8. Let at Last!

Our Lady of Longbourn

Chapter Eight – Let at Last!

In the year of our Lord, 1811

Elizabeth stood on her favorite vantage point on Oakham Mount, surveying the world below… or at least the long river valley, its estates, and distant Meryton. It had been a trying week, helping to prepare for Mary's wedding while trying to calm the worst of her mother's extravagances. Her mother was all "flutterings and palpitations" at the moment, and it was wearing the whole family down.

Thank you God for Jane! Jane, or rather Lady Archer, the Countess of Kirby, had finally heard from Stephen. His task force had accomplished its mission… though nobody knew what that was… and would be returning to England after necessary repairs. A fleet dispatch ship had been sent ahead with letters for home and official reports for the Admiralty. Once Jane knew that her beloved was safe, she felt safe in attending Mary's wedding.

Although Jane's relationship with her mother had never quite recovered after the attack, Jane still possessed the gift of calming her mother like nobody else in the house. While Kitty and Lydia made much of the little Benjamin, now Viscount Almond, Jane devoted much of her time to attending to her mother.

There were two favorable results from this attention: First, Mrs. Fanny Bennet was calmed to a reasonable level, affording the entire family a breath of relief. Second, when Jane met Baron Stafford and saw her mother pushing Elizabeth, she demanded a private audience with the woman who was trying to repeat history. Jane never revealed the exact details that she told her mother. After the talk Fanny stayed in bed for the rest of the afternoon and evening. The following day she walked about the house white-faced and thoughtful.

That had been two days ago. When the Baron visited yesterday, there had been none of the usual effusive praise for his person… and when he hinted at his desire to walk in the gardens with Elizabeth, Mrs. Bennet, with great agitation, had insisted that Elizabeth was needed at home, helping with wedding plans. The Baron was irritated, but he departed without accomplishing his intent.

Elizabeth took a deep breath of fresh morning air and exhaled it joyfully. She knew from servant's gossip that the Baron had departed, as planned, for a trip to London. She also knew that he would be spending his time there as usual, frequenting the gambling "hells" of the upper crust. May he remain away for a long, long time.

Her eye was caught by two specks off in the distance. At the speed they were moving, it soon became clear that it was two men on horseback, one white mount, one black. They rode closer and she could see that the men wore top hats and appeared finely dressed, and that the horses were of the best quality. That must be Mr. Bingley and a friend, she thought.

In the past months she had rejected two potential lessees for Netherfield Park after careful investigation of the applicants' characters. Mr. Bingley's investigation had yielded very favorable results, however, and Mr. Phillips had spoken highly of the man's amiable and friendly nature.

Mr. Westerfield, Elizabeth's solicitor, had engaged her Uncle Phillips to broker the lease in order to add an additional layer of anonymity for Elizabeth. Remarkably, she had now owned Netherfield Park for five years with only a select few knowing her secret. Through careful management and steady improvement, both estates had increased in both yield and value… enough so that Mary now had a dowry of five-thousand pounds… though that was also kept a secret. Ezekiel Jones knew. Mary knew. Mr. Westerfield and the Gardiners knew. That was all.

Ezekiel and Mary had spoken after being told about this unexpected largesse. Mary' interest in medicinal plants had continued after the wagons had driven off toward London. She read every volume in her father's library and then in the shared libraries of Mr. and Dr. Jones. She walked the valleys and hills, identifying plants and cataloging their locations. She studied how to prepare them. She even met with several older women who were acknowledged experts in herbal remedies. As a single gentle woman her efforts were necessarily limited by society's ridiculous strictures. As the wife of a doctor, that would change.

The pair had first begun falling in love over these studies. Now they intended to carry it a step further and, working with Ezekiel's uncle, begin making the medicines as a business. There was a stigma about "snake-oil" salesmen, so they would approach the business carefully, but the two men's medical contacts would be able to help… and Mary's dowry would give them the start they needed.

Elizabeth watched the two stately riders and felt an odd tingle run up her spine. Something about the taller stranger stirred something inside her. The pull of destiny, the stray thought came out of nowhere and startled her. Elizabeth shook herself and frowned, her morning peace disturbed. You are just feeling morose because two of your sisters will soon be married and you are still without prospects.

She had tried to tell herself that she would be content as a wealthy spinster, living as master and mistress of Netherfield Park. But then the loneliness would creep in and she knew that it wasn't true. The image of the gloriously handsome man from London leapt into her minds-eye, and she sighed. I will probably never see him again. He is just a dream now.

oOoOOoOo

"It is a fine prospect, to be sure," Darcy admitted. "But the neighborhood is quite primitive."

"I like country manners," Bingley said with a grin. He had seen several very pretty young women shopping in town and looked forward to meeting them. He looked at manse again, "I like it!"

"Well then, you'd better sign the lease," Darcy tried to give his friend a smile, but those didn't come easily these days.

"I shall!" Bingley replied, kneed his horse, and sped away in his usual fashion.

Fitzwilliam Darcy shook his head. Charles was always precipitous in his decision making. He was about to send his own horse racing after his friend when something caught his eye. There, high on that tall hill stood a woman. He was too far away to see her features, but he saw that her bonnet was removed and her long, dark hair was blowing in the breeze. The image stirred something in him, the memory of another young lady who had eluded him. Annoyed, he spurred Artemis after his friend's retreating figure. That woman wouldn't be here… and she wasn't in my circle anyway.

He hated the fact that his eyes always looked for her everywhere he went, even with everything else in his life falling apart. My focus must be on Georgianna now. As soon as Charles signs the lease, its back to London and my sister.

oOoOOoOo

The following day was Sunday. As Elizabeth expected, the news had circulated and had now come back to her by the usual means: her mother.

"Oh, Mr. Bennet! Such good news! Netherfield Park has been let at last! What a wonderful thing for our girls!" The family was walking back from Longbourn Chapel after Sunday service.

"How so? How can this effect our girls?" Mr. Bennet asked innocently, but with a twinkle in his eye.

"Mr. Bennet, how can you be so tiresome. I mean that he should marry one of them!"

"Oh, so that was his design in leasing Netherfield?"

"Design! Of course not, but it is possible that he should meet one of our girls and fall in love. That is why you must be the first to visit him, so that you can introduce your family."

"Oh no, I see no need for that. I will just send him a note to say that I have three daughters available… though all very silly, except for my Lizzy maybe. Or maybe I should just send you over now so that he can make his own choice… except you my dear, because you are still quite beautiful and who knows, he may just choose you."

"Not visit! But you have to visit!"

"My dear, Mary's wedding is tomorrow, why don't we just concentrate on that for now?"

His distraction worked too well and Mrs. Bennet began talking endlessly about tomorrow. Mary shot her father scornful look. He only smiled innocently and headed off to his book room.

oOoOOoOo

Mary made a beautiful bride as she walked down the aisle, though more than one young lady in the neighborhood wanted to find something to criticize. The handsome young doctor was considered a prime catch and many a young lady had set her sights on him. Now he waited spellbound as his bride came towards him on her father's arm.

Their vows were made without a problem. The wedding breakfast was another fine example of Mrs. Bennet's superiority as a host and the cook's skill in the kitchen. They went through all of the required greetings, small talk, and advice before they finally boarded a carriage and headed south toward London and then Ramsgate for their short wedding trip.

Meanwhile, back at Longbourn, Mrs. Bennet had her usual nervous breakdown, leaving the cleanup for others to look after.

On the following morning Toliver drove Elizabeth over to Netherfield and they began the process of emptying out her study so that the new tenant could use the space. Lady Adele had shown Elizabeth several secret passages years ago. One led out into a garden. One allowed servants to move about on the main floor without disturbing visitors. And one led to a secret room where people could hide. The house had been built by a family before Adele's own, so she never learned the reason for the secret room. Now it would serve to store Elizabeth's important items.

Elizabeth understood the necessity of leasing Netherfield to throw off the curious, but now she resented the loss of her private place of escape. It is only for one year. After that, I will be of age and it won't matter if anyone knows.

Life continued. In another week, on Michaelmas, Mr. Bingley moved in and visits were exchanged before he departed for London to lead a larger group back with him. Rumors were flying about the number of ladies and gentleman now residing at Netherfield. Of course, Elizabeth knew, since the servants at Netherfield were still her own, with the exception of personal servants. That had been one of her conditions for leasing her property.

The fall assembly was only a week away, and with a household of new, wealthy ladies and gentlemen, the little town of Meryton was in an uproar.

oOoOOoOo

Fitzwilliam Darcy rode his horse towards Meryton with great reluctance. When Charles had first requested his presence, it had seemed like a good idea and a way to break from his customary routines. But now two problems turned this good idea into a burden.

The first was Georgiana. He had hoped that she would have been fully recovered by this point. How could she still hold feelings for that man?! Or was it something else? Had she lost trust in her brother's ability to protect her? Did that explain her continued withdrawal? Georgiana had been his world for the past five years… even longer, since Father had been so distant with the both of them. But now she wouldn't even look him in the face. It broke his heart. It had gotten so convoluted that his aunt, Lady Fitzwilliam, had told him to absent himself for a time. So here he was.

The second problem was Charles' sister Caroline. When Darcy had consented to spend a month or more at his friend's leased estate, he had assumed that his sister would remain in London. After all, Caroline Bingley lived for London and hated the country, though she was quite enamored with Pemberley. Darcy scoffed, she's enamored with the idea of Pemberley… the wealth and status that it represents, nothing more.

Now Caroline Bingley was the acting Mistress of Netherfield Park… the home where Darcy had agreed to reside for at least a month! Caroline Bingley, the woman who had fixated on marrying one Fitzwilliam Darcy. Caroline Bingley, the woman who criticized any and everybody else, but who had no control over herself. Caroline Bingley, the reason that Darcy would never stay at Charles' home in town for fear that the young woman would try to create a compromise out of whole cloth.

Xanthos must have sensed his rider's agitation, because he nickered and shifted in his canter. Darcy reached down and patted his mount's neck reassuringly. I have to keep myself under control.

Darcy recognized the small mountain from their survey trip. The area was attractive enough, though nothing to compare with Derbyshire and the Peak District. He pulled Xanthos to a stop as a group of sheep were being herded across the road. Then he startled as he recognized the man who was shepherding this flock of Romneys. That is the man from the auction! Which means that these must be the sheep from that auction. How extraordinary.

A pretty little girl of about seven danced along beside the flock. When she saw Darcy, she stopped, smiled, and waved. The shepherd saw this and followed his daughter's gaze. He tugged his hat to the rider and Darcy nodded in return. He asked the little girl, "Whose sheep are these?"

"They belong to the Lady," the girl beamed. "She brought us here and even built us a new home." The girl heard a shout from her father, smiled and waved one more time, then followed the flock up the side of the mountain.

The Lady? Perhaps that young woman is her daughter? Or a relative? I wasn't aware there were any nobility in this area… only a minor knight. His property is further north and east.

He came to the split in the road that would lead him to Netherfield, hesitated, and turned his horse down the other road. No hurry. Miss Bingley will be lying in wait to pounce. She can wait.

Darcy rode along the dirt road, taking note of the various farms, fences, and fields. This property belongs to the other large estate in the area… what was it? Longbourn. I am impressed with this estate. It seems well managed and prosperous.

Topping a rise several miles further, he saw the river valley that led back toward Meryton. Along the river were buildings, one larger than the other, but both featuring water wheels. The first building had both human and wagon traffic flowing in and out. Darcy recognized the sounds from that structure because he was part owner of another textile mill. One or more power looms are in operation.

The second building was obviously a grist mill. It was currently silent and still, but Darcy knew that it would soon be busy with harvest time beginning. That will be educational for Bingley.

Bingley had leased the place to learn how to run his own estate before purchasing his own. The terms of the contract were slightly odd. It was obvious that the estate was well-run and prosperous, the mark of a good steward no doubt. The owner of the estate… who oddly chose to remain anonymous… had insisted that the steward and staff remain with the property. The tenant could naturally bring in any personal servants, but the people presently serving would continue.

The solicitor, a Mr. Phillips, had explained that most of the staff had served at Netherfield for generations and the owner wished to protect them. If there were any problems with any servants, then these would be brought to Mr. Phillips and he would communicate with the owner. Only if the problem could not be resolved would that servant be removed.

The steward, Mr. Matthews, was also to remain and his word was law as far as the running of the estate. He would be more than happy to teach the new lessee, but any attempted changes in the crops or functioning of the estate would go through him. Darcy had been concerned about this, but he saw that the man was using the four-course system of crop rotation, that the fields were well-drained, and that the tenant houses were pristine. Charles could learn much from this man. The conditions are restrictive, but why mess with a smooth running operation?

As Darcy reluctantly turned his horse down the road leading to Netherfield from the other direction, he noticed two figures racing horses in the distance. The hair flowing behind the two riders, one blond and one dark brunette, marked them as women, though they both seemed to be riding astride instead of side-saddle. They neared a stone fence and both horses cleared it cleanly, then the pair turned towards the estate that Darcy had just passed. Interesting. Country ways, no doubt… but I let Georgiana ride astride when we were alone. It is safer.

With no other reason to delay, he spurred Xanthos and rode on toward Netherfield.

oOoOOoOo

"Hah! I win!" Kitty boasted proudly.

Elizabeth smiled back, "Good ride… though I wish that you wouldn't approach the wall quite so fast. I would not wish to see you injured."

"Yes, Mother," Kitty teased. Then she turned toward the stable, "I need to finish the seam on my dress for the assembly tomorrow. Mama will be all in a flutter if it isn't ready today."

Her older sister nodded, "You've been kept so busy drawing new dresses that you don't have time to take care of your own. You're working too hard, Kitty."

"Pots and kettles, Sister. Pots and kettles."

Elizabeth felt that tickle again, not the warning of danger, but that sense of destiny. As Kitty rode ahead, Elizabeth turned her head around to survey the area. There, far in the distance, was a tall man sitting on a black stallion. A thrilling shiver ran through her, but she set her jaw, turned her head, and sent her horse on to Longbourn and hours of nerves and shrill tones from her mother as the woman prepared her daughter's to meet the new residents of Netherfield at the Fall Assembly.