Chapter Nineteen
A NEW BEGINNING
London
Hyde Park
The Same Day
The Carriage
With all William had set out to accomplish, he had not taken any time for himself, nor had he eaten anything since breaking his fast with Elizabeth.
It was of no matter, for now he could put all that aside and enjoy the rest of the day with his lovely wife and daughter.
Although the horrors of the past few days still lingered, as was evident by Anna’s night terrors, he wanted the rest of this day to provide stability by spending time together as a family.
The storm which prevailed throughout much of the night had fully dissipated shortly after first light, allowing the roads to become manageable by the time William called for the open carriage.
They would begin by driving through Hyde Park and stopping at the Serpentine Lake where Anna could feed the ducks.
The fashionable hour when many people of the ton would be strolling through the park did not start until later in the afternoon.
This suited William, since it would be less crowded during their outing, not to mention he had no desire to interact with his peers unless decorum dictated it.
Had it not been for Wickham, he and his little family would have been enjoying the seaside and the privacy of the de Bourgh cottage and its environs at Ramsgate.
Elizabeth had never been to the coast, nor had she travelled much outside of London or her native Hertfordshire.
This was something he planned to remedy in time, starting with their journey to Pemberley.
The thought of sharing his ancestral home with his wife nearly brought tears to William’s eyes.
How different his life would be with Elizabeth at his side.
With her he had hope for the future, and without question, he knew the estate would benefit under their joint care in ways which could never be measured by monetary gain.
Elizabeth enjoyed being out-of-doors, and knowing how much she loved the country, he was sure she could easily make Derbyshire her home.
Moreover, she was not a reserved woman like the typical lady of the ton who often hid her views and had little to say about important matters.
Elizabeth gave her opinion freely and did not hold back when showing emotion.
She was a woman who was passionate about many things, and that excited his sensibilities.
His life with Elizabeth would not be dull by any means.
William could not be more pleased while escorting Elizabeth and Anna through the lanes of Hyde Park.
His wife and daughter were happy despite the ordeal they had been through only yesterday.
Their exuberance was infectious and he relished being in their company.
Sitting between them, Anna’s soft giggles warmed his heart, and every time Elizabeth looked at him with affection, his love for her became overpowering.
With their joining, she was now his wife in every sense of the word.
And unlike poor Anne, she wanted to share his bed and bear him more children.
With Elizabeth, William’s dreams had become a reality.
He was no longer alone, and he was grateful.
Elizabeth had seldom been in the park, but nevertheless, she was a delightful guide, pointing out interesting things for their daughter to take in while making comparisons to her family’s estate in Hertfordshire.
They would be visiting Longbourn in the coming weeks, and she wanted Anna to know something of the area she grew up in.
About twenty minutes into the drive along Rotten Row, William noticed a young flower girl selling her wares not far from the lane. Pulling off to the side, he stopped the carriage and waved the girl over.
“Afternoon, governor,” the girl said, proudly holding up her basket.
“Good day; I should like to purchase a posy for each of my lovely ladies this afternoon.”
“Yes, sir, they be two for a ha’penny.”
“Very reasonable. Elizabeth, which one would you favour?”
“I should like the lavender and buttercups.”
“A lovely choice. And you, Anna?”
“Papa, may I have the one with the daisies?”
“You may.” With that, he reached into his pocket and gave the girl a full penny, saying, “Please accept this as payment. I thank you.”
“Papa,” said Anna after the flower girl curtseyed and ran back to the side of the road, “the daisy flowers look just like Mama’s broach that Grandmamma Elizabeth gave us.
” Anna pointed to the collar of her little spencer and smiled sweetly.
“Mama is sharing the treasures from her memory box with me,” she happily added.
“It is very pretty.” He gently touched the corner of her collar and mouthed ‘thank you’ to Elizabeth. “Mama must love you very much to share such lovely treasures.”
“I know, Papa.” She smiled up at Elizabeth. “She told me so, and I love her, too.”
“Tell me, Anna, is Mama’s memory box the little wooden box I found on her vanity in Kent along with this little carving?”
“Patches!” Anna exclaimed holding out her gloved hand for the wooden cat which William had taken from his pocket. “I left him sitting next to Mama’s box, and Aunt Kitty painted him in our new storybook,” she beamed.
“Mama and her sisters are very kind. When I brought back Mama’s little trunk from Rosings Park, I noticed your book was inside. I should like to read it with you later today.”
“Yes, please, and Mama can help us, too. Did you know that Mama can make her voice sound like a real cat?”
William and Anna both chuckled when Elizabeth wrinkled her nose and quietly exaggerated a long drawn out “meow.”
“Anna, I had no idea Mama had such talents. I wonder how she would do at imitating other farm animals,” he teased.
“Mr. Darcy,” Elizabeth said, arching a brow in defiance. Looking rather smug, she continued, “I must tell you that I am a very accomplished woman. I hope you do not mind, however, if I reserve my talent for when we are not on the lanes of Hyde Park.”
Holding back his chuckle, he said, “A very wise choice, my dear.”
“Anna,” said Elizabeth. “Papa tells me that Aunt Georgie likes to draw and paint. I wonder if we might ask her to help us with one of our new stories after she comes home and has had ample time to rest.”
“You have some new stories?” William enquired of Anna.
“Oh, yes, Papa. One of our stories is about a little bird who left his nest by Grandmamma’s pond. Mama wrote down my words in her little book and later she let me help her when she wrote about some of the other things we did together.”
“That is an excellent idea. When I was a boy, I always had a journal to write down my thoughts and discoveries. Perhaps Mama and I can take you to Hatchards where they have a lovely selection of journals.” He smiled. “I am sure we can find one that you will like.”
“Oh, yes, Papa. I would like to have my own journal, and Mama can write down what I tell her, just like she did in her little book.”
“A journal of your own is a lovely thought, Anna,” Elizabeth commented. “When we write in it, we can also include some small drawings and I can show you how to fill them in with coloured pencils.”
Anna’s face suddenly became animated and she let out a little giggle. “Mama, when we get our new book, I think we should write down what you told me about fishing with the cousins. We can draw a picture of the old shoe they caught instead of the big fish!” Again she giggled.
“Papa, Mama said the boys laughed so hard when they pulled up the old shoe that they scared all of the fish away and did not catch anything else all morning.”
“I am not surprised. If you remember, when I took you fishing at our pond, we had to be very quiet and wait patiently for the fish to bite.”
“I do remember.”
“Since Mama likes to fish, I think we should take her fishing when we go back to Pemberley. What say you, Elizabeth?”
“I would love to go fishing with the two of you, and maybe Aunt Georgie, too.”
“Oh, no, Mama. Aunt Georgie does not like worms and never goes fishing with us. But I can hold them in my hand; Papa showed me how. And later he took me to the Nature Room and showed me how to use Grandmamma’s microscope and we looked at some of the things we found.”
“Elizabeth, my mother loved the study of plants and flowers, and had made it her practice to catalogue as much of the flora on our property as she was able. Her many journals are stored in that room and in our library. When I was a boy, the two of us spent hour after hour in the Nature Room, although I admit my interest lay more with the collection of living creatures. After Anna was born, I refurbished the room with the hope that my children would one day enjoy it as much as I did. Anna and I will take great pleasure in showing it to you, will we not, little one?”
“Yes, Papa. Mama, you will love the Nature Room.”
“I shall look forward to it. From what both of you have said, I gather it must be a fascinating place, and filled with many treasured memories for you, William.”
He nodded. “It does hold many memories, years’ worth.”
“When I was a child,” Elizabeth continued, “my mother could not abide us bringing any living thing into our house. Patches, who was an excellent mouser, was the only exception. Happily, on occasion my father took me fishing with him at the stream, and sometimes the Lucas boys invited us to fish at their pond.”
“Anna, did you tell Mama about our pond?”
“I did.”
“Good. Since Mama has never been to our home in the north, she must be curious about Pemberley. Even though we have not been there since your birthday, I wonder if there is something else you might like to tell her about what you remember.”