Mr. Darcy's Daughter (11 page)

With
the wind from the West, it was only a matter of time before the storm would be
upon them. A few more overs were bowled, a wicket or two fell, and then the
scudding clouds were over the ground; minutes later the rain came, falling, as
it often did in Summer, not gently but in sheets.

The
spectators all ran for cover, but Lizzie and Laura insisted that the score
sheets be collected and protected from the rain first.

"You
cannot lose the score sheets; it's important for the records," said Laura,
and Lizzie agreed, making sure everything was packed up before they ran
indoors.

Mr.
Carr was wet and not a little put out. He had to hide his relief, while
everyone around him was expressing their disappointment, especially young
Darcy, who was confident they could have had the visitors out before tea.

The
rain persisted for over an hour and, even when it ceased, the light was too
poor to allow a resumption of play. What was worse, there were still heavy
clouds above the hills, threatening to fall down upon them at any moment.

With
no hope of continuing, the match, sadly, was declared to be a draw and the
crowds, disconsolate and damp, began to wend their way home. They'd had a good
day, but were disappointed not to see a result.

It
was as they were packing up that Mrs. Darcy sent word to her daughter, inviting
everyone in their party back to Pemberley for tea. Cassy was delighted.

She
knew immediately that her mother had a plan in mind. Within minutes, she had
spread the word, and soon they were packing themselves into their carriages for
the short journey to Pemberley.

Mr.
Carr was at first not sure he should go. He was wet and weary of cricket talk.
Besides, he had not been invited specifically, he said to Mrs. Gardiner, and he
needed to change his coat, which was quite damp.

"Oh,
what nonsense is this, Mr. Carr? Of course you are invited. You are with our
party, are you not? What is more, you have been working so hard to keep scores,
we cannot let you go home alone and sit by yourself in front of the fire. Of
course you must come to Pemberley. As for your coat, I agree it is damp and we
must have you out of it or you may catch cold, but it is quicker to drive to
Pemberley than to return to Matlock. Come now, Richard will take you and you
can have one of my father's coats until yours is dry."

She
was so persuasive and would not take no for an answer, it seemed churlish to
refuse. When little Laura Ann added her weight ("Do you not want to see
Pemberley, Mr. Carr?" she asked. "It is beautiful."), he could
no longer argue and went without further ado to join his host who was waiting
to convey him in his vehicle.

*

Mr.
Carr's first glimpse of Pemberley was overwhelming. The rain had passed and the
afternoon sun was falling upon the stonework and glass as they drove into the
park. Richard Gardiner, who was by now so familiar with the place, he knew
every part of it, fell silent, allowing his guest to take in the particular
beauty of the house and surrounding grounds.

As
they crossed the stone bridge and drove towards the house, Mr. Carr said in a
voice that betrayed his astonishment,"This is superb--a most magnificent
estate, Dr Gardiner."

When
they alighted, entered the hall, and were then shown into the splendid saloon,
which looked out over the park, he continued, "I have seen many richer and
more opulent mansions in America, and older, more historic houses in France,
but this surpasses them all.

"It
is grand without presumption, noble in its proportions, yet not in the least
ostentatious. Mr. and Mrs. Darcy are truly blessed to have such a home."

Richard
could not but agree and, while the servants were busy fetching a coat for Mr.
Carr to wear until his own was dried and pressed, he prescribed some hot sweet
tea and whisky to ward off a cold. When Mr. and Mrs. Darcy and the rest of the
family arrived, both men were enjoying the comfort of an excellent blaze.

"I
can see they have been looking after you, Mr. Carr," said Elizabeth as the
gentlemen rose. "No, do sit down and enjoy your tea while I change my
shoes.

I
cannot afford to catch cold; it would ruin the Summer for me."

The
gentlemen were left on their own until the younger members of the family
arrived and then it was all cricket talk, as the misfortune of the
rain-drenched match was discussed again. Mr. Carr was beginning to wonder if
they talked of anything else, when Mrs. Darcy returned and, taking pity on him,
said,

"Mr.
Carr, I am sure you have heard quite enough of the cricket for one day,
probably for the whole Summer; would you like to come with me and see something
of the house?"

He
leapt up to join her. "Oh, indeed I would, Mrs. Darcy; I have heard much
about Pemberley from young Darcy, but nothing prepared me for this. I have been
truly astonished by its elegance and beauty. I would love to see more."

Once
again, Elizabeth, wary of flattery, looked sharply across at her companion and,
again, she was sure there was only sincerity, despite the extravagance of his
words.

Perhaps,
she decided, Americans were more lavish with praise. She had heard they were,
but not having known any of them before, she could not judge.

Mr.
Carr was probably just being enthusiastic, she thought.

As
they went upstairs, Elizabeth saw Cassandra cross the hall and called to her to
join them. Understanding her mother's meaning, Cassy followed them up the
stairs. Approaching the gallery, Elizabeth took them past the portraits of
Darcys of generations long gone, until they approached that part of the room
where the recent family portraits were hung. There, on the wall, beside the
portrait of Mrs. Fitzwilliam and the smaller picture of the young man in a
green coat, was a singularly lovely cameo-style portrait of Lizzie Gardiner. It
had been started last year, when Lizzie had stayed with her grandparents while
her parents travelled overseas, and had only recently been framed and hung. It
had a delicacy that was very appealing indeed.

Cassy,
seeing the finished work for the first time, was amazed at her mother's clever
scheme of drawing attention to all three pictures grouped together on the wall.
She said nothing, waiting for some response from Mr. Carr, but for once he
seemed to have been struck dumb, not, as it happened, by the charming portrait
of Lizzie, but by the picture of the young man in a green coat, which hung
beside it.

Looking
at the picture, with Mr. Carr standing in front of it, the resemblance was
quite uncanny. Cassy had no doubt of the connection between the two men.

When
he did speak, having recovered his voice, Mr. Carr immediately acknowledged
that the portrait of young Miss Gardiner was beautiful and did the young lady
justice, but soon afterwards, he had turned to Elizabeth with the question she
had been expecting. "Mrs. Darcy, may I ask if you know who the young man
in this picture might be?"

As
Cassandra stepped back and held her breath, her mother said, in a voice so
casual as to be astonishing, "I know very little of these family
portraits, Mr. Carr; you will understand that many of them were acquired before
I came to Pemberley. Both these portraits were brought to Pemberley from
Ireland by Mr. Darcy's parents. It is thought the lad used to work on the
Fitzwilliams' estate and I have heard Mr. Darcy say he was one Robert
Carr."

The
words were hardly out of her mouth, when he, almost bursting with impatience,
cried, "Robert Carr! Why Mrs. Darcy, then this young man must be my
grandfather! Is anything more known about him? When was this portrait
painted?" he asked, eager for more information.

Even
as Cassy watched, her mother explained with great sensitivity the connection
between the portrait of young Robert Carr the stable boy and that of Mrs. Moira
Fitzwilliam. "This was all very long ago, of course, when Mr. Darcy was a
boy, but Mrs. Reynolds knew it all and related some of it to Mr. Darcy,"
she explained and so, very gradually, was the mystery of the boy in a green
coat revealed to Mr. Carr.

He
was truly astounded by his fortuitous--as he thought--discovery.

Understandably,
for he had heard one side of the story from his own parents, but there had been
no suggestion whatsoever of a link with the distinguished Darcy family of
Derbyshire.

"I
have always wanted to discover the story of my grandfather's flight from
Ireland," he confessed. "I knew only that he had married a young
woman from the village of Rowsley in Derbyshire, while he was working as a
groom for a family in Derby and she was the children's governess. I believed I
would have to travel to Ireland to uncover the rest. I cannot tell you how
delighted I am, Mrs. Darcy, and how very grateful to you for having given me
this opportunity. I must thank you very much indeed."

Now
it was Elizabeth who was beginning to feel uneasy, for all his gratitude was
based upon a belief that she had not contrived this entire episode. Cassy was
watching her mother with some anxiety, wondering what she would do, when Mr.
Carr had a very particular request: "Mrs. Darcy, I wonder if may have your
permission to have a copy made for my father? It would give him and my mother
so much pleasure to see it. Unfortunately, there is not a single likeness of my
grandfather in the family, save for a small pencil sketch done by an itinerant
artist. A copy of this painting would be a wonderful gift. Would you permit
it?" he asked, and Cassy could see how keen he was for her answer.

Elizabeth
said she would need to ask her husband, but she was confident he would have no
objection. Mr. Carr was overjoyed.

As
they went downstairs together, those gathered in the saloon, oblivious of what
had happened in the gallery, were enjoying the excellent afternoon tea that Mrs.
Grantham had provided. They greeted Mr. Carr and proceeded to congratulate him
all over again on his fine performance as a scorer or his acquisition of
Rushmore Farm or both. It was plain he had made his mark in the community on
both counts.

Cassy
went directly to tell her husband of Mr. Carr's response to the portrait of the
young man in the green coat, while Elizabeth took Mr. Darcy aside to pass on Mr.
Carr's request. As she did so, she revealed to him the rest of Michael Carr's
story. Mr. Darcy smiled. "So it is as I said: he is the grandson of Robert
Carr the stable boy," he said.

"Indeed,
so it seems, and he is exceedingly pleased to have discovered the portrait
here, for it seems the family has no likeness of his grandfather at all, save
for a pencil sketch. You would not mind if he had it copied, would you
dearest?" Elizabeth asked, confident of his reply.

Mr.
Darcy had no objection at all. "Of course not," he replied. "It
is a pretty piece of work, but not one of any great value--he can have as many
copies made as he likes."

Pleased,
Elizabeth told their guest of her husband's consent and earned his undying
gratitude. "I cannot thank you enough, Mrs. Darcy. I shall proceed to
Derby at the earliest opportunity and engage a suitable artist for the
work," he said.

Mr.
Carr was plainly delighted and could scarcely wait to get back to Matlock with
the Gardiners, before revealing his "discovery" to the entire family.
He had no suspicions at all of the elaborate scheme that had been hatched to
bring him and his ancestor's portrait together.

*

Much
later, when all their visitors had left and they were alone in their private
sitting room, Elizabeth asked her husband a question she had been turning over
in her mind all evening. "Do you not mind, my dear, that Mr. Carr has
decided to purchase the Rushmore property?"

Darcy,
who had been contemplating the fire and a particularly enjoyable afternoon,
seemed surprised by her question.

"Mind?
Why should I mind, Lizzie?" he replied. "I have never had any
interest in the place, though I confess, I was concerned that it may go to some
crass developer from Birmingham. I have made it plain to Will Camden that I
would rather not have one of them as a neighbour."

"You
do not mind, then, that Mr. Carr, who is the grandson of your Uncle
Fitzwilliam's stable boy, will buy a valuable property in the
neighbourhood?" she asked, seeming to press him further. Mr. Darcy
appeared affronted and hurt by this suggestion.

"Lizzie,
how could you ask such a question? Surely, you cannot be serious?

Mr.
Carr appears to be a young man of substance and good sense. Why would his
grandfather's occupation have any bearing on his suitability to own and manage
Rushmore? Indeed, might one not argue that an interest in horses appears to run
in the family and that may well be a good thing, if he is to make a success of
the stud?"

He
was clearly outraged, as he went on.

"Besides,
I believe my uncle treated young Robert Carr very badly. As Mrs. Reynolds told
it, the lad was totally innocent and yet, because my uncle was a jealous old
man with a pretty young wife, he dismissed the boy and his father at a time
when work was hard to get, condemning the family to a life of privation and
possible penury. I am glad to learn that he came through it well and the family
has made good in America. Now, if his grandson has returned to live in England
and wishes to purchase Will Camden's farm, for what I am informed by Sir Thomas
is a very fair price, why should I mind?"