Page 78 of Shields and Roses

"Oh, that girl! I always knew walking would get her into trouble one day!" Mrs. Bennet said, surprising Darcy, who wondered why, out of all the information she had been given, she responded that way. Apparently neither Mr. Bennet nor Sir William was at all surprised. The other occupants of the room looked concerned at the news but remained silent and allowed Mrs. Bennet to continue her side of the conversation unimpeded.

"You have said so before, madam," Sir William replied jovially, "but you must remember my Charlotte was there with her as well, on your own land, and our daughters did nothing wrong. Mr. Darcy and his cousin were most heroic in saving our girls from a completely unexpected danger."

"He also did apologize and write to Sir Barnaby to retract his statements last year," Bennet added quickly. "And you know both Viscount Rand and Colonel Fitzwilliam are very fond of him."

Mrs. Bennet looked Darcy up and down appraisingly. "Well," she began doubtfully, "I suppose if he did help our Lizzy and he truly is sorry…"

Darcy bowed again and did his best to sound penitent. "I am truly sorry, Mrs. Bennet. I hope you can forgive me." He decided to appeal to her sense of hospitality. "Of course, I can move to the nearest inn if you simply cannot stand to have me in your house." He let his words trail off.

"Nonsense!" she said. "You must stay here if Colonel Fitzwilliam is staying here as well. As if I would send a man who had saved one of my daughters away to stay at an inn. The very idea!" She huffed at the thought. Then something Mr. Bennet had said earlier struck her and she turned to her husband and Sir William. "But Lizzy! And Charlotte! You said they were attacked - they were not harmed, were they?" she asked.

"Oh, I hope not!" exclaimed the youngest girl.

"Not badly, Mrs. Bennet," said Sir William. "Not as badly as they might have been had Mr. Darcy and the Colonel not come along just then and helped them. Mr. Jones has just been to see them both and said they would be fine with a little rest and time to heal."

Bennet cut in quickly. "Charlotte is upstairs and will spend the night here, my dear. Lizzy is up resting now, but she may choose to come down later. Her throat was injured in the attack, and Mr. Jones says it is vitally important she avoid talking for a time. If she strains her voice, she may not be able to speak again, and that might make it hard for her to find a husband."

"Well, if that is what he says, then she must simply remain silent," Mrs. Bennet insisted. "Girls, you are not to encourage your sister to talk if she does come down this afternoon."

Darcy saw that Bennet's eyes were twinkling at the success of his comments. Looking at the others in the room he said, "Yes, girls, that is very important. While we are talking to you, I should also introduce you to our guest. Mr. Darcy, may I present my daughters? The eldest, Jane, is sitting next to her mother, as I think you know already."

Jane stood and curtsied. Darcy offered her a polite bow and Bennet continued with the introduction.

"Of course, you already know Lizzy and Mary, my next two daughters, and know they are not in this room. The next youngest, Katherine, or Kitty as we call her, is closest to the window." Kitty offered her curtsy.

"My youngest, Lydia, is next to her sister." Lydia curtsied as well.

"The other young woman present is Miss Parks, governess and companion to my two youngest daughters," Bennet finished. Miss Parks also stood and curtsied. "Pleased to meet you, sir," she murmured.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all," Darcy said with one more bow for good measure. "Unfortunately, Sir William, Mr. Bennet and I must all meet my cousin in Meryton to deal with the man who attacked Miss Elizabeth and Miss Lucas today."

Mrs. Bennet smiled at him, clearly pleased by the courtesy he had shown. "Yes, well, you three see to it that criminal gets exactly what he deserves. Mr. Bennet, be careful."

"I will, my dear," Bennet said with a smile just for his wife.

"If you have no objection, Mrs. Bennet," Sir William said, "I will be back later to check on Charlotte."

"Of course, of course," said Mrs. Bennet, almost automatically, and turned back to her eldest daughter, all other concerns apparently forgotten.

The three men headed for the front door. They had not quite made it out before Darcy heard Mrs. Bennet say loudly, "Well, I must say Mr. Darcy was much more of a gentleman than I had ever expected. Very like his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam in that, and very handsome, too!"

Darcy turned red as the other two worked to stifle their laughter. They managed until they got outside and closed the door. Darcy turned redder still as the two men enjoyed his moment of discomfort.

"It looks like you have been forgiven, Mr. Darcy," Bennet said finally. "I wonder if she would have done so had you been less handsome?"

Darcy rolled his eyes, but he joined in with the continued chuckles as they made their way to Sir William's carriage, which was still waiting in the drive.

Chapter 40: Confrontation

On Sir William's instructions, the driver went slow and used the smoothest portion of the roads. Bennet had taken about half the contents of the vial just before climbing into the carriage, but Darcy doubted the medicine would take immediate effect. He was glad Bennet had been able to take some amusement, even if it was at Darcy's own expense, just before the trip if some of that mood carried over. It was clear within minutes of starting that the older man was finding the ride painful.

Despite the slow speed, it did not take too very long to go the few miles to the far side of the village where the militia encampment was laid out. Sir William's driver brought them to the door of the building Colonel Forster was using as both residence and command center. Darcy helped Bennet descend from the carriage, being as gentle as he could. He saw that Bennet was not doing well, although from the slightly glassy look in his eyes the medication was having some slight effect.

When they arrived, the colonel's aide who greeted them refused at first to announce them to his commander. He told them Colonel Forster had just gone into a meeting with someone. From behind the closed door of the inner office they heard the rumble of voices that confirmed his statement, although they could not make out the words.

Darcy inquired if the Colonel's current visitor was Colonel Fitzwilliam of the regular Army. Clearly surprised, the aide confirmed that Colonel Fitzwilliam was in discussion with Colonel Forster on a sensitive matter.

"Colonel Fitzwilliam is my cousin," Darcy told the man, "Sir William, Mr. Bennet and I have come with additional information on the same issue as he. It is important we are part of their discussion."