Thea’s Legacy

Lelia M. Silver

 

Prologue 1

Pemberley, 1830

Thea Darcy paused just out of sight of the parlor door where her parents entertained one of the many businessmen who came seeking her father as an investor. Dinner would be served shortly, and for the first time in her young life, she’d been invited to join the adults at the table. Oh, she’d been invited to dine when it was family and friends, but never one of Pappa’s business associates. Fitzwilliam Darcy preferred to keep his business and family life separate.

It only made Thea all the more curious about what made this night and this business associate different than all the rest. She smoothed down the lavender skirts that flared from her waist, settling the few nerves that flared along with them. She’d been training for this moment from the time she was a young girl and Thea was nothing if not prepared. She was her father’s daughter after all.

She’d spent a large portion of her afternoon gleaning as much information as she could about their guest. Henry and William had been dispatched to loiter near the study to see what they could overhear of the conversation between their father and Mr. MacGregor. Josceline had applied a line of innocent questioning to their mother that only she could raise without rousing suspicion. Thea had taken it upon herself to interview Mrs. Reynolds and the footman that had been assigned to act as the man’s valet while he was in residence. It seemed he didn’t employ a valet in his own household, which was telling in its own right.

And somehow they’d managed to do it all without alerting Josceline’s governess or the boy’s tutor to their movements. Of course, they’d perfected the art of sneaking off from the nursery and moving covertly around Pemberley long ago. Now that Thea had completed her studies and was no longer under the care of the governess, she was enjoying her newfound access to the household and all its secrets.

Mr. MacGregor didn’t seem to have many secrets, but she thought she’d managed to ferret out the few he did have. The elderly man had come to discuss a potential partnership to export wool with her father. The part of Scotland he hailed from was rich with a commodity of sheep. Her father’s business interests in shipping had caught his notice and there was a potential for a mutually beneficial partnership between them. Thea privately thought her father was well on his way to agreeing to the partnership, as he’d spent many hours prior to the man’s arrival learning all he could about the wool and textile markets and the quality of the goods coming from the Southern Uplands.

But it wasn’t sheep’s wool that had clung to Mr. MacGregor’s trousers and jacket when he arrived. Poor Mrs. Reynolds, with her allergies to cats, had confirmed that fact when she’d returned from showing Mr. MacGregor to his room with red-rimmed, watery eyes. Fred, the footman, had complained about all the brushing the man’s clothes had needed to rid them of the animal fur. According to him, the man certainly had more than one cat based on the variety of hairs that had been found, and almost certainly there had also been dog hair mixed in with the cat.

That could only lead Thea to one conclusion. Either the man ran a menagerie as a side business, or he had a particular fondness for animals. She tended to think the latter was more likely, as she couldn’t imagine a menagerie made up solely of cats and dogs. No one would pay the admittance fee.

Josceline, with her big eyes and innocent mien had managed to get the man’s story from Mamma. He was a widower with no children, who had lost his wife and infant daughter to small pox after only a few years of marriage. He alone had survived, and he bore the scars to prove it. Indeed, it seemed Mr. MacGregor had no family at all, at least that he claimed. He lived alone except for the servants that cared for his home and his needs, presumably along with those of his animals.

Thea couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy for the man. He was all alone in this world. As much as her brothers and sister drove her crazy sometimes, she wouldn’t trade them for the world. Even without her siblings, she had so many aunts, uncles, and cousins that she need never fear being on her own. They were a loud, raucous bunch when all combined that filled their homes with laughter and not a few opinions. No wonder Mr. MacGregor had filled his home with pets. Vale House, as his home was called, probably positively echoed in silence after the loss of his family.

Thea squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. Perhaps that was why Pappa had invited Mr. MacGregor to dine with the family instead of meeting him at the pub in Lambton. He was a man who would appreciate the Darcys’ propensity to put their family first. She took a deep breath and turned the corner to approach the parlor.

The quiet conversation in the room ceased as Thea entered. Mamma gave her a gracious smile and beckoned her closer to their small grouping near the mantle. “Ah, here she is. Mr. MacGregor, may I introduce our eldest to you? Thea, dear, this is Mr. MacGregor, who has come to discuss business with your father.”

Thea dipped into her best curtsey. “I am pleased to make your acquaintance.”

The elderly man’s kind eyes captured hers as she rose, and he gave her a short bow from the waist. “I assure you, the pleasure is all mine, Miss Darcy. Your parents have been regaling me with tales of all your accomplishments and those of your siblings.”

White hair fluffed out from over each ear and from the crown of his head, standing at attention and trembling from the draft in the room. He wore the evening dress of an era long gone. In his prime, the suit of clothes would have emphasized a strong set of shoulders and trim waist. Now it hung on his lean frame.

Thea felt heat rise in her cheeks. “You are too kind. I am sure you must weary of the tales proud parents like to tell. I’ve yet to hear a young lady who is not described as accomplished.”

Mr. MacGregor chuckled. “I assure you the opposite is true. I like to think that I would have been the sort of father who would have bragged far and wide of his daughter’s accomplishments, had my daughter lived to see the day. And might I say that your proud Pappa has regaled me with tales of a young lady whose accomplishments are far different than those associated with the young ladies of today. I have quite been looking forward to making your acquaintance. From what I’ve heard you are quite a singular young lady.”

Thea had no response to that. She cast a look at her father, who was looking both embarrassed by the attention and gratified by the compliments she was being paid.

She looked back at the elderly man and couldn’t help the saucy grin that sprang to her lips. “Well, I am a Darcy, after all.”

They all laughed at that and Darcy took that as his sign to lead them in to dine. He offered his elbow to his wife, leaving Thea to take the arm Mr. MacGregor extended to her.

He lowered his voice to speak to her as they followed her parents out of the parlor. “Tell me, Miss Darcy, have you ever had the chance to visit Scotland?”

She shook her head in the negative. “We often visit Hertfordshire and Yorkshire, with the occasional trip to London to see family, but my father has only recently expressed an interest in visiting Scotland. I would venture to say his recent interest would be more related to your proposed mutual venture than any potential wish to sightsee. My father prefers to be with his family here at Pemberley above all else.”

Mr. MacGregor nodded. “As he should with such a fine family. Perhaps, should his trip to Scotland materialize as I hope, he might be persuaded to bring the entire family. It would bring me great joy to hear my home, Vale House, echo with the sound of young voices again as it once did in my youth.”

Thea slid into the seat he held out for her. “I would like that above all else.”

He chuckled as he took the seat to her left. “I thought it might. You have the look of a young woman ready to spread her wings a little.”

Her father helped her mother into the chair across from Mr. MacGregor before settling into his seat at the head of the table. “We hope that Thea will be with us for some years to come. There is no need for her to spread her wings just yet.”

“Spoken like a true father,” Mr. MacGregor said with a smile. “Miss Darcy strikes me as wise beyond her years. I am sure you have no need to worry that she will flee the nest before she is ready.”

They fell silent as the servants brought in the first course. Thea couldn’t help but ponder the older man’s statement as she waited. She didn’t view herself as wise beyond her years, per se, although she’d been told such before. She rather thought she was observant instead. People gave up their secrets rather obviously if you took the time to watch and listen. It was just that too often people were so busy with their own lives and worries that they didn’t take the time to pay attention to the little details.

The conversation naturally segued into more neutral topics as they enjoyed the meal, touching on the fine weather they were enjoying and all that was polite. Thea held her own counsel for most of the meal, preferring to watch and form her own opinions of the company they kept. Mr. MacGregor drew her into the conversation where he could, and her own parents encouraged her participation, but Thea got the impression that they had left the more important topics of their compatibility for a partnership behind in the parlor when she had arrived.

She could be content with that knowledge for the time being. Her parents were being careful for her first foray into outside company. It was worth the effort to bide her time and prove that she could handle these interactions with society.

The ladies removed to the drawing room after the meal, and the men soon followed. Darcy took the seat on the sofa beside his wife, his arm extended over the back of the sofa behind her in an uncharacteristic show of informality. Thea couldn’t help the way her eyebrows shot up in surprise at the sight. Her father must have settled his mind about Mr. MacGregor.

Mr. MacGregor took the chair beside Thea. “I hope you’ll grant me your honest answer to a question, Miss Darcy.”

Thea raised a brow, intrigued. “You may ask, Mr. MacGregor. I cannot promise an answer until I’ve heard the question.”

Mr. MacGregor chuckled. “You are indeed a wise young lady. I could not help but notice that there are no pets in this home. I was under the impression that every young family has some sort of cat or dog for the children. Does your family have an aversion to animals?”

Ah. Yes, he would be concerned about that since his own pets evidently played such a large part in his home life. He was no doubt missing them and feeling their loss keenly in their house. She could at least ease his mind on that front. “That is a question I can easily answer, Mr. MacGregor. The lack of a pet isn’t due to any aversion on our part. Sadly, our housekeeper, Mrs. Reynolds, is very allergic to dogs and cats and all other manner of furry creatures. As a kindness to her, my family has kept all the animals outdoors. Mrs. Reynolds has been with us since before my parents were married. She’s practically family at this point, so we must make allowances for her.”

He nodded. “Indeed. It is only right and certainly the kind thing to do. Tell me, though, if you had your druthers, would you have a cat or dog as a pet?”

Bemused, Thea couldn’t help but smile. “Since it was never truly an option, I cannot say I have given the matter much thought. My siblings and I have had more encounters with animals of the more amphibious persuasion. However, I do have to say that I think I would prefer a pet of the canine variety over the feline variety. Although I admire the independence and candor of a cat, for you always know where you stand with them, I think I would enjoy the companionship and fidelity that a dog brings.”

“You are only supporting my earlier conclusions about you, Miss Darcy. I have a few pets myself, of both the canine and feline varieties, and I must say you have described them perfectly, although they each have their own individual personalities, of course.”

This, Thea discerned, was a topic on which Mr. MacGregor could expound, and eagerly at that. Since she could clearly see his desire to regale her with a few tales of his own animals, she encouraged him to do so with a few words and a smile. That was all he needed, and Thea spent the next few hours with a real smile on her face, listening as he told story after story of his three dogs and four cats and the mischief they managed to get into at Vale House.

By the end of the evening she had a sense that perhaps Mrs. Reynolds’ allergies were not the only reason their family had never had an indoor pet, for she could only imagine what damage she and her siblings might have done if they’d had a pet in tow. They’d managed to do enough with only the occasional frog from the stream out back.

Mr. MacGregor bowed over her hand at the end of the night as she prepared to go upstairs. “I do hope that I might one day host you at Vale House, Miss Darcy, and have the opportunity to return the hospitality shown to me tonight. I would love for you to meet Kipper and Toots and all the rest.”

She smiled at him with true pleasure, all the while knowing that the possibility was slim. “It would be a joy and an honor to meet your family, Mr. MacGregor.”

His gaze softened at her words and he pressed her hand between his a little harder. “You have the uncanny ability to see what others choose to ignore, Miss Darcy. Wherever this life takes you, I hope you never lose that, for you will always be able to look beyond the pain to the person below.”

Thea blinked at him, unable to even formulate a response, for as much as she saw in others, very rarely did someone take the time to truly see her. And this man had. There could only be one appropriate response. “I thank you, sir.”

When Mr. MacGregor’s carriage drove away the next morning, she watched from the front steps with her parents, assured of one thing. Although their paths had only crossed for a short time, her path had been altered irreversibly by his presence. It might be years before she understood just how that was the case, but she knew that what lay before her was different than the path she had left behind.

 

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