I don't own Pride and Prejudice
Elizabeth took the arm of her husband when it was offered to her, and allowed him to escort her into the house. Once inside she saw the staff along with a young, finely dressed girl were waiting, almost as if for inspection. She was introduced to both Mr and Mrs Wilkes, the butler and housekeeper, before her husband brought her to stand before the young lady.
"Elizabeth, this is my sister Georgiana, Georgiana, my wife Mrs Darcy." Mr Darcy, Fitzwilliam as he'd requested she called him, preformed the introductions.
"It is a pleasure to meet you Mrs Darcy." The obviously shy girl curtsied as she spoke.
"Please, call me Elizabeth, or Lizzy if you prefer. We are sisters now after all." Georgiana smiled brightly, and Elizabeth turned to draw Kitty forward, "And this is my sister, Miss Catherine Bennet."
"Kitty, my family calls me Kitty." Her sister grinned at the younger girl. "You have a lovely home." She complemented.
"It is your home too now, or at least that is what my brother told me." Georgiana offered shyly.
"Why don't we show your new sisters to their rooms so we can refresh from our travels." Fitzwilliam said, and Kitty excitedly linked arms with Georgiana, startling the poor girl for a second before a bright smile bloomed across her face. Glancing at her husband, she saw he too smiled a bit at this.
They walked up a couple flights of stairs, before turning down a hallway, "This here is the mistress suite," Fitzwilliam said as he opened the door, and allowed her to enter. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye, and turned just in time to see Georgiana stop Kitty from entering.
"Please girls, you are both welcome in here." Both girls grinned widely as they followed the couple in. The room was ornately decorated, but not too over the top. It was clear Lady Anne Darcy had a taste for the finer things in life, but the skill to indulge in an elegant manner. Honestly, all the room needed was a fresh coat of paint, but she decided to make some other smaller changes, as she was sure her husband would be more comfortable being with her in this room if it didn't look the same as when his mother lived here. She could not stop the blush from blooming across her cheeks, and from the look on her husband's face he had noticed it.
Clearing her throat, she turned to Georgiana, "Are there any pieces of furniture in here you would like moved to your room. After all, they belonged to your mother, and you should have them if you do desire." Both siblings looked shocked by the offer, and it was clear neither of them had thought about it. "You don't need to answer right now, take a few days to think about it."
They were shown around the room, and doors were pointed to, and they were informed where they led. Then they moved on down the hall to Kitty's suite, which was situated next door do Georgiana's. "Lizzy, look at this bed, all three of us will fit nicely on here."
Seeing the confused looks on the Darcy's faces she explained, "It was common for us growing up to congregate in one of our rooms at the end of the night and discuss our day, especially after an assembly or house party."
"You want me to join you?" The hopefulness coming from Georgiana almost broke her heart.
"Of course silly, you're our sister now, your brother would be welcomed too, except we shall be in our night clothes and it would not be proper." She looked to Lizzy to confirm that she had not spoken incorrectly, and smiled when Lizzy gave her an approving nod.
"I've always wanted a sister." Georgiana said with happy tears in her eyes.
"Well, now you have two...or is it four if you count Mary and Jane." One of the items addressed in the settlement was that Mr Darcy would not be providing support to Mrs Bennet or Lydia, but would gain guardianship of the other two Bennet daughters should Mr Bennet pass away. They had offered to take Mary with them, but she had decided she would prefer to stay at Longbourn.
Jane had wanted to give them more time to settle in, but planned to come stay with their aunt and uncle after Christmas. Elizabeth also knew her sister was afraid of people saying she had chased Bingley to London, and didn't want to make Elizabeth's debut to the Ton that much harder by adding to the gossip. She felt it was more feasible to visit her aunt and uncle then her newlywed sister just months after her wedding.
Fitzwilliam woke early the next morning, dressed quickly, and went to check on his new wife. The two had spoken the night before about what they wanted out of their marriage. Both agreed they wanted all that a marriage entailed, but that they wanted to get to know each other first before consummating it. He had wanted to take six months to a year so as not to rush her, but she proved to be the more sensible of the two in this aspect.
She explained that there was a high likelihood that the tale of their compromise had gotten out, so while it was best for both of their reputations not to fall pregnant right away, it could also hurt them if it took too long to become so. For this reason she suggested they stay in town for the next month, so they could show their faces about town to show they were not ashamed of their marriage. This would also allow them to get to know each other without the ever present duties of running a grand estate. They would wait to consummate the marriage until they retired to Pemberley for the holidays.
He knocked lightly so as not to wake her before entering her room, and was surprised to find she was already awake. He went to look for her, asking servants as they passed if they had seen her, finding out she was in Mrs Wilkes office, so he decided to go see if he could assist the ladies in any way.
"Yes Mrs Darcy, we have the add ready to be placed." He figured they were discussing the add for the French maids for Elizabeth and Kitty. He knew it was the current fashion, having heard Miss Bingley speak of it often enough, so had asked an add to be drawn up, but to not run it until his wife had approved it.
"Are there not any maids already employed here capable of being promoted to Ladies Maid?" The question surprised him.
"We have one here Ma'am, Abigail, she is roughly Miss Georgiana and Miss Catherine's are." The woman answered, and he hung back to see what his wife was thinking.
"Do you know, is she able to be away from her family, is she even willing to, should she come to Pemberley with us?" Was the next question asked, and his heart warmed, realizing he had married a rare woman who actually cared about their servants.
"She is an orphan Ma'am, as far as I know she doesn't have any family."
"Then I would like to speak with her today, see if she is even desiring of the position. We will then have her care for Kitty and myself on a trial basis. If all works out she will be given the position permanently." She then quieted for a moment, "Before you post the add, allow me to write to Mrs Reynolds, I would like to see if she has any maids capable of the position at Pemberley. If she does not have anyone, then please try to fill the position with someone who lost their position when French maids became the fashion."
"Of course Mrs Darcy, I will send Abigail to you later today." By the sound of her voice he could tell his wife had already won the respect of his housekeeper. This was not surprising to him as his esteem for her had risen after hearing this.
"Would she be available now," came Elizabeth's voice, "I only ask because Kitty should be rising in the next couple of hours and I would like to have the matter settled so that Megan isn't run ragged trying to assist her and Georgiana this morning. It was very considerate of my new sister to ask her maid to assist me this morning. I would not want to put Georgiana out, and Megan informs me her mistress keeps similar hours to my sister."
"It is no trouble at all Madam, I shall send for her right now." He didn't stick around to hear any more, it was clear his wife had things well in hand.