Page 175

After a very restful sabbath, Monday morning, just after sunrise, the carriages started on the final day of travel, which would set their arrival at Pemberley just after two o’clock that afternoon. It was just past that hour when the carriages turned off the road toward the Darcy’s estate.

Lady Elizabeth was granted permission to join the lead carriage with Darcy, his mother, and sister at the last rest stop of the day.

The carriages passed the gate house under the metal arch that proclaimed ‘Pemberley’ in bold, brass letters between the two pieces of iron that made the arch connected to a stone pillar on either side of the gates.

The gatehouse keeper had opened the gates wide as soon as he spied his Grace’s coach and that of his guests.

He kept a weather eye out for the new Duke, having been advised the previous afternoon by the housekeeper that very important guests were expected to accompany his Grace to Pemberley, one being his betrothed; therefore, soon to be mistress of the estate.

Burris doffed his cap and bowed as each carriage passed him by.

As soon as the convoy of carriages and the numerous outriders had passed, he closed the gates and fired two pistol shots in the air, sending a lad waiting halfway on a horse galloping toward the manor house.

He notified the housekeeper, Mrs. Reynolds, and Mr. Douglas, the butler, of the master’s and his guests’ imminent arrival.

Elizabeth was naturally excited to see her future home, but the excitement she felt building in her companions made her own build to an almost fever pitch.

She was about to see the home that her betrothed loved dearly; that had helped form him into the man that she loved.

On either side of the drive leading to the manor house was the most magnificent forest, she could imagine endless rambles and rides on Mercury through the majestic trees.

After thirty to forty minutes of traveling through the forest and a turn toward the right, the carriage started to negotiate an incline.

They could hear the horses breathing harder as they strained to pull the conveyance up the hill.

The carriage was just short of the crest of the gradient when Lord Fitzwilliam Darcy rapped on the roof with his cane and the carriage rolled to a stop.

As they alighted the carriage, the occupants in the other carriages followed, Elizabeth’s betrothed asked her to close her eyes, and she shot him a questioning look. “Do you trust me, my love?”

“As you have already saved it, with my life, William!” she replied emphatically.

After she closed her eyes, she felt him take her hand in his, then he led her to the crest of the incline, and requested that she open them.

She blinked a little as her eyes adjusted to the sunshine, when her vision cleared, she saw the most magnificent of sights.

Elizabeth had her betrothed on one side of her, and Mother Anne on the other, Georgie was bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet in excitement on the other side of her brother.

“Oh, my. Of all of this I am to be mistress?” she teased, having had a very good idea of Pemberley’s magnificence from the discussions she had shared with the Darcys during the last two hours of the journey, and the many instances it had been referenced during their acquaintance.

“I thought you said that your courage always rises when faced by anything intimidating,” Darcy retorted, pleased she so obviously approved of their home. His easy and playful reply earned him a smile that lit up her eyes.

Elizabeth again surveyed the vista before her, impressed by the large, handsome stone manor, though really more of a mansion, situated well on rising ground.

The stonework, the same used on most houses in the area, seemed to glow with a golden hue as the late spring sun light shone on the facade.

Behind the structure was a gently rising hill with more verdant forest on the slope.

To the left, Elizabeth could see a vast vegetable and herb garden and a conservatory.

Beyond that were the extensive and well-maintained stables.

She was certain that Mercury would be very comfortable in his new home.

Both in the centre and to the right of the manor house was an area with benches sporadically placed among various flower beds full of colour with a fountain in the middle as a scenic centrepiece.

Everything that she saw called to her, letting her know that she was finally home, that feeling proving without a doubt that she would love her new home just as much as the current Darcys did.

She could already count so many places that she could sit and read while soaking in the beauty of Pemberley.

In front of the manor house, Lady Elizabeth saw verdant gardens that, although well-maintained, did not look overly manicured and ordered as some were wont to do.

There was a stream that wound its way lazily through the vista until it connected to a lake of clear blue water that reflected the rays of the afternoon sun onto the face of the house just beyond the formal gardens.

In the centre of the formal gardens Lizzy could see a divine rose garden that sported more benches placed at random intervals for one to sit and enjoy the sights and aroma.

From the discussions they had, Lady Elizabeth knew that the gardens were Lady Anne’s pride and joy, especially the roses.

There was a gazebo in the garden where she could imagine many relaxing hours spent outdoors reading or enjoying the company of her soon to be husband, mother-in-law, and new sister.

On the other side of the stream, nature was allowed its head with no attempt to improve what nature and God had designed.

“Do you approve of our home, my love?” asked her betrothed.

“ William, the estate is stunning. I understand now why you, Mother Anne, and Georgie light up whenever you talk about Pemberley. I have never seen a place that nature has done more, and where the natural beauty has been so little counteracted by the awkward tastes of man,” she gushed.

“I just knew you would love our home,” Georgie enthused with a glow of happiness and pride in her home.

The Dowager Duchess took Elizabeth’s hand in her own. “With you here as William’s wife, we will be a whole family again, Lizzy.” A tear rolled down her cheek as she thought how much her George would have loved Elizabeth.

“Not a bad little home you have here, William,” the Marquess of Birchington teased.

“It is rather small, Tom,” the Marquess of Netherfield added. “Not quite up to the standards that our Lizzy would expect it to be.”

“Boys!” Lady Sarah admonished, that one word enough to silence her sons and the Duke of Hertfordshire and the Ashbys laughed at the interplay.

As William looked at the glow on his betrothed’s face, he smiled at her, “I am very pleased that you approve, Elizabeth, especially as your approval is the most important one to me.”

“I would have to be a dullard not to approve of Pemberley. Mother Anne, your gardens look enchanting. I hope that you will allow me to assist you with them from time to time,” Lady Elizabeth stated as she squeezed Lady Anne’s hand.

“You will always be welcome to assist me, Lizzy. And each mistress of Pemberley gets her own garden that she can design as she desires,” the Dowager Duchess informed the daughter of her heart. “It will be no different for you.”

As Lady Sarah Bennet watched the obvious love that her daughter had for her soon to be mother-in-law, her beloved husband pulled her aside to ask if all was well as they watch their daughter fall in love with a home that was not theirs.

She promised that she was well and that she felt only joy that their Lizzy would be so happy, both in her marriage and her new home.

Sarah Bennet had always understood that the heart had an unlimited capacity for love, and that loving another did not displace those already present within.

It was the very reason that she was the most perfect of mothers to all of their children, and never once hesitated to share their children with their brothers and sisters, and take the Phillips’ to her heart.

The Duchess, however, did not miss the wistful look on her beloved husband’s countenance.

He would miss the debates, and chess matches with his middle daughter, but they would see each other in Town each season, and there would be visits to each other’s estates, and in small compensation he had heard talk of the magnificent library that Pemberley sported, so there could be more visiting than was expected.

They returned to their conveyances for the short trip down the hill to the house.

The coaches came to halt in the internal courtyard where t he housekeeper and butler were waiting to welcome them at the base of the stairs that led to the massive entrance doors.

As if by magic, footmen, all wearing the distinctive green and gold of Darcy livery, materialised, opened the doors, and placed the steps for the occupants to descend.

Pemberley’s butler and housekeeper had both heard glowing reports from the Killions in Town, and looked forward to seeing the wondrous lady to whom his Grace was betrothed.

Mrs. Reynolds had no doubt that it was all true as she had read the letters from the mistress, as the Dowager Duchess had described how the young lady had overruled the doctor and saved Master William’s life.