Page 56 of Five Gentlemen at Netherfield (Pride and Prejudice Variations)
Mary was a little further down the line.
Richard Fitzwilliam might not be handsome, but he was pleasant looking and an excellent partner to his wife, Mary who had, like her two elder sisters, borne a son first – such a clever girl!
Mrs. Bennet was very proud of her eldest three daughters, but perhaps especially of Mary.
Pemberley was not entailed away from the female line, nor was the Bingleys’ estate, and Richard and Mary had no concerns on that score, either, but the Viscount’s wife, Lady Stanton, had not yet had the good sense or good fortune to produce a son.
A thrill of pleasure went through Mrs. Bennet at the thought that one day her very own grandson might become the Earl of Matlock! How wonderful that would be!
How much life had changed since those long-ago days after Lydia’s birth, when the desperately awaited son failed to appear.
How much she had worried and fretted! How she had dreaded the day Mr. Bennet would die and she and her girls would be thrown into the hedgerows!
How her poor nerves had suffered as her daughters had matured without suitors or marriage!
What a blessing dear Bingley’s house party had been!
And sweet Amelia, giving dowries to the penniless Bennet daughters!
At the time, she had been annoyed that the girls’ uncles had been given full control of the bequests, but then, it had all worked out in the end.
After all, an earl’s son had married the heiress Mary, the very wealthy Darcy had fallen in love with Elizabeth, and Charles Bingley was also rich.
Good, kindly men all of them, and Mrs. Bennet need not face poverty in her advancing years.
No, instead she had a tidy little cottage at Pemberley, a mere two miles from the main house, attended by a butler, a housekeeper, a cook, two footmen, and two maids, more than enough staff to keep her small house in good order, and all paid from Pemberley coffers.
Mrs. Bennet looked back on Longbourn in fond remembrance, for it had been her home for some decades, but she did not miss it anymore.
She was perfectly content with where her life was now.
She did not even mind that the tiresome Mrs. Collins, formerly Mary King, had given birth to two sons in the last years.
No, Longbourn was of the past, and Mrs. Bennet’s future was a joyful and comfortable one.
***
A Few Minutes Later
The dance came to an end, and the participants clapped enthusiastically before making their way towards the dining room where a lavish and well-cooked supper would be served in the next minutes.
So far, the ball was going very well, with Elizabeth Darcy’s three younger sisters swarmed by eligible gentlemen every time they stepped off the dance floor.
Elizabeth was thankful that the three girls had apparently endless energy since their dance cards were full.
She, as the hostess of the ball, had deliberately chosen to dance only two dances before supper, and the Boulanger at the end of the night, as she needed to be available to tend to any minor concerns.
So far everything was going smoothly, which was no surprise given that the staff at Darcy House was excellent.
Elizabeth put her arm on her husband’s strong one, and the pair made their way off the dance floor and toward the dining room, though it was slow going as they kept being interrupted by friends and acquaintances who wished to congratulate them on the ball and the young ladies making their debut.
Darcy had just finished speaking with his uncle, the Earl of Matlock, when a familiar female voice said, “Mr. Darcy, Mrs. Darcy, thank you for inviting us tonight.”
The Darcys turned, and Elizabeth smiled at Mrs. Louisa Hurst, who was standing slightly in front of her sister Caroline and an unknown gentleman.
“Louisa, Caroline, we are pleased to have you here,” Elizabeth replied with a gracious smile. They were Jane’s sisters by marriage and thus close connections, and while she did not like either of them particularly, she was also willing to let bygones be bygones if they behaved themselves.
Both ladies openly relaxed at her friendly response, and Caroline said, “May I please introduce my betrothed, Sir Matthew Winston? Sir Matthew, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy.”
Elizabeth curtsied, and the gentlemen bowed to one another, and Darcy said courteously, “It is a pleasure to meet you, sir, and many congratulations on your engagement.”
Sir Matthew, who was short, stout, and looked to be close to forty years old, turned a fond look on Caroline Bingley and said, “Thank you. I cannot believe that I have been so fortunate as to win such a charming and beautiful lady.”
Caroline blushed with apparent pleasure, and Darcy said, “You are fortunate indeed, sir. I hope you will enjoy the dinner and the rest of the ball.”
The small group stepped away, only to be replaced by the former Anne de Bourgh, who was on the arm of her husband, Mr. Gilbert Mason.
“Anne!” Elizabeth exclaimed, now smiling broadly. “How well you look!”
She had first met Anne a little less than four years previously, when her husband and Richard Fitzwilliam had made a lightning strike on Rosings and carried her away to Pemberley, out of reach of her irritable and autocratic mother, Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
Anne had lived at Pemberley for a full year and had met Mr. Mason, a landowner of a small estate nearby, at the Pemberley dinner table.
The pair had fallen in love and married, and armed with the associated legal documents transferring control of Rosings to Mr. Mason, had returned to Rosings and forced Lady Catherine into the Dower House.
The older woman had protested vigorously, of course, but the law was clear, and Rosings was now under the oversight of a far more honorable pair who genuinely cared for the land and the tenantry.
Anne Mason was currently expecting their first child, and God willing, Rosings would be blessed with another generation of good stewardship.
“Thank you for inviting us,” Anne said cheerfully. “Georgiana and Kitty and Lydia are lovely, are they not?”
“They are, very much,” Elizabeth agreed, and Mr. Mason said, “I hope we will have an opportunity to spend more time with you both before we return to Kent, but now, I would like to go into supper. The smells are truly delightful.”
Anne chuckled at this, and the pair moved away, and Darcy turned to his wife and said with a lift of one eyebrow, “Shall we make a dash for the dining room before we are interrupted again?”
She smiled and said, “Please go on ahead. I would like to check on the baby, but perhaps we could enjoy supper together in half an hour?”
Her husband grinned at her with fond understanding. It was unusual for a lady of the haut ton to concern herself so much with her small children, but she adored her sons and wished to be certain that the baby was not fussy.
“Of course, my dear,” he said, “I will be waiting for you.”
She smiled and hurried toward a side door, which led to a corridor which led to the stairs which led to the nursery, and even in her haste, her mind lingered on her tall, handsome, faithful husband.
Theirs was a busy life, filled with responsibilities and children, but in spite of differences in character, and the occasional quarrel, they were a devoted pair, working together side by side in their duties, while also finding great pleasure in one another’s company.
As she reached the door where her infant son lay inside, she thought mistily how he would indeed always be there for her.