Master of Netherfield

by Martin Hunnicutt

  Now he turned to Wickham, “But George, did you notice the section where I am to provide Mrs. Murray with the rents in amounts I deem fitting? If she marries, her husband has no say in how I disperse her quarterly income.”

  “And you will be as miserly with her as you were with me today!” George complained. “Five pounds for the trip to London!”

  “Two pounds will pay for the seat and food the entire way to London. I knew you would drink at least another pound away.”

  “Why would you ask me for money if Master William provided you with five pounds?” asked Mrs. Murray.

  “A gentleman always needs to be flush,” George replied.

  “Mr. Wickham, I feel fatigued. You must forgive me,” Mrs. Murray said in dismissal of the man.

  Wickham rose and Darcy stepped in front of the man. “And the other information you saw in the will concerning my sister, I advise you to forget it quickly. If I protect my father’s mistress from you, can you imagine what I would do if you attempted to approach my sister in the future?”

  “But Georgiana is not a Darcy.”

  The sadness and anger of the last few days rose up, overflowing his control as a red fog took hold of William, and a moment later George Wickham was pinned against the wall, one of William’s arms pressed against his throat.

  “Listen carefully George – I am rich and powerful now – the prime minister will call on me in London.” William paused, a glint in his eye as he found Wickham paying close attention. “If you come near my sister, if you so much as whisper her name, you can easily disappear in Pemberley Woods, in the back of a nasty alley in London, or along any deserted road in England.”

  Wickham swallowed and blinked before Darcy concluded, “Do not attract my attention again!”

  The man nodded as he rubbed his throat once William removed his arm.

  “The coach leaves the King’s Arms in an hour George. That gives you time to secure your bag from your sister’s home and depart Lambton.”

  “Damn you, Darcy!” George cursed. “Why should I have to labour the rest of my life when you will sit back and collect rents?”

  William laughed sourly. “George, you have no notion of the demands on my time.”

  **++**

  Once Wickham departed, Darcy turned to Mrs. Murray and she motioned for him to sit where Wickham had been seated. But William took the chair across the room from her with Clemmons and Tolliver standing behind him.

  “I shall make every effort to be packed by the end of the month,” she said.

  “Four days,” William said coldly.

  “I can never...”

  “Three days.” He remained cold but his presence filled the parlour with his father’s mistress seated across the room. Upstairs the child could be heard with his nanny. Surrendering any arguments for additional time, and fearful of the new master of Pemberley, Mrs. Murray’s face grew sour but she nodded.

  William leaned forward and said, “Mr. Clemmons has confirmed that my father gave you a purse of fifty pounds before he was stricken. The funds in your pocket will pay for your room and board on your journey but there will be no monies from my pocket until I hear that you have settled well in Kent.”

  “I shall send a coach and four to this door in the early morning three days from today. The coachman and footmen will carry you and your son to Mayflower in Kent, a journey that will require at least five days. They will deliver you safe and then depart. At Mayflower you will find the steward and housekeeper expecting you.”

  “What am I to do for a carriage?” Mrs. Murray asked hotly.

  “There is a carriage on the estate with a team and a coachman. Until Michaelmas, the coachman and house servants will remain in my employ. After that day, the household and all its expenses are in your purse. You will pay for all food in the house and feed for the team of horses in the stable.”

  Darcy waited a moment but the woman made no objections and he continued, “The steward and the tenants are my responsibility. I shall tour the property at least once a year and the steward will dispense the income to you as I direct him.”

  “What of my son? Mr. Darcy paid for many gifts for my son before this day.”

  “My sister has requested that I provide for the betterment of our father’s sons. I shall make certain the boy has the opportunity to be well-educated. I shall see to it that your son has tutors from the age of six years until the solicitors arrange for him to go to school.”

  “What is the income for the estate in Kent?” Mrs. Murray asked.

  Darcy motioned for Mr. Clemmons who replied, “The Summer Day rents were two hundred pounds.”

  Mrs. Murray relaxed; eight hundred pounds a year was a small fortune.

  “And if I wish to live in town?” she asked. “Kent does not offer entertainments or company.”

  Darcy inclined his head. “My secretary at Netherfield can find a renter for the house to add to your income with a lease. But your lodgings and expenses in town would be your concern totally and the house would not be available to you again until the lease expired.”

  “I shall think on that.”

  “Address your letters to Mr. Lynton, my secretary at Netherfield in Hertfordshire,” Darcy said as he rose to his feet.

  “Would you care to meet your brother?” she asked.

  “Not today. It is too soon after my father’s passing.”

  “Good day then, Mr. Darcy,” Mrs. Murray huffed as she dismissed the man. “Find your way out.”

  **++**

  Outside the door, he turned to Clemmons and said, “Your family is how large now?”

  “My wife and I have three children, sir.”

  “And you are still in a cottage on the estate?”

  “Yes sir.”

  Darcy looked over the house and then shook his head, “This house is more suitable for the secretary of Pemberley but it is too far from the estate. Rent the property to someone.”

  “Certainly sir,” Clemmons replied.

  The carriage was quiet for most of the journey back to Pemberley. Mr. Darcy’s dark visage dampened any topics that the other two men would have mentioned. When the carriage entered the park that would lead to the house, Darcy looked up.

  “Gentlemen, I apologize for my behaviour and language in front of you – my only excuse is the many burdens I have to settle this week. You have been of great aide and I shall remember it.”

  Tolliver shook his head, “Sir, if I may say, you have prevented future problems with two personages who would welcome the opportunity to remain within your circle. By dealing with them as you have, they must chart new courses that will not cross your path more than absolutely necessary.”

  “I agree with Mr. Tolliver,” Clemmons said. “Mr. Lynton can handle distribution of monies to Mrs. Murray from the estate and you will survey the estate and house once a year. We can find reputable and reliable tutors for Mr. George’s son until he is ready for school.”

  “And sir, the boy will certainly benefit from your hand upon his upbringing. Mrs. Murray will most likely find another gentleman and leave him at home for months at a time with only the servants. A good tutor with a family of his own will help the boy grow into a proper gentleman.”

  **++**

  William stood before a window in the parlour as his sister performed on the pianoforte. Her performance was pleasant and Mrs. Annesley had provided enough conversation to keep both brother and sister involved in the discussion during supper. Tonight, the first hint of winter seemed to be in the air and Darcy watched clouds sweep over moon and hide it.

  “Brother.”

  William turned slowly, his face softening slightly when he found Georgiana standing close by.

  “I believe I shall say ‘good night’.”

  He nodded. “It has been a long day.”

  “Shall we ride together tomorrow?” she asked.

  “Yes, definitely in the morning after breaking our fast,” he replied.

  Grinning, she r
eached in for a hug that he returned before watching her hurry from the room followed by Mrs. Annesley. Once she was gone, he turned back to the window for only a moment before leaving the parlour and returning to his study.

  ‘There were several letters I must write tonight. The steward at Rosings needs a letter in my own hand to forestall Lady Catherine’s machinations and the factor at the warehouse in town...’

  **++**

  Chapter 20

  Brother and Sister Plan

  It became a part of their routine to ride out three or four times each week in the months following their arrival at Pemberley. For much of each day William was confined to his study with business letters, visits by powerful men who never stayed for supper, and matters of the different estates in the Darcy lands.

  Georgiana continued with her lessons and her correspondence with her friends in Hertfordshire. Mrs. Annesley mentioned once the number of letters that Miss Darcy sent and received, but Mr. Darcy assured the lady that his sister had full permission to write as much as she wished to the Bennet sisters.

  The butler and housekeeper noticed the increased funds spent to frank letters but they remained silent – Mr. Darcy’s correspondence was fully three-fold the old master’s and Miss Darcy’s amounted to a mere pittance compared to her brother’s letters.

  And during their time alone at Pemberley, William and Georgiana had two sets of rooms in the family wing cleaned and then furnished with their choice of the beddings, chairs and hangings. Georgiana found a writing desk and chair in the rooms used by her mother and with William’s blessing, adopted them as her own. Mrs. Annesley moved into a large, comfortable room near Georgiana with warm bedding and hangings. Packages arrived from the seamstress in Meryton with warm leggings and gowns in grey for Georgiana. William provided funds for Mrs. Annesley to obtain additional warm clothing for the coming Derbyshire winter. And Harris spent several hours each week working with pants and coats from the tailor in London that William patronized for his clothing during their years at Netherfield.

  William had the dower house at Pemberley cleaned and painted before he assigned it to Mr. Clemmons and his family as a portion of his expanded income.

  “I intend for you to remain as my secretary in the north,” William explained. “It is only proper you have lodgings equal to your position as my trusted servant.”

  Mr. Clemmons was certainly pleased with his master’s words while Mrs. Clemmons was silent with shock – now she had a cook as well as two maids to do her housework.

  **++**

  On one particular day during their ride across fields and a portion of the park, William and Georgiana stopped their horses where the fields changed into the wood lot. The sister brought her small mare to stand near her brother’s gelding before he dropped down from the saddle and approached to help her down from the side saddle.

  “William, Pemberley is beautiful, is it not?” she asked looking across the verge toward the home of their ancestors.

  “But can it feel like home?” he asked seriously.

  Catching the tone of his voice, Georgiana paused to consider her answer carefully. “We have not had time enough yet to know. Mrs. Reynolds is pleasant but I do not remember the other servants. Pemberley is grand but it is not Netherfield.”

  “Where we know everyone – neighbours, servants and tenants,” William added.

  “And are welcomed in every home,” concluded Georgiana sadly. She took her brother’s arm as they strolled to a stone fence enclosing a pasture where sheep grazed contentedly.

  “With Father’s passing, many powerful men will call at Pemberley though the local gentry remain reluctant to venture close.”

  “The neighbours attended Father’s funeral but only the gentlemen have called since that day. When I insisted, Mrs. Annesley explained that they stay away because Father kept his mistress in residence,” Georgiana confided. “They think the walls of Pemberley are polluted.”

  William nodded. “In a few years they will welcome invitations again.”

  “A few years?” Georgiana asked in an unusual, petulant tone. She exaggerated her tone when she added, “I shall be old and grey in a few years.” William’s lips twisted with a small smile hearing his sister’s teasing.

  “I wish to discuss a letter, Georgie.”

  “You sound very serious,” the teenaged girl observed.

  He stopped walking and looked directly at his sister before saying, “This is a family matter for you and I to discuss without Mrs. Reynolds hovering or Mrs. Annesley participating in our conversation.”

  Thinking of how Elizabeth and Jane would react to these words from their father, Georgiana nodded her head only once before William continued, “A letter came from the Earl of Matlock. He announced that the family will descend upon Pemberley at Christmas.”

  Georgiana’s face was truly sour remembering the few times she had been in company with her relatives over the last years. “We are in mourning! Surely they will not expect us to entertain...”

  “I have replied that we would house them for one week with their departure occurring no later than two days following Christmas.”

  Georgiana nodded but sighed. “Do I have to sit at the head of the table and act as hostess?”

  Shaking his head, William said, “I shall not ask you to do so and neither Aunt Edith nor Aunt Catherine will act as such.”

  “Shall I bite Lady Catherine?” Georgiana teased remembering Kitty’s solution for dealing their aunt several years before when the harridan invaded Netherfield.

  “Only if absolutely necessary,” he agreed. “And remember, neither aunt has authority over you.”

  “My aunts have never had time for me other than to direct my efforts to improve my performance on the pianoforte or in dancing. I was always too young of a girl to keep their attention,” Georgiana said.

  “But now you are an heiress with a substantial dowry,” Darcy reminded her. “They will invite you to visit them and offer to sponsor you for your presentation at court in a few years.”

  “I am determined that I shall not come out until I am eighteen years or more!” the girl insisted. “Elizabeth decided to wait until next year when she is nineteen. I shall wait until Kitty and I can come out together at the Assembly Ball in Meryton.”

  Darcy’s face now shone with a happy grin–his sister was determined to follow in the paths of her friends but then he asked, “I thought Miss Elizabeth planned to come out this fall? I have heard nothing of this in her... in Mr. Bennet’s letters.”

  Smiling gently, Georgiana slipped a hand onto her brother’s arm. “All of the Bennet family misses us. Mrs. Bennet is willing to allow Elizabeth to wait another year. And Elizabeth wrote that she cannot come out without your presence for a dance.”

  Georgiana nodded confidently, “I think you must have her first dance.”

  “I had not thought of Miss Elizabeth coming out,” William admitted. “She would enjoy herself very much with dancing and conversation.”

  “But she does not want the parties and dinners this fall,” Georgiana insisted. “She writes she thinks of us each day and prays for our comfort.”

  Darcy considered their Hertfordshire friends for a moment and admitted that he too missed their company and the young woman who filled every meeting with bright laughter and conversation.

  “Our lives will be different now Georgie,” William said as they walked back to the horses. “Many more people will invade our home wherever it is and we shall have to spend time in town during the season.”

  “Mrs. Annesley has mentioned that you will require time at the house in London to gather with men of power and influence.”

  “And you will be a great lady in the ton someday,” William assured her. Feeling his shy sister grow tense, he made a promise. “We shall arrange a court presentation for you and Miss Catherine together in a few years. I shall find some pleasant lady to sponsor Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth next year to lay the foundation for Miss Mary, Mi
ss Kitty, Miss Georgie and then Miss Lydia to be presented.”

  “Oh, Lydia will not like having to wait until last!” Georgiana confided to her brother. “Mrs. Bennet and Nanny Brice often talk to Lydia for many minutes when she chaffs at being too young to ride or sit up after supper.”

  Upon reaching the horses, Georgiana turned to her brother before he helped her mount. “William, I would ask something of you.”

  “Certainly,” he replied. “You ask for very little.”

  “I do not want you to rush in taking a wife next year.”

  “A wife?” he asked. “Why would you think I...”

  “The ladies who came to the house during Father’s funeral were excessively curious concerning your marriage prospects. They insisted that you are the most eligible man in the entire kingdom and that every young woman would be thrown in your path in town.”

  William sighed. “And our relatives will forward their candidates as well.’

  “Aunt Catherine will attempt to force Anne forward,” Georgiana said. “But Anne has no desire to be your wife.”

  “Aunt Edith will throw...” William began to say but stopped when he could not remember the younger Fitzwilliam daughter’s name.

  “Cousin Abigail,” Georgiana supplied the name.

  “Thank you,” he said. “Aunt Edith will throw Abigail at me.”

  “Our cousins are to be pitied William,” Georgiana said. “They have no choice in their parents’ demands and must go where they are told. I suppose they must marry as directed as well.”

  “I shall never force you to marry anyone Georgie,” he assured her. “He will have to win your heart and earn my approval before you marry any man.”

  “Then I insist that you allow me to approve of any woman you consider bringing into our family.”

  The quizzical look on her brother’s face made Georgiana laugh but she explained. “Any woman who wants to be Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy must love you and want you to be happy brother. You must have someone to support you.”