Recollections of Rosings (44 page)

    Seeing Mr Burnett's interest, she added, "It is a view I am able to confirm from my own experience of his consideration and kindness to us, since the fire at Rosings and the ill health and death of Dr Harrison. No one could have done more, and in this offer to you, we have proof of it once again."

    Frank Burnett had little knowledge of this side of Mr Darcy's character, knowing him only as a respected member of the Rosings Trust, whose knowledge and authority on matters pertaining to the estate were always well regarded. Jonathan Bingley clearly held him in high esteem. That Mr Darcy should choose to offer him a position of such responsibility was an unexpected honour, one Mr Burnett was delighted to accept.

    Catherine was quite certain it was an indication that Mr Darcy trusted Frank Burnett and endorsed her own opinion of him.

    "It is his way of indicating that he approves of you," she said and he teased her, declaring that surely she did not need Mr Darcy's blessing to marry him.

    "Certainly not," she retorted with a smile, "but it does please me to have it and I am very proud of you, for it is not often that Mr Darcy bestows such wholehearted approval upon any person. It proves how well he regards you and how much he values your work at Rosings. He is a gentleman for whose character and judgment I have the greatest respect, and his good opinion is therefore doubly valuable."

    While this interpretation pleased Mr Burnett well enough, he was far too sensible to be flattered by it and in his response, argued that it was chiefly the warm affection that Mr and Mrs Darcy felt for Catherine that must have prompted the generous offer to him. But she would have none of this and was determined to establish her point.

    "No, Frank, I cannot accept that. While I know that Mr and Mrs Darcy, as dear friends of Mama's, would have some affection for me and for Lilian, it is not believable that such feelings alone would persuade Mr Darcy to offer you such an important position at Rosings. He is imbued with a very strong sense of responsibility as the chief trustee and would not have appointed you unless in his judgment, you were the right person for the job. I am convinced that Mr Darcy's decision was based upon a good deal more than affection for myself," she said decisively, unwittingly expressing the truth of the matter.

    Even mature and sensible lovers are sometimes inclined to spend time in trivial controversy, and since this pair were no exception, they became engaged in several minutes of debate, before they could settle upon an explanation that pleased them both. When they did, it was done with an agreeable degree of humour and fondness.

    Frank Burnett was willing to be amenable. He asked, "Then, will you have me accept that, not only is Mr Darcy a benevolent gentleman, who wishes to ensure your continuing comfort, but he is also a shrewd man of business, who has decided to offer me this position believing that it will ultimately prove beneficial to the Rosings estate?"

    "Certainly, I do believe that to be the case; he would not do otherwise," replied Catherine confidently.

    "And do you also contend that Mr Darcy, being a good judge of character, is confident that I will carry out all the duties of the position to his entire satisfaction?" he persisted.

    "Indeed I do, else he is unlikely to have made you the offer," she concluded, with a clear assumption of winning the point.

    But she was generous in victory. "I must add, my dear Frank, that I am exceedingly happy that you have understood my argument exactly. That with so little disputation we have reached agreement on this matter augurs well for our future, I think. I pray we shall always be able to resolve our differences so amicably," she said, unable to conceal a playful smile, which immediately put him in mind of the bright young person he had met at Rosings many years ago.

    Frank Burnett, who had waited a very long time for the felicitous relationship he now enjoyed with Catherine, found no difficulty in convincing her of his complete confidence that their marriage would bring them both harmony and happiness in good measure.

    "Dearest Catherine, how could it be otherwise? In all the years of our separation from one another, I confess I have striven to suppress my feelings for you, when I thought you were out of my reach, but never was I able to forget you nor did I wish you were different in any way. Every aspect of you that I could recall, your sincerity, your clear-eyed honesty, your complete lack of affectation, I recalled them all with the greatest affection. On returning to Rosings, I found that my memory of you was in every way commensurate with what you now were, only more so. The young girl I had fallen in love with and had tried to forget was now a woman I could never leave.

    "Now, on the verge of having what I have longed for, I know I am truly blessed with such happiness as I had never hoped to find. No trivial disputation will ever erode its value. All this, my dearest, I owe to you."

    Such a heartfelt declaration brought Catherine close to tears, and abandoning her teasing, she was able instead to indulge in a warm and affectionate exchange of promises that confirmed their hopes for future happiness.

    Jonathan Bingley and his family, arriving from Hertfordshire, brought with them Lilian's grandmother, Mrs Charlotte Collins, while Mr and Mrs Darcy were accompanied by their son-in-law Sir Richard Gardiner and their daughter Cassandra, for whom both Lilian and her mother had the highest admiration. They were deeply honoured that they had all accepted their invitations and travelled down to Kent for the occasion.

    But perhaps the most welcome of all their guests was Lilian's elder brother Matthew. His unexpected arrival, on account of his ship having to return to England following the sudden death at sea of her captain, brought both joy and tears. Lilian was overwhelmed to have her brother home to see her wed.

    For Catherine too, the return of her son, to whom she had been trying to write without success, brought relief. Now, he could meet Frank Burnett before being told that his mother was to marry the gentleman.

    With both her older children away overseas for many years, Catherine had grown particularly close to her youngest daughter. With Matthew home on leave, it was possible to feel again the pleasure of having most of her family around her. Catherine's happiness was almost complete.

    On Lilian's wedding day, it was clear to her mother that she was entering the marital state with more than the simple optimism of youth. In the year since her father's death, Lilian had grown in maturity; combining both good sense and sensibility, she had been a source of much comfort to Catherine. Yet, she had a degree of independence and had demonstrated clearly an intelligent awareness of her own circumstances.

    Young and eager for romance, she had accepted the proposal of marriage from John Adams in good faith, looking to the future with confidence, while giving every indication of understanding all the practical implications of her situation. Catherine enjoyed seeing her daughter's graduation to young womanhood and wished she'd had some of Lilian's self-assurance in her youth.

    She confessed as much to her sister as they stood a little apart from the guests, who crowded around the young couple.

    "Becky, had I possessed even half her confidence, I should never have been intimidated by Lady Catherine. I would have been less easily persuaded that she knew what was best for me… I may even have ignored her advice, when she declared it would be most imprudent to let Mr Burnett believe that I may welcome his attentions. Indeed, had I done as I felt inclined to do at the time, he may well have proposed and I may have accepted him all those years ago… all those wasted years…"

    As her sister turned to regard her, she added quietly, "He loved me then, Becky, and has ever since. Think how very different my life would have been had matters been permitted to run their course. But I was too young and compliant, never self-assured or strong enough to contest Her Ladyship's injunctions. I can blame no one but myself for my loss."

    Becky knew well the dangers of encouraging such dismal thoughts on the morning of Lilian's wedding; her sister could easily lapse into melancholy and that would never do. Tightening her fingers around Catherine's, she said quietly, "And if you had done, have you considered that you would not have been here, on this perfect morning, watching your lovely young daughter arrive at the church on the arm of her handsome brother? Have you thought of that, Catherine? Looking at your children, would you really have it different?"

    Startled by the thought, Catherine wrenched her mind away from contemplating the past to confront the present, saying with some vigour, "Certainly not, Becky, my children have been my entire world for many years. I have no regrets on that score, and though I dearly love Frank, it is my belief that I could not have loved him then, as well or as deeply as I do now, as he deserves to be loved. I was too callow and inexperienced in the ways of the world and whilst I may have been happy and enjoyed the romance of it, as a young girl would, I seriously doubt if I could have appreciated his true worth, for he is an exceptional man, Becky."

    Becky listened with interest; Catherine had never spoken so openly of her feelings before. She recalled the calm, almost matter-of-fact manner in which her sister had announced the news of her engagement to Dr Harrison. It had surprised both Becky and their younger sister, Amelia-Jane, that Catherine was not more excited by the prospect of marriage and she had said as much at the time to her friend Emily Gardiner.

    "I cannot believe she is so unmoved by it, Emily; yet she says she loves him. Is it possible?" Becky had said, but Emily had supposed that Catherine, who was almost twenty-nine at the time, may have been too sedate and proper to show her true feelings.

    "I do not think she would have agreed to marry him if she did not love him, Becky," she had said, reassuring her young friend.

    Yet, here she was, twenty years older, genteel, wise, and unquestionably much more serene in every way, but confessing her deep love for Frank Burnett and clearly exhilarated by the thought of marrying him.

    It was a remarkable conversion and Becky could not but marvel at the change in her sister.

    "He has profoundly transformed my life, Becky," Catherine admitted. "I do not mean in matters of art and literature alone, to which he has certainly opened my eyes; he has taught me also to look beyond the here and now, not to regard everything and everyone so seriously. I have learnt to laugh at others and at myself; he even lets me laugh at him! I could never have laughed at Dr Harrison, I was far too much in awe of him," she confessed and continued more softly, "Perhaps most particularly, he has taught me to enjoy the warmth and joy of loving, as I never have before. I was unaware of it, but I have never known what it is to love someone deeply, apart from my children, of course, and receive all of their love in return. It is quite a revelation to me. In past times, when my life seemed dull, I would hope for a better day on the morrow; with Frank, that day is a reality today. I owe him all this and whilst I still deplore Lady Catherine's deviousness in separating us, now that we are so delightfully reunited, I have no recriminations."

    Becky was astonished by her magnanimity.

    As the sisters turned to one another and smiled, the newly wedded couple moved out into the sunlit garden, surrounded by their guests, all wishing them well, and Becky saw Catherine's eyes fill with tears.

    Frank Burnett, who, having carried out his duties as best man, had chosen to remain discreetly in the background, seeing Catherine and Rebecca, moved to join them.

    As he approached, suddenly Catherine reached for her handkerchief.

    He saw her tears; unaware that they were other than the customary and predictable tears of the mother of the bride, he smiled and offered her his arm. "Shall we join the throng around the happy pair?" he asked, to which she replied, "Indeed, and share some of their joy."

    Becky smiled and watched them go, confident that her sister's future happiness was secure.

Her own prospects for contentment were looking somewhat brighter, too.

    On the previous evening, Elizabeth and Mr Darcy, together with Jonathan Bingley and his wife Anna, had visited her at Edgewater.

    It had been an unexpected pleasure to show them around the property and hear both Mr Darcy and Jonathan comment favourably upon her decision to lease it. Lizzie too had seemed more amiable and friendly towards her; a rare circumstance indeed, for they had barely spoken since the dread-filled days of Josie's illness and death.

    Having admired the house and seen something of the grounds, which they all agreed needed further work, they had repaired to the sitting room and taken tea together as they talked of the plans for the parish school. Jonathan and Mr Darcy had been interested as Becky had explained, with enthusiasm, her desire to help her sister with the project.

    "I believe I could be of assistance with keeping the accounts, leaving Cathy with more time to organise the teaching," said Rebecca and Mr Darcy had expressed his appreciation, commending her on her decision.

    Elizabeth had made mention of her previous work at Mansfield, reminding everyone that Becky had been a very successful and popular teacher at her mother's school for young ladies.