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Later that night Jane woke from a nightmare in which she had married Mr Bingley only to be confronted with his infidelity. In the moonlight, she contemplated her sleeping husband who seemed hardly to have aged at all in the ten years of their marriage. She stroked the few streaks of grey at her husband’s temples and thanked God she had married the better man.
Chapter 61: The light surrounding you
The widow Bennet was married to Squire Goulding three weeks after his proposal, attended by her two youngest daughters. The Darcys were also present for the nuptials, for Dr Gordon was so pleased with how well Darcy had managed the trip to Bristol that he thought his patient ready for the longer journey to Pemberley. Indeed, on examination, the good doctor was surprised to find Darcy more cheerful than he had ever seen him, even before he had lost his sight. But the Darcys delayed their departure north slightly to allow Elizabeth to attend her mother’s wedding.
Georgie and a cavalier King Charles puppy the Darcys had recently acquired accompanied them north. The spaniel arrived as a late wedding present during their absence in Bristol and had already wormed its way into Georgie’s heart by the time the Darcys returned, making any thought of declining the gift impossible. The following note to Darcy from the Duchess of Wingham accompanied the pup:
“Congratulations on your recent marriage to a lady whom I have heard is worthy of your affection. I was at a loss to think of a present for you (since you already have everything that you want) and I do abhor generic presents. Frou-frou recently had a litter of pups. All but one of them had been requested by one friend or the other. Do not tell anyone but I kept my favourite for you. I know you only like working dogs, but your wife might think differently on the matter. If not, I know Georgie has wanted one of Frou-frou’s pups for ages, so you will just have to put up with her either way!
All the best, Almeria.
P. S. Lady Sophia seems to have made a match of it with your friend Bingley. There is no accounting for taste!”
After Georgie read the note aloud, which had been included unsealed in a letter to her, Elizabeth looked at Darcy uncertainly before bending down to pick up the puppy. It had raced forward when placed on the floor by Hildie to enthusiastically sniff Darcy’s boots. The dog was a very pretty animal, which looked up at Elizabeth soulfully with an expression that could only be described as an engaging smile. A glance at her husband showed that Darcy was not best pleased, but Lizzy’s heart had already been captured.
“What a pretty thing you are!” said Lizzy, cradling it like a baby and running her hand over the puppy’s ears. It responded by blissfully rolling its eyes back into its head. Elizabeth cooed and massaged behind its ears before turning towards Darcy once more. “Can we keep her, please? I have never had a pet dog. Mama did not like animals in the house.”
Darcy sighed and reluctantly conceded.
In the two weeks prior to their departure, the pup did its best to capture her master’s heart, developing a habit of resting on the tip of Darcy’s boot in his study whenever Elizabeth and Georgie went out with Hildie. For her efforts, Elizabeth christened her Trixie. Darcy was not won over immediately but before six months had passed, the dog, which had most charming manners, had conquered him also.
By arrangement, the Darcys arrived at Longbourn one week early so that Lizzy might help her mama prepare for her nuptials and her move to Haye Park. Mrs Bennet did not need much help with the former, planning her wedding in grand style. She was to be married from Longbourn, with the wedding breakfast to be started in the manor house to say goodbye and concluded at Haye Park to say hello, with the cost of the entire to be met by Squire Goulding.
Beyond their dresses, there was not much the Bennets could take with them to their new home. All the crockery, furniture and ornaments that had been acquired during Mrs Bennet’s time as mistress must remain in situ. Mr Collins had been quite adamant about that. Fanny could only take a few gifts given to her by her brother and sister during her tenure. Lizzy’s main task devolved to convincing her mother that the bulk of what she considered her possessions must be left behind. Mrs Bennet moaned and wailed about the sentimental value of each piece, but despite Charlotte’s intervention in writing to request the surrender of a few objects she knew Mrs Bennet to be particularly attached to, the new squire was quite firm in denial. Miss Lucas apologised and became persona non grata once more at Longbourn.
The atmosphere in the house was quite tense upon Mr Collins’ arrival from Kent on the evening before the wedding. He had deigned to perform the ceremony himself but there was an element of self-interest to the trip—he and Charlotte were to be married the next day by his curate. The banns for their marriage had been read at Longbourn on the same Sundays as Mrs Bennet’s, much to Fanny’s outrage. The Collinses’ wedding night was to be spent at Longbourn after which Charlotte was to occupy the manor house until the anniversary of Mr Bennet’s death, when Mr Collins would finally assume his duties as squire.
Over dinner, Lizzy and Georgie did their best to turn the topic from the contentious issue of the household goods. But Mrs Bennet’s sniping was met with Mr Collins’ ungracious comparisons to the far superior effects at Rosings, implying he would have to replace several of the items he was so loath to part with, a circumstance he did not find in the least absurd. There was, he declared, a principle involved. Full-scale warfare threatened over the roast beef until Darcy asked of news of his aunt and cousin.
Mr Collins subsided into idyllic descriptions of the wedded bliss enjoyed by Lady Anne Stanley and the viscount, whose busy schedule kept him frequently in London. If Darcy was surprised at the unlikely descriptions of the viscount’s many admirable qualities he made no demur, merely nodding and encouraging Mr Collins to expatiate until Elizabeth realised her husband was up to her father’s old game of playing the clergyman as a fool. She kicked Darcy under the table, but he merely directed an angelic smile at her in response. One piece of news, however, did arrest Darcy’s fork halfway to his mouth—the announcement that Lady Stanley was enceinte, possibly with an heir to the earldom. This event seemed highly unlikely to Darcy, but he nodded and asked Mr Collins to pass on his best wishes.
Mrs Bennet’s wedding the next day was far more lavish than that of her only daughter to be married from Longbourn, with champagne punch and a very estimable cold collation. A keg was made available at the tap of the inn, greatly pleasing the men, while all the village women lined up at the walls of the manor house to drink a cup of punch and receive a small basket of goods. Had Mary been present, she would not have begrudged her mother, though Lydia and Kitty instantly revised their expectations of the pomp that would attend their own weddings. Thus did the newly minted Mrs Goulding make her exit.
The new squire of Longbourn’s wedding on the next day was also well attended, with some villagers walking all the way from Meryton for the event. The word had got round that Sir William had ordered not one but two kegs at the inn to celebrate his daughter’s nuptials. Despite this generosity, the villagers were inclined to think meanly of Mr Collins for several remarks he made in a speech after the ceremony on the ‘new age of godliness’ that Longbourn was entering on his advent; a speech in which he blessed himself with several sons and promised prosperity for all through his prudence. Back at the tap, the gloomy observed they preferred generosity to prudence while the more optimistic pronounced they would have to wait and see.
They waited. They saw. After a year the first of the villagers left for London. Then after Harry Morecombe resigned, the first of the tenants left. Despite demanding a higher wage, the new bailiff was not a patch on Harry, and Charlotte worked hard for the rest of her life—making up for the bailiff’s deficiencies, running the household, tending to her children and replacing the tenants with increasingly shiftless ones as the reputation of Longbourn declined. It was a hard life and there were times when she wondered if she would have been better off as the pensioner of one of her brothers. Would it have been better to deal with a catty sister-in-law or a frugal and stupid husband? Whenever she felt down, she always reminded herself that she was mistress of Longbourn.
At Charlotte’s request, the Darcys had stayed for the ceremony but fortunately missed Mr Collins’ speech—Lizzy had suggested they go for a long walk during the reception to Oakham Mount, for a last look at her former domain. Darcy, who had spent most of the week in Mr Bennet’s study working on theorems, was glad to stretch his legs. Georgie accompanied them, but on horseback—giving her the chance to range a little further afield. This gave Lizzy and Darcy a modicum of privacy and Darcy stole many kisses behind his sister’s back.
The Darcys took a glass of punch and some thinly sliced ham on their return to the wedding breakfast at the manor house, but stayed a mere half-hour, giving the journey north as their excuse for their early departure. Charlotte thanked Lizzy profusely for her attendance as the representative of the Bennets and entreated her to write regularly. Lizzy was not enthusiastic about being constantly reminded of her former life—she still missed her papa very much—but for the sake of her friendship with Charlotte, which had once been strong, she agreed.
The journey to Derbyshire over three days was borne very well by Darcy. While the Darcy siblings had completed past journeys with their servants in a single carriage, with Darcy riding ahead whenever it was fine, on this journey a cavalcade of three carriages proceeded north. The Darcys travelled alone in their carriage; a post-chaise was hired for the three personal servants and a fourgon brought up the rear. The fourgon carried duplicates of Darcy’s exercise machines made by Mr Gardiner, a vast quantity of trunks mostly containing dresses belonging to the two ladies, and a large number of belated wedding presents that had threatened to clog the Darcy townhouse. Elizabeth felt rather guilty when she saw the three trunks Fairbanks had prepared for the journey in her dressing room in London, suggesting to her dresser that they need not take her entire wardrobe. But when Fairbanks pointed out that most of her evening gowns had been left behind, Elizabeth could only apologise for her mistake and be appalled that she had spent so much on finery. However, on seeing that Georgie was transporting just as many trunks even though half her wardrobe was already at Pemberley, Mrs Darcy felt a little less guilty.
The trip was whiled away in pleasant conversation. As soon as they crossed into Derbyshire, Georgie began commenting on passing landmarks, visibly excited to be back in her native shire. In the late afternoon of the third day, Darcy signalled the coachman to stop after they crossed a stone bridge and drew Elizabeth’s attention to a castle on a hill by the river. With some dismay, Elizabeth looked upon the grim grey ruin of a building and tried to think of something positive to say.
“Well! I expect it has a nice view of the water. It looks quite ancient. Have the Darcys occupied it long?”
Darcy and Georgie laughed at her mistake.
“I am sorry,” said Darcy. “I did not explain properly. It is the castle of the Fitzwilliams. It is as old as the earldom.”
“Indeed?” said Lizzy dryly. “Now I understand why your uncle and aunt choose to live in London on a permanent basis.”
Darcy smiled. “The dowager still lives there, in the east wing which is the most fit for habitation. She does not go out; but if she is well enough for company, I expect we will visit her a few times while we are in residence this summer.”
The coachman was requested to drive on. Knowing that the earl’s seat was only twelve miles from Pemberley, Elizabeth was all atwitter and began to pay greater attention to the surrounding countryside. As they passed through a pretty village Georgie declared to be Lambton, Lizzy related how her aunt hailed from there.
Finally, they made a turn into a thickly wooded drive and Georgie announced they were now on the estate. Darcy tapped on the roof of the coach and yelled an order to the coachman to stop before descending the switchback. Five minutes later the carriage drew to a halt and they alighted. Guided by Georgie, the Darcys walked to the edge of a steep decline. Clinging to Darcy’s arm, Elizabeth gasped. Below her in a valley stood a large Palladian mansion that exceeded the Queen’s residence at Buckingham House in size. It made Mr Thorne’s neat mansion in Bristol look like a gatehouse. It was backed by a ridge of high woody hills; and in front, the sunset glittered off a large ornamental lake, basking the sandstone front in a warm orange glow and giving the whole an appearance of some halcyon epoch in Ancient Greece. For all her delight and awe, Elizabeth recognised it immediately.
