Another secret she told was the amount of her dowry. Catherine didn’t want the others to know how much money she had, because she was still uncomfortable about it. Georgiana also kept hers a secret from everyone but Catherine, simply because she was too shy to discuss money so openly. Her dowry was thirty thousand pounds.
From what the other girls shared, however, Catherine realized that she had the largest dowry of all of them, though there was one girl who was close at forty-five thousand pounds. Oddly, this did not make Catherine feel superior. Rather, she felt more awkward than ever.
Most of that winter and spring went by in a haze for Catherine. The girls were mostly friendly, though there were a few instances of some of the noblemen’s daughters berating the others for being inferior. Mrs. Gordon quickly put a stop to such behavior whenever she saw it. She didn’t say the girls were wrong. She only told them that creating a hostile environment was not conducive to learning properly.
One of the older girls who attended that first half-year was a young lady by the name of Caroline Bingley. She seemed rather out of place, and Catherine occasionally wondered why she had been accepted as a student. Her grandfather had been a merchant, and her father was an industrialist, the one primarily responsible for the Five Rise Locks on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
While there were other girls at the school whose money came from industry or trade, Caroline’s dowry was the lowest of them all. Twenty thousand pounds was a very large dowrywhen looked at on its own, but it was not quite enough to be attractive to most titled gentlemen unless it came with status or connections, which Caroline did not have.
Because of this, Caroline was often the butt of much of the teasing and bullying that came from the titled Ladies. Catherine attempted to console her a few times, but Miss Bingley’s strong pride prevented her from accepting consolation from someone four years younger than she was.
At the end of May, Catherine was very much looking forward to going home. She enjoyed school well enough, and she liked most of the students, but she missed Longbourn, her parents, and her sisters.
When she arrived home, however, life was not as grand as she expected. Somehow, the style of living to which she had grown accustomed made it so that she was slightly uncomfortable at home. Her mother’s coarse manners and loud voice grated on her nerves far more than they had done previously.
Catherine was grateful for Jane’s placid presence, and she found herself seeking out the company of her eldest sister more than any other. Lydia complained, however, that Catherine was not paying her enough attention.
School hadn’t changed Lydia much. She was still very energetic with little focus to her energy. When she spoke of school, she complained about it more than praised it, though when Catherine asked her about her classmates, Lydia admitted that she quite liked some of them.
All in all, Catherine was surprisingly happy to return to school in September. She looked forward to seeing Georgiana again, and she even looked forward to her lessons. Doing nothing productive or useful all summer had made her longfor the busyness of school, even including the dreary history lessons.
The following school year was just the same, though a couple of the girls left and were replaced by two new girls. There were three trips that year, one to the seaside, one to Oxford, and one to Dover where they learned more about the history of that place. Life proceeded, and Catherine grew ever more used to living a life of learning and socializing.
In early April of 1809, Georgiana received a letter that was clearly good news. The girls’ mail was delivered at the breakfast table, and it almost always sparked the conversation for the entire meal. In this case, however, when Catherine asked her friend why she was so happy, Georgiana shook her head and whispered, “I’ll tell you tonight.”
The anticipation of learning a new secret made it harder than usual for Catherine to concentrate that day, but she managed to get through it.
When the day was finally over, and Catherine and Georgiana were in their room getting ready for bed, Catherine asked, “What was so exciting about the letter you received this morning? Was it from your brother?”
Georgiana’s face lit up with a big grin. “Yes, it was. Last week, I asked him if I could invite you to stay with us at Pemberley this summer. I expected him to refuse, since he is unmarried. He has always refused before. This time, however, he said since he was inviting all our family, as well as a few friends, to stay with us this summer, that you could join us if your father permitted.”
Catherine didn’t know what to say. She hadn’t even known that Georgiana had ever asked if she could be invited. Her blank expression must have concerned Georgiana, who said, “I hopeI didn’t overstep by asking him first. I just thought that since it was unlikely he would say yes, I didn’t want to ask you only to have to disappoint you later when he refused. I hope you understand. Do you want to come to Pemberley this summer?”
By the end of Georgiana’s explanation, she was so full of doubt that her voice had shrunk to almost a whisper. Catherine immediately answered. “Of course, I want to visit. That sounds wonderful, in fact. I am just shocked, since I had no idea you were even thinking such a thing.”
Georgiana’s smile returned. “Oh, I am glad. I just know we are going to have so much fun riding, fishing, and walking around the park. It is so beautiful. There is even a little maze of hedges in one part of the garden where I have always wanted to play Marco Polo or hide and seek. I have tried to convince Fitzwilliam to play with me, but he is so much older and far too dignified.”
Catherine smiled widely in return. “I look forward to it as well, though I don’t know how to ride a horse. I have always disliked being dirty, so I tend to avoid horses, but I suppose I can learn to ride. That is, of course, if someone can teach me.”
“Oh, you must learn how to ride,” cried Georgiana. “I admit, I don’t like smelling of horse, but the feeling of riding one makes you feel like you are on top of the world and can go anywhere you wish. It is so delightful.”
“Then, I shall write to Papa tomorrow to get permission. I don’t know for certain if he will agree since I am still so young, but the only way to find out is to ask,” said Catherine. “If he agrees, I will have a riding habit made before the end of the school year.”
Georgiana bounced on her toes in a comedic mixture of happiness and nervousness. “Oh, I do so hope your fatheragrees. One thing, though. Fitzwilliam says that you cannot stay the whole summer, so if your father does agree to let you stay with us, we will make arrangements for you to return home in the middle of July.”
Catherine wrote a letter to her father the next day. Since he had a bad habit of not even opening his letters promptly, she also sent a letter to Mama, asking her to prompt Papa to open her letter.
She waited in nervous anticipation for a week, and eventually, she received a reply. Her father had said yes.
