Chapter 19
Drawing Room
Longbourn
Two Hours Later
The fire in the drawing room had been built up high and was now blasting out a great heat like a furnace.
A large tea tray had been sent up from the kitchens, plentifully supplied with scones so fresh from the oven that they were still steaming, a massive pot of tea, and an abundance of cream and sugar.
The Bennets, reunited at last, were gathered comfortably around one another to enjoy their repast.
Sir Thomas coughed into his handkerchief, and Elizabeth glanced over to survey her father’s face.
He was, perhaps, a trifle pallid, but his eyes were bright and as alert as ever, and he seemed to be in good spirits.
It was as well that Mary had been firm about returning home when they did.
Sir Thomas rarely had any regard for such trivial concerns as his own health or sufficient sleep to rest mind and body when the stars were at interesting points in their cosmic dance.
It would do him good to be back in his snug room at Longbourn, resting and recovering.
“You are quite certain you are not dangerously ill, Husband?” Lady Bennet asked anxiously.
Sir Thomas turned a vague eye toward his wife and said, “Not at all, my dear wife, not at all. Lizzy, am I correct that you were able to see the comet in the telescope in the back?”
“Yes, Father,” Elizabeth said with a smile. “The Earl and Countess of Keaton also observed it and were most impressed.”
“The earl and countess…” Sir Thomas repeated in obvious confusion.
“Lady Keaton visited us at Emerald Island some years ago, Father, when she was Lady Clara Whitman, the only daughter of the Marquis of Stoken. She came with several of her family members, including her grandfather, the Duke of Salford, and we found Mars and Saturn in the sky for her. Do you remember?”
Sir Thomas’s lips pursed, and he thought for a long moment. “No, I cannot say I do, but then again, I generally do not pay much attention to those who visit the island. But in any case, I am pleased that the telescope is in good heart.”
“The moon is getting fuller by the day, Father, so perhaps you should wait a week before looking for the comet?” Mary suggested.
“A week?!”
“Yes, for the moon to hide her face and for you to recover entirely from your cough,” Jane said in a coaxing tone.
Sir Thomas looked genuinely perturbed, but at this moment, the butler entered the room with two familiar gentlemen at his heels.
“Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley,” he announced and withdrew.
Lady Bennet leaped to her feet and said, “Oh, Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley, how wonderful to see you today! May I please introduce you to my husband, Sir Thomas, and my daughter, Mary?”
Father and daughter had risen, and Sir Thomas bowed and Mary curtsied, and the two gentlemen bowed in return.
“Sir Thomas, Miss Mary,” Bingley said genially. “I have heard a great deal about you both, and it is an honor to meet you at last. I presume you arrived only recently from Essex?”
“We arrived this morning,” Mary explained, which provoked an alarmed expression on their younger guest’s face.
“This morning?” he asked. “I do apologize for intruding when you have only just arrived. Darcy and I can…”
“No, no, no!” Lady Bennet exclaimed, gesturing wildly toward the available chairs in the room. “Sit down, sit down, please! Sir Thomas and Mary are very pleased to meet you, I know.”
This was said in a minatory tone, and the master of Longbourn blinked several times and then said, “Yes, do sit down. You are, erm, leasing Netherfield Park, I believe?”
Elizabeth was content with this response, as there was no guarantee that Sir Thomas would remember even that little piece of information.
Mr. Bingley smiled and promptly made his way to a chair across from Jane’s, while Mr. Darcy, rather to Elizabeth’s surprise, walked over to sit down across from Sir Thomas.
“I am certain you are pleased that your father and other sister have returned,” Bingley said to Jane, who beamed and said, “Indeed, we are very pleased. It is wonderful to have the entire family together under one roof again.”
“I well understand that. I remember the joy of returning home from Harrow many years ago and spending time with my entire family.”
“Family is a great blessing,” Jane agreed, and Elizabeth turned her attention back to her embroidery in her lap. She liked Mr. Bingley very well, but his conversation was not intellectually stimulating.
“Are you familiar with the concept of parallax, Mr. Darcy?” Sir Thomas asked from her right.
“A little,” Mr. Darcy replied. “I understand that it has to do with a change in position of an object along two lines of sight. So, for example, if I look at my outstretched hand with my right eye open and my left eye closed, and then switch to the left eye open and my right eye closed, it will appear as if the hand has shifted. It can be used in astronomy, I believe?”
Elizabeth turned an amazed look on the master of Pemberley. How did he know that?
“Yes, exactly, Mr. Darcy. It was used centuries ago to determine the distance from the moon to the sun with surprising accuracy. Mr. Herchel and I are trying to use parallax for determining the distance of stars, but so far have had no success.”
“Perhaps they are too far away?”
“Sadly, yes, that is quite likely,” Sir Thomas said, “but even that is extraordinary, is it not? Mars is some tens to hundreds of millions of miles away, which is beyond the capacity to fathom, and of course Jupiter is even farther, and Saturn is beyond that…”
“Lizzy?”
Elizabeth turned toward Mary, who had left her chair near the fire and was now standing next to her.
“Yes?” she asked.
“Would it be all right if I acquired two more gowns from the dressmaker?” Mary asked softly. “Three of mine are rather worn.”
“Of course,” Elizabeth said immediately. “I think you and Father should rest today, but tomorrow we should drive into Meryton and have you fitted by Mrs. Simmons.”
“Only if we can afford it,” Mary stated nervously.
“We can afford it, definitely,” Elizabeth said, reaching out and taking Mary’s hands in her own. “Do not worry, dear sister.”
“Please come and see my library, Mr. Darcy,” Sir Thomas said, rising enthusiastically to his feet. “I think you will quite enjoy it as a bibliophile.”
Mr. Darcy followed his host’s actions, and Elizabeth watched as the pair strode out of the room. She could not help but be startled by the gentleman, who had displayed esoteric knowledge about parallaxes in astronomy. She did not pretend to know the gentleman well, but he was obviously intelligent.
***
Mrs. Simmons’s Dressmaker Shop
Meryton
The Next Day
Saturday, 23rd November, 1811
The Meryton dressmaker’s shop was not a large one, and it seemed at the moment to be very full of Bennets.
Some of this was an illusion, produced by the numerous mirrors placed strategically around the shop for the benefit of customers trying their new gowns.
Each mirror doubled or tripled the ladies, producing a dizzying flurry of movement as the Bennet women flitted about the shop.
A lovely little table with chairs and a tea service had been set up near enough to the window to catch the light, but it sat ignored by the current crop of clients.
Lydia and Kitty had gravitated at once to the far corner of the shop, where a resplendent evening gown awaited its new owner.
Dark blue silk shot with shimmering lavender, it dripped black lace and tiny silver beads, and the two youngest Misses Bennet circled around it, vociferous in their awe and admiration.
Miss Fairchild stood nearby, watching her two young charges indulgently and gently checking them when their expressed adoration became too ebullient.
Their mother had dutifully commented over the gown before engaging Mrs. Simmons, the dressmaker, who had, along with her assistant, begun trotting out roll after roll of fabric for one of her best customers.
The Bennets came less often now that Elizabeth held the purse strings, but with some seven ladies in the household including the governess, they were still regular clients.
Now, fantastic pyramids of cloth stood piled atop the wooden counter, and Mrs. Simmons was watching the Bennet matriarch expectantly across the tops of the rolls.
“Oh, this fabric would be lovely for Elizabeth,” Lady Bennet exclaimed, reaching out to stroke the green silk.
“I do not need a dress, Mamma,” Elizabeth said firmly. She was standing a few feet away studying different kinds of lace, and she continued, “I think this ivory lace would look charming on a blue gown, Mary. What do you think?”
Mary, who had been staring out the front window, turned in surprise and then nodded. “Yes, I would like that.”
“The blue had better be quite dark,” their mother said, reluctantly dropping the green silk, “as your coloring is better suited for that. Mrs. Simmons, might you find some darker swatches of blue fabric? Also, we will need some orange and tan fabric swatches, please.”
“Of course, Lady Bennet,” Mrs. Simmons said and bustled away into the back of the store.
Elizabeth turned a worried look on Mary and was not surprised to see blank discomfort on the young lady’s face. Mary despised being fitted for gowns and wished to finish the process as quickly as possible, while her mother liked to spend literally hours poring over lace and fabric and fussing away.
“Mamma,” Jane said from her position by the door, “I was thinking that perhaps I should buy a new hat. Would you like to visit the milliner with me?”
Lady Bennet turned eager eyes toward her eldest and most beautiful daughter and said, “A hat! Oh yes, Jane, but Elizabeth may not permit it.”
This last sentence was said in a mixed tone of exasperation and supplication, and Elizabeth said, “I believe Jane very much needs a new hat. Will you go with her, Mamma? You always have such excellent taste.”
“Oh, very well, very well. Come along, Jane, come along!”
“May I come as well?” Lydia piped up. “I know I do not need a hat, but I might purchase some new trim for my second-best bonnet with my allowance.”
“Of course, Lydia,” Lady Bennet declared. “Now, I wish to call on my sister Phillips, so we will proceed to her house after we are finished at the milliner. Please meet us there, girls.”
“Very well,” Elizabeth agreed.
Mother and daughters hurried out of the dressmaker's shop, and Mary waited until the door had closed behind them before she said, “Thank you so much, Lizzy.”
“It was my pleasure. Now, shall we arrange for you to acquire two dresses as quickly as possible?”
“Yes!”