Chapter 26

H enry arrived home the day before Tommy as Cambridge's term break commenced a day prior to Eton's. The morrow was also the day the Gardiners and their four children were to begin to be hosted at Longbourn. It was two days before the Earl and Countess's expected arrival at Netherfield Park.

His pleasure at seeing his twin sister was usually effusive, but nothing like this day when Henry's hug lifted Mary's feet clear of the floor as he swung her around. "I am so pleased for you Mary; Fitzwilliam is a very good man. I could not have parted with you to someone less worthy," Henry said near her ear once he had put Mary back on the ground. He looked at his older sisters who were smiling indulgently as they watched him greet his twin. "No prospects for either of you two old ladies as yet?"

His last statement, albeit said in jest, earned Henry playful slaps on his arms from all three of his sisters. It was good to be home until after Twelfth Night.

Knowing their brother was teasing them, neither Jane nor Elizabeth took any umbrage at Henry's statement. They were both confident when it was time and they found the right man, they would resign their single status. Neither begrudged Mary her joy nor felt any envy that she was engaged before they had found a suitor for themselves.

At that moment the face of the last man Elizabeth could consider aligning herself with flashed in her memory. ‘ Why on earth did I see the image of Mr. Darcy in my mind? It must be because I dislike him so very much. I will be polite when I am in Kent, but no more than that. Rude, insufferable, interfering man! ' she thought.

Once Henry had been greeted and welcomed by his parents, he made his way up to his chambers to wash and change.

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

It had been two days since his aunt and uncle decamped to Hertfordshire and Anna and the Rhys-Davies departed London that Darcy began his journey into Staffordshire.

He could have travelled with the Duke of Bedford and his party, but he preferred to keep his own company. He was trying to understand his aunt and uncle's reaction to Richard's engagement. They were unequivocally supportive, and never a word regarding the Bennets' lower social status or lack of wealth was ever mentioned.

At least he had not received another set-down at their hands thanks to the fact Darcy had guarded his tongue on that subject. To make sure he did not say the wrong thing, he had limited the time he spent with his family before they left Town. For the life of him, he could not see the incongruity between his desire to marry Miss Elizabeth and his opinions regarding the family's position and worth in society.

There was a knock on the study door which snapped him out of his reverie. "Your coach is packed and ready to depart," Carstens told his master when he had been bade enter.

"Thank you, Carstens, I will be there anon," Darcy responded. He tidied his desktop and placed the ledgers he had been looking at back onto the bookshelves behind his large, comfortable chair. With a last look around his study to make sure he would not forget anything he wanted with him over the two plus days it would take to reach Holder Heights, he walked out of his study and was assisted into his outerwear by Killion.

Once ready, he inclined his head to the Killions and exited his house and was soon sitting in the comfortable cabin of his large travelling coach. His valet was sitting on the rear facing bench opposite him. Darcy struck the ceiling, and they were off.

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

Richard had been on hand to welcome his parents to Netherfield Park. They had all called at Longbourn the day after they arrived, and Richard could not have wished for the two families to have gotten along better.

As an avid lover of chess, it did not take long before his father had been locked in a duel across the board with Mr. Bennet. The Earl had been impressed that Bennet had beaten him soundly. Hence, he was unsurprised that the two Bennet sons were almost as proficient at the game as their father. He had not been prepared for the skill Miss Bennet, his future daughter, and her next older sister—the latter rivalling her brothers in the game—who were both excellent players as well.

At that first meeting the Fitzwilliam parents had been introduced to the Gardiners. Although the Countess had not met her before, she knew Mrs. Gardiner's name from some charities they supported in common.

Lord Matlock was aware of Mr. Gardiner and had been wanting to be accepted as an investor by his company for some time now, so meeting him in a social setting had been a boon to the Earl. It had surprised him the Gardiners were related to the Bennets; however, it was explained that they were only connected by blood to Jane Bennet. It was evident the rest of the Bennet family accepted them as family regardless of the lack of blood ties.

In addition, Mrs. Bennet and the Matlocks had reminisced about her parents. Cilla had not known Lady Matlock had been a friend of her mother's when they were both young girls, so the stories told of her mother before she was born had warmed her heart .

When the three Fitzwilliams returned to Netherfield Park after the first meeting with the Bennets, Richard went to see them in their private sitting room. "Well?" he asked.

"Your Mary is delightful," Lady Elaine told her son. "I can see what attracted you to her. Besides being an extremely accomplished musician and highly intelligent, she has a wonderful dry wit."

"I cannot but agree with your mother," Lord Matlock added. "After meeting them it is inconceivable to me why William was so blind while he was here. There are times I do not understand that boy. After your mother and I called him on the carpet, we thought we had got through to him, and I will give him credit where credit is due, he has been far more circumspect in delivering his decided opinions, but his improper pride and arrogance is still just under the surface."

"In my opinion, it will take a rather epic surprise, no—more than that—a shock, to break through and make William re-evaluate his character," Richard postulated. "He is a good landlord and master, a loving brother to Anna, and ever faithful to his family, but he is blind to some of his faults. I think he is unable to see them as flaws in his character, and until he does, he will not make substantial changes."

"Our son has the right of it," Lady Elaine opined. "I wonder what it will take to make William wake up completely."

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

It was the day before Christmas and Darcy was sitting in his private sitting room in the guest wing of Holder Heights. A crackling fire in the grate kept the cold of winter, enhanced by two days of snowfall, at bay.

Darcy was swirling the contents of his snifter of brandy around. He had poured the liquor some time previously, but he had not taken a drink. He was deep in contemplation as if trying to solve an unsolvable quandary .

He had been at the Carringtons' primary estate for almost a sennight and the more time he spent among those in residence, the more confused he became.

As one who had always judged other's worth based on rank, social position, and wealth—the exception to his own detriment had been Bingley—then how was it those present, which included dukes, marquesses, and earls among others treated him as an equal?

He was the grandson of a late earl and nephew to a current one, but that was nothing to the ranks of those present at the estate. Not only that, there were the Featheringtons who were not only untitled and not very wealthy, but their family had been excoriated by Charles I. They were far below even him in society, yet they were treated no differently than anyone else.

That was not all. They were included for the upcoming epic journey to be undertaken on the Duke of Bedford's The Rose . Thinking of the group who would be sailing for the West Indies in February, Darcy had enquired if there was any room left for him and Anna, just in case he was able to get away. He was confident if he did join the group travelling, Miss Elizabeth would still be waiting for him when he returned. However, it was for nought. He was told by Bedford that the final open berths aboard his ship had been claimed by the Featheringtons. Darcy's thoughts returned to what he had been contemplating before he was distracted by the voyage he would not be able to take.

He added what he had seen to the way he had seen Richard treat the Bennets—during the rare times he had been in company with them—combined with the way his cousin, aunt, and uncle all spoke about them. The set-down when he had tried to warn them about the Bennets was still rather fresh in his consciousness. Could it be they were all right and the way he related to those he felt were below him was wrong ?

Darcy had tried to speak to Andrew and Marie to canvass their opinion of the family with which Richard was aligning himself. He had seen the look of warning in Andrew's eyes so Darcy had receded and not attempted to raise the issue with his cousins again. He supposed Andrew was too distracted by his enceinte wife to consider weighty issues. It was easier to think that than to consider here was another family member, whose wife was the daughter of a duke, who disagreed with Darcy's thinking on the subject.

Before he could think about it any longer, the gong to warn the residents it was time to dress for dinner sounded. Darcy placed the snifter, the contents untouched, on the table and made his way into his bedchamber so Carstens could assist him in preparing for dinner.

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

Even before Christmas day, the Earl and Countess had requested the Bennets address them by their familiar names. Mary had been asked to call them Father and Mother, while Richard was asked to address Mrs. Bennet as Mother Cilla. The other four Bennet children were invited to call Richard's parents Uncle Reggie and Aunt Elaine. The same courtesy had been extended to the Gardiners.

The day before Christmas had seen some snowfall. Much to the Gardiner children's chagrin, it had not been enough to build a snowman, but there had been sufficient snow to make small snowballs. From Richard on down, except for May Gardiner who was only four, the younger set had as much of a snowball battle as they were able with the limited resources. The three sets of parents, along with May, watched the goings on from a window which overlooked the park.

Having seen enough, the three men moved into the library. Matlock and Bennet faced off across a chessboard and Gardiner would play the victor.

As soon as his opening move was made, Matlock cleared his throat. "Bennet, I need to apologise on behalf of my family, an apology I believe is long overdue…," Matlock intoned.

"Matlock, you have nothing for which to be pardoned," Bennet interjected. "If you are referring to your nephew's behaviour in general and his slight aimed at Lizzy in particular, it is for him, and him alone to make amends. As his uncle you are no more culpable for his actions than you are for the Corsican Tyrant dragging so many into a war."

"It is a family honour thing," Matlock clarified.

"Your honour is intact without your having to beg pardon for someone else's actions," Bennet insisted. "Now let us not hear any more misguided attempts to accept blame for that which is not yours. Your son attempted the same soon after Mr. Darcy's words and I told him the same thing I am telling you."

The Earl inclined his head in thanks. If William had soured the Bennets against Richard, he would not have been able to forgive his nephew. He had never seen his second son so completely contented before.

In the drawing room the three matriarchs were watching the goings on in the park while May sat playing with her dolly on the rug before the fire.

"Richard told me that he and Mary have decided to marry on the second Friday after Easter, the six and twentieth day of April, I believe," Lady Elaine remarked. "Would you object if we hold a prewedding ball for them the Tuesday before?"

"I would not. Do you mean to hold it in London or at Netherfield Park?" Priscilla asked.

"I believe it would be best held in this neighbourhood," Lady Elaine averred. "It is easier for those who will be invited from London to attend, than for all of those in the area to make arrangements and find accommodations in Town. Besides, from what I have learnt of your daughter, she would prefer a celebration which was not a London high society event."

"You know Mary well," Priscilla replied. "Until Maddie and Edward moved to Portman Square, Mary was perfectly happy to stay at the house on Gracechurch Street, as were the rest of us."

"I miss that house," Madeline Gardiner sighed wistfully. "Edward uses it as his offices now."

"Did I not hear you own an estate near Lambton?" Lady Elaine enquired.

"Yes Elaine, your information is correct. Edward purchased Clover Dell a few years after he acquired our house on the square. My father lives at the Dell and we spend most of our summers there with him," Madeline related. "Papa is only in his seventh decade; but he eschews travel of any length unless it is unavoidable."

"Elaine, I assume you are looking forward to the birth of your first grandchild," Priscilla stated.

"Very much so…" Lady Elaine told her two friends about how the birth had caused them to miss the holiday to the West Indies and of all the travellers who would not be able to attend Mary's and Richard's wedding. "My cousin Rose will be with Marie as well. She has other grandchildren from her eldest son, but she is as excited as I am to welcome Marie's and Andrew's first child into the world."

"It shows a mother's love for her to miss such a voyage to attend her daughter," Madeline observed.

"That and the fact Charity cannot tolerate the movement of a ship, even when it is tied to a quay," Lady Elaine explained. "Rose will not leave her youngest alone for so many months, even though I would have kept Charity with me with the greatest of pleasure. She and my niece, Anna Darcy, are best friends." The Countess saw the look which flashed across Cilla's face at the mention of Darcy. "She is in no way like her brother. Other than extreme shyness when she meets someone new, that is."

Priscilla remembered what they had been told regarding Miss Darcy and she felt ashamed she had reacted in that way to her name. They had been asked to keep the information in the strictest confidence so unless Elaine spoke of it first, she would not.

On Christmas day the Philipses and Forsters joined the Bennets and their guests after services. All the Bennets as well as the two Philips men were grateful that Hattie Philips and Lydia Forster were much subdued and behaved creditably.

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

The days sped by, and the families greatly enjoyed their time together. On the second Tuesday in January, Henry and Tommy departed to their respective schools and the Gardiners, with Jane, made for London.

On that Thursday, the four remaining Bennets and the Fitzwilliams—sans the Earl who was needed in Town soon for business—would travel to Town.

On the same Monday after Twelfth Night, Darcy and Anna departed Holder Heights for Pemberley. Anna was not happy to be separated from Charity, but the disappointment was blunted by the fact she would travel to Hilldale in February when Charity and Aunt Rose would be in residence after seeing those departing on The Rose off for their voyage to the west.

As he had been for most of the time at Holder Heights, Darcy was still deep in thought by the time he departed the Carrington's estate.