"Aunt, we did not expect to see you down so early," Jane cried out as Mrs. Gardiner joined them in the breakfast room, Mr. Gardiner smiling as his wife stepped inside. A footman rushed to pull out a chair for her, and another setting was placed in front of her.
"I thought since we have few days to spare before you presentation, that taking breakfast in bed was a silly waste of time. Until I have seen you ushered in front of the Queen, I will not rest," she said.
Elizabeth felt a flurry of anxious butterflies set flight from her belly, and exchanged nervous looks with her sister.
Presented in front of the queen.
It was hardly to be believed.
And all because of the kindness of the Dowager Marchioness, who intended to present them herself.
"Well, I will leave you in my darling wife's clever hands," Mr. Gardiner said, folding his paper and setting it on the breakfast table. He rose, putting a tender hand on Mrs. Gardiner's shoulder before quitting the room.
"You are lucky to have him," Elizabeth commented, and Mrs. Gardiner smiled fondly, although she did not linger on the subject.
"And when both of you have made your matches, I will say the same. Come, finish your toast, and we shall go out to greet the day. We have a great number of errands to run!"
Jane and Elizabeth exchanged another glance, and then, obediently, returned to their toast and preserves. It seemed their aunt was not interested in dallying. She had them out of the house, cloaked against the cold of the day, before they even realized it. The pale, wintery sun shone down on them, a thin haze of clouds blocking some of the chill.
Mrs. Gardiner, for all she had dressed in her warmest furs, did not seem to notice the temperature.
She had a handsome carriage and driver waiting for them, with the Ashford crest painted on relief on the side, and so, the three of them climbed in, the Gardiners' footman shutting the door behind them, before climbing into the perch on the back.
Elizabeth let a little thrill of excitement loose. It was one thing to attend a dinner party, although it had been in finer company than she was used to, that was something she had experienced before back in Meryton. The girls were skilled enough to comport themselves well among the family's connections, and did so regularly and with great enthusiasm. Many happy evening had been passed at Lucas Lodge, enjoying the companies of Charlotte...
That reminded her. She needed to write another letter to Charlotte, she had been a rotten friend in that regard, falling behind in her correspondence since the Dowager's dinner party.
"We'll begin at Madame LaVallier's," Mrs. Gardiner announced as they rattled along the road.
"Again?" Jane marveled, for was it not enough to have had the modiste make them so many dresses already?
"I believe that the Dowager has been to visit her, in fact I know the Dowager has done so, to speak of some adjustments to your presentation gowns. Since she met you properly at her dinner party, I believe she wanted to take a stronger hand in shaping the way the gowns suited both of you," Mrs. Gardiner said as Elizabeth squeezed closer to the window to peer out of it.
Two boys, no older than children, ran laughing past the carriage wheels, chasing a brindled dog.
"Oh, I'm not sure that's good news," Jane fretted, but Lizzy leant over to pet her sister on the hand.
"All will be well, I'm sure. You were fairly radiant with good humor and grace that night, I am certain the Dowager has simply suggested changes to best display you to your advantages? Don't you think?" Lizzy asked.
Mrs. Gardiner nodded with a slight smile.
"She is a strong hand, that one, although her coming into our lives has rained down nothing but blessings beyond all imaginings, so let's not worry until we know for sure there's something to worry over."
The carriage arrived at the modiste's and Lizzy exited last, looking up toward the sky. Even here, there was some blue peeking through the threatening clouds. She couldn't help but smile and think.
Somewhere, under that same sky, Mr. Darcy was on the hunt for a wife.
Good luck to him at that task. His curt demeanor and unkind words would surely push away any lady that caught his interest. That thought filled her with a fair, if uncharitable, glee.
The Madame had them sat immediately in her designing room upstairs, other custom already clamoring for her services having been shooed out. There were no less than thirty women in the downstairs salon, and all gave the girls and Mrs. Gardiner queer looks as the three were ushered upstairs in advance of all who had come before.
When only a week prior, the stares, the hushed whispers, would have had her back in a stitch and clouds forming over her head, now Lizzy felt like she drew strength from it.
Let them wonder who these newcomers were that warranted such treatment from the most in-demand modiste in the city. They were probably all like Miss Bingley, with sharp eyes and sharper tongues, ready to cut down two modest Bennets unless those Bennets came out furious and fighting first.
Elizabeth was more than ready to meet their every challenge.
Madame LaVallier had two of her assistants with her, and each had a notebook and pencil ready, and as Mrs. Gardiner sat, the modiste began to sketch across a design.
"So, the Dowager Marchioness tells me that the queen has developed a fondness for lace, and ribbons in a rosette, just so," Mrs. Gardiner commented, eyeing up what the modiste was drawing, and Madame LaVallier frowned in concentration.
"I understand, of course, I am pleased to have such information, but however did she come by it?" LaVallier asked, but Aunt Gardiner simply shook her head.
"It is not for me to speculate, and even if I knew, I should not tell."
"No, of course," the modiste muttered, and then held her drawing up to the light, frowning.
"Perhaps, more here, and here?" She asked. Lizzy glanced at Jane, who was biting her lower lip, her cheeks blushed with anticipation and probably no few amount of nerves. They were getting so close to their presentation, would it all be done in time?
"I have an additional seamstress to assist with the finishing of the gowns, and we will have them ready by the presentation," LaVallier assured them, noticing the looks the girls were exchanging. "While I am also to work on other dresses for the Season, the Dowager has given me some specific instructions, and you shall not go without because..." she faltered for a moment.
"The circumstances of our births?" Elizabeth asked.
"Oh, my dear, no! You are charming and well-bred, I have no doubt, but—"
"It's alright," Elizabeth assured the modiste, "we have no illusions. Do we, Jane?"
Jane stammered a reply, and Mrs. Gardiner shot Lizzy a look, half amused, half annoyed at her niece's outspoken-ness. It was a look that promised a conversation later, but Lizzy forged ahead.
"We know we do not come from much, and have little to offer in the way of material things, and we are so very grateful that you do us the honor of caring so much about our gowns," Elizabeth said, because she truly did appreciate how Madame LaVallier seemed to put so much effort and care into them.
There was no promise of a rich client out of either of them at the end of the Season for the modiste. She would safely already have her funds from the pockets of the Dowager Marchioness, but she was making each gown as if it were her greatest achievement, and that was something to behold.
"We are pleased to have you as clients, and if we could do more—"
"You have done enough," Mrs. Gardiner assured her, and Jane nodded eagerly. "All the world saw the way the girls were escorted up here immediately, and tongues will be wagging about the Ton."
It was Elizabeth's turn to bite her lip, but it was to suppress a smile.
And wouldn't that just turn Miss Caroline Bingley, and Mr. Darcy, on their heads when they heard?
They would both regret their imprudent treatment of the Bennet sisters. Not that Lizzy felt vindictive, not entirely. Somewhat, perhaps, but mostly she wanted the two of them to understand how an unkind word cut deep, so they might think twice before lashing out again.
And maybe, if Mr. Darcy was a changed man...
She stopped that thought in it's tracks. Gentleman were more obstinate than cows. They never changed course once they were set on it.
"There is a fine tea room at the end of the street," the modiste said as she finished making markings on the drawings her assistants had been working on. "Would you retire there for some time, and then return? It won't take very long to make these small adjustments, then we can commence with another fitting."
"And give the Ton a second chance to see the girls whizzed up here, right in front of their noses?" Mrs. Gardiner asked, and Lizzy swore that she saw a hint of a sparkle in Madame LaVallier's eyes.
"They will not be the first to have surprised the Ton, or to make better for themselves than others thought they ought to," the modiste replied, in such a tone that Lizzy wondered if Madame LaVallier had her own transformation story to tell...
"And I think you will be very pleased with how the dresses turn out, even the alterations," the modiste said.
"Come, we shall have tea and some sandwiches while we wait, and you will feel better after, I promise," Aunt Gardiner said, ushering the girls back downstairs. Lizzy followed Jane to the front of the shop, their aunt leading the way.
"Did you see them? No better than they ought to be," a nearby whisper caught her attention.
"I heard they're not even English, and some foreign prince is sponsoring their debut, perhaps because of the unfortunate circumstance of their births, if you know my meaning," another one floated toward her. Shocking gossip, and all wrong, but Lizzy merely smiled at those nearest to her. It did not matter what they thought, not now. They would all find out and soon, when the Dowager herself presented them.
"But haven't you gotten enough books to last the entire Season?" Jane proclaimed, even as Lizzy smiled, slipping from her seat in the carriage.
"I won't be but a few minutes," she promised, and Aunt Gardiner gave Jane a tired smile.
"I'm sure we can find something, a gift for your uncle, or something for the little ones," Mrs. Gardiner offered, and Jane looked mollified.
"It won't be long, I promise," Lizzy said, and the carriage driver opened the door for her. She slipped out, her furred bonnet pulled tight against the winter chill, followed by the other two ladies and the driver shut the door behind them.
The scent of paper and ink and leather greeted her nose as she stepped into the booksellers, her eyes widening at the shelves and shelves of books. There was an entire room on the top floor, filled with a variety of works, and she couldn't help the gasp that escaped her. This was truly a home away from home. She'd need to invest in a whole new trunk just to bring these tomes back with her to Meryton... but the opportunity to add to the Longbourn library was too great, and the Dowager had made it clear that their pin money was just that... theirs to spend, as much as they liked, on whatever they liked.
She'd been cautious before, but perhaps it had been the sharp words following them out of the modiste's that pricked her ego and made her seek solace in the pages of a new volume... or three.
Lizzy made her way up the stairs, the treads worn in the center and smooth from so many footsteps. She arrived in front of a shelf filled with utterly scandalous books that would have sent Mrs. Bennet into fits, but were likely to please Kitty once the younger girl got her hands on them, and after that, Lizzy moved to the ones on history-
"Are you interested in the Americas?" A deep, pleasant voice startled her, and she turned, surprised to see Mr. Darcy standing not three feet from her.
He had a book open in his hand, and had obviously been perusing the titles when he had noticed her.
"I— no, not particularly," she said, flustered. Which was untrue, but she felt a bit of pique at being interested in anything he was fond of. Mr. Darcy, with his quiet and assured manner, so exacting and cutting of her at the Dowager's dinner party, glanced down at the collection of books in her hands.
His lips twitched. He was laughing at her!
"Well, perhaps, I think every young lady should be as well read on the past as possible, so as not to repeat the mistakes found there, and to have an example of the worst sort of behavior," she snapped, and his eyebrow lifted, and then he glanced away, apparently ashamed.
And as well he should have been. To laugh at her, after insulting her? Who was he to pass any sort of judgement on her.
"Then might I suggest, to add to your studies," he murmured quietly, and offered her the tome he held in his hand. It was thick, and promised many excellent late nights with a candle, but she loathed the very idea to accept anything from him, even this small token. "I believe you will enjoy it." It was a peace offering, she recognized it as such, but if he was not brave enough to put it to word, then she would rebuke him.
"I... should think not, Mr. Darcy, for I have not found myself to be in agreement with many, or any, of your opinions in the past, and I doubt I shall start now," she said, her words curt, and for a moment she saw a flicker of hurt in his eyes, before it was smothered behind a mask of neutrality. "Good day to you, Mr. Darcy," she snipped, and turned on her heel. She was halfway down the stairs to the lower level where Jane waited by the door, when she heard his low murmured,
"And good day to you, Miss Elizabeth."
I always adore reading your comments, and I appreciate hearing from you so very, very much. I am still feeling under the weather, but all of this down time has been well spent. I have been working on a new novella that I will be making entirely free exclusively through my website to my newsletter subscribers. It's not quite ready to launch yet (not the site, or my novella, my wonderful friend is helping me with the website, and I am hard at work on the novella), but I will begin sharing a bit with you over the coming weeks. Duty and Desire will continue to update here on Fridays, and A Required Engagement will continue to update here on Wednesdays. Newsletter subscribers will get the new story updates on Thursdays, along with all sorts of goodies that I am preparing. I wanted to let you know here first, as you are such a kind community of readers and fellow devotees to Jane Austen.
Thank you for your support and kindness, I cherish each one of you, and I am grateful that we share a love of Miss Austen's work. What a wonderful thing to have brought us together!
All my best,
Nora
I am so pleased to announce that Duty and Desire is now available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple iBooks, and more, just search for 'Nora Kipling - Duty and Desire'! You may purchase it right away or wait for a new chapter to be uploaded here. Thank you for all your loving support.