Chapter Gracechurch #2
The next half hour passed rapidly, neither paying the slightest attention to how long a social call ought to last, particularly between two people of such different stations who had never been introduced.
Miss de Bourgh eventually reminded Jane ever so much of Elizabeth when she was stealing away from one of her mother’s insufferable tirades.
She could easily imagine the heiress climbing a tree, though on closer inspection, it became clear she was not the resolute, sturdy Elizabeth Bennet; yet she possessed a certain strength.
Perhaps there was more to the lady than met the eye.
“Miss Bennet, I know I have known you but an hour, but I wonder if I might—”
The young lady's courage failed at the very moment she approached whatever point she wished to ask. Something clearly remained unspoken—not least of which was where Elizabeth had gone and why—but it was equally obvious that asking such a question lay far beyond the bounds of an hour’s acquaintance.
Jane knew how to make people comfortable. Lizzy would tease people into better humour, while Jane would simply comfort them into the same state through different means. Possessing the necessary skills, she set to work.
“Pray be easy. It seems you would like to ask a question, but possibly lack something. Is it courage? Politeness? Propriety?”
“I suppose I am impeded by the rules of propriety,” Anne replied sheepishly, “or perhaps those are simply ready excuses for embarrassment or cowardice.”
Jane recalled her father's words, though not quite as mean-spirited as usual; for once in his life, he had given sound advice. She applied his diatribe to her current situation.
“My father likes to say that propriety is simply organised and systematic lying. Perhaps we can dispense with that for the moment, as I do not for a single moment believe you just happened to stumble upon my aunt’s home in Cheapside, a few days after my sister mysteriously disappeared from your mother’s estate. ”
Jane regretted the words before they were fully spoken, thinking she sounded more like Lydia than herself. She had started with the intention of putting this young lady at ease, but instead had effectively attacked her like a highwayman.
For her part, Anne de Bourgh was made of sterner stuff. No daughter of Lady Catherine was to be intimidated by Jane Bennet.
“We are both daughters of take-no-prisoners mothers, so perhaps we may skip over some of the social niceties and get right to the point.”
“I thought I was doing that.”
“I do not suggest you are derelict in your duties. I simply agree to your overall scheme.”
“Where is my sister, Miss de Bourgh?”
At that point, the question was posed and could not be retracted. The two ladies stared at each other for a few minutes, but Jane held the stronger hand. Twenty-two years of training in stubbornness had its value.
“I do not know. I cannot tell you the part of the story I am privy to, as it is not mine to tell. It would break the confidence of two people. It is not my business, but I would like to ensure your sister’s comfort if I may do anything to help her.”
Jane gasped, asking louder than she intended, “Is my sister in danger?”
Anne was instantly chagrined by the terror on her companion’s face. “No, no, no! This came out all wrong!”
Anne paused for breath before continuing.
“I do not believe your sister is in any danger, but she has… a reason… to be… difficult… to… locate. I… I feel inadequate that I cannot tell you all that I know without breaking a confidence but… well… it is beyond me. I do not believe she is in any real danger, but I was hoping I might be able to ascertain where she went. I would like to correspond with her if I may, and offer my assistance, such as it is.”
Jane was dismayed to think she had been so close to some intelligence, only to be stymied by her new friend’s scruples. Yet, unwillingness to break a confidence spoke well of her, and since Miss de Bourgh knew no more of Elizabeth’s situation than Jane, there was little point in belabouring it.
Jane thought for several minutes before determining whether to trust this new acquaintance—friend? She finally decided to rely on her own nature, since trying to be Lizzy gave her a splitting headache.
“I do not know," Jane finally said with a sigh. “She is apparently hiding, but I do not know where or why. We received a note stating she was perfectly well, taking a small tour somewhere in the north, with a family wholly unknown to us, and I believe she may have… tricked—”
Jane realised she had likely betrayed Lizzy’s confidence, but it seemed too late to rectify the error.
“That is to say… well, not tricked… but, perhaps, relied on my father’s indolence to obtain permission.”
Much to Jane’s surprise, Anne clapped her hands in glee and laughed. “Oh, that is so rich. I knew I liked your sister. I cannot wait for her to return. We shall have such fun together.”
Jane stared at her, wondering if Lizzy would be so sanguine about the connection, but since she knew no evil of Miss de Bourgh, and was generally inclined to think the best of people, she determined to like the young lady before her until she had cause to revise that opinion.
Both ladies had reached a precipice, and neither knew how to proceed.
Further discussion brought them into closer intimacy, and another half hour of conversation revealed both ladies had matters they must keep in confidence, but what they were willing to share had been exhausted.
Anne was unwilling to speak of Darcy’s proposal, while Jane was unwilling to speak of his interference in her affairs.
Both ladies speculated freely on Elizabeth, but unless she had been abducted by pirates, she was unlikely to be in danger, and there was little they could do.
She would return when she chose, and neither lady had reason to believe her excessively distressed.
It was in neither's nature to be despondent regarding follies nor misunderstandings.
Jane believed Elizabeth would resolve her difficulties when she chose, and convinced her new friend of the wisdom of that attitude.
The conversation eventually lapsed and they wondered what to do next.
Anne gathered her courage. Darcy would be disappointed she had learned nothing of Miss Elizabeth, but frankly, she was his problem, not hers, and Anne had come to town with more than one agenda.
Anne drew a breath, and sheepishly asked, “Miss Bennet, would you… dare I ask too much… would you be willing to attend a ball with me? My aunt, Lady Clarissa, is holding one on Tuesday next, and I might be able to brave it if I had you by my side. I once heard your sister say her courage always rises to any intimidation, but I am afraid mine does not quite rise enough to attend a ball alone, or with my cousins.”
“A ball?”
Jane was beyond surprise as that would certainly not have been a question she anticipated. While she sat in stunned silence, her erstwhile companion continued, warming to the idea.
“Yes, a ball! I am using the coincidence of your sister's flight to… well, this will sound selfish… but I am taking advantage of the distraction to come and enjoy a little of the season. I know it is nearly over, but I never participated, so it is all new to me.”
Her courage failed and she stared at her slipper, belatedly realising there was mud on it.
Jane was more shocked than when they had discovered Lizzy’s disappearance. With her sister, such events were bound to happen from time to time, as they had all their lives; but a rich heiress, obviously older than herself, who had never had a season was a concept beyond Jane's comprehension.
She finally asked, “You have never been to a ball! I am all astonishment! Why ever not?”
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Anne replied, “I was sickly as a child, and I think my mother and I formed the habit of avoiding society. She always thought I was for Darcy, and I never wished to go to balls or engage in society enough to oppose her, so I have never been to one.”
“Surely you have someone else to take you, perhaps one of the cousins who were with you at Rosings?”
“A ball with the lunkheads? Never!” Anne laughed gaily.
In that moment, Miss de Bourgh seemed a great deal like Elizabeth, and Jane’s heart went out to this poor young lady, who at five and twenty had never even been to a ball, and likely did not even know how to dance.
Jane was not particularly occupied, nor had she been for some time, nor was she likely to be soon; so, the idea had merit.
At least it might relieve the boredom that was becoming the primary emotion replacing her heartbreak.
“What type of ball? I do not have clothing suitable for a first circle ball, and I have neither the time nor funds to purchase a gown. I… do not move in that sphere.”
Anne laughed, and asked impertinently, “With four sisters, you have never borrowed a ball gown?”
“Well—”
“Perfect! I have a cousin who is almost the same height and figure as both of us. She has closets full of gowns, all of the finest quality, and we can borrow any we like. I have no time to have one made either, nor am I inclined for my mother to know what I am about, so I fear we both must be beggars. Pray, will you accompany me? I would be in your debt. I shall come here tomorrow with the seamstress to make adjustments, and all would be done in time for the ball. Please, Miss Bennet.”
Jane stared at her new friend, wondering when she would be serious, only to find her already so.
“You want me… Jane Bennet… to go… to venture from my tradesman uncle’s house… to your aunt’s first circle ball… wearing… your cousin’s gown?”
“Yes, that sums it up nicely.”
Jane felt trampled and left by the roadside for dead. Apparently, Miss de Bourgh had learned a few things from her mother, because without ever saying any variant of ‘yes,’ she seemed to have committed to attendance at a ball.
“Why me?”
“I wish to honour you with my condescension and elevated rank.”
Anne almost held a straight face for a good fifteen seconds, before both ladies fell into a fit of giggles that would have embarrassed Lydia or Kitty.
“In all seriousness, I… I need your help. I wish to make my life… more… more… well… just more. It has been so constrained for so long, I hardly know where to begin, and… well, I trust you. You need not watch me like a nursemaid, only be in the same room. That is all I ask.”
Jane offered a look borrowed from Lizzy. “A ball seems a good place to start.”
Anne smiled brightly. “My thinking exactly! I assume, based on your demeanour and what I have heard of your character from my cousin, that you will be able to ease my way a little. I hope it will be useful for you as well. There will be lots of handsome and well-connected men, and I will no doubt have to bring a couple of my cousin’s guard dogs to hold them back. ”
Jane laughed, unable to imagine any dog more frightening than Lizzy reported Anne’s mother to be, or more ill-tempered than Mr Darcy, but gave up and nodded.
The whole idea of going to the ball made little sense, but Jane would not refuse her friend, nor was she opposed to an opportunity to throw herself in the paths of other amiable men.
She was quite done with Charles Bingley.
That ‘gentleman’ was certainly not the only man in the world, and in the end, her mother occasionally spoke sense. Jane was accustomed to hearing her mother in flights of fluttering nonsense, but she recalled Mrs Bennet in one of her infrequent introspective moods.
Jane, I always thought you could not be so beautiful for nothing, but it is not your face or figure that is the most beautiful.
It is the way you treat others. Lizzy is very clever and mostly kind, and you are very kind and mostly clever.
You have the advantage. I have five daughters to settle in good marriages, and like it or not, you will have to be the one to lead the charge.
If you cannot find felicity in marriage, none of the other girls have the slightest chance.
For once, the sentiment had not made her want to scream. It was a depressing assessment, but Jane could not very well disagree. It was time to quit whining, and a ball was just the thing.