Mr and Mrs Gardiner eventually agreed, although Mr Gardiner stated he would stay in London to oversee the building project. “However, if Mrs Gardiner and the children can be away from these quarters, in a safe environment, it would put my mind at ease.” He shook Darcy’s hand again, tears welling in his eyes. “I cannot thank you enough for your generosity, Mr Darcy.”
Now it was Darcy’s turn to be uncomfortable with all the high praise. “It is the least we could do.” Darcy watched Miss Bennet even as she watched him. In her eyes was a mixture of self-consciousness, gratefulness, and surprise. After the arrangements had been discussed, he and Georgiana took their leave. It made him wonder to what extent he had made theproposal for Miss Bennet’s sake, and what had been for his own need to be close to her and make sure she was safe.
Darcy swallowed, his mouth dry. Though he could not regret it, perhaps the offer had been a foolhardy one. No matter what had prompted him to make it, it would surely be dangerous for his heart to have her so near.
Chapter 13
Even as she sat in the carriage on her way to Pemberley, Elizabeth wondered if it might be nothing more than a dream. Surely she could not really have left the crowded lodging house behind forever, exchanged for the promise of Mr Darcy’s estate in Derbyshire.
Yet it was so. As Elizabeth saw the bustle and soot of London fall away, to be replaced by the roads leading north, she was forced to conclude it was no dream. Mr Darcy truly had been so gracious as to invite them all to Pemberley, and so stubborn as to win through her uncle’s reluctance to accept so great a favour. For the first time in her life, she would have the opportunity to see more of England.
Less favourably, she would have the challenge of completing her novel while concealing her activities from her hosts. That was a challenge that Elizabeth could not face without dismay. But as she could neither ask her aunt and uncle to refuse so eligible a favour, nor stay away herself, there was nothing else to be done.
In any case, Elizabeth thought whimsically, it was better than trying to write her novel while sharing a room in a lodging house with her young cousins.
Two days after departing London, the journey was nearly at its end. They had stayed in a public house overnight to rest and recuperate from the journey before pressing on to their destination. Elizabeth was glad of the break in the trip, especially for her cousins’ sake. The little Gardiners were very well-behaved children, but the stress of the fire and its aftermath had taken a heavy toll on them.
Elizabeth spent much of the journey riding in the Darcy’s carriage. As they pulled off the main road after passing through Lambton and started down the long drive toward Pemberley, she could not conceal her awe.
“Is it not beautiful?” Miss Darcy breathed as they looked out the windows at the lush woods surrounding them. “Oh, perhaps it is vain of me to say it, when it is my own home, but I do love it so!”
Elizabeth laughed joyfully. “No, to be sure, it is not vain at all to say it is beautiful. It is no more than the truth!” All around them, April flowers were all in bloom, and the landscape seemed so impossibly green that it brought tears to Elizabeth’s eyes. The woods through which they were passing were lovelier than any she had seen. The impression only grew when the road reached the top of a hill and the trees thinned out, at last allowing a view of the house. It stood well-placed on rising ground, with a stream running past the house. Yet for all its impact, the grounds were refreshingly free of unnecessary grandeur or ‘improvements’ made by an awkward taste. Never had Elizabeth seen a place that spoke so clearly of a family that deeply loved their home.
When they at last approached the front of the house, Elizabeth could not help feeling the weight of her own insignificance. Her discomfort only grew when she climbeddown from the carriage and remembered how she was dressed. When the unfortunate gown was given to her by some kindly nuns who had heard of the fire and had brought what they could to help ease the Gardiners’ suffering, it had been very welcome charity. Even now, she had only two other dresses, both of them hurriedly bought ready-made. The gown was better than nothing, even if it made her feel painfully unworthy of so much as stepping over the threshold of Pemberley.
“Come in, please,” Mr Darcy said, and they all went into the house. Glancing outside, Elizabeth saw that a veritable army of footmen had come to bring their meagre luggage inside.
“I will show you where you will stay,” Miss Darcy said to Elizabeth, taking her hand to draw her away. Elizabeth glanced over her shoulder at her aunt. The housekeeper, a respectable-looking lady named Mrs Reynolds, was greeting her and the children. Mrs Reynolds seemed all welcome and hospitality, a housekeeper truly worthy of Pemberley. Being sure that her aunt and cousins would be taken well care of, Elizabeth allowed Miss Darcy to lead her away.
“We thought that Mrs Gardiner and the children would like to be close to each other. But I chose this room especially for you,” Miss Darcy said. She opened the door, and Elizabeth was nearly bowled over by how lavish the room was. Even for a guest room, it seemed more fit for royalty than for a working woman such as herself.
Though, of course, Miss Darcy and her brother had no notion of her true identity or what she did to provide for her family.
Elizabeth shook the thought away. The room was filled with light from the floor-to-ceiling windows that faced the north. She walked over to one of them and saw that her view wasentirely taken up by the gardens and the mountain cliffs beyond. The view nearly took her breath away.
“This is the part Fitz thought you would appreciate the most,” Miss Darcy said. She walked over to a small writing desk. Her friend ran her hand over the desktop. “I made sure that it was fully stocked with paper, inkwells and plenty of quills. I know how many letters you have to write.” Miss Darcy beamed at her, waiting for her reaction.
Elizabeth’s throat grew taut, and tears welled in her eyes.
Miss Darcy must have taken her silence for displeasure, for her face fell, and she let her hand drop to her side. “Does it not please you? We have many others if you prefer something else —”
“No, please,” Elizabeth said. She wiped furiously at her tears and went to embrace her friend. “It is perfect. I am only undone by your kindness. If you had put us up in the garret, it would have been enough.”
“Nonsense. No friend of mine is going to sleep in a draughty old garret.” She smiled and hugged her back. “I am so glad you are here. Really, I would have been terribly depressed if we had left London without you. And now, we shall all be the jolliest party I have ever seen. Your cousins are so darling, especially little Phillip. And I know we are all going to get on so well here.”
Elizabeth looked at Miss Darcy, thinking. Perhaps she and the Gardiners were not the only ones who would benefit from their stay at Pemberley. Miss Darcy seemed so entirely delighted by their company. Lovely as it was, Pemberley must have sometimes been a rather quiet place to grow up.
“I am sure we will,” Elizabeth told her friend. “And truly, I could not be more delighted to be here with you.”
Miss Darcy smiled at her. “Good. Now, I will leave you to settle in. I have instructed the maids to bring up water for a bath for you. But if you need anything else, please do not hesitate to ring and let one of the servants know. And you can always have a message sent to me in my rooms. I am just a few doors down.” Miss Darcy beamed as she backed out of the room. “I am so glad you are here!”
Miss Darcy closed the door quietly behind her. Elizabeth let out a breath. Now she had privacy to be overwhelmed by the vast room, with its four-poster bed hung with silken white material. The room was light and airy, done in the French style, with light blue, white, and gold panelling on the walls. There were mirrors aplenty, as well as a goodly hearth, a mantel with a clock that ticked the minutes happily away, and vases of fresh flowers spread throughout the room. Elizabeth went to a round table off to the right of the bed and fingered the delicate pink petals of a bright peony. She bent and inhaled its scent, letting the strain of the long journey ebb away from her tired muscles.
After her bath, she dressed in her favourite of the three gowns to her name, a white linen, and went out into the corridor to join the rest of her family. She found them in the drawing room. While her aunt and uncle were taking tea with their hosts, their children were noisily at play. They dashed about the terrace outside, creating more noise than Pemberley must have seen in many a year.
“Ah, Miss Bennet, there you are. I hope you are well rested?” Miss Darcy asked.
“And refreshed, thanks to your hospitality in seeing to our needs. I do not think I have ever been so spoilt,” Elizabeth said.
