Chapter 3
Caroline Beauford revelled in her position as a viscountess, for the entirety of the six months that she held it. In the beginning, her husband proved to be firmer in his stances and less affected by wifely management as she might have hoped, but as her belly grew, so did her stature within their household. She was carrying The Heir, and by the time she was finally brought to bed of a strapping young son, she could have asked anyone in Bollington House for anything, and it would have been granted to her.
Eight days after the birth of Lord Bollington's son and heir, she died of childbed fever. The viscount had always intended to delay the announcement of the birth of his son, and he did the same regarding the death of his wife. She was buried quietly on the family estate, and his guilt was sufficient enough – for he had begun to find her tremendously irritating – that he ordered a very fine memorial made for her in the parish church, and had her portrait hung in a place of prominence within the gallery. The housekeeper always made a point of mentioning her, when she brought visitors through the gallery, the poor, sweet lady viscountess who had given her life for The Heir. The housekeeper had never actually met Caroline Beauford, for the entirety of her tenure as viscountess had been spent in town.
Caroline had maintained contact with the Hursts, but even they were not informed of her death until two months following the actual event. Charles Bingley and Fitzwilliam Darcy both found out about it from the notice in the newspapers, and the latter came to a quick guess as to what must have happened in his house – one that was very near the actual truth.
He made no attempt to keep the intelligence from Elizabeth, but nor did he dwell upon it in conversation. There was no reason to dredge up old memories, not when Elizabeth's nightmares had ceased for some months. Soon enough they were all distracted by happier news of a baby within their family, for Henry and Kitty wrote from Willicot to say they were expecting their first child.
This letter was followed not long after by another, informing them that Rachel Kent had borne a daughter, both of the Kents thrilled with the increase of their family. Rachel's family were still tenants of Darcy's, and he conveyed them to Willicot so that they could meet their grandchild and see how well-settled the Kents were upon the estate. Faraby was still nominally the steward there, but he had given over more and more of his duties to the capable Kent, and Henry and his father were both pleased with the smoothness of the transition.
That visit to Willicot was far from the only one undertaken by the Darcys. Their days were filled with their family's comings and their own goings: the Fitzwilliams and Mr. Bennet, the Bingleys, the Colbournes were all often seen. And, of course, when they were at Pemberley, they were nearly every day at the Trevillses's cottage, for they could but rarely convince the couple to come to the great house. Jory and Eseld had settled in nicely: at first, they had proven hesitant to ask for use of the carriage offered to them every morning, but then Darcy had thought to propose the waggonette instead. Finding themselves more comfortable in this equipage, they began going out often, sometimes exploring farther afield, but more frequently to Lambton. There, Jory rapidly gained popularity within the taproom of the inn and Eseld found herself a welcome addition to the society of the other cottagers' wives. At first it was considered mysterious that they held such a closeness of acquaintance with the Darcys, but gradually it became known that they were the couple who had taken in Mr. Darcy when his head had been so badly injured, and they were esteemed for this.
Despite the frequency with which she was either traveling herself or receiving guests, Elizabeth still found time to correspond with those farther afield. Meg was her most faithful correspondent, promising that when the Darcys came to town for some of the season, Elizabeth would not want for invitations. Meg was right. The return of her old friendships pleased Elizabeth, none more so than that of one of her oldest. Her correspondence with Charlotte Collins began awkwardly, but that awkwardness passed, and by the time the Darcys came to Rosings for an Easter visit, the two women met each other for the first time in five years with mutual pleasure. From that first meeting, Elizabeth was often to be found at the Hunsford parsonage when in that neighbourhood, for the majority of Lady Catherine's discourse centred on how ill she and Anne had been used, by both of her nephews.