Chapter 10 – Family Ties
The journey to Manchester was accomplished in reasonable time, as the roads between Disley and the great city were well maintained and well-travelled.
Anthony had arranged for his family and new friend to meet the Pattons the day before the wedding, at a formal engagement diner at his rented house, for his main home was still in Scarborough. The evening was successful, if not easy for most of the participants.
"Well, I am glad this is over," Jones sighed after the guests had left, "I am so grateful you were all here to support me."
"Your Julia is such a gem," Elizabeth and her had instantly fallen into a friendly dialog, and after just one evening were already addressing each other as old friends, "she has many similarities with Charlotte Lucas, and I think she could very quickly become as dear a friend. You must come and bring her to our wedding in May, so that Belle and I can spent more time in her company."
"That is high praise indeed!" Darcy laughed, having seen the impressive volume of correspondence between Adlington Hall and Lucas Lodge in the past month; more letters went to her friend in Hertfordshire than to her aunt and sister in London combined.
"I know enough of Miss Charlotte to know that. I must thank you for spending so much of your time with Patton, Darcy, I can tell he was impressed, and I expect he will be easier to deal with tomorrow and in the future as a result."
"I am sure it will all be well, my dearest uncle, however it is time to sleep; Julia would never forgive us if you were late or exhausted at your own wedding." Isabella was correct and the party broke off for the day.
The day of the wedding dawned, a little overcast, but dry, and before Jones had time to worry, his niece and Elizabeth had him fed, ready and on his way to the church.
The ceremony was well attended, as the groom and the bride's family had many friends in the city, the service was brief, the breakfast Mrs Patton provided was delicious and plentiful, and soon the bride and groom were on their way to Scarborough, happier than either had dared to hope just a few months prior.
Isabella, Elizabeth and Darcy departed soon after to return to Adlington, where Georgiana waited impatiently to hear all the details of the wedding.
Darcy had to return to Pemberley the day following their return, to deal with urgent estate business his steward needed help with.
"I do not want to be separated from you or Georgiana for too long." Elizabeth told him when he announced his departure. "Perhaps we could come to Pemberley soon to see you?" she asked while looking at her cousin pleadingly.
"Well, you could all come and visit Pemberley together for three or four weeks." Darcy offered. "That way you can see your future home and decide on any change you want to make before living there permanently. I have invited Richard's parents to visit as well, so you could spend time with my aunt."
"We will need to wait for Mrs Turner to arrive back from visiting her family, as I need Miss Fairchild here until all the repairs are completed on the home farm." Isabella mused. "Georgiana, would you want to stay with us a few more days and travel together?"
"If both you and Richard travel with Elizabeth and Isabella in a few days, I can leave the carriage with you and most of the luggage; I can go home on horseback. That will give me more time to take care of business before everyone arrives." Darcy told his sister.
"Our aunt and uncle, Richard's parents are due to visit at the start of March, so if you stay until the middle of March, you will be able to spend time with them. I am certain they will love you and will want to know you better." Darcy was now addressing his betrothed with a wide smile.
The plan was discussed a little longer and quickly agreed on. The residents of Adlington Hall and their remaining guests would travel to Pemberley eight days after Darcy and would remain until the Fitzwilliams had all arrived. Their return to Cheshire would depend on how this first meeting went.
Darcy was confident that all would be well. Richard had sent several letters to his mother, and had included many details, and quite a significant amount of praise, for both Bennet ladies, and for their estate; Elizabeth had received a lovely reply from his aunt already; the Fitzwilliam would stand behind him, even the usually superior and bored Viscount appeared charmed by the ladies' open and friendly, yet respectful behaviour.
January was far more difficult for Mr Bingley. A little after the turn of the year, his sister had asked him for permission to stay at Netherfield with him and Aunt Agatha, who was enjoying her role of estate mistress and embracing the tenant visits with enthusiasm.
Despite being uncertain the change in Caroline would last, he was ready to give her a chance, making it very clear that the restrictions he put in place in December were to remain indefinitely. She was not making any efforts to befriend the locals, but as she stopped referring to them as savages or country mushrooms, and refrained from gossiping about them, he felt that this was acceptable progress for now.
During the festive season, he had observed Miss Bennet and her family, and had asked his aunt to do the same and share her honest opinion. By the middle of January, his regard for the lady had significantly diminished; Darcy had been right, she participated little in the neighbourhood, not at all regarding running Longbourn or helping its dependants, even though Miss Mary had departed before Christmas, leaving the estate and parish without support. She appeared to have no activity, passion, or desires beside dressing well, serving tea, and engaging in quiet polite conversation.
Miss Bennet and her parents had been tight-lipped about Miss Elizabeth's absence. Darcy had replied early in the new year, indicating that the missing Bennet was safe and staying with relatives of hers. Still, Bingley had hoped that Miss Bennet would tell him the truth, or at least her own vision of the truth. Silence was too close to a lie in this instance.
Bingley still admired her beauty, but that would fade over time, and there seemed to be little of substance beneath it to carry any love through many years of married life. He had been right to exercise caution, and, though disappointed, was glad to distance himself quietly from the Bennet family.
In Longbourn, Mr Bennet nursed many regrets. Not only was Elizabeth gone, for good he was certain, but Mr Collins, after being told Jane would not be for him, had retreated to Hunsford and would certainly not offer for any of the other girls. Mary was in London and showed no desire to visit or return; the letter Gardiner had prepared and made him sign, with their brother Phillips as witness, left Bennet no authority over Mary and he could not ask her to come back in any case.
His remaining family bored him; his wife was shrill and stupid; Jane was placid and seemingly emotionless; Lydia was an undisciplined, silly flirt and would ruin herself at some point, he was certain of it, but did not care enough to try and prevent it; Kitty was tolerable, but as she followed Lydia in most thing, he could not be bothered getting involved in her life much.
For a short time after their return from London, without Mr Collins, he had tried to control Fanny, hoping that Bingley would come to the point if left to his own devices with Jane, but the man was withdrawing his attentions quite noticeably, not that Bennet could blame the man when Jane had so little to offer, there was now little to gain from the enormous effort required to keep Fanny in check.
He was tired, always; a little voice at the back of his mind told him that Elizabeth had brought much more to his life than he had previously realised; he had lost her, and the energy and joy she spread through Longbourn; it was entirely his fault; he would ignore that voice and just have another glass of port.
Towards the end of January, Mrs Phillips arrived with more news, surprising none except her sister.
"Sister, sister," said she, while the whole family, including Bennet for once, was in the front parlour, "the town is abuzz with tales of Lizzy never coming back, they are saying you banished her, and try as I may, they do not believe me when I deny it."
"Do you know where the rumours came from?" Jane asked, surprised anyone cared about her impertinent sister at all.
"No, Jane, that's the worst part of it," her aunt was upset, "it seems to be universally accepted. And there's more, Mrs Goulding hinted that Miss Lizzy's mistreatment, as she called it, is the reason Mr Bingley is no longer calling on you. Sister, they say that you sent her away from Longbourn for refusing Mr Collins, which cannot be true as that would be far too cruel, I will not believe this of you and my brother Bennet. And Mrs Long complained that none of you has replaced Mary in her charity work, or Lizzy in looking after the tenants."
"What are they talking about?" Fanny Bennet was puzzled as she had never paid any attention to anything her two plainest daughters did apart from vexing her of course.
"Did you not know that your Lizzy and Miss Lucas visited the tenants at Lucas Lodge and Longbourn?" It was Mrs Phillips turn to be surprised. "They started many years ago with Isabella and continued after she left. And Mary started helping them about three years ago by taking over the charitable visits to the parish poor. I believe that is where both your daughters spent most of their allowance, and one of the reasons they wore such plain clothes."
Bennet closed his eyes and sighed; he had also been oblivious to his daughters' work; he knew Elizabeth came to him from time to time with requests for help from some tenants, he never thought to ask how she discovered these issues. And he certainly never provided either girl with extra funds for these activities, even though they should have been his responsibility. The shame he felt was acute, though as ever he would get over it fast enough.
Sitting silently, Jane was furious. She remembered when Isabella and Lizzy had asked for her participation, but after she refused, following her mother's advice, she gave no more thoughts to it. Now her sisters, and probably their favourite neighbour, Miss Lucas, were getting praise and she was excluded; it never crossed her mind that she was the one who had refused, but rather put the blame on Elizabeth for not asking further and encouraging her to take some of these tasks over after Isabella's departure.
Mrs Phillips, not one to catch other people's mood and not fully aware of the happenings on Elizabeth's final day at Longbourn, continued her eager descriptions of the family's damaged reputation and possible shunning from their neighbours for many more minutes before departing for her next call. She did feel sorry for her sister and nieces, but as one of the town most prolific gossips, she could not help but enjoy the rumours and the way they spread so fast and thoroughly.
That evening, however, she spend some time thinking about her missing niece.
"Mr Phillips, Frank, do you think some of the rumours about our Lizzy are true? Margaret was quite vague in her reply, and I do not know what to make of it all."
Frank Phillips was a sensible man, educated and working as Meryton's solicitor; he had inherited his father-in-law's practice due mostly to his skills rather than his marriage.
"My dear," he answered, "I am certain that Fanny has not told you the entire truth of what happened. Think about it, do you really believe Lizzy would ever accept an offer from Collins? She is bright and lively; do you think she would accept to live with any man not intellectually her equal?"
"No, she would not. I did not think of that. But Thomas loves her, why would he try and force her? Why would he banish her?" His wife was frowning, trying her best to work out what she did not understand.
"I suspect he wanted to placate Fanny without having to exert himself. Perhaps he was hoping the Collinses would stay in Longbourn and run the estate for him. I doubt we will ever know, but I firmly believe our niece was an innocent victim of her father's indolence here."
"I must write Margaret again, and Mary too. Do you think they know where Lizzy is and will forward a small letter for me if I ask them? I do miss her so, and I miss Mary."
Phillips looked at his wife tenderly. She was not a clever woman, but she had a good heart and was devoted to her nieces and nephews; she loved him and trusted his opinion above her own; despite not giving him children, she was a good wife, and he loved her in return.
"Papa," asked Jane after her aunt's departure, "would our reputation be repaired if you got Lizzy to come back, even if she does not marry your cousin?"
"I do not believe it would help much, as she will come of age in May and would depart again." Bennet was too tired to fight his niece when he knew he would not win. "No, we will keep a low profile for a few weeks and before long a new scandal of some sort will emerge, and all will be forgotten."
"But Papa," Lydia started in her most whiny voice, "if we are not invited to parties, the officers will forget us. And they will be removing to Brighton in May, so we have so little time left to make them all fall in love with me." She was pouting and slouching in a most unappealing manner, while Kitty was obediently nodding in support of her sister. Jane left the room quietly so she would not scream in frustration where her family could hear her. She needed to reflect on her options; perhaps if she wrote a letter of apology to Elizabeth, she could convince her sister it was all a misunderstanding; she was not seeing a clear path yet, careful planning was required.
"Mr Bennet," wailed his wife, as he walked away towards his study "this is all your fault for bringing your niece and that awful governess to our home. They started this I am sure, and your hoyden of a daughter helped them. Oh, my poor nerves, we are ruined, you must repair this before Mr Collins throws us all out of our home. My poor Jane losing Mr Bingley because of that Lizzy, my poor sweet Lydia without the officers' company, oh, that is too unfair, those horrid girls have ruined everything." She carried on in the same vein for the next two hours, trying the patience of everyone in the household.
Far away in Kent, Mr Collins made the wise decision to remain home and look for a local gently bred lady for a wife. Having told his whole sad tale to his patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and received suitable condescension and pity from her, as well as her approval for abandoning his undeserving cousins to their fate, he started his new quest, and within six months had offered for and been accepted by the eldest daughter of an impoverished local gentleman. The young lady, who was close to being on the shelf at six and twenty years old, was sensible and wanted only a safe and comfortable establishment. Mr Collins' expectations as heir to an estate suited her, and with support from her parents and siblings, all living reasonably close to Hunsford, her influence on her husband was enough to ensure her life was comfortable and even happy once children arrived.
The new Mrs Collins had a sweet disposition and gentle manners that allowed her to offer proper respect to Lady Catherine while never behaving in the sycophantic manner her husband retained when in the presence of the great lady.
February and the first week of March flew by, Elizabeth had fallen in love with Pemberley within a half hour of her arrival there, and the Darcy brother and sister delighted in showing her every part of the house and many of the best walks around the estate.
"This estate is enormous." Isabella stated as she was walking around the lake with her cousin, Annie walking behind them.
"It is, yet I feel so comfortable here," Elizabeth answered, "I do not understand how that can be, but it already feels like home. I only hope I can learn to manage such a complex household."
"It may be larger than Longbourn or Adlington Hall, Lizzy, but the principles for running it remain the same. Remember that you will have Mr Darcy, Georgiana and Mrs Reynolds to help you, so you need not rush and try to run everything on your own from the start."
"You are right, and I will rely on my celebrated courage and remain in control of myself. I believe I will speak with Georgiana later and ask to join her on her tenant visits over the next few weeks, it will prepare me well for later."
Darcy had introduced her to the staff as his betrothed, the future Mrs Darcy, and she had charmed many of the house staff with her open and friendly manners. Within two weeks of her arrival, the whole neighbourhood had heard of the kind, active, efficient and unassuming young lady Mr Darcy had chosen as the new Mistress of his estate, and apart from a few disappointed daughters of the local gentry, most were pleased to hear her future servants and tenants praise the soon-to-be Mrs Darcy.
"I have so many names to learn, in the house and now around the estate, I think I will need to start taking notes. Let us go to Lambton tomorrow to visit the town and purchase a few journals for me to use. I may copy the way you set your journals up as they were so useful over the past month."
Isabella nodded, and they returned to the manor house to discuss the trip to Lambton with the other residents.
Colonel Fitzwilliam remained at Pemberley rather than removing to Haddon Hall to join his brother, and continued to heal; his walking was getting easier and faster, and soon he would be able to ride around the estate as he always did before his latest injuries. Richard was also falling in love with Miss Bennet, even though he could not read the lady's feelings for him. He was waiting until he felt healed and whole again, and then he would court her properly; he may not have been rich as a second son, yet he had been careful with his pay and the allowance his father continued to send him, and his savings were enough that he did not feel the need to marry for money; Isabella's fortune was not the reason he wanted to pursue her, her beauty, intelligence and strength were what attracted him.