~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Around the time the coaches and carriages arrived at Hilldale, an express, carried by a Darcy courier, reached Longbourn.
“What is it, Thomas? All is well with our daughters, is it not?” Fanny worried.
“It is a thick missive, and the direction is in Lizzy’s hand.” Bennet broke the seal. “There are two additional letters contained within. I will begin with the one in Gardiner’s hand. Another is from Lizzy, and the final one, I know not whose hand wrote it.” He read the letter from his brother-in-law. Given the contents of previous letters, Bennet was not too surprised. Before he took up Lizzy’s epistle, he handed Gardiner’s to Fanny.
“Lizzy too is engaged!” Fanny exclaimed as she read. However, there were no effusions about Darcy’s wealth.
The missive from Lizzy was passed to his wife. Finally, he broke the seal on the unread one. His eyes dropped to the bottom of the page, and after readingthe first two epistles, he was unsurprised it was from Darcy.
“Thomas, Lizzy loves Mr Darcy,” Fanny announced.
“So, it seems, my dear, so it seems. In my opinion, they are very well matched. His love and respect for our Lizzy is evident in his words written here.” Bennet lifted the page. “They will do very well together.”
Fanny raised her eyes to the heavens to give thanks. Even had the entail still been in effect, she would have never had to worry about her security again. “Thomas, now that Jane and Lizzy are marrying men who do not need Longbourn, who will you leave it to? I pray that time is many years away.”
“Our next eldest daughter, Mary,” Bennet announced.
Fanny said not a word in opposition. She could only agree. “Our family has well and truly been blessed,” she opined.
Bennet did not disagree with her.
Chapter 30
Jane was captivated by Hilldale. It had not taken her long to, in turn, charm the senior staff and servants.
Aunt Maddie and Mother had joined her on the tour of the manor house. Jane immediately saw the truth of what Mother had warned her about regarding the décor. It was not only far out of date, but worse, things were worn and threadbare in places.
When Jane had baulked at spending so much money to redecorate the house, her betrothed had assured her that with him saving most of the profit from the eight thousand per annum income of the estate since it became his, he had more than enough in reserve to redecorate many times over. Of course, that was before counting the funds in his growing investment accounts with Gardiner and Associates. He had told her she would not have to do much to their house in Town as Hilldale House in Portman Square had been updated two years past with Mother’s help. However, he had reiterated that she could make changes she deemed needed to her heart’s content.
Hilldale had been even more impressed with Jane than he previously had been. When she had heard how much he had saved, and what was available to spend, she did not look for ways to spend the funds. Rather, she looked for ways to save by being prudent.
While Jane was touring the house, Elizabeth had very much enjoyed walking the paths she found at the estate and admiring the wildness of the land. There were good viewsof some of the Peaks from the estate, something which thrilled her. Of course, she was not alone; William and Gigi kept her company. William had mentioned that in his opinion, Pemberley had far better vistas than either Hilldale or Snowhaven. Elizabeth told him she would judge for herself when they arrived at said estate.
On one of their walks, Darcy mentioned how one could see much more of Pemberley on horseback rather than on two feet. Elizabeth had told him of the broken arm she suffered falling off a horse when learning to ride at the age of seven.
With Gigi’s support, Darcy had cajoled his affianced into agreeing to allow him to teach her to ride while they visited Pemberley.
Given how she claimed her courage always rose when she was intimidated, Elizabeth did not have a way to refuse. However, she did trust that William would not allow her to be injured while learning, especially after Gigi sang his praises as a teacher.
On Sunday, the whole of the party attended the Hilldale Village Church. Word that the new mistress would be attending was out which left only standing room.
Already having heard about their future mistress from servants, the tenants who met Miss Bennet at church on Sunday were predisposed to like her; meeting the lady did not change that impression. In fact, many felt that her goodness had been understated.
Jane took time to speak to each of those whom Andrew introduced to her and never held herself above them.
After the midday meal on Monday, the whole party departed for Pemberley.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Elizabeth was riding in the Darcy coach, which was in the lead when they passed Pemberley’s gateposts and gatehouse. From there, they travelled on a gravel drive which rose uphill for more than a mile. Very fascinating to Elizabeth were the vast woodlands on either side of the drive. She could not wait to go exploring in the forest.
Eventually the angle of the rise became steeper, and when they almost reached the crest, Darcy struck the ceiling twice with his cane, and the coach came to a shuddering halt. Thompson retracted the step and opened the door. He stood aside.
Darcy alighted and handed out Elizabeth. As Jane had never before seen the estate, Hilldale led her to join her sister. Jane was followed by the Gardiners.
“Why did we stop here, William?” Elizabeth enquired.
