CHAPTER 43 Letters #2
I have my own images of Pemberley and am using them now in order to see us there together in my mind.
We are walking through a rose garden in the springtime, charmed by all the myriad colours spreading out before us.
Lavenders, pinks, pale yellows and greens, deep reds and bright oranges.
I imagine laughing at something you say, or making you laugh at something I say.
I walk beside you, my arm linked through yours.
I feel the warmth of your arm beneath my fingers and lean into you just slightly - simply because you are my husband and because I can.
I can also see us walking through a winter garden, all the perennials now in hibernation.
Only the evergreens are before us, with their cooler colours of blue, blue-green and green-yellow.
We sit on a stone bench together on a day without clouds or wind and turn our faces to the sun - the sun which, in winter, we expect to set earlier.
When it does, we stroll into the house together and revel in the warmth of our brightly burning fires.
We take our tea in your study as you look through the evening post.
I enjoy watching you as you peruse your documents (although what documents they might be I shall not even venture to guess) your own brow slightly crinkled in concentration.
But when you are done, your face relaxes once more and you turn to regard me with a soft smile. I walk into your arms, and you kiss me…
Are you scandalised by the detail I have made free to express? I apologise if that is the case, but I could not help myself as kissing you is part of the bliss I frequently imagine in our shared future.
But I can also imagine working with you at Pemberley - meeting with your housekeeper while you meet with your steward.
I think I shall ask her what all your favourite foods are and ensure that at least some of them are served at every meal.
I shall come to see you in your study, in the middle of the day when you least expect me, and avail myself of your excellent company, and hope I have not interrupted anything too important.
Would you mind terribly if I sat on your lap again, as I did that day on Oakham Mount?
I must confess that I enjoyed it - that nearness to you - and the feel of your arms around me.
You will likely be either be scandalised or charmed by this letter, and I hope it is the latter. I miss you and love you.
Ever yours,
Elizabeth
*****
It was now the end of July and, the renovations having been completed, the time had come for the Bennets to move to Purvis Lodge.
Mr. Gardiner, true to his word, had not only covered all the expenses for it but had also furnished the house with furniture that was both modern and elegant.
On that day, a carriage had arrived from London, courtesy of Mr. Darcy, with a pianoforte and a letter to Elizabeth.
It was in her new room that Elizabeth finally had a chance to read his letter.
Pemberley, Derbyshire
July 1812
Darling,
I hope you do not mind that I took the liberty of obtaining a pianoforte for your family.
I know that you were not allowed to take many of the furnishings you had at Longbourn, and did not wish for you to be without some form of musical entertainment.
So I solicited Georgie’s advice on what to purchase and it was this instrument that she recommended.
I hope that you, and your sisters who play, will be able to enjoy it in the months to come.
I think of you as often as ever and in any given circumstance.
I butter my toast in the morning and imagine you sitting beside me and eating a piece of toast of your own, mundane as that might sound.
I choose a waistcoat as I dress, and wonder if it is something you will like (or even notice.) I come home from a long day with my steward and see you at the window awaiting my arrival.
I choose a book at the bookshop in Lambton and wonder if you’ve ever read it.
I awaken in the morning and see an empty pillow at my side and wonder what it would be like if you were there - still sleeping.
Admittedly, this is a thought I often have, you awakening beside me in the morning.
I am not even speaking of the things that are done between man and wife (though I do think about those as well.) But it is the small things I’ve always done alone that I look forward to doing with you.
Ever yours,
Darcy
*****
Darcy stood on the front drive of Pemberley, awaiting the Bennets’ arrival. He knew they were not due for another hour and yet could not help but look towards the hill from whence the road wound down. Not seeing any carriage, however, he took the opportunity to read Elizabth’s last letter.
Purvis Lodge, Hertfordshire
September 1812
My love,
Next month is when our mourning shall end and I cannot wait to see you and marry you!
I know you were planning on travelling here but an idea has taken root in my mind and I wondered what you thought of it - namely, that we have our wedding at Pemberley.
Georgiana, you see, has been writing to me and has mentioned a chapel in your very house!
And, since Hertfordshire is now associated with loss and mourning (for my family and me, at least), I thought it might be nice to begin our life there.
Do you think ill of me for suggesting this, as if I were already mistress of your great estate?
If that is the case, please tell me so at once and I promise not to take offense.
But if you agree with it, (as Jane and Bingley already have) then we shall travel to Pemberley and arrive there at the end of this month so that the banns may be read.
All my love,
E
*****
After reading Elizabeth’s Letter, Darcy had immediately replied.
Yes! Let us marry at Pemberley, I have sent this response with my carriage so that you and your family and Bingley can travel in comfort. Come to Pemberley as soon as you can, for Bingley and I have already gotten special licenses, knowing we could not wait much longer to marry you and your sister.