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Charlotte Lucas, who was Jane’s senior by five years, was friends with the two eldest Bennet daughters. One would have thought the not yet five-year-old Elizabeth was too young to be her friend as Charlotte approached theripe old ageof twelve, but Eliza’s intelligence ameliorated the age difference. Charlotte and her family, Sir William and Lady Sarah Lucas, and her brothers Franklin and John, were the only ones Elizabeth allowed to call her Eliza. The Lucas baby, Mariah, was between Kitty and Lydia in age.
The group of close friends was rounded out by Jenny Goulding, who was between Jane and Elizabeth in age, and the five-year-old Mandy Long. Mandy and her sister Cara, two, had been adopted by Jonathan and Cheryl Long when their parents, Mr. Long’s brother and sister-in-law, succumbed to a bad bout of influenza. Thankfully, their young daughters had been visiting their aunt and uncle in Meryton when the outbreak swept through their late parent’s neighbourhood.
The parents of the various friends were beyond happy when the Bennets invited their daughters to take lessons with the Bennet daughters, including with the masters. With so many to teach,Signoreda Funti spent two days a week at Netherfield to accommodate all of his students. Bennet requested the master instruct only his two oldest daughters in his native tongue, after it had become evident that they had an ear for languages when they quickly picked up Italian from theSignore.
After more than a year of conversing withSignoreda Funti, Jane and Elizabeth were fluent in Italian and had mastered the accent to perfection. Mary was beginning to learn as she had started music lessons in the last few months. It seemed that at their young age, the children were able to assimilate languages much more easily than older children. After Lizzy’s upcoming fifth birthday, Bennet and Fanny planned to hire masters in Latin, Greek, French, Russian, and Spanish. Their girls had a thirst for learning, and their parents were wise enough to quench it.
One afternoon, Bennet joined his wife in the west drawing room after his day of making sure everything was running smoothly at both estates. “Fanny, who is your letter from?” Bennet asked as he sat down after kissing his wife’s cheek.
“It is from Edward. He is betrothed. While he was travelling for work, he was stuck in the town of Lambton in Derbyshire for three days while a new wheel was being fabricated for his carriage. There he met the pastor’s daughter, according to his letter, a Miss Madeline Lambert. Now he is betrothed to her, and they will marry from Lambton the first Friday of the month in June. He would love us to attend, Thomas. He has written to Hattie and Frank, too. We can journey there, can we not?” Fanny asked hopefully.
“I see no reason why not. It does not hurt that we have access to Lizzy’s, I meanourcoaches which came with this estate. If Hattie and Frank want to join us, they may use one of our conveyances,” Bennet agreed. “I will contact Holder to see if he is willing to host us either on the way there or the way back, as Holder Heights is no more than four hours from Lambton, if memory serves.”
“Lydia will be more than one, so there should be no issue with her travelling with us; I am not of a mind to be separated from our children for very long,” Fanny stated firmly.
“We are of one mind in that, Fanny,” Bennet confirmed. Just then their three oldest girls joined them as their lessons were completed for the day. It had become a tradition that they take tea with their Mama and Papa every day after lessons.
The three were excited when they heard Uncle Edward was to marry. “Will our new aunt like us?” Jane asked innocently.
“I am sure she will love you, Janie, all five of you. One would have to travel far to find such well-behaved daughters as you and your sisters,” Fanny assured her eldest.
“Where is Lambton?” Elizabeth asked. She loved to find places on maps.
“In Derbyshire, Lizzy,” Bennet averred. “The town is in the southwest of the county, a few miles from the border with Staffordshire. We hope to visit Uncle Paul and Aunt Edith while we are in the area.”
“Will I come too?” Mary asked apprehensively, worried she was too young for the journey.
“Of course you will come with us, Mary. Kitty and Lyddie with also be with us, and before you ask, yes, Miss Jones and the nursemaids too,” Fanny told her middle daughter indulgently.
Less than two hours later, Hattie Phillips arrived to discuss travel to their brother’s wedding with her younger sister. As her husband had agreed they would be at the wedding, Hattie accepted the use of one of her sister’s family’s coaches, as even the Bennets’ small vehicle was far larger and more comfortable than their own.
A few days later, a letter was received from Holder Heights with an invitation to stay after the wedding for as long as the Bennets and Phillips chose. A letter of thanks was posted accepting the kind invitation and informing their hosts they would impose on the Carrington’s hospitality, possibly until the end of June.
Chapter 3
June 1795
The Bennet and Phillips families arrived at the Big Bull Inn in Lambton on the second day of June. All of the rooms in the inn had been reserved for their four-day stay; they intended to depart for Holder Heights on the following Saturday morning.
The families were in awe of the splendours which nature in the area; they had a good view of some of the peaks from Lambton. On Wednesday morning, Bennet asked the landlord what sights were nearby, and he was told the estate of Pemberley, one of the largest in Derbyshire, was often visited when people travelled through the area. As far as the landlord knew, the family was away from home and the house was open to visitors.
Fanny Bennet remembered that one of Cilla’s friends, who did not abandon her, lived at an estate in Derbyshire. She had not thought about the name for some time—Lady Anne Darcy. Pemberley sounded correct, but she was not sure.
The Phillipses had no children to entertain, so they chose to spend the morning with Gardiner and his betrothed at the parsonage. Kitty and Lydia were left at the inn with their nurse and Miss Jones, and the largest travelling coach containing the other five Bennets commenced the five-mile journey to the estate.
The gates were open, and the gatehouse keeper doffed his cap to them without stopping the conveyance. Bennet surmised the man was intimidated by the two huge footmen on the back of the coach. For added security, Bennet had hired extra footmen/guards, led by the two with them this day, former sergeants in the army, Biggs and Johns.
The Bennets travelled through a few miles of thick forest on either side of a gravel drive. As the forest receded, the drive turned to the left and there was an incline. At the crest, Bennet struck the roof, and the family exited the coach to wonder at the sight before them.
Below them was a valley with the Derwent River meandering through it, and what seemed like a man-made channel that diverted some of the water to a lake in front of the largest house either Bennet parent had ever beheld. The house was built on rising ground on the opposite side of the valley glowed with a golden hue in the early morning sunshine reflected from the Derbyshire stone used in this part of the country.
Up the side of the hill they could see, over the roof of what appeared to be at least a five-story structure, a forest. In front were formal gardens, but it was easy to see they were not overly manicured. In the centre of the gardens was a large rose garden laid out around a gazebo.
There was a large expanse of grass which led to the lake, then the forest was allowed to be free from the awkward attempts of man to tame it. “Never have I seen a place for which nature did more and where the awkward tastes of man have not been employed to counteract it,” Fanny marvelled. She was, after all, a gardening enthusiast.
“Why would anyone need such a huge home?” Elizabeth asked innocently.
