“Oh, Lizzy,” she cried when they settled in her bedchamber.
“What is wrong, Kitty?” Elizabeth asked, concern evident on her face and in her voice.
Kitty spent several minutes in tears before she finally spoke. “He thinks I am a child,” she finally said.
Elizabeth was less concerned but now confused. “Who does?”
“Colonel Fitzwilliam!” Kitty whined.
Her sympathy evaporated and was replaced by annoyance at her sister’s dramatics. “The Colonel is nearly twice your age, Kitty. You are nearly the same age as his ward.”
“He said I belonged in the school room,” she whimpered.
“And that is precisely why you have a companion now. Although she sometimes acts as a governess for you, she was hired to provide you with the education you lack. Yes, you are seventeen now and were out in Meryton despite your immaturity, but you are in no way ready for marriage,” Elizabeth informed her. “You are only slightly older than Georgiana, and she will wait another year before coming out. Part of that is due to my confinement occurring at the time she might have been presented, but she and her brother decided she needed another year before she would be ready. You will turn eighteen early next year but still have much to learn. Mrs Gardiner will help prepare you.”
Kitty sighed dramatically. “But I do not want to be an old maid and settle for someone like Charlotte did with Mr Collins or like Jane is doing with Mr Hastings, who, as a barrister, is a gentleman but will never be wealthy. Mama always complained that none of us married as early as she did—she was only seventeen when she married Papa,” Kitty whined. “She does not like Mr Hastings and keeps saying Jane could have done so much better.”
“Yes, and look at how well our parents’ marriage turned out,” Elizabeth retorted. Sighing, she took a deep breath before she continued. “Part of Mama’s complaints were because Papa did not prepare for the support of his wife or children after his passing when Longbourn passes to Mr Collins. She did not know what he would be like or if he would evict her from Longbourn immediately after Papa’s passing. Her marriage portion is not sufficient to care for her and her daughters without significant changes to her lifestyle. Instead of alleviating Mama’s concern, Papa mocked and ignored her, hiding in his book room and allowing the estate to flounder. The lack of available men in Meryton made Mama worse, and Papa’s refusal to go to London did not help matters.
“Charlotte married Mr Collins because she felt she would never have another opportunity to marry and would become a burden to her family. Jane has likewise suffered from a lack of eligible men in the neighbourhood, but Papa’s failure to provide dowries for us has made it more difficult to find the matches Mama desired. I was extraordinarily blessed to fall in love with a man who would not suffer from my lack of a dowry, although it has made my reception amongst his set moredifficult. Nonetheless, he loved medespitemy lack of fortune or connections, but he will tell you it was more difficult for him to accept his feelings for me than if I had fortune or connections.
“Jane is not ‘settling’ for Mr Hastings. She was courted while at the Gardiners a few times when she was much younger and has met other men, including friends of my husband’s, but she did not feel for them what she wanted to feel for her husband. With some men, her lack of fortune hurt her chances. She does feel, or is beginning to feel, for Mr Hastings the love a wife feels for her husband and wants to see what comes of it. You will likely not make a good match if you rush into marriage with the first man who offers for you. Allow yourself time to mature and learn from the excellent examples you have: Mrs Martin and Mrs Annesley here and Aunt Gardiner in London. Wait until you find someone who loves you as much as William and I love each other. Watch our aunt and uncle while you are in London to see what a solid relationship looks like, or even watch Jane and Mr Hastings—I doubt he will wait much longer to offer for her.”
Kitty listened intently to her sister and was quiet for several minutes when she finished. “So, I should not be bothered by the Colonel saying I am too young for him because I am too young,” she said finally.
Nodding, Elizabeth looked over her sister carefully before pulling her into a hug. “You may have a crush on the Colonel, Kitty, and he is a good man, but I doubt he is the man for you, certainly not right now. Just wait a little longer and do not be in such a hurry. Your situation has changed with my marriage to William, and you do not need to be anxious to wed.”
In anticipationof the Matlock’s afternoon arrival, the entire party set out in the morning, travelling through the snow by sleigh with wagons accompanying them to collect greenery to decorate the house. Darcy nearly caused an argument when he asked Elizabeth to remain safely indoors, but he wisely withdrew his request, and she offered to stay near the sleigh and nottraipse through the woods—too much. Once they arrived in the woods, Darcy kept her company as the rest of the party went in search of the greenery.
“Go on, Will,” she told him at one point. “You are so tall; they need your help gathering the mistletoe for our kissing boughs.”
He eyed her warily. “Kissing boughs, as in more than one?” he asked.
She grinned at him. “Pemberley is such a large house; surely you agree we need several—one near your study, of course, and another in the library. Of course, we will need one near our sitting room and another near the dining room. Perhaps a few in the hallways,” she teased him.
He bent near enough to kiss her. “I do not need the excuse of a kissing bough to kiss my wife, Elizabeth,” he growled. Having said that, he moved the half-inch required to capture her lips until his cousin approached and nudged the couple apart.
“Enough of that, Darcy,” Fitzwilliam complained. Darcy smirked and went to assist those among the trees. When he returned to Elizabeth, he grinned broadly as he tucked a sprig of mistletoe in her hair and another in the buttonhole of his coat. By the time the Matlocks arrived that afternoon, the house was decorated with copious amounts of greenery and kissing boughs in multiple locations.
Fitzwilliam, along with the three girls and two companions, greeted his parents and his cousin Anne on behalf of his hosts, who were resting due to Elizabeth’s condition. If anyone noticed Fitzwilliam paying considerable attention to Mrs Martin, the younger of the two companions, no one commented.
At dinner that first night, the Darcys’ announcement of Elizabeth’s condition fell rather flat. Lady Matlock guessed it during the house party in September. It was a poorly kept secret among the staff at Pemberley, and the younger girls, despite theirnaivetein these matters, heard enough from the servants to suspect. When Georgiana discovered the nursery had been aired and refreshed, she asked Mrs Annesley, who smiled and nodded and shared her suspicions with Mary and Kitty; they all squealed at the idea of a coming niece or nephew. Richard Fitzwilliam knew because he asked his cousin soon after seeing his cousin being very cautious and protective of his wife during the houseparty and the couple ‘resting’ frequently. Fitzwilliam teased his cousin for his overuse of this excuse to absent themselves from the party, and Darcy used her pregnancy as the reason. With a knowing wink, Fitzwilliam teased his cousin relentlessly each time he escorted his wife for a ‘rest’ from that point forward. Darcy’s smirk confirmed that ‘rest’ was rarely accomplished without a bit of exercise first.
The Matlocks’stay at Pemberley was short; they would depart for London after a se’nnight to host their annual Twelfth Night ball. The Darcys had been invited, but with the weather and Elizabeth expecting, they opted to remain in Derbyshire. Colonel Fitzwilliam would also remain at Pemberley before escorting the girls back to London sometime in mid-January.
Several letters arrived at Pemberley from London and Longbourn just after the new year. The letters from Longbourn detailed what had been done for the tenants for Christmas. Elizabeth was pleasantly surprised to learn her mother had listened to her advice given through her housekeeper and equally pleased to note Lydia assisted her mother in his endeavour. Lydia had frequently helped to deliver gifts to the tenants, although she had rarely helped to work on them.
In Lydia’s letter, she shared more about what she learned through this and found her mother appreciative of her sister’s advice given through Mrs Hill. She was still unwilling to go so far as to pen a letter of apology to Lizzy herself, but she did at least verbally express some sorry for having treated her second eldest daughter as she had. One part of her letter read:
You would be surprised to see Mama’s enthusiasm for helping the tenants since Mrs Hill told her you suggested it. When I arrived a few days before Christmas, Mama was visiting with the Millers—they had an illness the week before. Granted, Mrs Hill had given her directions for what to do, but she was doing what she could to help. She is as silly as ever—despite having only been at school for a few short months, I already have seen how foolish our mother’s teachings havebeen—but she is genuinely trying to be a better mistress of Longbourn. She is unwilling to write an apology to you, but she does seem to lament that she has never taken up this duty herself. Apparently, some of what you have said about your duties as Mrs Darcy seem to have finally penetrated, and she realises all of her daughters have been actively involved in helping her tenants for several years now and that with all of her daughters from home, this practice has been sorely neglected in recent months. She is trying, Lizzy, even if she is unwilling to admit it.
Lydia looked forward to returning to school, and all were pleased at how much the girl enjoyed learning. Once again, Elizabeth wished she could have done more for her sister when she was younger but was delighted that she was able to help now.
Mr Bennet also wrote about the progress at Longbourn—including yet another report of Mrs Bennet’s efforts, although with far more sarcasm and mocking in the rale than Lydia’s version. Elizabeth merely shook her head at the account when her husband gave it to her to read. However, Mr Bennet was making strides with his estate, and they were retrenching considerably, especially since his children were from home and others were maintaining them. The payment due on the first of January had been sent to London in the total amount, plus some extra to make up the shortfall from October.
Elizabeth and Darcy were pleased to learn this, and their letter from Mr Gardiner confirmed this. These funds would be deposited into an account to provide dowries for the girls, particularly the youngest, since the letters from London also included the announcement of Jane’s engagement and wedding plans. Elizabeth was saddened that she would be unable to attend but accepted it as a matter of course. She and Darcy had discussed Elizabeth travelling after the new year, and both believed it possible but unwise since the weather in Derbyshire in winter was unpredictable at best. They both desired to be at home for the birth and would wait for Mr and Mrs Hastings to visit them in the summer.
Colonel Fitzwilliam soon returned Georgiana,Mary, and Kitty to London, along with their companions. Mary had asked to stay behind to assist herenceintesister, and it had been briefly considered. Still, ultimately, they decided she needed to return to London for their sister’s wedding, especially as Elizabeth could not attend herself.
