Chapter 6

By the time the Darcys returned to Pemberley at the end of the season, and they had been joined by William who had completed his penultimate year at Eton, there had been a sea change in the world of one George Wickham.

On his return to Pemberley from London, Darcy had summoned his steward to a meeting. He had explained he was withdrawing both his patronage for George, and from his role of godfather. He had explained why to Lucas Wickham, detailing the truth he had discovered when he had spoken to his son, nephews, and their cousins when the family had been together in Town for the Easter term break.

Rather than be upset, Wickham had expressed relief. He had long suspected the veracity of George’s tales and agreed with the statement that due to his master’s patronage, his son’s expectations were being unrealistically raised. The steward had shared he was certain his late wife had poured poison into George’s ear. He hoped it was not too late to redirect his son onto an honourable path.

The younger Wickham had been brought home to Pemberley from Eton a few days ahead of William and Richard. He had been ready to spin some untruths about William until he had been brought up short when the purpose of the meeting had been revealed.

It eventually came to light his mother had indeed told him that he was the son of Robert Darcy. When he had been asked why he had tried to injure one he believed his brother both physically and in Mr. Darcy’s eyes, George had revealed what his mother had told him. She had spun a story that if not for William Darcy’s opposition, George would have been recognised as a son of Pemberley.

Rather than berate George for his gullibility for believing his late mother’s lies, his father first explained why what his late wife had told was a physical impossibility. He related when George was conceived, his father was learning as an under-steward at an estate in Somerset, and how until he had been recommended as Pemberley’s steward, neither he nor his late wife had spent time in London or Derbyshire. If that was not enough, Darcy added that the months before and after the time the late Mrs. Wickham would have fallen with child, he was at his estate in Ireland.

Instead of rejecting the information out of hand, young Wickham had been shattered that acting on his late mother’s lies, rather than checking the veracity with his father, he had lost the friendships of his former friends. When he was informed he would be completing his schooling at a local school and of Mr. Darcy’s decisions, George was able to accept things as they were to be.

When William returned home, unbidden by anyone else, the steward’s son had made a sincere and complete apology to the Darcy heir. This followed his contrition to anyone on the estate, servants included, whom he had wronged.

The day after the apology by his former friend, William was closeted in the study with his father learning more about the running of Pemberley and the other Darcy holdings. When they had completed the tasks Darcy had set out for them, they set up the chess board, and began to play.

Darcy made the opening move as William had chosen the black pawn. “So how go your games with the little girl?” Darcy enquired.

His son mumbled something under his breath. Seeing his father would not allow him to defer answering, he made his counter move and then looked up. “She has roundly defeated me in the two games we have completed,” William admitted.

“Does that mean you will continue to play against her?” Darcy grinned knowingly.

“Are we sure she is sending her own moves, and not being assisted by her father?” William asked in a final attempt to salvage his bruised ego and pride.

“No William, she plays without aid, from her father or any other,” Darcy confirmed. “My last game was against Miss Elizabeth. She played me to a draw, and I was lucky she did not beat me.”

“In that case, I will continue until I am able to triumph in my matches against her,” William asserted.

“When are you to decamp to Holder Heights to join your cousins?” Darcy asked. William explained he would be on his way to the Carringtons’ main estate in mid-June. “Even though Saul and Philip are so much younger than the rest of us, we do not object to them riding with us when they are not being tutored.”

“They are good boys,” Darcy stated. In a way, he envied both families which had more than two children. He was aware his Fitzwilliam sister and brother would have, like he and Anne, been overjoyed had they been blessed with additional children. Even though Matlock had taken Elaine to many doctors, including some accoucheurs, none of them had been able to explain the reason why she had not fallen with child again after Richard.

After almost losing his beloved Anne subsequent to Giana’s birth, even had the physicians not warned them another birth would prove fatal for his wife, Darcy was not willing to chance her life again. They had a son and heir and a sweet daughter. He refused to tempt fate by chancing her becoming with child another time. His Anne was worth more to him than many, or any, more children.

Even though neither of Darcy’s two, nor the Fitzwilliam brothers had more than one sibling, they did not feel the loss too keenly thanks to the closeness between them and the other children in the extended family.

At the end of the chess game, which Darcy barely won against his son, the two went to join the Darcy ladies in the music room.

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

Notwithstanding the age difference between Charlotte Lucas and Jane, never mind the younger Elizabeth, Charlotte was counted as a very close friend by the two eldest Bennet sisters. Charlotte was fifteen, a little more than two years Jane’s senior and a full five years older than Elizabeth. Due to her closeness to the two Bennet sisters, Charlotte was included in the lessons with Mrs. Frost which gave her access to accomplishments she would not have otherwise had.

Another benefit Charlotte received from her friendship was access to Longbourn’s stables. She loved to ride and the only horses her father kept were to pull his gig and the cart connected to Lucas Emporium, Meryton’s general store. This day, the three friends, escorted by a groom and footman, were riding across Longbourn’s fields on their way to Oakham Mount.

The fields, except those for grazing livestock or being kept fallow as part of the system of crop rotation in use at Longbourn, were heavy with the various crops which had been planted at the beginning of the spring.

Jane was atop her new mare Venus, presented to her on her thirteenth birthday in January past, Elizabeth was riding her pony, Miss Pretty, while Charlotte rode the older mare, Nellie. The three friends were riding abreast at a canter with Jane in the centre and Elizabeth and Charlotte on either side of her. The groom and footman were riding geldings a few horse lengths behind the young misses.

When they arrived at the base of the hill, the footman assisted each young lady to dismount. To make sure there was no threat to his charges, the footman, who was a rather large man, made his way up the footpath and found the summit deserted. The man walked to the stand of oaks to be certain there was no one there. There was not. He returned by the same path and nodded to the three waiting young ladies.

“Thank you, John,” Elizabeth said cheerily over her shoulder as she and the others started their ascent.

John Biggs had a soft spot for the second Miss Bennet. He liked all of the sisters, but for some reason, Miss Lizzy had wormed her way into his heart.

It did not take long for the three friends to reach the flattened top. They walked the perimeter taking in the views of fields and rolling hills before them. Besides Longbourn, which was just below them to the south, they could see some of the other estates in the area.

Jane pointed to one which was all but abandoned. “It is sad the Harris family were all lost to illness, and Harris Lodge is too small for the heir to care about,” Jane lamented as they looked at the estate west of Longbourn between it and Meryton.

The girls with her nodded their agreement. “I can just make out Netherfield Park,” Elizabeth shared, “with it being three miles distant it is hard to see anything clearly.” Elizabeth paused as she thought of something she wanted to ask her older friend. “Charlotte, is not your father’s term as mayor at an end?”

“Yes, Eliza, it will end soon. Before the next quarter day in two months,” Charlotte revealed, “Mr. Long is to take the position.”

As Meryton’s mayoral post was largely ceremonial, the task rotated to whoever wanted it every few years. It was not Mr. William Lucas’s first time as mayor. He loved to be of use to the town and its citizens, and truth be told, he enjoyed being addressed as Mr. Mayor and the implied respect the job garnered.

“Charlotte, what do you think is happening in the town?” Elizabeth quizzed. “I have never seen a coach with more golden gilding! Look at the convoy, there are at least four large coaches, and there are soldiers on horseback stationed around the lead equipage. Would it not be fun if Meryton was being visited by royalty?”

“You have an active imagination, Eliza,” Charlotte opined. “Why on earth would a royal visit our little corner of the kingdom? My mother told me that neither before nor since the peers who were at the Red Lion Inn when you were born, have we been visited by one of greater rank than a knight.”

“It seems there is a crowd around the fancy coach. It is too far to make anyone out,” Elizabeth pointed. “I hope we find out all about it when we get home.”

“My inquisitive sister,” Jane shook her head playfully. “When you set your mind to the task, I have no doubt you will learn all. Before you ask, we may not ride into Meryton. You know we only have Mama’s and Papa’s permission to ride to the Mount.”

Elizabeth huffed. She had been about to suggest exactly that. She knew what Jane had pointed out was nothing but the truth. Papa would not allow them to ride out as soon as they arrived back at the manor house—not for a few hours at least—as they had lessons with Mrs. Frost.

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

The next day Charlotte arrived at Longbourn earlier than was her wont. When she related the news, the Bennets were flabbergasted, except for one, Lizzy, who looked smug.

What they had seen from a distance the previous day was, in fact, the coach of the King and Queen. Charlotte related how her father, in his role as mayor, had made an impromptu speech before Their Majesties. What he had said had pleased the monarchs greatly, so in return His Majesty knighted the mayor on the spot. Her parents were henceforth Sir William and Lady Lucas. The new Sir William would travel to St. James Palace for his investiture in a fortnight. Charlotte told of how keenly her father felt the honour and he still thought it was a dream from which he would awaken. “Franklin was disappointed it is not a hereditary knighthood,” Charlotte shared. “Papa is already speaking of selling Lucas Emporium and using the proceeds to purchase Harris Lodge. He does not think a knight should be active in trade.”

“I hope he does,” Elizabeth interjected. “Then your home will be less than a half mile from Longbourn.”

“It is only a mile now, Lizzy,” Fanny pointed out with a smile.

“But it will be half the distance,” Elizabeth insisted.

No one responded. It was well known within the family and circle of the Bennets’ friends that Elizabeth loved to debate and would often say what she had to in order to prolong a discussion.

“You are absolutely correct, Lizzy love,” Beth Bennet agreed.

Elizabeth smiled at her beloved grandmother understanding that this debate was at an end. She turned to her father who was smiling at her indulgently. “Papa, it is my turn to play white against Master Darcy. I am ready to make my opening move.” Bennet inclined his head in the direction of the room kept just for chess.

Father and daughter entered the chess sanctuary. There were twelve boards set up on small round tables. Ten were games Bennet was playing via the post, one for Lizzy and William Darcy, and the last one was ready for when he and his second daughter would play one against the other. There were small round empty tables to spare as well as additional chess sets on the shelves on one side of the parlour. Even though Mary was only eight, Bennet had begun teaching her the game given how close her intelligence was to Lizzy’s. Jane had not been interested in learning the game, not for want of wit, it just did not hold her interest.

Once she decided on her opening gambit, Bennet wrote it down, then decided on his next move in the relatively new game against Darcy, inscribed it, and sealed both within a missive to be sent to Pemberley.

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

When William left Pemberley, he had travelled as far as Snowhaven, the Fitzwilliams’ primary estate, where the manor house had been built around the remains of a castle. As boys, the cousins all loved to play at being knights who had to take the castle from an evil lord. Those games had only ceased in the last year or so, however, Saul and Philip had taken up the mantel of the game. Occasionally Belle and Emily would be willing to play damsels in distress. The two younger cousins were hoping when Giana was a year or two older, she would play the damsel thanks to the fact Belle and Emily were becoming less and less willing to do so.

The next morning, with the attendant outriders, the coach departed Snowhaven for the six hour journey to Holder Heights. A half hour after departure, Richard had a question for his younger cousin. “What think you, William? Is George sincere in his contrition or did he only say what he needed to?”

“I had wondered that myself,” Andrew added.

“From what I can see, it is genuine,” William opined. “Once he accepted the fact his mother had told him almost nothing factual, his whole attitude seemed to change. He is no longer attempting to curry favour with Father and has, for all intents and purposes, accepted he will no longer be at Eton.”

“Only time will tell,” Richard averred.

“Do you repine that you will no longer join the army?” William enquired of Richard.

Since he was a young boy of eight, Richard had sworn his chosen profession would be the army. That had all changed when Anne de Bourgh passed away and their Uncle Lewis made Richard, before his own death, his one and only heir. When he had first heard about his future inheritance, Richard had insisted he would become an officer regardless. It did not take long for the young lad to realise it was no longer an option.

He soon grasped that when he turned five and twenty, he would have a duty to all of those who depended on him and his estate for their livelihoods, not to mention the staff and servants who would be in his employ.

“I will always wonder how I would have done as an officer, but it has been many years since I have accepted where my duty lies,” Richard responded stoically. “I appreciate all of the lessons in estate management I am learning from Father and my uncles.” He paused as he cogitated. “The only negative is that Kent is three days from Derbyshire.”

“Hilldale is almost a day closer,” Andrew pointed out.

“And do not forget that after my graduation and grand tour, and as long as Father is alive, I will be installed at Rivington in Surrey, which is barely more than two miles from Rosings Park,” William reminded his cousin.

“That you would be my neighbour had slipped my mind,” Richard grinned.

For the remaining hours of the ride, the three cousins did not discuss anything of great consequence. They arrived at Holder Heights in the early part of the afternoon. Their male cousins were eagerly awaiting them. The step was placed and one of the large Carrington footmen-guards opened the door.

“Thank you, Johns,” Andrew stated as he exited the coach.

“You be welcome, mi’lord,” the big man returned.