Legacy of Pemberley (The Pemberley Chronicles; Pride and Prejudice Sequel Series)

by Rebecca Ann Collins

  Her husband understood how she felt—he knew that Anna had worried that they would never see her brother again—but he was amused at the intensity of her pleasure that Daniel was not as she had feared he would be, a conceited swaggerer filled with his own importance as many men were who had recently returned from the colonies. Jonathan was relieved, too, that the brother-in-law he had never known had turned out as amiable as Daniel had.

  “I am glad too, my dear, that he is your brother. I think he is an admirable man of whom you and your parents can be very proud,” he had said.

  After a fortnight in which the family had had their fill of asking questions and he had been proudly introduced to all their friends and relations in the neighbourhood, Jonathan and Anna persuaded Daniel to travel with them to Derbyshire to meet the Bingleys and the Darcys, whose curiosity about Anna’s brother had been by now well aroused by their letters.

  Daniel was keen to go. He had few memories of Derbyshire, but was well informed about the industrial towns of the English Midlands to which wool was imported. When he had left England, he’d had little knowledge of the fledgling textile industry; indeed, he’d had no interest whatsoever in any part of the industrial revolution that had swept across the countryside. He had set off for a new country, with a completely different goal. He had not been looking to make his fortune by exploration and enterprise, but a series of fortuitous circumstances and a certain coincidence of interests had altered the course he had set for himself.

  Mr and Mrs Bingley had invited a number of friends and relations to meet Mr Daniel Faulkner, but well before the day of the function, he was introduced to the Darcys. Spending a quiet day at Pemberley, Daniel became better acquainted with Mr Darcy and Elizabeth, who had not seen him since he was a little boy, together with Cassandra and Julian and their families. He learnt through their conversations that these diverse people appeared to share many ideas and principles that had been close to his own heart.

  Anna and Jonathan had told him of the work that had been done in and around the Pemberley estate to house the poor, educate their children, and support efforts to improve their lives. Daniel had been impressed and said he wished the same could be said for the Australian colonies.

  “No one cares enough to do anything for the poor, save for the missionaries, whose hands are full though their pockets are empty. The squatters, who obtain vast tracts of land, unimaginable in this country, often by influence and sometimes corruptly, care nothing for those they displace or exploit in order to make money. The poor and indigent are truly wretched because there are no benevolent landlords like your Mr Darcy and no Mr Gladstones in government, either, to make laws to help them.”

  Anna was delighted to hear him speak in such compassionate terms and wondered at how he had acquired such ideas while working in a land with a reputation for harshness in both climate and culture.

  Both Elizabeth and Mr Darcy had judged Daniel Faulkner to be a genuinely good man with strong principles. They were unable, however, to comprehend why he had left England and gone out to the antipodes.

  “He does not appear to be the typical adventurer or explorer, does he?” asked Elizabeth, after the Bingleys and their guest had left to return to Ashford Park, to which Mr Darcy replied, “He does not; you are quite right, Lizzie. It is a question that has been puzzling me all afternoon. Mr Faulkner seems to be a man of principle; I have no doubt of it, which is why the reason for his departure from England and his apparent success in the colonies are far from clear. He does not strike me as the sort of man who is likely to make good in the colonies.”

  “But surely the fact that he has been successful in business should not count against him?” asked his wife, and Mr Darcy was quick to agree. “Of course not, my dear, it may well be he is one of that rare breed like your uncle Mr Gardiner, an ethical and successful businessman. But I should still like to know what it was that caused him to leave England twenty years ago. It could not have been the inducement of doing business in the colonies; he does not seem the type who would be attracted to such an occupation.”

  Elizabeth concurred. “I believe you are right. I understand from Anna that Daniel had left England without giving his family any explanation, except to say an opportunity had come up and he was inclined to take advantage of it. I wonder if we will ever know the answer.”

  It was a question that would not be answered for a considerable time.

  * * *

  On the day of the party at Ashford Park, all was excitement at Caroline’s house. They had all been invited, of course, including Miss Grantley, who had surprised them by laying out not one but three gowns on her bed and asking Caroline and Rachel which one would be most suitable for the occasion. “I am not familiar with the arrangements at Ashford Park. I wondered if you would guide me in what I should wear. Mama made me bring several gowns to wear at Pemberley; I do not know if they will suit,” she had said.

  Neither Rachel nor her mother had paid that much attention to the matter of choosing their own gowns, so it was with some surprise that they went to assist Virginia on her choice. It wasn’t easy, for the gowns were all very different and very fashionable, but none seemed quite right for Virginia. She had a very pale complexion, fair hair, and clear blue eyes, and the gowns were all rather more suitable for a darker, younger woman. A black silk was discarded as being too much like formal mourning, a pale cream with silk embroidery was much admired by both Caroline and Rachel, but Virginia wondered if her mother mightn’t be offended because it “didn’t look sufficiently mournful,” which left a dark grey gown with lavender ruffles down the skirt.

  “Will it suit?” she asked, looking at them anxiously, and though they both felt the colours did very little for Virginia’s complexion, it had a sort of fashionable elegance that would be appropriate for the occasion.

  Pleased with their advice, Virginia declared that she would like to retire to her room for the rest of the afternoon and would they inform her maid that she should prepare a bath for her mistress at four o’clock. Caroline and Rachel, lost for words, nodded in agreement and went downstairs. Neither said a word until they were safely out in the kitchen garden, where mother and daughter broke into peals of laughter.

  As night fell at Ashford Park, everything was in readiness, and the Bingleys came downstairs to see that all the arrangements were as they should be.

  They were both excited by the occasion; it had been a long while since they had given a ball, owing mainly to the uncertain state of Mr Bingley’s health. This evening, however, he appeared in far better spirits and claimed that he had not felt so well in years. It was all Jane wished to hear.

  Their guests would soon be arriving, and Mr Bingley, who always loved a party, was determined to enjoy this one.

  “I could wager any amount you care to name, dearest, that our guest of honour will be in great demand tonight. He is bound to be a popular man,” he said, and Jane, knowing her husband’s predilection for fun, replied that she was certainly hopeful that he would be well liked, because he was such an amiable gentleman.

  “And very eligible, too; Jonathan tells me he made a fortune in gold mining, which he has invested very sensibly. No prospective mother-in-law can afford to ignore such facts,” said Mr Bingley.

  “He is a good deal older, of course, forty-five or six, I think?” Jane reminded him, at which Bingley merely laughed. “He does look a little weather-beaten, I grant you, but, my dear, what does that matter when a man has both sufficient charm and the means to make a lady happy? I will have to confess that if we had an unmarried daughter in her twenties, which we do not, because all our girls were too beautiful to be unwed for long, I should not have scorned a proposition from Mr Daniel Faulkner. Would you?”

  Jane was less enthusiastic. “I cannot say for certain; I have not sufficient knowledge of him to say yea or nay. I know he is Anna’s brother and admittedly a very likeable gentleman. Jonathan speaks highly of him, too, so perhaps for a young lady who has not had mu
ch success in finding a partner, he could be a good prospect, but I am glad all our girls are happily settled.”

  Mr Bingley professed astonishment. “My dear Jane, surely you do have not some deep prejudice against Mr Faulkner?” he asked.

  Jane shook her head. “No, indeed I have not, but I will admit to having some reservations about his plans to return to New South Wales! It is so far away, any young woman who marries him may well be rich, but she will probably never see England or her family again!”

  “There is that, of course,” her husband conceded, “but, in the case of some young ladies, that may not be as great a privation as it would have been to our girls. Not everyone desires to settle close to their family.”

  Jane smiled and reminded him that every mother would grieve if she had no prospect of seeing her daughter or her grandchildren, and that made even Bingley reconsider his enthusiasm for Mr Faulkner.

  “That is certainly true,” he said, but before their conversation could become too serious, the servants arrived to open the great front doors and announce the first of their guests.

  * * *

  Caroline, Rachel, and Virginia were not quite the last to arrive at Ashford House, but the distance they had had to travel from Matlock and the modest vehicle that conveyed them thither had caused some inevitable delays.

  This meant that most of the guests, and especially the ladies, had already been introduced to Daniel Faulkner, and while he had not shown any particular interest in any of them, there were a fair few who had expressed an interest in him. Nor were they all young ladies; a few mothers and at least two fathers of eligible young women had enquired about Daniel Faulkner’s prospects and asked to meet him.

  When Caroline Fitzwilliam arrived with her two young ladies, some of the guests, those who were not dancing or were hungrier than most, were already moving into the dining room, which was why it took awhile for Mr and Mrs Bingley to extricate themselves and go out to greet the three late arrivals.

  Coming upon them, waiting rather awkwardly in the hall, Jonathan and Anna set out immediately to put them at ease. Jonathan went to fetch two young gentlemen to escort the young ladies in to dinner, while Anna, seeing her brother in the doorway, called him over and introduced him to them. As Jonathan returned with two members of the Bingley clan to take Rachel and Virginia in to dinner, Daniel offered Caroline his arm.

  “Mrs Fitzwilliam, I am delighted, because among all these people, many of whom I do not know at all, you, I do remember well,” he said quietly.

  Caroline expressed surprise. “Do you?”

  “Indeed I do,” he said, “we have met before, on more than one occasion, although, I grant you, it was rather a long time ago and you may well have forgotten all about it.”

  He revealed that as a young boy of some sixteen years, he, with his parents, had attended the wedding of Cassy Darcy at Pemberley.

  “And of course she married my brother Richard,” said Caroline, smiling.

  “She did, and then the following year, my cousin Amelia-Jane Collins, who was but a couple of years older than I, married Jonathan Bingley, and again I met you and your sister at the wedding.”

  Caroline was amazed that he could remember, but had to confess she had no recollection of him at all, except that Becky Tate had once told her and Emily that her young cousin Daniel Faulkner had gone off to Australia. “I recall my late husband asking her if you were off to the gold fields and predicting that you would make a fortune. Did you?”

  At the mention of the colonel’s name, Daniel Faulkner’s countenance underwent a change. The smile disappeared and he looked quite distressed as he said, “I have heard from both Jonathan and my sister about the death of Colonel Fitzwilliam. I am so very sorry. Please accept my sincerest sympathy.”

  Caroline’s lip quivered, but she bowed slightly to accept his condolences, thanked him graciously, and then said in a quiet, steady voice, “Colonel Fitzwilliam was a good judge of people and a dedicated Reformist, and we miss him terribly. But you have not answered my questions, Mr Faulkner: was it the gold fields that drew you to Australia, and did you make a fortune?”

  He could see that she was determined not to surrender to the sorrow that clearly welled up inside of her as she remembered her husband and decided it was best to indulge her. “Well, since it seems we are to be seated together at dinner, let me tell you all about it then,” he said.

  Caroline nodded and smiled; as they all went in together, the gathered guests, those who were not too busy eating, may have noticed that Mr Faulkner was escorting one of the most elegant women in the room.

  During the dinner, Daniel was as good as his word. He told Caroline of his nightmare journey to New South Wales on board a ship transporting both convicts and sheep. “I don’t know which of these were more trouble.”

  “Sheep?” exclaimed Caroline. “How did they care for the poor creatures on a ship during such a long voyage?”

  “Much better than they cared for the convicts, believe me. These were exceedingly valuable sheep, and they had their own sheep doctor to look after them and all the right fodder. The convicts had none of that, and they got flogged into the bargain.”

  Caroline shivered and said quickly, “Oh, please spare me the details; I am relieved the Parliament has stopped the pernicious practice of transportation; I am so ashamed of what we used to do to people.”

  “So am I,” said Daniel, offering to tell her a more cheerful tale from the goldfields of Victoria, where a small band of miners had rebelled against the authorities and struck a blow for freedom. He had such an easy manner and a most engaging way of telling a story that Caroline found herself so absorbed, she let the food go cold on her plate. His tales reminded her of the stories Fitzwilliam used to tell of life in the colonies of India and Ceylon, and she was fascinated.

  Later, when the ladies withdrew to the drawing room, Daniel Faulkner remained behind with the gentlemen, but not for long. He had excused himself, saying he had little taste for port and brandy.

  “They are too rich for my palate,” he declared as he joined the ladies, who were being entertained by a few of the younger guests, who had persuaded the musicians to provide music suitable for dancing. Invited to participate, he claimed that he had not danced in England for twenty years and was out of practice and unfamiliar with the newer figures and styles.

  But later, when he asked first Caroline, then Rachel, and finally Virginia to dance, he proved by his performance that he was in no great danger of losing his skill. Thereafter he entertained them with anecdotes of life in Australia, answering their questions about the distant continent, until the rest of the gentlemen entered the room.

  By the time Caroline and her two young ladies were ready to return home, there was general agreement: Mr Daniel Faulkner was a most agreeable and impressive gentleman. There were apparently others of the same opinion, for he had received several invitations to dine with families in the district.

  Clearly, the Bingleys’ party had been a great success.

  * * *

  The morning after being Sunday, Caroline and Rachel went to church in Matlock. Virginia’s maid had indicated that her mistress had been too exhausted after the previous night’s function to go to church and was still fast asleep.

  Neither Caroline nor Rachel were at all surprised by this news; pausing only to urge the maid to let the lady sleep as long as she wished, they set off on foot. It was midmorning when they returned home to find Virginia still upstairs, having asked for a pot of tea and breakfast to be brought to her room.

  “I cannot believe she could be so tired; she danced but twice and spent most of her time sunk among the cushions on the sofa!” Rachel complained, and her mother reminded her to keep her voice down. “We must not upset her, my dear, Lizzie tells me that with Virginia away, Georgiana is a changed woman. She eats and sleeps better and does not weep as often. She must make her mother very unhappy. Poor Georgiana, I wish there was something more I could do to help her,
” said Caroline.

  Rachel was about to assure her mother that she thought they had done quite enough by taking Virginia off her mother’s hands, when the doorbell rang and moments later, the maid brought in a note for Caroline.

  Cassandra had written to ask them to join a party at the Camden estate for a cricket match and picnic that afternoon. “It would be much appreciated if Rachel would agree to help keep scores. The match starts at midday,” wrote Cassy, urging them not to be late.

  Looking at the time, Rachel gasped; it was almost eleven o’clock. Rachel loved cricket and was well experienced in keeping scores. “We shall never get there in time. Virginia must be still asleep; I have not heard a sound from her room.”

  “Go up and tell her about it; I am not so sure she cares for cricket. Ask her if she would like to come,” Caroline urged, and Rachel ran upstairs to find that Miss Grantley had indeed returned to bed, leaving her breakfast half eaten.

  When Rachel told her of the invitation to Camden Park for a cricket match and picnic lunch, Virginia groaned, her head still hidden from sight.

  A muffled voice said she hated cricket and did not wish to go to Camden Park anyway. “Cassy doesn’t approve of me; she thinks Mama spoils me. I should prefer to stay here and recover fully from last evening’s function. I certainly don’t feel strong enough for cricket!” she declared, which response quite delighted Rachel, who went down to her mother with a much happier expression on her face. At least she would not have Virginia to worry about; she could concentrate on enjoying the cricket.

  An hour later, they were arriving at Camden Park where some of the would-be cricketers were already practising their skills on the green.