Chapter 18
After warm farewells from the Jamisons, Mary, Kitty, and the four Gardiner children; the Gardiner parents, Jane, and Elizabeth departed Meadowbrook not long after they had broken their fasts.
There were now only two carriages, having left one at the Jamisons’ estate.
The family members rode in the larger coach while the second smaller and older conveyance carried personal servants and trunks.
“Where will our first stop be today, Uncle Edward?” Elizabeth asked excitedly not long after the coachman had guided his team onto the road leading north and away from Wokingham.
“In just about ten miles, we will stop in the town of Henley-on-Thames,” Gardiner revealed after looking at the notes he and Maddie had made.
“Yes, Lizzy, we will stretch our legs there and walk around the town. I understand there is a shop where we can enjoy tea and some freshly baked treats which is right next to the Thames.”
“How long will we remain in Henley-on-Thames?” Jane enquired.
“Two to three hours. I do not intend to change horses, so we will make sure not to overexert them and rest them as much as needed,” Gardiner replied.
“And from there?” Elizabeth questioned.
“The midday meal, even though it will be later than that, will be in Wallingford, where we will visit the church and stretch our legs after we eat.” Knowing that Lizzy would keep asking questions until she knew the plan for the full day, Gardiner continued.
“We will take a short break in Dorchester and another in Berinsfield. From there it will be another ten miles or so until we reach Oxford, where I have reserved rooms for us at an exceedingly comfortable inn.” Gardiner paused.
“Lizzy, can you guess what we will visit on the morrow before we leave Oxford?”
“The Bodleian Library!” Elizabeth exclaimed.
“Of course. It would be cruel indeed to be so close to one of the most extensive libraries in the realm and not visit it. We know you are your father’s daughter in your love of books,” Maddie stated, “but remember, we cannot spend the whole day there. We will be travelling to Woodstock and visiting Blenheim Castle in the afternoon, and we want a few hours there as the house and park are so large. We discovered the house is open because the Duke of Marlborough and his family prefer one of their estates farther north in the summer.”
“Yes, that means we will spend the night in Woodstock on the morrow,” Gardiner clarified. “Before you ask, we will reveal the following day’s visits at the inn in Woodstock.”
Elizabeth remembered something she had heard Uncle Edward say to Aunt Maddie.
“Did I hear correctly that you sent one of your clerks to Rosings Park to inventory all of the ostentatious and uncomfortable furniture as well as the gaudy, tasteless pieces of décor and art of which Lady Catherine is so proud?” She asked.
“Yes, that is what I said,” Gardiner responded.
“I cannot believe that Lady Catherine would agree to such a thing,” Elizabeth stated. “She was so proud of her home, which she thought highlighted her wealth and status when all it did was show how classless she truly is.”
“It is not her choice. Miss Anne de Bourgh has claimed what is hers…” Gardiner related what he knew and that Lord Matlock had recommended his niece engage him to sell all of the tasteless pieces. “Rasmusen will inventory everything Miss de Bourgh wants sold, and we will sell them for her.”
“Who would want to buy such inelegant things?” Elizabeth queried.
“Tradesmen who want to emulate the upper classes and members of the gentry who are nouveau riche. People like that awful Miss Bingley. They will pay a premium for such items, especially when they know the provenance. Being owned by a member of the nobility will be enough for some. I am confident that even after my commission, Miss de Bourgh will receive more than her mother wasted on the items in the first place.”
“That is another one of my character sketches, which was completely wrong,” Elizabeth owned.
“I saw Miss de Bourgh as a mousy, sickly woman who was always in a bad mood, as she never said two words together. It seems she did not want her mother to see that she was not the weak woman Lady Catherine thought she was. To my chagrin, I ignored Miss de Bourgh. I now realise that she would have been well worth knowing.” Elizabeth shook her head.
She had accused Mr Darcy of improper pride, but had she not exhibited the same when it came to her character sketches?
She was reminded of Matthew 7:3 Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
It was humbling to think of how much easier it was to see faults in another and ignore them in herself. Elizabeth hoped she had corrected that particular fault in her character.
Jane saw Lizzy was deep in thought, so she touched her sister’s arm to bring her out of her reverie.
“Look, Lizzy, the road is close to the Thames. Until today we have only ever seen this river as it wends its way through London on the way to the sea,” she said as she cocked her head in the direction of the river, which could be seen from the window on her side.
“Does it not look so much cleaner than what we have seen in Town?”
“Yes, it certainly does,” Elizabeth replied as she focused on the scenery and not on her own deficiencies in her character. At least, she knew what they were, which would allow her to do what she already had begun, to amend her character.
Elizabeth pointed out a sign proclaiming the town of Henley-on-Thames. From there, it was not far to reach the tea shop where they would refresh themselves.
The four travellers enjoyed their tea and freshly baked pastries, followed by a walk about the town.
While the travellers were thus occupied, the coachmen drove the carriages to the coaching inn to rest and water the horses, allowing the footmen, personal servants, and themselves to use the necessary and enjoy some refreshments.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Thanks to the anticipation of seeing the Bodleian Library in the morning, Elizabeth had a hard time falling asleep that night.
She and Jane were sharing a bed—Uncle Edward had been willing to pay for a larger suite which would have had separate chambers for them, but the sisters had not wanted him to spend additional funds on their account—Elizabeth kept as still as she could.
There was no need for Jane to be kept awake as well.
Just like Uncle Edward had told them, the inn was very clean and comfortable, and the food they had been served at dinner—a hearty mutton stew with freshly baked crusty bread—was very well seasoned and very tasty.
They had walked about Oxford for an hour or so after they arrived. It was not as large as London, but it was far bigger than the market towns they were used to visiting. On her return, Elizabeth had written a letter to Gigi to be posted to Pemberley.
After dinner, they had all sat and talked in the suite’s sitting room, where it had been revealed that after the castle they would go see Chastleton House, which Aunt Maddie noted was a Jacobean house.
From there they would travel to Wellesbourne in Warwickshire, where they would spend the night, and also visit nearby Charlecote House.
It was not like they had gone to bed earlier than normal after spending time together, but the exercise Elizabeth had enjoyed at the various stops during the day should have allowed her to slumber easily. Thoughts of the magnificent library would not allow that to occur.
A little before midnight, Morpheus finally claimed her. Rather than dream of all of the books she would see on the morrow, her dreams summoned a handsome, brooding man from Derbyshire.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Darcy was not sorry he had made his way to his estate as soon as possible after reading Chalmer’s note regarding the fire. As he would never be one of those landlords who sat back and collected his rents, leaving everything else up to a steward, he enjoyed getting his hands dirty.
Each day since his return, Darcy rode out at first light with his steward to the three farms which had been harmed by the fire.
Before any work had commenced, the families had sifted through the ashes to see if anything could be salvaged.
Other than a few pots and pans, everything else was lost. Darcy had reiterated his order that the estate would pay for the recovery of the needed possessions.
Once it was determined that nothing else was recoverable, the remains of the structures at all three farms were demolished.
Darcy authorised the builder to construct larger houses for each of the families, thus giving them more space.
He also directed that the roofs would be slate, not thatched.
At the same time, he told his steward to investigate the best way to make all tenant dwellings over with slate roofs.
He did not simply issue commands, but for hours each day, he would be involved with physical labour.
Each evening when he returned to the manor, most of his person would be covered in soot. If Carstens, his valet, did not enjoy dealing with the filthy clothing, he never said a word of complaint.
This particular evening after he had bathed and changed, he joined Gigi in the music room before dinner. As soon as he entered the room, his sister, who had been playing on her pianoforte, jumped up at seeing him. He smiled to see his sister so excited, about what, he knew not.
“William, Lizzy wrote to me. The letter arrived today. I was about to write to her, but until she writes again in about a sennight or so, I need to wait,” Gigi gushed.
“Why do you need to wait?” Darcy enquired.
“Here, William, you may read for yourself,” Gigi stated as she reached into her dress’s pocket and extracted the pages.