Revelations an adaption of Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 138

Mrs Reynolds, or rather Mrs Eliot, her temporary replacement, must have hired extra staff to clean the entire second floor, for whichever room Georgiana and Eric explored, they were all specklessly clean. Bare, certainly, the old fashioned oak-panelled walls looked dreary without the occasional picture or some other form of decoration, and the windows were like gaping holes without even the simplest of hangings. But there was potential here, Fitzwilliam had excellent taste in decorating but somehow it was all so modern. This floor practically breathed history, and Georgiana couldn't wait to hunt for fabrics and decorations as well as suitable furniture. Not from the same period as the rooms themselves, that would be depressing, the few chairs and tables remaining and those cabinets too heavy to move out were solid chunks of massive wood, making the gloom even more oppressive.

No, they'd find lighter chairs and tables, not so much in colour as in build. She didn't mind the dark wood, it had a nice old feel, but she wanted the furniture to be a lot more elegant. It didn't matter whether it was older or more recent than the rooms themselves, she knew what she liked and she'd choose that. Hopefully there would be some really flimsy fabrics for curtains, to make the whole a bit less solid. It would take a lot of work to make the rooms habitable, but it would be fun. Already she felt the strain of the last weeks slipping away, and judging by Eric's demeanour it wasn't much different for him. It was a perfect moment to take a little break from exploring, or rather, to explore something different. Eric seemed to have had the same idea for he took his brand-new wife in his arms, and they kissed passionately. There was no opportunity to take things further but they went as far as they could, counting on being disturbed sooner or later.

And of course they were, not by servants but by their party of friends, a welcome sight to Georgiana for now they could actually choose which rooms to use.

'It's just as I remembered, terribly gloomy. The panelling must have cost a fortune in oak and walnut, but it's gloomy nonetheless. Did you find anything remotely suitable?'

Simon was totally at home here and as familiar as he'd ever been whenever they were in private, but poor Fowler seemed very much impressed by Pemberley's magnificence.

'I think we did, quite a few, actually. They are large, and some have a door connecting them, like our apartment in town. And we won't have to strip a room for the piano, they're totally bare now.'

Of course Eric mainly cared about his piano. Their piano, for it had been as much Georgiana's present, and she planned to play it a lot.

They now continued their explorations together, and finally found a room large enough to serve as their headquarters, where they would plan their journey and teach and learn. Like all the other rooms on this floor it had a relatively low ceiling, and the naturally dark wood panelling reached from floor to ceiling, where these days it was more common to have panelling to waist height, painted in a neutral colour, with decorated wall paper above it.

The room was very clean and this time it wasn't completely bare, a huge rectangular table stood right in the middle of it, with ten matching chairs. It was perfect for poring over maps, however had it gotten there? It was solid and fit the room really well, but somehow Georgiana was convinced it was not contemporary with the room itself, it was much too elegant for that. And what would its original use have been? Then it struck her: Fitzwilliam had ordered it made for them! But he couldn't have, the time was too short. So he'd probably sent someone to the local craftspeople to find a table like this already made, and this was what that person came up with. It was magnificent, and just what they needed.

'Your brother has outdone himself, dear Georgiana. Just look at that magnificent table, if that isn't brand new I'm very much mistaken. How does he do it, arrange things on such short notice? I cannot wait to spend our evenings sitting at that table. And what about our bedrooms, shall we choose them close to this room? Simon and I would like to have adjoining rooms with one of those doors between them.'