And his former steward and his sister were supposed to marry after years of working closely together and slowly falling in love.
“Why is he leaving?” he asked. “I had thought that, second to you, there was no one more dedicated to Pemberley.”
Georgiana threw up her hands. “I do not understand it. He says he has found employment as Lord Gordon’s private secretary.”
“Is that a promotion?” Elizabeth asked.
“No, not at all.” He narrowed his eyes and frowned. “A steward was not considered a servant, but a skilled professional with a high status.”
There was no other employee on an estate higher than a steward; he ran the business of the estate and was integral to its success. Mr Willers had a sense for numbers, meticulous record-keeping skills, knowledge of agriculture, and an amiable manner with people. He was trained as a solicitor and was valuable for his experience with contracts.
And Mr Willers had not baulked at working for Darcy’s sister rather than him. Or at the time travel.
“He called on me very formally,” Georgiana went on, “to say that he had been considering leaving for some time and had ultimately accepted Lord Gordon’s offer. He wanted to leave after we collected rents on midsummer day, but I—I did not handle his news well.”
“It must have been a terrible shock,” his wife said kindly.
“I was so distressed, Elizabeth,” Georgiana said with a shaky laugh. “You would have handled the news with much more reserve, Fitzwilliam, but I was astounded. I scarcely made it to my own rooms before I cried. Two days later I told him I wanted to see you, see you both,” she corrected, “and he agreed to stayat Pemberley until the equinox, so as not to leave the estate with no one at its head. I thought that was quite generous of him,” she added guardedly.
“Mr Willers collects rents, manages tenant contracts and disputes, and keeps all the records related to those activities?” Elizabeth asked.
“He is not a mere rent collector,” Georgiana insisted. “He is an active manager who aims to improve my property, and he cares deeply about all of my tenants.”
Elizabeth gave a patient smile. “I was only clarifying. I remember him as being an even-tempered and capable man.”
Georgiana blushed. “Yes, forgive me.”
“Have you offered Mr Willers a higher salary?” Darcy asked. He had doubled his pay before he left, and Georgiana would have made sure he was more than fairly compensated during the intervening years.
She nodded. “I offered more. I even offered to double it. Foolish, I know, to pay a steward twelve hundred pounds a year, but he refused.” In a smaller voice, she added, “He said it was not about the money.”
Darcy exchanged a questioning glance with Elizabeth. What could be his reason for leaving after all this time?
Georgiana saw their look and said to him, “His departure should not affect your future. He assured me of that. Everything is prepared to return Pemberley to you in 2013, and he is certain no future solicitor or steward could change a thing.”
“But you are the diligent landowner,” he said, “not whomever you employ. You make all the decisions.”
“Of course, but I would be a fool to hire a man I could not trust or not take a wise counsellor’s advice. I have relied on Mr Willers’s experience for years. We are both actively involved in Pemberley’s management and are intimately aware of every detail. We know one another well after all this timetoo,” she added, her voice cracking. “I know some might think it strange, the heiress befriending someone so outside of her circle, someone who works for her, but…”
“You were a team,” Elizabeth supplied. Georgiana looked confused. “You collaborated and worked together closely for Pemberley’s sake.”
“Yes. For nine years I have had full control of the Pemberley properties, ever since I turned one-and-twenty. And Mr Willers has been by my side all along.” Georgiana spoke faster and at a higher pitch. “He is forward-thinking and genuinely cares for the tenants. He knows the truth about where Fitzwilliam went. It, it will be quite a change to work closely alongside someone else.”
“Of course you will miss him.” Elizabeth put an arm around her. “He has been your ally for years.”
“I am so sad to lose him.” For a moment it looked as though his sister would cry, but she took a long breath and settled herself. “I am sorry if my arrival distressed you both. I just needed you to tell me I could manage Pemberley without Mr Willers,” she said to him, “and I needed you, Elizabeth, to tell me I am not weak for being unhappy about losing him.”
Darcy’s heart clenched. He did not want to be the one Georgiana relied on, but his wife’s eyes were telling him to encourage his sister. “You can handle anything, my dear,” he said, believing it to his core. He just recoiled from being the one his sister needed to hear it from.
She smiled, and Elizabeth hugged her, her silent companionship better than any words he could offer. He did not want to be needed by someone he would never see again after the autumnal equinox. To know his opinion and approval mattered to Georgiana—still mattered, after all this time—was painful enough.
Georgiana pulled away from Elizabeth and steadied herself. “Mr Willers is leaving,” she declared. “I had best accept it. I justhoped to have your encouragement and validation to help me face this new challenge once I return in September.”
She rose and said, “I will read for a while. Would you tell me again which colourful picture is the one that contains all the books?” She held out her borrowed mobile, and Elizabeth showed her the eBook app and demonstrated again how to turn the pages. Georgiana curtseyed before she went into her room, and Darcy stopped himself from rising to bow as she left.
Everything about her appearance in this century brought to mind how much happier he was here, but it also painfully reminded him how much of the past was still a part of who he was.
When Georgiana’s door closed, his wife whirled on him. “How can Mr Willers leave?” Elizabeth hissed, her face expressing all the disbelief she had been suppressing. “They’re supposed to get married.”
