Chapter 7
London
Darcy,
I am sorry that your sister is not well enough to journey to London. I will miss your company, but I understand your need to keep watch over her.
I met your cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam at Boodle’s White’s a few days ago. He seemed full healthy.
Caroline, of course, and to a lesser extent Louisa, wailed and mourned the news that you will not be in London for the Season. I wish Caroline would find a husband, but I know she still hopes that you will offer for her and will not listen to my insistence that you have no intention of doing so.
I know I am not a good marvelous correspondent but will do my best to keep you abreast of my doings.
I suppose I will take part in the whirlwind that is the Season, though I am less excited than usual this year.
I confess that I still often think of Miss Bennet and compare her to every woman I meet.
She was such a beautiful woman, and so kind as well.
But I would not wish to wed a lady who is forced to the altar by her family’s need for income.
I am determined that when I do purchase an estate, I will make certain it is not entailed away from the female line. It is so very hard on the daughters!
As you may remember, I have a one-year lease on Nteher Netherfield Hall. Given that the lady I loved is settled only three miles from Netherfield, I have decided to give up the estate. Caroline wishes for me to find an estate in Derbyshire, anyway.
I will continue to pray for Miss Darcy.
Yours,
Charles Bingley
***
Cheapside
27th May, 1812
Dearest Lizzy!
My beloved Isaac asked for my hand in marriage yesterday, and I accepted his offer! Oh, my dear, I am so very happy! He is the perfect man for me; so very kind, and intelligent, and hardworking!
He has important business meetings today and tomorrow and will ride to Longbourn on Friday to ask Father for his blessing.
I will be staying in London for a few days because our wonderful aunt intends to assist me in acquiring a dress for my wedding.
Then I will return home to Longbourn, because Isaac’s business requires that he journey to Brighton for some weeks.
I will miss him, but I am thankful he asked for my hand in marriage before departing.
I will see you soon.
Happily,
Jane
***
Longbourn
10th June, 1812
Dear Anne,
My dearest sister is engaged to be married! I told you, of course, of Mr. Isaac Russell, a tradesman in London who is a good friend of my uncle Gardiner’s. After a courtship of a few months, he and Jane are now betrothed.
My mother is ecstatic at having a daughter well engaged and is busy planning the wedding breakfast for the ages. The wedding will have to wait at least a month or two, as Isaac has business concerns to attend to.
He owns a house in Cheapside, and Jane had the pleasure of touring it before she returned to Longbourn last week. It is small but well maintained, and Jane is looking forward very much to being mistress of her own little domain.
With Friendship,
Elizabeth Bennet
***
28th June, 1812
Bingley,
Thank you for your most recent letter, although, as usual, I confess I had some trouble reading your handwriting.
I think you said that you recently met my cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, at White’s?
I am aware that he has been traveling a great deal of late, while I have been happily ensconced at Pemberley.
Regarding Georgiana, yes, she is doing well, though I still would not wish for her to experience the heat and poor air of London.
Moreover, the Season is effectively over now.
I will plan to attend the balls and assemblies and outings of London next year.
You mentioned Netherfield and your intention to give up the estate. If you do not intend to oversee the estate, then you should indeed do so. Land and tenants do not thrive with an absentee landlord.
Having said all that, it disturbs me a little that … well, I will be truthful and say that I am startled that you still, apparently, long for Miss Bennet. I have often seen you in love before with ‘an angel’, only to lose any interest in the lady within a few weeks.
I am concerned about Miss Bennet’s family – she has close ties to trade, and the behavior of her parents and younger two sisters is of concern – but if you do not mind such things, perhaps you should pursue her? She is, without a doubt, an elegant and lovely lady.
I would, of course, be pleased if you purchased or leased an estate closer to Pemberley, and if you and your family would like to visit in the next months, we could look around for possible estates nearby.
Sincerely,
Fitzwilliam Darcy
***
22nd July, 1812
Darcy,
My apologies for not returning your letter sooner. I have been pondering the situation with Netherfield and did not care to reply until I had arrived at a firm definite conclusion.
I will be giving up the lease at Netherfield.
I appreciate your … permission, I suppose I could say …
to pursue Jane Miss Bennet, but I cannot overcome my own strong desire to wed a woman who genuinely loves me.
I do not blame her for being willing to marry a man based on his fortune.
As we both know, the situation at Longbourn is dire, with five daughters, little money, and Longbourn entailed away to a distant cousin.
But while many gentlemen are pleased enough to marry a lady based on looks and charm, I am not.
I need my wife to care for love me as I love her in return.
So yes, I have visited my solicitor to give up the lease.
The Hursts, Caroline, and I will be journeying to Scarborough in the next few weeks, as our aunt Amelia is failing badly, and will, it seems, pass on soon. My dear aunt acted as mother to us when our own mother died young, and we wish to see her before she passes on through heavenly gates.
Depending on what happens with her, I think I will take up your invitation to visit Pemberley afterwards.
With much gratitude,
Charles Bingley
***
1st October, 1812
Darcy,
Yes, another express! Once again, I assure you that nothing terrible has happened. I am well, my family is well, Lady Catherine is as well as you would expect, and Cousin Anne is well.
I write in haste because I have a favor to ask of you; would you be willing to host Cousin Anne for the winter?
I know it is a strange request, as Pemberley is a very long way from Kent, and moreover, you doubtless worry that such proximity will only fuel our mutual aunt’s insistence that you wed our cousin.
But you need not worry about that, as I have the honor of informing you that three weeks ago, I wed Anne de Bourgh in London, and now she is Mrs. Anne Fitzwilliam!
We did this in secret while Lady Catherine was away in another part of London for a few days, and we have not yet told her of our marriage.
Indeed, my intention, if you permit it, is that I will carry Anne north with me, spend a few days at Pemberley with my wife, and then return to Kent to clean house, so to speak, as the new master of Rosings.
Anne is afraid of Lady Catherine. My mother-in-law has always been autocratic and imperious, as we have both known for many years now.
But in the last months, as Anne and I carefully courted through letters concealed in letters between Anne and my sister Rachel and occasional visits – all done, of course, beneath the very nose of our aunt – Anne has shared her mother’s genuine cruelty.
Lady Catherine has rarely been kind to her only child and has often been harsh.
In Anne’s younger years, her mother did not hesitate to deprive her of treats and even possessions if Anne attempted to resist her mother’s dictates.
All of that means that Anne, who is a far more interesting person that I thought even a few months ago, is genuinely afraid of her mother. I do not want her at Rosings while I battle with Lady Catherine over her removal to the Dower House.
I am in the process of selling my commission, and once my irritating mother-in-law is dealt with, Anne and I will serve as mistress and master of Rosings, and with far more kindness and sense than Lady Catherine.
Let me know if Anne and I are welcome.
Oh, one more thing. Anne’s companion, Mrs. Jenkinson, has been a loyal and faithful friend to my wife for many years.
She is the mother of one son whom she has not seen in three years, and we wish to send her off to visit him for a long visit.
There is one granddaughter she has not even met!
For the near future, I intend to find another companion for her.
Do I have your permission to bring someone to stand as a friend to my wife?
Joyfully,
Richard Fitzwilliam.
***
8th October, 1812
Richard,
Many congratulations to you and Anne! I am indeed happy for not only you and Anne, but myself as well, as I feel a great weight has lifted from me.
Your wife is a wonderful woman, and I am confident your marriage will be a successful one – far more than my hypothetical marriage to Anne would have been.
She is a quiet person, and so am I. Very quiet people do better with more outgoing spouses.
You are both very welcome here at Pemberley and for as long as you like.
I promise that when you leave Anne behind, Georgiana and I, not to mention Mrs. Reynolds, will do our best to cosset her.
You are also welcome to bring a companion, or a friend, or one of each, or three of each, if you like. We have plenty of space for guests.
I will have Mrs. Reynolds prepare several rooms, and I look forward to your visit.
Sincerely,
Darcy
***
15th October, 1812
Scarborough
Darcy,
I know it has been some time since I wrote, and I apologize for that. Our aunt did indeed die pass on within a few weeks of our arrival in Yorkshire. We have been in mourning, and I have also had quite a bit of business to conduct regarding her modest fortune.