Chapter 9
A few days after she first visited Longbourn, Georgiana finally met Miss Elizabeth’s youngest sisters.
She had heard about them from both Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth, both of whom warned her that Miss Lydia and Miss Kitty were a bit too exuberant at times.
Even Fitzwilliam had told her that they were not particularly desirable as friends.
All this made Georgiana want to meet them even more.
Ever since she had left school last May, she hadn’t had much in the way of friendly conversation.
At first she had been separated even from her family when Mrs. Younge took her to Ramsgate.
Lately, she had Lady Matlock nearby, but Georgiana’s aunt was often busy during the day.
So, Georgiana was still mostly alone except for Mrs. Annesley.
At first, she had hoped to make a friend in Miss Elizabeth, but Fitzwilliam monopolized her attention completely.
Miss Bennet was also mostly unavailable, because Mr. Masters seemed to want all of her attention.
She had met Miss Mary briefly, but that young lady was seldom available when she visited Longbourn with her brother.
So, it was a relief to finally meet Miss Lydia and Miss Kitty.
The two of them were sitting at a table surrounded by piles of trimmings when she arrived at Longbourn with her brother. She couldn’t tell whether they were picking out ribbons for their gowns, trimming bonnets, or simply enjoying making a mess.
As soon as Georgiana entered the room, Miss Lydia jumped up and said, “Miss Darcy, do come and join us. We were just about to re-trim our bonnets, and I just know you could help us decide what is the best look.” Miss Lydia took her hand and practically pulled her across the room.
For a moment, Georgiana was a little frightened. They hadn’t even been introduced, and the only reason she knew which sister was which was because Fitzwilliam had told her that Miss Lydia had blond hair and Miss Kitty’s hair was light brown.
As she approached the table, however, her fears began to evaporate. Miss Kitty smiled at her, and she felt welcome. Wasn’t this what she had hoped for, to meet girls her age to talk to?
“I should be happy to help,” she said.
They spent the next half hour happily holding bits of ribbon, feathers, and wax fruit up to several different bonnets, trying to find the perfect combination. At one point, Miss Lydia went to fetch her pelisse so she could make absolutely certain that the bonnet she created would work well with it.
She enjoyed herself so much that she was surprised when Fitzwilliam came over to inform her that it was time to leave.
“Oh, that is such a shame,” said Lydia. “I do think we have finally found the perfect bonnet for me, but we still need to settle on Kitty’s bonnet. Will you be coming back tomorrow?”
“Yes, do come back tomorrow,” said Miss Kitty. “If you do, we shall wait for you. Remaking my bonnet is not so urgent as Lydia’s, and I would very much appreciate your insight.”
Georgiana glanced at Fitzwilliam who nodded. “Yes, I shall be back tomorrow,” she said. “Thank you for the invitation.”
Miss Lydia waved her hand. “No need to be so formal,” she said. “We shall be glad to see you whenever you come by.”
Miss Kitty asked, “Will you be coming to the Lucases’ card party tonight?”
“I am afraid not,” she answered. “I am too young to be out in mixed company.”
“Then we shall tell you all about it when you come tomorrow,” said Lydia.
When Georgiana was back in the carriage with her brother and Mr. Masters, Fitzwilliam said, “You seem to have made two new friends.”
“Oh yes,” she replied. “They are such fun. Even when we argued over whether the cherries looked well with the brown ribbon, it was all so lighthearted. I do hope they are home tomorrow when we call.”
Fitzwilliam looked conflicted. On the one hand, Georgiana knew that he was happy for her to have found friends. On the other hand, he had warned her that the two youngest Miss Bennets might not be the most appropriate friends.
“I suppose that as long as you are not going out in company with them, there can be no harm,” he finally said. “I am glad to see you happy.”
~~~~~
Charlotte Lucas looked around her parents’ drawing room one last time to ensure that everything was ready for Mama’s card party.
There were four small card tables with four chairs each for the smaller groups.
There were also two larger tables for the party games.
Along the side of the room was the refreshment table.
At present there was only punch and a few savory pastries on the table, but additional food would be set out at intervals throughout the evening.
As one final check, Charlotte tasted the punch. She usually didn’t like it as much with rum instead of brandy, but getting brandy had become too expensive and sometimes downright impossible.
The strong flavor made her flinch, and she was suddenly very glad she had tasted it. There was far too much rum and lemon and not enough sugar and water. If she left it alone, every single guest would be blind drunk by the end of the evening.
She headed back to the kitchen and mixed up a large pitcher of sugar water which she then used to water down the punch significantly.
She also added a few spices to enhance the flavor.
When she tasted it again, she was pleased.
It was strong enough to relax the guests, but not so much that things might get out of hand.
She briefly wondered why her mother always insisted on serving punch instead of the milder ratafia that Mrs. Bennet always served, but whenever she had asked her mother the only answer she got was that ratafia was disgusting and boring.
Now that everything was ready, the only thing left to do was wait for the guests.
She could almost predict the order they would arrive in.
Mr. and Mrs. Stoke were almost always first. They arrived early to everything.
The Bennets would likely be second, simply because Mrs. Bennet liked to be there early enough to see when everyone else arrived.
She was certain the Smiths and their two daughters would be last. Sophia Smith was never on time. Charlotte didn’t think it was deliberate. It was only that she was always so indecisive about her clothes and hair.
Those in the middle were hard to predict the exact order, but they were certain to arrive very close to the stated start time.
Then there were the three highly unpredictable guests.
Mr. Darcy had returned to Netherfield, but instead of coming back with Mr. Bingley, he had purchased the lease and had arrived with his sister and two friends.
At least, that was the rumor going around.
Charlotte had heard it directly from Elizabeth, who had seen Mr. Darcy as well as his sister and one of his friends, Mr. Masters.
Charlotte suspected there was something going on between her friend and Mr. Darcy, but Elizabeth had not seen fit to confide in her, so she did not know the details.
She was nearly certain that Mr. Darcy had strong feelings for Elizabeth, but she did not know if he had made those feelings known.
Charlotte hoped to learn more by seeing them interact with each other tonight.
Time passed, and the guests arrived in exactly the order she had anticipated.
Mr. Darcy and his friends were among those who arrived right on time.
One of the friends was almost as tall as Mr. Darcy, with dark hair and dark eyes.
The other was shorter, only an inch or so taller than Charlotte.
He had a stocky build, craggy features, and sandy hair.
Mr. Darcy introduced his friends, and Charlotte found out their names were Mr. Masters and Colonel Fitzwilliam.
At first, Charlotte paid little attention to either of the new gentlemen. She was too busy helping her mother organize the card tables and setting out food as well as chatting with her neighbors and playing cards.
Gradually, however, her attention was pulled toward Colonel Fitzwilliam more and more. He was cheerful and friendly, almost immediately treating everyone he met as though they were long-lost friends. He laughed easily, though not so loud as to be disturbing.
Charlotte knew that, objectively, he wasn’t particularly handsome, but there was something about the way he moved and his expressive face that was extremely attractive to her.
Towards the end of the evening, Charlotte finally had an opportunity to speak with the gentleman herself. “You seem to be a very popular guest,” she said. “You have been here for nearly five hours, and this is the first chance I have had to speak with you.”
One of his eyebrows quirked up. “Have you been hoping to speak with me?” he asked.
Charlotte internally cursed herself for being too forward, fearing that he might have been put off. For a brief moment, she thought to deny it, but that would be even more rude. “Of course,” she said. “It is only natural to wish to speak with those who are new to the neighborhood.”
“I suppose that is true,” he said. “Well, now that we are speaking, is there something you wish to know?”
“I am certain you have heard this question a dozen times this evening, but can you tell me of your interests? Do you read, ride, box, hunt? Or perhaps all your time is taken up by your responsibility to the army.”
Colonel Fitzwilliam chuckled, and Charlotte felt her attraction to the man grow. There was something intimate in a soft chuckle that was not conveyed in a louder laugh. “You have packed a great deal into a single question,” he said.