Chapter 24

"W here are you off to, Giana?" Darcy asked when he saw his sister and her co-guardian preparing to go out.

All of the Fitzwilliams had arrived the day before, including Richard as he had a full six weeks leave from his regiment until he needed to report back in late January. With five adults and two children having arrived, albeit one of them less than six months old, Pemberley felt like it was alive again. Little Joshua, who was recently three, and the future heir to the earldom after his father and grandfather, loved to run in the halls. He was never happier than when chased by ‘Unca Rich' who loved to indulge his nephew.

"Richard is accompanying me to make some purchases," Georgiana replied honestly. She was sure William would assume she and Richard were headed for Lambton, and she had no intention of correcting his misapprehension. William was far too familiar with the shops and the wares found within to find him something there which would surprise him.

"We did not want to bother you," the Colonel grinned. "Especially since you have been salivating over that collection of first editions you purchased from Gardiner. I still cannot fathom your expending more than ten thousand pounds on books."

"They are first editions I never thought I would find, so to me they are worth far more than I paid. Do not forget they were evaluated by someone well respected in the world of books, one who is neither connected to me nor to Gardiner, so we both accepted his valuation without argument," Darcy explained. "Giana, as long as Richard, Mrs Annesley, and several footmen are with you, I have no complaint. When will you two be back?"

"Later," Georgiana replied cryptically.

Before Darcy could ask for a clarification, his sister and cousin were walking down the hallway towards the door which led to the internal courtyard. He shrugged and made his way up to the library to place the last of his new treasures into their display cases. It was not until a little later that day he would notice the name inscribed on the book plate on the inside cover of one of the books.

The two cousins and the companion were soon in the coach, which had been warmed with hot bricks. Once the door was closed and everything ready, the four horses began to pull the conveyance out of the courtyard, under the porte cochère, and then turned onto the drive.

"There is a team waiting for us at the inn half way there, is there not?" Georgiana verified. "With our destination twice as that to Lambton, I did not want to waste time having to slow the horses too much."

"You, Giana, are rather devious. William thinks we are on our way to Lambton," the Colonel pointed out to his ward.

"Yes, but if he had asked me a direct question, I would have told him the truth. I know there is a good chance William will be going into Lambton today if he can tear himself away from his new books," Georgiana laughingly replied. "For the last three years, he has wandered into the store as I was buying his Christmas present and spoilt my surprise, I am determined this year he will not do that. How can I fail with my brave Colonel and Mrs Annesley to assist me?"

"Miss Darcy, you do know a lie of omission is still a lie, do you not?" Mrs Annesley mentioned.

"Yes, Mrs Annesley I do. Had my brother mentioned Lambton, I would have been honour bound to correct him," Georgiana rationalised. "I am well chaperoned, with you, one of my guardians, and two large footmen. Whether I am in Lambton or another town will not make me more or less safe."

After about a half hour the driver guided the Darcy coach into the Blue Bird Coaching Inn where a team of horses from Pemberley, which the Colonel had sent out the previous afternoon while his cousin was engrossed with his books, waited for them. Due to the shortness of the travel, those in the cabin did not need to go into the inn. They were on their way again after less than a quarter of an hour.

Just over another half hour later, the coachman slowed his team as they entered the market town. "As you are in charge, where do you want to go first?" the Colonel asked.

"I would like to begin at the bookstore." Georgiana turned to her companion who was next to her on the forward facing bench. "Did you not say you needed to go to the haberdashery?"

"I should be with you, Miss Darcy," Mrs Annesley protested.

"As long as my ward is with me and Thompson, you are free to do your shopping, Mrs Annesley," the Colonel allowed. "The coach will be parked at the inn, if you do not see us, take a seat within and have some tea. We will do the same if we arrive there before you, and you will have the other footman with you."

Mrs Annesley accepted the arrangements as articulated by the Colonel. After all, he was one of her charge's guardians.

Once they arrived at the inn, the coachman allowed the passengers to alight before he moved the conveyance towards the barn where the horses would be unhitched to rest for a few hours while the little miss and the Colonel ran their errands.

After seeing Mrs Annesley on the way to the store she wanted, with a footman trailing her, the cousins, followed by the brawny Thompson, made for the bookstore. There was another footman waiting outside of the store, and Thompson took up station next to the man while he watched Miss Darcy and the Colonel enter the shop.

Giana, with Richard trailing her, was about to go ask the proprietor if he had any first editions or new books very recently published. She froze as she heard a sob come from the corner, behind a row of bookcases.

She did not mean to listen, but the store was not that large. "Lizzy, what made you begin to cry?" Mary asked as she rubbed her sister's back.

"I saw the pocket edition of Shakespeare's…sonnets. Janey used to carry it…with her always. It was damaged when she…rode to Netherfield Park in…the rain," Elizabeth sobbed as quietly as she was able. She did not want to attract attention. At least she had hoped she had not. However, she must have because a pretty young lady with blonde tresses done in the style of one who was not yet out, with piercing blue eyes, like someone else she had seen before, entered the aisle she and Mary were in. If that was not enough, she was followed by a man in regimentals, those of the regulars, and a Colonel by the looks of things.

"A-are you Miss Bennet?" Georgiana asked tentatively.

Elizabeth and Mary looked at one another as the former dried her eyes. "I am, but how would you know that Miss…?" Elizabeth responded.

Miss Bennet was slightly shorter than her friend, and both ladies were very pretty. Giana understood how Miss Bennet's eyes captivated her brother. "I am Miss Georgiana Darcy, and this is my cousin, and one of my guardians, Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam," Georgiana enlightened the two ladies in front of her. "Please allow me to convey my deepest condolences for the loss of your sister."

"On behalf of my sister, Miss Mary, and myself, I thank you, Miss Darcy," Elizabeth greeted, "I am sorry you found me in such a state, but since Jane's passing, certain things turn me into a watering pot."

"Miss Bennet, it is barely more than two months, it is unsurprising you are still so strongly affected by the loss of your sister," the Colonel stated. "I am only sorry I did not meet you while I was at Netherfield Park, but given the events at the time, it is little wonder. I too add my sympathies to that of my cousin's. If I may, how is it you are in Metting? When my cousin, brother, and father met with your Uncle Gardiner, William asked after you and he was told you had left London, but not where you had gone."

That Mr Darcy had asked after her caused Elizabeth to blush. She fought her inclination to reach for the linen square in her coat's pocket. Seeing her sister's reaction, Mary stepped in. "Our Aunt Maddie's brother is the master of Lambert Hills. Uncle and Aunt Gardiner knew we would be more comfortable in the country and away from places which evoked memories of Jane, so our uncle escorted us to the Lamberts' estate," Mary revealed.

"Miss Bennet, in mourning do you hold that quiet family celebrations are allowable? Like passing Christmas day with family and close friends?" Georgiana asked slyly as she realised what the perfect present to gift her brother was.

"Yes, that is true," Elizabeth confirmed not sure what Miss Darcy was asking.

"In my capacity as my brother's hostess, I would like to invite you both to pass the day of Christmas at Pemberley," Georgiana proposed with a twinkle in her eye.

"It is a generous invitation, but we are being hosted with our aunt, uncle and their three children," Elizabeth replied. She felt a little disappointed, she would not have minded seeing Pemberley, and if that meant speaking to Mr Darcy again, so much the better.

"If you agree when we have all completed our shopping, we can accompany you back to Lambert Hills and I will extend the invitation to the Lamberts as well," Georgiana suggested.

Richard Fitzwilliam said nothing. He was fascinated by Miss Mary Bennet and if Giana managed to have them at Pemberley, he would not complain. His parents, brother, and sister-in-law would be pleased to become acquainted with Miss Bennet, and he was sure William's approbation would be hard to miss.

Elizabeth and Mary looked at one another. Mary nodded. "We have no objection to your accompanying us back to Lambert Hills," Elizabeth agreed.

"What say you to us meeting at the inn. How much time do you two think you need before you would be ready to leave Metting?" Georgiana asked. "I would not want to hurry you."

"What say you to an hour? We will be ready to return to Lambert Hills then. It is less than two miles from the town to the estate," Elizabeth suggested.

It was agreed. Georgiana and her cousin left the bookstore. "That is a gift money could never buy," the Colonel whistled. "William will never guess who is coming to Christmas dinner."

That is part of my plan, Richard." Georgiana smiled smugly.

"Of all the bookstores, in the multitude of market towns, in all of the realm, Miss Darcy and her cousin walk into the same one we are in, and discover me crying, of course," Elizabeth shook her head.

"Lizzy, they, better than most, understand why you were crying, and besides, it did not seem to bother them." Mary paused as she thought of the dashing Colonel. "Did not Charlotte write something about Mr Darcy's cousin being in Hertfordshire briefly? It was after Janey's passing, I believe."

"She did. Come let us find the gifts for which we came and then make our way to the inn," Elizabeth proposed.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~ ~

Elizabeth and Mary rode in the Darcy coach with the Colonel, Miss Darcy, and Mrs Annesley. The gifts, the maid, and the Lambert footman were in the Lambert carriage following them.

On arriving, as they alighted from the coach, they almost missed a conveyance being pulled away towards the coach barn. As it was, Elizabeth and Mary were in conversation with Miss Darcy, so they did not pay the carriage any heed.

Before they reached the front door, it was pulled open and there stood Catherine, Lydia, and four Gardiner cousins with Charlotte standing behind them smiling indulgently at the looks of pure joy mingled with shock on Elizabeth and Mary's faces.

"How? Why? When?" Elizabeth managed as she pulled both of her youngest sisters into a hug.

Mary was next to hug her younger sisters as Elizabeth moved on to their cousins and then to Charlotte. She was crying again, but this time they were tears of joy.

Last but not least, Aunt and Uncle Gardiner were greeted. As everyone began to move towards the largest drawing room, Elizabeth noticed Miss Darcy and the Colonel about to slip away, obviously not wanting to intrude on the joyous reunion. "Please join us. Colonel, I believe you are familiar with my Uncle Edward." Elizabeth offered her arm to Miss Darcy and walked with her into the drawing room.

Gardiner and his wife greeted the Colonel and Miss Darcy warmly. "Will you introduce your younger nieces, their friend, and the Lamberts to us please, Gardiner," the Colonel requested.

It did not take long for the introductions to be made by Gardiner, and then the Colonel made his young cousin known to those who had not met her. "Well Giana, as the hostess, it seems there will be a few more to invite to Pemberley." Seeing the questioning looks from many in the room, the Colonel explained what the purpose of his ward and him calling on Lambert Hills was and how, by pure happenstance, they had discovered the two eldest Miss Bennets in Metting.

"If all of you are agreeable, we would love to host you at Pemberley on Christmas day," Georgiana invited warmly. She smiled at the Gardiner children who she had not seen since a month or two before Ramsgate.

"Our Rory and my sister's May are only four," Gweneth pointed out.

"My brother and sister-in-law's son is only three, and Joshua loves to play, so two more children close to his own age would be a boon for him and his parents. He is rather rambunctious," the Colonel related.

"Just like Rory," Lambert said. He looked to his sister. "It will take us close to Lambton where we grew up, so unless you and Gardiner object…"

"Not at all, Tim, I would love to see Pemberley again," Madeline responded. "I used to go there with our late mother on occasion, and I remember seeing Lady Anne on several of our visits."

"You met my mother!" Georgiana enthused. "In the times I called on you when William was with Mr Gardiner, I never knew that. Will you tell me what you remember when you come to Pemberley, please, Mrs Gardiner. I love to hear about her as it makes me feel closer to the mother I was not fortunate enough to meet."

"It will be my pleasure," Madeline agreed.

"Come Giana, we must away, before your brother sends the militia to find you. You know he has been in Lambton by now, trying to see what you are purchasing for him," the Colonel reminded his ward.

"Please come after church on Tuesday," Georgiana conveyed .

The two farewelled all assembled in the drawing room. It would only be a few days before they all met again.

As soon as they had seen the Darcy coach off, Elizabeth and Mary returned to the drawing room. "Out with it, how did this occur without anyone breathing a word to us?" Elizabeth demanded with mock affront.

"We did not want you to be without us over Christmastide," Madeline explained. "Your father gave his permission for Catherine and Lydia to travel with us, and you had requested that Charlotte join you for the summer, so we invited her as well, once Gwen and Tim had agreed to host all of us."

"As soon as Mrs Gardiner wrote to me, I made the request to Father. He was about to refuse my request to be away from the family over the festive season, when I explained it was to spend time with you, Eliza. You know how big the soft spot in my father's heart for you is, so he gave his permission as soon as your name was mentioned."

"Why do you think we encouraged you to go into Metting today?" Gweneth asked. "They overnighted at Matlock last night so they could be here with no more than two hours of travel and arrive while you two were not at the house."

"You are not the only one who can plan a surprise, Lizzy," Lydia stated pertly.

"Well I for one, am overjoyed to see all of you so much sooner than we thought we would," Elizabeth enthused.

"The same is true for me," Mary seconded. She turned to her next younger sister. "Catherine, we have heard about your sketching, have you brought some to show us?" she enquired.

"Sorry, Mary, but no. I did not think of it this time. When we come for the summer, I will bring a selection, as well as my drawing accoutrements so I will be able to capture the views in Derbyshire," Catherine replied.

"The housekeeper will show all of you to your suites, and then we can meet back here in an hour in time for the midday meal," Gweneth stated as she nodded to her housekeeper.

Elizabeth and Mary accompanied Charlotte and their younger sisters up to the first floor where the family suites were.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

"Miss Catherine and Miss Lydia are much closer to my age," Georgiana enthused as the coach carried them towards the inn where they would change back to the rested team of horses.

"And Miss Mary and you seem to share a love of music," the Colonel pointed out. "I can also see what attracted William to Miss Bennet."

"What a surprise it will be when she walks into Pemberley. It is the last thing William will expect, I will finally surprise him," Georgiana claimed smugly. For years the siblings tried to surprise one another and part of the game was trying to discover what the other's surprise was. Her brother was better at discovering her surprises than she his, but not this year.

"I think all of the family will like Miss Bennet, in fact all of the Miss Bennets." That the Colonel's thoughts were of Miss Mary Bennet was another story altogether. All he admitted to himself was he would enjoy getting to know her.

When the coach pulled under the porte cochère and into the inner courtyard, Darcy was waiting for them, arms akimbo. He was decidedly not amused by the peals of laughter and loud guffaws emanating from the inside of the coach. He could not fathom what was so amusing. On going into Lambton and seeing neither hide nor hair of his sister and cousin, he had been worried.

It had nothing to do with his not being able to discover what his sister's surprise was.