Page 17 of The Marriage Game

Caroline had been morose since her tea party at Bingley House. She had been soundly rebuffed, and this had put paid to any idea of her having friends in London Society.

Tender-hearted Jane felt sorry for her, and after several days of watching Caroline stare at the floor, felt compelled to speak. “Caroline, I am sorry the ladies you invited to tea were rude to you. I confess that I was surprised at their behaviour. Were they not your friends at school?”

Caroline stared at Jane for a moment in silence. “Friends?” she said at last. “No, I would not have called them so.”

“But you invited them here; I do not understand.”

“I suppose I foolishly hoped that they would become my friends. It was a bad plan, Jane, you need not reprimand me for it.”

Jane sat in thought for a long minute. Then she said, softly, “Caroline, did you have any friends at school?”

Jane’s voice was so warm, so kind, so understanding that Caroline found herself blurting out the truth. “No.”

“None?”

“None.”

“But why, Caroline?”

Caroline took a deep and shaky breath. “The girls with titles were too proud to befriend someone as unimportant as myself.”

“And the girls without titles?”

Caroline shrugged. “What would have been the point?”

Jane was confused. “The point of what?”

“The point of befriending the nobodies.”

“The nobodies? Heavens, because you would have had friends, Caroline. That is the point. School might have been – well, more fun. Kinder. More pleasant. Certainly less lonely!”

“But I would not have been bettering myself!”

“Is that the only measure of life?” Jane asked.

“What else is there?” Caroline shrugged.

“Friendship. Kindness. Love, even.”

Caroline was silent.

“May I make a suggestion, Caroline?”

“Yes.”

“Let us have another tea party; but this time, invite the girls you call the nobodies.”

Caroline sighed. “Very well, Jane. I will take your advice. But, Jane…” she trailed off.

“Yes, Caroline?”

“I think I need new clothes.”

“I agree. For some reason, you have always favored colours that do not suit your hair or complexion, and you insist on too much ornamentation.”

“But they are fashionable gowns!” Caroline bit out, unable to accept Jane’s criticism.

Jane was silent.

Caroline recovered herself. “But I know now that I must wear things that flatter me, whether they are fashionable or not.”

“Exactly so,” Jane replied.

Caroline waited for Jane to suggest that they go shopping and to promise that Charles would pay for more gowns, but Jane was silent, looking expectantly at Caroline. How was it that Jane kept missing the point? Caroline wondered briefly if her sister by marriage might be just a bit simple. But looking closer, she saw Jane’s eyes dancing. “You are toying with me,” she realised.

“Just a bit, Caroline. Come now, I deserve a little fun. I have been trying to tell you that you wear the wrong clothes for ages now; it took unkind comments by schoolmates to convince you that perhaps I, Alice and your dressmaker might actually know what we are talking about.”

“Alice and the dressmaker, yes.” Caroline said. “But I do not think of you as a fashion expert, Jane.” She could not keep the tiniest bit of a sneer from her voice.

Jane gave up trying to be kind. She retorted, sharply, “And yet I am married, despite my lack of a dowry, and you are not, despite your twenty thousand pounds.”

Caroline managed to remain silent, but her eyes were wide with outrage.

Jane went on. “And did you ever stop and think that it is mostly your own doing that Charles fell in love with me?”

Caroline’s outrage was visible. “What? I would never –“

“Oh, not deliberately, of course. I know quite well that you think he married beneath him, despite the fact that I am the daughter of a gentleman and he is the son of a tradesman. But he was so weary of the vitriol that he had experienced from his sister that he found my own preference for peace and kindness irresistible. He told me so himself, so you need not doubt me.”

Caroline’s mouth opened and then closed with a snap.

“You want to ask me if I will convince your brother to invest more money in your wardrobe, is that not right?”

Caroline, finally able to speak, was forced to admit that this was so.

“I will do so, of course, but I will insist that I accompany you to make certain that you follow your dressmaker’s advice.”

Caroline had no choice, and both ladies knew it, but Jane waited until Caroline grudgingly said, “I agree.”

***

The next day saw Caroline and Jane on Bond Street. They went into the shop that they both patronised, Madame Celeste, and waited until Madame finished with other customers and was able to attend to them. “Yes, Mrs. Bingley?” she asked Jane. She all but ignored Caroline, who quietly seethed.

“My sister needs new gowns,” Jane said. “And we will need your expertise in selecting colours and styles.”

Madame shook her head, and then said, “May I speak frankly, Mrs. Bingley?”

“Of course,” Jane replied.

“My advice has been unheeded so far. I would never have put Miss Bingley into anything of an orange, yellow or red tone, but she insists upon it. Having her look as she does in those colours is not a good advertisement for my services, if you will forgive me for alluding to things mercantile. She should be in blues, greens, creams to set off her hair and complexion.”

“As it happens, I am in agreement with you, Madame. I am here to make certain that your advice is taken,” Jane said, calmly.

Irritated at being ignored, Caroline spoke up. “I think I am capable of selecting fabrics now that I understand your requirements, Jane.”

“Very well; you select them and I will let you know if I approve of them.”

Caroline began to sputter, causing Jane to add, “And if I do not approve, Charles will not pay for them.”

That ended Caroline’s verbal objections, though she continued to throw angry glances in Jane’s direction. It took three hours to plan new gowns for Caroline, by which time both ladies were feeling in need of refreshment.

“There is a lovely tea shop one block down,” Madame reminded them.

Thanking Madame and arranging for the dresses to be delivered to Bingley House, Jane and Caroline made their way to the teashop. They found a small table and sat down, grateful for the opportunity to rest.

“Look,” Caroline whispered. “Is that not Mr. Darcy’s aunt, the Countess of Matlock?”

Jane twisted around to look. “It is, but you have not been introduced to her, Caroline.”

The Countess saw the two ladies looking at her; she recognised Mrs. Bingley and Miss Bingley at once. Mrs. Bingley was Elizabeth’s sister and should not be ignored, but the Countess had no wish at all to show any familiarity with Miss Bingley; thus, she nodded in a friendly manner to Mrs. Bingley, but did not so much as look at Miss Bingley.

“She nodded at you, Jane!” Caroline hissed. “You can introduce me to her!”

“No, Caroline; she must request the introduction. You know that!”

“But in this case –“

Jane would not be moved.

Caroline got to her feet.

“Caroline, she will give you the cut direct, and you will be finished in Society.”

Caroline hesitated and then finally sat back down, as Jane breathed a sigh of relief.