“Lizzy, when does Charlotte arrive? Lady Lucas told me about her invitation and that you and William are sending a carriage with a maid and footmen to bring her into Derbyshire,” Fanny enquired.
“She will arrive two days before the Twelfth Night Ball we are holding here at Pemberley, Mama,” Lizzy reported.
The rest of the day was very pleasant with much talk of babes, clothing, and accoutrements needed for said babes. The men executed a tactical withdrawal and went riding after lunch, all hastily agreeing to the twin’s suggestion of some exercise.
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The following morning, two more coaches arrived bearing the rest of the Fitzwilliams. When they disembarked, young David Fitzwilliam, now almost three, very proudly informed one and all that his Mama had his baby brother in her tummy. When his smiling grandmother told him it could be a baby sister, he scrunched up his nose and told everyone he had decided that it was a baby brother.
Once everyone met in the drawing room, the Countess and a very pregnant Lady Marie agreed with Fanny’s assessment that Lizzy could be carrying twins. When the tentative plan for Mary and Jane’s lying in was laid out, the Earl and Countess agreed wholeheartedly.
Decoration of Pemberley had started the day the first group of guests had arrived, and now the inside of Pemberley was almost as green as it was on the outside in the summer. There was greenery on all of the banisters, sprigs of holly were hung all over, and strategically placed mistletoe, heavy with berries, could be found when one did not look too hard.
No one missed the blush both Tom Bennet and Georgiana Darcy sported when they were inadvertently caught under one hanging piece of mistletoe. After retrieving a berry, a very embarrassed Tom gave an even more embarrassed Georgiana a peck on the cheek. Luckily for Darcy and Richard, more so than Georgiana and Tom, the rest of the revellers did not mortify them by insisting on a proper kiss.
The invitations for the Twelfth Night Ball had been sent out and were accepted with very few exceptions and the plans for the ball were well in hand. Mrs. Darcy acceded to her husband’s request she not overdo things and use the many friends and loved ones she had at her disposal for help.
On Christmas Eve, the whole party made the short walk to the Pemberley Chapel where the young rector officiated the service. He held the Pemberley living in addition to the one at Kympton and Lambton.
The Pemberley living was a small and minor one, but as Darcy was his patron for the other two livings, he had his curates officiate at the other two while he did the Pemberley services on Christmas Eve. When the family returned to the house, with the parson in tow, they were treated to a sumptuous Christmas Eve dinner that had no fish on the menu.
It had begun to snow overnight, and it was still falling when everyone met to break their fast in the morning. Afterward, they congregated in the ballroom where there was a big fir Christmas tree in the German tradition that Queen Charlotte observed, and to the surprise of some it had lots of presents at its base.
Before opening gifts, they all sung their favourite carols. Bennet was most pleased by his gifts from his married daughters and sons in law. From Mary and Richard, he received a first edition book that was not in his collection, and Lizzy and William also gifted him a first edition, a very rare one he had long sought out with no success.
Bingley and Jane gifted him with a case each of the best French cognac and the port that he loved. Bingley refused to disclose how he was able to purchase the cognac with the kingdom still at war with France.
Everyone else was more than satisfied with their gifts, especially the four Gardiner children who announced it was the best Christmas. When the twins asked about riding, they were downcast when told that there would be no riding while the snow was falling and getting deeper. Their frowns quickly turned into happy smiles when Darcy let them know there would be sleigh rides after luncheon on the morrow for anyone who wanted to participate.
Fanny and Bennet, Madeline and Gardiner, and Elaine and Matlock begged off the sleigh rides, but everyone else enthusiastically indicated that they would like to go, especially the four young Gardiner children and one young future earl.
The days flew by as everyone enjoyed the time together as a family. Five days after sending the express to Sir Fredrick, he replied he would be willing to come to attend Mrs. Darcy and would arrive with two nurses a month prior to the expected date of Mrs. Darcy’s lying in and requested his warmest regards be passed onto his friends, the Gardiners.
Chapter 26
Charlotte Lucas could not believe what she was seeing. Lizzy had described Pemberley as a house, but in her eyes, it was a mansion! It was easily the biggest house Charlotte had ever beheld, and she was awed that Lizzy was mistress of this great estate, the house in town, and the secondary estates.
The maid who had accompanied her had told her Pemberley was big, but she had not been ready for the sight that greeted her when the carriage crested the hill and gave her the first view of the snow-covered house and park. Her mouth dropped open from the shock of the view before her.
By the time the carriage drew to a stop in front of the manor house, Charlotte had managed to pick up her jaw and had schooled her mien. As she stepped out of the conveyance, she was hugged by a very pregnant Elizabeth Darcy.
“Welcome to our home, Charlotte. William and I are very happy you agreed to join us, I hope you are able to stay with us for a while as you are welcome for as long as you would like to be here.” Lizzy was practically bouncing on her toes at having Charlotte by her side once again.
“Oh my! Eliza, I see you are with child, you are glowing, and what a beautiful home you have here.” Charlotte hugged her.
“Ladies, as it is cold outside, I suggest we enter the house.” Darcy stepped up and offered his arms.
“As you can see Charlotte, my William is very protective of his very pregnant wife.” Elizabeth smiled brightly.
“Just as it should be.” Whatever Charlotte was about to say after that died on her lips. She was awed by the magnificent two-story entrance hall that had an understated elegance about it. Everything that Charlotte saw was the best, nothing out of place, gaudy, or ostentatious.
Charlotte stood rooted to her spot as she handed her outerwear to the butler after he closed the front doors.
“It may be a big house my friend, but it is still a house, our home,” Lizzy leaned over and whispered to her friend.
Once Charlotte settled, her friend turned to her housekeeper and requested she show Charlotte up to her room to rest from the road. Charlotte was led up to the second floor to one of the guest wings and shown into the biggest bedchambers she had ever seen. It was bigger than Maria’s and hers combined.
She then realised she had only seen the bedchamber and was taken aback as the housekeeper showed her the private sitting room, dressing room, and bathing room. Altogether it was the combined size of her and her four siblings’ spaces at home. She thought she had an idea how much wealth the Darcy’s enjoyed, but she now saw she had underestimated it by a great deal.
