The next night after London, we stayed at an inn, also a novelty for me, and the next day brought us to Jane and Charles’s new home, a mansion called Waterston. It is a gorgeous place, as fine as Netherfield. Cassandra is as sweet a babe as ever could be, and I instantly fell in love with her. I do not remember Kitty or Lydia being babies, because I was so little myself at the time, and have not much been around infants. Once I took the creature into my arms, I never wanted to let her go, and Jane was thrilled that I took to her so. I hardly let her out of my arms the whole time we were there, and I realized, for the first time in my life, that I would like to be a mother…and, that I would be a good one.
After a fortnight at Waterston, we all traveled the thirty miles to Pemberley, Jane, Charles, and the baby as well. Lizzy is not very far along yet, but she looks radiant. Fitzwilliam (yes, I have been persuaded to call him so), is the proudest papa-to-be I have ever seen, and his sister, Georgiana, the proudest aunt, though she will be no prouder than me. This world of babies is a new and wondrous one to me! And I feel so happy and comfortable at Pemberley, though it is, most certainly, the grandest place I have ever seen in my life, that I will now most gratefully accept Lizzy’s urgings to come and stay. Though perhaps I will never be a mother myself, I will at least be the most doting aunt the world has ever known.
Last night, we were sitting down to a light supper, when the butler came to announce a visitor. I nearly fell off my seat when he pronounced it was one Christopher Jones. We all looked at each other without knowing what to say or do. Father’s face turned red, Jane’s white, and Charles and Fitzwilliam looked at each other in alarm. What were we to do? I sat frozen in place while Fitzwilliam went to the door. We could not see or hear what was passing there. I sat in silence while the rest conjectured over why he had come, Mother casting indignant aspersions on him. He could not possibly know that I or my parents were there, but, of course, he knows Pemberley, because he was here two summers ago as Mr. Darcy’s groom.
Finally, Fitzwilliam came back into the room, Christopher at his side. I hardly recognized him. He was dressed, if not like a gentleman, then at least like a person in trade, that is, far finer than I was used to seeing him. His hair had been cut and was neatly combed. I still sat, without moving.
Father stood. “Mr. Jones,” he said, “what is the meaning of this? I thought never to see you again.”
“Dr. Jones has been informing me,” said Fitzwilliam, “that he is no longer a groom, nor works in anyone’s stable, other than in the capacity of practitioner of veterinary arts.”
Everyone erupted in exclamations except for me. I sat there silently, no longer daring to look at him. I stared at my plate, my cheeks burning. Had he come to tell my parents how sorry they were to be that they had rejected him?
“Dr. Jones,” said my brother-in-law, “I will let you tell the story yourself. Won’t you please join us at the table?”
Christopher took an empty seat and accepted a glass of wine. I could feel him looking at me, though I still could not meet his eyes. “Thank you, Mr. Darcy, for welcoming me so graciously into your home,” he said. “For now, I am able to join you at your table as, if not your equal, at least, no longer as a servant.”
“You are indeed, very welcome, Dr. Jones,” said Lizzy, and I could hear the smile in her voice. “Please, tell us how you came to acquire your distinguished title.”
“When I left Netherfield two years ago, I knew not where to go or what to do. I was heartbroken, I don’t mind telling you. I traveled around a bit, finding work here and there as a groom, until I found myself in the area of the country not far from Rosings. There, I was working in a fine stable with many valuable animals. One of the mares was about to foal, and went into labour not many days after I arrived. Without sharing any indelicate details among the ladies here, suffice it to say that it was clear it was not going to be an easy time for her. The doctor was called for, but was busy with another birth, as this was springtime, and there were many to be attended to. I assisted the creature myself, and happily delivered her of a beautiful colt, saving both the mother and baby’s lives. When the doctor finally arrived, he congratulated me on my abilities, and right then asked me if I wanted to apprentice with him. He was an older gentleman, and said he could use my help. And so I began my apprenticeship. For twelve months I worked with him, and then went to London for six months to finish my studies at the Royal Veterinary College, to take my exams and become certified. I am here before you today, a Doctor of Animal Husbandry, though I do not yet have my own established practice. I continue to work with Dr. Grady, the man to whom I am apprenticed, but he tells me I could set up a practice anywhere in the country and, with my skills, be successful. I have saved my earnings and am ready to purchase a modest home and begin an independent life. But I do not wish to do so without a wife by my side. And there is only one woman with whom I could ever wish to spend my life, and that is Mary Bennet.”
Upon my name being spoken, I looked up and our eyes met. He had come for me.
“What say you, Mary?” he asked me. “Are you still unclaimed? Will you still have me?”
I looked at my father, though this time, I would not rely on his approval. My heart was my own, and I would not let Christopher go again. However, Father gave me a slight nod. I looked back at Christopher and whispered, “yes.”
Everyone cheered, and he rose. I also stood, and he came ‘round the table to me. He grasped my hands in his and kissed me on the forehead. Tears fell from both our eyes as we smiled at each other. “You are more beautiful than ever, my dear Mary,” he whispered to me.
“And you are the handsomest gentleman I have ever seen,” I replied.
My sisters came and hugged us both and even Mother came to me and said, “I am sorry you have been unhappy, my child. But now I can, in good conscience, give you over to this young man. A practitioner of animal husbandry is not a very high station in society, but the title of ‘Doctor’ sounds well, and I will be happy to tell my friends of it.”
I thanked her, for it was the highest praise I would get from her. My father embraced me and told me he was glad too, that we had been patient, and that it had worked out for the best. I could not disagree with that.
When the tumult died down, we then came to know how he had found me at Pemberley.
“Once I had received my degree, I wanted to seek out Mary as soon after as I could. So as soon as Dr. Grady could spare me, I rode straight to Longbourn. Not finding you all at home, I asked a servant where you had gone, and she directed me to Waterston. From there, they said you had all gone on to Pemberley, and so I followed you here. I felt it was a good sign that I would find you in Mr. Darcy’s home, where he and Elizabeth had been reconciled, knowing as well that the both of you, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy, liked me and I hoped I could count on your support again.”
“We are so glad, and so honored, to be witness to this astonishing transformation in your life, Christopher, and the start of a new one with our Mary,” declared Mr. Darcy.
“But where are you thinking of living?” Jane inquired.
“Fitzwilliam,” Lizzy said excitedly. “There is that beautiful cottage, about ten miles west of our land, on the way to Waterston. It has been vacant for some time. It is near the town of Heathstead, and I believe it belonged to the postmaster and his wife, do you remember? He passed away, and the wife went to live with her daughter. I heard she was wanting to sell it. It is most charming, and has its own stables and dairy.”
“Yes, I know just the one you are speaking of, my dear. I will inquire about it.”
“That is very kind of you, sir,” Christopher said.
“And if you settle there,” Mr. Darcy continued, “then we will have a worthy practitioner within an easy distance of us. Gypsy and Gabriel miss you so, Dr. Jones.”
“Please, you must call me Christopher. I will have it no other way.”
“And so we will,” Lizzy laughed.
“You will even be with
in a reasonable distance to us,” declared Jane. “And there are many farmers in the area who are always in need of a good animal doctor.”
“Yes, and I have never been particularly pleased with the man we use,” Mr. Bingley said.
“Nor I,” proclaimed Mr. Darcy. “I do not even think he is certified in the veterinary arts, as Christopher here. Besides that, I know you are good at what you do, Christopher, because you were always so good with Gypsy and Gabriel.”
“And my horses as well,” added Mr. Bingley. “It will be invaluable to have you so nearby.”
“It sounds like Derbyshire might be just right for us,” I ventured to say.
“Oh, my girls will all be together!” Mother declared. “All but my dear Lydia, and you Kitty. But then you visit so often.”
Georgiana grinned at me from her seat near her brother. She seemed shy, but I have heard so much of her prowess at the piano, that I longed to get to know her and thought we might become friends.
“Will you stay with us, Christopher?” Fitzwilliam began, “While we look into the purchase of the cottage, and help you make arrangements to move into the neighborhood?”
“That is most generous, sir, but I can only stay a few days, then must return to Dr. Grady to wrap up my work with him, gather my belongings, and take my leave,” he replied.
“Oh, we must have the wedding at the parish church at Longbourn, just like your sisters did, Mary, and I insist upon having the wedding breakfast at our home!”
“Very well, Mother,” I agreed. I was too giddy, and lightheaded to think at all and was glad to have the rest of them do it for me.
That night, as the others were preparing for bed, Christopher and I walked around the beautiful lake upon the Pemberley estate, in the moonlight.
“It reminds me of another autumn night,” Christopher said as he removed his coat and put it over my shoulders, “three years ago, at Netherfield. Do you remember?”
“I could never forget it,” I murmured. How was it possible that his fine clothes still had that wonderful smell of wood smoke and hay about them?
He then took me in his arms and kissed me, and as I drank in the warmth of his lips, the joyous knowledge that I would be his bride at last, and would someday be the mother of his children, filled me to the brim.
As I returned to Longbourn and began preparing my wedding clothes, Jane, Lizzy, and Georgiana took it upon themselves to furnish and arrange the cottage for us, which I trusted them, with their superior taste, to do. One month later, Christopher and I were married in Longbourn, and took a short wedding holiday to Lyme Regis. We couldn’t be gone long as it would soon be Christmas and we were expected for the festivities at Pemberley. The cottage had been inspected by us both before leaving Pemberley the month before, and we loved it even more than the stablemaster’s cottage at Netherfield, for it was much larger, and much prettier, with ample land, and space for the family we would plan, and was just the right price as well. When we arrived there after our honeymoon, and Christopher carried me over the threshold, the first thing I beheld, waiting for me in the parlour, was a beautiful piano. Upon it was a note: Very best wishes to the new bride, from Charles and Jane. And in the stable, waiting patiently and peacefully was Gabriel, a note pinned to the blanket upon his back: Congratulations Christopher, on your new life, from Fitzwilliam and Lizzy.
Other Books by Georgina Young-Ellis
The Time Mistress Series
Book One – The Time Baroness
• A romantic, time-travel adventure set in Jane Austen's England. This is the first story featuring Dr. Cassandra Reilly, a scientist from the year 2120, as she embarks upon a journey to England of 1820.
Book Two – The Time Heiress
• Dr. Reilly is surprised to find herself time-traveling again, this time to New York of 1853, accompanying the internationally acclaimed artist, Evie Johnston
Book Three – The Time Contessa
• An adventure to Siena, Italy, 500 years into the past and 100 years into the future. Something has gone wrong with an historical timeline, causing a famous painting to disappear from the world’s conscious memory, surfacing only in people’s dreams.
Book Four – The Time Duchess
• Sometimes, time travel isn’t all it’s cracked up to be as James Reilly discovers when he journeys to Elizabethan England to solve a long debated question: Did Shakespeare really write the plays attributed to him? When his investigation leads to nothing but a violent confrontation between him and the Bard, he returns to the future to ask the most renowned time-traveler of the day, who also happens to be his mother, Dr. Cassandra Reilly, to go with him to London of 1598 and use her charms to make inroads where he has failed.
Elizabeth, Darcy, and Me: A Pride and Prejudice Variation (Elizabeth and Her Sisters Book 1) Page 10