Page 57 of Count the Cost (The Secrets of Elizabeth Bennet #2)
I t was the fifteenth day of January. A Tuesday that felt as momentous as the day Elizabeth first realised her savings had reached the dizzying sum of one pound.
That day, although she had been very young, Elizabeth would never forget the sense of wonder and excitement she had felt then and the tears in her papa’s eyes when she had hugged him tightly.
Her efforts had made this whole venture succeed and now she looked out on the further fruits of her endeavours.
The house of Oakfield Park stood before them as they stood back on the driveway, gazing at it.
There was the great central front door, and the large windows above it showed the grand entrance hall.
Elizabeth pushed away the thought of the window tax she would have to pay; it would be worth it.
The east and west wings stretched away each side of it, and she allowed herself to feel pride in the efforts that had brought her here.
“It is perfectly lovely.” Charlotte tucked her hand into Elizabeth’s arm. “I still cannot believe it, that you have been so brave as to assert your independence like this.” She hesitated.
“How will we furnish it?”
Elizabeth smiled at her. “You remember, it comes fully furnished, and I quite liked most of it. There is even a sofa in the drawing room that is quite the most uncomfortable I have ever encountered.” She grinned.
“I was going to save it for unwelcome guests, but then I saw one in town I quite liked and was going to put this one in a room we won’t use, and commission one that I like.”
“Please don’t overreach yourself, Eliza.” Charlotte’s voice was low. “It is important to save for the future.”
“Of course it is, my ever-pragmatic friend,” Elizabeth teased her. “You must know I am not like that, and if I was, my uncle would stop me.”
Charlotte glanced affectionately back at the carriage. “He is very generous.”
Elizabeth looked back with her. Sir William had insisted on accompanying his daughter so he could see where and how she would be living, but he was waiting in the coach with Uncle Gardiner to allow them the joy of arriving at their new home themselves.
“Well, let us go in.” Her arm tightened round Charlotte’s hand, and they moved towards the front door, which opened as they approached.
A couple in their mid-fifties waited for them, and Elizabeth remembered being impressed with them when she viewed the house before Christmas.
The butler bowed and the housekeeper curtsied. “Welcome to Oakfield Park, Miss Bennet.”
“Thank you, Mr. Clifford.” Elizabeth turned to Charlotte.
“Charlotte, allow me to introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Clifford, the butler and housekeeper here at Oakfield.” She turned back to the couple.
“Mr. and Mrs. Clifford, this is my friend, Miss Lucas. While I am mistress of the household, Miss Lucas will be taking on most of the day-to-day duties of that office and liaising with you daily, Mrs. Clifford.” She looked at the line of waiting servants. “Please introduce us to the staff here.”
Once the servants had been introduced and dismissed to their duties, Elizabeth turned back to Charlotte.
“When we have finished, I will leave you to greet the cook and kitchen staff, if that is well with you, and I will go and meet the outside men and gardeners.” She frowned slightly.
“I think we may need to hire more staff. There aren’t really enough now the house is open.
” She caught the look of relief on the housekeeper’s face and then she turned back to Charlotte.
“Shall we allow the gentlemen to accompany us as we are shown round the house?”
When her friend nodded, Elizabeth turned to the butler. “Please send a footman to the coach and ask the gentleman to join us for the tour, and then we will take tea before they leave.”
While that was being done, Charlotte whispered to her. “Dear me, you sound as if you’ve run a household for years, Eliza.”
Elizabeth smiled tightly. “I find if I act confident, then I begin to feel so. And I have planned this for a long time.”
Uncle Gardiner and Sir William were impressed with the house, as Elizabeth knew they would be, but Charlotte’s father was still rather anxious leaving her, and Elizabeth was glad her uncle was there to steer him to the coach and away before too long.
The ladies at once climbed the stairs to the chambers in the family wing.
After some discussion, Elizabeth took the suite for the mistress of the house, intending to use the master’s private sitting room for her secret work.
Charlotte took the next principal suite in the family wing, far enough away from Elizabeth not to be scandalous, but not reducing her to a guest.
They went back down the stairs while their trunks were carried up to their chosen rooms, and requested a further tray of refreshments in the small parlour. There was much to discuss.
Charlotte waited until the maid had left the room and the door was shut before she relaxed back into the chair, wrapping her hands around her cup.
“I feel rather like Cinderella, suddenly thrust into the wealthy life.” She laughed and then sobered, meeting Elizabeth’s gaze. “No, it still does not seem possible.”
Elizabeth reached for a biscuit, feeling relieved that the gentlemen had gone and they could now settle to the sort of quiet life she had craved. But Charlotte needed her at this moment, and then her friend would become more at home and able to be a true friend.
“You read the agreement, and your father approved it. It cannot be undone, and you are safe.”
“It’s just … hard to believe.” Charlotte sighed and then followed Elizabeth’s lead and took a biscuit.
“I have seventy-five pounds a year while I live here with you — above six pounds a week! And moreover, I am free to go any time I wish and then I have a stipend of four hundred pounds a year if I want my own household! It is too much, far too much to believe in. You must know that.”
Elizabeth took a sip of tea and smiled over the rim of it at her friend.
All her hard work was worth it to see her friend so happy.
“I needed to see you secure and content, Charlotte. But I do hope you will stay with me for at least a while. And I do not want you to think you will appear to be a companion. My aunt is already looking for an older woman for us to give us a little more respectability and be the companion we need for that.”
Charlotte bit her lip. “You told me you’ve taken this house on a seven-year lease, Eliza. And such a house is very expensive to run. Are you sure it is to be afforded? I would not like to see you in need in a few years.”
Elizabeth let out a peal of laughter. “You must not worry about me. If that impossible event should come to pass, I will live with you and your four hundred pounds a year!”
They both laughed and changed the subject. But Elizabeth could see how deeply touched her friend was at the care that had been taken over her security.
When Charlotte went to see the cook, Elizabeth smiled. “I shall go and find the overseer of the park, then. Please thank Cook for the delicious biscuits.”
A week later, and Elizabeth was still pleased with her decision.
Charlotte had already settled into a contented daily routine; seeing the housekeeper each morning, planning the menus with the cook, a cheerful woman who was delighted with her new employers who did not want to hire a fashionable chef, and touring the house to check for needed repairs and refurbishment.
Elizabeth was not sure how best to occupy herself.
She had converted the master’s sitting room next to her own chamber into a study and worked there a few hours in the mornings while Charlotte was busy with the housekeeper, but after that, they sat together in the parlour, sewing for the parish, receiving the occasional curious visitor, and practising the piano.
This was not quite what she had envisaged.
But it was early days yet, and she must carve out the life she wanted.
In general, she was happy with the staff.
Charlotte had employed two more housemaids and a third footman, to the relief of Mr. and Mrs. Clifford, and Elizabeth had explored the kitchen gardens and the orchard.
Once everything was settled, she would be able to turn her mind back to work.
She wrote to her aunt, asking her how the search for a companion was progressing. Perhaps if she knew Charlotte had company, she would not worry for her so much. She picked up her pen to add to her letter.
Perhaps you will call here if you can find the time. I would love to show you round my new domain. And I would much like a little private talk with you.
She sealed the letter, pensive. She was happy here, she was. It was just that she could not put her mind to work, and her business. She had broken all the norms of society, did not intend to marry, and all for a business she could not currently concentrate on.
That night, she stood at her window, gazing out into the darkness.
There were a few lights in the distance, and the silence was all-pervading.
Peaceful. This was what she had needed; what Longbourn and a large family could never give.
This was home. She was safe. Independent.
Reliant on no man. And she needed no-one to approve what she did or did not do. Not even Mr. Darcy.
She blinked at her thought. She had not been thinking of him. What had brought him so suddenly to mind?
She laughed, unamused. Regardless. She did not need him to know of or approve of what she was doing.
Elizabeth had tried society and found it wanting. She was not likely to cross paths with him again. But his tall, lean figure stayed with her, and she wondered what he would have thought if he did know.