Pemberley

by Kirsten Bij't Vuur

  Darcy hadn't liked fearing the Prince of Wales' power, still didn't like that man's interest in Elizabeth, for the first time in his life he understood what it was like to be delivered to the whims of someone with more power and he didn't like it, not at all. No-one should feel like that, not even the despicable Will Collins. Elizabeth had told him some of her cousin's past as she'd heard it from Charlotte Collins, and it had caused his hair to rise. Finding a parish with suitably traditional tenants to stomach Collins' sermons was now on his list of things to do on a rainy day while in the country.

  'Thank you, Mr Darcy, I will. Though I have heard nothing but good about your Pemberley staff, I feel certain nothing like what happened to me or to Bob could ever take place there.'

  Of course he knew about Bob as well, servants talked to each other about their own lives, and Fowler had easy manners, was easy to confide in. He had spent hours in their servants' quarters and was rather intimate with Simon.

  Manners didn't even consider him a servant but a friend. Well, that was all for Anne's benefit, for Manners wasn't generally sentimental with servants. Bates certainly didn't have any privileges, and still he didn't seem discontented.

  And Fowler did learn quickly, his general appearance was already much more gentleman-like, and not just because he was wearing a fine coat instead of a livery. He also knew not to dominate the conversation and merely listened attentively as Anne and Elizabeth talked of Mr and Mrs Collins and their cute baby. Apparently he'd given his host in Kent some practical advice on how to deal with unfavourable circumstances at the work place, and Darcy suspected Fowler was right in his view on Elizabeth's cousin's situation.

  Well, if Mr Collins managed to find a way to make being in aunt Catherine's service bearable so much the better.

  They were already on his own lands, and Darcy felt a twinge of excitement rising up inside him: finally they would be free from reporters and demands on their time! The explorers' rooms and their communal space had been readied to his precise instructions, the furnishings and décor had been left largely undone so Anne and Georgie, and Elizabeth, could enjoy themselves with their first mission together: the exploration of the attics. And once those rooms were in use he and his beloved would have their own part of the house to themselves, like those heavenly two weeks of honeymoon. No public appearances, no social calls, no entertainment until their relatives and friends arrived in April. Of course they would have meals together and spend some days and some evenings in each other's company, but hopefully the others would spend at least one day out of two in their headquarters on the second floor.

  'These are your grounds already, aren't they, Darcy?' Anne asked. 'That church looks familiar. I always adored the little bell tower on top.'

  Watching Fowler as Anne pointed out the true extent of Darcy's grounds, the latter was surprised to find the guard not unduly impressed. That was remarkable, for even Darcy himself was impressed by the acreage he could call his own. Though he sometimes felt the responsibility for so many farms and villages and inhabitants as a burden, they all contributed to his income, and he saw it as his duty to make certain everyone on his land had the ability to live, if not well, then at least adequately.

  Of course there were some who owned their own farms, Peter's father-in-law the most important one of those, but Darcy generally had a really good understanding with them: Darcy used their services wherever possible, and in return they respected his influence on their friends and neighbours. All in all Darcy dared state his tenants were well cared for, with few really poor families depending on charity. Everyone went to church regularly, and he

  attended the yearly harvest activities in each village. Having Elizabeth with him would make this year's effort so much more gratifying. Last year he had been suffering from a broken heart, and he had leaned on Georgie's rare presence to keep his tenants from noticing. This year he would bring his lovely wife, who would show an interest in prize cows, pigs and poultry, be suitably stunned over giant turnips, potatoes, carrots and leeks, and who actually knew about embroidery, crocheting and other crafts, so her praise would be ever so much more valuable to the goodmen and -wives of his various villages.

  'Yes, that is one of mine, if you like the church you should see the sawmill and pond, so picturesque you'll think you've landed in an innocent girl's dreams. We can visit if you want, but it's about half an hour's drive from Pemberley.'

  'You own all the land from here to your estate and that is still half an hour's drive?'

  Of course, Fowler didn't know how far Pemberley still was! Now he was impressed all right.

  'Yes, most of it belongs to my family, some farmers own their own steadings but not many. And from Pemberley it's another ten minutes to the northern border of my grounds.'

  The city-born guard could not picture so much property, that much was clear.

  For a few moments his former humility seemed at the verge of returning, but then Anne unobtrusively took his hand and she said gently, 'I'm heir to a similar acreage and I suspect Frederick has about the same. It's not that uncommon.'

  Of course it was a rare privilege to own such extensive lands, but somehow her touch restored Fowler's self-confidence, and he merely nodded politely and looked out the window as if trying to conceive of the value of what he saw there. A single man possessing so much acreage, when this city-bred man's parents and siblings most likely didn't even own their own house.

  Darcy was wrong to suppose that Nick was not unduly impressed by his new host's property and obvious wealth. Anne's support had merely enabled him to hide his awe better than he had managed at first. Nick was indeed only now starting to realise the true difference between a wealthy trader like Mr Blackwood and the people in whose company he now found himself, and rather intimately. Of course he had known that Mr Darcy and Mr Manners

  were much more esteemed than his former employer, but he had not truly realised the extent of their riches and their influence. He now understood Mr Blackwood's respect towards Mr Manners, and something more like deference towards Mr Darcy, though that was mostly due to the latter's reticence. Mr Manners did not have a lower standing than Mr Darcy, but his easy familiarity towards people of all walks of life meant that no-one really felt the need to show him much obeisance. And, Nick realised, that was how Mr Manners wanted it. He'd have to try even harder to be familiar with his new employer, whereas Mr Darcy would actually appreciate being treated with respect. He would never forget Nick's humble beginnings, though he had clearly voiced his appreciation of Nick's efforts to adapt a manner of speaking more fitting to his current company.

  Though his interest in the view originated in a studied avoidance of a difficult situation, Anne had after all warned Nick against appearing servile towards her cousin, there was plenty to feast his eyes on outside the fast-moving carriage. The landscape was supremely beautiful, the road flanked by venerable old trees with either green meadows or ploughed fields on both sides. Small patches of woodland could be seen in the distance, and hedges of blooming shrubs and small trees separated the fields from each other and from the farmhouses. The villages they passed by occasionally looked prosperous, the houses well-kept and very neat. Roofs were generally thatched, but some were tiled or slated. Livestock, mostly cows but also a few scattered sheep and horses, were sleek and placid, Nick knew nothing about any kind of animal, but he could see these were in perfect health and fed exactly right. Mr Darcy's tenants were obviously doing quite well, there was no sign of poverty wherever Nick looked, though some of the houses were small, and all the people he saw in the fields, in their garden plots or around the buildings, were hard at work.

  They were all silent for some time, except when one of the others pointed out something remarkable. Anne was reminiscing, often discovering places she had frequented as a child, a shaded walk beside the road, several large horse chestnuts in a tiny village they passed through, another church, an orchard which she was certain would bear the loveliest plums in fall. Of cour
se the trees were merely in bloom now, the number of blossoms promising a good harvest. When they crossed a decently sized river she exclaimed, 'Look at that little gravel beach beside the river! We used to play in the stream there, didn't we? I can't believe it's still here, it hasn't changed a bit!'

  'It hasn't, has it? I never thought much of it, but if there had been a flood even once that little beach would have washed out. I suppose it's been there at least these fifteen years.'

  Mr Darcy's face was a study in emotions watching his cousin digging up memories. He seemed to have mostly conquered his guilt over having left Anne to fend for herself when she was stuck at Rosings under deplorable circumstances, of which Nick had gotten quite an impression a week ago, but her reminiscing did bring some of it back, mixed with pleasure over her acute memory and obvious enjoyment seeing Pemberley again.

  'How long since you were here, Anne?' Mrs Darcy asked softly. She was not untouched either by Anne's eager comments.

  Anne took her time making an estimate, then looked at Darcy, 'I'd say at least a decade, do you agree, Darcy?'

  With a pained look he replied, 'I suppose you are right, Anne. Aunt Catherine visited regularly, at least once a year, but she never brought you along. Nor did I ask for you to accompany her. I'm still so sorry, Anne, I never wondered whether you might have wanted to.'

  'Never mind, Darcy, I couldn't have come, four days of travel was too much, even one hour was. I couldn't face it. Besides, how often did Uncle Spencer drop by?'

  'Not more than once or twice in all that time, I'm certain. Nor did Spencer.

  Fitzwilliam stayed with me for a few weeks each year at least, in the hunting season.'

  'I suppose we were just not that close as a family then, Darcy. Mother dropped by regularly to keep an eye on you, I'm sure. She had such grand designs on you. I suppose you miss her terribly, maybe I can make up for her desertion just a tiny bit.'

  Good, Anne's remark seemed to pull Mr Darcy out of his sad mood, he smiled from ear to ear, a funny sight since he was usually so serious, and spoke with feeling.

  'Imagine being with a true family party, Anne. It has taken me that same decade to find someone to start my own family with, and now I have you and Georgie as well, and so many new relatives and friends. I often wondered why the house was so large, you know. And still when everyone is here come April there will be rooms to spare.'

  And so Nick started to see more and more that Mr Darcy was just a normal man, despite his dignity and his reticence he needed other people and love as

  much as anyone. He loved his wife, he loved Anne, he treated Nick with absolute fairness despite not really agreeing with his seeing Anne, and Simon adored him.

  They ascended a sizeable hill with beautiful woodland on both sides, no sign of habitation here. Used to a city of millions, Nick felt a bit strange, just a handful of people in the middle of the wild woods. No-one else seemed to mind being all alone, they were used to it. But then the carriage started to go back down hill and the most incredible sight lay before him: a lovely green valley with a stream feeding a larger stream right in the middle of it, and on the opposite bank, quite high up the next hill, a magnificent house. It was huge, and Nick knew it was further away than it seemed, so it had to be even larger than it looked from here. Just incredible!

  Anne was also impressed, even though she grew up in a house this size and stayed at this very place regularly in her early years. But though Rosings was grand enough, Pemberley was just unbelievable, not merely the house, also how it was situated right in the middle of a gentleman's dream of wilderness.

  A real wilderness would probably not be as beautiful a composition of lush meadows sprinkled with trees and shrubs, it was like Mr Collins' garden but on a huge scale. Imagine this place in full summer, with the trees in leaf and the meadows riddled with flowers! In comparison, Rosings was a mere square lump of stone squatting in an old-fashioned garden with way too much gravel and more roses than anyone had a right to own.

  Imagine him having an opinion on Rosings, Nick thought. A week ago he hadn't even known such places existed, and now he presumed to find Mr Darcy's abode much more impressive than Lady de Bourgh's, even before he had seen so much as a square inch of its interior.

  'I take it you like the looks of my estate, Fowler?'

  As kind as that sounded, Nick still had to suppress an inclination to bow or at least look away from his soon-to-be host, but he knew Mr Darcy didn't like his cousin being with a servile man, so he forced himself to meet the gentleman's eye.

  'Very much so, Mr Darcy. Even a city boy can recognise the perfect blend of nature and your family's accomplishments.'

  That was a point scored for Nick, Mr Darcy was obviously impressed with his observation, and Anne's look of approval sent a shiver of delight and anticipation right through Nick.

  'Better keep an eye on that fellow, Anne, or he may turn into a poet,' Mrs

  Darcy observed in her usual pert manner. She was quite a few notches over any lady Nick had ever met before, excepting only Anne, and apparently Mrs Darcy did not even come from a respectable family like Anne's or Mr Manners'. But she made Nick feel a little more at home in this company, and Mr Darcy's love for her made that gentleman seem a lot more human.

  Anne was surprised to recognise Mrs Reynolds from the last time she visited.

  She was much older of course, weren't they all, and she looked tired and thin because of her illness last winter, but she was still unmistakeably the calm and competent housekeeper she'd always been.

  'I hardly recognised you, Miss de Bourgh, you used to resemble one of your cousins most of all, sunburnt and with your hair blown about, and your hands and clothes covered in mud and the likes. But now you're every inch a lady, and engaged to the charming Mr Manners!'

  Mrs Reynolds had never seen Frederick before in her life, but he was certainly charming now, and she'd probably read all about him in the papers, like everyone else seemed to have.

  'Let's seek out all our old haunts, Anne,' Darcy offered, 'I can think of quite a few right off the top of my head.'

  That would be very nice, if they found a way to include Nick. He and Simon were feeling more than a little uncertain, Simon had greeted some of his former colleagues and introduced Nick to them, but now he was clearly uncertain what to do. Anne didn't know either, she supposed it would be easiest for them if they went to the common-room, but she felt they would do better to separate themselves from the Pemberley staff straight away, to avoid falling under Mrs Reynolds' strict regime.

  Georgiana had disappeared into the house right after their arrival, eager to explore the second floor where they would be staying, like the adolescent she still was, pulling along her husband who certainly wasn't. Anne wished she could follow, but she was an adult, and she couldn't leave Frederick and most of all Nick and Simon standing there.

  'Why don't you let me handle the niceties and take Simon and Nick to our new quarters, Anne? Have them arrange our luggage to your satisfaction?'

  She could do that, yes, though Simon didn't need her help. But then, Darcy and Elizabeth didn't need Frederick's help either, it was their staff, not his.

  'Don't you want to go exploring? I thought all young people did.'

  That did it. Why was Frederick always pretending everybody else was

  younger than himself?

  'You're not that much older than I am, Frederick. If you want to be an explorer, you will have to come with us and actually do some of it. You don't need to talk to Darcy's staff, he has his wife to help him do that. Come!'

  Bossy Mr Manners melted and bowed, taking her hand and kissing it.

  'I'm yours to command, my dear Anne.'

  And he turned towards Mrs Reynolds and said, 'It was a pleasure to meet you, my lady, I am looking forward to actually talking with you. Now, I have my duties towards my fair fiancée.'

  After he'd bowed and was walking off with Anne she could hear the elderly housekeeper sigh, 'Was that ge
ntleman really the Mr Manners from the papers, Mr Darcy?'

  Darcy sounded amused as he replied, 'It most certainly was, Mrs Reynolds.'

  'He does look like his description, but I just could not believe he'd really come to Derbyshire. Such a well-bred man, he certainly lives up to his name with his perfect manners.'

  Anne turned her head towards Frederick to hide a smile, and of course he noticed.

  'What did she say? I hope she wasn't insulted with my leaving before we'd talked a little?'

  Why would Mr Frederick Manners care what a housekeeper thought of him?

  It was rather endearing, and Anne felt obligated to tease him with his one weakness, his need to be universally liked, but it was hard with the image of his vulnerable moment in the London church garret still before her mind's eye.

  'Have you ever been teased with your name, Frederick?'

  'Of course, who hasn't? Only those without friends I suppose.'

  He had no idea how right he was. No-one had ever teased Anne, mostly because she'd never had anyone in her life to tease her. A strong hand took hers and squeezed just the tiniest bit, undoubtedly to remind her she had friends now. Holding her hand almost thoughtlessly, as a real fiancée would, Frederick continued.

  'Come to think of it, it was often those with little humour who used my name to make a point. Teachers mostly, the elderly kind, telling me to mind my manners. You can imagine how entertaining that was. Though I admit I was more than a handful. We all were. We only respected those who could force us to behave by being stronger or more powerful. The only one who ever

  understood was my wrestling tutor, he could floor me but he never did to prove anything. Because he was faster and stronger I actually listened to him.

  Of course there were no women involved in my education from my seventh birthday, in hindsight I guess a little more subtlety might have saved me from at least half the foolish things I did.'

  Anne was thrilled to have Frederick tell her about his youth, but all too soon he stopped short, saying, 'But you asked for a reason. Something to do with Mrs Reynolds, I suppose.'