Chapter 15 #2
For Martha, it was the final push that she needed to embrace her upcoming change to half-mourning.
Nothing would replace her Oscar but having Mary and now little Harry in the house to keep her busy when she was not occupied with the committee and their work was a pleasure.
Each day, she felt a little more resigned to her status as a widow, and with the new life in her house, she saw that she had many reasons to embrace living.
She admitted to herself that her Oscar would have wanted her to carry on and not stop as she had for a time.
Charles Bingley was looking forward to the little season where he would see his friends again as he was about to end his period of half-mourning.
He had ordered the house on Gracechurch Street to be opened for the first time since his late father had passed away in the study there almost a year before.
He was looking forward to society, but he was not looking for a lady any longer.
He was in love with Miss Amanda Long. He and Mandy had not made any declarations one to the other, but unless he was blind and could not read signals, he was sure that she had a tender regard for him as well.
She would be seventeen at the end of June of the coming year, and one month after that he had permission from Mr Long to declare himself.
He knew that three and twenty was relatively young to settle down and marry for a man, but why wait once you have found the one that you love?
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The Bennets arrived at Bennet House within hours of the Derbyshire and Yorkshire families arriving at their houses in Town.
Perry, Jane, and Lady Rose would reside at his townhouse on St James Square.
It was the closest to Grosvenor Square of all of his properties in Town.
Elizabeth would be at Darcy House until the end of October; then she would spend a fortnight at Bennet House, followed by a sennight at Birchington House with her sister Jane.
At each of their townhouses, there was an invitation from the King and Queen inviting them to Buckingham House for tea five days hence.
It was not an invitation that one could refuse.
The Bennets being included in the invitation was a further indication to the Ton of the royal support that they enjoyed.
King George III had endured a profoundly serious illness almost ten years earlier and there had been great concern for the monarch, but other than some eccentric behaviour, he seemed well again.
That night, the four arriving families met at Bennet House for a dinner, where they were joined by the Gardiners and Phillips, who were staying with their in-laws.
The dinner was loud, and the Bennet House’s new cook showed off her abilities that were enjoyed by all of the diners.
In fact, the repast was so good that George Darcy joked with Bennet by offering him some first editions to be able to hire the cook away from Bennet House.
Richard, who had arrived just before dinner, extoled the quality of the food over the swill that he was forced to eat in the army.
No one felt sympathy for him as he did not look like he missed too many meals.
The ladies had an appointment at Madam Chambourg’s modiste shop on Bond Street in the morning to which Lady Elaine would accompany her daughter.
The plan was to meet up with the men at Gunter’s after the modiste.
Bennet and the Darcy men would spend the morning browsing the books at Hatchard’s, and by browsing, all three meant purchasing.
They would meet Perry at the club, and then the four of them would make for Gunter’s.
As Elizabeth had grown both in height and shape since she had last visited Madame Chambourg’s, she was measured again, as was Georgiana who was already taller than Elizabeth.
It was Tammy and Kitty Bennet’s first time, so full measurements for them were also taken.
Jane and Anne Ashby were both clients and their wedding gowns were Madame Chambourg creations, so they only needed to look at the sketches and plates that were on display.
Ladies Anne and Rose decided not to order anything as they both had orders being worked on that were requested before arriving in Town.
Elizabeth felt that shopping was a necessary evil.
She would have preferred to be outdoors, either riding Saturn or taking Aggie for a walk in Hyde Park rather than leaving it to one of the footmen.
The ordeal was thankfully over after her mother had ordered a half dozen gowns and day dresses for her daughter which were appropriate for one on the cusp of coming out into society.
Anne returned to de Bourgh House with her husband directly from the visit to the modiste as she was feeling rather fatigued. They also had things they needed to do—one of which was to rename the house, Ashby House.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
After the visit to Hatchard’s, the men headed to White’s to meet up with Perry.
He had previously made an appointment at his solicitor’s office, so he had missed the chance to visit the book shop with his friends.
The three men were shown to a private alcove where Perry waited for them.
As they walked towards the alcove, there were not a few men who tried to work out who the unknown greying gentleman in their party was.
It was not long before word got around that he was none other than Thomas Bennet, Lady Elizabeth Fitzwilliam’s birth father.
Much to Bennet’s relief, they did not stay long, and although the three greeted one or two acquaintances briefly, they were moving too fast for anyone to request an introduction to him. After retrieving their outerwear and canes from an attendant, the four struck out towards Gunter’s.
The ladies had been waiting for some minutes when Ladies Rose, Anne, and Elaine saw a good friend of theirs on the opposite side of the shop and went to talk to her. Only Jane, Elizabeth, and Georgiana remained at the table.
Sitting in the corner with two friends was a Miss Theodora Price.
She had come out the past season and there had been no interest in her.
The family was aware that she had been heard to boast how she would be the next Mrs Darcy.
Her father was a tradesman, but that is not why she was universally disliked.
She was cut from the same cloth as the late Caroline Bingley who believed that she should be higher in society than she was, so she acted as if it were so.
She had not seen her quarry in Town for more than a year and had long been in a snit that the Darcys had not responded to the invitation to her coming out ball.
Despite all her training, she had ignored the unwritten rule that one did not send an invitation to those to whom one had never been introduced.
She had heard that the family stayed away from London because of Lady Elizabeth Fitzwilliam’s family situation, and in her narrow mind, it was that lady’s fault that she did not have three sets at her ball with the Darcy heir.
When she saw the matrons leave the table and that Lady Elizabeth was sitting there with two unknown blondes, she decided that it was time to make her displeasure known so that the lady would not make the same mistake again.
“They let just anyone in here,” she sneered as she flounced up to the table where the three family members sat in conversation. “Foundlings should be in a workhouse, not here with us members of the first circles.”
Elizabeth saw her mother, Mother Bennet, and Aunt Anne, start to move towards her, as did Biggs from his position in the corner. She shook her head very slightly, telling them to hold their positions and that she wanted to handle this.
“Mores of society dictate that we should be introduced before you address me; as you have broken them already, who are you to address me thusly?” Elizabeth asked acerbically.
“I am Miss Theodora Price,” the woman returned trying to affect as much hauteur as she could.
“You are a member of the first circles, Miss Price?” She turned to Jane with a big smile and wink, unseen by Miss Price and her two friends.
“I have heard of you and as far as I know, you are a tradesman’s daughter.
Did the rules change, Jane?” She asked as she saw that the four men had arrived and were watching her performance with her mothers and aunt.
“What does that insipid nobody who apparently smiles too much know of the first circles?” Miss Price spat out, her words dripping with disdain.
She thought that the gasps she heard were sounds of agreement and so did not check herself nor her surroundings as it was high time someone put this one in her place.
“Wait until my friends, the Darcys, hear how you dared speak to me so!”
Elizabeth looked past the homely woman. “Let us ask them, should we not? Uncle George, Aunt Anne?” she said their names without raising her voice because it was so quiet everyone present would hear her doing so.
She then looked at the unknown blonde to her left, “Cousin Georgiana, what have you to say about your friend Miss Price?”
Miss Price and her friends, who had been certain they were in control of the situation, now looked positively green around the gills.
They had not known that Lady Elizabeth was here with her family; they had thought that the older blonde was her companion and the younger a friend of no consequence, but it was Miss Darcy!
“Lizzy, will you introduce this person to me?” Jane requested with ice in her voice.
“Certainly, Jane. This is Miss Theodora Price…” Miss Price seemed to find her voice and tried to salvage the mess that she had made.
“How dare you request that I, your better, be introduced to you?” She demanded; her haughty indignation evident in her voice. Again, there were many gasps, and now a low hum of whispers started in the background.
“As I was trying to say before your ignorant outburst, Miss Price, may I introduce her Grace, Lady Jane Rhys-Davies, the Duchess of Bedford.” Elizabeth’s smile spread as the colour drained from Miss Price’s pallor.
“If I were all of you,” Jane said her voice icy as she stood and glared at the three, “I would not try and show my face in society—ever again!”
Miss Price’s cohorts fled the store, trying to distance themselves from the social suicide their friend was committing, but running would not help them. As if it could not get worse for Miss Price, she saw Lady Elizabeth smile as someone approached behind her.
“This gentleman,” she indicated the man that had now walked over to stand behind the Duchess, “is my brother Perry, though to you he is his Grace, Lord Peregrine Rhys-Davies, Duke of Bedford!” The rest of their party now joined those seated.
“Also joining us are my Uncle and Aunt, Mr George and Lady Anne Darcy, and my Cousin Fitzwilliam Darcy. Before I continue, Uncle and Aunt? Gigi does not seem to know her, yet she claimed a friendship with your family. Do you know this harpy?”
“Until this day, we have never had the displeasure of meeting this person!” Lady Anne responded, her eyes ice cold as she turned her gaze on Miss Price. Nodding that she had expected as much, Elizabeth then stood and closed in on the young lady who was now shaking due to shock.
“If I were you, I would follow your friends and follow my sister’s sage advice and run; run as far as you can, as fast as you can, because after today the cut direct will be the best that you can expect to receive in polite society!
” Elizabeth advised the upstart. With that, Miss Price turned and walked out as fast as she could, then took the Duchess and Lady Elizabeth’s advice and ran.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
As they had expected, over the next sennight, Bennet House was besieged by callers during visiting hours.
Once word was spread of who Mrs Bennet’s supportive friends were, any with nefarious plans gave up and kept away.
By the end of the sennight the visits were at a manageable volume, and Tammy had met a few ladies with whom it would not be a chore to get to know better.
The tea with the royals was a roaring success, especially as the King was in rare form—so much so that one would not have been able to detect that he had been so ill if they had not known so already.
As always, it ended with musical performances.
The Queen was charmed by Lady Elizabeth’s solo performance; however, the highlight of the performance was the duet that the sisters played as their voices blended perfectly.
Towards the end of November, William and John arrived from Cambridge, and a few days after that James arrived from Eton.
Before they realised it, the time to quit town and head home for Christmastide at Longbourn was upon them.
On the eighteenth, the Monday before Christmas, many coaches were seen to depart for Hertfordshire.