Chapter 15

It was around her twelfth birthday that Elizabeth had begun to take an interest in the management of the estate, and her father and grandmother began training her. By her sixteenth birthday, she had taken it over entirely. She regularly consulted with the steward and read everything she could get her hands on about modernising the agricultural practices at Longbourn.

Initially, when Mr. Johnson realised it was not Mr. Bennet but his then-fourteen-year-old daughter who was behind the changes, he balked. It did not take him long to realise her input was sound and that she was far more interested than her father had ever been. He began to seek her out to tell her of any problems on the estate, and the two worked together to find more ways to increase the estate's profits. Through these efforts, she and the steward, who appreciated the more hands-on approach, had been able to raise Longbourn's overall profits to just over three thousand pounds.

Her mother was kept unaware of this, though she did encourage the eldest two girls to take over the responsibility of visiting the tenants since this left her with more time to visit and gossip. Jane was kind and good and did all she could to assist the tenants to improve their lives. Elizabeth, however, took a more active role and met not only with the ladies but also the men to acquaint them with the latest techniques. Like the steward, they initially were unsettled at such a young girl giving them advice on how to farm—something many had been doing long before the girl was born. But they quickly came to realise her ideas were sound. More importantly, she listened to them and adjusted her ideas as necessary when convinced that her initial idea had been wrong. Through these discussions with the farmers, they were able to come up with alternatives when appropriate. Now, after she had been nearly running the estate on her own for the better part of four years, they trusted her judgement and were much more willing to listen to her suggestions.

Elizabeth was proud of her accomplishments in this area. However, it occurred to her that her father had supported her refusal of Mr. Collins due more to his desire to keep her on the estate than his recognising how terrible a match it would have been. The same was true of Darcy's request—her father simply wanted to keep her on his estate, running things so that he did not have to.

Suddenly, she realised her father had stopped speaking. Apparently, he had asked a question, though she had no idea what it was. "I apologise, my mind wandered. Can you repeat that?"

He looked at her for a moment before repeating his question. "How much have you set aside from the last few harvests, my dear? I thought I would like to expand my study, and the additional amount you have set aside should be enough to do so."

"When I took over, you said I could invest any additional profits to give my sisters dowries," she replied slowly. "Uncle Gardiner is in charge of those, and we cannot access them immediately, at least without a substantial loss." This was not strictly true, but since her father had once told her any increase she made to the estate's profits was for her to do as she wished, she had given the money to her uncle to invest. It was carefully tied up so that no one could easily access it and was entirely separate from the estate's accounts.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "The profits from the estate are mine to do with as I wish."

"No, they are not. We had an agreement, and I have used those funds to add to my and my sisters' fortunes. Mama will still have her jointure, but now, we will also have funds to ensure we are cared for after your death."

"I never agreed to that," Mr. Bennet objected. "How did you even manage it?"

"Uncle Phillips wrote the agreement, and you and Uncle Gardiner signed it. Each quarter day, Uncle Phillips forwards the excess profits to London, and Uncle Gardiner invests it. I am uncertain how much is in the account now, and while I know it is not a substantial amount, it is enough to prevent my sisters and me from being destitute should you pass away before we are wed."

"You must get that money back," he insisted.

"I cannot."

Mr. Bennet eyed his daughter for a moment, observing the stubborn set of her jaw. "You mean you will not."

Raising her chin, Elizabeth glared at her father. "Perhaps. Now, if you will excuse me, I recall that Mr. Johnson had questions for me. I will see you at dinner." With that, she turned on her heel and left the room. Knowing the steward would be out on the estate, she went to his office and used his desk to write several letters. Once done, she sent a footman with one note to Netherfield and set out toward Meryton with the others, intent on visiting her Uncle Phillips.

She arrived at her uncle's office just in time for tea. Darcy, who must have left Netherfield immediately after receiving her note, was waiting for her inside. Elizabeth asked to speak with her uncle privately, inviting Darcy to join them, and informed both men what she had learned in her conversation with her father.

"Uncle, my father denies giving me permission to invest the funds, but I am certain you have a copy of the signed agreement, as does Uncle Gardiner. He wants the funds to expand his study. Despite his words to the contrary, I believe he is convinced that Mr. Bingley will marry Jane, and if that happens, he will not have to worry about providing for the rest of his daughters, so he wants to use the funds for his study instead." She paused and drew in a shaky breath before continuing.

"William, I realised that his biggest motivation for denying your suit is that he wants me to remain at Longbourn and continue to run the estate in his stead. My involvement allowed him to read in his study while the steward and I cared for the estate. I am concerned he will try to take steps to ensure I cannot leave, even after I reach my majority."

"Lizzy, what request of Mr. Darcy's did he deny? Why is the gentleman even here for this conversation? And why are you referring to him in such a familiar manner?" Uncle Phillips asked, confused.

She coloured. "William has asked for my hand, and I have accepted. Papa, however, refused his permission, demanding that Mr. Darcy leave Longbourn and never return. He accused me of being either mercenary or desperate enough to accept whatever offer I received. Presently, he believes he has won, and I will acquiesce to his desires to remain home to keep him company."

"Congratulations, my dear. Mr. Darcy, if you have won Lizzy's hand, you have won a rare jewel indeed. However, what will you do since Mr. Bennet has denied his permission?" Mr. Phillips asked.

"I will come of age in October, Uncle," Elizabeth stated. "We plan to marry shortly after my birthday, though Papa is convinced that Mr. Darcy and I will drift apart during this forced separation. He seems to think Mr. Darcy's sole interest in me is to ‘take his pleasure' and leave. Now that he has been denied that with his banishment from Longbourn, Papa believes he will simply return to London and forget about me entirely. He does not understand either of us very well if he thinks that is true."

Darcy took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. "I would never have forgotten you, dearest, though I would have warred with myself until I realised I could not live without you. It may have taken longer, without …" Here, he trailed off, apparently not wanting to reveal to her uncle about the dreams, but soon continued. "We would have found one another, though this way, I hope we will not suffer as we might have otherwise. I would gladly marry you tomorrow, but whatever occurs, I want it to be what you wish. I would like my sister and my cousin Richard to be present, but other than that, it does not matter to me who attends or where we marry. I would, however, prefer not to lie outright if we can prevent it."

Elizabeth sighed heavily. "I have written an express to send to Uncle Gardiner to explain the situation to him, particularly about Papa's desire to use the money we have saved. I mentioned my engagement, informal though it may be. Aunt Gardiner already knows, but I intend to write to ask her for help. I apologise, Uncle, for not consulting with your wife, and I would appreciate it if you did not mention these matters to her. You know that Aunt Phillips tends to gossip as much as Mama does, and we would prefer this not to become public knowledge yet. We considered that if Mama knew, she would harass Papa until he relented, but I prefer not to go that route if I can help it."

Mr. Phillips nodded his agreement. "No one can fault you for not wanting this broadcast around town, Lizzy, and that is exactly what your aunt would do. Let me know if there is anything further I can do to support you. Mr. Darcy, I am certain my brother has forbidden your contact with his daughter, so please let me know if there are any messages you would like me to pass along." He grinned as he said this last.

"Thank you, sir," Darcy replied graciously. "He did tell me to leave Longbourn and not return and not to use my friends to pass messages for me. So far, it appears I have plenty of others to use for that purpose and will not have to cut contact with Elizabeth until we can be wed."