Eventually she began to walk the grounds staying close to the house but at length she ventured further out to the extensive gardens and finally through the forest and onto the farmlands to watch the men at work. She spent her first month at Pemberley in this fashion, only returning late in the afternoon to once more retire to her rooms to dine alone.
Then one day she arrived in the breakfast room and greeted her cousins cheerfully. The dark circles on her lovely face had faded and her color spoke of health.
Darcy breathed a sigh of relief. All would be well.
After that morning Georgianna quite frequently accompanied Anne on her walks and though there was ten years difference in age their conversations were lively and they grew to be more like sisters than cousins. Anne spent hours in the music room listening to Georgianna playing, her eyes closed in pleasure, feeling her strength return. Looking in the mirror was no longer a torment as she could see that her eyes had brightened. Her days were filled with peace and her nights were dreamless. Pemberley had performed a miracle and Anne could see the day when she would return to London and take up the business of life.
Darcy had found the perfect solution to the useless piece of land he had discovered a year before. He had consulted his architect and the plans had been drawn and were now being implemented.
The work on his project was coming along very nicely and he could feel the curiosity and excitement of his servants and tenants growing with each passing week as the building began to take shape. There were many guesses as to what the master of Pemberley could possibly be creating but none of them came close. Even the small village of Lambton was talking about it. The tradesmen of the village were delighted to supply the materials and the laborers were enjoying the extra wages they were earning.
Darcy wasn't sure what his father would think of his project. Though his father had always been respectful of his tenants, Darcy doubted his father would approve of his undertaking. In the past year and a half Darcy had become more aware of the lives of quiet desperation that so many of his tenants suffered. They worked hard to feed their children and soon those very children would themselves be working hard.
The building was completed shortly before the Christmas holidays began and Darcy was well pleased with the result. He'd made a duplicate of the QR, only on a smaller scale. It was solely for the entertainment of his tenants. It would only be opened on Friday and Saturday nights and he hoped that having a place for social intercourse would bring ease and pleasure to their hard lives. There would be dancing for the adults and upstairs there were tables and sets of chess, checkers for the children and the old men who found no pleasure in the amusement of dancing.
Darcy supplied two kegs of ale and several dozen sausage rolls and pies each week which further helped the economy of Lambton village. He hoped his experiment would not prove to be a fiasco.
As Christmas neared, Anne and Georgianna prepared the sacks of foodstuffs that they would deliver to the tenants. There was a ham, flour and sugar, raisins and nuts and a very small bottle of brandy for the Christmas pudding. There were also large sacks of hard candy for the children. Always there was a bottle of wine for the parents on that very special day.
Darcy handed out the bonuses to the servants and he was always generous.
For the first time in ten years the house was decorated with boughs of holly and pine and the smell of the cookies, pies and cakes permeated the entire house and everyone on the estate made merry.
The servant's ball drew the year to a satisfactory close and the holidays were pronounced to be the best they'd ever had.
The weather had been moderate until the end of January and then they suffered through several storms one after another. Darcy was feeling claustrophobic. Except for the brief month at Kent he had spent the better part of the last year and a half at Pemberley.
During February Darcy taught Anne and Georgianna the game of billiards which they both took to and enjoyed. They played chess and shot darts, read books and listened to Georgianna play.
By the end of March the entire family was feeling claustrophobic. Darcy was also feeling a gnawing restlessness which he assured himself would dissipate as soon as the weather calmed down. Anne too, was feeling restless and determined that it was time to take up residence in Town.
One day in mid-April they awoke to a glorious day and all three prayed that it boded well for the coming seasons.
Darcy sent out invitations to his friends to join him at Pemberley for a few weeks in July. That left him three months to get the estate ready after such an inclement winter.
Blessedly, the next three months slipped by quickly with work and picnics by the lake. The Pemberley QR proved to be a boon to his tenants and it was never abused as some of the older men appointed themselves as guardian of good manners; drunkenness would not be tolerated.
All was right in their paradise and they were all looking forward to the arrival of their guests. Anne in particular was looking forward to meeting some young men who would be the first eligible young men that she had ever known. She began to take extra care with her hair and dress and Darcy and Georgianna were quick to comment on her beauty which she responded to with blushes and gentle laughter. Darcy remembered the promise of her youth and more and more she began to resemble the young beautiful woman she was meant to be.
It was now approaching July and there was less than a month before Guy, Josh, Charles and Richard would descend on Pemberley. Darcy was anxious to see all his friends but most particularly his friend Bingley. It had been two years since he had seen him and he looked forward to renewing their friendship.
There was only one fly in the ointment and Darcy rather thought he would be the fly. Ten days before his guests were due to arrive, he received a reply to the letter he'd sent to Charles Bingley verifying the date of their arrival. The letter he received back was not from Charles, but from Caroline Bingley. According to Miss Bingley, Charles was in Shropshire visiting his aunt but he would be back momentarily. She assured Darcy that they would all arrive on time and she in particular was looking forward to seeing the great estate she'd heard so much of.
Darcy's heart sank. Was it possible that the woman would defy all the conventions of society and foist herself uninvited on an unwilling host? And who exactly was 'they'? Were the Hursts coming too?
He went directly to the music room and found Anne curled up with a book and Georgianna playing softly. He handed the letter to Anne. "What do you make of this letter?"
Both Richard and Darcy had explained Caroline Bingley to Anne while she was still living in Kent. She read the letter quickly. "I think you should have a very serious talk with her brother."
"How can I without embarrassing Bingley. I won't do anything which might destroy our friendship."
"Well," Anne said after a moment's consideration, "it seems to me that Richard's inappropriate suggestion to Miss Bingley gave her some inappropriate ideas. Why don't you let Richard take care of Miss Bingley? Watching him pursue Miss Bingley whilst she tries to pursue you while discouraging him, should add merriment to your party. And it might teach Richard not to seek amusement at the expense of another."
"What about cousin Richard?" piped up Georgianna.
Anne looked at Darcy who nodded in agreement . "Georgie, a lady is coming here to try to persuade your brother that she is the women who could make him the happiest of men."
"She's coming to marry Wills?" Georgianna looked horrified.
"She may try," Darcy spoke quickly, "but she will fail. "Anne, I think you must explain Miss Bingley to Georgie. I'm sure words would fail me."
Anne laughed and laid her book aside. "What say we take a long walk, Georgie. We shall discuss how we can save your brother from a fate worse than death."
Richard and Joshua arrived the evening before they were expected which surprised and delighted their hosts. It was the first time Darcy had seen Joshua in his regimentals. The two soldiers stood side by side, tall and handsome grinning broadly, stretching out the cramps caused by three days in a carriage.
"I swear, Darcy," Richard groaned, "I'm getting too old for this. Every bone in my body aches."
Joshua gripped Darcy's hand. "Great to see you again Darce. You look well."
"As do you, Josh. Army life seems to suit you. Darcy turned to Georgianna and Anne. Allow me to introduce you to your hostesses."
Joshua took Anne's hand and bowed "delighted Miss Anne." He bowed to Georgianna and winked, which made Georgianna blush.
Seeing the wink and the resulting blush, "I think you have been too long in Richard's company," Darcy drawled.
Richard, after greeting his two cousins boisterously offered them each an arm as they ascended the stairs and entered the house.
Fortunately, the two guests had arrived in time to dine with their hosts and dinner was an extremely pleasant affair. Richard entertained with more tales of his irascible general which Darcy was sure were highly imaginative though hilarious. It was a joy to see both ladies of the party laughing with no restraint. It was also interesting to see Anne and Joshua exchanging surreptitious glances.
Joshua was probably the first eligible young man she'd ever laid eyes on and if the gentle smile on her face was any indication, she liked what she saw. Darcy was well pleased. Anne was on the way to full recovery or soon would be. And tomorrow would bring two more eligible bachelors. He smiled thinking she just might have her hands full with three young men vying for her attention. His smile faded almost immediately when he remembered who else would be arriving on the morrow.
Once the ladies had retired to their rooms, Darcy approached Richard. "I would speak to you, cousin."
Richard sighed, "I know."
"What do you know?"
"Josh and I stopped in London for some lunch at my club. Bingley was there looking like death warmed over. He told me that his sister was determined to join him as you had personally invited her."
"She actually told him that?" Darcy was appalled.
"She told him that the Hursts were invited too."
"So, I have three uninvited guest about to descend on me."
"No. The Hursts were planning to come also but when they realized that Caroline had lied to them and they hadn't been invited, they backed out. Hurst and Louisa did their best to reason with Miss Caroline but to no avail."
"Well, at least the Hursts have a semblance of common sense."
Bingley is mortified and asked me to make his excuses to you. He was prepared to forgo the pleasure of seeing you again in order not to cause you any embarrassment."
"I hope you convinced him that he would be welcome no matter who accompanied him?"
"I had my work cut out for me but I finally convinced him that you hadn't seen him in two years and were looking forward to renewing your friendship. I could tell he was looking forward to seeing you also." Richard sighed heavily. "I'm beginning to think that Caroline Bingley is deranged."
"And by your information she thinks I'm actively seeking a wife. You outdid yourself this time, Richard, and you're going to have to do something about it."
"What do you propose? Richard responded warily.
"That you make a pest of yourself. That shouldn't be too difficult for a man who has such a glib tongue. And I want you to enlist Joshua in keeping Caroline Bingley away from me."
"That might be rather difficult. He couldn't keep his eyes off Anne."
"Anne and Georgianna have both been apprised of the problem and they will help. And when Guy gets here you can tell him about the problem. I want to have a pleasant time with everyone. It might be another year before we can all get together again. Is that understood?"
"Perfectly."
"I assume Joshua knows about Miss Bingley?"
Richard nodded, "he thinks Miss Bingley must be a very scary female. He's anxious to meet her."
"Darcy frowned. "why on earth would he want to meet such a woman?"
"He thinks it might be good practice if ever he runs into Napoleon.
Late the following day the Bingley carriage pulled in front of Pemberley house and Darcy accompanied by his sister and cousin happily greetedhis invited guest. Darcy gripped Bingley's hand and shoulder grinning broadly. "Bingley, I can't tell you how I've missed your company. Welcome to Pemberley."