Page 26

26. Breakfast of Supplicants

Breakfast at Elizabeth’s house was a relatively noisy affair. It was not nearly as chaotic or indecorous as Longbourn, but still, the ladies had settled in better with Lizzy Bennet at the head of the table than the stern and unyielding Mrs Black.

The ladies had all awoken to find they had several of their own day dresses in their closets and wondered how they got there. Lydia speculated that Elizabeth had made the request when the ball upset the normal order of things.

It seemed plausible, but they were curious, so Mary asked, “I know this class is special, and it went all askew after the ball; but how does it compare to your ordinary classes.”

Lydia thought that question too general. “Yes, Lizzy. For example, why do we have our own clothes now?”

Elizabeth kept buttering her toast and took a bite just to taunt them but ultimately thought it would not hurt to be more specific.

“This course was different, but not as different as you might think. I patterned the instruction slightly after military techniques used since Roman times… though training in today’s British Army varies widely from almost nothing to very rigorous.”

They hung on every word excitedly.

“I only have a fortnight, so everything has to be compressed. The ugly gowns on the first day serve two purposes. Who wants to guess?”

Georgiana said, “I suppose we would not be safe wearing our ordinary clothing in the areas you took us to.”

“That is correct. Your day dress costs between two and ten times what most of those people make in a year. Your clothing, demeanour, manners, speech—they all mark you as being high born, and possibly worthy of a bit of robbing. The dresses mute that impression. Me cuffing the pickpockets on the head was another subtle sign we were not to be messed about, and of course, though you may not have seen them, there were four stout men following us the whole time. You were perfectly safe but left feeling on edge. Why?”

Mary took a guess. “To make us receptive to instruction? I remember feeling I had better pay attention or I might be lost in that place forever.”

Elizabeth laughed. “That is correct. One more reason… anybody?”

Surprisingly, it was Kitty who came up with the answer. “To make us bond together.”

“Exactly… us versus them … with Mrs Black playing the role of them .”

“What do they do in the army?” Jasmine asked.

“Different armies do different things. They take away all civilian clothing and make them wear uniforms. Some use funny haircuts or extremely difficult training to make them form cohesive units. For example, some make recruits hike twenty miles the first day with a heavy pack. That would be overdoing it for us, but parts of the technique work.”

Jane guessed, “So the gradual improvement of our situation… moving from the dungeon to rooms… making us help each other dress… revealing your identity.”

“All right on schedule, except for revealing my identity. I sometimes become Miss Gardiner, but most of the time I just become a less severe Mrs Black. To answer Lydia’s burning question, you have your own clothing now because it was here all along. Maids in your respective houses packed all the clothes and put them on the carriage while you ate breakfast… just as they always do.”

That led to a discussion about all the tricks, mean and otherwise, that had been used on them and the reasoning involved. Some were surprised to learn that Brutality Day had a purpose beyond just learning to defend themselves. It was also a way to pull them together after making all of them get outside their own heads for a while.

They all had their heads spinning, and a newfound respect for their sister who had invented the course when Kitty or Georgiana’s age.

~~~~~

After breakfast, they were to sit in the parlour for some general discussion for an hour or so, then Elizabeth planned to start speaking to them one on one for the last few days. That task would be shared by Mrs Rose, so it did not take forever.

Before the split, Lydia asked a question that had been plaguing her for a few days.

“Lizzy, do I understand that when Papa dies, presuming our deportment is good enough, you will allow us to live here with you?”

“That is correct,” she replied somewhat dubiously.

Lydia chewed on her lip in a quite uncharacteristic manner, indicating she was either nervous about asking a question or shy—either of which was unprecedented.

“What if he is not dead?”

Elizabeth’s eyebrows raised questioningly, so Lydia continued before her courage ran out (also unprecedented).

“Could some of us try to find husbands here instead of in Meryton? Mr Bingley has been the only fresh blood there in quite some time, and—”

“You need not elaborate, Lydia,” Jane replied calmly, leaving Elizabeth wondering what her sister even thought about her erstwhile former and possibly future suitor.

While Elizabeth was thinking, Jane said, “I once heard you say London had a million inhabitants. That seems a better stream to fish in than four and twenty families.”

“It is if you are not too fastidious,” Elizabeth replied.

“What does that mean?” Jane asked

“Would you marry a tradesman? A merchant? A banker? An attorney?”

“I would,” Kitty surprised everyone by answering first and quite emphatically.

“Go on, Kitty,” Mary suggested.

“Who says we have to marry a gentleman, anyway? I would say Uncle Gardiner is five times the man our father is. Sir William is a much better man, but he was a tradesman a decade ago. What is so special about being the son of a gentleman?”

“There, you have hit on the home question, Kitty—though it brings up a few others.”

“Such as?” Jane asked curiously.

“Let us just put aside the fact that half of the Bennet family’s behaviour was dragging the rest down before this course. We may further assume that all of your manners will either improve or you will face the wrath of Mrs Black.”

Everyone chuckled as designed.

“You can still, according to the narrow-minded way the gentry thinks, drag your sisters down by marrying down. I assume none of you would marry a stable hand, and if you did, it would seriously harm your sisters… no?”

They all agreed, since it was fairly obvious.

“How about if you marry an attorney who is a third son of a gentleman? We can all agree that would not harm anybody else, correct?”

They all nodded.

“Now, let us say this attorney is not the son of a gentleman, and has no connexions at all… still the same good man, but of a lower social sphere.”

Jane said, “I believe we all would have to agree on whether that is acceptable before we began. For example, I was being actively courted by Mr Bingley, but he is not a gentleman… just very wealthy.”

“Exactly. So, the answer to all of this is that if you want to marry in London, you should all accept in advance that some of you might marry down, and the rest must agree not to whinge about it.”

“That seems entirely reasonable to me,” Mary replied quickly.

Elizabeth thought about it for a minute, and finally added, “Do you all agree, keeping in mind that with your minuscule dowries, you will not be attracting the most prosperous tradesmen? I would not allow anyone to even take up with someone who cannot afford a wife in reasonable comfort, but I would not object to a parson or tradesman with a few hundred a year.”

They all discussed it amongst themselves for a few minutes and agreed it all seemed reasonable.

The non-Bennets were watching the discussion with full attention, and perhaps just a touch of envy.

When the Bennet sisters all agreed that the scheme sounded reasonable, Elizabeth looked around and took a breath.

“May I assume you all believe I expected this outcome?”

They all laughed, but nobody disagreed.

She turned to the other ladies. “What I am about to say applies to all of you, not just the Bennets.”

They all gasped, and their ears perked up.

“We are now into the area where this class is absolutely unique. I will allow anyone in this room, except Miss Darcy for obvious reasons, to live here for as little or as much time as you want… if … you meet certain requirements.”

They all watched eagerly, so Elizabeth continued.

“First—in this house, girls are out no earlier than seventeen, and eighteen would be preferred—no exceptions.”

Kitty and Lydia looked somewhat crestfallen, but they both managed to work out that it was eminently reasonable before they stuck their feet in their mouths.

“Second—everyone in this household will be accomplished. This is not Longbourn. I presume you all heard through the gossip network what I said to Miss Bingley at Netherfield. If you want to live in my house, you will learn to be a credit to your education when you marry. You will learn some of the conventional accomplishments such as music and the like, but you will also learn how to manage a house and raise your children properly. Once again, no exceptions!”

“Will we have a chance to learn those things, Lizzy?” Kitty asked plaintively.

“Of course! It would be silly to live in a school and learn nothing. You all have years to learn and look what you have accomplished in a fortnight. You will have to put your backs into it, though. I will not accept half-hearted efforts.”

They all started chattering excitedly. While Maria and the Weatherbys were not desperate to leave their homes, they all saw the great advantages of being here in town, at least part of the time—not the least of which was a chance for more education for free.

Nobody mentioned it, or even thought about it at the time, but since the Cheapside Runners business consisted almost entirely of protecting very eligible women, some of them must have eligible brothers. Elizabeth had, of course, thought about it, but she was disinclined towards abusing her uncle’s customers with matchmaking.

Elizabeth called for order, and said, “There is one more tiny little matter that I should bring to your attention before any of you decide to live here or not.”

They all stared in rapt attention, the excitement for the grand adventure building by the minute.

Elizabeth looked around sternly. “This room only!”

“Of course,” Mary said instantly and everyone agreed.

Elizabeth blew out a nervous breath, which seemed unnatural to most of the ladies after the previous ten days.

“Mr Darcy and I are courting. By the time you arrive, there is a reasonable chance I will be gone, and you will be under the tutelage of Mrs Rose and my other instructors.”

The excited screams that erupted from that revelation assaulted Darcy’s ears as he entered the parlour, so he naturally joined in—since her assertion was music to his ears.