"I would not want to intrude myself into their situation, Lizzie, but perhaps Richard may be willing, as their physician, to talk to Julian. If there is a problem, he is far more likely to confide in Richard," he said and, seeing her anxious countenance, tried to reassure her.
"I shall speak with Richard tomorrow morning at breakfast. There, you can rest assured; if there is a problem, he will discover it and do whatever needs to be done."
It was not much consolation, but with the lateness of the hour, there was no more anyone could do.
* * *
Elizabeth did not sleep well and was awake with the first streaks of dawn light in the sky, looking out on the familiar grounds of Netherfield Park, recalling her first visit here, and wondering at the manner in which their lives had changed over the years. Mr Darcy dressed and went downstairs early, hoping to speak with his son-in-law before too many of the family were about. He found Richard in the dining room, reading the newspaper, and discovered to his surprise that Julian had already breakfasted and left.
Richard conveyed his apologies."He was eager to get the coach which goes from Meryton to Hertford, where he will change to the post. He asked me to convey his love and regards and says he hopes to see you at Christmas."
Richard could not fail to notice the look of exasperation that crossed his father-in-law's face at this news."Were you hoping to see him, sir?Was it about something in particular?" he asked.
"Indeed, I was; but it was my hope, also, to ask you to counsel him, as his doctor as well as his brother-in-law,"Mr Darcy said and proceeded to tell Richard of the anxieties that had assailed both him and Elizabeth about Julian's marriage.
Richard Gardiner listened, his countenance darkening as he heard the details of Mr Darcy's concerns. He had heard none of this. Perhaps, Lizzie had urged her mother not to speak of it to anyone. Cassy must have had a very good reason, he thought, for keeping it from him; they had few secrets from one another.
Understanding the gravity of Mr Darcy's concerns, he promised to consider carefully what might be done, without offending either Julian or his wife by appearing to pry into their lives. As their doctor, he knew he had a responsibility towards them but was wary of intruding.
"I shall do my best, sir, to discover if there is or is not a serious problem. I have seen no evidence of it myself, but I shall try to ascertain the truth. I am reluctant to interfere in their lives, but if Julian will confide in me, I shall be happy to listen and offer what advice I can.
"I do have an opportunity to visit him in Cambridge in the New Year, before he goes to Europe for the convention; if I do not succeed in seeing him privately at Christmas, I shall speak with him then."
It was the best he could do and while both Darcy and Elizabeth were appreciative of his promised efforts, they feared he might be too late.
Somewhat better was the news that Julian had said he would see his parents at Christmas. For Elizabeth, it was at least something to look forward to with pleasure.
* * *
Christmas at Pemberley was always a big family occasion.
As the staff made preparations for the season, airing rooms and making up beds for the guests who were expected to stay, and planning menus for the festive meals, Elizabeth, with Cassandra's help, made arrangements for the seasonal entertainment.
In recent years, a new tradition, inspired by the German antecedents of the late Prince Consort, had been adopted. To the delight of the children, a great tree, usually one of the dark spruces from the woods above the house, was brought in and placed in a large container in the centre of the saloon. It was then the joyous task of the family to dress the graceful tree with ornaments, candles, glass baubles, and garlands of holly and ivy, transforming it into a magical Christmas tree.
There was a sense of quiet excitement around the house; everyone knew Master Julian and his family were expected and something special was being planned. There was no mistaking the pleasure with which the master and mistress looked forward to the occasion.
There was much to be done. The choir of children from the estate had to be taken through their paces, practising their Christmas program and, while Cassy did her best, they missed Kitty and her husband Dr Jenkins. They had moved to Wales less than a year ago, where Dr Jenkins had been offered a larger, more needy parish in one of the new coal mining communities, where he was also closer to his own widowed mother.
For Elizabeth, it was the first Christmas without her younger sister at hand to help and she missed her far more than she had expected she would. Though a new young rector had taken over at the Pemberley church, he did not have the same talent for music and certainly not the fine Welsh tenor that Dr Jenkins had brought to the choir.
For all that, Elizabeth could not hide her eagerness, anticipating the arrival of Julian and Josie with little Anthony. It had been several months since she had seen her grandson and almost a year since Josie had visited Pemberley.
Seeing her mother's elation as the day approached for their arrival, Cassy prayed she would not be disappointed yet again.
If the weather turned bitter, as it so often did in the Midlands, might not Julian arrive alone as before or, worse, not come at all? She shuddered at the thought. But the weather gods were kind and, apart from a dusting of light snow, it looked to be a fine, crisp season.
When, on Christmas Eve, an unfamiliar vehicle was seen driving down into the park and crossing the bridge, Elizabeth's maid rushed to summon her mistress. By the time she had been found and alerted to their arrival, the carriage was at the door and Julian, having alighted, was helping his wife out. Behind came her maid Susan and young Anthony.
Elizabeth's anxious, loving eyes could find nothing at all amiss with the seemingly perfect little family that stood in the hall before being ushered into the saloon, there to be welcomed with hugs and kisses and greeted with all sorts of festive acclamations.
Soon Mr Darcy, hearing the happy commotion downstairs, joined them as they were plied with food and drink, while Anthony, who had always been a favourite with his grandfather, kept them all entertained.
He was a playful, pretty child and, except for a tendency towards thinness, he looked very well and earned his parents many compliments for his behaviour, which was exemplary.
"Josie refuses to spoil him, though I think Susan would, if she could," said Julian and everyone was full of praise for both mother and son.
Later after they had had their fill of refreshments, they were shown upstairs to their rooms. Jenny Grantham, the housekeeper, had arranged for them to have the suite of rooms that had been Julian's, but Elizabeth offered them a choice of any other suite they might prefer.
"We are not expecting a large number of guests to stay this year—Aunt Jane and Mr Bingley, your cousin Sophie and her family, and Aunt Gardiner, who has promised to come if the weather holds.
"The Grantleys have gone to Kent this year, so if you prefer it, you can have the suite that is usually theirs. It is larger and overlooks the park," she suggested, but Josie smiled,"No indeed, Mrs Darcy, these rooms are perfect. I recall you showed them to me when they were refurbished for Julian," she said.
Elizabeth smiled, recalling the day she had first shown her future daughter-in-law around Pemberley. It seemed a very long time ago, yet it was but a few years. She was pleased that Josie had remembered.
When they met again before dinner that night, she thought Josie looked very well in a fashionable new gown with her hair swept up into an elegant style that was favoured by the society ladies of London.
She did not look at all pale or sickly, as she had looked in Cambridge earlier that year; rather she appeared bright and cheerful throughout the party for the children of the estate and, when it was time to go in to dinner, she accompanied her husband into the room and made a point of sitting beside her mother-in-law.
Elizabeth was very touched and quite determined to forget any reservations she'd had about Josie. There could be no truth in any of them, she decided. Josie certainl
y did not appear unhappy.
Sadly, the same could not be said of Julian, whose anxious expression, which had haunted his mother since their meeting at Netherfield earlier in the season, seemed only to have intensified.
To be fair, he did his best to participate in everything, from singing carols with the children to charades, which Elizabeth knew he hated, but she remained unconvinced.
* * *
On Christmas Day, the family went to church and gathered afterwards at Pemberley House, exchanging gifts and indulging in all those customary pursuits that seem to have a special meaning at Christmas time. The children's choir, which Elizabeth had started when she first came to Pemberley as a bride, sang sweetly, enhancing the atmosphere of tranquility, and the Christmas tree drew the children like a beacon.
There was good news, too, from Jane and Bingley who arrived bearing a letter with warm greetings to the rest of the family from Jonathan and Anna Bingley at Netherfield. In his letter, Jonathan had revealed that his eldest son Charles, a physician, who had spent some years working in London among the poor in some of the worst slums of the city, was moving back to Hertfordshire.
"It means," Jane explained,"that their search for a good physician for Anne Marie's hospital at Bell's Field is over. Jonathan says, when Charles told her of his decision, Anne-Marie was so excited, she sat down that very night, even though she and Mr Elliott were on their honeymoon, and wrote her father a letter to break the good news!"
This piece of information brought a mixed response.
Mr Bingley could not speak highly enough of his granddaughter's dedication."Anne-Marie's devotion to her cause, be it the wounded soldiers or the care of ailing children, will always take precedence over anything else."
Josie, who had been silent throughout this conversation, spoke up for the first time, and her words surprised them all."Is there not some danger in such a life? Is it not likely that a woman may put all else before her own satisfaction and thereby forego her chance of happiness altogether?" she asked.
Although she had spoken very quietly, the unambiguous import of her words carried to everyone around the dinner table. Yet, it was a while before someone responded.
Mr Bingley, surprised at being picked up on his words, was silent, seeming to concentrate upon his dinner, but his wife Jane said,"But Josie, it is the kind of work in which Anne-Marie has always found great satisfaction. It is her life. She was never happier than when she was tending the wounded at Harwood Park. She felt she was doing something really worthwhile."
Josie agreed but added,"Indeed, Mrs Bingley, and so she was, until she let herself be persuaded that she may do even more worthwhile work by marrying the Reverend Bradshaw. Now, surely no one denies that was a disastrous decision."
There was a gasp from Jane, who looked down immediately, clearly hurt by her words.
"Josie, please," Cassy interrupted, scarcely able to help herself.
There was absolute silence around the table; it was as if someone had flung a bucket of icy water over the gathered company. Both Jane and Mrs Gardiner looked stunned and censorious, Darcy's expression was one of impenetrable gloom, while Elizabeth, for once, could find no words to fill the yawning gap of time as the minutes ticked by. Poor Julian looked absolutely wretched.
Jenny Grantham must have known something was amiss, for she chose that very moment to send in the flaming Christmas pudding and break the cold silence. While no one said anything very significant, at least they could all eat, and the plump, fragrant Christmas pudding, in all its glory, brought the usual admiring exclamations and compliments to the cook.
Unhappily, it did nothing to improve Julian's mood of depression and, by the time the ladies withdrew to the drawing room, he had excused himself and retired to his room. As those downstairs heard the door slam shut, Elizabeth and Cassy exchanged glances, while Josie moved away to study a familiar work of art with a new level of intensity.
* * *
On the morrow, being Boxing Day, Cassandra arrived after breakfast to join her parents when they handed out the traditional Christmas boxes to the household staff and farm workers. To her surprise, her brother was there, too. Clearly, Mr and Mrs Darcy were pleased.
Some former servants were too frail or sick to attend the festivities at the house, and Cassy had agreed to take their boxes to them, together with hampers of festive fare prepared by Mrs Grantham. She sought out Julian and invited him to accompany her. Josie, she was told, was still asleep, tired after her long journey and the previous day's celebrations, but Julian was happy to oblige.
As brother and sister set out together around the estate, he seemed to recover some of his spirits. They talked lightly and cheerfully of times past and the people they had known. When they visited the house of Mrs Thompson, who had been their nurse for many years, now crippled with rheumatism, she was so pleased to see them that tears flowed down her cheeks. Julian was visibly moved.
As they left the cottage and he helped his sister into the carriage, he said, in a voice that left her in no doubt of his mood,"Ah, Cassy, if only one could bring back those carefree childhood days. I shall never forget the kindness of Mrs Thompson and her niece Nellie, who used to play with me endlessly; if only my son could have someone to love and indulge him as they did."
Astonished not only by his words, but by the depth of feeling in his voice, Cassy slowed the carriage down and asked,"Julian, what do you mean? Is there something you have not told any of us?Why do you speak so sadly of Anthony?
Is he not loved and cared for?"
Her voice was low and troubled and her brother knew he had to speak now. His words, at first, were slow and halting, but then they broke free of the restraint he had placed upon himself for well over a year and tumbled out, as he could no longer hold them back. He spoke quietly but with an intensity that surprised and disturbed Cassy, who listened, scarcely able to believe what she heard.
"Cassy, you will probably never understand my situation, you who are so serenely happy and content in your marriage with Richard. But I must tell someone; I can no longer keep this to myself. My wife Josie no longer loves me and has made it quite plain that she stays with me only because of our son. I am no longer necessary to her happiness; indeed, one might even say I was inimical to it."
Seeing his sister's shocked expression, he put a hand upon hers to comfort her."You must not look so startled, Cassy; remember, I did try to warn you when you visited us." He reminded her of the occasion in the parlour of their house in Cambridge, when she had scolded him for his pessimism.
"As for Anthony, he does not receive as much of his mother's love and care as he did before. He is a good, well-behaved child, and I must give her credit for that; but now, it is Susan, her maid, who has almost sole care of him. Josie is kept busy with her writers' circle and her poetry readings; they take up a great deal of her time."
His words were quite matter of fact, as though he had long accepted the status quo and could see no way to change it.
Cassandra could not continue to listen without asking,"My dear brother, are you telling me that Josie neglects her child? This surely cannot be true; I know she loves Anthony dearly."
He shook his head and said,"I cannot use that word, Cassy. I am sure Josie would not believe for one moment that she neglects him; she ensures that he has everything he needs. But the affection and care that he gets comes mainly from Susan, to whom he is closer than to either of his parents."
Cassy said she had noticed how attached the child was to the young maid but had assumed there was nothing unusual in it.
"Children do become very fond of those who care for them," she said.
"Except that you and I know that, much as we loved Mrs Thompson or Nellie, it was Mama who came first, always."
Cassy had to agree. Her brother was right, yet she was confused by his words and wished she could get clearer answers to her questions.
They were approaching the point in the road where they had to turn off towards Pem
berley House, and he begged her not to speak a word of this to their parents.
"Because it would cause them so much pain and I could not bear to be the source of it," he said.
"But, Julian," Cassy persisted,"what is behind this strange behaviour? There must be a reason why Josie acts this way, surely?"
He would say nothing more. She tried but did not succeed in getting him to give her an answer; nor would he make any criticism of Josie. All he would say was that his wife seemed to have grown tired and impatient with his research work which, since it was all about invisible creatures who could only be seen under a microscope, held no interest for her at all.
"She says she is now hopeful of getting an anthology of her work published in London and, of course, that takes precedence over all else in her life. It will be the culmination of all her hopes, the fulfillment of a childhood dream, which she has never abandoned," he said.
As Cassy, by now too shocked and distressed to speak, concentrated upon getting the vehicle over the bridge, he pleaded,"Promise me, Cassy, that you will not let Josie discover that I have spoken with you on this matter."
His sister listened, incredulous, as he went on,"She must not feel any change in your attitude towards her, nor must she be in any way isolated, or she will know I have broken my silence and she will not forgive me. I will lose her and my son.
Please, will you give me your word, Cassy?Will you keep my secret?"
Cassandra could not refuse; so insistent was he, she had to promise, adding that she would send young Lizzie to them in the New Year.
He looked genuinely pleased."God bless you, Cassy, you are the kindest sister a fellow could hope for. Lizzie will do us all a deal of good; Anthony adores her," he said, smiling in spite of himself. In that fleeting moment, she caught a rare glimpse of the young brother she had helped raise all those years ago when, with William gone, she had wondered if there would ever be another Darcy to become the Master of Pemberley and young Julian had seemed the answer to all her prayers.
* * *
When they reached the house, they discovered that Mr and Mrs Tate, Josie's parents, had called and, having taken refreshments with the family, they had left taking Josie, Anthony, and the maid Susan with them.
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