Page 131 of New World Tea Company
The gentleman confessed, “Much like yourself, I had access to good books that were interesting, and I was fortunate to have good tutors as a child who talked with me about many things.”
He looked at his fiancée steadily as he said, “I had a solid grounding in my family history and our obligations before I left for school.”
Then he shook his head, “I was fortunate that the servants and my tutor shielded me when my parents argued and from the company of my mother’s relatives during their visits. There was only one cousin who I enjoyed when he visited. Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam enjoyed riding as much as I did. He taught me how to shoot properly before I went to school.”
Looking away, Darcy confessed, “After my mother died, I left for school most of the year. When I was grown, I learned that my father allowed his mistress to reside in the house while I was away. ”
“Where was Georgiana?” Elizabeth asked, concerned for the feelings of both Darcy siblings.
“My sister’s nurse and later her nanny kept my sister away from my father’s chambers where the woman appeared. Mrs Reynolds kept a tight rein on the maids and footmen who cleaned the family rooms,” Fitzwilliam explained. “I am certain Georgie is aware that the woman existed, but their paths seldom crossed inside the house or the gardens.”
“Whenever my father went to London for the season or travelled anywhere, Georgiana remained at Pemberley. My sister had never visited the house in London until after our father passed away seven years ago. When I learned of her interest and talent with music, I brought her to town and hired a suitable music tutor. The man’s wife was also a teacher, and the couple lived at the house with Georgiana for almost six years; I always took my sister north for the winter and paid the couple to travel with us.
Elizabeth asked, “Where are they now?”
“The man died suddenly last year, and the wife chose to live with their daughter in Bristol rather than remain in London. In summer, I had to deal with both aunts demanding my sister come to live with them before I finally found Mrs Annesley to be lady’s companion for Georgiana.”
The young woman was silent for a long moment considering this new revelation until Mr Darcy reminded her, “Elizabeth, you were asking about a Harvest Home for the tenants.”
“Yes, I believe it is important for the tenant families know that the landlord values their work. You…we should acknowledge their contribution to our well-being.”
“And what would you do differently?” asked Darcy, perfectly comfortable asking the young woman the open-ended question.
Meeting the man’s warm eyes, Elizabeth answered, “I must learn current traditions on the different estates before we discuss any changes. First, I shall seek answers from the steward at Pemberley whenever I meet the man. I want to know if there are any gifts for the tenants at the harvest home. Mrs Reynolds will have a record of gifts to the staff at Christmas, so I am certain your steward also keeps a record. And then next year, when we travel about England on visits to your estates, I shall investigate, and we shall make decisions together.”
“Next year, we shall visit to ‘our’ estates,” Darcy corrected his fiancée. Then he inquired, “What do Mr and Mrs Bennet provide at the harvest home for Longbourn?”
“My parents host the harvest home at the Longbourn granary when the grain harvest is complete. Every member of the tenant families attends, and we provide food and drink aplenty. There must be at least one musician – usually with his fiddle – to provide music for dancing.”
Darcy grinned and said, “Much like the assembly for the gentry and merchants in Meryton where Charles met your sister last autumn?”
Now it was Elizabeth’s turn to blink with surprise as she understood her future husband’s comparison of the harvest home and the dance at the assembly hall. She smirked and replied, “Yes, the young farm hands dance with the farmer’s daughters, much like the gentlemen danced with the daughters of the merchants and landowners.”
Darcy continued, “It is the same for every class of Englishman. The prosperous gentlemen come to the ball before the fox hunt to dance with the eligible daughters of their peers in the county. Not everyone can afford to travel to London for the season to sort through the eligible bachelors and debutants for a spouse.”
From behind the couple, Mary called out, “Lizzie, there looks to be storm coming. Shall we not return to Longbourn?”
Glancing toward the southeast, there were dark clouds approaching the area. The couple turned immediately and began walking back toward their chaperones, even as Georgiana added, “Yes, please. Mary and I wish to practice a duet this afternoon before supper.”
“Lead the way,” Fitzwilliam answered. “We shall follow.”
The newly engaged couple followed the two girls back to the manor house and they stepped inside the front door before the rain began.
~~~
Chapter 63.Elizabeth Marries Mr Darcy
The harvests were bountiful in Hertfordshire that summer but the Lucas, Rushing, and Goulding families lived frugally as the gentlemen budgeted their collected rents to repay Mr Bennet. Their neighbour had paid their taxes and church tithes for the first two quarters of the year. Thomas Bennet never explained the coins given to him by his neighbours, and Mrs Bennet gave her attention to the wedding of a second daughter to a rich gentleman in the same year.
While Frances Bennet purchased too much lace for Lizzy’s wedding gown, the lady found contentment in her present situation and did not pressure Mary to become engaged to John Lucas for another year. The wedding of the second Bennet daughter was in July after a short engagement of just thirty days. The only members of the groom’s family to attend the service were his sister, Georgiana, and a favourite cousin, Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam. Mr Darcy paid many of the expenses for the wedding, and Mr and Mrs Bingley hosted the breakfast at Netherfield after the joyful ceremony in the Longbourn chapel.
On her wedding day, Elizabeth learned that her father had bestowed a dowry of four thousand pounds on her. Mr Bennet waited until Mrs Bennet and the younger daughters left for the chapel to share the news with his daughter. Elizabeth’s surprise pleased Thomas Bennet. He grinned when she exclaimed, “Papa! Four thousand pounds? How did you manage this?”
“Jane received her dowry on her wedding day, and each of my daughters will receive the same amount, but they will not know of it until their wedding day.”
“How did you accumulate the funds for dowries?” Elizabeth asked, her face flushed with pleasure to know she brought a dowry to her marriage.
“I am capable of thinking, Lizzy,” Mr Bennet chided his daughter. “And your Uncle Gardiner helped me invest funds from the income that Longbourn generated, which is mine to use as I please. I never shared this news with your mother and do not intend to do so until after our last girls marry.”
