Author's Note: Chapter 2 was split into two parts and added to. Please go back and read Chapter 2 - not much in this one has changed.


Chapter 3

Nearly a week after the evening at Lucas Lodge, Darcy received a letter addressed to him at Pemberley from an old friend of his father's. The letter had been written several weeks earlier but only arrived now because it was forwarded from Pemberley. His steward had decided it appeared important, or perhaps personal, and felt he needed it sooner.

Darcy,

When your father passed away, you took over as the trustee for a Miss Elizabeth Tomlinson. Your role has primarily been to maintain the accounts and the estate, which, according to reports you regularly send me, have done exceedingly well. As Miss Tomlinson has recently turned 20 and will come into her inheritance at the age of 21, I think it is time we begin to acquaint her with her heritage. Each year, I receive a letter from her guardian telling me about her, and according to him, she has become quite an intelligent lady who will be well prepared to handle her inheritance when she comes of age. I would ask that you travel to Hertfordshire soon to make her acquaintance and determine what you think of her ability to handle the estate she will inherit next August.

Darcy nearly dropped the letter when he read that the lady was in Hertfordshire. The only Elizabeth he had met was Miss Elizabeth Bennet, and he recalled that she was 20 and her birthday was in August. However, she was known as the second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, and her surname was Bennet, not Tomlinson.

I feel it is somewhat strange, but her guardian, an uncle, informs me that she is entirely unaware of her inheritance as she has been raised as a daughter of the house. From the yearly letters, I have begun to wonder precisely how truthful her guardians have been, but other than sending the stipend each year for her care and receiving the yearly updates from her guardian, I have had little to do with her upbringing. I have begun to wonder if that was a mistake, which is why I am asking you to find out what you can about her without her knowledge, although you have my leave to acquaint her with whatever you think she ought to know, in whatever manner necessary.

The only thing you cannot do is remove her from her guardian—I have never understood why, but her grandfather desired that she stay with her uncle's family until she comes of age. The only reason she may leave that family early is if she marries, and she must consent to the marriage, as well as her guardian and both of her trustees. It is an odd arrangement, to be sure, but her grandfather did not want her to be forced into marriage by anyone. Also, in her marriage settlements, it is stated that the property and wealth she brings into her marriage must remain with her, and this provision remains in place even after she comes of age. The approval of her trustees must be given even after her twenty-first birthday for her inheritance to be released, and it is to remain her property and not that of her husband.

Keep me apprised of anything you learn about Miss Tomlinson, and let me know if you think my aid will be of assistance. I know little of this family– her grandparents were my friends and were truly good people, but they knew little of the uncle and less of the aunt, and much time has passed since then. I have been too lax in carrying out my part of the trusteeship; I have relied too heavily on her uncle's words and done too little to ensure what he says is true. I am writing this letter because I have recently made a new acquaintance—a Mr. Edward Gardiner of Gracechurch Street. Yes, he is a tradesman, but a rather brilliant one, who also happens to be her aunt's brother. How he describes the family—except for Elizabeth—is frightening. Making Gardiner's acquaintance has caused me to doubt the veracity of what her uncle has said about what all he had done for Miss Tomlinson over the last decade or so, and I find I am very concerned.

Sincerely,

T. Elliott

The letter confirmed what Darcy had thought when he had first begun to read—Miss Elizabeth Bennet was not, in fact, a Bennet, but instead was Miss Elizabeth Tomlinson, a very wealthy woman, or would be at her next birthday. Not only that, but she would soon come into the possession of a rather large estate on the border between Derbyshire and Staffordshire, which he frequently visited as he oversaw its operations. Suddenly, he realised why he had always felt that Miss Elizabeth was so familiar to him—she was the picture of her grandmother as a young woman. He had often viewed that portrait at the estate when he visited, as her likeness was prominently displayed above the fireplace in the study. She also bore a remarkable similarity to several other portraits in the gallery, which was likely why she did not resemble many of those in the family where she resided.

Since their first encounter at the assembly, Darcy had been battling with an attraction to Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Her family was beyond understanding, and this information he was learning made the situation far more difficult to understand. He wondered if Mr. Bennet was to be trusted as he had often noticed that Elizabeth's clothes were somewhat less expensive and of lower quality than her elder sister's gowns. He had not observed the other sisters as frequently, but even he had noted some disparity between what the two eldest wore. If the family was receiving a stipend for Miss Elizabeth's care, it obviously was not being utilised to ensure her care.

After some significant contemplation, he wrote a letter to the other trustee informing him of what he knew about their charge and expressed his concerns about what he had seen. Since he had already met the lady before learning her identity through this letter, he had learned a great deal about both her and her family, and he agreed with the other trustee's opinion – the Bennet family's treatment of the child who was under their guardianship was hardly what it should have been.


Darcy deliberately sought Miss Elizabeth's company at Oakham Mount the following morning. When she arrived, he was waiting for her, having dismounted and tied his horse at the base of the path.

"Miss Elizabeth," he called as she approached where he stood. "I received a rather odd letter yesterday and sought you to ask for some assistance."

"Of course, sir, I would be glad to help," she replied cheerfully. "What can I do for you?"

"This is perhaps an improper request, but I am wondering if there is a place we could go and speak where we would not be observed?" he asked.

"Mr. Darcy," she cried. "Are you certain of what you are asking?"

"I am," he said. "I have something rather serious to speak of, and it may take some time to discuss it fully. I would prefer that no one spot us as we talk."

Elizabeth stared at him for a moment, but something in his eyes persuaded her that he meant her no harm with this request. She slowly nodded her agreement and led him down the path and toward a small grove of trees that would shield them from scrutiny. Over the fortnight of their acquaintance, they had met many times as she walked, and so far, he had not posed any threat to her, so she felt confident in her decision to trust him. In fact, she rather admired him but knew that he was far above her in status and was unlikely to desire more than a friendship with her.

They were both quiet as they walked, and once they settled in the grove, he remained silent for several long moments. "Mr Darcy, I cannot stay out all morning and will need to return before too much longer. Please say what you need to say," she scolded lightly.

"I apologise, Miss Elizabeth; I am trying to decide the best way to approach this topic without offending," he replied. "Please forgive me in advance; I do not mean to offend you with my questions, but I have a habit of saying things in a way that may sometimes be misunderstood."

Elizabeth once again eyed him warily. "I will try not to be offended and ask for clarification if you word something in such a way that it offends," she agreed.

"Since my father passed away five years ago, I have managed an estate as a trustee for a young lady who had not yet reached her majority. My responsibility, and my father's before mine, was to ensure the estate was operating as it should and to manage investments on her behalf," he began. "I have had no actual responsibility for the young lady in question and was not even fully aware of her identity, as under the trusteeship, my role was ensuring her estate ran well and her investments stayed profitable. Another trustee was responsible – to a point – for her welfare, although, ultimately, her guardian was responsible for her daily care. This trustee, a friend of my father's, receives an annual letter from this guardian about her welfare and updates him on her progress and accomplishments and the like," he explained and then stood looking at Elizabeth to see if she reacted to this news.

Elizabeth nodded at this explanation. "This is an interesting story, Mr. Darcy, but what can I help you with?" she wondered.

"This other trustee has tasked me to learn what I can about this young woman because he believes her guardian is no longer being truthful with him about the young lady and her care. The young lady lives in her uncle's home, her guardian, and is unaware of her situation, believing herself to be the family's daughter. The family receives a quarterly stipend for her care, although when she comes of age next year, that stipend will stop, as she will come into her inheritance at that point. This inheritance includes an estate near my own and a rather large sum of money invested on her behalf," he stopped there for a second before speaking again, somewhat self-consciously. "In the last five years, I have been rather successful with investments, and I have done well with hers, increasing the amount significantly. According to the terms of her grandfather's will, it will all remain with her, even after her marriage, as it is clearly outlined that her marriage settlements must state all she brings into the marriage will remain hers."

He stopped and drew a deep breath. "What I want to ask you is, when I acquaint her with this, what is the best way to go about it? If the other trustee is correct, her guardian has been misleading him about how the money has been spent on her behalf. He wants me to find out how she is being treated by the family who is caring for her; for example, are other family members receiving higher quality items, such as clothing and the like, while she might be seen wearing hand-me-downs or gowns that are lesser in quality than her sisters. How do her family members treat her—those she believes are siblings and those she believes are her parents? Her guardian claims she is well educated, although he has had her educated at home with a governess, and she has been trained in estate management. He also praises her intelligence and quickness and claims that she is the one in her family who makes an effort to visit tenants and care for their neighbours as needed. How can I confirm these claims without offending, especially as the young lady in question is unaware that she is a ward of her uncle? Does the woman she believes is her mother favours her other children while disparaging her? Is she a valued family member or someone who is barely tolerated?"

Elizabeth gasped lightly, recognising that many of these things he said described her treatment within her home. "Mr. Darcy," she said quietly, "may I ask why you are telling me all this? It feels like your purpose is something other than what you have stated."

"I had already determined that you are clever, Miss Elizabeth, so your uncle was not mistaken in this description of you," he said softly, causing her to gasp lightly at the implication. "I believe, given what Mr. Elliott has said, that you are the girl we have been discussing. He did not mention the guardian's surname, other than mentioning the name of an uncle in London who has recently met. Knowing what I know about his occasional absent-mindedness, he assumed I knew the name already or simply forgot to mention it. I have already responded to him to request more information – including the surname of the family who is raising her. Assuming you are the lady we discussed, I mentioned your name and my observations of the family so far.

"It was in that meeting with the uncle that made Mr Elliott begin to wonder if this girl's guardian has been completely honest with him over the years, and if you are indeed who we are discussing, it appears to me as though he has good reason to question the veracity of the letters. According to the letters her guardian writes annually, his ward was given a governess for many years to assist with her education and has been regularly exposed to London society, visiting the theatre and the opera, along with the museums and other cultural attractions of that city. She has also been provided with masters to teach her languages and music. While she was not brought out in London, she is fully prepared to take her place in society when the time comes.

"However, if you are, in fact, Miss Tomlinson and not Miss Elizabeth Bennet, I would dare to guess that much of what has been written is untrue. Am I right to suppose that your sisters, especially your elder sister, receive higher quality gowns and other items than you do? I have yet to meet your father, but is it safe to assume that your parents spend more on your other sisters, particularly your elder sister, than on you? The guardians of the girl I am speaking of receive three hundred pounds each quarter to provide for their ward."

Elizabeth gasped at this amount as she had often seen an entry in the account books for this amount each quarter day. Her father had never told her where it came from when she questioned, but she knew that the estate would not be nearly as profitable as it was without those funds. The estate had at one point brought in more than two thousand pounds per annum, but lately, due to her father's indolence, it was bringing in less than fifteen hundred. Elizabeth had begun taking steps to recover that lost amount but had been unsuccessful due to her father's unwillingness to try many of these.

Lately, she had managed to achieve some success with changing the rotation of the crops, but that had required little effort from Mr Bennet. The additional twelve hundred a year from that unexplained source paid for her father's books, much of Mrs Bennet's finery, and what Jane and Lydia received from their mother. Elizabeth received the same allowance as all her other sisters—fifty pounds per year—but Mrs Bennet's generosity did not often supplement what Elizabeth received. Mary and Kitty were similarly overlooked, though Elizabeth was given the least. She had always wondered about this and, knowing Mrs Bennet's shallow nature, assumed it was because she took after her father rather than her mother in appearance, as did the other girls.

Mr. Darcy was not finished with the story. He watched the emotions play across Elizabeth's face for a moment, and he saw the moment she seemed to realise the truth of all this. Sadness, anger, and resignation all warred within her face. Finally, he saw her nod as though she had come to some kind of resolution, and then she looked up at him again, and he continued. "Since meeting you, I have observed an obvious difference between your clothing and that of your elder sister. You are everything lovely, Miss Elizabeth, but Miss Bingley has commented upon it several times. I have noticed that Miss Bennet's gowns utilise higher quality materials than yours and that Mrs Bennet is also attired in higher quality fabrics. There is also the matter of how Mrs Bennet speaks of you in public. I have not visited your home, but I wonder if you also receive that same treatment at home. I have scarcely heard her say anything positive of you, and most often, she has disparaged you to the company if she acknowledges you at all. Mr. Bennet has not attended any of the events where I have met with you, so I cannot be certain how he treats you within your family, but his lack of attendance indicates a lack of concern about the well-being of the family as a whole. I am sorry if this offends you, but it is what I have observed."

Elizabeth hung her head. "You are not wrong, Mr. Darcy," she whispered. "I have often noted the difference in how I have been treated and have often wondered at its cause but never understood it. Jane receives new dresses often, as does Lydia, but I typically am given Jane's dresses to make over. When I receive new dresses, I am always directed to the cheaper fabrics and embellishments." She paused and took a deep breath. "Ultimately, what does this all mean, Mr. Darcy? Regardless of all of this, I am still his ward until I reach my majority."

He nodded. "The only way you can leave here before your majority is by marriage, and your marriage must be approved by both trustees and your guardian," he told her. "I am not certain what Mr Bennet will say when he finds out that I am one of the trustees of your estate, and for the moment, I feel it is best to say nothing until I hear from Mr Elliot. You still have nearly a year before you come of age, and I am uncertain that Mr Bennet would approve your marriage under any circumstances …"

He stopped at her laugh. "Mr. Darcy, I hardly think that marriage is even an option to consider at this moment. The boys I have grown up with are now men, but they cannot fathom marriage to the woman who used to climb trees and play with them. I cannot imagine marrying any of them."

"But you have failed to consider the newcomers to the area, Miss Elizabeth," he said earnestly, looking her directly in the eye. "Since we began meeting at Oakham Mount, I have been wondering how exactly to go about courting you. Based on what I had observed and … a feeling I had, I believed that the Bennets would not have welcomed my request. I am not certain what made me feel this way, and that feeling has caused me to wait and not mention anything before now. However, after receiving the letter and learning more about what I believe your situation to be, I have wondered if there was a way to force Mr Bennet to act in your best interests, and in so doing, it would allow us to court more openly to see if we would suit."

"Mr. Darcy," Elizabeth asked haltingly. "It is my turn to ask a question that could be offensive, but please understand that I must ask my question before I can answer yours. Although, it occurs to me that you have not actually asked a question, and I may be asking too much …" she trailed off, realising that while he had mentioned courting her, he had not made the request.

He laughed. "I intend to make the request, Miss Elizabeth, but please, ask your question so we can discuss it openly before anything else can be said."

"It is just that, well, you mentioned wanting to court me, and if I am this Miss Tomlinson, did you want to court me as Elizabeth Bennet, for the girl I was before you received this letter, or do you only want to court me now because you believe me to be an heiress who will receive an estate and some unspecified amount of money in less than a year?" she said in a rush.

Again, he chuckled, a low, rich sound she found she adored. "Miss Elizabeth, I have wanted to court you for nearly the entirety of our acquaintance. Since that first night when you exhibited sincere kindness, you have intrigued me, and I have enjoyed our meetings and discussions at Oakham Mount very much. I feel that we have been getting to know each other better as we have spoken during these encounters. I wanted to court you as Miss Bennet, but as I said, I was uncertain how to make my request in a way that would be permitted since I have noticed how your family treated you. I have even expressed my admiration for you to my younger sister and cousin since that first meeting. This letter was merely an impetus to speak more purposefully, and while I feel nearly certain that you are the woman described, I am still waiting for confirmation. Even if you are not Miss Tomlinson but remain Elizabeth Bennet, I will want to court you and will still have to seek your advice on requesting your guardian's permission."

"You mentioned that the other trustee gave the name of the girl's uncle in London. What is it?" she asked. "And what other information made you believe I was the woman in the letter?"

"Well, her name is Elizabeth, she is twenty, her birthday is in August, and she lives on an estate in Hertfordshire. Those were the first indications that the woman being described was you. There is also your resemblance to your grandmother – her portrait is in the study in Briarwood, and you bear an uncanny resemblance to her. Since I first met you, something about you had niggled in my memory, and when I read that letter, it dawned on me that you are very similar to that picture. I have often sat in the study at Briarwood and admired your grandmother's portrait," Darcy said.

"And the name of the uncle in London?" she pushed again, not reacting outwardly to his words, but she was glad she was sitting, as she felt herself grow weak as he had listed each item.

"Ahh, yes, he said he met a man named Mr. Edward Gardiner, the brother of the lady's aunt," Darcy replied softly.

Elizabeth gasped and felt tears prick her eyes. "You must be telling me the truth. Other than the portrait, which I cannot confirm because I have never seen it, all you have said has been true of me." She sighed and took a deep breath to attempt to calm herself, then drawing herself up, she spoke again. "I ask again, sir, what does all this mean? Where do we go from here?"

Darcy smiled gently at her bravery in the face of what was undoubtedly a considerable shock. "First, Miss Elizabeth, I would like to court you. I admire you, and as I said earlier in this conversation, the more I know of you, the more I want to know. I am amazed at how well you are handling this information, and that speaks highly of you. Based on what I know of you now, I also think we would do well together, and I would like to see if you could feel the same way about me. Regardless, we will be tied together in some way for the next year as you learn about your inheritance and, eventually, when you come into it. I have run Briarwood along with my own estate these last five years, and I can start to teach you about running it as soon as you would like. And then, of course, I will be a near neighbour if you begin running Briarwood on your own after your majority.

"However, I do not know how to go about informing Mr. and Mrs. Bennet about both our courtship, I hope, and the fact that I am one of the trustees of your estate. I cannot imagine they would like to hear about that right now," he exhaled deeply as he finished speaking.

"I do not think they will," she sighed.

"Miss Elizabeth," he repeated. "You have not answered my question."

"I do not believe you have asked one, sir," she rejoined.

"Miss Elizabeth Tomlinson, might I have your permission to court you? I assure you that my intentions are entirely honourable, and I would relish the opportunity to get to know you better, to discover if I am someone you could come to love and, hopefully, one day marry," he requested formally, taking her hand in his larger one.

She looked at him with a tremulous smile. "Yes, Mr. Darcy, I agree. I would enjoy being courted by you. I, I have also come to admire you in our conversations and look forward to knowing you better as well," she said shyly.

He brought the hands he held to his lips and kissed each of them. "Thank you, Miss Elizabeth."

"I will be missed at Longbourn if I do not return soon, but might we meet again tomorrow to discuss the best way to share this information with my … with Mr and Mrs Bennet?" she suggested.

"I would like that, my dear," he replied, kissing her hands again. "Perhaps I will hear back from Mr. Elliott by then. Do you think it is possible that you could visit your aunt and uncle in London soon? Could we perhaps court more openly away from Longbourn?"

"I am not certain, but I will see what I can find out," she replied as she began to hasten away. "Good morning, Mr. Darcy."

"Good morning, Miss Elizabeth," he called after her. "Until tomorrow."