Chapter 18

1 st March, 1813

Pemberley

Dear Elizabeth,

I was so happy when my brother told me that he is wishful of marrying you. I cannot think of another woman of my acquaintance whom I would rather have as my sister! I must confess that I was not completely unaware of his attraction to you.

Having said all that, Fitzwilliam said that I absolutely must not pressure you, in any way, to accept his offer of marriage. That is hard, because I think you are perfect together.

But I also recognize that choosing one’s spouse is incredibly important and truly, dear friend, I do not wish you to marry Fitzwilliam unless you want to.

But I will be praying that you do come together. And if you do not, we will remain friends.

Enclosed is my brother’s letter to you.

Sincerely,

Georgiana

/

28 th February, 1813

Pemberley

Miss Bennet,

I assure you that I have thought long and hard about the questions you raised in your last letter.

A year ago, I had a very different view of the importance of wealth and connections and my own position in the world. Over the past year I have given this matter much thought, and concluded that I was, bluntly, incredibly stupid in my former conclusions. I have, I hoped, become far wiser of late.

I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice, though not in principle. As a child, I was taught what wasright, but I was not taught to correct my temper. I was given good principles but left to follow them in pride and conceit. Unfortunately, my parents, who, though good themselves, allowed, encouraged, and almost taught me to be selfish and overbearing, to care for none beyond myown family circle, to think meanly of all the rest of the world, towishat least to think little of their worth compared with my own. Now I am not speaking of the lower classes, whom I have always respected for their diligent hard work. It was the world of the middle-class merchants, and the country gentry, who earned my disdain for no reason more than that I considered myself superior due to my birth.

By the grace of God, I met you, and while I confess that I fought my attraction toward you, which was powerful even in the autumn of 1811, I finally realized that I was indeed a fool to set aside true admiration and respect and, yes, love in favor of mere connections and considerations of riches.

You mentioned your uncle, the tradesman. I have not yet met him, but I respect him already as your uncle.

You also mentioned your immediate family. Yes, Miss Lydia and Miss Kitty do act rather boisterously on occasion, but if I am honored to win your hand in marriage, they will become my sisters as much as Georgiana is. I will not be ashamed of them, although I will do what I can to help them mature.

You have, I know, met my aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Anne’s mother. She is an absurd individual; haughty, demanding, and rude, with a very high opinion of her own position in society because she is the daughter of an earl. While I fear that she is beyond hope of becoming a reasonable and admirable woman, your young sisters are not. Indeed, while I do not wish to presume on the future, I am confident that your young sisters would benefit from time away from Longbourn, perhaps as guests of their older, more refined sisters?

Returning to Lady Catherine, in spite of her heritage, she has frankly done a poor job of managing Rosings as she neglected cottages and fields in favor of spending lavishly on ostentatious furnishings and silk dresses. My cousin Richard is doing his best to solve problems many years in the making, and Anne, when she returns to Rosings, will assist him.

One’s bloodline does not reflect one’s morality, or virtue, or intelligence, or sense. I am absolutely convinced that I will be neither ashamed nor offended by your relations.

God bless you,

Fitzwilliam Darcy

/

Hurst House

8 th March, 1813

Dear Charles,

I hope that your work at Greymond is proceeding apace. Indeed, given that you have a steward recommended by Mr. Darcy himself, I cannot understand why you are required to stay in the country, especially as the Season will be starting soon. Be reasonable, Brother. You simply must journey to London!

You are of an age to wed, and if Miss Darcy is not a possibility, you need to search for a bride with appropriate connections, and you will certainly not find such a woman among the country folks around Greymond.

Hurst, of course, would welcome your presence here at Hurst House, as he would enjoy another gentleman to keep him company.

We will, therefore, expect you to arrive by 1 st April at the latest.

With love,

Caroline

/

15 th March, 1813

Dear Mr. Darcy,

Thank you for your recent letter. It took me longer than I intended to reply, as my father took ill. While he was in no danger, my mother was greatly distressed and needed significant tending. I do pity her; her inability to produce an heir weighs heavily on her, as does the coming loss of her home when my father passes away. My brother Russell will care for us all if need be, but it still distresses her whenever my father is unwell.

He is mostly better now, and life has returned to normal.

Jane has always been the best at soothing my mother’s nerves, but she is, of course, in London with her husband, and my sister Mary is there as well, keeping Jane company and also enjoying the benefit of a music master. I understand her playing has already improved significantly.

Thank you for your careful thought regarding my relations. I found your answers both cogent and comforting.

What are your thoughts about children and education? Daughters, of course, are often educated at home, but it is the way of high society to send one’s sons off to Eton or Harrow at a young age.

I am not entirely opposed to such a thing, but I also question the wisdom of it. My dear friend Charlotte’s brothers were sent to preparatory schools and, in my view, were the worse for it. Two of the three have been prone to spend and gamble more than they ought, inspired, I believe, by their fellows in school.

That is, of course, only relevant if we marry and are blessed with a son. That is another point of concern on my part; as one of five daughters, with no brothers, I wonder about the disposition of Pemberley. Is it entailed away from the female line? And if so, what is the situation for various daughters and sisters and mothers?

These are impudent questions, but we are discussing marriage, so I hope you will forgive my impertinence.

I intend to visit my sister Jane in Cheapside in April. I hope that I will be able to call upon you and Georgiana.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Bennet

/

21 st March, 1813

Dear Caroline and Louisa,

I have no intention of taking part in the Season this year and will be staying here at Greymond to work on the estate.

Determinedly,

Charles

/

23rd March, 1813

Miss Bennet,

As always, you ask excellent questions, and I have enjoyed our correspondence. I do not find your questions impertinent in the least, and I encourage you to ask anything you like.

Regarding Pemberley, no, it is not entailed away from the female line and thus, if I fail to sire children, my beloved sister, Georgiana, and her family will inherit. I am grateful for that, very much so. I believe I would work diligently to care for Pemberley regardless of the future disposition of the estate, but I am thankful that the next heir to the estate is my sister, not one of my cousins. Though even there, I admire my Matlock relations, and after Georgiana, Pemberley would devolve to a near cousin on my father’s side. I am aware your situation is very different, with the heir to Longbourn being a distant cousin whom you first met a little more than a year ago.

Regarding preparatory schools for hypothetical sons – as is all too common when I am discussing matters with you, I am entirely taken aback and find myself contemplating possibilities which had never occurred to me before.

I went to Eton and then Cambridge, and in truth, I did not enjoy Eton much at all. I was a shy boy and awkward in company, and being thrown into such a microcosm of English society, surrounded by fellow sons of gentlemen and young sprigs of nobility, was difficult for me.

I am inclined to think it was helpful, though; if I had stayed home, I would not have been forced to push through my uncertainty around others.

On the other hand, you are naturally correct that the companionship of my fellows was not necessarily productive in terms of maturing as a young, responsible man. My father was, as I told you previously, determined to teach me how to oversee Pemberley well. I am also normally a serious person. Those two influences kept me from engaging in the more extravagant and, yes, immoral behaviors of some of my fellows.

I have thought about George Wickham more than once of late. By the by, he is still in Marshalsea and will be there for the foreseeable future. Not an easy life, but he deserves his fate.

The truth is that my father’s patronage, which allowed Wickham to attend both Harrow and Cambridge, was almost certainly negative in terms of the man he eventually became. He rubbed elbows with the dissipated second and third and fourth sons of gentlemen and earls and barons and came to believe that he deserved all the money and pleasures that they did, in spite of his position as the son of a steward.

Perhaps Wickham is not worthy of so much thought, but I think it is important to consider how my father’s generosity was, perhaps, unhelpful. If I ever have children, I hope that I will be wise to realize that, while I will doubtless have the money to lavish my children with whatever they want, it might well not be good for those children to be spoiled in such a way.

I intend to travel to London next month and look forward very much to calling on you and the Russells.

Sincerely,

Fitzwilliam Darcy

/

2 nd April, 1813

17 th Mallon Street

Cheapside

Mr. Darcy,

I have arrived and am settled at my sister Jane’s home. I look forward to spending time with you and your sister when you arrive in London.

Regarding spoiling a young man, or woman – I definitely agree and, indeed, have observed the dangers of being overly open handed in my own family. My sister Lydia is, as you know, boisterous, volatile, and indelicate, along with being a spendthrift, mostly thanks to the coddling of my mother. Mrs. Bennet was herself the cossetted youngest child in her own family, and Lydia resembles her both physically and temperamentally. My mother has always given Lydia whatever she wants, and my father has evidenced neither the strength nor the energy to restrain her, preferring to give in to Lydia’s tantrums as opposed to reining her in.

I regret this exceedingly, and it is difficult to write these words, but once again I must remind you that Lydia is a fool. If you cannot accept her as a relation, we ought not to even consider marrying. I love her, but even though she exasperates me, she will always be my little sister. I maintain this despite the reality that she is three inches taller than I am!

I hope and pray your journey to London is smooth and pleasant.

God bless,

Elizabeth Bennet