No sooner did she enter the sitting room than Lizzy's sisters began to tease her over the sudden betrothal. The teasing continued through dinner and until they parted to go up to their rooms for the night. Lizzy went along with it and let them have their fun. She knew she would have her chance at Jane soon enough and Kitty's turn would eventually come.
With all the other things they had to think about, it was not until breakfast the next morning that Lizzy remembered the letter William had handed to her in the carriage. Without even explaining what she was about, Lizzy jumped up from the table and ran off to get her reticule. She brought the letter back to their tiny dining room, breaking the seal as she walked.
"What is it, Lizzy?" Jane asked as her sister resumed her seat.
"A letter from Mary. William gave it to me in the carriage. I put it in my reticule and forgot all about it. He said it was to have been the pitiful excuse he and his cousin used to explain their visit to us at the Gardiner home today."
Jane blushed at the mention of the Colonel visiting, but Lizzy made no comment since Kitty asked, "Well, what does Mary have to say?"
The first part Lizzy read just contained greetings and more general assurances that Mary and Mr. Bingley were still happy as they continued to learn about one another and become used to the idea of being married. She talked a little bit about the challenges of being technically in charge of so large a household and of the help she had received from Mrs. Nichols, the housekeeper. Then, she got to more interesting matters.
Charlotte came to visit me on Saturday afternoon. Her father had stopped by their home to express his displeasure at her elopement and the note she left. He confirmed that he would not pay her dowry, but Charlotte said he seemed more pleased at his bit of petty revenge than she would have expected. It was only after she and Mr. Carlson talked about it that Charlotte concluded her father's discouragement of her suitors in the past was not entirely about controlling her or keeping her as a tool to help him control your movements. He had set her up with a good dowry after he purchased Lucas Lodge because it was expected of a man in his station. He put the money in the four percents and left it there to grow and each year most of the interest was added to the sum, bringing it up to a very respectable amount. Charlotte now thinks part of his reason for discouraging her suitors was that he never wanted to pay out the dowry and lose those funds or the additional income he could draw from them. Keeping her home as spinster would have cost him less than what he was earning each year in interest. Charlotte had taken over all the household duties her mother had not wanted and everyone except her was happy enough with the situation. By eloping with Mr. Carlson, she might have escaped Sir William's control, and in a way which annoyed him, but she had also provided him with a perfect excuse to retain the funds. Maria may run into similar problems with their father when she is truly old enough to marry. Charlotte is going to keep an eye out and see what she can do to mitigate any problems.
After Charlotte left, I had a visit from Mrs. Hill. She confirmed that Mama and Lydia packed their belongings, and pretty much anything else valuable and portable that Tony had not already stolen, and left Longbourn the day Papa died. They have not been seen in Meryton since then, although I expect Aunt and Uncle Phillips will hear from them once they are settled and need their money. Mrs. Hill brought me word about a tenant issue, which I handled, and asked if they should close down the house. I suggested they wait until the new master arrives and try to keep everything in proper condition so it is more likely he will keep them on. I know the Hills, Mrs. Fowler and the rest have all done their best for our family, so I told her that if Mr. Collins does let them go I would be happy to give them recommendations. I will let you know what happens in case you have contacts that can help them if they must find new positions.
I will ask Mr. Darcy to carry this message to you. He and Colonel Fitzwilliam have made no secret, at least while talking with Charles, of their intent to call on you, Lizzy and Jane. From my observations they are both worthy men. I hope you enjoy their visits and that something more comes out of them. I would be perfectly happy to call either or both of them my brothers.
She finished with a request for them to write back soon and tell her all their news. The trio had written the day after the news of their father's death, but Lizzy knew the letter had probably not reached Mary by the time she had written the note currently in her hand.
"We will certainly have plenty of news to tell Mary when we write back," Jane said with a significant look at Lizzy.
"Of course we should wait to write until after the gentlemen visit this evening in case we have even more news," Lizzy shot back. Jane blushed again while Kitty laughed.
~o~
While Lady Matlock allowed Aunt Madeline to direct them to the warehouse at which she thought they would find the kind of fabrics they wanted at the best price, she had no patience for timidity because of cost when choosing fabric for their gowns. She would pay whatever was needed to purchase what she thought was right and proper for the task.
She and Aunt Madeline made no argument when Jane picked out a soft blue-green fabric that brightened her complexion and made her eyes seem to sparkle. Likewise, Kitty's pale pink selection, a proper light color for a young woman on the edge of being out, met with their approval. However, when Lizzy considered a pale green, Lady Matlock protested.
"No, no, Lizzy. While that color would do if you were Kitty's age, you will be wearing the gown both as an engaged and a married woman. You are allowed the darker colors that will show off your coloring so much better. Let us see if we cannot find you a more compelling option."
After much searching, they lit upon a rich reddish-amber colored velvet fabric along with a wispy palest-peach muslin for the overdress. Lizzy declared the embroidery would be done in primarily gold thread with hints of deep burgundy to set it off.
"Now that will be a gown to set you apart from the crowd," Lady Matlock said. "You will not only look like a proper match for William, you will look regal. Do it right, Lizzy. I want to see this creation meet the potential of the idea."
Lizzy already had the design of both the gown and the embroidery floating in her head, so she was able to agree immediately. She wanted to see this creation meet the potential of what she envisioned.
The young women selected their threads and trim items, with Lizzy discussing embroidery design ideas for her sisters as they did. Finally, they had everything they thought they would need. Lady Matlock shooed them away, sending them off to the other side of the warehouse so they would have no idea what the total cost would be. Lizzy wanted to protest again, but both Aunt Madeline and Lady Matlock gave her looks that said they knew what she would say and it would do her no good. Bowing to the inevitable, Lizzy followed her sisters and Georgiana off to the far side of the warehouse where they looked at a variety of lace strips and trims until the older women joined them to let them know the purchases had been loaded on the carriage.
Once back at the Gardiner home, the younger women set themselves up at the dining room table, first finalizing a sketch for each gown and then laying out the fabrics and customizing their patterns, which Jane had brought with them that day, to cut out the pieces for each gown. Kitty enjoyed explaining what she had learned of the process to Georgiana, but unlike with Mary's gown, she did not help with the cutting and pinning except occasionally to hold the fabric straight or do any other little tasks Jane and Lizzy requested of her. They wanted all the pieces cut out and stacked in order before the gentlemen showed up for their visit, so Kitty and Georgiana did not get in the way of the two who worked so well together.
Aunt Madeline had found a sturdy covered basked for each of the young women and they separated out their gown pieces and other supplies into them. Once the cutting and clean up had been completed, all the women settled into the sitting room to await the visitors. Jane set the younger girls to work on the first seams of Kitty's gown while she and Lizzy both started the plain sewing on their own gowns.
As Lizzy and the rest had expected, William and his cousin both showed up a little earlier than they had been told to. Lizzy liked knowing that William was impatient to see her again and clearly his cousin was equally impatient to see Jane.
The Colonel managed to accept the introduction to Mrs. Gardiner and greet all the other women with courtesy before he quickly slipped into the seat that had been left open next to Jane where he could devote himself entirely to conversation with her. William sat next to Lizzy. He was a little more inclusive in his conversation, prompting Kitty and Georgiana to tell him about their shopping trip and to explain the work they were currently doing.
The two girls happily described their plan to embroider a wreath of multi-color pastel flowers along with greenery around the bottom of the gown and to scatter more of the flowers across the bodice and puff sleeves. They told him about the warehouse and all the fun they had going through the stacks of fabrics to find just the right ones.
Lizzy thought William had very little interest in the topic. He just seemed pleased to see his sister so excited and clearly wanted to encourage her. Eventually, the two young women ran out of things to tell him. Or, more likely, they decided to take pity on him. Either way, they turned back to their sewing and left him free to finally converse with Lizzy.
He turned in his seat to face her more exclusively. Reaching over to the work on her lap, he gently rubbed a bit of the skirt fabric between his fingers and thumb to enjoy the soft feel of the velvet.
"This is a richer, deeper color than I have seen you wear before. I expect it will look very flattering on you. Are you pleased with your choices?" he asked.
"It is a deeper tone than what I normally wear and a much higher-quality fabric. As your aunt reminded me, I am betrothed and will probably wear this gown frequently after we are married. In light of that, the stronger colors are more appropriate for me now than the girlish pastels Kitty has chosen. I think I will enjoy the change. In fact, I have high hopes that this will be one of the most beautiful gowns I have ever worked on."
"I have seen Mrs. Bingley's wedding gown, so that is saying something," He told her with a warm smile. "I am glad you are willing to do your work in company with all of us this time instead of hiding away as you did then."
"I am happy to be able to sit with you while continuing the work. It is really a matter of perceived safety. At Longbourn, even after there was no reason to hide my skills, I did not feel safe doing the work where anyone could see me, particularly Mrs. Bennet. The need for secrecy was engrained to the point where I would have felt too uncomfortable to work had I tried to join you all downstairs during your visit. By contrast, I have always worked in the open in this home and I feel perfectly safe to do so no matter who is here."
"Well, at least you had a place you felt safe. It bothers me that place was not what should have been your home. I promise you that I will do everything I can to make certain any children we have feel appreciated, loved and safe in our home."
Lizzy swallowed a slight lump in her throat before responding, "That pleases me a great deal. I loved my father, but I know he was not a diligent or responsible man. And I know that you are both. I already feel safe with you and I believe that sense of security will only deepen over time. You are proof that a man does not have to be staid and serious all the time in order to also be responsible. Tell me, was your cousin as jealous as you expected him to be?"
"By the time I was done teasing him, he was even more so. You would not have thought me at all staid and serious yesterday as I deliberately told him the events of the day out of order so I could cause the most confusion possible while still telling the absolute truth."
Lizzy dropped her voice to the softest of whispers. "Everyone seems so certain he will ask Jane to marry him. Please, William, can you tell me if it is because of her dowry, her beauty, or some other reason? And will he do so soon?"
She noticed he dropped his voice to match her tones. "While he thinks she is beautiful, it was her ability to carry on an intelligent conversation about military policy that really piqued his interest. Add to that her kind manner and all her other strengths of character and he was a lost man. We neither of us honestly have any idea how large your dowries are, and neither of us are particularly worried about it. As to him asking her to marry him, well, if he has not offered her a proposal before we leave this house tonight, without any prompting from me, I will walk down Rotten Row during the height of the fashionable hour wearing your choice of bonnet."
Lizzy laughed merrily. "You must be very certain of yourself, William," she said.
"Oh, I am, although that sort of thing, embarrassing though it might be, is easily passed off as foolish wager gone bad. It would not ruin me."
"I must say, I am almost tempted to find a way to delay him just so I can see that."
William shook his head while grinning slyly. "Now, now, my dear – no interference. That voids the bet you know."
She grinned back and chuckled as she said, "Of course I would never actually interfere. I was merely pointing out how tempting the idea was."
She sobered a bit as she continued her sewing while William watched. Finally, she said, "Something has been bothering me about our first discussion in the carriage yesterday. I wondered, if the subject is not too painful to you, if you would be willing to clear the matter up?"
"As me anything you like. I will answer to the best of my ability whether it is painful or not."
Lizzy nodded and lowered her voice again. "You say that Tony attacked your cousin, but I have been simply stumped trying to figure out how he actually got close enough to do so. From the way Lady Matlock has described Lady Catherine, I cannot see her accepting Tony as a visitor in her home, let alone a suitor, even if he was dressed beyond his means. However did he manage to catch your cousin alone?"
William paused to think for a few moments. Lizzy suspected he was searching for the least indelicate way to respond. His answer, when it came, was barely audible. "You said that Wickham located you based on information provided to him by Jamison. In a sick sort of way, Jamison was returning a favor, although we know he also wanted revenge on you for stopping his theft. Wickham accompanied me and my father on a visit to Rosings Park when we were twelve or thirteen years of age. My father thought he would be company for me on a boring visit, although even then we did not get along as well as my father believed we did. I was perfectly happy when he left me on my own so he could go explore all the side doors and hidden paths of the estate. He may not have been planning on it then, but he used that information earlier this year to commit a few minor thefts we could not prove he had done. I think he would have tried to force a marriage with Anne, but he knew Lady Catherine well enough to know she would have had him transported or hanged before she would even consider allowing him, the son of a steward, to marry her daughter."
"So he gave Tony the information he needed to sneak in, just like he tried to do at Netherfield," Lizzy guessed.
"Something like that. I suppose they assumed that Jamison might have better success since he was the son of a gentleman. I sincerely doubt my aunt would have forced Anne into marriage with a man who attacked her, but it is possible she might have paid Jamison off. He never made it into the house, and I am not sure he intended to. My cousin liked to spend time in one of the flower gardens on fine days. It is a moderately secluded area and I am certain Wickham learned of her habit. Richard and I came for a visit and decided to go join her there. I thank the heavens we did. As I mentioned, we interrupted Jamison before he could complete his designs, but Anne was absolutely terrified by the attack. As she came to, she mistook us for attackers as well and could not be convinced otherwise. She now refuses to be in company with any man, not even the male servants in the house. My aunt is completely at a loss for how to help Anne recover."
"That is terrible. Your aunt does not believe you attacked your cousin, does she?"
"No, and there were other witnesses who came forward – upstairs servants – who saw us chasing Jamison away. He used some of those side paths Wickham had learned as a boy, and we lost him at that point. Directly after the attack, my aunt withdrew from local affairs entirely and even had me help her fill the living for the village parson instead of overseeing the matter herself. I was finally able to get a decent clergyman in there. She has a tendency to appoint fawning lap dogs who care more for impressing her than serving the parish. There was an absolutely obnoxious specimen sent by the bishop that I turned away before he had a chance to do much more than greet us in what felt like a never-ending stream of words of twenty syllables."
"That bad?" Lizzy chuckled speaking just a bit louder than they had been.
"Even worse," William confirmed. "He was so dim that the words "The position has already been filled" were not enough to give him the idea that it was not going to be given to him. Of course, I had not actually found and convinced my aunt to grant the living to Mr. Walters then, but there was no point giving the man any kind of false hope. He took enough of it without any gift from me."
"Oh, dear. That sounds terrible. Do you often have livings to fill?"
"I had to fill the living at Kympton, near our estate. Oddly enough, my father had thought Wickham might be willing to qualify himself for the position and left instructions that I should give it to him if he did. Thankfully, he was not willing to do anything of the sort. I paid Wickham a reasonable amount of money in lieu of the living when my father died. Wickham gambled that away and asked for more. I said no and stuck to it. The incumbent at Lambton was appointed by my father, but he is only in his middle years, so barring illness or accident, we will not need to replace him soon. My aunt just seems to wear her clergymen out. Mr. Walters is the fourth parson in that living that I can remember." William nudged her leg slightly with his knee and whispered, "Look! I think he just asked her."
Lizzy looked over at her sister and the Colonel. William's cousin was looking intently at Jane, very much in the attitude of a man who had asked an important question and awaited the answer like his life depended on it. Jane was blushing furiously. Fortunately, all her attention was on the Colonel, or she would have seen every person in the room looking at her and probably would have sunk into the floor in embarrassment.
She was speaking too softly to be heard by anyone else, but seemed to be stammering and faltering as she did. The Colonel reached for her hands, but she had a needle in one and the skirts of the gown in progress in the other. He got the needle and jumped. Jane apologized loudly enough for all of them to hear, although her voice was still soft. Her tone dropped again as she said something else. The Colonel sighed, but he still did not look unhappy.
"Courtship," Lizzy whispered. "I think he asked for marriage, but she has requested a courtship. I suspect she is very nervous because she knows everyone expects her to marry him, so I would think she is trying to gain time to understand her own feelings."
"Did I rush you?" William asked. "Would you have preferred a courtship?"
"I knew I had that option. You would not have pushed me any farther than I was willing to go. No, your proposal was very timely and when you asked, I knew my answer was just what it ought to be. I am well satisfied. Jane is different than me. She needs more time to think and be confident in her decisions before she commits to them. Where I jump and land where I may, she plans and lands where she decides."
"Well, it seems he did ask, so I do not need to borrow your bonnet."
"I will just have to find some other excuse to see how fetching you look in it." Lizzy laughed and William joined in. Lizzy asked him about the nature of his days and Pemberley, prompting a topic that lasted until they were called in to dinner.
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AN: Just to give you all fair warning, I cannot guarantee a chapter tomorrow, although the following day is almost certain. I posted so many bonus chapters that I left none in reserve for days like today, where I am not sure if I have the flu that is going around the office, another sinus infection is starting up or I am still just reacting to all the dental work I had done last week. I have most of the next chapter in my head, but finding time to type it out around RL work may be a challenge when all I really want to do is sleep. We will hope for tomorrow, but don't panic if the day comes and goes without a post... :o(
