Chapter 37 Shopping for a Wedding Gown #2
“Why, Miss Elizabeth, how came you to be invited to dine in Grosvenor Square? Surely you are in town only to purchase a gown for the wedding.”
Her eyes traveled deliberately over Elizabeth’s figure, noting every detail of the ill-fitting bombazine gown.
Elizabeth glanced down at herself and drew the shawl more closely about her shoulders, though the effort came too late. Miss Bingley’s lips curved with amusement.
“Why, Miss Eliza, that is not one of the mourning dresses you have worn in Hertfordshire. That must be the worst constructed dinner gown I have ever seen. Is it your own design?” she asked with a malicious laugh.
Georgiana gasped, and Mrs. Gardiner’s pained “Oh dear,” determined Lizzy to raise her eyes and wink at the two women.
Miss Bingley did not fail to observe the gesture.
“So, your gown is meant as a jest, is it?” she said with a laugh.
Elizabeth forced a smile. “As you see.”
Caroline rose and reached forward to tug at the loose bodice. “Why, my dear, your figure is quite boyish. You possess scarcely any bosom at all. You are quite flat-chested.”
She tittered. “No gentleman, not even one so kindly as Mr. Darcy, could be persuaded to overlook such a defect in a woman’s figure. I see nothing that could possibly recommend you to a man of wealth and status.”
Mrs. Gardiner sat in astonishment, her expression one of complete disbelief. Neither Elizabeth nor Georgiana found the words to answer her.
Then Miss Bingley did the unthinkable.
She extended her arm and tilted her glass. The wine trickled down the front of Elizabeth’s bodice and then soaked into the skirts of her gown.
Elizabeth started in surprise, but the act was done before she could draw back.
Miss Bingley watched the spreading stain with a look of cold satisfaction.
“There, you need never wear that particular gown again, for it is stained beyond repair. I will be certain to explain to Mr. Darcy that your carelessness sent you upstairs for the remainder of the evening.” She sniggered. “You will not be missed, I assure you.”
Elizabeth looked down at the dark fabric now clinging to her.
Miss Bingley continued, her voice edged with disdain. “I fear you cannot appear at dinner in such a state. Your bodice is quite soaked. It clings in a most improper way. One can almost see through the fabric.”
She regarded Elizabeth from head to foot with open contempt.
“That dress leaves very little to the imagination.” Her eyes narrowed on Elizabeth’s bosom. “Why, the fabric is nearly transparent. From where I stand, I can plainly see the form of your bosom, and no gentleman ought to be subjected to such a display.”
Elizabeth finally found her voice. She rose and met the malicious woman’s gaze.
“Which is it, Miss Bingley? Am I flat-chested, or do you now concede that I possess a bosom? You cannot maintain both arguments at once.”
Elizabeth glanced down and drew her shawl tightly across her bodice. Miss Bingley exaggerated. The fabric was far too heavy to become transparent, yet it clung to her curves, and she could hardly eat dinner in such a state.
Georgiana rose. “Come, Lizzy, to my room. Though you are shorter than I, I believe one of my older gowns may serve well enough. Come.”
She turned to Mrs. Gardiner. “If dinner is announced while we are away, will you kindly make our apologies and inform my brother that we shall not be long?”
Then she leaned toward Elizabeth and said in a low voice, “We shall take the servants’ stairs.”
She gestured toward the rear of the drawing room, opposite the entrance where the gentlemen still stood in conversation. The two young women slipped quietly from the room and hurried up the back stairs to Georgiana’s chamber.
As they ascended, the young girl could scarcely contain her indignation. “That woman is a perfect torment, Lizzy. I have long seen the calculation in her manner, but I never imagined she would behave with such malice.”
They stepped into the hall and hurried toward Georgiana’s room. Once inside, Georgiana called to her maid.
“Jenny, pray assist Lizzy with her gown while I find another for her to wear.”
The maid hastened into the bedchamber and stopped short. “Oh, miss, your dress is quite soaked.”
She began unfastening the buttons of the damp bodice while Elizabeth worked at those of the skirt. Her chemise and corset were also wet.
“I shall bring you fresh undergarments, miss,” Jenny said.
Before long, Elizabeth was dressed again in dry garments and wearing a lovely gown which Georgiana had outgrown. The young girl stepped back to admire the result.
“You truly are as pretty as a china doll, Lizzy, and the jonquil silk suits you perfectly. This gown is a year old, and I was shorter then. The length is perfect on you.” She stood back and looked over her friend.
“Your figure is fuller than mine, but the gown drapes well. Come, or we shall keep everyone waiting for dinner.”
Elizabeth thanked Jenny for her help. “Please discard that dreadful gown. I hope never to see it again.”
“Yes, miss.”
Georgiana took Elizabeth’s hand, and together they hurried down the hall and descended the servants’ stairs once more.
They entered the drawing room and had scarcely taken their seats when the butler appeared to announce dinner.
Mr. Darcy turned from the gentlemen and addressed the company. “Mrs. Gardiner, if you will allow me, I shall have the honor of escorting you and Miss Elizabeth into dinner.”
Caroline’s color rose to her hairline, though she spoke not a word. Elizabeth did not fail to observe the flash of displeasure that crossed her countenance.
When they entered the dining room, Mr. Darcy continued, “Mrs. Gardiner, I must beg you to take the foot of the table and to act as hostess this evening. When dinner is concluded, you will oblige me by leading the ladies out. Georgiana, you will sit at my right, and Miss Elizabeth at my left.”
When all were seated, Miss Bingley found herself placed beside Mr. Gardiner, as far removed from both Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth as the length of the table would permit. Moreover, she was left the odd person out, seated beside an empty chair.
Elizabeth felt it keenly. It was surely Caroline’s comeuppance for forcing herself upon the dinner uninvited and for her attack with the wine.
When the footman placed a bowl of turtle soup before Elizabeth, her eyes brightened. She lifted her gaze to Mr. Darcy and found him smiling at her.
“Sir, it is turtle soup. My favorite.”
“Yes, indeed it is, Miss Elizabeth,” he said. “You may request a second helping if it pleases you.”
Her smile widened. “You jest, sir.”
“No indeed, ma’am. I mean to have a second helping myself, and you may do the same if you wish it.”
Mr. Bennet looked between them with satisfaction. “Well, Lizzy, how can you refuse such encouragement? I believe I shall help myself to another serving as well. Mr. Darcy, this turtle soup is the finest I have ever tasted.”
“You may thank Miss Bingley for the recipe,” Mr. Darcy said. “My cook requested and obtained the recipes for this evening’s dinner from the Bingleys’ cook.”
Elizabeth raised her napkin to her mouth and tried to conceal a giggle.
Mr. Darcy regarded her and said, “I observed how much you admired the dinner served at Charles’s table. I knew that I could not do better than to offer the same here tonight.”
Elizabeth did take a second helping of turtle soup, as did all the gentlemen.
Miss Bingley, however, was so filled with resentment at being seated beside the tradesman and his wife, and at discovering that her cook’s recipes had been used, that she scarcely touched her food, determined to mark her displeasure.
When the terrine was served, Elizabeth laughed. “Sir, you were in earnest. These are all the same delicious dishes that were served at Mr. Bingley’s table.”
“Yes, Miss Elizabeth. As I recall, you took great pleasure in the offerings that evening.”
“I did. It was among the finest dinners I had ever eaten, and I believe this one shall prove the same.”
“And that, Miss Elizabeth, is what persuaded me. Your enjoyment gave me great pleasure.”
She laughed again. “Really, sir, you are quite droll.”
“As are you, Miss Bennet.”
When the third course was being served, Mr. Darcy appeared to observe Elizabeth’s gown for the first time.
His brows drew together. “Miss Elizabeth, did you not begin the evening in a black bombazine gown?”
She laughed. “Yes, sir. Are you only now discovering, halfway through dinner, that I am wearing a jonquil gown?”
He regarded her with interest. “Have I seen this gown before? It appears familiar.”
“Yes, sir, you have. This gown belongs to Georgiana.”
The young girl reached across and playfully swatted his arm. “Brother, do you pay so little attention to women’s clothing? We endure a great deal of trouble and expense to look well for the gentlemen in our lives, yet they pay very little attention to what we are wearing.”
“I observe it now, sister,” he said. “And did I not say the gown looked familiar?”
“Very well. I shall concede that point.”
Darcy turned his attention back to Elizabeth. “When did you change your clothing, Miss Elizabeth?”
Before Elizabeth could decide how much she wished to reveal, Georgiana leaned closer to her brother and spoke in a low voice. “Miss Bingley spilled wine down the front of Lizzy’s dress. On purpose. She hoped to prevent her from joining us at dinner. But we prevailed.”
Both Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bennet raised their brows in surprise and turned to look at Miss Bingley, who sat rigid, her expression dark and angry.
Mr. Bennet examined his daughter’s gown with approval. “It is a very fine gown, Lizzy, and it suits you remarkably well. One might suppose it had been made expressly for you.”
She lifted her eyes to Mr. Darcy and saw that he was examining her gown as well. His dark eyes met hers.
“You do look handsome, Miss Bennet. That color suits you very well.”
He drew himself upright. “I offer my apology that you suffered such an affront in my home. I shall ensure that you are not subjected to such an insult again.”
The veal was served then, accompanied by a dish of glazed carrots.
Darcy felt a happiness he had not known before as he looked about the table and saw guests gathered there enjoying the food and the company of those they loved.
He chuckled to himself when his eyes fell on Mr. Gardiner, a professional man who worked for his living, sitting at his table, but his conversation earlier in the drawing room had been knowledgeable.
Darcy had learned more of Murdoch’s gaslighting from Gardiner than he had been able to discover through his solicitor or his man of business.
Elizabeth also reflected upon those gathered at the table of a wealthy and well-connected gentleman, and she wondered that she and her family had been afforded such a compliment. She treasured every moment in her heart, for she knew it was a fleeting pleasure.