Chapter 25

G iven that Elizabeth’s sisters and father were at the Pavilion, and it was past the date the Gardiners had planned to be away from their home, they departed Brighton towards the end of August.

The business had been ably managed by his head clerk while he had been away, so Gardiner planned to offer the man ten percent of the company if he were to take a permanent role as the manager of the businesses. As much as he loved his work, Gardiner was well aware his children would thrive in the country where they would be able to partake in many physical activities which were not possible in Town. If Mr Michael Potter agreed, then as he and his wife had discussed, they would make Netherfield Park their home while keeping the London House for when they were required to be in Town.

Lizzy had offered them the use of one of her homes in London, but they had demurred telling her they already had a perfectly good house on Gracechurch Street.

Before their departure, Bennet and Gardiner had spoken about the letters from Phillips regarding Fanny Gardiner’s move from Longbourn’s land without any fuss, caterwauling, or lamentations. They agreed it was out of character for Fanny, and the situation would bear watching.

Neither had been too surprised when Phillips reported the venom Fanny directed at Lizzy. Rather than look inward, she always looked for external reasons for her problems.

There were not a few tears shed when Sir Edward, Lady Gardiner, and their children departed. Peter swore he would not survive without seeing his ‘ faiwy pwinces ’ every day. The older three were not any more pleased than Peter to depart, especially since Lizzy had been happy to tell them stories almost every day since she was able to move around in her bath chair. Their sadness was largely mitigated when their parents reminded them they would be seeing their estate soon, and would be able to explore it and their new house. Promises of acquiring ponies for riding chased any remaining regrets away—even from Peter—as their coaches headed out of Brighton.

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

Before departing Pemberley, Darcy had left instructions for any missives to be redirected to Darcy House. As soon as the invitation had been accepted to reside at the Pavilion, a courier had been dispatched to his house on Grosvenor Square with orders for all the post to be sent to Darcy at the Prince Regent’s palace.

So far the letters his courier had delivered to him were all business correspondence. It was not surprising as all of the members of his small family were also at the Pavilion.

One letter which arrived the same day the Gardiners departed was not one he recognised; he had certainly never before seen the script. That night before getting ready for bed, Darcy sat in the large sitting room attached to his chambers. He decided the only way he would be made aware of the contents of the missive was to break the seal and read it.

26 August 1811

Bingley House, Scarborough

Darcy,

My hope is you are still reading this letter once you read my direction above. I would understand if you choose not to read what I have to say, but I hope in the spirit of our former friendship you will .

I am sure you are asking why you are able to read my words without a blot to be seen. I have done something you recommended shortly after I graduated from Cambridge. I have employed a secretary. I know you can actually read Mr Griffin’s handwriting, rather than the mess I used to pass off as my own. By the by, I am working with him to improve my own script, so I hope that if you choose to keep the connection, when my abilities improve enough, I will be the one scribing letters to you and others which are personal and not connected to my business.

Even if Caroline will not do so herself, let me begin by apologising on her behalf to everyone she has hurt. It is not an excuse, but she was blinded by jealousy regarding Her Grace, the Duchess of Hertfordshire, and in her mind, she could not allow Her Grace to gain that which Caroline always desired for herself.

She is no longer in the country, and will never return. I have cut all ties with her, and can only wish her well in her future endeavours while praying she has finally learnt a much-needed lesson. I will not hold my breath.

For myself, I beg your pardon for not stepping up to check my sister’s behaviour years ago. Especially knowing you would never marry her, compromise or not, I should have stopped her from her fruitless chase of your person. Rather than avoid any sort of confrontation, I should have thought more of your comfort than my own. Instead of attempting to correct the issues I inherited from my parents, and their always giving Caroline her own way, I continued on as they did. The fact I knew it was both ineffectual and wrong is beside the point.

I see now I was not a good friend to you, while at the same time expecting you to make decisions for me. Part of that was immaturity on my side and it being easier to allow others to direct me. When things worked out, I would garner the credit, but as with my choosing to not return to Miss Bennet, I could blame my failings on everyone except the man I saw staring back at me in the mirror.

In hindsight when I thought of your words on the ride back from Liverpool after seeing my sister onto a ship for Boston, it struck me just how right you had been about all of it. My lack of spine, and ultimately my own decision not to return to Netherfield Park, were the only true reasons for my having lost Miss Bennet.

Until Caroline began to order the gossip pages from London, I would have never read them. It seems your older cousin, Viscount Hilldale, has valued Miss Bennet and been constant in a way I was not. According to The Tatler , she is being courted by, or is engaged to, the viscount. He was obviously able to see the treasure which is Miss Bennet much sooner than I. In addition, I am sure he is not capricious and would not allow anyone to convince him to abandon her like I did.

It has been a hard, but good, lesson for me. It forced me to mature at speed. While I have made good strides, I know I have further to go.

One thing I now know about myself is that I have no desire to be a landed gentleman. My talents lie in business, and disdain me if you will, but I am taking up the reins of my late father’s company. As I am still the majority stakeholder in the concern, it was not very difficult to take control back from my uncle. To tell you the truth, Uncle Augustus was pleased I wanted to come back to the family business.

Because of the above, when I received a letter from Mr Phillips, cancelling the balance of my lease and returning what remained from the one year term I had paid, I did not oppose the cancellation. As I abandoned the estate, I did not expect anything to be refunded, so that was a boon.

I cannot forget what you told us about your good opinion being lost when we were all at Netherfield Park, so is it a vain hope we may rekindle our closeness? If you are willing to be acquainted with me once again, I am fully cognisant of the fact things will never be the same as they were before Hertfordshire. If you choose not to renew our association, as much as I will repine it, I will understand your decision .

I wish you and yours blessings from God, and please tell Her Grace I am praying for her swift and complete recovery.

Charles Bingley

It would have been an oversimplification to say Darcy was flabbergasted by the letter he received from Bingley. He would cogitate a little before writing back, but he was inclined to forgive and start a friendship of equals. This was a Bingley he would enjoy knowing.

He would not tell Bingley this, as it could not but sound condescending, but he was proud of the man his former, and possibly future, friend was becoming.

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

For Elizabeth, her ability to leave her bedchamber not long after Mr Winthorpe agreed she could be pushed in a bath chair was wonderful. She had been moved from the sickroom into a suite next to Jane’s.

What made it better was that since his return from Kent, shortly after a footman would push her out of the door to her suite, Mr Darcy was waiting and would approach her to take over the duties of pushing her to wherever she wanted to go. Thanks to Jane and Mary being preoccupied with their respective Fitzwilliam brother, and Kate and Lydia spending much time with Anna, Mary Anne, and Emma, it was usually Anne and Charlotte who would accompany them.

The latter two would sit off to the side, speaking to one another in sight of Elizabeth and Mr Darcy, but not close enough to hear their discussions. As always either John or Brian, and often both of them, were close by, as was the ubiquitous maid.

“Once Mr Winthorpe allows you to travel, will you be returning to Longbourn or going to one of your estates?” Darcy enquired as they sat under the shade of some trees looking out over the sea. “Your father told me he needs to return to his estate to make sure all is well.”

“Yes. Papa did tell me that about his leaving Brighton,” Elizabeth acknowledged, “My sisters will join me to travel to Falconwood, the primary estate tied to the dukedom. We, rather I, need some men experienced in estate management to travel with us. Do you perhaps know anyone like that? Mayhap one who was willing to teach a former friend how to manage his leased estate.”

“We, my uncle and cousins, like your father, need to be at our estates to supervise the autumn harvests.” It thrilled Darcy to see the way her face fell when he mentioned having to be away from her. “However, based on what Bennet told me, the doctor does not think you will be fit to leave here until mid to late-October. I will be able to return by then, and it would be my pleasure to be of service to you, Lady Elizabeth.” He wanted to add he would do anything she asked of him, but did not feel it was either the time or the place. The way her face lit up when he said he would return to assist her spoke volumes to Darcy.

“Will you not need to assist Richard rather than me?” Elizabeth asked tentatively.

“When my uncle, Andrew, and I depart with Richard within a sennight, we will travel to Henderson and spend some time there to make sure the steward is competent and loyal to Richard. I will be there for about a fortnight before heading to Pemberley.” Darcy paused. The way her formerly glowing face fell when he spoke of his imminent departure was another sign she was not at all indifferent to him. “I do have a request on Anna’s behalf.”

“You know there is nothing you can ask me that I would not do for her…or other members of her family.” Elizabeth blushed deeply. She hoped Mr Darcy interpreted her statement as being about him, as it was.

“She wonders if she and Mrs Annesley might join you when you leave here and travel to Falconwood? Thompson and the three other footmen will accompany her, even if with the Sergeant Majors and their men, my footmen will be superfluous.” Darcy had a stupid grin on his face after her statement which he was sure was aimed at him. As much as he wanted to request a courtship here and now, he would stick to his resolve and make the request when he joined her at her primary estate.

“Of course Anna is welcome to remain with us for as long as she desires, and you will allow. There is no need to send your footmen, for as you stated, there are more than enough guards to keep us all safe.” Darcy inclined his head in thanks and then Elizabeth continued, “Jane and Mary will not be sanguine with Andrew and Richard’s departures, although they will understand why they need to go. I am only surprised Richard waited this long to visit Henderson.”

“The Regent sent men to the estate, and they have made sure that any who had served in that late villain’s criminal enterprises have been arrested where appropriate or the rest sacked. Very few of the staff and servants remain, but the steward, butler, housekeeper, some of the footmen, most of those who work in the kitchens, and maids are still employed. They were all deemed loyal to Henderson, and not the man who had attempted to steal it. Most of those who remain were employed by the former baron before he and his sons were murdered.” Darcy looked towards where Mary and Richard were sitting on a bench in the shade. “You must know any excuse to remain here longer has been a good one for him. With the Regent’s blessing in the form of a letter of support, he resigned from the army, and sold out, all via the post.”

“What of Anne? Will she be departing for Rosings Park?” Elizabeth looked over to where Anne and Charlotte had their heads together. “I have been thinking. I had originally asked Charlotte to join me when I travel to view my estates. That reminds me, I assume you know of Castlemere in Derbyshire.” Darcy nodded that he did. “It is one of my estates. As I was saying, I would like to suggest Charlotte join Anne. I know she has Mrs Jenkinson with her, but in my opinion, it would be very helpful to have one as intelligent and no nonsense as Charlotte to assist her.”

“Why do I not go and ask them to come sit closer to us, and you can make your proposal to them. I also see how close they have become; I think they will both agree with you.” Darcy stood and walked to the bench where the two ladies were seated.

Elizabeth watched as he spoke to them, causing both to nod. He assisted each lady to stand and followed them back to where the bath chair stood.

“Lizzy, William told us you wish to speak to us?” Anne asked as she sat down followed by Charlotte.

Elizabeth made the suggestion she had outlined to Mr Darcy. She did not miss Charlotte’s raised eyebrows. “Charlotte, it is not that I do not want you to join me. I will have more than enough assistance, but Anne shall not. You are still most welcome to join me as we planned, but given how ineffectively Lad…Mrs de Bourgh managed the estate, I felt Anne would benefit greatly from your help.”

“I cannot but agree with Lizzy. I must admit I was intimidated by returning on my own to oversee the harvests and to see how the improvements to the tenant farms and dwellings are proceeding,” Anne revealed, “Charlotte, if you agree to join me, I would greatly appreciate your presence. You have the advantage of knowing the area and most of the people who depend on me and Rosings Park.”

“Anne, as long as Eliza can spare me, it will be my honour to assist you,” Charlotte decided.

“Then it is settled,” Elizabeth smiled. “Anne, when will you make for your estate?”

“My uncle and cousins will depart in a sennight, I was thinking that would be a good time, especially as Henderson is only fifteen miles from Rosings Park, so they will all be close by if we need them,” Anne replied.

With that decision reached, Anne and Charlotte excused themselves as the former wanted to inform her uncle of her intention to join him when he and the cousins departed the Pavilion. As for the latter, she felt she would be of far more use to her new friend since Eliza would have a surfeit of help.

That night Bennet announced he would depart the same day as the others who had to leave to attend to their estates. He also needed to supervise the harvest, but he also intended to meet with candidates Phillips had found for the post of steward. With the way the estate had expanded, it was not a luxury but a necessity.

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

The night before those who needed to depart for their various estates left the Pavilion, Viscount Hilldale and the Earl of Henderson requested and were each granted private interviews with the Bennet sister he was courting.

The proposals were happily accepted by Jane and Mary. Bennet, of course, willingly bestowed his unreserved permission and blessings. It was decided they would marry from Longbourn in a double ceremony on Saturday, the ninth day of November. As sorry as the newly minted engaged ladies were to separate from their betrotheds the next day, both floated on air, sporting glows of contentment.