Page 113 of Shields and Roses

"Important? Of course, it is. Oh, my! Oh, my!"

The content of the conversation must have finally made sense to Georgiana. She looked quickly from Lizzy to Darcy and back and he could see the understanding dawn in her expression.

"Will!" she exclaimed, "You truly intend to marry Lizzy? The Bennets will be my sisters for real!"

"And they will truly be my cousins!" Anne announced happily.

Her comment released the floodgates and congratulations poured in from all over the room. It was an overwhelming sensation, and Darcy got a sense of why Mrs. Bennet had fainted. He was feeling a little lightheaded until Lizzy left her mother's side and came to stand arm in arm with him. With her supporting him, he felt he could catch his breath and even respond to the comments. He could also see why Miss Mary had wished to be there to support Bingley when their time came to be the focus of attention.

Eventually, the furor subsided, only to return when Lydia said, "Well, Mr. Darcy, as my brother-to-be, you really should let Georgiana give us those packages."

"Lydia!" said Miss Parks disapprovingly, but her remonstrances were drowned by a general request to see what Georgiana had brought.

Darcy said, "Just like our news, I had intended to defer the presentation of the packages until a little later so they would not distract from the gathering, but I think that plan is now a lost cause." Everyone laughed at his comment. When the room quieted, he asked his sister, "Did you remove the plates as I requested?"

Georgiana nodded. Those who did not know what was likely to be in the packages looked at Darcy curiously.

He explained, "As some of you may already know, my father enjoyed playing chess. Because he did not travel far from home due to illness, he played most of his games by post and he maintained a very large correspondence to do so. He would often have dozens of games going at any one time. To help keep track of them, he commissioned a local craftsman to make several miniature chessboards that he kept in his study. Each of his most frequent partners in play was assigned a board which was personalized with a small brass plate with that partner's name inscribed. After my father's death, I sent some of those boards off to the individuals named on the plates, however, I did retain some for my own use as well. Mr. Bennet has one of them, which has been a source of great enjoyment to Miss Kitty and Miss Lydia, prompting them to learn the game. On the first day of my visit, I made an agreement with both of my sisters-to-be that if they could each best me in a game of chess that evening, I would have Georgiana bring them each one of the miniature boards for their own use. Georgiana, please pass on the packages to your future sisters."

A little nervous at suddenly being the center of attention again, Georgiana trembled a bit as she offered Kitty and Lydia their prizes. Lydia accepted hers quickly and immediately began to unwrap it. Kitty, however, offered Georgiana a quick, comforting hug before unwrapping her own.

Despite her head start, Lydia was no faster at getting her package open than Kitty. In her excitement, she fumbled at untying the knots in the string that kept it tied together. As a result, the attention of the room was divided between the girls as each unwrapped her small box and lifted the inlaid chessboard lid to reveal the tiny, carved playing pieces, tweezers and bowl nestled within.

Sir Phillip immediately asked Kitty for the honor of playing the first game on her set, oblivious to the winks and nods that request prompted among others in the room. After she agreed, Lord Sheldon laughingly challenged Lydia to demonstrate her skill at the game against him.

Once again, the occupants of the room dispersed into smaller groups. Anne pulled Georgiana to join her in one corner of the room with Jane, Mrs. Cathcart and Lucy. In their corner, Mrs. Bennet and her group of matrons happily settled into discussion with a new range of topics. Courtships, betrothals and the upcoming wedding were their primary subjects, although Darcy noticed some speculative glances directed at Kitty and Sir Phillip as well.

That couple sat to either side of a small occasional table on which they set up their game. Nearby, Lydia presided over the arrangement of her board on another small table. The remaining occupants of the room gathered around to watch the games in progress, with Mr. Bennet settling into a chair next to Lydia while the rest stood.

Martin joined Lizzy and Darcy as they watched Kitty's game begin. Quietly, Darcy said to his new cousin-by-marriage, "You and Anne arrived much earlier than we expected. You must have been on the road well before dawn."

Chuckling, Martin replied, "If we had made the trip in one day that would be true. Instead, we left yesterday as soon as we received Mr. Bennet's confirmation that we would be welcome. We spent the night in London and came on from there this morning."

"Was there any particular reason for your haste?" asked Lizzy.

"Anne was excited to arrive here quickly," Martin admitted, "but she was also concerned. Her mother knows now about our marriage and Anne has been expecting an irate visit from Lady Catherine at any time. We decided to come here before that could happen. If Lady Catherine shows up at Boxwell, my family will simply tell him we have gone away on a trip, with no mention of our intended destination. Of course, we will have to face her at some time, but Anne is enjoying her new freedom and the opportunity to show her true self for the first time. I did not wish her mother to ruin that yet."

Darcy and Lizzy nodded understandingly, and Lizzy said, "She seems happy here."

They all looked over to see Anne laughing over some comment Lucy had made. As they watched, Anne leaned towards Georgiana and said something that was clearly meant to gently tease the younger girl, who smiled and laughed herself.

"I love to see it," Martin said, looking fondly at his wife. "I simply cannot imagine growing up in such a challenging household.

"I am glad she found you," Darcy told him. "I have always wanted her to be happy, but I did not think that would be the case if she were married to me. When we discussed it, Richard, who has always known Anne better, agreed with me. I do wish I had taken steps to help her out of that situation earlier, but as you know, I believed in my aunt for far longer than I should have."

"That is partly my fault," Peter Fitzwilliam said as he quietly joined the conversation. "I did not challenge your belief in my sister even though I knew you were being taken in by her. I thought the warnings would be better coming from Richard instead of being dictates from me or your father. That placed both of you boys in a bad position and led to some antagonism between you. I am very sorry about that. I did not intend to leave you unprotected, but somehow that was the result."

"It cannot be changed now," Lizzy said. "Instead of worrying about regret or things that might have been done differently, we all need to think about how to protect ourselves from the challenges Lady Catherine presents to us right now. We have a good start with two of her primary agents out of the way. Anne is safe. In fact, all those she might be likely to harm are either here, or soon to arrive here, where we can all look after each other. Viscount Rand, you know your sister better than any of us. What is she most likely to do next?"

Peter looked over at the two chess games in progress. "Her game is in shambles. She has lost all her major pieces and now only has a few pawns and the queen to protect the king. We still have all our major pieces and largely control the board. As I see it, she is clearly going to lose this game she began years ago, and I expect she knows it. That means her most likely next steps will be to set aside all vestiges of the game, before we can declare a checkmate, and do something drastic fueled by her ill temper. What that might be, however, I do not know. I suspect she does not know either."

"If that is the case, then what can we do?" Martin asked.

"Be vigilant," Peter replied. Looking down at the game in front of him, he smiled and added, "I could say the same to Kitty."

The other three all looked and nodded. "Hmm," said Martin, looking between the two players, "I wonder if she actually wants to win."

"Oh, I think she will win either way," Peter said with a soft laugh and the other three joined in.