Chapter 11
Mr. Gardiner handed his sister from the carriage as the Duke approached to welcome his family.
Francine, Her Grace, executed a surprisingly graceful deep curtsy. No one had thought the brash mistress of Longbourn capable of such high style.
“Thomas,” greeted Her Grace solemnly. She heeded her brother’s advice and addressed her husband by his Christian name—always appropriate between husband and wife in a family setting. The name felt strange on her tongue since she had not used it since before Lydia’s birth.
His Grace was taken aback by this most dignified version of his wife and responded in kind.
“Francine.” Then he turned and nodded to his brother-in-law, who bowed. Finally, he said to his daughters, “Daughters, welcome to your town home.”
Elizabeth often wondered why her father and Uncle Gardiner commended her ability to rise against any intimidating circumstances. She herself was never conscious of deliberate effort. Watching her mother, she suspected the laudable trait could have come from her mother.
All the girls curtsied, as their mother had. His Grace was amused and said blithely, “Ah, my country daughters are well-mannered noble ladies after all! Come, come, let us go in. Jane and Mrs. Gardiner will be here shortly.”
The Duchess’s newfound courage, however, was not enough to meet the next challenge.
As soon as she stepped foot inside the door, the grandeur she saw made her heart palpitate: a majestic marble staircase occupying a space as large as the entire Longbourn House, gilded balustrades glistening in the afternoon sun streaming from the skylights three stories above, and ornate carpet beautiful enough to be tapestry decorating the wide steps.
And then her glance fell on the large contingent of uniformly tall footmen dressed in blue and gold livery and the maids in starched aprons and caps.
Her face showed disbelief, and she swooned.
Her husband and brother were quick enough to catch her before she fell to the ground, but two of those splendidly dressed footmen were not far behind to take care of the Duchess.
“Papa, perhaps we should put off introductions to the staff till tomorrow. It was a long carriage ride, and it fatigued mamma. Could we take her to the mistress’s chambers to rest?” asked Elizabeth.
The Duke turned to the butler. Without saying a word, the butler signaled the two footmen to carry the former Mrs. Bennet in a chair to her chambers at the other end of the house. Her daughters went with them, followed by the housekeeper.
The master and mistress’s quarters on the ground floor were lavishly decorated in a style only slightly less grand than that of the hall. Elizabeth sighed and felt that this house would never feel like home.
Elizabeth thanked the housekeeper, who was formal, stoic, and exactly what she had expected of the head female servant of a noble house. She decided to introduce herself.
“I am Elizabeth Ben…net-Fitzstuart, second daughter of the Duke. These are my sisters, Mary, Kitty and Lydia. Thank you for your help, Mrs.…
“My name is Moffitt, m’lady. It is a pleasure to have a family in residence again after so long. The fourth Duke was not married, and the fifth Duke, bless his soul, stayed here for about two weeks in total.”
Elizabeth was surprised to hear this friendly, unasked-for communication from the outwardly inscrutable housekeeper. She then turned to the footmen to thank them for their help. Mrs. Moffitt did the introductions.
“They are Stephen and Jonah, but, m’lady, all the footmen answer to the name Simon, and all the maids Molly. There are thirty on the staff at Northampton House. We below stairs do not expect the ducal family to remember all our names.”
Elizabeth had heard of such a practice in grand houses and had thought it absurd, but now she could understand the reason behind this, especially when the family had several residences.
The total number of retainers could reach hundreds.
However, she would make every effort to know the servants and call them by their real names.
The sisters’ rooms were on the second floor, which suited Elizabeth very well. She figured if she could not walk up Oakham Mount every day, climbing those long flights of magnificent stairs would be a fair substitute.
After examining her own rooms, Elizabeth went to see how her mother fared and saw Mrs. Moffitt and a maid leading Jane to a nearby room.
“Jane!” Elizabeth rushed forward to embrace her most beloved sister. She was truly excited that Jane had finally arrived to help the family navigate this new, incomprehensible life.
Mrs. Moffitt ushered the ladies to Jane’s bedchamber and discreetly left to let the ladies talk in privacy. Elizabeth could not help noticing how subtle and efficient the head servants of this house were—they knew when and where they were needed without so much as a glance.
“Lizzy, is this a dream? I cannot yet grasp the reality of it—papa is Duke, and this house is a palace!” exclaimed Jane bemusedly.
“Jane, dearest, everything is so fantastical that nothing has sunk in yet. Being thrown into the highest level of society with no warning comes at a steep price, however. Mamma was so overwhelmed that she fainted as soon as she walked into this house. If you are ready, we should go together to see her.”
Jane’s room was next to Lizzy’s. They both looked out at a garden of about half an acre, large by town standards.
Beyond that, separated by a low fence, was Green Park, a royal park that forbade entry to the general populace.
It was a comfort to the sisters, who had spent their entire lives in the country, to have so much green space just outside their windows.
Their bedchambers were, in Elizabeth’s opinion, too ornate. From the canopy beds with layers upon layers of bed curtains to the somber-colored wallpapers, all harkened back to days gone by.
The sisters walked down the enormous central staircase together and could not help marveling again at the gold-plated balustrades.
“The Bard would be wrong here—all that glisters is indeed gold!” exclaimed Elizabeth. “Heavens! How much wealth is in this house? I did not have a good look around when I first arrived. I feel faint!”
“Would you like some smelling salts?” Jane took a vial out of her pocket.
Both sisters burst out laughing.
“No, Jane. I am made of a stronger constitution. But I can now understand better why mamma reacted so strongly when she first entered the house, for her being mistress of all this grandeur.”
The Duchess’s lady’s maid opened the door to Her Grace’s bedroom. Reclining on a chaise, the former Mrs. Bennet looked forlorn in her opulent surroundings of crimson and gold. Aunt Gardiner was sitting by the duchess’s side, holding her sister’s hand and talking softly.
While Jane went to her mother, Elizabeth quickly stepped up and grabbed her aunt’s hand. “Aunt, it is so good of you to come and support us. We need your city-smarts to guide us around town.”
“Girls, I am from a very different rung of society. Where I live might as well be on the other side of the world. However, there are certain principles of civility that ought to apply to all walks of life. You two have nothing to worry about, as you have always carried yourselves as genteel ladies should. As for adjusting to the very top social circles outside of royalty, your father and uncle are in the study discussing ways to help your mother and you girls to do just that.”
“Jane and Lizzy, come here and sit by me,” ordered the Duchess. She turned to her French maid and said while gesturing, “You may go.”
“Oh, this business of being duchess is trying. I am worried sick that I am doing everything wrong. And they have given me a French maid, Margarite. She must be telling the rest of the horde of servants that the new duchess is an imposter!”
“Fanny, you are mistress of this house, the real and only Duchess of Northampton. The housekeeper probably assigned you a French maid because it is all the rage in town to have a French lady’s maid.
Give Margarite a chance. You may find her extremely skilled in helping you achieve the look befitting your exalted position,” Mrs. Gardiner said soothingly.
“Mamma, you waved Margarite away. Does she not know English?” asked Lizzy with interest.
“After a fashion. I have to listen closely to understand what she says. This is another trial of being here. So much concentration needed just to talk to my maid! It gives me a headache. And then the wallpaper on every inch of these walls! These large flowers in so many colors rattle my nerves. I feel they are waiting to swallow me up while I sleep.”
“Fanny, you can change anything not to your liking—from the maid to the wall hangings. Never forget, you are the Duchess of Northampton. No one would dare laugh at you or gainsay you. Just be the Mrs. Fanny Bennet of Longbourn, and everyone, from the staff to the snobbish people of the ton, will adjust to your style. Who knows? You may become a trendsetter by being unpretentious. The ladies in high society watched the late Duchess of Devonshire and copied her style. You will create a new fashion of being open and natural.”
“I hope you are right, Madeline. That was what I had told myself before I stepped out of the carriage. But once I walked through the door and saw the house and its impossible riches, my heart failed me.”
“Thomas and Edward wanted us to meet them in the study once Jane and I arrived. Jane and Lizzy should go, but I need not be there and can stay here with you.”
“Without you, dear sister, I would be lost. Thank you!”
Before Jane and Elizabeth could leave the room, Lydia and Kitty barged into the room without knocking.
“Mamma…” Lydia looked at her aunt curiously.
She had resented her aunt’s partiality toward her two eldest sisters ever since she had grown almost as tall as Jane.
It was simply not fair that she did not receive an invitation to stay with the Gardiners like her sisters.
Now, she, Lady Lydia, lived in one of the grandest mansions in town.
“Aunt, you should have risen when I came in. I am nobility now, and you are from trade!”
Everyone in the room gasped, except for Mrs. Gardiner.
“Pardon my oversight, Lady Lydia.” Mrs. Gardiner performed a deep curtsy.
Her Grace looked bewildered. “Sister, what is this about? Is that how we should behave, even in our own home?”
Mrs. Gardiner answered, “I do not believe so, but if Lady Lydia demands it, who am I to disagree if no one objects?”
The Duchess said dejectedly, shamefaced. “Forgive me for Lydia’s disrespect toward you. Jane and Lizzy, go now and tell your papa that, unlike her sisters, Lydia needs much more instruction in becoming a noble lady or she will surely shame her father’s name.”
During all this, Kitty tried to shrink into the large flowers of the wallpaper. Lydia, recognizing she had gone too far, meekly apologized. “Aunt Gardiner, I beg your pardon. Please do not ask papa to send me to school. I cannot bear it!”
“Dear Lydia, your papa met some important gentlemen of the first circles. They will advise your parents on how to prepare your family for this new life. Before the year is out, you, your sisters, and of course, your mamma, will be poised ladies worthy of your titles.”
All the ducal ladies, even Lydia, breathed a sigh of relief. With guidance from people who had lived this elevated life since birth, their new circumstances would not look so mystifying and, in Her Grace’s case, frightening.