He led her through a maze of hallways, arriving at last at the housekeeper’s office. He knocked, and stepped aside to allow Elizabeth to precede him.
Mrs. Reynolds rose and curtsied.
“Mrs. Reynolds! It is good to see you looking well,” Mr. Darcy replied.
The woman coloured with pleasure. “And it is good to have the master home again,” she said, affection in her voice.
Mr. Darcy introduced them formally. Then Elizabeth spoke. “Good morning, Mrs. Reynolds. As you and I will be working closely together, I thought we might spend some time with one another this morning.”
“I will be happy to do so,” the older woman agreed. “Do you wish tea, Mrs. Darcy?”
“I thank you, no; we have just finished breaking our fast.”
“I will leave you two to get acquainted,” Mr. Darcy said, and left.
The two woman stared at one another in silence. Elizabeth broke it, saying, “May we speak frankly, Mrs. Reynolds?”
The housekeeper sighed. “I suppose we must.”
“Yes, we must. First, I must tell you that the young girl who attended me last night, Carrie, was afraid for her position if she so much as spoke to me. As a result, I must insist that none of the servants be removed from their duties without my express consent.”
“No one has told the servants not to speak with you, Mrs. Darcy.”
“I must strongly disagree, Mrs. Reynolds; the woman who helped me dress this morning said exactly one word to me, and then marched out the moment her duties were done. Carrie stated plainly that she had been told not to speak with me. It is quite evident that word is being spread that I am not to be acknowledged.”
Mrs. Reynolds closed her eyes, and then put her head in her hands.
Elizabeth remained silent.
Finally, Mrs. Reynolds raised her head, allowing Elizabeth to see the tears in her eyes. “My lady has been mistress of Pemberley for so long, and to just be replaced – well, she is at a loss, Mrs. Darcy. Can you understand that?” she whispered.
“I can, as it happens. My mother is the mistress of an estate as well, and she knows full well that her title is a temporary one. She dreads losing it, of course, but she recognises that the day will come.”
“Lady Anne does not know what to do,” Mrs. Reynolds said.
“What she is to do is simple enough; she is to train me to replace her. That is her duty.”
“Mrs. Darcy, I hope and pray you can understand that Mrs. Darcy – Lady Anne – has been an excellent mistress for Pemberley. She has cared for all of us, family, servants and tenants alike, since she married Mr. Darcy’s father.”
“I am happy to hear of it,” Elizabeth returned. “But she has a final duty to discharge, that of training her successor, and in that she is failing.” Elizabeth leaned forward. “Mrs. Reynolds, I am not interested in winning a war with Lady Anne. I am only interested in making certain that Pemberley does not suffer. For that, I need your help. I understand and applaud your loyalty to your mistress, but at the end of the day, we are all here to serve Pemberley and its dependents. Do we agree on that?”
Mrs. Reynolds nodded.
“Then please help me to help Pemberley. Do not let Lady Anne discharge servants simply for speaking with me. Allow me to begin to take on my duties, and correct me when I go astray. I have been trained to run an estate, but I had never anticipated being required to manage an enterprise as large as Pemberley. I promise that I will never ask you do anything to harm Lady Anne, but please, will you not help me, for Pemberley’s sake?”
There was a minute’s silence as the two women stared at one another. Then Mrs. Reynolds nodded, and said, quietly, “I will.”
They agreed to begin with the week’s menus. “Lady Anne allows Cook to set the menus; so for you to ask to approve them would not be taking anything from Lady Anne directly.”
“Would it not upset Cook?” Elizabeth enquired.
“As it happens, no; Cook has not been happy that the mistress – Lady Anne, that is – is not sufficiently interested in the food to approve menus.”
Elizabeth gave a small laugh. “Well, she is in for a treat, then, as I am very interested in food. I promised Mr. Darcy that I would accompany him on a tour of the house; perhaps you might arrange for me to meet with Cook at two o’clock this afternoon?”
“Very good, Mrs. Darcy. I will have her meet you in your private office.”
“Private office?”
