Eternal Flame ~ A Pemberley Fairy Tale

Chapter Twenty-one

 A fire crackled in the hearth as Liz sat on the sofa in the salon, basking in its warmth. She felt comfortable, wrapped in William’s arms, his hand stroking her back as he described the moments from his long life that had fixed themselves in his memory. He spoke fondly of his years in America, Georgiana and Thomas’s courtship, their children, and how he had kept a watchful eye over their descendants.

“You met your great great nephew?

“Three greats actually, and yes, I attended his first art exhibition in New York and bought one of his paintings. I didn’t tell him who I was, of course, but it was good to shake his hand. He has Georgie’s eyes and yet he probably doesn’t know anything about her. She and Thomas would have been so proud of his achievements.”

A knock on the door interrupted them. Mr. Reynolds entered. “Miss Pargeter has a visitor, sir.”

“Who is it?”

There was an odd tone in his voice as he said, “My mother, sir.”

Liz sat up, running hasty fingers through her mussed hair and straightening her t-shirt. “Oh please, show her—”

Mrs Reynolds pushed through the door, patting Mr. Reynolds on the arm as she passed him. Other ladies followed behind, carrying bags or boxes. Liz recognised them from her visit to the corner shop.

“Violet?”

“Good evening, William. We have come to see your young lady, if you don’t mind.” Her brisk, business-like tone belied the suggestion that he had a choice.

“Of course I don’t mind. You’re always welcome, you know that.”

“Glad to hear you say so. You won’t object to leaving us then, will you?” Violet nodded towards the door, where Mr. Reynolds now waited with two coats over his arm.

The butler coughed. “If you would care to accompany me to the village, sir, I understand we are expected in the saloon bar of the Green Dragon.”

When William didn’t move, Violet tugged on his sleeve. “Well, go on. You don’t want to be late for your own stag night, do you?”

“I didn’t realise I was having one.”

Mrs Reynolds’ eyebrows rose. “What, and disappoint the lads? They’re all waiting for you.”

“Oh, well, in that case…” He turned to Liz, his smile vaguely apologetic. “Will you be okay on your own for a bit? It looks like I have to go out.”

“Of course you must go. Mrs Reynolds and her friends will keep me company while you’re gone.”

The older woman shooed him out of the door as Miss Fisher sat down next to Liz and patted her knee. “Hope you don’t mind, m’dear. It’s a long time since we had a wedding in the village, and we thought it was such a shame you don’t have time to prepare properly. We’ve bought a few things for you.”

Liz heard a familiar rattle along the corridor outside and Kelly pushed her trolley through the open door. This time it carried cakes, pastries and other sweet treats, along with a large teapot and a bottle of sherry.

Violet settled into a chair, clearly at home in the large room. “Let’s get down to business. What are you going to wear for the ceremony?”

“I wasn’t…I mean, we weren’t going to…” Liz had been too busy getting to grips with the idea of becoming William’s wife. She hadn’t started to think about the wedding itself. She took in the women’s horrified expressions and sighed. “I suppose I have that floaty skirt I wore at dinner last week, and I’ve brought a blouse from home that should go with it.”