Chapter 8 #2
There had been walks, rides, and much sea bathing at the private beach.
Aggie had loved the water and had frolicked in it each time her mistress was bathing in the sea.
As all good things must eventually end, the day of their departure arrived.
For the return north, the Darcys alone would stop at Netherfield to return Master Bingley to his parents.
After a stop at Snowhaven to drop off Andrew to prepare for his grand tour, the Fitzwilliams would proceed to Lakeview House and await the Darcys there.
Georgiana would travel with the Fitzwilliams and be reunited with her parents and Will when they arrived at the house in the Lake District.
When the Darcys arrived at Netherfield, after the Bingleys greeted and thanked them profusely for allowing Charles to accompany them, they introduced the Darcys to their friends the Bennets, who were spending the afternoon with them.
William had met most of the Bennets when he had spent Easter at Netherfield.
Anne Darcy stopped in her tracks when a little raven-haired girl, not much smaller than Lizzy was now, ran past her chasing her twin brother.
From the back, she could have been her niece.
When the little imp caught her brother, she proudly looked towards her mother and Anne saw that her eyes were green and her complexion much lighter than Lizzy’s.
Like William had before her, she thought it a coincidence and that on further inspection little Miss Catherine really did not look like Lizzy besides the hair colour.
Other than a cursory greeting, the Darcys did not converse with the Bennets very much other than to compliment Mr Bennet on the quality of the horses that the family had purchased from his breeding operations at Bennington Fields.
Within the hour, the four Darcys were on the road heading to the rendezvous with the family.
Both Tammy and Thomas Bennet had been impressed by the Darcys. They were an obviously wealthy family who were members of the first circles who had not looked down on anyone, least of all the Bingleys. Charles was walking by as he heard them discussing the Darcys.
“Mr Bennet, I believe that both you and Mrs Bennet enjoy chess, correct?” Both allowed that it was so. “I know when I attempted to play against you that you toyed with me as I was no match for you, sir,” he said respectfully.
“You will learn, young Bingley. Why do you bring that up now?” Bennet was curious.
“My friend Darcy was unbeaten at Eton, and I believe the same of his father at Cambridge,” Charles answered.
“Now that you mention it, I remember seeing a plaque with a George Darcy’s name on it; he finished at Trinity two years before I started.
Good heavens, if I had known the chess maestro was here, I would have begged him to delay so I could have challenged him.
” Bennet was sorry for the missed opportunity and that he had not associated the man he met with the unbeaten player from his university.
“Would you believe, Mr Bennet, that I saw them both lose while I was with them now? Not to each other, either,” Charles teased the information.
“Who is this genius who took them both down?” Bennet asked hoping that he would one day have the chance to challenge the player.
“It was a little girl; I think that she is eight or nine,” he shared.
“A little girl was able to beat two such players?” Tammy asked incredulously.
“Yes Mrs Bennet, it was Lady Elizabeth Fitzwilliam. I am told that she had been playing them both since she was four, but it is only now that she consistently beats both of them,” he told them.
“She must be a very special girl,” Tammy opined.
“That she is; she is far too intelligent for me,” Charles admitted, and then after excusing himself went to join the other younger people.
“You know Tammy, I believe that Lizzy would have been very intelligent, mayhap not unlike the little Lady that Charles described.” He was wistful as he reminded himself about his daughter believing that he would never see her again.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
On the fourth day of travel after they departed Hertfordshire, the Darcy coaches negotiated the inclining drive that led up to Lakeview House.
The Fitzwilliams had not exaggerated; it was a most beautiful vista from the house.
The view across Lake Windermere was spectacular, as was the view of the two smaller lakes that they could see.
Thankfully, the land that the house sat on was relatively flat, whether naturally or by design they did not know.
Where Seaview had four levels above ground, Lakeview had two.
It was more spread out than the Darcy’s holiday home and sported about the same number of sleeping chambers as well.
After a sumptuous dinner and once the younger children had all passed out from exhaustion, the three young men were playing billiards while their parents sat on the veranda enjoying a pleasant, cooling breeze as the light wind blew across the surface of Lake Windermere.
“We met the Bennets briefly when we stopped at Netherfield,” Anne reported. “They seem to be nice people and George had to compliment Mr Bennet on the quality of his horseflesh.”
“I do not see why not; very good horses,” Reggie stated.
“It is a pity that they do not come to Town for the season,” Elaine opined.
“Yes, I had heard from the Bingleys that Mr Bennet is even more wary of society that my George is,” Lady Anne teased her husband. “From what Martha said, his wife is in full agreement.”
“In my book, that makes them most wise,” George added causing a little laughter from the other three.
“Yes, we know brother,” Reggie ribbed, “you would never enter society if you had your way.”
“You too do not enjoy the hypocrites that make up society, who espouse fidelity, honesty, and morality, and do the opposite,” George added pointedly.
“That is true, George, although I do have to play along sometimes for the greater good to get support in the Lords,” Reggie sighed.
“Which is why I turned down a title. The King was willing to give me the open Earldom of Derby, but I politely declined,” George related.
“You are lucky that George III offered and did not order you!” Reggie exclaimed.
“There is no argument from me there; I will be forever grateful for the distinction.” Relief showed in George’s face, showing that he knew how close he came to surrendering his freedom.
The next day, the family took their conveyances into the town of Bowness-on-Windermere, which was right on the lake’s shore.
From there they walked around parts of the lake’s coastline.
After a few hours of exploring, no one managed to fall into the lake, or in the case of the three older cousins be pushed in, they found an inn in the town that had a magnificent view of Lake Windermere.
They were shown to a deck that would be for their own use and their food was served as they looked at the beauty of the lake.
The wind had died, so there was nary a ripple on the water as Scafell, Scafell Pike, and Helvellyn mountains were clearly reflected on the surface.
Alex wanted to know why there were upside-down mountains in the lake, earning him a round of laughter.
Before they returned to Lakeview House, they walked around the small town, patronising the businesses that were dotted along the quaint main street.
Not long after they entered their waiting carriages and returned to the house and an anxiously-waiting Aggie, who was most indignant about being left at the house.
Just like it had at Seaview, the two weeks flew by.
The highlight was a tour of the big lake by boat.
They had divided themselves over the three longboats rowed by some extraordinarily strong men.
On that day, Aggie had been brought with them and was left to bark on the shore in the custody of Biggs and Johns who were some of the few that could hold her without being pulled hither and thither.
The horses had been left at the two estates so there was no riding, but there was a lot of walking to see the various vistas that nature offered.
As much as she loved riding, Lizzy was vastly pleased when able to take a long walk.
Before they knew it, their time at the lakes was over and they were headed back to Pemberley to say farewell to Andrew who would meet them there with his friend before they headed to Dover for the crossing to the Kingdom of Portugal.
Given what was going on in France, it had been decided by the families of both young men that the country in the middle of the great terror would not be visited.
Luckily for both, there were enough countries to visit besides France so as to not spoil their tour.
On the day that they wished Andrew farewell, Elizabeth held onto her brother as if her life depended on it. “You will write often will you not, Andrew?” She sniffed.
“On my life, sprite,” he promised as he kissed her forehead. “You will hear about many of the places that you read about.”
“Do you have to be gone for a whole year?” she asked plaintively.
“It could be less than that, sprite,” he told her.
“Or longer!” Richard interjected.
“Itch!” Elizabeth admonished, “do not say that!” She gave him a look that let him know of her low opinion of a longer tour.
“I will miss you too, Lizzy, but before you know it, I will be back, and I will find an old lady waiting for me when I do!” he teased his sister.
“Old Lady! I think not, I will only be ten!” she sniffed.
“Will you look after Orion for me while I am away Lizzy?” he requested. She nodded her head yes as a few tears rolled down her cheeks and sadly released her beloved older brother. After wishes and hugs from everyone, Andrew joined his friend in the lead carriage.
They would be accompanied by their valets and two very well trained and armed footmen guards to ensure their safety.
Once they arrived, they would purchase a carriage to use for their travels and hire a driver and outriders.
The family walked out of the courtyard to the drive and waved until the carriages were out of sight.
In a few weeks, Richard and William would depart for Cambridge.
With it being Williams first year at the venerable institution of higher learning, his father would accompany him to Cambridge to help assist with the move into his housing.
He and Richard would share an apartment that had three bedchambers, a study, and a sitting room.
When Bingley joined them the following year, he would use the third chamber.
The rest of the summer rolled on by and soon it was time to farewell the two Cambridge men.