Chapter 40 #3
The convoy of carriages crested the rise that led to Pemberley.
Tim Jacobson, who thought he was prepared for the magnificence that was the Darcy main estate, felt his mouth drop open.
There was an early dusting of snow, but he had never seen anything that resembled the manor house on the rising ground at the west side of the valley below.
He was not the only one who had never seen Pemberley before.
The Bennet parents and their younger three daughters were amazed at what they beheld.
They knew that Lizzy was mistress of a grand home, but nothing prepared them for the sight that greeted them.
They had heard tales of the grandeur of Pemberley, but had thought at least some of them to be exaggerations.
What they saw told them that the descriptions had downplayed the magnificence of the estate.
“Lizzy is mistress of all of this?” A dumbfounded Lydia asked.
“This, Darcy House, and three smaller estates,” her father informed her matter of factly as if it were an everyday thing.
“I have heard so much about my son’s library, I cannot wait to see it,” he said while smiling at his wife and daughters.
“Have no fear, I will not spend all of my time in that sanctuary,” he said with a wink to his wife.
After four days on the road, the carriages halted in front of the house.
Georgie was confused as to why they took four days rather than the normal two and one half, but she surmised that her brother was just being overprotective of his wife so she did not question his reasoning.
The housekeeper and butler welcomed them home as the footmen swarmed over the conveyances to unload the trunks.
Lady Pemberley noticed the quizzical way that her housekeeper was looking at her girth so she walked over and leaned close to her ear so only she would hear.
“Do not be alarmed, Mrs Reynolds. I saw an accoucheur in London and he suspects that I am carrying twins, at the very least! My rapid increasing concerned me too. He calmed both his Lordship and me when he explained that it is how things go when one is carrying twins or more,” Lizzy offered quietly.
“Twins, your ladyship, and perhaps more? Good Lord above!” said a startled housekeeper softly, “we will all be here to help you as you need it, Mistress.” At the same time, she thought to herself, ‘How mortified do I feel now, suspecting that the mistress was further along than the wedding would account for? How could I think that of the master and the mistress? Hannah Reynolds your Master William would have never!’ she silently berated herself.
Lizzy was looking forward to seeing the Elliots again.
She had missed Charlotte while they had been away.
After everyone had refreshed themselves and changed out of their travelling attire, they all met in the private family sitting room.
Once everyone was seated, explanations for the four-day trip were given and the plans for the Darcys to remain at Longbourn until the birth were canvassed without reference to the possibility of more than two babes.
The Fitzwilliams were scheduled to arrive on the morrow except for those at Brookfield, who would arrive the day after. Elizabeth rang the bell and asked Mrs Reynolds to have the butler and herself meet with the master and mistress in the master’s study in fifteen minutes.
The senior staff members were informed about the plans not to return to Pemberley until after the birth of their children.
Once the meeting was completed, they were replaced by the steward, Mr Stilton, who was given instructions for the spring planting and other issues that would need to be attended while the master and mistress were from the home.
The Earl of Pemberley would not leave his wife for any reason other than a life or death disaster at the estate.
To facilitate communication during the planned absence, there would be three couriers at Stilton’s disposal to send and receive messages as needed.
With the meetings over, the Darcys were able to relax with their family.
Charlotte Elliot was a very happy woman and had shared four blissful months of matrimony with her husband.
The parsonage on Pemberley’s grounds was a nice sized house, which was two to three times larger than the previous parsonage of which she had been mistress.
The house attached to the church at Kympton was even larger, but the Elliots decided that what they had at Pemberley was more than sufficient for their family’s needs at this time.
The house was secondary; she was married to a man she loved and who loved her in return and she had the sweetest daughter. To her supreme relief, her husband was appreciated by his parishioners in all three parishes as he put their interests first.
What made Charlotte the happiest is that she had just missed her courses and now she was waiting with bated breath to see if she would miss them again next month.
They had received a note from the great house informing them that the Darcys were in residence along with the Bennets and Jacobsons with the rest of their family arriving soon.
In the note they had been invited to dinner two days hence when Jane and Richard Fitzwilliam would join their family at Pemberley.
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The Christmas season flew by and was enjoyed by all.
Lord Thomas Bennet kept his word—for the most part—and did not spend the bulk of his time in the most magnificent library that he had ever seen.
William Darcy was now his favourite son-in-law.
Do not be fooled dear reader, Bennet found a good amount of time to while away in the room he most loved at Pemberley.
Even though they had requested that Lord and Lady Longbourn not share their news, there was no hiding Elizabeth’s rapidly increasing state leading to the whole family being apprised of the true reason for the plans for a long sojourn at Longbourn.
As Jane Fitzwilliam was due a month or two before her younger sister, Ladies Matlock and Hilldale planned to remain with her but the Rhys-Davies, Gardiners, and the De Melvilles would be hosted at Longbourn to arrive a week or two before the expected date for Lady Pemberley’s confinement.
The Ashbys would return to Surrey as Anne too was with child.
The Ashby’s babe was estimated to enter the world in late July or early August of the coming year.
After enjoying Christmas, New Years and Twelfth Night at Pemberley, everyone except the Elliots decamped for the trip back to London.
It was agreed by all to travel at the pace that the Darcys needed to so they would all arrive in London together.
On the second day of the journey, Lady Elizabeth Darcy, Countess of Pemberley felt the quickening.