Page 71 of Shields and Roses

Darcy thought Mrs. Hill regarded Richard with the same fond tolerance Mrs. Reynolds had for him at Pemberley. "It is not for the first time," she said with a slight shake of the head, "and God willing, it will not be the last. You go along then. I will see to everything else."

Before leading the way down the corridor, Richard thanked Mrs. Hill and Darcy offered her a respectful nod. Clearly, she was a servant who took pride in her family and their home and she deserved his courtesy.

They walked down the corridor, Richard leading and Darcy following. As Darcy glanced into the open doorways they passed, he saw a series of public rooms that looked bright and inviting. The abundance of windows and all the light they brought in made a difference, of course, but from what he saw of the rooms they were also clean and arranged for the comfort of family and guests.

"They must pay a fortune in window tax," he said softly to Richard.

"A fair amount," Richard whispered back, "but Mr. Bennet thinks the extra light and air are well worth the cost."

Although he said nothing in reply, Darcy agreed with the sentiment. Just then, the corridor turned a corner, and they passed what was clearly a music room. Richard led his cousin beyond that and to a door at the end standing slightly ajar. Richard knocked on the door frame.

"Enter," called a man's voice from within.

As Richard pushed open the door, Darcy saw a room he would been proud to call his own. One side was dominated by a sturdy desk arranged for ease and efficiency of work. The wall behind it and the other interior walls were lined with bookshelves containing a large but neatly arranged collection of volumes. Three chairs stood on a circular carpet in front of the fireplace, and a small table with a chessboard on it stood nearby. The westward facing windows provided ample light, now that the sun was high, and some heat to warm the room. Not quite enough heat for the occupant of the center chair, however. Darcy heard the crackle of a fire in the grate, and the man in the chair had a gray wool shawl wrapped around his shoulders for even more warmth. Mr. Bennet, for Darcy was correct in assuming it was he, broke into a wide smile when he recognized Richard standing in the doorway.

"Richard!" he cried. "You are a sight for sore eyes, young man! Come in! Come in and introduce me to your cousin."

"You are correct in your assumption that my companion is Fitzwilliam Darcy, my cousin," Richard said cheerfully as, much to Darcy's surprise, he headed for the desk rather than going directly to the man who was struggling to rise from his chair. As Richard reached the corner of the desk, Darcy noticed the miniature chessboard that had once belonged to his father, as well as the newer brass plate on it that clearly said "Darcy". Casually, as if he had done this many times before, Richard looked over the game in progress, picked up the tweezers from their place next to the board and made a move.

"What are you doing?" asked Darcy, amazed by the proceedings.

Both Richard and Bennet laughed merrily at his surprise, and Richard answered, "It is tradition here, Will. I am making a move on your father's behalf. Let Mr. Bennet take his turn, and you can do the same."

Bennet had gotten to his feet and approached the desk as Richard spoke. He took the tweezers from the younger man, nodding approval of the play even as Darcy said, "I do not understand."

Bennet moved his bishop, then offered the tweezers to Darcy, who took them automatically.

"It is a simple matter, young Mr. Darcy," Bennet said. "I truly enjoyed my many games with your father over the years. When you sent me the board, I thought the best way to honor him was to keep it out and in use. I added the name plate, as you can see. I play my side, and each visitor to my study who is so inclined makes one move on your father's side per visit. It has resulted in some very challenging games along with some I have won in the first few moves. Just the opportunity to play on this lovely little board prompted my youngest daughters to take up the game and improve their skills. I appreciate you having made a gift of it to me."

Squirming inside as he remembered his curt and rude letter, Darcy said, "I am afraid we both know that the night of the assembly in Lambton was not the first time I have insulted a member of the Bennet family. I apologize for the offensively brief and poorly worded letter I sent as an accompaniment to that chessboard. Even if you were the kind of man my Aunt Catherine declared you to be, you deserved far more courtesy than I showed, based simply on the volume of correspondence you shared with my father. I know he treasured it, because he kept it all. I could barely fit your final letter in the drawer he reserved for your missives."

"I was less offended than amused and saddened by your response, Mr. Darcy. Any offense I did feel was wiped away by the beauty and meaning of the gift. I may never have met your father in person, but I would guess there were few men in this world who knew him as well. We had many limitations in common, and we shared both the challenges and our solutions with each other even as we played our games.

"No doubt I would have realized that if I had even glanced over your letters or listened to my father speak of your games. Instead, I simply boxed the letters up and put them away with a large portion of his papers and other non-essential correspondence."

"Do not feel bad about it, Mr. Darcy," Bennet said with a gentle smile. "I know what it is like to lose a father and inherit all the responsibilities he seemed to handle so effortlessly. It is never easy, and it is no surprise that in such moments we often do or say things we later regret."

"Thank you, sir," Darcy said. He looked at the tiny board, analyzing the position of the pieces. After a moment of thought, he used the tweezers to make a move, capturing one of Mr. Bennet's men and depositing it with the other captured pieces in the small bowl set nearby for that purpose.

"Ah, that move shows you are your father's son," Bennet said as Darcy handed the tweezers back to him. "That is just the sort of move I would have expected from him in that situation. You honor him well."

Bennet moved his own piece in response and placed the tweezers back on the desk before offering his hand to Darcy. "It is a pleasure to have you here at last," he said as they shook hands.

"The pleasure is mine, Mr. Bennet," Darcy replied, and he meant it.

"May I assume you are both here about that Wickham fellow, as well as one or two other matters of a more feminine type?" he said, raising an eyebrow questioningly at Richard. "Shall we take our seats and discuss your visit to Rosings Park and recent events here?" He gestured to the seats arranged in front of the fire.

"You did receive the express then?" Richard asked, obviously ignoring the tease in the rest of the comment. He and Darcy stood by their seats, politely waiting for Mr. Bennet to settle himself before they sat.

"Yes, I did," Bennet replied. "I have heard nothing of Wickham in these parts, but that does not mean he is not here. I trust your sources too well to ignore the warning. Sir William Lucas went to Meryton for me and asked the commander of the unit, Colonel Forster, if anyone named Wickham had joined them. He has not done so using that name, and the Colonel would not investigate further. Too many of the men match the general description you provided. We have had problems with several of the officers being too forward in their attentions to some of our young ladies, including my own daughters. It became particularly troublesome and notable a few months ago after the arrival of a new officer, Lt. Brickham."

Darcy and Richard looked at each other significantly on hearing the name that was so similar to Wickham. Bennet had paused for effect, but he continued when they looked back at him.

"I have no doubt the new lieutenant is the man you seek. After Kitty and Lydia had problems with him, I discussed the matter with the fathers of other young women in the area. We banded together to insist that Colonel Forster make it clear to his men that such behavior would not be tolerated in our community."

"Did the young ladies receive any more unwanted advances after that?" Richard asked.

"No, but the senior officers and the Colonel have been rather cool towards all of us since then. Brickham tried to approach Kitty in the village, but she stayed close to her sister and their governess, refusing to acknowledge him as I had instructed. He later sent me a note to offer an approximation of an apology that his, as he called them, overtures of friendship had been misunderstood as something more sinister. It was an amusingly artful letter, filled with weasel-worded phrases that could mean anything or nothing at all."