A/N: I have this story set a bit earlier than canon, more akin to when Jane Austen was first writing. I have the Darcy's marrying in 1800.
A Visitor to the Dower House
Chapter 1 - November 1841
The Pemberley dower house was a very nice property, she mused. Modernly appointed, clean and spacious. It had six principal bedrooms and plenty of space in the attics for footmen, maids and valets. She and William had been happy here. They had moved here when their oldest son Bennet turned 35, nine years after he married Miss Maria Collins. Their son had been training to take over the running of Pemberley literally since he was in short pants.
The dower house had not been used in three generations. Although well maintained, it had not been updated since Fitzwilliam's great grandmother became a widow in the early 1700s. It had been a fun project for the two of them to modernize and renovate the Tudor style house. And by that she meant that she picked out the furniture and tapestries and he had his man of business write the checks to the workmen and drapers.
It had been time for Bennet and Maria to take over the running of Pemberley. At the time, her William was 66 and his Lizzy was 58; it was time for them to retire from running Pemberley and move to the dower house. She had never faced being mistress with a mother-in-law looking over her shoulder, and did not want Maria to face that prospect forever. She had never even met her mother-in-law; Lady Anne had been dead for 12 years when she met William.
Once all of their six children were married, they couldn't see any reason to stay at the big house. It was a beautiful house, but they did not need that much room for just the two of them. Even now that she had been without her beloved husband the past three years, the dower house was a pleasant place to live. She missed him, but the children and grandchildren came by to visit now and then and she went up to the big house once a week, when she was invited to dinner with the family.
As she perused the precious sketchbook made by William's sister, Georgiana and added to as each of the children got married, she mused about how well their children had made their own way in the world.
On the first page was a sketch of their oldest, Bennet and his lovely wife Maria. They had met when the Darcys spent part of the summer at his aunt's estate in Kent, Rosings, shortly after his cousin Richard took over the management and Elizabeth's cousin, Mr. Collins still had the living for the nearest parish, Hunsford. Bennet was 18, about to start Cambridge, and Maria, the second daughter of William and Charlotte Collins was only 15. It was five years before they would discover their mutual feelings and another year after that before they were married.
The following page was a sketch of their next oldest, Thomas, and his wife, formerly Miss Lissa Lucas of Meryton. They had their estate, Netherfield, next to Elizabeth's father's estate in Hertfordshire. The Darcys had taken over the estate after Charles and Jane Bingley (née Bennet) decided that it was too close to Longbourn (and Mrs. Bennet) for their peace of mind. It worked well as a place to stay closer to London, without having to stay at the mad house that was Longbourn. They had always planned it to be designated for a second son.
Charlotte's older brother, John, had married one of the Long's nieces and their oldest daughter, Lissa was a beauty. She captivated Thomas' attention at the first monthly assembly he attended. You might be tempted to compare their courtship to that of his parents, but, it would be best if you did not do that within their hearing.
Returning her attention to the little sketch book, she turned the page and saw a picture of their oldest daughter, Miss Jane Darcy, now Mrs. Fitzwilliam, and her husband Richard. She had married her second cousin, The Honorable Richard Fitzwilliam, Jr. and was now the Mistress of Rosings after his parents, General Sir Richard and Lady Anne Fitzwilliam passed away two years ago in an influenza outbreak. Richard and Jane carried on the good work that his parents had undertaken after the death of Lady Catherine. Rosings and the general area were thriving under their watch.
Her thoughts strayed to their next child. There was no sketch in her little book for this memory. She was interrupted in her current painful reminiscing by a knock at the front door. The maid would attend to it. She turned the next page and continued with more pleasant memories.
Ah, the beauty of the family, if she did say so herself, their second daughter, Miss Georgiana Darcy. She looked so much like her Aunt Georgie. She had married Edward Gardiner Jr., son and heir to Elizabeth's Uncle Gardiner's vast network of ships and warehouses in London, Liverpool and Portsmouth. Edward Jr. had been quite surprised how easy it was to get Georgiana's father, the frightening Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, to agree to his suit. He had known the tall and taciturn Mr. Darcy since he was in the school room and thus he had all sorts of arguments at the ready to press his suit, but only needed to assure his future father-in-law that he loved Miss Georgiana madly and would always take care of her. Her father did not care a fig about his earnings or holdings, potential business ventures or how much her pin money would be.
Another turn of the page brought a lovely sketch of their youngest daughter, Miss Catherine Darcy, now Mrs. Stephen Thompson and her somewhat older husband. He held the living of one of the parishes in the Darcy's gift, Kympton. They married after a five year, on again, off again romance and Catherine was overjoyed to live within ten miles of her parents. She still came to visit her mother once a week in the dower house.
The last page of her little book showed an exact likeness of their youngest child, Mr. Charles Darcy and the former Miss Clarrisa Spencer. He had had mixed emotions when he agreed to take the living at Hunsford that came open when his Grandfather Bennet passed away and Mr. Collins took over his inheritance that was Longbourn. His father's cousin, General Sir Richard Fitzwilliam was his patron before he passed and now his brother-in-law, Richard Jr. was his patron. He was quite happy to make the much younger sister of his Aunt Mary's husband who was also a rector, his wife.
Life was good she mused as she closed her most prized possession, the sketch book that told the story of their family. It was all the more precious because it had been made by his sister. Elizabeth thought she owed her sister by marriage a letter and she would thank her again for the little book.