Postscript from Pemberley
Page 36
Kathryn had become pre-eminently important to him. Once he had recognised the depth of his feelings for her, he had realised that nothing and no one in his life had meant more; no cause had evoked greater passion. While her beauty and charm had captivated him at first, now every aspect of her nature and character attracted and inspired his affections.
In the delightful weeks following their engagement, he had come to a greater understanding of her disposition and saw in her a woman possessed of exactly the qualities of strong feelings and quiet resilience he had always admired. When he had feared he could lose her, he had understood how dearly he loved her. With the certainty of her love, he was confident that they would have a passionate, rewarding marriage and was eager it should begin.
For the lovers, the morning of their wedding day could not come too soon; it had seemed like an eternity of waiting. Their families and friends had hastened and bustled to prepare for the day, which seemed to rush towards them, leaving too little time to get done all that needed doing.
Flowers had been gathered to fill the church and the house with sweet scents, gowns had been fashioned and fitted, while hats of every description had been procured and trimmed.
At Colley Dale, tables covered in crisp white cloths groaned under the weight of platters filled with food, while the cellars had been scoured for the best wines. Daniel O'Hare and his wife had certainly striven to provide a banquet that was bountiful without being ostentatious. Their pride in their lovely daughter was apparent in all their arrangements.
There was entertainment, too, for all. Genteel music played by a small chamber ensemble charmed those who sat down to the wedding breakfast, and afterwards, a group of more vigorous Irish fiddlers and dancers performed on the lawn, to the delight of the gathered guests.
“Thankfully,” said Cassy to her daughters, “Rose and Robert have left early, else they might have been affronted by the performance. As for Lady Fitzwilliam, I cannot imagine how she would have coped with seeing an Irish jig danced on the lawn! It is likely she would have had the strongest objections to such a spectacle!”
Whilst the guests were engaged in drinking, dining, or dancing, the couple whose union they celebrated could not wait to get away. Impatient to be alone together, they drove away on a journey that was to take them south to Woodlands, where they were to spend their honeymoon, carrying with them the heartfelt felicitations of their families and friends, as well as the blessings of an entire community.
Meanwhile, at Pemberley, a letter had been delivered for Mr Darcy, which, for obvious reasons, could not be handed immediately to the master, who was at Colley Dale attending the wedding.
The sender's name—a Mr Adams—was unknown to the young footman who accepted it. Assuming it to be a matter of no urgency which could wait for the morrow, it was put aside with the rest of the Master's mail, to be opened by Mr Darcy after breakfast on the following day.
No one could possibly have guessed at the significance of its contents.
Returning to Hertfordshire after the wedding, Colin Elliott wrote to his friend and colleague Jack Howell. I am truly sorry to say that I have failed to persuade young Darcy Gardiner to change his mind about the by-election, he wrote.
Not only has he the best reason in the world to remain in Derbyshire, having just married a clever and lovely woman, but he is also imbued with a strong sense of family loyalty and sees it as a sacred duty to guide the young heir to Pemberley, Anthony Darcy, towards the day when he will take over his inheritance.
I know you will agree, Jack, that such a young man of principle and integrity would be an asset to us in the Commons. Perhaps one day in the future, we may try again, at a more propitious time, but for now, I fear the chapter is closed.
Yours very sincerely,
Colin Elliott
Kathryn's letter to Jessica, written two days before her wedding, reached her friend several thousands of miles away in South West Africa some weeks later. Her husband was out in the field with his assistant, collecting specimens for analysis.
The southern Spring was almost warmer than Summer in England.
Seated in the shade of a flame tree, in front of a white-painted timber bungalow, protected from the heat of the sun by a large canvas umbrella and a wide-brimmed hat, Jessica read it eagerly.
My dearest Jessica, she wrote.
First, let me thank you and Julian on behalf of Darcy and myself, for your kind letter with its good wishes and your exquisite gift. I have never seen such a finely crafted piece of work; it shall have pride of place in our home.
Dear Jessica, how much more there is for which I must thank you. If I had never met you, I should not now be writing this letter to tell you how happily and with what degree of anticipated pleasure I look forward to our wedding on Saturday.
Even as I do, I think of you and wish you were here to share with us this special day, for you had no small part in bringing us together.
Darcy and I have spoken often of the circumstances of our meeting in the park at Pemberley. Had I not known you, had you not invited me to visit your school, I may never have come to know and love the man I am to marry tomorrow. He has taught me the value of love sincerely and honestly given, and I look forward to our marriage with more hope of happiness than I have ever known.
For all this and your dear friendship, I thank you with all my heart.
If there is one thing that stands in the way of complete contentment, it is your absence from England for the next three years. It seems such a long time—I can only pray it will pass sooner than I expect, for we shall miss you both very much.
Yours ever,
Kathryn O'Hare
In a brief postscript, added on the morning of her wedding day, Kathryn wrote:
It is quite early, and the air outside is cold and very still.
I am awake before the birds, before the dawn light has touched the sky, because I cannot sleep. Also, I must complete this letter and despatch it to the post, so you will know that on this happy day, my thoughts were of you.
Dearest Jessica, I shall miss you so today, I hope we shall meet again soon.
I pray daily for your safe return to England.
Your loving friend and soon to be your cousin,
Kate
Returning from their honeymoon, both Darcy and Kate were quickly plunged back into life in Derbyshire with difficult decisions to be made at Pemberley and much hard work to be undertaken at the school. Both were equally committed to the responsibilities they had accepted, but neither were so imprudent as to let the demands of others put in jeopardy the warmth and strength of their marriage. Young and deeply in love, they ensured that their lives were filled with both the rewarding satisfaction of work as well as the delightful pleasures of a passionate union.
Darcy claimed truthfully that he never missed the cut and thrust of politics, while Kathryn confessed that she missed only the presence of her dear friend Jessica to make her perfectly content.
Then, by one of those happy coincidences that come but rarely in life, Kathryn's prayer was answered when, a year later, Dr. Julian Darcy was invited to address a distinguished gathering of scientists in London and accept an award for his work on tropical diseases.
It brought him and Jessica to England for a few weeks, during which time the families travelled to London, and afterwards, the two young couples, with Elizabeth's blessing, journeyed to Woodlands where they spent a fortnight together.
It was but a brief period of shared happiness, all the more enjoyable because it had been unexpected. At Woodlands, amidst the mellow loveliness of the Albury Downs in late Autumn, there was time enough to enjoy their friendship and understand the value of the work they had each undertaken in life. With many hours of lively conversation and interludes of quiet enjoyment, it was, except for the inevitable sadness of parting, a time of unalloyed pleasure.
No one argued, not one intemperate word was spoken, and while they were certainly not always in agreement, they r
esolved their differences with such pleasing affability and reasonableness, that no one was ever out of temper.
For Julian and Darcy it was a chance to discover and speak of many matters other than the business of Pemberley; much had happened since they had last been together in Derbyshire. There was both good and sad news to tell, and both men had matured in experience and understanding.
As for Jessica and Kathryn, not surprisingly, they indulged in that most fascinating pastime of young women, recently wed—exchanging confidences. Closer now than even sisters could be, they shared their hopes and spoke of their dreams without inhibition or fear of ridicule, encouraging each other's aspirations and making light of their occasional fears. Each confided in the other their expectations and confirmed their deep contentment in their marriages.
It was a very special time.
At the conclusion of their stay, with Winter approaching in England, they parted reluctantly, each to return to their chosen world.
Julian and Jessica would travel to the bright heat of Africa, where more work awaited them, while Darcy and Kathryn returned to Derbyshire and the people of Pemberley, whose warm affection and esteem would ease the cold of a northern Winter.
A list of the main characters in Postscript from Pemberley:
Julian Darcy—son of Mr and Mrs Darcy of Pemberley
Jessica Courtney—youngest daughter of Reverend James Courtney and Emily (Gardiner) of Kympton rectory
Cassandra Gardiner—daughter of Mr and Mrs Darcy of Pemberley
Dr Richard Gardiner—Cassandra's husband, son of Mr and Mrs Gardiner
Darcy Gardiner—son of Cassandra and Richard Gardiner, grandson of Mr and Mrs Darcy of Pemberley
Edward Gardiner—his elder brother, a medical practitioner
Angela—Edward's wife
Lizzie Carr (Gardiner)—sister of Darcy and Edward Gardiner
Mr Michael Carr—her husband, owner of the Rushmore Farm and Stud
David Fitzwilliam—Darcy's cousin, son of Colonel Fitzwilliam and Caroline
Kathryn O'Hare—daughter of Mr and Mrs Daniel O'Hare of Colley Dale
Elena O'Hare—her younger sister
Sir James Fitzwilliam—Mr Darcy's cousin
Lady Fitzwilliam—his wife (Rosamund Camden)
Rose—their daughter
Robert Gardiner—her husband (also brother of Richard, Emily, and Caroline)
Colin Elliott, MP—friend and political colleague of Darcy Gardiner, husband of Anne-Marie (daughter of Jonathan Bingley of Netherfield)
Jonathan Bingley—son of Mr and Mrs Bingley of Ashford Park
Anna—Jonathan's wife (Faulkner)
Lord and Lady Denny of Lindfield—Kathryn's former employers
Gordon Hartley-Brown—Lady Denny's cousin
From the pages of Pride and Prejudice:
Mr and Mrs Darcy of Pemberley
Mr and Mrs Bingley of Ashford Park
Col Fitzwilliam and his wife Caroline (née Gardiner)
Mrs Gardiner—aunt of Jane and Elizabeth
Mrs Charlotte Collins—Elizabeth's friend, widow of Mr Collins of Hunsford
The author wishes to thank all those kind readers whose encouragement has been greatly appreciated. Their views and comments are sufficient reason to be convinced of the worth of The Pemberley Chronicles series.
Special thanks are due to Ms Claudia Taylor, librarian, for her research and advice; to Marissa O'Donnell for the artwork; to Ben and Robert for technical help; and to Rose for keeping everything on track so effortlessly.
Thanks also to Beverly Wong for her work on the website, for where indeed would the shades of Pemberley be, if they were not so well served?
Heartfelt love and gratitude, of course, to Ms Jane Austen.
— Rebecca Ann Collins, www.geocities.com/shadesofpemberley,
www.rebeccaanncollins.com
A lifelong fan of Jane Austen, Rebecca Ann Collins first read Pride and Prejudice at the tender age of twelve. She fell in love with the characters and since then has devoted years of research and study to the life and works of her favorite author. As a teacher of literature and a librarian, she has gathered a wealth of information about Miss Austen and the period in which she lived and wrote, which became the basis of her books about the Pemberley families. The popularity of The Pemberley Chronicles series with Jane Austen fans has been her reward.
With a love of reading, music, art, and gardening, Ms. Collins claims she is very comfortable in the period about which she writes, and feels great empathy with the characters she portrays. While she enjoys the convenience of modern life, she finds much to admire in the values and world-view of Jane Austen.
The Pemberley Chronicles
A Companion Volume to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
The Pemberley Chronicles: Book 1
REBECCA ANN COLLINS
“A lovely complementary novel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
Austen would surely give her smile of approval.”
—BEVERLY WONG, AUTHOR OF Pride & Prejudice Prudence
The weddings are over, the saga begins
The guests (including millions of readers and viewers) wish the two happy couples health and happiness. As the music swells and the credits roll, two things are certain: Jane and Bingley will want for nothing, while Elizabeth and Darcy are to be the happiest couple in the world!
Elizabeth and Darcy's personal stories of love, marriage, money, and children are woven together with the threads of social and political history of England in the nineteenth century. As changes in industry and agriculture affect the people of Pemberley and the surrounding countryside, the Darcys strive to be progressive and forward-looking while upholding beloved traditions.
* * *
978-1-4022-1153-9 • $14.96 US/ $17.95 CAN/ £7.99 UK
“Those with a taste for the balance and humour of Austen will find a worthy companion volume.” —Book News
Netherfield Park Revisited
The acclaimed Pride and Prejudice sequel series
The Pemberley Chronicles: Book 3
REBECCA ANN COLLINS
“A very readable and believable tale for readers
who like their romance with a historical flavor.” —Book News
Love, betrayal, and changing times for the Darcys and the Bingleys
Three generations of the Darcy and the Bingley families evolve against a backdrop of the political ideals and social reforms of the mid-Victorian era.
Jonathan Bingley, the handsome, distinguished son of Charles and Jane Bingley, takes center stage, returning to Hertfordshire as master of Netherfield Park. A deeply passionate and committed man, Jonathan is immersed in the joys and heartbreaks of his friends and family and his own challenging marriage. At the same time, he is swept up in the changes of the world around him.
Netherfield Park Revisited combines captivating details of life in mid-Victorian England with the ongoing saga of Jane Austen's beloved Pride and Prejudice characters.
* * *
978-1-4022-1155-3 • $14.95 US/ $15.99 CAN/ £7.99 UK
“Ms. Collins has done it again!” —BEVERLY WONG, AUTHOR OF Pride & Prejudice Prudence
The Women of Pemberley
The acclaimed Pride and Prejudice sequel series
The Pemberley Chronicles: Book 2
REBECCA ANN COLLINS
“Yet another wonderful work by Ms. Collins.”
—BEVERLY WONG, AUTHOR OF Pride & Prejudice Prudence
A new age is dawning
Five women—strong, intelligent, independent of mind, and in the tradition of many Jane Austen heroines—continue the legacy of Pemberley into a dynamic new era at the start of the Victorian Age. Events unfold as the real and fictional worlds intertwine, linked by the relationship of the characters to each other and to the great estate of Pemberley, the heart of their community.
With some characters from the beloved works of Jane Austen, and some new from the author's imagination,
the central themes of love, friendship, marriage, and a sense of social obligation remain, showcased in the context of the sweeping political and social changes of the age.
* * *
978-1-4022-1154-6 • $14.96 US/ $17.95 CAN/ £7.99 UK
“The stories are so well told one would enjoy them even if they were not sequels to any other novel.” —Book News