“The house was polished and warm, I was served a drinkable dish of tea, and the smell of tallow was ameliorated by a kettle of boiling herbs.”
“I supposed she would know that trick,” I said uncharitably.
“She will be given the position. I myself dismissed Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and Mrs. Burke is undertaking the task of finding replacements in Lambton or Derby if needs must. I impressed upon her that young men of the kind we wish to attract to her lodging must be fed so well they would not dream of leaving unless absolutely required to go.”
“I am sure the cook was reeling.”
“She may have been, but I pointed out she was lucky not to be accused of stealing the stores sent from Pemberley, that there had been witnesses to the delivery, and no one would believe she had not helped herself. Mr. Smith looked struck down, and I was slightly kinder, telling him he was getting too far on in years for heavy work, and he would receive a small stipend and a referral to the vicar for alms.”
“The maids?”
“Mrs. Burke will have them in hand. I specifically mentioned that the kitchen maid had earned your interest and that she must be brought along by the new cook.” He looked at me in faint amusement. “They will all survive, Lizzy.”
We lapsed into a long silence, and then he said, almost as a reflective afterthought, “I sometimes forget that my sister married a gentleman, but when I saw you set Mrs. Burke down the other day, your breeding did show. I am glad of it, for she had a much better sense of her place when I saw her again.”
I sighed, sensing an opportunity. “I know you think I was shockingly improper to have accepted the hospitality of an unwed man. But perhaps you do not realize that we were indeed brought up as gentlewomen, only with such uneven educations as to complicate matters a great deal.”
“What do you mean?”
“Mama would have seen nothing wrong with my invitation to Pemberley. She would have encouraged it, in fact. You look incredulous, and you have no reason to believe me after I have so recently—well, never mind.”
“Say what you wish to say, Lizzy.”
“Consider that Mama sent Jane on horseback to Netherfield Park to dine with Mr. Bingley’s sisters on a day in which it was certain to rain—for the sole purpose of assuring she would have to spend the night.”
“You jest!”
“I do not. Jane caught cold, and Mama would not send the carriage for days just to force her stay. You may apply to anyone for the truth of it, even my mother, who is proud of having done it.”
“And Bennet allowed this?”
“Papa is disinclined to check her. Clearly, Mr. Bingley was a respectable man with two sisters, and real objections were not raised. Beyond that, I hope you know that Jane and I, at least, were sensible of the folly and conscious of the need to protect ourselves at least a little. Mr. Darcy was known to me from that stay at Netherfield Park, and I knew he was not a rake, and though it was mortifying to put myself in his power, I felt I could trust him and did so for Mrs. Jennings’s sake.” I took a fortifying breath. “Some very rough men had come through Lambton during the night—there was a mine closure and general unrest—and I felt us to be exposed as we were so far up the road.”
He cogitated on this with a look of concern on his face. “You might have told me—”
“I am telling you now at what I feel to be the first moment you are sufficiently in charity with me to listen.”
“I have been hard on you,” he conceded, “but only because I was so angry with myself. I went against my better judgment and allowed this escapade in the first place, and—well, it does not bear talking of.”
“No, it does not, but I would like to tell you that I have grave concerns about Lydia, Kitty, and even Mary.”
We had nothing better to do, so I enumerated my concerns with regards to my youngest sisters and asked my uncle to stay at Longbourn for a few days to ascertain the veracity of my observations.
“I do not expect you to repair what my parents will not, but your reaction to my stay at Pemberley has led me to think you may at least like to know how we have been raised.”
The last time he had stayed at Longbourn, my sisters were three years younger and forgiven for their antics on account of being children.
He agreed to this though I suspected he believed me to have exaggerated the case. Again, I felt I had done what I could and chose to desist until we crossed the Hertfordshire county border where I was moved to say, “I have asked a great deal of you, sir. The expense of this journey fairly staggers my mind. Yet, I have one more favor to beg.”
He nodded.
“Might we not mention my stay at Pemberley?”
“What? But how could we not? Moreover, why would we not? Your father should be told, Lizzy.”
“But recall: when you wrote requesting his concurrence that I be allowed to travel to Lambton, he congratulated you on discovering a means of escaping the expense of feeding one of his children.”
“He was joking.”
