Page 31 of Great Uncle Henry (Pride & Prejudice Vagary)
D arcy was looking out of the window of the coach as it was slowing down to stop at the estate Bingley was considering leasing.
He had not been looking at anything in particular when he saw what looked like a group of women riding away from behind the manor house, where he assumed the stables were.
He could not make out the features of any of the ladies on the mounts, but he could see that they were being accompanied by a footman or groom who was leading a rather old-looking horse behind them.
‘ At least they are not riding alone ,’ Darcy thought as the group disappeared from view. Richard and Bingley had been looking at the house on the other side of the carriage, so they had not noted the riders, and Darcy decided not to mention them.
A man was waiting for them in the drive. “Mr Bingley, I presume. I am Mr Phillips, the leasing agent for this estate,” Phillips said as he bowed.
“I am indeed Charles Bingley. With me I have two friends who are experienced with estate management. The Honourable Mr Richard Fitzwilliam of Rivington in Surrey and Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley in Derbyshire.”
It was a surprise to Darcy that rather than the solicitor fawn over himself and Richard, all he did was give a polite bow.
“Before we proceed, there are some terms in the lease which are non-negotiable. If they are unacceptable to you, I would rather know now so that I do not waste your time or you mine,” Phillips stated.
This was shocking to Darcy. Rather than use any means necessary to have Bingley sign the lease so the tradesman could earn his commission, the man was about to enumerate some terms which may cause someone considering leasing the estate to change his mind.
Against his own inclinations, Darcy was impressed.
Bingley looked at his two friends; each one nodded his head. “I will hear what you have to say,” Bingley allowed.
“I suggest we repair to the drawing room where we may discuss this inside rather than in the drive,” Phillips stated. He turned and led the three men up the broad stone steps to a nice sized veranda before entering through the double doors.
Richard placed a hand on his cousin’s arm to hold him back. “You must find it rather surprising to find a tradesman with integrity , William,” he said quietly.
The rebuke had been disguised, but Darcy nevertheless felt the sting.
Why had he made some asinine comment about those in active trade, always wanting to grab whatever they could?
He had been trying to justify his excluding Bingley.
Had he become an arrogant horse’s arse as Andrew and Richard accused him of being?
The butler relieved the cousins of their outerwear and directed them to the drawing room where Bingley and the agent were waiting.
Phillips waited for the other two men to be seated.
“The lease only covers the house and the home farm. You have access to the steward who will help you with the tenant relations, but you have no authority over the tenants. Except for the fenced area surrounding the dower house, you may hunt on any of Netherfield Park’s land, that is not part of a farmer’s lease; there is more than enough for hunting available, and to my knowledge the coveys of pheasant have long been undisturbed.
The other condition the landlord has no flexibility with is the staff and servants.
The butler and housekeeper, Mr and Mrs Nichols, as well as all of those working here, are employed by the owner.
You may, of course, expect them to fulfil their duties fully, correctly, and respectfully, but they may not be sacked, verbally or physically abused.
Another item which is not up for discourse is that neither the interior décor, which includes the furnishings, nor the gardens may be changed in any way.
Any contravention of this will result in immediate eviction, and the remainder of your money paid on the lease will be forfeit.
One last thing; anything wilfully broken in the house will be paid for by you at twice the cost of replacement.
Your personal servants are, of course, your responsibility.
I will give you some time to speak, and you may let me know if you still want to tour the house and estate.
” Phillips stood and walked out of the drawing room. A footman pulled the door closed.
“Caroline will not be happy,” Bingley predicted.
“Why? Because, your younger sister will not be allowed to abuse servants like she does at Hurst House, even though those who are employed by the Hursts are not her servants? Also, I believe she is not the mistress there,” Richard shot back.
“You should be thankful you will have an excuse to stop her applying her gaudy stamp on this house, and if I were you, I would make sure breakables are far out of her reach.”
As much as he would have liked to refute what his cousin said, Darcy could not. It was, after all, one of the many reasons he did not want the shrew in any of his houses. Still knowing that, rather than add his voice to his cousin’s, Darcy looked away and said nothing.
“She is not so very bad…” Bingley attempted to defend.
“Come now, Bingley, you know that is brown. Why do you not ask my cousin his opinion? He remains quiet so as not to injure your sensibilities,” Richard replied.
“Darce?” Bingley looked to his other friend. “What do you think?”
“As much as I would like to disagree with Richard, I cannot do so and still remain honest,” Darcy responded. “We have both tried to tell you that unless you check Miss Bingley, things will not go well.”
Although he knew it was true before he asked the question, Bingley had been hoping Darcy would refute his cousin’s words.
Darcy did not, so Bingley moved on, as was his wont when he did not desire to face a difficult subject.
“Is it normal to only include the house and home farm? And what about the rules regarding the servants?” He did not mention the embargo on redecorating.
“When someone leases a property, the lessee will not care for the estate the same way an owner would, so I have seen several leases where they do not include more than is in this lease,” Darcy revealed.
“As far as the décor, gardens, staff, and servants are concerned, if I were ever to lease one of my estates, I would do the same. The reason for keeping permanent staff and servants is that those employed temporarily are neither invested in, nor do they know, the proper way of running and caring for the manor house. Any landlord who cares for his property and the people who work for him would do the same.”
“From what I saw from the outside and the little I have so far seen of the inside of the house, it is in excellent condition. You should see the inside and the land first. For my money, I would look at it and make a decision based on those factors alone,” Richard recommended.
“I agree with Richard,” Darcy added.
“We would like to see everything,” Bingley stated when Mr Phillips returned to the drawing room.
The rest of the house confirmed the opinions about it being in very good condition.
There was no dirt or dust to be seen anywhere.
There were three floors of bedchambers. The second floor was for family, while the third and fourth floors were for guests.
Everything was tastefully furnished and designed with understated elegance which both Richard and Darcy preferred.
Horses were provided—the quality of the horseflesh impressed the cousins—and the steward joined the three men to view the home farm and the rest of the estate.
Like the house, there was nothing the two estate owners saw to critique.
They reached the fence which demarcated the border between Netherfield Park and the neighbouring estate. “That is Longbourn’s land,” the steward replied when asked. “It is the largest estate in the area.”
When Darcy heard the name Longbourn, it reminded him of something in the recesses of his mind, but he could not recall where he had heard of it before.
“Well?” Bingley asked once they had returned the horses to the grooms in the drive. “What think you? It is very close to London, and the rules regarding servants and an embargo on redecorating notwithstanding, it seems like a good place.”
“I think it will be perfect for you to get a feel for this life,” Darcy recommended.
“William has the right of it. This is not some distressed estate from which the landlord is attempting to suck every penny. It is anything but. I would take it if I were you. As long as you make sure your younger sister knows she may not abuse the servants and must live by the rules, all will be well,” Richard agreed.
Bingley ignored the words about his sister. “Then I will sign the lease.”
The three returned to Mr Phillips’s office, where he insisted Mr Bingley read the whole of the lease, initialling the bottom of each page to acknowledge he had read and understood all of the terms. The lease was signed, Bingley was given the banking account information to pay for the lease, and the three boarded the coach for the return journey to London.
The Bingleys would take possession of the leased estate on the seventeenth day of September, less than a fortnight prior to Michaelmas.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
About eight days after the three men inspected Netherfield Park, a ship belonging to the Dennington Lines glided up the Thames, cutting through the early morning mist like a hot knife through butter.
Felicity Taylor, née Bennet, had never thought she would see the land of her birth again before she joined her beloved Roger in heaven.
As the ship which had been home to her and her family for the last eight weeks kept moving forward and the mist faded, allowing London to come into view, she accepted that she had been wrong about that.
“Gammy, there are so many buildings. What is that one over there, with the domed roof? Is this where we will live?” Felix, who was fifteen, asked.