Chapter 33

T he Rose and her escorts had not made nearly as much progress as the captains predicted, or would have preferred. After six weeks of sailing across the vast liquid, roiling desert of the Atlantic Ocean, they still had about four weeks before they would reach Jamaica.

It was just bad luck; the Duke of Bedford had changed the date of sailing to miss hurricanes and major Atlantic storms. It seemed God had other plans. So far the winds had been against them and they had encountered three major storms. The last of the three had been the strongest and had sheered the top section of The Rose's mainsail clean off. The master carpenter had to fabricate a new platform to act as the crow's nest.

For a few days after that storm, it seemed like their luck and the weather had changed. On the fourth day of good weather, it had been proved both the ocean and the weather had conspired to give them a false sense of security.

Almost instantaneously, day turned to night, except for the occasional bolt of lightning. The wind seemed to be coming from every direction at once and even the most experienced of sailors had never seen seas like the ones in which they were now floundering. Within an hour the winds had separated The Rose from her escorts as wave after wave broke across the decks.

The parents on board did their best to comfort their children in an attempt to distract them from the inevitable. The Duke of Bedford could not believe so much of his family and three other families, not to mention the relatives of all the sailors on the ship, would be devastated by what they all knew was coming. The last thought Bedford had when he realised his prayers for them to be saved would not be answered, was it was by the Grace of God that his Rose, their youngest, and granddaughter were not with them to meet the same fate.

By the time the storm blew itself out, the only ship still intact, in a manner of speaking, was The Protector . She was the one with four and seventy guns. She had very serious damage and more than fifteen of her crew had been washed overboard, but she was still afloat and one of her secondary masts still stood.

The captain searched for more than a week in a futile attempt to find survivors. Only some wreckage was found, including a part of one of The Rose's longboats. No bodies were recovered, but given the ferocity of the storm, it was to be expected.

As they were much closer to the West Indies than England, the Captain set his wounded ship on a course for Nassau in the Bahamas. They needed repairs to return to England and the Captain needed to report the loss of two dukes, an earl, and the various family members to the governor of the islands so news could be dispatched back to England.

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

On the eighteenth day of March 1811, Richard's coach departed Portman Square carrying Elizabeth, Mary, Mrs. Jones, and the aforementioned sisters' shared maid. Each had her own maid, but given the limited space at the parsonage, they would share Elizabeth's lady's maid between them.

Richard rode alongside the conveyance on Invictus. Also riding were Biggs, Johns, and four of their men—three on either side of the equipage. As usual, one of Bennet's footmen-guards was seated on the bench next to the coachman and two of Richard's footmen were at the rear of the carriage .

A little over two hours after they departed the Gardiner's house, a stop was made at the coaching inn at Bromley. Richard made sure a team of four of his carriage horses had arrived the previous day so the stop would only be as long as it took to swap the teams. The two grooms who brought the relief horses would have the swapped team rest overnight and then return to Rosings Park with the rested horses on the morrow.

Hence, as soon as those who needed it availed themselves of the necessary and with the fresh team hitched and pawing at the ground to get underway, the group departed Bromley less than a half hour after arriving. No more than two hours later, Richard pointed to the palings on the left of the coach.

"Rosings Park," he informed those within through the window closest to his Mary.

For Mary it was very exciting as it gave her the first view of her future home. According to Richard, the structure was built in the baroque style. It was visible through breaks in the trees from time to time.

Elizabeth felt a certain amount of trepidation as she was well aware the proud Mr. Darcy would arrive in early April. She was looking forward to meeting Miss Darcy, but she knew she would have to restrain herself rather than immediately express her outrage that the man had attempted—albeit ineptly—to separate Mary and Richard.

Soon enough the equipage slowed and those within could see a stone structure past the hedges to the left, which they correctly assumed was the parsonage. By the time the coach was brought to a halt, Mr. and Mrs. Collins were standing in the drive to receive their guests.

Richard dismounted so he was in place to hand out his fiancée and his soon to-be-sister. Rather than leave it to a footmen, he assisted their companion to alight as well.

Elizabeth had to school her features when she noticed Mr. Collins take a deep breath and Charlotte lightly touch him on the arm. She was sure her cousin was about to launch into a lengthy soliloquy.

"Cousins, welcome to our humble abode," was all Mr. Collins said as his wife stepped forward to hug her friends.

"My father and Maria arrived yesterday. They are waiting for you in the house," Charlotte reported. She looked to her husband's patron. "Will you join us and take tea before you proceed to the manor house?"

"I always have time for tea," Richard accepted with an inclined head.

Collins was about to launch into a speech of how his patron honoured him and his humble home with his presence when he caught his wife's eye who gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head. Instead all he did was offer his wife his arm and lead her into the house.

The house was a structure of two floors. On the first floor there was a dining parlour, sitting room, a small east facing parlour, and a study for Collins. To him it was perfectly situated as it allowed him a view of the lane leading to Rosings Park so he could always observe the comings and goings. Up the stairs were six bedchambers, and above that the attic where there was place for the single female servants to reside.

Given the size of the house and the lack of accommodation for male servants, the footmen-guards would sleep above the stables at Rosings Park with that estate's males who were employed there. At night, two would be keeping a close watch on the parsonage while the other four would be where ever the Miss Bennets were during the daylight hours.

"Eliza and Mary, it is so good to see you both," Sir William boomed as soon as he saw them enter the sitting room. "Mr. Fitzwilliam," Sir William bowed to the master of Rosings Park.

Maria curtsied to the Bennet sisters, Mr. Fitzwilliam, and Mrs. Jones. Being a rather shy girl she did not say anything. Even though she was only two years younger than Mary, Maria Lucas had never been close to the two older Bennet sisters. However, like many in and around Meryton, she admired the Bennet brothers greatly. The sisters were so intelligent, she always felt lost when she tried to speak to them. She was aware Henry and Tommy Bennet were also highly intelligent, but that did not stop her dreaming of being Mrs. Bennet one day.

The tea service was delivered by Charlotte's housekeeper and cook in one person along with some rather delectable lemon biscuits. After tea, and before he took his leave, Richard made sure to speak to Collins and tell him that he was well pleased with all of the positive changes he had been making. He told Collins to keep it up. The latter beamed on receiving compliments from his patron which only encouraged him to make sure he continued on the path of change he had undertaken.

"I will speak to my aunt and if she agrees, we will send an invitation to dinner this evening," Richard told Mrs. Collins, but his eyes were on his fiancée as he spoke.

"As we have no engagements, it will be our pleasure to attend if an invitation is forthcoming," Charlotte averred. She restrained her father and husband so they would not join Mr. Fitzwilliam in the drive when he took his leave of Mary. There was no concern regarding propriety as the footmen-guards were still present even though the coach had proceeded to the stables once the ladies' trunks were offloaded.

"I am sure I will see you at the house this evening," Richard stated once they reached the drive. "As my aunt is still the mistress until we marry, I did not want to usurp her role and issue the invitation without her input."

"That is how it should be and I would not have expected anything less of you," Mary replied.

"Although you will see parts of the house this evening, you will have a formal tour on the morrow," Richard informed Mary as he took each of her hands and bestowed a warm kiss to each one.

They would have both liked for their lips to have met, but with Biggs, Johns, and two of the other footmen-guards in close proximity, they did not. Richard mounted his stallion and with a doff of his beaver followed by a wave, he was off cutting across the park.

When Mary re-joined those in the sitting room, Charlotte addressed the sisters and their companion. "Eliza and Mary, for the next day or two do you object to sharing a chamber? Just until my father departs for Meryton."

Elizabeth and Mary looked at one another. "Of course we do not object to sharing," Elizabeth averred while Mary nodded her emphatic agreement.

Charlotte showed the sisters and Mrs. Jones to their chambers. The maid who would assist both Bennets sisters was ready with a basin of water and dresses for them to change into when Elizabeth and Mary entered the room they would share for the next day or two.

By the time they had washed, changed, and returned to the sitting room, the invitation to dine at Rosings Park had been received and an affirmative reply was sent without delay.

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

The day following the extremely pleasant dinner at Rosings Park, Mary met with Lady Catherine and the housekeeper for an extensive tour of the manor house. Elizabeth and Mrs. Jones accompanied her as they followed the mistress and housekeeper from room to room.

"I will admit that I used to have the house decorated in a way which I thought showed everyone my wealth and station," Lady Catherine owned as they entered the main drawing room. "Since Richard has been the master and made many changes to the décor, the house has become a home. Everything is still elegant, but no longer uselessly fine."

"So far, I see little which I would want changed," Mary stated. "Our Mama brought us up to not make changes just for change's sake when we reached that point in our lives."

"Then Mrs. Bennet is far wiser than I used to be," Lady Catherine admitted.

Mary was more than pleased to see a relatively new Broadwood grand in the music room. "Who plays the pianoforte?" Mary enquired. "I can see it is practically brand new."

"I never had the patience to learn, although I do enjoy musical entertainment greatly," Lady Catherine averred. "My Anne has not the energy for long lessons, but thanks to Mrs. Jenkinson's patience, she has learnt to play some basic music on the instrument." Lady Catherine looked at Mary. "My nephew ordered this one before you and he were engaged. He told me that there would soon be someone in his life who was a great proficient on the instrument." Mary blushed and Lady Catherine smiled at her.

"Lizzy is also very proficient on the pianoforte, but she sings far better than I do," Mary pronounced.

"Given your skill at the keyboard and how well you sing, that is a great compliment. Thank you Mary dearest," Elizabeth enthused. "We have heard your niece, Miss Darcy, plays very well."

"Yes, Anna, like my late sister, Anne, spends many hours at the pianoforte. However, she is still very shy, and has an almost impossible time when she has to perform in front of those with whom she is unfamiliar," Lady Catherine revealed. "You know she and William will be joining us in about a fortnight, do you not?"

Elizabeth tried not to think about the rude, arrogant man, but his aunt mentioning his name was hard to ignore. She fought to school her features so she would not reveal her antipathy for Mr. Darcy to his aunt. She attempted to change the subject. "I see a harp. Does someone play?"

Lady Catherine had not missed the moue of distaste which flitted across Miss Elizabeth Bennet's face when she mentioned her nephew. She wondered what William had done to offend the lady.

Had this been the Lady Catherine of old, she would have demanded an explanation. That was then, this was now. She would not attempt to force a confidence. If Miss Elizabeth decided not to share, then so be it. "Mrs. Jenkinson can play the harp rather well and when Anna is here, she also plays the instrument."

"Of the three sisters, only Jane plays the harp very well. As do Mama and Mrs. Jones," Mary stated. "Lizzy and I can play, but we concentrate on the pianoforte."

From the music room the group proceeded up the grand staircase to the family floor. The only place Mary would make substantial changes was to the now unused suite for the mistress. A few years ago, Lady Catherine had moved into the second bedchamber in Anne's suite so she could be close to her daughter if she was needed at night.

By the time they made their way to the drawing room, Richard, Anne, and the latter's companion were within waiting for them.

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

As the days went by, Elizabeth established a routine of sorts. She would rise before the dawn, as was her wont at home. Then, after cook gifted her some warm baked goods, she would be off for a walk or a ride—escorted by Biggs and Johns—through the groves which started where the estate's park ended.

Being a lover of nature, she was fascinated. Each day, additional new greenery was seen on the trees, and more and more flowers bloomed. After close to a two hour walk or ride, she would return to the parsonage to break her fast with the rest of the residents. With the changes her cousin had made, and those Charlotte was yet helping him to make, being around the man was more than tolerable.

Not long after the morning meal, Richard would arrive and he and Mary would have their heads together. Many days, after they had broken their fasts, Elizabeth and Mary would accompany Richard to the mansion so they were able to spend time with Anne de Bourgh.

Soon enough they were attending services at Hunsford for the final Sunday and day of the month. Knowing that Mr. Darcy would be arriving that coming week did not intimidate Elizabeth, in fact, as it always did in these circumstances, her courage rose.

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

Darcy commenced the journey to Hilldale to collect Anna on the first day of April. When he arrived he was told that Marie had just entered her lying in so as soon as they made their farewells, Anna and Lady Charity along with their companions, maids, and Carstens were in his coach on their way to Kent.

He knew there were things in his behaviour he needed to address, but first Darcy desired to secure Miss Elizabeth as his fiancée. He planned to request he be allowed to take over the lease on Netherfield Park as soon as Richard married so he would be able to propose to Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Surely she would be overjoyed and honoured when he distinguished her in that fashion.

While the two girls chattered and their companions spoke quietly, Darcy was imagining how much Elizabeth would be pleased with a proposal from one as high in society, and wealthy, as himself.