by Jane Angwin
"What a lovely home you have, Miss Darcy," Elizabeth said. We have visited many lovely estates on our journey to Derbyshire, but I must say that yours is by far the most beautiful. The furnishings are quite tasteful and it feels like a real home. You must adore living here."
"Why, yes, indeed I do, Miss Bennett. This is where I am the happiest, and when I am away, I cannot wait to return. London is too crowded and busy, and I much prefer the country. My brother writes that you also live in the countryside, so you must understand my preference."
"I certainly do." She looked over at her aunt and uncle and said "I do love to visit Aunt Madeline and Uncle Edward in London, and I very much enjoy the shops and, of course, the museums and the theater, but there is nothing quite like the countryside to enjoy nature and the peace and quiet. I am quite an avid walker, and I miss the ability to venture out on my own without a care."
"I am most anxious to take you outside to see our gardens and the many walking paths we have here at Pemberley. I would like to show you a few rooms here inside, but perhaps after that we can go outside to tour the grounds and leave the gentlemen to their own pursuits."
By that time, Edward and Frederick were deep in a conversation about Edward's import business, and Nicolas and his father were politely listening to their friendly banter. Every now and again, Elizabeth noticed that Nicolas glanced over at Georgiana and smiled at her. She saw Georgiana return his smile, and her cheeks turned a light color of pink. "I am fairly certain there is an attraction between them," Elizabeth mused. How delightful to witness a budding relationship!"
The ladies asked the gentlemen if they would like to join them as they toured a few of the living quarter rooms, but they declined, saying that they would be continuing to talk and perhaps go down to the lake. With that, Georgiana ushered Janine, Angelique, Elizabeth and Madeline out of the sitting room and escorted them on a tour of the music room, the main dining room, another parlor, and finally, the library.
"Oh my!" both Elizabeth and Madeline said simultaneously. Elizabeth's eyes grew large, and she turned around in a full circle to take in the vastness of the room and the enormous collection of books on shelf after shelf throughout the large space. She also looked up and saw that there was a balcony of additional shelves of books circling the entire room and a staircase on either side of the room to access those volumes.
Madeline spoke first, saying "I knew that the Darcy's had a large collection of books, but I had no idea that this was why they continued ordering more and more books from my father."
"I have no words," Elizabeth said quietly, as if in a trance. "I have never seen anything like this in my life. I could spend days and days in this room and never leave."
"You are a great reader, then?" Angelique inquired.
"She certainly is," Madeline answered for Elizabeth. "She has two or three books open at all times, and many of them are in French. Her father has a voracious appetite for books, and he has allowed Elizabeth to study and learn subjects that would most likely not interest most young ladies." She looked at her niece and said "I hope I haven't embarrassed you, my dear."
"Good gracious, no. I would agree that I am not like most girls, Aunt Madeline. My interests are certainly not needlework and perusing ladies magazines like my sisters!" The other ladies laughed and praised her for her self-education.
"Do you play the pianoforte?" Georgiana asked.
"Yes, but very poorly. I have not taken the time to practice enough to play for others. I do sing a little, and I accompany my sister Jane when she plays."
"Oh, I am delighted to hear that your sister Jane will be marrying our good friend, Mr. Bingley!" Georgiana said. She explained to Angelique and Janine who Mr. Bingley was and how Elizabeth had come to meet her brother. "I am so sorry that you won't be able to see my brother during your visit today, Miss Bennett. He spoke so highly of you, and I know that he will be sorry to have missed you."
"Well, I am sure that he has been quite busy with the wedding and preparing your cousin Anne to come to Pemberley. Perhaps another time" Elizabeth said. "But if I may ask, why were you not in attendance at the wedding? That would be something I would not think you would want to miss."
"To be honest, it happened so quickly that there wasn't time for me to go to London. William wrote and said that he would be bringing Anne here in several days, and we will have plenty of time to hear all about it when they arrive. I believe Richard will be following soon after too, as he had to take care of some business before he could join us."
"I see," Elizabeth said quietly. "How lovely for all of you."
The ladies left the library and took a turn down a long hallway that was lined with huge portraits of all the Darcy family members for hundreds of years. As they neared the end of the gallery, Georgiana stopped at the portrait of her mother and father and became very quiet. "This is my mother and father," she said to the others. " I was so young when Mother died, but I still remember sitting on her lap and how warm and loving she was. I have to admit that my memory of her is vague, but I do remember feeling how much she loved me. I remember my father quite well though. I didn't realize it at the time, but now that I am older, I realize that he was always very sad as I grew up. I don't believe I ever saw him look like he does in this painting. He is smiling."
Angelique said, "You can tell that they were so much in love by the looks on their faces."
"Oh! I completely forgot! These portraits were all painted by Frederick, Janine's brother! My brother said that only Frederick can paint faces and capture the soul of people on a canvas."
Janine had not realized how talented her brother had become since he left France when she was just a young girl. "I had no idea that my brother was such a great artist" she said. "I too was very young when my mother died, and we had to leave France. Until our visit with the Darcy's here in England, I hadn't seen my father or my brother since I was five years old."
They moved on to the next portrait that was of Fitzwilliam, and it was all Elizabeth could do to look at the handsome young man standing next to his horse. "This is how I remember your brother," Madeline said. "He would come to our bookstore, and we would read together for hours while his mother would run errands or his father would conduct business in town. I knew him as a young man about the age he is in this portrait, and we shared a great love of books together, but unfortunately, I didn't see him again after your mother died."
The next portrait was of a small girl, no more than three or four years old. "That is me as a little girl," Georgiana said. "Mother must have known that she was quite ill and had this done for my father. She probably knew that he would be left broken hearted and wouldn't commission a portrait of me after I grew older."
"Is that why Frederick is now painting your portrait, Mon Ami?" Angelique asked. "I have seen it almost completed in the conservatory."
"Yes, exactly. William feels that it is important that my portrait be painted to replace the one of me as an infant. After that, I will insist that Frederick paint one of my brother as the fine gentleman he is today instead of young boy. I cannot imagine him sitting for a portrait, but perhaps he will have a painting done of him with his bride, just as my parents did. This is the area where that painting will hang." She pointed to the next space, and Elizabeth's heart felt as though it would stop beating. There in the spot that Georgiana pointed to, Elizabeth saw a painting of herself and Mr. Darcy, looking at each other the same way his parents had done in their portrait. She looked at the others to see if they had realized that the portrait was, in fact of her with Mr. Darcy, but no one seemed to notice anything unusual, and they kept talking amongst themselves. When she looked back, the portrait was no longer there, just a bare wall. "I must be losing my mind," she thought to herself. But why had the painting been so real to her? "I knew it was a mistake coming here today", she thought to herself. "I must insist that we cut our visit short."
Chapter Thirty Nine
An unexpected meeting
The ladies returned back down the hall to the sitting room where they had left the gentlemen, and not seeing them there, they decided to go outside to tour the gardens. Georgiana left for a moment to inform Mrs. Reynolds of their plans when they heard Georgiana exclaim "William! Oh my goodness! You are home! And Anne! I am so delighted to see you again after all this time! Come in, come in! There are ladies here that you will definitely be delighted to see!"
Elizabeth lightly gasped and looked with alarm at her aunt. She had not wanted to come to Pemberley at all, but since Mr. Darcy wasn't there, she had agreed. Now he was here, and with his new wife. Her aunt knew that Elizabeth would be greatly distressed, but she knew her niece very well, and she knew that Elizabeth never backed away from challenges and would garner all of her best acting ability to be cordial. She also felt quite an unexpected feeling of anxiety knowing she was about to meet the man who had been her childhood crush. "What a strange situation this is," she thought.
Georgiana entered with a young woman on her arm, followed by Mr. Darcy and an older woman. Since the Gardiner's carriage and horses had been taken to the stables, he was not aware that they had additional company, and he had assumed Georgiana meant Angelique and Janine. When he saw Elizabeth, he stopped walking and was noticeably stunned to see her.
"Miss Elizabeth!" he exclaimed. "I did not realize that you were here!" He bowed, and after collecting himself and realizing he had ignored the others, he turned to the remaining women and said "Please forgive my manners, ladies. Miss Bennett and I are acquainted, and I was just momentarily surprised. Please let me introduce everyone. This is my cousin, Anne, and her companion, Mrs. Barrett. We have just arrived after a tiring three day journey from London, and we did not realize we had additional company." He took Angelique's hand and bowed, and then did the same with Janine. "It is so good to see you again. I am most anxious to hear all about your reunion with Frederick and your father! May I ask where they are?"
"Gerard has gone to his room to rest, and the others are either playing billiards or they have gone down to the lake with Miss Bennett's uncle, Mr. Gardiner," Georgiana said. "And let me introduce her aunt to you, brother. This is Mrs. Madeline Gardiner."
Again, Darcy looked quite embarrassed that he had failed to notice her standing there. "It is my pleasure to meet you, Madam." Then, realizing that he had been told that her aunt had actually lived in Lambton and her family owned the bookshop, he suddenly recognized his friend from long ago. "Oh, Miss Maddie! Please pardon me, I simply didn't recognize you after so many years, but now I definitely do!" he exclaimed. " It is indeed a pleasure to have you here at Pemberley!"
The ladies all looked at each other and were surprised to hear Darcy refer to her by such a familiar name. "It is my pleasure as well, Master William," she replied. Madeline blushed a becoming color of rose pink and said , "Good gracious, I must apologize, Sir. I should call you Mr. Darcy now, but hearing you call me Miss Maddie certainly took me back in time. What a lovely coincidence that you became acquainted with my niece in Hertfordshire, and that you extended this invitation to us."
"Please, call me William. We are old friends and let us not stand on formality. I admit I like hearing you call me Master William again after all these years. Perhaps we can sit for a few minutes and have a cup of tea before I show Anne and Mrs. Barrett to their chambers to refresh themselves." They nodded their approval, and everyone took seats. "We got up quite early this morning in order to arrive here while still daylight, and we could use some tea and biscuits. Let me go and find Mrs. Reynolds." He turned to leave, but Mrs. Reynolds was already standing behind him, listening to the conversation and waiting for an opportunity to ask if they wanted tea or to be taken upstairs. She laughed and quickly left the room to prepare a tea service.
Elizabeth had noticed the strange way that Darcy had addressed his new wife when he introduced her. He had referred to her as "his cousin Anne," but she assumed that he was still having difficulty realizing that he was a married man and after knowing her as his cousin all his life, he still referred to that way. She felt the room closing in on her, and she wanted to crawl into the nearest closet, but she bravely walked to Anne and curtsied in front of her. "Congratulations on your marriage, Miss Anne. May I wish you much happiness!" She realized that she had not said congratulations to Mr. Darcy, but she lost her courage. She stole a look at him, and much to her surprise, he was staring at her, just as he had often done in Hertfordshire. "Why is he looking at me like that?" she thought.
Anne timidly curtsied and replied, "Thank you, Miss Bennett." She glanced up at Darcy and gave him a small smile. "It was lovely."
Darcy knew that he was staring at Elizabeth, but he could not help it. He could not believe that she was standing here in the same room with him. He desperately hoped that he would have a chance to speak to her alone, but he did not know how to make that happen. There were too many people, and the others did not know how well he knew her and certainly not what was in his heart. It would have to be carefully done without raising anyone's suspicion. Perhaps he would suggest a walk with the ladies in the garden, and he could find the opportunity for a private moment. He had to explain that he was not married to Anne, and there was so much to finish telling her.
Mrs. Reynolds returned with the tea cart and everyone took seats again. There was an empty seat between her aunt and herself, and in an awkward moment, Elizabeth realized that Mr. Darcy had nowhere else to sit, and he approached her. "Please, Mr. Darcy, do you not wish to sit with Miss Anne? I can change seats with her."
Darcy knew that he needed to tell her the truth, but he sat down and said "No, that is quite alright. She has not seen Georgiana in quite some time, and I am sure they wish to catch up." He turned to begin a conversation with Mrs. Gardiner, and all the others were in deep conversations as well. Janine and Angelique were quietly talking to each other in a half English, half French conversation, and Anne and Georgiana were obviously enjoying their reunion. Mrs. Barrett had taken out her needlework, and as there was no one for her to talk to, she simply sat and tried to calm her emotions.
"How odd this is" Elizabeth thought. "This is the last place on earth I wish to be, and I am sitting here next to Mr. Darcy who has just become married to someone else who is sitting right across the room from me. This cannot be happening. I am completely flummoxed and will have to declare a headache and ask to be taken back to the Lambton Inn as soon as possible."
As they all sat and conversed and drank their tea, they saw a bright flash light up the sky outside the floor to ceiling windows, and moments later they heard a loud rumble in the distance, shaking the windows. None of them had noticed that the sky had turned an ominous black until now, and it was clear that they were about to have a substantial rainstorm at Pemberley.
Darcy stood up and went to the window and saw that the rain had started coming down in the gardens and woods behind the estate. "I do not think there will be any tour of the garden today, ladies," he shrugged his shoulders. Just then, they heard loud voices in the hallway, and the gentlemen entered the room discussing their mad dash from the lake before the rain came. Darcy walked to the group and shook hands with all of them, introducing himself to Mr. Gardiner. "Please join us, gentlemen! I am quite outnumbered here this afternoon!" He introduced Anne and Mrs. Barrett to everyone, again referring to Anne as "his cousin", and helped to pull up more chairs from the other side of the room. Outside the rain began pelting the windows, and several flashes of lightening and loud claps of thunder reverberated throughout the room again. "I do not think anyone will be traveling this evening." He looked at Elizabeth, and she looked away, not understanding his look.
He rang for Mrs. Reynolds and told her that their guests would all be staying for dinner, and they would require rooms for the night. He also asked for a servant to come and refresh the fire and for some brandy and glasses be brought to the gentlemen. "I believe that Anne and Mrs. Barrett would like to go to their chambers and change out of their traveling clot
hes, and I would like to do the same. If Miss Elizabeth and the Gardiners would like to rest before dinner, Mrs. Reynolds can show you where you will be sleeping tonight." He abruptly turned and left the room, oddly leaving Anne and Mrs. Reynolds to be escorted out by a young servant girl that had accompanied Mrs. Reynolds. She remained and asked the newcomers if they would like to be taken to rooms that were ready for them. They declined, but said they would do so after they finished their tea and brandy.
When Mrs. Reynolds had left the room, everyone looked around at each other, and they started to laugh! Mr. Darcy had become the Master of the Estate in the blink of an eye, directing the servants and making decisions for them all. It had all happened so quickly, and no one had a chance to even contemplate what to do next. "He certainly takes charge, does he not?" Frederick said. "I am most impressed! I have known him since he was a mere boy, and his father would certainly be proud that he has assumed his role so efficiently!"
Mr. Gardiner looked at his wife and said "Well, it appears that we will be staying the night at Pemberley, Madeline. This is an unexpected honor, is it not?" He winked at her and said to the others, "My wife grew up as a shop girl in Lambton, and to be invited to spend the night at Pemberley would have never crossed her mind." He knew that Frederick and Nicolas were not part of the upper society in London and would understand his teasing comments. Even Georgiana laughed at him teasing his wife. Madeline gently swatted his arm, and said that she had always thought when she married, her husband would have an estate even larger than Pemberley, but since that didn't happen, yes, this was an honor indeed. That seemed to lighten the mood, and they all relaxed and continued getting to know each other.