Chapter One Hundred and One
The Bennets were the first to arrive. Mr. Darcy had sent a carriage for them a fortnight earlier, along with a pouch of money to pay for the journey, and evidently they had not delayed in starting out.
Humboldt, Pemberley’s butler, informed his mistress the moment a carriage was sighted; Elizabeth, not one to sit in state in the drawing room, rushed out to the front of the house.
“Lizzy, Lizzy!” Lydia all but fell out of the carriage in her eagerness. Then she stopped, her mouth falling open. “Why, you live in a palace!”
Kitty tumbled after her. “Oh, Lord, she does! Maria will never believe this!” Both girls stood and stared at the house.
Mr. Bennet then emerged, looking quite weary, and he handed his wife out. Mrs. Bennet, too, had to gape at the house for a moment before allowing Elizabeth to greet her.
“Come in, all of you!” she said. “Your rooms are ready for you, and there will be refreshments waiting as soon as you are ready.”
Mrs. Reynolds was on hand to greet the new mistress’ family.
If she was shocked at the behaviour of the younger sisters, she gave no sign of it; like the rest of the house servants, she was delighted with the new mistress and would not do anything to injure her.
She led the Bennets to their rooms, listening with a wide smile as they gaped at the size of the house, the artwork on the walls, and – finally – the luxury of the rooms they had been assigned.
She introduced a footman who was waiting nearby, and instructed him to lead the Bennets to the family drawing room when they were ready.
When the Bennets appeared in the family drawing room, Mr. Darcy and Georgiana greeted them warmly. Elizabeth rang for refreshments, and tried to answer the barrage of questions that were fired at her.
“How many rooms does this house have, Lizzy?”
“Mama, I believe there are just over one hundred rooms.”
“Goodness! Do you use them all?” Lydia demanded.
“No; a good many of them are closed most of the year. For this party, though, many of the bedrooms that are usually closed have been opened and aired out.”
“How many dining rooms?” This was Mrs. Bennet again.
“There is the family breakfast room, the larger breakfast room, the largest breakfast room, the small family dining room, then one that seats twenty, another that seats… Georgiana?”
“Fifty,” she said.
“Good heavens!” Mrs. Bennet sat back in her seat. “Wait until Lady Lucas hears this!”
“I believe Pemberley is a good deal larger than the Matlock estate,” Elizabeth said. “But perhaps it would be best not to bring this up.”
“Not bring it up?? Lord, Lizzy, all I do is listen to her talk about the Viscountess this and the Viscountess that! Not that I mean anything against Charlotte, of course,” Mrs. Bennet added hastily. “Only that it does get rather wearying, you know.”
“Doubtless she felt the same when you spoke of Jane’s beauty,” Elizabeth said, dryly. “But, Papa, you must see the library!”
Mr. Bennet stood up at once. “Good,” he said. “I have not come all this way to talk about dining rooms, you know.”
Elizabeth glanced at her husband, who understood at once. “Come, Bennet,” he said. “Allow me to show you the collection.”
***
That was only the beginning. Mr. and Mrs. Collins arrived soon after, also in a carriage sent for them by Mr. Darcy, and they too expressed their astonishment at Pemberley’s size and beauty, and Mrs. Reynolds was pressed into service to give another tour, with Lydia attending again.
When the Bingleys and Hursts arrived, Lydia insisted on being the one to lead the tour for Jane, as she had attended two tours and asked any number of questions, so she felt eminently qualified to do so.
Then Lydia was pressed into service yet again, when the Gardiners arrived. Mrs. Gardiner was delighted to finally be allowed not just to see the grand estate, but to actually be a guest there!
A good-natured Mr. Bingley joined his wife on the tour, though the Hursts and Miss Bingley, having been to Pemberley several times in the past, went at once to their rooms.
***
The next day brought the Matlocks with Anne de Bourgh, the Fitzwilliams, and – surprise! – Lady Catherine. Mr. Darcy had invited her without the least suspicion that she would actually attend.
But there was yet another surprise in store, for that very afternoon, Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam rode up on his stallion, tossed the reins to the stable boy, and breezed past Humboldt to stride into the drawing room.
Lady Matlock nearly fainted away, but her second son caught her up in his arms and said, laughing, “Mother! I would not have surprised you, had I thought it would kill you on the spot!”
This revived the Countess at once, and she kissed him again and again, happy tears pouring down her cheeks. Then the Earl embraced his son heartily, saying, “I thought we would not see you for another year! This is wonderful!”
Finally, Richard looked at all the new faces in the room, and introductions were hastily performed.
He bowed theatrically to Elizabeth and then kissed her on the cheek, saying, “Your husband has written me so much about you, but you are even lovelier than he said!”
Mr. Darcy glared at him, but he only laughed and slapped his cousin on the shoulder.
The Colonel was in full uniform, causing Kitty and Lydia to goggle at him, wide-eyed with admiration. “Wait until Maria hears about this!” Kitty was heard to say.
Georgiana had been upstairs; upon hearing the fuss, she came down into the drawing room.
Her eyes lit up with joy, and she ran toward him, throwing herself into his arms and crying, “Oh, Richard! I am so very glad!” He picked her up and whirled her around the room, the two of them laughing together.
The Colonel set Georgiana down upon spying his brother. He went up to Reggie and said, “I cannot believe you are married, brother! You must allow me to spend a good deal of time with the woman who is able to tolerate you! Ah, this is she? Far too pretty for you, Reggie, old man!”
The Colonel actually did not recognise his cousin, Anne, for he asked to be introduced to the pretty young woman in the pink gown!
She overheard this request, and she rose, walked toward him with all the elegance and grace she had so recently learnt, and then rather spoiled the image by saying, far too eagerly, “Ha! I am that much changed? I am glad for it.”
“Anne?” he asked, bewildered. He turned to Mr. Darcy and said, “Can this be little Anne de Bourgh?”
Mr. Darcy smiled. “Has your mother not been keeping you informed of recent events?”
“She wrote me that Anne had come to London, but I had no idea! Anne, come and sit with me. You look lovely! Tell me how you are enjoying London.”
It was quite some time before everyone was calm enough to listen to how Mr. Darcy had sent a letter to his cousin some months ago, giving him time to request leave and then make his way from the Continent all the way to Derbyshire.
Mr. Darcy was thanked quite profusely by the Matlocks, as they had not seen Richard for some time.
Finally, everyone retired to their rooms to rest and change before dinner.
“Your surprise was a great success, William,” Elizabeth told her husband. “I truly thought Aunt Eleanor would faint on the carpet!”
“As did I,” he said. “Perhaps I should have prepared her?”
“No, indeed, that would have spoiled the surprise. And did you see how your cousin spoke with Anne? Would that not be an excellent match?”
“You are as bad as Aunt Eleanor, Elizabeth!”
“Or my own mother, perhaps. Very well, no matchmaking!”
***
A good many bits of news were shared with particular confidantes. Mrs. Bennet was delighted to learn from Mary that she was in the family way; Mary asked her not to tell anyone quite yet, as only Mr. Collins had been informed. Mrs. Bennet immediately told the news to Jane.
Jane suspected that she, too, was in the family way, and she whispered this piece of news to Mary, asking her not to mention it quite yet to Mrs. Bennet or anyone else. Mary kept the secret
Charlotte had only recently learnt that she was with child, which she confided to Jane, asking her not to mention it to Reggie or anyone else.
Jane only told Mr. Bingley, but Mr. Bingley, being rather confused as to who was not to know of this, quietly congratulated Mr. Fitzwilliam, who wrinkled his brow in confusion as to what he was being congratulated for.
Anne was interested in a certain someone in London, but now that she had seen her cousin Richard, she was no longer so certain of that someone; she confided this only to Elizabeth, asking her not to mention it to Aunt Eleanor or anyone else.
Elizabeth told Mr. Darcy, and they both smiled to think of Richard as the master of Rosings Park, but they mentioned it to no one else.
Miss Bingley confided in Mrs. Hurst that she would have been quite happy to marry Colonel Fitzwilliam, had he only an estate or a living of some sort, but asked her not to mention it to anyone else.
Mrs. Hurst repeated this only to her husband, who found it amusing enough that he repeated it to Mr. Bingley, who repeated it to Jane, who then told it to Elizabeth, who whispered it to Mr. Darcy, who simply shook his head and laughed.
Reggie had completed his first draft of his History of England, which he confided to Mr. Darcy, asking him not to tell anyone quite yet, as it still needed a good deal of polishing. Mr. Darcy told Elizabeth, who managed to not say anything to Charlotte about it.
Lydia told Kitty that she was quite certainly in love with Colonel Fitzwilliam, but she was not to mention it to anyone else. Kitty informed Elizabeth and Mrs. Bennet of Lydia’s newfound love interest at her earliest opportunity.
Lady Catherine murmured to the Countess that she would not object to Anne marrying Richard, for would that not keep Rosings Park in the family? The Countess whispered this idea to the Earl, who raised an eyebrow and then went to whisper in Richard’s ear.
Mr. Bennet missed all of these conversations, as he had decided to spend his entire visit in the Pemberley library.
***
The midsummer party was a complete success. Everyone was disposed to have a good time, which is generally accepted as the best possible foundation for a successful event.
The last event was to be a summer picnic.
The menu had been carefully planned by Elizabeth and Mrs. Reynolds, and a good deal of preparation had gone into it; a pavilion had been erected to provide shade, a few hammocks were hung from nearby trees, tables and chairs were brought from the house, and china, glassware and goblets of all sorts were carefully carried out and arranged on the table.
Once the guests had walked to the site and got themselves comfortable, the food began to arrive. First were bottles of wine and champagne, as well as lemonade and ratafia.
Then the food began to arrive, and the guests gasped in astonishment, for it was like no picnic anyone had ever seen before.
The meats included a joint of cold roast beef, a joint of cold boiled beef, ribs of lamb, shoulders of lamb, roast fowls, roast ducks, hams, pigeon pies, and trout.
There were six baskets of salads, four plates of cold asparagus, a bowl of mushrooms sauteed in butter, small boiled potatoes, and carrots sliced into thin strips.
It being summer, fruits were readily available!
Peaches, figs, nectarines, grapes, cherries, even early apples were perfectly arranged on an enormous platter, in the center of which stood a pineapple!
The pineapple was not just for decoration, as a quick pull on the spiny head showed that it had been peeled, cored, and cut into juicy slices.
Those who had never tasted a pineapple moaned in anticipation; those who had also moaned, but in anticipatory pleasure.
There were several dozen biscuits, as well as fruit turnovers, cheesecakes, blancmanges in moulds, jam puffs, a few baskets of fresh fruit, a round of cheese, plum cakes, cakes, and sponge cakes.
Elizabeth had helped plan the menu, but she had never imagined it looking so very grand! She whispered to Mr. Darcy, “Do remind me to give everyone in the kitchen a bonus for creating this masterpiece of a picnic!”
It was a beautiful day. The warm sun reflected off the nearby lake where swans floated; fish could be seen leaping up into the air and splashing back down. A bank of fluffy white clouds could be seen towards the north. The scent of wildflowers filled the air.
The guests’ murmurs of appreciation and enjoyment added to the natural beauty around them; a perfect memory was formed for everyone in attendance, one which was remembered for all of their days.
Unable to help himself, Mr. Darcy pulled Elizabeth towards him and leaned in to kiss her cheek; she, having the same idea, turned her head to kiss his cheek, and their lips met in the middle.
The guests watching set up a rousing cheer, and the sound became louder and more robust for, in truth, they were cheering not just for the Darcys, but for all the newlyweds in the room – the Bingleys, the Collins and the Fitzwilliams. And for – and why not?
– everyone who had been blessed by romantic fancies the world over!