Page 47 of Miss Gardiner
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Miss Elizabeth, Letters from Kent may take an extra day to be delivered but please do not hesitate to write as often as you can. While there is nothing of particular note in the house, my favourite memories of Rosings Park include the rose garden on the south side of the manor house and the many pathways through the park where you can view water, forests, meadows. I believe you will find beauty in your many walks, especially in the early morning.
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Pleased with her matchmaking, Georgiana Darcy slept well that evening.
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It was late in the afternoon and Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam refused to surrender the argument with Lady Catherine de Bourgh, “This is absurd! These men… where did you get the names?”
“My attorney provided this information based on my requirements for never married, wealthy, and without any parents living.”
“No living parents, eh? Thus, you will be able to dominate your son-in-law?”
Refusing to comment on her nephew’s observation, Lady Catherine turned her head toward an open window where a clatter of hooves on the gravel was heard, and asked, “What is the source of the commotion?”
Glancing out the window, Richard turned back to his aunt and announced, “As the gentleman you designated to make the selection, I have invited someone to help me with the interviews and decision. He has arrived.”
“Who did you invite to my home without permission?”
“Without permission, aunt?” Richard growled. “We just argued for thirty minutes about how I will interview each gentleman and how ‘I’ will make the final selection! You said you trust my judgement to choose Anne’s husband and to negotiate a suitable marriage settlement!”
“Who have you invited to my home?” Catherine demanded to know.
Richard grinned and said, “My cousin, Fitzwilliam Darcy, will help me interview your candidates.”
“No! You cannot have that man in my house! He is a thief!”
“Aunt, it is you who is the thief; you who forged Uncle George’s signature and you who paid for George Wickham to corrupt young women in Hertfordshire,” Richard argued.
His face grew animated before he declared, “God’s teeth, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, do you plan to open a house of disrepute and procure young women to make money now that you have lost the income from Gravesend?”
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Richard met Darcy at the door and led him to the parlour where Lady Catherine never pretended to be glad to see him, but she fell silent when Colonel Fitzwilliam threatened to leave if she continued to snipe and fuss. Rising to her feet, Lady Catherine called for the butler, instructed him to place Darcy in the rooms that faced east, and declared that he would eat meals only in his room.
“Ah, but Aunt,” Richard objected. “We must not have our future visitors questioning why a tall, handsome man is kept separate from everyone else when we gather to dine. Darcy’s presence must be explained as ‘another concerned family member’. Do you not think that wise?”
Supper was awkward as Lady Catherine ignored Darcy and demanded Anne do the same. Anne’s companion had nothing to say except to endorse each of Lady Catherine’s declarations from the end of the table and Darcy spoke quietly with Richard and planned their days.
He slept fitfully that evening, wishing he had one or two of Georgiana’s letters from Elizabeth Bennet to read.
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The stagecoach was full when it left London early in the morning. Uncle Edward took Elizabeth in his carriage to the large tavern where he purchased passage to Ashford in Kent.
“The young lady will have stops in Gravesend and Maidstone before reaching Ashford this afternoon,” the tavern keeper explained.
Edward led Elizabeth to the stagecoach, where her trunk was placed on top with others and she climbed aboard, squeezing between two elderly ladies who chatted ceaselessly from London to Gravesend. The ladies disembarked in this port town and Elizabeth was able to stretch a bit and breath. The town was left behind after a half hour of rest and the trip continued with conversation with a couple travelling to Maidstone for their son’s wedding.
In Maidstone, three young men climbed aboard the coach, heading home to Ashton. Elizabeth quickly learned they were cousins, trying to find other employment than as farmhands.
“Do you know your sums?”Elizabeth asked.
“Billy knows best but we all learned sums. Mr Tilly made us all learn,” the tallest man explained.
The third cousin explained, “He was the pastor at our church in Ashton. He told us to learn sums if we wanted to be more than farmhands.”
