Page 35 of The Talented Daughters of Longbourn
Louisa’s Sitting Room
Netherfield
Louisa Hurst poured milk into her tea, lifted her cup, and took a long sip, relishing the warmth of it down her throat. She had not slept well, risen late, and had a headache. The last thing she wanted was to cope with her younger sister’s fussing at this hour.
“Caroline,” she said wearily, “I am not feeling well. Could we speak later, perhaps?”
“No, I cannot wait,” her sister snapped, stalking up and down the carpet, her hands clenched at her sides.
Louisa rubbed her face and straightened her back. “What is wrong?”
“What is wrong is that Charles sent a letter to my modiste in London and informed Madame Fanchon that he will no longer provide me any assistance in discharging my debts! Do you have any idea what this means?”
Louisa eyed her sister and took another drink of tea. “You will need to reduce your expenditures? ”
“You know I cannot! If I am to become Mrs. Darcy, I must always be dressed elegantly and in the latest fashions!”
Louisa was confident that her brother’s close friend had no intention of marrying Caroline, but there was no point in saying such a thing.
“What did you say to provoke such an action on Charles’s part?”
Caroline compressed her lips, huffed, and then said, “It was nothing, really; I merely commented that Mrs. Bennet looked dowdy and crumpled at church on Sunday, and that I would never dream of appearing in public looking like she did.”
Louisa glared at her sister. “Mrs. Bennet, wife of the new master of Longbourn.”
“Yes, exactly! It is astonishing that Mr. Bennet married such a plain woman in the first place, but she does not even try to look well…”
“She is in mourning and great with child,” Louisa interrupted irritably. “Why did you think insulting the aunt of the woman that Charles offered for was a good idea?”
Caroline hissed angrily and rounded on her elder sister. “So what? Am I to bite my tongue and say only what Charles wishes me to say? Is that what you want? ”
Louisa set her cup aside and lifted her chin. “Truly, I do not care what you do, Sister. I plan to abide by our brother’s directives in this area. Hurst and I spoke of the matter, and while you may not care sufficiently about being cut off, we do.”
Her sister clenched her jaw and stalked over to stare out the window. Louisa poured herself another cup of tea and drank it.
“Perhaps if we speak to Charles, he will change his mind on this matter,” Caroline finally said, though her voice sounded doubtful even in her own ears.
“I do not think he will,” Louisa said, “and I do not intend to take any chance of being forced to live on our income alone. Now come, Caroline; you are a handsome, sophisticated woman with a substantial dowry. If you wish to marry Darcy, do you really want to antagonize Charles any further? They are good friends, you know.”
This, more than anything else, cooled Caroline’s temper. It would be ghastly indeed if Charles spoke severely of her to Darcy.
“That is a good point,” she admitted.
/
Cheapside
December 8th, 1811
Dear Lizzy,
I assume you received my brief note already that we arrived here in London and are safely installed in our aunt and uncle’s house.
We are settling in nicely, and Mamma seems calmer here than at Longbourn.
That is no great surprise; at Longbourn, she was faced every hour with the reality that she is no longer mistress of the estate, and that rankled.
At the moment, our mother and Lydia are visiting our Aunt Gardiner, and I am largely alone in the house, though of course there are all the servants left behind when Uncle Josiah and Aunt Charlotte moved to Longbourn.
They are good people, and the cook is both competent and easygoing.
I am thankful for the latter, in particular, since our mother naturally wishes to interfere in the doings of the kitchen.
The art studio was left in some disarray as Uncle Josiah was required to travel to Hertfordshire on short notice. I spent much of a day tidying it with some help from the maid Clementina.
Yesterday, I did several hours of work on the marble head that will eventually look like Colonel Fitzwilliam.
I dislike working on two projects in marble at the same time, but if the muse strikes, and it has, I will not resist it.
In any case, the horse is in the fine tuning stages, and there is a certain pleasure in being able to switch from rough work to final polishing as the fancy strikes me.
Oh, Uncle Gardiner told me that the elephant sold for a tidy sum to a rich baron. The money has been deposited in our accounts.
I do think we will be well enough…
“Miss, a Mr. Fitzwilliam has called.”
Jane looked up in surprise at the housekeeper, which transformed into beaming pleasure. “Oh! Do bring him in, Mrs. Arnold.”
The housekeeper, a matronly woman of some five and forty years, bent a stern look on Jane and said, “I will have Clementina join you and Mr. Fitzwilliam, Miss Bennet.”
“Thank you,” Jane returned, not in the least offended. She had known Mrs. Arnold for a decade, and she was appreciative of the woman’s kindness, competence, and care for the ladies in the house.
Mrs. Arnold retreated, and Jane rushed over to a mirror to inspect her face and hair.
She appeared well enough, she supposed, with her blonde hair a vivid contrast to her black dress.
When she turned around to await her guest, she was surprised to see Mr. Fitzwilliam was already standing there, and his smile was definitely appreciative.
“Mr. Fitzwilliam,” Jane said with mock indignation, “I can only assume that you were a scout in the army, the way you managed to creep in behind me!”
Fitzwilliam laughed and said, “I have always been accounted as being very light on my feet!”
Clementina appeared at this moment and made her way quietly into the corner of the room, where she turned her attention on a piece of mending lying in a basket.
Jane noted a passing look of disappointment on her guest’s face and grinned at her suitor, because, without a doubt, Mr. Fitzwilliam was courting her.
“Please do sit down,” she said, “but I suggest avoiding the rocking chair. My little cousin Samuel succeeded in knocking it over at some point, and one of the rockers needs some repair.”
Fitzwilliam cheerfully gave the chair a wide berth, pleased instead to settle into a seat across from Miss Bennet. The day was a chilly one, and the warmth of the flames was very pleasant. Of course, looking upon that lovely, inviting face was warmth enough.
“Are Mrs. Bennet and Miss Lydia here?” he asked courteously .
“No, they are visiting my Aunt Gardiner’s home less than half a mile away. But come now, Mr. Fitzwilliam, could it be you actually were a spy? How did you know that my sister Lydia accompanied us to London?”
Richard grinned and said, “I am tempted to say that I have my ways, but I will confess that Miss Elizabeth wrote to my cousin, Georgiana, who in turn told me that your mother and youngest sister were with you here in London.”
“An excellent explanation, sir. Now for the next question; how did you know exactly where we were staying?”
“Oh, as to that, I asked your uncle, Mr. Bennet, before we departed Longbourn. London is very large, after all, and I would not wish to hunt street by street for the most lovely, most fascinating woman of my acquaintance.”
Jane, who had been enjoying the repartee, was taken aback by this last avowal, which was proclaimed in a most serious tone.
She gazed at her guest, and he gazed back, before saying, softly, “Miss Bennet, I had not intended to speak so boldly during this visit, but with your mother and sister gone, it seems an excellent opportunity for some plain speaking. But if you think that is inappropriate given our relatively short acquaintance, I beg you to say so.”
Jane considered and then said, “Indeed, sir, I enjoy plain speaking as well. I assume, based on our conversation today and our last one at Longbourn, that you are at least considering the prospect of making me an offer of marriage.”
Richard felt his shoulders relax at these words. He could engage in a verbal dance with other members of society, but he preferred not to, especially when discussing complex matters of the heart.
“Bluntly, Miss Bennet, I find you exquisite – not just in your face and form, but in your mind and character. I have enjoyed our discussions very much, on elephants and mountains and Rome, but I also relish and treasure the obvious affection you have for your family.”
“Thank you, Mr. Fitzwilliam,” Jane replied, and her smile made her already handsome face glow.
Richard reached up to adjust his cravat and forced himself to speak on, little though he wished to. At this moment, he had a dream that this incredible lady might soon be his wife, but the financial situation was still of great concern.
“The one area that troubles me relates to money. I am, as you know, but a second son. My allowance from my father, the Earl of Matlock, is four hundred pounds a year. I am currently living with my Darcy cousins; my cousin has a vast amount of responsibility associated with the estate of Pemberley, and he asked me to live with him to assist in looking after his sister Georgiana until she turns twenty, or marries, whichever comes first. At that time, I will become legal owner of a subsidiary Darcy estate in Sussex called Fairhaven. It is not large, and at the moment it is bringing in perhaps four hundred pounds a year. But as I said, I will likely not gain control of that estate for four years. Given all that, I fear that I am not yet able to support a wife unless she is willing to be very frugal. In a few years, once I have taken control of Fairhaven, I will be in a better position, but obviously, that is some way off.”
Miss Bennet tilted her head, causing a blonde curl to brush beguilingly against one smooth cheek.