Just so everyone knows, as I think I probably will get comments on this, an estate van was a type of carriage. It was basically the carriage version of what we now think of as a van. There usually was one on estates to transport servants and tenants about.
"Mrs. Darcy?" came the voice of a servant at the door.
"Come in," Elizabeth called.
A housemaid entered and curtseyed before informing Mrs. Darcy that a group of callers was in the drawing room.
"Callers!" exclaimed Elizabeth in surprise.
"Mr. and Mrs. Baxter, Mr. Hubert Baxter, and Miss Baxter," said the maid.
"Do you know who they are?" asked Elizabeth.
"They're the family from Marwood Manor, madam. It is just four miles away, towards Matlock."
"Oh goodness! Tell the butler or whoever that I am at home, but then send a maid to me immediately. Have tea made too, for the guests."
"Very good," said the maid.
The maid was very efficient, for it was not five minutes before Polly was in Elizabeth's chambers and assisting Elizabeth in tidying her appearance. Within five minutes more, Elizabeth was descending the stairs to meet her guests.
The Baxter rose for Elizabeth just as Mr. Darcy came in from out of doors.
"Mr. Baxter, Mrs. Baxter, Mr. Hubert, Miss Baxter!" said Mr. Darcy with affected warmth as he bowed in greeting. "How fine it is to see you!"
The Baxters returned his greeting. Mr. Darcy turned towards Elizabeth and gestured for her to come forward.
"May I please introduce my wife, Mrs. Darcy?" asked Mr. Darcy.
"Indeed," said Mr. Baxter, "And how lovely it is to make your acquaintance." Mr. Baxter bowed over Elizabeth's hand as the others bowed or curtseyed as was proper.
Tea was served a minute later, and Elizabeth was glad to have something to do.
"Is Miss Darcy yet away?" asked Miss Baxter, undoubtedly disappointed.
"She is," said Elizabeth. "Miss Darcy will return soon. She is spending a little time in London with Lord and Lady Matlock."
"I must remember to congratulate Lord Matlock on marrying off both of his sons in one day," said Mr. Baxter with good humour. "I do envy him that. Did not the younger son marry your sister, Mrs. Darcy?"
"He did. Mr. Fitzwilliam wed my sister, Mary. She is the next youngest after me."
"How fine that is! Sisters marrying cousins!" said Mrs. Baxter.
"We do think so," said Mr. Darcy.
He never had much cared for the Baxters, as they were more fashionable and social than he. He did not mind their company, but he could find them tiresome. Georgiana seemed to like the daughter a little, so he often invited them to functions, anyway. However, this undeniably warm welcome to Elizabeth raised them in Darcy's esteem. Mr. Baxter was also the younger son of an Earl and the grandson of a marquess on his mother's side. Although Mr. Baxter had no title himself, the acceptance of the Baxter family would do much to ease Elizabeth's transition into Derbyshire society, such that there was.
Elizabeth conversed easily with Mrs. Baxter and Miss Baxter as Darcy listened to the younger Mr. Baxter explain why he had returned early from his schooling. There had been an outbreak of cholera in the school while young Mr. Baxter was away with his parents on holiday. The school had sent a letter asking him not to return until the outbreak was over. Even the girls' school nearby was infected, so the local physicians were quite overwhelmed, apparently.
"You have contact with the girls' school?" asked Mr. Darcy. "We never did when I was in school. We might have liked school better if there was a sister school."
"Indeed!" agreed the elder Mr. Baxter with a laugh.
"You forget, Mr. Darcy, that Kitty and Lydia — my youngest sisters—are taking some lessons with the boys from their brother school," said Elizabeth.
"I forgot that," said Mr. Darcy.
"Are you well, son?" asked Mr. Baxter.
"Your sisters, Mrs. Darcy," Mr. Hubert Baxter said, "Their names are Kitty and Lydia? Miss Kitty Bennet and Miss Lydie Bennet?"
"Indeed!" said Elizabeth with surprise.
"Are they at school now? I do hope they are well if they are," said Mr. Hubert.
"They left school for our wedding, but I think my brother was hoping to return them this coming week."
"I would suggest they not return, Mrs. Darcy," said Mr. Baxter. "Might you write to your brother?"
"I will, sir. I thank you for telling me of this."
"I am glad to be of service," said Mr. Hubert. "Miss Bennet, I suppose she is now, since you and your next sister are now wed, and Miss Lydie are very pleasant girls. I would so hate it if they were to fall ill."
"Do you then study natural philosophy as well, sir?" asked Elizabeth.
"I do, but I do not have those lessons with your sisters. I know them only from drawing classes. The boys' school has just begun to require all pupils to take a fine art course. Most select Art History, but I thought I might wish to learn to draw a little," said Mr. Hubert with a blush.
"A fine choice," said Mr. Darcy with a small encouraging smile.
They spoke a little more of the young people's studies, how Elizabeth liked Derbyshire, and who they might like to introduce her to. The visit ended with an invitation to dine in a week hence. The Darcys agreed to consult their calendar and send a reply soon.
Over the next few days, the Darcys fell into a routine. Darcy would go out in the morning to meet with his steward and tend to estate matters. Elizabeth would walk in the garden, then catch up on correspondence, meet with Mrs. Reynolds to learn her duties, look over menus, and attend to various other minor tasks that fell under her purview. With the assistance of Mrs. Reynolds, much of Elizabeth's apprehension fell away. Most of the tasks were the same as at Longbourn, only on a grander scale. This was no great problem, as there were plenty of servants to take up the work Elizabeth could not do herself.
In the afternoons, Darcy and Elizabeth visited tenants, always bringing gift baskets along. Along with food in the baskets, the Darcys brought toys for the children of each tenant family, along with other little extras. Sometimes there was a dress length of cloth. Other times there might be a slate with chalk or even a new axe head, depending on the needs of each family.
Mrs. Reynolds and Elizabeth had made up the baskets together. In a ledger she kept in her office, the housekeeper had lists of everything pertaining to each family. There were lists of children's names and their dates of birth, records of illnesses, and even notes on the condition of tenants' clothing if it seemed worn and Mrs. Reynolds had noticed.
"I suppose this is your task now, madam," said Mrs. Reynolds as she handed over the ledger.
"I hope you shall continue to tell me when there is something you notice that should be recorded," said Elizabeth as she paged through the life history of the families whose happiness was now in her power.
"Of course, madam," said Mrs. Reynolds, "but if you don't mind my saying so, it's better if you try to notice those things yourself."
"I shall, of course," said Elizabeth, slightly taken aback by the suggestion that she would not attempt to take notice of things that might assist her in caring for the tenants.
The housekeeper had obviously meant no offense, so Elizabeth said nothing more on the matter and had studied the book a while longer.
"Are you ready, my love?" asked Darcy, bringing Elizabeth back to the present.
"Oh, yes," said Elizabeth as she took her husband's hand and alighted from the carriage.
They were met by a little boy named Peter, but the boy, who could be no older than seven, proclaimed that his mother was not at home and it was just him and his sister, who was even younger than he.
"Where has she gone to?" asked Elizabeth, thinking perhaps she had simply gone over to the neighbour's for a moment and would be back shortly.
"I dunno," said Peter.
"Did she tell you when she would return?" asked Darcy.
"No, sir. She didn't come back from Lambton last night. I thought she might have worked too late and stayed over with her sister, as she does sometimes."
"She leaves you alone at night with your sister?" asked Darcy with a frown.
"Martha always comes to watch us, but I dunno. I thought maybe Mama forgot to send a note to Martha."
"Martha Miller?" asked Darcy.
"Yes, sir," said Peter.
"Let us go to the Millers now and see if we cannot learn what has happened," said Darcy, mostly to Elizabeth but also to the child. Darcy sent Peter to fetch his sister, Ruth, from inside while they waited by the carriage.
"Is their mother not widowed?" asked Elizabeth, trying to recall what she had learned from the ledger.
"She is. Two years now. Now, do you remember the Miller? You have not met Martha, but you met her father a few days ago." Elizabeth nodded that she remembered as Darcy continued, "Martha's a spinster, so she helps to bring in a little income for her family by watching other tenants' children when she can be spared from household duties."
Peter returned then with a young girl of perhaps four holding his hand. Darcy helped the children into the carriage after Elizabeth and they rode the short distance to the Miller's farm.
An older gentleman came out of the house and greeted the Darcys warmly. When he caught sight of the children, his face turned from a smile into an expression of surprise.
"We found them alone at their house. Peter says Mrs. Brett never returned home last evening or all day today," explained Darcy.
The gentleman's face showed great alarm, and he ushered the Darcys into the house. He called for Martha, who hurried down the stairs and into the drawing room. Introductions were rushed through as Darcy explained the matter at hand. Mr. Miller and Miss Miller agreed to watch the children while the Darcys discovered what happened to their mother.
They went first back to Pemberley. They explained what had occurred to Mr. Reynolds, who immediately sent a fast rider to call on the sister and the mother's place of employment. While the rider had not yet returned, the servants were organised into search parties and supplies were readied. They took the estate van pulled by two horses to the Bretts' home and began to search the area. Most of the teams set out towards Lampton, but a few searched the Brett's neighbour's farms and began knocking on doors to see if anyone had found her.
Darcy and Elizabeth were together in a search time with Mr. Witting and Polly. Both of the men were armed, as Darcy would not have allowed Elizabeth to help with the search under any other conditions. They remained somewhat close to the Brett's residence, looking mainly in the woods and the paths that Mrs. Brett might have taken as a shortcut home if she had been in a hurry to reach her children.
There was no sign of the lady that their party could find. The path was well-worn and there were too many footprints to tell if any were Mrs. Brett's. The only chance they would have of finding her would be if they literally came upon her person. When this search was proved fruitless, they walked back towards the Brett's house, taking a slightly different path just in case.
When a servant caught sight of them coming out of the woods, he broke into a run.
"She is found, or rather, her body was," said the servant.
"Her body?" asked Elizabeth, horrified.
"Aye. There was a cart overturned, and she was in it. It's one of those that the inn lets out for a few pence. I think there must have been an accident. The magistrate's been called for, but I think most likely she hit an animal with the cart."
"What of the children?" exclaimed Elizabeth.
"We will ensure they are taken care of," assured Darcy.
"The Millers will keep them for now, but they say they cannot do so forever. Two more mouths to feed and all that," said the servant.
"Tell the Millers that we will reimburse them for the children's care until we figure out if the children have any relations to claim them," said Darcy.
The servant nodded in recognition and went off to tell the Millers just that. Mr. and Mrs. Darcy walked slowly back to their carriage as they thought of little Peter and Ruth Brett.
Pemberley, Near Lambton, Derbyshire
Ninth of April
Dear Charlotte,
I do not quite know how to put my feelings upon the receipt of your letter into words, except to say that I am relieved. While I do not rejoice in the forthcoming death of Mr. Collins, I cannot be sorry for it when he wounded both you, my brother, and my husband so much. I shall not fill this letter with any more words about that dreadful villain or his fate.
We recently received a visit from our neighbours, the Baxters. It was quite surprising to me, but Mr. Hubert Baxter is known to Kitty and Lydia. Apparently, he attends the boys' school that is partnered with their school. He spoke of an outbreak of cholera that explained his presence in Derbyshire instead of being away at his school. He said it has spread even to the girls' school. I wished to warn you, in case you had not heard, so you do not send our sisters back while there is still illness.
I had a letter from Mary. She says she is very well and settling into her new home. I am much the same, as I am learning much about my role as mistress. One of our tenant families has had a tragedy that has left two children as orphans, their fate quite uncertain. It is most distressing, but we are ensuring they are cared for. I know my husband and he shall not let them go without.
I hope you all are well at Longbourn and Netherfield. How are all of my friends and our relations? Darcy has told me that Uncle Gardiner is to journey north soon to assist Mr. Bingley in some matter of business and he may break his journey at Pemberley. I hope our aunt shall accompany him. It would be pleasant to show them my new home. I am to attend our first dinner out in Derbyshire society in a few days, as we have been invited to dine with the Baxters. Darcy has said, too, that if I wish it, we might attend the Kympton assembly, which is on the third Thursday of every month. I think, my dear sister, that this shows more affection than any pretty words as you know as well as I how my husband does not like to dance.
I remain,
Your sister and friend,
Eliza