“Indeed, it is, Sir,” Charlotte replied, still amazed that the man who had barely opened his mouth when he visited Netherfield Park last year and this pleasant, almost loquacious man were the same person. “I have never been this far north before, but it certainly is a beautiful country. Eliza and I were walking and admiring the peaks we could see but this morning.”
“If you two ladies like the view from here, you will love the view from Pemberley. Do you ride, Mrs Collins?” he inquired. As his address was to her, she appreciated that he glanced away to his Elizabeth only every other ten seconds.
“Yes, Mr Darcy, I do. I am not so expert a horsewoman of Eliza’s ilk,” she pointed to her friend who pulled a face at her, “but I can ride so long as we do not gallop.”
“Please do not sell yourself short, Charlotte. You have a good seat and ride well,” Lizzy held up her hand to stay her friend’s protest, “I do know you do not like to gallop, but it is also true you have not had as many chances to ride as I have.”
“In that case,” Darcy interjected, “we will have to ride the bridle trail up to the hill that overlooks Pemberley. More of the Peak District is visible from Pemberley due to the closeness to the Peaks, but from that elevation the view is magnificent.”
“We happily accept your offer to guide us to the place to get that magnificent vista of the peaks,” Lady Elizabeth accepted with a saucy look. “I will be very interested to see the view as you lead us on our ride,” she added with some obvious double entendre to see how he accepted her teasing him so.
“I have been told that particular view is well worth seeing,” he stated with a full dimpled smile and Elizabeth was very much disconcerted.
‘You and I need to talk about this man, Lizzy. I would like to see you try and deny that he is not the owner of your heart.’ Charlotte pondered her friend’s love life as she looked around, her eyes connecting with Patrick Elliot’s for the first time. The only thing he had in common with her late husband was that they were both members of the clergy. He was tall, though not as tall as Mr Darcy, well-built and fit.
His personal hygiene was immaculate, he was considerate and he seemed very intelligent. He was as far from a sycophant that one could find. His hair was a light sandy brown, and he had a full head of hair with no grease dripping from it, and he had light brown eyes.
Reading Charlotte’s mind, Elizabeth helped her get more information about the man and asked Darcy about him.
“I met Elliot in my first year at Cambridge. We were in the same year and became fast friends. He hails from Shropshire; his father is a Baronet and he is the third son. His parents are Sir Everett and Lady Ilene Elliot. He owns a smallish estate, Riverdale, in Shropshire. From what I understand, it was an inheritance from his maternal grandmother and he invests most of what he earns and adds land to his estate as he can so that he will have a legacy to leave a son if he ever has one, and if he does not it will be left to Grace.
“He was married to a childhood sweetheart who was taken by influenza three years ago when Gracie was but two. He was in deep mourning for a full two years after his beloved Adelaide passed. He was a curate at the time, and I believe if not for Grace he would have given up. He will always have a place for his late wife in his heart, but I know that if he finds the right woman, that he will marry again. Whether he will be able to love like that again, God alone knows. In recent times he has started to talk about a mother for Grace and his need of companionship. He is a very good man in all respects and deserves the best God can grant,” Darcy informed his beloved, his eyes on Charlotte alone and was pleased she blushed.
As Lizzy sat and looked at her very good friend, she got the feeling that Charlotte could be a good match for the clergyman, but she was not a matchmaker and would not push her friend, though she would assist if asked.
It just so happened that the widow and the widower were seated next to each other for dinner. Darcy had suggested that Elliot would be a good dinner companion to Lady Gardiner. This prompted her to put place settings at the informal dinner with some excuse of trying new pens. Darcy was not above interfering a little for the sake of people he and his Lizzy both respected and wanted as happy as anyone of their acquaintance. Charlotte certainly had paid her dues for respectability and deserved a chance at happiness, and Elliot ached for it.
As they talked, each became comfortable in the company of the other. When he discovered that the very pleasant and intelligent lady he was seated next to with the wry sense of humour, was the widow of a clergyman, they found common ground.
She was forthright about her reasons for marrying to one so mismatched to her in intelligence, wit, or character. She explained how she felt compelled to marry for convenience to relieve the burden on her parents who did not have an abundance of funds to support all of their children.
When she explained that she had accepted the man three days after her friend Eliza had refused him, and the way he behaved toward his deified patroness who now was a ‘guest’ at Falconwood Asylum, Elliot got a very good idea of the type of man she had been tied to.
‘God moves in mysterious ways,’ Eliot told himself silently, considering all that had to have occurred just at the right time for this intriguing woman to be released from a hellish situation between the late husband and the insane patroness so he could meet her here at this dinner just when he was ready to dip his toes into the matrimonial market again.
He was very pleased when he heard that she would be joining her friend to be hosted at Pemberley in less than a fortnight. He extended an invitation for Charlotte, Lizzy, and all those being hosted at Pemberley to visit the parsonage next to the estate’s Church when they felt the inclination to do so.
As they were talking, Charlotte too was starting to understand what Mary and Jane meant when they said they just ‘knew.’ ‘Why oh why did I not meet this man before I ever met the ridiculous man that I was tied to?’ Mrs Collins asked herself. Try as she had, she never felt a moment’s regret at her late husband’s passing. She may have had she not been given such a fortune as she had, but with it her life had changed so fortuitously that it could not be but that God was rewarding her for her silent suffering at dealing with such a man who purported to be a man of God. This man before her was the example all should follow. For the rest of her days she would appreciate God’s will when He removed Mr William Collins from the mortal coil. She did not wish anyone to die, but she did not repine God’s plan.
“How are my three sisters behaving at Pemberley, William?” Lizzy turned to the man that she was sitting next to at the table.
“They, along with Georgie and Tiffany, are all being very proper young ladies. They have been enjoying long rides to see the vistas that are available at Pemberley, always well escorted and chaperoned. It is very fortunate that your father sent their mounts with them.” He informed her with a warm smile.
“How is Helen doing? I know she wanted some lessons as it had been a long time since she was on horseback.” Lizzy wanted to be sure that all was well with her newest sister.
“In truth, she needed but one lesson. It came back to her very fast and she is currently riding a very docile cob. They never go faster than a slow canter when all the girls ride together. Yesterday, I took Georgie, Tiffany, and Lydia for a ride and we had a nice long gallop. All the girls impressed me greatly. I wonder if they are not becoming better riders than me because side-saddle is much harder to master. Kitty and Helen were happy to entertain each other for an hour or so.” As he spoke, he was envisaging her as mistress of Pemberley and galloping with him alone some mornings, hoping that his heart’s fondest wish would be granted sooner rather than later.
“It is good that Helen feels so at home with all of us,” Lizzy offered, proving again that she felt the same protective instincts for Helen that she did for any of her sisters. “I cannot imagine what she is going through knowing that her father is to pass soon. It is so generous of you to convey her to Janet’s Well before we go to Rosings Park.”
“As one who lost both of his parents far too early, I feel an affinity with her,” he said with sadness in his eyes. “Like Georgie and me, she will soon be an orphan. I perhaps above most, appreciate that your parents and sisters have all accepted her like a blood relative, not some burden to be tolerated. I was so lucky to have had a family love me and Georgie at such a vulnerable point. I thank God every day for the Fitzwilliams. Uncle Reggie and Aunt Elaine became more parents to us than aunt and uncle. But enough maudlin thoughts. I am looking forward to you and Mrs Collins joining us at Pemberley.” Elizabeth lit up at the thought of seeing Pemberley.
“I cannot wait to see your home. Did I understand from my Aunt that we will join you for services on Sunday at the church on your estate and then we will spend the afternoon with all of you and have dinner before we return to Dovedale?” Elizabeth asked, wanting to verify that she was finally going to see him where she knew he felt most complete as an estate owner and master.
“Yes, you heard correctly.” Darcy was impatient to hear his beloved’s opinion of his home. “Did your Aunt tell you that we invited Lily to return with us tonight and stay for a fortnight so she will be in company with girls closer to her own age?”
“No,” Elizabeth smiled with true amusement. “It is the first I am hearing of it, but I know that Lily will love to be with her cousins and the other girls. She is the youngest, but she is less than three years younger than Lydia, though they may look further apart.”
There was no separation of the sexes after dinner and after musical exhibitions by some of the young ladies, the Darcy party departed for Pemberley with one more girl in tow than they brought when they arrived.
