Chapter 19
Mr. Yates was hailed as a conquering hero upon his return.
Jane was earnestly grateful, within the limits of her character.
Mary was even more reserved in her gratitude but equally sincere.
Elizabeth, Kitty, and Georgiana were ecstatic and praised him to the skies while Darcy pounded him on the back and called him an ‘excellent fellow’.
He declaimed any great exertions for his part but accepted the accolades with aplomb.
He was instructed to rest for an hour and return for dinner, which, due to the Darcy’s presence, he was able to accept with great anticipation without causing any talk.
He was so looking forward to the company that he found the sitting room empty when he returned. He was pleasantly surprised when Jane joined him within minutes, however. “I am sorry if I interrupted your preparations,” he greeted her with a bow. “I had not realized that I had dressed so quickly.”
“I was ready, merely spending some time on my correspondence as I waited,” she assured him, offering him a seat beside her in a set of chairs placed close.
“William and I purchased the seed to allow the tenants to begin on their work. He also hired a great number of men from who knows where, to plant the fields of the empty farms as well, so we are well on our way! I am so pleased with our progress thus far, but I will not rest easy until you look everything over and give your approval.”
He laughed, “I am certain that Darcy knows more that I have ever learned and then some.”
“But this is your, well, our responsibility, so I would appreciate your concurrence.”
Her face was so earnest he had no defense and rather than continuing to tease, he answered her seriously. “I am certain that you have done an excellent job, for you care so much for others that you always do what is best for them, even to the detriment of yourself.”
Jane blushed profusely and looked away to collect herself. It was the most honest, sincere, compliment that she had ever received, and she knew not where to look. She was used to others complimenting her looks, but never had someone outside her family seen so clearly to the heart of her.
“Good evening!” Elizabeth sang, as she entered the room on her husband’s arm. “I am so looking forward to having such a celebratory meal. I like simple for every day, but four courses of excellent food every once and a while, gives one something to anticipate.”
“I can but agree,” Jane smiled in welcome, relieved to have their tête-à-tête interrupted, though she was unsure why and had no desire to analyze it. “Caroline rarely allowed fewer than four courses and has a heavy hand with the sauces. There is much to be said for plain English fare.”
Dinner went well and Jane was much praised for her menu which included several favorites for each of the diners which was always sure to please.
They spent the evening enjoying good company and beautiful music, though Georgiana claimed that the piano was still just slightly flat despite its recent tuning.
It did not injure their enjoyment of the performances, however, so it was pushed to the bottom of Jane’s list. Likely, due to the age and lack of maintenance, she would need an entirely new instrument.
As the evening grew late, Mr. Yates stood and thanked them for the excellent meal and fine company, “I did not realize how much I had missed pleasant evenings like this since I became a steward. I am no longer invited to entertainments by my peers, but I am considered too far above the other tradesman. Much like a governess, I have found myself in-between worlds.”
“Well, you are certainly invited to join us at meals whenever you wish. I am not much accepted by my peers either, so I care not for their approval over who I choose to dine with.” Jane invited.
“Thank you for the invitation,” he replied, taking her hand and bowing over it.
“We have an early morning, so I recommend we all retire soon. I at least will bid you good evening as mornings have been the most difficult transition I had to make when I chose this path.” He winked at Darcy and they laughed.
“I too prefer a later morning, but I shall see you both bright and early,” Jane promised. “I cannot wait to begin!”
∞∞∞
The next morning, Jardine woke her just as dawn was breaking and Jane groaned pitifully before attempting to climb back under the covers.
“You asked me to wake you, ma’am,” she reminded her with a laugh. “Mr. and Mrs. Darcy are already awake and have just returned from their walk.”
“Of course they have,” Jane sighed, stretching her arms wide as she sat up. “Elizabeth is disgustingly energetic in the morning.” She climbed out of her comfortable bed. “All right, I am up. What am I wearing?”
Jardine laughed once more, and held up Jane’s favorite pink morning gown.
The maid had been almost ebullient since they had arrived at Ivy Well and the time for her daughter’s arrival grew closer.
She dressed her mistress with her usual quick efficiency and sent her down to join the men after a quick cup of tea and slice of toast.
“Good morning, William, Mr. Yates,” Jane called as she entered the office just behind her brother. “I am mostly awake and prepared to learn.”
Darcy pulled out the chair behind the desk and invited her to sit. Jane had assumed that he would sit there and felt strange rounding the large wooden desk, as if she was displacing him.
Seeing her hesitance, Darcy smiled understandingly, “I felt the same the day my father died, like an imposter. But this is the first lesson you must learn, you will only receive the amount of respect that you insist upon. By sitting beside a person, you are giving up some of your perceived authority. It is especially important for you, as a woman, to use every device available as to many men, you are already at a disadvantage in their minds. Once you show them how capable you are, then it will not be quite so important.”
Jane settled lightly into the seat and took a deep breath, pulling back her shoulders and raising her chin. “Confident and in control,” she grinned and waved imperiously for them to join her in the seats across from her.
Mr. Yates passed over the account book which he usually kept in his own office.
Jane’s eyes lit up as she took it and opened it to the current month, relaxing into the familiar routine.
She quickly checked the numbers, pleased to note that they were all summed and debited correctly.
He and Darcy spent the next two hours explaining each entry, often tangentially describing some other thought before circling back around.
Jane felt like her head would burst when the clock struck nine and she gladly pushed away the accounts to join the rest of the household in breaking their fasts.
She insisted that Mr. Yates join them when he attempted to demure, and led them to the breakfast room.
Their discussion continued with several contributions from Elizabeth, who worked closely with her husband on the estate, and then they returned to the study to continue her education.
Jane was not Elizabeth’s sister for nothing, and the gentlemen were extremely pleased with the quickness with which she comprehended such concepts so foreign to her former experience.
Much more so than her husband if Darcy was being honest, which he always was.
Just after they returned from luncheon, the butler announced that one of the tenants was asking to speak with the master, or the steward, if he was not available.
“This will be a good practice for you,” Darcy declared, completely confident in his sister. “If you are unsure at all, tell him you will get him an answer within a few days.”
Jane nodded, overwhelmed and slightly terrified as she told the butler to show him in. Darcy and Mr. Yates stepped to the side of the room to allow the man to sit before the desk while he spoke with his new landlord.
A portly man appeared at the door; his lanky hair combed hurriedly to one side of his balding pate. He looked about in confusion to see a woman seated behind the desk and looked to the gentlemen in the room for explanation.
“Mrs. Bingley is your landlord, Mr. Pipps,” Mr. Yates said, recognizing the man.
“She will be entertaining your petition.” The man looked skeptical, but bowed, unsteadily, and began a long rambling tale of how he had had much of his planted seed eaten by an immense flock of starlings and when he had attempted to replant, had found that the remainder of his seed had been stolen by rodents.
He claimed that his children were crying with hunger and that his wife was nearly perished as she had just recently given birth and the babe was sickly and she had no way of feeding the poor mite and he had been forced to use his rents to buy more seed and if she did not take pity on them, they would have nothing to eat until harvest.
Darcy and Yates looked rather pointedly at the man’s protruding belly, it was obvious that he rarely missed a meal and that the hard work on the farm was done by others, likely his children.
Jane however was moved by the plight of his family, “You have been hard done by, Mr. Pipps. I completely understand your difficulties in covering your quarter rents. They will be waved for the nonce as you concentrate on providing for your family and I shall work with Mr. Yates to ensure that your fields do not remain fallow due to lack of seed.”
The man seemed so shocked that he could not speak, instead bowing repeatedly as he sputtered and smiled and backed from the room.
“Jane, I apologize in advance for not giving you better instructions before we began. You cannot allow a heart-tugging story to influence your decisions,” Darcy ran his hands over his face. “Especially before you check on the facts of the matter.”
The steward nodded in agreement, “Did you notice the condition of the man’s waistline? He has obviously not been missing meals, and with his lack of musculature, he is also not working his own farm, in all likelihood using his children as unpaid labor.”
“Oh, no! Was it very bad?” Jane worried her thumb with her teeth. “I shall not miss a single quarter’s rent, surely.”
“If he keeps it to himself, you will be fine until next quarter, when he will certainly appear again with another story of woah, hoping to impose upon your good nature once more. He will also likely be quite angry when you are not taken in by it a second time.” Mr. Yates explained quietly.
Darcy was less politic, “The real issue is that he is likely on his way to the local inn right now and will begin crowing that he was able to pull the wool over the eyes of the new, easily manipulated owner of Ivy Well and it will be around to all of your tenants within the hour. Likely you will have a line of people waiting to meet with you later in the week, to demand that you do the same for them in fairness.”
“Oh dear, I am in for an uncomfortable time of it, I fear.” Jane could not help the moisture which gathered in her eyes. She had been so confident in her decision in that moment. “I am not cut out for this.”
“Every new landlord makes mistakes, Jane,” Darcy comforted her. “I made several much more expensive ones myself out of hubris alone.”
Mr. Yates tapped his finger on the desk as he contemplated a solution.
“Suppose you offer relief to each of the tenants as a thank you for remaining to support the estate through the difficult times when it was unoccupied. Perhaps a quarter or even half rent? It would lower your income for the quarter, but it would salvage your reputation amongst the tenantry. They would assume that Pipps was being a braggart and exaggerating when you offered everyone else the same gift without prompting.”
“You will allow me to make up the rest,” Darcy insisted. “For it was my lack of explanation which caused the issue in the first place.”
“You have been so kind, William, I could not possibly accept it. It was my own mistake.” They debated for a time but in the end, Jane’s usual reticence made her acquiesce.
Mr. Yates smiled at their stubbornness, “At least you only have five tenants currently, had all ten farms been occupied it would have been a much greater outlay. You will not need to offer the same discount to your future tenants, most of whom will be in occupation within the week. And at least it is second quarters rents, as the greater part of rents are paid after harvest. By the by, I am very pleased with the men you have chosen. They are exactly who I would have recommended had I been here.”
“And I was glad that the Lewis family will be able to return now that a competent owner is at the helm once more.” Darcy added.
“I do not know how competent I am,” Jane winced, “as you saw.”