Page 38 of The Countess and Her Sister
Despite Mrs. Bennet’s unfortunate intrusion, Mr. Bingley’s first evening of entertaining guests at Cameron Court was a splendid success.
His sister remained peevish after learning of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth’s courtship, but everybody else was very merry.
A few days later, it was Mr. Darcy’s turn to host an overnight party at Pemberley.
By Mr. Darcy’s design, the party from Cameron Court and the family from Matlock, as well as the younger Bennet sisters, all reached Lambton by mid-morning.
It had been easy enough to induce Lady Gardiner to rise early so that she might return for the first time in many years to the beloved home of her youth.
To her astonishment, the whole village was eager to show her how beloved she was to them.
They arrived to find the village hosting a fair.
There were musicians and wandering entertainers – acrobats, fire breathers, fortune tellers and costumed stilt walkers roamed the crowded town square, delighting the villagers who gathered at the numerous stalls selling food and various wares.
A banner hung between two large oaks at either end of the green: Welcome Gardiners, Heroes of England.
A hush fell over the crowd as the guests of honor joined the festivities.
“I am not past my own awe of you,” Mr. Darcy said to the Gardiners.
“When I stopped in Lambton on our journey to Pemberley, I heard more generous praise of you than even I could give. The cure you brought to England saved more than a hundred lives in Lambton alone. Everybody with the slightest claim of an acquaintance with you, Lady Gardiner, is eager to thank you in person.”
Tears welled in Lady Gardiner’s eyes and she squeezed Mr. Darcy’s hands as Elizabeth dabbed at her own eyes. “You planned all this in little more than a week?”
He gave a bashful chuckle. “Apparently the annual May Day festival was rained out – the village was already prepared for a celebration, and you have given them the greatest cause for one.”
Elizabeth felt she might float from the pride and elation she felt as she and her relations enjoyed the attractions of the fair.
For the next few hours, she was treated to one pleasure after another.
She saw the Gardiners receive such a welcome that their own children looked at them in wonder before they gave in to the frivolities of the tumblers, puppet shows, and sweet confections being hawked.
Elizabeth and all her sisters met dozens of their aunt’s acquaintance and heard endless praise of her, and a few especially bold youths even purchased the sisters flower crowns.
The younger Bennet sisters behaved themselves astonishingly well, and Elizabeth supposed that they were also bowled over by their comprehension of just what the Gardiners had done for the realm during the sweating sickness.
It was a blessing that they had been too young at the time to grasp the enormity of the circumstance, for at present it seemed to curtail their wildest effusions.
Even so, they were lively and charming, and Lydia showed enough restraint to be an agreeable companion for Georgiana.
Lady Augusta took charge of Thomas and the Gardiner children, and looked twenty years younger for it. She entreated Miss Bingley to assist her in a manner that brooked no refusal, and thus the remainder of their party naturally broke into pairs – four cheerful couples.
Elizabeth felt a wave of satisfaction as she beheld Rebecca laughing with Henry Tilney while he got his face painted, and Richard competing rather flirtatiously with Lady Susan in an egg-and-spoon race.
She spotted Jane and Mr. Bingley, who paid a shilling to have a lad with fine paper and charcoals make a hasty and exaggerated sketch of them.
Elizabeth relished the time she spent in Mr. Darcy’s company.
They also patronized the enterprising young artist, and Mr. Darcy pledged to treasure the sketch always, though Elizabeth, scarcely able to protest from laughter, insisted their foreheads were drawn too large and her waist far too slender.
They observed a Punch and Judy show, which Richard and Rebecca eagerly attempted to reenact between themselves, they lost to all their friends at hoopla but bested them at skittles, and then Mr. Darcy entreated Elizabeth to visit the fortune teller.
When the old woman of exotic appearance predicted tremendous riches and everlasting love in Elizabeth’s future, the look on Mr. Darcy’s face told her he had likely bribed the woman, though he playfully proclaimed his innocence.
By early afternoon they bid the younger Bennet sisters farewell, seeing them off on their return journey home before the rest of their party continued along to Pemberley.
Mr. Darcy, Georgiana, and Lady Susan insisted that Elizabeth must ride with them.
“I would see your lovely face when you first look upon Pemberley,” Mr. Darcy whispered as he helped Elizabeth up into the elegant open barouche.
Mr. Darcy knew what he was about, for Elizabeth had not expected that she would feel such an overpowering reaction to the first view of his home.
He bid the driver stop as they crested a hill, and the dense forest dwindled to a more orderly row of ancient yew trees.
The barouche halted at a gap between the sprawling branches, affording them a breathtaking vista of the hill as it swept into a low valley, then back up into the hills that seemed to roll on for miles beyond, and hazy on the horizon rose the distant peaks.
It was a vibrant, stunning scene, and at the center of the low valley was the most magnificent house Elizabeth had ever seen.
The pale stone seemed to glow in the afternoon sunlight, rows of windows gleaming in massive and symmetrical perfection.
A large lake sat before the manor, its surface glimmering as a breeze caused the tall grasses around it to sway.
Elizabeth clasped Mr. Darcy’s hand as she marveled at the incredible sight, overwhelmed by the realization that he wished her to be mistress of all this.
The remainder of their approach to the great house only increased her delight in all that she beheld.
Once everyone congregated inside in the spacious marbled entryway with its frescoed ceilings and massive tapestries, Mr. Darcy and Georgiana offered their guests a tour of the manor.
They spent an hour going through spacious enfilade parlors downstairs, and if anything could diminish Elizabeth’s high spirits, it was Miss Bingley’s familiar and possessive tone as she commented upon every room and alluded to the many times she had visited Pemberley.
But Mr. Darcy put paid to her supercilious commentary when he took them through the gallery, where after remarking on all the paintings he stopped their group before three large windows that overlooked the back of the property.
Beyond the gardens, tents had been erected, lawn games set up, and a large buffet was being laid out.
Possessive affection radiated from Mr. Darcy’s ardent gaze as he announced, “I have arranged a picnic in honor of my courtship with Miss Bennet, who ought to become intimately acquainted with every delight Pemberley has to offer.”
The picnic promised many delights. Mr. Darcy and Georgiana were more animated than Elizabeth had ever seen them as they led their guests down to the site of the picnic, where the large party broke into smaller groups.
They all took refreshments and sat on the large cushions piled atop rugs beneath the tents, or formed walking parties to explore the garden and grounds.
When the childrens’ lively game of tag separated Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, Jane sought her out. The two sisters were in fine spirits after so much revelry. “I am amazed at all that Mr. Darcy has done to entertain us today – and it is all for you, Lizzy,” Jane said brightly.
“I am sure it is for everybody – the Gardiners have certainly been distinguished in the village. Mr. Darcy has done very well, but I hope it has not raised the bar too high for Mr. Bingley.”
Jane blushed and fanned herself. “I have enjoyed his company so much today; indeed, I am sure I should not have been half so delighted with all the day’s amusements without him to share in them with me.”
“I am glad to hear it,” Elizabeth said. “Have you taken my advice, and that of Lady Susan?”
“I have, and I do not mind telling you of its efficacy. Oh, Lizzy, I never knew I could be so happy – certainly not in Derbyshire!”
“Perhaps, having begun to make some alterations at Matlock Hall, you have chased away old ghosts,” Elizabeth mused.
“I do believe that in turning my attention to becoming the best mistress of Matlock I can be – the countess that I shall be until, Thomas weds – I have found a very pleasing sense of purpose that I did not know I was wanting. Mr. Bingley says it is the same for him; we have that in common, for he has been very diligent in applying himself to estate affairs already.”
“And has he any hope of satisfying you?”
Jane nodded her head bashfully. “I begin to think that I always knew him to be capable of such – perhaps it is the sunshine and fine scenery that has me feeling so generous, but I am sure I knew him to be such a man, deep down. Hearing Mrs. Bennet disparage him as so inferior to Mr. Darcy taught me to be certain that he is not. It makes me very happy to hear Mr. Bingley speak of his endeavors. And I have confided more in him, as you told me I ought to. We have talked of my plans for redecorating, and I must commend him for his patience in listening to such domestic chatter. He really seems to find anything I say quite fascinating, but he is so earnest that I begin to suppose I am not an insipid bore when I go one about fabrics and wallpaper.”
“Anybody who is not interested in beautifying their surroundings must be an insufferable bore,” Elizabeth teased.