Pemberley 1845

AR head shotWriting fiction is a continual learning experience. This month my muse has deluged me with ideas too good to ignore, so instead of my usual two works in progress, I have no less than four. I was going to give you an excerpt from the WIP that I’m trying to focus on, but then my muse laid down a challenge for me. I’d just seen a powerful play about a good marriage turned bad by personal tragedy, and that’s not the kind of marriage that I want to think about. So out popped this little vignette, completely unlike anything I’ve ever written before, and I have no idea if it’s any good or not. That’ll have to be your decision!

Pemberley, 1845

With satisfaction, Darcy scanned the crowd of friends and family gathered in the Pemberley dining room. It had been a good day. Darcy approved of the young lady of good family to whom Thomas was now safely married. Her impertinence sometimes dismayed him, but she reminded him of his Elizabeth when he had first met her, before he knew the warm heart that lay under her teasing. But it was good that Thomas’ bride had spirit; even as a baby, he had been the most energetic of their four children, the one who always spotted trouble and managed to find the messiest part of it. The army had settled Thomas a little, but still, his wife would have her work cut out for her.

The wedding breakfast was proceeding without a hitch. The new housekeeper whom Elizabeth had hired seemed to know her job, although it was odd to have a housekeeper who was younger than he himself was. He still missed old Mrs. Reynolds, who had retired not long after Elizabeth found her feet as Mistress of Pemberley. It had not been an easy transition for his own bride; several times in the first months of their marriage he had found her in tears of frustration over learning some aspect of the work she was required to oversee. Of course, she had mastered the complex role as quickly as anyone could expect, but then again he had known she would. Those few servants who had been foolish enough to question that when the new Mrs. Darcy arrived had found themselves rapidly replaced by Mrs. Reynolds, who allowed no criticism of his choice of bride.

He shifted as close to Elizabeth as her voluminous skirts would permit, thinking for the thousandth time how much he wished for a return of the fashions of their youth. Girls might look pretty enough in these modern dresses with their bell-shaped skirts buoyed out by masses of petticoats and their waists constricted to an unnaturally tiny size, but he missed those high-waisted gowns that had fallen so naturally along Elizabeth’s form. How he had loved watching her in them, the thin muslin clinging to her shapely body, the translucent fabric exposing just a hint of the shape of her legs. He pitied the young men of today, condemned never to catch a glimpse of a woman’s true shape except in the most intimate moments. Thank heaven Elizabeth had never adopted the full modern regalia. Her public dresses were fashionable, but she managed to look lovely despite keeping her corset comfortably loose, and, knowing his preferences, she often dispensed with some of the petticoats when they sat together in the privacy of their rooms. And she was still lovely, after all these years, with four children grown and a world changed beyond recognition.

How unimaginable all of this would have been to him in those early days! Had the world ever before altered so much in the course of one generation? Theirs had begun in a bucolic world, and now they were surrounded by the new industrial age. The huge factories in Manchester and Birmingham, the ugly railroads that were springing up everywhere, the influx of the poor into the cities where they became poorer still, forced to endure terrible conditions until they were near collapse from exhaustion. Oh, he could admit that it was pleasant to be able to reach London from Pemberley in a day, forgoing the jolting ride of carriages over rutted roads for two or three days at a time, and not having to worry about changing the horses or the quality of the coaching inns. Still, he did not like being locked up in the noisy box of a train car, even the elegant first class ones. He likely would never have boarded one in the first place had it not been for Elizabeth’s urging. She loved new experiences, and he loved to give her the pleasure of them. Giving her pleasure was still one of his greatest joys.

Of course, he had not always been able to protect her from unhappiness. The tears and depression that had followed the death of little Emma, just three months old, had seemed to last forever, and he had not known how to help her, just when she had needed him the most. But life had gone on, and another disaster had brought them together again – that cursed year of 1816, when they had to work together for the sake of Pemberley, through famine and a smallpox epidemic. The Irish Disease had come close on its heels, carrying off many of their servants, and for a time they had feared for Georgiana’s life. Thank God they had managed somehow to keep the tenants of Pemberley fed when the harvests had failed! That was when he congratulated himself on choosing such an intelligent and capable wife whom he could depend on as a helpmate rather than a society miss without a thought in her head.

He chuckled at the idea that he had chosen to marry Elizabeth – his need for her in the early days had been more like a force of nature – causing his wife to give him a quizzical glance. Patting her hand to assure her all was well, he smiled into her eyes that were every bit as fine as when they had first met. Her hair might be threaded with silver now, but he could still see the laughing, teasing, bewitching girl he had married all those years ago when she tilted her head in that special way of hers, an arch curve to her lips. When she had first accepted his hand, he had believed that no man could ever love a woman more than he did at that moment, but he had been a callow youth. Passion and fascination were powerful, but they were nothing to the love that grew over the years, improving like brandy with age. 

So much had changed, but some things never would. He leaned close to her and said softly, “In vain have I struggled. It will not do. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” Her eyes lit up, and he felt the power of their bond, which had survived misunderstandings, great joy and equally great pain. She was, indeed, a woman well worth pleasing.

29 comments on “Pemberley, 1845”

    1. LeslieGB
      Dear Abigail.How beautiful what you have written. You were able to describe the many years of Darcy and Elizabeth’s wonderful marriage. It wasn’t perfect, but like good marriages they were able to manage the peaks and valleys. I know you said this just “popped out”, but you have quite a gift and you know this couple really well. You are one of my favorite Austen Authors and I always look forward to what you have written. I don’t know what you will eventually do with this piece, but you have a beautiful start. Thank you for sharing with all of us. –Leslie

    1. Nina Benneton
      How wonderful to use that line in a different context at the end there!!! Beautiful.

    1. Chelsea
      Thanks for sharing this, I love your writing! I always love how you portray the relationship between Darcy & Elizabeth.

    1. Joanna Yeoh
      I love it, especially the ending!! I also love your dog in the profile picture :)

    1. Stephanie L
      mmmm lovely. Just lovely. No marriage makes it through the years without bumps and valleys, but to see Darcy appreciate the woman beside him is so beautiful. Very well done, spur of the moment or no. Your muse knows her stuff (as usual). :wink:

    1. Maria Grace
      That was a lovely way to start the morning, Abigail. Thank you!

    1. Kim Withey
      It’s nice to picture our favorites characters growing older together. That happy ever after doesn’t just end with their marriage.

    1. Ana María Rodríguez López
      Marvelous as always, Abigail.You have such a gift ¡¡¡. It´s so beautiful the way you described his feelings after a long marriage. Good times, bad times, that´s the way marriages work. I have been married for twenty two years now and I sometimes feel so much like the way Darcy feels… That´s your gift, to make Darcy and Elizabeth just so real that sometimes I think about them as old friends, not just as characters in novels. Thank you for sharing all this with us. Best regards, Ana.

    1. Ceri
      Ahhh, how lovely!

    1. LindaBlanche
      That was delightful. I love getting a glimpse of Darcy and Elizabeth in the future. I loved how it was from Darcy’s point of view. Beautiful.Thank you for sharing a mini with us.Linda

    1. RosannaK
      Wonderful, Abigail. I so enjoy your lovely talent.

    1. Deirdre
      That was lovely. I often think about Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy after being married for years. I think you hit right on….not always easy but finding their path together. Thanks for the smile.

    1. blodeuedd
      Just lovely :)

    1. Monica P
      Thank you, Abigail’s Muse, for keeping her mind constantly filled with stories! This was just lovely, Darcy reflecting on all the ups and downs of their years together and all the changes throughout England. I hope you will write more P&P sequels.

    1. Laura Hannah Russell
      Just lovely. I sometimes wonder how Darcy and Elizabeth would cope with the changing fashions of the Victorian Era.

    1. SuzeJA
      Wow, fobuloua writing thank you. I enjoyed it very much!

    1. Kathryn
      It is always a happy occassion to read something new that you have written, Abigail! This is as lovely as can be. Thank you!

    1. Abigail Reynolds
      Thank you for all the lovely comments! They are the best inspiration in the world for me. It was a fun piece to write. I really enjoyed making Darcy a bit of an old curmudgeon about the new-fangled ways of the early Victorian era. I wrote a somewhat longer version of it that dealt with Darcy’s fears for the future, but it kept making me cry, so I decided maybe I should leave well enough alone. ;)

    1. Erlynn
      Ahh. Loved the ending!

    1. Pearl Hewitt
      Wow!!! You are amazing!! What a fantastic gift you have.Of course, I couldn’t read it in my head. I had to narrate out loud…..as I do, you know! As I did so, I could see myself as Darcy and I was completely in his mind. I could see images of Pemberly, the Darcy children as grown-ups, Elizabeth chatting and smiling to them and imagined Darcy sitting back with that contemplative look on his face. That famous Colin Firth expression that no other actor has managed to portray. Your whole vignette played out like a movie in my head. I loved it and I might just have to record it for you so you can have the audio for your own pleasure.

    1. Audrey
      I needed a pick me up today, and you supplied one! Thank you for the vignette. I like the use of the quote at the end.

    1. Diana Birchall
      Extremely well done. You have the historical imagination! And I bet the one you aren’t showing, that made you cry, is a masterpiece!

    1. Susan Mason-Milks
      Thanks for the treat, Abigail!

    1. Jane Odiwe
      I really enjoyed this touching piece, Abigail-so elegantly written!

    1. Susan Adriani
      Abigail, so lovely as always. I especially enjoyed the ending paragraph. In vain have I struggled, indeed!

    1. JuneA**
      Absolutely beautiful-the ending was the icing on the cake!! I hope to see this excerpt turned into a novel! thanks for sharing,

    1. Regina Jeffers
      I thoroughly enjoyed this piece, Abigail.

    1. Lúthien84
      Splendidly written, Abigail. I adore how you portray the Darcys married life and their children. I never thought of how the Darcys could have live in the Victorian age. :smile:

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    • Deborah on February 4, 2014 at 1:32 pm
    • Reply

    I saw this piece for the first time today. It was so beautifully expressive. Thank you for Sharing it.

    1. Thanks, Deborah. I’d forgotten about this vignette until I was going through my old posts from the last few years, and this one meant a lot to me.

    • Carol hoyt on February 4, 2014 at 9:38 pm
    • Reply

    Thank you Abigail for such a lovely, moving story.
    The ending was perfect!

    1. Thanks, Carol! It just seemed to fit.

    • Chanpreet on February 4, 2014 at 11:31 pm
    • Reply

    How beautiful! I love this look into Darcy and Lizzie’s lives post marriage and it seems post children. It reminds me of why I fell in love with them in the first place.

    1. There’s just something about their love that you know will last, isn’t there?

    • Anji on February 6, 2014 at 8:23 am
    • Reply

    Just found this piece and I’ve still got tears in my eyes from reading it. It’s a beautiful piece of writing, possibly all the better for being the length it is. Though I wouldn’t object to reading the longer version sometime.

    I often wonder what the views of people, who grew up in Regency times, would be about the dramatic changes of the industrial and Victorian age. I love that Darcy is somewhat grumpy about them, especially the women’s fashions!

    1. Thanks. It just seemed natural at that length. It’s a remarkably shocking concept to me to think of Elizabeth and Darcy taking a train, but they must have done so.

    • Anji on February 7, 2014 at 4:42 am
    • Reply

    Last night, we were re-watching “The King’s Speech” with Colin Firth giving his Oscar winning performance as King George V. You probably know that two other P & P 1995 alumni play minor roles in it. Jennifer Ehle plays Lionel Logue’s wife and David Bamber an unnamed theatre manager or producer.

    Having read Abigail’s piece above earlier in the day and then looking at Mr Firth and Ms Ehle as they have matured over the intervening years, I could easily picture them recreating their roles to play this short scene. I guess it will never happen but one can dream.

    1. Wouldn’t it be lovely, though?

    • Ruth Clapp on February 18, 2014 at 6:37 pm
    • Reply

    I have pretty much given up on P&P sequels but this bit makes me think that maybe you could write one I would enjoy. I did enjoy watching a mature Mr. D looking back.

  1. […] Pemberley 1845 by Abigail Reynolds […]

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