Pemberley (6 page)

Georgiana Darcy stepped from the door of the lodge to welcome the Gardiners and Elizabeth; and as she did so Elizabeth could not help but reflect on another good reason for her pleasure in Wickham's being at five miles' distance at the time of their festive celebrations. Wickham – as Darcy had told Elizabeth in the greatest confidence – had lured Georgiana to Ramsgate when she was a mere fifteen years old. With the connivance of her chaperone, he had taken the innocent girl, who quickly thought herself in love with him, with the intention of forcing an elopement, to a seaside hotel from which she had only escaped by appealing to Darcy for a seal of approval which he absolutely refused to give. Her fortune was thirty thousand pounds; and it was for this that Wickham hunted her. But Elizabeth was concerned, for Georgiana, that there had been no suitor since and that the young woman might still entertain bitter regrets over the whole affair. It would have been intolerable indeed, if this were the case, to entertain Lydia, Elizabeth's own sister, as a rival to her new sister, Georgiana.

As they alighted from the carriage, Elizabeth found the first opportunity to thank her aunt Gardiner for the tact demonstrated
in renting rather than permitting Lydia and Mr Wickham to come to Pemberley.

‘There was no stopping her coming north,' said Mrs Gardiner in her usual pleasant tone. ‘She says, to be reunited with her Mama, but I think to enjoy the New Year's Ball at Pemberley!'

Elizabeth had here to bite her lip and keep silent. She did not wish to admit that the first she had heard of the New Year's Ball had been from her sister Jane, only a few days before; and that her enquiries of Mr Darcy had resulted only in a yawn and a cocked eyebrow and the assertion that it was a boring custom previously run by his aunt Catherine and he was surprised Mrs Reynolds had not been rattling on about it to poor Eliza for weeks now.

‘The ball is for Miss Georgiana Darcy,' said Elizabeth – for so she had concluded: that if the occasion were already fixed, then she would make the best of it in hoping a young man might come forward for Georgiana. ‘It is not for Lydia's pleasure solely, I am sure!'

They were by this time approaching the door of the lodge. Mr Darcy stepped forward to greet his wife and her aunt and uncle; and Mr Gardiner was able to pursue his interest in the salmon lurking in the waters that flowed all round the lodge, making an island that was picturesque in the extreme.

‘I shall not be deflected,' said Mr Darcy as they went through into the hall and divested themselves of their wraps. ‘You may fish whenever you please, uncle Gardiner; but there is a greater challenge to be met on the moor tomorrow.' And he proceeded, in the most civil of terms, to expound on the variety of game to be met on the Darcy Yorkshire estates.

The following day Elizabeth spent walking the moors; and as she went she reflected that the contrast with Pemberley, the range of mountains and the silence broken only by the becks that wound between hills almost devoid of trees, could give her a new perspective on her life and her position as the wife of Mr Darcy. Pemberley, with its fine arrangements of land and views from each window as well deliberated as a theatrical set, demanded of her in turn a part to play – here, she could, for the first time since her marriage, feel herself.

For this reason, Elizabeth had chosen to walk with the beaters rather than with the shots: as she had surmised, the men and boys from the village dispersed rapidly into brushwood and covert and she was left alone; and this, too, recalled to her the solitary walks she had taken in the park at Rosings, when, as a guest of her friend Charlotte and Mr Collins at the Hunsford parsonage, she had found herself confronted by the figure of Mr Darcy at every turn.

She was happy to have this day to herself; there was no doubt in that; but Elizabeth knew also that a surfeit of hours away from Mr Darcy's company could make her yearn for him as if the separation had been in weeks or months – and that, just as she enjoyed the solitude and the feelings that arose in her on contemplation of the romantic scenery and expanse of sky, so too could she have greeted the sight of Mr Darcy coming over the moor towards her with extreme joy. If only they could be solitary together sometimes! How wonderful that would be! But the fact of Mr Darcy's duties to his estates and men, and the proximity of a season of entertaining at Pemberley, made the possibility even more remote
than was usual. A wild hope, that a distant figure on the side of the hill, descending precipitately towards her, could be Darcy after all – for Elizabeth hoped always that he would cast off his reserve more often and run to her from the pure desire of her company, as she did for the want of his – was soon dispelled by the increasing visibility of the figure as it approached. Elizabeth did not yet know the names or faces of many of those who cared for the Yorkshire estates, but she recognised this man as a gamekeeper, to whom she had been introduced that morning by her husband; and whom she had greeted, as she so often felt, with too little formality. It was still difficult for the new mistress of Pemberley – and of this estate too, she must suppose – to accept the obeisances given by those who worked on the land; and she recalled in particular the stiffness of this man's bow in response to her words of welcome.

The news brought by the gamekeeper was alarming – but, as Elizabeth discovered a guilt in herself for feeling – at least it did not concern Mr Darcy. Mrs Hurst, on ascending a mountain too speedily, had fallen and sprained her ankle. A pony and cart had been sent for, from the lodge. Mrs Hurst was adamant that her husband should continue with his day's shooting, and Mr Darcy asked if his wife would be gracious enough to accompany Mrs Hurst to the lodge and attend her there. Mr Darcy had asked him, the gamekeeper said in a solemn tone that had Elizabeth look away to prevent her from laughing, to inform Mrs Darcy that Mrs Gardiner had been most insistent that it should be she who would accompany the invalid; but Mr Darcy knew that Mrs Darcy would prefer her aunt to remain on the moor and enjoy the spectacle of the shoot with Mr Gardiner. Elizabeth showed her gratitude at Darcy's delicacy in wishing to let her know of her aunt's scrupulous kindness on this occasion – as on so many others – by wringing the hand of the gamekeeper, which only served to confuse him further. As they set off down the track, the pony and cart, with Mrs Hurst aboard, could be seen coming up
towards them; and after the keeper had assisted them and the groom had been instructed to go carefully over the stony stretch of the road as they approached the lodge, they set off without too much discomfort on the part of Elizabeth's new patient.

Mrs Hurst had nothing but pleasant airs and kind thanks for Elizabeth's solicitude; and if she was in pain she took care to conceal it. For all her compliments, however, Elizabeth knew the feelings of her charge, temporarily disabled though she might be, were in all probability more distressing than any amount of physical unease. It had first been seen at Netherfield, the house rented by Mr Bingley near Longbourn, this curious blend of patronage and arrogance towards the Bennet girls on the part of Mr Bingley's sisters, Caroline and Mrs Hurst; and the cruel witticisms at the expense of her mother and her sister Jane had not gone unnoticed by Elizabeth. Remarks about
her,
as she correctly surmised, were made direct to Mr Darcy, where they received either an icy rejoinder or none at all, as they deserved.

There was no reason to suppose that the marriage of Elizabeth and Darcy would have changed the opinions of Mr Bingley's sisters on Elizabeth – or, indeed, on her sister Jane. For had not Caroline Bingley, as the sister of Mr Darcy's best friend, considered herself the future bride of Mr Darcy and his ten thousand a year? And had not her sister Jane married their brother Mr Bingley, who had in all certainty been intended for Miss Darcy? Marriage between Georgiana and Charles Bingley would have brought Pemberley a good deal closer to his sisters, as Elizabeth was very well aware; and she resolved, as she conversed with Mrs Hurst on the way back to the lodge, to keep her composure even if provoked.

‘I dare say your mother and sisters will be visiting for Christmas,' said Mrs Hurst. ‘Have they been to Pemberley before, dearest Lizzy?'

Elizabeth replied that they had not. She did not add that she much disliked being addressed in such familiar terms by Mrs
Hurst, though it was conceivable that the fact of Jane being married to Mrs Hurst's brother did indeed make them connected.

‘Ah, well, they must be looking forward to it immensely!' cried Mrs Hurst, as the pony cart jolted over a rough patch of road and a silence was ensured for a while at least while Elizabeth tended the swollen ankle and the patient assured her she suffered hardly at all.

‘You must be wondering where you will put them,' said Mrs Hurst when they were on smoother ground. ‘There are so many traditions attached to an old house like Pemberley, you know, and it is so easy to make mistakes – and, quite unwittingly, cause offence.'

Elizabeth replied that she had thought of the placing of the guests and that she and Mrs Reynolds were well satisfled with the arrangements.

‘Tell me,' cried Mrs Hurst, ‘apart from your mother and your sisters, will you invite your aunts? I am told you have an aunt who lives in Cheapside.' And here Mrs Hurst gave a hearty laugh. ‘It is quite a way from Cheapside to Pemberley, to be sure. But we should all be sorry to hear she had come such a distance only to find herself lodged at Rowsley with Mrs Gardiner, like your sister Mrs Wickham.'

Elizabeth's cheeks flamed; but as the lodge was now in sight through the trees she determined to rise as little as possible to Mrs Hurst's bait. She said in a measured tone that her London aunt was not coming to Pemberley and had never considered doing so; that her aunt Gardiner was in the habit of taking lodgings at Rowsley in order better to tour the area; and that her younger sister Lydia would find the amenities of Lambton of great use to her numerous children.

‘There are no soldiers billeted there,' said Mrs Hurst with a note of triumph. ‘I fear your sister Kitty will be hard put to amuse herself when she visits Lydia in Rowsley.'

These insinuations proving almost too much for her, Elizabeth
ordered the pony cart to stop and she alighted in the driveway to the lodge, saying she would call the servants to assist Mrs Hurst dismount. When she had done this, she returned to the cart and took the invalid's hand with the most cheerful of smiles.

‘Oh, my dear Eliza, you are too kind,' said Mrs Hurst. ‘Come up with me to my bedchamber while we wait for a doctor, I do beg you. I am so fretful left on my own with no one to prattle to.'

Unwillingly Elizabeth agreed, and they made their way at a necessarily slow pace up the stairs.

‘Here we are!' said Mrs Hurst as she paused on the landing outside Mr Darcy's room. ‘Come in here with me, my dear.'

Elizabeth said she could see no reason to enter her husband's room. She had the unpleasant sensation that Mrs Hurst was watching her closely as she spoke; as if, very nearly, Mrs Hurst considered Elizabeth had something to hide, and was afraid to show it. Yet this, as Elizabeth knew, was plain nonsense. Anyone who wished could enter her own or Mr Darcy's rooms and see the evidence of their devotion and faithful love for each other – for Elizabeth's room bore all the marks of his constant occupancy, and his room was as bare as a bedchamber allocated to a bachelor guest before his arrival to stay. Whether at Pemberley or in the lodge in Yorkshire, this was invariably the case; and Elizabeth knew Mr Darcy's manservant had at first been surprised to find his master so seldom in his own quarters. But the truth was there for all to see: Mr Darcy used his room as a dressing-room only, and there were few couples even in these enlightened times who could say as much for the harmony of their conjugal relations.

Elizabeth asked Mrs Hurst why she should wish to enter Mr Darcy's room, when he was out on the moors and could not possibly be expected to be there. ‘And if by some miracle he
were
there,' said Elizabeth, ‘he would be changing from his shooting-clothes. He would hardly expect us to walk in there.'

‘Ah, it was when dear Darcy was changing this morning that I heard him exclaim with surprise,' cried Mrs Hurst. ‘The door was
open and I was walking past. When I asked him what was the matter, he replied that he had just received a letter from his aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh.'

‘And what of it?'

‘He confided in me directly that Lady Catherine intends to bring another guest to Pemberley for Christmas,' said Mrs Hurst with an even greater note of triumph than before. ‘I would have thought he'd have told you of an addition to the party, my dear Eliza.'

‘I did not have a chance to speak with Darcy before we went out walking,' said Elizabeth, who instantly regretted having spoken these words.

‘There is no need to apologise, Elizabeth. Many wives know even less of their husband's movements or intentions. I can assure you, the degree of close confidentiality between myself and Mr Hurst is most extraordinary.'

Elizabeth could scarcely refrain from smiling, as Mr Hurst slept so soundly after dinner, before being carried up to bed and sleeping until wakened by the need for breakfast, that the actuality of an exchange of words was commonly considered, at any hour of the day, to be highly improbable between the couple.

‘I am sure I will be informed of Lady Catherine's bringing another guest,' said Elizabeth with a gravity which masked her true feelings for Mr Bingley's sister. ‘And now, if I may, I will assist you to your room and retire to mine.'

‘Very well. But I am amazed, my dear Lizzy, that you take no interest in the imminent arrival at Pemberley of its heir.'

‘What are you saying? I do not understand.'

‘Lady Catherine befriends a distant cousin – of hers and of Mr Darcy's. He is Master Thomas Roper, and by entail he stands to inherit all the Darcy estates and wealth if Fitzwilliam Darcy should take leave of the world without male issue.'