Chapter Forty-Two
T he following morning saw Elizabeth waking up from another night of passion. She smiled at the memory; she saw little of her husband during the day, as they were both quite busy with estate matters, but she could not complain of neglect when it came to the bedroom. She was less sore today, and was certain her body would accustom itself to this new activity soon enough.
She had tried to speak with her husband about his mother’s rage as soon as the bedroom door had closed behind them, but he was intent on one thing and one thing only, and that one thing was bedding his new wife. In fairness to him, though, Elizabeth had to admit that she, too, had forgotten all about Lady Anne after just a few minutes.
She rang the bell and Abby appeared immediately. “Good morning, Mrs. Darcy,” the girl said, opening the heavy drapes. “I hope you slept well.”
“I did, thank you, Abby. I have much to do today, so let us get me ready as soon as possible.”
“So not fancy dress?”
“Fancy? Well, fancy enough to show the servants that I really am Mrs. Darcy, but not so fancy as to intimidate.”
“Servants?”
“Yes, I thought today I should like to meet as much of the staff as possible.”
Abby frowned, but said nothing.
“Abby?”
“Ma’am?”
“What troubles you?”
“Nothing whatever, ma’am.”
“Abby.” Elizabeth’s tone was firm.
“Well, it is only that most of them really liked Lady Anne, so you may find some difficulty…”
Elizabeth huffed in annoyance. “Abby, so far it has been nothing but difficulty, but I must begin as I mean to go on, and so I will step firmly into my role as mistress of the estate. Once you have made me presentable, please ask Mrs. Reynolds to meet me in the family breakfast parlour in an hour.”
“Ma’am,” she replied, curtseying.
Half an hour later, Elizabeth left her room. The footman at the end of the hallway stepped forward, ready to guide her. There were four different footmen who occupied that position at different times during the day, rotating according to a schedule set by Mrs. Reynolds. Elizabeth had met them all now. “Edward, I thank you for waiting here to guide me, but I think I can find my way now.”
“Yes, Mrs. Darcy.” He bowed respectfully.
Elizabeth all but skipped down the stairs, slowing her steps as she walked through the halls, not wanting the servants to see her acting the hoyden. As she approached the family breakfast parlour – not to be confused with the two other breakfast parlours, which would be used for company and large house parties – she heard Lady Anne’s voice.
“We do not need her here, son; surely you see that.”
“Mother, you are being nonsensical. Elizabeth is my wife. Here she is and here she will remain.”
Elizabeth paused outside the door to hear more.
“Had you married your cousin Anne –“
“No, I will listen to no more of this.” His voice was quite firm.
Then Miss Darcy’s voice, timidly, “I do not think her so very bad, Mother. And you said she was not pretty, but really she is very pretty indeed.”
“You know nothing of the matter, Georgiana.” Lady Anne’s tone was severe.
Elizabeth ground her teeth as she pictured the girl shrinking back into her seat. She walked into the breakfast room and the conversation stopped. Her husband rose to pull out a chair for her. “Good morning, Elizabeth.”
“Good morning, William. Lady Anne, Miss Darcy, I hope you both slept well.”
Neither replied. The silence was irksome as Mr. Darcy helped her fill her plate. “I thought today I would like to ask Mrs. Reynolds to introduce me to as many of the servants as possible, given that I was not properly introduced to them upon my arrival.”
Lady Anne gasped, and her slim white hand flew to her throat.
“Surely you do not object, Lady Anne?” Elizabeth’s words were innocent, but her tone held a trace of mockery. “The mistress of the estate must be made known to the staff.”
Mr. Darcy spoke up at once. “That is the right thing to do, Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth nodded, and then said, turning to Miss Darcy, “Perhaps you would accompany me, Miss Darcy? You have doubtless known them all your life.”
Wordlessly, Miss Darcy shook her head.
“Very well; I shall rely on Mrs. Reynolds.”
Lady Anne rose from the table, but Elizabeth fixed her with a hard look. “Lady Anne, I would be grateful if you would refrain from going to Mrs. Reynolds to instruct her not to oblige me, or some such scheme. It is not right to put our housekeeper in the midst of our private battle; moreover, such tactics certainly cannot promote the smooth working of the estate, which should be our primary concern.”
“Quite right, Elizabeth,” Mr. Darcy said, nodding.
Nose now completely out of joint, Lady Anne left the room in haste, knocking over one of the chairs as she went. One of the footmen hastily retrieved the fallen piece of furniture. Doubtless the substance of this morning’s breakfast conversation would make its way around the house in short order.
“I will practice my music now, Brother,” Miss Darcy said, hastily finishing her tea.
“Miss Darcy, please wait,” Elizabeth said.
The girl looked at Elizabeth fearfully and then at her brother.
“Please oblige Mrs. Darcy, Georgiana,” Mr. Darcy said, with a deep sigh.
“Miss Darcy, I know your talent on the pianoforte is extraordinary. But what can you tell me of your other studies?”
“I had a governess until two years ago,” she replied, looking down at her plate. “We studied history, geography, mathematics and literature. I learnt to sketch, and was thought to have some skill in that area.”
“French? Italian?”
“Mrs. Walker did not speak French or Italian.”
“A governess who had no languages? Odd. And then?”
“She was dismissed.”
“So now it is just music?”
“Yes, but I prefer that, truly!”
“I do not doubt you in the slightest, but – well, you are fifteen, are you not? You will be coming out in a year or two. What is being done to prepare you for that?”
“I do not wish to come out,” Miss Darcy said, heatedly. “All that curtseying, and learning titles – no, I want none of it.”
“But – William?” Elizabeth looked over at her husband in surprise.
“She is shy,” was his response. “But, Georgiana, you will have to have a Season, you know.”
Elizabeth leaned forward. “Miss Darcy, do you remember that you told me I would play better if I practiced more? And you will recall that I agreed?”
“Yeeess…” Miss Darcy hesitated, already seeing in what direction the conversation was tending.
“It is exactly the same. Once you have had a good deal of practice in the social skills, you will be happy – eager, even! – to display them. It is natural to be nervous, of course, but I understand that there is a good deal to enjoy in having a Season in Town.”
“But you did not have one, I think?” Miss Darcy argued.
“No, indeed, I did not, as my family simply could not afford it. But you are in the happy circumstance of not having that difficulty.”
Mr. Darcy nodded, enthusiastically. “I have been trying to persuade Mother to hire a companion for you ever since Mrs. Walker left. Elizabeth, could you find someone?”
“Oh, nothing would be easier. My Aunt Gardiner would know someone suitable.”
Miss Darcy’s face showed her confusion, then her unhappiness. She burst out, “I do not want a companion, I do not want a Season, and you shall not make me have one!”
“Georgiana, for shame!” Mr. Darcy’s voice revealed his shock.
Miss Darcy promptly burst into tears and left the room, knocking over her own chair. The same footman stepped forward to right it.
After a moment, Elizabeth remarked, “I think we need heavier chairs.”
And despite the difficulties of the morning, Mr. Darcy burst out laughing. He reached across the table and took her hand.
***
Mrs. Reynolds appeared in the breakfast room just as Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy finished their coffee. “You wanted to see me, Mrs. Darcy?”
“Yes, Mrs. Reynolds; thank you for coming on such short notice.”
“Of course, Mrs. Darcy.”
“I had hoped to meet the house servants today.”
“All of them?” Mrs. Reynolds brows rose high.
“Well, as many as possible. Lady Anne did not see fit to have the servants presented to me upon my arrival, as is customary, so we must do this differently.”
“Of course; it is just that there are over a hundred servants in the house, and that does not include the outside workers.”
“Over a hundred?” Elizabeth’s voice reflected her disbelief.
“One hundred and twelve,” the housekeeper confirmed.
“I see. Well, then, as many each day as you can fit into your schedule, Mrs. Reynolds. I do not wish to interrupt your own duties, nor the smooth operation of the household.”
Mrs. Reynolds thought for a minute. “Let us start with the upstairs maids. They will be in a taking if the downstairs maids are introduced first.”
Elizabeth laughed. “I trust you to manage this with your usual aplomb, Mrs. Reynolds.”
“Would two o’clock suit, Mrs. Darcy? I can bring them all into the green drawing room.”
“That suits me very well; thank you, Mrs. Reynolds.”
The housekeeper curtsied and departed; Mr. Darcy motioned to the two footmen with a quick jerk of his chin, and they followed suit.
“I will have to learn how to do that,” Elizabeth said, teasing him.
“I do not doubt that you will, but it will be far more dignified.”
“Like the lift of an eyebrow?’
“The merest twitch of an eyebrow will have the footmen running,” he confirmed. “Elizabeth, I wish to tell you…”
“Yes?” she prompted.
“You are doing very well,” he said, firmly. “I know this has been quite difficult. I wish I could alter my mother’s behaviour, but you see what she is like. It is evidently impossible for her to understand that life at Pemberley must go on.”
“William, might she not move to her estate?” Elizabeth asked in a desperate rush. “You told me that she had been given one as part of her marriage settlement. I am doing my very best, but she is in the way at every turn. I heard her speaking with you just before I came in to breakfast; certainly it was not all love and sunshine at Longbourn, but I have never before had to deal with such – such animosity!”
Mr. Darcy sat in silence for a minute, his anger at his mother warring with his sense of filial responsibility. “Elizabeth, I can well understand your feelings. But she is my mother, and I owe her the respect and duty to which such a position entitles her. I believe – I truly believe! – that she will come around once she sees that you are a capable mistress. The estate to which you refer is in Cumberland, quite some distance away. And now –“ he stood up and placed his napkin on the table – “I must return to my stack of correspondence.”
“William, wait.” She put out a hand to detain him. Surely he could be made to see how much easier everything would be if Lady Anne were to move out!
He stopped, his expression unhappy and stubborn. This was the wrong moment to insist, Elizabeth realised. “William, I would like to change the décor in my rooms. Have you any objection?”
His face relaxed. “Oh, none at all. I thought this would be the case. The mistress’ rooms have not been redecorated since my mother was a bride. Our shared sitting room should also be updated.”
Elizabeth thanked her husband with a smile before making her way back to her rooms to write letters. She owed letters to Aunt Gardiner, her mother, and Jane. She would write to Charlotte, but not yet, as she was not entirely sanguine about Mr. Collins’ disinclination to read Charlotte’s letters. For Charlotte to become the victim of Lady Catherine’s wrath – heaven forfend!
Dear Aunt Gardiner,
To begin, I must thank you and Uncle most sincerely and with all my heart for the many gowns you gifted me. They are, each of them, perfect in fit, colour and style. You were quite right; for me to have arrived at Pemberley with my few old dresses would have been dreadful!
And it was dreadful enough, I must confess. Lady Anne pretended to have never received my husband’s messages, and acted as if his marriage and our arrival at Pemberley was a complete – and quite unwelcome - surprise. However, my sister by marriage – who I must call Miss Darcy, as I have not been given permission to use her Christian name – confirmed, all unwittingly, that the messages were indeed received.
I am slowly, bit by bit, asserting myself as mistress of the estate, though Lady Anne has made it clear that she will fight against me at every turn. She had never moved out of the mistress’ suite, despite her husband having passed on three years ago, and so Mr. Darcy had never moved into the masters’ suite! Thus there had to be a big to-do upon my arrival to have her moved into a different room, and Mr. Darcy and myself were only then able to move into our proper quarters.
My poor husband is caught between his duty to me as his wife and his duty to his mother. He is doing his best, but it has been difficult. At our first dinner at Pemberley, Lady Anne refused to allow me to take my seat across from Mr. Darcy and actually has refused to eat dinner with us ever since. Evidently, if she is not in the mistress’ seat, she will not dine at the table. Frankly, we are all happier if she is absent!
And when I say “we,” I include my new sister, Miss Darcy. She is fifteen years of age, and is quite shy, though occasionally I see her mother’s temper in her. She has not had the benefit of a governess since she was thirteen, and that governess taught her neither French nor Italian. She must come out in a year or two, and is woefully unprepared for that experience.
To that end, I wonder if you might recommend a companion for her. I think her rather too advanced in years for a governess, but a companion who might teach her at least French, as well as etiquette, would be most welcome.
In addition, Miss Darcy has been made unhappy because her brother’s time in courting me in Meryton interrupted her plans to have music lessons with a Master Bianchi in London. I do not exaggerate when I say that Miss Darcy is a musical prodigy, and to have missed out on such an opportunity sits hard with her. I have it in mind to give her a surprise and have the Master come to Pemberley. As I am certain you understand, the cost of such a venture is not an obstacle. Might you find me his direction?
In closing, I trust that you and your entire family are well. If you were ever able to come to visit us, you know you would be most welcome. I need not tell you how very, very beautiful the house and grounds are! The children could go boating on the lake, Uncle Gardiner could fish to his heart’s content, and you and I could explore the house and grounds together. Please do think on it!
Your Most Loving and Grateful Niece,
Elizabeth Darcy
To Jane and her mother, she wrote a good deal in praise of the estate and very little about her difficulties with Lady Anne. She knew Jane would worry if she knew how Elizabeth was truly faring; Mrs. Bennet wanted only enough information to be able to boast to her neighbours about her two wealthy daughters.
***
Elizabeth made it a point to be at the green drawing room before the appointed hour, and she was glad to have done so, as the room was lovely. She indulged herself by examining the wall hangings, the carpets, the mahogany tables, and the various pieces of art before her meeting.
Mrs. Reynolds poked her hand in, just as Elizabeth had settled herself on a soft green sofa, hands clasped neatly in her lap. “Are you ready, Mrs. Darcy?”
“Quite ready, Mrs. Reynolds.”
Fifteen women filed in; Elizabeth rose and smiled. Mrs. Reynolds presented each one, citing the woman’s name and length of service. Often she added that this was the second or third generation that the woman’s family had served the Darcys. Each woman curtsied to Elizabeth, murmuring, “Mrs. Darcy,” and Elizabeth repeated each name twice, hoping to commit the name to memory, and then thanked the woman for her service. To those whose families had been with the Darcys for generations, Elizabeth spoke of the gratitude of the Darcy family.
Elizabeth carefully noted which of the women seemed open and friendly and which were reserved. It was about half and half, she thought, but that was a good place to start.
Once the introductions were done, she addressed them all. “I know full well that Lady Anne has done well for you these many years, and that I am a new face here at Pemberley.”
There was a murmur of agreement.
Elizabeth continued, “Things change, as you all know. People come and people go. But Pemberley continues on. You and I, while we are here, are as much part of Pemberley as the bricks and the roof, the fields and the trees. It is my intention to be the best custodian of this estate and her people as I can possibly be, for as long as God grants me that privilege. I thank you, each one of you, for your service, but please know that I serve Pemberley as well, working beside you.”
There was a good deal of head-nodding and smiling now, and they curtsied respectfully before being ushered out by Mrs. Reynolds. That worthy lady turned and nodded at Elizabeth before leaving.
Whew! Elizabeth sank to the sofa, trembling, her nerves finally getting the better of her. Growing up at Longbourn, with just a handful of servants, had certainly not prepared her for an experience such as this!
She finally rose and found her way to the small family drawing room, where she rang for tea.