Page 92 of Heiress of Longbourn (Pride and Prejudice Variations)
Darcy House
London
14 th December, 1815
Mrs. Hannah Scofield stepped into the vestibule of Darcy House and looked around with covetous eyes. The tiled floor, a mosaic of blues and greens, was both beautiful and expensive. Numerous well-trained servants were bustling to and fro, collecting the guests’ outerwear as the December wind was cold.
“Help me with my cloak, Hannah,” Lady Adbury, Dowager Duchess of Frantham, ordered imperiously. Mrs. Scofield scurried forward obediently, her lips turned up in a saccharine smile, even as she snarled inwardly. There were servants aplenty; why must her cousin order her to help with the cloak?
“This way, please, to the drawing room,” a maidservant said in a mellifluous tone, and ushered the two ladies farther into the house. Mrs. Scofield trailed along behind her employer and eyed the maid with interest. She was very pretty and dainty, but probably not available in any sense of the word. One had to be careful with servants of these old houses; the Darcys might well keep track of their underlings.
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“Lady Adbury, may I please introduce you to your table companions, our cousins Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam?” Elizabeth Darcy asked. “Richard, Anne, Lady Adbury and her companion, Mrs. Scofield.”
The gentleman bowed and the ladies curtsied, and then all took their places. Hannah Scofield peered around her with interest. Rather unusually, dinner was being served in the ballroom of Darcy House, and the large space was filled with small tables which seated from four to eight persons. Large candelabras were placed on sturdy wooden stands throughout the room, with myriad candles providing a soothing, warm light. Large boughs from fir trees were placed above the doors to the ballroom in celebration of the Christmas season, and the fresh smell of pine wafted through the cavernous space.
The windows along two walls of the ballroom were covered with heavy crimson brocade to ward off the chill of the night, and the off-white walls were rendered interesting by exquisitely carved wooden paneling, while gold leaf covered the molding along the ceiling. It was the ball room of an exceptionally prosperous man, and Hannah found her eyes following Elizabeth Darcy as the lady of the house walked back to the table at the head of the room. She watched enviously as Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy stood up and held out his wife’s seat for her, even as the tall master of Pemberley bestowed an adoring look on his bride of three years. Mrs. Scofield struggled not to scowl at the sight. Her own marriage had not been a happy one, and her husband had left only debts when he died suddenly of an intestinal complaint, thus forcing her to earn her bread by acting as companion to her older, wealthier distant cousin, Lady Adbury.
“Mrs. Fitzwilliam,” Lady Adbury said, looking down her long nose at the lady to her left, “how is your dear mother, Lady Catherine de Bourgh?”
Anne, who was acting the part of a meek woman, said softly, “I believe she is well enough. Do you not think so, Richard?”
“Oh yes,” Richard drawled, taking a long drink of his dinner wine. “Oh yes, very well. She lives in the Dower House now, of course; I believe Lady Catherine is happier there than at Rosings now that I am master of the estate.”
Lady Adbury tittered and bobbed her head. “I can well imagine that Lady Catherine is not interested in sharing control of the estate; it must be quite a change for her! Now I believe I am correct that Mr. Darcy was intended to be your husband. Was he not, Mrs. Fitzwilliam?”
Anne was a consummate actress and flinched even as she inwardly laughed at this most impudent question. Lady Adbury was as absurd as Lady Catherine, except that in the latter’s case, it was all a facade.
“Yes, that is correct,” Anne answered with a glance at Richard. “But my cousin Darcy and I decided we would not suit. Richard and I are happy together.”
Lady Adbury bent a stern eye on Richard and said, “I suppose it is a decent match, given that you are the second son of an earl, Mr. Fitzwilliam, but Mr. Darcy is far wealthier.”
Richard, who had been an army colonel for much of his adult life, hardened his expression and glared at the lady. “I believe Rosings is quite sufficient for our needs, Lady Adbury.”
“Do you have any children?”
“We have a baby daughter,” Anne said, her eyes softening at the thought of her child.
“A daughter! What were you thinking? My only child is a son, which is far more sensible.”
For a moment, Anne and Richard’s eyes met with suppressed glee. This woman was completely ridiculous! Anne resolved to remember this conversation in detail and tell it to her mother, who would probably find it inspiring in her role.
“I hope we will have more children,” Richard declared, “and I truly do not care whether they are daughters or sons. Rosings is not entailed away from the female line...”
“I hope the food is to your liking, Mrs. Scofield,” Anne said, turning her attention on the woman on her left.
“Oh yes, it is excellent,” Hannah Scofield answered, and then looked around with wonder. “I have never had a dinner like this in a ballroom; it is very beautiful.”
“Yes, this was Mrs. Darcy’s idea; she is a most gifted hostess. I suppose it is a little informal, but I enjoy being able to speak exclusively with two new acquaintances this way.”
“Yes, I suppose it must require extra work from the servants with so many tables spread apart, but I quite like it.”
“Yes,” Anne agreed, and then said casually, “Not all these servants are employed by the Darcys, of course. Most of these girls are hired from Mrs. Warwick’s service.”
“Mrs. Warwick’s service?”
“Yes, not many people know about Mrs. Warwick, which is rather a pity, as her girls are very well trained. She has a house in Cheapside where young women from the country come in for instruction, and then she hires them out. It is most convenient for our family, as all of us need more help at times.”
“May I ask the address, Mrs. Fitzwilliam? Lady Adbury will have her son and his family at her house for Christmas, and may need to hire some additional servants.”
Anne smiled graciously and said, “Certainly, Mrs. Scofield.”