“Thank you, Papa. You will also be pleased when you hear Amy and Maddie play their duets. They have worked very hard and are doing beautifully. At first I thought the music I picked for them might be too difficult, but they have proved me wrong.”
“I have enjoyed listening to their practice from here and am glad that you are satisfied with their progress.”
“Bennet, of course, says he will not exhibit even though he plays quite well. Since the Fitzwilliam and Bingley boys do not play the pianoforte, he says he would rather not play when everyone is here for our party.”
“Well, I am not surprised. I studied the pianoforte for many years with my mother, but when I was his age, I never played in company either.”
“It is of no matter. I know how much Bennet enjoys music, and I will not fault him for not playing in front of our guests.
“Papa, I was wondering if we might ask my friend Julia Leighton to stay on for a time when our house party ends. WhenI last visited her, she seemed so lonely with her Mama dying last autumn. Her brother, who recently graduated university, is currently on his grand tour, and except for her papa and her new companion, she is quite alone.”
“I see no problem with asking her to stay, as long as her father is agreeable. I shall be happy to speak with him and make the arrangements. He may not wish to be without her, though I know he likes for the two of you to be together.”
“Perhaps you could invite him to stay on as well.”
“I would enjoy having Leighton’s company should he be willing.”
“Thank you, Papa. I hope they will both accept. Since Julia plans to bring her flute, I thought it might also be nice for Amy to have some lessons with her while she is with us.” Amy had recently discovered an old flute tucked away in a cupboard in the music room. She had since found an instructional manual in the library and had been trying to play the flute on her own.
“That is an excellent idea. You are very good to think of Miss Leighton and Amy in this way. For my part, we can never have enough music in our home. By the way, Mama says you have received yet another letter from Grandmamma de Bourgh. I hope her letters do not distress you. She can be very insistent when she has a purpose.”
Anna giggled. “Yes, she can, but I do not let her demands bother me, even though she continually insists that I come to Town and attend a girls’ school where I can meet other young ladies of ‘quality’ who will come out when I do. She seems to think it is imperative that I prepare for my come out in society under her guidance. She says with my dowry, there will be many fine gentlemen who will seek my hand, and she wants to be sure I am an ‘accomplished’ woman so that I will be worthy.” William had set aside Anne’s forty thousand pounds for Anna, and he was well aware of the challenge his daughter would facewhen she entered society. “Grandmamma does not believe my instruction is adequate while being secluded here at Pemberley.”
William shook his head, saying, “How well I know. I have a stack of letters in my desk drawer reiterating her demands. Anna, despite Grandmamma’s wishes, we shall abide by my schedule. You have Mrs. Annesley and access to any number of masters when needed. Sweetheart, I am in no hurry to have you leave our house and take on society.” He momentarily paused, feigning seriousness. “Perhaps I shall keep you until you are thirty years of age, if you do not mind. By then you shall be sufficiently on the shelf, and I shall never have to part with you.”
“Oh, Papa.” She leaned in to hug him. “I love you so very much. I know it is the way of life, but if I could, I would never leave you and Mama. I love our family and never want to be parted from any of you.”
“Then it is good that you are only fifteen and have several years before we all venture to Town and take on society, sweet one. Georgiana did not make her come out until she was almost twenty, and you may take just as long, if it pleases you.”
“Yes, Papa. And while I pursue my studies here, I am very happy to continue helping Mama with the younger children and with the tenants and the village school. I wonder, though, once Bennet and Daniel go to Eton College in a few years, how will you endure it when they are no longer by your side? I shall surely miss them, and it will be quite lonely without them here at Pemberley.”
“That it will. Thankfully, it will be three more years before Bennet goes to school and five for Daniel. During that time, the boys and I have much to accomplish in preparation for their transition. You are a dear to consider my feelings, but for now it is best we put those worries aside. Besides, by the time Daniel leaves for school, I will be instructing Alexander in estate management the same way I do the older boys now. While I willmiss seeing Bennet and Daniel each day, it will be good to have more time to spend with the younger children.
“In the meantime, Mama and I are here to guide all of you. Our family shares a special bond, and though we may not always live together in the future, you must know that all of you will be forever with me and Mama, in our hearts, just as we will be in yours, no matter where our paths may take us.”
“I understand, Papa. Sometimes, I think about Grandpapa Bennet and Mama Anne and Baby Lewis. Even though they are no longer with us, they are always in my heart, too, as you say. Still….” She giggled. “If you do decide to keep me for another fifteen years, I think I shall not mind.”
The two of them laughed out loud as William pulled his daughter into another embrace and told her again how much he loved her. His Anna was growing up, but in his mind, she would always be the little girl who favoured pink, was fond of kittens, loved princess stories, and would sing for anyone whom she thought might need cheering. Someday, but not too soon, he would make sure that the young man who sought her hand was worthy of his daughter and would value the treasure he wished to marry.
With his Elizabeth, William had found a love match and he wanted the same for Anna. His firstborn would make an excellent wife and mother, and he needed to know she would always be happy. Any man who might wish to court his daughter would first have to meet with his approval, and that would not be an easy task.
Leaving the study together, father and daughter parted in the hallway, with Anna going on to the music room and William going to his suite, where he hoped Elizabeth was resting as she had promised Anna.
Her last pregnancy, though well over a year ago, had been much harder on Elizabeth than all of the others combined,and though she would not admit it, at times he knew she still needed to rest. Over the eleven years of their marriage, she had devoted herself to him and to the raising of their children. She was an anchor in his life, and with their twelve-year anniversary approaching next summer, he wanted to do something very special to honour her.
While William had taken Elizabeth and the family on many trips about England and the British Isles during their time together, his plan was to take the entire family to Italy for much of the late spring and summer months, well after the twins had reached their second birthday. Elizabeth had studied Italian and French with her father, but had never been to the continent to visit either of those countries. William often observed Elizabeth and Anna reading together in those languages and was overjoyed when he was able to surprise his wife with the possibility of travel to the continent. Once she agreed, he invited Georgiana and her husband to consider joining with their family for at least part of the time, and they willingly accepted. Now, it only remained to tell the rest of his family, which he and Elizabeth planned to do at the end of their summer house party.
With his father dying before William completed his university studies, he had never had the opportunity to take a grand tour as James Darcy once did. When he was ten, however, his parents had taken him to Portugal for two months during the late spring and summer, though his travels to the continent had never gone any further. This trip would prove to be exciting, as well as educational for his family. At Elizabeth’s suggestion, William had already engaged a native Italian tutor who would be in residence at Pemberley as soon as the Darcy house party was over. At that time, Senior Rossi would begin teaching Italian as well as pertinent geographical and historical information to his children and those servants who would accompany them on their trip. Later, Senior Rossi would continue by assisting asa tour guide in his native country and interpret for the family when necessary.
On entering their shared bedroom, William could see Elizabeth resting peacefully, curled on her side with her shawl pulled around her shoulders. Quietly removing his shoes and jacket, he slid onto the bed, wrapping his arm around hers as he spooned her body and nuzzled his face into her loose hair. Though she had given birth to seven children, including two sets of twins, she was in every way as beautiful as the day they had married, now more so, being their beloved mother.
“Mia bellissima moglie, sono felice di vedere che ti sei riposata,” he whispered in Italian, telling his beautiful wife it pleased him to see that she had been resting.
“Ah, William, amore mio,” she murmured. “I was hoping you would join me.” She turned into him allowing him to kiss her and hold her close. “Did you have a talk with Anna?”
“I did.”
“Good; I sent her to you. She is looking forward to our house party, but lately I think she has been a bit troubled. Although she says her grandmother’s letters do not upset her, I fear that they have unsettled her in some way.”
