There had been walks, rides, and much sea bathing at the private beach. Aggie had loved the water and had frolicked in it each time her mistress was bathing in the sea. As all good things must eventually end, the day of their departure arrived. For the return north, the Darcys alone would stop at Netherfield to return Master Bingley to his parents. After a stop at Snowhaven to drop off Andrew to prepare for his grand tour, the Fitzwilliams would proceed to Lakeview House and await the Darcys there. Georgiana would travel with the Fitzwilliams and be reunited with her parents and Will when they arrived at the house in the Lake District.
When the Darcys arrived at Netherfield, after the Bingleys greeted and thanked them profusely for allowing Charles to accompany them, they introduced the Darcys to their friends the Bennets, who were spending the afternoon with them. William had met most of the Bennets when he had spent Easter at Netherfield.
Anne Darcy stopped in her tracks when a little raven-haired girl, not much smaller than Lizzy was now, ran past her chasing her twin brother. From the back, she could have been her niece. When the little imp caught her brother, she proudly looked towards her mother and Anne saw that her eyes were green and her complexion much lighter than Lizzy’s. Like William had before her, she thought it a coincidence and that on further inspection little Miss Catherine really did not look like Lizzy besides the hair colour.
Other than a cursory greeting, the Darcys did not converse with the Bennets very much other than to compliment Mr Bennet on the quality of the horses that the family had purchased from his breeding operations at Bennington Fields. Within the hour, the four Darcys were on the road heading to the rendezvous with the family.
Both Tammy and Thomas Bennet had been impressed by the Darcys. They were an obviously wealthy family who were members of the first circles who had not looked down on anyone, least of all the Bingleys. Charles was walking by as he heard them discussing the Darcys.
“Mr Bennet, I believe that both you and Mrs Bennet enjoy chess, correct?” Both allowed that it was so.“I know when I attempted to play against you that you toyed with me as I was no match for you, sir,” he said respectfully.
“You will learn, young Bingley. Why do you bring that up now?” Bennet was curious.
“My friend Darcy was unbeaten at Eton, and I believe the same of his father at Cambridge,” Charles answered.
“Now that you mention it, I remember seeing a plaque with a George Darcy’s name on it; he finished at Trinity two years before I started. Good heavens, if I had known the chess maestro was here, I would have begged him to delay so I could have challenged him.” Bennet was sorry for the missed opportunity and that he had not associated the man he met with the unbeaten player from his university.
“Would you believe, Mr Bennet, that I saw them both lose while I was with them now? Not to each other, either,” Charles teased the information.
“Who is this genius who took them both down?” Bennet asked hoping that he would one day have the chance to challenge the player.
“It was a little girl; I think that she is eight or nine,” he shared.
“A little girl was able to beat two such players?” Tammy asked incredulously.
“Yes Mrs Bennet, it was Lady Elizabeth Fitzwilliam. I am told that she had been playing them both since she was four, but it is only now that she consistently beats both of them,” he told them.
“She must be a very special girl,” Tammy opined.
“That she is; she is far too intelligent for me,” Charles admitted, and then after excusing himself went to join the other younger people.
“You know Tammy, I believe that Lizzy would have been very intelligent, mayhap not unlike the little Lady that Charles described.” He was wistful as he reminded himself about his daughter believing that he would never see her again.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
On the fourth day of travel after they departed Hertfordshire, the Darcy coaches negotiated the inclining drive that led up to Lakeview House. The Fitzwilliams had not exaggerated; it was a most beautiful vista from the house. The view across Lake Windermere was spectacular, as was the view of the two smaller lakes that they could see. Thankfully, the land that the house sat on was relatively flat, whether naturally or by design they did not know. Where Seaview had four levels above ground, Lakeview had two. It was more spread out than the Darcy’s holiday home and sported about the same number of sleeping chambers as well.
After a sumptuous dinner and once the younger children had all passed out from exhaustion, the three young men were playing billiards while their parents sat on the veranda enjoying a pleasant, cooling breeze as the light wind blew across the surface of Lake Windermere.
“We met the Bennets briefly when we stopped at Netherfield,” Anne reported.“They seem to be nice people and George had to compliment Mr Bennet on the quality of his horseflesh.”
“I do not see why not; very good horses,” Reggie stated.
“It is a pity that they do not come to Town for the season,” Elaine opined.
“Yes, I had heard from the Bingleys that Mr Bennet is even more wary of society that my George is,” Lady Anne teased her husband.“From what Martha said, his wife is in full agreement.”
“In my book, that makes them most wise,” George added causing a little laughter from the other three.
“Yes, we know brother,” Reggie ribbed,“you would never enter society if you had your way.”
“You too do not enjoy the hypocrites that make up society, who espouse fidelity, honesty, and morality, and do the opposite,” George added pointedly.
“That is true, George, although I do have to play along sometimes for the greater good to get support in the Lords,” Reggie sighed.
“Which is why I turned down a title. The King was willing to give me the open Earldom of Derby, but I politely declined,” George related.
“You are lucky that George III offered and did not order you!” Reggie exclaimed.
