Chapter 25

Arriving at the house, they were met by a myriad of servants waiting for the carriages to arrive. Darcy alighted from the carriage first before turning to help Elizabeth down. He placed her arm on his and led her toward the top of the stairs where a few people were gathered. Darcy led her first to a blonde-haired young lady about Lydia's age, who shyly stood with her eyes cast down.

Darcy spoke softly. "Georgiana, I would like to introduce you to my intended wife, Elizabeth Bennet. Elizabeth, my sister, Georgiana."

Georgiana's eyes shot up. "Intended?"

Looking at his sister in surprise, he replied more sharply than he intended. "Yes, dearest. Did you not receive my letters informing you of my engagement?"

"I have received no letters since the letter announcing your arrival back in London, except for the note you sent from the inn last night. We were rather surprised to receive news that you were to arrive today." Looking at the other carriages arriving, she continued, "We received no word of your guests either."

Darcy frowned. "Georgie, I have written to you nearly every day since arriving back in Hertfordshire, and I sent several letters about our arrival to you, to Mrs. Reynolds, and to my steward. I am surprised none of these letters were received, but that does explain why I received no replies. We have much to speak of, but I must also learn why all my letters went awry. Did Richard not write to you either?"

"I have received nothing from him."

"The letters I sent about our arrival were sent via messenger, not post. Our travel plans changed, and we stopped at different inns than usual, so I was unsurprised when they did not know our plans ahead of time. However, I cannot understand how you were not informed. The messenger should have carried a letter directly to Pemberley to both you and Mrs. Reynolds to inform you of our guests." Darcy paced and ran his hand through his hair.

Elizabeth reached out to touch his arm, causing him to stop mid-stride. "William, perhaps we might continue the introductions and this conversation inside instead of leaving everyone to stand on the stairs?"

Darcy startled at her words. "I apologise, dearest. Elizabeth, this is our housekeeper, Mrs. Reynolds. We can introduce you to the others as necessary, but you are correct; we should continue indoors for the rest."

At his words, the entire party entered the large doors into the grand foyer. The servants dispersed, many following behind, and they began to help the company remove their outerwear. Soon, all that remained was a few of the upper servants, along with some maids who kept out of sight as they awaited the orders that were sure to come.

"Mrs. Reynolds, Mr. Thorne, Mr. Fraser, I apologise for not informing you of our intentions earlier. I am afraid my unexpected arrival with such a large party will be inconvenient and require a significant amount of extra work to prepare. I know, Mrs. Reynolds, that you keep the house in a constant state of readiness, but I doubt you expected me to arrive with more than a dozen guests, including four children who will need the nursery opened."

He sighed before continuing. "Georgiana, I cannot understand what has happened to my letters and why this news comes as a surprise to you. You knew my intentions, but I had hoped you would have already known of my engagement. I look forward to you knowing her, and I am sorry that my news today was such a surprise."

"I cannot understand why I did not receive your letters either. Oddly, it was not only the letters sent through the post but also those sent by your messenger that went missing." She stopped and curtseyed to Elizabeth. "I am pleased to meet you, Miss Bennet, and I am not completely surprised by his news." She grinned pertly at her brother, surprising him. "I was merely taken aback since I had not heard of the engagement before your arrival."

Elizabeth arched an eyebrow at her intended. "I suppose I should confess to some surprise that your brother's letters mentioned me so early in our acquaintance since we did not understand each other then. We have come to a much better understanding after meeting a second time. He did tell me that the two of you had spoken about me, but I am delighted to get to know you and have you as my sister. Your brother has been full of your praise."

"Georgiana, let me introduce you to the rest of our guests, and then we can speak to Mrs. Reynolds about where to place them all. You have met my intended, but accompanying her are her sisters. Miss Jane Bennet is the eldest; Elizabeth is next; and after her are Miss Mary, Miss Catherine, and Miss Lydia." He indicated each girl in turn. "You know Mr. Bingley, of course, and we were accompanied by the Misses Bennet's uncles, Mr. Phillips and Mr. Gardiner. His wife, Mrs. Gardiner, is from Lambton and can tell you stories of Mother and Father. She is accompanied by her four children: Beth, Amelia, Eddie, and little Matthew."

Once everyone was acquainted, Mrs. Reynolds rushed forward to begin making arrangements to house all their guests. "Mr. Bingley, your usual room is in readiness, and you may go right up if you wish. Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, all four of your children can be housed in the nursery unless you prefer a different arrangement. However, that room will take the most time to prepare as it has not been used in many years, not since Miss Darcy left it. I will place you and your nieces on the third floor guest wing, since that is most convenient to the nursery. Mr. Phillips, your room will be in the same wing."

Suddenly, she stopped and cocked her head at Mrs. Gardiner. "Mrs. Gardiner, were you once called Miss Lockwood?"

Mrs. Gardiner was momentarily surprised, but her expression quickly shifted into a pleased look. "That is my maiden name, Mrs. Reynolds. My father was the rector in Lambton for a short time, and when he passed away, I remained behind with my uncle, his brother, who owned the general store. When he passed away, I moved to London with another uncle, where I met my husband."

"You are the daughter of Reverend Lockwood?" Darcy asked. "I vaguely remember him from when I was a child, though I believe I was only five or six when he passed away. I am sorry I did not make the connection."

"I did not expect you to, nor did I mention my maiden name before. You were very young when I left the area. Now, Mrs. Reynolds, I believe your arrangements should work very well, at least until after the wedding."

"Of course, madam," Mrs. Reynolds replied with her usual sedateness, but her eyes widened at the mention of an imminent wedding. "I can send tea to the drawing room while the maids and I ensure the rooms are ready. I will send several girls to begin cleaning the nursery. It should not take long to prepare the main room for them to inhabit it, and then we can quickly clean enough beds to accommodate all four children. Do you need an additional maid to watch the children?"

"We brought ours with us, but perhaps another maid or two might be useful to spell her occasionally," she replied. Mrs. Reynolds nodded and then looked to Darcy for further instruction.

"Mrs. Reynolds, we will not bother you today, but I would like you to meet with Elizabeth and me to begin discussing the plans for our wedding. It will take place as soon as it can be arranged."

"Yes, sir," she replied before rushing off to do as she said.

Georgiana looked at her brother in surprise at his words about the wedding. "Brother, why do you intend to marry so quickly? And why at Pemberley and not in Miss Elizabeth's parish?"

Darcy sighed. "It is a long story, Georgiana, though it is not that we want, or need, to marry quickly. We have been engaged for nearly a fortnight and are simply anxious to begin our lives together. Come, let us go sit, and I will tell you all you need to know." Turning toward the two men standing in the foyer, he spoke again. "Fraser, Thorne, I will need to speak to you once our guests are settled. Can you begin to arrange to investigate what may have happened to my messenger while we wait? Or to the post that was not delivered?"

At their nod, he turned and followed his sister and his guests into one of the formal sitting rooms nearby. A maid was already bringing a large tray containing tea into the room, and another followed behind, carrying sandwiches and pastries. Darcy and Elizabeth sat next to each other on a settee, and Georgiana sat nearby. Darcy leaned over and took his sister's hand in his. "I did not intend this to be a surprise, as I wrote to you about it several times. I have been too busy in the last fortnight to realise I had not received a letter in reply, but truly, sister, it has been a very eventful period. There are some details I will need to tell you in private, and perhaps once everyone is in their rooms, you can accompany me to my study. Elizabeth, I am certain you would like to refresh yourself, but I would like you to join us when we speak."

Elizabeth smiled at Darcy. "Of course, I would gladly join you. I need only a moment. Miss Darcy, if you could show me to a retiring room, we could all head there right after."

Georgiana nodded her agreement with the plan.

"I am exceedingly pleased to meet you, Miss Darcy. I know your brother was looking forward to introducing the two of us, and I apologise for the surprise it must have been. I hope we can be friends. Please call me Elizabeth or Lizzy, as my sisters do."

"You are welcome to call me Georgiana if you like," she said quietly. "From his letters, my brother seemed to admire you very much, so I am only a little surprised by your news."

Elizabeth laughed. "I believed for a time that he did not like me very much and had to apologise repeatedly for misunderstanding his character. I know him better now and want you to know how much I dearly love him. He is a truly good man." When she noticed Georgiana's stunned expression, she laughed. "That is likely one of the things your brother wants to explain to you when we speak later. He is not always at his best in company, and we had to speak frankly to allow us to understand each other. But as I said, we have clarified things and are pleased to marry each other."

After Elizabeth refreshed herself, the three of them decamped to the study where Darcy and Elizabeth told Georgiana what had happened in Hertfordshire with Wickham.

"He was not captured?" Georgiana asked.

"He was not," Darcy affirmed, his mouth in a tight line as he clasped and unclasped his hand. "For the time being, I ask that you not leave Pemberley, even to walk on the grounds without at least two footmen. Everyone has been asked to take this precaution, however little some of them like it." This was said with a pointed look at Elizabeth who flushed slightly.

"William, we have been over this. However little I like having my actions restricted, I will not venture from the house without a guard," Elizabeth replied with some asperity.

He sighed. "He knows how I feel about you, Elizabeth, and would not hesitate to harm you if he thought it would harm me. While I wish it were not necessary, until he is captured or I have definite proof he has left the country, I will protect all of those I care for."

Instead of growing angry, as she might have done, she leaned into him. "Thank you, William. I am unused to your manner of care, but I know I must grow used to it. You will not be the lackadaisical caretaker my father has been."

"No, my love, I will not," was his reply and he wished they were alone so he could express his care more effectively.