Chapter 19 #2
“After my presentation at the Lords, I was introduced to the members of Parliament, many of whom were my contemporaries at University. We were just a group of raucous young men engaged in all sorts of mischief…” The Duke sheepishly glanced around the table at his wife and daughters while Mr. Gardiner and Mr. Philips smiled knowingly.
“Well, perhaps not so much mischief. After all, the great evangelist and abolitionist, Mr. Wilberforce, and the late Prime Minister, the Honorable Mr. William Pitt, were among my friends. Mr. Pitt was a saint, and Mr. Wilberforce became one. Before his sainthood, he was quite… sociable, but far from being a wastrel. In fact, if his sons were not so young, I would gladly marry you to them.”
He stared at Lydia and said, “Perhaps you would be a good match for his eldest. You are only two years older than the boy.”
Lydia was aghast. Even she had heard of Mr. Wilberforce, who somehow liberated slaves. However, she had no wish to marry a mere boy—especially one not of the nobility. To her credit, she had finally learned to remain silent when displeased.
“It was an unexpected pleasure to see my dear friends from University. They have distinguished themselves in righting the wrongs of the country and the world, while I have done nothing…” He looked around the table at his comely daughters.
“…other than fathering five pretty girls. In our position, being a girl has immense advantages over being a male. Except for the heir, younger sons must fend for themselves and hope to marry an heiress, whereas you will each have an equal share of my fortune and may marry where you wish.”
The Duchess interjected, “Our girls will marry scions of distinguished and noble families. Mark my word.”
“Your mother will scrutinize every suitor to ensure he is noble, handsome, and rich—but not too debauched. As you know, heirs have nothing to do but wait for their inheritance, and they become bored and wreak havoc on their fathers’ fortunes.”
“Not Mr. Darcy!” Lizzy interrupted without thinking.
When she saw everyone’s gaze on her, she spoke up vehemently in defense of the gentleman she formerly despised.
“Just this morning, Jenny told me that Mr. Darcy rescued not only Jem but also nine other men who were wrongfully arrested. These men had been in the tavern where a group of Luddites were planning an attack. Without Mr. Darcy’s investigation and intervention, these ten men would have had a difficult time proving their innocence because the Luddites were recruiting onlookers to their cause, and at least two other men had agreed to join them.
Jem was an easier case to defend because the innkeeper had heard him proclaiming the merit of machines helping with back-breaking tasks in the factory. Mr. Darcy is far from being a wastrel!”
“I see,” said the Duke, amused. “Perhaps he inherited when he was a young man and did not have a chance to go down the primrose path? My benefactor, the fourth duke, indulged himself with actresses and thought of marrying one. Once he inherited, however, he put aside those former pleasures and focused on building the enormous fortune we now enjoy.”
“Jenny said Mr. Darcy has been the same in essentials since he was but a boy—honorable and just. Everyone on his estate has nothing but good to say about him.”
Her family around the dinner table got the impression that Elizabeth was partial to the master of Pemberley.
“Lizzy, do remember Mr. Darcy is married, and you used to hate him,” the Duchess kindly reminded her daughter.
“Oh, mamma, a man can be honorable and just whatever his marital status. I am ashamed to have wronged him,” said Elizabeth.
The Duke smiled and said, “I see you have forgiven him for agreeing to marry for his bride’s fortune.
Fear not, he will not be married much longer.
He took this step because his other cousin, Fitzwilliam’s younger son, was on his way to battle when the former Miss de Bourgh’s health took a sudden dire turn.
Darcy wed her to keep the estate from falling into the hands of the foolish heir-presumptive, who had been boasting of selling the estate to help Bonaparte. ”
A loud guffaw emanated from Lydia, which made all eyes turn toward her. Elizabeth was glad of this distraction as she felt her heart leap, hearing Mr. Darcy would not remain married for long.
While the others spoke, Lydia, having been continuously chastised for indecorous behavior, could not bear it any longer—the boring dinner conversation had nothing to do with her.
She whispered to Kitty about the grotesque size of the aged Prince Regent, a far cry from the portrait in their picture gallery of the young, handsome prince, with whom Lydia was certain Kitty had fallen in love.
“You must be heartbroken! Your lover turned out fat and ugly!” Lydia teased mercilessly while giggling and pinching Kitty’s arm.
“Stop, Lydia. I admire the technique of the painter, Sir William Beechey, not the Prince himself. I know he is old,” Kitty valiantly defended herself.
The loud sneer emitted by Lydia got the attention of the entire room.
Kitty blurted out. “I saw you making eyes at an equerry of the Queen. He is old as well!”
The Duchess gasped, and the Duke narrowed his eyes.
Lydia looked around at the shocked faces and said, “I am not in love with that old man, even though his general’s regalia was splendid. Mamma had said a colonel earning six thousand pounds a year would be good for one of us. I am a duke’s daughter now and can marry far better than a general!”
The Duke said solemnly, “A duke’s daughter does not make eyes at any strange man, young or old, general or even duke. Do you hear?”
“Yes, papa,” mumbled Lydia.
The Duke continued. “Except for Sunday worship services, you will not leave this house without Mrs. Trimmer. You will be going to school on Monday and returning home for the Sabbath.”
“Yes, papa.”
“For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more,” quoted Mary sagely from the Bible, the version her ancestor, King James, had commissioned.
The Duke turned to Mary and said approvingly, “Well said, Mary. Now let us practice what we know.”
◆◆◆
After the presentation to the Queen, the sisters gathered in their mother’s sitting room to talk about their impressions of the call and the extraordinary circumstance of being related to the Monarch.
Queen Charlotte had been gracious, but taciturn.
The Bennet-Fitzstuart ladies could not make out Her Majesty’s character.
Besides, Buckingham House was not as grand as their own.
Their eagerly awaited court presentation turned out to be a disappointment.
They were relieved the ordeal was over and could take off the cumbersome and out of style court dresses.
Lydia said, “I heard Her Majesty is frugal. She probably does not wish to throw away dresses from her youth and forces us to wear the same ridiculous hooped dresses for Court.” She had returned to her usual good humor soon after her father’s reprimand.
“Her Majesty cannot possibly fit into the dresses she wore when she was young. I saw a painting of her when she was young and slim. She wears this old-fashioned style because she likes it,” Kitty countered.
Lydia was incredulous. Who was Kitty to question her fashion sense?
Jane and Elizabeth exchanged glances of disbelief, but then smiled that Kitty had found her courage.
Mary, on the other hand, was listening to the conversation with interest as she was tentatively feeling her way around in this new realm of fashion and style.
She had diversified her reading materials to include La Belle Assemblee, although she looked only at the fashion plates and refused to read the included serialized novels.