The Pemberley Papers..Part Six
Handsome, clever, rich and beleaguered - Lizzie Darcy makes an unwelcome discovery.
Chapter Six
Lizzie’s maid Harding is just finishing arranging her mistress’s hair when the door opens and Amelia comes in carrying a posy of violets. She presents it to her mother.
“Oh how lovely. Thank you, Amelia.”
“ I know how much you love violets , Mama. When I saw them in the woods, I thought I must pick them for you.”
Lizzie has four sisters and five daughters. She knows that the violets are more than a posy. Unscheduled gifts are always a prelude to a favour. Dismissing the maid, she pats the seat next to her for Amelia to sit down, deciding to tease her oldest daughter just a little.
“ How flushed you look Amelia . I hope you are not sickening for something.”
“ No I am in the best of health, I went out riding this morning, perhaps that is it.”
“ Perhaps. But your hands are clammy, I really think I should call Dr. Lister.”
Amelia snatches her hand back from her mother.
“ There is nothing wrong with me.”
Smiling inwardly, Lizzie waits.
‘ Mamma, there is something I want to ask you.”
Amelia opens her eyes very wide to give her words extra sincerity.
“ When I was staying with Grandmama, I happened, quite by chance , to meet my cousin Walter.. Wickham that is. Although I did not talk to him for very long, he seems like a personable young man with excellent manners.” Amelia pauses and blinks prettily. “I have come to ask you if we could invite him to the ball. He looks like a man who knows how to dance, and you know how few young men there are in Derbyshire who know how to dance.”
Elizabeth is silent for a moment. She understands immediately that the cousins have met more than once – in fact the flush on Amelia’s cheeks speaks of repeated meetings, and the stirrings of a romance. She should never have sent Amelia to stay with her mother when Jane had measles. The Wickhams were continually billeting their children on Mrs Bennett, and that lady had always thought it was a great shame that the Darcy girls had no opportunity to meet their handsome Wickham cousins.
“ I’m afraid that is not possible, Amelia.”
Amelia’s face falls, “ But why not? Just because you and Papa have some quarrel with Aunt Lydia and Uncle Wickham ,is that any reason to deprive their children of our acquaintance? I am surprised at you Mama, you are always telling us not to be snobs – but here you are behaving like one. Walter hasn’t done anything wrong, but you don’t want to meet him because he has no fortune.”
Elizabeth sighs,
“.I applaud your democratic spirit in pleading so passionately the cause of a young man you have met only once.”
“ You have taught me to see the good in everyone, Mama.”
“ It’s true that I have tried to teach you to look beyond first impressions. I am sure Walter Wickham is a charming young man, and he may be as good as he is personable, but I am afraid your father will not agree to invite him.”
Amelia is now crimson with indignation.
“ That is pure prejudice! Didn’t you once tell me that Papa didn’t want to marry you because he found your family ill mannered?”
“ His objections to Wickham go a great deal further than that.”
“So you always say but you never tell me why. And how can he object to Wickham’s son, who he has never met.”
Elizabeth sighs again. She knows that Amelia is relentless in the pursuit of what she wants. And it is possible that if Walter is invited to Pemberley he might lose some of his attraction. He will be at the ball in Amelia’s imagination whatever happens, and he might not command her attention to the same degree if he is there in person. But she doubts that Darcy will agree.
“All I can do is to talk to your father, Amelia, about asking this young man”
“ Thank you, Mama.” Amelia puts her arms around her mother’s neck.
“ But you know how rarely he changes his mind.”
“ I wish you would tell me what happened. Why does it have to be such a secret? Even Grandmama won’t tell me.”
Elizabeth is surprised at her mother’s discretion. “ Did you talk about it with your new found cousin?”
Amelia blushes, “ I might have mentioned it, but he said that you and Papa looked down on his family because they have no money or influence. I told him that could not be true, because you had always taught us not to feel superior to others simply because we have more money.”
Elizabeth squeezes her daughter’s hand. “ You did well, Amelia. But despite this, you still like this young man.”
“ Yes Mama. After all he has never met you and Papa, and naturally he would believe what he has been told.”
Elizabeth gives her daughter a sideways look
“ But surely Mr Wickham would not want to attend a ball in a house where his parents are not welcome? Would you go to his house knowing that his parents think us proud and superior?’
Elizabeth sees a line forming between Amelia’s perfect brows, and is pleased. Then the line vanishes and Amelias smiles,
“ I think I could convince them that they wrong about you. And I am sure that Walter will do the same when you meet him.”
Now it is Elizabeth’s turn to frown. Surely the best course would be to tell Amelia the reasons that her youngest sister’s husband could never be received at Pemberley. Not only had he eloped with Lydia with no intention of marrying her, but a few years earlier he tried to run away with Georgiana Darcy who he had fully intended to marry on account of her handsome fortune. She knows that Amelia will protest, with some truth, that a son is not responsible for the sins of the father. And yet here is the younger Wickham repeating history by forming an attachment with an heiress behind her parents’ back.
“ When I speak to Papa, I will ask him to explain to you the reasons why the Wickhams are not received at Pemberley. It may change your mind.”
Amelia clasps her hands together. “ But Mama what difference does it make what Papa thinks about Walter’s parents? He is no more responsible for their behaviour than I am for yours.”
Elizabeth knows that she would never have addressed her mother in this way, but then she is not her mother and times have changed. She has every expectation that Walter will be just as plausible as his father and she knows that nothing she can say will make any difference to Amelia’s regard for him. She can only hope that, just as her younger self came to realise that she was not really in love with George Wickham, Amelia Darcy will come to the same conclusion about his son. Perhaps she can hurry this revelation along.
“ Is your cousin aware of the terms of your marriage settlement, Amelia?”
The spots of colour on Amelia’s cheeks flush deeper.
“ What has that got to do with anything.”
“ I just wondered whether in the course of the single meeting you had with your cousin whether the matter had been mentioned?”
Amelia’s face is now a deep crimson.
‘ Not everyone marries for money, Mamma.’
Elizabeth feels a strong desire to take Amelia by the shoulders and shake her. But she knows that if Amelia is spoilt then she has only herself to blame. So summoning an hauteur that would have done justice to Lady Catherine De Burgh she stands up,
“This conversation is at an end, Amelia,” She turns her back on her daughter and goes towards the the door.
Amelia realising that she has gone too far, clutches her mother by the arm.
“ I am sorry Mamma, I didn’t mean to offend you.”
Elizabeth does not reply.
“ I just want to be as happy in my marriage as you and Papa.”
Elizabeth stays silent. I wonder if she is thinking of the first time she saw Pemberley. Is she pondering, perhaps, how happy she would have been if Darcy had not been the possessor of 10,000 a year?
But before that thought can trouble her , a footman is at the door announcing the arrival of the Bishop’s wife. Lizzie puts out a hand and grabs Amelia by the wrist. Her daughter tries to wriggle away but Lizzie’s grip is firm.
“ Your presence is required in the drawing room, Amelia.”
“ But it’s you she wants to speak to, Mamma. I will just be decoration.”
Lizzie ignores this, and still holding Amelia by the wrist she heads towards the drawing room. A visit from the Bishop’s wife is something that is not to be borne alone.
The Bishop’s wife is standing with her back to the door as the Darcy women enter, examining something on the chimney piece, she appears to be running her finger along the stone lintel .
“ Good morning Mrs Elton,” Elizabeth says loudly, “ Can I help you?”
Mrs Elton turns around holding up a finger that is black with dust.
“ My dear Mrs Darcy, it is I who can help you. I fear that your housekeeper is not supervising the housemaids properly. It is of the utmost importance that these young girls understand that standards must be upheld. Of course it is no matter if I detect a trace of dust, as we are old friends, but it would be most unfortunate if my old friend, your new neighbour, Mrs Knightley, should come away from her first visit to Pemberley with the impression that the house is not a model of cleanliness.”
It is clear that the Reverend Elton’s elevation to the Bishop’s Palace has not improved Mrs Elton’s powers of diplomacy. In the days when Mrs Knightley was still Emma Wodehouse, Mrs Elton was a considerable thorn in my heroine’s side And yet here is Mrs Elton, the bishop’s wife referring to Mrs Knightley as an old friend. I confess I find it hard to imagine any circumstances in which Emma would have formed a friendship with her old antagonist, but then I could never have imagined a world where Lizzie Bennett was a campaigner for the emancipation of women from the bonds of the entail. Although the latter seems more likely than the former. I have to assume that in this strange new world, even a Bishop’s wife is guilty of exaggerating the nature of an acquaintance in order to gain an advantage over the wife of the greatest landowner in the county.
I can see a hint of redness at the base of Lizzie’s throat, but her voice is light,
“ I had never thought of putting my finger right in the scrollwork of the lintel, so you have indeed done me a service Mrs Elton. I shall tell Mrs Henshaw to make sure that no crevice is overlooked. Please sit down, and I shall call for some madeira. You must be thirsty from all that dust.”
Mrs Elton sits on one side of the fireplace and Amelia takes the sofa opposite while Lizzie goes to ring for some refreshment. The older woman leans forward.
“ I daresay Miss Darcy that you are looking forward to welcoming your cousin to the ball.”
Amelia gasps.
“ More than anything in the world! But it all depends on whether Papa will invite him.”
Mrs Elton puts her head on one side, her eyes brightening with interest,
“ But why would Darcy not invite him, there can be no objection surely?”
Lizzie returns to hear Mrs Elton calling her husband Darcy as if they were intimate friends, which they are not.
“ Who would my husband not invite?”
“ Mrs Elton was saying that there could be no objection to inviting my cousin, Mamma,” Amelia answers, smiling warmly at the Bishop’s wife.
Lizzie immediately understands the situation. The cousin that Mrs Elton refers to is that second cousin once removed, George Knightley, but there is only one cousin in Amelia’s head. She is about to correct the mistake when Amelia presses on.
“ As the wife of a bishop, you understand the importance of forgiveness. Whatever wrongs the parents have committed, the children cannot be held responsible.”
Mrs Elton eyes are shining with the idea that she has discovered a rift between the Knightleys and the Darcys.
“ I have to admit that Mrs Knightley was rather how shall I put it, high handed, in the days before her marriage, but from what I hear young George Knightley is an excellent young man.”
“ George Knightley! Oh I have no desire to meet…,”
To Lizzie’s relief the footman bearing the madeira chooses that moment to make his entrance and as he is setting out the decanter and glasses, she takes the opportunity to press Amelia’s foot with her own. Her daughter looks up at her in surprise, but when she sees her mother’s face she has the sense to fall silent.
Lizzie raises the only topic guaranteed to divert Mrs Elton from the question of cousins.
“ I am dying to know what you will be wearing to the coronation, Mrs Elton.”
Mrs Elton knows full well that this question is a diversionary tactic but she cannot resist the chance to talk about a subject that is so close to her heart.
“As the wife of one of the lords spiritual, I shall be wearing the velvet robe of a peeress, trimmed with ermine.”
Lizzie opens her eyes wide.
“ And what do you wear on your head? A mitre?”
Mrs Elton decides that this question is innocently meant and bestows upon Lizzie the smile of superior knowledge.
“ The Lord Chamberlain suggests a simple gold band for the wives of bishops.”
There is a pause as both women imagine the simple gold band.
“ You are lucky to be going,” sighs Amelia.
Mrs Elton nods, “ It is a great privilege.”
Lizzie raises her eyes to the clock on the mantlepiece. Whatever the reason for Mrs Elton’s call, it must be revealed soon, before the fifteen minutes allotted for a morning call in polite society is up. Her visitor sees the look and leans in,
“ The Bishop and I are delighted to be dining with you before the ball. I assume that Mrs Knightley will also be of the party.”
Lizzie nods. “ I so look forward to seeing her again after so long. Such a tragedy that she lost poor Knightley so young. He was such a good influence on her.” Mrs Elton heaves a sigh.
“ She was such a headstrong young woman before her marriage. I just hope that she hasn’t reverted to her old ways now that she is a widow.”
Mrs Elton stands up and Lizzie and Amelia follow her example.
“ Of course as the wife of a Bishop I should take precedence over Mrs Knightley. I only mention it because when we were together in Highbury, as the wife of the local landowner she took precedence over a humble rector’s wife. But now of course our situations are ..different, and I just wanted to make sure that there would be no misunderstanding.”
With this parting shot, clearly the real reason for her visit, Mrs Elton takes her leave. And though Lizzie is not disposed to think well of Emma Knightley she cannot not help feeling some shred of sympathy for a woman that Mrs Elton so cordially dislikes. But these thoughts are dispelled by Amelia tugging her sleeve,
“ You won’t forget to talk to Papa about Walter, will you?”
Lizzie shakes her head, aware that Mrs Elton will at that moment thinking how to profit from Amelia’s slip about not wanting to meet George Knightley, and trying to figure out which cousin she might favour instead.
“ No, Amelia, I won’t forget.”
Lizzie begins to walk in the direction of the estate office, but hearing a familiar voice she stops, and the headache that has threatened her since the arrival of Mrs Elton, now makes its presence felt.
“Who was that disagreeable woman who passed me in the drive, Amelia? I gave her a most civil bow , but she pretended not to have seen me. I shall certainly ignore if I see her again. How well you look child. I believe I have something for you in my pocket. From a certain person.”
Lizzie closes her eyes. Mrs Bennett has come early to Pemberley.
