AN: Dears :) Thank you for the comments. Hope you like this one, too.
####
Georgiana was still fuming in a very fine way when they carried their tea and scones upstairs to William's study and fired up the computer to see the plans on the big screen.
"So, eight bedrooms?" Elizabeth pursed her lips.
"Nine, in fact. A room for Mrs Reynolds is on the ground floor - in fact, it's more of a tiny apartment of her own, with its own entrance and a little study, just by the kitchen. She always said she wanted to write that cooking book of hers, well, she will have space to do that now. And she won't have to brave any steps or suffer going outside to get to her own warm rooms. Unlike here" he nodded towards the floor "where half of the rooms is, frankly speaking, not usable. She had tried the old housekeeper quarters and she declared them more fit for winter fruit storage than for human inhabitation."
"But we'll have eight rooms on the upper floor, right?" Rose leaned in. "How will we divvy them up?"
Mina opened her mouth for a moment, Lizzy saw, but then she quickly glanced at her parents - blushing when she saw Lizzy watching her - and stayed quiet.
"We'll have to see how much stuff everyone has" William said finally. "I had certain suggestions, but that was before..." he smiled up at her and she found herself pulled closer to his side. "Let me discuss it with your mother, Rose. Unless Georgiana has some preference?"
The younger woman shrugged.
"No idea how big these will really be" she said finally. "Can't imagine what kind of space they would provide. I need a place for the pianoforte, and I'd rather not put it downstairs where the fireplace would be."
"Definitely" Lizzy shuddered. "The things this would do to the wood!"
"And we'll need space for all our stuff" Mina pointed out. "When are we bringing it all over from London?"
William's hand rested like a warm, steady anchoring weight on her hip.
"As soon as we can" he said simply. "On Monday, if I can have it my way."
She rolled her eyes and smiled indulgently.
"If I had it my way, we'd be there right now, throwing everything into boxes" she leaned closer to him and teased his cheek with her lips "but I will admit, we have to go there on Monday anyway, to deal with the school, so it makes more sense to wait."
"School" Rose and Mina said in unison, with identical expressions of disgust.
"You'll be going on Tuesday, whatever you two may be plotting. You are not getting out of that. We'll be in enough trouble for keeping both of you home when only one was sick."
"I was considering, love" Elizabeth nudged his shoulder slightly. "Maybe we should put them in two separate schools anyway. Lambton has more than one, correct?"
"Mom!"
Rose looked at her, silently aghast, as Mina pressed her lips closed after her exclamation.
"Elizabeth, this is a positively villainous suggestion" he grinned at her. "What brought on such a marvellous idea?"
"Dad!"
Rose was now frowning.
"You are making fun of us" she concluded with distaste. "Come on, Mina. Let's better prepare for Tuesday. Unfunny, Dad, Mom. Unfunny."
"Absolutely unfunny!" Mina's voice trembled.
Elizabeth giggled.
"Unfunny!"
#
A few pointed looks and some more blushes from Elizabeth had got rid of Georgiana and they were left alone over their slowly cooling tea.
"A house" she said finally, trying the word out. "A new house."
He nodded slowly.
"You planned it..." she couldn't finish that sentence, just giving a weak wave.
He wasn't raising his head, intently watching the cup in his hands.
"How do you want this to go from here?" she managed to ask, finally. "William?"
"However you wish" he said quietly. "I think I never even noticed, but I built it with-with hope? I planned so much space and all I could admit to myself was that I wanted a house where I could invite people finally, to... to have Jane and Charles over in winter, unlike we can in this stone heap, and..." he shook his head. "I don't think I consciously counted you and Mina in, but looking at what the design looks like-" he swallowed and looked up at her. "I think you two were not excluded from the planned group of- I mean, I would, I had thought, you, well, not thought, but-"
He made a frustrated sound and fisted his hair with both hands. Elizabeth was up and leaning over him before he noticed and the surprise on his face as she slid into his lap, pressing tightly against him, made her smile in wonder.
"William" she held him and kissed the silver line on his temple. "Stop. You planned a house. For all of us. That's fine. Now we just have to choose how to divide it between us all. You planned one big room for Georgiana, I suppose, because of her piano, and you wanted to take the smaller room for yourself, right?"
"Well, I didn't consider..."
"Shush. Let's make one of the bigger bedrooms a music room? And we could put my piano there, too."
He frowned.
"You have a piano?"
"Electric one, obviously. But yes, I have one. Not enough place to keep it set up right now in my flat, unfortunately, so I'd love to be able to use it at last."
"So you want to move Georgiana to one of the smaller rooms?"
"Well, if we don't have a dedicated room where the girls can practice, they would be in Georgiana's way a lot, right? So, what I thought was, take one of the big rooms - the one to the back of the house - and make it into a music room and a kind of a living room for upstairs. Georgiana can have the bedroom that connects to it by the bathroom. This way she keeps it as 'hers' in a manner of speaking, but she won't be inconvenienced if someone else needs to play. Me, for example."
"What about the girls?"
She squirmed a bit.
"I was considering three options. One, give each an identical room and let them have a common bathroom. This way they become responsible for cleaning the whole set and get exactly equal everything. Two, put them together in the other big bedroom. Three, put them together in one of the smaller ones."
"They will have way too much stuff, together, to fit in one room."
"Well, Mina's things are in two cupboards and one wardrobe, but..."
"Once put together, it will be a lot."
"So, two bedrooms" she summed up.
"The ones on the same side as Georgiana's, I suppose" he added with a smile. This way we..."
She blushed hotly, hiding her face in his shoulder.
"We could take the other big bedroom, you know" he prodded her back upright. "And then the rest of that side would be empty - nobody sharing our bathroom - unless we had guests. And Georgiana would not be sharing her bathroom with anyone, unless we invited so many people that we had to put someone up in the music room, so she will have some privacy, too."
"That sounds fair. And we could actually have the girls sleep in one of the bedrooms and keep their clothes there, and use the other one for work. And if one day they decide they need separate rooms, moving one desk and one bed won't be that much of a chall..."
He found out that kissing Elizabeth had lost nothing of its attraction and, as a bonus, distracted her fabulously. Even if she scolded him later, mock-seriously, for derailing whatever conversation she was trying to have with him. Holding her like this, warm and pliant in his arms was too much of a temptation. The progress they made since the morning - had it really been only that morning? - was astonishing and sometimes, just sometimes, he was horror-stricken by a thought that this was not what was happening. That this was the dream and the terrifying reality was the one in which Elizabeth had left them because of her misguided guilt.
Each instance left him washed with hot and cold shivers and the only thing that grounded him was Elizabeth. Holding her hand, holding her, kissing her, hearing her soft sighs, feeling her hair between his fingers, tasting the tea and milk she had been drinking just seconds before, smelling the verbena scent she used in all her cosmetics. Seeing her golden eyes widening in surprise, her lashes fluttering when she blinked, her cute (note: he had to try to limit the usage of this particular adjective around Liz) freckles, her slightly longer-than-average nose, her pink, full lips.
Ah, kissing these lips.
From the small, soft, barely-there kiss on the lawn, the one that nevertheless had left him with a distinct feeling of having been kicked by a horse, to the slightly braver, lingering ones that made his lips tingle and his ears warm up, and now to the slightly deeper - still not full-blown, but - ones that implied the intimacy once shared and hopefully also to be expected in the future.
He felt her sighing into the kiss and her lips parted slightly.
There was, apparently, some god somewhere that looked after special idiots who let the loves of their lives go. That same divine entity had now granted him the chance to undo said idiocy. If only he managed to work out...
Oh. Elizabeth.
He got distracted for a moment and suddenly there were two slender hands buried in his hair and her warmth and citrusy smell overwhelmed his senses and his lips were parting by themselves under the sweet, patient caress of her own, her teeth nipping and bringing blood up, her breath soothing and cooling, her tongue demanding access.
Which he granted.
Obviously.
For a moment, he tried to focus on the thought he hadn't managed to finish.
Ah, well.
####
The cleanup team finished much too soon - or rather, eight o'clock in the evening arrived and took Elizabeth and William by surprise. The payment was handed over, an invoice signed properly and Brian had come to confirm the progress of work done. There would be a need for a smaller team to be invited over the next weekend, to deal with all the collected fruit - yet again the trees had overachieved and they would need all the help they could get in order to not let the crop go to waste.
"Apple pie" she said decisively as the door closed behind Brian. "Lots of apple pie this year."
"And something to use up all the plum preserves" William added, standing just behind her chair. "And the cherries. Do you still make that terrifying thing? A pound of chocolate, cherry preserves..."
"Schwarzwald torte? Not in a long time, but I could, probably. If there was an occasion big enough to warrant such a flagrant usage of whipped cream."
He swept her hair over to the front and cautiously kneaded her bared shoulders.
"Would you consider someone's birthday to be a big enough occasion?" she felt his breath on her cheek.
"I can definitely bake one for yours" she leaned back a bit, looking up at him. "I suppose there will be some guests coming around, so we should be prepared accordingly, hm?"
"And it will be a Saturday, so there is a higher chance for a family visit, too" he added with a small grimace. "That will mean aunt Mathilde and Matthew and Lucy. And Richard. And, should he feel a sudden attack of familial duty, even uncle Harry."
"Richard is still single?" she frowned. "I remember him always with someone..."
"Not single, but not really committed. Apparently, being at constant risk of getting blown up to bits isn't as enticing to potential life partners as he expected. The current one is holding on longer than the others, though, so I have hope for them. Not that they see each other that often - both in service."
"He is still doing that? OK, not that surprised anymore. But I thought it was mostly the younger soldiers that had that kind of duty."
"Richard sees it as a hobby, not as a duty. He simply loves blowing stuff up. Yes, I am quite conscious of how weird that sounds. Can't help it."
"As long as he is happy with his choices" she smiled and groaned as he pressed on some particularly tense spot. "God, yes, there. Right there."
"Going back to the cake, I was actually considering another occasion" he said as his fingers wandered a bit lower, digging between her shoulder blades.
"Not sure the girls would want that for their birthday. At least Mina is not a fan of any kind of 'death by chocolate' desserts - and anyway I'm not exactly sure how to organise..."
"Elizabeth" his breath tickled her ear in a way that made her straighten in surprise. "I meant your birthday. Which also, accidentally, falls on Saturday this year."
"Oh, but..." she felt her words fail. "I mean, I didn't... Saturday? Are you suggesting?"
"Not too soon, hm?" his fingers made a tantalising slide towards her lower back and she bit back another groan. "Just the two of us, the girls, Georgiana and Mrs Reynolds for the witnesses. Unless you want a bigger wedding with all..."
"No" she shook her head. "Definitely no. Register office, just us. We could go for a nice dinner after, make it a proper outing for all of us."
"Maybe you'd want to invite Jane and Charles?"
She thought for a moment, her head cocked to the side.
"I... Maybe. After all, if not for them..." she looked up and smiled at him shyly.
"They are the force that had put us together again."
"The girls were, rather" she corrected.
"But your sister was the one who gave them the momentum. So, I suppose, we could call it a team effort."
"We could, I think."
"So, us, girls, Georgie, Mrs R, Jane and Charles and their five. Anyone else?"
"Maybe... Maybe Mary? And, well, that would be all. We can notify everyone else after the fact."
"Don't you wish for a fancy church ceremony? Small church ceremony? I am friends with the parson, you know. He is my age - we graduated the same year - and I think he could still challenge me on the rugby field, should he wish to get his hands a bit dirty... we used to be good mates before university."
She pursed her lips for a moment.
"Can we ask him for just a blessing, during one of the lesser masses? I don't think I am quite up to the whole ceremony, and..." she sighed "...if we tried that, my parents would be here before we'd have a chance to say 'flower arrangement'. And that is what I'd like to avoid."
He grimaced.
"Ah. Reading of banns."
"Yep."
"But it will be the same with the register office. They are supposed to display the notification in the office where you live..."
"I'm reasonably sure my mother doesn't even know where the register office for our neighbourhood is, but she most definitely does go to the same church as I am supposed to. And so does half of my family. The notice at the register office will be most certainly ignored by everyone, but the banns will wake up the bloodthirsty horde."
He pressed his fingers into a particularly hard knot and she felt herself melting under his touch.
I wonder how long it will take us to get used to the fact that we are allowed to do this. How I missed that!
"For some of these spots you'd have to lie down" he said apologetically. "But at least your shoulders should be better now, hm?"
She moved them experimentally and sighed with pleasure.
"You are a magician, William Darcy. Be careful, or you'll burn at the stake for your witchery!"
"I would hope you'd testify to my innocence, if only to keep my magical fingers in your service."
"I think I would consider it, yes. Not fully sure yet."
"You are not sure you'd testify?"
"Not sure you are in fact innocent. I'd need another sample of your skills to be fully convinced."
"That" he pressed a kiss to her lips at an awkward angle "that can be most certainly done."
####
#
The soft chair by the study window was full of two people who were most certainly supposed to go to their own separate bedrooms, yet couldn't force themselves to. The supper had been attended to. They all ate amongst merry discussion and the suggestion of the rooms assignment was shared with the other three (and accepted). Then they managed to send the girls to bed with a permission to watch something of their choice ("not Batman!") and left Georgiana over her evening tea with her book. Still, once they reached the right spot in the corridor from which they should have parted and each should have gone to their own room, they actually sneaked into the study and fell onto William's big chair, holding fast onto each other. Her hands were in his hair and all over his shoulders - wherever she could reach - and his were wrapped around her hips and waist, pulling her as close to him as physically possible when still separated by several layers of clothes.
"Mmm" she sighed when they parted for a moment. "William, I think we should mm..."
William apparently didn't think they should and she acquiesced readily, at least temporarily. The overwhelming feeling of relief and correctness at being held just so flooded her senses and she delighted in the small noises made by William as they reacquainted themselves with each other thoroughly.
"Liz" he whispered finally, tightening his grasp just a little.
"Hm?"
"I have to admit, we actually should get up, or this situation will become... uncomfortable."
She sighed and leaned on his shoulder, for the moment content to just breathe him in.
"We could... take a walk?"
"Yeah. It should be a bit chilly by now, but we could just, you know."
"Cool off. A bit."
"Definitely."
She stretched her feet and searched the floor around them for her discarded shoes.
#
It was definitely cooler outside - even a bit nippy, as appropriate for October. Still, she didn't want to go back to her room for her cardigan, so she gratefully accepted William's much oversized windbreaker and allowed him to roll up the sleeves for her.
"What about you?"
He smirked and pulled the jumper on.
"Oh, come on. Really?"
"I like this jumper. It's soft."
"But..."
"But nothing, Miss Bennet. Come on. I think there is something that I can show you here that you won't see in your big city."
"But I told you I made a mistake when I was counting the stitches..."
He flexed his shoulders just a bit.
"I grew into it."
"But that colour..."
"I've had it on good authority it works very well with the colour of my eyes."
"Are you going to quote myself back at me?"
"Only when the quote is quite correct" he pulled her closer. "Come on. Let's go and watch the stars. You don't get this in the big city, what with all that light pollution."
#
The gardens were quiet and empty, the only light coming from the kitchen door they had just exited and the windows in the staff building. He pulled her closer and turned them around.
"Pegasus" his breath washed her cheek. "And next to it..."
"Andromeda."
"And here, Cygnus."
"And a full moon."
"That's cheating, Lizzy."
"Ok, so there is Lyra."
"And there" he wrapped his arm around her middle, pulling her back and making them both look up "there is Cassiopeia..."
"Mr Darcy!"
They froze in place, both hardly breathing.
"Mr Darcy! Oh, Miss Bennet, good. The girls had left their bags in the stable, but I completely forgot about them. I took care of Star, when I saw the girls wouldn't be going riding, but they forgot to take the saddlebags back, and then we were working with the crew..."
"Thank you, Roberts. We'll take them to the house" Elizabeth picked up the hefty bags.
"When did you notice that Star was tacked up?" William frowned, looking at the stablehand in worry.
"Noon-ish, I suppose? Sometime after the police left, but before the crew had all finished upstairs, I suppose."
"So she had been in the stables just before I spoke to her..." he paused. "I am going to be rather angry with our older daughter, I think."
"Will?"
"She forgot to take the saddle off and left Star alone, tacked up."
"But why would they..." she looked down at the bag she was holding. There was a definite sound of liquid. "Ahem."
"Lizzy?"
She pulled the snap open on one of the bags and fished out a water bottle.
"Looks like provisions" she said quietly. "And not for just a short trip."
"Candy bars. And marshmallows."
"And matches."
"They were planning something."
"Like, running away."
"Liz... Liz! Come here, sit down. No fainting."
"They were planning to run away" she said weakly, leaning on him. "William, are we that bad?"
"Actually, it's Rose who is guilty this time. She shouldn't be leaving Star for so long..."
"Will" she turned his face to her. "They were planning to run away. Today. Probably planning to stay away until... until we got together. Or I don't know what."
"They didn't trust us to get there by ourselves" he pulled her into a closer embrace. "but we did, Lizzy. We did it."
#
"When should we talk to them about it?"
They sat in the soft chairs next to the fireplace in William's study. He managed to get a small fire going and they both sat watching the flames, thinking.
"After breakfast. I won't wake them up now, that wouldn't make any sense. But the fact that the bag was still in the stables means that Rose never went back there to take care of Star and this is very irresponsible of her. Star is a living creature, she isn't just an object to be used and forgotten like this. And she's been Rose's for the last three years. I thought I've taught her better than that."
"You have to admit, they were worried about us" she pointed out. "That must have messed up any plan they've had. And there was the police, and all the things happening, and us..."
"I allow, she could have been distracted, but she isn't supposed to tack Star up unless she plans to leave immediately, and she is supposed to then remove everything once they are back..."
A kiss and a warm fiancee in his lap silenced him.
"Stop fretting, Will. We will talk to them tomorrow, after they have had a good sleep and after we are both rested. I understand. Rose was supposed to take care of Star's needs. She didn't. She forgot to care for the horse she is supposedly responsible for and, if Robert's hadn't been there, poor creature would have been standing there in full tack for the whole day. Right?"
He took a deep breath and buried his nose in her hair.
"Yes. All correct."
"This means she needs a proper, horse-related punishment. Nothing too big - they were worried about us - and nothing too small - it is a living creature we are talking about. I'm sure you can think of something appropriate."
"Mhm"
####
They separated with effort, but she felt they needed this time, each on their own. She definitely needed a few hours to gather her thoughts and work through the onslaught of sudden changes and twists in her life.
She was definitely not staying in London anymore.
All the arguments about Mina needing Rose and Mina deserving a good place to live were quite fine, but the simple and straightforward explanation was that she, Elizabeth Rosalinde Bennet, wasn't going to let William Francis Adam Darcy go. No way. No way in hell.
She locked the door from the inside and, just in case she had an attack of stupidity in the middle of the night, she took the key out of the lock and placed it on the shelf next to the window. Unpacking her small case again was a matter of minutes, so pretty soon she was left with nothing to do, except for a shower and maybe some reading.
Cold shower, Elizabeth. And stop thinking... no, no. Start thinking. Properly. Not about William. Think about school. Work, yes, coding. School on Monday, you'll have to talk to these idiots at school. With William waiting outside to pounce on them if they try anything. No, back. No pouncing. You will deal with this like a grownup and then only call William in at the last moment, to do the leather briefcase thing. And then maybe we could snog on the schoolyard, just to show everyone... Stop it, Lizzy. STOP IT.
She combed through her hair with her hands and started shedding her clothes on the way to the ancient bathroom. Yes, first a warm shower to take care of her hair, then a cold one to make sure all stupidity was also washed away.
They woke up early on Sunday with an overwhelming feeling of relief. They would be staying. All of them. All.
Breakfast was eaten in slightly tense silence, as their parents exchanged looks that weren't exactly what Rose and Mina were hoping for. Finally, Mom poured herself some more tea and nodded. They watched the adults in confusion, but when Dad put the bags on the table and looked at Rose, she hung her head in shame.
"A month" he said simply. "All stalls. And you will help conserve the tack. A half day each Saturday."
She nodded and gulped down the last of her tea.
"Dad?" Mina watched the exchange in surprise. "What's wrong?"
"Rose left Star tacked up yesterday. Saddle and everything. And she didn't go back to take it all off. She is supposed to be taking care of Star, and so, a punishment. She will be spending a lot of time in the stables for the next month."
Mina frowned, but Rose wasn't meeting her eyes.
"I'll help" she declared finally. "It's half my fault anyway. It was my idea for us to hide..." she trailed off. "Uh..."
Mom groaned.
"Yes, we guessed" she said softly. "But why?"
Mina slowly put her fork down and pressed her hands together in her lap.
"Because if we hid, you'd have to work together to find us" she said finally. "Or at least we'd have a day or two more together. But then you told me I'd be staying here, and Dad told Rose that she'd be going with us to London, and first we... so this wasn't really the reason, but we still wanted to make you two finally talk!"
"But then you did" Rose interjected. "And..."
"And you forgot to undo all your preparations?"
They both nodded, not really looking up.
"Fine" suddenly, Dad's hands were on their shoulders. "Rose, you will show her what to do. Mina, if you feel you're responsible too, help her. Just, both of you, try not to let it interfere with your lessons. You'll have hard enough time already."
They nodded and he rubbed their shoulders roughly.
"Go, now. Clean your room. Also, discuss how you want your things to be distributed after we bring Mina's stuff from London, because I'm almost sure you won't be able to fit it all in Rose's bedroom."
They glanced at each other and thought for a moment. Finally, Mina shrugged.
"I think we should sleep in the current room and keep clothes there" Rose said. "And we could use the next empty one for everything else. Can we move my desk there? This way we could do our homework there? And move one of the normal beds to my bedroom, so we don't have to use the field bed anymore?"
Dad patted their backs.
"Fine. I'll ask Brian to take some guys and take care of it tomorrow morning. You two move whatever you can today, so that there is as much done as possible. Empty the desk, take out the drawers. Strip the bed in the other room, if there is anything on it. Review the contents of Rose's wardrobe, remove the summer clothes and make sure there is enough space to add Mina's. Now, go."
They ran upstairs as soon as he released them, trying not to kill themselves on the staircase.
#
"So. Sharing the room, good or not good?" Rose asked cautiously.
Mina just snorted.
"We'd be sneaking around to watch stuff in the evenings anyway, so it makes more sense like this."
"I hope we can keep it like this in the new house."
"Dad told us we'd have two rooms anyway, so we can make up our minds once we see them, right? We'll only have to move this around once we start dating or something."
"Knowing Dad, this will be no earlier than our eighteen birthday" Rose mumbled, throwing herself on the bed.
Mina's ears reddened.
"Really? I mean, Strickland?"
"Why not? Now that we'll be both there, and it won't be me playing you..."
Rose groaned.
"OK, OK, fine. But he is a pain in the... whatever. Last year he got some girl in Secret Santa and had spent three weeks wailing that he doesn't know what to buy and that he's touching no pink. He was the chairman of their 'only boyz klub', that mostly focused on mumbling in a tight group whenever a girl walked by and publicly commiserating with every guy who had to sit with a girl or do a project with one."
Mina rolled her eyes, still blushing.
"He might have changed his mind" she suggested. "You know. People grow up a lot during summer."
"We certainly did" Rose admitted finally. "OK, fine. It's not like he is the stupidest one out there. You might have fallen for Raymond, or someone like that."
"Rose! Really!"
"Just remember. The fact that the guys in your old school were dicks and Teddy actually treated you like a human being doesn't mean you're somehow forced to do anything. Don't know if they had this class at your school, but Miss Yang had a few meetings with all the girls - there were separate classes for boys - and explained to us that nobody is, like, obliged to be thankful for someone else's attention. So if a bloke tells you, like, that you have a nice smile and then suddenly thinks he is supposed to get something back from you, that's bad."
"Teddy wasn't like this!" Mina protested. "And we didn't have anything like this, but Mom and aunt Jane and aunt Mary told me more or less the same stuff. That some guys feel entitled, just because they gave a girl some attention, and I shouldn't feel I owe them anything. Anyway, Teddy just talked to me about the competition and then asked to walk me to the bus. And when I told him no, well, he mostly stayed away."
"Mostly?"
"He was watching me one day on the yard" Mina admitted. "Seemed kinda sad."
Rose rolled onto her back.
"Teddy Strickland in love. Wow."
"Rose!"
"What? I've known the guy since the primary. He used to sit two seats from me. He wore these thick-rimmed glasses at the time and all the guys made fun of his big nose."
"He definitely grew into it" Mina remarked absently.
"Mina...!"
####
The quiet morning was spent on catching up with a variety of paperwork, including William firing off a few more e-mails to Jonathan regarding small improvements to the organisation of the house basement, more lighting fixtures in the attic - they had to accept that the girls would probably take over that area for whatever they'd need - and more ventilation in all the working spaces.
There was also an e-mail from Charles sitting at the bottom of his inbox, waiting to be attended to. After checking carefully everything else, cleaning his spam folder and dealing with all the office problems he had been postponing, he finally clicked on what he expected would be either a "what the fuck, William" or "I told you so".
It was neither.
Charles was happy. For the both of them. Offering his help with the move, if needed. Asking if the invitation for the girls' birthday was still valid.
William sat back in surprise. He had been expecting much more... vitriol? His friend was apparently even more generous than he had ever suspected. He fired off a short reply, thanking for the suggestion and confirming the invitation.
And bring all the kids. We have space enough for them.
He went downstairs to seek out Elizabeth to re-confirm the plans for the next few days with her. She was comfortably seated in the library, tinkering with something on her laptop. He watched her with a smile for a moment before interrupting.
"Liz? Before all... before all this, I've invited Jane and Charles for a visit. I hope you don't mind..."
She looked up at him, eyes opened wide.
"Jane, here? When?"
"Actually, it was supposed to be the 'birthday weekend', so, in a week. No, no, stop. Lizzy. Stop. No panicking. We'll manage. The cleaning crew did a perfect job, we'll just need to straighten some details on Friday. Just wanted to tell you, well, we will be having family over. Full set."
She groaned.
"I love my family, but not as a surprise! Still, next weekend should be fine. Probably. Maybe. I'll bake something..." she trailed off. "I can't really imagine what they'll do" she admitted. "I haven't talked to Jane or Mary since I came here - just sent them a few texts, and Jane never answered, until yesterday."
"What did Mary have to say?" he found himself suddenly interested.
"Mostly she asked if I'm OK, if I need her help in any way, and yesterday, if I'm sure I'm not feverish."
"That's Mary's code for 'are you sure you're not mad, to be accepting that man'?"
"More or less, yes."
"What did you answer?"
She smiled and carefully closed the laptop.
"I wrote that she can come and judge for herself. She may be coming together with Jane and Charles, actually, then."
"What about Kitty?"
She sighed.
"Kitty is not your particular fan. Until you prove yourself by committing some spectacular act of penance, she will not be really thinking very seriously about the idea of us getting back together."
He nodded with a sober face.
"Sounds reasonable, to tell the truth. I still remember her threatening me with the big kitchen fork on Jane and Charles' wedding reception. She was very much 'what are your intentions towards my sister?!' so I understand her distrust now."
"At least your sister is completely, without any doubts, for us. Not sure what we could have done if she was against us. Now, let's have some lunch with the girls and then we could maybe take a walk through the gardens? See how the cleanup went?"
"Very well" he kissed her. "You finish here, I'll go check on..."
"William?"
He pushed the door handle again and this time it stayed down.
"Ahem."
Elizabeth was at his side in a flash. She pushed the handle up and let it fall loosely.
"Which one, hm?"
"The girls were running away, so they wouldn't have had enough time. Mrs Reynolds probably laid some trap for us in the kitchen, that's more her way. By the process of elimination..." he pulled out his phone and clicked Georgie on the list. "Little sister?"
"Yeah?"
"Could you please come downstairs and tell me what you did to the library door lock?"
"But I fixed it!"
"I can see it! I can definitely see it! Can you please now fix it properly?"
####
After much-delayed lunch (and some pointed remarks towards Georgiana) their parents disappeared in the direction of the gardens and both Rose and Mina felt a little left out. Still, emptying Rose's wardrobe of summer things and moving books and desk contents to the next room kept them reasonably busy.
"How do you want to arrange it?"
"For now, we just need to dump the drawers on the desk here, strip the bed so they can move it... Maybe drag the mattress to the corridor, if we manage. You start on the bed and I'll run downstairs to Mrs R to get some storage bags for my clothes."
Taking off the dust cover and hauling the mattress outside was a challenge, but Mina clenched her teeth and pulled. Finally, after negotiating half of the room, the door and the logistics of taking a turn in the corridor while dragging an unwieldy object, she collapsed on it, right there on the floor.
"You aren't going to be sleeping here, are you?"
She looked up tiredly.
"Actually, I'm considering it. But I suppose Brian and whoever he ropes into that will carry me inside in no time at all."
Georgiana stretched next to her, looking at the ceiling.
"Maybe we should have one here like this..." she mused. "I mean, we never look at the ceilings, and there is a lot of stuff painted there. Like the little angels on the side. They are holding something, but I can't work it out."
"A bow?"
"Maybe they represent Cupid. Well, and there is this little... scene..." Georgiana trailed off. "Uh..."
"Yeah" Rose confirmed from their side. "I've found them a year ago or so, when we had that heat wave and I was trying to cool off by lying on the floor. The floor helped, but the view..."
Mina squinted, trying to understand what it was they were discussing.
"There, opposite the little angels" Rose pointed out helpfully and her sister's eyes widened.
"Are they..."
"Definitely."
"But that must be very uncomfortable."
"Probably."
"Our ancestors had filthy imaginations."
"Probably more like one of the painters - it is in the corner and not that obvious."
"Maybe we can find another one?"
Georgiana snorted and rolled off the mattress.
"On one hand, I feel that as a grownup and one of your guardians, I should in fact prevent you from seeing anything else - or even this. On the other hand" she shrugged. "Well, worse stuff had been painted and is hanging in museums all around the world. But finish the cleaning first. I'll be in my room practising, in case you feel up to some singing, Mina."
The younger girl shook her head.
"No, Mom said I should wait two more days, to make sure all the mucus is down and away from my vocal chords."
"OK. Anyway, if you need me, you know where to find me."
The rest of the cleaning and moving was performed in a remarkably short time, including bagging all the summer items and transporting them to the attic to be stored properly until May.
What the girls did next nobody actually checked, so they happily indulged in their research of the contents of ceiling decoration.
####
Monday morning found the pair in Lambton, on the school parking lot, with William suddenly squirming in his seat uncomfortably. He fidgeted. He tensed up. He made faces.
She finally had had enough.
"Alright, what is wrong with you?" she asked suspiciously. "We've been sitting here for twenty minutes, we are on a bit of a schedule and you are just... fretting. Pine needles in your pants?"
He took a deep breath, held it for a moment and let it go with a huff.
"I just feel stupid. I'm going to go in, talk to a guy I've known for the last ten years and tell him my kid – and his student – managed to pull a stunt like this, on all of us. What am I going to look like?"
She patted his hand.
"Like a father of twins, Will. Like a father of twins."
He snorted and nodded.
"Also, like a fool" he added wryly.
"Same as all of us."
####
Headmaster Farlane was charmed with Elizabeth and William sighed in relief. The big man sat there, enthralled, as Elizabeth retold the story (abridged) of two overly smart girls and a number of oblivious grownups. He brought up Rose's school records on his computer and studied them for a moment in thought.
"So..." he pursed his lips. "That last month when we had a feeling that someone had switched Rose for a new kid, she had actually been switched for a new kid."
"Which, for you, would not have been an obvious answer, because you didn't know that there was a technical possibility for it to happen... And for us, well."
"They tricked all of you, too? Everyone in their families?"
"Until they spilt the truth, yes" Elizabeth confirmed with a smile. "Mina was feverish and Rose got teased at school, so they finally told us – two days apart, actually."
"So the sick one is, in fact, Mina?"
"Right."
"But you didn't want to send Rose to school, because...?"
They looked at each other and shrugged.
"No idea, I'm afraid" Elizabeth admitted. "But I think we got a bit wrapped up in that whole... situation. And, of course, they both need time to catch up and do all the missing homework – and, of course, Rose is fixing all the mess that Mina made of her French exercises..."
"Wait, wait" he opened something on the computer. "So you say that Mina had been simulating for a month that she speaks French...?"
"And Rose was mangling up her Italian, yes."
"And now you want to... undo this? Move them back where they belong?"
William looked down at Elizabeth and saw her smiling up at him.
"Yes, we do. Which means moving both of them here. I mean, I'm moving Mina here permanently and I'm returning Rose home."
"So... Rose would be coming back, as Rose, and Mina would be coming back, as Mina, and..."
He rubbed his forehead for a moment.
"Yes" Elizabeth shrugged hopelessly. "Imagine what would have happened if we had sent Rose to school last Monday, when she was supposedly sick. And with her having spent a month in London and definitely not up to date with whatever had been happening here at school."
"I'm still not sure I believe you, mind you" the headmaster smirked. "You have to bring them in tomorrow, both of them, and we'll start on putting this to rights. We'll need to have the... the other one properly transferred here."
"Of course" Elizabeth's smile widened. "And that's why we need your help. I need this to go as smoothly as possible in the old school, and they tend to be, mildly speaking, obstinate, so I'd much rather have a full list of all we need ready, in case they aren't as helpful. I really wish to avoid keeping Mina away from school any longer, but we won't be staying in London..."
"Oh, let's say that with this current situation even if you don't manage to have everything ready immediately, it will be better if we do have both of them here tomorrow. I'm guessing – gut feeling, let's say – that Mina's old school isn't a very friendly place, so they may have reported her absence already, and so it will look better if she shows up tomorrow here, even if she isn't officially a student yet. We'll put her with Rose in the homeroom group – she had already met them, so it will be easier for both us and her. And it will be good to have them together in all possible lessons, except for, I'm guessing, French and Italian, right?"
William shot Elizabeth a look.
"That would be correct" she said. "Yes, Mina's school is more... conservative rather than approachable."
"So, you need a cheat sheet" the big man smirked.
"We need all the help you can give us" she said with a sigh. "We're driving to London today and I want to do this in one go. If we can."
####
The girls had been growing restless, but with Georgiana agreeing to oversee their day and ensure they wouldn't do anything too crazy (like hiding on the grounds in order to avoid going to school on Tuesday) they were left with an order to focus on their lessons, "bullying poster" and setting the rooms up to their comfort, after Brian and two of the estate workers had moved the furniture. Elizabeth and William left the house around eight in the morning, by nine they were finished talking to the headmaster and by one they were slowly entering the suburbs of London. The Monday noon traffic wasn't very heavy, so they parked one street over from the school in next to no time.
"Will..."
"I know, I know. We go in together, but I'll wait in the corridor" William kissed her cheek softly. "Let's have a panic keyword, maybe? You say "apple pie" and I'll be ready to tear that person's head off. What do you think?"
"I think I'll go in, deal with them in a calm and proper manner and get out in under half an hour without hitting anyone, if possible. That's my SMART objective for today. Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timed."
"You escape into analytic vocabulary when you're stressed" he patted her hand. "And into suspicious attempts at mock-professional humour."
Her glare was heavy, but her shoulders were up and tense and she was wringing her hands, just a bit. He pulled her closer and held tightly until she relaxed, just a bit.
"Now we can go."
####
"Miss Bennet."
"Mrs Carmichael" Elizabeth smiled widely. "I am transfe..."
"Mina had been absent for the last week" the woman cut her off ruthlessly. "We couldn't contact you in any way, so we were forced to contact the authorities. I'm afraid you'll be fined for that last week."
You are not afraid I'll be fined, you are quite happy.
"Well, Mina has been sick for the last week, so I suppose the fine would be cancelled, should there be any."
"We were informed on Monday by some person from your family that you had left the town on urgent business."
Elizabeth nodded calmly.
"Well, I left on Friday afternoon, and Mina became sick. I didn't know she was so very ill when I left home, but she became feverish by Friday evening and so we had to stay where we were until the whole thing was resolved. However, even the wilderness of Derbyshire has a reasonable network coverage and I've had my phone on all the time, so I'm not sure what kind of contact attempt you've made that had failed."
"I... The secretary can tell you."
"Very well. Doesn't matter, really. I need you to prepare Mina's school record, any kind of items she might have left at school, her locker contents and the complete set of transfer papers."
"What?" the woman froze, like an overloaded laptop.
"I am transferring Mina to a school closer to home. We'll be living in Derbyshire, so you can imagine that it would be impractical to keep Mina here."
"But..."
"I need these" Elizabeth pulled out the list prepared with headmaster Farlane. "The new school requires a detailed school record, current situation file and they expect Mina and the documents be presented at the school tomorrow."
"This is highly irregular!"
"It is quite regular enough for the headmaster of Mina's new school. He asked for this to be completed, so that she can go to school tomorrow. She had missed enough school days already."
"But we can't just do it ad hoc. It requires time! At least two weeks to collect everything...!"
"Very well. I'll take Mina's locker contents with me today and I'll ask headmaster Farlane to submit a request for everything else. If you are not willing to ensure that Mina can switch schools as soon as possible, very well. I have here the official request for these documents" she deftly pulled out one sheet of paper and placed it in front of the surprised woman. "Please write 'I decline the request' and today's date. If you wish to put some explanation, too, you can. This way I will have a proof that I have properly requested the speedy resolution of this problem and you have denied - so in case someone decides to report Mina as not attending, I can show this as a proof."
"As... as a proof? Of what?!"
"Of your lack of cooperation, for one. Mina is in Derbyshire and she is going to the school there, no matter what you do. I am not entirely sure what is your aim in all this, except for making my life difficult, but I'm not going to bother guessing. You will do whatever you wish. I just need either your signature and a sentence that you decline to hand me the documents today, or the documents themselves. And I will not leave until you provide me one or the other."
The other woman went a bit more into the 'puce' range of face colours.
"Fine" she spat out finally. "I will have these documents ready by four. I need the details of the school you're moving Mina to."
"Ah. Happy to. Give me a second" Elizabeth's smile was as sincere as she could make it when she opened the door to the corridor. "William? Could you please come in for a moment? Mrs Carmichael needs the contact information for the Lambton school."
She turned back to the headmistress and watched the surprise blooming on the woman's face as William joined them, kissed Elizabeth absently on the cheek and opened The Briefcase.
"Here" his deep rumble was even more into the direction of 'molten chocolate' than normally. "All the data you may need, including the contact number to the headmaster. Elizabeth, will this be everything?"
"Almost" she smiled up at him and turned to the woman behind the desk. "I need your signature, still. With a note saying that all will be prepared for four o'clock. And yes, I'm not leaving without it."
#
"So, they have notified the school authority about Mina's absence. I hope Farlane will help us to smooth it out. The problem is, even though it was Mina who was sick, the doctor has her down as Rose."
"That shouldn't be that hard to undo. Anyway, if there is something to be paid, I think we can afford this, and just pay it, to avoid some further legal problems. We really should have notified Farlane of the problem a week ago, but I'm afraid I completely forgot about it."
She sighed and leaned on his shoulder.
"Let's deal with the post office now, hm?"
####
As they were trying to park in front of the post office, William's phone buzzed.
"Jonathan" he said with a frown. "I have to take this, love."
She picked her purse and patted his shoulder.
"I think I can deal with that on my own" she assured him.
Inside the building, it turned out that the queue to the needed counter was rather imposing. She managed to fill in two redirection forms, find hers and Mina's IDs in the mess that her purse had become since the morning, find the credit card statement that was apparently needed too, read the instructions regarding proper addressing of packages and registered letters, read all the regulations posted in the next display, review the prices of posting various types of packages, check the offer of posting supplies and get terribly bored of the whole thing. Unfortunately it was required, as she didn't wish to have her mail picked up by whoever would live in the flat once she had moved - Lydia or random students. Whoever that would be, her letters would end up in her parents' hands and she had a feeling she would not be happy with that.
Actually, when I'm at it, I could maybe, just in case, set up the same for their address. This way I'd catch any correspondence from my school or whoever has my old contact information.
An equally bored lady at the counter accepted her forms, reviewed the documents of both Elizabeth and Mina, accepted the fees and informed her absently that the waiting time for the service to be activated was five days and wished her a good day.
When she approached the car, William was still on the phone. Looking worried.
She sat next to him and caught his free hand, squeezing it.
"...can't be there earlier than tomorrow. Dealing with personal stuff in London. No, we'll need at least until the evening. And in the morning I'll be busy too. See you at the office at nine. No. You can promise them I'll look into it tomorrow. No earlier. They will survive."
He groaned, clicking the End Call button.
"What was that about?" she asked quietly.
"That was about someone raising a petition to the local historical society to review the work being done on one of the properties - the same as we're doing in Pemberley, actually, building the new house just outside the part registered as historically significant. Apparently someone decided that the way it is set up makes the new building visible from the gardens and so affects the historical feel of the place. There is a hill and a copse of poplars between the building site and the last part of the gardens, but still, someone had gotten a few members of the society to 'arm' themselves and block the road which the deliveries are using. Jonathan is negotiating with them, but they are rather stubborn and wish to speak to me."
"Maybe we should go..."
"No, no. This is something that Jonathan should have informed Stacy about, and she should put my lawyers on, without calling me when I'm off for the first time in I don't know how long. But apparently he just can't bring himself to call her and so bothers me, because he is used to the fact that I'm always available."
She drew closer to him and buried her face in his shoulder.
"So, what now?"
"Told him to either call Stacy or wait for me until tomorrow. He needs to understand that I will need time with my family."
She felt a rather delicious shiver down her spine at the pronouncement.
"Anyway. Done here?"
"Yeah. We just need to do some stationery shopping, because I suppose they will both need a lot of new notebooks, writing paper and whatever else we can think of. October will be a very heavy month for them, so let's try to make it as painless as possible, from the purely organisational point of view."
"Just tell me where to go" he prepared his navigation app.
She tapped her lips for a moment and then shrugged.
"213 Tottenham Court Road. We'll have to bring them both there once they are done with the heaviest stuff at school, or they will never forgive me for going there by myself."
"What kind of a shop is this?"
She smiled and shook her head.
"You'll see."
"Just remember, we have to be at your flat before five."
"Don't worry. It's not like it's a hobby supply store. No yarn there, last that I've checked. We'll manage this, another shop and the school before we have to be there."
####
Shopping done, they made a detour to the school, where an unexpectedly meek secretary handed them the thick folder of Mina's documents and the backup key to her locker. Twenty minutes later they were on their way, a bulging bag of school supplies placed next to totes full Paperchase and M&S goods
They arrived just as the van was pulling up in front of her building.
#
After a short argument on Sunday evening - followed by a "disgusting amount of kissing", as Rose described it - William had hired a small team of movers who were not only to transport everything from London to Pemberley, but would also pack, secure, wrap, label and carry everything, leaving Lizzy's old flat empty of all hers and Mina's things. The only thing she was planning to pack personally was her lingerie drawer, leaving all heavier lifting to the very efficient trio of muscled young men.
In an hour, the plates were bubble wrapped, the computer and other house electronics disconnected and boxed and the fridge emptied, everything going to the bin or to the car cooler. The last object to be carried out was the electric piano, already carefully nestled in its large protective bag and awaiting its turn.
By six, most of Elizabeth's and Mina's things had managed to already fill the entrance hall, stacked in neat boxes, bags and roll-up tubes and the lift was already carrying the first batch downstairs to the car.
It had all been going relatively smoothly, until it came to dealing with Mina's possessions and one of the movers had asked whether they should also be removing some of the decorations that were hanging there. She stepped into the tiny room, all set up with Mina's favourite colours and toys, all full of the handmade and hand-painted ornaments and felt her eyes well up.
"Miss? Uh, miss, everything OK? Mr Darcy?!"
And there was William, just as she started to turn away blindly, holding her up, holding her close, murmuring something nonsensical into her ear.
"Go finish the kitchen first" he ordered the man and steered her towards Mina's bed. "What is it, love? What happened?"
She shrugged and tried to find the right words, but managed only to gesture o their surroundings.
"This is Mina's room, right? Ah..." he trailed off. "Oh, love. I know. I know. Oh, you've been so brave, so stoic, only showing us the grownup, self-sufficient Lizzy who won't cry over some stupid pieces she so painstakingly sewed, crocheted, glued and knitted together, right? We weren't supposed to know how badly you've been hurt?"
She managed to nod, pressing herself bodily into his side.
"You didn't want us to know how much aunt Catherine had managed to wound you by destroying all these things you had made. You didn't want to add to the girls' distress, because they were already angry for us all. But you don't have to, Liz. You don't have to hold it all inside. Yes, my aunt is a madwoman with no appreciation for what is actually beautiful, and she is crazy to have burned all of these things. And you, you... you stubborn, self-reliant woman, you can let others see you have personal feelings, too, you know. You are allowed to care."
"But..." she hiccoughed. "It's silly. It's just... just things. And it's not like they were particularly useful! Just... just stuff. Decorations. I..."
"You've spent your time on them, you planned, you bought supplies and tools, you invested, you sacrificed some other activities for them. You are allowed to be angry, sad and disappointed. This is not silly, this is human."
"But... but it's just... It's not like it's real art or something. It's just stupid handmade. Not worth anything really. I wasted time on it instead of doing more useful things."
She felt his arm tighten around her shoulders.
"Lizzy, listen to me" he pushed her chin up, making her face him. "Would the other things have made you happier?"
She shrugged, just a bit.
"Would the other things made Mina happier?"
She shook her head.
"Would you have been happier had you done them? Or they would have just made someone else happier with you?"
She sighed.
"The second option" she admitted finally.
"So, you did this, you made all these things - for Mina and for Rose - and making them made you happy, and having them made Mina happy - and Rose would have been happy with hers, too. And if you did the serious, important things that you never did, who would have been happier?"
She pressed her face into his shoulder.
"My father" she admitted finally. "He hates me doing anything girly. I even tried to 'sell' knitting and crochet to him as an exercise in design and engineering, but he just looked at my calculations and said that I shouldn't be using computers for something that stupid and pedestrian. Considering kids are mostly using computing power to play candy-matching games and probably half of the world's computers actually use their resources to host porn, I think using Excel to calculate the weight of yarn needed is a much better use of said resources. But he only said something about Margaret Hamilton and then ignored my explanations for the rest of the evening."
She felt him pulling her in closer and found herself shaking with repressed tears.
"Now, now" he rubbed her back. "You can. You should. Come on. You've been holding this in for a week. I know it's just stupid things. If it was something I bought, I would have been miffed - I was, actually. She did burn a few items that won't be easy to replace. But you never showed anything above slight annoyance with the inconvenience. You can. You are allowed to love what you do, Lizzy. You shouldn't be ashamed of that."
She cried, just a little. Finally.
####
"It's weird" she said softly as William stepped in behind her, having sent the movers off to Pemberley. "It's so... inappropriately empty."
"You've been living here for what, twelve years?" he pressed his face into the crook of her neck. "No wonder it feels strange. But..."
"It's a relief" she murmured. "I can finally... leave it. I couldn't, you see. Once I was here, it was just another cage - albeit one of a different character. I was dependent on my parents and..." she shrugged. "I'm not sure. I needed to have a secure place for Mina. Father needed to make sure I'm close to them, so he let me have one of the flats he used to rent to students. It was much better than having to stay with them all the time..."
"But now..." he gathered her closer to him.
"Now I know better" she said simply, sighing. "It wasn't your fault, Will. Or mine. Or anyone's in specific. Or it was both of us. We were too young and much, much too stubborn."
"I was older, and more stubborn" he kissed her hair. "I thought I was taking care of you, and I..."
"You did. I just didn't know how to tell you that you're overdoing it in the wrong direction."
"Hmm..."
"Elizabeth!"
They both stiffened at the elderly, slightly trembling voice echoing in the empty flat.
"Dad" she sighed. "I told you I would drop the keys off at the house later today."
"And I decided I would come here to check if you're really doing this" he answered coldly. "You."
"Me" William felt the urge to slip his hand around Elizabeth's hip and drag her bodily outside and to the car.
"I don't understand what she sees in you. Especially after all that time. You are... what, a businessman? A landowner? No respect for proper education, I suppose. I could see it, at the time. You didn't care much for her studies, did you? Too smart for your tastes, I know. What were you thinking, getting my precious girl pregnant? You've broken her academic career!"
"Father!"
William looked down at her, facing against the grey-haired, bespectacled man in a plaid button-down and sweater vest. He had never had occasion to interact with Mr Bennet much, apart from some small exchange of inane remarks during a dinner or two - around the time of Jane and Charles' wedding - but the man never seemed vicious to him. Not until now.
"Well, that's what he did! You can't say he didn't, it's all his fault! If not for him, you could have had the earliest PhD in software engineering in the country! You were special. He made you... ordinary."
"Dad!"
William had never heard Elizabeth's voice that broken. He made two steps, standing now between her and her father, plucked the keys she was still holding and put them carefully down on the table in the tiny room.
"Here, Mr Bennet. The keys. The flat is empty" he said, not turning to the man or giving him even a look. "Lizzy, take your purse and let's go. The girls are waiting for us."
She stood there, shaking, her eyes squeezed tight, tears leaking onto both cheeks. He could already predict an incoming headache of biblical proportions, just by looking at the way her face tensed up right now. They simply had to leave. Before her father said another stupid thing or William did something inexcusable. Like hitting the old man. Elizabeth wouldn't approve.
"Lizzy? Love?"
She nodded slowly and breathed in the calm-down pattern he had learnt to recognise.
"Elizabeth, please reconsider. You don't have to move out there - you two can move in with us, if you don't want to stay here. Or you can send Mina to him, and stay in London yourself...!"
In through your nose, out through your mouth, Lizzy.
"Please, stop, Papa" she said calmly, still looking at the floor. "Have you ever considered how much you are hurting everyone around you by saying things like this? How much your second-eldest grandchild suffers when you repeat on and on the story about me being the prodigy and her being the only obstacle on my way to the temples of science? How much time I spent convincing her to the opposite? How much it humiliates Jane when you repeat that nobody in that family has an actual proper degree except for you and me - when Jane has a double Master's degree in child psychology and physiotherapy? I know, this is not proper science. According to you, that is. The same way that Mary's PhD in history is not a proper PhD - and you even weren't there for her when she presented it. I was. You, doing all this, is hurting everyone around you. I don't want to hear it ever again. You and Mama, and my sisters are all welcome for Christmas in Pemberley" she glanced at William for a second. "But whoever can't keep a civil tongue in their mouth will be taking their meals in their room."
Her shoulders slumped and William finally pulled her closer to his body, calming her shivering with his warm hands, running them down her back and up, cupping her head.
"You..."
"Stop, please" he said, at last, surprising the older man with his commanding tone. "Elizabeth is tired and we still have some driving to do. Goodbye, Mr Bennet. See you on the twenty-fourth."
"You will keep me from my daughter then? You would isolate her from her family, from her loved ones?"
He closed his eyes just for a moment and shook his head.
"No, Mr Bennet. But if she wishes to be left in peace, I will do everything I can to ensure it. Lizzy, let's take the photos of the meters, in case you want to balance the power bill and the water later, and I think we should go. I promised the girls we'll pick up some shopping for them. Rose managed to use up the remnants of that shampoo you bought for her and I can't remember what the brand was."
She nodded, forehead against his shoulder.
"Dad, we have to go. If you want to talk, you can call me, but don't expect us to visit anytime soon. We will be rather busy in the next two months."
"It will be the first actual Christmas season in Pemberley in thirty-something years, so it requires a lot of preparation" William explained curtly. "And the girls need some time to catch up with their schoolwork after that September. And we both have some projects to finalise with rather heavy deadlines, so our first free weekend is...?"
She counted quickly.
"A week after Halloween. And that's only if my part doesn't require reworks once these incompetents add their modules."
He pressed a soft kiss on her forehead.
"If it does, then I'll stay home to help the girls with their lessons. They have to finally correct these abysmal grades, but they don't need your constant supervision, I can hopefully deal with most of it... They didn't manage to mess up Physics, after all."
She smiled up at him, pulled his sleeve and turned towards the door, but before they stepped outside, she stopped and squared her shoulders.
"Papa, I could have never finished my PhD in London, you know. No matter what - children or no children. There is no school that would accept me here."
"Lizzy? What are you talking about? Why wouldn't... Of course they would!"
"I tried, Papa. I applied to every PhD programme in the city. Nobody wanted anything to do with me. Or, rather, Papa - with you. I am a liability to any university that would accept me. They are afraid of you, and so would much rather not accept me at all than risk having you breathing down their necks. It wasn't Mina and Rose - or William - who stopped me from having a career in academia. It was you."
####
The car was quiet and dark as they sat in the parking lot. William pulled a bottle of water from the cooler and handed it to her silently. She popped a tablet from the leaf and washed it down with cool liquid, then sank down in the soft seat.
Thank goodness for his reticence. He won't ask until I tell him.
She felt his warm hand cautiously stroking her cheek and leaned into it.
"Which shop was it?" he asked finally.
"Lush. Straight here, then left. You will see it in a few minutes."
The city around them seemed unreal after the week in the country, isolated from other people.
"He worries about you" William said at last.
"If he just worried, it would have been commendable" she sighed. "But he killed my chances with the way he expressed his worry. He sent e-mails to people who could have been my professors, my future employers, my advisors. He threatened them - academically, of course - with the kind of loss the field would suffer should they ignore my approach to the subject. In short, I was made into that kid in the kindergarten who won't tell the teacher that she can't tie her laces, so her mother has to do it instead."
"That's... a bit of overdone, isn't it?"
"Let's put it like this: I'm quite sure there is some school somewhere in the country that could possibly accept me if they don't google my name or send an e-mail with a question about me to anyone. Basically, they'd have to be still using punch cards. Or maybe big magnetic tapes, like the ones in movies. Because if they have any inkling regarding the existence of Internet and can type, they will learn about me in ten minutes from sending their first e-mail."
"What did you want to write your PhD about?" he asked softly, not looking away from the street. "Was it something theoretical? Something practical? Something that I could potentially understand?"
She giggled, then moaned as her temples were shot with pain.
"I wanted to better explain the phenomenon of free software distribution. I wanted to make it a revolutionary project - a combination of sociology, software engineering and software project management. To depict the international effort of thousands of contributors who are working on free, open and high-quality software in a 'bazaar' model. I wanted to give it the social context, make it the commentary on modern times through the eyes of groups of united introverts working for the common goal."
He blinked.
"Sounds complex."
"Guess why nobody wanted to pick it up as an advisor - even if they weren't scared to death of my father" she sniffed. "I stopped trying after six different departments asked 'would you like to change the subject of your thesis' as the very first question. These were the ones that at least invited me to an interview. Here, this shop. Can you park somewhere nearby?"
"Not much parking space around here. How can you shop in the area?" he finally rounded a corner and found a spot big enough to accommodate 'the tank' as Elizabeth called it.
"I walk, Will" she leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Be right back."
"What? No, I'm coming with you. No way. I have to know what the kids are using nowadays in big cities. Rose swore by that shampoo and said she won't touch the stuff I used to buy her in Lambton."
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.
"OK. Come on then, it closes in twenty. And I usually spend at least half an hour there."
####
He watched her profile as they waited on the red light. She sat there, breathing slowly and carefully, eyes closed - not tightly shut, just closed - lashes throwing trembling shadows on her cheeks.
She took a long, steady inhale and shivered, just a bit.
"Darcy" she said finally.
The silence was broken by engines around them starting again and he focused on the street in front of him. Evening traffic out of London was not that challenging in their direction, but he knew better than to take his eyes off the road.
"Darcy?" he asked, frowning and adding a slight 'please explain' inflexion.
"Darcy. Not Bennet-Darcy. Just Darcy. Unless the girls want both names. But I just want one."
Comprehension made his heart constrict in both sweet and painful way.
"Are you sure?"
Out of the corner of his eye he saw her shrug and nod.
"I think it's time I made some wiser choices than I used to" she said softly. "And I choose you, William. And now, having..." she paused. "I really think it will be the best decision I ever made."
####
#
From: tbennet .uk
To: ladyeliza
Subject: ...
I'm sorry, Elizabeth.
I didn't believe in what you said, at first.
I've checked with some of my colleagues and, as they made careful enquiries, it seems that the outcome of my e-mails is exactly as you described. I am most profoundly sorry for the effect of my actions, but not for the actions themselves. They were the acts of a father who loves his daughter and wants only the best for her. You can't fault me for trying my best to ensure your place in the world of science.
Yes, I can see that the method I applied might have been excessive. I should have avoided some of the harsher words I used in regards to people who had rejected your candidacy for the doctoral studies. I stand by my sentiment, however.
I hope you can see it my way one day
Your father
####
The morning was rather sober as both girls sat there, picking away at their toast and looking disinterestedly at tall glasses of chocolate milk. Elizabeth watched both of them and sighed with compassion.
"Come on" she said finally. "You have to do it at some point. The longer we wait, the weirder it will be. The offer to put you in different schools still stands..."
"Mom" Rose looked up at her with a scowl. "Stop it. We're going. Just..."
"Just trying to think how to explain it all."
Elizabeth smiled at them both.
"First, eat and drink. Whatever happens, you will need the calories to let you survive the day. Mrs Reynolds is preparing your lunch boxes, but I've been removed from the kitchen, so I have no idea what they are going to contain. However you still need a proper breakfast, because you will be having a very challenging morning."
"You have no idea" Mina mumbled into her milk and stiffened as Rose nudged her in the ribs.
Elizabeth watched them with narrowed eyes as they suddenly became very interested in their toast.
"What do you mean?"
Rose sighed.
"She means Teddy, Mom."
Mina blushed. Hotly.
"Tedd... ah, that boy? What ab... Oh."
She sipped her tea for a moment.
"I see" she said finally.
"What are you three talking about?" William's hands went immediately to her shoulders and she leaned back into his touch.
"Mina's in love" Rose mumbled.
"ROSE!"
"Fascinating" William said slowly, kneading a small knot on her shoulders. "Should I fetch my shotgun?"
"Dad! No, really, I mean, all of you, stop it!"
"OK, OK. Just saying. Really. Strickland."
"Ah. So had young Teddy grown up since last year's antics around Christmas, or is he still a staunch representative of British young macho culture that can totally do without the stinky girls, thank you very much?"
"From what Mina says, he stopped being afraid of girl cooties sometime over the summer."
"Roooooooseeeee..."
"Stop tormenting your sister, Rose. Drink your cocoa and go brush your teeth. We're leaving in fifteen minutes."
####
"Do you really need to walk us to the class?"
"Would you rather be thrown to the wolves by yourselves?" Elizabeth poked Mina's shoulder. "I want to see the class you'll be spending your next year with, kitten."
"But, Mom..."
"Rose, you know that we need to discuss your next steps with your form tutor. The headmaster had told her yesterday and she will have first suggestions on how you can try to fix all that went wrong during the last month - and catch up with the others after that last week, too - but we need to know what she has planned. And headmaster Farlane asked us to show up with you two in his office, because he only half believes in the story I told him yesterday. Now, come on."
The small group walked along the corridors, up to the office, the morning crowd parting in front of them like ice-floe in front of an icebreaker and closing behind them with a wave of whispers.
Headmaster Farlane was waiting for them with a slight smirk and a twinkle in his eye.
"So there are actually two of them. I was almost sure you'd be showing up today with one of them and trying to pull my leg some more. But, well, now I have to believe, don't I? Now, young ladies, which one of you is which? Which one I've known since she was four and which one gave Ray that epic shiner?"
Rose smiled.
"I'm the local one" she said shortly. "She is the one who hits."
"Ah, I see. Very well. I think we'll have to tag the two of you somehow, to avoid confusion. Or, should I say, further confusion."
"We'll think of something" Mina offered. "I mean, it's not like we can wear our hair very differently..."
"Just make sure it stays within the limits of the school uniform regulations, please. Well" he checked his watch. "Should we go? The first period starts in three minutes."
####
The class was very, very quiet.
The headmaster was actually relieved.
The school psychologist was salivating, because separated twins were once-in-a-lifetime occasion to check the "nature vs nurture" idea.
Rose and Mina were anxious.
"So there are two of you, actually?" Tatiana asked finally.
"Yep" they confirmed unison.
"That's good" she relaxed in her desk. "I thought Rose got brain damage during the hols when she came back and got lost on her way to the gym."
Mina blushed furiously.
"Well, I got lost in the local Sainsbury, on the underground and I couldn't find the loo at my grandma's" Rose shrugged. "We had only six weeks to cram everything into each other's heads, so..."
"As long as we know it wasn't an overdose of sun that fried some of your neurons, I'm good" Monica bumped Tatiana's shoulder. "It was kind of scary to watch you, for a time."
"Now, there is just that one question..." Sylvie sat on her desk, crossing her legs and leaning towards them. "What are your actual names?"
"This is Rose" Tatiana pointed out easily. "Which means, Rosalinde Darcy."
"Yep" Rose grinned.
"And...?"
"Wilhelmina Darcy. The first person who tries to use that name other than for roll-call will learn why I was in detention three times last year."
"She hits" Rose clarified.
"We know" Tatiana smirked. "They will have to adjust the records now, I suppose."
"We'll spend the next month trying to get that crap straightened out" Mina supplied. "Now, where do we sit? Because we can't keep using the same desk."
"And I really want you two to sit separately, at least in my class" Ms Williams clapped to bring some semblance of order to the room. "Mina, you take the desk you were using. Rose, you sit next to Tatiana. Other classes, obviously, up to the relevant teacher. I need you two here, after your classes are done, to take the standardisation tests, because at this point nobody knows what to do with you. Also, Mina will have to decide whether she takes beginner's French or advanced Italian. And you both will spend October on correcting all your grades - everything from the beginning of the school year."
A group groan of sympathy from the class accompanied them to their places and Mina sat down heavily.
It will be a loooong month. And I haven't even had a chance to talk to Teddy yet.
####
Two younger boys were discussing the hot school topic excitedly by their lockers as he walked by. He knew that there had been something weird going on, but between classes, rugby practice and worrying about the contest - he would staunchly claim he was most certainly not worried about his main competitor, most definitely, absolutely, no - he didn't have time to pay attention to whatever made everyone behave like loonies.
"...identical. My sister has History with them and she says this is freaky."
"As if one Darcy was not enough. Wonder where they were hiding the other one."
He stopped, sat down next to his bag and waited with bated breath, hidden from them by a wall of lockers.
"It's even better. Bella says they switched places over the holidays and the one who was here was the one from London, and the one who is from here, spent September in London."
"I wish I could spend a month in London... Imagine, all the important games and stuff."
"You don't have a lost twin brother to switch with, so stop dreaming."
A lost twin... switch?
He stood up, wishing he could walk out of there, but then sat back on the bench heavily.
Dammit.
####
So, any thoughts? About the adults? The girls? Teddy?
Edit: For helpful visualisation, my cast for the main characters:Elizabeth - Teryl Rothery (if anyone watched Stargate, that's Janet)
Georgiana - Jaime Murray (ok, she is 40+ right now, I know, but she fits somehow)
William - actuallyyy... I was thinking along the lines of Hugh Jackman ;)
And for less central ones:
Richard (he will show up, no worries) - I'd go for John Barrowman here. As in "Captain Jack Harkness". Hint hint.
Teddy - I found the perfect face and voice. Emmet Cahill (10 years ago). I know, Teddy sings baritone and Emmet is a tenor. I know. Should have made Teddy a tenor ;P Search on youtube for "celtic thunder" and "star of the county down", Emmet is the last one to sing