When Elizabeth inquired as to why Kitty had been Mary’s first choice, she said that Kitty was often overlooked by their parents, much as she had been when living at home. Elizabeth admitted that such was the case, but she could not see anything she could do about it. Kitty was, indeed, too young to be away from home for long, and there was no power on earth that could change her parents’ behavior.
Elizabeth’s thoughts turned to happier subjects, mostly anticipating what fun she and Mary would have while in London. Though Mary was in mourning, they could still go shopping and even visit the theater. Elizabeth knew Mary would also be visiting her friends as well.
Papa had given Elizabeth half her pocket allowance for the year, so she would have plenty of spending money, though she suspected Mary’s generosity would outstrip their father’s gift. Though she would not ask for such a thing, Elizabeth suspected Mary would buy her several new dresses and any other little thing Elizabeth admired, much as she had done for the last four months.
After only three hours on the road, they arrived in front of a very grand-looking townhome. They had passed several that were even bigger and grander, but this one was quite impressive enough, and for a moment Elizabeth was intimidated.
Two footmen came out of the front door and assisted Elizabeth and Mary out of the carriage as well as Anna andMillie. They then proceeded to untie the trunks from the carriage while the ladies proceeded into the house where they were met by another footman who took their outerwear for them. Anna and Millie took the pelisses, cloaks, bonnets, and muffs and headed upstairs while Elizabeth and Mary proceeded to the parlor where a roaring fire awaited them.
Elizabeth was astounded by such elegance and by the presence of so many servants. Longbourn only had one footman. The rest of the indoor servants were female. Elizabeth supposed a house as large as this one would need more servants, but it still seemed a bit overwhelming.
The sisters sat and warmed themselves by the fire. Mary asked, “Would you like to see your room? If you’d rather, I can ring for some refreshments, or we could even take a tour of the house. I will need to do the latter soon anyway, for this is my first time here as well.”
“I think I would like to just sit here by the fire for a bit,” said Elizabeth. “It is quite pleasant to be still after such a hasty journey. A cup of tea would be delightful, however.”
Mary made no answer. She simply rang the bell nearby. When a maid appeared, she ordered some tea and biscuits to be served. They sat in silence until the tea was brought.
Once the maid departed, Elizabeth said, “I don’t wish to pry too much, Mary, but I was wondering if perhaps you are spending your inheritance a little too freely.” When Mary opened her mouth to reply, Elizabeth hastily added, “I know Braydon Hall’s income is twice that of Longbourn, but even so, I wouldn’t think you could easily afford such a large home while staffing it so thoroughly. I just worry that you might run yourself into debt or some other trouble.”
Elizabeth expected her sister to be affronted or to vehemently deny any such thing, but Mary just smiled serenely. “Do not worry, Elizabeth,” she said calmly. “While I appreciate your concern, you should know that Mr. Allen taught me everything he knew about finances before he left this world. It was because of this that he left everything to me. Otherwise, he would have left his estate to his cousin and only his investments to me.”
“His investments?” asked Elizabeth.
Mary grinned, a rarity for Elizabeth’s most serious sister. “Yes, his investments.” Mary paused to let the implication sink in. Apparently, she had more income than anyone knew. Then she added. “Despite everything I have spent since you came to live with me, rest assured I am in no danger of overspending.”
Given that Elizabeth had helped her sister fully renovate six guest bedrooms, and she had seen how well-kept and well-staffed Braydon Hall had been; given that she had witnessed the extravagant use of four horses where two would have been sufficient and she had had a brief glimpse of the possible number of servants in this house as well, Elizabeth could only imagine that Mr. Allen must have had rather extensive investments.
As Elizabeth was comprehending all the implications, Mary said, “I do not wish it to be generally known that I inherited his investments as well as his estate. I am only telling you this so that you do not worry. I am well aware of what I can afford and what I cannot.”
Elizabeth understood. Mary was telling her that she wished this information to remain between them. Mary continued. “In that vein, if I offer to purchase something for you, you need not demure. Doing so will give me great pleasure and cause me no hardship.”
This thought brought a smile to Elizabeth’s lips. “Now that I understand, I assure you I shall do no such thing. You have my permission to buy me as much as you wish,” she said grandly. After a pause she added with an exaggerated air of indifference, “Or as little as you wish. It makes no difference to me.”
Elizabeth’s small attempt at silliness succeeded in lightening the mood, and they began chatting about what they would like to do while in London.
Chapter 9
Mary’s first few days in London were spent visiting the ladies she had become close to the previous year and catching up on all their news. In the process, word went around among her acquaintances that she was in town and where she was staying, so it didn’t take long for invitations to arrive with her mail.
Out of respect for the fact that she was in mourning, Mary only accepted those invitations that were from people she knew fairly well, and she did not accept any invitations to balls. Even with these restrictions, however, she found that she was engaged a couple times a week.
Additionally, she and Elizabeth made several trips to the theater and to the opera, enough so that most weeks they were home only half the time.
Mary’s mornings and afternoons were spent taking care of her business concerns and volunteering with her charities as well as keeping in touch with as many of her friends and acquaintances as possible. She also took Elizabeth shopping as often as possible.
Mary paid for several new dresses for her sister, including one delightful ball gown, even though Mary wasn’t even certain there would be an opportunity for her to wear it. Elizabeth insisted that Mary purchase a few new gowns for herself as well.
It did not take long before Mary encountered Mr. Worsley. A week after she arrived in London, she was attending a dinner at Mrs. Turner’s home. As soon as she walked into the drawing room where the guests were gathering, her eyes found him. It was impossible not to notice such a handsome man, even among a growing crowd.
He seemed to have felt her gaze landing on him, for within moments, he turned his head to see her. A smile of genuine pleasure grew on his lips and brightened his eyes. Mary felt a thrill shoot down her spine. She thought she smiled in return, but her focus was more on him than on herself.
It took mere seconds for him to excuse himself from the conversation he was engaged in and cross the room to greet her. “Mrs. Allen, it truly is a pleasure to see you again. You are looking remarkably well.”
“As are you, Mr. Worsley,” said Mary. It took her several moments before she realized that she should introduce her sister. “Oh, yes. Mr. Worsley, this is my older sister, Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Elizabeth, this is Mr. Worsley from Eastbourne.”
Mary felt unaccountably nervous introducing Elizabeth to Mr. Worsley. Usually, once a gentleman had a chance to speak with her, they tended to prefer her company to Mary’s. While Mary didn’t mind most of the time, she was rather reluctant to give up Mr. Worsley’s company. He had been so pleasant to talk to last year, and she had quite been looking forward to continuing their conversations.
Mr. Worsley bowed to Elizabeth and said, “It is a pleasure to meet any sister of Mrs. Allen. Have you been in London long?” This last was asked to both of them.
