Chapter 8 #2
“Oh, how wonderful!” the older woman exclaimed, taking her seat once she was assured that the Bennets were settled in their own chairs. “I am pleased to assist you in any way possible.”
“The first thing,” Elizabeth said, pulling out a small notebook, “is for us to make a list of all the servants. Mr. Bingley asked his bailiff to make a list of the tenant families for us, but you know the servants here at Netherfield better than anyone, Mrs. Nicholls.”
The housekeeper could not help the tears of gratitude which filled her eyes.
She had been managing the Netherfield mansion for more than a decade and had mourned that the absentee owner of the estate, Mr. Scott, never bothered to send gifts or bonuses to the small staff which had been keeping Netherfield clean and in good order for those years.
“I am delighted to help you with that, Miss Bennet,” she said as she wiped her eyes.
***
Kitty Bennet’s Room
Longbourn
The pencil scratched slowly at the paper, sunlight glancing in the window and spreading across the small table pushed close to the curtains.
A book sat open in the light, a smiling girl’s head looking up from it, with some few frocks and hats pictured.
Several pieces of yet-untouched paper sat nearby, and an excellent copy of the smiling young girl was taking shape beneath Kitty’s carefully wielded pencil.
Every so often, Kitty would glance at the open History of Little Fanny spread open before her, checking some detail before returning to her painstaking drawing.
She was carefully saving up to buy tops for the two young Gardiner boys, who would be joining them in a few short weeks, but she could not afford to buy more Little Fanny books for her girl cousins.
She was, however, reasonably gifted with both drawing and watercolors.
So now she sat, carefully drawing duplicates of Little Fanny, her paints set nearby ready to be employed once she finished her sketching.
She was certain that her young female cousins would adore the paper dolls.
It was pleasant work, and she was enjoying herself, when her door suddenly banged open to admit Lydia.
“Kitty, whatever are you doing?” the youngest Miss Bennet demanded. “It is getting late, and we need to walk to Meryton!”
“I do not wish to go to Meryton,” Kitty replied quietly, setting down her pencil and turning toward her sister.
Lydia frowned in obvious bewilderment. “Why ever not? It is quite a nice day outside, and we will probably see officers walking up and down the street! Do come, Kitty!”
“I am working on my gift for the little Gardiners,” Kitty said, gesturing toward the papers.
Lydia wrinkled her nose and said, “Do not be absurd! You can do that in the evening, but now there are handsome officers waiting for us!”
Kitty took a deep breath and lifted her chin. “I do not care about the officers.”
Lydia was obviously so stunned at this pronouncement that it took her a full thirty seconds to recover sufficiently to speak. When she did, her voice was both raised and shrill. “Not care about officers? Are you mad? You and I are both going to marry a man in a red coat!”
“You may, but I will not,” Kitty replied calmly, though her heart beat fast in her chest. For many years, she had been accustomed to following her younger sister’s lead because Lydia was extremely strong willed. However, in this instance, Kitty was quite certain of her own mind.
“What?!”
“I wish for a comfortable home, Lydia, and most of the officers are poor. I would not mind marrying someone like Colonel Forster, who has a decent income, but most of the captains and lieutenants earn less than three hundred pounds a year, and I wish for more than that!”
“You cannot be serious! What is money when compared to love?”
Kitty inspected her sister from head to toe and said, “I would think that you would care; your gown, underthings, stockings, and shoes alone must cost at least ten pounds. Father makes two thousand pounds a year and has saved nothing, so we are spending hundreds of pounds on clothing and shoes and bonnets, not to mention food and servants. What is three hundred pounds a year in income compared to two thousand? Perhaps you wish to slave away cooking and cleaning and mending your husband’s clothing, but I do not. ”
Lydia was now open-mouthed. “But we would not have to, Kitty! We are the daughters of gentlemen!”
“What does that matter if there is no money to pay for servants?” Kitty said irritably. “Do leave if you wish. I will stay and finish my work.”
Lydia, to her irritation, did not avail herself of that invitation. Instead, the girl stomped over to the chair closest the fire and sat down, a peculiar look on her face.
Kitty quietly turned back to her work. The Gardiners would be arriving in less than three weeks, and she hoped to have several little dresses for each paper doll head.
“You never said anything about this before,” Lydia said abruptly.
Kitty shrugged and turned back toward her sister.
“There was never any point before. There were no rich men about, and the officers are enjoyable dance partners. But now that Jane is engaged to Charles Bingley – oh Lydia, if they will invite us to stay with them, we can meet all sorts of wealthy men. Just think of the opportunities for us!”
Lydia stared at her as if she had never seen her before and then stood up and wandered out of the door without another word.
Kitty frowned in some perplexity; it seemed unlikely that Lydia had actually listened to her, as her younger sister rarely listened to anyone whose opinion was different from her own.
In any case, she had gone away, and now Kitty could return to her work in peace.
***
Darcy House
London
“Feel free to enter, and I will join you in a minute, Darcy,” Bingley suggested as the two gentlemen stepped out of the carriage. “I need to speak with my driver, and perhaps you would like to spend a few minutes with Miss Darcy alone?”
“Thank you, Bingley,” Darcy said gratefully and ran lightly up the shallow steps to the front door, which opened to reveal his butler and a liveried footman waiting.
“Good evening, Mr. Birks,” Darcy said, handing over his hat and cane and coat to the footman.
“Good evening, sir. Would you…”
“Brother!”
Darcy turned just in time to keep from being bowled over as his sister rushed into the room and embraced him enthusiastically.
“Georgiana!” he exclaimed, pulling her close. “My dear, how are you?”
“So very happy, now that you are here,” his sister replied, stepping back and smiling up into his face.
Darcy looked down fondly on his only sibling.
Georgiana Darcy was, at the age of sixteen, very similar in form and features to their mother, Lady Anne Darcy, who had died more than a decade earlier.
She had blonde hair and deep blue eyes, and like her mother, was a tall girl.
He was pleased to see that in the weeks since they had last seen one another, the bloom had returned to her cheeks.
She had always been shy and uncertain, but after the near disaster in Ramsgate only a few months previously, she had withdrawn into herself like a turtle does its shell.
“I was so glad to receive your note yesterday that you were coming to Town,” Georgiana said. “Will you be able to stay for a time?”
Darcy felt a sudden stab of compunction at the pleading in her eyes and said, “This trip will need to be a short one, but I promise I will be back in time for Christmas.”
“Or Miss Darcy could visit Netherfield,” Bingley said, and the siblings turned hastily to observe the man’s smiling face. “We would be very pleased to have you.”
“Mr. Bingley,” Georgiana said, and Darcy was startled to see the joy in her face dim slightly. “I did not realize that you were coming as well.”
“Your brother was kind enough to invite me to stay here at Darcy House, though I too will not be here long. I am, in fact, intending to spend as little time as possible with my man of business, and then I will return to Hertfordshire to be with my fiancée.”
Georgiana, who had been looking uneasy, now looked startled, and then her lips quirked up in a smile of delight. “Your fiancée? You are engaged, Mr. Bingley?”
“Indeed I am, Miss Darcy, to the most beautiful woman in all of Hertfordshire! I am so very happy.”
“And I am happy for you!” Georgiana said warmly. “Very happy indeed!”