Elizabeth saw Anna’s big blue eyes looking at her quizzically. She told Anna what she knew of the sisters she was yet to meet.
“Is it all truly settled?” Lady Anne asked insotto voce.
Lady Elaine leaned in to hear the reply. She was happy Anne asked the question, even though everything she saw told her there was nothing about which to worry.
“Yes, in fact, Edward, Mr Gardiner, signed away his rights as their guardian in favour of Paul. No one can ever take my girls from me. Well, that is until they marry, but I think we have a few years before we need to be concerned about that,” Edith reported.
After that, the three long-time friends included Maddie in their circle.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The gentlemen were seated in two wingback chairs and on the settee in the study, each holding a small measure of port in his glass.
“Damned good of Gardiner to sign his rights as guardian over to you,” Matlock boomed.
“I always liked him since I purchased that consignment of books from him before any of us invested with him. You could not find a more honourable man,” Darcy mused. “His only consideration was what was best for the girls.”
“As it should be for anyone when thinking of a child’s welfare,” Holder agreed.
“So you intend to purchase an estate near where my nieces were born?” Matlock verified.
“Yes, I sent a letter to Mr Phillips, who before his wife was called home was the late birth mother’s brother-in-law, asking for dates which are convenient to him so I may see the estate,” Holder confirmed.
“You would not object if we accompanied you, would you?” Darcy queried.
“Not at all. Edith and I would be more than pleased to have you with us, and I am sure my daughters will not complain about spending time with their aunts, uncles, and cousin,” Holder replied.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Lord Holder asked which days during the coming week are convenient for us to show him Netherfield Park,” Phillips informed his wife. He had arrived home from his law office and was sitting at his desk reviewing correspondence which had arrived.
Agatha looked at the calendar. “What say you that we suggest they come on Wednesday, the fifteenth of January?” she proposed.
“I will write and tell him we will expect him that morning,” Phillips agreed.
Chapter 18
Dawn had barely broken when the convoy of three carriages departed for Meryton from the semicircular drive in front of Holder House on the middle Wednesday of January.
Five Carringtons and Anna rode in the lead travelling coach. John Biggs and Brian Johns stood on the back bench, and one of the other footmen-guards was seated on the box next to the coachman. There was a brace of pistols below the bench on which Holder sat, just in case it was ever needed. It was followed by a Darcy equipage which contained the Darcy and Fitzwilliam parents.
The final one had one of Anna’s nursemaids, as well as one or two personal servants within. There were eight outriders spread out either side of the three conveyances.
They had stopped at a coaching inn about two hours outside of London; so the passengers could refresh themselves, and the horses would be able to rest. An hour and a half later, the carriages and their occupants were on their way again.
“It is very different from the land in Staffordshire around Holder Heights,” Elizabeth observed. “The topography is so much flatter here, and I only see the occasional hill, certainly no mountains like the majestic Peaks. Also, there is barely any snow remaining on the ground. Mamma, did you not say that Mrs Steveton reported that the snow was still thick on the ground at home?” She sighed. “I miss Papa’s estate, and I especially miss Snowdrop.” Holder Heights’s butler and housekeeper were Mr Hector Belle and Mrs Ethel Steveton. Before departing for Town, Elizabeth had been presented with a mare. She had a white blaze in the centre of her forehead, and it had been snowing the day Lizzy was introduced to her horse; hence, she chose the name she had.
“Because the land in this part of the country is the way you observed, they are able to grow a much wider variety of crops than we are at our estate. The same is true for Snowhaven; however, thanks to that long valley which runs from west to east, Pemberley has far more arable land available. Your Uncle Robert also has an endless supply of water thanks to the River Derwent cutting across the valley,” Holder explained.
“Oh, look! A town,” Mary called out excitedly.
“I believe this is the market town of Meryton,” Edith responded. “You have heard us say that Jane said the town’s name was Merry, have you not?” She saw her three daughters nod. “Until recently, we were unaware that she meant Meryton in Hertfordshire.”
“According to what Uncle Edward told us, we never left Longbourn before we were taken to London, but I must have heard mention of the town and county names at some point, which is what prompted me to say what I did,” Jane said seriously.
“Given your ages when you came to us, it is no wonder none of you have a memory of this place, not even you, Lizzy,” Holder mused.
Anna was a little confused. She used to think that her cousins had always lived with Aunt Edith and Uncle Paul, like she had with Mamma and Papa. However, when she heard talk about the family Jane, Lizzy, and Mary used to belong to, she had asked Mamma what it meant. It had been explained, but she was still not certain of the meaning. As long as her cousins were still her cousins, Anna decided it was not too important.
