bennet he had found a true treasure, and one that he would cherish for a lifetime.