Chapter 19
Holcomb was preparing his master for the day, as he did as part of his duties—when he was not otherwise engaged—when he handed over the latest report on the one the master called the parasite.
This was the Thursday that his mother was sponsoring the presentations of Mrs Bennet, Lizzy, and Charlotte.
Bennet would travel back to Longbourn on the morrow after dancing the first set with his newly out in London daughter to a ball at Matlock House.
It was not an official coming out ball for Lizzy, but she was to be honoured there.
His thoughts went to the page in his hand.
Hurst read the report and did not see anything with which to be concerned about.
The parasite was still leeching off Miss Younge on Edward Street.
There was nothing illegal there that would trigger his holiday at King’s Bench or Marshalsea.
He was working for the solicitor in Cheapside, doing the bare minimum to maintain his employment.
It was little wonder that while other clerks moved up on their way to becoming solicitors themselves, Wickham had never gained a single promotion.
The report said he was still a bad gambler, also not a crime.
He had so far not left any unpaid debts, which would keep him out of debtor’s prison for now.
Every now and again he would come up with some hare-brained scheme to make his fortune, but to date he had never executed any of his plans.
More importantly, he had not ruined any maidens for some years now.
No sooner had he locked the report with others in the special safe in his bedchamber, the same one his late father used, than Arthur and Tisha burst into the room. Louisa was following behind them with a huge smile on her face.
“Me go with Lizzy,” Tisha demanded.
“Can Lizzy stay home and tell us stories?” Arthur chirped. “She tells us the best stories. Sorry, Papa.”
Hurst knew it was nothing but the truth.
Like she was loved by her Gardiner cousins, the two Hurst children had been drawn to Lizzy, mainly thanks to her storytelling ability.
Whether it was one from a book or one she made up—she had a very good imagination to go with her faultless memory—the children were spellbound when she told them a story, especially with the way she used different voices for each character.
He remembered a conversation he had with Lizzy two days ago, where, thanks to her pristine memory, he had needed to reveal more to her than he desired.
Jane had been speaking with Hilldale while Charlotte was being entertained by Fitzwilliam when Lizzy had approached Hurst.
“Harold, there is something I have been meaning to ask you,” Lizzy had begun.
“What is it, Lizzy?” he had replied.
“Your mother presented Jane, correct?”
“You know that to be true, Lizzy. What are you asking?”
“Before I came to London to prepare for my presentation, I read some books. One of them was Rules of Presentation, and the other was, The Role of the Lady/Matron. There are very specific rules about who may sponsor a debutante or married woman who was never presented previously.”
Hurst always felt that her perfect memory would discover something they had kept hidden for many years. “And what did you read? More to the point, how is it germane to this conversation?”
“Anyone who has been presented to the Queen may sponsor…except[6] when said lady was not gently born. The only exception is if the lady is titled. I remember a conversation soon after Mamma began to become your mother’s friend, where Aunt Leticia told Mamma she too had not been gently born.
That means that Aunt Leticia must be titled, but we have never heard of that, and there is no entry in Debrett’s.
So how is it that Aunt Leticia is allowed to sponsor us? ”
“This is the problem when you remember everything. I will tell you the truth, but I must have you swear you will not repeat this to anyone,” Hurst had demanded.
“As long as it is not something which would hurt another, you have my vow of silence,” Lizzy had promised.
“My late father was a baronet, so Mother is Lady Hurst.” If he had hoped it would end there, he had been mistaken.
She had asked if the title was hereditary and when he had replied, she now knew that he and Louisa were Sir Harold and Lady Hurst. “Lizzy, do not ask me why we do not use the title yet. I cannot tell you other than to say there is a very good reason.”
Thankfully she had accepted the answer and left him to begin a story for the children.
The children’s insisting they must have a story before Lizzy left the house, brought Hurst back to the present and out of his memory of the conversation. He grinned to himself. He was not sure he remembered every word, but had he asked Lizzy, she would have been able to recite it word for word.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The two Bennet ladies and one Lucas all made it out of the presentation chamber without any errors.
The Queen had spoken to Lizzy. Someone had mentioned the debutante with unrivalled abilities in chess.
Her Majesty had mentioned that Prince Edward was the best player in the family and invited Elizabeth, her mother, and the two Mrs Hursts to Buckingham House for tea and a chess match against the prince.
She had adjured Elizabeth not to play at less than her full capability to spare a royal from defeat.
By the ball that evening, thoughts of the impending chess game against Prince Edward were pushed aside as Lizzy was readied for the ball at Matlock House and her first set with Papa.
Many of her sets were spoken for already.
Andrew and Richard—he had invited the Bennets and Charlotte to address him informally—had requested sets, as had Lord Matlock and Harold.
Most surprising of all was Mr Darcy, who had requested the supper set.
When Elizabeth saw the shock on his relatives’ faces, Lady Elaine had explained that William, as they called him, never danced a significant set with a single lady, especially one who was not a family member.
When she was ready, Elizabeth stared at herself in the mirror and could not believe the elegant lady staring back at her.
She was wearing a shimmering silk gown in very light green—which made the colour of her eyes look that much more vivid—cream satin elbow-length gloves and her hair was in the fanciest coiffure she had ever seen.
Her tresses were piled atop her head, held in place with pearl-tipped pins, which stood out against her raven-coloured hair.
Some curls were hanging down the sides of her face and the back of her neck. She felt like a princess.
She was only wearing simple jewellery: the chain with the pearl the Hursts had gifted her and matching earrings which Aunt and Uncle Gardiner had given her.
In her opinion, the elegance she was projecting was enhanced because she was not dripping with jewels. Elizabeth made her way first to Charlotte’s, and then to Jane’s chambers to make sure they were ready.
Jane had been floating on air earlier in the day when Andrew had requested all three of her significant sets.
She had told Elizabeth how she had asked if that was the statement Andrew wished to make before the Ton.
He had told her it was the exact message he wanted to send.
If that was not enough, he had asked if he may have a private interview with Jane in the morning, preferably before her father departed.
All of this contributed to Jane walking among the clouds.
Charlotte, besides looking rather beautiful in her finery, was in great anticipation of opening the ball with Mr Fitzwilliam.
Against her protests, she had been taken first to Uncle Edward’s warehouse and then to a modiste, where a good portion of a wardrobe had been made for her.
She knew her father had not sent money for that kind of expenditure.
Although it would have been gauche to ask who paid for everything, Charlotte suspected that between the Bennets, Gardiners, and Hursts, all costs had been covered.
Unlike how she used to speak of Charlotte, Fanny could not say enough about how well she looked before the ball.
The Hursts and their guests had been asked to arrive an hour before other invited attendees. When they arrived, the Gardiner parents and Darcy—who was thunderstruck by Miss Elizabeth’s beauty—were already present.
Hilldale only had eyes for the woman he planned to propose to on the morrow, the one he loved, and he suspected she returned his love.
Knowing what her son planned, Lady Matlock told Jane to call her mother, and for Lizzy to address her as Aunt Elaine. She was almost as happy as her future daughter, having been in such great anticipation of one of her boys finding a match, and now, it seemed there would be two on the horizon.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“No, Caroline, we will not try to enter the Matlock ball uninvited,” Bingley insisted.
“Yes, we will attend! I know Mr Darcy would want me there if he knew I was available,” Miss Bingley screeched back. “Did you forget what our father meant for you to do for me?”
Unfortunately for Caroline, Bingley had done much soul searching since the day at White’s, where Hurst had basically rung a peal over his head.
In the past, he would have looked to Darcy to step in and save him, but this time, Darcy had remained silent.
It had taken two days of introspection before Bingley had made for Hurst House.
He had been handed all of the things Hurst had mentioned he had when they had been at White’s.
That included the unopened letter meant for his late mother and the copy of his late sire’s epistle to Caroline.
He had hoped Hurst had been mistaken, but in his father’s own words, he had seen how wrong he had been and just how easily he had allowed himself to be manipulated in service of keeping the peace, which he had not come close to achieving.