Author's Note: I updated this chapter to (hopefully) fix the issues some of you pointed out regarding residency. As far as calling the banns, parental permission was not required for this, but if the father objected, that would be a reason the couple would not be able to marry. If no one objects during the three readings, the couple is legally able to marry with or without consent. Parental permission was only required for a license, but not for the banns.

Chapter 6

When Elizabeth arrived home, she joined the family to break her fast. Mr. Bennet had been silent at dinner the night before and did not join the family for breakfast that morning. After eating her meal, Elizabeth excused herself from the table and went in search of him. He was not difficult to find, as he remained in his bookroom, reading a book as usual.

Elizabeth entered the room and stood before her father until he spoke to her. "Well, daughter, have you come to your senses and intend to apologise for your attitude yesterday?" he began.

She shook her head. "No, Father, I have come to ask you the same question. Will you explain your objection to Mr. Darcy? You allowed me to Mr. Collins's proposal because he would have never made me happy, but Mr. Darcy will. He is intelligent and kind, a diligent master of his estate, and he cares for me. Why would you not want me to marry such a man?"

"You scarcely know him," he insisted. "How can you say such things about him? Just two months ago, you claimed you would never dance with him after he insulted you before even being introduced to you."

"An offence for which he has apologised, and I have forgiven him, sir," she stated heatedly. "What else do you hold against him?"

He shrugged. "I am convinced he will not make you happy. He is wealthy, yes, but you hated him the entire time he stayed at Netherfield. I would never have dreamed you to be mercenary, though you have proven me wrong. Now that Bingley has returned, you have decided you wanted to marry better than your sister. You were right to refuse Collins — the man was a fool — however, you have allowed his words to convince you to marry the next person to offer for you."

"Am I mercenary or desperate, sir? You have accused me of both, though I am the first to admit those are not mutually exclusive traits. Perhaps I am both."

"Perhaps you are. Regardless, I will not allow you to throw your life away on such a man. You will not be happy with such an arrogant and demanding husband; you must know I am doing what is best for you."

He paused for several minutes, waiting for her to acknowledge her error. When she did not speak, he continued on a different topic. "Now, my dear, I need you to balance the estate accounts. Your suggestion that we rotate the crops on the home farm paid off. Johnson reports that a few tenants would like to try it next year, having seen how much better the yields were. You will have quite the task in the spring of helping them, and Johnson has already ensured we have the additional seed required to implement your idea for all the tenant farms."

Mr Bennet continued to speak of the steward's plans for the Spring planting and Elizabeth's role at Longbourn. As she sat there listening to him speak, Elizabeth had an epiphany: her father had denied her hand in marriage because he believed she should remain at Longbourn.

It had been around her twelfth birthday that Elizabeth had taken an interest in the estate, and Mr Bennet began training her in management as he would a son. By her sixteenth birthday, she had essentially taken over the matter for her father. She regularly consulted with the steward and read everything she could get her hands on about modernising the agricultural practices at Longbourn. Through these efforts, she and the steward, who had appreciated the more hands-on approach, had been able to raise Longbourn's overall profits from two thousand pounds five years ago to nearly three this year.

When Mr Johnson realised it was not Bennet but his fourteen-year-old daughter who was behind the changes, he initially baulked. It did not take him long to realise the girl's input was sound and that she was far more interested than her father had ever been. He began to seek out "Miss Lizzy" to tell her of any problems on the estate, and the two sought ways to increase the estate's profits. Mrs Bennet was kept unaware of this, though she did encourage the eldest two girls to take over the responsibility of visiting the tenants since this left her with more time to visit and gossip.

Jane was kind and good and did all she could to assist the tenants to improve their lives. Elizabeth, however, was the one who took a more active role and met with not only the ladies but the men as well to acquaint them with the latest techniques. Like the steward, they initially were unsettled at such a young girl giving them advice on how to farm — something many had been doing long before the girl was born.

Like the steward, they quickly came to realise her ideas were sound. More importantly, she listened to them and adjusted her ideas as necessary when convinced that her initial idea had been wrong. Through these discussions with the farmers, they were able to come up with alternatives when appropriate. Now, when she had been nearly running the estate on her own for the better part of four years, they trusted her judgement and were much more willing to listen to her suggestions.

Elizabeth had been proud of her accomplishments in this area. However, it occurred to her that her father had supported her refusal of Mr Collins due more to his desire to keep her on the estate than his recognising how terrible a match it would have been. The same was true of Mr Darcy's request — her father simply wanted to keep her on his estate, running things so that he did not have to.

Suddenly, she realised her father had stopped speaking. Apparently, he had asked a question, though she had no idea what it was. "I apologise; my mind wandered. Can you repeat that?"

He looked at her for a moment before he repeated his question. "How much have you set aside from the last few harvests, my dear? I had been thinking that I would like to expand my bookroom, and the additional funds we have set aside should be enough to do so."

"We agreed those funds would be invested and set aside to give my sisters dowries," she replied slowly. "Mr Gardiner is in charge of those funds, and we cannot access them immediately, at least without a substantial loss." This was not strictly true, but since her father had told her any increase in the estate's profits was for her to do with as she wished, she had given the money to Mr Gardiner to invest. It was carefully tied up so that Mr Bennet could not easily access it and was entirely separate from the estate's funds.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "The profits from the estate are mine to do with as I wish."

"No, they are not. We agreed when I was sixteen and took over the running of the estate that whatever additional funds I earned, I would set aside and invest. Since then, Mr. Gardiner has been helping me each year, and we have been investing those funds to provide dowries for my sisters. Mama will still have her jointure, but now, my sisters will also have funds to ensure they are cared for."

"I never agreed to that," Mr. Bennet objected. "How did you even manage that?"

"Uncle Phillips wrote the agreement, and you and Uncle Gardiner signed it. Each quarter day, Uncle Phillips forwards the excess profits to London, and Mr. Gardiner invests it. I am uncertain how much is in that account now, and while I know it is not a substantial amount, it is enough to prevent my sisters and me from being destitute should you pass away before we are wed."

"You must get that money back," he insisted.

"I cannot."

"You mean you will not."

"Perhaps," she said defiantly. "Now, if you will excuse me, I recall that Mr. Johnson had some questions for me. I will see you at dinner."

With that, she turned on her heel and left his bookroom. She went to the steward's office and, knowing he would be out, used his desk to write several letters. Once this was done, she sent a footman with one note to Netherfield and set out toward Meryton.

It was just after noon when she arrived at her uncle's office. Mr. Darcy, who must have left immediately after receiving her note, met her inside. She told both men what she had learned in her conversation with Mr. Bennet.

"I lied to my father when I told him I was uncertain how much was in the account. With Uncle Gardiner's help, it has grown to more than five thousand pounds. Uncle Phillips, my father now denies ever permitting me to invest the funds with my uncle. I know you have a copy of the agreement, as does Uncle Gardiner, but he is asking for the funds to expand his bookroom. I believe he is convinced Mr Bingley will marry Jane, and then he will not have to worry about providing for the rest of his daughters.

"Mr Darcy, I realised this morning that his biggest motivation for denying your suit is because he wants me to remain at Longbourn. He wants me to continue to run the estate in his stead. My involvement has allowed him to read in his bookroom while Mr. Johnson and I take care of the estate. I am a little concerned he will take steps to ensure I cannot leave, even after I reach my majority."

"Lizzy, what request of Mr. Darcy's did he deny? Why is the gentleman even here for this conversation?" Uncle Phillips asked suddenly.

She coloured. "Oh, Uncle Phillips, Mr. Darcy asked for my hand yesterday, and I accepted. Papa, however, refused his permission, insisting that Mr. Darcy leave Longbourn and never return. He believes he has won since after accusing me of being either mercenary or desperate and accepting whatever offer I received, he began to speak of our plans for increasing our yields by encouraging more tenants to use the crop rotations we have begun on the home farm."

"Congratulations, my dear. Mr. Darcy, if you have won Lizzy's hand, you have won a rare jewel indeed. However, if Mr. Bennet has denied his permission, what will you do?" Mr. Phillips asked.

"I will reach my majority in February, Uncle," Elizabeth said. "We intend to marry then, although Papa is convinced that Mr. Darcy and I will forget about each other during this time. He likely believes he was successful in scaring Mr. Darcy away and, since he has denied his permission, Mr. Darcy will never return for me. Apparently, his only interest in me was to 'take his pleasure' and depart and since he is denied that, he will go back to London and never think of me again."

Darcy took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. However, he did not completely conceal his anger at what she had revealed. "I would never have forgotten you, dearest, though I would have warred with myself had I not finally come to realise I could not live without you. It may have taken longer, with …" Here, he trailed off but soon continued. "We would have found one another again, though this way, I hope that we will not suffer as we might have otherwise."

"I am uncertain if you are aware of this, but should the banns be called in another parish, perhaps in your own, Mr. Darcy, the two of you could wed before Lizzy reaches her majority. As long as no one objects to the reading of the banns, you can wed without her father's express permission. Though we would have to get her away from Longbourn to do this."

"But would I not need to reside in the parish where the banns are called?" Elizabeth asked.

"So long as the banns are read three times without objection, then the rector can legally marry a couple," Phillips explained. "You would have to claim to live in the parish where that occurs. I dare say that Mr Darcy could lease a house somewhere for the month required if it became necessary."

"St. Albans is not so far away," Elizabeth said thoughtfully. "We could travel there tomorrow to speak to the rector and see if he might be willing to assist us. Then, he could begin reading the banns and set the marriage for the day my Aunt and Uncle are to arrive. They could attend the ceremony, along with you and my Aunt Phillips, as long as you can keep her from mentioning it ahead of time. Or, we can continue as we discussed and wait to marry until February with a common licence either here or in London."

"Dearest, I would gladly marry you tomorrow, but whatever occurs, I want it to be what you wish. I would like my sister and my cousin Richard Fitzwilliam to be present, but other than that, it does not matter to me who attends or where we marry. I would, however, prefer not to lie outright if it is unnecessary," Darcy replied, squeezing the hand he still held.

Elizabeth sighed heavily. "I do not know what is best, William," she replied. "Thank you, Uncle Phillips, for this information. It gives us another idea of how to proceed. I have written an express to send to Uncle Gardiner to explain the situation to him as well, particularly about Papa's desire to use the money we have saved. I did mention my engagement, informal though it may be, though I consider it binding. I intend to write to my Aunt to ask her for her help when she comes. I apologise, Uncle, for not consulting with your wife as well, and would appreciate it if you do not mention matters to her. You know Aunt Phillips has a tendency to gossip just like Mama does. I prefer this not to become public knowledge just yet. We considered that if Mama knew, she would harass Papa until he relented, but I prefer not to go that route if I can help it."

Mr Phillips nodded his agreement. "No one can fault you for not wanting this broadcast around town, Lizzy, and that is exactly what your aunt would do. Let me know if there is anything further I can do to support you. Mr Darcy, I am certain my brother has forbidden your contact with his daughter, so feel free to let me know if there are any messages you would like me to pass along." He grinned as he said this last.

"Thank you, sir," Darcy replied graciously. "He did tell me to leave Longbourn and not return and not to use my friends to pass messages for me. So far, it appears I have plenty of others to use for that purpose and will not have to cut contact with Elizabeth until we can be wed."

The two began to leave when Darcy turned back around when a thought occurred to him. "There is another matter I would like to discuss with you," he began. "Can you make inquiries and see what kind of debts Mr Wickham has amassed with the shopkeepers here in town? I would like to take care of those, and we can add that total to the amount he already owes. The shopkeepers here in town should not be made to suffer the loss of his nonpayment as I should have said something as soon as I knew he was in town."

Mr. Phillips and Elizabeth both began to protest. "Colonel Forster and Sir William warned the shopkeepers about extending too much credit to the militia members. If they have extended themselves beyond what they can afford, it is their own fault for being too easily taken in."

"I know Wickham well, Mr. Phillips, and he has the ability to manipulate people far too easily into giving him what he wants. He will have used his charm and his sob story about my mistreatment of him to engender sympathy, which may have earned him additional credit."

"Any shopkeeper who extended additional credit based on a story about a denied living would be a fool. I heard the leftenant's stories myself and knew some falsehood was involved. If there were a bequest, then you would have been legally obligated to grant it. No town solicitor or country attorney would allow personal feelings between two gentlemen to ignore what was clearly stated in a man's will. When questioned, he spoke of an 'informality' to it, which obviously meant it was offered conditionally. Since he is now a militia member and not a cleric somewhere, it tells me he never took orders."

Elizabeth's face fell when she heard her uncle's words. "He used me, did he not? He recognised me as a foolish girl and an easy mark for his pack of lies. I allowed my resentment over a slight to prejudice me so against a good man that I swallowed every bit of his tale without ever questioning it. It was far too personal a story to share on such a slight acquaintance — that as much as anything should have been an indication something was wrong."

"Wickham is a practised deceiver, my dear. You would not have known the legalities of his claims, and when I was here before, I did little to make you think well of me," Darcy soothed.

"I was still a fool for listening to him," she insisted. "I always believed myself such a good judge of character, yet time and time again, mostly within the last few days, I have been proven wrong. Two men I thought were good have proven false, and the man I thought poorly of has proven to be the best of men." She smiled gently up at him and patted his hand.

Turning to Mr. Phillips, Darcy spoke again. "Do let me know if the debts Wickham holds are excessive. I will pledge myself to cover them so no shopkeeper is out, regardless of their warning. I might as well use whatever he had accrued here to add to what I already own."

With that, the couple departed the office.