A Woman of Influence (11 page)

Her genuine pleasure at having her son Julian back, living at Pemberley with his second wife, Jessica, happily awaiting the birth of their first child, was plain to see. Her personal satisfaction seemed to increase her ability to treat Becky with greater consideration and respect.

Becky, to her credit, realising the truth of the situation, made every effort to enhance Elizabeth's contentment. Mr Darcy, who, while maintaining a degree of reserve, had never been overtly antagonistic towards Becky, even in the dark days leading up to Josie's death, was as hospitable and courteous as ever. All of which made her feel very much at home at Pemberley--more so, she told them frankly, than at the Tates' residence.

Elizabeth, learning of her experience, expressed her profound displeasure.

"Becky, that is unpardonable. Your tolerance is commendable indeed. I should not have had the patience to remain under that roof one night longer than necessary," she had said, on hearing of Mrs Stoker's rudeness.

Becky had responded lightly, "But, Lizzie, I do believe I shall have the last laugh, for I know now how very sensible was my decision to sell Mr Tate's London residence, despite Walter's objections, and acquire a property of my very own in Kent. To have done otherwise would have made my life quite intolerable."

Mrs Darcy agreed absolutely and went on to invite Becky to spend the remainder of her stay in Derbyshire at Pemberley, where she was assured she would be a welcome guest; a sentiment immediately echoed by her husband. Becky, genuinely surprised and exceedingly gratified, accepted and, having thanked her hosts, lost little time despatching her maid with a servant from Pemberley to pack her things and return with them forthwith.

Nelly was instructed privately to ensure that Mrs Stoker was made well aware of the invitation extended to her mistress by Mr and Mrs Darcy.

It was an instruction Nelly would take great pleasure in carrying out.

The rest of the week was filled with convivial activities, memories of which Becky would cherish for many years, as the Darcys extended to her the courtesy and hospitality for which Pemberley was renowned. It was, thought Becky, just like old times, when they had been friends together, as though the unhappiness that had come between them had never existed.

One evening, after a dinner party to which Richard and Cassy Gardiner had been invited, the ladies withdrew to the drawing room. Jessica had asked to be excused and retired upstairs; but Elizabeth and Cassy were both eager to talk of Emily Courtney's situation and in particular, the conduct of her two elder children, Eliza and William.

Eliza and her husband, whose desire to return to his business as expeditiously as possible had earned him the censure of most other members of the family, had left on the morning after the funeral.

William at least had stayed on for one more day, ostensibly to ensure that his mother was well and able to look after herself. It was not known to what extent he had satisfied himself on these questions, before deciding to depart a day after his sister and return to Europe, to resume a series of concerts.

Elizabeth, as ever, was not lost for words.

"I am astounded that both Emily's elder children could have so little concern and affection for their poor mother that they could so readily arrange to leave, knowing she is likely to be alone at Oakleigh, with only young Jude and the servants for company. I should have liked to have invited her to stay at Pemberley for a while, as she has done many times in the past, but Emily has made it quite clear to me and to both Julian and Jessica that it is her preference to remain at Oakleigh."

Becky had to concur. In her own conversations with Emily, her friend had said without any reservation that she had no intention of quitting her home.

On being asked if she would consider leaving Oakleigh, even temporarily, she had said with fervour, "Mama and Papa entrusted this place to me; I am not about to abandon it, Becky. Remember, this is Jude's home too. If I leave, what is to become of him? Would it not leave the door open for others to intervene in his life?"

Becky had assumed that Emily had meant her brother Robert and his wife, whose outrage at being left out of Mrs Gardiner's will was well known.

"But how will she live and support the farm and staff?" asked Cassy.

"Richard knows that Emily has used up most of the money that their father left her, chiefly in supporting charitable causes in the parish. She has very little cash to spare, except what comes in from the tenants and Mr Mancini's lease," Cassy said.

Becky was completely confounded.

While she had been aware of the charitable activities of the Courtneys, she had not known all of the details that Cassy and Elizabeth revealed. That Emily and her husband had used up most of their funds helping the poor in the parish and especially a number of impoverished Irish families living on the fringes of the common came as a considerable shock to her.

"And you say she does not receive any income apart from the rents?"

"No she does not, because many years ago, she transferred all her assets to William to enable him to establish himself in his career," said Cassy.

"And now that William is doing so well, does he not assist his mother?"

Cassy and Elizabeth looked doubtful.

"We do not know if he does or does not, because Emily will not tell us, but there is little evidence that he sends her any money at all."

This revelation so perturbed Becky she rose hastily from her seat and walked quickly about the room, clearly distressed. In truth, she was thinking, playing with the possibility of making some money available to Emily, through Jessica perhaps, so as not to place her under obligation. She acknowledged it was a delicate situation indeed.

When she returned to join Elizabeth and Cassandra, she had the beginnings of a plan in mind. She would give Jessica a sum of money, with instructions that it be used to pay for the inevitable expenses that must come after Dr Courtney's funeral. Doubtless, her mother would be more inclined to accept such assistance from Jessica, she supposed.

"Do you not think so?" she asked, having outlined her plan, and both Elizabeth and her daughter agreed that it may be so.

They commended Becky's generous impulse, but it was Cassy who suggested that Jessica in her present condition would be unlikely to become involved, for purely practical reasons.

"With her child due within the next few days, Jessica's ability to assist her mother might be limited, she certainly cannot travel to Lambton," she explained. "Would it not be better to ask my son Darcy, who regularly visits his aunt Emily and may well be able to persuade her to accept the money? There is no doubt at all that she will need it."

"And would I be able to meet Mr Darcy Gardiner tomorrow?" asked Becky, knowing time was short. She had plans to return to Kent not long afterwards.

"Certainly," Cassy replied, "I shall send word to him and ask him to call on you here during the day."

"And will he agree to help, do you think?" Becky asked.

Cassandra was certain her son would be willing, but added a word of caution.

"Darcy is scrupulously honest and may feel he has to reveal to Emily the source of the money," then seeing the anxiety upon Becky's face, added, "but that will not matter a great deal if she will accept it and use it to pay her bills. I am confident Darcy will be happy to help; he is well aware of Emily's financial difficulties and has helped her on previous occasions.

"If anyone can persuade her to accept it, Darcy can."

The gentlemen entered the room, and the conversation changed to matters they had been discussing over port. Richard and Julian had almost succeeded in convincing Mr Darcy of the need to have the history of the Pemberley estate recorded for posterity.

"There is so much material scattered around the place, in the library, at the parish church, in diaries, notebooks, and personal letters and documents, which must be of great interest, yet no one has attempted to put it together for the future," said Julian, appealing to the ladies to use their persuasive powers to convince Mr Darcy it was a worthy and important task.

Richard Gardiner agreed. "It is absolutely imperative that the story of this great estate and its people should be documented," he declared, and Becky was happy to lend them her support, while Elizabeth rang the bell to order more coffee.

But all was forgotten when Jessica's maid appeared, breathless from having run all the way to say in an anguished voice, "Mrs Darcy, ma'am, it's Miss Jessica--I beg pardon, I mean Mrs Julian Darcy, ma'am, she says we must get the doctor at once--it's the baby, ma'am."

Everyone turned to Doctor Gardiner while Julian ran out of the room and up the stairs in seconds.

Cassandra had rushed to her husband's side, and he followed Julian immediately, giving instructions to the maid as he went.

Cassy went with him; she wanted to be with her young sister-in-law and brother at this moment, while Becky, Elizabeth, and Mr Darcy were left looking anxiously at one another, knowing there was little they could do but wait.

On the morrow, Becky wrote to her sister Catherine:

Having despatched her letter to the post, she went downstairs to meet Darcy Gardiner, who had called to see her as arranged. She found him not only agreeable but enthusiastic about assisting his aunt Emily Courtney and was delighted to discover that he had no qualms at all about taking the money to Emily and urging her to use it for all those bills, which he knew she would have to pay with her quite meagre resources.

"It is very kind of you, Mrs Tate, and I should be honoured to be your intermediary in this matter," he said, delighting Becky with that combination of charm and responsibility for which young Darcy Gardiner was widely known and loved.

"I know my aunt Emily needs help, and yet she will not ask and is reluctant to accept it from my grandfather Mr Darcy, because she feels he and Mrs Darcy have helped her too often. She is quite determined to struggle on alone, yet it is an unequal struggle, and she must have help. I feel sure I can persuade her to accept yours on this occasion.

"She has always spoken well of you and my wife, Kate, and I know that she regards you with great affection. I am confident she will not feel any degree of mortification in accepting your offer."

For Becky, his assurance was a source of great satisfaction.

It was with a much happier heart that she thanked young Darcy Gardiner, his wife, Kate, and her generous host and hostess, as she bid farewell to Pemberley and returned home to Kent.

Throughout the long journey, as the train carried her away from Derbyshire and back to her new home, Becky's sense of satisfaction in her present situation grew considerably.

Having endured, for however short a period, the indignity of being an unwelcome guest in her son's home, she was determined she would never again be so affronted. The purchase of Edgewater had given her the sense of security that she was sure her late husband had wanted her to have. Why else would he have agreed to transfer the title for the house in London to her and allow her the freedom to sell it if she chose to do so?

She smiled to herself as she recalled the dismay of her son Walter and his wife upon discovering that they would no longer have the convenience of a house in one of the best streets in London, maintained and paid for by someone else.

"But, Mother," Walter had protested, "surely there is no need to sell the place," and when she had quite justifiably asked, "How else would I acquire a home, a place of my own, Walter?" he had replied rather glibly, "You don't
need
a place of your own, Mother, you could live with us. Papa indicated in his will that if you chose to do so, we should accommodate your wishes. That way, we could all use the house in London."

Becky had laughed then, much to Walter's discomfort.

"I cannot believe that your father ever thought I would adopt that suggestion, which he was kind enough to put in his will. He was probably trying to remind you that the house in Matlock, which I agreed to relinquish to you, had been our home for almost thirty years; perhaps he hoped you would understand that it meant something to me."