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“Do not become used to my current level of neediness. My arm will heal and then where will you be?” Elizabeth remarked.

“I think I will enjoy you keeping me on my toes,” he whispered to Elizabeth, relishing their banter.

The meal had been simple, but delicious. When Mrs. Ansley had taken over from Caroline, a lot of things had improved, and the food was one of the best.

Looking around, Darcy was glad everyone was interacting so well together.

All the chatter was amiable and intelligent.

The talk had ranged from the war on the continent to the latest thoughts on crop rotation, and the various literature people had been reading.

He could not easily remember a meal that had been so enjoyable and intellectually challenging.

“Brother, you said you would say something at the meal, and I believe the meal is almost complete,” Georgiana reminded her brother, impatient to celebrate what she already suspected.

Darcy cast his gaze around the room, his smile beaming with delight. His excitement was contagious as he shared his news with everyone present. “I know everyone suspects as much, but I wanted to say that Elizabeth and I have come to an understanding and have agreed to court.”

The tremendous squeal from Georgiana deafened him. She bypassed him though to hug Elizabeth, ever careful of her arm.

“Mrs. Bennet, would you be available to speak with Elizabeth and me before you return to Longbourn?” Darcy felt she had a right to know some adverse situations were coming up concerning her daughter.

“I have enough time to discuss matters with you.” Mrs. Bennet watched the way Mr. Darcy seemed to communicate with Elizabeth without words. It certainly boded well for their future.

There were several people gathered to review a problem and find a solution. Looking around, Elizabeth felt a certain familiarity with the situation. It was not too dissimilar from the many times she had gathered to solve a problem with her mother and sisters.

“I am going to assume that your conversation with Miss Elizabeth’s father did not go well,” Theodore spoke up once they were all settled.

Darcy ran his hand through his hair, his frustration with Mr. Bennet visible in the way he paced.

“I think that may be the largest understatement I have heard all year. I knew your father was not the best of men, darling, before I went over there and yet going over there was so much worse than I imagined.”

“I will assume that my father was insulting to myself and at least one other of my sisters. It is nothing we do not hear spoken to us and of us regularly. What did he say about our courtship?” Elizabeth suspected he would refuse in a manner most severe.

Darcy’s heart ached to hear Elizabeth’s resigned voice as she spoke of her father’s animosity.

“Mr. Bennet refused to allow an official courtship or an eventual marriage. He went one step further to say that if we married, he would disown Elizabeth and refuse contact with any family still at Longbourn.” He tried to avoid revealing some of the more sordid details of his interaction with Mr. Bennet.

“Mr. Darcy, I think you are very noble to protect our feelings, but I have been married to that man for nearly twenty-three years. I know that was not the whole. What did he say besides no?” Mrs. Bennet had known it would not go well.

She wished to be prepared for whatever comments he made on her return to Longbourn.

“You know your husband, Mrs. Bennet; sadly, he was quite cruel. He suggested his daughter was not worthy of marrying a man like me and that he gave me permission to take Elizabeth as my mistress. His words implied she was not good enough for anything more.” Darcy ground out the filth that Mr. Bennet had spewed in his study.

Bingley had never experienced such an intense feeling of disgust towards someone. “Excuse my candor, Mrs. Bennet, but I think your husband is a despicable human being.”

“It is all right, dear. I have known that since the beginning of my marriage to the man. May I assume we are all here so that we can unseat my husband and his delusions?” Mrs. Bennet had long dreamed of humbling her husband’s smugness, and she could sense it would happen soon.

“Yes, Mrs. Bennet, that is the plan. Let me first start by saying you have my sympathy for having to endure such a man for so long. Though it proves that you have a core of steel that I think you must have passed on to your daughters. How else would Elizabeth have the gumption to take on a dastard like Wickham?” The more Theodore found out about Mr. Bennet, the more outraged he became.

He found the opposite was also true. He was even more in awe of the Bennet women.

They lived in a veritable war zone and yet they remained kind and amazingly strong.

“Oh, you do go on.” Mrs. Bennet blushed at such a compliment.

Elizabeth realized how much she wanted a future with the man beside her.

She would not allow her father to stand in the way of her happiness.

“Though I would not be averse to waiting until we can marry, I am opposed to being cut off from my mother and sisters. Is there a way to force Father’s hand? ”

“Did you bring back any intelligence from the interaction, Darcy?” Theodore prompted. He had several theories on what they could do. Their next actions depended on what they could figure out about Mr. Bennet’s desires and weaknesses.

Darcy concentrated on recalling the various details he could pick up on. “He is very proud of his extensive book collection. He even has all but one of Benjamin Striker’s series on the importance of the Greek hero. He also appears to be a chess player.”

“Yes, he has been after that one book for the last ten years.” Mrs. Bennet remembered how angry he had become when someone outbid him for the last copy he had tried to purchase.

“I think he was the reigning chess champion back when he was at Oxford, though now he only plays himself,” Elizabeth commented.

“Darcy, I think I remember your father talking about that collection. I think he purchased all of them. He got the last one about ten years ago.” Theodore was not fond of his uncle, but he remembered him crowing about outbidding someone ten years ago.

Mrs. Bennet burst out laughing. She laughed so hard she had tears flowing down her cheeks. Hardly able to catch her breath, she struggled to compose herself. “That is just amazingly perfect.” Accepting a handkerchief from Mr. Bingley, she wiped her eyes.

“Are you all right, Mrs. Bennet?” So far, Bingley had been of little help, but he had substantial feelings about the Bennet ladies’ situation.

He hoped that he would have a close bond with them.

If Mr. Bennet acted so horribly about Miss Elizabeth, there was no expectation of a better response to a request for Miss Bennet’s hand.

“Just fine, dear, I just realized that Mr. Darcy’s father must have been the one to outbid Mr. Bennet.

He had been willing to give up several of his extravagances for some time in order to get that book.

When he lost the bid, he was furious. You will forgive me for finding an absurd kind of amusement in the situation’s irony.

” She reached over and patted Mr. Bingley’s hand.

He was a very sweet boy and there were strong glimmers of his potential.

She would wait to judge the possibilities of his being a match for one of her daughters.

“I think your humor completely justified, Mrs. Bennet.” Darcy found himself startled to realize that her exuberance reminded him of Elizabeth’s.

“Mama, you have given me the most astoundingly good idea. Mr. Darcy, what was that chess move you told me about? Where a player gives up a piece during the opening to win something greater?” As she looked into Mr. Darcy’s eyes, she felt her heart flutter with the understanding they shared.

Her father’s reign was coming to a close. He just didn’t know it yet.

“A gambit?” Darcy looked into the sparkling green depths of her eyes and grinned. She was right; it was a brilliant idea.