The next morning, the ladies first went up to the attics with Mrs. Humm to look at the furniture that was stored there. They were not impressed with what they saw, but they found several pieces that could be cleaned up and used until new items were purchased. Elizabeth knew she had to add furniture shopping to her list of things to do at some point in time. They would have to make a trip to Hinckley to buy a number of things that were needed right away. After that, they returned to examine more of the rooms they had not yet be in.
The gentlemen went into the office and began to look at the estate ledgers. This was a chore that they were both quite familiar with. They were both pleased when they found that they were in good order, so they were able to obtain a good picture of the history of the cash flows of the estate. They also found older ledgers that showed what the earnings had been in the past.
In the afternoon, two carriages and a wagon pulled up to the servants' entrance. Elizabeth had given orders that she was to be told as soon as they arrived, so she informed the gentlemen that the Pemberley staff had arrived. They all went to greet the arrivals. Mr. and Mrs. Humm went with them, as did several footmen and maids. When they went to the servants' entrance the staff were just exiting the carriages, looking around.
Darcy first greeted them as soon as they were all out; they all knew him very well. "Welcome to Hinckston Abbey, everyone. I would like you to meet Lady Elizabeth Bennet." They all made proper bows and curtsies. "This is her father, Mr. Bennet, and her friend, Miss Charlotte Lucas." They again made the proper signs of respect.
Darcy saw Rose Greeley and he brought her to Elizabeth. "My Lady, this is Rose Greeley. I mentioned that my housekeeper has been training her for a housekeeper's role."
Rose made another curtsy and said, "My Lady, I am very pleased to be here."
Elizabeth decided to give the girl a try as she liked her first impression of her. "Rose, upon the recommendation of Mr. Darcy, I will give you a trial period as my housekeeper. This is Mrs. Humm, the current housekeeper. Mrs. Humm wants to retire as soon as possible, so I want you to work with her to learn everything you can about this house. We plan to be here for only a week, so before I leave, I will make my decision. Is that acceptable to you?"
"Yes, I understand, My Lady. I thank you for this opportunity. I believe that Mrs. Reynolds, the housekeeper at Pemberley has trained me well for these duties."
"Good. From now on, as acting housekeeper, you will be known as Mrs. Greeley." She said this loudly so everyone would understand.
Elizabeth then turned to the arrivals. "Everyone! Welcome! There is a lot for you all to do as the house has been unoccupied for several years. This is my housekeeper, Mrs. Humm, and the butler, Mr. Humm. They, along with Mrs. Greeley, will direct your work.
"Now, get your things and the staff will show you to your rooms. We have food ready in the kitchen for you." She saw them all once again bow and curtsy, then they went to the wagon to find their belongings. Once they had them, they followed the staff into the house. As she expected, Rose went with Mrs. Humm as soon as she collected her bag. She saw that grooms were there to lead the horses and carriages to the stables.
Both Darcy and Mr. Bennet were impressed how she handled that. Once all the staff had gone in, the four of them went in as well. They first went into the main sitting room where her father complimented her. "Lizzy, you handled that very well. I imagine it will take some time for them to sort themselves out. The real work will begin in the morning."
"That is what I expect. It might be a good idea for us to absent ourselves from the house tomorrow as soon as we tell them what needs to be done. The first thing I want done is a thorough cleaning of the main rooms. Are we all in agreement that we should go visit Mr. Carlyle? Then we could make a short trip into Hinckley to see what shops are there to see if they have what we need to get things started. Charlotte and I may even be able to buy some fabric for some of the rooms."
They all agreed with this plan, so the gentlemen went back into the office. Elizabeth and Charlotte went to find the housekeepers. Elizabeth wanted to go over her list with them to set priorities and to decide what she might need to purchase for them first.
That afternoon, they were surprised to receive several visitors. First to arrive was a couple. A footman found Elizabeth. "My Lady, you have visitors, Sir Donald and Lady Collingwood. They are in the drawing room."
Elizabeth worried that she was not dressed very well, but she and Charlotte went to see them. When they entered, Elizabeth said, "I am "Lady Elizabeth Bennet. This is my friend, Miss Charlotte Lucas."
The gentleman said, "We thank you for receiving us, Lady Elizabeth. I am Sir Donald Collingwood. This is my wife, Lady Collingwood."
"I am pleased to meet you. Please excuse my appearance as we are still trying to get the house ready for occupancy. Please be seated."
The Lady took over the conversation. "My Lady, please forgive us for calling on you so soon after your arrival. We are well aware of the condition of the house as our estate is close to here. We will not stay long. We only wanted to make your acquaintance and invite you to come over to our place while you are here. Are you available for dinner this week?"
Elizabeth looked at Charlotte, who nodded slightly. "We would be delighted. We are here with my father and Mr. Darcy, who are both giving me advice on what needs to be done on the estate."
"Of course our invitation extends to them as well."
"We just received extra staff today, so tomorrow will be busy, but the day after acceptable?"
"That would be fine." They rose to signal they would leave. Before they left, they set the time and gave directions to their estate.
The second visitor was very welcome. Again, the footman went to find Elizabeth. "My Lady, you have another visitor. This one is a Royal courier. He asked to see you personally. He is in the hall."
Elizabeth went out to find him. "I am Lady Elizabeth Bennet. Do you have something for me?"
The courier bowed, "My Lady, I was told to hand this package to you personally." He handed a package to her.
"Come with me and we will find the housekeeper so you can get something to eat." He went out with her to the housekeeper who led the courier to the kitchen.
Elizabeth took the package to the office where her father and Darcy were still working. She knocked and went in. "This package just came from a Royal courier. I thought you might be interested to see what it is." She set in on the desk and began to open it. They all gasped when they saw it was full of currency except for a letter. "This must be the subsidy the prince promised."
When they counted it, she exclaimed, "A thousand pounds! That will certainly come in handy right now. Is there a safe where we can keep it? I will keep some for shopping in Hinckley tomorrow and give some to the housekeepers for their immediate needs."
She read the letter and saw that it was from Prince Augustus Frederick, saying that this sum should help her get the estate ready. There was a safe in the office that her father unlocked and put the cash in. He pocketed the key.
"Gentlemen, come for tea. We have had more visitors." She led them to the drawing room and ordered tea. She then told them about the visitors named Collingwood and her acceptance of their invitation to dinner.
The next morning, Lady Elizabeth and Charlotte met with both housekeepers to go over the list of what they wanted the staff to accomplish and in what order. This list included bringing down the furniture from the attic that they had thought would be usable once it was cleaned up. They also indicated what items should be moved from the unused bedrooms into those they were occupying. She said that they would be going into Hinckley to see if the shops had anything they needed right away. With that accomplished, they joined the two gentlemen and set out for Mr. Carlyle's estate.
When they arrived there, they were greeted warmly by him at the front door. Lady Elizabeth introduced her father as they had not met him before. He and Darcy bowed and Mr. Carlyle spoke about when they had met in town. Their host then led them into a drawing room and ordered tea. Lady Elizabeth noticed that when they sat down, Mr. Darcy was careful to sit by her while Charlotte sat closer to their host. Mr. Carlyle noticed this as well and so turned his attention more to Charlotte than to Lady Elizabeth. Lady Elizabeth explained that she had asked Charlotte to come to the Abbey to assist her in deciding what needed to be done to her house. She also casually mentioned that Charlotte's parents were Sir William and Lady Lucas, so he would know of her status.
Mr. Carlyle proved to be an excellent conversationalist and he spoke about the Hinckston Abbey estate, his own, and several others in the area. He included a good history of the district and described some of their neighbours. The ladies asked about shops in Hinckley, explaining that they were going into the town next to see what could be found there for the house.
They did not stay overly long, but before they left, Lady Elizabeth asked if the children could be brought down so they could meet them. A nurse soon entered carrying a very young girl and holding the hand of a boy. Charlotte exclaimed, "Oh, they are so cute. May I hold your daughter? What are their names?"
"Oliver and Alice."
The nurse passed Alice to Charlotte, who cradled her in her arms and rocked her gently. "What an adorable baby! Hello, Alice."
The other three guests were well aware of the soft look in Carlyle's eyes. Elizabeth knew of her friend's ardent desire to have a house of her own, so she knew what Charlotte was doing and approved of it.
She saw Charlotte squat down with the baby in her arms. "Hello, Oliver. You look just like your Papa. You will be a handsome young fellow." Elizabeth hoped she was not overdoing it. However, when she looked back at Mr. Carlyle, she thought not.
Soon after this, they were getting ready to leave. Lady Elizabeth took the initiative to express their appreciation for all of them. "Mr. Carlyle, we thank you for inviting us over. We are not yet ready to entertain as we are still trying to get my house in order. We will not be staying long this trip, but I expect we will be back shortly after the new year. I will be sure to have you over for dinner then. It has been a pleasure to have been here."
They left to make the short trip to Hinckley where they separated. The ladies went into a shop that Mr. Carlyle had said carried decent material for draperies while the gentlemen went into a livery shop to look for several items that were needed for the carriage and wagons that had been left at Hinckston. The gentlemen left a footman with the ladies for security.
The gentlemen mainly used this as an excuse not to be involved with deciding on colours and materials. In both shops, they all introduced themselves as being from Hinckston Abbey, so their reception was exemplary as the shopkeepers welcomed their trade and hoped it would continue.
Darcy told his head coachman to accompany them as he knew this man's excellent knowledge of horses and equipment would be needed. Darcy also asked about horses that might be for sale in the area. As the livery shop owner had noticed the fine coach-and-four that had passed his shop, he smiled to himself as he was well aware that only the finest horses and equipment would be considered.
"What purpose would the horses be needed for? Riding, farm, or carriage?"
Mr. Bennet took over. "Mainly carriage. My daughter, Lady Elizabeth Bennet, just took over Hinckston Abbey and will need a new coach and four with suitable horses. She will also be looking for several horses for farm work."
The shopkeeper's ears perked up when he heard this. He had heard that the Abbey was to be reopened, but the news that it was a Lady who now owned it was most interesting as he thought that ladies were easier to deal with than men when it came to selling livestock. However, when he looked at the sharp-eyed younger gentleman and the seasoned coachman who were there, he knew he should not try to sell them anything but the best. He did not dare get on their bad side.
"I am not aware of any travelling coaches or good carriage horses for sale at the moment, but I will watch out for any that come on the market. I will send word to the Abbey if I hear of anything that might be of interest. I do know of several farm horses that are for sale. They are young but come from good stock."
"We do not have time to look at them today, but we may be interested. Tell us how to find them."
They were told who had them for sale. They paid for their purchases and left to find the ladies.
The ladies were pleased that they found material that they could use, paint, and a few other items. They ordered that their purchases should be delivered to the Abbey, then left to find the gentlemen.