Here ya go! Elizabeth and Darcy are both at Rosings! The story will get more interesting now.
The elder Miss Bennets, in a show of sisterly fondness did forgo the amusement of both the New Year's ball and the Twelfth Night ball, opting instead to spend the short time they had with their sisters together. James, Charlotte, and the Gardiners attended both celebrations and had a grand time, likely more so than they might have if they were busy chaperoning Mary and Elizabeth. They, of course, would never have said so, but it was nonetheless true.
On the seventh of January, all of the occupants of the house on Gracechurch Street were loaded into a carriage, either one going to Kent or to Brighton. Many tears were exchanged as the sisters and friends parted, but all were glad they had spent as much time together as was possible, even though it meant foregoing some entertainments.
It was a short journey to Rosings' Park, the estate of Miss de Bourgh where Cousin Ben's bride resided. After only three hours in the carriage, they arrived and were shown by the butler into the house.
"Mr. Gardiner, Mrs. Gardiner, Miss Bennet, and Miss Mary Bennet," announced the butler. Miss de Bourgh, who had been sipping her tea, coughed and sputtered at their arrival and the surprise at hearing the names of the Gardiners' nieces. Mr. Bateman made the introductions, and Miss de Bourgh smiled widely and showed the guests every possible civility.
"May I still call you Cousin Lizzy and Cousin Mary?" asked Mr. Bateman. They replied in the affirmative.
Miss de Bourgh strove not to let her joy show, but she was glad to have the elder Miss Bennet's identity confirmed. She was now certain that these were the Miss Bennets that Fitzwilliam was acquainted with and, if she was not very much mistaken, Miss E was likely Cousin Lizzy, or Elizabeth. She could not but hope Fitzwilliam and Georgiana would arrive soon, for she was all anticipation to see her cousin's response to his Miss E being present at Rosings.
Mr. Darcy and his sister did not arrive that evening, however, so the party was Lord and Lady Matlock, Lord Barlow, Miss de Bourgh, Mr. Bateman, the Gardiners and Bennets, and the clergyman Mr. Collins. Anne had not wanted to invite Mr. Collins to dine, but she could not escape it when he came to call just before the dinner hour. Mary realised from Miss Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam's stories that Lord Barlow and Lord and Lady Matlock were the latter's brother and parents and the former's cousin, uncle and aunt. She asked after their friends, and were informed that they were soon to arrive. Mr. Darcy and Georgiana were to arrive the next day and Colonel Fitzwilliam the same, or perhaps the next day of the Bennets were delighted by the news, as they so wished to see their dear friend Georgiana again. Neither admitted additional delight in learning that the gentlemen were also to attend, but it would not have been proper to do so. Only Mrs. Gardiner noticed the blush that came over each lady's face in turn when their favourite was mentioned. Miss de Bourgh might have, but she was far too occupied acting as hostess.
It was also discovered through conversation that Mr. Collins was the same Mr. Collins that was James' heir presumptive, meaning that if James had no sons, Mr. Collins was to inherit Longbourn after him. Mr. Collins seemed displeased when he heard of James' marriage. This was undoubtedly because the chances of inheriting were much less with the chance for a legitimate male heir to be born and take the role of heir from Mr. Collins. Elizabeth was aghast at Mr. Collins' outright display of displeasure, for it was always to be assumed that an heir presumptive would be replaced by an heir apparent when a son was born. It seemed that Mr. Collins had somehow supposed that the only son of a family with an entailed estate would not do his duty and marry to produce heirs. The clergyman even dared to comment on the date of James' birth, wondering aloud if he was, in fact, the heir to the estate.
"Sir!" said Mr. Bateman, shocked by the speech, "So long as the babe was born after the wedding and the father claims him as his heir, he is the heir. it does not matter what you suppose. This is not fitting speech for the dining table, nor for the ears of maidens. I beg you to cease."
Lord and Lady Matlock agreed, secretly thinking of how many nobles had heirs born six or seven months after the wedding and how altered the nobility would be if everyone allowed such supposition as Mr. Collins engaged in to impact the inheritance of titles and estates. Lady Matlock had not been attending fully to the earlier conversation and only upon Mr. Collins' complaints had she connected the Bennets, the name of their father's estate, and the ladies that Mr. Darcy had spoken of, most particularly Miss Bennet. Lady Matlock was most amused, for the relations in trade were the same relations of Mr. Bateman's that Darcy approved of. She then began to ask Miss Bennet many questions about herself, her family, her sisters, and her home She liked Miss Bennet, most particularly because she was firm in her opinions and intelligent. She was everything that Darcy had described and more. Her sister was perhaps quieter, but still seemed cheerful and sensible. When their conversation turned to music, Miss Mary became much livelier and spoke eloquently of her favorites.
When Lady Matlock spoke with her husband of the ladies later in the evening, she was surprised to find that he approved of them. Even when his wife informed him that Darcy was interested in the elder of the two, he found no fault. Indeed, he could not, for he had approved of their cousin for Anne. As Darcy seemed entirely disinclined towards any of the debutantes that he had met that season in London or any of the previous years, Lord Matlock was only grateful that Darcy had chosen a gentlewoman who had fine deportment and was not entirely penniless. They might have hoped he would pick Lady Hannah or another such, but he was quite determined that none of those he had met would suit.
The next morning, just after ten o'clock, the Darcy carriage arrived at Rosings. The party, made up of Mr. Darcy, Miss Darcy, Mrs. Annesley, and Colonel Fitzwilliam, had left London very early indeed so they might make the best use of their day. Everyone at Rosings excepting Lord and Lady Matlock were at breakfast upon their arrival and they were immediately shown into the breakfast parlour.
One might be able to imagine the range of emotions that played across the faces of the gentlemen when they entered the breakfast parlour and found their beloveds within. Miss Darcy immediately greeted her friends with all possible warmth and Mrs. Annesley followed suit. Colonel Fitzwilliam was the first of the two gentlemen to come to his senses and bowed in greeting, nudging Darcy to do the same. He shook himself out of his stupor with some difficulty and managed to give a polite bow. He could not help but to look at Elizabeth, being perhaps rude to the others but he could not help it. Elizabeth's eyes seemed to Darcy to be full of mirth, laughing at him for his surprise.
Introductions were made between those who had not yet met, and the four newcomers were invited to join the others at the table. In spite of their dusty attire, they did so, for they were quite parched from the road. The conversation tended towards the commonplace, until Miss Mary happened to mention that they had attended the opera a week past.
"It was then you I saw, Miss Bennet!" exclaimed Mr. Darcy, "I thought my eyes were playing tricks. I thought I saw you, then later your brother, but every time I tried to get closer or look again, there was no sign of you nor him."
"It may have been," said Miss Bennet, "although you may also have seen one of my younger sisters. From a distance, Kitty looks quite like me."
"Cat! I heard someone call the lady Cat!" cried Mr. Darcy, "I did not connect the fact that your sister is called Kitty with the name Cat. I feel rather foolish."
"Indeed, that would have been I," said Mrs. Gardiner.
"I did not recognize you either, Mrs. Gardiner, I am sorry to say, but the crowd was so thick."
"It is of no matter," said Elizabeth, "It would have been fine to see you sooner, but we are all here now."
"Indeed!" exclaimed Colonel Fitzwilliam, "and how delighted we are to be among friends. We had no notion that you were related to Mr. Bateman. Now we shall be related by marriage. How fine that is."
"Indeed, sir!" said Elizabeth, "Should I now call you 'cousin' then, or is the relation rather too distant still?"
"Cousin Richard will do very well. I am so very pleased," said Richard.
"And I can be Cousin Will, Cousin Fitz, or Cousin Darcy, whichever is your preference," said Darcy with a smile.
"Very well, Cousin Will," said Elizabeth, "and of course, you must then address Mary and myself as cousins."
The others in the party then similarly agreed to be called either cousin, aunt, or uncle, for however distant the relation might be, they were all glad to acknowledge it. Lady Matlock supposed that if the members of the ton that were to be present could hear the Bennets addressed thusly, it may smooth the way for Fitzwilliam and Lizzy when they came to the point. Lord Matlock and Miss de Bourgh's thoughts were very similar, and they hoped to use the wedding as a chance to expose the Bennets to the society in which Mr. Darcy moved.
After breakfast, Elizabeth announced her intention to walk. Mary, Richard, and Darcy all decided to join her. The party naturally broke into the pairs that one might suppose, and some distance was created between the two unacknowledged sets of lovers.
"I am very pleased to see you again. I had known that you were to be in London, but I had not thought to see you in Kent."
"As was evident by your great surprise," said Elizabeth.
"A most pleasant surprise, Cousin Lizzy," said Darcy.
"And how long shall you remain in Kent, sir?" asked Elizabeth.
"Only one day after the wedding. I fear that I would be very much in the way otherwise. And you?"
"The same, sir. We will return to London with my uncle and aunt, as I believe I told your sister when I last wrote to her."
"Georgiana did tell me she had a letter from you, but I did not learn the contents as we were quite busy with preparations."
"And where shall you return to? Pemberley or London or elsewhere?"
"I will return to London, where I shall remain until it is time for me to oversee the planting at Pemberley. We are trying a new type of barley, as I believe I told you once. I wish to oversee the early growth."
"What of your other estates? How does one manage to oversee so many estates at once?"
"Most of my estates will go on as they ever have. The men I have there are very trustworthy and my tenants know their land. Whenever something is new or there is a problem brought to my attention, I will visit and oversee it, but otherwise I trust in my people and their abilities."
"You have never had a problem with people seeking to cheat you?" asked Elizabeth.
"Not my tenants or stewards, I have not. I ensure that multiple people check each estate several times a year and in rotation. In this way, in order for someone to cheat me, they would have to buy off all my men. Perhaps I flatter myself to think so, but I do not think such a thing might be accomplished."
"I am glad then for you," said Elizabeth.
"Indeed. As am I, for I would hate to have to dash about the country even more than I do now."
"Bingley did tease you about that," said Elizabeth with a smile of remembrance.
Elizabeth's mention of Bingley brought to Darcy's mind the matter of Miss Bingley's engagement. He told Elizabeth of it and the circumstances. She was as surprised, if not more so than Darcy had been, but wished Miss Bingley and Mr. Hadden happy. She liked Mr. Hadden very well and supposed that she might like this new Miss Bingley as well.
Darcy, now that he was not so shocked to see Elizabeth, had a chance to actually consider the lady. He could not imagine having ever done otherwise than to pursue her. She was as lovely as he remembered, vivacious, beautiful, and witty. Her manner was a perfect blend of archness and sweetness as she teased him. There was not a hint of meanness in her.
"Darcy?" she asked. He was embarrassed, for he had been staring and certainly had not attended well to the conversation. Miss Bennet seemed to realise this, for her face was red and there was now a shyness about her that he had never before seen.
"I am sorry, Cousin Lizzy. I fear I was woolgathering."
"I asked if your wished to continue on in the formal gardens or if you would prefer to wander about the park."
"The park would be my preference. Pray, where are my cousin and your sister?"
"They have gone around to the stables, for Mary was interested in seeing the puppies that Cousin Richard told her about."
"Do you wish to see the puppies?" asked Darcy, realising he had not been attending for far longer than he had thought.
"I will see them another time. I would much rather walk now."
"There is a pretty lake not a half mile away. We can walk there, if you wish."
"I would like that very much," said Elizabeth, allowing Darcy to lead her tither.
Darcy and Elizabeth spoke of many things on their walk. He asked after her relations and her brother's wedding. She answered in turn, telling him many humorous tales of their mutual acquaintances in Hertfordshire. He learned from her that it was James who took the lease at Netherfield from Bingley. He supposed that made sense, for it was the bordering estate.
"Do you suppose he will buy the estate outright?" asked Darcy.
"I do not think he has the funds to do so, at least not if my sisters and I are to keep our dowries. I fear he has thrown every bit of money into our dowries and kept very little for himself."
"Perhaps you might marry a man who has no need of your dowry and your brother might put it towards buying Netherfield," said Darcy.
Elizabeth took his meaning but was unsure of how to respond so she only gave a non-committal nod in response. She could not but be affected by him. Others had thought him in love with her, but Elizabeth had never seen anything in his manners to indicate it was so. Yet even John Lucas had seen it before. Now that she was again in his company, she could not help but notice it. She was not certain if his manner towards her had changed so much or if the words of others had simply allowed her to notice what she had previously been blind to. She was not in love with him, not yet, but she was not at all certain that her heart was safe from him.
The Misses Teann's Seminary for Young Gentlewomen, Brighton,
Eighth of January
Dear Lizzy and Mary,
I do not have long to write for dinner is soon. I wanted to send a note to let you know that we have arrived safely and that James has now departed for Longbourn. It seems that not everyone has yet returned from their holidays, even though lessons are supposed to begin on the morrow. Do thank James for Lydie and I, for I have only learned after his leaving that we are not to take Italian any longer. Miss Teann wishes us to continue with French, for it is more useful, but we can take drawing and painting instead. I am so very excited to do so. I hope I do well at it. Natural philosophy is also replacing my class in embroidery, for Miss Rachel says so long as I submit pieces every month for examination, I need not continue to have embroidery lessons any longer. I know my pieces are nothing to yours, Lizzy and Mary, but I think them passable. I think, perhaps you can teach me more when I am home this summer.
There is nothing much else to tell you. Do relate all the details of the wedding and tell me of all the wonders of Kent. I love you both and miss you already,
Your affectionate sister,
Kitty.