12
“Ah, this is a part of London that I would never tire of seeing!” Celeste stood at the entrance to the Burlington Arcade, her eyes gleaming from under the brim of her extravagantly decorated hat.
She was wearing an elaborately embroidered cloak over a fashionable dress with vast puffed sleeves of darkest pink, her waist pulled in tightly under a belt above the billowing silk skirts.
Next to her, Jane in a simple green plaid dress whose sleeves were half the size of Celeste’s and a hat with only two feathers and a ribbon on top, felt she must look like a sparrow alongside a splendid peacock!
She was quite unaware that the beauty of her face and the elegance of her walk far outshone that of her more robust companion.
A fine October day had drawn Jane and her Italian cousin out into London: Jane had been instructed by her mother to show Celeste interesting historical sites such as the Tower and St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Accompanied by James, one of the Pemberley footmen who had accompanied them down to London, they had dutifully set out that morning.
Celeste had looked, listened and yawned. She had no interest in history or buildings and was more than happy when their carriage deposited them in the fine shopping parade called Oxford Street where they had visited several establishments.
James was now carrying a quantity of bags and hat boxes, all of which belonged to Celeste whose purse had been full of golden guineas—a present, she whispered to Jane, from their dear Colonel Fitzwilliam.
Jane had smiled in reply: it was only fitting that the future Mrs Fitzwilliam should be dressed with all the style and pomp her place in society would demand.
As the morning wore on, Celeste suggested they end their outing by visiting a place she had heard of recently, although she couldn’t quite remember who had mentioned it to her.
Here in Burlington Arcade, the finest glass-covered walkway in all London, where well-dressed ladies and gentlemen paraded past the shops, trailed by their maids and footmen, Celeste was suddenly wide awake, her black eyes sparkling, anxious to look, admire and spend even more money.
She had no sense of regret about how she had spent her time since arriving in England. Celeste had learnt at a very early age that there was no one who cared or worried about her, that if she wanted to achieve anything in life, it would be down to her own efforts.
Admittedly she had never thought of marrying Colonel Fitzwilliam when she arrived unannounced on his doorstep, but she had soon seen that the man was rich but lonely and that instead of being just his poor cousin whom he helped in a modest way, she could be his very rich wife.
Then her plans had all come to grief when she met Andrew Moore.
Did she love him? Celeste wasn’t quite sure what love should feel like, but she did know that she wanted to be his wife more than becoming Mrs Fitzwilliam, even if Andrew had no titled family in the background!
He was young, goodlooking, with enough money in his pocket and the prospect of making much more in the future and she was tired of playing the role of poor relation.
She also had no desire at all to meet the head of the Fitzwilliam family, the Earl, when he recovered from his bout of ill health.
No, it would be far better to leave England as Mrs Moore.
She disliked the weather in England, longed for the sun on her face all day long. She was well aware that winter in Greece would be cold, but come the spring, it would be heavenly warm.
Glancing at her companion, she sighed—poor Jane! Celeste did not care for Anne Darcy, but she could see which twin was the better catch and, from her experience, gentlemen were impressed more by wit and elegance than softly spoken words and a demure manner.
She loved this Burlington Arcade: so many wealthy people, so finely dressed, but none of the ladies were as beautiful as she was herself and she could not wait to spend even more of the Colonel’s guineas on adorning herself.
You could take jewellery with you anywhere in the world and if, by chance, her life with Dr Moore did not turn out exactly as she hoped, well, she would have plenty of portable wealth to carry her on to her next adventure.
“That is certainly a beautiful piece,” Jane said as they bent to consider a ruby necklace displayed on a white silk sheet.
“I prefer diamonds!” Celeste had turned her attention to a side window where several rings could be seen. “Why Jane, perhaps your beau, Mr Frobisher, will buy you such a ring when you marry. Although I suppose your papa will have given you many such things already.”
Jane winced at the mention of Digby, then smiled, trying to ignore the touch of envy in the girl’s voice.
“Indeed, he is not my beau and Mama and Papa do not care over much for young girls wearing expensive jewels. Mama says they detract from our natural appearance. Anne, Bennetta and I all received a pearl necklace on our eighteenth birthday and we have small pieces—garnets, peridots, amethysts for wearing in the evening. Anne likes to borrow Mama’s emeralds when she has the chance, but I fear they do not suit my personality. ”
She glanced back to make sure James was still in attendance as the crowds parading through the Arcade were growing larger, and frowned as she saw him stopping to talk to a young woman, wrapped in a vivid red cloak, standing in a doorway.
She beckoned him and he hastily took up his position once more but before she could reprimand him, Celeste said, “Oh, emeralds would look wonderful worn with a dress made from this white silk with this beautiful silver embroidered pattern!” She had moved on to the next store where quantities of rich materials were for sale. “Look at the intricate work, Jane.”
“It is indeed quite beautiful but I wonder how long it took some poor girl to produce such a fine piece of material. Can you imagine the strain of embroidering with silver thread for hour upon hour?”
“My dear Celeste, with your dark eyes and hair, you would look like a princess in a gown of white silk!”
The girls spun round, dropping hasty curtsies as they realised Andrew Moore and Archer Maitland were standing behind them, bowing, their hats in their hands.
“Andrew! Dr Moore, why what a surprise to meet you here.” Jane flicked a quick sideways glance at her cousin.
Her voice sounded odd; almost as if she was acting the part of being surprised and she suddenly wondered if Dr Moore had been the person who had mentioned the Burlington Arcade and that he could be found there shopping at a certain time of day.
“I am here to purchase another trunk for my journey out to Greece,” Andrew said with a beaming smile, offering Celeste his arm.
“Please, do come and help me choose which one to buy. A lady’s opinion is always of great value.
I have a perfectly good suitcase but Archer says it is a disgrace and will fall apart before I reach the ship that will carry me to France and overland to Greece. ”
They walked further down the Arcade and Jane could do nothing but follow with Archer at her side, James following a discreet distance behind them.
Jane waited for her companion to speak but he was silent and at last she could bear the silence no longer.
A few months ago she would never have spoken first, but that timid girl seemed to have disappeared since her stay in Dorset.
“I am surprised to see you indulging in such a frivolous pastime as shopping, Mr Maitland. I thought you would be hard at work in your office, righting wrongs and making laws.”
“I am not yet in a position to make laws, Miss Jane, and believe me, I have nothing against shopping when there is a purpose to it, a goal to be achieved. I fear that like most men, I do find the endless gazing into windows with no intention of purchasing any of the items on display very irritating.”
Jane tried to suppress a smile but felt her lips twitching. She had so often heard her dear papa say exactly the same thing to her mama when they were out and about in town.
“You laugh at me, Miss! How unkind.”
“No, no, I assure you, I am not laughing. Well, perhaps a little. I suspect most gentlemen have the same attitude as you do yourself, my father for instance. But you must admit you are all very useful for carrying packages and parcels. Poor James, here, has had to follow us around all morning without expressing a moment of annoyance, although I know he would much prefer to be back at Matlock House about his other duties.”
Archer sighed and ran his fingers through his dark hair.
“And I should be in my new offices, dealing with a several legal cases. I would be happy to show the place to you, and your sisters, of course, if you would care to call round one day. The rooms need attention, as does the furniture. You may have ideas that would be of help.”
Jane hesitated: she wanted to say that surely it should be Anne alone he was inviting to see the place where he worked.
It was Anne who would probably furnish and decorate it in a suitable elegant style.
But, rightly or wrongly, she wanted to go, to have just this little part of his life entirely to herself, a memory she could bring out and savour in the dark days that lay ahead when he had married her sister.
Jane was just about to reply when—“Archer, pray come and give us a moment of your valuable time, my friend!” A shout from Andrew who was waving his hat above the heads of the crowd further down the Arcade: Celeste was hanging on his arm, laughing up at him with a smile that could only be called inviting.
Several passers-by looked at the couple and walked on, seemingly shocked by her behaviour.