Chapter Twelve
The night of the opera was an exciting event for Elizabeth. She had been to the theatre with her aunt and uncle in the past, but had never visited the opera, especially not the viewing box of an earl, as the guest of his family.
Priscilla was less than pleased with Darcy’s conciliatory gift to his friend, but finally agreed that what mattered was that Georgiana was never exposed to Mrs Bingley again, and that Darcy did not deserve to lose one of his impossibly few loyal friends, whose only crime was that his love was blind.
Elizabeth was given an opera gown of Priscilla’s, one that she never wore the year before and did not need, since she had eight new ones. This time, Elizabeth accepted the loan of a strand of pearls and a pair of pearl ear drops from her aunt.
“I do wish you were presented so you might wear brighter colours in London. I am certain that if I were to find you a proper court gown, that my mother would present you.” Priscilla had, with Lady Matlock’s blessing, and Elizabeth’s objection, given Elizabeth more than a dozen brand new gowns in both brighter and appropriate pale colours that Priscilla had never herself worn, considering the size of her wardrobe.
“Priscilla’s old wardrobe requires the conveyance of three wagons to transport it to Matlock each year when her new wardrobe for the season arrives,” Lady Matlock said, looking over at her daughter fondly.
“There is no one in the family who could wear her clothes, my daughter is so petite. If you take her unused gowns, no one will notice, for she has never been seen in them, and so they will not go to waste, for once they are stored at Matlock, it might be years before they are passed to another, and then they would be sadly out of date. Miss Bennet, if you could decrease the number of trunks sent on the journey by even one, Lord Matlock would bless you, I am certain of it.”
And so Elizabeth received five morning gowns, six evening gowns, and three gowns suitable for the theatre or the opera, as well as a trunk full of over dresses to alter the others as she wished and a pile of unused sundries.
“I still say it is too much. My parents will be displeased with me for accepting such gifts, I am sure.” Elizabeth did not expect her life to return to comfort when she returned to Longbourn.
Her mother would only harbour her grudges until Lizzie returned, and if she did so with such a wardrobe, Mrs Bennet would be furious that Lydia could not wear them, being too tall and less buxom.
Elizabeth had already decided to only bring one or two items home with her and leave the rest for her aunt and uncle to store for her until she needed it.
Tonight, Elizabeth looked well in maiden blush, with pearls and an opera glass borrowed from her aunt.
She was happy indeed with her hair. Her riotous curls were often unmanageable, but Aunt Madeleine’s maid was always a marvel and arranged them with ease.
If she ever had a lady’s maid of her own, she would have to beg Mrs Leonard to instruct her.
Mr Darcy met them in front of the opera house. “Mr Gardiner, Mrs Gardiner, Miss Bennet. My family is already in my uncle’s box. Allow me to escort you.”
The Gardiners had already dined once at Darcy House with Miss Darcy timidly serving as hostess.
Lord Matlock and Mr Gardiner had encountered one another over more than one business deal in the past, though they did not know each other well.
Happily, Lord Matlock was all too affable and prepared to be pleased.
Mrs Gardiner had learned that Lady Matlock was interested in a charitable endeavour that Mrs Gardiner was on the board of, and plans were made for Lady Matlock to learn more about it.
After greeting everyone in the box, Elizabeth was seated between Georgiana and Viscount Brinsley, Priscilla’s eldest brother.
The man was not only single, highly eligible, and impossibly handsome, he was also intelligent and his wit would quiet even Mr Bennet.
Elizabeth could not help but enjoy his conversation as they waited for the concert to begin, though she felt Mr Darcy’s eyes boring into the back of her head as she did so.
She felt Georgiana’s elbow nudge her and looked over as the young girl nodded discreetly across the enormous concert hall at the Darcy box opposite from them.
Elizabeth raised her glasses to find Jane watching her intently, accompanied in Mr Darcy’s box by her husband, Mr and Mrs Hurst, and a couple Elizabeth had never seen before.
Jane did not look remotely content to be where she was.
She was in a new opera gown, perhaps half the quality of the one Elizabeth wore as a gift from Priscilla.
She ought to have gone to Mademoiselle Charest. She knows that lady always has pieces nearly finished that could be altered and taken in a day or two.
Mrs Barton in Meryton could have done better than the gown she is wearing.
Elizabeth shivered at the glare she was receiving from her sister and lowered her opera glasses to converse with Georgiana.
As the performer came onto the stage to the applause of her audience, Elizabeth noted Priscilla glaring right back across the room at Jane and hoped that Jane would not provoke the young noblewoman again.
Georgiana and the viscount took turns translating the concert for her, although Viscount Brinsley often translated quite wrongly, making the two ladies giggle excessively.
“We ought to go and greet them,” Mrs Gardiner whispered to her husband during the intermission. “Jane will be hurt if we do not.”
“You are right. Let us go and say hello. Lizzy, will you join us?” Mr Gardiner stood and offered his wife his arm.
“If Jane wanted my company tonight, she would have invited us to share their box, which you see is not even close to full,” Elizabeth observed. “I will keep Miss Darcy company while her family socialises.”
“I prefer to sit quite still and allow society to come to me,” the viscount drawled as Mr Darcy gave an order to a servant for claret.
“I prefer for society to stay in their own boxes,” Priscilla grumbled.
“Prissy, you are as bad as Darcy. If you do not stop loathing all of society, you will never marry and will plague me to my death.”
“I do not loathe all of society. As you see I am on first name terms with our dear friend Lizzy. And I pray you do not think that if I were lucky enough to escape marriage, I would waste my time plaguing you.” Priscilla sparred with her brother as Elizabeth watched in fascination.
She wondered what her own brother would have been like, and whether they would have liked each other, if she had one.
She never hesitated to engage in verbal warfare with her younger sisters, but a brother might have been grand indeed.
“You will shrivel up and turn into dust in a corner of Matlock. I am certain of it.” The Viscount was grim. “But probably not until two hundred years after everyone who still lives there has forgotten who you are and why you are still there.”
“Prissy will not be a spinster, Cousin, how could you be so unkind? Brother would never say such a thing to me.” Georgiana chided the viscount.
“You are right, Georgie, but you must admit, Darcy’s sister is so much nicer than mine.” The viscount’s shoulders shook with laughter as his young cousin reached across Elizabeth and swatted his arm playfully with her fan.
Elizabeth watched Darcy in the light of the hundreds of candles and chandeliers glowing in the Opera House.
She had noticed him observing her closely surrounded by the bosom of his family.
She was gratified to see how well they seemed to accept her and was pleased by how well she liked them.
The Fitzwilliams had rallied around Mr and Mrs Darcy during their marriage and around Darcy and Georgiana after Anne Darcy’s passing, so she was told, giving them all of the support they required.
Only his cousin Richard had been missing, away on the front, refusing to return home these three years, and they all missed him greatly.
Elizabeth sensed there was a falling out, though she did not know what caused it.
She wondered what this Cousin Richard would think of her.
The box was crowded. Darcy’s aunt was speaking with another nobleman and his wife.
Priscilla was quite obviously bored to tears by their sons, and Georgiana was timidly answering the questions of a well-meaning dowager that had come out in her girlhood with their other aunt, Lady Catherine.
Darcy looked like he wished to join her but he was detained by the viscount and one of that gentleman’s friends.
Lord Matlock approached and took a seat next to her.
“I wished to say,” the earl began. “That is, I hope that you are restored from your time in London, Miss Bennet. My daughter tells me that you were in need of respite.”
“I am, thank you.” Elizabeth smiled at him.
“Mr Darcy has my thanks for his kind transport to my aunt and uncle. I am much restored from my visit, and I am very gratified to be so welcomed in town by both my family and yours. Georgiana and Priscilla are such dear friends. I do not know how I have deserved their kindness.”
“I am told that you deserved it by extending yours first, Miss Bennet.” Lord Matlock dipped his head in acknowledgement.
“Most people have other motives than friendship when they approach my family. It is not very modest to speak of, but the noble or the very fortunate often have good reason to distrust strangers. It was quite obvious to my daughter and niece when they arrived in Meryton that you received them with kindness because you are kind. Priscilla has been received with other motives than friendship so often that she is quite jaded, and she values your authenticity more than you know.”