Love your comments and ideas… Thanks.
~~DGH~~
Family and Friends
On Sunday after lunch, the residents of Gardiner house were enjoying tea and conversation to while away the rainy afternoon, when Mr Hobson announced, 'Mrs Carlton to see you,' a moment before an elegant lady breezed into the room.
'Edward, it is good to see you. Madeline, you are looking well. Motherhood certainly becomes you. You are quite glowing. It has been much too long since you last visited. I am so very pleased that you have decided to take up residence in Uncle Henry's house, although you may come to regret it as it is most convenient for me to visit without even a moment's notice,' Mrs Carlton gushed as her eyes roamed over the occupants of the family parlour. 'I assume that these lovely ladies must be your nieces. Will you not introduce me?'
'Good afternoon, Amelia. I am pleased to see you too. It is good to see that you are in excellent voice today,' Mr Gardiner, who had risen to his feet during the verbal deluge, replied with a bland smile which belied his mirth.
Mrs Gardiner also rose and added her welcome, only to find herself engulfed in an embrace.
'Goodness me. Am I talking too much again? What can I say? I am thrilled to meet my cousins at last.' She released Madeline and faced the sisters who were also standing and politely waited to be introduced.
Mr Gardiner did the honours, finishing with, 'This force of nature is our distant cousin, Mrs Amelia Carlton related of course to our Uncle Henry Carlton.'
'Not so distant as all that. I still remember Uncle Henry and Aunt Mary. They were a lovely couple, and I could never understand why grandfather objected to Uncle Henry's choice to make a living. Compared to Cousin Robert, who is a parson and a more unpleasant man I have seldom encountered, I prefer an honourable tradesman,' the lady declared as Mr Gardiner escorted her to a chair while Mrs Gardiner handed her a cup of tea.
While Mrs Carlton took a sip of her tea, Mrs Gardiner managed to ask, 'How are you, Amelia. Are your family well?'
'We are all in the pink of health. I thank you for asking. You too appear to be in excellent health judging by the glow about you.' She tilted her head and took a closer look at the sisters. 'It is too bad that my boys are still at school. If they were just a few years older I would be one of those unbearable matchmakers, trying to match these lovely ladies to my boys,' she said with a mischievous grin.
The sisters learnt that the boys were three in number, ranging in age from nineteen to fifteen years, with the middle boy being seventeen.
Elizabeth's answering grin was just as wide when she said, 'there is hope for your matchmaking ambitions yet, Cousin Amelia. Our younger sisters are seventeen and fifteen.'
'Excellent. In the meantime, would you all like to come to dinner the day after tomorrow? You will have a chance to meet them and gauge if any of them would suit.'
Mr and Mrs Gardiner declared themselves delighted to accept the invitation, even when they discovered the party would include a few more cousins and close friends.
Having arranged the important things, Mrs Carlton calmed down and happily settled in to chat with the sisters. 'Pray tell, what kind of men do you seek as husbands? I have to warn you though, the competition for the higher ranks of the nobility is rather fierce.'
The girls exchanged glances and Jane answered for them all. 'We do not care whether a gentleman is titled.' She blushed prettily as she said, 'We are all hoping to marry men for mutual affection and respect.'
'You do not care for titles or wealth?'
'Our dowries are sufficient to provide us with a comfortable life, should we not find any gentleman whom we deem suitable, and we are more interested in character.'
'You would truly reject a man with good prospects simply because you do not find him pleasing? How quaint!'
'We already rejected the heir to Longbourn.'
'Ah, yes. Your estate is entailed to the male line, and you have no brothers. How did your mother feel about this?'
'She was the one who told Mr Collins that she would not permit him to pay his addresses to Jane,' Elizabeth related proudly.
'Perhaps she hoped that you would make a more advantageous match?'
'If by advantageous you mean a man who is not simultaneously pompous and obsequious, not stupid, and not more devoted to his patroness than he would ever be to his wife, yes, she wanted a better husband for me.'
'Good heavens. You are looking for three paragons in the cesspool which is the bon ton? I admire your optimism,' exclaimed the lady in mock horror.
'Surely, there must be some decent men in town,' Mary ventured to say quietly. 'After all, I have heard that there are a million people in London.'
'Yes, there are. I was just teasing you. It is refreshing to meet some sensible young ladies for a change. You should see some of the relentless social climbers I encounter wherever I go.'
Elizabeth gave her an impertinent smile. 'I believe that we have encountered some of them in Meryton. The sisters of the most recent lessee of Netherfield Park… the estate next to ours,' she added on seeing the puzzled expression of their visitor.
'Let me guess. Over-dressed, haughty demeanour and vicious gossip.'
'Heavens. It sounds like you have met Miss Bingley,' Elizabeth laughed at Mrs Carlton's imitation of their acquaintance.
'Caroline Bingley?' Amelia asked. At Elizabeth's tentative nod she added, 'I have indeed had the misfortune.' The lady laughed. 'You must think me just as much of a gossip as that… ah… lady, but I must say that you were fortunate that your family is not titled, otherwise she would have been determined to marry her brother off to one of you.'
'If she is so keen to join the first circles, perhaps she should focus on finding a husband of her own,' suggested Elizabeth.
'Therein lies the rub. The lady is so thoroughly unpleasant that no man is desperate enough to marry her despite her dowry which she always boasts about. To her misfortune she has also set her cap on a specific man and therefore fawns on him while being dismissive of anyone else.'
Mary's eyebrows puckered as she asked, 'Is the gentleman she has her cap set on Mr Darcy perchance?' At the surprised look she received, she added, 'I noticed her attentions to the gentleman at the assembly.'
'Indeed, he is the one. I had not realised that you are acquainted.'
'I would not exactly say acquainted. We have encountered Mr Darcy,' Elizabeth said repressively. 'Arrogant, rude and thoroughly unpleasant.'
'Now, Lizzy, I am sure you are judging too harshly,' Mrs Gardiner interjected. 'Mr Darcy's father was a perfectly civil gentleman, and I am certain he would have raised his son to be the same.'
Mrs Carlton ignored Mrs Gardiner's protest as she raised both eyebrows and said, 'I have a feeling that you have a story to tell.'
Elizabeth obliged, giving her a condensed version of the recent events in Meryton.
'I am afraid he has always been thus. He does not perform well to strangers, although he can be quite charming with family and close friends. I suspect that having been the prey of matrimonially inclined ladies for almost a decade has given him an inflated opinion of his own worth.'
'I do not care how good his opinion of himself is. True gentlemen always behave with civility if nothing else,' protested Elizabeth.
Mrs Carlton's eyes twinkled as she recalled having had some glimpses of the gentleman over the previous weeks. 'Perhaps you are not the only one who feels that way. As it happens, his house is across the square from ours and I noticed him coming home one day in the company of his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam. The way he looked and moved made me wonder at the time if he had been in an accident. Now I wonder if the Colonel had not decided to administer a lesson in humility.'
'If the Colonel did, I should dearly love to meet him so that I could thank him,' Elizabeth answered with a mischievous grin.
'Perhaps that can be arranged.'
They chatted for a while longer before Mrs Carlton bustled off again. After her departure Jane sighed, 'I can understand why you called her a force of nature. Personally, I consider a gentle breeze to be more restful than a hurricane.'
~~DGH~~
Since the weather was clear, Mr and Mrs Gardiner, together with their nieces walked to the Carlton's house as it was just across Grosvenor Square.
As it happened, across the square a gentleman looked out his study window and noticed the group. He could not make out the face of the gentleman who had a lady on each arm as he was facing the lady on his right, whose countenance was blocked by the man. The lady on his left was lovely and Darcy judged her to be his own age or perhaps a little older.
The threesome was followed by a couple of younger ladies. Both were as elegant as the lady in front and one was quite beautiful. But it was the second lady who caught his eye. From this distance he could not see every detail, but he thought her stunning. Something in the way she moved seemed somehow familiar, but he could not recall at whose function he could have met her.
Seeing them enter the Carlton's residence, he cursed his cousin. Under normal circumstances he could have been invited and discovered the identity of the chocolate haired beauty.
~~DGH~~
Mr Carlton was pleased to meet the Bennet sisters and in turn introduced his three sons, Matthew, George, and Robert, who was rendered speechless on seeing Jane. For the first time in his life, he understood why his older brothers found the fair sex so completely fascinating.
Jane being her usual kind and generous self, went out of her way to draw out the young man and put him at ease. He was later in the evening heard to say, 'I hope that she will find a man worthy of her. But if any man should ever hurt her, he will live to regret it.'
Several other cousins from Amelia's side of the family made up the rest of the family party, amongst them were James Deveril, Fergus Elridge and Simon Harrington. Since her own sons were too young, Mrs Carlton thought to try her hand at matchmaking only slightly further afield.
~~DGH~~
It did not take long for Elizabeth to charm her new acquaintances with her ready smile and lively wit. She was pleased that Amelia's relations were as pleasant as the lady herself albeit somewhat more restrained.
Mary, always a little quieter than her older sister was soon in earnest conversation with Sarah Elridge who had a passion for music.
While Jane was busy soothing and encouraging the youngest of the Carlton sons, she was being observed by the oldest of the cousins.
James Deveril was intrigued by all the sisters, and while he had noticed Jane's beauty, he was attracted by the kindness she showed to the awkward young man. Unlike most young ladies whom he had met, she did not put herself forward to the gentlemen. She appeared content to interact with the family as a family, rather than a hunting ground for a potential husband, despite several age-appropriate single men being present.
As the occasion was a family dinner, no one stood on formality and when they sat down to dine, it just so happened that James took a seat next to Jane.
'How do you like your visit to London, Miss Bennet?' Deveril opened the conversation.
'I have not yet seen very much on this trip, but Lizzy and I are looking forward to going to the theatre and Mary can hardly wait to attend the opera.'
'You do not like music?'
'I love music, but many operas are in Italian and my command of that language is not quite good enough to easily follow the story.'
Deveril was pleasantly surprised that Jane admitted to her lack without the least self-consciousness. 'Which composers do you enjoy?'
'I am rather partial to the work by Joseph Bologne even though in the current political climate he is not popular in England.'
'I am afraid that Bonaparte has much to answer for since he is interfering with your pleasure.'
Jane smiled at the compliment but added, 'I must confess to feeling torn. While I love his music, I am not enamoured with his support of the revolution, although it is understandable considering the discrimination which he suffered under the previous regime because of being a mulatto.'
'It must be quite a burden to be able to see both sides of an argument,' Deveril said as he inclined his head respectfully towards Jane.
Jane beamed at him. 'You understand,' she exclaimed. 'Lizzy complains that I always see the best in people and cannot recognise when someone is in the wrong. But I simply try to see all sides of an argument.'
'I must compliment you. It is unusual wanting to reach a balanced view.'
While Deveril uttered the compliments easily, he was impressed by Jane. When Mrs Carlton had invited him to dinner and sang the praises of the sisters, he had been dubious about the lady's intentions. It had been obvious that she was trying to matchmake. The only reason he had agreed to attend was that he also knew the lady to be honourable. Even though she might have hopes that one of her cousins would catch his eye, she would not push the issue.
Now he was glad that he had come. Miss Bennet and her sisters were delightful company. They conversed intelligently and without flirting. They were prepared to state their own opinions and politely disagree with whomever they were speaking. They were such a refreshing change from the usual crop of young ladies he met in town. Admittedly, their beauty was an added bonus.
He realised that he had been woolgathering when he heard Jane say, 'I shall be quite content with the works by Mr Shakespeare.'
They fell into a spirited discussion about the bard while Mrs Carlton looked on with glee.
~~DGH~~
Elizabeth and Mary also had a pleasant evening, but while they enjoyed their conversations with Simon Harrington and Fergus Elridge respectively, none of them developed any particular interest in their new acquaintances.
As it happened, Mary found her discussion with Sarah Eldridge the most enjoyable part of the evening.
After the post dinner separation of the sexes, Mrs Carlton prevailed on the Bennet sister for entertainment. She and her guests were impressed with Mary's performance on the pianoforte and Jane's playing of the harp as they accompanied Elizabeth's singing.
Later in the evening, after their guests had departed, Mrs Carlton said to her husband, 'I have rarely heard a better performance than the one provided by our cousins. I shall be envied for being able to introduce such accomplished ladies to society.'
'You shall also be hated for having introduced Jane Bennet to one of the most eligible bachelors in the country,' her husband replied with a somewhat malicious chuckle.
~~DGH~~
~~DGH~~
Turnabout (working title) by Sydney Salier, Copyright © 2022
