Searching for Pemberley (23 page)

24 November—Since Mr. Lacey's arrival at HH, we have experienced very fine weather. As a result, Mr. Lacey and I have walked each morning in the park, and I have learnt so much about him and his family. From his description of his mother, it is hard to believe she was the sister of Lady Sylvia, their temperaments being quite the opposite, but Mr. Lacey defended his aunt, who was several years older than his mother and her brother, Viscount Devereaux. She had assumed the role of parent when their own mother had died. However, he admits that being in her company is very trying. He will get no argument from me on that!

25 November—Mr. Lacey informed me he is to return to London and asked if I would walk with him in the park. When we reached the top of a gentle slope, he placed his hat on the bench that is in a recess in the hedge. He then untied my bonnet and placed it on top of his hat. With no resistance from me, he took me in his arms and kissed me. It was not one kiss but many. I stupidly kept my hands at my side, and he took my arms and put them about his neck and kissed me again and told me he loved me. For one of the very few times in my life, I was speechless. That evening, while playing whist, I was unable to concentrate and played so badly that Jane asked if I was unwell. Before retiring, Mr. Lacey stopped me on my way upstairs and kissed me and held me tightly against him. He said if it were not for pressing business in London with George Bingham, nothing could compel him to leave
Hertfordshire. He was gone at first light, and I watched his carriage until it disappeared down the London road.

When I read how Will had removed her bonnet so that he could kiss her, it was as erotic to me as if he had stripped her down to her chemise. At that time, touching an ungloved hand was considered to be sexy, so for Will Lacey to take off her hat so that he might kiss her, well, that got my heart beating.

The next diary entry Beth had copied out was no surprise. The reason Jane was unwell was because she was pregnant. Lizzy noted she had “never seen a man as delighted as Charles was upon hearing that he was to be a father.” But Charles and Jane were not the only ones who were jumping with joy.

4 December—I have received a letter from Mr. Lacey professing his love for me. He tells me how he cherishes that moment in the park when we first kissed. It seems Mr. Lacey and I are of similar minds. Whenever I have a spare moment, all I can think about is how he took me in his arms and kissed me. I had never been kissed before, and it made me quite lightheaded. George Bingham and he are to travel to France on business. I do not understand why it is necessary for them to go at this time when there is such violence in Paris and elsewhere in France. There was a report in the newspapers that the Duchess of Devonshire's carriage was attacked near Montpelier. It is best that I do not know where in France they are to go, as I am excessively worried without knowing the particulars.

Unfortunately for Lizzy, Will's visit to France would not be her only worry. The Garrisons were shortly to learn that Lucy
had left Brighton with Waggoner. Lucy's stunt could very well have destroyed any chance Lizzy had of receiving a second offer of marriage from Will Lacey. Although I knew the outcome, I really sympathized with Lizzy because she was about to experience great uncertainty, something I was becoming increasingly familiar with.

16 December—Oh what sad news we have had! An express rider came Monday evening from Col. Fenton telling Papa that Lucy had run away with Mr. Waggoner. His men found them in London two days later at a lodging house under an assumed name. Col. Fenton went to London for the purpose of bringing Waggoner back to Brighton for disciplinary action and to restore Lucy to her family, but Lucy would not leave Waggoner! She does not see the harm in what she has done. Lucy is at present with Uncle Sims, and our father left this morning with Charles, who said he was confident his brother James, who is in London while George Bingham is in France, could be of some help. But for so many people to know of our troubles! All we can do now is to wait for news from London.

23 December—At Uncle's insistence, Papa has returned home, as arrangements have been made for Waggoner and Lucy to marry on Wed. in Uncle Sims's church. Papa believes Charles has laid out a good deal of money on his behalf to settle Waggoner's affairs. Since we do not have ready money, Papa has been forced to accept his son-in-law's generosity. Col. Fenton wrote to Papa to say a commission had been purchased for Waggoner in the regular army by a friend, and he is to report to a regiment in the North. Papa
will not receive them here, and Mama, realizing Lucy's behaviour could harm the family if the details of her hurried marriage became known, agrees with him. Mama will meet them at the inn at Watford when they travel north. Celia and will go with her, but Mary refuses.

2 January—We met Lucy and Waggoner at the inn yesterday. Mama has aged ten years since this affair began and said little to Lucy and barely acknowledged Waggoner. I, too, had little to say, but Lucy more than made up for it. I was barely listening when she mentioned that Mr. Lacey had paid for Waggoner's commission. When I asked her why Mr. Lacey should involve himself in her situation, she said he was giving Waggoner his due because he had been denied a living promised to him by Old Mr. Lacey. I made no comment on this slander. I must write to Aunt Sims to find out the reason for Mr. Lacey's involvement in this sordid affair. But there is no one to ask why he did not inform me of his return to England. If Mr. Lacey ever intended to make another offer of marriage, the idea died this week in London.

Elizabeth's aunt's response was on lovely, pale pink, linen stationery, and in her tiny handwriting, Mrs. Sims wrote:

9 January 1793

Dear Elizabeth,

I must rely on your discretion regarding the matter of Lucy and Waggoner because Mr. Lacey did not wish for his role in this affair to become known, especially to your father.
Your uncle has given me his permission to acquaint you with the particulars of the events in London. We are convinced it is because of you that Mr. Lacey became involved.

Col. Fenton delivered Lucy to our doorstep himself. He said Lucy was adamant that she would not leave Waggoner, and the colonel decided it was best to turn the matter over to her family. The poor man could not apologize enough for the unfortunate chain of events. He told us it has caused a rift between him and his wife. Apparently, Mrs. Fenton knew Lucy was expecting a proposal of marriage from Waggoner. The colonel would not have allowed it and would have sent your sister home immediately.

Your uncle was successful in convincing your father to return home where he could be of comfort to his family. He was to be pitied: one minute angry and the next in a state of despair. Under such circumstances, he would not have been helpful with negotiations with Mr. Waggoner, who was quite confident of an advantageous resolution. When your uncle arrived at the solicitor's office, Mr. Lacey and Mr. George Bingham were present. Mr. Bingham was attended by a large man, who sat behind him and said not a word. Waggoner presented his demands to Mr. Bingham, who set the paper aside without looking at it.

George Bingham stated that Waggoner's debts would be discharged in Brighton and Bennets End, a commission would be purchased, including uniforms, and Lucy would receive wedding clothes and an annuity from her father. With that, Mr. Bingham stood up and said that Waggoner would receive no additional money, and there would be no further demands made by him now or at any time in the future. He leaned over the table to get
as close as possible to Waggoner and said, 'Bad things happen to bad people, Mr. Waggoner. I strongly urge you to reform and take care of your young wife.' Your uncle said when he stood up, the large man also stood up, and after this very threatening statement, they left. Waggoner said no more. The papers were signed and arrangements made for the wedding.

You asked why Mr. Lacey involved himself in our troubles. One of the reasons given was he felt obligated to do so because, if he had made known Waggoner's true character, this could not have happened. But more importantly, I believe he is in love with you. When he dined with us after all the legal issues were settled, he said not a word about what had happened that day but spoke only of our visit to Derbyshire and his visit to Helmsley Hall. I am sure Mr. Lacey will return to Hertfordshire after there has been time for wounds to heal with one purpose in mind, and that is to see you.

Love,
Aunt Ruth

That was the last of the letters and diary entries, but Beth had also enclosed a note wrapping up the story.

Now for an explanation of how Lady Sylvia came to believe her nephew might make an offer of marriage to Lizzy, which Jane Austen told so dramatically in the novel. Shortly after the problems associated with Lucy's elopement were resolved, Anne traveled with Will Lacey to Helmsley Hall for a visit with Lizzy, Jane, and Charles. Upon her return
to Desmet Park, Anne was very complimentary of the hospitality shown to her by the newly married Charles and Jane Bingham. That was when Anne told her mother she might shortly hear news of another marriage—that of her nephew and Elizabeth Garrison.

Lady Sylvia was on the road in a heartbeat. After verbally abusing Lizzy at Bennets End, as Jane Austen wrote about in P&P, she went directly to Helmsley Hall and lashed into her nephew. For once in her life, Lady Sylvia did not get her way. Will rode to Bennets End to apologize for his aunt's behaviour. Instead of breaking up the romance, Will asked Lizzy to marry him right then and there. Shortly thereafter, Elizabeth received a beautiful ruby ring as a symbol of their betrothal. They were married in St. Michael's Church in Crofton on May 20, 1793, and they had their wedding breakfast at Montclair in the company of their friends and family.

I look forward to discussing all of this with you when you are next in Crofton.

Fondly,
Beth

At that moment, I had only one thought, and it was not a pleasant one. As a young girl, the view from my bedroom was of a towering coal breaker bearing down on the town like some industrial monster. Everything in Minooka was covered with a fine layer of soot, and the smell of sulfur permeated the air. A way to escape this bleak landscape was to disappear into other worlds as created by authors like the Brontës, Dickens, Alcott, and Mark Twain. But of all the authors I had ever read, my favorite
was Jane Austen. I loved everything she wrote, but I particularly loved
Pride and Prejudice
. I had read it so many times that I had memorized large passages, like an actor would study the lines of a play.

I was willing to accept that Jane Austen had somehow heard of the story that would form the basis of
Pride and Prejudice
. All the letters and family history supported the Crowells' belief that Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy were actually Elizabeth Garrison and William Lacey of Montclair in Derbyshire. But how was it possible for the author to know what Elizabeth and Will had said to each other? The only explanation was that Jane Austen had read Elizabeth Garrison's diary, and this seemed to me to be improbable if not impossible. Was Beth in possession of a forged diary that had been written after Jane Austen's novel had been published in 1813?

I told Rob of my concerns, but he doubted the Crowells would be fooled by a forgery. He reminded me that this diary was only one of several. If Elizabeth's handwriting had differed from one journal to the next, it would have been noticed.

“Listen, Maggie, Beth had to have thought about all of these things, too. I suggest you go to Crofton and ask her.”

WHILE ROB WAS AWAY in the North of England on a work assignment, I decided to take a break from too much overtime at the Army Exchange Service. I did go to Crofton but left the parcel at Mrs. Dawkins's house because I wanted to reread all that Beth had sent to me.

After Jack picked me up at the station, we drove up to Montclair, so that I could meet Freddie. Instead of parking next to the fountain, he drove around back to the servants' entrance, and said, “Home, Sweet Home.” We walked through a labyrinth until we got to the kitchen area where Freddie was sitting on a stool and reading the sports pages. When we came into the kitchen, he put out his cigar and jumped up to greet us. Jack made the introductions, and I told Freddie I was thrilled to finally meet the real master of Montclair. Freddie, who was short and wiry, gave off a nervous intensity that came at you in waves, and although he had been living in England for more than twenty years, his accent was Australian through and through.

Referring to that day's newspaper, he said, “I was checking yesterday's scores to see how much money I won. I done all right. Do you bet, Maggie?” I said I bought Irish lottery tickets, and he doubled over laughing and slapped the counter. “That's not betting, dear; that's shopping.”

After he stopped laughing, he said, “Don Caton and 'her highness' are in London, so why don't you have a look around.”

“By myself?”

“Well, I'll have to pat you down when you get back to make sure you didn't pinch nothing, and I'm very thorough.” I looked to Jack to see if Freddie was serious, and he just laughed.

“This is the backstairs the junior servants had to use at all times,” Jack said as we climbed the staircase. “It leads to the male and female living quarters on the third floor. Before cars, the permanent help had to live on site, but by the late 1920s, it was getting so hard to keep servants, they were allowed to live down in the village. Once things like Hoovers, dishwashers, and washing machines came into use, it wasn't necessary to have so many servants, but by that time, I was long gone.”

“But your living area was downstairs?”

“Yes, and the cook's too. The rooms where my family lived are used by Freddie now. All the work the servants used to do, including the cooking, is now hired out. If the Catons were to have a big affair, they would actually rent a butler. If you just felt a shift in the earth, it was my father turning over in his grave.”