Women of Pemberley (28 page)

Her father looked rather more serious, however, and said, "Josie, I have informed your Aunt Beatrice that Mr Julian Darcy has my permission to call on you at her house and escort you to places you may wish to visit; I had in mind the theatre, balls, and such like; but you will be sensible, will you not, my dear, and not do anything that may cause your aunt consternation. Remember, you are her guest. I am quite confident that Julian Darcy's behaviour will be correct in every way. He seems a very proper young man."
Proud of the confidence her father had expressed in them, Josie promised to be absolutely discreet and sensible. He then reminded her that she should acquaint her mother with the circumstances of her agreement with Julian Darcy. "I would not like your mama to hear from Aunt Beatrice or anyone else some gossip that may cause her anxiety, or worse, reflect badly upon young Darcy. He has made his intentions very clear to me, but I think you ought to tell your mother that it is your wish that an engagement be postponed for a while," he said, adding with a smile, "perhaps you could find some time to confide in her before you go to London. It will hurt her deeply to discover that you have not been honest with her."
Josie agreed, and later that day, finding her mother alone in the sitting room upstairs, she decided to break the news to her as gently as possible. Initially it seemed as if Mrs Tate had not heard her correctly, so indifferent did she seem. But then, as the significance of what Josie had said dawned upon her, she became quite excited. "Josie, do you mean to tell me that Mr Julian Darcy has proposed to you and you have said not a word to me for all of this time?"
When Josie did not answer, her mother, taking her silence to mean she was right, went on, "And am I to understand that you have rejected his offer without speaking to me or to your father?" She was incredulous.
Josie tried to explain. "No, Mama, I have not rejected him; I have only asked that we wait a year before we get engaged."
Rebecca Tate was outraged. "My dear child, are you out of your mind? Have you not realised who this young man is? He is the heir to the Pemberley Estate and all that implies!"
Josie protested that she was well aware of that, and in any event, that would have had no bearing on her decision, anyway. "Mama, if I did not love Julian, the size of his father's estate and the status of his family would never persuade me to marry him; but, indeed, I do love him, and he has agreed to wait," she explained. "What's more, Papa has agreed as well."
"Do you mean to say your father is a party to this extraordinary arrangement?" Mrs Tate asked, unable to believe that her usually sensible husband could have agreed to such a plan.
"Well, you can ask him yourself. Julian has spoken with him, and Papa is agreeable."
Mrs Tate was not convinced. "And what if young Mr Darcy changes his mind in the course of the year?" she asked, revealing her real fears.
Josie was unmoved; she just shrugged her shoulders and said, "Should he change his mind, I shall have been spared the humiliation of an unfortunate marriage. But, knowing him as I do, I cannot believe that is likely to happen, so do not upset yourself, Mama. He has said he loves me and wants to marry me. He is quite prepared to wait a year."
Her mother's outrage continued unabated. She regarded Josie's behaviour as capricious and foolhardy; it was not every day that the son of the county's most distinguished family proposed to one's daughter. She felt Josie had slighted the most eligible young man she was ever likely to meet. It took all her husband's powers of persuasion to reassure her that Josie was not squandering an excellent opportunity to secure her future. Only a verbatim report of his conversation with young Mr Darcy would allay her fears.
Later that night, Josie wrote to Julian informing him of her plans and promising to advise him very soon of the date of her arrival in London.

Meanwhile, Cassandra had an unexpected visit from her father, who claimed he was on his way to Bakewell and had called in to see her. As it happened, Richard was away at the hospital in Matlock, where he was demonstrating the efficacy of his hospital sanitation procedures to a group of surgeons visiting from Scotland.

Darcy appeared not to be put out by his absence, taking the opportunity to ask Cassandra how much she knew of her brother's feelings for Miss Josie Tate and to tell her of her mother's distress at being kept in ignorance of his intentions. "It is not that she has set her mind against Josie; indeed, she is very fond of her, as I am. But she is hurt by the fact that everyone in the district seems to know more about her son's romance than she does," he said gravely.

Cassandra was truly shocked and grieved by her father's revelations. "Papa, I had no idea. Julian made me promise to keep it a secret until they were ready to announce it. He was concerned that Mama should not have the aggravation of these matters being talked of before they were quite settled. At the time he left for Cambridge, there would not have been more than two or three persons other than themselves who knew. Oh, poor Julian and poor Mama; I should have known better, I should have warned him that it would not be long before their secret became widely known. It is the kind of thing everyone wants to gossip about. I feel it is my fault. Julian will be most unhappy to think he has, however unwittingly, upset Mama."

Mr Darcy tried to reassure her. "You must not blame yourself, Cassy. Indeed, no one is to blame. There is no doubt some very good reason for all this secrecy."

"Whatever the reason," said Cassandra, "it is not worth making Mama miserable. I shall write to Julian today, by express, and I will suggest that he write to Mama at once, telling her exactly how things are between him and Josie."

Darcy was pleased. He had been certain that Cassandra, kind, loving, and responsible, would know what to do. Her affectionate relationship with her brother made it easier. There was just one more thing he wanted to ask. "Cassy, do you know if he has spoken to her father yet? Does Anthony Tate know?"

Cassy knew she had to tell him the truth. "Yes, I do believe they have spoken, and Papa, I know that Mr Tate has been extremely complimentary. Julian was very gratified, indeed."

Darcy prepared to leave, having learnt enough to set his own mind at ease and knowing that Cassy would write to her brother.
She urged him not to be anxious. "Papa, as soon as I have news from Julian or, indeed, from Josie, I shall send you word," she promised, and her father, grateful for her loyalty and good sense, thanked her and went on his way.
So troubled was Cassandra by what her father had told her, she wasted no time at all before writing to her brother. Surprisingly, she did not wait to consult Richard, so certain was she of what had to be done. Indeed, she could not bear to be in any way responsible for causing her mother such grief, even though she was not directly to blame.
Writing to Julian, she begged him:

Write directly to Mama and tell her of the nature of your understanding with Josie and her father. You need have no fear of their disapproval, for Papa assures me that they are both very fond of Josie. It is the unfortunate fact that the matter has unhappily become common talk, while they have been left in ignorance that has hurt their feelings.

You could and should put all this to right with a single letter. I know that Josie was not very keen for it to be widely known too early, but I am sure she will understand that, whatever her reservations, Mama's feelings must be assuaged as soon as possible.

When Richard returned home, she told him the day's news and was surprised that he expressed no great astonishment. Indeed, he completely endorsed her actions. She asked him if she had been too precipitate; could Julian feel she had no right to ask him to do one thing or another? But, he was entirely in agreement with her.

"No, my dearest, you have done exactly the right thing. I never did think all this secrecy was necessary, anyway, but since it was what they wanted, I know you had to respect their wishes. However, in these matters, it is far preferable to be open and direct rather than employ subterfuge and secrecy; they generally lead to confusion and create situations one cannot control. No doubt the servants of the Tate household, who would have had more than an inkling of the progress of this romance, have been gossiping in the village," he said, smiling.

Cassy nodded, her face grave. "Indeed, you are probably right. I believe Mrs Tate's housekeeper has two daughters employed as housemaids at Pemberley. It is also possible that Mrs Tate has been unable to resist the temptation to boast of her daughter's prospects of becoming the Mistress of Pemberley at some future date to some of her friends. Whichever it was, it has caused poor Mama some grief. I feel I should have advised my brother to be more open with my parents."

Her husband laughed and put a comforting arm around her, reassuring her that she was not in any way responsible for her parents' distress. "You have done your part, Cassy. Your parents know you too well to lay any blame upon you. I agree with your father; there is no need to apportion blame, only to ensure the damage is undone quickly and the hurt will soon heal," he said. "Josie is an intelligent and agreeable young woman. I have no doubt this minor lapse will soon be forgotten."

He was confident everything would turn out well. Cassy was comforted, as she always was, by his strength and sound common sense.
One morning, not more than a week after Cassandra had written to her brother, Darcy and Elizabeth were discussing plans to travel to Ashford Park to join the Bingleys, who were celebrating the engagement of their daughter Louisa to Matthew Ward, when their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of an express addressed to Elizabeth. She recognised the hand immediately. "It's from Julian," she said, smiling, and Darcy knew even before she opened it that Cassandra had done as she had promised she would.
Opening the letter, Elizabeth ran her eyes over it very quickly, as she was wont to do, and, smiling happily, began to read it to her husband.
"He writes from Cambridge:

Let me first apologise for the lateness of this letter and the delay in giving you the news it contains. However, since it is pleasant news, I hope there is no harm done.

I should have written you directly, but on arriving in Cambridge, I found my friend and colleague, Daniel Pearce, very sick with a fever he picked up in Africa. He is a good deal better now, but is still weak and needs medication and care.

However, I now have some time to myself and am writing to give you and Papa an important piece of personal news. I do not believe that you are going to be very surprised by what I have to say, as I am sure you have already anticipated my feelings in this matter.

Mama, the news is that I have, with her father's blessing, asked Miss Josie Tate to marry me. I have loved her for several months now and felt it was time to present my credentials, lest I be outwitted by some more assertive suitor.

Josie, who is keen to pursue a career as a writer--not a novelist, but a writer of serious prose--was at first reluctant to agree to an early engagement. She has now consented, and we are to be engaged soon--within a few months, at any rate.

Her father, whom I saw before I left Derbyshire for Cambridge, was exceedingly kind and complimentary, and has given me permission to call on Josie when she is in London with her Aunt Beatrice.

Josie assures me that Mrs Tate, whom she has informed, is very pleased, too, which is good also.
Mama, I would have told you all of this sooner, but for two reasons: The first being Josie's desire to keep it secret until she had obtained her mother's permission to come up to London, and the second, for which I sincerely hope you will forgive me, being my earnest desire to arrange my affairs in my own right, rather than as the heir to the Pemberley Estate.
Pray do not misunderstand me. I have nothing but pride in my heritage and love Pemberley, as you well know, but there are times when one needs must stand on one's own, and I felt this was just such an occasion.
Now that Josie has permission to come up to London, I am able to tell you about it, as I always wished to do. If this delay has in any way embarrassed you or hurt your feelings, I do apologise with all my heart. Mama, I know that on receiving this you will want to call on Josie. Please remember she is very young and is very much in awe of you and Papa. She may be nervous, and I hope you will overlook any awkwardness on her part. I do love her very much.
I look forward to our being together when I come down for the midSummer break.
Your loving son,
Julian.

Elizabeth's pleasure at receiving Julian's letter was so great it could not be easily contained. Nothing would satisfy her but that she go directly to call on Josie Tate and her parents. She felt she had to acknowledge her son's decision and demonstrate her acceptance of Josie as his choice.

"I cannot have Josie believing that we disapprove of Julian's choice for some unexplained reason, which can ultimately be based only upon prejudice," she said and, recalling Lady Catherine de Bourgh's discourteous and pompous visit to Longbourn all those years ago, Elizabeth was particular not to present herself in like manner to the Tates.

Thus, while the best carriage was being made ready for the journey to Ashford Park, Elizabeth drove over in a smaller vehicle, hoping to find at least Rebecca and Josie at home.

On arriving at the house, she was disappointed to hear that Mr and Mrs Tate were both gone to Derby and were likely to be away all day.
She was about to ask if Miss Josie Tate was at home when young Josie, having seen Mrs Darcy arrive, came running downstairs to greet her as she stood in the hall. "Mrs Darcy!" she exclaimed, in some confusion at having to entertain her future mother-in-law with no notice at all.
Not standing upon ceremony and conscious of the awkwardness of Josie's situation, Elizabeth went to her directly and greeted her with warmth and affection. "My dear Josie, I apologise for arriving without warning, but I was hoping to see your parents. I am sorry to have missed them, but I am very happy to find you at home."
Seeing Josie's apprehensive expression, she moved swiftly to reassure her and kissed her on the cheek before following her into the parlour. Josie invited Elizabeth to be seated and ordered tea, which they took beside a window that offered a view of the rose garden in bloom, which drew immediate admiration from Elizabeth.
"The rose garden was almost entirely my dear grandmother's work," Josie explained, and Elizabeth remembered that Anthony Tate's mother, Therese, had been famous for her prize-winning roses as well as her excellent management of his newspapers until her death a few years ago.
As they talked, Josie seemed more at ease. Elizabeth recalled vividly the indignation she had felt after Lady Catherine's visit to Longbourn, when she had criticised the room and ungraciously refused any refreshment before proceeding to quiz her about Mr Darcy. He had subsequently apologised for his aunt's discourteous conduct. Elizabeth had no desire to subject young Josie to a similar ordeal. Her tone was gentle as she said, "Josie, I have only today received a letter from Julian informing us of your secret engagement, and I have come to tell you how very happy we are--Mr Darcy and I--for both of you."
Josie's expression changed in an instant to one of delight as a smile transformed her anxious expression. She had feared that the arrival of Mrs Darcy might have meant an inquisitorial interview. Nothing was further from the truth.
Writing later to Julian, she described the encounter: