Chapter 25
Elizabeth and Mrs Cooper set out for Pemberley on a day that was not particularly bright but perfect for grouse shooting, as Mrs Cooper had explained.
“Unfortunately, the gentlemen will be away all day tomorrow,” said Mrs Cooper with a certain sadness, making Elizabeth smile, for the unspoken question was obvious.
“I do not have an answer, but I promise to reflect with equal sincerity and earnestness upon my situation and…my feelings,” was all Elizabeth said.
Mrs Cooper nodded and fell silent, respecting her decision not to speak further on that subject. Sometimes, decisions made without much preparation proved wiser.
“I have left instructions at home for our correspondence to be brought to us each day,” she added at Elizabeth’s request, for she was waiting not so much for news from Meryton as from London.
“I should like to see Pemberley.”
“And I am certain that Mr Darcy anticipated that wish,” Mrs Cooper replied with a smile. “Indeed, he promised as much.”
It would have been far better if he had conducted the tour himself, but given the shooting party, that seemed unlikely.
Still, Mrs Cooper hoped that, seeing the care with which the past was preserved, together with the warmth and beauty of the place, Elizabeth would begin to appreciate him even more.
For one thing, it was clear: Mr Darcy was not indifferent to her.
They were met upon the platform by Darcy, who tried in vain to conceal his eagerness, but Elizabeth refused to believe that it was entirely on her account. After all, the ball was the first in ten years, and the master of the house had every reason to be anxious.
The colonel was there as well and, in a few words, made it clear that he would take care of them, as the hosts were occupied with preparations.
“We shall be about five-and-twenty tomorrow, and for the ball itself I truly do not know, for Darcy has invited half the county,” said he.
“We wished to invite some of our parents’ friends,” said Darcy as he led them into the drawing room, for the ladies declared that they were neither tired nor wished to refresh themselves.
The journey had been very short, and both were eager to see Pemberley and to walk through the gardens and the vast park surrounding the house.
“What would the ladies wish to do?” asked the colonel.
He looked at Mrs Cooper, and words became unnecessary. A connection that had existed between them since their first meeting seemed suddenly understood. In secret, each had thought often of the other, without entirely comprehending why.
“Perhaps we might see Pemberley, if you have made no other arrangements,” said Mrs Cooper.
“At present, no,” replied Darcy. “Only you have arrived.”
The discreet surprise upon Mrs Cooper’s face was noticed only by the colonel, who gave a slight nod of approval. From that moment, they became obvious conspirators, united by a single purpose: to see Elizabeth and Darcy together. Or at least so they both believed.
“We shall be delighted to show it to you,” said Darcy.
The colonel scarcely concealed his satisfaction, for he knew how many matters Darcy still had to settle before the arrival of the remaining guests.
He probably sent for Georgiana, who entered the room with a large smile.
“I am very glad you have come,” she said.
She would probably have preferred to remain with them, but her brother detained her in the room, while the colonel invited the ladies to the gallery on the first floor, certain that Georgiana would assume some of the duties awaiting him, leaving Darcy the pleasant task of conducting the ladies on a tour of Pemberley.
Indeed, soon they heard him running up the stairs, and the pairs immediately formed, the colonel and Mrs Cooper in front, while Elizabeth and Darcy followed behind.
“Pemberley has five floors, and we have lately undertaken extensive improvements in the attic, adding a conservatory and several rooms intended for the enjoyment of the family and their guests.”
Darcy’s explanations carried throughout the hall, which possessed a remarkable resonance, and taking advantage of it, the colonel and Mrs Cooper gradually drew ahead without entirely disappearing.
Elizabeth stopped and looked about her with evident interest.
“This is the first floor. It was here that we listened to Miss Darcy play in the music room, and here, too, is your mother’s apartment. You also said that your rooms were here when you were children.”
“Yes,” replied Darcy, evidently pleased that she remembered such details. “My parents’ apartments were here as well. Later, Georgiana and I were established here when we outgrew the nursery. There are also several guest apartments.”
Elizabeth felt a slight warmth spread through her. She and Mrs Cooper were staying upon this very floor, close to the apartments of the masters of the house.
Recovering herself at once, she continued to look about and asked,
“But where are the kitchens and the servants’ rooms?”
“The ground floor is reached by a separate staircase. This arrangement allows the basement windows to stand well above the level of the ground and admit light and air into the kitchens, pantries, and especially the servants’ rooms.”
“At Longbourn, the kitchen was on the ground floor, but the servants’ rooms were in a rather dark basement.
Yet when we were children, I remember perfectly, Papa undertook some improvements there.
He added an extension outside. That was his way.
One might suppose he lived only amongst his books; in the management of the estate, the tenants sometimes deceived him without causing him much concern, but he looked after everyone who lived beneath his roof. ”
“My mother was much the same,” said Darcy with emotion, encouraging her to continue their exploration of the hall.
“And on the other side of the hall are the apartments where Mrs Cooper and I stayed,” said Elizabeth without looking at him.
However, Darcy immediately detected the amused note in her voice.
He knew her well enough by then, and besides, he watched her reactions with greater attention than he wished.
“Yes, and you will continue to stay here. On the second floor, we have the remaining guest rooms.”
Darcy broke off, for without intending it, he had spoken a truth. Only the first floor contained guest apartments; elsewhere, the guests occupied rooms, and Elizabeth was not a woman to overlook such distinctions.
He immediately continued with other explanations, hoping to dispel the strange atmosphere that had settled between them. They both felt it, yet neither could nor wished to examine it too closely.
“My mother moved all the portraits of our ancestors to the second floor,” said Darcy with a laugh, and only then was a certain normality restored between them, their interest directed once more towards the exhibits rather than themselves.
“I do not know whether my father protested. I was too young when my mother undertook extensive alterations at Pemberley, but almost everything she wished was certainly done, for his greatest pleasure was to see her happy. In the end, I remember how highly he praised all the changes, for this venerable house had become modern without greatly altering its traditions. Every apartment has its own dressing room, and the spring on the northern hill supplies the cisterns above the attic. From there, the water descends through the house.”
“Extraordinary,” said Elizabeth with admiration. “I had not imagined such a thing possible.”
“My mother brought an engineer from Holland.”
“That is how you can have a conservatory on the top floor—”
“Exactly!”
Mrs Cooper and the colonel stopped and looked back at them, for they too had overheard the conversation.
“The ladies of the present day are interested in a great many things,” said the colonel, glancing at Mrs Cooper, no doubt reflecting that the handsome lady beside him managed almost the whole of her fortune herself.
“Perhaps, but my mother was much the same,” said Darcy. “She was interested in every improvement that might make life easier for us—”
“But in art as well,” said Elizabeth.
“Exactly. Almost everything you see here, the statues, paintings, and antiquities, she acquired and then arranged in this rather unconventional order. She mixed styles and periods because the objects spoke to her.”
They continued their tour, Darcy frequently pausing to explain what they saw, taking great pleasure in Elizabeth’s evident enjoyment.
“And then the miniatures are extraordinary,” she remarked, and indeed, at the conclusion of the tour, they stopped once more to admire them.
“But Mrs Cooper also possesses some remarkable pieces,” said Darcy. “I admired them when I visited you.”
“It is my husband’s doing,” she replied. “Unfortunately, I am too occupied to devote much attention to art myself.”
The four returned to the ground floor, where refreshments awaited them, and continued discussing the gallery and the beautiful objects that adorned it.
“Would you care for a walk?” asked the colonel, and the ladies immediately agreed.
Once outside, as they made their way towards the greenhouse, Mrs Cooper and the colonel immediately drew ahead of them. Their wish to be alone was so evident that Darcy turned to Elizabeth with a smile, and she lowered her parasol just enough to answer it with one of her own, slightly mischievous.
“Does it seem to you as well that they wish to be alone?” asked Elizabeth.
“Yes,” Darcy replied shortly, and strangely neither of them felt they had been deliberately left together. Rather, it seemed that the colonel and Mrs Cooper simply enjoyed being alone together.
No word was spoken, yet a small revelation lingered between them that Mrs Cooper and the colonel might suit one another very well. The thought seemed to put them both at ease, perhaps because it drew their attention away from themselves.
“This seems a good moment to tell you that I regret much of what I said in Kent,” said Darcy at last.