Page 52 of The Next Mrs Bennet

A fter almost three days of travel, the lead coach passed the old stone gateposts with a brass arch above them with big letters between the top and bottom bar of the arch proclaiming ‘ CASTLEMERE ’ for one and all to see.

Much to Elizabeth’s delight, there were hills aplenty here and not much flat land she could see. If the hills were not enough, some of the peaks of the Peak District rose majestically in the west. In the late afternoon with the sun already well past its zenith, the mountains took on a purple hue.

There was more to delight her: within a half mile of passing the gate, woods could be seen either side of the drive. The drive began to rise with an easy gradient and then turned towards the west just before the point the forested area ended.

The coachman was already familiar with the fact Her Grace loved nature and would be enamoured with the vista which came into view just after the drive began to slope down, so he pulled on the reins bringing the three matched pairs of bays and the carriage they were pulling to a halt.

With the bend in the drive, it gave a perfect view of the valley below and Elizabeth instantly understood what had inspired the name of the estate.

On the western side of the valley was, in fact, a castle. It was built with large grey and charcoal coloured stones. A more modern, and far larger wing, had been added on the eastern side of the castle on the banks of a lake, a fairly large one.

When she looked to the north, Elizabeth saw there was a river and a stream which both flowed into the lake. The southern end of the lake was rather narrow and a river and two streams, flowed onwards at various points towards the south and the hills which made up the one side of the valley. There was a stone bridge over the river, and smaller wooden ones over the streams.

As she looked around the castle and the newer wing, Elizabeth was well pleased to see the absence of any serious formal gardens. It seemed to her that previous generations of masters had allowed nature its head.

Before she departed Falconwood, Elizabeth had spoken to the Greaves who had replaced the butler’s parents who had been the butler and housekeeper before himself and his wife. He and his parents had worked for the current duke’s parents—who had been good people and nothing like their son. They had told her as far as they knew the current duke, unlike his parents used to, had never been to this or any of his smaller satellite estates, preferring London or Falconwood.

Elizabeth was happy he had never set foot on this estate which explained the lack of overly ordered formal gardens.

She knocked on the forward facing inside wall of the coach and the coachmen soon had his team moving again. She reminded herself to thank the driver for his consideration in stopping to allow her to see the place which would be her home for the next six to nine months.

Once she gave birth, as long as everything was well, she would remain here as long as she could, trying to defer her churching so she would not have to be in his company again too soon.

It took a little more than a quarter of an hour to arrive in front of the castle and the newer section of the house.

One of the footmen, with John and Brian looking on, assisted Elizabeth to alight, and then did the same for her maid. Elizabeth smiled knowing a footman would not have assisted Loretta with the Duke looking on. The staff and servants were lined up and waiting for her.

There were two lines of servants behind the three senior staff. The men gave deep bows while the ladies gave their curtsies to the Duchess.

“Welcome to Castlemere, Your Grace, I am your steward, Mr. Mason, may I present your butler and housekeeper?” the man who stepped forward requested.

“Please do, Mr. Mason,” Elizabeth responded.

Thankfully the staff and servants who were employed at the estate had never had the displeasure of meeting His Grace. As was expected, the senior staff at each of the Duke’s estates and houses did correspond and word that Her Grace was nothing like the Duke had reached Derbyshire as well. The praise for Her Grace had been flaming, and those standing before the Duchess had suspected it was exaggerated.

The respectful way she addressed the steward seemed to give truth to what they had been told.

“Your Grace, Mrs. Marrion Bannister, your housekeeper and Mr. Owen Toppin, your butler,” Mason presented.

“I appreciate all of you being here to welcome me to what will be my home for many months,” Elizabeth intoned. She told the servants she intended to learn their names, and unlike there had been at Falconwood, there was no scepticism as word had already filtered to the lowest of the servants about the Duchess doing exactly that at the largest of His Grace’s estates.

The butler and housekeeper released those who worked for them to return to their posts. “If you will let me know your favourites Your Grace, I will impart the knowledge to Mrs. Black, your cook,” the housekeeper requested.

“As I will be touring the house, which will include the kitchens, I will be happy to discuss my preferences with Mrs. Black directly,” Elizabeth asserted.

Mrs. Bannister was impressed. A duchess who did not eschew entering her kitchens. Yes, she was extremely young, but she seemed to possess a self-assuredness and had intelligence shining from her eyes.

“As you wish, Your Grace,” the housekeeper averred. “May I show you and your maid to your apartments? Mr. Toppin will have his footmen bring your trunks up to you.”

“Thank you, it will be good to wash the road dust off and change,” Elizabeth accepted.

The main entrance of the manor house opened into the castle which in turn opened into a large hall lined with suits of armour and flags from wars past. They turned left through a doorway in the wall which led into the newer wing of the house.

“The great hall is used as a ballroom, except I understand the last ball held here was in the late duke’s time,” the housekeeper explained. “Everything else is in this wing. The first floor has the public rooms, including the breakfast and dining parlours. I would assume as it is only you, you would prefer to take your meals in your private sitting room which has a table for four to dine comfortably.”

Mrs. Bannister led the Duchess and her maid up to the second floor which was the family floor. She opened a door and stood back allowing Her Grace to enter her chambers.

Elizabeth was pleased by what she saw. They had entered the bedchamber, which was a large airy room with an enormous four-poster bed against the wall facing the windows. There were bedside tables on either side of the bed and a pair of comfortable looking wingback chairs in one corner.

She was shown the walk-in closet, which was larger than the bedchamber she and Jane shared at Longbourn. Just past the closet was a door which led to the bathing room which contained a nice large brass tub.

When Elizabeth walked to the windows in the bedchamber, she was greeted with a view across the lake towards distant hills in the east. She noted there was a balcony running past the windows. She turned to the housekeeper with a questioning look. “The way to get to the balcony is from your sitting room, Your Grace,” the housekeeper supplied.

Mrs. Bannister led the way through a door at one end of the chamber which led into the sitting room and small dining parlour. The table was next to the windows with the same view as from the bedchamber; there was a sideboard close by. Above the latter piece of furniture would be a good place to hang Kate’s painting. In the sitting room itself, there were bookcases along the wall opposite the windows, a settee, two armchairs bracketing it and a low table in between them.

Where the windows ended, Elizabeth saw the door which led out onto the nice wide balcony. She used it.

There were benches and chairs to sit on if one so desired. A cool breeze was being blown off the lake which to Elizabeth felt heavenly. She turned to the housekeeper. “Do we have any neighbouring estates close by or towns in the area?” she enquired.

“The closest estate is Pemberley, to the east. The common border is only about two miles from here.” The housekeeper pointed. “Chatsworth, the Duke of Devonshire’s estate, is northwest of us, about twelve miles away. To the southeast is Snowhaven, the Earl of Matlock’s estate, more than ten miles distant. As far as towns go, the closest are Kympton and Lambton. We are about equally distant from each. Lambton is much larger and has a greater variety of shops.”

“Do they both have inns?” Elizabeth asked evenly.

“Yes, Your Grace, both do. Lambton’s is a large well established inn, the Rose and Crown. The Charging Bull Inn is in Kympton, but it is far smaller and I would never recommend it over the Rose and Crown,” Mrs. Bannister explained. “Your Grace, over the years some of the residents of Pemberley and the smaller estates in the area have been known to come fish in the lake. The late Duke used to welcome those who wanted to fish, and your husband has never changed that, mainly as I believe he is not aware of that fact given he has never been here.”

“Is it possible for me to meet with the local midwife and physician, or is there only an apothecary hereabouts?” Elizabeth enquired.

“The Darcys at Pemberley have long kept a doctor in the area. Mr. Harrison, the elder is about to retire but his practice is being assumed by his son, Mr. Benjamin Harrison. They live in Lambton,” the housekeeper averred. “Mr. Laraby is the apothecary and lives in Kympton. The midwife who serves both Pemberley and this estate, Mrs. Medford, works closely with both Mr. Harrisons. She has extremely high standards of cleanliness and as far as I know, has never lost a mother to childbed fever.”

“Thank you greatly for all of the information. It seems you have a vast knowledge of the area,” Elizabeth observed.

“I have lived in this neighbourhood for the whole of my life, Your Grace. Anything I am able to do to help, it will be my pleasure,” the housekeeper stated as she bobbed a curtsey.

“Could we have hot water brought up for my bath, please,” Elizabeth requested.

With another curtsey, the housekeeper bustled off to inform Mr. Toppin Her Grace required hot water.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

“Welcome home your Ladyship,” Mrs. Reynolds the housekeeper at Pemberley stated warmly. “And you, Sir, and it is good to see you, Miss Anna.”

“It is good to be home,” Georgiana exclaimed. “Mama and Papa, may I go change and then practice on the pianoforte please?”

“I think you should rest and allow Miss Younge to do so as well. You will have plenty of time to practice later, Anna sweetling,” Darcy replied.

Fighting her urge to pout, the youngest Darcy made for her chambers with a smiling governess following in her wake.

Lady Anne noticed Mrs. Reynolds was looking to see where William was. “It is good to see you, Mrs. Reynolds,” Lady Anne returned. “Master William left London after us with his two Fitzwilliam cousins. They will join us anon after Lord Hilldale sees to some things at his estate. Is there any news in the neighbourhood of which you think I should be aware?”

“According to my friend Mrs. Bannister,” the housekeeper saw the quizzical look on both the mistress and master’s faces. “She is the housekeeper at Castlemere,” she explained.

“Do not tell me the dastardly duke is finally coming to visit his estate,” Darcy stated distastefully.

“Not the Duke,” Mrs. Reynolds elucidated. “Her Grace is with child and while, according to my friend, the Duke is in London, he sent his wife to the country for peace and quiet so she can increase far away from the odours and bad air in London. If I understood correctly, she would have arrived today.”

“Is there anything else of which we should be aware?” Darcy questioned.

“Nothing of import.” Mrs. Reynolds turned to her mistress. “Will I meet you in your study in the morning on the morrow?”

“Please, after we break our fasts,” Lady Anne informed her housekeeper. “It is good to see you again.” Lady Anne gave Mrs. Reynolds’s hand a light squeeze. They were mistress and housekeeper, but there was almost a bond of friendship between them.

“Anne, will you call on Her Grace?” Darcy enquired.

“I take it you do not approve if I were to do so?” Lady Anne challenged.

“We all saw her at her presentation, she seems like a nice sort of lady. My concern is if we reach out to her, how do we stop being in that libertine’s company?” Darcy worried. “I care not he is a duke; he is the worst kind of man.”

“That he is, but should his wife suffer for his crimes?” Lady Anne paused. “Because of the way my sister behaves, if my namesake was in the area would we shun her in case Catherine thinks it means we are accepting of her and her presumptuous behaviour?”

“You make a good point my love,” Darcy conceded. “All I ask is we are circumspect. Also, it is not quite the same as it would be with Anne, who is our niece.”

“I will see what unfolds, but I will discuss this with Elaine and Reggie as well,” Lady Anne averred.

“We have been away from Pemberly for months, should we retire and reacquaint ourselves with our chambers,” Darcy waggled his eyebrows suggestively at his wife.

“Robert Geroge Alexander Darcy, you are incorrigible. Do not change.”

The dignified master and mistress were seen on their way up the grand stairs with huge smiles on their faces as they walked hand in hand.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

On the fourth day after the express from Lizzy, the Gardiners departed Gracechurch Street; a rented carriage and a cart followed the Gardiner equipage. That evening on the Great North Road where the Gardiners and four Bennet sisters stopped to spend the night, they were met by the Lucas parents and daughters. With them were Frank and Hattie Philips.

Those travelling from Meryton had agreed to join the Gardiners and Bennet sisters and wait in Lambton until they were told it was safe to see Elizabeth. It had been far too long.

They were all determined. Somehow they would find a way to be in Lizzy’s company.