Chapter 4: Hold My Hat
Elizabeth and Jane had specifically gone to town to find Charles Bingley, having found the real Charles Bingley and realizing the depth to which they had been deceived, the sister could not but feel down when they woke up the next morning. Jane realized that she could very easily fall in love with the real Charles Bingley but considering her family history with the fake Charles Bingley she was not sure that was very wise, at least not now.
From Elizabeth's point of view, the entire trip was a waste of time, all they had done was find out that Charles Bingley was in fact a stranger called George Wickham and meet a few people who were acquainted with the man. She had to get back to work, the only reason she could have these few days is because the people that booked her were in fact the Gardiners, her second family, so to speak. They had graciously moved their event to a later date, Elizabeth had promised something spectacular for their kindness.
She phoned Charlotte Lucas, her best friend and business partner, shared the not so wonderful news about Charles Bingley, and arranged to meet her at their next client in town. Anne Russell was throwing a baby shower for her friend Anne Wentworth, and she was sparing no expense for this event.
The Light Fandango was Elizabeth's brainchild, between her and Charlotte they had worked so hard to get it up and running. The first two months of business were exhausting and not rewarding, people had told them it would take a year to start turning even a minute profit. Then out of the blue the Gardiners approached them for the launch of their hotel, The Cold Cabbage, their original idea was to serve everything cabbage, lucky for them Elizabeth talked them into letting The Light Fandango have carte blanche for the event. Rather than serve everything cabbage (she still shudders at the thought) everything resembled cabbage, it took hours to shape and mold all of the food but it was definitely a turning moment for both businesses. Elizabeth knew she had a great imagination, all that reading had to be good for something, and her other passion was food, this passion was shared by Charlotte, who might not have had the wild imagination Elizabeth had but she was a wizard when it came to food. Maria, Charlottes little sister also had a gift when it came to food, and their team just seemed to go from strength to strength after Maria joined them.
Arriving at Anne Russell's mansion, there really wasn't another term for the rather large house, especially considering she lived alone, even with five sisters the Bennet house could fit twice into Anne Russell's house. Charlotte and Elizabeth stood on the doorstep in awe of the massive façade in front of them, definitely a lot of history in this house. When the door was opened by a butler it was all the girls could do not to burst out laughing. They put on their game faces and followed the butler to what they could only describe as a formal lounge. There were three ladies who stood up to greet them, Anne Russell introduced herself, Anne Wentworth and Anne de Bourgh; after the introduction's coffee was serve by the same butler.
After everyone had had their coffee and the small talk was dwindling Anne Russell start to talk about the baby shower, Anne Wentworth was obviously pregnant but happily so, Anne de Bourgh was a bit of a strange one, she was pale, thin and seemed almost sickly but her voice was strong and she was very quick witted. After Anne Russell had shared a few ideas, Elizabeth asked Anne Wentworth what she had in mind for the event.
Annes face lit up "Surprise me » she said followed by a wicked little giggle, at which Anne de Bourgh started to laugh.
"Oh no!" said Anne Russell, 'none of that, it must still be stylish" at which the other two Annes collapse with laughter, Despite Anne Russell being quite a bit older than the other two Annes there was obviously a strong friendship bond between them.
Elizabeth decided it was time to wrap up, the ladies seemed to have other matters on their minds. She told Anne Russell that she would put a proposal together which she would present to Anne Russell alone, she would have the final say in the event, but they would not reveal to the other Annes what the event would be. All of the Annes like that idea.
As Elizabeth and Charlotte reached door, Elizabeth heard "I must phone my Wickham", she turned her head so quickly she was sure she got whiplash, she saw Anne de Bourgh talking quietly to Anne Wentworth out of earshot of Anne Elliot who was reading some papers.
Charlotte pulled Elizabeth out of the room closing the door behind them, the butler was standing waiting and walked them to the front door. Once inside the car, Elizabeth told Charlotte what she had heard.
"Wickham is a common name, Lizzy" Charlotte cautioned. "You cannot go around interrogating our clients just because they know a person called Wickham."
"I know that Charlotte, but my gut tells me this is the same guy! If only that William man were not so insufferably rude, I could just ask him to find out, they all seem to run in the same circles."
"What about Janes new friend Caroline? Perhaps she can help?" Charlotte knew that once Elizabeth got a bee in her bonnet there was no stopping her
"That's an idea, I will get her number from Jane. Although I did get some funny vibes from that one."
It was much later that evening when Elizabeth WhatsApp'd Jane for Caroline's number. She had hummed and hawed about calling her, but her curiosity got the better of her and she called Caroline.
Caroline was surprised to hear from Elizabeth, but after Elizabeth had explained what she had heard earlier that day, she got the impression that Caroline was surprised but please to be involved.
"They are all part of the same circle, Old Money, very old money but I do know Anne de Bourgh reasonably well. She is William's cousin; her mother and his mother were sisters. Her mother is a piece of work, I am surprised she let Anne out alone, she normally controls every aspect of Anne's life." Caroline trailed off "What are the chances that it is the same George Wickham?" she seemed to be lost in her own train of thought. Then she said "George Wickham sort of grew up with William, so Anne would have known him, but when William threw George out of the house, business, and family about 10 years ago, I don't think anyone, even Anne had contact with him. I don't know what happened, but it must have been bad."
Elizabeth was surprised to learn how well William knew George; it did explain Charles asking William if he knew where George was. William did not actually say how or why he knew George, not that he needed to explain to two total strangers but after hearing their story surely, he should have said something.
'Elizabeth are you still there?" Caroline's voice broke Elizabeth's train of thought.
'Yes, I was wondering why William did not say anything yesterday"
"Would you like me to find out from Anne if it is George Wickham? "Caroline offered, she sounded quite shy.
"You would do that for me?" Elizabeth was surprised, despite how fond of Jane Caroline seemed to be, Elizabeth got the me and mine vibes from Caroline.
"Yes, for you and Jane, and your family, this man is beyond words" the surety in Caroline's voice helped Elizabeth make up her mind.
"If you can without raising suspicion, or compromising your friendship, I would really appreciate that." Elizabeth was pleasantly surprised at Caroline; her offer was very generous.
"We meet for coffee every now and again, and if she is out from under her mother's thumb now would be the best time to approach her, who knows when she will be free again. I will let you know how it goes." With that Caroline ended call.
Elizabeth phoned Charlotte and told her how the phone call had gone. They spent a few minutes discussing the lives of the rich and famous and their mothers, and then turned their attention back to coming up with a creative but tastefully concept for Anne Wentworth's baby shower.