Posted on Monday, 16 August 2004, at 5:17 p.m.

Mr. Thomas Bennet was not a man who was surprised easily. And in the few occasions in recent memory that he had been surprised, he rather prided himself on never losing his ironically detached manner. Years of living with a woman who could never hide her own reactions to anything that happened had made him value composure more and more. But on this particular fall evening, in his own library, Mr. Bennet was, to use a less than polite but very expressive word, flabbergasted.

The evening had gone much as any other evening with guests could go. His eldest daughter's betrothed was a guest and anyone who knew Mr. Bingley knew that he was generally the life of the party, in his own cheerfully courteous way. Mr. Bennet, as most habitually silent men (at least, when in company), liked this about Mr. Bingley, appreciating that he, while hardly ever saying a silly word, managed to keep a conversation flowing with very little assistance from anyone else.

And then when Mr. Bennet felt that he had done his duty as host and could slip away to the silence and comfort of his own beloved library, this had happened.

He had barely sat down behind his desk, a new volume in hand, when there was a knock on the door and Mr. Bennet received his first surprise of the evening when Mr. Darcy entered.

"Ah, Mr. Darcy, come in, have a seat. Tell me, to what do I owe this unexpected visit?"

Mr. Darcy looked, as far as Mr. Bennet could tell, to have some serious purpose in mind. He was not a man who acted lightly and his demeanor this evening was determined.

"Thank you, Mr. Bennet, I would prefer to stand."

Mr. Bennet nodded courteously, all the while studying the young man before him who appeared to be gathering his thoughts.

Soon enough, though, Mr. Darcy spoke, his voice perfectly calm as he met Mr. Bennet's gaze steadily. "Mr. Bennet, yesterday afternoon, I asked Elizabeth to be my wife and she has done me the honor of accepting my proposal. You may rest assured, sir, of the depth and sincerity of my regard for her. She will want for nothing. That is, if you will favor me with her hand in marriage."

For one crazed moment, Mr. Bennet just stared at his guest, convinced his ears were deceiving him, that he had only imagined Mr. Darcy saying what he just had. Mr. Darcy, the proud, aloof Mr. Darcy who had slighted his Lizzy, could not be standing in his study calmly asking permission to marry Lizzy.

Finally, when Mr. Darcy showed some signs of nervousness, Mr. Bennet found his voice. "Mr. Darcy, am I to understand that my second eldest daughter, my Lizzy, has agreed to marry you?"

"Yes, sir."

Somewhere in the back of his stunned mind, Mr. Bennet was aware that he was gaping at Mr. Darcy in a fashion that was highly ridiculous for a man of his age and temperament. But for the life of him, Mr. Bennet could not help himself.

Finally, he forced himself to speak. "Very well, Mr. Darcy. You have my approval. If you could just ask Lizzy to come in here, I would like to speak to her."

Mr. Darcy bowed. "Thank you, sir. I give you my word to do everything in my power to keep her happy."

"Yes, yes, go on then," Mr. Bennet said, vaguely aware that he had fallen into his habit of casually dismissing his daughters to a man of five times his consequence, albeit a much younger man. Good Lord, he must be losing his mind.

With another slight bow, Mr. Darcy left, closing the door softly behind him, leaving Mr. Bennet to stare at the door for a moment before getting up and pacing.

10 steps to the window... 4 steps to the bookshelf...

His Lizzy had agreed to marry Mr. Darcy. Surely this could not be true. She must have lost her senses. His Lizzy could not have agreed to marry a man she disliked. She wouldn't do such a mad thing. He felt a brief bitter pang at the thought of his own youthful folly. No, if Lizzy had accepted Mr. Darcy for any reason other than a true desire to marry him, if she didn't truly feel some affection for him, he could not permit her to marry Mr. Darcy. His wealth and position in society notwithstanding, he knew he could not bear to watch his Lizzy unhappily married. And unhappy she would be, if she married for any reason other than a true regard for a man who respected her. Could Mr. Darcy be that man?

Lizzy appeared a few minutes later, not looking particularly surprised to be summoned but looking, he noticed, rather apprehensive.

"Lizzy," he addressed her, "what are you doing? Are you out of your senses, to be accepting this man? Have you not always hated him?"

Perhaps she had accepted him out of some sense of obligation. He realized the difficulty in refusing a man of such consequence but he would have thought, until this moment, that Lizzy would have been quite equal to the challenge of doing so.

Something like regret crossed Lizzy's face and he frowned. Had he been right in thinking that she had accepted Mr. Darcy without some affection for him? Did she regret her answer?

"Please, Papa, I assure you that I accepted Mr. Darcy of my own free will. I want to marry him. I- I am very fond of him and am quite sure I will be happy with him."

Her words were comforting to be sure, but her manner was so confused, almost uncertain, in a way he was unused to seeing his Lizzy.

"Or in other words, you are determined to have him. He is rich, to be sure, and you may have more fine clothes and fine carriages than Jane. But will they make you happy?" he asked, still not satisfied.

A shadow of something he couldn't quite identify crossed her face at the mention of fine clothes and carriages.

"Have you any other objection than your belief of my indifference?"

"None at all," Mr. Bennet conceded. "We all know him to be a proud, unpleasant sort of man; but this would be nothing if you really liked him." But could she really like him was his worry...

"I do, I do like him," she said and he was shocked to see that there were tears in her eyes. "I love him. Indeed he has no improper pride. He is perfectly amiable. You do not know what he really is; then pray do not pain me by speaking of him in such terms."

The sincerity, the confidence in her assertions did more to relieve his fears than anything else so far but he wasn't convinced yet. She had been so adamant in dislike before he could hardly credit this sudden change. And yet, Elizabeth had never been one to lie... Certainly not about something so important.

"Lizzy," he finally said, "I have given him my consent. He is the kind of man, indeed, to whom I should never dare refuse anything, which he condescended to ask." Even you, my most dear daughter, he added but only in thought while continuing, "I now give it to you, if you are resolved on having him. But let me advise you to think better of it. I know your disposition, Lizzy. I know that you could be neither happy nor respectable, unless you truly esteemed your husband; unless you looked up to him as a superior. Your lively talents would place you in the greatest danger of an unequal marriage. You could scarcely escape discredit and misery." The words were addressed to her but they turned around to pierce his own heart. No, he couldn't let anything like that happen to his Lizzy... He must be sure, completely, of her regard for Mr. Darcy, consent or not... "My child," he added with a sober tenderness he rarely showed, even to Elizabeth, "let me not have the grief of seeing you unable to respect your partner in life. You know not what you are about."

Tears were still in Lizzy's eyes and her voice trembled slightly with emotion as she replied. "I do truly love Mr. Darcy, Papa. I have not always loved him, I admit, but I was so wrong about him formerly. I didn't truly know him then and it was only at Hunsford that I first knew his real character. He has no improper pride, indeed, Papa. He is a good man, how good I didn't even fully realize until just months ago myself, but he is all that is amiable, kind and generous. He is truly the best man I have ever known." She finished with quiet feeling, the truth of what she was saying in her face and in her eyes, until even he could not doubt the sincerity of her words. She continued. "And Papa, I know that his affection for me is not a sudden inclination." She colored slightly as she continued, "He has cared for me for months now, since we first met and long before I learned to see him for what he truly is. I have no doubts of my happiness with him."

"Well, my dear," Mr. Bennet finally said, feeling some of his usual composure return, "I have no more to say. If this be the case, he deserves you. I could not have parted with you, my Lizzy, to anyone less worthy." He smiled at her as he patted her hand.

She returned his smile and he was glad to see that some of her usual liveliness had returned to her expression. "Papa, just in case you still doubt what I say, you should also know that it was none other than Mr. Darcy who arranged for Lydia's marriage, and not my uncle."

He stared at her as he received the third shock of the evening. Truly, had there ever been an evening when so many unexpected things happened?

"He found Lydia and persuaded Wickham to marry her and he was the one who paid Wickham to do so. You see his generosity of spirit."

He finally found words to speak, hardly bothering to hide his remaining shock. "This is an evening of wonders, indeed! And so, Darcy did everything; made up the match, gave the money, paid the fellow's debts, and got him his commission! So much the better. It will save me a world of trouble and economy," he added, his usual humor getting the better of his surprise. "Had it been your uncle's doing, I must and would have paid him; but these violent young lovers carry everything their own way. I shall offer to pay him tomorrow; he will rant and storm about his love for you, and there will be an end of the matter," he added with some glee at the thought. Now that would be a rather amusing meeting...

His anticipation of it was pushed aside by another memory, Mr. Collins' unexpected success as a prophet! He couldn't resist teasing Elizabeth, his equanimity now fully restored. "And you tried to deny Mr. Collins' little matchmaking. I wondered at your embarrassment. Were you wondering why your Mr. Darcy had declared himself to Mr. Collins before returning to declare himself to you, or what, eh, Lizzy?"

He chuckled at the very thought. Ah he wouldn't give up the amusement of Mr. Collins' correspondence for a kingdom. He would certainly have to write to inform Mr. Collins of the correctness of his prophecy.

He was still chuckling as he waved Elizabeth her freedom to go. He added with another amused laugh, "If any young men come for Mary or Kitty, send them in, for I am quite at leisure."

Mr. Bennet sat back in his chair, still laughing silently. Truly, life could be the most amusing thing...

~*~*~
"You wanted to see me, sir?" Darcy looked distinctly surprised as he entered the study the next day.

Mr. Bennet hid his smile and spoke with assumed seriousness. "I understand from Lizzy that it is really you to whom we are indebted for Lydia's marriage. Now, as a man of honor, then, Mr. Darcy, I must ask," he added, pretending to prepare to write a check, "what was the exact amount you paid to persuade Wickham to marry Lydia?"

Darcy looked startled and uncomfortable.

Hmph, the young man had more modesty than he'd given him credit for...

"Truly, sir, there's no need. I was very willing to do it to make Elizabeth happy. I knew how she would be worrying and had to do what little I could to relieve her worries. So please, Mr. Bennet, there is no need; the gift of Elizabeth's hand is more than enough repayment for what little I did."

Mr. Bennet sternly suppressed his mirth at Mr. Darcy's predicted response, spoken with more calm composure than he might have enjoyed but still, very amusingly after all. He shook his head in pretend bemusement. "You young men will have your way, I suppose, and you do such mad things in the name of love, do you not?"

Mr. Darcy smiled slightly, surprising him again. "Yes, we do."

Good, the man had some sense of humor after all. If he continued showing unexpected sides of him like this, Mr. Bennet thought he was well on his way to liking his Lizzy's husband quite as well as Jane's... "Very well, then, that was all, Mr. Darcy. You may return and enjoy your Lizzy's smiles."

The words slipped from his lips with surprising ease, given he hadn't consciously meant to say them. Your Lizzy... Yes, he thought with a pang of regret and affection, his Lizzy was truly his no more; she was Mr. Darcy's, by her inclination and her choice...

Surprise flashed in Mr. Darcy's eyes at the words before he smiled again, this time a small one of happiness, before he quietly left the study.

Yes, you may well be happy, Mr. Darcy, he thought to himself in the silence of the room. I have just given you the greatest treasure I possessed...