2

The stories Fitzwilliam told Elizabeth could not have prepared her for the true splendor awaiting inside. Introductions made with the staff embarrassed Elizabeth, as she began to feel rather awkwardly about her temporary status of guest in Mr. Darcy’s home instead of his wife. All too soon for her tastes, though she had reluctantly agreed, Mr. Darcy took an immediate audience with his steward so as to shorten the amount of time they had to wait before seeking their aim of Gretna Green.

Mrs. Reynolds escorted Elizabeth to a sunny sitting room on the second floor. Elizabeth noted the decor of the room contrasted between the freshness of the paper on the walls and the age of the furniture within.

“The master was quite keen for this room to be refreshed for your personal enjoyment, ma’am. I selected a few pieces of furniture that were favorites of your predecessor, but if the styling is not to your liking –”

“The room is simply marvelous!” Elizabeth beamed as she took in every nook and cranny of the sitting room earnestly. The older housekeeper held a grim expression, and once again the lack of official status began to gnaw at Elizabeth’s conscience. Being a servant, Mrs. Reynolds would never broach the subject that stood as a gulf between the two women, and it was not in Elizabeth’s nature to suffer for the sake of pretended politeness. After a short stroll about the room in genuine appreciation, Elizabeth took a seat on the long divan against the far wall. She invited Mrs. Reynolds to take a place in the small chair next to the console table.

“I am willing to wager my being here is rather uncomfortable for the natural order of the house,” Elizabeth confessed. The housekeeper did not shake her head, and Elizabeth took the woman’s frozen posture as tacit agreement. “I would like to offer myself to you for any questions or concerns you might hold about my relationship with your master. Mr. Darcy has made it plainly clear to me in the way he speaks about you that there was a large void left when his mother passed away. In many ways, you provided the affection and guidance a young man might come to miss with the loss of a mother.”

“I have never had a cross word from him in my life, and I have known him ever since he was four years old. The master is a kind and gentle soul. I understand that you were in some manner of distress, but he offered you aid.” Mrs. Reynolds still did not appear comfortably engaged in this topic of conversation with her master’s supposed mistress, but at least she was participating, and that was a good sign as far as Elizabeth was concerned. She fully expected the staff at the London house would have sent word about the goings-on in Fitzwilliam’s life to the senior staff at Pemberley.

“Yes, Fitzwilliam is the kindest man I know.” Elizabeth smiled despite herself, a side effect of her affection for the man that the housekeeper did not miss. “So would you like to know our history around the time he ran me over with his horse, or when I saved him from the illogical matching with his cousin Miss de Bourgh?” Elizabeth arched her eyebrow to challenge the housekeeper, and Mrs. Reynolds did not disappoint her.

Shocked at the plainspoken young woman before her, Mrs. Reynolds exclaimed astonishment at those two simple highlights and clutched the locket she wore around her neck.

For more than an hour, Elizabeth detailed for Mrs. Nora Reynolds the highs and lows of her courtship and subsequent engagement to Mr. Darcy. She explained how her esteem of his good nature would not permit her to accept the offer of her cousin’s hand, who was set to inherit her father’s home. This noble deed became rewarded with an expulsion from her family’s home and a retreat to London just as Mr. Darcy arranged the marriage of his sister to Mr. George Wickham and learned an unpleasant family secret.

“You mean to tell me the master did not know Mr. Wickham’s parentage all this time?” Mrs. Reynolds asked, entirely captivated by the tales Elizabeth now shared.

The younger woman shook her head. “No, it came as quite a shock to both him and his cousin when the truth came out. But you will be happy to know we were successful in aiding Colonel Fitzwilliam and Miss Anne de Bourgh to marry before the Archbishop in Kent.”

Despite the melancholy of remembering the day she left Longbourn, Elizabeth could not contain her happiness for her friend Miss de Bourgh and Mr. Darcy’s cousin. Her regret was that her birthday was so late in the year she was unable to marry without her father’s blessing, except for eloping to Gretna Green.

“Mrs. Potter wrote to me that –” Mrs. Reynolds smoothed the skirts over her knee and looked down at her weathered hands. She waited, and though Elizabeth had to take a deep breath before the next subject matter was discussed, she encouraged the housekeeper to continue.

“Yes? Please have no fear to ask what you must. I intend to have a very long life with Mr. Darcy and I cannot—we cannot—have the housekeeper and the mistress at odds.” Elizabeth managed a small smile to add to her lighthearted tone.

Mrs. Reynolds tilted her head to one side, impressed with the young woman’s maturity and good sense. She had wondered when the master might ever marry, but had never thought there would be a woman good enough for him. Here before her sat a young lady of great character and unconditional concern that even Nora Reynolds recognized a suitable match for Master Fitz when she saw one. “Mrs. Potter wrote you were seriously injured and recovered for many weeks at the town house in London.”

In spite of how inconsiderate it was, Elizabeth burst out laughing to see a complete stranger so concerned with her well-being. She quickly recovered her anxious outburst from an abundance of nerves, and begged Mrs. Reynolds’ forgiveness for the faux pas.

“I did not mean to laugh just now; Mrs. Potter was correct that my injuries were most grave. I suffered a significant head injury and damage to my arm and ankle. My cousin is a pious and troublesome man who sought to correct my behavior with violence.”

Mrs. Reynolds’ eyes widened in abject horror. And that a family member could impose such injury made the situation that much worse to her ears. “However did you … and the master was there?”

Elizabeth nodded. “You have a new tenant family; they should have arrived two months ago?” Elizabeth scrunched up her nose to think of how long it had been since she had to recover in London and their detour to Netherfield Park.

“The Holbeins.”

“Yes, I met their youngest son looking for work to help his family when my cousin took my interference to be a personal affront. The family was much in need, and with Mr. Darcy’s help, we reunited them with their family here. On the night my cousin lost his temper beyond reason, the Holbeins offered me shelter. I should dearly like to visit them if there’s time before we leave for Scotland, and certainly after we return.”

Mrs. Reynolds bristled at the second mention of Miss Bennet’s cousin, her shock now turning to anger in the direction of the parson. “Forgive me for speaking ill of your kin, but I hope the master taught your cousin a lesson about how a lady should be treated.”

Elizabeth could only offer a half-smile, remembering the injury to Fitzwilliam’s hands in her honor. “His wife is my dear friend since childhood. I have it on good authority that my cousin has not lifted a hand since the night Mr. Darcy, his cousin, and a very tall footman of Lady Matlock’s paid a visit to the parsonage.”

Mrs. Reynolds sniffed to signal she approved of the punishment meted out, and no more was shared on that subject. However, there were still more issues for the two women to discuss, and so Elizabeth requested refreshments. Her stomach rumbled due to the lengthy journey from the last inn.

“Gracious me, where is my head? I felt such excitement after your arrival I forgot to mention that there are cold meats and bread in the dining room. Let me see about a tray brought up here.” Mrs. Reynolds stood, but Elizabeth reached out her arm to stay the housekeeper.

“On second thought, don’t go to any trouble. There is a little more that I believe we must discuss and, afterward, I should like for you to show me where Mr. Darcy’s study is because I fear he has not eaten either. I’m certain he and Mr… .Mr… .” The name of the steward escaped Elizabeth’s memory, and she became frustrated with herself, but Mrs. Reynolds gently clucked her tongue to comfort the young woman and supplied the name.

“Mr. Arnold.”

“Yes, Mr. Arnold. I am certain they could be interrupted for a short repast before Mr. Darcy returns to his work.”

Mrs. Reynolds nodded her head in agreement at the sound plan, and reclaimed her seat next to her future mistress.

“I am afraid that, despite my best efforts, the relationship between Mr. Darcy and his sister, Mrs. Wickham, remains rather strained. When we arrived in London, her husband was thrown out of the house, and Mrs. Wickham took it upon herself to spread vicious gossip about us to any who would listen.”

Mrs. Reynolds gasped. “But she was ever such a sweet girl! It’s that Wickham who must’ve put her up to it.”

Scarcely perceptible, Elizabeth jerked her head to signal a negative response. “I am afraid that when you see Mrs. Wickham again you will find her quite altered, as can happen to a young girl going through those difficult years. She believes herself the wronged party in how her family managed her affairs. Rather than seek change through positive behavior, she has resorted to acting in a hurtful manner.” Elizabeth felt sympathy for the former Georgiana Darcy, a young woman of great fortune, no parents, and a lack of attention from her family.

Mrs. Reynolds furrowed her brow. “I must say, it is sad to hear, but please do not believe any lack of affection came from the master. Whatever could give his sister any pleasure was sure to be done in a moment. There is nothing he would not do for her.”

Pursing her lips, Elizabeth tried to think of a way to steer the conversation back to the facts of where the family stood instead of passing judgment on her future husband’s parenting skills. She had seen firsthand that an abundance of gifts and trinkets could spoil a child far worse than a denial of comforts. Such was a plague on her youngest sister, Lydia. “When we left London, I’m afraid to say it was not on the greatest of terms. And I believe she will be quite cross with me, as I slashed the budgets for the meat delivery as punishment for her atrocious behavior.”

Mrs. Reynolds looked away for a moment, and Elizabeth thought their interview had come to an end when the older woman finally looked back with a slight tremble to her lip. “I have requests, you see, from Miss Georgiana, excuse me, Mrs. Wickham, asking for particular things from the house to be sent to London.”

“Please tell me you have not sent any of the items?” Now it was Elizabeth who pressed a hand to her chest hoping and praying that the efforts she and Fitzwilliam had made to correct Georgiana’s behavior had not become undermined by the good intentions of a soft-hearted housekeeper.

“No, Miss Bennet. I sent not a thing! Mrs. Potter had said so many of the furnishings in the town house were sold. I just did not wish to believe it. With you sitting before me, and describing how far from the righteous path that dear girl has fallen, I’m afraid to say I can believe now what I could not believe penned in a letter.”

Elizabeth, too, began to feel a wash of empathy for the absolute destruction ripping through Fitzwilliam’s family. Though Mrs. Reynolds was the housekeeper and not a family member, no person on earth could deny the woman held an uncommon love for the two Darcy siblings she’d watched grow from babe to adulthood. As both women struggled not to lose their countenance before the other, it was Mrs. Reynolds who stood up and bowed her head to Miss Bennet in a formal signal of respect for the young woman.

“If it pleases you, madam, I shall take you to the master’s study now, as you requested.”

Elizabeth Bennet gracefully lifted herself from the divan and set her shoulders in a posture befitting the grand lady of a home such as this. Eagerly, she extended a hand in Mrs. Reynolds’ direction and waited for the older woman to understand her desire. Slowly, the housekeeper reached up and her new mistress clasped the hand of a woman she felt determined to make her fiercest ally in the next chapters of her life.

“I am so happy we had this talk, and I want you to know that I shall ever be in your debt. Pemberley is your home just as much as it is to be my new home. I hope you will come to me any time you are concerned or worried for the state of affairs. And I hope you will not mind me coming to you?” It was not the same easiness Elizabeth held with the servants of Longbourn who had known her since she was a child, but in the span of less than one day, she had succeeded in shoring up the loyalty of the Pemberley staff more than she knew.

“I should be delighted any time you come to speak to me, Miss Bennet. Especially when you are Mrs. Darcy.” Despite Mrs. Reynolds’ original reluctance to show approval of the irregular courtship between her master and this young lady, the natural joy of an upcoming wedding could not be squelched in the small giggle the two women shared.

Elizabeth followed Mrs. Reynolds down the stairs to the south wing of the house, where the two new members of an elite sorority of Pemberley interrupted Mr. Darcy and Mr. Arnold in the name of good household management.