Page 36

Bennets’ Hired House

Curzon Street

Monday, 23 rd December, 1811

It was a brisk day, and Anne and Mrs. Jenkinson stepped eagerly into the warm foyer of the Bennets’ hired house, where two maids were waiting to take shawls and hats. Anne smiled at the sound of music coming from the interior of the house, which was probably being performed by her cousin Georgiana or Miss Mary Bennet, or both. Georgiana, a most gifted performer on the instrument, had arrived an hour previously for a lesson with a music master along with her friend Mary.

There was a sudden patter of feet, and Anne turned as Kitty appeared in the doorway, a smile on her face.

“Miss de Bourgh,” she said, “good day! How well you look in that dress!”

Anne cast an admiring glance on her own skirt and said, “Thanks to you, Miss Kitty. You deserve much of the credit, along with Madame Fanchon, of course. You have a remarkable eye for what best suits my coloring. ”

Kitty grinned and said, “It was not so very difficult. All I had to do was think of colors and styles exactly opposite from the garments your mother chose for you.”

Anne laughed at this, took Kitty’s arm, and walked slowly toward the drawing room, her heart swelling with affection for the younger woman. When she had left Rosings for London, it had been with great determination, not unmixed with fear. For most of her life, she had been confined to Rosings due to her fictitious delicacy and indifferent health, and Lady Catherine, proud of her position as the daughter of an earl, had been extremely careful when inviting guests to visit. Most of them were substantially older than Anne, and even those few young ladies she had met had seemed dull, though this might well be the fault of Anne’s mother, who was all too ready to loudly condemn any supposed societal infraction she observed.

Anne owed her current position to Mrs. Jenkinson, her third governess after the first two had annoyed Lady Catherine in some trivial way and been summarily dismissed. Mrs. Jenkinson, the daughter of a parson, had proven most gifted in managing her imperious employer. When in company and with the full knowledge of Anne, Mrs. Jenkinson hovered over her charge in a way which was annoying to both parties but expected by Lady Catherine, but when Anne was alone with her governess, Mrs. Jenkinson had introduced her to a thousand new ideas about health, and estate business, and true nobility. It was Mrs. Jenkinson who had somehow learned the details of Sir Lewis’s will and that Anne would become the legal owner when she turned five and twenty, and the pair had conspired for months to wrest the power of Rosings away from Lady Catherine when Anne achieved that notable age.

In less than a week, she had won her battle against her mother, though Lady Catherine’s madness regarding Miss Elizabeth, plus the assistance of Darcy and the Fitzwilliams, had perhaps made it all a moot point.

What was more surprising to her was that she had genuine friends in the form of her cousin Georgiana and the Bennet ladies. Jane and Elizabeth were intelligent and sensible and wonderful conversationalists, but oddly enough, Anne enjoyed her time with Kitty and Lydia even more. They were overly lively, perhaps, and often rather silly, but Anne, who had lived for so many years in a house where the only loud voice was her mother’s, found great pleasure in the vivacity of the younger Bennet ladies.

“Miss de Bourgh, you look very well indeed, though I think the dress would look better with more lace around the neckline,” Lydia Bennet said.

Anne blinked and looked about to discover that she had attained the drawing room, and Lydia was standing a few feet away, her eyes on Anne’s dress .

“It has exactly the right amount of lace,” Kitty riposted. “Miss de Bourgh benefits from a simpler style of dress than some ladies. She would look fussy with much more lace.”

Lydia wrinkled her nose, and for a moment, Anne wondered if there was to be an argument. That had been another peculiar experience, watching Kitty and Lydia quarrel with each other. At Rosings, there were never any arguments, as Lady Catherine ruled with the proverbial rod of iron, and Anne had discovered by the age of thirteen that changing her mother’s mind was nigh on impossible and any argument would result in some kind of punishment.

“You are probably right, Kitty,” the youngest Miss Bennet said with surprising generosity. “But you must tell me what you think of my dress, Miss de Bourgh.”

Anne considered the girl’s gown, which was made of a soft peach fabric, which, she thought, many ladies would not look well in. Lydia, however, with dark hair and a warm skin tone, looked fabulous. Of course, it helped that she was also a very pretty girl.

“You look wonderful,” she said truthfully, and Lydia beamed with pleasure just as a side door opened, and a crowd entered consisting of the rest of the Bennets save Mary, along with Darcy and Mr. Bingley and an unknown gentleman and lady .

“Miss de Bourgh, Mrs. Jenkinson,” Elizabeth said warmly, “may I please introduce my uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner? Uncle, Aunt, Miss de Bourgh and Mrs. Jenkinson.”

There were curtsies and a bow, and Anne, after straightening up, considered the pair with interest. She knew, of course, that the couple must be the infamous tradesman uncle and his wife, and she chuckled inwardly at the thought of her mother’s response to such a meeting. Lady Catherine would never stoop so low as to be friendly under such circumstances, which made Anne all the more eager to be as amiable as possible.

“It is an honor to meet you, Miss de Bourgh,” Mrs. Gardiner said cheerfully. “I hope you are enjoying this Christmas Season?”

Anne chuckled and said, “I suppose? A great deal has happened of late and I am startled to realize that Christmas is only two days away.”

“It has been a remarkable week for many,” Mrs. Gardiner said, glancing over at Elizabeth, who was standing by the window talking with Darcy. “But please, would you care to sit down near the fire, Miss de Bourgh?”

Anne glanced at Mrs. Jenkinson, who was chatting cheerfully with Mrs. Bennet a few feet away, and obediently took a satisfying chair across from Mrs. Gardiner.

“I understand that you and Miss Darcy are staying in a rented house not far from here,” Mrs. Gardiner said. “Do you like it?”

“I do, very much. It is a comfortable house, but the most wonderful thing about it is that my mother is not living with me.”

This was a cheeky thing to say, but Anne had no intention of being deceptive to the Bennets’ dear relations regarding her view of Lady Catherine.

Mrs. Gardiner sighed and said, “Lady Catherine seems to be a very difficult individual. I am certain there were great challenges in growing up under her care.”

This was said in such a motherly tone that Anne felt tears prickle her eyes, but she blinked them back and said, “Yes, there were, but I am grateful for new friends, soon to be relations by marriage.”

“Do you think you will be attending the weddings in Meryton?” Mrs. Gardiner asked.

“I think so,” Anne said, “though I have not heard exactly when the weddings will be. I have some business to complete here in Town, but if possible, I would like to travel to Hertfordshire for the joyful occasion. ”

“We are planning for the 9 th of January,” Darcy said, and Anne turned to discover Darcy and his beloved Elizabeth standing at his side. “I hope you will come, Anne. Bingley has agreed to house anyone who wishes to attend, and I would feel better if you were not alone here in London for even a few days.”

Anne was not at all insulted by this statement. Even with Wickham and Lady Catherine safely dealt with, she felt better having a male relative within easy distance, as Matlock, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and Darcy had shown themselves eager to assist her regarding the legalities of taking control of her estate.

“I would very much like to visit Hertfordshire, then,” Anne said with a smile, “though I will need to return to London in moderately short order.”

“We intend to spend the early weeks of our marriage at Darcy House,” Elizabeth said, “and Georgiana and Mrs. Annesley will return to Queen Street immediately after the wedding.”

“What of your sisters?” Mrs. Gardiner asked. “Will the rest of your family be giving up this house and retiring to Longbourn?”

“Not at all!” Mrs. Bennet declared from a few feet away, and Anne turned in surprise to observe the lady looking at them with an eager expression on her face. “Mr. Bennet has agreed that the younger girls and I will return to London within a day or two of the weddings. There are so many opportunities here in Town, you know, with masters and the like. Mary is much improved in her playing the pianoforte, and Kitty’s drawing master is impressed with her progress as well.”

“There will also be visits to the theater, and the shops, and museums,” Lydia exulted from the other side of the room, and Anne chuckled inwardly at the realization that the entire party, save Mr. Bennet and Mr. Gardiner, were now involved in the same discussion.

“Well, I am pleased to hear that,” Anne said. “I will be staying in London for at least another month, and am relieved that I will have friends nearby.”

“You really should come with us to the milliner,” Kitty said authoritatively. “I do not like your hats at all.”

“Kitty, really!” Jane said, and the girl blushed and lowered her eyes to the floor. Anne came to her rescue and said, “I would be delighted to visit a hat shop with you, and I promise that I hate my hats much more than you do. My mother always insisted on expensive and heavy bonnets, and I suspect that I would benefit from simpler creations on my head.”

“You would!” Kitty declared, tilting her own head and regarding her thoughtfully. “Indeed, I would be happy to sketch a few possible hats and bonnets for you if you like. ”

The door opened to reveal Mary and Georgiana and Mrs. Annesley, followed by the maids with the tea service. Anne accepted tea and muffins with pleasure, relishing the joy of cheer and conviviality in being part of a large and happy family for the first time in her life.