Chapter 5
“I know you would prefer an estate near Lambton, but Phillips wrote to me about Netherfield Park,” Gardiner told his wife at the end of April. “Sir Humphry Morris is keen to sell, so the price is below market. Even if we never live there, it is a good investment.”
“Edward, you know I would never question your business decisions. What will we do with the estate if you purchase it?” Maddie enquired.
“I thought to lease out the manor and home farm. That way there will be income over and above the three and one half thousand pounds per annum the estate brings in. According to Phillips, there is a very competent steward in place, and he recommends we retain all of the senior staff and as many of the servants who choose to remain.”
“There is one suggestion I have.”
“And that is, my love?”
“It is well known how your sisters like to gossip. I think, if you make the purchase, swear Phillips to secrecy and do not allow our names to be known. You know Fanny as well as I do; it will not be long before she acts as if Netherfield Park is hers. We can share the truth with our three eldest nieces, but not with Kitty and Lydia.”
“I agree with you, Maddie. I will write to Phillips and have him negotiate on our behalf with the instruction to preserve our anonymity. If the estate becomes ours, we can have our brother-in-law act as the leasing agent.”
Said letter was sent express, and within a few days, a price had been agreed upon, and a fortnight later, after the middle of May, the purchase of Netherfield Park was complete.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Eliza, did you hear that Netherfield Park has been sold?” Charlotte Lucas observed. Charlotte was six years older than Elizabeth and a very good friend to her and Jane. “Mrs Phillips was telling Mama of the sale; however, she does not know who the new owner is.”
Charlotte was the eldest daughter of Sir William and Lady Lucas.
She, along with her older brother, Franklin, younger brother Johnny, and the youngest Lucas, Maria, recently fifteen, all lived with their parents at Lucas Lodge, a small estate between Longbourn and Meryton.
There were friendly relations between the Bennet and Lucas families, even if there was an unacknowledged rivalry between the two matriarchs.
“No one has shared who the new owner is with me,” Elizabeth replied honestly. She was aware that Uncle Edward was considering the purchase as an investment, but so far, Aunt Maddie had not told her of the purchase in her letters.
“According to your Aunt Phillips, the new owner will not take up residence in the near future and plans to offer the estate for lease,” Charlotte informed her friend.
When her aunt and uncle had spoken of the possibility of acquiring Netherfield Park, what Charlotte had just mentioned was exactly what they had discussed doing.
Even though Charlotte was very trustworthy, the Gardiners had requested that Jane, Mary, and Elizabeth not discuss their business dealings with anyone without their say-so.
To the three eldest Bennet sisters, Aunt Maddie and Uncle Edward were almost like a second set of parents; hence, if they could help it, they would never do anything to disappoint them.
“Mayhap both of our mothers will be in raptures if a wealthy single man with rich single friends took the lease on Netherfield Park,” Elizabeth teased.
“With our mothers’ shared love of matchmaking and gossiping, I am sure that you have the right of it, Eliza.” Charlotte paused as she stared off into the azure sky wistfully. “I am six and twenty, so I am resigned to spinsterhood.”
“Fie, Charlotte Lucas! I am sure that is not true. All it will take is one good man with a discriminating eye and intelligence, and you will find a match,” Elizabeth asserted.
“And do not repeat that nonsense that you are plain, you are not. In my mother’s mind anyone who does not look like her, as Janey and Lyddie do, is plain.
You know Mary is anything but plain, do you not? ”
“Yes, I do, and the same is true of you. What of it?”
“You have heard my mother call Mary plain and say I am nothing to Jane, have you not?”
“Indeed, many times.”
“That, Charlotte, my dearest friend, is what I mean. You are as plain as Mary is, and she is not at all. The problem is with Mama and her warped sense of beauty.” Elizabeth saw her friend was about to raise another objection.
“Yes, your dowry is only five hundred pounds, and mine is but one thousand pounds, and then only when my mother is called home. I know there are men out there who see beyond fortune and connections; we only need to meet them.”
“With our unvaried society in Meryton, it is little wonder we do not meet more men,” Charlotte opined.
“My point exactly,” Elizabeth crowed.
“Eliza, are you travelling into Derbyshire this summer with the Gardiners?” Charlotte enquired.
“No, Mary and Kitty will go; that is, if Kitty can separate herself from Lydia. I used to be so optimistic about Kitty, but since she has become Lydia’s disciple, her behaviour mirrors our youngest sister.
I know how much Kitty loves drawing and painting, but she has all but given it up because Lydia thinks it a waste of time.
It is why I asked Aunt Maddie to invite Kitty with Mary this summer.
My hope is that out of Lydia’s influence, Kitty will draw while she is away. ”
“I suppose I will have to pray that some men seeking a wife come into the neighbourhood.” Charlotte sighed.
Not long after, the friends parted and made for their respective homes.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Darcy, will you join me to view an estate for lease in Hertfordshire?” Charles Bingley requested.
“I have taken your advice, and instead of buying an estate right away, my man of business has discovered Netherfield Park for lease. I know that Caroline desires to reside in Derbyshire, but the one I found is only twenty miles from London.”
The two friends were meeting at Boodle’s in London. Darcy had taken to meeting Bingley at one of their clubs so he could be sure the shrew and her older sister would not accompany their brother.
“I suppose I can join you; as my sister’s new companion has begun her duties already. When do you want to leave?” Darcy enquired.
Like Lambert, Bingley was a very good friend of Darcy’s.
He was very easily led, so when Darcy suggested to him to lease an estate for a year or so prior to purchasing, Bingley had agreed and set his man of business to finding estates for lease for him.
Unlike Lambert, Bingley had two very unfortunate sisters.
It had been since he and Bingley became friendly in Bingley’s first year at Cambridge that Miss Bingley, at Mrs Hurst’s urging, had set her cap for Darcy.
In September 1807, Bingley’s parents had been taken in a carriage accident.
As friends, Darcy and Lambert had travelled to Scarborough to condole with Bingley.
Caroline Bingley had fawned all over Darcy, at the same time playing on his sympathies for the loss of her parents while ignoring the customs of mourning with her behaviour.
The Bingley sisters had been rude and dismissive of Lambert because he was a mere curate.
Rather than remain for a sennight as they had planned, Darcy and Lambert departed after one day.
“I have an appointment to meet Mr Phillips, the solicitor who acts as the landlord’s agent, on the final Thursday of May 1811, the thirtieth day of the month, at midday. If we depart at first light, we will arrive there with time to spare,” Bingley reported.
“It is not me who does not enjoy rising from his bed early,” Darcy riposted.
“Yes, well, be that as it may, I will collect you from Darcy House at the break of dawn that day. There will be time to sleep in the coach,” Bingley insisted.
“Will there be horses there to ride?” Darcy queried.
“I did not think of that, so I know not,” Bingley admitted. “Why do you ask?”
“Simple. Without horses to ride, how are we to view the estate?” Darcy prodded. “It is more than walking about a manor house.”
“I will write to Mr Phillips so that he will have horses available for us to use,” Bingley said.
Bingley soon left to have the letter written to the solicitor regarding the horses. It was good his man of business would write the letter, as in Bingley’s own hand the letter would be nigh on undecipherable.
On reaching Darcy House, Darcy found his sister and her companion in the music room. “Mrs Younge, I need to speak to my sister,” Darcy announced.
The companion stood, bobbed a curtsy, and left the music room.
“Have I done something wrong, William?” Anna asked nervously.
“No sweetling, it is nothing like that. I met with Bingley this morning, and he asked for my help with something. I will be gone for a full day Thursday next. Will you be well alone with Mrs Younge here at the house? Not completely alone; other servants will be present.”
Anna’s countenance lightened. William was not upset with her.
He could be severe at times, so she always worried that she had done something to displease him.
He seemed to be in a good mood. Might this be the time to ask him about the summer?
“It is only for a day. Of course I will be well with Mrs Younge. She is a very nice lady and solicitous of my needs.”
“Good, that pleases me. We will leave early, and we should be back for dinner,” Darcy responded.
“William, there is something I would like to ask of you,” Anna stated shyly.
“Sweetling, you must know I would never deny you unless I had no choice. What is it?”
She took a deep breath. Anna remembered Mrs Younge’s words telling her that if William thought the idea germinated in her own mind, the chances of her brother agreeing were much greater. “William, you know how much I enjoy being at the coast, do you not?” Anna asked.
“Indeed, I do; to what does this tend?”