by Greer Boyd
“As well you should be,” Darcy replied. “I would suggest we go by horseback this first time, since it is only about an hour’s ride. By carriage, the journey is more than two hours, because the roads skirt away from the boundary of Pemberley Estate.”
For the D’Arcy family, the excitement mounted as they speculated what Caenvista Estate might be like. After the grandeur of Pemberley House, they did not want to show disappointment should their estate not live up to their speculation. The next morning after breakfast, the riding party promptly departed for Caenvista.
∞∞∞
As soon as the children awakened and had their breakfast, they asked for their ponies, and Nurse Lauren summoned Annabel, assuming that since the others had left for Caenvista, she and Nathan would ride with them.
When the nurse took Anne Elizabeth and Thomas, dressed in their riding attire to the sitting room, Mrs. Reynolds realized that what she had thought might have been exaggeration on Mrs. Wyatt’s part was not at all. They were a stunning “miniature riding couple.” When Annabel offered to bring the ponies around so she could see the children in their saddles, the housekeeper welcomed the opportunity.
Mrs. Reynolds walked down the steps to the main floor, through the foyer, and to the front steps with the riding party. When she saw the ponies come into view, she started to giggle and tried hard not to laugh. The ponies almost seemed to glow in the morning sun. “Where in the world did Mr. Darcy find such unusual horses?” she wondered aloud, knowing that if anyone could have found such creatures, it would have been he.
As the party slowly rode off down by the lake, she noticed that most of the maids and footmen were looking out the windows at the pair and were as amused and amazed as she was. After she had allowed them a few minutes “entertainment,” one clearing of her throat was all that was necessary to break the spell and send everyone back to their duties.
∞∞∞
Darcy’s riding party followed a path that had been made by the horses, cattle, and sheep that had literally used it for centuries. It led over fields, across streams, through woods, and over high hills, until after nearly an hour Darcy brought the party to a halt atop one of the high hills. Down below stood the main house of Caenvista Estate.
It was a bit more than a third the size of Pemberley House, also with three floors rising above the main floor, and made of the same slightly pinkish-white stone. It was situated on a large flat plateau halfway up a hillside that very gently sloped downward. The hillside then leveled at a beautiful pond surrounded on two sides by woods and on the third by a beautiful natural waterfall. The land on the fourth and final side continued to open showing more gentle hills and vast fields. Again very much like Pemberley House, the house was constructed to take advantage of the natural light and possessed a multitude of windows that presented a row of rainbow colours reflected from the mist of the waterfall. The sight was both beautiful and mesmerizing. They simply sat upon their mounts for quite some time, taking in the beauty.
“Oh, brother,” whispered Rebecca leaning slightly forward in her saddle, “is this truly to be ours?”
Before Piers could answer, Darcy replied, “Yes, it truly is.”
“Cousin,” urged Piers almost squirming in his saddle with excitement, “may we ride on?”
They rode for almost a quarter hour before coming up the gravel drive that led to wide steps, where they were greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Gray, the butler and housekeeper of Caenvista House. Mrs. Gray had been an assistant housekeeper under her cousin, Mrs. Reynolds, before she and her husband had taken the position at the neighboring estate. Darcy knew that these people held the same pride in their estate as Mrs. Reynolds held for Pemberley and Pemberley House. He also knew that they would protect this new family of D’Arcys as they had always protected his own family.
He made the introductions to Mr. and Mrs. Gray; and, as the family was led inside, he was even more pleased to see that the servants were lined up, ready to greet the new owners of the estate. After the introductions, the family was shown to a sitting room where tea and cakes were brought as refreshments after the ride and before the tour of their new home.
Just as elegant as those of Pemberley House, the furnishings were the style of three hundred years before. Piers and his sisters fell in love with the “Old World” charm of the settings. Newer things could be purchased as needed, but to them, everything was simply wonderful as it stood. Darcy was very pleased. He had always thought the furnishings suited the house well.
After the tour of the interior, Darcy, Piers and Mr. Hedge, the steward for Caenvista, rode out over the estate. Mr. Hedge showed them improvements that had been recently made, and introduced them to some of the tenants. Darcy was very impressed with the steward and knew that he would work very well with Piers to help him learn his new duties as an estate owner. Stopping their horses atop a hill overlooking one of the tenant farms, Darcy turned in his saddle to look toward Piers and inquired, “Well, what do you think?”
“I feel that I may awaken and find that this is all a dream. It is truly magnificent. Thank you.”
Before departing Caenvista, Piers invited Mr. Hedge to meet with him the following day at Pemberley House along with Darcy and his steward, Mr. Winter. The trip back was most animated with much discussion of the furnishings. Gabby had told Georgiana and Elizabeth that, “in France the furnishing would have been considered almost new, being only three hundred years old.”
“But Gabby,” said Lin with an almost rueful look, “The kitchen is atrocious. How can it be made more useful and up to date? What can be done about making a kitchen where we can truly cook and bake?”
Darcy intervened, “Ladies, we will be meeting with the steward for Caenvista tomorrow. Why not join us so we can address everyone’s questions at one time. There are a couple of improvements that I have made at Pemberley House that may be of interest to you as well, especially if my thoughts about your new kitchen are acceptable.”
The next morning after a brief tour of the kitchens and at Darcy’s request, Georgiana led her cousins into her dressing room. There, close to the fireplace, stood a large copper bathing tub perched on four bulbous feet. Having seen tubs with feet before, they looked from one to the other trying to determine what was different. Smiling almost smugly, Georgiana quietly pushed aside a strategically placed floor-to- ceiling drapery to reveal two small copper pipes protruding from the wall and hanging just slightly over the edge of the tub.
“Oh my, Georgiana,” asked Gabby, immediately understanding the function of the pipes, “however does this work?”
“I will readily admit that I do not know all of how it works. Brother is the one who designed it with the same architect who made the repairs to the Pemberley House kitchens several years ago,” said Georgiana as she gathered her skirts to one side and leaned closer to the pipes, “but I am happy to explain what I do know, and can show you how it functions.
“When the alterations were made to the kitchens, thick walls were constructed from the basement foundation to the top floor and filled with what is called ‘concrete.’ The walls were made in such a way as to ‘separate’ the kitchens from the rest of the house, yet still have them remain a part of the actual structure. Should there be a fire in the kitchens, it will not spread to the rest of the house. On the roof of the topmost floor above the kitchen area is what we call the ‘water tower,’ a large stone oven-like structure built to heat water throughout the day in a massive cooking pot.”
Grasping a thick cord that hung from the ceiling with a tasseled ball at the end, she told them, “Here is a bell pull that is exclusively for notifying the water tower that hot water is needed for a bath and in what bath chamber it is needed. Hot water is then directed through a series of pipes that run throughout the house.”
Then, as she pulled the bell pull, she continued, “Let me show you. It takes a few minutes, but not nearly so long as having it carried up the stairs in buckets from the kitchens, and, of course, it
is not nearly so hard for the servants.” In the corner of the room, her maid vigorously nodded her head to emphasize just how much she agreed.
“When water is ready to be released from the water tower, this lever next to the bell pull will be moved from its current position showing ‘no water’ to this position showing that it is ‘ready,’” Georgiana explained, as they watched. When the lever moved, she turned the valve on the end of the pipe to the same position. For a few moments, air could be heard rushing from the end of the pipe until hot water suddenly started to flow into the tub.
“When sufficient water has been let into the tub, the switch on the end of the pipe is turned to the original position,” which she did, and they saw the little lever beside the pipe respond appropriately. “When the bath is finished, a valve is opened on the bottom of the tub and the water flows into an underground catch basin or cistern, where it can be pumped up for use in watering the flowers in the solarium, the conservatory, or the flower gardens. The cold water comes in from another area and is always available.”
Elizabeth, who had been awed by this whole procedure, laughingly told Georgiana, “No wonder the servants are so happy to work here at Pemberley House.”
“Brother is working on another device, called a ‘water closet,’ to replace the chamber pot. It is being tested in the Master’s and Mistress’ suites,” Georgiana informed them cheerfully, “but that will be something for the future.”
A while later, when the D’Arcys and their steward met with Darcy and his steward, the alteration to the kitchens and the possibility of the water tower and hot running water were discussed as well as the massive expansion of Caenvista House to accommodate the large D’Arcy family. Knowing that these things would take time to complete, the men agreed that Piers, his sisters, and cousins would remain at Pemberley House until at least the time for their departure for the Little Season in London, and only thereafter would they officially take possession of Caenvista as their main residence.
Georgiana was secretly delighted. Once in her bedchamber, she began to twirl around as she had often done as a child, hoping that over the next few months she and Piers would come to know each other much better.
Cousin Anne, on the other hand, while quite pleased to be a part of her family’s continuing happiness, very much desired to return to Kent and Rosings Park. She had begun to feel unwell, but did not want to have anyone become overly concerned for her. She and Charlotte, escorted by Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam, left for Kent the following week. After accompanying her home, Richard planned to leave from Rosings Park to return to his duties in London.
That same week saw the departure of Captain Denny and Lieutenant Folkes for London and their military duties; plus Mr. Grove and his associate along with Mr. Fleming returned to their respective professional pursuits. It was not quite another two weeks before the Gardiners left for London, and the two young gentlemen left for their separate country estates.
Nathan had asked his parents, Darcy, and Uncle James and Aunt Eleanor if he might stay at Pemberley until their return for the Little Season, and all were in agreement that he could benefit from some of the training that Piers would be receiving regarding estate management and all that it entailed. Each of the departing young men had asked both Darcy and Piers if he might write to his particular young lady, but it was Aunt Eleanor who made the ultimate decision.
“You may write a letter to your young lady, but it must be addressed to Lord D’Arcy and must be able to be read to her entire family. We will be back in London for the Little Season, and you will be able to call upon her at Darcy House at that time,” ruled Aunt Eleanor, although she was quite pleased with the result of her pairings.
Georgiana, while very much enamored of Piers, did not forget her duty to Elizabeth and Darcy one bit. When they were in Pemberley House or visiting for the day at Caenvista House, she was almost always with them. When she could not be with them, she made sure that one of her cousins took her place. When they rode out over the fields and through the woods of Pemberley Estate, someone always rode with them accompanied by an outrider whether the children were along or not. Never were they seen alone, since a family member or two was always present.
The same thing could be said of Georgiana and Piers, and Mary and David Fitzwilliam. Indeed, even Annabel and Nathan soon found that they were not allowed to ride unless they were at least accompanied by a groomsman. They liked each other very much, and like their older counterparts, they knew that the observation of and adherence to propriety would always be upon them.
Charles and Jane Bingley were truly the only couple allowed the freedom to ride off alone, and they were quick to take advantage of that freedom, often going on picnics as well as for the pleasure of a solitary ride. They had made this visit to Pemberley somewhat like another honeymoon. David had laughed when he pointed out to Mary that there was always a tightly rolled blanket or two behind Charles’ saddle. Yet, Jane and Charles were always willing to sit or ride with Darcy and Elizabeth or any of the other guests of the estate at any time that they were asked.
Elizabeth soon found that Mrs. Reynolds had begun to take care of her just as she did Darcy and Georgiana. She liked Mrs. Reynolds very much and could tell that the Pemberley House housekeeper was slowly “unofficially” integrating her into the workings of the house and the estate.
Since letters from London came as consistently for Elizabeth as they did for Darcy and Charles, she had been given the Mistress’ study from which to work. But, Darcy soon asked her if she would like to work from his study. When she readily agreed, he quickly had an oak desk exactly like his, only much smaller in dimension, placed in front of one of the windows overlooking the flower garden. There, they could handle their individual correspondence, both family and business, or discuss the merits of various investments with ease and still be in close company with one another.
This worked exceedingly well for Georgiana, because it meant she had only one study to oversee rather than two separate ones, and Piers was frequently with Darcy learning how to oversee and manage an estate. Since Nathan also regularly joined Darcy and Piers, it ended up that six people often met in Darcy’s study, including Annabel, who was frequently to be found with Nathan.
Mr. Fleming and Mr. Grove also came to Pemberley every month, so a bit of additional seating had been brought into Darcy’s study and arranged in a comfortable manner.
Aunt Eleanor had taken the D’Arcy women under her wing to begin their “schooling” almost immediately upon their arrival at Pemberley House. Being intelligent and not nearly as naive about the ways of the world as most young women their age, they understood quickly the nature of the lessons she presented. Throughout the war and after the death of their father and Gabby’s husband, they had been subjected to many affronts and much unpleasantness, but ultimately they had managed to maintain their dignity and their virtue.
Aunt Eleanor meant to see that things stayed that way and that the affronts and unpleasantness remained things of the past. She was not concerned so much about any actions on the part of the ladies, but was sorely afraid of an unscrupulous “gentleman” taking advantage of their naivety about the inner-workings of society. As her lessons progressed through the weeks, her worry began to diminish. She came to understand that these women would not allow themselves to be compromised, and she soon felt quite sure they would do very well during the Little Season in London’s society.
Annabel sat with the ladies as her mother gave these “lessons” and became aware of many things that she had not previously known, such as to be wary and alert to possible compromising situations. Throughout her life, her parents had allowed her to explore and question, but always within a certain set of parameters. She had seen and done many things beyond what most young ladies were allowed at that time. She could thank her older brothers for their assistance, since it was rare that she was not under their watchful eye and protection. Now she knew why and was ever grateful for her parents and her broth
ers.
Her mother talked of marriage for convenience, which was the most prominent type in “society,” and she talked of marriage for love, which was not so often found. Annabel was young, but she could see the way that her cousin and Elizabeth Mills looked at one another, not to mention the looks exchanged between Georgiana and Piers D’Arcy.
She thought about Nate, knew that she cared about him very much, and felt that he cared about her as well. She enjoyed his company, his confidence, his sense of humor, the kindness reflected from his beautiful sapphire eyes. She thought, “Is this the beginning of love? What of Thomas and Anne Elizabeth? They were constantly together, holding hands, hugging one another, looking at each other and giggling or laughing out loud. It seemed as though they could communicate without words. Was that possible? Was that what her cousin and Elizabeth were doing when they looked so deeply at one another and smiled or began to blush before looking away?”
As she was thinking, realization suddenly dawned upon her, and she began to question, “Could this comfort with another person, especially a young man, left unchecked, lead to a compromise? Oh, my. Now I know why Georgiana said that we all would look out for Elizabeth and Cousin Darcy. If they could be in danger, I could be as well.”