Page 51 of Sketching Mr. Darcy
T he ride from their house to Madame Claudette—the famous modiste—was rather short.
They were met by a doorman, and inside, a young woman named Mabel—whom Elizabeth recognised as the one who brought her the first dresses a few days ago—invited them into a private room and offered tea and refreshments. Very soon, Lady Maryanne joined them.
Elizabeth looked around with curiosity. It was her first time in such an exclusive shop, and the attention bestowed upon them was beyond anything she expected. Lady Maryanne and Georgiana seemed to be well known by the staff. The shop owner, Madame Claudette, was introduced to Elizabeth.
“Mrs Darcy, what an honour to meet you! We were all surprised to hear of Mr Darcy’s marriage. Allow me to congratulate you! We hope to see you as often as we see Lady Maryanne. Were the first two gowns to your liking? Was Mr Darcy pleased with them?”
“Thank you, yes. The dresses were truly beautiful.”
“Excellent! I hope you will approve these too. Oh, the gown for the Twelfth Night ball is a princess dress. The colour is exquisite! It was the only piece of fabric of that kind, and Mr Darcy selected it himself. He possesses such flawless taste!”
Elizabeth barely concealed her grin as she was reminded of Miss Bingley praising his beautiful writing and offering to mend his pen. Madame Claudette seemed to be another admirer of her husband.
Two young maids, together with Mabel, brought the gowns, showing them to adjoining rooms to try them on. Lady Maryanne, however, intervened severely.
“There must be a mistake. This is not Mrs Darcy’s dress! The fabric is certainly different!”
Madame Claudette stared at the dress and paled then looked at the maids angrily.
“You are correct, of course, Lady Maryanne! I cannot imagine how this happened. I deeply apologise. I will bring Mrs Darcy the correct dress in no time. Again, we deeply apologise.”
“Since the error will be easily remedied, everything is fine,” Elizabeth answered, amused by the modiste’s panic and Lady Maryanne’s frown. What a tragedy, indeed!
She waited in the small room lined with mirrors. In only a minute, the modiste herself came with the right dress, apologising again, and Elizabeth gasped in delight when she saw it, thinking that, in truth, her husband’s taste seemed to be flawless in that area.
The dress fit her perfectly, and so did the second one.
She invited Georgiana and Mrs Annesley to give their opinion, and she was rewarded with heartfelt approval.
Half an hour later, all the gowns were carefully checked and tried.
While everyone else left the room, Elizabeth remained to adjust the locks of hair that refused to fit under her bonnet.
She turned with a smile when she heard someone entering, presuming it was Mabel. She froze when she saw Lady Annabelle Stafford, looking at her with a large smile.
“Mrs Darcy, what a surprise! It must be fate that crosses our paths so often!”
“It is truly a surprise although I doubt fate has anything to do with it.” Elizabeth attempted to conceal her nervousness.
“Are you ordering your dresses from Madame Claudette? Another lovely coincidence, I might say. But then again, since Lady Matlock and Lady Maryanne are old customers here, it was natural that they brought you too. It is unlikely that you had a choice in the matter.”
“Lady Stafford, may I be of some use to you? If not, I must return to my relatives.”
“Such a pity that you are in a hurry again. Your relatives are not very fond of me, and I have no desire to see them either. But yesterday would have been an excellent opportunity to improve our acquaintance. Although I can understand why Darcy was uncomfortable with the situation, I am sure we could all be civil under the circumstances.”
“And what ‘circumstances’ are you precisely referring to?”
“The circumstance of your marriage, of course. All of London talks about it. I mean—the union is very advantageous for your family, of course. But why Darcy would accept it, why he chose you beyond any other woman, made everyone wonder.”
“I fear this conversation has lasted long enough. For any wonder you may have, please apply to my husband for clarification.”
“I do not need to ask anything. I know that Darcy was pressured to marry and to provide an heir to shelter his wealth. And what better choice than a country girl, shy and submissive, with no wealth, no connections, and no choice to oppose him in anything or to refuse any of his demands. Not that many women would refuse Darcy’s demands.
But an innocent, na?ve young woman must be very appealing to him—at least until he becomes bored and looks around for more excitement.
And then, his wife will remain at home, taking care of his sister and his children in the comfort of an elegant home without giving him any trouble.
A perfect arrangement, indeed, for both of you.
There is nothing to wonder about in this marriage after all.
And I am sure the Matlocks supported his choice.
They would have done anything to keep him away from other temptations. ”
“I am pleased that you have nothing to wonder about in my marriage. That gives me great hopes that we have no further subjects for conversation,” Elizabeth replied, her hands trembling from anger, trying to end the conversation without starting an argument.
The heavy curtains were pulled away, and Mabel entered, then stopped and apologised, staring at both of them with obvious distress.
“Mrs Darcy, is everything fine? Lady Stafford, did you miss your room? May I help you?”
“No, Mrs Darcy and I had a little chat. Has Mr Darcy arrived? I am speaking of the other Mr Darcy this time,” she said with a contented smile while Elizabeth stepped out.
In the hall, Georgiana smiled at her, but Elizabeth could not bring herself to smile back.
She exited to the street, breathing the chilled air to regain her composure.
Lady Maryanne asked Elizabeth whether she was well, and at her positive reply, she insisted no longer.
They separated with the promise of meeting again at the opera the next evening.
Elizabeth kept her eyes fixed outside, avoiding any conversation, as she could not control her rage.
She felt humiliated twice by that woman, and she was so silly that she found little to reply.
How dare that woman say those shameless things to me?
What a ridiculous, pompous fool she is to consider me shy and submissive!
If we should meet again, I will prove that I can give enough trouble and reason to worry to anyone who bothers me!
She tightened her fists and bit her lips to calm herself.
Georgiana’s worried gaze and the girl’s genuine care and distress melted her heart.
Georgiana seemed to recognise Lady Stafford and to be concerned about their interaction.
Had that woman been in their house and actually met Georgiana before?
Was it possible that he brought her there?
They arrived home, and she went directly to her apartment.
The effrontery of that woman! Such impertinence!
If she has some sort of relationship with William, why does she try so hard to prove it to the world?
Only to humiliate me? Or just out of a mischievous character?
If only Elizabeth had the liberty to respond as she desired, Lady Stafford would not dare approach her again!
She forced herself to behave with respect for her position as Mrs Darcy, but Lizzy Bennet would have fought back with no restraint or consideration for that woman!
A knock on the door startled her, and she turned to the window to regain her calmness while she invited the caller to enter. It was Georgiana, apologising for the intrusion.
“Elizabeth, please forgive my boldness, but I did not fail to notice your distress. Did that woman say anything to hurt you? Please do not be upset. We should tell William…”
“NO!” Elizabeth said then softened her voice. “There is nothing to tell William and nothing for you to worry about. I had a rather unpleasant conversation with Lady Stafford but nothing worse than the one with Miss Bingley. We should put all of it aside.”
“As you wish…Lady Stafford spoke to us when we were at the theatre one evening, and she was also very rude to Maryanne. She tried to press for William’s attention. I saw this many times with other ladies, but I never met anybody so uncivil. William was very upset and…”
“Georgiana, if he was upset, he would have done something to prevent this happening again. I thank you for supporting me, but enough of this for now. I look forward to the opera. Do you know Lady Isabella?”
“Yes. She is beautiful and very outspoken. I like her, but she frightens me a little.”
“Such joy—another frightening lady. Do you think she hates me too?”
Georgiana panicked again, and Elizabeth laughed out loud. “Oh, come now—this cannot be true. Surely not all the ladies in London wished to marry your brother!”
“May I ask why you are gossiping about me?” A grave voice interrupted them from the doorway. Elizabeth avoided Darcy’s large smile. She felt angry and blamed him for Lady Stafford’s impertinence.
“Was your visit to Madame Claudette pleasing?”
“Yes. We were talking about Lady Isabella,” Elizabeth said rather abruptly. “I want to be prepared in case she hates me, too.”
He laughed. “You have no reason to worry. And to answer your question: not all, but many ladies wished to marry me and any other gentleman possessed of a similar fortune. It is not a personal matter but rather a business one, and there is no room for hate or love.”
“Thank you for putting me at ease,” Elizabeth said with sharp mockery. “Now, if you do not mind, I would like to rest a little.”