Darcy's Diary (24 page)

‘Unfortunately for those of us who like rational conversation,' said Mr Bennet. ‘Darcy, do you have a billiard room here?'

‘I do, sir. Allow me to show it to you. Gentlemen?'

And so saying, I rescued them from the ladies.

‘My wife is a constant source of amusement to me,' said Mr Bennet as we left the room, ‘and Lydia even more so. I had great hopes of Mary, but she has become less silly now that she goes out more, and doesn't suffer in comparison with her sisters, though her outburst today gives me hope that her silliness has not entirely disappeared. Kitty, too, looks set to disappoint me. She has become so rational a creature, now that she spends two days out of every three at Netherfield, that I fear she will grow up to be a sensible young lady after all.'

I am still not easy with Mr Bennet's way of speaking of his daughters,
but as his levity helped to shape Elizabeth's playful character, I suppose I cannot complain.

Elizabeth took her aunt through the grounds in the phaeton and pair today as promised, and the two of them returned with bright eyes and a healthy glow on their cheeks.

‘And do you like Pemberley as much as the last time you visited?' I asked her.

‘Far better,' she replied. ‘Then, it was simply a fine house. Now it is Elizabeth's home.'

‘It must be an enjoyable way of seeing the grounds,' said Anne.

There was a trace of wistfulness in her voice. Elizabeth heard it, and said, ‘You must take a drive with me this afternoon.'

I blessed her for it. Anne has little pleasure in her life, I believe.

They set out after lunch, and though their trip was shorter than the previous one, they returned in lively mood.

‘I think I have misjudged Anne,' said Elizabeth later. ‘I, who used to pride myself on my ability to judge people on first impressions, seem to have done nothing but mistake people this year. I made a grievous mistake with you, and I believe I have made a mistake with Anne, too. I took her to be sickly and cross, and I thought—'

She stopped abruptly.

‘Yes, what did you think?' I asked.

‘I thought that the pair of you deserved each other,' she said mischievously.

‘It is a pity I did not know this sooner, or I could have obliged you by marrying her,' I teased her.

I never knew what it was to tease or be teased before I met Elizabeth, but I am learning.

‘She is not nearly as sickly or cross as I supposed. In fact, the farther we went from the house, the more lively she became.'

‘She used to be very much more lively when we were children, until the winter when she had a bad cold, and a cough settled on her chest. My aunt took her away from the seminary and said she was not well enough to go back.'

‘Ah. So she was alone at Rosings with Lady Catherine from then on?'

‘She had her companion.'

‘It would be a brave companion who would stand up to Lady Catherine.'

I agreed.

‘What did you talk of to Anne?'

‘To begin with, we talked of the park. She has fond memories of it from childhood visits, and she pointed out the spot at which she lost her doll, and the spot at which Colonel Fitzwilliam found it – though he was not a colonel then. But he seems to have been a nice boy. It could not have been pleasant for him to have had a little girl trailing after him, yet he seems to have shown her a great deal of kindness.'

‘He was always fond of Anne.'

‘And then we talked of books. She has read a great deal, and we enjoyed a lively debate. I think she is better away from her mother. I will ask my Aunt Gardiner to take her out in the phaeton tomorrow. Between the two of us, we should be able to separate her from Lady Catherine for most of her stay.'

The house party is proving to be surprisingly enjoyable. Mrs Bennet is content with walking the length and breadth of Pemberley, memorizing its finery so that she can confound her neighbours with accounts of its splendours on her return to Longbourn. Lydia spends her time flirting with the gardeners. It is useless to try and stop her, and at least it keeps her out of doors. Mr Bennet sits in the library most of the time, venturing out only for our fishing trips. Lady Catherine has taken to instructing Kitty and Mary on the correct behaviour for young ladies, and Kitty is so in awe of my aunt that she sits and listens to her with flattering attention for hours together. Mary, too, sits and listens, interposing her own profound thoughts from her reading. Caroline and Louisa occupy themselves with fashion journals, whilst Mr Hurst sleeps for most of the time.

Anne has made the most of this chance to escape her mother's notice, and has taken to walking in the grounds, where she is often joined by Colonel Fitzwilliam. Her cough seems to trouble her far less than formerly, and she says it is the exercise which is doing her good.

When the others are occupied, it is with Jane and Bingley, Georgiana, and Mr and Mrs Gardiner, that Elizabeth and I are able to spend most of our time.

Elizabeth and I rode out with Jane and Bingley this morning to see a property
some ten miles from Pemberley. It is a fine house, with good views. We looked around, and Jane and Bingley were much taken with it.

‘If we find nothing better, I think we will buy it,' said Bingley.

‘I do believe you are learning caution,' I said to Bingley. ‘A year ago you would have taken it straight away.'

‘Impossible for me to do so now,' he said, shaking his head. ‘If I have learnt anything from you, Darcy, it is that I must not take a house without first enquiring about the chimneys!'

‘I reprimanded Bingley for not asking any sensible questions when he took Netherfield,' I explained, when Elizabeth looked mystified.

‘It is a good thing he did not ask too much,' said Elizabeth, ‘or else we might never have met.'

We rode back to the house, where we found Mrs Bennet deep in conversation with Mrs Reynolds, ascertaining how much the curtains had cost, and what were the exact dimensions of the ballroom.

Anne was in the drawing-room with Mrs Gardiner, and their laughter reached us as we entered the room. Anne is looking much better than formerly. There is an animation about her that was wholly missing when she was confined with Lady Catherine, and, I own, when she thought she would have to marry me.

‘Did you like the house?' asked Mrs Gardiner.

‘Yes, very much,' said Jane. ‘It is a little smaller than Netherfield, but it is still a good-size house.'

‘Smaller than Netherfield?' asked Mrs Bennet, coming into the room. ‘That will never do.'

‘But it is an easy distance from Pemberley,' said Jane.

‘To be sure, that is in its favour. Then I might visit you both at once. I can stay with Lizzy first and then, dear Jane, I can stay with you. It is a long journey into Derbyshire to visit one daughter, but an easy distance to visit two. I dare say I shall be here all the time.'

‘I thought the park was rather small,' said Bingley, with a glance at Jane.

‘And the attics were poor,' she said.

‘Oh, if the attics are poor I should not contemplate it,' said Mrs Bennet. ‘You had much better stay at Netherfield.'

It was a wet day today. After dinner, Lady Catherine retired early. Kitty and Lydia were engaged in trimming bonnets, and Mrs Bennet was telling Kitty that when she was married she must make sure she had a house as
fine as Pemberley. Mr Gardiner and Mr Bennet were playing chess, whilst Mrs Gardiner was looking through a book of engravings.

‘Would anyone care for a game of billiards?' asked Colonel Fitzwilliam.

‘Darcy will play with you, and I will watch' said Elizabeth. ‘Anne, will you join us?'

Anne agreed, and the four of us went to the billiard room. We had hardly entered it, however, when Elizabeth excused herself on account of a headache, and asked me to help her back to the drawing-room.

As the door of the billiard room closed behind us, her headache seemed to disappear.

‘I think Fitzwilliam and Anne will do better without us,' she said.

I looked at her in surprise.

‘He needs only a little encouragement to realize that he is in love with her.'

‘Fitzwilliam and Anne?'

‘I think they would suit well. Her eyes follow him whenever he is in the room, and she can scarcely talk about another subject without somehow mentioning him. For his part, he has always been fond of her, and it would be a suitable match as well as a love match. He needs to marry an heiress, and Anne is to inherit Rosings and a considerable fortune besides.'

I was even more surprised.

‘How do you know he needs to marry an heiress?'

‘He told me so.'

‘When did he do that?'

‘At Rosings, when we were all there together last Easter. I suspect it was to put me on my guard, and warn me that I must not expect an offer from him.'

‘What arrogant men we are! Both of us thinking you wanted an offer from us!'

‘Perhaps I did want one from the Colonel,' she teased me.

‘My love, I warn you that I am a jealous husband. I will ban my cousin from Pemberley unless you tell me this minute that you did not want an offer from him,' I returned.

‘Very well, I did not. But Anne, I think, does.'

‘It might not be a bad thing,' I said. ‘In fact, the more I think of it, the more I am pleased with it.'

‘Lady Catherine, too, will be pleased.'

‘So you are encouraging it to please Lady Catherine?' I asked her innocently.

‘Mr Darcy, you are becoming as impertinent as your wife!' she teased me.

‘But I am not so sure Lady Catherine will approve,' I said thoughtfully.

‘She cannot complain about his birth.'

‘Perhaps not, but he is a younger son, and impoverished,' I reminded her.

‘But Anne's fortune is big enough for two.'

‘My cousin has no house.'

‘He will live at Rosings,' she said.

‘Sending Lady Catherine to the dower house.'

‘Whereas, if you had married Anne, she would have been the mistress of Pemberley, and Lady Catherine would have continued to be the mistress of Rosings.'

We both of us imagined how Lady Catherine would react when she learnt that she would have to move to the dower house.

‘Do you think Anne will find the courage to stand up to her mother?' I asked.

‘It will be interesting to see.'

Little did I think, when I celebrated Christmas with Georgiana in London last year, that the next time I celebrated it I would be married. Pemberley is looking very festive. Greenery is twined round the banisters, whilst holly, thick with red berries, adorns the pictures, and mistletoe hangs from the chandeliers.

We awoke to a smell of baking, and after breakfast we attended church. The weather was so fine that Elizabeth, Jane, Bingley and I decided to walk to the church whilst the rest of our guests were conveyed there by carriage.

‘This reminds me of the walks we took when Jane and I were newly engaged,' said Bingley, as we crunched the frost beneath our feet, ‘although then it was not so cold.'

‘You and Jane were in the happy position of being acknowledged lovers. You could spend your time talking to each other and ignoring everyone else, whilst Elizabeth and I could not even sit together.'

‘But you managed to become lost in the country lanes whenever we were out of doors,' said Bingley with a smile.

‘The lanes were very useful,' said Elizabeth.

‘And our mother helped you a great deal, by insisting you occupied
that
man
,' said Jane.

‘I have never been so mortified in my life,' said Elizabeth, but she was laughing as she said it.

We came to the church and went in. Our guests were already assembled,
and no sooner did we enter than the service began. It was lively and interesting, full of the good cheer of the occasion. Lady Catherine complained about the hymns, the sermon, the candles and the prayer books, but I am persuaded that everyone else was uplifted by the service.

We had a splendid dinner, and afterwards we played at charades. Caroline chose Colonel Fitzwilliam as her partner, but Elizabeth thwarted her efforts to claim his attention later in the evening by inviting him to open the dancing with Anne. They made a lively couple, and disproved Lady Catherine's dire warnings that Anne would suffer a coughing fit.

Kitty danced with Mr Hurst, and even Mary was persuaded to take to the floor, though she protested that dancing was not a rational activity and declared that she would much rather read a book.

When all our guests had retired, we went upstairs.

‘Tired?' I asked.

For answer, she lifted her hand above her head, and I saw she was holding a sprig of mistletoe.

Our party broke up this morning. Lady Catherine and Anne were the first to leave, accompanied by Colonel Fitzwilliam. Elizabeth had hoped to hear of an engagement, but although Fitzwilliam and Anne have spent a great deal of time in each other's company, nothing has been said.

The Bennets went next. Last to leave were Jane and Bingley.

‘You must come and visit us at Netherfield,' said Jane.

‘And bring Georgiana,' said Bingley.

We have promised to go and see them before too long.

At last we had the house to ourselves.

‘It is very pleasant to have guests,' I said, as the last carriage departed. ‘But it is even better to see them go.'

We returned to the drawing-room. Georgiana and Elizabeth were soon reliving the visit, discussing the people we had seen. Georgiana ventured a humorous remark about Lady Catherine and then looked at me to see if I had been offended. On seeing my face, her own relaxed. She has lost much of her shyness, and is on the way to becoming an open and confident young woman. For this, as for so many things, I have to thank Elizabeth.