by Nicky Roth
'Yep. Cleaning is obvious, as is painting the walls...'
'Yes, but first the old paint has to be taken off.'
'Naturally. Varnish the benches, might also be an idea, though I have to say, I like them looking like this.'
There he had to agree. The stressed wood had some charm to it, but if they were to celebrate their wedding here, they would have to put cushions on the seats so no-one would tear their clothes. Or alternatively they could grind the pews...
'Do we call in a company, or are we doing the work ourselves?' Elizabeth inquired when they finally decided to leave.
'What would you prefer?'
'DIY, actually. It would make it even more personal, don't you think? That is if it won't cause any damage. I presume this building is graded?'
'Oddly enough, no it isn't. It has been all but forgotten. Which, as said, is the only reason it is still consecrated, I guess.'
'Well, now it is remembered and will be remembered,' she smiled and off they went stepping back outside and into the cool October air.
In comparison to Hertfordshire, up here it was already substantially colder, as the winds dropped from the slopes and into the valleys, while the hills threw ever growing shadows the later in the year it got.
Soon they would have their first frost. It would turn the woods into near magical places, as the mist clung to the trees, freezing to intricate patterns that looked like crystals, especially when the sun shone upon them. But as it was, for now, they had to make do with the colour changing leaves, that though still mainly green, showed the first signs of yellow, orange and red.
Oh, and Darcy quickly marked down a couple of heaters to be put in the church, just in case...
Chapter 46:
History
They went on in silence for quite a while, but it was not an uncomfortable one, but a companionable calm that after the hubbub of the last couple of days they quite enjoyed.
Wow, wait, had it really been only one and a half days since they had travelled down to Kent for some dancing lessons? Had it really been only yesterday that they got engaged? Yep, no doubt about it. It seemed like a lifetime. Right, that could be misunderstood somehow.
A lifetime in regards to Will and her in the positive sense of meaning and when it came to Lady Catherine and her mother in a, yeah well, negative one. With that being said, or in Elizabeth's case rather thought, she had to admit, however, that yes, she knew both of them meant well. Perhaps a bit too well.
No, decidedly too well...
Anyway, the tiny church was perfect, even though it needed some fixing up. She had only just helped Jane to make over her flat, so painting the church would be a piece of cake. At least there were no cupboards to take down and not a million pictures to be hung up, no shelves to be attached to the walls, no contrasting colour to apply, no, a lick of white paint was all it needed. Sure, it was considerably higher than Jane's room had been, and they would have to use a ladder, also, they had to take off the flaking paint first, but as said, piece of cake, right? Suddenly Elizabeth felt a little bit nervous at the task before them, but as long as they worked together...
Casting a side glance at Darcy, she saw him smile back at her.
'What are you thinking about?' he inquired softly. 'You seemed very deep in thought just now.'
'Only a bout of nervousness,' she confessed.
'About marrying me?'
'No, about getting everything ready on time. We'll start tomorrow straightaway, right?'
The relief spreading over his face was unmistakable even as it quickly widened to a broad, reassuring smile.
'If you like. I have riding lessons in the afternoon and we'll need to go into Lambton in the morning to sort out the paperwork, but while in town, we can drop by the shops and get what we need. So even if we don't actually get to work tomorrow, then at least we have everything there the day after.'
'That is a plan. - Will, do you think your sister likes me?'
That had been another thing on her mind since the morning. Georgiana had not appeared at breakfast, and she had worried that it was due to her being there.
'Of course she does. Why?'
'Well, I don't know. It is just that I really want to become friends with her and that I feel that at the moment I am not doing a very good job at that. I feel as if I'm intruding somehow. I mean, we must have caught her completely off guard...'
'Not really. I have told her a lot about you. And you do a good job by just being you, you know. If it is any comfort, my sister very clearly likes you and felt comfortable with you there last night, or she wouldn't have said a single word. Georgiana is reserved at the best of times and I know she can appear a bit timid then. You are used to Kitty and Lydia, who are anything but reserved, but Georgiana is very shy. She had trouble at her old school because of it, which is why I brought her back here. Lambton Comprehensive is not a very good school, but at least she's at home, and eventually, she might even make friends.'
He did sound concerned for his sister, and it was at that moment, that Elizabeth decided to put aside her own fears and reach out to the girl. Apparently, her determined smile told him her innermost thoughts, for he pulled her close and kissed the top of her head, not so much in a fatherly gesture, but an affectionate one. Damn, he was tall...
'But she didn't come down for breakfast...'
'Yes, but not because of you but because she likes to sleep in on a Sunday. She barely ever gets up before nine and that would be early for her. So, by that time we were already out of the house.'
'Okay... - Wow!'
They had reached yet another magical spot, and it was only now that Elizabeth realised that they had not yet left the woods. Could the park be really that large? Or were the paths just so windy that it appeared as if they were not inside a cultivated landscape, but a huge wild forest? On one side of them was a steep slope with a rill running down it, but where they stood, the ground was almost perfectly flat and right before them, there was a pool of water fed by the tiny tricklet, before, on the other side of the pool it went further down the hill and presumably ended in the stream at the bottom of the valley in which the park lay. A couple of late water lilies blossomed on the pool's surface, sheltered by the large trees surrounding the place and then Elizabeth spotted what looked like the entrance to a natural looking cave.
'Is this a hermitage?' she blurted out before she could stop herself, immediately feeling stupid.
She had seen such places in other parks whenever her mother had dragged them to see the one or other place, claiming that she wanted to get some ideas for their own garden. Okay, the garden at Longbourn was more of a park as well, though a very small one, and Mrs Bennet took great pride in it, though nothing surpassed her enthusiasm for her vegetable patch, if only because she entered the Giant Vegetable Competition every year and with ever growing success - pun intended.
Okay, there Elizabeth needed to correct herself, nothing could surpass Fanny Bennet's enthusiasm for veggies when it came to gardening, not in regards to other topics like babies and marriage...
'You could say so,' Darcy answered. 'But no, that was one folly my family did not indulge in. However, this is where I went as a boy, whenever I felt the need for solitude.'
'You chose well. This place is stunning.'
'It was not when I first came here, but I did my best.'
'You built that?'
It didn't look man-made, that much was for sure.
'I did. There was an old burrow here, a badger had built ages ago. Or at least so my father told me. All I did was dig it out further, just as I did with the pool which then was a mere puddle.'
'How old were you?'
'Around twelve. I started when my mother fell ill...' his voice trailed off.
Damn, what an ungrateful brat she was...
'Oh Will, here I am constantly complaining about my mother and... - You must miss your parents so very much.'
'I do,' was all he answered and Elizabeth didn'
t dig deeper.
Not now at any rate. He would talk to her once he was ready to do so. For now, she just turned and held him for a while desperately trying not to cry for his loss. His pain was almost palpable.
Here they were, getting married, and while she still had both her parents and several sisters to boot, the man she loved so dearly had but one very close relative. Life really wasn't fair.
Yes, occasionally, she wanted to throttle the one or other of her family, but nope, not really. They were great people to be around, loving, caring, yes, a bit crazy, but always there to help each other out, even though it might not be apparent at first glance. Especially Lydia had made some progress in the last couple of weeks. Actually, the change in her attitude was quite surprising. - And if she thought about it, it was all down to the man in her arms. Had he not insisted on Lydia helping, she would never have discovered the pride that came with some serious graft; the joy of having done something useful, and the appreciation of the people around her.
It had taken one tiny lesson, nothing more than an afternoon, and her youngest sister had finally grown from the baby of the family into a fairly responsible teenager. Okay, she was still incredibly silly, but with her being only fifteen, that was quite alright.
'So, picnic?' Will asked after a while, with renewed cheerfulness.
'Please. I have to admit I am quite hungry.'
'Likewise. Inside or outside?'
'Hm, I think that tree trunk over there looks very inviting.'
'It most certainly does. For a tree trunk, that is.'
'Why, have you encountered any unfriendly tree trunks lately?'
'Not lately, but I have met several decidedly hostile ones.'
'When was that then?'
'Last February, when around Lambton several trees were uprooted due to a heavy storm. Pemberley is fairly sheltered, so we hardly have any problems, even when the gales are thunderous, but Lambton is a bit higher up and this year has really taken its toll on some of the oldest trees in town. There was an old horse chestnut tree right by the old smithy, which is now a fairly decent Chinese restaurant, and it fell. Well, it would have, had we not chopped it off first for safety reasons.'
'We?'
'Two of my gardeners and I. With a park like this, we are bound to have the machinery to maintain the woods, so at three in the morning, I got a call, asking for help. No idea who was out and about at this time of night and in a storm like that, but fortunately someone was. By the time we arrived, the tree leaned heavily to one side.'
'And still it refused to let you fell it?' Elizabeth joked.
'No, that was alright, But in order to be able to transport it off, we had to cut it right there and then and that was when the trouble started. That tree had been used as a bulletin board for literally centuries and consequently, the trunk was full of old nails, some stuck deep in the wood as over time bark had developed around them. It ruined more than one saw-chain. All in all, it took us thirteen hours and three additional men to move the tree and re-open the road.'
'Oh dear!'
'At least the old lady across the road supplied us with endless amounts of tea and a potty, so it was all worth it. And I tell you, she's making the best tea in all of Derbyshire, if not England. - Just don't tell Mrs Reynolds I said that.'
'I won't. Promise!' Elizabeth laughed.
'Good. That's some relief. Otherwise, I would never have heard the end of it - or even worse, Mrs Reynolds would have started to try out different ways to make the best tea in the world, while, until she found it, we would have to put up with all the horrible brew she'd produce in the meantime. And I do love my tea!'
'Spoken like a true Englishman.'
'Which is some compliment, considering that originally my family stems from France.'
'What? Really?'
Why did she feel that he was leading her into a trap? Okay, the corners of his mouth twitched and his eyes twinkled with amusement.
'Of course,' he smirked. 'So, technically Gloria was not wrong when she called me Mr d'Arcy. The name was just anglicised at one point in history, that's all.'
'And for how long has your family lived in England?'
'Since around 1066.'
Of, bloody, course... - Duh!
Yes, yes, yes, she had heard of the Norman Conquest, but for some reason, she had never really thought about the fact that so many noble families had names that on closer inspection did not sound very English. De Bourgh was another example, as was Beaufort and various others. Heck, thinking of it, the last time England had been ruled by an actual English king (or queen, for that matter) was also 1066. If she remembered it correctly, the Tudors were originally from Wales and the Stuarts were obviously Scottish while all the others were technically not even British. What an odd thought. Not that it mattered in the least. King John had screwed up so massively that he was forced to sign the Magna Carta and since then no King could rule without a parliament. And nowadays it was this parliament who made all the decisions, so hey. And besides, the Angles had already been invaders taking over from the Romans... Shit, history was one screwed up mess, wasn't it? Anyone up for a nice little party of Game of Thrones?
'Have I stunned you into silence with my revelation, Lizzy?'
'No, but your enthusiasm for history seems somewhat contagious, Will. I am even now making a list of things I want to read up on.'
'Hm, I must consider that a good thing then.'
'Why?'
'Because that would be yet another thing we share an interest for.'
Okay, good point. Funnily enough, history had never much interested her, but suddenly Elizabeth felt quite keen on reading up on a couple of things if only to not look like a complete dolt should the topic stray down this road again sometime in the future.
It was only a slight drizzle that at least made them aware how much time had passed and that perhaps it might be a good idea to go back into the house. Her stuff was still stacked at the back of the kitchen, waiting to be brought upstairs, and though Pemberley was grand and all, the hoover had replaced the chambermaid and the dishwasher its scullery version she seriously did not expect Mrs Reynolds to do so.
However, when they slipped through the back door and into the kitchen, her belongings were gone and a cheerful Georgiana in a baggy jumper and a pair of denim dungarees sat at the kitchen table with her braided hair in disarray, drinking a cup of tea and munching away on a scone, thickly smothered with clotted cream and jam. That way around, not the other, Elizabeth noted, just like she herself ate them, while Penny, backed up by Aunt Rosie, permanently argued that it should be the other way around. As if it made any difference.
'Hi!' the young girl greeted them. 'Did you have a nice day?'
'It was lovely. And what about you?'
Elizabeth could not help feeling slightly guilty for having left out her soon-to-be-sister, though Georgiana Darcy did not seem in the least offended.
'It was also great,' she beamed. 'I went for a ride, then drew a little bit and started on my assignment... - By the way, I might need your help there, Will.'
'What is it about?'
'History.'
Not again! However, Georgiana sounded decidedly less interested than her brother at the prospect of having to research and write something about the past.
'That doesn't help all that much,' Will answered grinning. 'But sure.'
'Well, the thing is, we can actually choose a topic. And that is the problem, I am not sure what to write about. Napoleonic Wars, Roman Conquest, Cromwell and his cronies, Hundred-Years War...'
'Didn't you just say that you've already started,' Elizabeth interjected puzzled.
'I have. I chose a nice green folder and wrote “history assignment” and my name on it...' Georgiana dead-panned, desperately trying to keep her face straight but failing miserably all the same.
'Sounds like you are really getting somewhere.'
'Yes. I'm quite proud of myself. Okay, I have to admit that I also cr
eated a file on my computer and tried out a couple of fonts to use for the captions, though I have not yet decided which one I'll use. - No, no worries, Comic Sans is not among them, brother dearest. I am beyond that age.'
'Hm, I am not,' Elizabeth mused. 'I actually quite like it. It's so refreshingly relaxed.'
'As long as you don't write any notes or signs for the hotel in Comic Sans I'm perfectly fine with it, too.'
'So that's what's behind it? Not serious enough, or what is the reason you despise that font?'
'Truth be told, I couldn't care less in what font something is written as long as it's not Wingdings, for obvious reasons, but I actually had a customer complaining about it being used on the menu. The kids' menu that is, not even the normal one. But apparently, bangers and mash in Comic Sans don't taste as nice as ones spelt out in Times New Roman.'
'Eh...?'
'My reaction exactly. Anyway, I have now banned Comic Sans from use at the hotel, but it has survived as a running gag.'
'Well, it is a joke.'
'Very true,' Georgiana agreed, pushing away her plate. 'By the way, I took the liberty to bring up your boxes. I had just finished when the two of you came in.'
'Oh... - But they were heavy as heck.'
'I used a trolley and the dumbwaiter, so it was no bother. They are now all stacked in your dressing room.'
'Dressing room?'
Elizabeth was puzzled. Okay, there was another door next to the one leading to the bathroom and another on the other side of the chamber, but after the tour of the rest of the house, she had been too tired to even wonder where they lead to, and this morning they had been otherwise engaged before going down to breakfast and then taking off for their ramble.
'Eh, yes. The one next to your bathroom.'
'Ah, the one on the left...'
'No, it's on the right-hand side.'
'I could have sworn that there was no door there...'
'That is because Georgiana is talking of your bedroom, not mine. It's actually a whole suite of rooms. The master's and mistress' bedroom with a bathroom and dressing room each and a small private sitting room in the middle, connecting the bedrooms.'