Chapter 11

'Knock knock'

"Come. If you must," was the reply. Mr. Bennet was not surprised to see his daughter Lizzy standing outside his bookroom door. He was very surprised to see Mr. Darcy accompanying her. There was something off about their demeanors. He could not yet ascertain what was different. He did not know the young man well, but he knew his daughter and something had made her very happy. It hit him; he figured it out. He did not think he was going to like the conversation that was to ensue.

"Papa, you remember Mr. Darcy," his daughter said cheerfully. "He wishes to speak with you." With that, Lizzy gave a quick curtsy, turned on her heel and left the room, closing the door behind her.

The two gentlemen stood silently, sizing up the other. The elder gentleman knew why the younger one was in his bookroom, at least he thought he did. The younger man showed a touch of nervousness about him, but also a sign of eagerness. Very disconcerting to the elder man, to be sure.

"Coffee or brandy?" Mr. Bennet began.

"Coffee sir, thank you Mr. Bennet," Mr. Darcy replied. As much as he would like to get this business settled as quickly as possible, he knew he would get further with civilities than with haste. He could be patient.

After coffee was poured and the obligatory pleasantries were exchanged, Mr. Bennet looked at the young man, trying to decide how much he was to toy with the man. He had never had this conversation with a suitor before and thought it would have been easier facing losing one of his daughters, his favorite one as it would seem. He thought he would have more time before facing this. He expected Mr. Bingley any day now, he did not expect this young man to arrive at his bookroom door. He thought back to the look on his daughter's face as she brought Mr. Darcy into his bookroom. She would be happy with him, he was sure. He doubted that he had to worry about his ability to support his daughter, obviously in a manner well above what she was used to. No, the question was how hard should he make the young man work for what he wanted?

The long pause should have unnerved the young pup by now, thought Mr. Bennet. The fact that he did not show any fear towards her father, spoke well for the young man. How to start? "Do you play chess, Mr. Darcy?" Receiving a nod, he motioned to the chess game set up. "Shall we?" They began the game.

"I assume Lizzy told you that you should let me win if you wished to be granted the favor you seek to ask."

"Yes sir. You know your daughter well. Either that or I should bribe you with the fantastic libraries at Pemberley and at Darcy house and mention the Spanish port and the French brandy I keep in stock just for special guests."

"Ah, she has appraised you of my weaknesses. Smart girl. It sounds like she knows what she wants."

"That is to be seen. I have asked her for a courtship and she has agreed, pending your approval, of course. I will be staying at Netherfield for the time being as I believe Bingley also has business in the area. We have not known each other long and I would not wish to rush her. I will need to be back at Pemberley for the spring planting, but that is months in the future."

The game continued; the opponents were evenly matched. "So, why should I let my Lizzy go to the wilds of Derbyshire?"

The younger man thought for a moment. That was not a question he expected. "I hope she will go because she has learned to love me. She says that she would rather marry for companionship and for respect than for money or position. I heartily agree with her. I have avoided the ladies of the Ton for ten years now. Not one of them did I consider having a second dance or even a second conversation with. Your daughter is something different."
"Don't I know it!" exclaimed her father.

"I meant that in the most flattering way possible, sir. I respect your daughter immensely. She is intelligent, a trait I believe she attributes to you, kind, witty and handsome. I was first exposed to her intelligence when she gave your younger daughters a treatise on the Bard's mischievous characters that I might have heard at Eton, or even Cambridge. I have never heard her disparage another person, even those that might have deserved it. I think she could be a wonderful influence at Pemberley with my sister and among the servants and tenants. I heard her discussing wheat and rye types with young Mr. Lucas, in Latin! I hope you were not expecting him to come knocking on your bookroom door anytime soon."

Mr. Darcy's attempt at humor surprised him. The young man had always seemed dour and taciturn around him. Perhaps his daughter saw a different side of him. He guessed that he had toyed with the man long enough.

"What are your intentions, sir?" Mr. Bennet asked pointedly.

"I would like to give Miss Elizabeth time to get to know me better, with the hope that in the future she will accept my hand and become Mrs. Darcy. As I said, I will take as long as necessary for her to decide. She recommended that we keep this from Mrs. Bennet for the time being. For the sake of everyone's sanity."

"I appreciate your candor sir. Let me speak with my daughter, then I will give you my answer."

"Thank you, sir. I will go to find her."

"She will be sitting on the window ledge just down the hall," began Mr. Bennet.

Sure enough, as soon as Mr. Darcy opened the bookroom door, Lizzy stood from her place on the window seat and marched towards the bookroom door.

Mr. Darcy tried to put her mind at ease. "Your father would like to talk to you. Then he will give us his answer." He smiled broadly. She smiled at him then entered the bookroom and looked back at him as she closed the door.

"Papa, you wanted to talk to me?" Elizabeth started.

"Yes, Lizzy. I must say I was very surprised to see this young man in my bookroom today. I did not think you two knew each other in more than a passing acquaintance. He mentioned the assembly. It seemed that you made a good impression on him then. But you must hardly know one another, yet you wish to accept a courtship from him?"

"Is that not what a courtship is for? To get to know one another better? He is not as dour and taciturn as he seems in company when he is…" Lizzy stopped talking.

"When he is, what, daughter?" asked Mr. Bennet pointedly.

"When he is not surrounded by strangers. He was very personable when he and Mr. Bingley came to tea yesterday. Now that Miss Bingley has left to go to her Aunt's house, he seems more at ease."

"Does he now? Do you respect him, Lizzy?"

"Yes sir. I believe he is the best of men."

"Does he respect you?"

"I believe so. I had stated in his company that I would rather marry for companionship and respect than for wealth or position and that is when he asked to court me. We came here directly so he could speak to you."

"Directly here, from where?"

Lizzy knew that he knew about her morning ramblings. They had never been questioned before. She would not lie to her father; she had done nothing wrong.

"I ran into Mr. Darcy at the top of Oakham Mount. I offered to share my scones with him. He started asking me questions: If I had always lived at Longbourn, had I ever wanted to travel. Our discussion meandered to the point that we discussed the lack of suitors for a dowerless, unconnected lady and very soon thereafter, he asked for a courtship. I believe he is earnest and that we just need to get to know one another better before any further decisions could be made."

"Do you love him?"

"I do not think that I do. Yet. But I think I could, if I got to know him better."

"I think he loves you."

"You might be right. But that is something I will have to discover on my own."

"Very well. I will allow a courtship. But." He looked pointedly at his daughter. "There will be no further wanderings on Oakham Mount without a chaperone. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Papa."

"Please call your young man in."

Lizzy opened the door and Mr. Darcy was standing from the window seat when he heard the door. "My father would like to speak to us." In just a few long strides he was at her side. They entered the bookroom and closed the door behind them.

"Mr. Darcy, I will give my permission for you to court my daughter."

"Thank you sir."

"But," Mr. Bennet interrupted, "there will be no more unchaperoned wandering about the lanes. I will not have my daughter's reputation put in jeopardy by any man, even one such as you. You will take one of her sisters along on any such rambles and you will meet her here, in the parlor or in my bookroom when it is too cold to ramble."

"Yes, sir. Of course sir. Thank you." Mr. Darcy replied.

"Now, I need to get a fresh pot of coffee. I will return in four minutes," Mr. Bennet said as he stood to leave the room. "You two may be seated in the chairs in front of the fire," and he left the room.

The young couple seated themselves as directed and began a conversation of books that they had read. Mr. Bennet returned in exactly four minutes and nodded to the two before taking his habitual chair. He could directly see the young man, but he could not easily hear their discussion. He almost hoped his daughter would come to the point sooner than later. He would like to have his bookroom back to himself, but he thought it was a small price to pay to keep her around a little bit longer.

They continued to meet in Mr. Bennet's bookroom. Mrs. Bennet thought that Mr. Darcy was at Longbourn to play chess with Mr. Bennet, which they sometimes did, but more often he played against Miss Elizabeth and she beat him nearly as often as he triumphed.

During one of their games, Mr. Bennet was reading a letter and started laughing out loud. They both looked at him, waiting for him to share the reason for his mirth when Mr. Bennet started talking. "Oh, this is prodigiously good news. We were to have a visitor coming to stay next Monday for a fortnight, a Mr. Collins, my cousin. He is the man who may throw all of you out of this house the day I am dead. He was to visit but now he says his curate is indisposed and he can not possibly leave his patroness or his parish without spiritual guidance. He begs our indulgence to postpone his trip until spring. I will gladly indulge him to delay his trip until I am dead."