When they arrived at Longbourn, they could hear her mother's wails even before they went in. This prepared Lizzy for the worst, which was confirmed by Mary, who was holding her younger sisters while they all cried. "What happened, Mary?"
"When Mr. Hill went up to Father, he found that he was not breathing. He died some time during the night. I did what I could to console Mother, but you can hear that I did not a good job. Aunt Gardiner is with her. I sent Hank to let you know."
Lizzy joined her sisters and cried with them. Darcy went to her and put his arm around her. "Lizzy, would you like to go up to see him? I will go with you." He held her as they went up the stairs and waited at her father's door while she went to him. She held her father's hand, which was already cold. Darcy gave her some time, and then went to her. "Come, my dear, there is much to do." Lizzy reluctantly rose and went to hold her husband. She then went in to her mother's room where Mrs. Gardiner was sitting with her and Darcy went down the stairs.
Elizabeth's Uncle and Aunt Philips soon arrived and Mrs. Philips went up to join Lizzy and Mrs. Gardiner in their attempts to console Mrs. Bennet. Mr. Philips said, "Gardiner, Darcy, should we go into the library to talk about what has to be done?" When they were all seated, he poured them each a small glass of brandy even though it was so early, and said, "So, Bennet waited until after the wedding. I do not know how he lasted so long as he has been in very bad shape for quite a while, even though he did not want anyone else to know just how bad he was. I guess it is up to us to see what is to be done for the Bennet ladies."
The three gentlemen listed everything that was needed to be done, including informing the undertaker and the parson. Both Darcy and Mr. Gardiner expected Mr. Philips to take charge as he was a lawyer and he would be responsible for much of what was needed to be done in Meryton on a continuing basis. They decided that he would send a formal letter to Collins to inform him that he was now the inheritor of the Longbourn estate and to ask how long he would give the Bennets to find other accommodations, which he suggested should be about three months. They suspected that Collins would want possession sooner than that, but they wanted to establish a reasonable bargaining position. They knew of no other relatives that needed to be informed. Philips said that, following Darcy's instructions, he had already found three houses in Meryton that should be suitable for the Bennets, which was more than he had expected. Darcy told him that they planned to invite one of Elizabeth's sisters to come to live with them, so the house needed to accommodate only Mrs. Bennet and two of her daughters.
After much discussion, Gardiner and Philips agreed to concede to Darcy's insistence that he would pay for the house and servants, while they would take care of providing the money for food, living expenses, pin money, and any other essentials that might arise. As Bingley was not available, they decided that he would be asked what contribution he might make when he returned from his honeymoon. It was agreed that Philips would be in charge of doling out all funds to the Bennets as he lived in Meryton and was used to controlling funds as part of his legal business. They knew that Mrs. Bennet could not be left in charge of their budget as she loved to spend money far too much.
After visits from the undertaker and parson, the arrangements for the funeral were finalized. The funeral was to be held as soon as possible as the Gardiners had to return to town as soon as they could. The next day, the three available houses were inspected without telling Mrs. Bennet as they knew her expectations would not be reasonable. Darcy approved of their choice and Philips was left to finalize the lease and the hiring of staff, including any who wanted to remain with the family rather than stay at Longbourn to work for Mr. Collins. The Darcys, Gardiners, and Philipses all got together to tell Mrs. Bennet that she would have to leave Longbourn but that they had already found a house for her and that she would have sufficient funds to live quite comfortably, if not extravagantly. In spite of her many complaints, she finally accepted what had been done for her as she would not be 'thrown out into the hedgerows' as she had so often feared.
Mr. Philips told Elizabeth that they should move all of their personal items to the new house as soon as possible and not leave anything behind as Collins might insist that everything left belonged to the estate, and therefore to him. He slyly told Elizabeth to take all of the books she wanted to retain, as "he was sure that many of the books were personal property and not part of the estate." Darcy encouraged her to take as many as she wanted as they would make room for them in one of their two libraries, even though both were already well stocked. She spent hours going through her father's library deciding which books she wanted. With this suggestion, days were spent moving boxes of items from Longbourn, either to Netherfield or to the newly-rented house. Lizzy found that she was not in the least embarrassed that her father's library shelves were almost empty when she had finished taking most of the books from them.
After the funeral, Elizabeth knew that they could leave Meryton as the arrangements for her mother's removal were nearly complete. Darcy was impressed with the efficiency of lawyer Philips and trusted him to make any final decisions that might be needed. Together, they asked Georgiana which sister she would like to have as a companion, and she quickly selected Mary. They were quite happy with this choice as these two seemed to get along very well already. Elizabeth was not very happy leaving Kitty and Lydia with her mother as she knew that her mother would not impose any discipline on them and that they would continue their irresponsible behaviour with no fear of chastisement. She asked her Aunt and Uncle Philips to try to keep an eye on them and let her or Jane know if they became too unmanageable.
Her next task was to talk to Mary about coming with them, which she agreed very readily as she had always been disgusted with her youngest sisters' reckless behaviour. Then Lizzy went to her mother to ask for permission for Mary to come to live with them. When her mother thought of all of the rich men her daughter might meet with the Darcys, she insisted that Lydia should be selected as Lydia was her favourite daughter and so she should be given this chance. She relented only after Elizabeth told her very plainly that her husband would not accept Lydia and that it was either Mary or no one. When Mrs. Bennet finally approved, Mary gathered all of her belongings and they boarded their carriage to go to Darcy House in London.
On arrival at Darcy House, they decided that Mary would be given a very nice room right next to Georgiana and they ensured she was happy with her new room and that she was well settled there. Mary was very impressed with her new room as it was several times larger and much nicer than her old room at Longbourn. They also assigned a young chambermaid to act as her lady's maid, which was also a first for her as the five girls had all shared one maid at Longbourn. In spite of Mary's protests, Lizzy and Georgie said they would take her shopping for new clothes. Lizzy sat down with Mary and explained that she would need to change her ways to fit into the Darcys' way of life so she would not embarrass Mr. Darcy. Lizzy pointed out the many benefits she would now receive, including any masters she wanted for any further instruction in any area and attendance at many very fine performances. Mary had not realized the changes she had agreed to when she accepted Lizzy's invitation to come to live with them. When she finally accepted her new way of life, she even agreed that her new clothes need not be the drab colours she had previously preferred. She was shocked at the amount of pin money that Darcy said would be hers until he pointed out that this amount was the same as Georgie received. She had no idea how she could spend sum a generous sum, especially as Darcy said that he would pay for her whole new wardrobe and fees for masters in addition to her regular allowance.
Only very slowly did her mind begin to accept her new way of life. At Longbourn, it seemed that her whole family, especially her mother, merely ignored her and had very low expectations of her. Now, she was beginning to feel that she was actually valued and that all three Darcys paid a lot of attention to her and actually asked for her opinion on many matters. Her new lady's maid spent time to make her look attractive, and she only now began to feel that she just might be pretty. With her spending most of her time with either Georgie or Lizzy, she found that she had very little time to devote to the reading of religious tracts and sermons, as she had in the past.
Mary's first shopping expedition was another huge shock to her. The three young ladies picked up her aunt Gardiner and they went to such nice shops that she had never in her wildest dreams could have imagined even existed. Her aunt was very knowledgeable about fabrics as Gardiner's business involved the importation of many exotic cloths. Georgie knew about the latest fashions and the best shops, and Lizzy encouraged her by constantly complimenting her on how well the new clothes would look on her. They ended up with a completely new wardrobe for her, including fancy ball gowns and very nice dresses that would be used when they attended other entertainments.
Their first social engagement at Darcy House was to invite the whole Gardiner family to come to dinner soon after their arrival. Darcy surprised them all as he very soon was on the floor playing with the Gardiner children. They certainly did not expect the usually staid master of Pemberley to be so captivated with young children. He insisted that the children join them at the table, where they were well looked after by all the adults. At dinner, Elizabeth announced that she was expecting, so it proved to be a very merry occasion. The children were taken home soon by their nurses after eating so the adults could enjoy hearing Georgie and Mary entertain them on the piano.
Darcy had received a number of invitations to attend many different events, so they had a difficult time deciding which they might accept. As Georgie was not yet out and as Lizzy and Mary were in mourning for their father, they were very selective and accepted only the most informal ones that they could all attend, mainly teas and family dinners with the Gardiners and Matlocks. After having dinner at the Gardiners' house, their next event was dinner with the Matlocks. Mary was nervous about being with an earl and countess, but she was soon made easy with their informal manner. She blushed when she was complimented by them on how well she looked. Darcy had asked that only family should be invited, so it was a very pleasant occasion for everyone.
Colonel Fitzwilliam was still in town getting his troops ready to leave for Spain, so he was at the dinner and was soon teasing all three young women, much to Mary's embarrassed delight. Nothing was said of Miss Bingley, even though Elizabeth was very curious. The three ladies knew that there could be informal dancing at some of the events they attended, so they had taken time to make sure that they had practiced with Mary. Sure enough, Richard asked for dance music after dinner and both Richard and Darcy danced with all three in turn. As Mary had rarely danced in Meryton, she found that dancing could be very enjoyable with handsome partners who were light on their feet.
In addition to several small dinners, they attended plays, the opera, readings, musical performances, museums, and art galleries in the month they spent in town. The ladies were invited to have tea with several friends of the Darcys and, in turn, had invited other ladies to have tea at Darcy House. They never accepted any invitation that was too formal or where both Mary and Georgie could not attend. In spite of their careful selectivity, both Mary and Lizzy found that the number of events they attended were almost overwhelming compared to what they had experienced in Meryton. Mary did not even notice that she had not opened Fordyce's Sermons since she had arrived in town.
Lizzy was not disappointed when she considered that they rarely met Bingley's sisters, and then only at a couple events. With Bingley and Jane still on their honeymoon journey, there was little reason for them to get together. Lizzy had worried that Caroline would want to maintain their acquaintance as a way of receiving invitations to the most prestigious events, and even to Pemberley. Lizzy was not anxious to be in her company, even though Caroline's behaviour had seemed to improve during her stay at Netherfield with the Colonel.
At the end of their month in town, they were ready to go back to Pemberley, if only to rest. Lizzy and Mary had never experienced the busy season in town and had not realized just how many entertainments there were to choose from. Lizzy was especially pleased to see the changes she saw in Mary. In just a month, she seemed like a different person. No longer was she the withdrawn girl wearing drab colours that she had been, spouting scripture. Lizzy thought that the attention she had been receiving from the Darcys and from people they met had made her sister realize she was now considered to be a valued person. No longer was she outshone by her exuberant and more attractive sisters; with much nicer clothes and the attention of her personal maid, she finally saw herself as an attractive and interesting person to both young ladies and gentlemen. She actually smiled quite regularly now and no longer wore her perpetual frown; even her conversation was more varied. With the encouragement of both Lizzy and Georgie, her reading was much broader and even included novels. Her proficiency at the piano became better as Georgie helped her with her fingering, tempo, and choice of music. Lizzy thought that their mother and sisters would barely recognize her now.
It was now April, so Darcy was eager to get back to Pemberley to supervise the busy spring planting season and the birthing of his livestock. Lizzy found that her energy level was not as it had been because of her pregnancy, so she was often tired. They left London in two carriages and one baggage wagon, with their personal attendants in the second carriage. They had too many trunks to fit into and onto the two carriages, thus necessitating the baggage wagon. They were fortunate that the weather had been dry enough to allow the roads to be in good condition. They all enjoyed the trip as spring resulted in new growth and spring flowers everywhere. An additional benefit of this trip was that Georgiana and Mary stayed in the same room at the inn where they spent the night on the road, which greatly contributed to their increasing intimacy.
Just before they left London, Lizzy finally heard from Jane, who had returned to Netherfield after their month-long honeymoon. Jane did not seem to be too surprised when she learned that their father had died immediately after her wedding as his health had been so bad when she left Longbourn. Jane's letter was full of both her great joy at her marriage to Bingley and great sadness about their father. Jane said that they had heard from the Netherfield staff about her father and so did not go to Longbourn at all. Her uncle Philips had called on her very soon after her return and told her all the details about how her mother and sisters had been moved to the house that Darcy had provided. Her uncle spoke to Bingley and took advantage of Bingley's offer to share some of the financial burden, much to the satisfaction of their uncles Philips and Gardiner. Reading the letter very carefully, Lizzy believed she detected Jane's hint of the same marital joy that she experienced with Darcy. Jane did thank her for the useful advice she had received before her marriage.