Mr. Darcy's Proposal (19 page)

“So you will be going to Pemberley soon. It is such a lovely place, but then I am sure you have heard all about it from Mr. Darcy.”

Elizabeth felt trapped and had no choice but to respond as politely as she could. “Yes, I am looking forward to going home,” she replied and then added, “I am sure you will be glad to be relieved of the duty of entertaining guests. Your hospitality has been most gracious although I am afraid we have imposed upon you much longer than we should have.”

“I am glad we could be of service to you. There is nothing that Charles would not do for Mr. Darcy. And after all, it is only right as we have been guests of Mr. Darcy
so
many times over the years,” she said rather pointedly so that Elizabeth could not mistake her meaning. “Of course, you will be anxious to assume your duties as Mistress of Pemberley. Such a great estate—you will have so much to learn in order to manage a household of that size. It is quite different from what you have been accustomed to, but then you can always rely upon dear Mrs. Reynolds. I am sure you will manage somehow.”

Elizabeth felt the sharp sting of her comment and tried not to react in anger. Reminding herself that soon Jane would be part of the Bingley family, she knew it would be best to avoid irritating Caroline any further. She would never forgive herself if Caroline decided out of spite to take it out on Jane later. Letting the comment go unanswered, Elizabeth proceeded to gather up her things in order to leave before the conversation escalated to a truly unpleasant level.

“When we were all here last fall, who would have thought that you of all people would become Mrs. Darcy,” said Caroline apparently unable to let go of her resentment at not being able to claim that title herself.

“Yes, it was most unexpected,” replied Elizabeth evenly.

“How convenient for you that Mr. Darcy always waits upon his aunt every year at Easter. That must have been a pleasant surprise for you to have him all to yourself in Kent—or did you know he would be in the neighborhood when you accepted Mrs. Collins’ invitation?” Caroline kept her eyes on the napkin she was folding. Elizabeth did not like the implication that she had somehow contrived to be in the neighborhood at the same time as Darcy so as to lure him into marriage.

“I often find that life is full of unexpected turns,” she replied leaving Caroline to give her comment whatever interpretation she chose. Weighing whether to speak further or let the matter drop politely, she finally decided to have one last word on the matter. “Miss Bingley, I must thank you again for your generous hospitality to my husband and I during this difficult time for my family. It has been most kind of you. I hope to return your kindness in equal measure when you visit us next at Pemberley,” she said as sweetly as she could. With that, Elizabeth excused herself and left Caroline sitting there alone with her resentments and regrets.

Twenty Four

On the second day of their journey to Pemberley, Elizabeth gave up trying to talk with Darcy. Instead, she began to contemplate how she would manage her new responsibilities as mistress of such a great house.

Then just as she was getting accustomed to silence, he asked, “Are you worried about something, Elizabeth?”

“No, not at all. Why do you ask?”

“You have a particular way of wrinkling your brow and biting your lip when you are thinking deeply or worrying about something,” he replied.

“I do?”

“Yes, you do. So?”

“Excuse me?”

“So what is worrying you?” he asked.

“Oh, it is nothing.”

“Mmm. Nothing?” His gaze was penetrating.

She decided he was not going to let this go. “Very well, I have been concerned about how I will ever learn my responsibilities as mistress of such a great house.”

Darcy leaned forward taking both of her hands in his. “First of all, I have every confidence in you. I have observed you are quick to learn new things, and even more importantly, you have a way of making people feel at ease. I know everyone will love you. Do not forget, you will have a great deal of help. Mrs. Reynolds has been managing things almost entirely on her own for years now, only consulting me when she felt it was required. She will teach you everything you need to know.”

“Thank goodness for Mrs. Reynolds,” she said wryly.

As he spoke, he began to rub the backs of her hands with his thumbs. At first, she had the urge to pull her hands away, but she forced herself to allow him to continue this intimacy. We are married, and he has every right to touch me in whatever way he chooses, she thought. This led her to puzzle over why, after all this time, he had still not come to her bed.

After a few more hours of travel, Elizabeth could see Darcy’s anticipation growing, which she took as a sign they were near their destination.

“Come, look out this window,” he told her. “It will not be long now.”

Turning in at the lodge, they drove slowly through a beautiful woods which thinned as the road began to ascend a hill. They proceeded slowly until they reached the top where she saw a large open area. Almost immediately Pemberley appeared in the distance. At her first sighting, she involuntarily gasped and reached out putting her hand on her husband’s arm. She could sense Darcy watching her face intently as she took in the splendid view.

It was a large, handsome stone building, standing on the top of a gentle rise and backed by a ridge of high, tree-covered hills. In front, a stream wound gracefully into a beautiful lake that had been left in its natural state. It was everything Darcy had said and more. Elizabeth had never seen a place where such natural beauty had been so undisturbed. To be Mistress of Pemberley she realized was going to be beyond anything she had even imagined.

“So you are pleased with what you see?” he asked hopefully.

“I am…” she paused, weighing her words as she knew what she said next was very important to him. “I am more than pleased. I am in awe. Now I understand why you were so anxious to be at home. I cannot imagine ever wanting to leave this place!”

Darcy’s face glowed at hearing her enthusiastic approval. Once the carriage began to move again, they descended the hill, crossed the bridge, and in a few minutes arrived at the front of the house. Peering discretely out the window of the carriage, she could see that the entire cadre of servants had lined up in front of the house to greet them. To think that the sole purpose of all these people was to see to the comforts and needs of the Darcy family! What had she done? The house, the staff—everything was beyond what she had imagined.

At the time, she had totally discounted Caroline Bingley’s derisive remarks about her ability to manage the house, but now as she prepared to emerge from the carriage, she wondered if Caroline had been right after all. Shaking off her fears, she resolved to meet this challenge as she had met others in the past—with patience, intelligence, and a bit of good humor.

Darcy descended from the coach and offered her his hand. As she stepped down, his eyes never left her face. The idea that he wanted to share all of this with her was overwhelming, and she could not help being caught up in the moment. Holding Darcy’s arm tightly to bolster her courage, she ascended the impressive steps to the house.

Darcy acknowledged the servants and thanked them for coming out to greet their arrival. He introduced Elizabeth and announced that each one would have the opportunity to meet Mrs. Darcy very soon. Elizabeth stood in amazement as she observed that Darcy did not seem to be at all self-conscious speaking to such a large group of people. Apparently, some things would be different about him now that he was at home. Here people knew and respected him.

Mrs. Reynolds, the housekeeper, had a warm, friendly face. Elizabeth knew that how well she was able to get along with this woman would determine at least in part her success in her new role. She saw Mrs. Reynolds looking at her politely, but looking her over, nevertheless. As they stood conversing, she thought she noticed the elderly woman’s smile becoming more genuine as if Elizabeth had achieved at least a first approval.

Observing Darcy and Mrs. Reynolds, she was surprised to see the true warmth shared between them. It was a side of Darcy she had not seen before. This gray-haired woman may have been his employee, but it was clear that he respected and cared for her very much. Elizabeth could see by his face that he was hoping she and Mrs. Reynolds would like each other, too.

“Everyone on the staff is anxious to make you welcome. If there is anything you require, you have only to ask,” Mrs. Reynolds told her.

After the housekeeper had excused herself, Darcy took her arm to show her around the house. First he led her through the hall and into a large parlor. Next they walked through the music room and the formal dining room. Everywhere they went she was taken with how handsomely the house was decorated. The rooms themselves were large, lofty, and full of light. Much to Elizabeth’s delight the furniture was tasteful and elegant, not gaudy or pretentious as it had been at Rosings. Her respect for Darcy grew as she admired and appreciated his refined taste as reflected in what she had seen so far of the park and house. Darcy joined her as she stood at a window in one of the smaller parlors.

“You seem to be enjoying the views. Are you thinking about the view from your own window at Longbourn?” he asked.

Elizabeth smiled, surprised and pleased he had remembered their discussion. “I could hardly compare the two,” she said.

“Come, there is much more to see!” He took her arm and almost pulled her along in his eagerness to share it all with her.

“I think it will take me days to see everything in the house. It is much more…” she hesitated trying to find the right word.

“More what?” he asked, looking a little apprehensive.

“I do not know—just ‘more’ in every way. I never imagined it would be like this. The park, the house, all of it—words fail me when I attempt to describe it.”

“It is praise indeed when you are left speechless. That almost never happens in my experience,” he replied with a laugh.

Elizabeth arched her brow, responding to his humor with amusement.

“I am overjoyed that you are here at last. In my mind I have seen you walking these rooms for many months now,” he told her.

Elizabeth felt him fixing her with one of his intense looks. She was sure he wanted to embrace her, but propriety prevented him from making any show of affection lest Mrs. Reynolds or any of the servants see them. She reached over and touched his arm again.

“Be assured, I love everything about Pemberley.” As soon as she had said it, she realized the double meaning that could be inferred, and she blushed. Wondering which way he had taken her statement, she studied his face and saw that he looked back at her with a certain softness in his eyes. Hoping to cover her embarrassment, she turned away and began to examine a small statue.

Darcy made no comment but led her down the hallway to the picture gallery decorated with some very handsome paintings including family portraits. When she reached the one of Darcy, she paused to contemplate it for a moment. It was a very good likeness. She recognized the smile on his face as the one she had sometimes noticed when he looked at her. Darcy came over as if he were uneasy at the idea of having his likeness examined too closely and began to point out the portraits of other family members including his parents.

Elizabeth wondered if he planned to commission one of her or possibly one of them together as was often done. The idea of her own likeness staring back at her every time she passed through this part of the house was a little unnerving, and she began to understand why Darcy had been so eager to move her attention away to other paintings in the room.

After viewing more rooms than she could remember, they finally reached the wing of the house in which their private suite was located.

“I asked for your room to be thoroughly cleaned before we arrived, but the furnishings and draperies have not been changed for many years. I thought you would like to redecorate it to suit your personal taste.”

As she looked around, she was taken with the sheer size of the room, much larger than any room at Longbourn including the family dining room and parlors. Her dressing room attached on the right was nearly as large as the bedroom she had shared with Jane. Double doors to the left opened into a cozy sitting room furnished in a slightly less formal manner than the rest of the house. As they entered, she noticed an arrangement of fresh flowers had been placed on one of the tables to welcome her.

“Of course, you may make any changes you wish in here also,” he told her.

“The room is so lovely as it is. I am not sure I could improve it.”

“I am hoping we can spend some time here in the evenings,” he said.

“It looks very comfortable.”

“My room is through there.” He indicated another set of double doors opposite the ones leading to her bedchamber.

She did not want to think about his room at the moment and so pushed it out of her mind by focusing on the sitting room. In fact, she was feeling awkward with the entire conversation. As Elizabeth tried to cover her discomfort by examining the furniture, the pictures, and views from the windows, she could sense his eyes on her as she moved about the room. Finally, he walked over and took her hand cradling it gently in his own.