Page 96 of To Love And To Cherish
Darcy nodded, thoughtful. "We currently obtain our extracts and powders from the apothecary. He may resent the loss of income. I wish to support him as best we can."
“And we shall,” Elizabeth replied. “Perhaps we might provide him with a weekly supply of tinctures and salves prepared at Pemberley, specifically for the poor. He could distribute them freely. I imagine he would be grateful not to bear the entire cost himself."
"He may appreciate that assistance," Darcy said. "And if we find ourselves with a surplus, we might ship it to the Orphanage in London. I’ve long wanted to support their work."
"Then let us make that our aim," Elizabeth said, pressing his hand. "When we return, I will invite the apothecary and physician and their wives to dine."
"A good thought," he said. "We will offer each man a monthly stipend sufficient to cover the cost of caring for the indigent ofLambton and Kympton. I ought to have done it years ago, but it is not too late to begin."
"That may ensure that none hesitate to call for assistance," she said. "We might pay the sum into a parish fund. "People might be more willing to seek help if they believe it comes from the community, not from us directly. And it may encourage others in the parish to contribute as well."
Elizabeth hesitated, then asked, "William, have our tenants and servants received the cowpox inoculation?"
He turned to her, surprised. "I do not know of what you speak."
"It is a smallpox preventative. Dr. Jenner makes it available for purchase. Although it has not gained wide use yet, it is effective and safe. If we can obtain the vaccine, I should like to offer it to our servants and tenants."
Darcy considered this. "I will ask the opinion of my physician in London. If it proves sound, I will purchase the vaccine for our people."
Elizabeth nodded, satisfied. “Thank you.” Privately, she hoped the London physician was competent and abreast of recent medical advances.
Georgiana sat beside Kitty in the carriage, her eyes misty despite her best efforts at cheerfulness. "You will write to me from Hunsford Parsonage?" Georgiana asked, her voice soft with concern.
Kitty nodded. "I will write every week. I shall miss you dreadfully, Georgiana."
"I shall miss you so much I’m tempted to write to Aunt Catherine and ask for an invitation to visit," Georgiana said, half in jest. "Then we could see each other every day."
Darcy, seated across from them with Elizabeth, looked up from his paper, visibly alert. "Georgiana, that is not a good idea at present."
"Whyever not?" she asked, frowning. "I know Aunt Catherine is severe, but she’s always been good to you. I’ve never met her, but perhaps she’d receive me kindly for Mother’s sake."
Darcy folded the paper and set it aside. "Ordinarily, I’d agree she might. Though I do not think a visit to Rosings would ever be thought agreeable. Have you never noticed I always take Cousin Richard when I go?"
Georgiana blinked, then nodded.
He glanced at Elizabeth and continued carefully. "Georgiana, Aunt Catherine is likely to be furious when she learns of my marriage to Elizabeth. I doubt she would receive you with open arms this year."
"Oh," Georgiana said faintly. "I didn’t realize."
Elizabeth stiffened slightly. "She would cast you off for marrying me?"
Darcy reached for her hand. "No. But she has long expected me to marry her daughter, Anne. My father forbade it. He feared the match would be an unkindness to both parties."
"Anne is often ill," Georgiana murmured.
"Indeed," said Darcy. "And my mother, like Aunt Catherine, had difficulty bearing children. My father considered himself fortunate to have had two children and lived in constant dreadof losing my mother, which, in the end, he did. She passed away from childbed fever two weeks after Georgiana was born."
Georgiana’s eyes widened, and Darcy fell silent.
Elizabeth said gently, "She has a right to know, Fitzwilliam. It is her history, too."
Darcy hesitated, then nodded, glancing between the two young ladies. "Very well. But if either of you is uncomfortable, stop me."
Both young women sat silently, waiting.
"My aunt was nowhere near Pemberley when my mother died. She was in Ramsgate, chasing after my uncle. There were rumors he had gambled away his fortune and taken to drink. In truth, the fortune remained untouched. He drank himself into a stupor, collapsed, and never rose again. He aspirated and died of pneumonia. My aunt’s claim that my mother begged her to arrange a marriage between me and Anne is pure invention."
Elizabeth listened in silence. She could feel his pain still fresh beneath the calm delivery.
