Even though it was almost summer, and therefore close to the time when tourists would descend on the Lake District, there were very few carriages on the road. Darcy’s estimate of when they might meet with the Gardiners’ carriage turned out to be incorrect, because the familiar four roan horses and Holland-and-Holland carriage appeared almost a full hour before he had expected to see it.
Darcy had his men arrange themselves on the side of the road, but he rode Orion to a spot closer to the centre. He saw smiles break out on the driver’s and footman’s faces as he lifted his hand in a wave. When the carriage was only a few yards away, it came to a halt, and Elizabeth burst forth from the carriage before anyone could lower the step.
Darcy leapt off his horse and met her in a joyous embrace.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I just had to be certain of your safety,” he replied.
Gardiner had stepped down from the carriage and was handing his wife out, at that point, so Darcy stepped back from the hug but maintained hold of one of Elizabeth’s hands. Itwas swiftly decided that Darcy should ride in the carriage with the other three; Orion would be led back to Pemberley by the guards. Within just a few minutes, the carriage was under way once more, but this time flanked with guards as if it were a royal transport.
Darcy answered two questions from each of the Gardiners and nine questions from Elizabeth, but when his intended finally seemed satisfied that she was all caught up, he asked them several leading questions about their time in the Lake District. They had so many praises to give and so many stories to tell, there was hardly a moment of silence. Suddenly, Elizabeth gasped. “Did we just pass the gate to Pemberley’s land?
He grinned and replied, “We did. Only another three quarters of an hour of travel to the house.”
“Three quarters of an hour!” She shook her head as she gave a rueful laugh. “I keep thinking I have a good idea of how very rich you are, but then I realise that I am wide of the mark, as usual, by quite a lot.”
“Lizzy, please…” Mrs Gardiner said, laughter evident in her tone even though her words appeared to be scolding.
Darcy just laughed along with Elizabeth. “I think you are very, very ‘wide of the mark,’ my dear, because it is not how richImay or may not be, butwe.”
“Sir, you must know that you still have time to change your mind. You have not even met with my father, yet; there is no marriage settlement signed.”
“Please do not use the words “change” and “mind” in the same sentence, Elizabeth—not until we are safely married.”
She reached for Darcy’s hand and squeezed it. “Never fear. I know I changed my mind dramatically not even two months ago, but that was only because I did not know you nearly as well as I had imagined. Now that I know the true Fitzwilliam Darcy, there would be nothing that could change my mind.”
“Not even the Duke of Lymebourne?”
Everyone laughed at that, although both Darcy and Gardiner sobered up promptly.
“Will the duke continue to make problems?” Gardiner asked.
“I have no idea. I could not have imagined the duke sending a note claiming Elizabeth’s abduction, nor someone connected with the duke actually abducting a man in my employ; attempting to guess what madness may lie in the future seems impossible.”
“Whatever is in our future, we will face it together,” Elizabeth pointed out.
“I love that!” Darcy reclaimed her hand and kissed it. Sitting on opposite benches in the carriage, with Elizabeth’s watchful aunt and uncle, there were only so many ways he could show her how much he loved her, but he tried to convey his feelings with his tender touch, his softest kiss, his intent eyes.
He must have done a fairly decent job of communicating his love, because Elizabeth smiled with pleasure but also blushed prettily.
Elizabeth’s “homecoming,” as Darcy liked to think of it, was everything he had wished. He had never been more proud of Georgiana, nor of his servants. Not only had they followed his orders, they had gone above and beyond.
Least surprising was that Georgiana flew to Elizabeth with a gratifyingly warm welcome, and Mrs Reynolds was more effusive in her greetings than usual. The rest of the servants smiled more brightly and, in many cases, said “welcome back” as their duties took them near their future mistress.
Georgiana and Mrs Reynolds had apparently decided to not only fill the Great Hall and the appropriate guest rooms with fresh flowers, they had also thoroughly refreshed the mistress rooms attached to his own and filled with flowers the mistress’s bed chamber, dressing room, washroom, and even the teeny water closet. He was informed of this decision by Georgiana, in a privatetête-à-tête. She explained that he could show the rooms to Elizabeth and Mrs Gardiner, and ask the future mistress what changes she wished made to the wall and window coverings, the furniture, the flooring and carpets, and the bedding.
Darcy and Mrs Reynolds gave the tour after the travellers had rested and dressed for dinner, and he was unsurprised when Elizabeth proclaimed everything perfect. Eventually, thankfully, Mrs Gardiner pointed out that the littlecheveretmight not suit Elizabeth’s writing needs, and that she might wish for a more robust sort of desk, and Elizabeth reluctantly agreed. Mrs Gardiner also pointed out that the curtains, bed curtains, and wall coverings, while beautiful, were quite old, and not Elizabeth’s preferred colours. “You would never choose pink and lavender if you were designing your perfect room,” she said. Elizabeth agreed that various shades of green and accents of white and yellow would be her choice. Mrs Reynolds promised to make note of her preferences and suggested that they choose a suitable desk and fabrics in London and ship them to Pemberley before Elizabeth’s arrival as a new bride.
Cook made the most splendid meal, Darcy thought, that had ever been served at Pemberley, somehow managing to include all of Elizabeth’s favourite dishes. Darcy had noticed a few of these preferences, but he was pleased to hear Elizabeth express, over and over, her delight that a dish she had gone out of her way to compliment to the servants had been remembered: artichoke soup, dressed crab, new potatoes and fresh peas, roastducklings, asparagus salad, Derby cheese, candied citron peel and almonds, crystallised ginger, and lemon-cheese tarts.
Most surprising of all was that Georgiana had arranged a special musical performance for that evening. She was so shy; she performed on the pianoforte for very few people and had never performed for even a small group—until that night.
Elizabeth said, as Darcy once again longed for a moment of privacy but kept his good night to a lingering kiss on her hand, “I have never felt so welcome, Fitzwilliam. Thank you, and please let all of your household know how much I appreciated their efforts.”
“I will, just as I will let them know how much I, too, appreciate them.”
And he did.
