Chapter Forty-Eight
W hat subjects will you cover with my daughter?” Lady Anne demanded of Mrs. Annesley one morning at breakfast.
“Rank, order of precedence, proper address, introductions, how to pay and receive calls, dining etiquette, courtship – the usual topics, your ladyship. Oh, and I assume she has received dancing lessons?”
Lady Anne stared at Mrs. Annesley and then looked away.
Elizabeth stepped in. “I would not make that assumption. Let me know when you are ready, and I will have a dancing master brought in.” Privately, Elizabeth shook her head at how Georgiana’s education had been neglected.
“Yes, she certainly must know how to dance.” Mrs. Annesley contributed.
“She is quite musical; I am certain the skill will be easily mastered,” Mr. Darcy said.
Elizabeth said, “I can dance, of course, but I am certain I have much to learn when it comes to ton etiquette. I would very much like to sit in.”
Lady Anne snorted loudly.
Mrs. Annesley said, hastily, “You are quite welcome to join us, Mrs. Darcy, of course.”
***
Elizabeth’s schedule was full, but she decided to join Georgiana’s etiquette lessons as often as she could. She knew that she would be forced to spend time with the ton when Georgiana was introduced to society, and she did not want to do anything to embarrass the Darcy family.
“Go ahead, Miss Darcy; the order of rank in the aristocracy is…?” Mrs. Annesley queried.
Georgiana promptly replied, “Duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron.”
“And their wives?”
“Duchess, marchioness, countess, viscountess, baroness.”
“How are they addressed in speech?”
“Your grace for the duke and duchess, lord or lady for the others.”
“Good. Baronets?”
“Sir whoever?” Georgiana guessed.
“Sir first name or sir last name?” Mrs. Annesley pressed.
“Sir first name and lady last name?”
“Very good, Georgiana. And you will always want to have a copy of Debrett’s to refer to, in order to properly understand someone’s background. Members of the ton tend to be rather persnickety about their ancestors.”
“Persnickety? I do not know that word.”
“Fussy, but usually meaning overly fussy.” Mrs. Annesley smiled.
“You do not place great store on birth?” Lady Anne said from the doorway, scowling.
Mrs. Annesley pretended not to hear her, but instead went on with the lesson, “Now, let us discuss seating arrangements.” And here Mrs. Annesley drew forth a piece of paper on which she had drawn a rectangle, and several smaller pieces of paper on which she had written various names: Duke and Duchess of Northumberland, the Earl and Countess of Sunderland, Baron and Baroness Hastings, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy, Miss Darcy. “How would we arrange the seating at a dinner table with these attendees?”
Georgiana began arranging the small pieces of paper around the rectangle as Elizabeth watched. When she was done, she said, “But where are you, Mrs. Annesley?”
“I am not in attendance at this hypothetical dinner table.”
“But you have a title, do you not?”
“No; as the relict of a baronet, I have no real title.”
“You are not a – I suppose it would be baronetess?”
“I am not; but if we were being formal, you would call me Lady Annesley.”
“Oh! But you do not prefer that? I thought most people liked to be called by their titles.”
“No, Mrs. Annesley does me well enough. I have no pretensions of grandeur.”
Unlike certain others in this household, Elizabeth thought, flicking a glance at Lady Anne, who had seated herself next to her daughter.
Once Georgiana had arranged the rectangles to Mrs. Annesley’s satisfaction, Mrs. Annesley continued. “Dinner parties are fraught with etiquette difficulties, Miss Darcy, as it is not just a question of where everyone must sit, but also a matter of which gentleman must escort which lady in to dinner. The highest-ranking gentleman must escort the lady of the house; the second highest-ranking gentleman would then escort the highest ranked lady, and so on down the line.”
“What if there are not equal numbers of ladies and gentlemen?”
“It is not much of an issue if there are more gentlemen, as it is not distressing for a gentleman to go into dinner alone; but if there are more ladies than gentlemen, then the last gentleman might escort two ladies.”
“I see,” Georgiana said. “It seems…well, unnecessarily complicated.”
Mrs. Annesley sighed. “It is even worse than you think, for some hostesses use a different strategy, having the host escort the highest-ranked lady and then the hostess going in last, escorted by the highest-ranked gentleman.”
“But how is one to know?”
“As a lady, your task is easiest; when dinner is announced, one of the gentleman will make his way to you and offer his arm. You take it and walk gracefully to the table.”
Georgiana laughed. “So it is up to the gentlemen to figure this out!”
“Precisely; is that not a relief?”
“It most certainly is!”
“Dinner invitations are always sent out by the lady of the house, and must be replied to promptly, so as to allow her to adjust her guest list accordingly, possibly inviting more guests. As you have just seen, an equal number of ladies and gentlemen is ideal,” Mrs. Annesley explained.
“This is why in romance novels, the governess is called down to make up the numbers,” Georgiana said, eagerly.
“Yes, and then captures the attention of the unmarried but very handsome Duke, no doubt.” Mrs. Annesley’s tone was wry. “We will save our discussion of polite dining for the dinner table, I think, if instruction during dinner does not distress you, Mrs. Darcy.”
“Not at all; I cannot imagine how else we would practice such a thing,” Elizabeth replied, promptly.
“Miss Darcy, you have a lady’s maid, of course,” Mrs. Annesley went on. “Is she a country girl?”
“Yes, she is the niece of our Cook.”
“You will need someone else when you make your debut, I fear, as your maid must be up to snuff on London fashions.”
Georgiana’s face became stubborn. “Margaret and I are good friends; I could not leave her behind.”
Mrs. Annesley said, “Indeed? Ask her, then, how much jewelry may be worn in the morning and let me know her response.”
There was a moment’s silence; then Georgiana said, softly, “I see.”
“Yes. There is a world of difference between your society here at Pemberley, isolated as you are, and London society.”
Elizabeth interposed, “Georgiana, I know that your formal education stopped two years ago. Have you had any training in the duties of the mistress of the estate? For it is expected that you will marry into the landed gentry, at the very least.”
“My daughter will marry a Duke,” Lady Anne announced.
Mrs. Annesley replied, immediately, “As of now, Lady Anne, there are two unmarried Dukes; they are both old enough to be Miss Darcy’s father and both have already buried two previous wives.”
Georgiana shuddered; Lady Anne rose and left the room without a word.
Mrs. Annesley continued as if she had not noticed Lady Anne’s departure. “Introductions are of key importance, Miss Darcy. You should never speak to anyone, particularly not a gentleman, if you have not been introduced by a mutual acquaintance. When someone introduces you, they are essentially stating that this person is worthy of your notice; someone who approaches you without an introduction likely fears that he or she is not worthy of your notice. Does that make sense?”
Georgiana nodded. “So do not speak to anyone who has not been introduced to me.”
“There may be exceptions, of course. If you are at Almack’s, for example, and another young lady happens to introduce herself to you, she is likely to be a safe enough acquaintance simply because she is there at Almack’s. The Patronesses do not invite anyone they do not think worthy of that high honour.”
Georgiana nodded again.
“It may be that you are required to introduce two people to one another. In that circumstance, the lower-ranked person is presented to the higher-ranked person. However, ladies are always given precedence over gentlemen.”
Here Georgiana looked puzzled. “Say that again, please, Mrs. Annesley.”
Elizabeth added, “Perhaps an example would best serve.”
Mrs. Annesley nodded. “Indeed; let us say that Sir Fork is a baronet and Lord Spoon is a viscount. Sir Fork would be presented to Lord Spoon.”
Georgiana giggled. “That is easy enough to remember.”
“Very well; but now let us say that Miss Knife, who has no title, is in the room. Though Miss Knife has no rank, both Sir Fork and Lord Spoon would be presented to her!”
Elizabeth chuckled. Mrs. Annesley was a wonderful teacher!