“Go ahead, read, we will delay the main course until youhave done so,” Madeline volunteered.
“Thank you, Maddie and Gardiner, it is appreciated.” He lifted the paper.
17 November 1810
Lambert Hills, Derbyshire
Aunt Maddie, Uncle Edward, and cousins,
Mary and I have been at the above estate for almost a fortnight now and we miss all of you. Do not get us wrong. Aunt Gwen, Uncle Tim, Addie, Henry, and Rory have been extremely welcoming, and we are very happy here. Even if I am not allowed to ramble orrideon my own. Yes, that is not an error. I truly did mean ride. being in the country again (regardless of the cold—no snow yet) is wonderful.
I am sure you are shocked that I mentioned riding with regards to myself. Our aunt and uncle explained the distances on the estate and how much of it would be too far for me to walk, so I agreed to allow Uncle Tim to teach me to ride. Mary, too, is learning. We are riding ponies to begin with. Mine is Belle while Mary’s is Beauty. They were named by our small cousins, and we did not have the heart to point out they both have the same name, just one in French and the other in English. After my first few lessons, I am wondering what so scared me, so that I refused to attempt to learn to ride again, because of my fall when I was a tender aged girl. On the first day of my lessons, I soon saw there is nothing to be frightened of.
In honour of Janey, Lambert Hills and all within are in mourning for a month. It was very touching to us that even though the Lamberts are not directly related to us, they have done this.
We have not yet gone into Metting. Obviously, attending the quarterly assemblies they hold in the town is not even a question, but so far neither Mary nor I have needed anything from the town. Thanks to all of the clothing and other supplies you sent with us, it will be some time before we need to buy anything else.
When you come in the summer, we will of course visit the town with Kitty and Lyddie.
I will end here and allow Mary to relate some news when she writes, as she will write the next letter. We have decided to alternate. We both want to thank you for sending us to the country. It is aiding in our, especially my, recovery without seeing constant reminders of places we shared with Janey.
That does not mean I do not think of her; I do, all the time. When I am able I speak to her, if only she was able to answer me. Mary does the same.
Our warmest regards to all of you,
Lizzy
“Thank you Maddie, I needed that,” Bennet stated, his voice thick with emotion as he handed the missive back to his sister-in-law.
Madeline inclined her head and rang for the butler to have the main course brought to the table.
Chapter 23
All three ladies Bennet interviewed were acceptable for the role he was seeking to fill. It was nothing less than he expected of the candidates his sister-in-law would find. After the interviews, and with Madeline’s advice—she had sat in on each of the meetings—Bennet chose the second lady they had met, Mrs Camile Perkins.
She was proficient in a wide variety of academic subjects and had all of the accomplishments one would expect in a gently born woman. Her résumé was similar to that of the other two ladies, but she had one thing neither of them had. She had been the mistress of an estate.
The estate had not been entailed, which in this case hadnotbeen a positive. Her late husband was a gamester who fritted away her dowry within two years of their marriage. Then a year later, he lost his family estate in a game of chance. No one knew the truth, but his body had been found floating in the Thames. It was suspected he had thrown himself off one of the bridges, but as none had witnessed the act, how her late husband ended up in the river had remained undetermined.
Mrs Perkins had been with child at the time; the stress of her husband’s death coupled with being evicted from her home with almost nothing to her name had caused a miscarriage. She had moved back to her father’s estate, but not too many months later, he passed away and her brother took over. There had been no mistaking the resentment pouring off her sister-in-law at having to support her husband’s widowed sister.
With her mourning completed, Mrs Perkins chose to use her education and accomplishments and sought a position as a governess. Over the years, as word of her sterling abilities spread, she became sought after more and more. The last two positions had been as a companion, and during the first of the two she had met Madeline Gardiner at a charitable event her charge was attending. The two had become great friends, and when Madeline informed her of the position her brother-in-law was seeking to fill, Camile Perkins decided she would like the challenge. Besides, she would be helping her friend at the same time.
With all of this, Madeline had gone out of her way not to prejudice her brother-in-law. She answered when he asked questions of her after each interview, but had not allowed her personal preference to be displayed.
In the end, even though her requested wages were more than either of the other two, Bennet allowed her experience as the mistress of an estate to decide the matter. Unlike with his mother’s attempts to educate his wife, he would not allow his wife to cry off finally learning how to be a proper mistress of his estate.
As her previous position had ended with the wedding of her charge almost two months previously, Mrs Perkins was more than ready to start working again. Unlike when she took her first position, almost twenty years past, she no longer needed to work, if she did not choose to. Each of the families she had worked for had been so happy with her service, they had gifted her a sum towards her eventual retirement when she left their employ. The amount increased with the status and wealth of her employers. When Madeline had met her, she had been employed by a Duchess to watch her daughter. That daughter, Lady Marie had married Viscount Hilldale almost four years past. The gift from the Duke and Duchess of Bedford had been enough for her to retire comfortably, many times over in fact. However, as Mrs Perkins was not built to be idle,she sought a new position.
Her final position before accepting work with the Bennets had been for Lady Felicia, the daughter of the Duke of Devonshire. Lady Felicia had married the Marquess of Birchington, her previous charge’s brother, a little more than two months previously. As had always occurred, she was presented with a healthy amount towards her future retirement.
As a woman a few years away from her fiftieth birthday, she had no desire to retire. Her wealth was further enhanced as a few months after meeting Madeline, she had invested about thirty percent of her funds with Mr Gardiner. Before the year was up, eighty percent of her capital was invested with him, and thanks to her using hardly any of it, the principal kept on growing.
Her friend, Madeline, had not attempted to tip the scales in her favour with Mr Bennet, while at the same time, she had not tried to influence her friend one way or the other. Hence, when Bennet offered the position to her friend Camile, and said friend accepted it, Madeline was well pleased with the outcome. As she had nothing keeping her in London, the newest staff member would be ready to travel to Longbourn with Mr Bennet the next morning. Even though she was a widow, and he a married man, a maid would travel with them.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Darcy did not allow the disappointment at not seeing Miss Bennet or knowing where she had gone to intrude on his enjoyment during the journey back to Pemberley with his sister and her companion. It would be the first time they would both be at their home since the near debacle. Said attempt to abscond with his sister had occurred at the end of July of the current year, and since then while he had been in Hertfordshire, Giana had been in London. A rather distracted Darcy had been at Pemberley to oversee the harvest for some weeks, but without his sister. He had been greatly preoccupied,but his steward had never commented on the fact.
