Lizzie Goes to America by Don H. Miller

Author:Don H. Miller [Miller, Don H.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2022-06-08T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14: Back in England

It was a rainy day when the travelers were to board the Lady Anne for the return to England on September 5, and the ship, because the pier off which the passengers embarked was rather high above the water at the time the passengers embarked, dock workers were able to rig a gently ascending covered gangway from the pier to the main deck. Embarkation for first class passengers started a 9:00 am and passengers in second class cabins could embark starting at 9:30 am.

The two carriages carrying the English guests, their servants, and their American hosts for the previous evening, the McAllisters, arrived at the pier shortly after 9:00 am, where another carriage was already parked in front of the gangway. Sailors from the ship were in the process of unloading luggage of the occupants of that carriage and carrying it up the gangway, the carriages occupants having already boarded the ship. As soon as the luggage was unloaded, the largest carriage carrying the Darcys, Elizabeth, and their hosts pulled in front of the gangway, and after final goodbyes to their hosts for the previous evening, they quickly exited the carriage and went up the covered gangway to the main deck, where sailors with large umbrellas were there to usher them to their cabins. When their luggage was unloaded, the second carriage carrying Weatherstone and Kitty, Darcy’s and Weatherstone’s valets, and Georgiana’s lady’s maid, stopped before the gangway, and they were escorted to the cabin area.

As on the cruise to America, Darcy and Weatherstone were settled in the Owner’s Suite, while Elizabeth, Kitty, and Georgiana each had one of the four remaining first-class cabins. Because it had been expected that Darcy and Weatherstone would share the Owner’s Suite on the return voyage, the partitions had already been removed and the Suite was ready to occupy when they boarded. Shortly after boarding, the five travelers gathered in the Owner’s Suite to await the completion of boarding and to view the ship leaving the pier through the large rear windows in the Suite.

The trip across the Atlantic, using the northern route at that time of year was somewhat cold, but quite pleasant. The ship made good time and only encountered one storm of any significance, which delayed their journey no more than a day. During that time Darcy and Elizabeth decided that, despite the problems they might face from some who would want to stop their wedding, they would rather not marry on the ship. Instead, they decided to wed at Pemberley not long after their arrival in Liverpool, which was to occur four weeks after their departure from Boston. In fact, The Lady Anne docked in Liverpool at 8 a.m. on the morning of October 4.

Awaiting them were three carriages—two for the Darcy party with their servants, and one for Weatherstone and his valet. The big surprise was that the carriage awaiting Weatherstone was the personal carriage of the Duke and Duchess of Leister, Weatherstone’s parents.

“My heavens,”

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.