Page 75 of Shields and Roses

"Yes, sir," Darcy replied, "although I am surprised you could hear him come in from here."

"I did not. From this seat, I have a view of the front drive, and I was watching for arrivals."

"Ah," said Darcy, "that makes sense. Mrs. Hill is taking the apothecary up to attend to Miss Lucas, and she is sending a maid to escort Miss Elizabeth upstairs as well." He turned to where Lizzy was seated behind the desk. She had been writing out something on a piece of paper. "I hope you are feeling better now, Miss Elizabeth."

She smiled and nodded, meeting his eyes briefly as she did, then turned back to the page.

Mr. Bennet said, "Her throat still pains her. I have asked her to write out everything she can remember of the experience. It can then be used as direct testimony against Wickham when we speak with Colonel Forster. I hope you will go along with us when Sir William and I head to the village."

"Of course, sir. I have an equal interest in seeing any possible threat from George Wickham or Aunt Catherine neutralized and I am also a witness."

"Good, good. I will feel better when we know he is dealt with."

Darcy turned back to the desk. "Miss Elizabeth," he began. "I wanted to say how very..." he stopped as someone knocked at the door. It was the maid.

Lizzy offered him another slight smile as she stood and walked around the desk, holding the page in her hand. She gave that to her father, curtsied to the two gentlemen and followed the maid from the room. Darcy watched her go, feeling helpless.

"I think she already knows you have reconsidered your ideas and are sorry for your previous insults," Bennet said softly.

"All the same, I feel I must tell her so. I must apologize for any misunderstanding between us. I have wanted to do so for months, even though I did not realize it was her family I had insulted."

"You will get your chance, young man," Bennet said kindly. "Given time, that is. I assume you and Richard will be staying with us for a few days."

"If you are willing to invite us. I know Richard hoped to stay here until Bingley takes possession of the estate he has leased nearby. I think he plans to arrive in a few days."

"Ah, yes. My wife was so delighted when she heard that Netherfield Park is let at last. I have not yet told her that the gentleman who has leased the estate has also been calling on her middle daughter. It did not seem a good time to distract her from her plans for Jane's wedding. She can sometimes become fixated on the oddest things. You will understand later." Bennet smiled. "As to inviting you, Richard has a standing invitation to stay when and however long he pleases, and you are most welcome as well."

"Thank you, sir." Darcy looked at the miniature chessboard, noting immediately that another set of moves had been made. "Do the rules of your tradition allow me to take another move today?" he asked.

Chuckling, Bennet replied, "Of course they do. It is one move per visit, and this is your second visit to this study today. When you are done, just tell me what move you have made, and I will allow you to move my next instead of standing up to do it."

Darcy picked up the tweezers and moved a man, telling Bennet what he had done. After Bennet made his response and Darcy moved that man as well, he replaced the tweezers and went to take a seat by his host.

"Richard told me of the injuries you received several years ago. Is it still that painful to travel by carriage?"

"It is. In fact, it has become worse over time, in general. I am both grateful and amazed I healed as well as I did. It took a long time to regain any use of my left arm or to be able to turn my head fully. I was doing fairly well for a while, around the time I was first married, when the girls were very young. Over time, the injured areas seemed to stiffen up again, and every cold winter seems to make it a little worse. I have a brace my physician and I developed that helps minimize the pain from jarring, although it does not prevent it all. It will not exactly be a pleasant trip into the village, but I will survive it. I feel this is very important for me to do."

"If there is any way I can help or make you feel more comfortable, please let me know, sir. I am not just making a polite offer. I do mean it."

"Yes," said Bennet. "I understand that. Your father said you were a great help to him in many ways, especially towards the end, and he was very proud of the man you were becoming, although he did sometimes worry about your pride and your willingness to believe your aunt. He also told me he felt blessed to have you for a son and your sister for a daughter."

"I appreciate hearing that, Mr. Bennet," Darcy said, affected by the tribute. "I miss him a great deal. As you said earlier, it is very difficult taking on those responsibilities he managed so well. My sister is one of those responsibilities that I often worry that I am not managing as well as I would like. I understand she maintains a correspondence with your two youngest daughters. Do you know if she is happy? She often seems so shy and nervous around me that I cannot tell how she really feels."

"I do not read my daughters' letters, but from things they have said, I believe your sister is generally happy, although she often feels lonely. She was pleased you took her from the school where she felt so out of place, but now she needs friends and is not sure how to find them. My daughters have often discussed the possibility of inviting her here, but none of them were sure how you would react to an invitation to Longbourn since they did not know you were aware of the correspondence."

"I only learned of it recently. I probably would not have reacted well earlier, but now I would gladly accept an invitation on her behalf."

"Your uncle is planning to come for Jane's wedding. If you would write to him, I expect he would be willing to bring your sister here with him when he comes. We would be happy to host her for a month or two. I am used to having a horde of girls in this house. One more would make little difference." Bennet grinned as he made the comment and Darcy grinned back.

"I am grateful for the invitation. I will write to my uncle and if he cannot bring her, I will go and get her myself. You are certain it will not be a problem to have her here while you are preparing for the wedding?"

"None at all. There is plenty of room, especially if you young men head off to Netherfield. I understand from Gardiner that Mr. Bingley has already offered rooms there to the Damasks and any of their relations who will be joining us. The Gardiners and their children will stay here, of course, but that still leaves plenty of room for one young woman, her companion and her maid."

"How big is Netherfield Park?" Darcy asked.

"Oh, it is easily twice the size of Longbourn. You need not worry about being crowded there either."

"I had wondered. I am not at my best in large crowds of people, but if the house is big enough, I will find places to escape when I need solitude."