Chapter 24 Kindness is Always Fashionable
The road wound along a river carving through the low-lying, flat terrain, interspersed with marshes, heaths, and glacial hills.
The Eider guided her sister to safety like a liquid ribbon.
Lydia slept like a lord whilst Karl and Otto’s mumbled conversation was barely audible from the back of the carriage.
After a pleasant voyage across the North Sea, followed by days on the Eider river, Elizabeth had hired a carriage to convey them the last few miles.
Her stomach clenched and her nerves fluttered.
The journey was short—but five miles—and much sooner than she had anticipated, a large house rose beyond the hill.
“That cannot be Ritterhof,” Elizabeth whispered.
Because if it was, her grandmother had seriously underrated her ancestral home.
The Late-Baroque-styled palace looked quite new and perfectly maintained.
For some reason, Elizabeth had expected a much smaller house or even an old, draughty castle of modest size.
Whether she and Lydia would be welcomed remained to be seen.
The carriage halted by the steps, and Karl aided the sisters out of their conveyance.
“Heaven forfend!” Lydia whispered.
“Yes. It is impressive, is it not?” Elizabeth agreed, ascended the steps, and knocked. She handed her card to the butler, who opened the door. Lydia did not have one.
After a few minutes, they were escorted to a light and airy parlour, where their grandmother awaited them, fortunately alone.
“Lizzy!” she exclaimed with a bewildered expression. “So you are Mrs Darcy… I suppose well wishes are in order. And Lydia too. Have you come all this way alone? Where are your husband and parents?”
“They are at home. We have come seeking your aid for Lydia to avoid a most imprudent marriage,” Elizabeth informed her grandmother.
“Do sit,” the lady prompted.
Elizabeth launched into the sordid tale that had put them in this predicament. Her grandmother listened until she related how Lydia entered Wickham’s hackney.
“But why would you enter a gentleman’s carriage, even if there was a female present?”
“I knew Mrs Younge from my sojourn in Brighton. She was Miss Beaufort’s companion and everything that is proper.”
“Well, that makes you less culpable, I suppose,” her grandmother allowed.
Once Elizabeth and Lydia had finished their tale, Lady Louise looked shocked.
“You must allow me to contemplate what is to be done.”
“But do you agree that Lydia should not be forced to marry such a man?”
“I do, but I sense there is more to this story.”
Lydia yawned, and Elizabeth met her grandmother’s gaze before looking pointedly at her sister.
“I can see that you are fatigued, dear,” Lady Louise remarked to her youngest granddaughter. “Would you like to rest before dinner is served?”
“Oh yes. And I would like to change out of this threadbare old rag. The fabric is coarse, and my back is itching dreadfully.”
Lady Louise entirely agreed with her description as she did not yet know that Lydia had pretended to be a lady’s maid rather than a gentleman’s daughter. She pulled the bell and ordered her housekeeper to escort the girl to her room.
“Now that we are alone, Elizabeth, I suggest that you tell me the full story of why you have come, unescorted, to my door.”
“Mr Gardiner arranged for two footmen to travel with us. We were not without protection.”
“That is well and good, but they cannot replace a husband or a father.”
“No, but it is a long story.”
“We have two hours before we need to dress for dinner.”
“Very well. Before I left, I discovered why Mr Darcy needs to press the matter of Lydia’s marriage.
Speculations arose that his sister dallied, and even agreed to an elopement last summer, with the same Mr Wickham.
The rumours are already in the newspapers, but Mr Darcy is refuting them by stating they have the wrong sister. ”
Lady Louise wrinkled her forehead.
“There is more, but to explain I have to go back even further, to the time directly after Mr Darcy proposed to me. I did not think it so strange at the time, but I have had many hours to contemplate of late. During our engagement period I bemoaned Mr Darcy’s long and frequent absences.
I have since discovered that he was so often away to conceal from his family that we were to marry. ”
“Well. They would discover that sooner rather than later, I believe.”
“Exactly. Mr Darcy did not even tell his most beloved sister, which can only mean that he was ashamed of marrying me.”
“That sounds improbable…”
“Not at all!” Elizabeth cried and told her grandmother everything that had transpired since she entered London’s superior society as Mrs Darcy, only leaving out her latest discoveries from Lord Matlock’s and Judge Darcy’s mouths.
“It is wretched in every way. I have done everything I can. I have behaved as a lady ought and even held a ball. But it was all to no avail. How can such people be worked upon?”
“With kindness and honesty, dear Lizzy. There is great need of it in London’s society, and I dare say you will have little competition.”
Elizabeth huffed in disappointment. “I have tried my best, Grandmama. It cannot be done,” she muttered, shaking her head.
“You did not use your full arsenal, and that error we shall rectify. You know that I was one of the ladies who accompanied Queen Charlotte on her first voyage to England.”
Elizabeth nodded sagely without understanding what it signified.
“With Herman welcoming me back into the family, I shall write to the queen. Let us hope that she has not forgotten her old friend. With luck and patience, we shall gain an audience, to restore your good name and reputation. This will take weeks to accomplish, of course. In the meantime, we can ponder what to do with Lydia.”
Could it be that simple? It could appear as such when her grandmother did not know the latest development.
“I cannot be certain that even Queen Charlotte’s approval could save me.”
“Whyever not?”
“Because just before I left home, Judge Darcy advised Mr Darcy how he could divorce me, and how to rid himself of a possible child—whatever the risk of such a procedure to the mother.”
Her grandmother rose from her chair in righteous indignation.
“Outrageous! What was Mr Darcy’s reply to this barbaric insult?”
“Nothing! Mr Darcy said nothing at all. He did not defend me or gainsay the despicable judge.”
“Then how can you be certain he agreed?”
“Mr Darcy is so…so…proud.”
“Proud? Are you accusing the kettle, Mrs Pot?”
Elizabeth laughed to prove her point, even if the sound appeared forced.
“His greatest fear is to be laughed at and ridiculed by the ton, and his greatest wish is to be lauded and revered by them. There is nothing he would not do to be admired as the most outstanding gentleman. His struggle for perfection is exhausting and a spectacular disaster. His failings are great indeed, like improper pride, resentfulness, an unyielding temper. His feelings are almost immovable, and he never forgives or forgets.”
Elizabeth felt wretched. The man she described was not Mr Darcy, but her anger, the provocation, and petty jealousy would not allow him to be good.
“These are heavy failings. One might wonder why you chose to marry him.”
A flash of images flew before her inner eye as she stared unseeingly at her grandmother. How devilishly handsome he was when he smirked at her mud-covered appearance at Netherfield Park, how he was never at a loss for understanding and always surprised her with his many tokens of affection.
“I love him.”
“We admire people because of their excellent character, but we love despite people’s flaws. In hope, I suppose, of our love making our heart’s chosen one into a better man.” Lady Louise tilted her head and regarded her with an inscrutable expression.
Elizabeth found it incumbent upon herself to change the subject.
“So, will you ask Count Reimarus to write to the Lord Chamberlain and request an audience with Queen Charlotte?”
“No. I shall write directly to one of the Ladies of the Queen’s Bedchamber.
Mrs Charlotte Papendiek is Keeper of the Queen’s Wardrobe and an acquaintance of mine.
I hope the queen has not forgotten an old friend.
If she has not, I am ready to use all the influence of the Reimarus House to forward my case.
The queen is a frequent correspondent with her family, and dear Herman is a great friend of the queen’s brother. ”
“Do you suppose it is a bit farfetched considering the queen’s rules against consorting with those who are riddled with scandal?”
“I hope that my previous history with the queen will convince her that I am telling the truth. As you know, I was one of Princess Charlotte’s original German Ladies in Waiting.
We left Cuxhaven on the 28th of August, accompanied by a flotilla under the command of Admiral Lord Anson.
The five royal yachts were escorted by six ships of war.
During the passage, we suffered three major storms that forced us to land in Harwich and continue by coach to London.
“Princess Charlotte declared the sea an ‘element terrible’!
The poor dear spoke hardly any English and could not even make herself understood by the Earl of Harcourt, who accompanied us to London.
I knew the language well due to my philosophical brother Herman.
He had visited London for an extended period six years prior and had studied under anatomists John Hunter and James Douglas.
He returned with inventive ideas about smallpox vaccination and lightning rods, and a thorough knowledge of the English language.
“It was, however, Herman’s friend, who accompanied him home, that sparked my interest in learning to speak English.
I was full young, but the exceedingly polite, tall, and awkward English gentleman’s son, though not at all a flirt, captured my attention.
He was in possession of these remarkably beautiful green eyes that made my knees grow weak every time he glanced in my direction. ”
Elizabeth chuckled at the image of her smitten grandmother and her stoic grandfather, whose eyes she had inherited.
“Of course, I believed nothing would come of it. I knew my tyrant father would never allow me to marry so far beneath us in consequence… Well, back to the princess. When we arrived at St James’s, Charlotte’s knees were shaking when the group espied the king, waiting for his bride.
She hastened out of the carriage and threw herself at his feet.
I was much relieved when King George lifted the prone princess from the ground and enveloped her in a warm embrace before escorting her into the palace.
They married a few hours later. However, over the coming weeks jealousy soared between the German and English factions.
I escaped out of doors as often as possible and was allowed to roam the private park, until one day when I spotted the handsome Mr Bennet in a flaming red coat.
A whirlwind romance ensued, and when he proposed, my happiness was complete until I received my father’s reply to my beau’s request for my hand.
He did not sanction the marriage, but it was too late for a breach of promise.
One evening, we had both been carried away by our feelings, and there was a chance that I was with child. ”
Lady Louise’s cheeks turned pink at this admission, but Elizabeth knew enough about the pull of passion to refrain from judging her grandmother too harshly.
“The result was that Count Reimarus no longer had a daughter named Louise, and I no longer had a fortune. He strictly forbade me from approaching my family, and my connection to the queen naturally had to be severed. We wed quietly in Longbourn chapel, and I signed the church register as plain Ilse Louise Reimarus. However, no scandal arose about my marriage. As far as the queen knows, I left court to do my duty to my husband. We were childhood friends and grew up together. That must count for something, even after all these years.”
“I hope your endeavours will be richly rewarded.”
“As they should. Conviction and determination are the order of the day.”
Elizabeth nodded.
“We must order our court dresses immediately. The monstrosities take an eternity to make, and you need to rehearse walking backwards whilst wearing hoops and a long train.”