Chapter 11
On Monday morning, a little after eleven o’clock, three carriages and a wagon halted in front of Bennet House.
Jane and Lizzy stood waiting for the footman to open the door of the first conveyance.
The housekeeper and butler stood a little behind them, waiting to meet their master and mistress.
The sisters had prepared themselves for vulgar and loud exclamations from their mother; they were not prepared for the demure and quiet woman that was helped out of the first carriage by their father.
“Jane and Lizzy, it is so good to see you looking so well. How is poor Charlotte doing?” Asked their mother in a welcoming voice with a well-modulated tone.
“Will you please introduce us to our housekeeper and butler?” Jane almost thought that she was dreaming until her mother hugged her.
Both girls noticed the look of pride on their father’s countenance as he watched his wife.
Before Jane could perform the office, the peace and quiet was disturbed by her brash youngest sister, Lydia.
“La, we really are rich are we not?” Her vulgar pronouncement made all the rest of the family cringe.
Bennet, who in the past would have been amused by the bad behaviour of his youngest, was not entertained.
He looked past her to the servant’s carriage where Miss Anita Jones was standing.
Miss Jones was the Meryton apothecary’s niece, an educated gentleman’s daughter, and had been employed by the Bennets to act as governess to the youngest two who were no longer out and back in the schoolroom.
“Miss Jones, if you would, please escort this child to the nursery where she will remain until I say so? Mrs O’Grady please inform Miss Jones where the nursery is,” Mr Bennet said in a tone that brooked no argument.
Where she would have defended her youngest and clear favourite in the past, Mrs Bennet just looked at Lydia with obvious disapproval.
“Why do I need to go to the nursery?” Lydia asked petulantly as she stamped her foot to make her point, but only highlighted her immaturity.
“The reason is simple, Lydia,” Mrs Bennet replied in a steely voice, “you are a young girl that does not know how to behave. You and Kitty are no longer out, but Kitty has at least learnt to start behaving as a young lady should. Until you learn to act with decorum and propriety, to the school room you will go, and there you will remain.” This was all said quietly so that no passer-by would hear private family business being discussed but with enough volume that the family could hear.
After a nod from Bennet, a footman took Lydia’s arm. The housekeeper gave Miss Jones directions to the nursery and she led the misbehaving child away. Lydia fought her removal and was half dragged by the footman up the stairs.
“Now, where were we? Jane please make my housekeeper and butler known to me,” Mrs Bennet asked again with calm demeanour.
“With pleasure Mama. Mama this is your housekeeper, Mrs Kerry O’Grady, and your butler, Mr Humphrey Thatcher, both of whom have served in this house for more than ten years.
Mrs O’Grady, Mr Thatcher, the mistress of Bennet House and my mother, Mrs Frances Bennet.
” Jane introduced them to the lady they most would need to please.
The two senior servants each greeted the mistress respectfully.
Footmen swarmed over the coaches and wagon to bring the family’s trunks and other possessions into the house.
Grooms led their personal horses to the stables and the family walked up the steps where they found the servants not engaged in unloading their possessions lined up waiting for their mistress and master.
As their staff was introduced to them, Fanny Bennet stopped and talked to the baker and chef.
“We are very happy that both of you have returned to cook at Bennet House. My husband told me of the glowing reports from both Mrs O’Grady and Mr Thatcher about both of you, and especially your skills as a baker Mrs Carlyle.
I look forward to meeting with you about the menus and dishes that we prefer,” she stated.
The preparers of their food really were the centre of any household. Both the chef and the baker acknowledged the mistress’s kind words and told her that they were free to meet with her whenever convenient for her.
Kitty, who was just coming to terms with the family’s true wealth, was almost overwhelmed as she stood in the entrance hall and looked at what she could see of the house, their house.
Kitty, who was not yet out, had been assigned Miss Sarah Ashburg, who used to serve all of the Misses Bennet at Longbourn, as her maid.
Mary’s lady’s maid, Miss Emily Reid, was introduced to her. Mary knew of their wealth, but was nevertheless awed by what she saw at Bennet House.
“I think a tour of the house is in order before we go and change from the road,” Bennet stated.
The tour of the large five-story townhouse, six if one counted the level below the entrance level, or seven if the cellar was included, was conducted by Mrs O’Grady.
On the entrance level were the public rooms. There was a breakfast room, a formal dining room that could seat sixty with ease, and a family dining room that could seat at least twenty.
The master and mistress studies, a retiring room and three parlours, a music room, and two drawing rooms were located on the same floor.
The family was amazed at the massive ballroom that was also on the ground level.
The breakfast room and the two dining rooms were designed so that they could become one large room to dine in during a ball.
On the level below was the kitchen, scullery, pantry, store rooms, and offices for the housekeeper, butler, and chef.
Below that level was a very extensive wine cellar.
From the main level, the family followed the housekeeper up the wide marble staircase to the first floor.
This level had the family sitting room, and a family music room as well as the family wing.
The family wing consisted of a massive master suite that looked out over Hyde Park, eight suites that each had a shared sitting room and four additional single bedchambers that also had a smaller but very nice sitting room attached to each.
The second, third, and fourth levels above the main level were where the guest chambers were located.
The guest floors were accessed by an impressive staircase, that did not allow access to the family floor.
Each floor was almost identical and sported ten suites with shared sitting rooms and ten single bedchambers with no sitting room.
There was a sitting room on each floor for the guests in the single bedchambers.
The fifth level contained the nursery, chambers for tutors, governesses, nursemaids, the companions, and schoolrooms where the family heard a wailing Lydia as they passed by.
The servant rooms were also located on this level.
The servants’ accommodation area was divided by a wall that separated it from the nursery and schoolrooms and then another that divided the space for the male and female staff with each side accessed by a separate servant’s set of stairs.
In the attic, which was extensive, there was room for more storage than one thought they could fill with one hundred people in residence.
After the tour the family was shown to their chambers.
Mary and Kitty were to share a suite next to Jane’s and Lizzy’s.
They were pleased by the size and beauty of their suite and after their maids had already unpacked their trunks by the time the sisters entered; the closets were not very full, but they would soon be.
Both had been told that they would be visiting the shop of Madame Chambourg with their mother, Jane, and Lizzy on the morrow to buy all new wardrobes.
The girls were informed they may be joined by some other young ladies, and they could only imagine the explosion that would occur when Lydia learned she would be excluded from the party.
After a half hour, Lizzy knocked on her mother’s door. The door was opened by her mother’s long-time maid, Miss Mavis Payton.
“Mavis, may I speak to Mama please?” asked Lizzy. After checking with her mistress, Payton opened the door to admit Lizzy to her mother’s bedchamber.
“Oh my, Lizzy, I never imagined that chambers such as these would ever be mine.” Fanny admitted as she tried to take it all in. Lizzy saw that even though her Mama was excited, she was under good regulation, nothing like the Fanny Bennet of old.
“Mama, we have an invitation to a family dinner on Wednesday, if you do not object. I promised that I would convey your answer as soon as I was able to ask you.” Given the dislike and even hatred she had expressed toward Mr Darcy, Lizzy was nervous about what she knew she would have to explain, not yet trusting her mother would not rant at her for days.
“We have no prior engagements, but who has invited us?” she asked pleasantly.
“The Darcys,” Lizzy almost whispered, “some family of theirs along with the Gardiners,” she rushed out almost hoping that Mama would have missed the name of the family that had issued the invitation.
“Mr Darcy! The one that insulted you before he was ever introduced to you? The one who never looked at you but to find fault? I know that Mr Wickham lied about his dealings with Mr Darcy, but he is such a proud, arrogant, and unpleasant man. Is it because he has heard of our wealth and connections that we are suddenly acceptable to him?” Lizzy watched as her mother’s ire rose during her response.