Chapter 9
Nine
Alone again in his study, Darcy carefully removed the wax without breaking the shape, and he placed the lip-shape seal into the special locked box he kept in his bottom drawer. Darcy was startled to find that his eyes were moist as he unfolded his little parcel from Elizabeth.
In the very centre of the folded papers was a green satin ribbon tied with a double bow onto one of his beloved’s beautiful curls. Darcy held his token with reverence before looking further at the papers that had encased it.
My dearest Fitzwilliam, I am so looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. I have informed my aunt and uncle that I have already accepted your proposal, and that being away from you for all of these days has only made me more decided, more determined than ever to be wedded to the best of men.
I am already the happiest woman alive, considering that you have proposed twice—a feat unheard of in the annals of history and literature.
The constancy of your feelings for me is a sort of roadmap to your character.
I can see, when I look for it, evidence of your constancy in everything that matters: your devotion to your sister, your care for your servants and tenants, your concern for your estates and family name, your hunger for justice tempered with mercy, your thirst for knowledge.
I feel so lucky to have seen, in addition to all of these virtues of upright character, of honour, of constancy, a more relaxed and playful side.
Even when the letter you gave me in Hunsford made me realise that I had been entirely wrong about you, I still did not suspect you to be a man who would arrange pleasure jaunts and picnics and outings so carefully designed to meet my own inclinations.
I could not love any human more than I love you.
Always, in all ways, yours,
Elizabeth
Darcy felt…as if he could not possibly even begin to describe how he felt after reading Elizabeth’s letter.
He quickly turned to the other pages in the parcel—one was a warm yet practical note from Gardiner outlining their travel plan for the next day, and the other was a sketch of a red deer in front of a lake—Windermere, Darcy suspected.
Elizabeth had written at the bottom of the sketch, “I am wandering here, not at all lonely because I dearly love my aunt and uncle, but still, ultimately, as lonely as a cloud because I am far from you. "
Darcy caught the reference to Wordsworth, and he smiled.
She is coming here tomorrow! he thought.
Then he began writing orders that he would leave out for the servants, when they arose early in the morning.
Cook was ordered to prepare a celebratory dinner, and Mrs Reynolds was tasked with extravagantly decorating with flowers the entrance hall and the guest rooms the Gardiners and Elizabeth had used before.
Most importantly, Morris was authorised to gather a sort of honour guard of lightly armed men Darcy could ride with to meet the Gardiners’ carriage and to escort Elizabeth safely home.
Home, he thought, almost giddy with the thought that Pemberley soon would be, as he had so long yearned for, Elizabeth’s home.
As always, Darcy rose early. Instead of an early morning ride, he dressed carefully for an entire day of riding, and then he checked on the orders he had written the night before.
It was clear that his instructions were understood, including the motivation for such a welcome: that they would be welcoming back to Pemberley the woman who would soon be their mistress.
There was a holiday feel to the servants’ attendance to their responsibilities.
Darcy was too excited to eat, but he forced a moderate-sized breakfast down his throat. A fall from his horse before he reached Elizabeth would be humorous in a novel but quite the opposite in real life.
After eating, he stowed in saddlebags the copious amount of food and drink his servants felt he, personally, would need; Mrs Reynolds let him know that each member of his armed guard would be suitably supplied with their own comestibles.
Darcy had a quick discussion with Morris.
His steward had ordered a contingent of farmhands and tenants to attend to the safety of Pemberley itself, while he and the guards selected for the honour of seeing to Elizabeth’s safety rode out.
It was an important day for all, Morris pointed out.
Darcy could not agree more.
Before long they were on their way. Darcy loved his early morning rides because he could give his steed its head and allow it to run freely at its top speed.
Naturally, he could not do that on public roads, even those he knew as well as the road they started on their north-northwestward route.
But he was able to guide Orion into a gallop and then lengthen the reins a bit because Orion also knew the road to the Lake District.
It was a beautiful day for a ride. Crisp and cool in the morning, but sunny enough that it was likely to be quite a warm afternoon, Darcy revelled in the rolling hills and moorland, the peaks of Mam Tor and High Neb becoming a distant backdrop as he rode through picturesque valleys and crossed burbling streams. He slowed down as he passed through villages, as always taking the time to check out the wells, which were “dressed” with pictures made from petals and leaves and moss, and courteously tipping his hat at anyone they passed.
Even though it was almost summer, and therefore close to the time when tourists would descend on the Lake District, there were very few carriages on the road.
Darcy’s estimate of when they might meet with the Gardiners’ carriage turned out to be incorrect, because the familiar four roan horses and Holland-and-Holland carriage appeared almost a full hour before he had expected to see it.
Darcy had his men arrange themselves on the side of the road, but he rode Orion to a spot closer to the centre.
He saw smiles break out on the driver’s and footman’s faces as he lifted his hand in a wave.
When the carriage was only a few yards away, it came to a halt, and Elizabeth burst forth from the carriage before anyone could lower the step.
Darcy leapt off his horse and met her in a joyous embrace.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I just had to be certain of your safety,” he replied.
Gardiner had stepped down from the carriage and was handing his wife out, at that point, so Darcy stepped back from the hug but maintained hold of one of Elizabeth’s hands.
It was swiftly decided that Darcy should ride in the carriage with the other three; Orion would be led back to Pemberley by the guards.
Within just a few minutes, the carriage was under way once more, but this time flanked with guards as if it were a royal transport.
Darcy answered two questions from each of the Gardiners and nine questions from Elizabeth, but when his intended finally seemed satisfied that she was all caught up, he asked them several leading questions about their time in the Lake District.
They had so many praises to give and so many stories to tell, there was hardly a moment of silence.
Suddenly, Elizabeth gasped. “Did we just pass the gate to Pemberley’s land?
He grinned and replied, “We did. Only another three quarters of an hour of travel to the house.”
“Three quarters of an hour!” She shook her head as she gave a rueful laugh. “I keep thinking I have a good idea of how very rich you are, but then I realise that I am wide of the mark, as usual, by quite a lot.”
“Lizzy, please…” Mrs Gardiner said, laughter evident in her tone even though her words appeared to be scolding.
Darcy just laughed along with Elizabeth. “I think you are very, very ‘wide of the mark,’ my dear, because it is not how rich I may or may not be, but we.”
“Sir, you must know that you still have time to change your mind. You have not even met with my father, yet; there is no marriage settlement signed.”
“Please do not use the words “change” and “mind” in the same sentence, Elizabeth—not until we are safely married.”
She reached for Darcy’s hand and squeezed it. “Never fear. I know I changed my mind dramatically not even two months ago, but that was only because I did not know you nearly as well as I had imagined. Now that I know the true Fitzwilliam Darcy, there would be nothing that could change my mind.”
“Not even the Duke of Lymebourne?”
Everyone laughed at that, although both Darcy and Gardiner sobered up promptly.
“Will the duke continue to make problems?” Gardiner asked.
“I have no idea. I could not have imagined the duke sending a note claiming Elizabeth’s abduction, nor someone connected with the duke actually abducting a man in my employ; attempting to guess what madness may lie in the future seems impossible.”
“Whatever is in our future, we will face it together,” Elizabeth pointed out.
“I love that!” Darcy reclaimed her hand and kissed it.
Sitting on opposite benches in the carriage, with Elizabeth’s watchful aunt and uncle, there were only so many ways he could show her how much he loved her, but he tried to convey his feelings with his tender touch, his softest kiss, his intent eyes.
He must have done a fairly decent job of communicating his love, because Elizabeth smiled with pleasure but also blushed prettily.
Elizabeth’s “homecoming,” as Darcy liked to think of it, was everything he had wished. He had never been more proud of Georgiana, nor of his servants. Not only had they followed his orders, they had gone above and beyond.
Least surprising was that Georgiana flew to Elizabeth with a gratifyingly warm welcome, and Mrs Reynolds was more effusive in her greetings than usual. The rest of the servants smiled more brightly and, in many cases, said “welcome back” as their duties took them near their future mistress.
Georgiana and Mrs Reynolds had apparently decided to not only fill the Great Hall and the appropriate guest rooms with fresh flowers, they had also thoroughly refreshed the mistress rooms attached to his own and filled with flowers the mistress’s bed chamber, dressing room, washroom, and even the teeny water closet.
He was informed of this decision by Georgiana, in a private tête-à-tête.
She explained that he could show the rooms to Elizabeth and Mrs Gardiner, and ask the future mistress what changes she wished made to the wall and window coverings, the furniture, the flooring and carpets, and the bedding.
Darcy and Mrs Reynolds gave the tour after the travellers had rested and dressed for dinner, and he was unsurprised when Elizabeth proclaimed everything perfect.
Eventually, thankfully, Mrs Gardiner pointed out that the little cheveret might not suit Elizabeth’s writing needs, and that she might wish for a more robust sort of desk, and Elizabeth reluctantly agreed.
Mrs Gardiner also pointed out that the curtains, bed curtains, and wall coverings, while beautiful, were quite old, and not Elizabeth’s preferred colours.
“You would never choose pink and lavender if you were designing your perfect room,” she said.
Elizabeth agreed that various shades of green and accents of white and yellow would be her choice.
Mrs Reynolds promised to make note of her preferences and suggested that they choose a suitable desk and fabrics in London and ship them to Pemberley before Elizabeth’s arrival as a new bride.
Cook made the most splendid meal, Darcy thought, that had ever been served at Pemberley, somehow managing to include all of Elizabeth’s favourite dishes.
Darcy had noticed a few of these preferences, but he was pleased to hear Elizabeth express, over and over, her delight that a dish she had gone out of her way to compliment to the servants had been remembered: artichoke soup, dressed crab, new potatoes and fresh peas, roast ducklings, asparagus salad, Derby cheese, candied citron peel and almonds, crystallised ginger, and lemon-cheese tarts.
Most surprising of all was that Georgiana had arranged a special musical performance for that evening. She was so shy; she performed on the pianoforte for very few people and had never performed for even a small group—until that night.
Elizabeth said, as Darcy once again longed for a moment of privacy but kept his good night to a lingering kiss on her hand, “I have never felt so welcome, Fitzwilliam. Thank you, and please let all of your household know how much I appreciated their efforts.”
“I will, just as I will let them know how much I, too, appreciate them.”
And he did.