PART 1: AN INVITATION

Posted on Saturday, 4 November 2006

B______ Castle, Scotland

The Earl hesitated a moment before opening the letter. He was not sure what to anticipate and found he did not welcome the prospect of a formal civility to equal his own recently displayed aptitude for the same. Said hesitation was brief and he opened the communication with a sudden impatient eagerness. It took only a moment to read, for it was a fairly brief piece of correspondence. Once completed he shook his head regretfully and handed it across the table to his wife.

"Pray, read this Eleanor, it is from our nephew, Darcy."

Lady Eleanor extended her richly bejeweled arm across the table and took the paper into her slightly aged hand. "So quickly? I should not have anticipated news so soon after his wedding."

"Read it. I am not sure we have done well by him, Eleanor. He deserved more consideration."

"Everything has been done as it ought, my dear. We could hardly have been expected to leave Scotland for the south and to resign the hospitality of the Duke for such a minor affair. Whatever the familial relationship may be, her entire lack of consequence could hardly justify such an abandonment. An express with our congratulations was delivered at the very moment the wedding breakfast would be commencing. No doubt the entire assembled company was immediately aware of the compliment we thereby paid his bride with such an attention; and it will have been reported as such. It was as good as our presence. We have been entirely correct and entirely forbearing in this matter."

"We had no choice but to be forbearing. It is not as though we had any authority regarding who he should marry."

"Perhaps no authority, but that does not impede that we should be disconcerted regarding the surprising choice he has made. I do not know what further consideration we ought to have bestowed upon him, for while we have certainly not received his news with warmth, he can not fault our civility; why, are they not now at High Pointe Manor?"

The Earl waved his hand tiredly; he apprehended that his wife had granted their nephew's request regarding High Pointe Manor more as a manner by which to provoke her sister-in-law, Lady Catherine, with whom she had never got on, than as any great civility toward her nephew. The Earl certainly had no delusions as regards both the virtues and deficiencies of his wife's character and could only be resigned to the unfortunate truth that Lady Eleanor's one satisfaction in this entire business of their nephew's singular marriage was the consternation it caused in her sister-in-law. He sighed loudly, wearily—his health had been most irregular of late and as a result he found himself less and less tolerant of the petty intrigues of society which so amused his wife.

"Pray, read on and tell me your thoughts. I am inclined to respond favorably."

Lady Eleanor read thusly:

Pemberley, Derbyshire
December 1, 18__

My dear Uncle,

I hope this letter finds both you and my esteemed aunt in excellent health and enjoying the distinguished hospitality of his Grace, the Duke of _____. I trust the weather so typical of Scotland at such time of year has not been adverse to the recent restoration of your strength.

Mrs. Darcy and I returned to Pemberley yesterday and I am pleased to report that we have found Georgiana in excellent spirits and content to be settled at Pemberley, although for the moment we have considered it best that Mrs. Annesley remain on as her companion. I dare say she will in no manner regret her establishment in Town.

My wife and I wish to thank you for the kind expressions of congratulations you made arrive on the morning of our wedding; given what we have received from other quarters I can not adequately suggest my own particular satisfaction to find that you, sir, who have long served as an example of civility and liberality, have not joined in such unjust and presumptuous censure of our union as we have been made to suffer from others. We would wish as well to convey our sincerest gratitude for your generosity in allowing us to enjoy the privacy and elegance of High Pointe Manor during this last fortnight. I understand my aunt thought it peculiar on our part to wish for the seaside at such a time of year, and no doubt it was, and yet we were more than delighted with our stay and the seaside proved as invigorating and solitary as we had wished to find it at such a time of year. My wife most particularly admired the unrivaled prospect that is to be had from the Manor of the dawn as it rises over the sea and illuminates the bluff with such spectacular hues, to say nothing of her pleasure in the extensive lanes that meander so high above the sea. My wife is a great enthusiast of all natural beauties and I had been certain that she would keenly appreciate High Pointe Manor's stirring environs—there is no weather or walk which can intimidate her or keep her from enjoying nature's gifts. Even now, although an abrupt Derbyshire chill has settled into the air, she patiently awaits me that we might walk about the park and she might begin to learn with intimacy the many turns and lanes of her new home.

Sir, I unreservedly confess the happiness I have found in my newly married state, certain that no man could claim a wife more lovely or more charming than my own. I am eager for the opportunity to make her properly known to you and my aunt, as is she to be so honored by your indulgence. It is in this regard that my wife and I would wish to encourage you, if it be convenient to your plans, to pass through Derbyshire upon your return from Scotland, whenever that should be. We are to remain here at Pemberley beyond the Christmas season. Indeed, if you have no prior commitments and you were so inclined, we would be honored to find you our guests throughout.

With respect and gratitude,
Your nephew,
Fitzwilliam Darcy,

Lady Eleanor put down the letter and smiled. While she had never considered her nephew an unhappy man, she had seen with regret the manner in which, over the years, he had become an increasingly reserved and severe gentleman, far removed from the warm and gentle boy he had been while his mother lived; in his letter she sensed a rousing of his long dormant capacity for conviviality, and she was moved.

"Shall we spend a fortnight at Pemberley?" the Earl inquired.

"Of course,” she responded unhesitatingly. “We can not say how much longer the Duke intends for his party to remain, but it grows dreadfully frigid in this castle and I can not imagine it will be above another fortnight. I think you ought to send Darcy word that whenever we are released from his Grace's hospitality, we will find our way to Pemberley. I am curious to know the young lady who has made Darcy so bold in actions and relatively effusive in words."

"I am pleased we are in agreement, Eleanor," the Earl said. "I have contended from the first that she could not be all that my sister proclaimed. Darcy is not a man to lose his senses so entirely and I prefer to trust our son's assertion that the young lady is in all manner a gentlewoman."

"Let us hope you are correct. Although I hazard to guess that Darcy has lost a great deal more of his reason than you suppose."

She picked up the letter anew and perused those phrases in which he spoke of his wife—so seemingly banal and yet so suffused with honest admiration. She laughed softly, elegantly.

"Who should have ever thought that our dear nephew, so dutiful and serious as he has always been, so seemingly reserved, to be so overcome with passion as to make a love match with a penniless girl with no meaningful connections to speak of. He has confessed to you his happiness; I confess now my desire to know the young lady. For she cannot be ordinary. If she is even half the cunning, scheming young girl Lady Catherine has marked her to be, I just may choose her as my special favorite this season, if only to irritate your sister."

With a grimace the Earl called for his secretary and ordered that word be sent to his nephew. Consequently, it was not many days passed that Mr. Darcy shared the following correspondence with his lovely wife.

B_____ Castle, Scotland
December 4, 18__

The Earl of _____ presents his compliments and wishes that Mr. Darcy be informed that his attendance and that of Lady Eleanor should be anticipated at Pemberley within the next fortnight for a duration of the same.

Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy read the brief missive and smiled archly as she returned it to her husband's hands. "Does the Earl always communicate through his secretary?" she inquired.

Looking momentarily puzzled, Mr. Darcy responded evenly: "It is generally his habit to do so, excepting on very particular occasions."

"Oh!" was all the reply she made, and her husband thought it best to not pursue with any dedication the meaning behind such a provocative exclamation.

"You are pleased, are you not, that they shall be attending upon us?"

"Naturally."

Spontaneously he stepped forward and gently embraced her. "They will adore you," he said. "Just as I do."

Her hands came to rest upon his chest; she tilted her head and smiled as she looked upon his face—delighting in the unreservedly open affection that softened his expression when he held her in his arms. Slipping her arms up and around his neck, she replied at last in a soft and playful tone: "Perhaps not just as you do, my love."

"Eliza," he whispered, and they were immediately too distracted by those tender attentions with which the newly wed are so frequently distracted to give more thought to the great Earl and his grand Lady.

To Be Continued . . .