After half an hour of this fare, Mr. Bennet excused himself, inviting his son-in-law to join him in the library. Mr. Darcy accepted with alacrity, since he was by this time no less ready for a change of scene and society. With the gentlemen out of the room, Mrs. Bennet no longer felt compelled to fill every silence. She relaxed enough to allow her daughters a share in the conversation – a most welcome reprieve.
Elizabeth had seen little of Mary during the last year as Mrs. Bennet could never spare her from home to go visiting her sisters. The girl was an unlikely companion for her mother, their temperaments being so dissimilar, but she seemed to have adjusted to the change in her circumstance remarkably well. With Mary taking over the home duties, Kitty found herself more at liberty to accept invitations from Jane and Elizabeth. Spending so much time away from Longbourn and under the influence of superior society had operated to the girl’s advantage in the considerable amendment of her character.
When Mrs. Bennet left the room to speak to Cook about the dinner arrangements, Elizabeth slipped away to find the men. Though her husband and father were quite different sorts, their shared partiality for her gave them common ground and served as the basis for the good understanding they had forged between them. It pleased her to discover them doing so well together now.
After listening to their conversation for a moment unobserved, she joined them. “And what are my two favorite men finding to talk about? What so engrosses you that you neglect the ladies?”
“Ah, there you are my dear,” said her father. “Your fine husband has just been inviting me to Pemberley for some sport. He says that the pheasant are so thick upon the ground this year that it will be impossible to miss a shot! But I venture to say that Mr. Darcy does not yet know my exceptional talent for sending my shots astray, or he would never have made such a reckless claim. I think I must take it as a personal challenge and accept the invitation.”
Darcy smiled at his father-in-law’s little jest. “I hope you will, sir, anytime convenient.”
The carriage was ordered directly after dinner, and, with the promise to call again before they repaired to the north, the Darcys took their leave. They were presently returned to Netherfield and to the Bingleys, with whom they spent the whole of the next day in mutually enjoyable pursuits. The men walked out to shoot whilst the ladies sat and talked. The ladies took a turn round the park whilst the men occupied themselves with billiards. The four of them played Whist, but paid more attention to their companions than to the cards.
As the game paused between hands, Darcy leaned back in his chair and cast an admiring gaze about the room. “This has always been a handsome house, Bingley, and you have made some fine improvements since you came here. Do you plan any further changes?” he asked.
Mr. Bingley gave Jane a quizzical look. She offered a little nod in answer.
“Well, since you ask…” Bingley began tentatively. “After thinking about this for some considerable time, we have come to the conclusion that it would be best for us to change to another house entirely.” Seeing Darcy and Elizabeth’s astonished expressions, Bingley went on to explain. “As you know, old friend, it has always been my goal to acquire an estate of my own, something solid I can hand down to my son one day. Jane and I agree that now is the time to act on it. We adore Netherfield, but it does have certain insurmountable drawbacks, chiefly the fact that I am obliged to lease the house because it is not for sale. So now we intend to start the search for a suitable estate to purchase or lands on which to build our own home.”
Recovering from his surprise, Mr. Darcy had the presence of mind to inquire, “Where are you looking? In this general vicinity, in Hertfordshire?”
“Actually, no,” said Bingley. “I have never very much occasion to go into town anymore, so there is no need to be this close to London. And we have found after living here for some months that certain aspects of the neighborhood are not completely … uh … agreeable. We would, therefore, like to make a change.”
Although he did not say the words, his meaning was clear enough. They could all appreciate the idea that it is possible for a woman to be settled too near her family.
“Then where will you go?” Elizabeth demanded. “Do not keep us in suspense! What is your plan?”
With a shy smile, Jane answered, “We were thinking that some place in Derbyshire might be nice.”
The Bingleys could have been in no doubt as to how their friends would receive this proposal. Exclamations of delight immediately confirmed the general approbation of the plan. Whilst the sisters expounded on their felicity, the men discussed the logistics of the move and the task of making inquiries.
“My resources are entirely at your disposal, Bingley,” said Darcy. “I will send word as soon as I hear of anything suitable. What specifically do you have in mind?”
“You know that Pemberley has always been my ideal, but I suppose it is not available,” Bingley said, laughing. “And something on a more modest scale will do very well for us. Let it be a place with a little charm, a good income, and within an easy distance of our friends, and we shall be satisfied.”
“Again, as with the other matter,” said Jane, “we must ask you to keep this confidential until we are able to find the best way of telling my parents. I am afraid they will not be as pleased with our decision as you are, Lizzy.”
“Indeed. I do not envy you the job of informing Mama; she will likely go into hysterics. Our gain is truly at her expense. I should be sorry for her loss, but I cannot help smiling. Oh, Jane, to have you and Bingley close to Pemberley – I could ask for nothing better!”
Chapter 4
Pemberley
Another visit was paid to the Bennets on the morrow, as had been promised. The day passed unremarkably, and everybody got their fill of everybody else before the party broke up. Since the Darcys planned to depart for Derbyshire early the next morning, they made their final farewells amidst the fuss and falderal of Mrs. Bennet, the benign resignation of Mr. Bennet, and the warm wishes of the girls.
As the carriage drove away, Elizabeth looked back to wave, saying farewell not only to her family, but also to Longbourn. She had lived all but the last year of her life there. Yet, despite the fond memories, she had forsaken her childhood home without a qualm when she and Mr. Darcy married. Smiling at the thought, Elizabeth marveled once more at the ease of her adjustment. Pemberley had quickly supplanted Longbourn in her heart. Her life and her future were there now, with her husband.
“How glad I shall be when we are at home again,” she remarked en route to Netherfield. “We have scarcely been gone above a week, I know, but it seems an age. Although it is always charming to travel and to visit friends, I shall be even more gratified to return to Pemberley. It seems that every day I spend there makes me less willing to bear any other place.”
Darcy, sitting by her side, pressed her hand. “It pleases me to hear you speak of Pemberley with so much feeling. I daresay you love the place nearly as much as I do now.”
“Oh, yes, but then Pemberley stole my heart the first time I saw it.”
“What a pity you cannot say the same for me,” said Darcy dryly.
“Yes, a great pity,” Elizabeth mused. “As I recall, it took much longer for me to discover your merits; they were so well-concealed.”
Darcy raised an eyebrow. “If you were so long in discovering them, perhaps the fault was not with the subject but with the observer. I was much more astute. I accurately assessed your virtues and wasted no time falling in love with you.”
“That was no great feat, sir, nothing that others before you had not been able to accomplish. Please remember that you were not the first to propose to me.”
“Indeed. I had momentarily forgotten that I had a rival for your affection. How ironic that, on this question at least, Mr. Collins and I should have had the same taste.”
“And it was a difficult choice for me, you know,” Elizabeth teased. “He was quicker to come to the point, but you showe
d more perseverance. Mr. Collins abandoned the campaign after only one refusal; you did not. That is what decided the matter.”
“Well, it is pleasant to have everything so neatly explained. But I must confess I am astounded that, with all my good qualities, it was my constancy alone that won you. Nothing else entered in?”
Elizabeth thought for a moment. “I suppose I must admit to being somewhat influenced by your other manifold attractions.”
“There, you see? I knew there was more to it.”
“True,” she answered, with a playful grin. “The fact that you were the owner of Pemberley, for instance, was a circumstance highly in your favor.”
“Yes, of course,” conceded Mr. Darcy. “As we have already established, you fell in love with Pemberley much more readily than you did with me. I think I was perhaps fortunate that you did not have to choose between the two.”
~*~
The next morning, immediately following breakfast, the Darcys made ready to quit Netherfield and begin their journey north. Jane and Mr. Bingley bid them Godspeed as they set off.
Mr. Darcy had traveled the considerable distance between London and Pemberley dozens of times before. He accepted the inconvenience as a modest price to pay for the privilege of living in Derbyshire. The roads had been much improved over the appalling state that once predominated. Now, with a quality carriage, good weather, and a little luck, the trip might be accomplished in two days with reasonable safety – even tolerable comfort if a room at a reliable inn could be procured when the daylight fled. Yet one could not completely dispense with the inherent risks, only seek to minimize them by due diligence.
Elizabeth left such worries entirely to her husband. For her, travel still seemed something of an adventure, since she had done so little of it. Although this route was becoming familiar to her, she never tired of the scenery – the green fields and rolling hills of the south, the deep shades and rocky outcrops of the north.
By the middle of the second day, Elizabeth’s anticipation increased as she recognized views and villages that verified they were nearing Pemberley. Then she caught her first glimpse of Lambton, where she and her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner stayed the first time she visited Derbyshire. Elizabeth could never pass through it without fondly remembering how that trip had given rise to a fortuitous meeting between Mr. Darcy and herself – one which rekindled his hopes and her interest in the possibility of a future together. Now, reaching Lambton also meant she was within five miles of her home.
When they at last arrived at the entrance to the vast estate, Elizabeth asked that the hood be folded down on the barouche to open an outlook to the drive ahead. It was warm for October, and plenty of daylight remained by which to enjoy the natural beauties of the park with its fine stands of tall trees, grassy meadows, hills, and dales. Every turn brought a new vista.
According to private tradition – one begun on return from their wedding journey – Darcy ordered the carriage stopped for a few minutes at the spot where the house itself first came into sight. The view across the valley to the stately structure was one of the best prospects anywhere on the property, and a particular favorite with the young couple. Situated on rising ground and framed by wood and water, the house looked at home in its natural surroundings, unencumbered as it was by any awkwardly artificial ornamentation.
From this point, the lane wound down to the lazy stream that traversed the estate and widened out in front of the house, forming a small lake. An old stone bridge straddled the watercourse at a narrowing and carried the drive across to the final approach. The carriage passed along this picturesque way and through the arched gate, finally coming to rest in front of the doors of Pemberley House itself. They were home.
Darcy and Elizabeth were only just out of the carriage when Georgiana, who had been on the lookout for their arrival, emerged to welcome them. She greeted and embraced each of the travelers in turn, saying, “Thank God you have returned safely! I know that I should not fret, but one hears such tales – accidents and highwaymen. Did your journey go well, then?”
“As well as one could hope for under the circumstances,” her brother replied. “It was hardly a pleasure scheme, though it did afford us the opportunity to visit the Bingleys and Elizabeth’s family. You continue in good health I trust, Georgiana.”
“Oh yes. I suffered nothing more substantial than worry and boredom while you were away. But, now you are come back to amuse me, I feel on the verge of a full recovery.”
“I think you give us too much credit for being entertaining,” said Elizabeth. “I fear we will disappoint your high expectations.”
Georgiana laughed. “Good heavens, no! You could not disappoint me because I require so very little. All I ask is a bit more liveliness of conversation than I can expect from dear Mrs. Reynolds. And I shall be glad to resume our musical collaborations, Lizzy. I have carried on alone in your absence, but it is not the same.”
“Not the same perhaps, yet I daresay the quality of the performance did not suffer for want of my poor contribution. Your brother is the one to be pitied. For a week, he has been subjected to my playing in place of yours.”
“You will allow me to be the judge of that, if you please,” said Darcy. “Georgiana may be more skilled at the pianoforte, but I have never heard a singing voice finer than yours. I must, therefore, side entirely with my sister; your individual talents display to best advantage when you perform together.”
Elizabeth yielded. “Very well. I can hardly stand against you both. I did purchase the music you requested, Georgiana, along with a couple other pieces that looked interesting. So we have some practicing to do.”
Proceeding indoors, they were met by the elderly housekeeper Mrs. Reynolds and other servants to attend to their needs. Darcy and Elizabeth presently retreated upstairs to their private apartments to change from their traveling clothes and wash away the dust of the journey. An hour or so later, they joined Georgiana in the saloon.
The north-facing casements, which opened all the way to the floor, captured an abundance of daylight year round and a cooling breeze in summer, making the saloon one of the family’s favorite rooms. Elizabeth crossed to the windows with every intention of stepping out onto the porch, as she so often did. But the light had faded with the lateness of the hour, and the warmth of the fire appealed more than the freshening air outdoors. She satisfied herself with the view from inside, surveying the vast lawn below, dotted with a dozen oak trees, and then allowing her eyes to recede by degrees up the slope and deep into the twilight shades of the wooded hills beyond.
After drinking in her fill of the scene, she settled next to her husband on the sofa, resting a hand on his. The two exchanged a long, languid look that wordlessly communicated their mutual contentment in returning to home and hearth.
“Oh, Georgiana,” said Elizabeth presently, “I told you that your brother and I would provide little entertainment, but we do at least bring you some news from the Bingleys. And what excellent news it is too! Though it is a great secret, it can do no harm to tell you. Mr. Bingley and Jane are planning to move to this vicinity, to buy an estate and settle permanently near here.”
“How marvelous! What a pleasure it will be to have them so close at hand.”
Georgiana had known Mr. Bingley for years, but Jane she had met only twice – at the wedding and again when the Bingleys visited Pemberley the following spring. Yet Elizabeth felt certain that the two only wanted a little more familiarity to grow as close as sisters. In both she saw a similar sweetness of temper, the same gentle, affectionate hearts.
Quiet conversation and a hearty supper occupied the three Darcys for the remainder of the evening. Then, weary from their journey, the travelers retired early.
Next morning, the couple lingered lazily in bed, reluctant to forfeit its lavish comfort for the responsibilities that awaited them. Darcy absently twisted the loose waves of his wife’s chestnut hair round his fingers while she, nestled up against him, pondered the
dancing light and shadow patterns cast by the lace curtains upon the wall.
At length, Elizabeth commented with a yawn, “I suppose we really should rise and begin the day.”
“Yes, you are quite right; we should indeed,” agreed Darcy without conviction.
Neither of them made any attempt to stir from their cozy positions.
“What are your plans?” Elizabeth asked some minutes later.
“I must confer with Mr. Adams,” he answered, referring to his trusted land steward. “According to his information, there are a number of matters that require my early attention – a petition from one of the cottagers, another report of poaching, and so forth.”
“I see.”
“Later, I thought we might take a ride together if the rain holds off. What do you say?”
“I think it is an excellent idea, sir. I would be even more enthusiastic were it not for the fact that I fear it will require us to leave this snug spot and this pleasant room.”
By and by, the two did manage to quit their bedchamber and, after breakfast, parted to attend to their separate duties. Elizabeth first addressed the daunting collection of correspondence that had accumulated in her absence. Then she consulted with Mrs. Reynolds about household affairs, though Mrs. Reynolds, after her long tenure at Pemberley, needed very little direction from anybody. On the contrary, it had been Elizabeth who required instruction when she arrived as the naive new mistress of Pemberley the previous November. For Mrs. Reynolds’ kind counsel and sage advice during those early months, she would be forever grateful. Now the two women worked as a team to manage the house.
The Darcys of Pemberley Page 3
