by Jane Angwin
Elizabeth could not believe what she had just heard. The silent, circumspect man that she had thought at first to have little, if any warmth or kindness, could play the violin, a most beautiful and sensitive instrument. This, added to the revelation that he was also an artist, a painter of landscapes, made her heart ache as she realized what a beautiful man she had misjudged and had come to regard and perhaps love, much too late.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Wilson," Georgiana replied to the shop owner. "I have looked forward to this piece of music for a long time. It is quite unlike his other sonatas, almost mysterious and haunting. I was quite taken with it when I first heard it performed in London. And yes, it is written for the piano, but I will encourage William to play certain parts on the violin." She glanced at her friends and said "Oh, my goodness. Excuse my poor manners, Mr. Wilson. I believe you have met my dear friend and houseguest, Miss DuPree, when we last visited Lambton, but this is a new guest in our home, Miss Chastain." The ladies curtsied, and Mr. Wilson came from behind the counter and bowed. "We came to pick up this music, but we are also on another mission today. My brother has written to me to tell me of some friends of his who are to visit Lambton, and we are wondering if you have seen a young lady by the name of Miss Elizabeth Bennett who is traveling with her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner from London? We do not know if they have arrived yet or if they have come and gone already, but if they are here somewhere in Lambton at the present time, we would like to introduce ourselves and invite them to Pemberley."
Elizabeth gasped a little too loud, realizing that they were searching for her at Mr. Darcy's request. "Why ever would he want them to meet me?" she thought. She crept back even further into the dark corner at the very back of the shop, wishing she could melt into the floor and disappear.
"Why yes," Mr. Wilson answered. "As a matter of fact, a young lady that is visiting with her relatives from London is here in the store as we speak. Her aunt's father used to own this bookstore, and I bought it from him some years back. Mrs. Gardiner stepped out for a bit, but Miss Bennett is still here somewhere. Let me go and find her for you. I believe she may have gone upstairs to our language book section. She said she is learning Latin." Georgiana was quite surprised to hear that a young lady from the country was learning such a difficult language. She became quite nervous, knowing that the girl her brother wrote to her about was possibly right here in the same shop.
The shop owner came downstairs and said he hadn't found her there, but he would search further in the back of the store. He peeked in an out of the aisles of tall shelves, and when he came to the last one, there was Elizabeth, pretending to be engrossed in a book. "Hello, Miss Bennett. I am terribly sorry to intrude on your privacy, but there are three ladies in the front of the store that are actually looking for you." He then leaned closer and whispered so as not to be overheard, Miss Darcy is the sister of our most esteemed landowner here in the North, and she is with two houseguests. She said that you are acquainted with her brother, and they wish to make your acquaintance. Are you agreeable? Please tell me if your are uncomfortable with their request, and I will leave you to your book."
"No, of course that is agreeable." She slid the book back onto the shelf and realized that she had been reading a book on animal husbandry. She felt her face turning a deep red, hoping the gentleman had not noticed, and followed him to the front of the store.
"Miss Bennett, this is Miss Darcy of Pemberley" he said. The two girls curtsied, and they awkwardly stared a bit too long at one another. Elizabeth tried to see a resemblance to Mr. Darcy, and Georgiana tried to look to see if Miss Bennett was someone who her brother would fancy.
"I am very pleased to meet you, Miss Darcy. I must say that this is a bit of a surprise. Kindly tell me how you came to know my name, and that I would be visiting Lambton!"
"Oh, my! Yes, I am terribly embarrassed by my manners. First, let me introduce my companions. This is Miss Angelique DuPree, and this is Miss Janine Chastain. They are visitors at my home, and we are shopping here in Lambton today." She looked at Angelique, almost pleading with her to continue the conversation.
The ladies curtsied, and Angelique said "Yes, Miss Bennett, please do not be alarmed by our imposition on your privacy, but Miss Darcy's brother wrote a letter to her and told her that he had made your acquaintance while visiting his friend in Hertfordshire. He said that you would be traveling to Lambton with your aunt and uncle, and if she happened to meet you, he wanted her to extend an invitation to you to visit Pemberley if it is convenient."
"Yes, Miss Bennett. My brother was quite clear about his desire to have you and your relatives visit our home. He mentioned that your sister is betrothed to Mr. Bingley, and he would be quite disappointed if you could not join us for tea and have a look about the grounds." She saw that Miss Bennett was quite beautiful, and in an instant, she felt that it was quite possible that her brother was, in fact, enamored with this lovely girl. She was beginning to feel more courageous, and added, "We have some gentlemen visiting as well, and I'm certain they can entertain your uncle at billiards, or perhaps he could try his hand at fishing while we tour the gardens." She was now talking so fast, Angelique gave Janine a look of concern. "And we have a lovely maze that is such fun to explore!"
"Georgiana, perhaps we should allow Miss Bennett to ask her aunt and uncle if they would like to visit Pemberley. They may have other plans during their stay." Angelique put her hand on Georgiana's arm to indicate that the invitation had been extended, and it was now time to leave.
Elizabeth knew that it would be highly improper to deny this invitation, but she wanted to make sure that Mr. Darcy would not be there. "Has your brother returned from London, yet, Miss Darcy?" she asked, trying to keep her voice from quivering. "I know that he had important matters to take care of due to the wedding."
"No, he hasn't returned yet, although I received a letter from him yesterday saying that he is bringing Anne with him to Pemberley when he returns in a few days. It is all quite exciting!"
Elizabeth felt a deep pain inside her chest at those words. "This must be what they mean by heartache" she thought to herself. "I cannot bear to see him with someone else."
"I thank you very much for the kind invitation, and I will certainly ask my aunt and uncle what their plans are." Just as she said those words, the bell over the door jingled again, and her Aunt Madeline returned to the shop. "Oh, here she is now!" Elizabeth made the introductions all around, and her Aunt seemed quite pleased to meet Miss Darcy and receive a personal invitation to Pemberley.
"Why, Elizabeth! I did not know that you were acquainted with Mr. Darcy? You did not mention meeting him! This is quite an unexpected surprise, indeed!"
"Well, I do not know him well, Aunt. He was simply visiting his good friend. Mr. Bingley, in Hertfordshire and we had occasion to meet several times. It must have slipped my mind."
All four ladies looked at her in surprise, all undoubtedly thinking that it would be quite unusual not to mention meeting such a handsome and esteemed gentleman as Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth's face blushed a rosy color, and she felt as though they all could read her heart at that moment.
"With my sister Jane and my sister Mary becoming engaged just prior to leaving my home, I have had quite a bit on my mind, and I simply failed to relate that to you, Aunt Madeline. I did have the pleasure of dining with him once or twice, and we had a few pleasant conversations." She turned to Georgiana and said "I must say, I am quite surprised that he would write to you about our visit to Lambton with all the excitement in his life."
"Well, everything was all arranged by my Aunt Edith, and there was nothing for my brother to do but to simply show up. You know how men are about these things!" Georgiana turned to Madeline and said "I hope you can visit us tomorrow, Mrs. Gardiner. We will have tea and a lovely afternoon showing you all around our home."
"We would be absolutely delighted, Miss Darcy. As you may know, I grew up here in Lambton and your brother was a frequent visitor here at my
father's bookshop. He would accompany his mother when she came into town, and he would come to the bookshop while she shopped. He and I spent many hours reading together, right here at this table." She pointed at the large library table where Elizabeth had stacked her books. "We were both great readers and we enjoyed spending time together. I also met your mother several times, and I must say, you quite resemble her. She was a beautiful woman, and she was so kind to me and everyone she met. The entire town of Lambton was very sad to hear that she had become so ill and passed away at such a young age. Your brother didn't come back to read with me after that."
"You knew my mother?" Georgiana gasped. How wonderful to meet you! I was so young when she died, and I love hearing stories about her from people that knew her. You must come to Pemberley tomorrow, and I will show you her lovely paintings and the gardens that she took so much care to perfect. It would be my honor!"
"Then it is settled. We will come tomorrow afternoon for tea. We have no other plans, and a visit to Pemberley will be the highlight of our visit to Derbyshire!"
The ladies set a mutually convenient time for the visit, and they said their goodbyes to each other. Elizabeth turned and went back to the table where she had put her selections, hoping that her aunt wouldn't inquire any more about her knowledge of Mr. Darcy. "Elizabeth," her aunt said. "I believe we have much to discuss!" As Elizabeth struggled to think of what to tell her about her heartache, she glanced at the small carving on the table and realized that the small initials F.D. probably stood for Fitzwilliam Darcy, the boy she had read with at this very table so many years ago.
"Yes, we certainly do, Aunt!" she said with a grin on her face, pointing at the carving. "Who shall begin?" she laughed. They spent the rest of the afternoon sharing their hearts and secrets about a very handsome and esteemed gentleman that they both had decided to forget.
Chapter Thirty Eight
A visit to Pemberley
The next morning, Elizabeth awoke early and decided to take a walk and explore the path she had seen from her window. It was a beautiful day with a marked drop in the temperature and the cool air was a welcome change. She saw Mrs. Holloway on her way out and told her she would be walking through the woods for about an hour if her Aunt or Uncle inquired about her whereabouts. She started by going around to the back of the Inn where the swing was that her aunt had been allowed to play on as a young girl. She desperately needed the exercise, so she passed the swing and began her walk down the small path through a dense copse of trees. Deep in thought, she walked through the woods for about an hour, enjoying the solitude of nature. She soon realized that she had been gone far too long, and she started back down the path toward the Inn. She had missed her morning walks, and she was enjoying herself so much that close to home, she stopped to hear the sounds of the birds and the rustling of the leaves that still hung on the trees. They would be falling soon, and Elizabeth took a long look up at the magnificent colors all around her
All of a sudden, she heard a loud crack somewhere behind her, and she whipped her head around to see where the sound had come from. It had sounded like someone had stepped on a branch, and then there was total silence. "Who is there?" she said aloud. She felt a shiver run down her back, and it felt to her as though someone was watching her. "Hello?" she said again. Again, she heard another crack and the sound of leaves crunching as if underfoot, and she began to run, hoping not to trip on a rock or tree root and fall. She knew she was close to the Inn, but she did not know how much further she had to run.
Almost out of breath, and feeling unable to run any faster, she heard her uncle's voice somewhere ahead calling out her name. "Elizabeth! Elizabeth Bennett! Can you hear me? Are you there?" he yelled out.
"Yes, Uncle! I am here!" she said, still running. As she spotted him coming down the path toward her, she threw herself into his arms and practically knocked him over. Glancing back, she saw what she thought to be a figure darting behind a large tree.
"What has happened, Elizabeth? I have been worried about you being gone so long, and I'm relieved to see you, but you look as though you have seen a ghost!"
"I'm not sure, Uncle Edward, but I am fairly certain that someone was following me. Just now, I could swear I saw someone in the trees, but could not make out who it was." Her uncle kept his arm around her shaking shoulders as they returned to the Inn, and Elizabeth related to him what had happened.
"Perhaps it was just an animal in the woods, my dear, but you should really take care when and where you wander. You are not familiar with these woods, and it is not safe for a young lady to go off by herself like that. You may be able to do that at Longbourn, but you don't know this area, and anything could happen to you."
"Of course, Uncle Edward. You are right. It was just such a beautiful morning and I got lost in the beauty of Autumn here in Derbyshire. I assure you that I will be more careful and will not go off alone again."
They returned to the Inn and Elizabeth apologized to her aunt for concerning them. "It has been so long since I was able to take a long walk, and I guess I got caught up in my own joy. I promise that I will curtail my meandering about the countryside from now on!" She tried to make light of it, but she was still shaken from the feeling that she had been followed. She knew no one here in Lambton, so it must have been someone from the village, and she would have to be more aware of her surroundings. She was not naive, and she knew that there was evil in the world, but it was hard for her to imagine a human being hurting another human being. It made her think about the evilness that Mr. Darcy related to her about George Wickham almost ruining someone near and dear to him, just to get revenge for money he felt was owed to him. Perhaps it was his cousin Anne that Wickham had compromised, and for one moment, she wanted to believe that Darcy was doing the honorable thing and marrying Anne to save her reputation. Elizabeth had wanted him to love her - and it had felt so close and possible that she desperately wanted him salvaging Anne's reputation to be the reason he left her. It didn't ease her heartache, but it did increase his honor in her eyes.
They made the five mile journey to Pemberley that afternoon, and Elizabeth was uncharacteristically quiet. She knew that Mr. Darcy was not in residence at Pemberley, but it still made her melancholy to think that she would be visiting the home where he would be bringing his bride. After the carriage had rolled uphill for quite awhile, they finally crested the hill, and Elizabeth gasped at what she saw. There in the distance was the most beautiful landscape she had ever seen. Far down in a valley sat a magnificent estate, built three stories high with large square golden stones and more immense and sparkling glass windows than she could count. Behind the building was a high rise of untamed woods in all the colors of Autumn, appearing to hold the structure in a warm embrace. Winding throughout the valley was a sparkling river that emptied into a large lake in front of the edifice with a stately bridge spanning across the water. Everywhere she looked, she saw natural beauty, and her heart felt as though she had been waiting to be here all her life.
"Isn't it lovely, Elizabeth?" her aunt asked. "It is just as I remembered it."
"I didn't realize that you had visited Pemberley before," Elizabeth said.
"Yes, once a year Mrs. Darcy invited the townsfolk to an Autumn Harvest Festival and all the children were entertained by puppets and magicians and jugglers, as I recall. There were pony rides and games on the lawn, and more food than you can imagine. In the evening they had a breathtaking fireworks display, and it was one of the best days of the whole year. The Darcy's were well loved by their tenants and the villagers, and when Mrs. Darcy died, the whole town mourned. Not many years later, the elder Mr. Darcy took ill and died as well, and I recall thinking that there would never be any happiness at Pemberley again. Their deaths left the very young Mr. Darcy in charge of running the estate and to be guardian of his much younger sister. It seemed almost too much for such a young man to deal with, and everyone felt that Pemberley's glory days were over, but I am hoping that today I will see
that we were all wrong."
The carriage pulled into the circular driveway and several servants came from all sides to assist them with the carriage and horses and to escort them up the large stairway, entering into the front hall where they were enthusiastically greeted by Georgiana and Angelique.
"Good day, everyone!" Georgiana exclaimed! "We are delighted to have you join us!" She quickly curtsied, and then noticed the gentleman standing behind the ladies. "Oh, hello, Sir!" she said, as she curtsied again.
"Miss Georgiana, please let me introduce my husband, Edward Gardiner." Edward bowed to the ladies, and said "Thank you for including me, Miss Darcy!"
"Of course, Sir! Let me also introduce my dear friend, Angelique DuPree. She is also a guest in our home."
Another bow and curtsy took place, and Mr. Gardiner said, "I was informed that there are other gentlemen in residence, so I look forward to making their acquaintance as well."
"Yes, certainly, Mr. Gardiner," Georgiana said. "Let us all go to the sitting room where everyone has convened, and we will make all the introductions." Mrs. Reynolds took their outerwear and said she would arrange to have tea sent immediately. As Georgiana and Angelique led the way to the sitting room, Elizabeth slowed down to take in the magnificence of the front hall. It was two stories high with beautiful frescoes painted on the ceiling, and at the far right was a beautiful wide and curved staircase leading to the second floor. She turned around in a full circle, eyeing the tasteful furnishings, and she was immediately aware of the difference between this estate and others she had visited. Instead of the elaborate and sometimes garish decor of most of the grand estates, in spite of its obvious grandeur, this felt like a home where people lived instead of a showpiece to impress.
She realized she had fallen behind, so she hurried to catch the others, and they entered a large room with similar style and comfortable chairs and settees arranged in purposefully placed groupings conducive for conversation. Two of the gentlemen stood and bowed, and an elderly man attempted to stand, but Angelique gently insisted that he stay seated. Georgiana introduced her new guests, and everyone chatted amiably for a short time until Mrs. Reynolds wheeled the tea cart into the room. As the current Mistress of the estate, Georgiana nervously took over the responsibility of serving each guest a cup of tea, and Mrs. Reynolds stood back, proudly watching the young girl do what Lady Anne had done for so many years. Georgiana glanced at her once, and Mrs. Reynolds gave her a slight nod of her head, acknowledging that she was doing well.