hello all! Thanks for the R&R - they're so motivating! Elizabeth is reading Swiss Family Robinson, and these passages are from the Project Gutenberg edition, which is copyrighted but OK to reprint if there's no fee...
"For many days we had been tempest-tossed," Elizabeth began. "Six times had the darkness closed over a wild and terrific scene, and returning light as often brought but renewed distress, for the raging storm increased in fury until on the seventh day, all hope was lost."
Thomas sat in the bed next to her, immediately mesmerized by the story. Phebe perched on the other side of the bed, and Esther sat in a chair, a slight distance away. The nurse was in a corner of the room, doing some mending as she listened.
It was quite a beginning, Elizabeth thought to herself.
"We were driven completely out of our course," she continued, "no conjecture could be formed as to our whereabouts. The crew had lost heart..."
As the scene unfolded, with the terrified family of four young boys, mother, and father abandoned to their fate on the foundering ship, Elizabeth found her audience to be quite responsive. Esther nodded and sighed when the family prayed for deliverance from the storm. Thomas gasped when little Jack opened the door of the Captain's quarters, and two lonely dogs bounded out, knocking him over. And Phebe interrupted every few minutes with a question.
"Why did the crew leave them?" Phebe demanded, her little brows creased together.
"They were scared and fleeing for their lives."
"But the family was scared, too, weren't they? They did not run away."
"Maybe they were braver," Thomas speculated.
"They knew God would provide for them," Esther added, smiling at Thomas.
"I think you are all correct," Elizabeth responded, "but I believe it was also because they had each other."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Not long after, as the family prepared to leave the sinking ship, the mother exchanged her long and cumbersome skirts for a midshipman's uniform.
"I want to wear trousers, too!" Phebe exclaimed.
"For shame," Esther said, with a laugh. "People will think you are a boy!"
"Well," the girl reasoned, "that is good. I could run, climb trees, hunt with Papa, and never, ever have to sew. Or kiss a boy."
"Phebe!" Esther exclaimed, looking nervously at her new stepmother.
Elizabeth's eyes sparkled. "You can do all those things with a skirt on, dear one. And perhaps someday you will not mind kissing boys. The sewing, well, I cannot make any promises."
"But you kiss me sometimes! Right here!" Thomas protested, pointing dramatically to his cheek.
Phebe smiled at him and giggled. "Shall you marry me someday, then, Thomas?"
"Yes, Phebe," the boy said earnestly. "I will marry you. And Esther. And Mama, too," he added generously.
She heard the nurse suppress a laugh, and Elizabeth smiled warmly at her. The young woman smiled back, but quickly dropped her gaze.
Elizabeth thought it wise to resume the story.
"By-and-by we began to discern that between and beyond the cliffs, green grass and trees were visible. Fritz could see many tall palms and Ernest hoped they would prove to be coconut trees..."
Darcy came to the door just as poor Jack was attacked by a lobster, and everyone was laughing uproariously at his plight. Darcy stood on the threshold, quietly taking in the scene before him. Thomas and Phebe were nestled against Elizabeth, one on each shoulder, and Esther had pulled her chair all the way up, elbows resting on the bed. Tears started in his eyes and he did not even try to blink them back as he beheld the sight of his family. Only the nurse noticed him at first, clearly amazed to see the proud Lord with tears running down his face.
Soon, Phebe spied him standing there, too. "Oh Papa, Papa!" she cried, jumping up and running to her father. "Mama was just reading us the best story!"
Elizabeth froze at hearing Phebe call her "Mama" and glanced apprehensively first at Thomas, who appeared to notice nothing amiss, and then at Esther. Esther had pushed back from the bed, springing up with a stony look on her face. Elizabeth held her breath.
"She is not our Mama, Phebe," Esther said softly.
"Yes she is," Phebe said, sounding puzzled. "Isn't she, Papa?"
Darcy stood frozen on the spot, mouth open, trying to find the right words.
"No, darling," Elizabeth interjected smoothly. "Your Mama is up in Heaven, but even so, she will always be your Mama." She glanced at Esther, who was still inscrutable, but her shoulders had relaxed. "I married your father, though, so that means we are family now, too."
"But if I cannot call you Mama, what shall I call you?"
Elizabeth did not quite know how to answer that question.
"You could call her Mama," Thomas said thoughtfully, "just as long as you know which Mama you mean when you say it." He put his little hand in Esther's. "Would that be alright, sister? I know you love your Mama, but maybe you could love my Mama, too."
The older girl looked seriously at the little boy, as Elizabeth again held her breath. "Yes, Thomas," she said softly. "I think that would be alright." She looked up at her father. "Will it? Will it be alright?"
"Yes, darling," Darcy said, kissing his daughter on the top of her head. "Everything will be fine. We will all find a way forward together. Indeed," he said laughing, "I do believe I should listen to this story with you for a moment, lest I fall victim to a lobster someday."
He was welcomed enthusiastically, as he sat in the chair by the bed, pulling Esther into his lap as he used to when she was small. She curled her head under his chin and put her thin arms around his neck, looking contented, though the shadow of grief still clung to her features.
No one noticed when the nurse quietly slipped out of the room to wait in the hall for her young charges.
Georgiana arrived in Elizabeth's bedchamber early the next morning, so soon after her brother departed that Elizabeth suspected she had been waiting in the hall. Either that, or her brother was such a creature of habit that Georgiana knew precisely when he would rise in the morning. Elizabeth rather thought it was the latter and resolved to do her best to make her husband's life somewhat less predictable.
Georgiana had a stack of ledgers in her arms and several quills.
"I thought this would be a good time to get started on making you the true mistress of this household," she said briskly. "It is nearly time for the monthly review of the accounts in any case. If you do not mind, however, Mrs. Reynolds would like to come in first and review the menus for today and tomorrow and report on the household staff. Fitzwilliam usually discusses the groundskeepers, along with any reports on how the tenants are faring. Though I am sure he would have no objection to including you in such discussions, if you wish it."
"Perhaps by-and-by," she murmured, "once I have a better feel for the household accounts."
Georgiana nodded. "Shall I bring Mrs. Reynolds in now?"
"Yes, indeed," Elizabeth said warmly, for she liked the kindly old woman.
Mrs. Reynolds was all business, however. She reported on the stocks in the root cellar, noting that they were somewhat oversupplied with turnips, at the moment. "Cook has been experimenting with a new white soup," she noted, somewhat anxiously, "which contains turnips. Shall we try serving it today?"
"Lord Darcy is not enamored of turnips," Georgiana explained with a sigh. "Though I have long argued that if he were just to try them, he might change his mind."
"Well," Elizabeth mused, "in that case, it would seem the stakes are rather high. Perhaps cook should make a test batch for us and we will help her perfect it before we attempt to conquer his lordship. We can stay with a plain white soup today."
Both women readily agreed.
"The jugged pheasant will not be ready until tomorrow, so I am afraid we will have cold venison again today - we still have some fresh from yesterday."
"Perhaps we could try a different preparation tonight," Elizabeth commented. "I know it was boiled, but it could be roasted, as well."
"I am afraid it might be a bit tough," Georgiana cautioned.
"Have you sufficient salt in the house to spare some for the preparation of the venison?" Elizabeth enquired.
"My lady," the housekeeper said gently, "we rarely lack for such things."
Elizabeth flushed slightly, for salt had been a luxury in the Bennet household. "Good then," she said. "Tell cook to fill a large pot of water and stir a cup of salt in until it dissolves, . Then she should place the venison in the water and leave it to soak for several hours. After that, she should remove it from the water and roast it on a low fire until the meat is nearly off the bones."
The two women looked at her doubtfully, and she chuckled.
"Why not have one of the men shoot a couple of rabbits and prepare those, too? I saw several out on the grounds when we rode in the sledge, so I am sure that will not be too difficult."
"Aye, Madame," Mrs. Reynolds promptly replied.
The household staff was in good order, though two of the parlor maids were in some sort of dispute, which was proving to be disruptive.
"If they are both good workers, perhaps one could be assigned to different duties in another part of the house?"
"My thoughts exactly," the housekeeper agreed.
"They are both good girls," Georgiana noted, "but neither is indispensable. I suggest that you warn both that their continued employment may hinge on comity, or at least keeping their arguments to themselves."
"Yes, Miss Darcy," Mrs. Reynolds agreed.
Elizabeth did not like that solution, but kept her own counsel. She suspected it was difficult to train servants to meet Pemberley's high standards, and that it would be overly burdensome to find new employees every time someone quarreled. It was, after all, human nature to find something to be disagreeable about. But she did not wish to challenge her new sister-in-law in front of the housekeeper.
"Thank you, that will be all," Georgiana said, dismissing the older woman.
"Yes, Miss Darcy, Mrs. Darcy."
Elizabeth started slightly, thinking it would take some time to grow used to being called Mrs. Darcy.
"They need to see that you will enforce discipline," Georgiana said softly, watching her closely.
"Ah," she coughed, "forgive me for making myself so plain."
Georgiana chuckled.
"I understand what you mean," Elizabeth sighed. "But perhaps there are other ways to show one can be firm."
"I have no doubt that there are," Georgiana said with a broad smile, unable to hide her delight at her sister's show of will. "Shall we go over the books now?"
After many hours of work and a light supper, Elizabeth eventually fell asleep in the middle of the laundry, lye, and soap accounts. Georgiana gently slid the ledger from under her fingers and kissed her on the forehead before leaving the room. She did not even wake when her husband came to bed.
And so the days passed for the new Lady Darcy, with tales of a family finding its way, marooned on a desert island, even as she found her own way, stranded in her bedchamber.
"Do you know the names of the mother and father in the children's story?" Elizabeth told Darcy delightedly one night as they discussed his day's business.
"I have no idea," he responded, "but I feel certain you are about to tell me."
"Perhaps I shall not, then," Elizabeth teased, "if it does not interest you."
"Tell me!" He laughed, gathering her into his arms. "Else I shall go sleepless from the suspense."
"Elizabeth and William," she responded.
"Truly? What did the children make of that?"
"Phebe and Thomas immediately determined that it meant they should build a treehouse, just as in the story, and even Esther decided she would join them."
"I shall tell the groundskeepers to be on the lookout for a suitable tree," he promised.
"I already have," she noted with satisfaction.
Lord Darcy observed that his wife, even confined to bed, had already taken over his household. "By the time you are actually back on your feet," he said, "I suspect we shall all be marching in formation under your command."
Though Elizabeth pretended to be outraged by his comment, she was clearly much pleased, and they both fell asleep as contented as it was possible to be for two newlyweds in an as-yet unconsummated marriage.