Page 7 of Trusting Miss Austen (Miss Austen #3)
Later that night, Jane and I discussed the matter in her room. We sat in comfortable chairs, warming our hands and feet in front of a brisk fire. According to Jane, Mrs Busby had made a full recovery and was now perfectly well.
‘I am glad to hear it. But is the woman able to deliver Lucy’s baby? What if she goes into a trance while she’s delivering it or, worse, doesn’t show up because she’s having visions in her cottage? We should tell Elizabeth.’
‘Mrs Busby reassured me that it is not a frequent thing and that it had been six months since she had last had one. Apparently, she told the scullery maid she was going to have either triplets or quintuplets and frightened her silly. The girl ran off and told the other maids, and they have been frosty with her ever since. She begged me not to tell Elizabeth in case her husband is let go, and he loves working here.’
Jane gave me a beseeching look, and I heaved a sigh. ‘All right, I shan’t say anything then.’ My tone turned ominous. ‘But woe betide you if she can’t deliver Lucy’s baby because she’s twitching on the floor! ’
Jane sniggered. ‘You sound like you’re her now! ’
I rolled my eyes. ‘Enough about Mrs Busby. I have a more pressing worry: the tea party tomorrow afternoon.’
It was scheduled for between two o’clock and four o’clock in the parlour, and there were five ladies invited, including Lady Claridge and her daughter. She had RSVP’d first with an eager ‘We are delighted to accept your kind invitation’.
I was dreading it and wished it was already over. But Jane drew a piece of paper from her pocket and said reassuringly, ‘There is nothing to worry about in that regard, Flissy. I have jotted down a few likely questions, and we will run through them, and I will help you with your replies.’
I settled back in my chair, thinking what a good friend she was. ‘All right, you may proceed.’
Jane peered at her paper in the flickering firelight. ‘I’ll start with an easy one. Now I’m sure Lady Claridge will say something like “Oh, I see you are expecting, Mrs Fitzroy. How absolutely delightful! Pray tell, when is your baby due?”’
She’d put on an affected plummy tone with facial expressions to match, and I stifled a giggle.
‘In a few weeks, Lady Claridge, though babies do have their own sense of time, don’t they?’
‘“Excellent, excellent. I suppose it is kicking madly in there? Can I feel it?” I doubt she will actually try to feel your stomach as it is rather forward of her to do so,’ said Jane hastily. ‘But it is best to be prepared for all eventualities.’
I thought quickly. ‘It tends to be asleep at this hour, and at other times, I have felt only the mildest of flutterings. It seems to be a very quiet, well-behaved child.’
Jane nodded approvingly. ‘That should put her off. You ar e doing well, Flissy! Very good acting.’
I lifted my chin, pleased at the compliment. If I had not married Max, perhaps I could have pursued a career on the stage in London instead of being a seamstress.
‘Are you hoping for a boy or a girl?’
I tilted my head to the side and pretended to consider. ‘ I do not mind, Lady Claridge, as long as it is healthy. But my husband is hoping for a boy.’
Jane nodded. ‘Indeed! A fine strapping lad to carry on the family name. Capital!’
I fought to keep a straight face. If Lady Claridge did actually talk like this, I was going to be more in trouble for laughing than anything else!
‘Where do you normally reside, Mrs Fitzroy?’
‘Derbyshire, Lady Claridge,’ I replied confidently .
‘Gracious me, that is very strange. Why have you travelle d so far away from home for your confinement? ’
Jane gave me a piercing look, and my confident manner faltered. ‘I ... uh ... you see ... I’m ... Blast !’
‘Yes, that is a tricky one,’ said Jane. ‘But you may get asked about it, so you need to have an answer prepared. It does look a bit odd that you’re having your baby in Kent and not in Derbyshire.’
I thought about it for a while silently as the fire crackled and sparked in the grate. ‘I suppose I could say something like “Since it is my first child, I wanted to be in the company of someone who was well versed in the process. My dear friend Elizabeth has kindly agreed to give me the best care and advice, and I trust her experience in the matter most implicitly” or some such. That would hopefully satisfy her. I could also make some comment about the cake to further divert her attention away from me.’
Jane grinned and applauded. ‘Excellent work! That should do it. Let’s hope she doesn’t start on me.’
‘Why do you not have a husband yet, Miss Austen? You should be married and with child yourself by now. Are you simply fussy, or is there something the matter with you?’ I intoned, looking down my nose at her, and Jane let out a mock groan of despair .
** *
Carriages began arriving promptly at two o’clock the next afternoon. Suitably prepared conversation-wise and having double-checked that my padded corset was on straight (Oh the horror if my baby bump was crooked! How on earth would I explain that?), I calmly bowed and nodded as each of the ladies was introduced. They all seemed respectable and well-to-do. Of course, there were the usual polite enquiries after my health when they saw that I was expecting, but I handled it with aplomb. Jane nodded at me to let me know none of them suspected anything was amiss.
Lady Claridge and her daughter were the last to arrive, having made sure that everyone was here and ready for their entrance.
‘She probably told the driver to do a loop around the park as she was early,’ muttered Jane in my ear.
Indeed, the noise level rose considerably as soon as Lady Claridge was introduced by the butler, and she swept into the room. Everyone immediately stopped what they were saying and stood to attention as if the queen were here. Swathed in peach silk, she was a handsome tall woman in her midforties with carefully styled blonde hair. Though her looks were past their bloom, she was still beautiful, and I got the impression she was determined to use them to their full advantage while she still had them.
She grasped Elizabeth’s hands and placed a resounding kiss on her cheek, exclaiming, ‘Darling, how lovely to see you! What a good idea to have a soirée!’ She went around the room in a similar fashion, greeting everyone as if they were long-lost friends ...
Until she reached Jane and me and stopped short. We had remained seated on the sofa, but now Elizabeth came over and hastily introduced us. ‘Henrietta, this is my friend Mrs Felicity Fitzroy from Derbyshire and my sister-in-law Miss Jane Austen, who are visiting us at present.’
I grasped Jane’s arm and put on a show of levering myself to my feet.
‘Oh no, please do not trouble yourself, Mrs Fitzroy. I can see you are incapacitated.’ She eyed my round belly. ‘Congratulations on your impending bundle of joy.’ She said it flatly like it was going to be anything but, which amused me.
‘Thank you, Lady Claridge.’
‘Please call me Henrietta. We are all friends here.’
‘Very well, and you must call us Felicity and Jane.’
We all inclined our heads to each other politely.
I looked around. I had been so busy watching Henrietta circulating that I forgot that there was another lady to our party.
‘I believe you have a daughter? Did she come with you?’
Henrietta looked around blankly. ‘Oh yes, April is here somewhere. She has probably been commandeered by Fanny to see her dolls upstairs. She will be down presently.’
Maids started bringing in the tea-things, and my mouth watered at the spread being laid. There were triangles of cucumber sandwiches, a Madeira cake, and a lemon drizzle cake, as well as a platter of petits fours with pink-and-white icing. But Elizabeth was doling out generous slices of cake, and I worried there may not be anything left for April. I took a couple of petits fours for her just in case. If anyone remarked on it, I would say I was eating for two.
Henrietta decided that Jane and I were the people at the tea party that needed her attention most and settled herself on the adjacent sofa. I felt rather than saw Jane stiffen beside me, and I knew we were in for an interrogation.
Relax, Felicity, I told myself. She wants to converse because we are new acquaintances.
Before she could get going, though, the door swung open to reveal Fanny, a smaller version of Elizabeth, with her blue eyes and snub nose. She was tugging on the hand of a pretty young woman with soft brown hair dressed in dark-blue silk.
Fanny wasn’t shy in announcing, ‘I have brought April to have some tea with you all. She was more interested in staying upstairs with me and my dolls, but I insisted .’ Fanny tsked, giving a rather good impression of her mother .
The elder girl’s cheeks flushed, and she sidled shyly into the room and slipped into the space next to Henrietta. Elizabeth handed her a cup of tea, and she sipped it quietly. I felt sorry for her and tried to catch her eye and smile, but she seemed intent on focusing on the floor. She did not look remotely interested in hearing about the latest fashions or their ladies’ preparations for the London Season. It’s a pity Lucinda isn’t here. They would have been able to talk about books, I thought.
Jane must’ve had the same thought as she discreetly moved over to sit beside April, and they were soon engaged in a discussion about what April was currently reading.
Henrietta leaned towards me and whispered conspiratorially, ‘Do not mind my daughter. She likes books more than people.’
‘That is not always a bad thing,’ I replied.
‘Indeed,’ said Henrietta, looking at me closely.
‘I only mean my sister, Harriet, is a bit the same way. But when she met her husband, it turned out they shared the same interest in reading, and I believe Harriet would not have captured his interest so completely if she had not had an interest in books.’
Henrietta looked appeased. ‘I did not think of it that way. How wonderful.’
I could see her mind working. She was thinking that perhaps she would allow April to read her books after all if it would mean hooking a husband. You have me to thank for your mama not hounding you in future about your reading habits, April, I thought, feeling pleased I could help the girl indirectly.
A warm breath huffed against my hair, and I realised that Fanny had come over and was sitting on the arm of the sofa, listening. Elizabeth was busy chatting to a friend, and Fanny was no doubt hoping that her mother would overlook her presence and let her stay with the grown-ups. She idly reached out and nabbed a petit four from my plate and nibbled it, dropping crumbs down the side of the sofa.
‘And what of your own husband, Felicity? Will Mr Fitzroy be joining you at Godmersham in the near future? You must be due quite soon.’ Henrietta’s gaze lowered to my oversized belly, and I sensed that she was intrigued to know what I was doing here when I was so obviously about to give birth.
‘Unfortunately not, he is staying in Derbyshire,’ I replied, casting about for a way to direct the conversation away from my pregnancy .
But one of her finely plucked eyebrows rose, sensing something untoward. ‘Surely he would not want you to travel back in your condition. Why, you could end up giving birth in a roadside inn.’ She pressed her hand to her lips, as if the thought both horrified and amused her.
‘No, indeed. I … I am here for my confinement,’ I said, stumbling a little and feeling very wary about giving her this piece of information as I knew that statement was likely to make her start prodding around even further.
‘Well, I never,’ she murmured. ‘You must be on very good terms with the Austens for them to agree to let you give birth here.’
I nodded and, ignoring my thumping heart, said my rehearsed speech. ‘Since it is my first child, I wanted to be in the company of someone who was well versed in the process. My dear friend Elizabeth ...’
Henrietta seemed to lap it up, saying ‘Indeed’ and ‘Of course’ at appropriate intervals.
I desperately tried to get Jane’s attention when Henrietta wasn’t looking so she could rescue me, but she was deep in conversation with April about some blasted book and did not see my subtle eyebrow wiggling .
‘What remedies have you tried for your nausea and swelling?’ asked Henrietta, abruptly changing the subject.
I swallowed, thinking about Mrs Busby’s hot smelly herbal bath. ‘Ah, I have not had too much nausea, and I find herbal baths ease my swelling.’
Henrietta nodded in approval. ‘Yes, I found those excellent when I was carrying April. She was so heavy near the end that my legs swelled up like an elephant’s. I strongly recommend chamomile. There is a bush of it in my garden at Willowmere. I will ask our kitchen maid to pick a large bunch, and our footman will send it over to you in our carriage.’
I blinked, imagining an empty carriage travelling down the road filled to the brim with chamomile flowers. ‘Thank you, that is very kind of you.’
She started to talk at length about her own delivery experience, which sounded nightmarish. But I couldn’t exactly excuse myself and lumber off, so I was forced to listen to it.
Fanny had taken Jane’s seat next to me now that she felt more confident Elizabeth wasn’t going to throw her out. She leaned against my arm, humming softly to herself, plucking at an embroidered flower on my gown. I prayed she wasn’t listening to what Henrietta was saying too closely as it would put her off having a baby for life!
‘And then she got stuck. The doctor had to reach inside and turn her ...’
Oh, I did not want to hear this! It was making me think of my own poor mama! I started feeling sick, and some acid bile came up, making me gulp it back down hastily. But in doing so, my stomach made a weird gurgling noise. Fanny giggled. ‘Your baby is moving, Aunty Felicity. ’
Before I could stop her, she had placed two hands squarely on either side of my belly in an attempt to ‘feel the baby’ and started squeezing hard.
‘Goodness, how soft your tummy is!’ she announced loudly to the room. ‘Not like Mama’s was at all. You must take more exercise!’ she scolded, and some of the ladies tittered. Oh dear lord!
However, it was fortunate that Fanny did say it loudly as Jane immediately saw my predicament and leapt up and whisked Fanny’s hands away from my stomach, saying, ‘Stop that at once, you little minx! Do you want to hurt Aunty Felicity’s baby?’
‘I didn’t mean to,’ she whined.
‘Fanny, it’s time you left the adults to talk in peace. Take a petit four and go and play with your dolls until supper please,’ said Elizabeth sharply.
Firmly chastened by her aunt and her mother, Fanny pouted and slunk off back upstairs. I filled my lungs with several deep breaths while Jane made a pretence of fussing around, asking if I was all right, and got me another cup of tea.
Meanwhile, having had her birthing ordeal story cut off (thank God), Henrietta had lost interest in me and turned to converse with another lady seated across from us, whose son had returned from fighting the French on account of an injury .
‘But he does still have all his limbs?’ enquired Henrietta, seeing a potential match for April in the making.
Jane plopped down next to me with the last of the petits fours .
‘That was close,’ I muttered to her. ‘But I think we got away with it.’
We knocked our petits fours together to celebrate and popped them in our mouths.