≈ An excellent question, Lizzy! In answer, I manage to spend most of my time in my bookroom with no steward without the estate falling into ruin because I know who to trust and how far to trust them. I will admit I could have done much better. I should really have left you girls with bigger dowries, and better educations but that is a different matter. Think on this! Your mother spends an hour or two with hill to get one of her dinners. I can get a dinner just as good in five minutes by simply telling Mrs. Hill what I want to eat and getting out of her way. Subordinates thrive on trust and responsibility in just the right amounts. Too much and you can be overwhelmed or cheated. Too little and they will not strive for you. Learn that balancing act and you shall know how to act. ≈

Elizabeth's father was such a confusing man that she vacillated between loving him intensely and hating him with the same fervor. Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve, and caprice, that the experience of three-and-twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his character. Twenty years had left Elizabeth with better understanding than her poor befuddled mother, but only marginally. Mr. Bennet had not done what was considered a gentleman's duty by providing dowries for his daughters, but was it possible he considered that akin to selling them to the best bidder? Did he want to weed out the inevitable fortune hunters in advance? Might he have some money put aside that nobody knew about? This was certainly the wrong time to be thinking about such things, so Elizabeth decided she would just take the good and defer the bad in her father's advice.

She pulled Miss Darcy aside, and whispered, 'That was badly done, Miss Darcy. You have put me in a very awkward position. I will ascribe this to your youth and lack of experience, and I will help you, but you need to accept that I am helping you. I am not the mistress of this estate.'

She felt just a touch guilty when she saw the look of mortification on Miss Darcy's face, and saw her pale and shake a bit in fear.

"Courage, Miss Darcy. I am not angry… I am happy to be of help, but you must learn from the experience."

Stepping back over to the crowd, Elizabeth raised her voice to nearly a shout and began.

"I am Miss Elizabeth Bennet, and I am assisting Miss Darcy because I have some extensive experience with Measles and management of large groups. I also need to tell you all that much of Sudbury burned a few hours ago, and we are to have perhaps fifty or sixty visitors. You will need to prepare for them. We shall also need to deal with the Measles cases you have seen. Shall we begin?"

Everyone nodded with varying degrees of excitement and looked towards her.

"I am new here and do not know anybody, so may I ask who the leaders are outside the house?"

A ruggedly handsome man of about twenty‑five stepped forward, and said, "Robert Breton, ma'am. I am the stable master."

A much older man, perhaps Elizabeth's father's age, stepped forward and said, "Johan Smith, ma'am. I am kennel master."

A third man, perhaps with forty years bowed and said, "James Barrington, ma'am. I am head gardener."

Elizabeth asked curiously, "Where is the steward, Miss Darcy?"

"Our luck is dreadful, Miss Bennet. Mr. Potter went to visit his family for a week. It is unusual for Fitzwilliam and Mr. Potter to be gone at the same time, but not unheard of for short periods."

Elizabeth nodded, and said, "These things happen, Miss Darcy. Your family has held this land for centuries. I have no doubt your brother left plenty of capable people to manage his estate. If I were not here at all, someone would step forward who knows what to do.

Georgiana looked at her skeptically but did not have enough courage to contradict her new friend.

Mr. Barrington, the gardener said quietly, "If I may make a suggestion, Miss Bennet?"

"Please, Mr. Barrington."

"I've six gardeners ma'am. Breton and Smith have maybe a dozen or so between them. I would suggest we all defer to Breton for everything outside the house. Should be simpler for you, ma'am."

Elizabeth looked at Georgiana, and said, "Miss Darcy?"

At first, Georgiana looked quite frightened, and then Elizabeth saw her swallow hard, try to stand up straighter, laughed a bit nervously, and said, "I believe Mr. Breton was practically tossed into Fitzwilliam's cradle as a babe. They have been practically inseparable since. I concur with Mr. Barrington."

Elizabeth sighed at having the first problem solved, because she was actually only around a fingers-width less nervous than Miss Darcy, and it was one of the smaller fingers at that.

She looked around a bit, and said, "Downstairs? I understand the butler and housekeeper are upstairs with the Measles?"

A woman of around thirty years and another man came forward, and said, "I am Jason Lovel, the head footman. This is my wife, Martha Lovel, the cook. I believe we can keep things afloat Miss Darcy… Miss Bennet."

Elizabeth looked at Georgiana, and she nodded.

Elizabeth tried to signal her to say something but gave up after a few seconds. Finally, she sighed and began.

"We will have a lot to do over the next several days. The most important is to ensure that the Measles does not spread to anybody else, especially the villagers. To do that we will need to quarantine the sick and keep them from the well. Now, I have read quite a lot about Measles, and nearly died from it myself, so I believe I know what to do."

She turned to Miss Darcy and asked loud enough for everyone to hear, since everyone in the house would either hear the conversation firsthand or secondhand through gossip, "Has the apothecary or a physician been by?"

"They have Measles in several other houses, but he did manage to visit. He just left an hour ago. He suggests that our quarantine is probably sufficient."

Elizabeth nodded, and said, "Very well, let us keep it like that. Did he suggest anything else?"

Georgiana started listing out all of his instructions for caring for the invalids, and Elizabeth was content to hear that they were all sensible, although a bit timid in her estimation, and already being implemented.

She asked, "Please raise your hands if you have known Measles before, and are willing to care for the invalids."

Perhaps a dozen raised their hands. Elizabeth was satisfied with the numbers.

Georgiana added, "There are two maids upstairs tending the invalids now, and a footman doing the fetching and carrying."

Elizabeth nodded, and replied, "Good, good…"

Then louder, she addressed the group.

"This situation is unusual, but not unprecedented. Those of you who have been here for decades I am sure have seen worse. I think for safety's sake, those of you on nursing duty must go to the guest wing and stay there. Miss Darcy, might we organize some of the guest rooms as quarters for those doing the nursing?"

"Of course!"

Elizabeth nodded, and said, "Very well. Let us mark the passage clearly, and nobody goes in or out of that part of the house for a week or two… at least while the villagers are here. We shall dedicate the entire wing to nursing. Agreed?"

Everyone around agreed, and the half‑dozen who had volunteered for the duty left to go about it. A maid of perhaps forty years stopped, and said, "If you please, ma'am. I did some nursing in the war. If you allow it, I shall take charge of those in the sickrooms. I have known measles, and also treated it from time to time. It was somewhat common among the soldiers."

Elizabeth breathed a huge sigh of relief, and looked to Georgiana, who eventually nodded.

Elizabeth looked at the maid and asked her name.

"Jenny Humphries, ma'am. I am widowed, and my children grown. I shall do my best."

Elizabeth said, "Very well, Mrs. Humphries. Keep the windows open, and the fires going. The idea of shut up rooms being healthy is just foolish. Make sure everyone has clean linens and night clothes. Change them regularly and either burn the old ones or put them somewhere to be washed by staff that have known measles. Make sure everyone gets water and broth and is kept as clean as you can. Beyond that, they will have to fight the disease themselves. If a physician shows up with bleeding tools, sick the dogs on them, but draughts from the apothecary might not be amiss."

Mrs. Humphries smiled in appreciation of both the humor, and the trust she was being shown.

Elizabeth said, "I shall assign footmen to carry wood, food and water to the border. Getting rid of waste could be a problem, though."

Georgiana said, "There is an outside staircase at the end of the wing. It is almost never used as it is awkwardly placed. Perhaps you might ask Mr. Breton to get someone to dig a latrine back there just for the waste from the invalids?"

Elizabeth nodded, and saw that Mr. Breton had quietly joined him.

The man looked to her for instruction, and said, "I shall see to it, ladies. There is time though, so on to the more pressing matters."

Elizabeth excused Mrs. Humphries to her duties, after giving some more instructions. She wanted to ensure that nothing was shared between the invalids and the rest of the household. Between them, they worked out that everything from cooking pots to water buckets to chamber pots would never be shared between the groups, unless they were boiled first.

Finally satisfied that the decisions were well in hand, she send Mrs. Humphries off to her duties, while Mr. Breton delegated the tasks that people from the stable or garden could see to.

Elizabeth said, "Now, we must prepare for the villagers. Mr. Breton, I assume you can send someone to purchase supplies on credit?"

Georgiana said, "Of course, Miss Bennet. Spend as much as necessary. My brother will not begrudge the funds."

Elizabeth surprised herself just a bit with her very sharp, instant and instinctive reply, "Of course he will not!"

Georgiana, not quite content, said, "Do not be timid, Miss Bennet. He will be most cross if we have not done all that is proper for a man in this situation. Spend freely. We would not wish to appear miserly, would we?"

Elizabeth enjoyed the small smile Miss Darcy had added to the last bit of impertinence and thought the young lady might be getting over her shock. She then looked to Mr. Breton and saw him nodding vigorously.

"All right, Mr. Breton. Let us get to it. Send some wagons to the village… Lambton, I assume?"

He nodded.

"Assume the villagers will have just about nothing. Get bedding. As much as you can, of any quality you can. You have straw you can lay down?"

He nodded.

"All right, then sheets and blankets. If one of your men can bring a wife or mother, have them get the other things they will need. Night clothes for adults and children, but only what is available quickly. Any ready‑made dresses or trousers you can find. Perhaps some bolts of cloth and sewing supplies so they can make what is missing. Some simple medicines from the apothecary's shop, especially something useful for cough, as there will be a lot of smoke damage."

Breton said, "Easily done, Miss Bennet. My mother is quite sensible, and she lives in Lambton."

Elizabeth nodded, and continued, "Food, then. Get a side of beef or a hog, maybe. Some grain for porridge. Flour and sugar. Talk to Mrs. Lovel and get what she asks for. I believe all of us except those nursing can eat with the villagers. Simple food and plenty of it is what I recommend, and the cooking will need to start soon."

Mrs. Lovel said, "I can make a list for your man, Robert. Give me a quarter hour."

Elizabeth added, "With your permission Miss Darcy, perhaps some treats. Sweetmeats for the children. Perhaps a few inexpensive toys or books. Some wine, brandy or tobacco for the adults. Perhaps fresh bread. Just bring whatever the baker has left and ask him to deliver more each day."

Georgiana nodded enthusiastically, and added, "Do not stint, Mr. Breton. Let us be generous."

Elizabeth nodded, and then raised her voice for attention.

"One last thing. You all know the invalids. The disease can be hidden for up to a week, so if you have been in ANY contact with anyone sick in the past week, then you need to NOT be in contact with the villagers. Do not work in the kitchen or have any contact at all. Is that clear?"

Everyone nodded or said 'Aye' so, Elizabeth was satisfied that they had done all they could.

Elizabeth then turned to Georgiana, and said, "So, Miss Darcy. Let us take a look at your ballroom?"