Chapter 5

Elizabeth had gone out twice more on Buttercup, on those only days when the weather allowed it, but she believed Darcy when he said that anyone who was able to get old Buttercup up to a gallop was more than ready to try Spartan, and so she had. A few rides on the cob in the safe but muddy confines of the paddock had further built her confidence, and so today, so long as the weather remained clear, she and her husband were going to go out for a ride. She was surprised to see he had another horse saddled for him, rather than his usual mount, Kestrel, and she inquired as to the change in horses after he had helped her up on Spartan.

"Ah, I am sorry – you and old King have not been introduced," he said, patting the horse's neck. "This is Kingfisher – the eldest of my hunters. I believe he is nearly of a pace with Spartan, now, and he is much calmer than Kestrel. Buttercup cares not about Kestrel's antics, but Spartan is a bit more sensitive, so I thought it best if we start him out alongside King."

Darcy was given a leg up, and Elizabeth was appreciative of his thinking, for while no-one would have called Kingfisher placid, he was a great deal calmer than Kestrel, and when they moved into a trot, she found that Darcy was correct that the horses could stay on pace beside each other. Spartan certainly covered more ground at a trot than Buttercup had, although what Elizabeth most appreciated about him was the smoothness of his gait; no longer was she bounced around, as she had been with Buttercup's jittery little trot.

They slowed to a walk after some time, and then Darcy asked her if she would like to canter, and she said she would. This gait, too, was smoother than it had been on Buttercup, and they made their way along for some time before Elizabeth began to grow concerned. She reined Spartan to a walk and said, "I think we should turn back. After last time, I am afraid of our going too far away from shelter."

"There is something I want to show you," he said, "but do not worry – we may shelter there if the weather turns."

Elizabeth would have feared he wished to show her some defect in the fields, due to the hailstorm, or the snow, sleet, and rain that had preceded and followed it for much of the winter, but that his countenance seemed too light for such a thing. So instead she set aside her curiosity and urged Spartan into a trot. Eventually, they came up over a hill, and visible at the top of the next hill was the house at Barrowmere Park.

"You wished to show me Barrowmere Park?" Elizabeth asked. "I have seen it many times already, Darcy."

"No, I wished to show you Pemberley's dower house," he said. "The purchase is complete. We now own Barrowmere Park and what little remains of the rest of its lands."

Darcy was clearly pleased by his statement, and Elizabeth smiled at him, but in truth the thought of owning Barrowmere Park left her a little unsettled. Her husband, and his father before him, had slowly purchased lands from the failing estate, and the completion of this last transaction meant that Pemberley had swallowed up another estate entirely. But the thought that gave her most pause was the notion that the house was to become a dower house, the wings in lesser repair torn down and the main house repaired so that it was habitable once again.

While she loved her husband for thinking to provide for her in such a way, if she did survive him, Elizabeth did not like the thought of surviving him for long, if at all. She wished for them to grow old together, and to never be parted from him long enough to have a need of this house. Still, she knew she must say something in praise of the purchase being complete, and so, attempting to keep her voice from thickening, she said, "It is terribly considerate of you, to have done all of this."

"Someone needed to do so," he said. "My great-grandfather finished building the present house at Pemberley, while my grandfather completed the interior and the grounds, and my father focused on improving and expanding the farms. This shall be my legacy, for future generations."

"And a fine legacy it will be," she said.

"Will be is correct. There is still much work to be done before I will even be willing to let it. I am glad Georgiana did not take it – to attempt such repairs while setting up her first household, and with Matthew from home, would have been a formidable task. Although I suppose if she had taken it, she might not have been on the East stairs when she was, and – "

"Darcy, you cannot think like that." Elizabeth spoke carefully, for their sister had been a particularly sensitive subject for him, of late. "What has happened has happened, and there is nothing we can do to change it. Trying to rewrite the past will only bring you pain."

"I know, but I cannot help but think that Georgiana now avoids her childhood home because it brings her unpleasant memories – now, it is the place where she lost her child. I cannot see why she would want to settle in Hampshire, otherwise. Before, she had intended to settle in Derbyshire."

"Before, she had only her own conjectures on what it would be like to be a naval captain's wife. Now she knows, and she wishes to settle in Hampshire to be nearer Portsmouth," Elizabeth said. "Would there ever be a time she is not welcome at Pemberley?"

"Of course not."

"And do you not think she knows this?"

"I see the direction of your questions, Elizabeth."

"I am glad you do," she said. "I will not say it is easier for you – not when you had to begin managing this estate at the age you did – but it is different for you, as it will be for James. The rest of us, we ladies and younger sons, grow up knowing we must leave our homes. Georgiana's situation is unique, that she has such a range of choice in the location of her household, but there is a great deal of sense in the choice she has made. If you and I were to be parted for months, and you might live somewhere you could see me a few days sooner than you could have otherwise, would you not choose to live there?"

"I would if I could see you even a few hours sooner, so I could sooner have your council when I am not thinking clearly, my clever, lovely Elizabeth."

Elizabeth's eyes filled with tears at this, and she blinked them away, hoping that as they were nearing the drive to the house, he would be distracted and not notice. He did, however, and reined his horse to a halt, saying, "What is it, Elizabeth?"

"You see this house as your legacy, and it is a good and honourable one, so I do not wish to take away from that," she said. "But to me this house means leaving my home again, and in the most painful circumstances."

Elizabeth was glad then that he was riding Kingfisher, for she did not think Kestrel would have stood for what Darcy did then, which was to sidestep his mount closer to hers, and pull her into a one-armed embrace, his other hand still on Kingfisher's reins.

"You once told me we must live our lives in hope, and not in fear," he said. "Whatever happens will happen, but I think it is no better for you to attempt to write the future, than it is for me to rewrite the past. But I will stop referring to it as the dower house, if it helps you avoid thinking of it. It may remain Barrowmere Park, when we speak of it."

"I cannot say Barrowmere Park has entirely positive associations, either," Elizabeth said, for the previous two families to live in the house had been quite vexing, each in their own way. "I think we should give it a new name entirely."

"What would you suggest?"

"I did not make the proposal with a suggestion in mind. Let us think on it."

"We shall think on it, then. Would you like to turn back?"

"Yes, I believe we have gone far enough today."

That is it for today's posting, thanks for reading! I am aiming to do about 5 chapters per day...hopefully every day, although at times life may get in the way. This is a LONG book - longer than any other in the series so far, and its predecessors have not exactly been short. So hopefully at this pace we will be through in a few weeks.

Again, feedback and constructive criticism highly welcomed.