Chapter 30
Jane was captivated by Hilldale. It had not taken her long to, in turn, charm the senior staff and servants.
Aunt Maddie and Mother had joined her on the tour of the manor house. Jane immediately saw the truth of what Mother had warned her about regarding the décor. It was not only far out of date, but worse, things were worn and threadbare in places.
When Jane had baulked at spending so much money to redecorate the house, her betrothed had assured her that with him saving most of the profit from the eight thousand per annum income of the estate since it became his, he had more than enough in reserve to redecorate many times over.
Of course, that was before counting the funds in his growing investment accounts with Gardiner and Associates.
He had told her she would not have to do much to their house in Town as Hilldale House in Portman Square had been updated two years past with Mother’s help.
However, he had reiterated that she could make changes she deemed needed to her heart’s content.
Hilldale had been even more impressed with Jane than he previously had been. When she had heard how much he had saved, and what was available to spend, she did not look for ways to spend the funds. Rather, she looked for ways to save by being prudent.
While Jane was touring the house, Elizabeth had very much enjoyed walking the paths she found at the estate and admiring the wildness of the land.
There were good views of some of the Peaks from the estate, something which thrilled her.
Of course, she was not alone; William and Gigi kept her company.
William had mentioned that in his opinion, Pemberley had far better vistas than either Hilldale or Snowhaven.
Elizabeth told him she would judge for herself when they arrived at said estate.
On one of their walks, Darcy mentioned how one could see much more of Pemberley on horseback rather than on two feet. Elizabeth had told him of the broken arm she suffered falling off a horse when learning to ride at the age of seven.
With Gigi’s support, Darcy had cajoled his affianced into agreeing to allow him to teach her to ride while they visited Pemberley.
Given how she claimed her courage always rose when she was intimidated, Elizabeth did not have a way to refuse. However, she did trust that William would not allow her to be injured while learning, especially after Gigi sang his praises as a teacher.
On Sunday, the whole of the party attended the Hilldale Village Church. Word that the new mistress would be attending was out which left only standing room.
Already having heard about their future mistress from servants, the tenants who met Miss Bennet at church on Sunday were predisposed to like her; meeting the lady did not change that impression. In fact, many felt that her goodness had been understated.
Jane took time to speak to each of those whom Andrew introduced to her and never held herself above them.
After the midday meal on Monday, the whole party departed for Pemberley.
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Elizabeth was riding in the Darcy coach, which was in the lead when they passed Pemberley’s gateposts and gatehouse.
From there, they travelled on a gravel drive which rose uphill for more than a mile.
Very fascinating to Elizabeth were the vast woodlands on either side of the drive.
She could not wait to go exploring in the forest.
Eventually the angle of the rise became steeper, and when they almost reached the crest, Darcy struck the ceiling twice with his cane, and the coach came to a shuddering halt. Thompson retracted the step and opened the door. He stood aside.
Darcy alighted and handed out Elizabeth. As Jane had never before seen the estate, Hilldale led her to join her sister. Jane was followed by the Gardiners.
“Why did we stop here, William?” Elizabeth enquired.
“You will soon see,” Darcy responded as he offered his beloved his arm.
He saw Andrew roll his eyes, but he ignored him.
They were both competitive and Andrew tried to claim his estate had the best vistas when anyone with eyes knew that title belonged to Pemberley.
He gave his cousin a knowing smile and led Elizabeth up to the crest of the rise.
Elizabeth gasped at the sight which was before her.
Much to Hilldale’s chagrin, Jane had a similar reaction when she saw the view, which was visible once they reached the crest of the rise.
She applied pressure to Andrew’s hand. “As we swore never to lie to one another, I have to tell you that William’s estate is the most beautiful one I have seen,” Jane said quietly.
“I know that to be true, but I do not want my young cousin to hear me admit that. He is already puffed up with too much pride in his estate,” Hilldale jested.
“I heard that,” Darcy announced with a very smug look on his countenance.
“Living with him now will be impossible,” Hilldale huffed with fake asperity. He was not blind; William had much of which to be proud.
“Never have I seen a place for which nature has done more or where natural beauty has been so little counteracted by the awkward tastes of man,” Elizabeth marvelled.
Below them was a valley meandering off to the west. The peaks rose in the hazy distance.
There was a river and several streams she could see below.
The fields which were not fallow were heavy with crops.
On the eastern side of the valley was a tree-covered hill, and near its base was quite the largest house she had ever seen—even bigger than Snowhaven’s and rivalling Blenheim Castle.
It was built on rising ground and here too there was much nature to see.
She also could see there were formal gardens and two gazebos, but that in no way conflicted with the natural beauty.
Opposite the front of the house there was a grass park, which ended at the edge of a nice-sized lake.
It seemed that the lake was fed by a stream.
The house was glowing with a golden hue in the afternoon sun and the many windows sparkled like so many lights.
The vast forests reached the southern shore of the lake. As she drank in the wonder before her, Elizabeth understood why William and Gigi told her she needed to ride here.
“William, the view from here is magnificent,” Elizabeth enthused.
“I agree with you,” Darcy riposted. No one missed that he was looking directly at Elizabeth when he said the last.
“Is there much fishing to be had?” Gardiner asked to distract Darcy.
“If you enjoy fishing, I can show you the best spots. We have rods, reels, tackle, and anything else you may desire. I too like to cast a line every now and again,” Darcy responded. “We should reboard our coaches and continue on down the drive.
Soon everyone was seated, the steps stowed, and the doors closed.
As soon as the footmen were back on their benches, the convoy drove down the winding drive towards the mansion.
Rather than proceeding to the steps in the front of the house, which led from the drive to the huge double front doors, the lead coach turned and passed through a porte cochère which led into an internal courtyard.
Ready to meet the master and his guests were the three senior staff members and a cadre of liveried footmen waiting to offload the trunks and valises. There were no servants in neat rows because Darcy eschewed that practice.
As he always did, Darcy handed first his sister and then his beloved from the coach. Thompson assisted Mrs Annesley to alight.
Ever since the master had sent a note telling his senior staff he was engaged, Mrs Reynolds wanted only for Master William to be happy.
She was waiting to point out she had been correct and, more than anything, to meet the future mistress who had Master William wrapped around her little finger.
She knew he would never choose a Miss Bingley-like woman, but Mrs Reynolds was determined to take the lady’s measure.
That she was a beauty was not a question.
Already in her favour was the warmth between her and Miss Gigi.
Next, it was obvious that the lady had the good opinion of the Fitzwilliams who had just arrived.
When they interacted, the long-time housekeeper noted the mutual affection between Master William and Miss Elizabeth Bennet.
One would have to be blind to miss the love which shone for one another when they looked at each other.
Like his betrothed owned Master William’s heart, from what the housekeeper could see, hers belonged to him as well.
Darcy introduced the senior staff to Elizabeth, Jane, and the Gardiners.
While the footmen were conveying the baggage into the house via a servants’ entrance at the level of the courtyard, he led their guests, Elizabeth on one arm and Gigi on the other, into the house using the courtyard door, which was reached by climbing six wide stone steps.
From close up, Elizabeth could see that the stone covering the walls of the house was a light colour. When she asked, she was informed the stone was quarried in the foothills of the Peaks and most houses in the county were built using the same material, called Derbyshire Stone.
As they walked past some of the public rooms on the ground floor, Elizabeth was pleased that like Snowhaven and Hilldale—even if it was out of date—this house was decorated with understated elegance.
So far she had seen nothing which was uselessly fine and uncomfortable-looking like she had noted at Rosings Park.
Elizabeth was in anticipation of seeing that estate again, as she had been informed that since Lady Catherine had been removed as the mistress, Rosings Park had undergone a vast transformation.