AN: Not sure how you all are liking this one. Doesn't seem like to many people are reading. But! For those who are, trust me, it is going to get better. Please continue reading, and reviews are always welcome, good or bad. Thanks for reading!
Chapter 4
Six weeks had passed since the family had parted and the Darcy's were packing for school. The girls had been fitted for new gowns two weeks ago and they were now packed neatly in their trunks. Several butlers came and took the trunks downstairs to the carriage. Rebecca and Emily made their way downstairs together and found Anna, Sarah and Beth in the parlor. Anna had been moved into a wheel chair and was recovering nicely, but still couldn't walk.
Rebecca and Emily each hugged all three of the girls and said their goodbyes. They quickly piled into the carriage with Samuel and their parents. If there were no problems, they should reach Lady Hastings before dinner. Rebecca was excited to go, but at the same time, didn't want to leave her parents and Samuel. Life would be strange without them, at least she would have Emily.
Arrival at the school was fast paced and stressful. Servants were pulling trunks off of carriages at an alarming rate. The girls were quickly ushered to their room, which they discovered would accommodate two other girls as well. The room was bright and cheerful, yellow walls with beautiful cherry wood floors. The beds were four posters and had elegant golden curtains with matching comforters and pillows. A separate was stand was set out for each occupant with fresh yellow towels. Closet space was a bit tight, but Lizzy helped the girls fit everything inside, she was an expert at saving space from sharing a room with Jane for so long. The room was spacious and airy, it would be a quite comfortable place to spend a year. Hopefully their roommates would prove to be as pleasant as their room was.
"Well, we must be getting Samuel to his room." Mr. Darcy said.
"Oh, yes, of course." Emily mumbled.
"Goodbye my darlings." Lizzy said, tears welling in her eyes.
"Goodbye Mother." Rebecca said, equally upset. "I shall miss you terribly."
"And I you. Write as often as you can, I'm sure I'll be sending bushels of letters with all of my free time."
"Oh Mama, you will have the Wickham's to care for."
As Rebecca said goodbye to her mother, Emily was saying goodbye to her father. "I shall miss your antics Emily."
"And I shall miss your scolding."
He smiled, "You know I only scold to make certain you mature into an accomplished young woman."
"Yes Papa, I know, that is why I will miss it."
"I'm sure you will have plenty of people pointing out mistakes while you're here." he said, pulling up her chin.
"Wonderful." she smiled sarcastically.
"Come my dear, we must go." Lizzy said crying, taking hold of Mr. Darcy's arm.
Emily hugged both of her parents tightly. Lizzy kissed her on the cheek and Mr. Darcy her forehead. They said one last goodbye to Rebecca and then left the room. Emily joined her sister on her bed and rested her head on her shoulder. Rebecca put her arm around her and held her tightly for a moment. Then foot steps could be heard in the hallway, someone was approaching their room.
"Hannah?" Rebecca said, turning her head toward the door.
"Becca! Emily! How did I get so lucky?"
"No!"
"Yes, third room on the left, yellow." Hannah smiled. "Now which two beds are still available?"
"Those two over there. I can't believe you are one of our roommates. Perhaps we will have a good year after all." Rebecca smiled.
"Where are your parents, and Abigail?" Emily asked, looking out the door down the hall.
"Mother didn't request we room together. She wanted us to make new friends, but I suppose rooming with you defeats her purpose a bit. Anyway, they are helping Abigail get settled. They figure I am older and can unpack my things on my own. But they will be in to say goodbye once they are finished."
"Well, there is still one more person in our room for you to make a new friend." Rebecca laughed. "Here we'll help you unpack."
"Hannah, what room is Abigail in?" Emily asked, taking out a folded dress.
"The third floor, second room on the right, green."
"Alright, just so I know, in case I have something urgent to tell her." she laughed.
Both Rebecca and Emily helped Hannah with her things, and managed to get the closet door closed, just as miraculously as their mother had done with theirs. The three of them piled onto one bed and told the details of the end of their summers. Over their laughter they heard the scraping of yet another trunk on the hard wood and looked at the door out of habit. This time, someone was standing there. She was short, petite and very cute. Her dress was fashionable and her light brown hair was pulled up into a delicate twist.
"Third room on the left?" she said cheerfully.
"That's us." Emily answered, getting off her bed.
"Then that makes me your fourth roommate" she smiled. "I'm Grace Redgrave, a pleasure to meet you all." she curtseyed and the other girls did the same.
"I am Emily Darcy."
"And I am Rebecca Darcy, her elder sister."
"Hannah Cadogan, their cousin."
"Well it seems as if I am at quite a disadvantage." she laughed.
"Our mothers thought it would be a wonderful idea for us all to come at once. There are still two more of us in other rooms." Emily laughed.
"Why is one of them not taking the extra bed in here?"
"My sister did not want to room with me." Hannah said easily. "So, she wasn't an option."
"And none of us wanted to room with our other cousin Victoria." Emily whispered, in case someone was listening in the hall.
"Emily!" Rebecca scolded. "You should not say such things! She is family."
"Becca please, I am merely speaking the truth. And I'm sure Grace will be in agreement soon enough."
Hannah started to laugh, agreeing with the truth of her younger cousins words. As Hannah laughed, Rebecca relaxed and joined the laughter as well, forgetting propriety. Grace insisted upon hearing about this cousin, for she wanted to enjoy a good laugh as well. The four roommates set about unpacking Grace's things and answered her questions. Grace was not afraid to ask anything and was soon prying into the girls lives. Some questions made them blush, while others set them into fits of laughter. Unpacking took much longer then it should have but they finished at last and moved their conversation onto two of the beds.
"Father, Mother, in here." Hannah had caught sight of her parents looking at the open doors, confused, not knowing which one held their daughter.
"Oh, here you are. We knew it was the third room on the left, but coming from the opposite direction, we had a difficult time figuring it out." Kitty laughed. "Rebecca, Emily, what are you doing in here?"
"This is our room as well Aunt Kitty." Emily smiled, giving her aunt a hug.
Kitty laughed at the coincidence. "Well I suppose I shall not have to worry about you getting along with your roommates."
"I don't think so Mother." Hannah smiled, glad for her good fortune.
"Make sure to go visit your sister every now and again, although I know you girls will have a great deal of fun with each other." Kitty said, lovingly fixing the collar on Hannah's dress.
"Of course Mother."
"Darling, we must be off, their dinner will be starting shortly."
"Alright." Kitty backed away, leaving room for her husband to bid their daughter farewell.
"Good bye my girl."
"Good bye Papa, I shall miss you."
"And I you, be sure to write. We will look forward to your letters.
"As often as I can." she smiled.
He leaned down and kissed her on her forehead. Kitty kissed each of her nieces and then gave Hannah one last hug before she was hurried out the door by Mr. Cadogan. After they left, Grace ran to the door and shut it tightly. "Your father is right, the welcoming dinner is served promptly at seven, we need to be getting ready. Lady Hastings told me that formal evening dresses are required."
"Oh, then we had better change quickly." Rebecca said, a bit worried, seeing as it was already six thirty.
Emily ran to her closet and took out her midnight blue dinner dress. It was one of her new ones and she was excited to wear it. She dressed quickly and was far ahead of the others, they were still taking their time, deciding what to wear. Emily slowed a great deal after dressing, for her hair always proved difficult. Rebecca's hair was easy to manage and always looked wonderful, but Emily had trouble just getting the pins to stay, which was why she was always the last to finish, no matter how quickly she got dressed. Grace and Rebecca both finished rather quickly and helped Emily with her hair, for Hannah was almost done as well.
With five minutes remaining, all were ready, and looking quite lovely. Hannah rushed upstairs and found Abigail, who was thankful to see someone she knew. When they got downstairs a male servant gave them instructions. The girls were required to sit by their rooms for the first meal, and there was to be three rooms to a table. Abigail's room joined their own and sat at a table that was already occupied by four other girls. After they were seated, Victoria walked into the room, snobbishly, and was accompanied by her new roommates. Emily immediately pointed her out to Grace, who had an incredibly difficult time stifling her laughter.
Once all the seats were filled, dinner was brought out to the tables. The food was edible, but was no where near as good as the food served at Pemberley. The girls ate, talking and getting to know each other. Some of the girls were shy, while others were boisterous and outgoing. Despite the conversation, it was hard to discover the true personalities of these girls that they had just met. But as of now, they were all sure that they would have a most pleasant year.
As the dinner dishes were cleared, a woman with a severe bun stood at the head table. She tapped her glass elegantly which rang out like a chime through the air. The sound was quite successful in attaining everyone's undivided attention.
"Rest assured ladies, you will be receiving dessert in the parlor after we speak about a few things of importance, dealing with the upcoming year." she smiled briefly and then continued. "I am Lady Hastings, the Mistress of this school, and the rules are mine. According to your actions, I can be your best friend, or your worst nightmare, and I assure you, I am a terrible nightmare. First and foremost, from this point on everyone is to be spoken to formally, no first names are to be used at any time, unless they are a part of your formal name. If you are caught speaking informally, you will be punished by myself, or by one of the other teachers. You are also expected to arrive promptly at all times, tardiness is not the way of a proper lady."
The list of rules seemed to continue for hours, and Emily began to loose interest quickly. She knew Hannah and Rebecca would be paying attention and would inform her of anything she might have missed. Once Emily had rationalized her lack of attention, her mind turned critical. Lady Hastings could not be a real lady, why would any woman of nobility subject herself to the drab teaching of young women. She was a hard looking women, sharp, stern features accentuated by her black hair that was pulled back neatly into a tight bun. She was very thing and wore an elegant gown that seemed to hang from her shoulders, it was far to big for her. Just by her looks and expressions, Emily could tell that this woman would not like her.
Only one other woman looked quite as severe as Lady Hastings, in fact, she was more frightening, Ms. Eaton. Gray hair was slicked back on her scalp, leaving her eyes smaller than they naturally were. Her large pointed nose only accentuated her small eyes and made a person think of a bird. Pallid lips completed her joyless face, and had not once smiled in the entirety of the evening. Yes, Emily was afraid of her, and she was to be her etiquette teacher, the one area she truly lacked in.
The other teachers, Mr. Kingley, Miss tucker and Miss Siddel, were all must more appealing. They had an ease about them that suggested that they loved teaching and their new pupils. Emily was especially drawn to Miss Tucker who smiled easily at her students. Her velvet black eyes seemed to sparkle in the candle light and she was the teacher of gardens and the home responsibilities, Emily looked forward to being on time from that class.
Silence encompassed the room once again and Emily realized that the speech given by Lady Hastings was finally finished. Rebecca nudged her sister as if expecting her to do something. Emily of course had no idea what was going on.
"What?" she mouthed, careful not to draw attention to herself.
"Dessert in the parlor." Rebecca mouthed.
"Oh." Emily said with sudden realization.
"While in the parlor we must introduce ourselves to one person that we don't know."
"I see."
"Emily, you really should have been paying attention." Rebecca whispered gently, she was so good at reproof, without making Emily ashamed.
The girls stood up and walked silently to the large parlor. Servants stood in every corner of the room with trays filled with delicious looking desserts. Rebecca left Emily to sit by Abigail and took a place in between Hannah and a rather plump girl with very pink cheeks.
"Hello." she smiled, revealing nice teeth.
"Hello, I'm Re... oh, excuse me, I am Miss Darcy." Forgetting the formality rule all to quickly.
"I am Miss Weldon, it is a pleasure to meet you."
"Yes, and you as well. How is your room Miss Weldon? Is everything to your liking?" Rebecca asked, not really knowing what else to talk about.
"The room is beautiful, I am in red, third floor, second room to the right. But, I am not very fond of my roommates." she sighed.
"Oh? Why ever not? Is it possible that you could make such a decided opinion so quickly?" Rebecca did not want to sound rude, but was curious to discover what the girls were like, the girls she would be spending an entire year with.
"Yes, quite possible. If you haven't already noticed, I am not blessed with the comeliest of figures." her gaze fell to observe her own features before returning her eyes to meet Rebecca's. "Wen I entered the room, I saw their smirks, and heard the laughed they tried to stifle, not very well I might add. But their laughter became even greater as I changed into my dinner gown."
"Poor thing!" she took her hand without thinking. "You are welcome in my room any time you like. Second floor, the yellow room."
"You certainly are nicer than any of the other girls I've met."
Rebecca wasn't sure what to say, she had been payed compliments, but only by her family. She chose to ignore the comment and moved the conversation to another subject. The two girls spoke for the majority of the evening, with few interruptions from others. They commented on the desserts and their families, likes and dislikes and even a bit about gentlemen. Rebecca enjoyed Miss Weldon's company and Miss Weldon seemed ecstatic to have someone who would talk to her and listen in return.
A soft bell was rung and Lady Hastings announced that it was time to retire. Each girl rose from her seat, some more gracefully than others. They curtsied to their companions and then made their way out of the room. Rebecca was the last to enter her room, and quickly closed the door behind her. Everyone moved quickly to put their bed clothes on and sighed with relief as the hair pins were pulled from their hair. Rebecca pulled her long wavy, chestnut hair into a loose braid, then moved to her sister who was fighting to tame her own curly locks.
"I am not jealous of you very much dear sister, but I do wish I had your hair." Emily said as she ripped a brush through the tangled mess.
"You have beautiful hair Emily, hair that your husband will cherish someday." Rebecca laughed.
"Well, until then, I shall consider it a burden."
After finally getting her hair braided, the four new roommates settled beneath their fresh sheets. They whispered and giggled for a short while, until a harsh knock sounded on the door, telling them it was time to sleep. Once they were quiet, sleep found them all to easily. It had been a long day and tomorrow would prove to be even longer. No more were the days of waking only to find nothing to do, everyday would hold something new, at least, they hoped it would.