The excitement of seeing their home grew as the coach neared the crest in the drive, about two miles from the gate house, where there would be a magnificent view of the house across the valley. Yes, it was enormous, but to the Darcys, it was just a home.
“I never tire of seeing that view each time I arrive home,” Georgiana sighed as soon as she saw the structure built on rising ground on the eastern edge of the Pemberley Valley.
“In that we are in complete accord,” Darcy returned. No matter the burdens he carried, they felt lighter as soon as he was at Pemberley. All Darcy needed to make his estate perfect was a wife to be its mistress. He knew there was none other than a certain raven haired, emerald-green eyed, intelligent, witty lady who he would ever want to fill the role.
When the coach was pulled into the internal courtyard, where the sounds of the horses’ hooves on the cobblestoned surface reverberated on the walls which surrounded the area, Darcy was happy to see his housekeeper and butler did not have the staff and servants lined up outside waiting for them. It was too cold for that. Unlike many masters of estates across the realm, Darcy cared for the comfort of those who he employed.
Mrs Reynolds and Mr Douglas, the housekeeper and the butler, respectively, were standing on the small veranda in front of the door by which guests and residents entered the mansion from the courtyard by ascending a half dozen stone steps. The footmen who unloaded the trunks, and the personal servants travelling with the Darcys used a servants’ door close to the stairs, but only a single half step up from the surface of the courtyard.
“Master William, it is good to see you more like yourself again,” Mrs Reynolds stated with a smile. She had come to work at Pemberley as a senior maid when the master was fouryears of age. Over the years, especially after first Lady Anne and then the previous Mr Darcy had passed away, she had become more family than member of the staff to the Darcy siblings. As much affection as she had for them, Mrs Reynolds was always careful not to cross that invisible line between employer and employee. “Miss Georgiana, it is so very good to see you after more than six months.”
The motherly housekeeper wrapped Giana into a warm embrace, which she accepted with pleasure, while her brother greeted the always stoic butler.
“Hot water will be in your baths within a quarter hour,” Douglas informed the master. He helped remove the master’s outerwear while Mrs Reynolds did the same for the little miss. “If that is all for now, Sir?”
“Thank you, Douglas. I will let you know if I need anything else. It is good to be home,” Darcy stated as he and his sister made their way up to the first floor where the family apartments were located.
Mrs Reynolds stood and watched even after the two Darcys were no longer visible. When the master had arrived home in mid to late August, she had been greatly concerned. He was unkempt with dark circles under his eyes, as if he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Thank goodness something had changed. He looked much better. and even had a spring in his step once again. All she could pray for was that her boy had finally met a woman who was worthy of his love.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Seeing you ride now, unless I had been told from your own mouth you had once been afraid of horses, I would accuse the person who told me of jesting,” Lambert told the eldest of his nieces as they rode across some of Lambert Hill’s fields on their way to Green Hill.
“Lizzy, not only are you no longer afraid of the beasts,but look at you on a mare, looking for all of the world like you had been born to this,” Mary remarked.
“You could have knocked me down with a feather because, until Uncle Tim began teaching me, I would never have believed it myself,” Elizabeth smiled as she reined in her horse who had begun to dance ahead of her uncle.
“Did I not tell you Papa was the best of riding teachers,” Adelaide enthused. The nine year old was riding her pony, and was pleased to be included on this ride with her older cousins while her younger brothers were at home. Henry was with the governess and Rory with Nurse.
“Yes, Addie, you did tell me how good a teacher your father is,” Elizabeth responded. She did not add she had agreed to the lessons before her young cousin had told her that.
“I cannot wait for Lilly to come visit in the summer,” Adelaide insisted, “Why do the Gardiners have to live so very far away?”
“I am sure Lilly, Eddy, Peter, and May feel the same way,” Mary added. Although she had not been afraid of riding like Lizzy had been, Mary had been apprehensive simply because she was nineteen and had never attempted to ride before Uncle Tim volunteered to teach her and Lizzy. That feeling did not last more than a minute or two after she began her first lesson.
“You have mastered the canter,” Lambert told his newest students, “would you like to try a gallop? We will not go full speed as you are on those side-saddles, and Addie’s pony can only go so fast.”
Elizabeth looked at Mary who shrugged her shoulders. “I suppose there is no time like the present,” she agreed for both of them. Lambert led the three of them forward, remembering to keep the speed to one comfortable not only for his nieces, but his daughter as well.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Mrs Perkins was pleased to see all three of those shewould be educating were willing to learn. She had been filled in on how wild the young girls were in the recent past, especially the youngest. They no longer acted that way, and that was before she began instructing them.
Mr Bennet had warned her that Mrs Bennet may be resistant to learning, but he assured the companion she would have his full support—not only if his wife balked at her lessons, but his daughters as well. Thankfully, for whatever reason, Mrs Bennet did not seem to resent either her own lessons, or that she no longer had the responsibility of superintending her daughters’ educations.
So far, Mrs Perkins would teach the young ladies educational subjects after they broke their fasts until a little before the midday meal. After the meal, the sisters were taught by masters, while Mrs Perkins worked with Mrs Bennet. The four ladies would meet Mr Bennet in the drawing room for tea at three where he would speak to his ladies about their days so far and inform them where he had been working on the estate in the morning.
After tea, Mrs Bennet would take up her tasks, which she now knew included visiting the tenants from time to time, and when it was needed due to illness, childbirth, or injury. Kitty and Lydia would have two hours to work with their companion on comportment, elocution, writing, and other skills a gently bred lady was expected to possess.
As the days passed and November became December those who visited Longbourn had a hard time reconciling the proper young ladies they saw in Catherine and Lydia—the former decided ‘Kitty’ was not a very lady like name—had to look more than two or three times to make sure they were the same girls who used to run wild in the area. There were again visits to Longbourn, in keeping with the family’s state of mourning, and invitations from their neighbours—albeit most, other than small family gatherings, were refused due to the mourning for Jane, which was as it should be.Just as Bennet had predicted, new and better scandals had commanded the attention of the local gossips. Also, the direct way both Bennet parents accepted their parts in the events which led up to Jane Bennet’s death, soon stopped the vitriol aimed at them.
Fanny still set a good table, she just lived within the constraints of her household budget now. As the date edged closer to Christmastide, Catherine and Lydia’s excitement at seeing their cousins increased.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Elizabeth was more than happy to receive a letter from Charlotte. She was her best friend, after Mary, and her letters were always full of news from the neighbourhood around Meryton.
15 December 1810
