Chapter 26
Pemberley
Bingley,
Our journey to Pemberley went smoothly, and we are now settled here. I am thankful that no major crises occurred between Mr. Godfrey’s death and my arrival. I am in the process of finding a new steward, but I am not inclined to be too hasty, as I wish to find the best man for the job.
Thank you again for your hospitality these last weeks at Netherfield Hall, and pray give my regards to your sisters and Mr. Hurst.
Fitzwilliam Darcy
***
Pemberley
24th November 1811
Dear Elizabeth,
Our journey home was a good one, inasmuch as any long carriage ride can be considered good. Georgiana and Fitzwilliam can both read while traveling, but I always feel unwell if I attempt to do so and thus spend most of my time either napping or staring outside.
I believe that you would have enjoyed the view from our carriage window. Hertfordshire is well suited for crops with its well-watered, largely flat lands, but Derbyshire is wilder. That means some of the hectares on our estate are not suitable for farming, but it is definitely gorgeous.
So now we are settled happily at Pemberley, and except for missing you and your sisters, and I assure you I do, I am entirely content.
It is colder here, definitely, and soon the snow will fly and the ground will be covered, and if we are very fortunate, a pond some half a mile from the house will freeze over, and we will be able to ice skate.
I am quite competent on skates, though Georgiana is better than both me and Fitzwilliam.
We have been reunited with our dear governess companion, Miss Winston, who stayed behind in Derbyshire these last months because her aged, widowed mother was ill. By God’s grace, old Mrs. Winston is far better now.
All would be well except that the Season is looming only a few months away, and I am nervous about it.
Sometimes I find myself standing looking into the mirror in my room, wishing that I could somehow remove three or four inches of height.
Of course that is absurd, but I do dislike being so tall, my friend!
But in the midst of my nerves over new gowns and tippets and shawls and slippers and dancing, well, I am extremely grateful that you and Miss Bennet will be there. Oh, how grateful I am that the Lord brought you into my life!
With earnest affection,
Serena Darcy
***
Gracechurch Street
Cheapside
27th November 1811
Dear Jane,
I will definitely bring fashion journals upon our visit next month. I confess to being excited about talking over what you and Elizabeth will have made up for your launch into Society. I am certain that Mrs. Grayson knows her business, but a little extra advice never hurts, does it?
Moreover, your uncle intends to bring a present to you both in the form of fabric from a ship which recently arrived from India.
You asked about the children. They are doing very well indeed, though Timothy has just come down with a little cold and will doubtless pass it on to his sisters and brother. But that is to be expected in November.
In your last letter, you spoke of thinking more about your mother of late. My dear, I understand that entirely. Mrs. Bennet has been a wonderful stepmother to you, but naturally, as you think of your upcoming launch into the ton, you find yourself wondering about her.
Your mother was a very cheerful, energetic lady, as well as being incredibly beautiful.
She was not at all an intellectual, but she was kind and cared about your father.
I know she was incredibly excited about you.
It is a heartbreaking reality that childbirth can be a dangerous business, and sadly, she was stricken with puerperal fever.
The children are calling me. I look forward to seeing you and your family in a few weeks for Christmas.
With love,
Madeline Gardiner
***
Longbourn
Hertfordshire
30th November 1811
Dear Cousin Stanley,
I daresay this letter comes as a great surprise, given that we have not communicated in more than two decades. I hope you are well.
As you are doubtless aware, I married a Mr. Harper some two and twenty years ago, at the order of my father, who was deeply in debt. My husband’s father was very wealthy, and he handed over fifty thousand pounds in return for my hand in marriage for his only child and son.
My husband, Gregory Harper, died in a fall down the stairs when I was pregnant with our only child, my daughter Elizabeth.
Given that my home life with my father was difficult, I chose to hide myself in Hertfordshire.
There I met a widower by the name of Mr. Bennet, and we married and have three daughters together.
My Elizabeth will be attaining her majority in a few weeks, and I intend to take her to London next spring for the Season to launch her into Society along with my stepdaughter, Miss Jane Bennet.
I confess that I know little of your situation, Stanley, nor about the status of Wrayburn.
I remember, of course, that you married the former Esther Everly two years before my first marriage, but I know nothing more.
However, given that we are close relations, I hope you do not mind if Elizabeth and I call on you when we are in London, assuming that you will be in Town next spring.
God bless you,
Annabelle Bennet
***
Nottinghamshire
3rd December 1811
Dear Nephew,
I am sorry to hear of the death of your steward. That is a tragedy.
As for the plans for the Season, I do not believe you have anything to worry about concerning Serena. There is, if memory serves me, an excellent dressmaker in Lambton who can make up most of the garments for my dear niece. Do not bother about the Court Dress; we will have that made up next spring.
I understand Serena’s anxiety about the upcoming festivities, and I promise that we will do our best to make her as comfortable as possible. Our Rebekah has spoken more than once about her pleasure in being launched at the same time as her cousin.
We tentatively plan to have the coming-out ball for both girls at the end of April, probably around the 22nd.
Sincerely,
Emily, Lady Matlock
***
Wrayburn
Sussex
10th December 1811
Dear Cousin Annabelle,
As you might have guessed, your letter took me greatly by surprise, but it was a truly excellent surprise! I have thought about you often through the years, wondering what had happened to you. It is gratifying to know that you are happy and well.
I suppose I will start with the bad news, which is that Wrayburn is in very poor condition indeed.
Your father left debts, sadly, and paid almost no attention to the needs of the estate during his lifetime.
We have sufficient funds from my own father’s fortune and Esther’s dowry that we were able to pay off debts and save Wrayburn.
Since that time, we have settled down to fixing what needs to be made new as we are able.
I have been married to my dear Esther for almost four and twenty years, and we have five children, a daughter and four sons.
Our eldest son, Zachary, is two and twenty, while Priscilla, our only daughter, is nineteen and will be launched into Society next spring along with your Elizabeth, which is a pleasant coincidence.
We sold the family house on Grosvenor Street a few months ago.
It was not in good condition, and we did not have sufficient funds to improve it when Wrayburn requires so much.
We will hire a house next spring for our family.
My wife’s aunt is Lady Hampshire and is willing to throw a coming-out ball for Priscilla, for which I am most grateful.
If you and your family would care to come to Wrayburn before the Season, we would greatly enjoy hosting you.
Sincerely,
Stanley, Lord Langdon
***
Netherfield Hall
15th December 1811
My dear Clarice,
How long it seems since we were in school together! I hope your winter at Boscombe Manor has been a good one.
My brother Charles leased Netherfield Hall in Hertfordshire starting at Michaelmas, and my sister, Louisa, her husband, Mr. Hurst, and I have been settled here with him since October.
We will probably remain through spring. Mr. Darcy and his sisters were visiting until a few weeks ago, when they were called north because of a minor emergency at Pemberley, Mr. Darcy’s estate.
Netherfield Hall is well built, although the furniture is sadly shabby and out of date. I confess I am not tremendously fond of the country, but at least Netherfield is close to London, so we can visit occasionally!
The society nearby is likewise plebeian and dull, with one exception. A neighboring family, the Bennets, is of some interest. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are the parents of five daughters and no sons, which is a great pity as their family estate of Longbourn is entailed away from the female line.
Mrs. Bennet is the truly interesting partner in the marriage.
She is, it seems, the daughter of the fourth Viscount Langdon, whose estate of Wrayburn is in Sussex.
She was married previously to a Cit named Mr. Harper, who died before their daughter was born.
Rumor has it that Mr. Harper’s father was very wealthy, and Miss Elizabeth Bennet, the daughter of their marriage, may be rich, too.
She ought to be Harper, but I expect it seemed easiest for all five of the girls to have the same name.
She and her elder sister, Jane, are going to Town next spring for the Season. Jane, the product of Mr. Bennet’s first marriage, is an angelic blonde, and I have no doubt she will be welcomed with enthusiasm, though sadly she has little money of her own.
In any case, the presence of a rather mysterious family is a great boon amidst such dull neighbors.
Your friend always,
Caroline Bingley
***
Hunsford
Kent
19th December 1811
My dear Eliza,