‘She will not be indoors all the time. She will go for long walks with Georgiana,’ said Elizabeth.
‘Or long carriage rides,’ I said, kissing her on the lips.
‘Or picnics,’ said Elizabeth, kissing me in return.
‘My love, I had better lock the door.’
December
Elizabeth has ordered a phaeton and pair for Christmas.
Her aunt and uncle will be joining us, and they will be here in just over a fortnight. Elizabeth has persuaded me that I must invite my aunt, too. It is time to put an end to the hostilities, she says, and she is right. I cannot be on bad terms with Lady Catherine for ever.
Jane and Bingley are coming to stay, and they are bringing with them Caroline and Louisa. Mr and Mrs Bennet will also be coming with Mary and Kitty, and Lydia will be one of their party. I have reluctantly agreed to welcome her, but on condition that Wickham does not come with her. I will not have him at Pemberley, now or ever. Elizabeth understands. She has no wish to see him, and we both know it would be mortifying for Georgiana.
The two people we will not see are Mr and Mrs Collins. Charlotte is in an interesting condition and cannot travel. Elizabeth has reminded me to look for a living for Mr Collins, something better than the one he has at present.
‘A larger house for Charlotte,’ said Elizabeth, ‘and one with plenty to keep Mr Collins occupied. If there is something for him to do outside the house, perhaps some alms-houses to run, so much the better. And make sure the house has two pleasant rooms, so that Charlotte can have one as well as her husband.’
‘Very well, but I will not have them within an hour’s drive of Pemberley. I like Charlotte well enough, but not even your friendship with her can reconcile me to her husband.’
In this, Elizabeth and I are as one.
Our guests will all be arriving on Monday. One more has been added to their number. Colonel Fitzwilliam will be coming with Lady Catherine and Anne.
At last, they are here. Bingley and Jane were the first to arrive, bringing with them Caroline and Louisa.
‘Mrs Darcy,’ said Caroline, with an excess of civility.
‘How pleased I am to see you again. ’ She smiled as though she and Elizabeth had always been the best of friends, then turned to me. ‘Mr Darcy, how well you look,’ she said. ‘And Georgiana. How you have grown! It must be this Derbyshire air. It is so invigorating.’
Louisa was less vocal but greeted us pleasantly. Mr Hurst merely grunted before retiring to the billiard room. Caroline and Louisa went upstairs, led there by Georgiana, and Elizabeth and I were free to talk to Jane and Bingley.
‘So Lydia is coming?’ asked Bingley, as we all sat down in the drawing-room.
‘Yes, she is, though not her husband,’ said Elizabeth.
‘You do not think it wrong of me not to invite him?’ she asked Jane.
‘Dear Lizzy, of course not. It is not as though he and Lydia have nowhere else to go. They have been to stay with us twice already. It is cheaper for them to stay with us than to live on their own. They gave up one set of lodgings before coming to us, so that they would not have to pay any rent, and then they took another set when they returned.’
‘How very distressing,’ said Elizabeth.
‘Not to Lydia. She is the same as ever, exuberant and high spirited. She thrives on the change.’
‘The next time they come, I think I will have the servants say we are not at home!’ said Bingley.
‘We are too convenient at Netherfield, that is the trouble,’ said Jane. ‘They visit Longbourn, and then they come to us when they have outstayed their welcome there. And it is not only Lydia who visits us. It seems that every day my mother finds some reason to call. We are thinking of taking a house elsewhere.’
‘Poor Jane! You must come and live in Derbyshire,’ said Elizabeth.
‘There are some very fine properties hereabouts,’ I said.
‘I think we might,’ said Bingley.
A coach drawing up outside alerted us to the fact that Lady Catherine had arrived. She descended with all state and entered the house. A few minutes later she swept into the drawing-room without waiting to be announced.
She looked round with a jaundiced eye.
‘The furniture has not been replaced, I see,’ she said, without greeting either myself or Elizabeth. ‘I thought you would have put my sister’s furniture in the attic and replaced it with something of inferior workmanship.’
‘Your ladyship cannot think I would wish to spoil my own home,’ said Elizabeth.
‘Your home. Hah!’ said my aunt.
Elizabeth cast me a satirical glance, but making a determined effort she welcomed Lady Catherine, Anne and Colonel Fitzwilliam.
‘We meet again,’ he said.
‘We do.’
‘And in happy circumstances. Darcy is a lucky man,’ he told her.
‘Darcy is no such thing,’ said my aunt. ‘He should have married Anne.’
Anne cast her eyes to the floor.
‘You had a good journey, I hope?’ Elizabeth asked her.
Anne raised her eyes a little but did not reply. I was struck by the difference in her demeanour from the last time I had seen her, and I thought of what my cousin had said, that she had much more spirit away from her mother.
‘Anne’s health is precarious. She never travels well,’ said my aunt.
‘But the journey was good,’ said Colonel Fitzwilliam.
‘Lady Catherine’s coach is comfortable, and the roads were not too bad.’
‘Let me show you to your rooms,’ said Elizabeth.
‘That is the housekeeper’s job,’ said Lady Catherine disdainfully.
‘Then I will ask Mrs Reynolds to show you the way,’ said Elizabeth. She turned to Anne. ‘Allow me to show you to your room,’ she said. ‘It is the room you always have. I asked Mrs Reynolds which one was yours.’
Anne cast a worried glance at her mother, but allowed Elizabeth to lead her upstairs. Jane went with them, whilst my aunt had to wait for Mrs Reynolds.
Colonel Fitzwilliam laughed. ‘Elizabeth is afraid of no one,’ he said, when Mrs Reynolds had taken Lady Catherine upstairs.
‘Of course not,’ said Bingley. ‘She married Darcy!
Though I think he is not quite so awful as he used to be.
Marriage suits him.’
‘It suits both of you. Perhaps I ought finally to take the step myself,’ said the Colonel.
Elizabeth rejoined us, and soon the other ladies found their way to the drawing-room. My aunt and Anne already knew Caroline and Louisa, and once the four of them had exchanged greetings, my aunt began to speak, only to break off as she heard another carriage arrive.
‘Who is this?’ she asked, glancing out of the window.
‘My aunt and uncle!’ cried Elizabeth, jumping up.
‘The uncle who is an attorney, or the uncle who lives in Cheapside?’ asked Lady Catherine contemptuously.
Elizabeth did not reply, but went forward to greet her guests as soon as they entered the room.
‘Elizabeth! How well you look,’ said Mrs Gardiner.
She was dressed fashionably, and had an air of style about her.
‘Positively blooming,’ added Mr Gardiner.
I saw that Elizabeth was pleased by the look of surprise on Caroline’s face. We exchanged glances, and our thoughts went back to the first time I had met the Gardiners, when I, too, had been pleasantly surprised.
There followed the usual conversation about the roads, and then talk of the Gardiner’s carriage led on to Elizabeth saying: ‘I have the phaeton and pair all ready for you, just as you requested. As soon as you feel like travelling again, we will take it round the park.’