Elizabeth smiled at the young heiress, who seemed to have transformed overnight from the before-mirror Anne to the before-Collins Lydia. Her curtsey reminded Elizabeth of an odd little creature in New South Wales called a kangaroo. It bounded from here to there, jumping as high as 6 feet while running faster than a horse.
Elizabeth made her own bouncy little curtsey to put the young lady at ease and they both giggled.
“I am happy to be here. I must own I have been curious about your home. Thank you for inviting me.”
Georgiana stepped across the several feet between them and lowered her voice beyond the servants’ hearing.
“I may have overestimated my skill. I do not know whether to treat you with the formality of a first tea with someone I barely know, or like a family friend.”
The young girl’s nervousness was plain enough, so Elizabeth set her at ease. “Let us walk before we run. What would you do if I werenotsomeone you were dying to have a private discussion about your confusing brother with?”
“I would offer you refreshment, then try to chat about the usual subjects, and follow it with a tour of the house.”
Elizabeth took her arm and suggested they walk.
As they approached the parlour, Elizabeth said, “I am a little flighty myself on occasion. Let us follow the scheme you would use for an indifferent acquaintance, so you can practise the mindless inanities that make up much of our lives.”
The young lady gave an awkward laugh, as if uncertain whether she was being teased, criticised, or educated, until Elizabeth’s chuckle set the matter right.
“I must confess to being nervous about the entire arrangement.”
“Let us make it easier, or at least simpler. I find there are two strategies for approaching discussions.”
“Do tell.”
“Thebestis to think long, hard, and carefully about your objectives, then work out the best way to achieve them. If your objective is to look proper for your first visitor, that suggests one behaviour. Trying to form a friendship might require a different one, though it is more complicated than that, because the person you are trying to befriend might be put off if you are too energetic. And naturally, if you are trying to scare someone off, that requires an entirely different strategy. Thevery besttechnique is to think carefully about how to balance those different objectives, choose a path, and carefully navigate it while leaving room for improvisation.”
Georgiana nodded uncertainly. “That is certainly a sensible approach. It sounds complicated, but efficient. You said there are two strategies. Might you explain the second?”
“The second, which I use more often than not, is to say whatever pops into your head, hope it is not too terrible, then panic and say the next thing that follows, all while trying to mitigate the damage done by the previous statements, hoping you eventually arrive at your destination through dead reckoning and happenstance.”
Both young ladies laughed heartily, and Elizabeth at least, was far less nervous about the encounter. They entered the well-appointed parlour and rang for tea.
“Miss Elizabeth Bennet, may I introduce my companion, Mrs Annesley?”
Elizabeth smiled at the companion, and they exchanged the usual greetings. Mrs Annesley appeared a sensible woman of 40, and they sat to enjoy their tea. They talked in a general way about their families for half an hour as they finished their refreshments.
Elizabeth commented, “This is a very elegant room. I admit I like it much more than most of Rosings. It has an understated elegance I find very attractive.”
“Would you like a tour of the house?”
Mrs Annesley excused herself for a rest, leaving the two ladies to fend for themselves. An hour later, Elizabeth understood the general arrangement and had seen the principal rooms.
“I applaud the design and decoration. Pray never tell your aunt I said this, but I like this style much better. Rosings looks like it was made to impress and intimidate just about anybody, while this house looks like it was made to impress only people with a refined and subtle sense of taste.”
“I never thought about it, but it makes sense. To be honest, I always find Rosings frightening, but I suppose that has more to do with my aunt than the house itself.”
“The inhabitants set the character of a house as much as the furniture.”
Georgiana paused in a music room. “My brother suggested I devise a mathematical puzzle for you.”
“He did, did he? Well, I am ready for any challenge. Do your worst!”
“Since you like the furnishings and the general effect of this house, and seem particularly attentive to how such effectsare achieved, can you make a reasonable estimate of thetotal number of decisionsrequired to achieve it?”
Elizabeth smiled. “An interesting question. Let me see.”
She looked around the room for some time, examining everything from the moulding to the carpets to the drapes, muttering as she went along. “I can see just in this room that there are 2-3 dozen elements that have to be done just right. Let us see. Shall I make an estimate of somewhere between 500-1,000 decisions?”
