Chapter Eight
Lady Hortensia had made it known after dinner that parents, guardians and unnecessary companions would depart for the Dower House early the following morning, before the competitors came down to breakfast. Mrs Harrington had objected to this arrangement vigorously and Elizabeth had wondered whether she meant to chain herself to the banister.
Lady Hortensia had remained unmoved. She calmly but firmly repeated the arrangements before retiring—leaving Mrs Harrington to be calmed by some of the other mamas.
Mr Bennet had been much easier to manage. He had kissed Jane on the forehead, kissed Elizabeth on the cheek and told them both that he expected either victory or a very entertaining defeat.
Now, as Elizabeth fastened the bodice of her morning gown, the house felt strangely altered by his absence.
She knew he was not far away. The Dower House stood upon the estate, and she would no doubt see him before very long.
Even so, it was odd to wake under a roof full of strangers and know that her father was not here to guide her.
She looked at herself in the glass and tried to appear like a young woman capable of leading nine others to victory.
She attempted one of the heroic poses that Mr Ashcombe favoured, her chin tilted up like a Greek marble.
The effect was not at all convincing and she laughed to herself.
She felt a little calmer today, and she could and would play her role to the best of her ability, whatever challenges lay ahead.
A knock sounded at the door. Elizabeth turned, expecting Jane. Instead, Harriet Sitcombe opened it and exploded into the room, ribbons flying and cheeks flushed. "Oh good," Harriet said. "You are dressed."
Elizabeth tried to compose her face. "As you see."
"I told Clara you would be. She said we ought not disturb you before breakfast, but I said there was not a moment to lose."
Before Elizabeth could ask what moment was in danger of being lost, Clara appeared behind her sister looking apologetic and faintly out of breath. "I did tell her to wait," she said.
Elizabeth laughed and beckoned them both in. "This is an unexpected pleasure. Come in, come in."
"We must have a council," Harriet announced.
"A council?"
"A council of war."
Elizabeth opened her mouth to enquire what exactly she meant when it became clear that Harriet’s notion of a council had not stopped with her sister.
Before Elizabeth could speak, Mrs Cartwright appeared in the doorway, wrapped in her shawl and looking serious.
"Miss Harriet informed me there was an emergency," she said.
"There is," said Harriet. "The gentlemen will be planning. I am certain of it. They will be gathered somewhere cooking up plans for our defeat. And if they are planning, then we must plan too."
Mrs Cartwright considered this with a raised brow. "I had not understood them to be quite so immediate a danger."
Elizabeth was wondering whether, as captain, she ought to take charge of the situation when Miss Harrington arrived in pale blue muslin, her eyes taking in the crowded chamber with an uncertain air.
"I was informed that the ladies were assembling here," she said. "Naturally, I am…" she paused awkwardly, "assembling."
Lady Frances Elwood came next, and even Harriet seemed to remember herself enough to stand a little straighter.
Elizabeth had seen Lady Frances only at a distance the previous evening.
Nearer to, she was more striking than pretty, tall and composed in a deep rose morning gown, with dark hair arranged simply.
She was the highest-ranking lady among them, and she greeted Elizabeth with a graceful curtsy and a calm, "Miss Elizabeth. I understand our side is assembling."
"So it seems," said Elizabeth.
"Then I am glad to join you."
Behind her came Miss Drummond and Miss Grey. Miss Drummond was dark-haired and plainly dressed, with a direct look and an air of quiet competence. Miss Grey was fair and soft-spoken, and she entered with a shy smile as though uncertain whether she had come to the right place.
"I hope I am not intruding," Miss Grey said.
"Not at all," said Elizabeth. "We have become quite the party."
Miss Lacey arrived last, or so Elizabeth thought, holding a sketchbook against her chest and pausing just inside the door to look at the carved flowers upon the frame. She had soft brown hair and a smudge of charcoal upon one finger.
"I beg your pardon," she said. "Harriet said it was urgent, though she did not say what was urgent." She added as an afterthought. "I brought paper! For any plans or maps or such."
By now Elizabeth's chamber had begun to resemble the haberdasher's shop in Meryton on the first of the month, when new stock arrived and every lady in the neighbourhood discovered an urgent need for ribbon.
Harriet, far from appearing sorry for the crush, looked delighted and began counting them on her fingers.
"Miss Elizabeth Bennet, one. Clara, two. Myself, three. Mrs Cartwright, four. Miss Harrington, five. Lady Frances, six. Miss Drummond, seven. Miss Grey, eight. Miss Lacey, nine."
Her face fell. "Oh dear. We are one short."
"We are missing Jane," said Elizabeth.
"Oh yes," said Harriet, brightening at once. "How could I forget Miss Bennet? She is the beautiful one."
Elizabeth laughed. "A frequent description in our family."
At that exact moment Jane appeared in the doorway and stopped suddenly.
Jane looked from Harriet to Clara, from Lady Frances to Mrs Cartwright, who was sat in the chair by the dressing table, then to Miss Harrington, who remained by the door with her hands folded and her mouth set in a careful line.
"Oh," she said. "I beg your pardon. I did not know you had company."
Harriet clasped her hands together. "Excellent. Now we are all here."
Jane stepped inside slowly. "Are we?"
"Yes," said Harriet, beginning again with solemn care. "Miss Elizabeth Bennet, Miss Jane Bennet, Miss Clara Sitcombe, Miss Harriet Sitcombe, Mrs Cartwright, Miss Harrington, Lady Frances Elwood, Miss Drummond, Miss Grey and Miss Lacey. Ten ladies. One team."
"Good," said Mrs Cartwright, flapping her fan. "Then no one else need come in. I do not think the room would bear it."
That was the final straw. Elizabeth tried to preserve the dignity suitable to a captain and failed completely. She laughed, Jane joined her, and even Lady Frances hid a smile behind her hand.
"Very well," said Elizabeth, when she had recovered herself. "Since my chamber has become headquarters, perhaps someone will tell me why we are assembled."
"We must act as a team," Harriet said at once. "Lady Hortensia has made you captain, which I think is very good indeed, we must have a plan."
Elizabeth looked around the crowded chamber and decided that if she waited until she felt like a captain, they might all remain there until luncheon.
She took a deep breath. "Then let us begin simply," she said.
"Miss Harriet is right that we ought to have some sort of plan, but we cannot plan the contest until we know what it is.
What we need first is to know what each of us can do well.
What are our skills and strengths? When we understand those, we can consider who will be best suited to any task we face. "
Harriet brightened. "I can run very fast."
"I’m not sure that’s a skill," murmured Clara.
"I can," Harriet insisted. "And climb, if climbing is required. I have climbed all of the tallest trees on our estate."
Miss Harrington looked askance but made no comment.
Miss Lacey, who still held her sketchbook, looked up. "Shall I write these down?"
"Yes," said Elizabeth at once. "That is an excellent idea. Names and skills, if you please."
Miss Lacey opened her book and found a clean page. "Miss Harriet Sitcombe," she said, pencil ready. "Running. Climbing."
Clara sighed. "I play chess tolerably well. I am also good with numbers, household accounts, that sort of thing."
"That sounds useful," said Elizabeth.
Miss Drummond, who had been standing near the foot of the bed, spoke next. "I read a good deal of history, particularly military history. I like maps, dates and puzzles. My father used to set riddles at Christmas, and I was generally the first to solve them."
Miss Lacey wrote quickly. "History, maps, puzzles," she murmured.
"I can draw," Miss Lacey said, after a moment. "And paint in watercolours. I am not very strong, and I do not run unless something is on fire, but I can copy an object or face quite accurately if I am given a few minutes to look at it."
Elizabeth turned to her with interest. "Then you may be very valuable indeed."
Miss Lacey looked pleased and bent over the page to add herself.
Miss Grey spoke quietly from near the window. "I know a little botany. Not in a learned way, but my aunt has a still room and I have helped her with herbs, tinctures and preserves since I was small. I can recognise most common flora."
"I am good at cards," said Mrs Cartwright, after some thought. "Whist, especially. I do not claim brilliance, but I remember what has been played. And I sew neatly, though I hope Lady Hortensia has not arranged a challenge of speed-mending."
"Cards and sewing," said Miss Lacey.
Miss Harrington gave a small, nervous laugh. "If we are naming accomplishments, I may say I possess all those expected of a young lady. I play the pianoforte, sing, dance, speak French and Italian well, paint tables, embroider, net purses and write a very elegant hand."
Elizabeth inclined her head. "Very good, Miss Harrington."
Miss Harrington coloured and turned away towards the window.
Lady Frances spoke next. "I ride, shoot and fence."
"Fence?" said Harriet, with open admiration.
"Very well," said Lady Frances. "I have never yet been beaten by any of my brothers, and they have all enjoyed the advantage of very expensive masters."
Jane, standing beside Elizabeth, smiled. "I am afraid my skills are less dramatic. I sing a little and sew well. I also have some skill in the still room."