Chapter 21
Six weeks after leaving London, the Duke and Duchess of Derbyshire, Earl and Countess of Lambton, arrived in Liverpool, where they were met by one of the large, comfortable Derbyshire travelling coaches.
It was a party of six who departed London the day after the wedding: the Duke, the Duchess, and their personal servants, Biggs, and Johns.
In the six weeks since their wedding, the Derbyshire Darcys were no longer inexperienced in lovemaking and each had learnt much of what the other found pleasurable, although they agreed it was one subject which would require many more hours of intense study.
Both had read books on the subject prior to their marriage, but the practical application of their knowledge was much more pleasurable than either could have imagined.
As they sat in the coach on the way to Pemberley, Elizabeth could not but marvel at all the places she had seen while in Ireland that she had only read about before. After a few days in Dublin, they had made a ten-day circuit of the surrounding countryside.
They travelled south to County Cork, where they visited the ruins of Blarney Castle and the famous Blarney Stone that was said to gift one with eloquence if they kissed it. Elizabeth joked she did not need it but, suggested her husband might benefit from doing so. He merely laughed.
From there they travelled northwest, towards the town of Limerick in the county of the same name.
From Limerick, they turned northeast and headed for the Glenbeg Estate in County Kildare, named for the small glen located on the estate’s western side.
They had originally planned to visit two estates in Ireland but chose to delay their visit to a second estate, further north, until a subsequent visit.
Elizabeth loved seeing the horses raised at Glenbeg and fell in love with a three-year-old mare.
She was light brown with white socks, and a white mark in the shape of a triangle on her forehead.
Her husband, who held her felicity as his first priority, gifted the mare to his wife, who named her Aphrodite.
When their visit to Ireland was at an end, Aphrodite came with them. The Duke paid for a stall to be constructed in the hold for the relatively short voyage to Liverpool. She was to be ridden by a Darcy postillion on their journey to Pemberley.
Normally Pemberley to Liverpool was an easy one-day journey, however as the ship had arrived around midday, they broke their trip at a coaching inn reserved for their exclusive use.
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As the coach crested the rise, Elizabeth’s breath was taken away.
She had never seen a place where nature had done more for with so little counteracted by the awkward tastes of man.
Across the valley on rising ground stood the manor house, which gleamed in the morning sun, imbuing the Derbyshire stone of the facade with a golden hue.
“William, your home is beautiful!” Elizabeth exclaimed as she squeezed her husband’s hand.
“Do you not mean our home, Elizabeth?” William corrected. “I am happy you approve.”
“Who could not approve of such an estate? We have been travelling through miles of forest since we passed the gate house. How big is the park, William?” Elizabeth asked, as excited as she used to be when, as a girl, she was waiting to open presents on Christmas day.
“It is ten miles around, my love,” William informed his wife.
“I will be able to walk or ride a different path every day and not take the same one twice for the best part of a year,” Elizabeth stated in wonder. She had thought Holder Heights large until she saw Pemberley and was just now beginning to understand how enormous her husband’s primary estate was.
It took another twenty minutes before the carriage arrived at the inner courtyard, which had the largest portico Elizabeth had seen, guessing that, with the severe weather during winters in the north, it was a necessity.
Elizabeth thought she was dreaming when she saw their extended family waiting to welcome them home.
As a surprise to his wife, William had arranged for Gigi, the Fitzwilliams, the Holder Bennets, Tommy (with Parrot on his shoulder), Louisa and Hurst, Jane and Jamie, and the Gardiners to be present when they arrived home.
If things went according to plan, Anne and the Wickhams would arrive on the morrow from Kent.
“William, did you do this?” Elizabeth asked before the carriage came to a halt.
“I did, my love. Are you happy to see everyone again?” he asked hopefully.
“Of course I am! I had to put up with only you for company for six weeks, after all,” Elizabeth teased him, with her impertinent eyebrow arched.
“Minx,” William growled, and would have extracted penance for her teasing had it not been for their proximity to their guests.
Just as it had been when they all reunited at Netherfield, Elizabeth did not know who to hug first. As she was hugging Jane, Elizabeth heard Parrot squawk “Your Grace, Your Grace!”
Jane smiled and, as explanation, simply said, “Tommy.”
“Do you like what I taught Parrot, Lizzy?” Tommy asked cheekily. Tommy was tall and well built, the size of a man, but still a boy at heart.
“Very funny, Tommy!” Elizabeth said, with mock afront.
“You never know what a parrot is able to learn with six weeks’ intensive repeating,” Tommy related, immensely proud of his accomplishment.
“If I hear Parrot repeat that too much, it will be off to the Dower House with you and him!” Elizabeth looked at Georgiana. “There is a dower house, is there not?” Gigi nodded with a big smile.
“You would not dare!” Tommy retorted.
“Just try me,” Elizabeth replied pertly.
“He will reside in the conservatory while he is with us, as long as he does not eat all of the fruit on the trees,” William offered. “He will think he is back home.”
William motioned two members of Pemberley’s staff forward. “Elizabeth, our housekeeper Mrs. Hannah Reynolds and our butler, Mr. Peter Douglas. Mrs. Reynolds, Mr. Douglas, Her Grace, Elizabeth Darcy.
Mrs. Reynolds had known the Duke since he was four, so felt protective of him and his sister; they were almost like the children she never had.
She had heard from Mrs. Killion how happy the master was, and she had hoped it was true.
Then the shy Lady Georgiana had arrived with the extended family, and to Mrs. Reynold’s wonderment she was no longer shy.
Seeing the way the master beamed at his wife and the utter adoration the new mistress directed at him, she was convinced her Master William had found the one woman who was his true partner in life. She had a gut feeling, and her gut feelings were seldom, if ever, wrong.
After all the hugs and kisses were over, the family followed William and Elizabeth into the house.
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After dinner, there was no separation of the sexes, and Gigi, Cassie, and Allie delighted the assembled family with their playing.
While William and Elizabeth had been away, Allie and Georgiana worked on duets, both playing and singing, and were impressive when they exhibited the results of their efforts.
Elizabeth was sitting with Jane, Louisa, and Marie on a settee. “Is there any news from Charlotte?” Elizabeth asked.
“Yes, I received a letter about ten days ago. Mr. Bingley asked for her hand, and she accepted him. They will marry from Meryton in three weeks,” Jane reported.
“Will you go to the wedding, Jane?” Elizabeth asked.
“Of course I will, that is if I am allowed to travel,” Jane stated cryptically, continuing before Elizabeth could enquire what she meant. “I have forgiven him, and he has proven many times already his change is genuine.”
“It is as Jane says, Lizzy. My brother strives to be a good man every day, where before, he was barely tolerated by his parishioners. From the letters I have received from Anne and Karen, he is much loved now and works every day to improve the lives of his flock,” Louisa informed her sister.
“In that case, I am happy for Charlotte. When we are invited, I will ask Fitzwilliam if there is any conflict which would preclude us attending.” Elizabeth paused as she remembered Jane’s words.
“Jane what did you mean, if you are allowed? Is there something wrong with you, or is it the good news I suspect it to be? Please tell me, Jane,” Elizabeth asked, with arched eyebrow.
“It is nothing that will not resolve itself in about seven months,” Jane patted her belly.
Elizabeth’s mouth formed a perfect ‘O’, as her suspicions were confirmed.
“It is not common knowledge yet, so please do not share it beyond William and Harold. I should feel the quickening in the next month or two.”
“That is the best news, Janey!” Elizabeth whispered, ecstatically.
“I am so happy for you, sister,” Louisa added.
“You will be such a good mother, Jane,” Marie opined.
“How could I not tell my married sisters?” Jane asked with a beatific smile. “Jamey and I discussed the subject and agreed I could share it with you, and I have told Mother Amy as well.”
“When do we get to see the little gift you brought back from Ireland?” Marie asked.
“I will ride Aphrodite on the morrow, and, if I understood William, there are a surfeit of horses in the stables, several of them trained for side-saddle. Do you have your own horse at Glenmeade, Jane?” Elizabeth asked.
“I do. She is called Calista, but for good reason, I do not ride her currently. One of the grooms will exercise her until after my confinement and I have been churched,” Jane replied.
“You look very much contented, cousin,” Richard remarked, as he sat in a group with William, Andrew, Hurst, and Jamey.
“We are brothers now, Richard,” William pointed out.
“True, but we were cousins first,” Richard retorted.
“As to your statement, you are right. I could not be happier,” William looked longingly at his wife as she sat with her sisters across the music room from them.