Chapter Text
Mr. Darcy never liked Christmas.
For he had never been particularly fond of this holiday before.
An impatient joy and eager expectations of presents were always nothing but quite strange to him. And when he became the master of Pemberley, he was forced to exchange the most cordial wishes with dozens of people he had hardly ever known.
In the past few years the celebration became particularly unpleasant for him, since his wife's relatives had made it a habit to come to Pemberley on the eve. Certainly, ten and a half months of blissful happiness more than redeemed six weeks of even the most severe torment. And the torment, he must admit, was not so severe. In some sense, the Bennets’ company was quite pleasant and even enjoyable. Therefore, for the sake of his beloved wife, whom he adored so much, Darcy was going to pull himself together for the third year in a row.
Elizabeth, standing beside him now, had more conflicted feelings towards the Bennets’ arrival. She genuinely missed her family and rarely visited Longbourn after her marriage. The appearance of her relatives was therefore a special joy to her, but she could not fail to understand all the gravity of their presence at Pemberley both to her dearest husband and to the other guests as well. And so she prepared herself in advance for all the scenes which were yet to come and which she was yet to survive. After all, the Bennets, apparently, were expected from minute to minute.
Darcy's servants were supposed to meet them in Lampton and accompany all guests directly to the estate. The most agile ones of the escort had arrived at Pemberley no more than an hour ago and informed the master that the Bennets were about to actually leave Lampton. So, Elizabeth and Darcy spent in the open air no longer than a couple of minutes when the first dark dots and the flickering lights appeared on the horizon, just at the edge of the lake.
Elizabeth watched with some excitement as these dots approached Pemberley, becoming more and more distinct with each second. She could already distinguish Darcy's carriage, drawn by four horses, the Bennets were to take it in Lampton. Her heart was suddenly filled with an incomprehensible longing and gloomy apprehension. If she had known in advance what amazing events were about to happen at Pemberley, she might have wished to turn this carriage around. Now she simply had to hope for the best.
Under the rustle of gravel and the rattle of the wheels, the carriage, illuminated by the torches of accompanying servants, finally pulled up to Pemberley. However, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy did not move when it stopped. Two footmen dressed in magnificent liveries appeared out of nowhere. They hurriedly set up a folding ladder and opened the carriage door, doing all their manipulations very deftly.
Mr. Bennet was the first one to appear. He glanced quickly around the darkened house, saw Elizabeth and Darcy in the flickering torchlight and first shook hands with his son-in-law, and only then kissed his own daughter.
"Hold on, Lizzie," he managed to whisper in Elizabeth's ear, causing her a genuine feeling of utter concern.
Mr. Bennet was followed by his portly wife. For a moment, Mrs. Bennet was gazing at the house, totally consumed by reverential fear. She clearly forgot about everything and everyone else. Although she visited the estate before, she had always been so astonished and delighted that it seemed now as if her jaw were about to drop. When she finally managed to recover, she hurried over to Mr. and Mrs. Darcy with all her usual effusive greetings. Her son-in-law was as gallant as ever and even kissed her hand in return, which made Mrs. Bennet blush a little. She was still timid in front of him, and so she said nothing except for a few polite phrases. Elizabeth was not so fortunate. She got not only her mother's kisses, but also her innumerable exclamations:
"Oh, Lizzie! My dear! I forgot that the estate was so tremendous!" that was what Mrs. Bennet used to say every time she was at Pemberley. "I thought that we were completely lost while riding through the park. And we rode for so long! I spoke the truth to Lady Lucas: their grounds can be placed here five times, no less."
It was unlikely that Lucas family was flattered by such a comparison. Mrs. Bennet went on and on in this way. Elizabeth instinctively listened to her mother and watched her sisters step out of the carriage one by one, assisted by the ever gallant Mr. Darcy. Mary hadn't changed at all. She was still very thin and least attractive of all the Bennet girls. Kitty could not have changed, as Elizabeth saw her now quite frequently. Lydia was the last one to come out of the carriage. Lydia! Elizabeth could not restrain a gesture of surprise. What was her youngest sister doing here?
If Mary was slightly embarrassed at the sight of Mr. Darcy and Kitty was more confident with him, as she had been a long guest at Pemberley, Lydia was acting like nothing in the world could possibly disturb her. She curtsied gracefully (in her opinion, it was graceful, indeed. Despite the fact that Lydia was due to turn nineteen in June, her figure was already slightly blurred) and held out her hand to Darcy for a kiss. It was obvious from the latter's face that he was more likely to shove Lydia back into the carriage and ride the horses back to where they had brought her from. Darcy, however, gave no sign of surprise and responded to the gesture with as much politeness and courtesy as he had previously shown to Mrs. Bennet. Visibly pleased, Lydia glanced at her more timid sisters with a certain superiority and invitingly laughed. Now it was Mrs. Darcy's turn:
"Oh, Lizzie! We haven't seen each other in years!" Lydia sang coyly, hugging her sister and kissing her on both cheeks. Elizabeth actually remembered that Lydia had only visited her once since her marriage. "I hope you have given me the best rooms."
She walked brusquely inside the house, calling out her sisters and not even thinking to wait for anybody else.
"I would like to inquire, Mr. Darcy, whether your library has any new acquisitions." Mr. Bennet changed the subject quite hastily.
"Yes, of course. All the uncut volumes were put on the table. I have already made arrangements, " Mr. Darcy replied politely. Being the perfect host, he could anticipate the slightest wishes of his guests.
"Perfectly. Quite perfectly," Mr. Bennet muttered to himself, as he was amused in an instant.
"Mama! You brought Lydia with you," Elizabeth said, half-asking, half-assenting.
"Well, dear, I do not think it is a problem!" Mrs. Bennet cried at once. "We are a family after all! And we should be together at this time, even if we did not notify you in advance." However, she slightly lowered his voice while uttering the following words: "The poor thing came to us all alone. She had no one to spend the holidays with."
Mr. and Mrs. Darcy exchanged knowing glances.
"I will have Lydia's room prepared," Elizabeth replied simply.
The next two hours were spent in Mrs. Bennet's never-ending admirations for the internal decoration of the house, as well as for the rooms assigned to them. Elizabeth tried to make her family comfortable in the guest wing of Pemberley. She paid no less attention to the location of all front rooms and the daily routine. However, all her attempts to remind her parents of the interior of the house were drowned out by her mother's vociferous exclamations.
The Bennets spent the rest of their time in the nursery, visiting their beloved grandchildren. The eldest Anne had only recently learned to walk, and it was the first time for the grandparents to see the new-born Edward. As the baby was just several months old. Jane's children, Frederick and William, were also present.
When the family had finally dressed for dinner, the Bennets, led by Kitty, went to the drawing-room, where other guests were already waiting for them. Both the Bingleys and the Hursts came to Pemberley for Christmas. Darcy's younger sister, Georgiana, also attended this event.
In spite of the double blow that had been inflicted on both of Charles’s sisters by his own marriage to the eldest Miss Bennet and Darcy's marriage to Miss Eliza Bennet, Caroline and the Hursts continued to come to Pemberley and maintained close relations with both Mr. Darcy and his sister Georgiana. Elizabeth was somewhat surprised at this and had no choice but to conclude, that Miss Bingley's affections for her husband were not as deep as they appeared at first sight. Caroline was now very gracious to Elizabeth and tried to fully compensate to both sisters for all her former coldness and discourtesy. What happened behind closed doors, one could only guess.
And if Charles’s sisters no longer showed their true feelings in the presence of Mr. Darcy or Mr. Bingley, they were not forbidden to laugh at the whole family when they were alone with each other. Miss Bingley's arrival at Pemberley, therefore, was partly due to her own and her sister’s desire of a more comfortable home for the winter, and partly due to their inclination for the latest gossip.
The first opportunity presented itself as soon as the Bennet girls literally burst into the drawing-room, surrounding their elder sister Jane, who was unwell that day, and thus allowing Mrs. Bennet to pounce upon her with all the indecent remarks about her daughter being evidently with child. And due to the surfeit of Mrs. Bennet’s indignant exclamations Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley looked at each other with quite a satisfaction (as it was not proper to speak openly of the one’s pregnancy). Elizabeth took a moment to clear up the situation with her younger sister.
"I hope everything is well between Lydia and Mr. Wickham," she turned cautiously to her father.
Lydia hardly sent any letters both to Elizabeth and to her other sisters. Never would be a proper word, one might say, if not to take into account all her tearful exclamations when she was asking for the help with her husband’s debts, which were always settled either by Jane or Elizabeth at their own expense.
"I have not idea," Mr. Bennet shrugged his shoulders. "You would better ask your mother. I try to stay out of this if I can. Come on, Lizzie!" he quickly added, catching his daughter's reproachful look. "I rode with these silly girls all the way to Pemberley. What a torment it was!"
Elizabeth decided not to argue with him, and while her guests were enjoying the light refreshments and wine, as well as polite conversation and mocking glances, she returned to the front dining room at once. As she had to face a difficult task of arranging the seating preference for all guests, especially since Lydia’s arrival. However, her husband absolutely refused to help her with this problem.
"It would not be possible, Mrs. Darcy," he said politely, but with a touch of irony in his voice. "All this agony falls solely on your shoulders."
As she watched the servants finish setting the table, Elizabeth wondered how she should accommodate her guests so that they would not kill each other in the few hours they would have to spend together. In the end, she decided to place the gentlemen, led by Darcy, at one end of the table. And Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley would be seating between them. All the other young ladies, along with her mother, should be left near Elizabeth, that is at the other end of the table. Georgiana, Kitty and Jane, as the most neutral guests, were to occupy the borders — that is the middle.
Elizabeth was quite pleased with the seating arrangement, even though there was a hell of a dozen of them at the table. And she was not disappointed by the subsequent results. Since the gentlemen did not manage to talk about the war all evening. Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley had diluted their close company. Charles's sisters were finally able to distract themselves from the scrutiny of other young ladies, as they were in the center of male attention and they were very flattered by that. At the same time, they were sitting far enough away from Elizabeth's younger sisters that they could not hear everything that they said. And that, too, was just as well and handy.
Lydia almost never stopped, telling one vulgar story after another and presuming that everybody around her was interested in her husband's latest regiment and her recent life abroad. When she paused to draw her breath for a new wave of recollections, Mrs. Bennet interrupted her with all the numerous stories either of neighbours or of other relatives. But the first real alarm bell was Lydia's quite loud regret that her husband could not attend the dinner.
"Wickham wished to come to Pemberley. He was born and raised here, if you recall it. However, he has always been refused this visit," she said with a certain resentment.
The words were heard at the other end of the table, though Darcy gave no sign of it.
"I quite agree with you, my dear," Mrs. Bennet said in return."How hard is it to invite a young man, a brilliant officer, and even more my son-in-law, due to some kind of falling out a hundred years ago?"
"Mr. Bingley, however, is always delighted when we visit his estate," Lydia did not fail to mention that.
Bingley's face was clear enough that this was not certainly the case. However, he hastily assured her otherwise:
"You are always welcome at my house, Mrs. Wickham."
Mr. Bennet coughed irritably. However, no one at the table supported the subject furthermore, and it was soon completely forgotten. Elizabeth was even beginning to think that this would be the only unpleasant incident of the evening, when at the next course Lydia suddenly turned to Georgiana:
"How are you doing, Miss Darcy?" she asked, as if they had known each other for a long time. Although Lydia had only seen her on a several occasions.
"I am quite well, thank you," Georgiana said politely.
It was almost the first thing she said for the whole evening. The Bennets' arrival had always made the most lasting impression on her. So Georgiana was usually too stunned by all the activity and noise they made to participate in the conversation in any way. Now, however, she found the strength to inquire about the state of Miss Lydia's affairs, as mere politeness required, but was interrupted quite brusquely:
"What has happened to you since we last met? Are you already engaged to someone?"
Georgiana blushed to the roots of her hair. The conversation at the other end of the table seemed to subside at once.
Miss Darcy spent part of last summer in London with her guardian and cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam. It was rumoured that the Colonel's older brother, who had the title of Viscount, had anticipated Georgiana's musical talents to that point of becoming deeply infatuated with her. It remained unknown whether this feeling prevailed upon and whether the Viscount had asked Mr. Darcy for Georgiana's hand.
"I am not engaged to anyone," Georgiana said in a trembling voice. And so quietly that Louisa Hurst had to lean forward to hear what she was saying.
"You must come and stay with me in Bath," said Lydia with some complacency in her voice. "There are officers there whom you cannot find anywhere else. We must certainly find you a proper husband."
Georgiana could only thank Lydia for her concern.
Darcy almost gritted his teeth now.
Louisa Hurst and Caroline Bingley could not hide their sarcastic smiles. Elizabeth preferred to ignore them and looked at her plate.
"You would better take care of your own sisters!" Mrs. Bennet grumbled at once. "Three daughters are married, but there are still two left. And I am not aware of what to do with them now."
Louisa Hurst put her hand over her mouth, seriously afraid of laughing outright.
"Let all unmarried girls at this table visit me in Bath," Lydia said quite impatiently. "I will find an officer for each of them."
She was totally oblivious to the looks of the sober-minded side of the table, and in her good-nature she believed that she was certainly doing these young ladies a favour.
"No one is going anywhere," Mr. Bennet snapped.
It was unknown what hurt Elizabeth more at that moment. The cold indifference of her father, the quarrelsome temper of her mother or the stupefying tactlessness of her younger sister. She could only find relief in the fact that Kitty and Mary were completely deaf to Lydia's proposal. One had been under the influence of her older sisters for too long and was not at all eager to go to Bath; the other refrained from philosophical instruction.
Elizabeth was afraid to look at her husband, sensing all his feelings from a distance. However, the sudden arrival of a new guest saved her from being the object of ridicule for Charles's sisters that evening.
A footman suddenly entered the room and solemnly announced Colonel Fitzwilliam. The Colonel himself quickly followed. He was not expected at all. Mr. and Mrs. Darcy looked at each other in much surprise and rose hastily from the table.
Colonel Fitzwilliam was in his thirty-second year. He was not remarkably handsome, but he had a rather pleasant appearance, engaging manners and was a gentleman in every sense of the word, that is, both in character and conduct.
He was somewhat embarrassed to find such a large group of guests at the table, but quickly recovered himself and bowed politely and courteously to all present.
"Fitzwilliam, is that you?" Darcy cried, astonished by the appearance of his cousin. He exchanged a firm handshake with the Colonel, indicating a certain friendly affection for him.
"Please, excuse my sudden appearance, Darcy. I thought I would spend all celebrations in the regiment" the Colonel hastily explained to him. "However, I was unexpectedly discharged. And as it was a long way to both Rosings and my brother’s house, I decided to come to Pemberley. I am afraid, it was quite a spontaneous decision. I did not even have time to send you a letter in advance."
"We are always delighted to see you, Colonel," Elizabeth courteously addressed him.
Fitzwilliam smiled as he exchanged a cordial handshake with Mrs. Darcy and cast a somewhat embarrassed glance at the guests who were paying him their closest attention. The reason due to which he felt particularly uncomfortable was that, unfortunately, he had been caught in a heavy rain not far from the estate and was now drenched to the last thread.
However, the ladies thought that the Colonel was certainly a charming man. Much like the Byronic hero, he had so suddenly appeared on Pemberley's doorstep. And they were all so pleasantly astonished by his appearance. Such a mysterious and charismatic gentleman! And it must be admitted that not everyone at the table was personally acquainted with the Colonel. Moreover, the military uniform suited him very well. Fitzwilliam's wet curls glistened enticingly in the light of the chandeliers, and for that he could be forgiven even for dripping mercilessly on the carpet.
However, the gentlemen were of a slightly different opinion than the ladies. They were quite sympathetic with the Colonel, for they knew firsthand what it was like to ride fast in the rainstorm. They could also assume that with the closer contact he might now definitely smell a little like a wet horse.
For this or for some other reason, Fitzwilliam hurried away, making a few more courteous bows and repeating all his courteous apologies. He returned to the guests after dinner, having had time to take a bath, wash off all unnecessary smells and even to freshen up. Here one could admire his military habits of gathering himself as quickly as could only be possible. In an attempt to make amends for his first unseemly appearance in front of the ladies, he even dressed in the most elegant tailcoat and definitely decided to please everyone that evening.
After dinner, the gentlemen were finally able to lay out the card table and enjoy the fine wine from Pemberley's cellar. Mr. Hurst was only distressed that the other men had not been able to concentrate all their attention on the cards and had continued to be distracted from time to time by talking earnestly about the war. The Colonel, however, had more than a direct connection with the subject and had more opportunity to talk and think about it both in the regiment and in the drawing-rooms than he was really inclined to. So as soon as he was introduced to all the ladies, he remained in their circle and entertained them all evening.
Elizabeth recalled that Fitzwilliam was an excellent conversationalist and a very charming man on closer acquaintance. And the Colonel certainly intended to charm all woman tonight. He kept up the conversation so vividly, never letting it fade, had so many interesting stories and anecdotes in store, and even managed to find a key to the heart of every lady in the room.
He had the most interesting talk with Georgiana about her recent drawings and music, with Kitty — about the latest book she had read. He politely asked Lydia about her life abroad and even recalled several of his friends in her husband's latest regiment. He spoke exclusively of his brother to Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst, as his brother was the eldest son of the Earl, and recalled his recent visit to high society. Charles's sisters enjoyed sharing with him the latest news and even going over their mutual acquaintances.
Fitzwilliam was gallant enough to even listen patiently to Mrs. Bennet, however little he cared for her friends and acquaintances in Maryton. He had a serious talk with Mary about her knowledge of geography and suddenly showed an unusual aptitude for this science (or so it seemed to Mary). Elizabeth sat with Jane a little apart from everybody else and abstaining from the conversation. Mrs. Bingley was quite unwell today. And to be honest, she was looking forward to the end of the evening and was relieved when they all finally decided to leave the drawing-room.
Colonel Fitzwilliam was indeed in high spirits. He left the guests with the assurance that he had won all sympathies of the ladies. He went up to his rooms, whistling quite joyfully and wishing only for some sleep after a very tiring day. Little he knew that he was the subject of incessant thought that evening.
Lydia definitely considered the Colonel to be quite an agreeable man. He was, of course, inferior in his appearance and polish to her dear Wickham, but in all other respects he seemed to be as charming as possbile. And so, yawning sweetly, she decided that he was quite suitable for her attention, especially since there were no other significant candidates at Pemberley.
Kitty was a little more romantic. She had met Fitzwilliam many times before while visiting her sister at Pemberley, but today she suddenly saw him in a completely different light. Although the influence of her older sisters had not been lost on her, it was somewhat softened by Kitty's propensity to read romantic novels and by the impressionable and dreamy character of her own nature. Mr. Darcy would be a little distressed if he knew about this. Since it was he who encouraged Elizabeth’s sister to read more and spend some quality time in the library. However, the books she chose were not always the most serious ones, but it allowed her to daydream for a long time. Kitty had recently turned twenty years old, and, alas, she had absolutely no one to fall in love yet.
Miss Bingley thought that the Colonel had perfect manners. She said so to her sister as she prepared for bed and combed her hair in front of the mirror. Louisa did not fail to praise the Colonel even more. She had behaved this way toward every man who might have attracted Caroline’s attention recently. As Mrs. Hurst realised with some anxiety, that her sister was gradually approaching the threshold beyond which she could be considered as an old maid and there were no serious candidates for her hand yet.
"He is younger son," Miss Bingley sighed, who was a little unsure whether she should really like the Colonel or not. "And he is probably not wealthy enough."
"He is the youngest son of the Earl," Louisa said quite reproachfully, not thinking that they should waste their time. "That should definitely mean something."
"Especially since I have a fortune of my own," Caroline replied thoughtfully.
It was decided to think through the prospects of the younger son of the Earl. And also look at him quite closely.
Mrs. Bennet was in a highly agitated state. And she already imagined Fitzwilliam to marry one of her daughters — either Kitty or Mary. And she was truly sorry now that her favourite Lydia had already chosen Mr. Wickham.
"If I could marry another daughter to the Colonel, I would have nothing else to wish for," she said quite dreamily. And she seriously decided to make her daughters become more acquainted with Mr. Darcy's cousin.
"You always have something to wish for, my dear," said Mr. Bennet with a grin.
He was open to all offers of marriage in relation to his daughters between two and four in the afternoon, when he was not spending his time in the library. He knew that it was absolutely useless for him to argue with his wife.
As for the Colonel, at this moment he was already deep in his sleep and completely unaware that the hunt for his heart was now officially opened.