Chapter 14 #2
That afternoon the two young men joined Mr Bingley as they rode over to the Long’s estate.
It was a group of men and young men that gathered at Longmeadow for a female-free evening as the ladies were congregating at Longbourn.
William met Mr Edward Gardiner, who recognised the names when they were introduced.
The Gardiners had arrived on the ninth day of April, just three days before Easter Sunday, and barely in time for Good Friday.
As their first daughter, Lily, had been born towards the end of February and the doctors had recently opined that his beloved Maddie and new-born would be allowed to travel.
“You must be Mr George Darcy’s heir if you are a Darcy from Pemberley,” Mr Gardiner said.
“I am, sir. I understand that both my father and my uncle, the Earl of Matlock, are investors in your company,” William responded respectfully.
“Yes, we have been in business for a year or so,” Gardiner acknowledged. The two were joined by Gardiner’s brothers Bennet and Phillips. Not long after Sir William and his heir joined the group.
“What university does your family attend, Master Darcy,” Bennet asked always willing to talk about the Cambridge-Oxford rivalry when a Lucas was nearby.
“We have been Cambridge men for as long as it has been a university sir,” Darcy responded, seeing the sardonic grin that the man was throwing in the direction of the rotund knight and his son.
“None of you Oxford men,” Sir William asked hopefully.
“I am afraid not, Sir William,” Darcy said while Bennet smirked.
“Well, Oxford is a capital institution,” Sir William said, somewhat peevishly.
“It is, sir,” William acknowledged, “just not as good as Cambridge.” The last produced guffaws from all the men except for Sir William and his son.
“Lucas, you know how I enjoy ribbing you,” Bennet said, as he brought his mirth under good regulation. “I am sure that Oxford is a fine university,” he said to placate the normally loquacious knight.
There was something about the young man that Bennet liked; he seemed particularly intelligent.
When he mentioned that he had a good collection of first editions, the young man from Derbyshire waxed eloquently about the library at Pemberley and the collection that had started with his ancestor who had come to England in support of William the Conqueror.
He told Bennet that his father was a bibliophile and that he was sure that if Mr Bennet were ever in the area of Pemberley, that he would be welcome to come explore Pemberley’s library.
As it was only a group of men, Darcy did not think to mention his Cousin Elizabeth and her love of books.
A week later, after having to remove Miss Caroline’s claws from his arm again, the two Eton men returned to Town to await the family and then they would head to school to complete the school year.
William promised himself that it would be as long as possible before he would be in company with the young shrew again.
One evening, Mr Bingley had made mention of his younger daughter’s belief that an invitation to her brother somehow included a not-yet-out girl of twelve as well.
In as polite a way as he could, William had pointed out that only those specifically named on an invitation were to be included.
As the Bingleys had hosted him at Netherfield, he knew that manners dictated that he invite them to Pemberley at some point.
He had not met the older sister, but from what Bingley had told him he imagined that she was not any better than the mother and younger sister—although he had to acknowledge that Miss Caroline was in a class of avarice and pretention of her own.
His conundrum would be how to have the family visit when at least Miss Caroline was otherwise engaged.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The family left Rosings after a most enjoyable stay for Easter.
There were no objections to Reggie’s suggestion that the trip to Rosings at Easter become a tradition as he had originally planned.
Lizzy had enjoyed herself, as did Anne and Gigi, who had recently turned five.
During the fortnight in Kent, the Earl of Ashbury and his family had stopped by after visiting Lord and Lady Metcalf to see how their former curate, Mr Bamber, was settling into his new role at Hunsford.
They were accompanied by their two sons and daughter.
Andrew knew the Viscount, Lord Stephen, from Eton and Cambridge, and Richard was a peer of his second son, Ian Ashby, who was in the same year at Eton.
He was the captain of a house three down from Richard’s.
Georgie and the youngest Ashby, Lady Amelia, Amy to family and friends, struck up an immediate friendship.
Amy was about a year older than Georgiana and it was not long before they were using each other’s informal names.
Amy and Georgie, with support from Lizzy and Anne, had begged Lady Gillian, the Countess of Ashbury, to allow Amy to stay with them for a few days.
After consulting with Ladies Elaine and Anne, the Countess had relented and hence they were on their way to Ashbury, just over the border in Surrey, to return Amy to the custody of her parents.
Lizzy too liked the younger girl and enjoyed her company.
All four of the girls had enjoyed time looking after Alex who was rapidly approaching two and was very mobile and already articulate.
The four of them had had fun running after him, as he would run as much as he could before collapsing in exhaustion.
The girls were in a carriage with a sleeping Alex and his nursemaid.
It was a little more than two hours until they arrived at Ashbury where Amy was returned to her parents.
After a lot of hugging and promises to keep in touch, the Darcys and Fitzwilliams headed to town to meet William and Master Bingley.
The Bingley patriarch was accompanying the young men to town and would drop them at Darcy House before heading for a business meeting with Edward Gardiner to sign the paperwork selling Gardiner and Associates a twenty percent share of the carriage works.
Less than five hours after departing Ashbury, the families arrived at Darcy House where they were met by an enthusiastic William while his friend stood back to allow the reunion with the family without intruding.
Everyone looked on in awe as Lizzy, for the first time since William’s debacle at Pemberley, flew into her cousin’s arms. He was most grateful that she had so truly forgiven him, and he knew that he would not get a chance like this again were he to ever repeat the behaviour that had caused her distrust. And as soon as he released her, his sister flew into his arms.
“It is not fair,” Georgiana pouted. “You were away for Easter, and you leave for school on the morrow, I have hardly seen you!” If he did not know that his little sister was serious, William would have laughed at the pout that she effected with her lower lip stuck out as far as it would go.
“You were missed as well, Georgie,” William said as he kissed her on the cheek while carrying her into the house.
“In just over a month, I will be back at Pemberley for nigh on three months, and I dare say you will see so much of me you will be sick of me before the summer is up,” he said playfully.
“I could never be sick of having you with me, Will,” she said seriously not grasping that he was teasing her as William put his sister back on the marble floor of the entrance hall.
“We have some books to discuss, do we not, Will?” Lizzy asked in anticipation.
“Yes, we do. That reminds me,” William turned to his father. “I met a Mr Bennet in Hertfordshire who, like you father, collects rare first editions. I hope it is okay that I invited him to come explore our library if he is ever in Derbyshire.”
“That is perfectly fine, William,” his father said warmly. “I always look forward to meeting someone who has the passion for first editions that I enjoy. Now take your cousin so you can discuss your books before she bursts with anticipation.”
“Uncle George,” Lizzy said in mock affront, “I am not so rotund as to be in danger of bursting!”
“I dare say that you are not, niece,” her uncle returned as he bent down and kissed her on the top of her head.
Later that evening, after retiring to his chambers, William thought about the fact that only once Lizzy had come to trust him completely again had things returned fully to normal with Richard.
He had thought about mentioning the Bennet twin that looked somewhat like Lizzy but had been caught up in the warm, artless welcome that he had received from her that it had slipped his mind, so he filed it away to mention at some other time.
By the next day when the convoy began the twenty plus miles to Eton, seeing one who looked similar to Lizzy was no longer part of his consciousness.
After less than four hours travelling west from London they arrived at their destination before midday.
While the horses were rested, watered, and fed, the family ate at an inn in the centre of Eton; then the three boys farewelled the carriages as they headed northeast for the seventy plus miles to Cambridge where Andrew would leave them.
They spent the night at an inn a little over a third of the way, then arrived at Trinity in the early afternoon.
After spending the night, the family departed the following morning for the two-day journey back to their estates. On the early evening of the second day of north-westerly travel, both families were very gratified to arrive at their respective estates.
George Wickham, recently fourteen, watched malevolently as the Darcy conveyances passed him on the way back to the manor house. ‘It should have been me that they were returning to school!’ he lamented. ‘It is all that mongrel’s fault; I will get my due and I will make that foundling suffer!’
As George Wickham was watching the Darcys return, so was one of Mrs Fitzpatrick’s spies, while the other was tasked to watch Snowhaven.