Dear Jane,
Fitzwilliam and I have just returned to Pemberley after our wedding trip to Scotland. The weather was wretched and we returned much earlier than we had planned. Fitzwilliam said that he must be a fool to have planned a wedding trip to Scotland at this time of year, but it suited me very well. We spent little time on the road and most of the time dining or otherwise alone in front of a cozy fire in some inn or other. We were very much alone for nearly the whole journey. I cannot imagine what it must be like for a husband and wife who have little regard for one another spend any time in seclusion together. They must wish to avoid the circumstance at all costs. For me it was bliss. Sometimes we talked and sometimes we were silent. Ten such days in his company have taught me almost as much about my husband as did the first year of our acquaintance. I shall never be bored of him, though, despite my further understanding of him. There is always something new to find in someone you love. I know someday we shall return to Scotland in better weather and I shall actually be aware of its beauties, but I confess I was wholly engrossed by my husband. I hardly know where we went. The country we traveled through is entirely unfamiliar to me and we spent so much time indoors that I barely gave it a passing thought. Do you see how far I have been corrupted already? I am well on my way to becoming a wealthy man's empty-headed wife.
I am settling into my new home and enjoying time spent in the company of the small family party. I sometimes find a large household full of servants a bit daunting, but I am becoming accustomed to what it is to be mistress of such an estate as Pemberley. Mrs. Reynolds, the housekeeper, has cared for the Darcy family for over twenty years and has been very gracious in telling me everything I need to know to keep Pemberley running smoothly. Georgiana is still a little shy of me, but I am sure she shall soon get over that. She almost seems afraid that she will not please me! She is a dear girl, so different from her brother, and yet very like him at the same time. I know we shall be very good friends. I look forward to having you to Pemberley so that you may meet Georgiana again and enjoy Derbyshire as I do.
Soon it will be Christmas so we shall not be alone for long. The Gardiners are unable to come to us this year, but we shall receive a holiday visit from my husband's uncle and aunt, Lord and Lady Linville, who could not attend our wedding. Before we were married, Lord Linville wrote a cautioning letter to Fitzwilliam, in consequence of communication he received from his sister, Lady Catherine, but he has not bowed to her ladyship's demands that he and his lady cast us off. Fitzwilliam has told me that his uncle and aunt hold family duty to be a very important consideration when choosing a spouse, but will treat me with the courtesy that Lady Catherine refuses me. Although my husband has warned me that they may view me with a critical eye at first, he assures me that he would not have extended the invitation if he felt the slightest worry that I would be exposed to insult or disrespect. It will be up to me to play the gracious hostess and to Georgiana to show that she has not been contaminated by such a sister-in-law as Elizabeth Bennet Darcy. I doubt that she will have much trouble with this. She is such an accomplished young lady she quite puts me to shame!
Dear Jane, I shall be glad when I have met all of my husband's relations and friends and have some idea of where we stand with all of them. If all of them should give us the cut, I shall at least feel relieved to know who is my friend and who is not. I hope you are not experiencing this problem yourself. Miss Bingley and the Hursts were no friends to your romance with Charles before your engagement, but I suspect they have not abandoned you. We shall see each other in London after Christmas, I hope, where more trials await me. In truth I do not care so very much if I am snubbed by the first circles, but Fitzwilliam is so protective of me and I hate to see him upset. However, even if all of London closes its doors to me, I shall see you and your family, as well as the Gardiners.
Do write soon, Jane, and tell me all the news from Hertfordshire.
Your affectionate sister,
Elizabeth Darcy