“And you are not getting my charity. It is to be her money, and only the earnings would be available for her husband, whoever he may be.”
“Will you inform her of her good fortune, Darcy?”
“When I think the time is right, yes.”
***
It was a full week before the Darcys began the return trip to Pemberley. During that week, they dined with the Matlocks and the Gardiners, visited the Menagerie and the British Museum, and spent an evening at the theatre. Colonel Fitzwilliam was often one of the party.
Mindful of the Christmas holiday approaching in six weeks’ time, Elizabeth purchased gifts for her Darcy and Bennet families, and even bought an ivory fan for Lady Anne, just in case a rapprochement was in fact reached, though she privately thought such an event unlikely. She secured a new winter cloak for Lydia, hoping to make up for the great sin of separating her from a villain, as well as one for Kitty.
Two carriages were required to transport the party, as both Kate and Mary were coming to Pemberley; unsurprisingly, Richard Fitzwilliam insisted on being part of the group.
Chapter Seventy-Three
Georgiana showed her mother the message from Brother, stating that William had found Elizabeth; Lady Anne knew it was time for her to go.
She and Hannah finished packing her clothing and jewelry; she would leave behind the Darcy diamonds, as they rightly belonged to the mistress of the house. She then prepared to leave Pemberley forever. She drifted through the house, making her farewells to the formal parlour, where she had first sat when her father, the Earl, came to visit; to the formal dining room, where she had held many dinners for neighbours; to the ballroom, which had been closed off since her Mr. Darcy had died; to the portrait gallery, where her own picture hung. Then to the rooms the family used – the family parlour, the family breakfast room, the family dining room. She even ventured to peek into the mistress’ rooms, where she had spent so much of her life. Elizabeth had redecorated the rooms, and they were lovely.
Hannah had not wanted to accompany her mistress to Cresston Hall, as her entire family lived in Lambton; but it was impressed upon her that her mistress could not travel without a female companion. Offered a substantial increase in salary and a promise that she could return to Derbyshire any time after a one-year period, Hannah had accepted the situation and now viewed the upcoming trip as an adventure.
Georgiana, however, was far less sanguine about the matter, as she was as yet unreconciled to the necessity of her mother’s departure. “No, no, this cannot be right,” the girl wept, again and again.
“It is my own fault,” Lady Anne said replied, again and again, her voice shaking with her own grief. “Your brother is right to send me away.”
“I will go with you!” Georgiana had said, her voice rising in determination. “Wait for me, please! I can be ready in a trice! I do not want to be at Pemberley without you!”
“No, Georgiana, my dearest, sweetest girl; your place is here, preparing for your Season.”
Nothing Lady Anne could say soothed the girl’s aching heart; finally, Lady Anne motioned for Mrs. Annesley to take Georgiana away.
***
Lady Anne and Hannah left the next morning, just as the sun was peeking over the horizon and before Georgiana was awake. There was no point in putting either of them through a long, protracted farewell.
***
Later that day, a messenger arrived at Pemberley with a note for Lady Anne from Mr. Darcy. Mr. Barton was puzzled as to what he was to do with it; finally, he simply put the message on Mr. Darcy’s desk.
Chapter Seventy-Four
Mindful of the comfort of the ladies in the party, Mr. Darcy was happy to spread the journey back to Pemberley over four full days. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth slept together at the inns, unlike their previous journey to Pemberley, and they were in no haste to rise early each morning.
Elizabeth recognised the final rise that led to Pemberley, and said to her husband, “Oh, do show Mary the best view of Pemberley – the one that you showed me when I first came here!”
Smiling at her eagerness, Mr. Darcy rapped on the ceiling of the coach with his walking stick, and the coachman obediently stopped the carriage.
“Mary, come and see,” her sister urged her.
Mary, though not generally known for her appreciation of natural beauty, could not contain her gasp. “That – that is Pemberley?! With the lake and the gardens?”
“Yes; is it not wonderful?”
“I have never seen such beauty,” Mary breathed. And she thought again that she had not, even after her experience in London, realised the extent of her brother-in-law’s wealth. Mr. Bingley’s was nothing to it, though she would never say so to Jane or Mama.
When the carriage pulled up in front of the house, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth were astonished to see all the servants lined up to greet the master and the mistress. Elizabeth turned to her husband, eyes shining. “You did this,” she said, softly.
“Yes; this is what was supposed to happen when we first came home to Pemberley.”
