Chapter 19 Invitation
"Mary, do you mind staying here in London while Jane and I visit Aunt Madeline's family in Derbyshire?" Lizzy asked her sister as the two helped each other finish preparing for dinner. She fastened a decorated hairpin to hold the elegant, braided twist she had just arranged in Mary's hair.
"Not at all, Lizzy. I think I would feel very shy and uncomfortable going into strange society while visiting with people I have met so rarely. You know I have not been out for very long and Aunt Madeline will ease me into engagements here just as she did for you and Jane in previous years."
"Yes, she has always made social events so much easier for us.
I think you will like meeting her friends.
They are generally very pleasant and welcoming, nothing like Miss Stanton warned us society in London would be.
" Lizzy twisted a final curl into place, fastening it with a pin before she stepped back to view the result.
"I have been remembering your stories to calm myself, and Jane has told me much the same thing, although we are also not among the highest circles of the Ton.
It will be a little different from the last few months in Meryton, but I know I will enjoy my time here.
Besides, if I were to go to Derbyshire along with the two of you, that would give the lie to some of the reasoning Papa used for dismissing Miss Stanton," Mary said as she examined Lizzy's work in the mirror.
"That looks very good. Would you help me fasten my necklace? "
Lizzy took the necklace and carefully fastened it on her sister's neck.
The amber pendant on a fine gold chain coordinated well with the dark green ivy embroidered around the neckline of Mary's creamy-white evening gown and brought out a golden sparkle in her brown eyes.
She put on the matching earbobs as Lizzy took a final look at her own hair in the looking glass at the dressing table.
The amber set had been a gift to Mary from her godfather in celebration of her sixteenth birthday a year before.
She ordered her evening gowns all decorated to coordinate with it, much as Lizzy had her gowns made to match the lovely garnet rose necklace the Gardiners had given her three years before.
Both girls wore their special jewelry like good luck talismans in addition to appreciating them because they were beautiful and valuable items. Jane was less sentimental about the pearl set she had received from the Gardiners two years previous, although she frequently wore it just because it was the finest jewelry she owned.
"Yes, it would be a shame to waste the mental effort it took Papa to avoid telling her his primary complaint was the years she had spent serving two masters and his worry that she might do something to cause problems now that all three of us are out.
He also finally became fed up with her continued insistence that any association with the Gardiners would be damaging to our social status, which is completely ridiculous.
The extended visits we are making to separate locations presented a good opportunity to rid ourselves of a spy in our midst."
"I am glad Papa still gave her a good reference. Despite her divided loyalties, Miss Stanton was a good teacher," Mary said, standing and smoothing the front of her gown.
Lizzy gave a little tug to straighten the garnet-colored ribbon tied into a small bow just under her bodice.
"I may not have always agreed with her attitudes and treatment of us, but I will agree with that.
She will probably do well by some other family, especially if they are not targets of Lady Catherine's attention.
I remember that I was wild for Papa to dismiss her years ago because I knew she was a spy, but I doubt we would have learned so much from someone who was any less dedicated to turning us into paragons of good behavior.
Papa was wise to wait and even wiser to find such a reasonable explanation to let her go and avoid causing suspicion for Lady Catherine.
With Miss Parks still handling Kitty and Lydia's education, you under the care and chaperonage of Aunt Madeline, plus Jane and I heading off for an extended visit with the Damask family, there really was no need to keep her employed as a governess.
In other circumstances, he might have had her transition to being a companion for one of us, but not necessarily.
This might still have been a time for any governess to move on. "
Mary checked once more to be certain her earbobs were securely in place. "I feel better knowing that Lady Catherine has one less source of information about our daily activities."
"Known source," Lizzy reminded her as they headed to the door. "Papa told me years ago that you must always assume someone is watching and behave accordingly."
"The amusing thing is that Miss Stanton told us almost exactly the same when she would give us lessons on propriety," Mary said with a smile.
"Are you certain she was not teaching us irony?" Lizzy asked. Both young women laughed quietly as they entered the hall, heading for the stairs so they could go down to meet Madeline's relatives, who would be joining them that evening for dinner.
Jane opened the door of the small room she was staying in just as they passed by. She joined her sisters in the hall.
"That periwinkle color suits you well, Jane," Lizzy said.
Her older sister did look exceptionally well, with her golden hair twisted and curled into an elegant style that framed her face attractively.
The gauzy periwinkle overdress atop a cream silk gown complemented her complexion and gave her light green eyes a more blue tone.
Her pearl pendant and earbobs completed the ensemble.
"Thank you, Lizzy. You are both looking very good as well. I was surprised Aunt Madeline asked us to wear our best gowns for what is supposed to be a simple family dinner."
Lizzy nodded. "She told me she wants her mother to see us at our best right from the start.
That is why she did not have us down to greet her parents when they first arrived a little while ago.
I think it was her way of giving us confidence that we are making a good impression as we step forward into this new adventure. "
"I know I feel better wearing my finest evening gown," Mary agreed. She and Lizzy stepped aside so Jane could descend the stairs ahead of them, taking precedence as the eldest.
As she moved in front of her sisters, Jane said, "Well, let us go meet them. I look forward to finally making the acquaintance of our hosts for this autumn."
As they entered the parlor, they took in their first impressions of the previously unknown relatives by marriage.
Madeline's father had curly brown hair, just going gray at the temples, that was pulled back into a queue, tied with a small black ribbon.
It was probably a style he had worn since the fashion for wigs died out and he found it comfortable enough he had never chosen to shift to one of the more modern cuts.
His sturdy oval face went along with his long frame.
He had probably appeared gawky and loose-jointed in his youth.
Even though he had settled into his middle years now, some hint of those awkward days remained in his build and movements.
He was not really handsome, but he appeared cheerful and good natured as he stood chatting animatedly with Edward.
By contrast, Madeline's mother was everything that was elegant in face and form.
She was slender and a little taller than average and her features were well-proportioned.
She must have been a stunningly beautiful young woman and still was lovely now.
The elegance extended to her style of dress, from the cut of her fine silk gown to the matching thin band shaping and holding a fashionable arrangement of curls in an intricate pile on her head.
Her hair had probably been a deep strawberry-blonde at one time but had lightened with age to a blend of white and gold with hints of red that showed up in the flicker of the candlelight.
When she turned at the entrance of the three young women, they could see approval in the dark blue eyes that were just like their aunt's.
Smiling, Madeline gestured for them to come nearer and be introduced.
Without even thinking about it, they lined up by age like they had done so many times before.
As each young woman was presented, she dropped a perfect curtsy, the product of hours of training from Miss Stanton.
Madeline nodded to herself slightly in approval. They made a good display.
"Madeline has told me so much about her Bennet nieces over the years that I feel I already know you," Madeline's mother, Honoria Damask, told the young women. "May I drop the formality and call you by your first names?"
"Certainly, Mrs. Damask," Jane agreed, offering another slight curtsy as she spoke for all three sisters.
"Superb," the older woman said happily, "and none of this Mrs. Damask business.
Call me Aunt Honoria. I am your great-aunt after all, even if it is only by marriage.
Oh, this is going to be such fun. Having you and your sister to escort to parties and dances will give me a reason to enjoy all the gatherings like I did when Madeline and her sister were your ages. "
"And you must call me Uncle Gerald," her husband added. "I will also be very glad to have you visiting, although with two such lovely young ladies in our house I may need to beat the local men away with sticks. I am just sorry that Mary will not also be joining us."