Over the next month or so, Louisa was introduced to the tenants and to the duties of mistress of an estate. Like she had tutored the older Mrs Hurst regarding her duties, Miriam Adams did the same for the new Mrs Hurst. For her part, Louisa was shocked by everything that went into being the mistress of an estate. Planning menus, being a hostess for callers, and entertainment were all the things her mother, and by extension Caroline, thought were the only duties of a mistress. These were the smallest part of her duties. She realised that the teacher at her school had been correct. At the time Louisa had not thought the information factual.
She enjoyed her interactions with the tenantry and was careful to listen to what they had to say so she could be informed of their needs. When she learnt of her duties around the home farm, the chicken coops, and the home dairy, Louisa had to chuckle to herself. She could not imagine her mother or younger sister calling on tenants, never mind performing the other tasks which were part of the mistress’s duties. In Louisa’s mind there was a better chance of seeing the devil dancing in church[5] than her mother or sister doing any one of the tasks she was learning to perform.
As she had imagined, letters from her father were regular and filled with interesting anecdotes. Mother only wrote to try to glean information about the wealth and property of the Hursts, and so far, Caroline had not deigned to reply to a single missive Louisa had posted to her.
From what she could decipher, Charles was back at Cambridge for his final year of studies. How he ever passed an exam with his atrocious writing, Louisa had no idea.
In early October, Harold and Louisa made for London to join the older Hursts at Hurst House. As it was alreadyunseasonably cold, Harold had the older carriage follow their coach so that Biggs, Johns, and two other men who had been trained by them and Holcomb at Winsdale would not be exposed to the elements.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
On the way, they made a brief stop at Pemberley to call on the Darcys. Seeing how ill Mr Darcy looked and how worried his son and daughter were, they only remained at Pemberley for two days. It was sad to see Georgiana, who would be eight in March upcoming, ready to cry for any reason because of her sadness over her father’s impending end.
The next stop was at Hilldale in Staffordshire, where the couple spent an enjoyable sennight with Hilldale. As the expected war with France had become a reality in May of that year, Hilldale was even more grateful for his brother serving as one of the liaisons between the army and the navy.
After departing Hilldale, Harold told his wife the truth of Fitzwilliam’s posting.
They arrived at Hurst House on the penultimate Friday in October and were warmly welcomed by their parents.
Chapter 6
Since his father was busy at Somerset House, Harold had to keep an appointment without his sire to meet Edward Gardiner to go over their investments—after a little more than a year of seeing the stellar returns produced, Ignatius Hurst had moved the bulk of his money in the funds to be managed by Gardiner. He was not alone; Louisa sat next to him in the coach as it wended its way over London’s cobblestone streets on its way to Cheapside where Gardiner and Associates’ offices were located.
“My mother and Caroline would not be sanguine that the family’s wealth is managed by a tradesman, all the while conveniently forgetting that everything the Bingleys have is the fruit of trade. I am afraid the hypocrisy of their opinions is lost on them,” Louisa mused as they neared their destination.
“Looking for reason in your mother and sister when none exists is, I am afraid, a waste of good time,” Harold opined. He noticed they were arriving. “Come, my love, we are here; let us leave unpleasant thoughts behind us.”
As soon as he extracted the step, Johns opened the door and stood back. Harold climbed down and handed his wife out of the conveyance.
The younger Hursts walked into the warehouse and climbed the stairs to the offices. There was a man, a gentleman by his dress, seated on the sofa to one side of the outer office, and seated behind the desk was a girl with raven locks and emerald-green eyes. A memory stirred from Harold’s first visit to the offices. The girl had been a little younger at the time and had been seated at the desk with an older, blonde, cherubic-looking girl. Sisters, Gardiner’s nieces!
“Mr Hurst, are you here to see Uncle Edward? Who is the pretty lady with you? She did not accompany you the first time I met you,” Elizabeth enquired.
“Lizzy, it is impolite to question people in that way!” Bennet admonished lightly. Thomas Bennet was father to five Bennet sisters and the master of Longbourn in Hertfordshire, which was close to the market town of Meryton.
“But, Papa, I remember Mr Hurst,” Elizabeth insisted.
“You remember everything,” Bennet grumbled. By now, he had stood. “As you have obviously previously met my impertinent second eldest daughter, I am Thomas Bennet of Longbourn, and from what Lizzy said, you are a Mr Hurst?”
“I am Harold Hurst, and this, as your daughter correctly stated, pretty lady, is my wife, Mrs Louisa Hurst,” Harold responded. “When I met this imp, Gardiner made mention of the fact that Miss Elizabeth remembers anything she has seen or read. If memory serves, your eldest can add columns of numbers in the time most of us mortals can add a few numbers.”
“Yes, indeed. You speak of Jane. She can look at a column of numbers and find an error in minutes,” Bennet confirmed.
“I will be thirteen in March next year. I am not an imp,” Elizabeth insisted.
“My husband used that as a term of endearment, Miss Elizabeth,” Louisa assured the petite girl. “He meant no offence.” On seeing the girl’s size, Louisa had initially guessed the mite was younger than she had now said she was.
“As long as Mr Hurst was not slighting me.” Elizabeth smiled.
“That,Mi’lady, I was most certainly not doing. I forgot your age from when I met you.” Harold bowed to the little pixie who loosed a tinkling giggle.
“It is good that it was cleared up,” Bennet stated. “As clever as my Lizzy is, once she takes a person’s measure, she is slow to change her mind. On the other hand, Jane, her older sister, who will be fifteen in January, is the most forgiving creature and only wants to see the good in people and the world.”
Elizabeth lost interest in the conversation and returned to the ledger she had been examining as they waited for Uncle Edward to complete his work.
“We were married at the end of August, so we do not have the blessing of children yet,” Louisa stated.
“Or the curse,” Bennet jested. “The truth is the gifts He gives us in the form of children are some of His best, but a saint’s patience could be tried if he were the only man living in a house with six females. It seems your wife is involved in your business, unlike my own. I feel like I cannot tell mine that I am saving for the future.”
