Postscript from Pemberley

by Rebecca Ann Collins

  As Elizabeth listened in a state of complete amazement, Jessica revealed how Darcy Gardiner had, quite by chance, uncovered the presence of Hartley-Brown in the area and, having heard of his enquiries after Kathryn O'Hare, had warned her of his presence.

  “Knowing he intended to find Kathryn, it was Darcy's idea that she move temporarily to Rushmore Farm, where she will be completely safe from his advances, and could come and go and continue her work at the school free of harassment,” she explained.

  Elizabeth could hardly take in the strange tale; she had no intimate knowledge of the Dennys, though like almost everyone, she too had heard of Lady Denny's reputation. She was ready to accept that Kathryn O'Hare had been treated very ill by them.

  While Elizabeth made no judgment upon Kathryn, except to commend her for having quit the position at Lindfield immediately upon discovering the deception practiced upon her, she was determined that Lady Fitzwilliam should receive an adequate response to her spiteful letter.

  Leaving Jessica to rest and urging her to trouble herself no further about the matter, Elizabeth retired to her private sitting room, there to pen her reply.

  My dear Lady Fitzwilliam, she wrote, and after the preliminary niceties, continued thus:

  I am happy to reassure you that my aunt Mrs Gardiner is well, having recovered from her recent indisposition. While I do thank you for your concern, I am quite certain Mr Robert Gardiner is kept well informed at all times of his mother's condition by his brother, Sir Richard, who sees her daily.

  As to the second matter on which you have sought my opinion, concerning Miss Kathryn O'Hare, let me hasten to disabuse you.

  The appointment of Miss O'Hare to teach at the parish school was handled by both Jessica and Mr Darcy. The matter of her employment at Lindfield Towers by Lady Denny, as well as the circumstances of her departure from that position, are well known to us here, as are other matters relating to the conduct of certain persons in that household.

  I suggest that, should you make further enquiries, you may well find that Lady Denny's account, which Rose and you have clearly accepted without question, is coloured by her own relationship with Mr Hartley-Brown, whose probity is seriously under question at this time. Indeed, a cursory investigation may reveal that it is probably non-existent.

  If it is true they were secretly engaged, and you have only Lady Denny's word for it, then Miss O' Hare is to be congratulated for having extricated herself from a most unfortunate connection. If all we have recently learned of Mr H-B is true, he is surely not a man to be trusted.

  As for Miss O'Hare's friendship with my cousin, Jessica is well able to judge the character and reputation of people for herself, having had a most excellent example in her mother, Mrs Emily Courtney. I do not for a moment doubt her capacity to show both discernment and sensitivity when choosing her friends.

  And I need not add that any friend of Jessica's will always be welcome at Pemberley.

  I trust this adequately answers your enquiries.

  Concluding with the usual formalities, Elizabeth despatched the letter to the post and went to tell her husband all about it.

  She found him in the library and without more ado told him of Lady Fitzwilliam's letter and the entire tale that Jessica had related. Mr Darcy's initial response had been one of disbelief, followed very soon afterwards by anger.

  “Does Darcy intend to set the police on him? He should. He has no business importuning young women and spreading gossip here. The constabulary will have him out of the county very smartly,” he declared.

  But Elizabeth explained that it was probably better not to involve the police at this stage.

  “Jessica thinks that Darcy believes it would not be in Miss O'Hare's interest to involve the police. It may lead to the story being more widely known than at present and start some gossip. I believe Mr Carr has suggested that they pay the man a visit and let him see how much they know of his activities. They feel they can persuade him to leave.”

  Mr Darcy saw the wisdom of this course of action and said as much. “Very prudent indeed; and if, as you say, he is dependent upon the benevolence of the Dennys, a threat to expose him to Lord Denny may prove far more effective than anything the police can do to him. I have to say, Lizzie, my respect for young Darcy's good sense and discretion increases every day!”

  There was certainly nothing that Elizabeth could disagree with in that remark.

  Writing later to her sister Jane, Elizabeth recounted some of what she had been told by Jessica and drew an interesting conclusion.

  You recall, dearest Jane, how mortified we as young girls used to feel at Mama's unceasing attempts at matchmaking and her constant efforts to draw every available young (and sometimes not quite so young) man into our circle, who might make a prospective husband for one of her daughters?

  I know we used to cringe with shame at her blatant attempts to inveigle eligible men into dancing with us—ugh!

  But I think you will agree with me when I say that, compared to the evil and sinister activities of women like Lady Denny, who will heartlessly manipulate and use young women, even at the risk of ruining their young lives, Mama's silly matchmaking was a far less heinous offence.

  Foolish, yes, and certainly embarrassing to us at the time, but viewed in the light of the vile deeds perpetrated by Lady Denny and her cousin Mr Hartley-Brown, and their appalling consequences, I think I would find it hard to condemn Mama for hers.

  Besides…

  (and here Elizabeth knew her sister would smile, understanding that she spoke only in jest)

  …as subsequent events have proven, Mama was perfectly right—at least about you and Mr Bingley!

  END OF PART THREE

  IN THE WEEKS THAT followed, neither Darcy Gardiner nor Jessica were fully aware of the matters that impinged upon the life of Kathryn O'Hare, chiefly because their own lives were so deeply affected by events quite outside their control.

  First came the election, in which Darcy's hero Mr Gladstone and his party of Reformists and Liberals won a decisive victory. Darcy had been summoned to Westminster by Colin Elliott and others, who sought to involve him in the celebrations as well as the policy work that would inevitably follow their return to government.

  He was keen to go and his family urged him to do so; he had worked hard for many years hoping for just such a day. Taking leave of them, he promised to return anon with news of Mr Gladstone's plans for reform and the investiture of a new government.

  Idealistic as ever, he was certain much would be achieved. He wrote optimistically from Westminster of the dawn of a great new era of social and political reform, in which he hoped to play a small part. Mr Colin Elliott was to be in the ministry, and Darcy had been invited to work for him.

  When he had visited Rushmore Farm to take leave of his sister and Mr Carr, he had also met with Miss O'Hare. He had spoken with her briefly, but long enough to ascertain that she felt secure and comfortable at the farm. She thanked him again, most sincerely, for his part in helping her avoid her tormenter. They said farewell, with neither yet certain of the other's feelings, nor even of their own.

  Then, not many weeks after he had arrived in London and settled into work at Westminster, Darcy received news of the death of his grandmother.

  After some years of struggling on without the husband she had loved and depended upon during a long and remarkably good marriage, Mrs Gardiner had finally slipped away, leaving her family and friends grieving and her devoted staff at Oakleigh desolated at their loss.

  Advised by electric telegraph, Darcy Gardiner returned at once to find that his father and mother were to bear the responsibility of making all of the arrangements for the funeral as well as the weight of consoling members of their family. Richard and Cassy had the onerous task of supporting Mr and Mrs Darcy in their grief, while their own children and the families of Emily and Caroline drew together to mourn a beloved grandmother.

  Mrs Gardiner had always been the preferred confidante
of both Jane and Elizabeth, closer to both her nieces than their own mother had ever been. The two sisters were deeply saddened, and a good deal of Cassy's time was spent supporting them.

  Mr Darcy, who had respected and admired Mrs Gardiner over the years, was similarly grief-stricken. It was difficult for him to accept that his esteemed partner, Mr Gardiner, and his wife were both gone now; the close ties between them at an end.

  Darcy Gardiner, arriving the day before the funeral, was drawn in to help, and in the days that followed, found he had neither the time nor the opportunity to call at Colley Dale. Some weeks previously, having settled Kathryn O'Hare at Rushmore Farm with his sister, Darcy and his brother-in-law, Mr Carr, had sought out the man Hartley-Brown and warned him to leave the district or face exposure. Despite his initial show of bravado, Hartley-Brown quite clearly did not wish to be confronted by the police, nor, when it was put to him, did he relish the prospect of facing an irate Lord Denny once his relationship with Lady Denny was revealed. Given a few days to leave the inn, before which he would need to pay his bills and settle his gambling debts, he had sullenly agreed to depart, not before he had tried to brazen it out and even demanded money—a request that had been rejected out of hand.

  While in London, Darcy had heard from his sister Lizzie that her husband had discovered that Hartley-Brown had left the inn at Lambton and, it was believed, the county. Lizzie wrote that Kathryn, having spent a couple of happy weeks at Rushmore Farm, had decided it was safe to return to her parents at Colley Dale.

  I did say she could stay for as long as she wished, but she was keen to rejoin her parents, who she was sure were missing her, Lizzie wrote and Darcy was most relieved.

  A note received from Jessica confirmed that Kathryn was now able to come and go without fear of harassment.

  It is a great relief to all of us that the man is no longer in this district, she wrote and so it was to Darcy, also.

  Some days after the funeral of Mrs Gardiner, Darcy went to Colley Dale. He found Kathryn at home, looking remarkably at ease. She was clearly pleased to see him, and they spent an hour or more in conversation, during which she thanked him once again for his part in saving her from the unwelcome attentions of Hartley-Brown.

  “Mr Gardiner, I do not recall that I ever had the opportunity, while in a calm frame of mind, to tell you how very grateful I was for your intervention and for the kindness of your sister, Mrs Carr, and her husband. Jessica knows how deeply I appreciated it, for I have never ceased to tell her so, but you were gone too soon to Westminster, before I could compose my thoughts sufficiently to speak with you and I did not have an address to write you a letter either.” She was particular that he should know how much she had appreciated his help.

  “Jessica could have given you my address in town, if you had applied to her,” he said lightly and though she looked up at him sharply, at what might have been a gentle rebuke, she could tell from his tone and expression that he was teasing her.

  “I know, but I did not wish to make such a point of it,” she replied and went on, “but now you are here, please accept my heartfelt thanks, even though they are later than perhaps they should have been.”

  Her sincerity was clear and it was all he could do to reassure her, that his pleasure flowed from seeing and knowing that her situation was much improved and she could move around the village as she chose, unafraid.

  “Indeed I can and I hope and pray it remains so,” said she.

  When they parted, he gave her his card with his address in town, saying with a smile, “There, now you may write to me whenever you wish,”

  She accepted it with thanks and bit her lip to hold back a light riposte. She was still a little confused by the tone of his voice, but happy indeed with the implication of his words. They had seemed to suggest that such a communication as she may choose to send would be welcome.

  Some days later, on the eve of Darcy Gardiner's return to London, Mr and Mrs Darcy invited a few people to dine at Pemberley. Among them was Kathryn O'Hare, to whom the invitation had been delivered by Jessica.

  “It is to be mostly family and since they all know you, you will be quite at ease,” she had said, when Kathryn had seemed a little reluctant to attend, whereupon she had accepted with pleasure.

  Edward Gardiner and his wife, Angela, were present also, having stayed on after the funeral to visit their respective families.

  Though, out of respect for the late Mrs Gardiner, it was generally a quiet occasion, the guests enjoyed an excellent meal and interesting conversation. Darcy had many political tales to tell from Westminster, and Edward, who now practised in Harley Street, had his own news to give, though it was mostly of the eminent medical men he had met and the many worthy citizens he had treated. His wife, Angela, who did not trouble herself to engage in much conversation, sat mainly with Sir Richard and Lady Gardiner and the Darcys, and throughout the evening, addressed her rare remarks almost exclusively to them.

  Being the only outsider in the party, Kathryn had felt a little awkward at first, until Jessica and Darcy joined her and, seating themselves on either side of her at dinner, kept her happily involved in their conversation. Elizabeth had been especially keen to ask Kathryn, to demonstrate her belief in her as well as to please Jessica, who had completely convinced her of their friend's integrity.

  With dinner over, the company repaired to the drawing room, where Lizzie Carr and Jessica played and sang for them.

  After which, Mrs Darcy, exercising her prerogative as hostess, invited Kathryn to sit down at the pianoforte. She was at first overcome with shyness, but when she was persuaded to comply, her performance of a charming nocturne by the Irish composer John Field was so exceptional, that it had everyone exclaiming at the skill and beauty of her playing and demanding she play some more.

  When she left the instrument, Darcy Gardiner was not the first to congratulate her, but he was certainly one of the most appreciative.

  “That was very beautiful, Miss O'Hare,” he said, adding quickly, “I had no idea you played so well. I have heard no one in recent times who has performed with such delicacy and depth of expression. I must confess I am unfamiliar with the composer John Field, is he a favourite of yours?” he asked.

  She thanked him for his kind words and explained her choice of the piece, after which they spent a little time together, as they took coffee, speaking more about John Field and his music.

  “He is Irish but very well regarded in Europe, where he gave many concerts and lived for much of his later life,” she said and he expressed his surprise that Ireland's major classical composer was so little known in England.

  In the course of their conversation, Kathryn learned that Darcy had once studied music with his sister, thereby accounting for his sensitive and discerning remarks on her performance.

  “I have always loved music, but had neither the talent nor the patience to become a proficient performer; I play for relaxation and pleasure alone; now Lizzie is much better than I am. She would practice a lot more than I did and has a real gift,” he said.

  “Indeed she has,” replied Kathryn. “I had the pleasure of hearing her play often when I stayed at Rushmore Farm and was quite astonished at the facility with which she would pick up a new composition and play it with such confidence. It is an exceptional talent.”

  Kathryn revealed that she had studied pianoforte in Belgium with one of the finest musicians in the city of Brussels.

  “If I could play only half as well as he could, I would be content,” she said, to which Darcy replied, “I am quite certain that if he could hear you play now, he would declare himself well pleased with your performance. It was quite exquisite.”

  Unbeknownst to them, their conversation, which had become more intimate as it progressed, was being watched by Edward Gardiner's wife, Angela, herself a lady of some musical talent. She too had admired Kathryn's performance at the pianoforte and applauded politely, but unlike many others in the party, she had made no move to con
gratulate her.

  The reason was a strange one. It lay in the fact that Mrs Edward Gardiner had, while living in London, become closely acquainted with Lady Fitzwilliam and her daughter Rose Gardiner. From them she had heard some, though certainly not all, of the story of Miss Kathryn O'Hare's stay at Lindfield Towers, which had diminished her opinion of the lady.

  On returning to Oakleigh, where they were staying while in Derbyshire, Angela was moved to relate all this to her husband, with the added spice that she had observed his brother Darcy at dinner and afterwards deeply engrossed in conversation with Miss O'Hare.

  “I think I would have to say, my dear, that your brother seems very taken with her. I wonder whether he is aware of her past conduct. Perhaps, Edward, as his elder brother, you may wish to caution him, urge him to beware of any deeper involvement. It would be most unfortunate, would it not, if Darcy were to make such an unsuitable match?”

  Edward gave the matter some thought and agreed with his wife, as he usually did on such subjects. A keen and busy medical practitioner, Edward had little time to spend in the contemplation of such trivial matters, and like many active men, rather than argue the point with his wife, he preferred to take the simple way out by adopting her opinions. It required less effort and generally made for a more peaceful life.

  Which is how he came to write to his brother Darcy on the subject of his friendship with Miss Kathryn O'Hare.

  Two other observers had also noticed the happy flow of conversation between Darcy and Kathryn and drawn very different conclusions. Lizzie Carr, who, much earlier in the piece, had become aware of her brother's unrequited love for their cousin Jessica Courtney, had begun of late to hope that he had quite recovered from his earlier disappointment and was ready to open his heart to another young woman. And if that woman were to be Kathryn O'Hare, Lizzie's satisfaction would have been complete.