Checkmate, Mr Darcy Chapter 13, a pride and prejudice fanfic

~O~

Chapter 13

While Elizabeth and Richard shared their news to the delight of Mrs Bennet, her husband's study was invaded by another set of visitors.

Bingley and Jane had also been caught in the garden by the shower and had taken shelter in the small summer house at the back of the garden, where Bingley at last got up his nerve to propose.

Bingley, supported by Jane, requested Bennet's blessing for their marriage. This time, Bingley did not give Bennet a chance to make sport of him again as he had done when Bingley requested the courtship.

As Bennet was pleased to see the young man's firm demeanour, he quickly agreed to their marriage.

Admittedly, Bennet did get a laugh out of the situation when he informed the couple that Jane' dowry was fifteen thousand pounds… ten from her godfather's investment and the balance from his own efforts.

~O~

After everyone had gone to bed, putting an end to Mrs Bennet's effusions of happiness to have two daughters engaged, Jane and Elizabeth had a chance to speak privately at last.

Elizabeth was pleased but also a little amused to see her sister positively glowing, little realising that she was in a similar state. 'I gather that you approve of the new and improved Mr Bingley.'

'Oh, Lizzy, I am so pleased that we can share such happiness,' Jane gushed. 'Back in November I had not thought that my feelings for Charles, I mean Mr Bingley, could increase, but they have. I confess that at the time I was a little worried if he was a touch too amiable, but my heart was too full to let that stop me.'

'What exactly has changed?' Elizabeth was curious to hear her sister's perspective on the change she herself had observed.

'Do not misunderstand, he is still the most amiable man of my acquaintance, but he is also prepared to make hard choices… and stick to them. It makes me feel more secure.' Jane sighed. 'Please do not misunderstand, I love papa, but I would not want to be married to a man who will give in to ridiculous demands just because of a tantrum.'

'He did rather well standing up to his sisters and Miss Bingley could out-screech Lydia even on her best or worst day, depending on your point of view.'

'Precisely. But what about you? You look like you might at any moment float away. Your feet barely touched the ground all evening.'

The colour rose in Elizabeth's cheeks as she embraced her sister, who returned the embrace, and laid her head on Jane's shoulder. 'I could not be happier. Richard is the very best of men. From the first moment we met, I felt a connection. Like I could tell him anything and he would not judge me for it. Like you with your Mr Bingley, I feel safe with him… cherished.'

She buried her face in Jane's shoulder as she whispered, 'And he made me feel all tingly when we kissed.'

Jane tightened her embrace as she whispered back, 'I know just how you feel.'

~O~

Fitzwilliam travelled to London the following morning to finalise his departure from the army and arrange for his marriage contract to Elizabeth.

As Bingley had already taken care of that detail, he was able to remain at Netherfield. Not having expected Jane to have a dowry, his document stated that all her possessions would remain under her control and he saw no reason to change that, even after he discovered that Jane was anything but poor.

Bennet was pleased to have Jane co-sign the document as she was well past her majority.

It was fortunate that despite his increased maturity, Bingley was still amiable, as Mrs Bennet insisted in dragging him and Jane to visit all her friends to celebrate their good fortune.

~O~

Two days after his departure, the honourable Mr Richard Fitzwilliam returned to Meryton, a Colonel no longer.

Unbeknownst to him, he had missed meeting his cousins by mere minutes as he turned off the Great North Road just before the Darcy carriage passed that intersection.

Fitzwilliam was greeted with great enthusiasm when he arrived at Longbourn.

Eager to formalise his engagement to Elizabeth, he only took time for a few stolen kisses before he requested to see Mr Bennet.

Bennet raised his brows as he saw some of the amount mentioned in the document.

Fitzwilliam noticed the surprise and explained with a grin, 'When I told my father the amount of Elizabeth's dowry, he insisted on adding some of his own. And of course, it seems that my mother has been saving the allowance I refused to accept for the last ten years.'

He shrugged and turned up his hands. 'What can I say. Parents are strange creatures.'

'So we are. We like to surprise our children, especially when they think they know all about us.' Bennet glanced at Elizabeth with a knowing smile.

The document was duly signed by all concerned, including Elizabeth, and witnessed.

When it was done, Fitzwilliam requested a few minutes alone with Elizabeth.

Bennet left the room without quite shutting the door, saying, 'You have five minutes.'

~O~

As soon as they had some privacy, Richard pulled a small velvet bag from his pocket.

He extracted something from the bag, and taking Elizabeth's hand, he slipped a ring set with a beautiful emerald, surrounded by diamonds, on her finger. 'This is a present from my family. It belonged to my grandmother. While I was in town, my mother gave it to me to give to you.'

Elizabeth only glanced at it briefly, saying, 'Please thank your mother for me.'

'Do I not get any thanks for delivering it safely into your possession?'

Elizabeth stood close to him and raised her face. 'You have a choice; you can have my thanks or…'

Needless to say, Richard opted for the or.

Their five minutes was up much too soon.

~O~

Meanwhile in London, Darcy was busy arranging for a house at the seaside to spend the summer with Georgiana.

While he was thus engaged, a couple of days after their arrival, a letter for Georgiana was forwarded from Pemberley, where it had been sent since the Darcy's were expected to spend their time at home.

She was excited to inform her brother of its contents.

'William, I had a letter from Aunt Matlock. She writes that Richard has met a young lady from,' she frowned as a small imperfection in the paper made it difficult to make out the name, 'I think she says she is from Herefordshire.'

'I cannot think of anyone of our acquaintances from Herefordshire having suitable daughters,' Darcy said with a frown and suddenly became concerned. 'The young lady is suitable, I hope.'

Georgiana grinned. 'There is nothing to be concerned about, brother. It seems the young lady is extremely well connected, even to the highest circles and she has a very substantial dowry. Aunt Matlock also says that she is very pretty and perfectly perfect for Richard, who apparently is besotted with her. And best of all, he is retiring from the army. They are on their way to spend time with her family.'

Darcy laughed. 'If the young lady is the reason for Richard giving up the army, no wonder that Aunt Matlock thinks she is perfect. I shall look forward to meeting her. What is her name?'

Georgiana scanned the letter again. 'Aunt Matlock forgot to say.'

~O~

The Matlocks had been held up and were still in London when Georgiana read her letter, they relocated to Netherfield the following day on the invitation of Mrs Bingley.

Mrs Bingley was only too happy to repay the Matlocks for their kindness in London by not only hosting the family at Netherfield but also to arrange a dinner to meet the Bennet family, a couple of days after they had settled in.

Bennet and Lord Matlock were of course acquainted, but the ladies had not met.

The timing was fortuitous as Mrs Bennet had had enough time to get over the worst of her excitement due to the engagements of her daughters. In addition, when she met the Matlocks, she felt rather overawed to be in the presence of nobility and as a consequence was rather more subdued than was her norm. Everyone was most grateful.

Although Mrs Bennet could not help but say to Lady Matlock, 'They do look exceedingly well together, do they not?'

'They do and I cannot remember Richard ever looking happier,' Lady Matlock responded with a fond smile towards the couple. She was also pleased that descriptions of Mrs Bennet appeared to have been exaggerated. Or perhaps seeing two daughters engaged to good men, had settled the lady somewhat.

During the separation of the sexes after dinner, Bennet and Matlock indulged in a game of chess, leaving Richard and Charles to their own devices.

'You could have warned me about your son's ability at chess,' grumbled Bennet.

Matlock gave him a mischievous grin. 'You mean in the same way that you warned me about your daughter's ability?'

'Touché.'

Dinner was a success and at the end of the evening the families parted with promises to meet again the following afternoon.

~O~

The Bennet ladies were finishing their breakfast on their own as Bennet had already removed to his study.

The were engaged in desultory conversation about how to spend the time until the arrival of their guests in the afternoon when they heard a crash.

'That came from the study,' cried Elizabeth. She jumped up so quickly that she overturned her chair. Ignoring the chair, she rushed out the room, down the hall and burst into the study.

She was horrified to find her father lying at the bottom of the library ladder, clutching at his chest.

Elizabeth dropped to her knees beside her father and lifted hi head into her lap. She realised that several people were crowding into the room and called over her shoulder, 'Get Mr Jones.'

'No time,' gasped Bennet, clutching at his chest with one hand and grasping Elizabeth's hand with the other.

Jane fell to her knees on Bennet's other side and placed her hand on top of their joined ones.

'Lizzy, Jane, promise. Do not… waste… life… mourning… me. Marry… be happy… Do not… wear black… Tell Fanny... No black... Looks dreadful.' He paused, gasping for breath through the vice closing on his chest. 'Love you… all.'

Both sisters had tears streaming down their faces while he spoke and promised to honour his demand.

At the reassurance, he smiled, and, closing his eyes, he exhaled his final breath.

~O~

When Mrs Bennet arrived at her husband's study, she stopped just beyond the doorway but could not bring herself to go further. Yet she was still close enough to hear his final words.

This was her worst nightmare come to life.

Jane led her stunned and unresisting mother to the drawing room. The stillness did not last long.

Time seemed interminable as Mrs Bennet was in hysterics which no one could calm down.

'What are we to do? Mr Collins is going to throw us into the hedgerows.' She looked around wildly and focused on her oldest daughter. 'Jane, You must marry Mr Bingley immediately and get him to purchase Netherfield. Once you are established as the mistress of that large estate, we shall be able to be comfortably settled when Mr Collins takes possession of Longbourn.'

'Mama, papa has just died,' Jane cried.

'You heard him. Do not stop your life because of his death.' Mrs Bennet was frantic.

Mr and Mrs Phillips walked into this pandemonium having been sent for by Mrs Hill when she sent for the apothecary. Hearing the last comments and realising that Mrs Bennet would not listen to reason in her current state, Mrs Phillips walked up to her sister and delivered a ringing slap.

The unexpected action stunned Mrs Bennet into momentary silence. When she could speak again, she asked, 'Why did you do that?'

'Because you were making yourself sick with your hysterics. You need to calm down. My husband has some news for you.'

Since Mrs Bennet appeared moderately sensible, Mr Phillips encouraged all the ladies to take a seat and have a tot of brandy which he had requested Hill to supply on his arrival.

'I am dreadfully sorry for your loss,' he said and held up his hand to stop Mrs Bennet from resuming her wails. 'We came as soon as we heard, to share a letter which Bennet had left in my care in case something happened to him.'

'What letter?'

Phillips handed her the envelope. Mrs Bennet broke the seal and extracted a sheet of paper and an enclosure. Putting the enclosure aside, she started to read aloud.

Dear family

While I may not have been the best husband and father, I have loved you as well as I could.

To ensure your security, some years ago I purchased a small house in Meryton from my private funds, which means it is not part of the entail. A small staff, led by Mrs Wright, has cared for it, and it is now ready and waiting for its new occupants. Namely my widow and/or any daughters who need a home.

Gardiner has funds in trust to take care of the maintenance and provide sufficient money for a comfortable, albeit modest lifestyle for you.

I hope you enjoy the name of the house in good health for many years to come.

Thomas Bennet

The stunned silence lasted for several minutes as the import of the letter sank in.

The quiet was broken when Mrs Bennet cried, 'We are saved,' and promptly fainted.

While the sisters saw to Mrs Bennet's comfort, Phillips picked up the letter which had fallen from the lady's hand. A postscript gave the address and stated that the enclosed note should be presented at that address.

Taking the opportunity of his sister's indisposition, Phillips checked with the staff and discovered that Mr Bennet had been laid on the sofa in his study, and after being examined by Mr Jones had been covered with a blanket. Apparently, Mr Jones had also agreed to send the undertaker.

Since nothing else could be done for Bennet, he returned to the ladies.

~O~

Once Mrs Bennet recovered, nothing would do but for her to go and inspect their new abode. After dealing with her husband's sense of humour for more than two decades, she did not trust the words in a letter, she had to see the house with her own eyes.

The carriage was readied, and Mr Phillips gave the coachman the address provided in the letter. It took only ten minutes to arrive at their destination which was two blocks away from the High Street and the home of Mr and Mrs Phillips.

The house proved to be a substantial brick structure in the Georgian style, set in a good-sized garden and backing onto open fields. Off to one side and screened by some bushes, there even appeared to be a small coach house and stable.

The carriage entered the circular drive and pulled up under a porte cochère. Half a dozen steps led up to the large front door, next to which a plaque was affixed to the wall.

Mr Phillips led his stunned sister up the stairs, with the sisters following. At his knock, the door was opened by a middle-aged woman. 'Can I help you, sir?' she asked.

'I am Mr Phillips, and I am supposed to give you this,' Phillips said and handed over the enclosure from Bennet's letter.

The woman quickly scanned the note. Once finished, she looked up and asked, 'Might I know the lady's name?'

'This is Mrs Bennet,' replied Phillips and was rewarded by a sunny smile.

'Welcome to your new home, Mrs Bennet. I am Mrs Wright, the head maid,' the woman said and curtsied.

While Mr Phillips and Mrs Bennet were speaking to Mrs Wright, Elizabeth looked around and noticed the plaque beside the door, which the others had missed in their eagerness to establish that they were in the right place.

Mrs Bennet was about to enter the house when she was distracted as Elizabeth started to laugh. 'Lizzy, contain yourself. This is not a time for levity,' she chided.

'Do you know the name of the house?' Elizabeth asked as tears started to stream down her face, partly caused by laughter but also sadness and some anger. When Mrs Bennet shook her head and was about to castigate her daughter again, Elizabeth pointed to the plaque.

In beautiful cursive script it said, 'The Hedgerows.'

~O~

Don't shoot me… 😊

~O~