The two carts made their way to the side entrance of the house that led to the kitchens while the twelve outriders all headed for the stables leading the Bennets’ horses. The five family conveyances halted on the circular drive in front of the house; the first two under the nice sized portico that Bennet Park sported. A large portico was being added to Longbourn so that the days of running to or from a carriage to escape the rain would be a thing of the past. Mr and Mrs Hill waited next to the first carriage as one of the army of footmen opened the door and lowered the steps.
“Welcome home your Lordship and Ladyship,” the Hills, who had served the Bennets from just before Jane’s birth, offered the benediction for the first time in person and then Mrs Hill faced her mistress.
“The house is ready for your family and guests, Lady Longbourn. Bennet Fields too is ready to accept guests whenever needed.” She addressed the most important inquiry first as people’s comforts had always been one of her mistress’s truest concerns. Elizabeth had ceded the duties of mistress of her house to her mother in deference to her.
The first coach only contained Lord and Lady Longbourn, the next carried the three eldest daughters, while the third had the two youngest Bennets and their three close friends. The last two carriages held the companions and the personal servants between them. With amusement, Elizabeth remembered the exasperation she had felt the last time she was at this estate. The superior sisters were gone and would never be seen again and she knew the true Fitzwilliam Darcy, not the one that her prejudices had led her to think that she knew the last time they had been in this house. Rather than disliking the man, she was in a courtship with, and well on her way to loving, him. Once she had washed and changed, she threw herself onto her bed and thought about the Duke and Duchess of Surrey’s ball that they had attended just before leaving Town.
The night was very pleasant with a full moon and cloudless sky. Darcy had already requested the three most significant sets from Lady Elizabeth the day before. She had granted them with pleasure and no hesitation. When the Bennets entered the ballroom, the assembled crowd went silent for a few moments before the hum of conversation recommenced with not a few looks of envy toward the family that had looks, fortune, and connections. As soon as they set foot into the room, one betrothed and two courting gentlemen joined the Bennets with alacrity. Darcy’s breath was taken away as he spied her in the cream gown with light green trim and sporting some of the Bennet jewels that were a mixture of diamonds and emeralds.
‘My how well William looks tonight, and so open and friendly, his mask of disdain is nowhere to be seen; how he looks at me!’ Lady Elizabeth thought as she warmed all over and felt a blush spreading over her whole body. She did not think about the fact that she no longer thought of him as Mr Darcy.
“You outshine the brightest star in the heavens tonight Elizabeth,” he said as he kissed both of her gloved hands with a besotted look, one that the Ton who looked on in amazement, would never have thought that Mr Darcy of Pemberley would ever sport. His lady could not miss the look of pure love and adoration for her that shone like a beacon from his countenance. “There is none here, or anywhere in the realm, that rivals you. No one is tolerable enough next to you your Ladyship,” he teased as he gave her a deep bow that her cousin Collins would have approved of.
“You look rather dapper yourself, William, I will have to defend you from all the single women here tonight,” she returned his tease with an arched eyebrow and her fine eyes shining with amusement. “Perhaps some of the married ones as well!” she added for good measure.
Darcylaughed, in public; at a ball! Members of the Ton who witnessed him doing thus wanted to know who this man was that had inhabited the body of the stoic, aloof and taciturn Mr Darcy. The more they watched, the more they understood. It was the delectable and fabulously wealthy Lady Elizabeth Bennet that had affected this sea of change that was noted. Men who would have wanted to capture the lady for her beauty as much as her fortune knew that she was very much taken. Debutants and their mothers who had pursued Darcy since he entered society could see the obvious before them. Even had they wanted to ignore the stories from other lesser balls, the theatre, museum, and other social events where the courting couple were seen, they could not ignore the clearest possible evidence right in front of them.
As the strains of music signalling the imminent start of the first set were being played, Darcy had led his beloved to join the line with Mary and Birchington on one side of them and Jane and Fitzwilliam on the other. The dance was delightful, and at the end of the half hour, the three Bennets exchanged partners as they did for the third set as well so that all three sisters danced with all three suitors. If people were amazed before, they were completely shocked when for the fourth and fifth sets, Darcy had requested to dance with ladies that were not of his close circle! Who was this man? As she proudly watched his dancing a little way from herself and her partner, Lady Elizabeth told herself, ‘He has made these changes for me. I know how uncomfortable he is around those he does not know yet, even this aspect of himself he is willing to change. If I was not already convinced, this would be the final proof that would show me the ardency and consistency of his love for me.’
They had a very enjoyable supper set and the three couples were joined by Lord and Lady Hilldale at their table during the meal. After supper, Darcy had danced every set until he claimed his love for the final set, which was the waltz. Others had seen this new Darcy at some of the smaller balls and soirees that he had attended with the Bennets, but this was the first major event since the infamous Bedford-Jersey-Matlock ball that so many members of the Ton had a chance to see him.
As she remembered that and other events they had attended during her courtship, Elizabeth finally started to admit to herself that perhaps he was not the last man she could be prevailed upon to marry but rather possibly the only man she could envisage being her partner through life’s surprises, joys, and sorrows.
When Lydia was shown to her chambers by Mrs Hill, she frowned when she saw she was in a suite of her own, with the bedchamber on the opposite side of the sitting room empty. She accepted that there must be a good reason, which perhaps she would be asked to share with her cousin Lily when she arrived soon. She acknowledged honestly that Lily would love the opportunity to stay in a suite rather than the nursery.
Kitty shared a suite with Georgie, and Tiffany and Loretta shared another but two doors down.
Kitty was not yet as proficient as her older sisters or her three friends on horseback, but she was now comfortable with the endeavour and could acquit herself very acceptably. So long as she did not need to gallop, all was well. Her mare, Venus, and Lydia’s, Titania, had arrived at Bennet House the same day. Both were trained for side saddle and were as docile as advertised. Lydia had taken to riding like a duck takes to water. With far fewer lessons than her next older sister, she was off as if she had been born in the saddle. She was a natural and berated herself for refusing to learn when her chief occupation was instead the hunting of worthless men in regimentals.
After recuperating from the four-hour carriage ride and changing into their riding habits, the five girls decided to go for a ride. Jane pointed out that they should not ride beyond a canter as even though their horses had not been pushed, they had made the four and twenty mile walk from London. Kitty and Lydia proposed that they ride to Longbourn as it was only three miles each way and would not tax their horses. They were to be chaperoned by three of the companions, two grooms and four footmen led by the mountain like Biggs.
Maria Lucas was walking down the main street in Meryton with her older sister and younger brother when she spied the two youngest Bennets riding. She had to look again to make sure her eyes were not deceiving her. Yes, they were riding, and fully looking the part of the elegant ladies they now were. Kitty noticed her and led the five girls over to where Maria and her siblings stood. The Lucases saw evidence of the Bennets wealth in the horses and the attire they wore. Kitty, being the oldest Bennet, made the introductions, inclining her head toward each as she presented one to another “Maria and John, may I introduce Lady Tiffany Fitzwilliam, Lady Loretta De Melville, and Miss Georgiana Darcy; Tiffany, Loretta, and Georgie, please meet Master John Lucas, and Miss Maria Lucas. You all remember Mrs Collins from her time when she stayed with us in London?” The three girls all nodded that they remembered her. “Their estate, Lucas Lodge, is one of the neighbouring estates and we all grew up together,” she informed them. Everyone greeted each other. Like she had been at Rosings Park, Maria was a little intimidated. The three Lucases recognised the Darcy name, but before her younger siblings could say something potentially rude, Charlotte interjected.
“Miss Darcy is the sister of Mr Darcy of Pemberley who I had heard so much good about from Mr Darcy and Colon…sorry, Mr Fitzwilliam on one of their visits to the parsonage at Hunsford, which was reaffirmed when I met you in Town,” she stated gently. Georgiana blushed and looked down in embarrassment from the praise that the lady she had only met once before gave her.
“Fitzwilliam is indeed my brother and Richard is my cousin, though I am not sure that I warrant the praise that they may have given me.” She blushed as she met Charlotte’s eyes.
“Georgie, you remember that Charlotte is one of Lizzy’s dearest friends. She was visiting her when she and William met again,” Lydia offered as the shy girl looked up. Any friend of Lizzy’s was a good person to know in her opinion. “Maria was visiting at the same time. Charlotte stayed at Gardiner and Bennet Houses for a while before she returned to Lucas Lodge, but she did not socialise outside of meals as she was in mourning for her husband, which is why you and Tiffany only met her briefly in Town.” It was then that the three visiting girls noticed that Mrs Collins was wearing widow’s weeds and all three condoled with her.
“Where are you riding to Kitty and Lydia?” young John Lucas asked. He was envious of the girls. He would have given anything to ride a horse such as any one of them was riding.
“We are riding to Longbourn to see how the house looks now that Papa is having it renovated.” Kitty did not mention that the renovated house would be one of the largest, if notthelargest in Hertfordshire. Knowing how small Lucas Lodge was, she did not want to sound like she was bragging. “We promised not to be too long, so we will see you soon. We are staying at Bennet Park while the construction is under way.”
The two groups said their farewells and the five girls re-joined their escorts and chaperones and started the last mile of their ride that would take them to the Bennet’s main estate. As they left, the two younger Lucas siblings were slack jawed. Unlike Charlotte, they had not seen the Bennet’s wealth displayed openly before. It was a revelation for them. The denizens of Meryton that witnessed the exchange drew the same conclusions that the Lucases had.
On arrival at Longbourn, the girls dismounted and the grooms led their horses to the stables to be watered and fed a little. Mrs Nichols asked if she could assist them in any way. The two Bennets explained that they would only stay a short while to see how different their home would be. The housekeeper asked if they wanted any comestibles, but the ladies all demurred, as they would have dinner soon after returning. Lydia and Kitty had been expecting a small change, but that is not what they discovered.
The original house was still intact facing the drive, but there were two new wings in advanced stages of construction that when completed would have the house look like an ‘H’ if viewed from above. They had not envisaged the size of the portico that was being added to the front of the house to be so very large when their father had described it. The house was also expanding toward the rear, and to the delight of Lucy Mills, the long time and very good cook, a much larger and modernized kitchen with all new equipment was being added with a separate scullery, cold room, ice house and pantry. The stables were a temporary structure as the old stables had been torn down and a new, much larger one with a proper carriage house was almost ready.
The foreman explained that the new family wing would include a very spacious master suite and have six additional suites, all with shared sitting rooms as well as four single bedchambers. Instead of the former four small guest chambers, there would now be thirty suites with sitting rooms and sixteen single guest chambers in the guest wing. In place of the old drawing room that faced full west and got very warm in the afternoons in the summer, there would now be four of varying sizes, a music room, a formal library, and a ballroom. In addition to the master’s study, there would be one for the mistress as well. The Bennets used to have but one dining room, now they would have a breakfast room, a smaller family dining room, and a large formal one. Like the Darcy House setup, the walls between the three dining rooms and the ballroom could be removed as needed.
The park was to be made much larger and land added so that Longbourn would, in the end, be quite a bit larger than both Bennet Fields and Bennet Park. The girls walked around the existing park and then around the back where the new stables were. If they had had more time, they would have walked up to Oakham Mount. They could ride there another day after the horses had a decent rest. The party of fourteen collected their mounts and started the three-mile return to the Park.
As Charlotte and her two youngest siblings returned home from Meryton, Lady Lucas asked if any of the Bennets had ‘condescended’ to lower themselves to be seen in Meryton and Charlotte rolled her eyes. ‘My mother will allow her envy to drive her to do or say something in the environs of Meryton or directly to the Bennets and ruin over thirty years of friendship because she cannot reign in her jealousy. She will be shocked how different Lady Longbourn is, who now shows no sign of airs or graces. She is so much more pleasant to be around and infinitely more sensible. Not once when I stayed with them did I hear a word emanate from her mouth that hinted at being a boast or gossip. Mama dearest, you are the only one playing this game, and you are going to lose badly.’
“But Mama,” a confused Maria said, “we met Kitty and Lydia in Meryton and they were as they always were to us.”
“Wait until they are with some of their high society friends, then they will unceremoniously ignore you who are so far below them,” the bitter woman spat out.
