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  “It would be if the property had been maintained.”

  Mayor Woodforde looked at Fitzwilliam. “Sir, she cannot be serious!”

  “She is and I suggest you accept her offer whilst it is still on the table, my good man. The cost of maintaining the Parsonage and paying the living will impoverish the town and I know of no other person who will knock on your door and inquire to purchase.”

  Mayor Woodforde sat and thought for a time. “Mrs. Darcy, do you believe that Pastor Atkins wishes to stay with us and continue to minister to Lambton Church?”

  “I hope so, for he has not been here long enough to have become dissatisfied with his situation yet. Right now he is meeting the townspeople and learning his way around. That may change after a harvest season of attempting to collect the tithes and a few months in THAT house during a Derbyshire winter, sir. He is a top student from Oxford, Mayor Woodforde. He will have no trouble procuring a living elsewhere; after all he IS the son of Lord Sunderley. With no changes, he will likely depart in the same manner as all who came before him, which is soon. Lord Sunderley will certainly thank YOU for looking out for his son, Mayor Woodforde.”

  “Fifty-and-three hundred pounds, Mrs. Darcy and you have yourself a deal.”

  “You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Mayor. But we are agreed,” she replied.

  Elizabeth was not surprised that Mayor Woodforde only shook Fitzwilliam’s hand.

  In the phaeton on the ride home from Lambton, Fitzwilliam complimented his wife on her negotiating skills.

  “You were very wise to accept HIS terms in the end, Elizabeth.”

  “I was only following YOUR advice, sir.”

  “Yes, but you did it very well and he had no concept you were flattering his ego. Well done, my dear.”

  “Exactly what was your office in this negotiation?”

  “I was reminding him that there would be no second offer.”

  They both laughed.

  Chapter 12

  Fitzwilliam called upon Pastor Atkins to tell him about the purchase and change in the source of his income. The living at Lambton Parsonage was to be four hundred pounds a year and would free up Pastor Atkins’s time from collecting tithes to administering to his new flock. He was both humbled and delighted and thanked Fitzwilliam profusely.

  “My wife hit upon the idea once she learned of how this living was administered so differently between the three parishes. She would like to assist you in setting up housekeeping in the Parsonage. I hope it won’t be an imposition, but she would like to have some workmen come out along with a mason, the local glazier, and a chimney sweep. My advice to you, sir, is to let her have her way!”

  The papers were drawn up quickly and the sale of Lambton Parsonage was completed without complication. Elizabeth ended up bringing Georgiana who relished the opportunity to see the newly acquired Parsonage and make it more hospitable for the new young clergyman! They spoke at length with Pastor Atkins who was quite overwhelmed with all the improvements being suggested. Elizabeth informed him that the work on the roof had to commence immediately whilst the weather was still fine and to ensure any further improvements would be protected from the elements. She suggested that the pastor might want to solicit an invitation from the Mr. and Mrs. Woodforde for the week the roof was being replaced. Elizabeth and Georgiana were already well versed with what furniture was still in the Pemberley attic. They took measurements of the rooms, the blocked in windows, and the fireplace and asked Pastor Atkins about his favorite colors. Remembering the mishap with mis-matched writing tables and chairs Elizabeth inquired about the height of the writing table that Pastor Atkins would need based upon his stature and from that they deduced the size for a proper chair. She took notes on everything they discussed and also recorded what furniture was already in the Parsonage.

  Upon returning to Pemberley, Elizabeth and Georgiana had quite a bit of fun deciding what to add to the Lambton Parsonage. Both ladies thought it should be brought up closer to the standards of Pemberley Parsonage, but acknowledged it should not be equaled. Parson Atkins would likely marry someday and his future wife might bring a trousseau or want to make some selections herself. It was resolved that for now they would endeavor to make the home more hospitable, comfortable, and practical. They would not make all the selections that a new bride might enjoy doing such as new wallpapers, china, or fitting up a nursery. Elizabeth encouraged Georgiana to voice her views and they were quite to her credit. There was a mahogany bedframe, an armoire, and a large corner wash stand in the attic that would fit the largest of the Parsonage bedchambers. Pastor Atkins had said that he liked both blue and green and a carpet was found in those colors that could be cut down to fit the drawing-room. There was a round breakfast table of English design in the attic that was small enough for the Parsonage dining-parlour, but it had only three side chairs. Elizabeth thought two of the side chairs could be delivered to the Parsonage and the third could go to a local carpenter to replicate a fourth. In the drawing-room of the Parsonage there was already a mahogany Sheraton styled settee with an open ladder back and a round walnut tea table and those items would remain, although the cushion on the settee would need to be replaced and upholstered fresh. Two matching arm chairs were found in the attic that would complete the conversation area in the Parsonage drawing-room. Several sideboards in Pemberley’s attic were inspected, but they were all too large for the small Parsonage dining-parlour. They agreed a small dresser with open shelving and a work table would fit well in the Parsonage kitchen. Georgiana selected two paintings from the attic that she thought Pastor Atkins would like, one for the drawing-room and one for the dining-parlour. And she chose a mahogany framed looking glass for the bedchamber. There was a writing table in the French taste and of the proper height that could fit into the drawing-room, but they could not locate an arm chair that would fit it. Elizabeth suggested they look through some of the guest suites to find the right arm chair. They had to check many bedchambers, but they did eventually find an arm chair that worked well and had it moved to the attic with the other appointed pieces.

  Elizabeth spoke with Mr. Smith about the improvements to be made to the Parsonage including the new slate roof and he agreed to talk with the proper workmen and tradesmen. A local girl of all works should be interviewed with the hiring decision left to Pastor Atkins as he would be paying her wages. Elizabeth also explained that all the items that had been selected or would be purchased for the Parsonage were to be found either in the attic and tagged or at several local shops and would be ready to be moved. Both agreed that the items should be moved after the work was done.

  Finally, Elizabeth and Georgiana went to town and shopped for the fabrics for curtains, linens, and feather pillows, as well as dishes, glasses, and basic crockery. Georgiana also found a lovely mantel table clock and a porcelain four piece coffee and tea service that she could not resist purchasing for the Parsonage. Elizabeth could envision Georgiana as mistress of her own household one day! Elizabeth ordered a new metal range that fit the dimensions of the fireplace and a new smoke jack for above it at the local mercantile. They next visited the cabinet maker and Elizabeth was surprised to see a ready-made small mahogany sideboard with Butler’s desk that would fit the Parsonage dining-parlour perfectly. Their recent shopping had garnered quite a bit of interest in the town. Word had already spread that Mr. Darcy had purchased the Parsonage to ensure the town could pursue its charitable works and the cabinet maker, Mr. Miller, offered Elizabeth a substantial discount on the piece. She thanked him and promptly purchased the sideboard directing that its delivery to the Parsonage be handled thru Mr. Smith.

  As Elizabeth and Georgiana walked around town making their purchases, a local man on the street doffed his cap and said hello to Georgiana whom he had become acquainted with whilst working on the estate. She introduced Elizabeth to Mr. Martin. He explained that he was a neighbor to the Parsonage and had heard the news of the Parsonage being purchased by Mr. Darcy. He wanted to offer his
services to trim the trees and shrubbery around the Parsonage which had become quite overgrown. Elizabeth cordially accepted his offer and thanked him for his generosity before he happily went on his way.

  “It’s just like the story of stone soup!” Elizabeth said. And she and Georgiana both laughed merrily.

  Work on the new slate roof commenced immediately. The combined effort took a month, but the Parsonage was fitted up quite nicely. It was bright and cheerful with the new windows. The fireplace was clean and functional again. After being hired to replicate the fourth dining-parlour chair and hearing what it was for, a local carpenter had donated his time and some leftover material to install wainscoting in the dining-parlour. The furniture arrangement was quite practical and comfortable. And simple meals could be prepared from the kitchen. Pastor Atkins loved his new home. He had eagerly hired Missy, the girl of all works, and after thoroughly cleaning the Parsonage from top to bottom, she was keeping fresh water in his wash basin, cooking his dinner, and doing the cleaning and laundry. Fitzwilliam had even received a letter from Lord Sunderley thanking him for his kindness in making his son feel so welcome in the parish.

  Pastor Atkins was well liked at the church. He gave meaningful sermons and encouraged his parishioners to live in joy. He visited with many of the townspeople and was learning names and faces. He paid calls upon the sick and infirm and eagerly anticipated his duties to perform weddings, baptisms, and christenings. He was soon thereafter considered indispensable by the townspeople. Mayor Woodforde was much obliged to Mrs. Darcy for her social call paid to his wife. Mrs. Woodforde now felt a marked distinction from her friends, by being so singled out. The Mayor had watched over his friend’s son and his mind was eased when he learned of the letter Lord Sunderley had sent to Mr. Darcy. Lambton should have a pastor for years to come. And Lord Sunderley was now quite in his debt! The only blight on the Mayor’s satisfaction with the whole of it was that the idea had not been his own.

  Chapter 13

  Elizabeth and Charlotte had slowly resumed their former intimacy after the initial shock of Charlotte marrying Mr. Collins had worn off. Charlotte had cherished the hope of their continued acquaintance. Elizabeth had required the perspective of time and considerable thought and examination of her feelings to achieve the desired object. Elizabeth had been further directed in her scrutiny of the situation by her acknowledged tender desire to restore the friendship to its prior dearness and by reconsidering Jane’s admonishment that she was not taking into account difference of situation and temper.

  Elizabeth had in time come to realize that Sir William Lucas had been beguiled by the distinction of his elevation to knighthood. He had succumbed to the temptation of respectability and gentility promised by the selling of his business and the quitting of his small residence in Meryton and the purchase of a stately home outside of town. That his family would have less to live on in this new arrangement, directly contradicting the improvement in his rank and standing was a compromise Sir William was apparently willing to make. His empty-headed desire for a more prominent situation in life had overruled his wife’s calculations regarding their future household budget. That Lady Lucas managed an economical and efficient small manor house, no one could dispute. She could stretch a soup further than any woman in the neighborhood. She relied heavily on savouries to reduce her dependence on serving joints of meat to her family. Their entertaining budget was diminished through the avoidance of calling upon new neighbors who would be obliged to return the call. But her savings could not fully counteract his loss of income. And at least four of the five children would bear the consequences of this grand bargain. As the oldest, Charlotte had been the first to face this new mandated miserliness. There would be no dowries, trousseaux, or wedding clothes for any of the girls, no inheritance or small assistance for the younger son. And even the elder son faced the prospect of inheriting a minor country house that in all practicality could not be afforded. Elizabeth had come to accept that at the age of 27, with no dowry, being more than plain but less than handsome, and restricted to only the society that could be afforded by her mother’s necessary frugality, Charlotte had made a decision that she herself was comfortable with by securing and then marrying Mr. Collins. Elizabeth did feel something like regret, that if Charlotte had refrained from encouraging Mr. Collins, Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam would have done everything in their power following their marriage to introduce her to a larger and more varied circle of society in an effort to help her marry. But it was not sound to have such an expectation! That Charlotte should turn away the opportunity of her own certain settlement on the hope of the engagement of another which might result in her eventual benefit was too uncertain a prospect. And Elizabeth had to acknowledge that Charlotte appeared content and was able to tolerate if not sometimes outright manage her husband to a satisfactory degree. Mr. and Mrs. Collins had been blessed with a daughter Sarah Maria after about a twelvemonth of marriage and Charlotte had embraced motherhood with much joy.

  Now that they were both married and residing in distant counties, their friendship was sustained mostly by letter whereas before it had relied on conversation. Elizabeth received correspondence from Charlotte about once per week. Her correspondence was filled with news of the parish, the Parsonage, and Rosings Park. Always a practical young woman, Charlotte had a very clear eyed view of the world, and was not prone to deluding herself about the realities of her life. She arranged those things she had influence over in a logical, useful, and most agreeable fashion. Those unavoidable inconveniences and irritations in life, she endeavored not to dwell upon. Her manner of writing mirrored her rational views which made her letters very enjoyable to read. Her forthright style of prose could cut directly to the inherent truth of most matters and yet this was done without giving insult.

  One such letter looked abnormally lengthy and Elizabeth was concerned it may contain more pronouncements on Lady Catherine’s health. Charlotte had mentioned during her first year of marriage that she felt Lady Catherine’s health was declining. She had wanted Fitzwilliam to know because of her concern that when Lady Catherine eventually passed on, life in Hunsford would not be the same and his assistance was likely to be needed. Miss de Bourgh seemed to have little involvement with running the estate and would likely be besieged with suitors once the obstacle of her mother was removed. Although Charlotte knew that neither Miss de Bourgh nor her future husband could rescind the living that had been awarded to Mr. Collins, she could not convince him as much. And this was not the only point on which they did not agree. Charlotte thought an acquaintance should be sought with Miss de Bourgh that was individual to her. But Mr. Collins made no attempt to learn anything about Anne de Bourgh’s character or preferences and simply treated her as an extension of her mother with his flattery.

  When Sarah had been born, Charlotte had insisted that both Lady Catherine and Miss de Bourgh had been requested as Sarah’s godmothers, much to Mr. Collins’s surprise. Both ladies had accepted, much to Charlotte’s relief. Finally Charlotte had spoken frankly with her husband about how events may transpire including that Mr. Bennet would likely outlive Lady Catherine and some adjustments must be made in how they conducted themselves around Miss de Bourgh. Mr. Collins was aghast. He nearly equated Charlotte’s acknowledgement of Lady Catherine’s mortality with blasphemy. Charlotte was not amused nor was she surprised. But that was some months ago and since then, the two seemed to have come to a truce on the subject. Elizabeth settled in to read what in all likelihood was to be an interesting letter.

  Hunsford Parsonage, November 2

  My Dear Lizzy,

  Thank you for your long, satisfactory letter of late sharing your adventures in fitting up the newly acquired Lambton Parsonage! I was quite pleased and flattered that you asked for my help in understanding the needs of a minister’s wife and home. I am confident that you did not even slightly resemble another noble patroness of my acquaintance in your overtures to Mrs. Jenkins or Pastor Atkins.

&n
bsp; I have much to tell you and even as I pride myself on the clarity and directness of my words, I do not know where to begin and have resigned myself to using multiple pages. Our family is in good health, and little Sarah continues to grow and develop daily! The story I have to tell winds and meanders along and I will do my best to do it justice whilst not tying up an entire day for either of us in the writing or the reading of this letter.

  Mr. Collins has a friend! And it is someone who has never met Lady Catherine! I had hoped he would develop some friendships here in Hunsford, but so far it has not come to be. His proclivity of incessant flattery of Lady Catherine particularly in her absence has not been appreciated by those who are already in range of her advice and patronage, as you can well imagine. Just the other day, she chastised Mr. Jones regarding the milking of his cows. How he deferred to her expertise, I know not.

  As you may recollect, upon my marriage and moving to Hunsford, I took it upon myself to organize all the Parsonage household accounts. This has been one of my greatest joys, managing a household, second only to mothering Sarah, and I must say that Mr. Collins has been very supportive. What I did not mention to you is that I also took it upon myself to organize Mr. Collins’s book-room and all his work papers. He was somewhat resistant to this at first. But as neither of us has been married before, and Mr. Collins’s childhood was not what it ought to have been, he really did not know if my offering was inappropriate. Before he was able to ask Lady Catherine her noble opinion, I related to him my experience in observing my parents. Before my father’s knighthood, you know that he owned the mercantile in Meryton. What you probably never knew is that my mother was the sense behind the operation. She planned all the purchases, organized the inventory, determined the pricing, and wrote my father’s correspondence. And she let my father take all the credit. Well, I certainly did not tell Mr. Collins all of THIS. But I did share that she transcribed all his letters, organized his office, and organized all the business papers, so that my father would have ample time to do the more important work in running the mercantile. What will you think of my artifice, my dear Lizzy? So having presented this as the model of marriage that I learned from as a child, Mr. Collins was all graciousness and agreed to my proposal. His book-room was a cluttered mess and I won’t bore you with the tediousness of cleaning it up. But I can now tell you that every sermon he has written since our marriage and any others he did not lose or discard before then, are now all organized by date. And every piece of research he has ever collected for his sermon making is all sequenced alphabetically by subject. In short, it is the pleasing and well configured room you saw during your visit. And as you likely could have predicted, this new system has allowed him to work more efficiently and has freed up a considerable amount of his time. I had been too clever by half, as Mr. Collins was now underfoot.