Chapter 37

With all of their guests finally gone, Darcy did as promised and kept Elizabeth in their suite of rooms for much of the next fortnight. They emerged from their rooms only briefly during this time, delighting in the discoveries they were making of each other.

Not all this time was spent in bed—much to Darcy's occasional displeasure. One of the forays into other parts of the house was a surreptitious attempt to obtain a chessboard from the library. A late-night conversation revealed that Elizabeth played the game, so after attiring themselves in dressing gowns, Darcy had taken Elizabeth by the hand to lead her through the darkened corridors, startling a footman upon their return. Elizabeth had giggled at the servant's expression at seeing the master and mistress so attired and running through the hallways like children.

As soon as they reached their chambers, Elizabeth grinned broadly at her husband. "I do believe we surprised him, William. Do you think he will recover?"

Shaking his head at her teasing, he returned her grin, reluctantly setting down his treasure on a small table. "He will have to. But, well, it does keep things interesting, does it not?" At her continued giggles, Darcy grabbed his wife and kissed her until she stopped laughing. The chessboard sat on the table unused until the following day.

Another night-time escapade had taken the couple into the study and a special locked cabinet his father had shared with him as a young man. Darcy took pleasure in revealing these treasures to his wife, and they discreetly relocated them from that cabinet to another one in their private chambers where they could study them at their leisure.

Despite some reluctance, after a fortnight of isolation, they began to attend to their responsibilities once again. However, they continued to break their fast in their shared sitting room, for unless they had guests or other commitments, they decided to make it a habit to start their day together and discuss their plans for the day over breakfast. To this end, they had decided to search the house for a table and sideboard that could be moved into their sitting room.

Darcy was pleased at how quickly Elizabeth became acquainted with the responsibilities and duties of the mistress of such a grand estate. While she was familiar with the running of Longbourn, it operated on a much smaller scale than Pemberley. While many principles remained the same, Elizabeth had to adjust her ideas to fit. Mrs. Reynolds greatly aided her in this, and the two women swiftly built a good working relationship.

Though their marriage was stronger for the problems they had already faced, that is not to say that the newlyweds did not occasionally disagree. Two such passionate people can scarcely be so frequently in company without the occasional argument.

When confronted with the joint problems created by Wickham and Lady Catherine, the two had worked together, but when it came to the matters of the estate, Darcy, used to carrying the burdens entirely by himself, found it difficult to cede any of that control to his wife. However, when the steward from Longbourn wrote to Elizabeth about a change Darcy ordered, she surprised him by bursting into his study, interrupting a meeting between him and his steward.

"Fitzwilliam, why is it that Mr. Johnson is writing to me about a decision you made to purchase two dairy cows without speaking to me? Longbourn is supposed to be my concern, but he claims you have answered the last two letters written to me," Elizabeth began angrily, appearing not to care who else might be present in his study when she arrived.

With a glance at his steward, who departed the room in haste, Darcy approached her with what he thought was a conciliatory tone. "Elizabeth, I answered Johnson's last letter because it was simply easier. I did not have time to seek you out and ask you about what needed to be done."

"Longbourn does not have the fields for two new cows, nor are most of our tenants accustomed to dealing with such large animals. Most of our tenants keep goats for milk and cheese, and only the home farm has cattle. You agreed you would advise, but allow me to continue running the estate," Elizabeth insisted.

"I apologise, Elizabeth, but as I said, it was a simple matter," he replied, frustrated at her lack of appreciation.

Elizabeth snatched up a letter from his desk from Johnson that spoke of a tenant concern. "And what did you advise in this case?" she asked.

Darcy sighed. "I had not yet responded, but was going to after I met with Fraser. I thought he might have a suggestion to help answer the question."

"And did you not consider that I might help, seeing as I have known the family for years and have often been the one to deal with their concerns in the past? Had you asked, I would have told you that this is a recurring complaint, made every year. Mr. Johnson already knows what to do, but was merely informing me about it as a matter of course. We roll our eyes together every year. How many other letters have you received for me and not said anything?" Her eyes were flashing now in anger, and it reminded Darcy of the anger he had seen in his dreams of her back in December.

He took a long breath before exhaling it slowly, contemplating what he ought to say, hoping not to stoke her ire further.

"I should have spoken to you, my dear, and not tried to resolve this on my own. My intention was to see what concerns he might have, so I opened the first letter from Johnson instead of bringing it directly to you. I know you must meet with Mrs. Reynolds each morning about household concerns, but perhaps we should reserve an hour or two each day to speak of Longbourn. Or at least once or twice a week."

Apparently, this was what Elizabeth needed to hear, since the blaze in her eyes diminished. "I would like to talk these matters over with you. Perhaps we might even speak of Pemberley's concerns. The house runs so smoothly that there is little for me to do, and my duties, while we do not have guests, occupy little of my time."

Darcy eyed his wife to ensure she was not teasing or punishing him. "You have considerable experience running an estate. I would be a fool not to take advantage of that. I admit, Elizabeth, other than Fraser, I am unused to talking about the running of my estate with anyone. And with Fraser, he might offer an opinion, but the decision is ultimately mine. I have been on my own so long I forget what a treasure I have found in you. Would you gently remind me when I forget again?"

She raised her brow at him. "You intend to forget again?"

He chuckled at her obvious tease, grateful that she was no longer angry at him. "I do not intend to forget, but five years of practice is hard to erase overnight. A nudge or two might be necessary. I think we have found that I am not always the easiest person to convince."

"I do not know about that. I have found you most agreeable to many of my suggestions," she teased.

After this conversation, Elizabeth frequently was in the study when the steward arrived to speak to her husband. Mr. Fraser at first seemed surprised at how active an interest the new mistress took in the estate business. The second time she entered without knocking, Darcy merely smiled, so Fraser did not question her entrance. That lasted only a few moments until Elizabeth made a comment showing she was following the discussion. Once again, Darcy marvelled at the extent and depth of his wife's knowledge while his steward was caught off guard.

"Dearest, does Longbourn use the crop rotation system we are discussing? We had moderate success with it on the home farm last year and have encouraged the tenants to follow suit. As many of these people have been on the land for decades, it has been difficult to persuade some of them."

Elizabeth explained that they had a similar problem at Longbourn. However, with fewer tenants, they quickly saw how it improved yields. "Nearly all of our tenants have implemented at least some of what we have proposed this coming year," she told them.

The trio deliberated on this matter and various other affairs related to the estate for the next few hours. When Fraser was excused from the study, he departed with the assurance that his new mistress was knowledgeable in these matters and that the master had confidence in her understanding.

Many others reached similar conclusions in the time they rusticated at Pemberley. To their mutual displeasure, they began to receive visitors. There were not many neighbours in Derbyshire, but as they returned from London following the season, those ladies felt it a duty to pay a call on the new mistress.

Most were well-meaning and only came to see the lady who had captured Darcy's heart. Since he had been on the marriage mart, he had avoided the grasping women and their mothers, even in his native Derbyshire. Of course, after his father died, those attempts to capture him had only increased.

Some of the matriarchs who had watched him over the years—particularly those without daughters—wondered what he had searched for and if he had found it in this apparent country miss. Rumours abounded in Derbyshire that it was a love match; the couple had been seen holding hands, even in church, and were almost inseparable whenever they were out.

Darcy consistently made himself available whenever these women visited and accompanied Elizabeth to introduce her to their neighbours. While some may have speculated that Mr. Darcy monitored his wife to prevent her from causing him any embarrassment, it became clear that this was not the case. During these visits, Darcy would recline and merely observe his wife, the corners of his lips subtly quirked up in evident delight.