That night for dinner they were joined by Hattie and Frank Philips as well as the Lucases. At dinner, part of the discussion centred on how the newly married Mr. and Mrs. Elliot were doing, and the consensus was very well.
Not for the first time, Sir William and Lady Lucas thanked the Darcys for gifting the newlyweds a fortnight at Seaview Cottage. The family had enjoyed hosting the newlyweds for two days on the way back from Seaview.
It was agreed after all of the pregnancies were over and the new babes were able to travel; there would be a house party at Seaview. All of the families at dinner were invited, and the Bingleys, Hursts, Anne, the Derbyshire Elliots, and the rest of the Fitzwilliams would be invited.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
After a restful sojourn at Longbourn, two more carriages joined the convoy for the five-hour trip to Rosings Park. On the way there, Darcy told Lizzy about the new parson Anne had gifted the Hunsford living to, Mr. Graham Allenton.
He was young, only five and twenty, and the second son of a country gentleman with a small estate. The reports about him from his curacy had been glowing, and the reaction of the Hunsford flock was very positive. While anyone would have been better than the late William Collins, it seemed Reverend Allenton was a vast improvement. His first priority was the welfare of his parishioners, not his patroness.
The carriages passed the Hunsford parsonage and church just before they turned into the gates which proclaimedRosings Parkon them. As they arrived under the portico Anne was waiting for them, flanked by her butler and housekeeper.
Both senior staff had been replaced after Anne had given the previous couple that filled the role the generous retirement Lady Catherine, in her avarice, had long kept from them so they had worked years beyond the point when they would have liked to retire.
With help from her Aunt Elaine, Anne had found a very competent pair, Mr. Nigel Lipton was appointed as her new butler, and the new housekeeper was Mrs. Marjorie Barlow. In the housekeeper’s case, the title of Mrs. was a courtesy title as she had never been married.
While Mr. Lipton directed his footmen to unload the trunks, the housekeeper showed the arriving party to their chambers. After changing and washing off the travel dust, the new arrivals repaired to the drawing room.
Darcy and Fitzwilliam knew the house well from annual visits past they had made out of a sense of family duty, not desire. The first thing both commented on was how much better the house looked. It was no longer a dark and dank place filled with gaudy furniture and useless, overtly ostentatious baubles. It now looked like a home.
Both had remarked to their wives how much they had liked all the new furniture Anne had ordered from Chippendale when the Darcys had ordered their new furniture for the mistress’s suites at Darcy House and Pemberley.
Rosings Park now displayed a similar understated elegance to that seen in the houses on each of the estates of the family party that was present for Easter. Bedchambers were comfortable and inviting, chairs were for sitting on not for show, and the rest of the furniture was acquired for utility not to try and impress and intimidate the viewer.
The cousins, now brothers by marriage, noticed thethroneswere gone from all rooms where Lady Catherine used to hold court. The house was vastly improved under the care of its rightful owner.
The Bennets, Darcys, and Fitzwilliams entered the largest of the drawing rooms, where in addition to Anne, the Earl and Countess of Matlock, the Bingleys, and the Hursts were present. They were informed the Gardiners would arrive on the morrow.
Lord and Lady Hilldale were at Hilldale where they would remain for the foreseeable future. Marie Fitzwilliam, had disappointed her son David, who had ordered a brother, by presenting him with a little sister named for her two grandmothers, Rosamond Elaine, who would be known as Rose Fitzwilliam.
“Lizzy, I thought Fanny was exaggerating when she said how large you are with child. Are you sure you are only between your sixth and seventh months? Your belly is enormous.” The Countess rushed over and felt Elizabeth’s stomach for any sign of concern.
“Withchildren, Aunt Elaine. And yes, we are as sure as we can be about the timing of my pregnancy. Both the local midwife and the accoucheur have confirmed it.” Lizzy smiled ruefully.
“Are you sure you are well enough to travel, Lizzy? I would hate to think my invitation for you to visit Rosings has placed you or your baby, I mean babies, in jeopardy.” Anne looked at her cousin worriedly.
“Anne, I promise you if I did not feel well, and I did not have the permission of Sir Fredrick, we would not have made this trip. Besides my not wishing to do harm to myself or my babies, you know William would have bound me to a bed to stop me from coming if he was not convinced by the accoucheur that neither myself nor the babes I am carrying would be hurt by the trip.
“We took every precaution. We spread the trip to Longbourn over five days so there were many stops, making the trip was as leisurely as possible. You may not know, but we remained at Longbourn for me to rest for two days before coming here. Also, if anybody would like to go see the coach, William had it modified at the coachworks in Lambton so one half is a bed for me to use so I am not sitting all of the time. Truly, every precaution has been taken, and some invented for my comfort,” Lizzy related.
“I was worried when they arrived at Longbourn and I saw how big my petite Lizzy is, but when she and William explained everything to me, both Thomas and I felt a lot better,” Fanny stated in support of her second daughter.
“There is some news I would like to share.” Anne blushed as she asked for the attention of her family. “With Uncle Reggie’s blessing, I have entered into a courtship with Mr. Ian Ashby.
“As both of you know, William and Richard, we have known each other our whole lives as his father, the Earl of Ashbury, was very close to my father, and the countess Lady Gillian was friendly with Lady Catherine for some years until that lady managed to alienate her as she did all of us. His brother and sister, Lord and Lady Amberleigh, the Viscount, and their three children live at the Amberleigh estate, also in Surry.
“Before you think he is after my fortune, he is not. He is wealthy in his own right thanks to an inheritance he received from an uncle who died without issue. There is a nice sized estate in Surry called Sherwood Park with a clear six thousand a year. We have long had a tender regard for one another, but we both knew until I took control of my inheritance and exerted my will, we would have to wait.
“Lady Catherine is no longer an impediment, and after waiting for some years, I have a sneaking suspicion I will be betrothed around Easter. In addition, Hunsford’s new pastor used to be the curate at the living bestowed by Sherwood Park, so I knew he was a good man, and I could trust him with the duties for our parish.”
There was an explosion of joy for her future as Anne accepted the expressions of joy and hugs from her much expanded family. Not only was Anne looking healthier than any of the Darcys or Fitzwilliams remembered, but they could see she was glowing with happiness.
After the cacophony of all who loved her trying to express it over and again, Elizabeth Darcy asked her husband to join her on a short walk in the gardens as she felt she needed to stretch her legs a little. They were joined by the Bingleys, Tom, James, Kitty, and Georgiana.
“Not only has Anne made the house into a home, but I see a vast improvement in the gardens as well. Under Lady Catherine’s reign of terror, a gardener would be discharged with no character if she thought a blade of grass was out of place. Like everything else, she thought she was able to control nature.
“I see Anne has instructed her gardeners to make the gardens less managed and more in tune with the surrounding natural flora and fauna. I know how much you like the natural Lizzy; you would have hated the gardens as they were,” Darcy told his wife as they viewed the gardens they meandered through.
