Chapter 28: Of Rude Awakenings and New Perspectives
"God damn it, that is cold!"
"Papa!" Kitty exclaimed.
"Thomas?" Mr. Gardiner frowned. He could not believe that Thomas opened his eyes let alone sat up so forcefully.
The doctor held onto Mr. Bennet's shoulders, "Mr. Bennet, please do not move! You will undo the temporary bandages on the back of your head. You fell and hit it against a piece of furniture, sir. You bled quite a bit. You also suffered some seizures, strong seizures. The ice was used to stop them. Maids, please take the chunks away but have some more ready in case the seizures return."
"Is this real?" Mr. Bennet looked around at his family gathered around his bed with unfocused eyes.
"Real, sir?" Doctor Allen frowned.
"I… I have been ha-having awful nightmares. I could not mo-move. I could not shake my nightmare-self off his nonsense."
"What did you see, Mr. Bennet?" the doctor frowned. It could be simply hallucinations.
Mr. Bennet spoke, agitated, "That does not matter. Doctor, please. Let me speak to my family alone... I don't know how much time I have… If I start seizing again. I need to do this. Please."
The doctor looked at Mr. Darcy, "If he starts seizing, please call me. I will be waiting right outside the door."
Mr. Darcy and Richard shared a look. Mr. King squeezed Lydia's free hand and left with Parson Villiers.
"Mr. Darcy, Colonel, p-please leave us. I pose no threat to my family in my condition."
"You do not need mobility to harm them," Richard replied with a deep frown.
"I am aware you are both to be a part of this family eventually, but until then, I need to talk to my wife and my children alone."
"No. William stays," Lizzie raised her chin defiantly. Her hold on Mr. Darcy's hand tightened. "You will not kick the Master of this house out of the room he has so graciously provided for you for months, Mr. Bennet."
"Cousin?" Richard stared at Darcy.
Mr. Darcy shared a long, silent look with Mr. Bennet. Something about his expression reminded him of the Mr. Bennet he had originally met, not the awful, hurtful man he turned into. "It will be fine, Richard. Go."
"Absolutely not. Richard stays, too," Jane frowned, tightening her hold on Richard's hand and holding onto his arm with her free hand.
Mr. Bennet had never seen such a resemblance to himself in his firstborn as he did in that moment. "Fine. They can stay. I just beg them to let me fi-finish what I must say without interruption."
The cousins nodded and tried to keep their expressions neutral.
Mrs. Bennet looked ready to burst into tears. "I do not want to hear you," she started to walk toward the door.
Several gasps sounded at this. The tone was so final, so decided, and so unlike their mother.
"Francine, please. I need you to he-hear me. I must a-a-apologize to you."
Mrs. Bennet froze. Her hand hovered over the doorknob. She did not turn to face him.
"I have been a terrible husband most of our marriage… You did not d-deserve all the pain and insecurity I forced upon you. You did your b-best to be a good wife, and I did not even t-try to match your effort. You deserved much better. You deserved more co-consideration, more respect, less dis-disdain. I am really sorry. I know that whatever I say now… will not e-erase all these years. I know you want to stay he-here or anywhere else as long as it is far away from… me. I d-d-deserve that. I will not deny you. You may spend your time wherever you wa-want. I know there is not an awful lot I c-can do to fix things between us and that I harmed you too much. I am not foo-folish enough to think you will forgive me. I hope that having the freedom to do whatever you p-please will at least lessen your hatred of me… one day. If you want to divorce, I will petition the courts. I will not fight you for anything," Mr. Bennet was tired at the end of his speech.
Sobs wrecked Mrs. Bennet's body. She could not reply. She left. To everyone's shock, she picked up her skirts and ran outside as far and fast as she could, just like she had done as a child. Mary went pale. Her mother had finally truly snapped. It was all her father's fault. She poked her head out of the door.
"Parson Villiers, could-?"
"Do not worry. I will follow her at a distance to make sure she is safe, Miss Mary."
"Thank you," she resumed her position and took Kitty's free hand.
"I did not expect less," Mr. Bennet sighed. "Jane, Lizzie, there is a lot I wish to apologize for, but I… I know that all of that would be po-pointless without true change. As such, the first thing I want to do is g-g-grant Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam my consent and my blessing. However little they are needed or even wanted at this point, you have them all the same… You two have proven to love my daughters more than I taught them to expect. I am v-very glad for that."
Mr. Darcy blinked, perplexed, but grateful. Whatever the man had seen while unconscious must have been truly terrible for such a change of mind and apparently heart. The colonel pulled Jane's hand up and kissed it.
"I will… I will be selling my book collection to return your dowry in full, Jane, and if Mr. Darcy were so kind, I would appreciate any direction he could im-impart to help improve the yields of wha-whatever land I am to keep so I can return Mary's… as well as Catherine's."
Kitty looked really confused but said nothing. Lizzie looked at her in a way she understood to mean 'I will explain later.' She nodded. Mr. Darcy nodded slowly. He had already been working on repairs with Hill's help.
Mary took a deep breath, and with a tone colder than the ice that had covered him, she said, "I do not want one pound from you, Thomas Bennet. I will be working as a Teacher and making my own way in the world… After all, I am destined to be a spinster. What is the point of a dowry for someone like me? You will not clean whatever conscience you seem to have grown with something like money. Not on my account. Even though you have not apologized to me yet, I will forgive you because it is my Christian duty. However, forgiveness does not mean a relationship. I will not engage with you again. I would have to see a real, lasting change to ever even want to talk to you again."
"I un-understand, Mary. I am so-"
"Shh! I will not hear you. Whether we never speak again will not change my duty to my sisters. Make no mistake, sir, I will hear about your behavior from my family, and if you try to hurt any of my sisters or my mother again, regardless of how ridiculous this warning will sound to you, I will meet you at dawn with two loaded pistols. Mark my words. They may make a difference to your continued survival."
Mary squeezed Kitty's hand; she curtseyed to Mr. Darcy and left. Mr. Darcy wanted to intervene, but Lizzie's steady hold on his hand made him control himself.
Jane and Lizzie shared a heartbroken look.
"She means every word, Mr. Bennet," Jane said. Richard squeezed her hand three times meaningfully. "The damage you did to me is nothing compared to how you harmed her… I do not need my dowry anymore. But you should still get that money for Kitty."
"You can take my dowry and give it to Lydia as well," Lizzie added. "I will not need any money from you either."
Mr. Bennet took a series of short breaths. He couldn't take a deep breath without feeling like he had to cough. "I shall do what you want. Lydia-"
He was cut off by his youngest dropping to her knees and holding onto his shaky hand. "Papa! I am so sorry! I was so stupid! I should have never-! I am so sorry! Please forgive me!"
Jane grimaced and reached out to hold onto Lizzie's hand, who was midway to reach for hers.
Mr. Bennet squeezed her hands softly, "No, child. I have nothing to forgive you for… All of this happened because I was not a good father to any of you… I tried with Elizabeth, but I eventually ruined that as well. It is I who apologizes. It was my fault that you were so unprotected that you were hurt like this, Lydia. Do you… Do you know-? Are you… Are you with child?"
Lydia, still stunned by her father treating her like she mattered at all, could barely shake her head.
"A doctor and a midwife assured us that is not the case," Lizzie replied. William had told her what the doctor found, or rather, what he -blessedly- did not find.
"I am glad for your sake, child," Mr. Bennet squeezed Lydia's hand. "I would like to hear all about what happened later. Now, Catherine, I will strengthen your dowry and take a more active role in your marriage prospects. I will not fail you too…"
"Thank you, Papa," Kitty replied, helping Lydia up.
"I am aware that I have no authority here… However, I would greatly appreciate it, Jane, Elizabeth, if I could talk to your future husbands as well as to the young man here for Lydia."
"Mr. Bennet, you are still weak. I do not think that is prudent," Jane frowned.
"Prudent? No, it is probably not, Jane. However, I may not have a lot of t-time left. I do not even know if I could even survive another set of seizures. If you could be so k-kind as to bring the contract so I can sign it be-before witnesses, we could make sure your m-mother has tangible proof that I will give up the right to Longbourne, and she may re-re-return and rule as she pleases or rent it out."
Jane would not give him time to change his mind, "I will bring it right away. Lizzie?"
Lizzie took her arm, and they left with hurried steps. It was true. He could die at any point. The least horrible scenario would be for him to, at the very least, make sure their mother and sisters would not fear destitution upon his death. Mr. King was told to wait outside for a few minutes. Mr. Bennet wanted to speak to each of them separately. The colonel paced the hallway. He was not comfortable leaving Fitzwilliam in there with Mr. Bennet. Regardless of how injured he was, all he needed was his serpentine tongue to elicit a lot of damage.
Mr. Darcy stood with his hands clasped behind his back. There was a long, awkward silence.
"Mr. Darcy, if I could kneel before you, I would."
This made him look up, shocked. "Beg your pardon?"
"I do not know what happened to my h-head when I fell from the horse… I do know that without your generosity, diligence, and your efficient staff, I would have p-probably died."
"Mr. Bennet, I would not refuse to help anyone I consider my responsibility. The moment you and your family arrived in my lands, you were my responsibility."
"I know you d-did not do it for me. I understand. My me-memory is a bit fuzzy. I have difficulty knowing what I am recalling and what was simply a n-nightmare."
"You just awoke after another head trauma. That is normal. I think..."
"Do you know what one of the worst nightmarish scenes I saw was?"
Mr. Darcy winced, "Not particularly, but I will listen."
"I only want to tell you because you seem whole and unharmed."
Darcy blinked, "I am. Was that not the case in your nightmare?"
"No. I took a knife and jumped to-toward my wife. You intervened. I s-slashed your upper arm and stabbed your t-torso."
"Dear God!" William went pale.
"Yes… I fell and broke s-something. Probably my hip. I would have k-kept attacking you, but the knife was kicked off my h-hand by the colonel. He sat me up and h-held that same knife to my throat. Jane c-came in with the contract and fo-forced me to sign it while the colonel choked me," Mr. Bennet coughed. It was as if he could feel himself being choked again.
Mr. Darcy handed him a glass of water and helped him drink, all the while staring at the man, trying to determine his sanity. "None of that ever happened, sir."
"But it c-could have. That thought alone is terrifying to me. I have never felt so out of control of my anger… That is why I will sign the contract and abide by Francine's wishes. I became a monster. I do not want to blame the accident… But it was like my brain could only process how to h-harm. I could not p-provide comfort, and I did not even have g-g-good manners. My behavior has been appalling and offensive, I am sure. I know a sig-significant amount of it was against you and your relationship with Elizabeth. I have behaved i-irresponsibly, and she is right to hate me. They are all justified. I just hope to live long enough to try and undo at least so-some of the damage."
"Mr. Bennet, forgive me, but your change in attitude is so complete I cannot believe it to be real," Mr. Darcy frowned.
"Well, then, b-bring the paperwork for your marriage, and I will sign whatever you please. I do not need to be choked… My daughter is clearly in love with you, and I am glad to see you perhaps love her even more than she loves you. That is rare. I was ne-never a good husband to my wife. I will probably not get a chance to fix that given her reaction. But at least my children will live b-b-better lives away from me and all the hurt I caused them."
"It is not my place to make any assumptions, sir," Mr. Darcy began.
"Oh, but it is. This is your home. I am but an unwanted g-guest, a bit like vermin, perhaps."
Mr. Darcy had to make an effort not to chuckle. This was a shade of Mr. Bennet he could deal with, "Mr. Bennet, your actions and words would not have hurt them so if they did not love you as much as they do. I believe that if you demonstrate your repentance and truly change for the better, permanently, they will welcome you back into their lives eventually."
"You have a-acted more like a caring father to my d-d-daughters in these months than I have in years, Mr. Darcy. I know you did not do it for me, but I thank you all the same. They deserve far m-more than I was ever able to p-p-provide, so does Francine."
"They do. Do you want to speak with the colonel while I procure the other documents?"
Jane and Lizzie came back with a pen ready. "Mr. Bennet, the contract."
Thomas looked up at Lizzie, "Could you hold my arm, so it remains steady, Elizabeth?"
"Yes, of course."
"There," Mr. Bennet signed where Jane pointed. "I am glad to c-contribute even in a small w-way to give you and your mother p-peace of mind."
"I will take this to the earl. Excuse me," Jane curtseyed briefly to Mr. Darcy and left, fanning the ink to ensure it dried quickly.
"These are the documents for our wedding, sir," Lizzie handed him another document.
"Are you satisfied with the arrangement your uncle made?"
"Yes. William is a very generous man, and I love him. My uncle was very thorough."
"I imagine he was," he signed the document. His fingers hurt from wrapping around the pen. He felt a ghost pain in his hand as if the colonel had kicked the knife away in reality.
"Mr. Bennet, should I call in the colonel?"
"Yes, please."
"Mr. Bennet," Richard took a deep breath. He didn't want to lose his temper so quickly
"Colonel," Thomas nodded. "I understand Jane decided to accept your suit."
"She did."
"She d-decided I am no longer her father."
"Can you blame her?" the colonel frowned.
"No."
"I am all ears. I assume you want to threaten me or attempt to scare me or something along those lines. However, do be warned that I have seen battle, raw and bloody, and it will take much more than your barked orders, temper tantrums, and grunts to make me do more than yawn. You do not scare me. Do your worst."
"It is not my wish to scare you…"
The colonel frowned.
"It is my wish to thank you," Mr. Bennet said, grimacing as he tried to get in a more comfortable position.
"Thank me?"
"For being there for Jane and for loving her… You do, right? Love her?"
"Yes. I love her with all my heart."
"I know you are an honorable man. You have served your country for several years."
"I have."
"I worry…" Mr. Bennet trailed off.
"About?"
"Jane is a strong woman, but I do not think she has the emotional endurance to have a husband that could die at any moment in a war far away from her."
The colonel blinked; Mr. Bennet sounded like a caring father. A little loopy and strange, perhaps, but he was making sense. "I will not."
"Sir?"
"I have sent my resignation. I have had enough war for a lifetime. I want to work the land and be a good husband and eventually a doting father if the Lord blesses us with children."
"I am glad to hear it… I hope your union is f-fruitful and that you can make each other h-happy. Love matches are rare. To have two d-daughters engaged to men they love and l-love them feels surreal, but it is definitely fortunate."
"Thank you, sir."
"Jane is an adult. She has signed the paperwork for the wedding, correct?"
"She did. She is completely informed of the finances and logistics of our marrying and consulted her uncle and her mother."
"Will you live in London?"
"No. We have a home in London, but we are in the process of purchasing an estate near Pemberley. I would not dare to try and keep Jane from Miss Elizabeth, and I will be quite happy to be near Darcy and my cousin Georgiana. We are not that fond of the ton. The countryside suits us much better."
Mr. Bennet felt relief. This man spoke in plural even when they were still not married. We. He had never spoken in plural regarding his wife, and now it was too late, "I am glad to hear that they will be near each other."
"Do you want to look at the wedding paperwork? It has been signed, but it may give you some peace to read it."
"I would not presume that I can be allowed that privilege. Jane does not want me in her life. I would not want to upset her."
"I will ask her and show it to you if she approves."
"Thank you."
The colonel did not know what to think. This man seemed almost congenial and seemed slightly afraid of him. It was most disconcerting. "Do you think maybe the second time you hit your head returned you back to normal?"
Thomas chuckled and started coughing. "I appreciate d-directness… I can only hope so. The things I saw… Well, I am s-sure you have seen worse, but it all r-rattled me. I saw just how much worse things could get. All I want is a ch-chance to make amends. I know it will likely be fruitless, but I have to try."
"I hope you are granted enough time so you can help fix the hearts you broke, Mr. Bennet."
Thomas sighed, "So do I. Can you please send the young man that was behind my Lydia?"
"Are you sure you do not want to rest for a while?"
"I am positive."
"I will call him in."
"Mr. Bennet," the man bowed.
"You seem slightly f-familiar to me, but I c-cannot place you."
"My name is Joshua King. My father's estate is close to yours."
"Oh! Right! I see the resemblance with King Sr."
"Yes, sir."
"Does he know you are here?"
"He does."
"Please tell me everything that happened with my Lydia and how you came to be engaged."
"We are not engaged."
"You are not?" Mr. Bennet blinked.
"Not properly. I did not have a chance to ask for your permission, sir."
"You have it, but please tell me all you can. Spare no detail, I beg you."
Mr. King retold what had occurred from when his sister made the stupid decision to send letters to Mr. Wickham all the way to Miss Lydia tying the blackguard up and pointing Mr. Bennet's own pistol at him.
"She has my pistol?"
"I believe she still does. Although, Mr. Darcy probably placed it in a safe. That man is as careful as they come."
Mr. Bennet nodded. His head was throbbing from all the information he had been given, "And even with all that happened and your apparent distaste for women much younger than yourself… You are still willing?"
"Yes. I think Mr. Darcy's idea would work very well."
"He is a smart and resourceful man."
"He is. It never would have occurred to me to arrange things as he proposed. I am really glad that he wants Miss Lydia to receive instruction. She is quite a talented painter."
"Is she?" Thomas blinked. He had no idea.
"Yes," Mr. King tried not to react. How little did this man know his daughters?
"She is also an excellent shot."
"I heard. Fortunately, I did not have to witness it."
Mr. Bennet signed the contract for Elizabeth's marriage with a small smile. He skimmed it. Mr. Darcy was very generous. There was no reason to complain at all. Jane allowed him to read the contract for her marriage. The doctor came back inside and insisted that he needed to suture his cut. Mr. Darcy asked his valet to come and help shave the area so the doctor could work better. Lizzie pulled William away, and Jane followed suit with Richard. Both couples were very confused about the new attitude of the Bennet patriarch, but they would not look a gift horse in the mouth.
"You are not asking for my advice, sir."
"I will be happy to hear it anyway. Your way clearly yields better results."
Mr. Darcy blinked. That was a compliment. "Thank you. I… I have had to learn as I go. My experience has been raising a girl. However different their personalities may be from one another, I believe your daughters want to be really seen. They have their own likes and dislikes. They have their own dreams and ambitions. We tend to mistakenly think that only men get to have those. But women do, too. It is just this world's fault that they are not allowed to pursue them."
"I did not take you for a modernist," Mr. Bennet replied evenly.
Mr. Darcy was glad that his tone was not bitter or sarcastic, "Well, I have a sister who is more like my daughter. I want her to have a good life. One without limitations based on absurd, unproven theories about the superiority of the male sex. Women are smart, funny, complex, and wonderful people with hopes and fears, just like us. Unlike us, though, they have very little control over the trajectory of their lives. They can only grow and prosper adjacent to what we -their male relatives- allow and promote."
Mr. Bennet smoothed the comforter over his stomach, "I should like to see my daughters through your eyes. What do you see in Jane? Do not hold back on my account. I want your honest perspective."
Mr. Darcy nodded, "Well, Miss Bennet is not just an English rose."
"Pardon?"
"She does not want to be seen as just beautiful because it makes her feel like any man who sees her just wants her as a trophy, an object, not a wife nor a life companion. She has other qualities that she thinks should matter most. She told me about Mr. Lucas and what he did to her, how he played with her feelings for years only to return married with no regard for how it would hurt her."
Mr. Bennet grimaced. He did not think it had mattered much. To him, it was just a silly infatuation. It seemed like a ridiculous fancy between children, but Mr. Darcy's tone told him he saw it had affected her deeply.
Mr. Darcy stared out the window, "All her heartbreak has made her very wary of men. Mr. Bingley did not help matters. She thought he could really see her. How good of a homemaker she would be, how well she paints, but especially, how good of a horsewoman she is."
Mr. Bennet's eyes widened a bit. It was objectively true. Jane was a better horse rider than he had been in his youth.
"Because she seemed a bit blue, I offered for her to ride whenever she wanted. The first thing Richard asked me about her was what I was feeding her."
Thomas blinked, perplexed. "Why?"
"He said he never saw such a horsewoman. Talked about how she jumped a fence and lassoed a horse successfully as she did. He said she was a better rider than most men he knew. Even those in the cavalry. He was shocked that she bravely approached a spooked horse, calmed him down, and got him to eat from her hand. He never mentioned her beauty. Not once. I believe he truly admires her as a person. Miss Bennet is smart, resourceful, kind, charitable, caring, and loving."
"She is. All credit goes to her mother… I will not ask what you see in my Lizzie because whatever it is, it is obvious you are besotted."
Mr. Darcy smiled and nodded.
"Tell me about Mary."
"Everyone assumes that because of her interests, Mary did not want to be a wife or a mother. No one ever asked her if she did."
Mr. Bennet opened his mouth but closed it. It was true. He never asked. He assumed. He had done that with all his daughters. Instead of talking to them directly, he assumed what he felt he needed to from what little he heard when his wife prattled on about them.
"It saddens me that she does not see herself as beautiful. Personally, I think that is untrue. I just think she chooses to dress in a way that avoids unwanted attention from men. Perhaps, seeing what happened to Miss Bennet taught her to be on her guard… I also think she would not want to have a suitor who would need the frippery and lace of a fashionable woman. She has a good head on her shoulders. She does not want a fanciful romance. She wants something real. She wants respect."
"I think the way she dresses invites attention instead."
"Perhaps, but it is her way to differentiate herself from her sisters. She thinks that she is not as smart, not as beautiful, and not as fun as her sisters. She has tried to be a good piano player and feels no one notices her efforts. Not even when she spends hours fishing to feed her family over the summer…" Darcy trailed off.
Mr. Bennet blinked. He remembered that. He just thought she welcomed the time alone. Had he been a fisherman, he would only have returned to the house at nightfall. However, he had been glad that their account at the butcher was less during the summer.
"I think she would have wanted to marry and have a family of her own. I am in awe of her, you know. When we learned that there would be no dowry for her, I offered her a job teaching the children in this area. There are twenty-seven families that live on my lands, and all of them have children. Parson Villiers does his best, but he needs help. Having a dedicated teacher would greatly increase the prospects of all those children. Girls especially. She has been working on the topics to be taught, the manner, on learning the names of the children. She has been creating lesson plans. Parson Villiers is quite impressed with her knowledge of scripture and her charitable nature. I know she enjoys fishing, but she has yet to ask for any lure or time off to enjoy the lake."
"I am embarrassed that she would rather work than depend on her father. But then again, she is right to think she cannot depend on me based on ample evidence," Mr. Bennet coughed and winced. His stitches pulled and hurt.
"She has made the most of my sister's tutors. I believe she would have wanted to attend a finishing school, but now she feels too old to start, although I would happily provide that for her. Miss Mary is fiercely protective of her family, perhaps because she has firsthand experience of what it feels like to be unprotected."
Mr. Bennet winced but did not correct him, "What about my Lydia?"
Mr. Darcy paced and took a few deep breaths to calm down, "Miss Lydia has been through a lot. She is so altered from what happened that I could barely recognize her when I spoke to her. Granted, I never spoke to her much before, but she is an entirely different person. She was beaten. She had to witness horrible violence and hear things no gentlewoman her age should ever hear."
Mr. Bennet frowned, "Please be explicit."
"I am sorry to tell you all this, but I believe you need to know in order to understand what she went through. Wickham backhanded Miss Lydia. That is what caused the bruising and swelling on her face. She said she bruises easily. I think that kind of bruise on a woman's face could only be caused by a man who wanted to harm her as much as possible. I think she was also groped and touched inappropriately, not to mention told things no one should tell a young woman they are not… uh… married to…"
Mr. Bennet felt like he had been dipped in cold water, "Such as?"
"Wickham first told her he would take her to Gretna Green. Eventually, she was told that unless he was given the compensation that he demanded, she would be sold to a… to a whorehouse in London."
Mr. Bennet gasped. My poor child!
"To a girl who has been raised in the sheltered manner befitting a gentlewoman, that is traumatizing. Even the implication of sex at all is very inappropriate. The threat of selling her as if she is an object to be raped in possible perpetuity is disgraceful, insulting, and humiliating… As you can imagine, Miss Lydia is still frightened of loud noises and raised voices. She is wary of men in general. I reckon the latter will take a long time to overcome. Mr. King is willing to go with my suggestion, but you are her father. If you want to weigh in or offer a different solution, we are willing to hear you."
"No. Mr. King and I spoke at length. If both of you agree, we will do as you have decided among yourselves. I just… Is Lydia truly fine with this solution? Mr. King said she was, but... I admit I feel lost. I do not know what is best."
Mr. Darcy nodded. He was still a little dazed that Mr. Bennet was being so agreeable. "I understand your concerns. Mr. King strikes me as a responsible, educated man. He is not cruel. He tried to protect her as best as he could, given his limitations at the time due to the injuries Mr. Wickham caused… He understands that your daughter is far too young for him. I am sure he told you how uncomfortable that makes him."
"He did… In great detail."
"The long engagement is so that she can grow older and hopefully overcome the consequences of what happened. Miss Mary and Mrs. Bennet tell me that she is having nightmares."
Mr. Bennet sighed. "Mr. King did not say how long…"
"At least two years. We could potentially extend it a bit more. He does not want to marry her until she is hopefully twenty, at the very least. Mr. King Sr. can cite family business abroad that keeps his son traveling back and forth. That would perhaps allow us to extend their arrangement up to another year. Miss Lydia is turning seventeen before the end of the year. We believe we can accommodate both of them. She will have the option of ending the engagement after three years or even earlier if she meets someone else she would prefer."
Mr. Bennet nodded. His eyes stung, "Was she… punished by Mr. Gardiner?"
Mr. Darcy sighed, "No. He did have a very stern conversation with her, however."
"Was she punished by you?"
Mr. Darcy frowned and shook his head, "I would never presume to punish someone else's child, Mr. Bennet. It is not my place. I did talk to her mainly to gather information on what had happened. I believe the horrors she experienced: the fear, the hunger, the violence, the aggressive men, the not being able to bathe, nor to have any privacy for so long was enough punishment. Miss Bennet said she thought they would kill Mr. King, rape her, and kill her, then leave her to rot on the side of the road as that would be easier than travel from where they were to London... Mr. Bennet, believe me when I say that she understands the gravity of her actions and what she could have cost her family."
"I will need to speak to her."
"Yes. I do not think you should talk to her today. This day has been quite an ordeal for you and Dr. Allen is very concerned."
"I know. I want to follow his advice to the letter. I need to get better so I can start working on moving from Longbourne and making further amends."
"If you need any assistance, I can send some staff to help you move and settle. I could also help you hire help if you wish to do so."
"You would still help me after all I did…"
"I believe that the man who raised Miss Elizabeth is in there somewhere. I want to believe that you can be that father to the rest of your daughters and fix what you broke."
"I want to. I really do. Thank you for your generosity. I will need the help."
"Of course. I only need the dates so I can make travel arrangements."
"I will think about it and let you know."
"Good. As for your conversation with Miss Lydia… I advise patience. Listen to understand, not to reply. It has been my experience that ladies tend to censor themselves, and it is difficult for them to speak bluntly like we do. It truly is society's fault for telling them that they look more beautiful when they are silent… If she starts opening up and you interrupt her, she probably will go silent and never attempt to approach the subject with you again. It took months for me to get my sister to talk to me again."
"What? Why?"
"My sister almost suffered the same fate as your daughter… I barely managed to prevent it."
Mr. Bennet stared at the young man who suddenly looked decades older than his age. "How come?"
"Wickham grew up here with us because his father was my father's steward. He used all the goodwill and nostalgia she had from those times, manipulated her, and played with her feelings... She was but fifteen years old and not even out in society yet. She is now sixteen, and it is only since she started being friends with Miss Elizabeth and Miss Mary that she has come out of her shell and truly started to move on," Mr. Darcy sighed and closed his eyes.
"You have been through a lot these past few years, have you not?"
"I have."
"It is a wonder to me that you are as kind and generous as you are. So many wealthy men like yourself choose to spend their lives comfortably without hard work."
"I could never. I was brought up to appreciate work. I think it keeps me grounded. Many times, when I find myself overwhelmed, manual labor is the best way to calm down."
"Really?"
"Indeed. I enjoy working alongside the tenants in the planting season and during the harvest and culling."
"That must keep you out of the house for a long time."
"It did. I will make sure that once I marry, I will not spend so many hours in the fields. I would not want Miss Elizabeth to feel lonely."
"Could you tell me when you are marrying?"
"What?"
"I imagine I will not be invited. However, I would like to light a candle wherever I end up and pray for her and for your marriage."
Mr. Darcy took a deep breath. He never considered whether Lizzie would not want Mr. Bennet at the wedding after all that had happened. "We have not chosen a date yet."
"Please let me know."
"Of course. If you excuse me, I believe you should rest," Mr. Darcy bowed his head and left waving the doctor back inside.
"How is Mrs. Gardiner?"
"She remains well. The spotting was not enough to be concerning. She should start feeling the quickening soon. After that, I recommend that she start taking short walks. No stairs, though. If that goes well, we could move her to London, so she finishes her pregnancy closer to a hospital, just in case there are complications."
"Wonderful. Thank you, Doctor."
"Of course."
Mr. Darcy smiled and left hurriedly. He had many things to do now. There were two weddings to arrange and two trousseaus to procure. He needed his aunt Elinor and Mrs. Bennet. He hoped she was doing better.