Chapter 12
Elizabeth watched in the mirror as Anna, the new ladies’ maid that she shared with Mary, closed the clasp on her pearl necklace. It was the final touch to complete her appearance, and Elizabeth was certain she had never appeared to better advantage.
Her hair was pinned up and speckled with diamond-tipped hairpins that sparkled like stars amongst her dark curls.
Her pearl drop earrings matched perfectly with the string of pearls around her neck, and her cream silk gown, trimmed with ribbons of dark green, complemented her complexion and figure perfectly.
She and her sisters had been in London for a week now, just barely long enough to have this gown made, though there were quite a few additional gowns that would be ready by the end of another week.
This one had been rushed, however, so that it could be ready in time for dinner at Judge Darcy’s home.
Elizabeth was a basket of nerves over this dinner.
While she had enjoyed meeting Judge Darcy before, this time was different.
This time, he had invited most of the members of his family as well as several younger friends.
It would be the first time Elizabeth and her sisters would truly mingle with those of a higher class than they had known in Hertfordshire.
“You look lovely, Miss Elizabeth,” said Anna. “There is no reason to be so nervous.”
Elizabeth huffed out a short laugh. “Is it that obvious?” she said.
“Probably not to anyone who doesn’t know you,” said Anna, “but I’ve been doing your hair for nearly a month now, ever since I came to Longbourn. I have come to learn that the more nervous you are the more your gaze bounces around, and the more you fidget.”
“You are too observant for your own good,” said Elizabeth teasingly. “Or perhaps I should say that you are too observant for my own good.” She grinned.
“It is only reasonable that you should be nervous,” said Anna. “After all, you will be meeting the sons of the Earl of Matlock as well as Mr. Darcy of Pemberley and who knows who else. I would be frightened down to my boots to meet such high people.”
“It isn’t that,” said Elizabeth. “I care not how high they are. I am simply nervous to be entering a room full of strangers, every single one of whom will be looking at me to find fault. How will I bear such scrutiny?”
“You will bear it quite well,” said Anna firmly. “After all, you have me, and I have looked over every single detail of your appearance. You look perfect, if I do say so myself, and you will carry yourself as if you believe that to be the case.”
Elizabeth just smiled at the young maid’s forceful comfort as she rose from her seat. “Thank you, Anna,” she said. Then she headed downstairs to wait for her sisters, Lady Esther, and her father. Mrs. Jamison would be staying at home with Lydia.
Jane was already there, and Elizabeth rushed forward to give her beautiful, older sister a hug. She leaned into Jane’s strength and let it calm her nerves just a bit.
Jane must have sensed how very nervous Elizabeth was.
As Elizabeth let her go, she said, “There is no need to be quite so tense, Lizzy. Yes, we will be meeting many new people all at once, but that is a good thing, an exciting thing. Perhaps we will meet a new friend who will become a lifelong acquaintance. You never know. Anything could happen tonight.”
“Yes, exactly,” said Elizabeth. “Anything could happen, including that we could make fools of ourselves in front of fifty or more members of the ton. We were not made for this. We were not raised for this. Who knows what they might expect that we wouldn’t even imagine?”
“We might not imagine it, but I am certain Lady Esther and Mrs. Jamison are very aware of what is expected, and they have both trained us well,” said Jane. “If you have no confidence in yourself, perhaps you can find confidence in them.”
“You are absolutely correct,” said Elizabeth, suddenly feeling much calmer. “Lady Esther would not steer us wrong. Of that I am certain.”
Before Elizabeth could say anything else, Mary entered the room. She was wearing her new pale-yellow gown which made her appear lighter and somehow happier even though her expression was as stern as ever.
“You look lovely, Mary,” said Jane.
Mary looked as though she didn’t believe Jane, but she said nothing.
Elizabeth raised her voice in agreement. “Indeed, you do,” she said. “Our new maids have worked wonders on us all, and I am certain that we shall each make a dozen conquests this very evening.”
Mary rolled her eyes at Elizabeth’s exaggeration, but there was a tiny quirk of a smile on her face as well, which was all Elizabeth had wanted.
“That is quite the reversal from the nervous wreck you were just moments ago,” said Jane.
“Yes, well, your words must have been so wise that they quite took all my fear away,” teased Elizabeth.
~~~~~
Half an hour later, Elizabeth, Jane, and Mary entered Judge Darcy’s drawing room with Lady Esther and Papa. Though they were right on time, already there were at least twenty guests there. Elizabeth barely had a chance to glance around before Judge Darcy was greeting them with enthusiasm.
“Bennet!” he cried. “It is excellent to see you. And of course your lovely daughters are always welcome, though it looks as though you have one more than you had last time.”
“Yes, this is my daughter, Mary,” said Papa.
Mary greeted him with a curtsey while Judge Darcy said, “Quite lovely.” Mary, who had never in her life received a compliment on her appearance from a stranger, blushed.
“Now do let me introduce you to some of my friends. I am afraid my family members aren’t here yet, but there are plenty of others you will wish to know. ”
As he spoke, Elizabeth could sense new arrivals coming into the room behind her.
Lady Esther must have sensed them as well, for she said, “There is no need for us to keep you. I recognize quite a few of the guests here, so I can show the young ladies around, which would free you to greet your other guests.”
“As always, you are the epitome of grace,” said Judge Darcy. “I shall do just that.”
As he moved away, Lady Esther said, “Come, I shall introduce you to Lady Chithers and her son.”
Mr. Chithers turned out to be the younger son of Baron Chithers. The Bennet sisters chatted with him and his mother for a few minutes, but Elizabeth found his conversation, which focused entirely on hunting and dogs, to be decidedly uninteresting.
From there, they were introduced to Lord Lakesby, then to the Safwell sisters, and half a dozen others. By the time dinner was called, Elizabeth’s mind was reeling in an effort to remember everyone she had met.
At dinner, Elizabeth was seated between Baron Chithers and a younger gentleman who Judge Darcy had introduced as his nephew, Mr. Darcy of Pemberley.
Elizabeth spent much of the first course chatting amiably with Baron Chithers, but she could sense that Mr. Darcy occasionally watched her. It felt as though he was examining everything about her, from her manner of speaking to the stitching on the ribbon which rimmed her sleeve.
As the second course was being served, Baron Chithers turned to his neighbor on his other side, so Elizabeth turned to Mr. Darcy and said, “I do hope you are enjoying your evening so far.”
He paused for an uncomfortably long period of time before answering. “Well enough, I suppose. My uncle usually keeps excellent company.”
The way he said this and the way he eyed her as he said so made Elizabeth suspect that he wasn’t certain she qualified as excellent company.
Still, there was no reason to return his rudeness. She said, “If the company this evening is anything to go by, I believe I would have to agree with you.”
Unfortunately, this was not the kind of statement that would stimulate further conversation, and Mr. Darcy did not take up the burden. He merely turned his attention to his food and his wine.
Elizabeth took her cue from him and remained silent. She did not wish to force the gentleman to speak when he had no desire to. Eventually, however, with no conversation to slow down the process of eating, her food ran out well before the next course was ready.
After sitting in silence and idleness for several more moments, she noticed that Mr. Darcy was in the same predicament.
With an inward sigh, she said, “Come, Mr. Darcy, I believe we must have some amount of conversation simply to avoid the stares of others as they wonder why two people would sit next to each other in determined silence.”
“As you wish,” he said, though he did not turn towards her. “What subject would you like to canvas?”
“Oh, it could be any number of things,” said Elizabeth airily.
“Books, plays, the newspaper. You could tell me what you think of London or whether you prefer the country or the city. If you are feeling particularly ambivalent about all these mundane topics, you could tell me about Pemberley, for I admit I have never heard of it.”
For the first time since the course began, Mr. Darcy turned his gaze directly toward her. There was a hint of humor in his eyes and a tiny quirk to one side of his lips that implied that there was a smile just waiting to burst free.
“I admit to frequent ambivalence to such mundane topics as you listed off,” he said, “but it would feel rather selfish of me to talk only of my own home. Tell me what your home is like. Then we can trade information.”
Elizabeth almost laughed at the way he had once again turned responsibility for the conversation back to her.
Still, talking of Longbourn could never be boring to her, so she began.
“Longbourn is the name of the village and estate my father owns. Its inhabitants number around twenty or so families. The land is fairly typical of Hertfordshire with softly rolling hills, though none so steep as to prevent farming, except a particularly tall hill a few miles away with the lofty name of Oakham Mount.”
Mr. Darcy’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Just twenty tenants?” he asked. “My uncle gave me to understand that you and your sisters were heiresses.”
Elizabeth chuckled. “I understand your confusion,” she said.
“Up until just a month ago, we were all perfectly normal examples of your average gentleman’s daughters.
Then my uncle, who had lived in America for the last twenty or more years, returned with an enormous fortune.
He did not long survive the consumption that had plagued him throughout his arduous journey, and his fortune was then divided amongst my sisters and myself. ”
“Was he a plantation owner, then?” asked Mr. Darcy. “I have heard there was a great deal of opportunity in the former colonies for growing wealth by growing tobacco or cotton.”
“He did own a large farm, though he never called it a plantation,” said Elizabeth. “I do not know what he grew at first, but for the last fifteen years, his primary crop was gold rocks.”
“Gold!” said Mr. Darcy.
“Yes, gold,” said Elizabeth with a laugh. “They were just sitting there throughout his field. He eventually discovered that they had been deposited there when the river flooded, so he began searching the river as well.”
“I had not heard that gold was found anywhere in North America,” said Mr. Darcy, “though I have certainly heard of the gold mines in South America.”
“It was the quietest, calmest gold rush in history,” she said. “I suspect that eventually someone will begin mining the hills where that river springs from to find the source of the gold, but no one has done so yet.”
“I would never have imagined such a thing was even possible,” said Mr. Darcy. “How could the farmers who lived along that river not have recognized that they had gold on their land or that there was gold in the river?”
“I asked my uncle the same question,” said Elizabeth.
“He said that in its raw form, gold is not particularly remarkable. An uneducated farmer who seldom sees any kind of gold would almost certainly not recognize it. Even he did not realize what it was at first, only when he picked it up and felt how very heavy it was. Now, Mr. Darcy, I have told you a bit about my home and my history. It is your turn. Do tell me of Pemberley. I have heard it is in Derbyshire, but I know nothing else.”
“Pemberley has been the home of the Darcys for nearly three centuries,” said Mr. Darcy.
“Kympton, the village which houses its tenants, is made up of over one hundred cottages as well as a small general store. Derbyshire is far more hilly than Hertfordshire, making it nearly impossible for typical crops to grow in any large quantities. Most of my tenants are sheep herders or they raise cattle.”