Everyone heard about the men’s day during the evening meal. Mr. Hamilton claimed he had never shot so well, and Mr. Willstone was quite of the opinion that he had never seen so many birds. There was some teasing about missed shots, but they all seemed quite pleased with the day. Elizabeth readily noticed that same look of satisfaction and contentment in Mr. Darcy’s expression, similar to his portrait in the gallery.
That night, once Elizabeth and Miss Bartley had taken the girls to the nursery, it was apparent they all seemed a little more tired than usual. Perhaps the diligence of study proved more fatiguing than the rigorous activity the day before. Before long, Miss Bartley thought it would be wise to take her two wards upstairs and ready them for bed. Emily wished to remain up a little longer to complete a picture she had been drawing with crayons.
When she had finished the drawing and proudly shown it to Elizabeth, Elizabeth suggested they retire to their chambers. Emily protested only by asking to go in to her mother and father to show them her picture and say good night.
“They are with the adults, now, Emily. You know she will come up later.”
“But I know I shall be asleep by then. May I please?”
Elizabeth considered whether or not it would be appropriate, but since the two of them had been treated so kindly, she knew of no reason why they should not. They returned to the sitting room.
When Elizabeth and Emily stepped in, there was a game of whist in progress at one table, and Mr. Darcy and Mr. Hamilton were engaged in a game of chess at another. The Willstones were seated next to the Goldsmiths, and the two ladies were talking. Mrs. Willstone looked up when they walked in.
“Is anything amiss, Emily? Miss Bennet?” she asked.
“No,” Elizabeth replied. “Emily wished to come in and show you her drawing and say good night.”
Emily held out her drawing to her mother, and Elizabeth heard her name called out.
“Miss Bennet! Come hither!” It was Mr. Hamilton.
As Emily continued visiting with her parents, Elizabeth walked over to the table where the two men were engaged in a match. At first glance, her eyes took in the beauty of the chessboard. Rather than a simple painted piece of wood, the lighter squares appeared to be made of marble with mostly blue veins. The black squares appeared to be onyx. It glistened in the light of the candles. The pieces were carved in the same marble and onyx. It was a beautiful set.
She then studied the pieces on the board, taking a quick survey of the progress of the game. “May I ask who is winning?” she inquired.
“I am, of course,” boasted Mr. Hamilton. “I believe Darcy has lost his touch. I have won three matches to his one, and he usually bests me every game!”
Rosalyn came and stood next to Elizabeth, laughing. “Mr. Hamilton has complained these past two nights that he might as well be playing a novice and wishes for a more challenging opponent. Of course, I cannot oblige him, but Elizabeth, you play!”
Elizabeth shook her head firmly and laughed. “Oh, no, I am sure I will not be much of a challenge to Mr. Hamilton, either.”
“Come! You must agree to play!” Hamilton’s face brightened. “Darcy, I insist that whoever wins this game will play Miss Bennet!”
“I am sorry,” she said. “I must take Emily upstairs, and put her to bed.”
At that moment, Mrs. Willstone came over. “If you do not mind, I am rather fatigued and I believe I shall retire for the night. Miss Bennet, I shall take Emily upstairs and put her to bed.”
“There you have it!” exclaimed Hamilton. “I shall finally have a more challenging opponent!”
“I do wish I could learn to play!” Rosalyn lamented. “Elizabeth, you must teach me. Perhaps whilst you and Mr. Hamilton play, you could explain the game to me.”
Elizabeth shrugged. “I doubt it will be an ideal match. Mr. Hamilton thinks me a proficient. I fear he shall be greatly disappointed.”
“Well, at least you shall be better than my cous… Darcy! What did you just do there?”
“You are blabbering about and obviously not concentrating,” he answered wryly.
Hamilton studied the board. “But I have had no need to concentrate!” He studied the board for some time, and finally, after moving his hand above each piece, trying to decide which one to move, he finally settled on one. “There!”
Darcy shook his head. “Do you really want to do that?”
Hamilton placed his palms firmly on the table, leaning over the board to give it a better scrutinizing. Without much conviction, he answered, “Yes, I do!”
Arching an eyebrow and looking up at Elizabeth, Darcy asked, “What is your opinion, Miss Bennet?”
“I shall hold my opinion for a few more moves,” she answered him, giving him a knowing smile.
It took only those few moves for Darcy to win the match. A brooding Hamilton shook his head. “You tricked me, Darcy. You allowed me to think I had finally learned how to out-play and out-strategize you!”
“I did no such thing,” Darcy answered smoothly as he returned the pieces to their starting places.
“Hamilton, please allow Miss Bennet to have a seat.”
When she sat down, Darcy said, “You may begin, Miss Bennet.”
“So how do you decide what piece to play? How to begin?” Rosalyn asked eagerly, having taken a seat at the table. She watched as Elizabeth reached out and moved one of her pieces.
“The object is to capture the king,” began Darcy as he pointed out the king to her. “He is the most vital piece of all, for once he is trapped, the game is over.”
“True,” said Elizabeth, “but he is also one of the weakest pieces…”
“Vulnerable,” interjected Darcy. He made a move and then looked up. “Not weak. Rules are such that he can only move one square at a time. He is not at liberty to move as one might wish. What he can do is greatly limited.”
Elizabeth gave a slight nod of agreement. “Now the queen,” she said, pointing it out with a smile, “is without doubt the most powerful piece, being able to move in any direction as many squares as she wishes.” She looked at Mr. Darcy to see whether he had a differing opinion on that.
Darcy cradled his jaw with his hand and studied Elizabeth with careful deliberation. “Barring any obstruction, of course.”
“Of course,” conceded Elizabeth.
They each made several moves in silence until Darcy offered, “Sometimes she must be sacrificed to save the king.”
Elizabeth looked at him oddly. “Yes, but that is not often wise!” she said with a nervous laugh, noticing the intensity of his gaze.
Rosalyn let out a groan. “This is no help to me at all!”
“As you develop your strategy, it is wise to study your partner to help you anticipate what he might do,” Elizabeth said as she moved one of her pawns and then looked back up to Mr. Darcy. “You must think several moves ahead, but then your partner may surprise you.”
Darcy rubbed his jaw as he heard her words. “Very true. It is extremely risky to make a move without considering all possibilities.” Suddenly his voice changed. “I once made a move based on what I thought would prompt a particular response, having foolishly considered no other option. I was… gravely mistaken.”
Elizabeth fixed her eyes on the board, unwilling to look up as she felt her head spin. Is there some hidden message to me in those words? What had previously been light banter about the game had evolved into something else. Has our conversation all along been about us? He spoke with more gentleness than animosity, however, and she suddenly realized how confident he must have felt coming to her and expecting her to accept his suit. Of course he would have! How much more she comprehended now, and how much more ashamed she felt for the cruel words she lashed out at him that day.
“It took me quite a while to recover from that miscalculation,” Darcy added as he made his move. “It is always wise to be ready with another strategy if you find yourself faced with that situation.” Elizabeth found the courage to lift her eyes to him and noticed that he was now looking at Rosalyn.