“Yes, my Lord. I too would like to get to know you. Any man who is not cowed by my opinions is worth knowing better,” she gave him a playfully challenging look much like Lady Elizabeth teased Darcy with, but she was tense as she watched his reaction to her, “and if you do not mind a woman beating you at chess, we will get on well.” She waited, and when he chuckled, she relaxed. Humour, she had long known, was one of the traits the most successful of couples shared as they laughed together.
“I welcome the attempt, Lady Sarah, but there is no guarantee that you will prevail, Madam. I take chess very seriously,” Granville volleyed.
“As do I sir, as do I,” she promised archly, and they laughed together, the tension gone and it was Sarah and Harry bantering with one another and enjoying that they matched each other in wit and expectations.
After her parents returned to the drawing room, they were informed that the couple had agreed to an informal courtship. After tea, the would-be suitor left for his townhouse where he would stay until the Ashbys returned to Surrey. He would follow and be a guest at Sherwood Park, which neighboured the estate of Ashbury.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
On the third day of travel, the north-bound convoy of vehicles arrived at Snowhaven. The manor house consisted of the old Matlock Castle, and looked like it had welcoming arms attached to the castle walls reaching out on either side of the drive. Two wings had been added by the current Earl of Matlock to increase the living space and number of chambers for guests over the years. Unlike many others, the Fitzwilliams had not allowed their castle to fall into a state of disrepair.
The Castle and lands had been presented to the first Earl of Matlock in December of 1485 as Sir Frederick Fitzwilliam, a knight, had supported and significantly helped the winning side in the Wars of the Roses. As his reward, he had been elevated and presented with the title of Earl of Matlock and gifted the Castle, and the vast Snowhaven estate.
Reggie and Elaine Fitzwilliam and the rest of the family loved, and were justifiably very proud, of their home. The land was flatter at Snowhaven than Pemberley or Dovedale, as Snowhaven was farther from the peak district than the other estates.
There was an ongoing friendly rivalry between the Fitzwilliams and the Darcys as to whose estate was the better. The Derwent River ran through Snowhaven, whose water flowed from the split with the Trent River in Derby. One of the Fitzwilliam ancestors dug a canal that fed into a manmade lake to the right of the manor, that Sir Edward was happy to hear was a fisherman’s paradise. In the front of the manor was the formal garden with a complex maze that the Fitzwilliam siblings and their cousins loved playing in and hiding from each other in their younger days. William informed them that the Fitzwilliam estate had more formal gardens than Pemberley. Lizzy was pleased to note that nature was still given free rein in the surrounding woodlands where she was certain she would discover a lot of paths where she could indulge her love of walking and riding.
As the carriages pulled up to the circular drive in front of the castle, the travellers were met by the butler, Mr Hugh Hopkinson, and the housekeeper, Mrs Loretta Sherman. Both had been in their positions for over twenty years and kept Snowhaven running like clockwork. As it was only an hour to dinner, the Gardiner and Darcy parties accepted an invitation to break overnight and continue the short journey to their destinations on the morrow.
The first-time guests followed the housekeeper to their chambers. The three Bennets, one Collins, and one Jacobson were assigned chambers next to the Darcys, who always used the same bedchambers in the family wing when visiting. Tiffany’s chambers were just the other side of the suite that Lizzy and Charlotte were sharing.
Andrew and Marie along with their son and daughter repaired to the east wing apartments, which were their home whenever they were in residence at Snowhaven. The estate of Hilldale was less than twenty miles to the east of Snowhaven just over the border in Staffordshire.
The family chambers were in the castle and the guest chambers were situated in the west wing. The only thing that was original about the castle was the walls. The inside of the castle had been completely refurbished and was anything but drafty and uncomfortable as many assumed a castle would be. In fact, it was quite the opposite.
After washing off the dust from the road and changing for dinner, everyone met in the large family sitting room. Elizabeth could not but notice how much more relaxed the man that she loved was here in his home shire, less than two hours from his beloved Pemberley. Even though they had not planned to break the journey this day, the change did not set him into a flurry of replanning showing that he was not nearly as rigid as she had once thought and that he was able to adjust plans as needed. On the morrow, they would depart after they broke their fasts and all the travellers would continue on to Dovedale as had been originally decided.
‘The more I am near him, the more I fall in love with him. If he had shown me this side of him from the first time we met, we would be married already. Have I forced him to wait too long? Will he resent me?’ As Elizabeth thought about him, she had a beatific smile that spread to her eyes and beyond as she felt warm all over even while some self-doubt crept in.
Watching him as he settled and relaxed, she knew that were she but to mouth his name he would jump to her and fulfil any wish she requested. The idea set Lady Elizabeth’s mind into contemplating options she could request from her husband. Elizabeth naturally wished for the same happiness, the flutters in her stomach she was used to, but the pressure and deeper ache that resulted in a dampness she had never experienced was a thrill as she knew from her well rounded education meant she wanted him. ‘Oh my, what thinking about this man does to me. I hope no one notices. It will not be much longer, William, before I signal you that I am ready for you to pay your addresses, as long as you are not upset with me for waiting this long. I doubt I will want a very long betrothal!’
As she ruminated about him, the very same man was watching her, he always watched her as his eyes were inexorably drawn to her. Darcy saw the beatific smile spread across her face; it made him even more enchanted with her than was his normal state.
‘I pray that she is thinking about me when she smiles in that fashion. If we were not in a room full of people and she would but allow it, I would ravish her!’ he silently vowed to them both, shocking himself with such a thought. ‘As much as my heart would break, if she does not accept my hand and sends me away, as long as she is happy, I will survive.’He swallowed dryly, the thought causing his heart to ache.‘No more negative thoughts!’ Darcy admonished himself ‘All the signs are positive, so keep thinking about the positive, William! Would I prefer that she had made her decision sooner? Certainly, I would have, but I understand the reasons why she needs to be sure.’
Charlotte Collins, neé Lucas, was admiring the understated elegance of the home. Unlike the former mistress of Rosings Park, the Earl and Countess did not ascribe to gaudy needless displays of their wealth as she had seen in Kent before the rightful heir asserted ownership. She was happy to be out of Meryton where everyone wanted to condole with her over the death of her husband. It had been nothing but a relief to Charlotte. ‘I need to talk to Eliza,’ she told herself. ‘That is a woman in love if I have ever seen one. The way she looks at Mr Darcy and he at her surprises me that they do not burst into flames with the heat they generate when they look at each other so.’
The following morning the Fitzwilliam parents joined those breaking their fasts and noticed that of those below the age of twenty, only the youngest, Peter, was sitting next to his parents.
“Where are the rest of the young people?” the Countess asked, although she was almost certain she knew the answer.
“Tiffany has graciously consented to take them into the maze,” Lady Gardiner offered with an amused smile, “promising to return with all of them so we saw no harm.”
“My daughter knows her way around the maze and will not get them lost.” the Earl reported with a chuckle.
It was not many minutes later that a cacophony of young voices was heard approaching the breakfast room. The two younger Gardiners who had gone on the adventure were both trying to tell their parents how much fun they had at the same time while Lily and the rest of the older girls were all talking among themselves. The group was brought to order and sat to break their fasts. After everyone had their fill, they boarded the carriages after goodbyes and hearty appreciation were conveyed to the hosts.
Andrew and Marie, who had slept later than the rest, joined their parents to farewell the travellers. Tiffany hugged and kissed her family members before joining those leaving, taking her seat in one of the Darcy equipages.
Less than two hours later, the lead Gardiner carriage passed the gatehouse at their estate as the gatekeeper doffed his hat in reverence. The topography was more rugged than that at Snowhaven. The rocks and uneven terrain on the northwest side of the estate only supported the grazing of sheep, so the estate’s primary output was wool. There was a two-mile drive from the gate to the manor house where the land was much more level, so most of the fields for agriculture could be found on the plateau. After a mile the drive became an avenue with tall oak trees on either side. Tenant houses could be seen dotted around until the trees made visibility more difficult.
The drive terminated with a large, lazy circle that led to the entrance to the house. There was a large structure with an extended roof that at least two carriages could comfortably fit under so that the alighting passengers would be protected from rain or snow. The house was a large three-storey building faced with the same Derbyshire stone that most builders used on the great houses in Derbyshire. There was one wing on the right of the structure and a very well thought out formal garden in the front on either side of the drive. Lady Gardiner was very happy to note the large rose garden to the left of the house. Lizzy was excited to see that beyond the formal gardens, nature ruled and she could spy lots of potential walking paths.
The housekeeper, butler, and the steward were waiting at the entrance to the house for the footmen to open the doors of the carriages. For continuity, the Gardiners had retained any of the servants who wished to remain in their positions. They had instantly won the loyalty of the staff by paying all back wages owed to the servants, due to the fact that the previous master had neglected to pay them. The Gardiners increased wages by half and spared no expense to restore the house and the servant’s quarters to the state in which they should have been.
Likewise, the tenants whose needs had been sorely neglected by the gamester who previously owned the estate were given a reprieve. The dissolute former landlord had raised rents each quarter in a vain attempt to cover his massive debts of honour. The first thing that Gardiner had done was to allow the tenants one quarter with no rent, then he had lowered the rents to an acceptable level. Next, he had authorised the steward to spend what was needed to repair or, in some cases, rebuild any tenant home that needed work. It was not surprising that all the homes were in need due to the previous neglect. Tenants that had left had returned, so now rather than needing tenants, Dovedale had a waiting list of tenants looking to lease farms.
Mercury was led to the extensive and well-maintained stables behind the house. When Gardiner had inspected the estate after the purchase was final, he had ordered the pitiful stables torn down and had a new one erected in its place. He had hired a very knowledgeable stable master and tripled the number of grooms. Next to the stables was the new carriage house. It was large enough to hold at least a half dozen coaches with comfortable quarters above it for the male servants. To one side were two large newly built shearing sheds. The home farm, starting with the kitchen garden, stretched out behind the house and outbuildings and ended almost a mile distant with a fence line that marked the point that the ground started to rise where the flocks of sheep were grazed.
