Smoky Dreams

by Jaeza Rayleigh

  "Remember, Aunt, what happens next depends on how you choose to act. We are very serious. If you continue to disregard what Anne and I have told you, you will find yourself in the dower house very soon. Think carefully before you react." He placed her walking stick inside the carriage and then indicated that the footman should close the door. The other footmen were already collecting the blankets and folding them to put back into the small trunk where they were kept.

  "Lady Catherine is returning to Rosings Park. I expect she will be more able to provide you with her choice of route at your first stop to rest the horses. You should know that Miss de Bourgh is the one in charge of the estate now, meaning she pays your salaries. She will not be pleased if you bring her mother back to Meryton any time soon. Should Lady Catherine attempt to let you go, please report to Miss de Bourgh. No matter who is in charge of the estate, I expect you to provide good service to Lady Catherine and see her home safely. I understand she may be difficult, but you have all proven your quality in the past and I know you will continue to do well. Thank you."

  The footmen quickly finished their preparations and hopped up onto their usual seats. The driver acknowledged his orders with a, "Yes, sir," and nodded before he set the horses into a walk. Darcy returned to the house, stopping just inside the entry to speak with Mrs. Hill.

  "Did she hurt you at all when she forced her way in?" he asked.

  "She pushed me into the small table there, sir. I would have stopped her anyway, but I lost my balance. I am a touch bruised, but not bad, sir."

  "Thank you for trying. She is a difficult woman to stop. I am sorry you suffered any harm by her."

  "It is nothing to worry about, sir. I will be fine."

  He nodded and headed back to the sitting room, where he could hear many people talking. As he neared the door, Richard and Miss Lucas came down the hall towards him from the direction of the side door.

  "What is going on? We heard some noise and went to look for you, but you were not in the garden anymore."

  "Aunt Catherine came to visit." Darcy said. He smirked at Richard's reaction.

  "And I missed it? What happened? Where is she now?"

  "Heading down the drive on her way back to Rosings Park. Come into the sitting room. I am certain you will hear all about it."

  He stepped aside at the door to allow Miss Lucas and Richard in first. He could hear many people talking at once and he was not sure he wanted to go in just yet. Elizabeth saw him hesitating at the door and joined him there.

  "I am proud of you," she said softly. "She did not have a chance once you and Anne both decided to take a stand."

  "I gave her an ultimatum as I placed her in the carriage. She must either step aside and allow Anne to manage the estate, or she will end up in the dower house by whatever means it takes. What did you think of your mother's response."

  "I am proud of her as well. She was standing up for me as well as for Anne."

  "Yes. I will have to thank her."

  "Can we stand out here in the hall for a while, first?" she said. "We never did finish our walk."

  "We both still have our outer clothes on. I think we should go finish our walk right now. They do not really need us in there."

  Elizabeth looked back into the room, which was filled with talking people. She looked down the hall both ways and then at her heavy clothes. Smiling, she took his arm and they turned back towards the hall to the side door.

  "My dear," she said, "I think your idea is a very good one. Lead on. Our walk awaits."

  Chapter 35: Of Weddings and New Beginnings

  Over the next few days Darcy noticed a second benefit from the confrontation with Lady Catherine beyond just removing the threat she had presented to the celebration of his wedding. After seeing the result of Lady Catherine's attempt to control her family members, Mrs. Bennet realized her desire to provide a big, fancy wedding and breakfast with details planned down to the tying of the last bow was only serving to annoy or frustrate her daughters and their young men. The only one being pleased by her plans was herself.

  Once she started noticing the reactions of those around her, she saw clearly the relief in the expressions of all three brides when she offered to scale back on some of the plans and make the event less about showing off for the neighbors and more of a celebration with them. The relief on the faces of the three men was even more clear. She had been trying to impress them and prove she was as good as any hostess of the Ton. Only now did she see that they had no more interest in fancy decorations and such folderol than Mr. Bennet did. Darcy saw in that moment her realization she had been just as demanding and unreasonable in her own way as Lady Catherine had been with Anne. It was as clear on her face as relief had been on his own a moment before. The remaining time before the triple wedding was spent enjoying good company rather than adding more and more elaborate touches to the far more than adequate plans already in place.

  The company became even better when Elizabeth's London relatives, the Gardiners, decided to make up for the Christmas visit they had missed due to the snowstorm by coming to stay at Longbourn for the week before and after the wedding. Even the threat of snow, which continued to hover over the area, did not deter them from seeing their oldest (and possibly favorite, Darcy thought) nieces be married. They arrived with reports of clear, if slightly icy, roads and no troubles on the way.

  Darcy had his own moment of shame when he realized that a few months previous he might have disdainfully avoided an introduction to Mrs. Bennet's brother, or grudgingly acknowledged the man while insisting his wife cut the connection after their marriage. That Darcy was a fool. Now, he welcomed the connection to the good people who were such favorites with Elizabeth. How could he not?

  Mr. Gardiner even provided a solution to one of the problems on Darcy's list. Soon after the Gardiners arrived, and the children were settled in the nursery after being greeted by all their cousins, Darcy found himself in discussion with Mr. Gardiner about the challenges Lady Catherine presented.

  "Lizzy wrote that your aunt is very much set against you marrying anyone other than your cousin. I understand you and Miss de Bourgh had a confrontation with her recently where you settled that point."

  "Yes, she unwittingly revealed her only concern has been to establish herself as undisputed ruler of her late husband's estate, no matter what his will directed. She had no concern for Anne's well-being and actively prevented her from learning or participating in anything that might bring my cousin joy for most of her daughter's life."

  "The young woman seems happy enough now," Mr. Gardiner said, looking over to where both Georgiana and Anne sat listening intently to Mrs. Gardiner tell of her experiences meeting Lady Anne Darcy in Lambton. Mrs. Gardiner had lived with family in the village as a young woman and met Darcy's mother on several occasions.

  "She tells me she has never been happier in all her life than the past few weeks staying at Longbourn. Even when her father was alive, her mother controlled most of her activities. Every day here has been filled with new discoveries and good company. However, she will eventually need to go out on her own, including returning to Rosings Park at times to monitor her mother's activities and see to the needs of the estate. She requires a companion to replace the one who left her recently and has asked me to help find one. I usually try to get recommendations from people I know, especially for a role that is so important, but none of my inquiries have yet borne fruit."

  "I may be able to help you there, Mr. Darcy."

  "Please, call me Darcy as Bennet and Phillips do. In what way can you assist, Mr. Gardiner?"

  "Just Gardiner will do, then. As you know from the introductions, my primary business is as an importer of goods which I then distribute to retailers in London and several other cities. My business is very profitable and keeps me busy, but quite by accident I acquired a secondary business when one of my associates failed and offered it as partial payment of his debt to me several years ago. That business is an employment ag
ency."

  "I have never before worked with an agency, but I have heard that many are rather disreputable, no offense intended."

  "None taken. Many of them are very disreputable if not outright cheats. I know of several that promise excellent employment to people seeking work but are really only collecting fees from the applicants without offering any work at all. Others place applicants without any regard for their skills or the safety of either the employees or the employer. This agency was one of the latter and I have had to work hard to change it into a reputable business that both applicants and employers can rely on. We handle primarily domestic employees, running the full gamut from scullery maids to butlers and housekeepers. Last year we added a segment for governesses, companions, tutors and the like. The important difference in my agency is that we require and verify references from both the candidate and the employer. For instance, I will not send a woman into a home in any capacity if the family has a history of losing female employees for so-called immoral behavior, which usually means the master is taking liberties he should not while the women are blamed for it."

  "Very wise. I know many men see such liberties as part and parcel of the job, but that has not been my habit, nor was it approved of by my father. We did have a few problems at Pemberley when I was a young man, but they were caused by my father's godson even though I was never able to prove that to my father's satisfaction.

  "That is unfortunate. The fellow is nowhere near the estate now, I trust?"

  "No, he is in the Marshalsea now, although he was here in Meryton as a militia officer for a time. What of the employees? Are you as careful with their references? I had a bad experience last summer with a companion for my sister who gave every appearance of being a respectable woman. Her references looked good, but I did not check deeply. It turned out she was working with the man I just mentioned to arrange a marriage by elopement, so he could collect Georgiana's dowry. It was only luck that led me to find out before any real damage was done. I do not want to risk Anne falling into a similar kind of trap."

  "That is a valid concern, and of course there are no absolute guarantees. We do our best to check what we can. Did the companion offer false references, or did previous employers not know of the connection or the danger she might pose?"

  "The references were false but appeared to be from people I knew by reputation or who had some distant connection to my family. Of course, Wickham planned that and probably helped with the forgeries, knowing I would be less likely to check if the letter was from someone I knew but with whom I did not regularly correspond."

  "Quite so. Well, for lower positions in a household we send out letters to verify the previous employment and ask if there was ever a problem with the applicant. We tell the applicants up front that a response that indicates a record of dishonesty or tendency to shirk their duties will mean they forfeit their fee as my agency cannot recommend them under those circumstances. It does scare a few off, but we still sometimes find others through the letters who should not be employed. For senior servants and the nurses, governesses, companions and tutors, I have investigators go out and personally interview the former employers and members of the household. We also try to match a person's strengths to the position based on the employer's needs."

  "It does sound interesting. We can talk to Anne later. If she is willing to work through your agency, I will have no objections. She might also end up needing to change part of the staff at Rosings Park to reduce her mother's influence there. If she has a good experience finding a companion, she will probably go through you for that as well."

  "We will do our best for her and for you. I would hate to disappoint our Lizzy's husband or family." Mr. Gardiner smiled broadly at the younger man.

  The same day the Gardiners arrived, letters came from Newcastle. Darcy received word from Denny noting the travel was a bit cold, but nothing out of the ordinary and they had arrived safely and on time. Denny noted he had reported to his new commander and passed on the man's greetings to Richard. For himself, Denny said he was grateful for this opportunity and was looking forward to serving at his new post. He rejoiced at finding a small house for lease fairly close to the encampment. Because of the proximity, he would be able to walk to his duties and Mrs. Denny would have the company and aid of other officers' wives who lived nearby. All in all, he considered them off to a good start.

  Bennet received similar news from his son-in-law along with a few stories of challenges during the trip. Mrs. Denny mentioned some challenges from her perspective in her letters to her mother and sisters, who then passed on the news to the rest of the company. Mrs. Denny had not been very happy at their travel schedule and said she felt constantly cold and terribly bored on the way. She was particularly upset Denny was not willing to purchase a scarlet cloak she had seen in a shop window during one of their stops. If there were other complaints, they were not discussed in Darcy's hearing.

  What he did hear about were the complaints from his cousin, the Earl. Bertie wrote to Richard in response to a very half-hearted wedding invitation. Richard, of course, shared the note with Darcy.

  I know this must be some kind of elaborate joke on your part, Brother. You and Darcy, both marrying country girls of no consequence or dowry? Preposterous! Even if it is not, after the two of you visited the plague of Aunt Catherine upon me, I would sooner dance at your funeral than your wedding. My own wife has still not forgiven me for letting the old cat in the door, and you know very well I had no way to dislodge our aunt once she was in, although I did try locking her out when she went off to the bank one day. Fat lot of good that did. She nearly broke the door down with that **** new walking stick of hers. Heloise went off to visit a friend the day after I arrived, but I had no such refuge. **** you both! If you truly are getting married, I wish your wives the best and you two the worst of luck. I will not brave the snow to see the event or be the butt of your jokes.

  There were more complaints about Lady Catherine's visit, but nothing of any importance for Darcy's purposes. He was just as glad Bertie would not attend. Mrs. Bennet looked quiet and demure next to his raucous cousin. He would hate to be embarrassed by yet another family member in front of his new relatives and friends.

  After they had laughed over the letter from Bertie, Bingley told them he had invited the Hursts while specifically requesting Miss Bingley not join them. Hurst wrote back offering best wishes from Mrs. Hurst and himself while declining to come. Miss Bingley apparently had a suitor and Hurst wanted to clinch the deal before the poor fool, as he referred to the man, got cold feet. He feared even a day away might allow Miss Bingley the opportunity to do something to drive the man off. Richard had a good laugh when he heard the name of the Bingley's potential new brother. Miss Bingley's beau had a title – baronet – and he had an estate, although it was a fairly poor one. What Richard told them that Hurst did not explicitly state was that the man was a dullard of the first order, but also as stubborn as Miss Bingley. Her usual methods of manipulation would probably not work on him. Prompted by Darcy, Bingley wrote back to suggest Hurst tie up at least a third of his sister's settlement as a jointure, reminding him neither of them wanted to support her if her husband predeceased her and this would help prevent that need.

  Despite his reluctance to participate in any of the wedding plans, there was one point on which Darcy was happy to weigh in. He and Elizabeth discussed the honeymoon on one of their walks in the garden. The difficulty for Darcy was twofold. He did not wish to desert Georgiana and he knew Anne would have to check up on her mother at Rosings Park soon. This meant he and Elizabeth could not just take off on a trip or hide away in Darcy House or Pemberley. In the end, they decided on a very short honeymoon and worked out the details with their other family members.

  The Bennets invited Georgiana and Mrs. Annesley to join them at Longbourn for a week. If the snow precluded safe travel, the three newly married couples would all stay at Netherfield during that same week, although by mutual agreement they
would each occupy their own areas of the household and not feel obligated to entertain or even notice the other couples during that time.

  Darcy and Elizabeth would stay on at Netherfield for the week no matter what the weather. They did not want to get too far away from Georgiana even though they knew they could trust her to Mrs. Annesley's care and that of their family at Longbourn. At the end of the week they would travel to London with Georgiana. Anne would join them, if she wished. The Bingleys, of course, would be staying at Netherfield until the lease ran out, so they had no reason to travel unless Mrs. Bennet took to visiting too often later on.

  If travel was not considered dangerous, Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam would leave the day after the wedding and head to Mossridge, Richard's estate in Nottinghamshire. Richard had accepted the offer to purchase one of the Darcy carriages and a horse to pull it at a significant family discount. Unlike Denny, he knew the vehicle would be needed at his new home, which had stables and a minimal staff to look after it. The carriage was delivered three days before the wedding, by a postilion from Darcy's own staff who Richard later managed to hire away from his cousin.

  Of course, the first thing Richard had to do when the carriage arrived was take it around to Lucas Lodge for the approval of Miss Lucas. She was delighted by it, or so Richard told Darcy later. As at the Bennet household, the carriage horses for the Lucas family also did double duty on the home farm. Miss Lucas was used to walking when there was a need, but she liked the idea of having a carriage for her use in her new home. Darcy liked that Elizabeth also approved of the sale. She wanted her friend to have freedom to travel and get to know her neighbors or run errands in safety once she reached her new home. The kisses Elizabeth gave him to show her thanks for his gesture were worth far more to Darcy than a carriage and horse he would probably not miss anyway.

  ~*~

  On the night before the wedding, Richard tried to convince Darcy and Bingley to join him for a few drinks to celebrate after they returned form dinner at Longbourn with the Bennets and all their extended family along with the Lucas family. They had already had a few drinks after dinner, and knowing how Richard's idea was likely to end, Darcy refused. Bingley, quite wisely, took the hint and followed suit. None of their wives would appreciate a hung-over groom at the wedding and Darcy had no desire to either annoy Elizabeth or suffer the pain. Richard took it in good part, admitting Darcy was probably correct not to tempt fate.