By Charm or by Choice

by Shana Jefferis-Zimmerman

  Pastor and Mrs. Atkins said their farewells and departed for a brief honeymoon. Before departing Derbyshire for Longbourn, Mrs. Bennet had tried again to solicit funds for her youngest daughter from the Darcys and the Bingleys. Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth both declined to contribute as did Charles and Jane. They reiterated that reality needed to instruct the Wickhams regarding their purchases and household management, not their expectations of others. Mrs. Bennet was quite incensed, but they were unmoved. Mr. Bennet intervened and reminded Mrs. Bennet that if she wanted to contribute her own pin-money, she was free to do so. But Mrs. Bennet wanted to keep her pin-money and was quite vexed to hear that she should have no cause to rebuke her children for doing the same.

  The Longbourn family and Mrs. Gardiner departed Pemberley with Mrs. Bennet in a highly provoked state of mind. This bothered Mr. Bennet not at all. Whether this was due to him witnessing the happy settlement of a daughter to live on seven hundred pounds a year for the remainder of his days and more thereafter or the fact he had packed a good book for the return trip will be left to imagination of the reader. Mrs. Gardiner had brought her work bag and intended to complete all her deferred mending during their travels. This would allow her to spend more time with her children upon her return home. Kitty eagerly began her work on the Atkinses’ wedding portrait with her pencils. Mrs. Bennet satisfied herself by complaining about Lydia’s situation in the carriage without intermission until Mr. Bennet told her to speak on the subject no more.

  Upon their return to Hertfordshire, Mr. Bennet found his home was quieter than he recollected. Mary’s much improved playing of the pianoforte was glaringly absent. Mr. Bennet returned to the solitude of his library and his books. Kitty returned to her drawing and continued working diligently on the Atkinses’ wedding portrait whilst not neglecting practicing her French. Mrs. Bennet, who was desirous of being as much in company as possible now that she might be able to regale her friends and neighbors with tales of Pemberley and her new relations, was regularly from home. They were both animating subjects of which Mrs. Bennet never grew tired. The grandeur of the situation her second daughter resided in supplied a myriad of little details that could be shared with her indifferent audience, whom had heard these effusions before. Her self-gratulation sped from Pemberley’s silver and fine china, to the elegant furnishings, from the many grand rooms, to the multitude of servants, from the splendid entertaining to the many stylish carriages, but always wound its way back around to her success at forwarding the excellent match. Though no others had noticed the promising partiality on both sides, she had observed it all and had arranged for her daughter to tour Derbyshire with her brother to put the young people in one another’s way! And now she had new sources of delight. To be related to a titled and rich family of such property as The Viscount Sunderley was a very good thing indeed! She anticipated with glee how soon she and Mr. Bennet may travel to ------shire in order to visit Lord Sunderley and his illustrious son, Mr. Atkins. She frequently dropped references into her conversations about what The Viscount had said or what The Honourable Samuel Atkins had been wearing. Between Mrs. Bennet’s repeated noble recollections and Sir William’s continued descriptions of St. James, the neighborhood soon felt quite over powered from the effects of such proximity to the aristocracy and sought to dilute such greatness by keeping their distance.

  Pastor and Mrs. Atkins repaired to the Parsonage within a week and settled into their new life of domestic happiness. Both were truly attached to the other and in a state of profound marital felicity. They were cordially welcomed home by seemingly the whole town. They had not quite finished unpacking when the Bingleys’ gift arrived from Barrington having been brought by one of their servants. It was a horse and gig! Pastor and Mrs. Atkins were both overjoyed as this was an anticipated expense that was now averted! Mary sat down to write her thank you notes to everybody who had attended the wedding. Pastor Atkins soon returned to his calls and other parish duties. Mary eagerly began her busy schedule calling upon the poor, the sick, and the town’s orphanage. She also paid social calls to her neighbors and the shop keepers’ wives. And she walked around Lambton to gain more familiarity with the town. Her neighbors became friends and all commented on her devotedness and industriousness. Purse strings that were once knotted with uncommon tightness with regard to supporting the second son of a Viscount were now eagerly let loose to combat the misfortunes found at the local orphanage.

  At home Mary helped in the kitchen with the preparation of meals. She did not know much about what happened in the kitchen, but Missy loved the help and was a patient teacher. Mary had eschewed her mother’s advice about hiring more servants. She and her husband strove to maintain their attitude of service and were still constructing their household budget. Until its completion, they did not want to take on any additional expenses. Mary had warned her husband that monetary requests may be received from the Wickhams. She disclosed that currently Elizabeth felt that money should not be given to allow the Wickhams time to learn how to economise. Elizabeth scrupled that the decision could be revisited if Lydia Wickham’s situation changed through childbirth, widowhood, or abandonment. Louis was concerned his new wife had to address such issues, but he was persuaded that Elizabeth’s advice was sound.

  Mary practised her piano playing daily at the table piano and continued on her reading list from Mr. Hendrickson, borrowing regularly from the local circulating library or from Pemberley. She had heard about the Collinses’ highly productive garden from Elizabeth and wrote to Charlotte for advice. Charlotte provided wise counsel with regard to being an efficient and valued pastor’s wife through the eyes of one’s husband and congregation. She also confessed that she had struggled with the kitchen garden until she and her husband had slowly added stone paths which kept the mud out of the Parsonage. Mary found all of her advice very helpful. Mary soon purchased several chicks from a neighbor to set up a chicken coop next to her growing garden. Kitty’s wedding portrait arrived and was opened with eagerness. It was a very lifelike rendering and the Atkinses were indeed pleased. They immediately sought to write Kitty another note of thanks and told her of their plans to have it framed and hung in their bedchamber. Pastor Atkins knew of just the carpenter to hire for the framing.

  The Darcys had the Atkinses over for dinner once a week and were invited to tea or luncheon at the Parsonage on a regular basis. Each appreciated the other’s society and friendship and many hours were spent together in this enjoyable fashion. It was during one of these visits that Mary shared that she was with child. Elizabeth was so happy for Mary and Louis. They would make for wonderful parents. Georgiana had similarly been elated to learn that she would soon be an aunt. Elizabeth sent Mary and Georgiana back to the attic to select furniture for the nursery and direct the delivery. The Parsonage still had two unused bedchambers available for any children. A very cheerful nursery was quickly outfitted in the Parsonage and Mary began a project of making baby clothes.

  Chapter 20

  Elizabeth was surprised it had taken her above eighteen months to conceive a child. She knew that there were worse things than having to wait. Jane’s two bitter losses were proof of that. Elizabeth had not become nervous, but she had inquired of their physician, a Mr. Young.

  “Do not worry Mrs. Darcy.” He replied with entreaty. “You are young, healthy, and happy. Give it time and let nature take its course. I will say however, if you had hoped for a large family, you may be forced to make due with one of a smaller size. It does not appear that you will bear a child every year as many of my other patients do.”

  Elizabeth’s mother had been delivered of five daughters in about eight years early in her marriage and had spent the next seventeen years lamenting the cruel hands of fate at her surplus of daughters and her inability to have a son to break the entail of Longbourn to Mr. Collins.

  It was with great pleasure that Elizabeth finally was able to share with Fitzwilliam that she was in a family way. He was overjoyed.

 
; “Are you certain? How do you feel?”

  “I am certain. I had my suspicions in May, but I waited an extra six weeks to tell you, my dear. After having waited so long, I wanted to be sure! I feel fine. There was a bit of nausea weeks ago, but it is all passed now.”

  Against her protestations, Fitzwilliam had immediately summoned Mr. Young to Pemberley to see Elizabeth. In her mind, this confirmed the soundness of her plan to delay sharing her news for as long as needed to remove all doubt.

  Barrington, July 2

  Dear Lizzy,

  It is as I always hoped! My dear sister, I congratulate you. You shall be a wonderful mother. I hope you are continuing in good health and spirits. Your ideas for Pemberley’s nursery sound lovely. Charles and I are quite excited at the prospect of being an uncle and an aunt! I shall be at the ready to travel to Pemberley when your time comes.

  We are continuing to meet our new neighbors in town and are quite content with our selection of Barrington for our purchase. We have started planning on some improvements to the house hopefully in the future I shall have more information to share.

  The Wickhams have finally departed for Newcastle and I confess, their visit was for a much longer duration than that which was originally agreed to! They are ill-tempered with one another and their bickering was a trial to both Charles and l. I was most hopeful that there was a sincere regard between them, but I am no longer certain that is the case.

  Yours, etc.,

  Jane

  Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam, joined by Mary and Louis had visited the Bennet family at Longbourn whilst the ladies were both still able to travel. The two blessed events might be within weeks of one another. Kitty had included some small samples of her drawings in her letters to Elizabeth and Mary, but now she was able to show her entire portfolio of drawings. They were quite singular. Her French was continuing to improve and Kitty felt she was gaining a true fluency. There were two Meryton shopkeepers who were émigrés from Paris and spoke fluent French whom she often visited in between her French lessons. This provided a great deal of opportunity to practise her skills. Everybody was proud of her.

  Speculation from Mrs. Bennet was fevered with regard to whether the Darcy first born would be a boy or a girl.

  “Lizzy, come here, and bring your wedding ring!”

  “Mama, whatever can you be about?”

  “I am trying to show your father that you are having a boy, so that Pemberley can have an heir! By placing your ring on this string, I can watch the movement. THAT will tell me if it’s a boy or girl”

  “Mama, there is no entail on Pemberley. We may choose whomever we want to inherit the estate, even a daughter.”

  “Lady Lucas also tells me she carried the baby low when she had her sons and that is how you tell if it’s going to be a boy. I don’t see how a mere girl could inherit all of Pemberley! What would she do with it?”

  “Manage it for future generations like every Master and Mistress before her.”

  “What nonsense!”

  “Mama, you would not have called it nonsense if Jane had been allowed to be the heir of Longbourn and Mr. Collins had been nothing more to us than a distant cousin.”

  “Well! That is completely different young lady!”

  “I don’t see why.”

  Elizabeth did not bother continuing the repeated argument. Her mother was still quite silly and equally firm in her opinions whether they were based on information and understanding or not.

  Mr. Bennet had observed this exchange with a knowing smile. “Mrs. Bennet, I shall look forward to reading your scientific conclusions when they are published in the medical journal. Pray, can you tell me if that will be before or after our grandchild arrives?”

  Mr. Bennet and his two sons-in-law all looked very amused and retired together into Mr. Bennet’s book-room.

  Fitzwilliam sighed. “Elizabeth hides it well from her mother, but she is quite interested concerning the gender of our first child and any others that may follow. She dearly loves her family, but it has occurred to her that if she is like her mother, we may end up with only daughters.”

  “Let me tell both of you, after five-and-twenty years of marriage producing five daughters, don’t bother studying how to get a boy versus a girl. It’s a waste of time and in both of your situations, it does not signify. Mrs. Bennet has more than a dozen experiments of dubious scientific value she may conduct. Half of them will predict a boy and the other half a girl. And the physicians have their own ridiculous notions as well. It’s all rubbish. In the end, we will know for sure when the baby is born.”

  “I appreciate that sir. I am certainly deficient in this realm and I shall defer to your experience,” replied Fitzwilliam.

  “This is a turn of events is it not Fitzwilliam? It’s nice to be of some use to you for a change! I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your assistance in organizing my financial ledgers, combining Longbourn’s purchases into larger more economical sizes, and introducing some of the new farming techniques here. As you know, the estate is much more profitable now.”

  “You are quite welcome, sir.”

  “Mr. Collins will be quite grateful I am sure,” Mr. Bennet said with a gleam in his eye.

  “I am not sure whether Mr. Collins can discern a well-run estate from a poorly-run one, although Elizabeth claims that his marriage to Charlotte has wrought some improvement in the man. The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step! If you aim for the gratitude of Mr. Collins I expect that you would do well to replace your chimney with one that cost two hundred pounds and to update your windows with glazing that costs just as much. Perhaps buy an additional carriage? For he enjoys mentioning when there are several” Fitzwilliam rejoined, chortling.

  “Indeed. Although we could spend an afternoon shopping for frippery, frivolity, and extravagance with which to impress Mr. Collins, it is no concern of mine. Nothing however compares with having contributed to Mary’s dowry, being able to contribute to Kitty’s dowry beyond your generosity and having laid by an additional sum to help support Mrs. Bennet in her eventual widowhood. I have finally learned to save! Of course, I was assisted in this endeavor enormously by Mrs. Bennet herself. It turns out she cannot spend extra income that she does not know is coming in!” Louis listened quite attentively to their lively banter and discussion. Fitzwilliam had explained Mr. Collins’ significance to Louis on the same day they discussed the marriage articles. Louis thought the fellow clergyman sounded rather interesting and looked forward to their eventual introduction. Fitzwilliam had not said so explicitly at the time, but apparently he thought that fifty years of age was rather late to begin saving!

  Kitty knocked at the door and poked her head in upon Mr. Bennet’s command. “Mr. Darcy, Mama wants to know if YOU have gained any weight since Elizabeth became in a family way. If so, it means she shall have a boy.”

  The gentlemen looked at one another and smiled.

  Elizabeth was preparing to interview candidates to fill the position of nursemaid before the arrival of their first born child and was surprised to learn that Fitzwilliam had some decided opinions on who should be hired. First and foremost, the woman must be local. Hiring a French chef or lady’s maid was one thing, he said, but a nursemaid from outside of Derbyshire was unthinkable.

  “She must be local. It shows our support and patronage of Derbyshire. But it also ensures our heir will speak with the local accent. The heir to Pemberley cannot speak with a Geordie or Cockney or any other accent. It has happened before and it made running the estate more difficult.”

  “Mr. Darcy, you are always full of surprises. And what other considerations shall we employ?”

  “The nursemaid must have an outgoing, easy manner and a sense of humour.”

  “Is that for the baby’s sake or the parents’ benefit?”

  “Both!” he laughed.

  Elizabeth had made light of his requirements, but this conversation had affected her greatly. She had only recently considere
d her younger sisters’ upbringing and its effects on their behavior and their futures. She had never considered how to nurture a child’s talents for running an estate. With only sisters in her family and the estate entailed away, the issue was never considered. How could she help her child be successful with the responsibilities of running Pemberley? How would she prepare her child? Would she be overwhelmed by her own fears for her child’s future, just as her mother had been?