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“I absolutely love your aunt, Bingley. She is amazing. She handled my aunt like a general directing his troops on the battlefield.” Theodore piled his plate high with various breakfast items and headed to the table.

“Yes, I believe she is rather splendid.” Grinning at his friend across the table, Bingley took a sip of his coffee. The night before had been both satisfying and highly entertaining.

“You gentlemen would not be talking about me while I was out of the room, would you?” Guthrie entered the room with a whirl of skirts and smiles. She made a beeline for the coffeepot, pouring herself a cup of its steaming contents.

Quickly standing, Theodore went to the sideboard and selected a plate for her. “Mrs. McDougal, let me get you a plate. What would you prefer?”

“Thank you, dear boy. A pastry and some eggs would be fine. You may call me Aunt Guthrie as Charles does.” Guthrie inhaled the smell of her coffee as she sat, her eyes closed in contentment.

“I am honored, Aunt Guthrie.” Theodore put a plate in front of her with a bow before returning to his chair and his breakfast.

“So, Aunt, what are your plans for Lady Catherine? Do we need to be concerned about a return visit, do you think?” Bingley dug into his breakfast after bringing up the question.

“I doubt she will be an issue going forward. I spoke with the magistrate last night and explained the situation. Miss Elizabeth is well-liked, and when he heard my explanation coupled with Lady Catherine’s rant, he quite agreed with me.

” Guthrie took a bite of her pastry, enjoying the fluffy texture and sweet taste.

“What exactly did you agree on?” Theodore asked while spreading jam on his toast.

“I agreed we would not press charges if she would return home today, stopping nowhere near here on her way back to Rosings. One of my grooms will follow her until she is well on her way to ensure that she does.” Guthrie smiled while staring into her cup contemplatively.

“I tip my hat to you. The way you handled the whole interaction shows amazing tactics. Do you play chess? I would love to match wits before you leave if you have time.” His life as a tactician for the military was ending because of his injury, but that did not mean he would not find other ways to keep his mind sharp.

“Yes, I am rather fond of chess. I play with my husband regularly.” Guthrie took a bite of her eggs before continuing.

“I think I will have time to play a game with you this evening, maybe after dinner. That is, if we can pull Miss Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy away from the board; they seem to relish the opportunity to challenge one another.”

Bingley smiled, thinking that it was nice that his friend had found so much happiness at Netherfield. “Yes, they seem rather fond of the pastime.”

“I think your arm is coming along nicely. Your healing is progressing as expected. It doesn’t bother you too much, does it?

” Mr. Jones tried to judge the pain that Miss Elizabeth was in as he manipulated her arm.

His patients either screamed at any little pain or they tried to outstubborn the pain.

Miss Elizabeth was the latter sort of patient.

Elizabeth tried to avoid a wince as Mr. Jones moved her arm.

“No, it does not hurt too badly, and Jane’s tea has been helping when it does.

I dislike the way I feel when I take laudanum, so I have stopped taking it.

The nightmares were becoming rather too disturbing.

” She hated the way her head swam when she took laudanum.

Her arm did ache, but it was a bearable pain.

“Your face seems to have healed fairly well. Even though it still has a discolored appearance, I am happy that your cheek does not seem to be broken.” Mr. Jones was relieved Elizabeth had come away from her fall at Oakham Mount with such little consequence to herself.

Miraculously, she came away from the perilous situation almost unscathed.

Mr. Jones felt it must have been the grace of God, as she could have easily died.

“I am confident that you should manage the return home tomorrow without further issues, as long as you are careful. I will come to Longbourn to follow up in about a week.” Closing his bag, he smiled warmly at both the girls before he left.

Elizabeth felt guilty that she did not want to go home.

Her home was where her mother and sisters were, and she was allowing them to suffer without her there to help or act as a buffer.

“I know this is not right to say, but I am almost sad I am healing so well. If I had been struggling, we could stay here longer.”

“You have been enjoying your time with Mr. Darcy. I can understand wanting to stay in his vicinity.” Jane soothed her sister’s distress. She could see the joy in Lizzie’s eyes when she spoke to Mr. Darcy. Anyone with that much affection for someone would want to remain close.

“I know that is part of it, but I also do not want to return and deal with Father,” Elizabeth admitted quietly.

“I will go home tomorrow, but it has been nice here, not having to endure the ongoing challenge of silently battling our father.” Elizabeth was so demoralized by the fighting.

She had been so free here that it only helped her to understand how draining her home was.

“I cannot but agree with you. It would be easier to never return; however, we know that there is a plan in place. It will not go on forever. Our tenure under his authority will end soon.” Jane was determined to see the struggle at home come to an end.

If the plan they were putting in place did not work, she would come up with another, and another, until the suffering stopped.

Staying at Netherfield had let her know just how tense she had been at home.

She was having a wonderful time, and she was determined not to accept the dreary future her father had plotted out for her and her sisters.

Elizabeth linked arms with her sister and headed towards the delicious breakfast that awaited them. “You are right. Let us go down and have some breakfast. We still have one day of peace to enjoy before we return to discord.”

Coming into the room, she spotted nearly everyone at the table and grinned to see Mr. Darcy hop up when she entered the room.

“Elizabeth, sit down. I shall get you some coffee and a plate.” Darcy rushed to get her coffee just as she liked it, with cream and the smallest amount of sugar. She looked fairly well. The bruise on her face was healing more every day, though it was still very noticeable.

Elizabeth took the cup that he handed her, but when their fingertips touched, the most spectacular frisson ran up her arm.

Looking into his eyes, she knew he had felt the jolt as well.

Developing a relationship with Mr. Darcy was becoming a very interesting endeavor.

“Thank you, Mr. Darcy. I would love a muffin and some of that delicious jam. What were you discussing when we arrived?” As much as Elizabeth desired to use a term of endearment for Mr. Darcy, she hesitated.

“We are discussing our plots and ploys to bring down the evil king,” Georgiana spoke up from her spot a few seats down.

“Oh, have we set up his downfall yet?” Jane spoke while gathering her meal.

“There is a plan in place, and everyone has their role,” Theodore responded. He had been writing letters since Darcy and Elizabeth had come up with the idea.

Guthrie reached over and patted Jane’s hand. She was a dear girl and even if things did not turn out as she suspected they would, she would like to keep in touch. “Now I want you to promise that even if things go wrong after you return home, you write to me; you have my direction.”

“Yes, Aunt Guthrie, I promise, though I hope you will get the chance to say goodbye to us before you return home,” Jane replied as she stirred her tea. She had enjoyed spending time with the woman she had grown to admire.

“Yes, I hope so too.” Guthrie thought over the many things she wanted to accomplish with her niece and sighed.

Things were moving along well, but if she wanted to get home before winter fully set in, she would need to leave soon.

Stepping back from the table, she made her excuses and went in search of Caroline.

Finding Caroline in her sparse but clean room, Guthrie knocked on the door to let her know she was there. Lost in thought, Caroline was gazing at the shattered mirror in front of her and looked up at her aunt in surprise.

Guthrie spoke softly to her niece while moving to set next to her on the bed. “It looks like you are deep in contemplation. Anything you would like to share with me?”

“I once felt my life was in one piece, but now it’s shattered into fragments just as much as the woman I am looking at.

When I realized my plans on how to act and what to do were misguided, I felt a shiver of uncertainty run down my spine.

As if I had lost my way and did not know where my path led.

I do not think I know who I am or even who I want to be anymore.

” She continued to stare at her shattered representation, her life aligned in too many pieces to order.

“Who we are changes every day with every decision we make. Trying to take your identity on all at once can be very overwhelming. When you did your room, what did you think when you saw that mess?” Guthrie questioned.

Confused, Caroline looked at her aunt, her crystal blue eyes wide. “There were feathers everywhere and broken things. It overwhelmed me. I did not think I could do what you asked.”

“Were you able to do it?” Guthrie prodded her niece.

“Yes, it took time, and you had to help show me how to sweep, but it is clean now.” Looking around, she realized she was proud of the work she did and what she had accomplished.

It was an odd feeling. She had done something she had always considered menial and yet, in the end, she had felt good, and she was proud.

She did not know what to think about it.

“In essentials, it is the same thing. You are overwhelmed at first, but then you get to work, taking it one piece at a time. You ask someone for help and keep working at it until you become satisfied with the results.”

“What if I am never satisfied?” Caroline mumbled.

“It is a process that takes time, but I am confident you will find a way. For now, we need to go through all your clothes to find what to bring to Scotland. I have a feeling it may take longer than either of us would like. Do you have anything with warmer fabrics?” Standing, she went to the wardrobe and pulled out everything.

They conducted the carriage ride back to Longbourn in near silence.

Neither Jane nor Elizabeth felt much like talking.

The tension in them both was a visible thing, measured in the relentless smoothing of skirts and constant knee bouncing.

Bingley and Darcy rode outside the carriage for propriety’s sake but were keenly aware of the strain on the Bennet girls.

The last day they had spent at Netherfield had gone by in a blink and now the calmer times were over.

They were all preparing for a pitched battle.

Darcy dismounted Cadmus and helped Elizabeth down from the carriage, squeezing her hand for support. Bingley quickly helped Jane down and escorted her to the house. Mrs. Hill stood in the entryway.

Mrs. Hill wiped at her eyes with her oversized apron, overcome with the sight of her sweet girl.

“Oh, Miss Lizzie, I am that glad you are home, even if you are rather worse for wear. Your mother is in the parlor with your sisters. Your father has stayed in his study. Now I know your beau is here, but you will go rest within the hour or I will know it.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Hill. I will rest as you command.” Elizabeth leaned in and kissed the older woman on the cheek.

“What would she do if you did not obey her edict?” Darcy questioned.

Elizabeth laughed while heading to find her mother and other sisters. “She would withhold Mrs. Allen’s scones in the morning.”

“Yes, a very horrifying punishment indeed,” Jane attested.

Their sisters welcomed them with joyful laughter and enveloped them with unconditional love. Eventually, things settled but not before everyone received multiple hugs, and Elizabeth was shown to a well-padded chair near the fire even though she promised she had not caught a chill on the ride over.

“Now that I have delivered you into the warm embrace of your mother and sisters, we will leave. I will return in the morning so that we can go see Kiernan. I might even bring Theo so that he can spend time with all of you lovely ladies.” Darcy bid her goodbye, only getting in a few whispered words of affection under the scrutiny of so many eyes.