Wednesday, 18 December 1811
Elizabeth Bennet shivered as the wind and snow blew through the small crack in the carriage glass. She burrowed further under the fur blanket Uncle Gardiner imported from America. Unfortunately, the heated bricks gave out over an hour ago.
"My apologies, Lizzy," Madeleine Gardiner said, putting the glass back up. "I am just so excited to be back in Lambton again! It will not be long now. There is the apothecary shop." She gestured at the stone building barely visible in the twilight of the late afternoon. "The Rose and Crown is at the other end of the town."
Lizzy smiled as she peered out the window taking in the shops and people hurrying to get their business done so they could return to the warmth of their own homes. "Really, Aunt? I had no notion you would be excited about being in Derbyshire again," she teased and Uncle Edward chuckled along with his niece.
She smiled affectionately at the couple seated in the forward-facing seat across from her. They were her dearest relations aside from her older sister Jane, who had stayed at Longbourn to enjoy the attentions of Mr. Bingley and to mind the Gardiners' four children during Christmastide.
"Thank you for inviting me, I am very happy to be here with you both," Lizzy said earnestly. It was a relief to be away from her mother as the tension between them had only increased since she refused to marry her cousin, Mr. Collins. Nothing but vitriol poured from her mother's lips as the day of his wedding to her friend and neighbour Charlotte Lucas neared.
"Of course, Lizzy. It is our pleasure to have you with us." Aunt Maddie leaned over to pat her knee. "It was very good of Jane to agree to watch the children so you could travel with us."
"Mama would not allow her to go anywhere with Mr. Bingley back at Netherfield," Lizzy said with a laugh.
When their neighbour had left for London the day after his ball—the 27th of November—his family and friend—Mr. Darcy had followed, and no one had expected Mr. Bingley to return. Especially since the house was closed up and Jane received a note from his youngest sister, Caroline Bingley, saying they were fixed in town for the winter and through the season and wishing her the joy of many beaux. No one was happier than Jane when he returned two weeks later, alone, and presented himself that very day at Longbourn to apologise for the confusion.
"No, your mother has very realistic expectations there," Uncle Edward said. "I know when a man is besotted and Mr. Bingley is definitely in love with Jane. I would not be surprised if we received a letter whilst here informing us of his proposal." He leaned back against the blue leather squabs, "or at the least receive that blessed news when we are back in Hertfordshire."
"I hope you are right!" sighed Lizzy. It would certainly help her if Mr Bingley proposed to Jane. Perhaps then, Mama would forgive Lizzy for not marrying Mr Collins and stop crying about them all being cast in the hedgerows when Papa died.
"I know men, my dear niece," Uncle Edward leaned forward to pat Lizzy's hand.
Their banter and speculation about Mr. Bingley kept them entertained until they pulled up in front of the Rose and Crown. Uncle Edward alighted first and then helped his wife out and then his niece. The footman ran ahead of them to announce their arrival to the innkeeper who was waiting for them when they stepped inside.
"Mr. Gardiner, I regret to say we didn't receive the letter your man claims you sent ahead to reserve rooms and we only have space for you for three nights," he said apologetically.
Uncle Edward frowned. "My good man, I hope we can find other accommodations, even though my wife assured me you have the finest inn in the area."
"They do, Mr. Gardiner. How do you do, Mr. Whiting? It has been many years since I have seen you." Aunt Maddie smiled at the short, hunchbacked man.
"Miss Madeleine Howard! Excuse me, Mrs. Gardiner, 'tis good to see you again after all these years." He bowed to her. "I'm sure we can find some way to help you. I have a suite with two bedchambers and a sitting room available for now if that works for you."
"That sounds ideal," Uncle Gardiner agreed. He looked around at the noisy tap room and shook his head. "Perhaps we could have a meal in our sitting room within the hour unless you have a private parlour available for our use."
"I'm sorry, sir, it is currently reserved. Let me show you to your rooms." The innkeeper hustled up the narrow stairs dimly lit by smoky, tallow candles in sconces and they followed him. He produced a key and unlocked a room, opening the door and gesturing for them to enter. The sitting room was small and plainly furnished with a settee and two chairs upholstered in brown fabric grouped in front of the fireplace with matching curtains at the windows. Four sturdy, wooden chairs sat around a small table. "Bed chamber on either side." He pointed at the doors. "Is there anything you want besides a meal? Water for baths or washing?"
"Water for washing will be fine, Mr. Whiting. I hope you have a girl who can assist myself and my niece, Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn in Hertfordshire," Aunt Madeleine told him.
He smiled, revealing two missing front teeth. "My daughter, Maggie, had training from Miss Darcy's personal maid at Pemberley 'afore she came here to help me. I'll send her up."
"Thank you, please also send up a tray of tea and biscuits as soon as possible," Aunt Maddie requested.
"My man will be up shortly with our bags and will do for me," Uncle Edward said.
"Yes, sir. Folks will be glad to see you again Mrs., Gardiner," Mr. Whiting grinned again and touched his round stomach.
She beamed. "I am happy to be here as well. We shall see you later." He took the hint, bowed, and left, closing the door.
"Well, Lizzy, shall we decide which chamber will be yours?" Aunt Maddie went to look in both rooms before deciding Lizzy would have the smaller room on the left and she and her husband would share the bigger room on the right.
"I shall see you both soon." Lizzy went into her chamber and looked around. It boasted a canopied bed with dark blue bedding and bed hangings that matched the curtains at the window. A small dressing table with a mirror sat under the window and a chair, and two wingback chairs upholstered in dark blue in front of the fireplace. She sat in one of the wingback chairs, testing it out as someone knocked on the door. "Enter!"
A girl bustled in followed by her uncle's coachman who carried her trunk and valise. "Put it there, please." Lizzy pointed to the unoccupied corner next to the table. The maid started the fire. The coachman left the room and closed the door.
"I'm Maggie, miss," she said and then curtsied. I'll be back to attend you after I light the other fires and see to the other lady."
"Thank you, Maggie. I am Miss Bennet." Lizzy took off her bonnet, gloves, and cloak and laid them neatly on the table.
The maid bustled off and Lizzy went into her valise to pull out her journal, book, and portable writing desk. She arranged them to her liking on the table and looked around. Spying some hooks she hung up her cloak and bonnet and placed her gloves in her valise.
Lizzy then settled in the chair in front of the fireplace to wait for the tea and biscuits, water, and Maggie. She leaned back and tested it, not the most comfortable but it would do. She wondered which of the items being sent up would come first and what this trip to Derbyshire would bring. As long as it did not bring her into company with Mr. Darcy, she would be happy.
The next few days were spent touring Lambton, its shops, and the surrounding countryside. They also began calling on Mrs. Gardiner's friends and acquaintances.
Unfortunately, no one had room for them to stay and Mrs. Gardiner was sadly starting to talk of moving to another town since all the other inns in Lambton were full. The third morning, while having breakfast in their sitting room, Lizzy asked permission to go for a walk and do a little shopping for gifts to bring back to her family. "Go ahead, my dear. Herbert will attend you if Maggie is unavailable," Aunt Maddie said. "I will just have to call on the Johnsons without you," she teased.
Lizzy smiled weakly. Mrs. and Miss Johnson were gossips who could out-rival her mother and Aunt Phillips any day. She had given the ladies the bare minimum of information about herself as she could get away with. Fortunately, it did not seem like Aunt Maddie had written much about Lizzy in her letters to Mrs. Johnson. Lizzy was not sure what Aunt Maddie saw in them but was too polite to ask.
"Thank you." Lizzy took a last sip of tea and then went to the bell pull to ring for Maggie. When the girl came a bit later Lizzy asked if she was available to accompany her on a walk and a bit of shopping.
"Yes, miss. I can be ready to leave in half an hour. I'll come for you then." She curtsied and then cleared away the remnants of their breakfast.
"I must say I like your hair this morning, Lizzy," Aunt Maddie said.
"Maggie is a wizard with my curls." She touched the dark locks neatly arranged on her head. "Aunt, could you please assist me to finish getting ready?" She would rather leave as soon as possible, but that meant having help to change into a walking gown better suited for an outing instead of the simple dress she donned upon awakening.
"Of course, Lizzy."
"Do you have sufficient monies?" Uncle Edward inquired kindly. He was holding some funds for her.
"I believe so, yes." She had this quarter's pin money untouched in her reticule.
"Very well, then." He rose, saying he was going to inquire at the other inns again just in case there were openings, bade them farewell, and left the ladies alone.
"Oh Lizzy, I was so looking forward to spending Christmastide here in Lambton and going to services as I did as a child when my father was the vicar here." Aunt Maddie helped her niece out of her brown woollen dress and laid it neatly over the chair in front of the fireplace.
"It is a shame you do not know the current vicar, perhaps they may have invited us to stay," Lizzy said sadly. The innkeeper had managed to find accommodations for them until Monday thanks to a cancellation but they had to be out by then.
She determined to canvas the shopkeepers to see if they knew of any accommodations. Perhaps someone had a house they might be willing to rent temporarily. She said nothing of her plan to her aunt knowing it would horrify the older lady.
Aunt Maddie helped Lizzy into a green velvet walking dress that would never stand up to a tramp up to Oakham Mount but was very pretty and suitable for a morning of shopping. It had a matching pelisse and bonnet. It had been an early Christmas gift from the Gardiners and this was the first time Lizzy was wearing it.
"That colour and dress are so becoming on you, Lizzy!" Her aunt finished the buttons in the back and actually clapped her hands. "I knew when I saw that bolt of fabric in your uncle's warehouse it would be perfect for you."
"I love it." Lizzy twirled and peered at herself in the small mirror. "I think this is one of the finest dresses I have ever owned, excepting the silk ball gown you gave me." She shook her head. "I do not know why you insisted I pack it, there are no balls in our future!" The evening dresses she had packed and worn were more than sufficient for the invitations they had received and attended.
"In past years there have been assemblies on New Year's Eve but apparently it is not taking place this year."
A knock. "Enter!" Aunt Maddie called.
Maggie opened the door. "Oi, Miss Bennet you look beautiful you do. But may I redo your hair? It doesn't match your dress." She closed the door behind her.
Lizzy laughed. "Please work your magic. If I had the funds for a personal maid I would be offering you the position. I have never seen anyone so good with my hair!"
"Thank you, miss." She curtsied and then had Lizzy sit at the table and deftly redid her hair into a sophisticated chignon with ringlets framing her face. "There." She tucked in one final hairpin. "You look very well, Miss Bennet."
Lizzy looked in the mirror and nodded. "Thanks to you. Now let us go shopping!" She hugged her aunt, donned her outdoor things, and promised to return before luncheon.
As soon as they were on Lambton's main street, Lizzy described her mission to Maggie and asked where they should go. "Mrs. Hartwell's. She's the dressmaker and knows everything." They exchanged knowing smiles and Lizzy followed the other girl to the shop. It was one she had not been in before.
As soon as she was inside, Lizzy knew it was the sort of place one could spend time in. Mrs. Hartwell had ribbons, fabrics, and even bonnets on display.
"Good morning. I am Mrs. Hartwell. How might I assist you?"
"May I introduce you?" Maggie asked and Lizzy nodded. "This is Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn in Hertfordshire," Maggie introduced her. "She is Mrs. Gardiner's niece."
Mrs. Hartwell curtsied and Lizzy inclined her head. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Bennet! I heard Mrs. Gardiner was back in town. How are you finding Lambton?"
"It is definitely the wonderful place my aunt declared it to be," Lizzy said with a laugh.
Mrs. Hartwell beamed. "I am glad you agree." The door opened and two more women came in accompanied by a maid in a dark cloak and bonnet. "Miss Darcy! Mrs. Annesley! What a pleasure. Please excuse me, Miss Bennet." Miss Hartwell bustled up to the ladies and curtsied to the newcomers.
"Miss Bennet!" Miss Darcy exclaimed. "Are you by any chance Miss Elizabeth Bennet from Hertfordshire?" She flushed scarlet when the older women frowned at her. A companion most likely.
"I am indeed." Why of all the people in Derbyshire did she have to run into a Darcy? Especially one who was haughty and unkind according to Mr. Wickham.
But the girl was smiling eagerly and dropping into a curtsy. "I am so pleased to meet you! I am Georgiana Darcy. My brother wrote to me of you and your sisters when he was staying with his friend Mr. Bingley for the last few months. He told me how lovingly and faithfully you cared for your older sister when she fell ill at Netherfield."
Who was this girl? Certainly not the person Mr. Wickham had told her about! But, manners. She curtsied in response. "I am pleased to meet you as well, Miss Darcy. I have heard much of you from Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley."
Everyone was looking at the two in astonishment. "Miss Bennet might I introduce you to my companion?"
"I should be delighted to make her acquaintance," Lizzy was bewildered with the strangeness of the encounter.
Mrs. Annesley, this is Miss Bennet. Miss Bennet is a neighbour of Mr. Bingley," Miss Darcy introduced the other two ladies. They curtsied to each other, even though Lizzy knew she did not owe the companion the obeisance.
"What brings you to Derbyshire, Miss Bennet?" Miss Darcy asked. Lizzy explained about visiting Lambton as her aunt used to live here. "Is your aunt with you? I would be so delighted to meet her!"
"No, I am afraid she is calling upon some friends this morning." This morning was getting stranger by the moment.
"Then perhaps you both would come to tea at Pemberley on Monday afternoon if you are free?"
"I am sure we would enjoy nothing more, Miss Darcy but I am uncertain if we will still be here. There was a mixup at the inn with our reservations and nothing available so we have to look for accommodations elsewhere." It would be a relief to move out of the area and not have to endure more company of the Darcys. Although it was looking like Mr. Wickham was mistaken about Miss Darcy.
Miss Darcy was shaking her head. "You will come to stay with us at Pemberley, of course. I am sure my brother will insist."
Lizzy felt all the awkwardness of the moment. "If Mr. Darcy chooses to extend an invitation I am sure my aunt and uncle would be happy to receive it," she said carefully.
Mrs. Annesley nodded approvingly. "We shall talk to Mr. Darcy when we return to Pemberley and see what he says," she told her young charge. "Why do you not look for the ribbon you came in to buy?"
"Oh yes. Miss Bennet, will you please help me choose? I wanted a pink ribbon for a dress…" the younger girl wandered off to the ribbons describing the dress. Lizzy smiled indulgently and followed. Elder sister and adviser was something she had much experience with.
Lizzy helped Miss Darcy to choose the perfect shade of pink ribbon and in return Miss Darcy assisted her in purchasing ribbons for her younger sisters, and a bonnet for Jane with a ribbon Lizzy declared would match her sister's blue eyes perfectly.
"I must return to the inn," she said regretfully. "Miss Darcy, Mrs. Annesley it was lovely to meet you both. If I do not see you again I wish you a joyous Christmastide." She curtsied.
"Oh, but you will be enjoying it with us at Pemberley!" Miss Darcy reminded her returning the curtsy.
"Miss Darcy, I am travelling with my aunt and uncle. He is in trade and lives in Cheapside," she said quietly.
Miss Darcy waved that off. "My brother has always taught me to look at the person to see their worth, not who they know or what they do for a living."
Lizzy's eyebrows shot up. That did not match the haughty man she knew from Hertfordshire. "That is very liberal of him."
Miss Darcy smiled confidently. "You will see, Miss Bennet."
Lizzy smiled, held her peace, said goodbye, and set off for the inn accompanied by Maggie.
"You know the Darcys, miss!" There was awe in the maid's voice. "You didn't say anything about that!"
Lizzy shrugged. "I met Mr. Darcy when he was visiting his friend who leased the estate next to my family home. We are not well acquainted so it did not seem worth mentioning." At least she thought they were hardly acquainted. He must have been desperate for news to interest his sister when writing to her. It was the only explanation Lizzy could come up with to explain the fact he had written about the Bennets. After all, he did not like her and considered her not handsome or tolerable enough to dance with!
But he had invited her to dance at Lucas Lodge and again at the Netherfield ball. She shook her head. She would not think of the annoying man and he would not invite them to stay at Pemberley. He considered himself too far above them for anything else. But she had not completed her mission.
"Maggie, perhaps we could stop at the mercantile to inquire if anyone knows of rooms or a house for let?"
"Of course, miss. Let us do that." They stopped in the shop and Lizzy looked around while Maggie made the actual inquiry. She caught Lizzy's eye and shook her head. Lizzy shrugged, it had been worth trying.
They stepped out onto the cobblestone street and Lizzy held up her dress carefully as they stepped around a fresh steaming pile left by a horse. All the way back to the inn, Maggie chattered about the Darcys, and how well thought of they were in the town, and all the things they did to help the Pemberley tenants and townspeople. Lizzy made appropriate noises at the right intervals. She was not surprised that Mr. Darcy was a good landlord, it was common sense to treat those under your care well to get the best work out of them and profits as well.
"I will go out and make more inquiries for you this afternoon, miss," Maggie promised as they reached the inn.
"Thank you." She followed the girl to her room and allowed Maggie to open the door for her. "I appreciate your help and company today."
"You're welcome, miss." Maggie curtsied. "Would you like some tea and a cold collation?"
Lizzy checked the time on the clock perched on the mantle, almost noon. Her aunt should be back soon. "I would like some tea now and fresh tea and the food when my aunt returns."
"Yes, Miss Bennet." Maggie curtsied and left. Lizzy sank into a chair in the sitting room and sighed. How was she ever going to explain the events of the morning to her aunt? No, she would say nothing since she did not want her aunt to get her hopes up. Mr. Darcy would not invite them to Pemberley. It simply was not done. Hopefully, Maggie or Uncle Edward's inquiries would yield something so they could stay in Lambton. Lizzy was fine with that and hoped very much never to see Mr. Darcy again!