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XI . Pemberley They drove for some time through a beautiful wood . Then the road came out at the top of a hill , and Elizabeth saw Pemberley House on the other side of the valley . It was a large , handsome stone building , standing well on rising ground , with high , wooded hills behind it . In front , a stream had been widened into a lake , but nothing looked false or forced . She had never seen a place where nature had done more , or where good taste had spoiled it less . At that moment she felt that to be mistress of Pemberley might be something ! The housekeeper , a kind older woman called Mrs Reynolds , showed them round . The rooms were tall and handsome , and everything in them was fine but not showy . Elizabeth looked out of every window with pleasure . “ And of this place , ” she thought , “ I might have been mistress ! I might now be showing these rooms to my aunt and uncle as my own guests . But no , that could never be . My uncle and aunt would have been lost to me . I should not have been allowed to invite them . ” It was a lucky thought , and it saved her from something very like regret . In one room hung a small picture of Mr Wickham among other family pictures . Mrs Reynolds said that he was the son of her late master’s steward , and that he had gone into the army . “ But I am afraid he has turned out very wild , ” she added . Mrs Gardiner looked at her niece with a smile , but Elizabeth could not return it . Mr Gardiner asked whether her master was much at Pemberley . “ Not as much as I could wish , sir . If he should marry , we might see more of him . ” “ Do you think that is likely ? ” “ I do not know , sir . I do not know who is good enough for him . I have never had a cross word from him in my life , and I have known him ever since he was four years old . ” This was the last praise that Elizabeth had expected , and she listened with growing surprise as the old woman went on . “ He is the best landlord and the best master that ever lived , ” said Mrs Reynolds . “ He was always the sweetest - tempered , most generous - hearted boy in the world . There is not one of his tenants or servants but will give him a good name . Some people call him proud , but I am sure I never saw anything of it . To my fancy , it is only because he does not rattle away like other young men . ” Upstairs , among the family pictures , she found a large portrait of Mr Darcy . He was smiling , with the very smile that she had seen on his face when he looked at her , and she stood before it for several minutes . There was a kinder feeling towards him in her heart now than there had ever been when she knew him best . A good brother , a good landlord , a good master ! How many people’s lives lay in his care ! She thought of the warmth of his feelings in Kent , and she forgave the rudeness of his words .
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