Chapter 51 Longbourn
It had been nearly a year since Elizabeth last visited Longbourn. So much had transpired since she and her father made that frantic attempt to save Lydia from her elopement.
Now the Darcys traveled toward Hertfordshire to collect Kitty. Elizabeth gazed out the carriage window. Fitzwilliam rode just ahead on his black stallion. Two of his trusted servants, the Miller brothers, accompanied them; one sat beside the coachman, armed with both rifle and pistol.
The other rode Ares and also carried arms. Two hours after departing Darcy House, they drew up before Longbourn.
Elizabeth saw her mother emerge from the house, and a moment later, her father joined her.
Her heart leaped at the sight of his dear face.
He had been instrumental in helping Mary endure her difficult marriage, and Elizabeth felt proud of him for exerting himself on behalf of an unhappy daughter.
Yet as she studied him more closely, she saw weariness etched into his features, and beneath it, sadness.
Then Mary appeared upon the threshold of the front entrance. Her face was swollen, and she looked both ill and alarmingly large.
Mr. Darcy handed both women down, and together they walked up the drive.
Elizabeth was pleasantly surprised by Mrs. Bennet’s restraint.
There had been a time when her mother would have exclaimed over Mr. Darcy’s fine carriage, admired his costly horses and elegant clothing, and questioned him until she had learned the particulars of every estate and every pound of his fortune.
Instead, Mrs. Bennet merely invited them to enter for tea with a well-modulated voice.
Elizabeth caught her father’s gaze. The corners of his lips had turned upward, and his eyes held amusement. She drew near and kissed his cheek. “Oh, Papa, I have missed you so,” she said in a low voice. “It is so good to see you again,” she managed, her voice catching.
The family entered the house and settled themselves in the drawing room.
Mr. Darcy seated himself beside Mr. Bennet while Elizabeth moved closer to Mary.
Tea was brought in, and Kitty was sent for.
When the younger sister entered, Elizabeth saw at once that her eyes were red and swollen.
She was plainly unhappy to be traveling to the north.
Elizabeth introduced Kitty to the Darcys, after which her mother poured the tea.
“How do you fare, sister? Your hands are terribly swollen,” Elizabeth asked Mary in a quiet voice.
“Lizzy, I am suffering a great deal.”
“Do they believe you may be carrying twins?”
“Doctor Edgerton suspects I may be. As far as Mamma and Aunt Phillips can recall, however, no woman in our family has ever been delivered of twins.”
“Do you walk, Mary?”
“No, Lizzy. I have never enjoyed walking, and the thought of it now is repugnant to me.”
“I believe you would find walking beneficial, though.”
“Yes, Doctor Edgerton has said as much, but I suffer greatly from fatigue, Lizzy. If I sit still too long, I fall asleep.”
“Have you seen the midwife yet?”
“No, she is with child herself and is no longer working. Her confinement is very near.”
Elizabeth said, “Sister, if I knew of a skilled midwife in Derbyshire, I would take you north with me. Doctor Edgerton is a fine physician, but I believe midwives possess the greater expertise where childbearing is concerned.”
Mr. Darcy, hearing this, said, “There are two excellent midwives who practice out of Bakewell, Elizabeth. If you wish for your sister to accompany us, it can easily be arranged. We may delay our departure until tomorrow morning to give Mrs. Collins time to pack.”
Elizabeth turned to her pregnant sister. “Are you well enough to travel, Mary?”
“I believe so, Lizzy. I am not ill, only excessively swollen.”
Elizabeth looked toward her father. “What think you, sir? Would Mr. Collins permit his wife to reside in Derbyshire through this confinement?”
“I believe he would, Lizzy. It would spare him the trouble of traveling up from Kent each month.”
Elizabeth saw the relief in his expression. What her father truly meant was that the household at Longbourn would be spared the rector’s company. They must all be thoroughly weary of the man.
She turned back to Mr. Darcy. “Sir, I should like to bring my sister with us.”
“Very well, Elizabeth. We shall remain here tonight.” He turned to Mr. Bennet. “Sir, once our night bags are unloaded, I shall send the carriage and servants on to the local inn. Can you direct my men there?”
The two gentlemen departed to arrange the matter. Elizabeth noticed Mary blotting her eyes and cheeks, and she asked, “Mary, what is it, dear?”
“Forgive me, Lizzy. I do not know why, but tears are always near the surface now that I am with child. I am deeply grateful to you for offering me hospitality within your new home.”
Elizabeth said, “I have emptied Longbourn of half its occupants. Hopefully, Mamma will not sink into a decline with no one left to manage.”
Mary managed a faint smile and rose. “I shall go upstairs and begin packing, and I must write to Mr. Collins to inform him that I am traveling to Derbyshire in search of medical care.”
Elizabeth asked, “Do you fear the gossipmongers? You came to Longbourn for Mamma’s care, and now you travel north, farther away from your husband.”
“No indeed. Papa shall inform our neighbors that there are two midwives in your neighborhood and that you yourself shall care for me in Mamma’s absence. He may embellish the tale further and say that I shall have a maid assigned exclusively to assist me.”
“You have become quite adept at managing appearances, sister dear,” Elizabeth said, a half-smile playing on her lips.
“Lizzy, my life has become one calculation after another as I attempt to manage this difficult situation in which I find myself.
It is a delicate business maintaining one's respectability, even as a married woman. I do not wish our neighbors to conclude that Mr. Collins finds me displeasing and has cast me aside.”
Elizabeth rose as well. “I shall come and help you.”
She addressed Georgiana. “Sister, I am going upstairs with Mary. Perhaps you would like to stretch your legs. Kitty, the path to the hermitage is charming, even in winter. Would you walk with my sister-in-law?”
The young girl directed a bright look toward Kitty. “I should like that very much, if it would not displease you.”
The matter settled, the two eldest sisters went upstairs to pack Mary's meager belongings, while the two youngest bundled themselves against the cold and ventured into the garden, away from Mrs. Bennet's prying questions.
Elizabeth entered Mary’s room and shut the door behind them. “Mary dear, it appears to me that Papa has also grown thoroughly weary of Mr. Collins. He seemed positively relieved to learn that the monthly visits are to cease.”
“Yes. I was tempted to laugh at his obvious relief. I myself feel greatly relieved to leave both Mamma and Mr. Collins behind. It has been exhausting to live between the two of them. Though Mr. Collins never remains longer than five days at a time, together they are almost too much to bear.”
Turning the subject, Elizabeth said, “Mamma seems an entirely different person. I expected to feel mortified from the moment I stepped from the carriage, yet she has been nothing but polite and, even, elegant.”
“Yes, she manages well enough in our daily lives, but Mr. Collins torments her. He threatens to put her out once he inherits.” Mary once more pressed her handkerchief to her face.
“I have assured her that so long as I live, she shall never be turned away, but he is cruel, Lizzy. His true character began to reveal itself after I returned to Longbourn. He dislikes the journey, and perhaps that has made him ill-tempered toward me, though with the neighbors, he is all civility and obliging manners. Lady Lucas and Charlotte practically worship him. The admiration of nearly all our neighbors has quite gone to his head.”
Elizabeth said, “Well, fortunately for you, you have two sisters who are well married and reside in large homes that you may visit whenever you require respite from that man. He can hardly object if we declare it beneficial for the children. They may share in the instruction provided by the governesses, tutors, and masters we hire for our own families.”
Mary’s eyes shone with amusement. “Yes, if we are invited for the children’s benefit, he cannot very well complain. He is terribly miserly, Lizzy. He will gladly send away his wife and children if it spares him any expense.” Her expression softened. “I begin to feel hopeful again, sister.”
Dinner that evening passed peacefully, and afterward the family retired early so they might be upon the road at first light.
Elizabeth watched as Mr. Darcy removed his coat and cravat. His presence in her girlhood room seemed almost incongruous. He was tall and undeniably masculine. The chamber appeared too small to contain him. He filled it with his presence.
He caught her eye, amusement dancing in his own. “Mrs. Darcy, you appear distracted. Are you contemplating assisting me with my waistcoat?”
“You are teasing me, sir, but as a matter of fact, I should like that very much.”
She rose from the bed where she had been waiting for him. As she approached, the faint scent of his cologne reached her. Rising on tiptoe, she buried her nose in the hollow behind his ear. His scent proved intoxicating, masculine, unmistakably his.
While she unbuttoned his waistcoat, she pressed a kiss to the base of his jaw.
A low sound, a raw, abandoned tone, escaped him, and he captured her lips in a lingering kiss.
Time itself seemed to stand still. His embrace became her entire world, and nothing intruded upon those private moments together.
It took six days to reach Pemberley rather than the usual four, but Elizabeth feared for her sister’s health, and so they traveled at an easy pace.
Each evening when they stopped for the night, Elizabeth massaged Mary’s feet and calves before raising her sister’s swollen legs upon pillows.
Each morning, she insisted that Mary walk out with her.
The movement helped lessen the swelling in her lower limbs.
“Sir, I am sorry for all the trouble and delay, but I do not see how we might travel with fewer stops.”
“Do not distress yourself, Elizabeth. The horses benefit from the rest, and it also allows us to water them properly. We are in no particular hurry. The weather has favored us thus far, though I believe we may be delayed at our next stop. Those storm clouds are exceedingly dark.”
Indeed, they remained at an inn for two full days and nights while a heavy rainstorm passed through the area.
The roads were too wet to travel safely.
Fortunately, Mr. Darcy hired the inn’s only private parlor for their use, and the evenings passed pleasantly enough.
They played cards together, and he and Elizabeth occupied themselves with chess on the small traveling board she carried.
They were a cheerful party, and despite the delays, the journey proved a pleasant one. On the sixth day, they reached their destination by midafternoon.
Mr. Darcy halted the carriage when they reached the summit of a gentle rise.
He escorted Elizabeth to a vantage point from which she could view Pemberley in all its splendor.
The elegant stone building stood upon elevated ground at the far end of a lovely valley.
Elizabeth saw a brook, a shining lake, and beyond the house, hills covered in thick woodland. Everything was lush and green.
“This entire valley is covered in wildflowers during the spring. You shall enjoy the walks and the paths that crisscross the estate. And if you wish it, I shall teach you to ride, or you may learn to drive a gig or phaeton.”
Elizabeth blinked back tears. “It is so lovely, Fitzwilliam. I am truly honored that you believed me worthy to be mistress of such a place.”
He looked steadily into her eyes, his expression earnest. “You are the only woman I have ever believed worthy to be mistress of Pemberley, Elizabeth. With you as my wife, I have no fear for the welfare of our children, the servants, or the tenants.” He took her hand.
“Welcome home, darling. I would invite you to walk to the house, but the meadow will be flooded after the rain. Come, let us return to the carriage and finish our journey.”