Women of Pemberley (33 page)
There were footsteps in the corridor, and Cassandra appeared at the door. She was warmly welcomed by her mother and aunt, who had promptly changed the topic of their conversation.
As she sat down, Jane noticed an anxious little frown and asked, "Cassy, my dear, are you not feeling well?"
Cassandra protested that she was very well, perhaps a little tired at the end of a long day, arousing immediate suspicions in the minds of Elizabeth and Jane. These were confirmed when Cassy asked, "Mama, would you mind very much if we did not stay to dinner? I think I should like to go home."
Elizabeth was concerned. "Why Cassy, my dear, what is wrong? Of course you need not stay if you are unwell, but tell me, what is worrying you?" she said.
Mother and daughter were very close, and Cassy could not keep her secret long, revealing that she was expecting their fifth child in the Autumn. After much delighted hugging and kissing and a great deal of good advice, her mother and aunt finally released her to return to her husband, but not before they had begged her to take great care of herself.
"I am so glad Richard is such a good doctor; it relieves me of the need to worry about you. I can simply enjoy the anticipation, knowing he takes such good care of you," Elizabeth said.
Cassandra laughed. "I assure you, Mama, he is sufficiently anxious for all of us. I am under so many instructions that I cannot possibly remember them all."
Cassandra was a favourite with everyone. Her devotion to her own family had never precluded her involvement in community work, and she and her husband, whose skill and integrity had earned him a great reputation in the district, were constantly available to those who needed their help. Elizabeth had always regarded her daughter as the ideal, modern young woman--accomplished, intelligent, and devoted to her heritage and her family more so than herself.
Modestly, she admitted to Jane that Cassy would have made an excellent Mistress of Pemberley. "Better by far than myself; she knows so much about the estate," she said.
"You cannot mean that Lizzie," Jane protested, but Elizabeth was quite adamant. "Dear Jane, do not misunderstand me, I love Pemberley; it is our home and I would never leave it. But Cassy was born here and knows every nook and cranny of the place. She used to ride everywhere with Darcy and his steward when she was a little girl, and after William's death, she made it her business to learn everything she needed to know while Julian was still a baby. As Julian grew older, she taught him all she knew. She remains interested not only in the estate, but in all of the people who live and work here. She knows most of them by name--a task that would certainly defeat me.
"It is to Cassy's persistence that the people of this area owe the free health service that the children of the Kympton and Pemberley parish schools receive. After the dreadful fright we all had with little Laura Ann, who almost died of croup, Cassandra was determined that all the children should be seen regularly by the doctors at Littleford, to avoid outbreaks of disease among them.
"Darcy is immensely proud of her, and I know that had Julian not been born, he would have been perfectly happy to have Cassy inherit Pemberley. He has told me so. We are not burdened with an entail, of course," she said.
Jane was suitably impressed. "Perhaps Cassy will teach Josie, too, and help her understand what it is to be the Mistress of Pemberley one day," said Jane, who had sensed that Elizabeth was disappointed that Josie and Julian would not be returning to Pemberley, at least not for a while.
Elizabeth seemed unsure. "Perhaps she will. Jane, I do not doubt Josie's ability to be the Mistress of Pemberley, only the depth of her commitment to this place and its people. I know that when I was engaged to Darcy, I soon became as obsessed with Pemberley as he was. I do not know if Josie will ever feel the same sense of responsibility."
Jane tried to reassure her. "She is still very young, Lizzie; they both are. I am quite sure, when the time comes--which God willing may not be for many years--Josie will understand the importance of her role at Pemberley."
"Oh, dear Jane, I do hope so, for it will surely break Darcy's heart if she does not."
Hearing footsteps outside, she rose just as Darcy and Bingley arrived and Bingley declared, "There you are, Darcy, I told you we would find them here, engrossed in their reminiscences, quite forgetting the rest of us."
"Well, we have been sent to invite you to join the party," said Darcy. "Our little group of musicians is ready to entertain us. Victoria and Stephanie have been persuaded to sing, and Bingley is so prodigiously proud of his granddaughters, nothing will satisfy him but that we are all there to hear them."
As they went downstairs, Bingley and Jane leading the way, Elizabeth held her husband back and told him Cassandra's news. Darcy was delighted and revealed that there was more good news. His sister Georgiana had arranged for young William Courtney to return with them to Oxford, where he would study the organ with one of the finest organists at the university.
"For William, who has played the organ at the Kympton church for several years, it is a splendid opportunity," he said and Elizabeth agreed, very excited by the news.
"Emily must surely be delighted," she said and was soon assured that she was, by Emily herself.
"Oh, Lizzie, it is such a wonderful opportunity for William. I do not know how we can thank Georgiana. It was entirely her idea. She has often heard him play in church and thinks he will do very well," said Emily, almost unable to comprehend her son's good fortune.
As for William, it was typical of him that in the midst of the excitement, he alone worried about who would replace him at the organ in the Kympton church on Sunday!
When it was all over and most of their guests had gone home or retired to the visitors' rooms, Elizabeth and Darcy went upstairs. It had been a day bright with new love and hope, warm with affection and friendship.
Looking out over the park, Elizabeth watched as Pemberley, which had been ablaze with light, its rooms resounding with the sounds of music and laughter, grew dark and quiet. A waning moon hung low in the sky, and the familiar shadows and birdcalls of the night took over the grounds. Here there were no deserted villages or starving poor; where industry and trade had brought prosperity to some, a dividend was paid to the people through schools and hospitals for their children. Elizabeth felt great pride in the involvement of her family in all of this.
As she waited for Darcy to join her, she thought again of William and Emily and their great happiness, but her mind returned to Cassandra with a warm rush of love mixed with concern. She had had no trouble with any of her children, but this time, she was older and her mother was anxious. More than anything in the world, Elizabeth wanted everything to be just right for her daughter. The pleasure of that longing was almost like pain.
When Darcy returned to the room, she told him of her concerns. He understood her anxiety. For many years now, he had been able to anticipate her wishes. So clear was the understanding between them, there was no need for her to ask.
"Lizzie, tomorrow, after all our guests have returned home and we have Pemberley to ourselves again, we could send the carriage for Cassandra and Richard, so we could celebrate their happy news together. Would you like that?" he asked, and he did not have to hear her reply to know it was exactly what she had in mind.
He smiled and put his arms around her; it was as if he had read her thoughts. They, neither of them, felt the need to say much more. There was no better way to close the day.
Julian Darcy and his wife Josie continued to live in Cambridge for a few years, during a period of constant turmoil with demands for reform and change coming from a variety of groups around Britain.
, Josie wrote in her diary.
And they all want reform, whether it is Votes for Women, Freedom for Slaves, Secret ballot, more money for hospitals or public education for all children, there is no dearth of good causes. Unfortunately, the men who have the power are not listening!
Julian Darcy did well, gaining a Doctorate in Science for his work; but, sadly, Josie never did achieve her ambition to get her work published in the Metropolitan press. She continued to write for
The New Radical
and her father's journals and was finally persuaded to provide a regular column for
The Matlock Review
. She lost none of her enthusiasm, and copies of all her articles were carefully collected and placed in the library at Pemberley by her father-in-law, whose respect for Josie's opinions and style increased by the day.
In the Summer of 1860, their son was born, whom they named Anthony Fitzwilliam Darcy. Determined to remain as independent as possible, they struggled on at Cambridge for a further year. But in 1861, following the death of the Prince Consort, the outbreak of the American Civil War, and consequent unrest in Britain, they decided it was time to leave.
"There is too much confusion and discord here for our comfort," said Julian in a letter to his mother announcing their decision, "for while neither of us objects to a robust intellectual debate, we would rather raise little Anthony in the relative peace and quiet of Derbyshire."
270
Appendix
A list of the main characters in
The Women of Pemberley
:
Emma Wilson--daughter of Charles and Jane Bingley
David Wilson MP--first husband of Emma Bingley
Victoria and Stephanie--their daughters
James Wilson MP--David Wilson's brother
Emily Courtney--Elizabeth's cousin, daughter of Mr and Mrs Gardiner (was
married to Paul Antoine, deceased, now married to James Courtney, Rector of Kympton)
William, Elizabeth, and Jessica Courtney--their children
Robert Gardiner--brother of Caroline, Emily, and Richard Gardiner
Rose Fitzwilliam--marries Robert Gardiner.
Cassandra Darcy--daughter of Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy
Julian Darcy--son of Mr and Mrs Darcy
Richard Gardiner--husband of Cassandra (son of Mr and Mrs Edward Gardiner)
Edward, Darcy, Eliza, and Laura Ann--their children
Isabella Fitzwilliam--daughter of Caroline and Colonel Fitzwilliam
Dr Henry Forrester--a young doctor who marries Isabella
Josie ( Josephine) Tate--daughter of Anthony and Rebecca Tate Jonathan Bingley--son of Jane and Charles Bingley
Amelia-Jane Collins--Jonathan's wife (daughter of Charlotte and late Mr Collins) Anne-Marie Bingley--their daughter
Louisa and Sophia Bingley--daughters of Jane and Charles Bingley, and sisters of Jonathan
From the pages of
Pride and Prejudice
: Mr and Mrs Darcy of Pemberley Mr and Mrs Bingley of Ashford Park Mr and Mrs Gardiner
Colonel Fitzwilliam
Charlotte Collins
Georgiana Darcy (now Mrs Grantley)
About the Author
A lifelong fan of Jane Austen, Rebecca Ann Collins first read
Pride and Prejudice
at the tender age of twelve. She fell in love with the characters and since then has devoted years of research and study to the life and works of her favourite author. As a teacher of literature and a librarian, she has gathered a wealth of information about Miss Austen and the period in which she lived and wrote, which became the basis of her books about the Pemberley families. The popularity of the Pemberley novels with Jane Austen fans has been her reward.
With a love of reading, music, art, and gardening, Ms Collins claims she is very comfortable in the period about which she writes and feels great empathy with the characters she portrays. While she enjoys the convenience of modern life, she finds much to admire in the values and worldview of Jane Austen.
"Yet another wonderful work by Ms. Collins."
--Beverly Wong, author of
ive women--strong, intelligent, independent of mind, and in the tradition of many Jane Austen heroines--continue the legacy of Pemberley into a dynamic new era at the start of the
Victorian Age. Events unfold as the real and fictional worlds intertwine, linked by the relationship of the characters to each other and to the great estate of Pemberley, the heart of their community.
With some characters from the beloved works of Jane Austen, and some new from the author's imagination, the central themes of love, friendship, marriage, and a sense of social obligation remain, showcased in the context of the sweeping political and social changes of the age.
"The stories are so well told one would enjoy them even if they were not sequels to any other novel."
--
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ISBN-13: 978-1-4022-1-557-5ISBN-10: 1-4022-1-557-6