The Pemberley Chronicles (8 page)

My second is that Charlotte Lucas has written to say she is going to Lucas Lodge for the next three months until her baby is born. The greatest good news, dear Aunt, is Mr Collins needs must stay behind at Hunsford, since the spiritual needs of his parishioners and the wishes, nay commands, of his patron Lady Catherine must come first. Which means, when Father returns to Longbourn next month, we are to go, too. I shall be able to see Charlotte without her husband's constant attentions and interruptions. What bliss! Can you imagine?

We are also to stay a week with Jane and Bingley, at Netherfield Park, to which I am looking forward very much. With Mama away, Mary is with Jane at Netherfield until Papa and Kitty return.

Speaking of Kitty, she has started to practise her piano again and is getting quite good at it. She is happy to help us out with the Children's Choir, which has become a fixture of late. Last Sunday, the Rector-- Reverend Huw Jenkins--who is Welsh and with an excellent voice himself, thanked Kitty especially for the hard work she had put in with the choir. She looked very pleased with the special attention she received. We are all agreed that the change in Kitty is very good news indeed.

Even better news, Mr Darcy has arranged for us to come to London for four or five days. The date is not as yet set, but he will send an express to our Uncle Gardiner as soon as it is settled.

I do look forward to London in March, so close to Easter too. I believe we are to go to the Opera with you, and I shall have to order a new gown for the occasion. Not having been to the Opera in London, any advice from you on an appropriate style will be much appreciated. I think I should also purchase a new bonnet, for daytime, if we are to go driving in Hyde Park together. Would you advise me if your milliner has something suitable? I must stop for now as Mrs Reynolds wishes me to look at the rooms they have prepared for Father. I shall write more tonight.

Mrs Reynolds escorted Elizabeth to what they used to call "the quiet wing" of the house, since it was situated away from the main living rooms and the nurseries. The Library, accommodated in a fine room from whose windows one could look out on almost every aspect of the grounds except the woods behind the house, was elegant and inspiring, with its remarkable collection housed in a series of magnificent cabinets. Reading tables and comfortable chairs all placed to take advantage of the natural light pouring in at the windows gave the room a most welcoming atmosphere, unlike some cold and musty rooms which passed for libraries in many houses she had visited. Elizabeth was sure her father would enjoy this place. Mrs Reynolds wished to point out a special reading desk and chair that Mr Darcy had had moved into an alcove beside one of the windows overlooking the park. "The Master said it would suit Mr Bennet, Ma'am," Mrs Reynolds explained, and when Lizzie asked where it came from, she was astonished to hear her say, "From Mr Darcy's father's study." Elizabeth's pleasure showed plainly on her face as Mrs Reynolds led her down the corridor and across the main landing to a suite of rooms comprising a bedroom of medium size with its own dressing room attached and beyond a little sitting room, complete again with its own writing desk and book case. "The Master asked that these rooms be prepared for Mr Bennet, Ma'am, but he insisted I was to ask you if you approved and if there was anything more you wanted done."

There were tears in her eyes as Lizzie looked around the rooms, and so overwhelmed was she by the generosity and kindness of her husband, she failed to hide them from Mrs Reynolds. The housekeeper spoke gently and with understanding, "It is very like the Master, Ma'am, as you would know, he is kindness itself and nothing is too good or too much trouble for a friend. He said Mr Bennet was a learned and well-read gentleman, with a partiality for a quiet atmosphere, Ma'am. So this was the right room for him, being so close to the Library too."

Elizabeth agreed, "He is right, my father's favourite room is the library."

Mrs Reynolds smiled. "Mr Darcy said as much, Ma'am. He is a good judge of people."
Recalling her father's impression of Darcy, an impression largely fostered by her own uninformed and prejudiced views, Elizabeth's tears fell, coursing down her cheeks, and only the sound of footsteps, unmistakably those of Mr Darcy, saved her from further embarrassment.
Mrs Reynolds moved into the corridor as Darcy entered the room and seeing Elizabeth, said, "There you are, my dear, I've been looking everywhere for you."
"I've just been showing Mrs Darcy the rooms we have made ready for Mr Bennet, sir," Mrs Reynolds said by way of explanation, and as Darcy turned to thank her, she slipped away, leaving them together.
He asked at once, "What do you think, Lizzie? Do you approve?" He seemed eager to have her approval, as he had been when they first met in the grounds of Pemberley last summer. Then seeing her tears, he was immediately concerned, "Dearest, are you not pleased? Is anything amiss?"
"Oh no no, not at all, it's so kind of you to go to all this trouble," she said, and as he took her hands, she wept and had to be comforted.
"You like it then?" He was keen to please her.
"Yes indeed, it's perfect. My father will love the library and this beautiful room."
"That was my intention, and I hoped you would agree. I felt your father made his library a haven from the ups and downs of domestic life and I thought he would like a similar atmosphere here. Should he care for company, he needs only to walk downstairs, and he would be just outside the main living room." By this time, Elizabeth had recovered her composure and smiled at his eagerness to convince her.
"Dearest, he will love it, it's exactly the way he likes it. My father, as you know, is not the most sociable of people; he enjoys good books and his own company. I must thank you most sincerely for your concern for his comfort."
That night, Elizabeth finished her letter to Mrs Gardiner. She wrote of the arrangements Mr Darcy had made for her father's visit:

Unlike my uncle, with whom Darcy struck up an easy friendship from their very first meeting, as you will remember, my father has been a difficult person for him to get acquainted with, and it was not made easier by the terrible business of Lydia and Wickham.

Darcy, who is a very loving brother, takes his responsibilities as a guardian very seriously, and being extremely careful of his young sister could not understand the easygoing attitude of my parents to Lydia's behaviour. Now, however, he is so transformed, so anxious to make up for any hurt he may have caused, that he is kind and generous to a fault. I must be the most fortunate creature in the world, dear Aunt, do you know of any other?

J

On Saturday morning, Mr Bennet arrived at Pemberley, the carriage having called for him after breakfast at the inn at Lambton. Elizabeth waited for him with Darcy and Kitty at her side. She was conscious of the fact that it was the first time her father was visiting Pemberley and indeed the first time since their wedding that Mr Darcy and she were to welcome him together.

In spite of the wintry cold, Pemberley looked splendid against the sky, and Lizzie hoped her father, whose good taste in art and writing had influenced her own appreciation, would notice the elegance of line and proportion that characterised the handsome house. She was not disappointed. No sooner had he alighted and embraced his daughters--Lizzie twice and Kitty with special mention on how well she looked--than he turned to Darcy, who greeted him most warmly and welcomed him to Pemberley. Mr Bennet responded with genuine enthusiasm. "This is indeed a fine place you have here, Mr Darcy; there are not too many places I have seen which manage to avoid looking bleak and cold in Winter; Pemberley certainly does that. The park with those stands of evergreen trees looks much less bleak than some of the bare grounds I saw on my way here." Darcy was clearly pleased and, as he ushered him indoors, explained that the park and grounds at Pemberley had been lovingly designed by his late mother.

Elizabeth and Kitty following close behind, exchanged glances and smiled. They recalled that their father it was who had taken an interest in the layout of the grounds at Longbourn, while Mrs Bennet had shown no interest in it at all. Once inside, Mr Bennet turned again to his favourite daughter, "Lizzie, you look so well, I must compliment your husband. Mr Darcy, congratulations, I am sure I have never seen Lizzie look so radiant. Marriage obviously suits both you and Jane, I saw her and Bingley before I left Longbourn, and they're looking extremely well."

Embarrassed, Lizzie, who knew her father was teasing her, turned to her husband and urged him to pay no attention, but Darcy, catching Mr Bennet's mood, was determined to join in the game. "Why thank you, Sir, I'm sure I agree with you; I have not seen Lizzie look more beautiful than she does now. However, I cannot take all the credit; she has been happier than ever since we had your letter advising us of your visit." Elizabeth blushed, mainly with the pleasure of hearing the ease with which her husband and father appeared to exchange these pleasantries, without a hint of awkwardness. And yet, there was regard and respect in Darcy's tone, which truly pleased her.

As she wrote later, to Jane:

I cannot say too much about the warmth and sincerity of Mr Darcy's welcome to our father. In his conversations and general demeanour, he has in every respect been so pleasing, often deferring to my father, where I may not have done. We have had so many conversations, Jane. Did you know that Father was seriously concerned about the lack of schooling for children of many tenant farmers? At dinner, we were joined by Dr Grantley and Georgiana, and Papa expressed his outrage that while Britain was "well nigh bursting with national pride" after the war with Napoleon, the nation had only haphazard and inadequate schools for its children, except for the sons of the rich and privileged, of course. Surprisingly, both Dr Grantley and Mr Darcy agreed with Papa, and indeed Darcy went so far as to say that his father had once wanted to start a school for the children of Pemberley's tenants but had been opposed by the then-curate of the parish of Kympton, who had probably seen it as a threat to the authority of the church, which provided only a Sunday School.

I have put that information aside in a corner of my mind, Jane, and I intend to ask Darcy if we may not try again, since we have at present, no incumbent at Kympton. It would be good to have a school for the children of the estate.

Dear Jane, when I think how much we learned to appreciate the value of reading, it does sadden me to think so many young children are without any teaching at all. Dr Grantley pointed out that scholars at Oxford are mostly the sons of the rich and not all appreciate the value of learning. So many of our great men are self-taught, and it seems a shame that only a few of our girls are ever taught at all. Oh Jane dearest, I seem to have run on so, forgive me, but it has been such an exciting day. Papa is rather tired from travelling and has retired to his rooms, but hopes to be awake bright and early tomorrow, when Darcy has promised to drive him around the park and show him more of the countryside. I shall continue this letter tomorrow, when I hope to be more certain of our plans for London.

Goodnight, dear Jane.

Mr Bennet's stay at Pemberley brought both him and his daughters more pleasure than any of them had anticipated. For Elizabeth and Kitty, it was an opportunity to see their father in a new light. Away from the dominating, intrusive presence of their mother, their father expressed a range of opinions on subjects dear to his heart; subjects to which he had never cared to speak out. Because he knew they were of no interest to his wife, he had unfairly assumed that his daughters would have no interest in them either.

Yet now at Pemberley in the company of Darcy and Dr Grantley, he was much more expansive and talked of many matters that had concerned him, matters that were in the news, like the increasing moves towards enclosing the farmlands and taking over the commons or the rapid and unconscionable increases in rents.

He found in his son-in-law and Dr Grantley men of like mind, well-educated, well-read, and more amenable to enlightened ideas. Elizabeth listened with increasing astonishment to the flowering of her father's reformist zeal and wondered at the frustration he must have experienced these twenty-odd years, with so little opportunity to express his opinions in congenial company.

"You will have seen it in this county too, Mr Darcy," he said after dinner one night, "I certainly see it all over Hertfordshire, every landowner with a little property and a modest house has decided to re-build or expand or improve, call it what you will, acquiring a field here, enclosing a meadow there or worse still, adding bits of classical architecture to perfectly good English houses." Both Darcy and Dr Grantley agreed immediately; to Elizabeth, it was like a breath of fresh air to hear their views.

Dr Grantley complained that people in London were being taken in by the new tribe of decorators and designers who were re-modelling everything in the Classical image, whether or not it was appropriate. Darcy said he had been approached twice by disciples of Humphry Repton, who had offered to force the stream that ran through the park into a series of cascades, ponds, and fountains, ornamented with classical statuary! Elizabeth cried out on hearing this, only to be reassured by her husband that it was the very last thing he would permit at Pemberley. Mr Bennet congratulated him on his good sense and judgement. "Because," he said, "Pemberley is the kind of handsome, solid house that needs no such embellishment. The naturally flowing stream enhances the house and the park because of its very simplicity; it does not need fountains and peacocks." Everyone laughed at the idea of peacocks in the park at Pemberley until Dr Grantley pointed out that Lord Derby had just added a new wing with a dining room that overlooked an enclosed garden that housed exotic birds imported from India! Mention of India reminded Elizabeth of the exotic tastes of Warren Hastings as exemplified by the interior design of his famous residence Daylesford, which they had visited on their travels. Darcy observed that it was far too ornate and exotic for his taste.