On the morning after their return, they are sitting in the drawing-room together, Mr Fielding and Georgie busy with the sonata, Elizabeth reading part of the paper, Darcy the rest. He has taken to checking the society pages, apparently his protégé and his own family are worth gossiping about, and he prefers to find out by himself, not be surprised again by someone else.

The butler enters, and announces, 'Mr Darcy, sir, there's someone to see you.'

'Thank you, Johnson, did he mention his name?'

'He did not, sir, I asked, but he said staff should know their place, even if their master is above common decency. He's normal size, going on plump, red-cheeked, expensive mink-lined coat with matching mink busby. He didn't look like a gentleman, I guess more like a wealthy tradesman.'

'I suppose you'd better send him into my study then, and have someone bring coffee, with Cook's special cookies. There will be some soothing to do.

Though I can't recall whom I have offended recently, I'll ask Mrs Annesley, maybe she knows more. Will you send her in? My visitor can wait a few moments, apparently he has little trust in my decency anyway.'

Of course Georgie has stopped playing when the butler came in, to allow him to make himself heard. But when Johnson leaves, and Darcy gets up to interview Mrs Annesley and see his visitor, the music does not resume.

Looking towards the piano to see what is going on, Darcy notices Mr Fielding gaping at him in abhorrence.

'A mink busby, Mr Darcy, that's my patron, Mr Zumpe, it can't be anyone else, he's so proud of that atrocity. Louise tried to get him to quit wearing it, but he wouldn't budge. Said it had cost him a fortune and he liked it.

They quarrelled, the only time I saw Louise show some spunk. I suppose she never tried again, it didn't have any effect anyway. Mr Zumpe never takes no for an answer, I'm going to get you in trouble after all, I'm so sorry.'

'Mr Fielding, please calm down! I'm not a faint-hearted adolescent, I'm an adult married man, and I think I can handle one self-important tradesman.'

'But I thought you wanted to stay on his good side?'

'I did, but it seems he doubts my decency and snubs my butler, who cannot help anything I may have done. I take exception to that.

And Mr Fielding, do not be mistaken: though I do want to keep my excellent reputation with the London tradesmen, I am very put out with the way your patron treated you after years of faithful service. To just kick you out on the streets without providing any shelter or means of survival is downright cruel.

He will not find me very forgiving, I can afford to insult one or two business-people. Besides, the paper clearly stated he threw you out before I took you in, and we all know the paper is always right.'

That doesn't make it better for Mr Fielding, of course, the memory of that article obviously still smarts. But he does need to buckle up a little, he can look forward to plenty of harsh criticism in the future, if he bares his very soul to the masses by letting them hear his compositions.

'Come, Mr Fielding, take heart. You're under my protection here, he cannot hurt you anymore. Nor can he hurt me, my reputation is flawless and little can dent it. Ah, there is Mrs Annesley, maybe she can shed a light on our visitor being angry.'

Darcy decides to take her to the hall to discuss this in private, and throws a look at Elizabeth to implore her to take care of Mr Fielding and Georgie. At her gesture, Georgie starts playing again, distracting Mr Fielding from his worries until they know whether he has anything to worry about.

Once in the hall, Mrs Annesley asks, 'Johnson said you wanted to know whether I'd snubbed a man with a mink busby? Did you really tell him to ask me that?'

'No, I didn't. I think Johnson really objected to being rebuffed by a visitor who was clearly not a gentleman, and vented his frustration on you. Feel free to address him on that yourself.

But though I meant to ask you myself in more polite terms, it is what I want to know. Did a man in such a headdress ask admittance to the house before today, and did you give him any reason to be offended?'

His housekeeper now looks positively guilty, and replies, 'I did, Mr Darcy. He came to your door I think three days ago, when you were still in Hertfordshire, and demanded to see Mr Fielding. He was red faced and angry, and tried to bully his way in.

But that was not the sole reason I denied him entrance, I had just gotten Mr Fielding to calm down a little and feel resigned to his situation and even looking forward to a future of freedom and independence.

I like Mr Fielding a great deal, and I would hate to see him back in servitude, so I told the man that my employer had forbidden me to let him in. Had he been polite I might not have been so presumptuous, but frankly, Mr Darcy, I lost my temper, inwardly. He never noticed my anger, he believed me and blamed you.

I'm sorry, also for not telling you before, it slipped my mind in the Christmas preparations.'

'Never mind, Mrs Annesley. Had I expected him to turn up, I would have given you those exact instructions, not to let him in without my presence, I don't trust Mr Fielding to not return to servitude from a feeling of indebtedness, either. Thank you for standing up for him and don't worry, I'll settle this to everyone's satisfaction.

Mr Fielding will be free and with a bit of help from all of us, independent.

Now, I need to go see him. Thank you for the explanation.'

Mrs Annesley merely curtseys and rushes off, glad no doubt to get off this easily.

Straight to the study then, get it over with.

When he enters his study, Darcy can see that leaving Mr Fielding's former patron to cool his heels for a few minutes has worked, he is sitting in one of the visitors' chairs at Darcy's desk, holding a cup of coffee and looking meek rather than enraged or violent.

The sound of the door alerts the man to his entrance, and Mr Zumpe quickly puts the cup down and jumps up, like a kid caught lounging in his father's office chair.

'Good day to you, sir, how can I help you?'

Of course Darcy is polite, he always is, and this fellow apparently only dares to be rude to servants, for he is almost officious in his demeanour. Maybe the size and the rich interior of Darcy's study have something to do with that as well, he cannot deny that has happened before.

'Mr Darcy, so good to finally meet you, your manservant told me I could sit in one of these chairs and he brought me coffee and some of the most delicious cookies I ever had.'

Manservant? That must have been Simon, trust his staff to find the right person for the job. Simon dressed in livery looks like a prince, it would be really difficult to snub him, especially in this room that exudes being the private retreat of the master of the house.

'I'm sorry, sir, I didn't get your name. And of course you are welcome to sit down, for my butler told me you had some urgent business with me.'

'Zumpe, sir, my name is Dietrich Zumpe. You may not have heard of me before, but I suppose Eric told you about me, so I guess you know my name at least.'

'Ah, so you're Mr Zumpe, yes, Mr Fielding did tell me about you, not by name, but ever since my sister started her lessons with him I've known of your existence, he always called you his patron and talked of you with great respect and even affection.

Mr Fielding has been very distraught with what happened, Mr Zumpe, and I hope you will forgive me for instructing my staff not to let anyone talk to him without my presence. His is a very sensitive nature, and until he gains a little confidence I plan to protect him against those that might offer him harm.'

Of course the suggestion that he might harm his former protégé angers Mr Zumpe, but Darcy is not impressed, remembering what the man did he feels himself turn cold, something a stranger might interpret as him being impassive, but a warning sign to those who know him.

'I know Eric is a sensitive man, Mr Darcy, because I single-handedly raised him from an illiterate boy to the gifted man you know.'

Cold as he is, Darcy sees no problem in pouring a little oil on the flames of Mr Zumpe's anger.

'I know you did, Mr Zumpe, and Mr Fielding turned out really well, a true gentleman who feels indebted to you for all you did for him.

As neutral observer I do wonder about your methods.

I suppose you meant well, raising him as protected as you did, and it undoubtedly gained him peace of mind to dedicate himself to his studies, but it did leave him virtually defenceless against adversity.'

And the flames roar to the ceiling, but still Darcy is not in the least moved by his visitor's anger. This man has no real clout, some impressive riches and a few moments by himself had him reduced to humility, his rage is supposed to be righteous, but Darcy knows he is in the right here and hears those flames rage without showing any emotion.

'You are questioning the methods of which you are now reaping the rewards? I knew those who let others work for their money were presumptuous, but this beats all!

I gave that boy everything, I paid for his education, got him a master in Prague, I even offered him the chance to marry my only daughter Louise, whom I love more than anyone in this world besides him.'

Now for the final act of this moving production. Only the scenery lacks to make it resemble a touching scene in the play they watched with Mr Fielding.

'And when he told you he couldn't love her except as a sister, you kicked him out, into the snowy streets of a London winter. A father's love can be harsh.'

And indeed the waterworks open, as Mr Zumpe breaks down and begs for understanding.

'I only wanted him to reconsider, I knew he'd come back and beg for forgiveness, and I would have taken him to my heart, to marry Louise and be part of our family forever.'

He really has no clue, this man, how can he not see that he tried to make a piano-playing slave out of a musical genius?

'Mr Zumpe, if you love him like a son, why didn't you just respect Mr Fielding's wishes and let him be Louise's brother and play his own work? If he is such a gifted man, why didn't you trust him to know what was best for his career? He is an adult, isn't he?'

Somehow, Mr Fielding's own opinion just doesn't matter to Mr Zumpe.

'I made him, Mr Darcy, have you any idea how much money I invested in him over the years? If you don't give him back to me, people will say you've stolen that money from me! Do you want them to accuse you of robbing a working man of his hard-earned savings?'

'So that is what Mr Fielding is to you. An investment. Not a living, thinking human being with a right to lead his own life, to follow his own ambitions, but a project you started up to promote your instruments, and that has now come to the point where it will start earning back all the money that it cost you.

Besides making your daughter happy.

You don't care even one bit that Mr Fielding has been desperately unhappy these last months, do you? You don't even know, because you couldn't care less what he thinks and feels. You profess to love him, but you have no idea who he is.

I will not give Mr Fielding back to you, Mr Zumpe, because I don't own him. When you threw him out for being honest about regarding your daughter as his sister, which is only natural since they grew up together, I took him in to save his life and his talent.

Where Mr Fielding lives, and what he does with his life from now on is his own choice. I have offered to help him become an independent man, who uses his talents to make an honest living, so he can be answerable only to himself and in time to the person he chooses to share his life with. I will not tell him what kind of music to play, or where to play it, or even on what brand of piano to play it. He is free to do whatever pleases him.'

'I want to speak to him, you cannot keep him away from me, Louise cries all day, she needs him, and who is going to test my pianos? Have you any idea what you are doing to me?'

Frankly, Darcy is getting fed up with this. One last effort to explain to the man that Mr Fielding is not his property?

'Mr Zumpe, let it be clear that you were the one who told Mr Fielding to go pack his things and leave. He does not want to marry your daughter, and he does not want to spend his life playing sonatas on your pianos.

He wants to become the best pianist ever, and he wants to be free to write down the music that comes to life in his mind, and give that back to the people. He has told you this before, and you did not listen but told him to go.

He did what you asked, and now you want him to come back, but not to do the things he wants to do with his life, but the things you want him to do for you. The things that made him desperately unhappy.

If you cannot understand that he wants to live his own life, this conversation is done, and you will have to buy a ticket to see him play from now on.'

Is there a little light starting to flicker in the man's stubborn brain?

'I have to speak to him. When I tell him about Louise, he'll come back to us, he loves us, you're keeping him a prisoner here, he wants to be with us. I will not leave until I've seen him.'

And Darcy can see he will do exactly that, this is not a gentleman, he doesn't care about dignity and good manners at all, he is used to getting his way, like a spoiled child in an adult's body. Elizabeth may be able to talk some sense in him, but he still won't understand that Mr Fielding has a right to feel hurt by his patron's way of trying to force him to do his will.

Maybe he does have to hear it from his protégé himself, and maybe it will do Mr Fielding some good to hear how unreasonable his former patron is even now, how selfish and how stubborn.

'Very well, I will talk to him and see if he is willing to meet with you. Please have another cup of coffee and some more of those cookies, I suspect he will take some convincing.'

Mr Zumpe does not look triumphant at all, but merely agonized. It's just incredible how some people can fool themselves, he really cannot see the matter from Mr Fielding's perspective at all.

When Darcy enters the drawing-room, three faces turn towards him. No-one speaks, but Elizabeth embraces him, which he answers with feeling, this will be very hard on poor Mr Fielding, after all he's been through already.

'He wants to see me, doesn't he?'

Darcy nods.

'He just doesn't get it. You won't be able to make him understand, but if you tell him you're done with him he'll have to believe it. He seems to think I'm keeping you against your will as some kind of prize. I'm so sorry to put you through this, Mr Fielding.'

'It needs to be done, Mr Darcy, or he'll make a fuss. No-one will believe him after the paper, I suppose people dislike him because of his stubbornness, and frankly, I fear it. He still has a hold over me, I owe him so much. I know he kicked me out, and I realise now he kept me as a servant or even a slave, for he never offered me a choice. But still I'm afraid I'll give in.

Will you stay with me through all of it, Mr Darcy?'

'I will, Mr Fielding.'

'Promise, Mr Darcy? This truly frightens me. But I need to do it if I ever want to be free of him.'

'Promise, Mr Fielding. I will not leave you alone with him, not even for a single moment.'

As Mr Darcy kisses his wife, to thank her for her moral support, this really affects him, so heartening, Eric gets up as if to head to his execution. He knows Mr Zumpe, he is not going to make it easy on Eric, he faces the loss of his investment and will try his utmost to save it.

A tentative touch on his hand causes him a physical shock, and he looks at Georgiana, who takes his hand in hers and squeezes it gently. They have had such a good time again already, studying together, picking out mistakes in each other's work, and learning about business accounts and all kinds of other practical matters together.

Fast friends, that is what they have become, in a mere one and a half days, despite the difference in their ages. But even gentle Georgiana seems more worldly-wise than Eric himself, he is only just starting to realise how little he has ever learned beside playing a piano, fortunately Mrs Annesley and Mr Darcy's valet have proven very willing to remedy that evil.

'Get some of your own back, Eric,' she whispers, 'go get him.'

He straightens his back and promises, 'I will. He kicked me out, and I'm glad he did. I feel as if my life is just starting. I will be back soon, Miss Darcy.'

She'll understand his not using her first name with her brother watching him.

He follows Mr Darcy to his study, but just before they enter he asks, 'Will you let me enter first, Mr Darcy? I think I need to make a statement here.'

Mr Darcy is not a man of many words. He merely nods and makes way.

Eric has never been in this study before, it's very impressive, and very heartening to have the full support and protection of a man who owns a study like this. In his town house. Eric can't wait to see Pemberley.

To his immense relief he doesn't feel love or guilt when Mr Zumpe gets up at the sight of him and holds out his arms to embrace him like a lost son, but merely suspicion and a bit of heartening anger. How dare he, after the things he said just before he forced Eric to leave the house!

'My boy, you're all right! Louise will be so happy to see you again! She's done nothing but cry since you left.

But Eric, why won't let me hug you? I've been so worried about you, they wouldn't let me see you, they probably never even let you know I tried to see you before. Please come home, my boy, we all need you.'

The nerve! To pretend nothing happened! The guilt Eric suffered, the anguish over having disappointed this man, it all seems such a waste suddenly.

'Mr Zumpe, I have only come to see you for a moment to tell you I am happy here, and free.'

'But Eric, you must come home with me, we need you.'

'You kicked me out! You told me to pack my things and leave. To come get my piano within two weeks, or you'd sell it to the highest bidder! You told me I'd never play for an audience again, not in London, not if you could help it.

You had me in agony, out of guilt and fear for the future.

And now you tell me you love me, and want me back in your life? How thick do you think I am?'

'Eric, please, I didn't mean it, none of it. I still want you to marry Louise, she's so unhappy without you, you love her, don't you?'

'I told you I love Louise as my sister, I can't ever marry her. I will tell her myself if she needs to hear it from me.'

'But she'll die of unhappiness, you don't want that, do you? You can just marry her, can't you, without loving her?'

'Mr Zumpe, Louise can never be happy with me. I'm driven by ambition, I pursue a goal at all costs, I would make Louise very unhappy, she'd come to hate me for ignoring her. And I'd despise her for not forcing me to pay attention to her, I need a woman with spirit, who can force me to do what pleases her from time to time.

And most of all, I will not be fettered anymore. If I will not reach my ambition of becoming the best pianist of my time, I will at least do my damnedest to try. Playing demonstrations for your customers is not what I was meant to do, and I will not do it.

You forbade me to play my own compositions, and I can see you still hate them. It doesn't matter what you think. You kicked me out, and now you will have to live with the consequences.

So accept reality and let go of your fantasy. I will not come back, I will not marry Louise.'

Finally. Finally the truth is sinking in, Eric can practically see it happen. And Mr Zumpe is not taking it well, he turns nasty.

'So it's true what the paper said, you've set your sights on Mr Darcy's sister. How much is she worth? How far will her fortune get you? Further than Prague?

But don't think for a moment that your life will be any different here, these nobles won't let you be one of them, they'll keep you in your place, and you'll be playing whatever they want you to play on their private parties, your life won't change a bit.

You just took my money and my family's support and love until you found a better place, using any excuse to flee your obligations to me and better yourself.

Well, I wish you all the best, but I'm afraid you're merely fooling yourself. You are nothing without me to direct your life. Your talent is the smallest part of the whole, I am the true connoisseur, and your compositions are just noise. A beautiful instrument being abused by an artist without taste or true knowledge. It must be a right chaos in your head, to have such mess come out. You have no idea what you are doing, and you will find out soon enough, but then it will be too late.

I was willing to take you back, if you played what I told you and married dear Louise to take care of you, but if you're so set on making it on your own, be my guest. I'm glad I kicked you out.'

'All right, I think I've heard enough. Mr Zumpe, I take it you are convinced I am not keeping Mr Fielding prisoner?'

Not waiting for an answer, Mr Darcy rings the bell and continues, 'Then I'll have my manservant show you out.'

Before Eric's former patron can even react, Simon comes in and picks up Mr Zumpe's coat, helps the startled man into it, puts the furry busby on his head, and invites him to come along. Was he listening at the door?

Eric really doesn't care, he feels wrung out and miserable, such vehemence and selfishness from someone he used to depend on and even love. But once Simon has led their visitor out of the room, Eric also feels a tremendous relief. That was it, his past is now really his past.

'I wish there was something I could say to make this easier for you, Mr Fielding, but I cannot think of anything that wouldn't insult someone you once cared for. Shall we join the ladies, or do you want a few moments to yourself to process what just happened?'

'If you don't mind, sir, I'd like to be in good company for as long as I can. I've learned so much already, I cannot begin to thank you for your kindness. I must admit I feel a bit caught, I've only just realised how dependent I am on you, but of course that is much to be preferred to being dependent on Mr Zumpe.

I'm afraid I was more like a slave than an employee, for I had nowhere to go at night, no life of my own. It will take some time to come to terms with that, and I dread your Christmas party, for Mr Zumpe is right in one thing: I was raised a gentleman, but I will never really belong among them, my schoolmates always let me feel that very clearly.'

Mr Darcy puts a hand on his shoulder, that is an incredible familiarity from a man like him.

'I beg to differ, Mr Fielding, I am very certain you will be accepted in our midst without any trouble. There is such a difference between your manners and Mr Zumpe's. His lack every class, yours are as gentle and dignified as those of the best of us. Ask Simon, he is a veritable gold-mine of information on the subject of manners and fashion, and he loves to instruct.

He changed Mrs Darcy from a rather naïve country-girl to a sophisticated gentlewoman in weeks. I dare profess that she is now more worldly-wise than I am, and I'm nearly ten years her senior and have lived in town almost half my life.'

'You have a fine sense of humour, Mr Darcy, I love being with your family, and I hope I'm not too much of a burden on you. Thank you very much for your support just now.'

'I'm sorry you'll probably never get to tell Louise the truth of it, Mr Fielding. I was thinking of what Mr Zumpe said about my sister, and I assure you I do not suspect you of any mercenary thoughts towards her. I don't think you will ever marry for money, you know yourself too well, you do need a woman who knows exactly what she wants, and who has a higher goal in life than to please you.'

Then Mr Darcy smiles knowingly, and adds, 'And I know for a fact that mercenaries have no say in the kind of woman they marry, they have to settle for whoever will hand them the money. You are a hopeless romantic, you will marry for love, and the music you will write about your love will stir the hearts of people of all layers of society.'