“Caro,” Martha tried to placate her irrational daughter, still not ready to acknowledge that her aspirations for social advancement had created the character in her daughter that was on display.“I read the letter from your brother, it clearly stated thathewas invited, not any of the rest of us.”
“Well, it was implied!” Caroline huffed.
“Besides, you know that as you are not out,” her mother tried to reason,“that unless your father and myself were invited that you would not be able to go on your own.”
“Well, that insipid Jane Bennet visitsCheapsideon her own, and I am a year older than her,” Caroline spat out.
“Miss Bennet is always accompanied and goes to visit relatives; that is not the same thing Caro,” her mother returned.
“Iwantto go!” Caroline screeched,“I deserve to be in the first circles like you always said, Mama!” Hearing her daughter’s ranting was the first time that Martha Bingley started to realise that she may not have done her daughters any service planting the social climbing desires in their heads from an early age. Just then the door opened and her husband, once so pliable, entered the parlour and Martha could see that he was none too happy.
“That is ENOUGH, Caroline!” he commanded.“If you do not mend your ways and stop this nonsense then it will not be the seminary you go to next year, but I will send you to a school for wayward girls!”
Caroline Bingley was about to unleash some acerbic retort, but she saw that her father was absolutely serious. She clamped her mouth closed and reminded herself that she needed to bide her time until she was older and then things would be as she desired. It almost made her choke to say the words, but she apologised to her ignorant father and promised to mend her ways. She could not let anything interfere with her going to Miss Pettigrew’s Seminary for Young Ladies. Her face was pinched like she had sucked on a lemon as she issued it, but she had no choice, for the present at least.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Jane Bennet would have normally been with the Gardiners at this time of the year. She would stay with them for a few months and return when they and the rest of the family assembled at Longbourn for Christmas each year, but this year she had chosen to remain at home. Being the innately good person that she was, she was putting the needs of others above her own desires and wanted to be available if she was needed or asked for.
After the devastating loss that the two Long girls had suffered, Jane had been the only one outside of their new parents able to comfort them. She had started bringing her cousin Franny Phillips, who was now five, with her, and Mariah Lucas would come and spend times with the girls as well. Jane would take charge and make sure that there would be games played which would distract and please Mandy and Cara.
Bennet and his wife were enormously proud of their oldest daughter who, at her tender age, displayed a caring and empathetic nature so many were missing, especially Caroline Bingley. When that girl heard about the tragedy, her only comment was“some more poor orphans to be taken care of.” Since she had made that disgusting comment, she had been dropped from any invitations that her parents were proffered as word of her uncaring nature spread like wildfire around the environs of Meryton.
Luckily, Jane was not fooled by the fake solicitude Miss Caroline tried to display when in her company. There was no doubt in Jane’s mind that the only reason that the youngest Bingley paid her any mind was due her father’s wealth and status, and she was not interested in one that was as false as she saw Miss Caroline being when she was not aware she was being watched. Jane already understood very well what a social climber looked like.
Jane’s parents had recently sat her down and asked her if she wanted to go to a seminary like Louisa and that Caroline was to attend. Jane had informed her parents that she was happy to continue the lessons with Miss Jones and the masters that were brought to Longbourn, and that she saw no reason to go to a seminary to learn what she could at home. When her parents pointed out that she would meet many new girls, Jane simply said that she was not deficient in friends and believed that quality trumped quantity.
Her parents were happy with her well-reasoned answers and accepted her choice without regret. For Jane’s part, she had heard the stories of the viscious young ladies that attended seminaries from some of the gatherings she had attended with her aunt. That information, added to the knowledge that the Bingley girls seemed to relish that environment, further convinced her that it was not for her.
After she broke her fast, one of the Longbourn grooms took Jane in a gig to collect her cousin Franny in Meryton, and then they made their way to the Long estate, Longmeadow. As was the norm, Mrs Long met the gig. Her daughters, dressed in mourning, were next to her waiting in anticipation for Jane to arrive. A picnic was planned for that day and Mrs Long asked the three younger girls to walk to the blanket and pillows that was set up for them near the benches under the old oak tree in the centre of the park.
As Jane made to follow, Mrs Long stayed her progress as she put her hand on Jane’s arm.“You have no idea how much my husband and I appreciate the selfless way that you have dedicated yourself to helping my daughters grieve the loss of their parents,” she said to Jane with the thanks honestly offered in both look and expression.
“It is my honour to help them, Mrs Long,” Jane said,“I remember how all of our friends wanted to help us after Lizzy was taken.” Her voice waivered as it was still hard for Jane to talk about her younger sister.
Mrs Long felt herself flame with embarrassment as she remembered how she used to be, that she was among those who had done nothing more than offer perfunctory platitudes.“My prayer is that your sister is somewhere in the world and is loved and cared for,” she said sincerely.
“That too is my prayer,” Jane said. She was afraid that she had begun to forget Lizzy, how she looked, what she sounded like. It had been six years. What did her sister look like now? Was she in fact well? When she had told her papa that she could not remember what Lizzy looked like, he told her to look at the portrait of his late mother, as in his opinion Grandma Elizabeth looked like Lizzy would when she grew up.
Mrs Long walked with Jane towards the three girls sitting and chattering among themselves and a servant soon brought a tray with their repast. Jane closed her eyes and repeated her private and nightly prayer to God in Heaven:‘Please, God, make sure that Lizzy is well loved and cared for and that I see her again one day.’
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
A ride in Hyde Park had been proposed in which the three older boys and three younger girls would take a ride along the Serpentine. A very embarrassed Charles Bingley had admitted that although he had some lessons from the stable master at Netherfield Park, he was not a confident rider yet. Richard and William worked with him each morning and soon Charles was over his aversion to horses. He had not wanted to admit to his friends that he had been fearful of the animals and was well pleased he no longer was.
By the day of the proposed ride, anyone seeing Charles Bingley on the back of one of the Darcy cobs would not have suspected that he had not been riding for many years. The six riders were accompanied by both Biggs and Johns, as well as a footman-guard from Darcy House and a groom from each house.
Riding was one of the accomplishments that Anne de Bourgh had learnt and loved since she was freed from the oppressive control her mother tried to exert over her. Like musical ability, Lady Catherine did not know how to ride, so she had decreed that her daughter should not partake in that pastime. With Mrs Jenkinson’s arrival that had changed, and it had most especially changed since she had become part of Uncle Reggie’s household. After two hours of riding, the group returned along the Serpentine, exited the park, and headed to Gunter’s where they would meet the Darcy and Fitzwilliam parents with Alex, if he were awake.
Given her sweet tooth, Elizabeth was in her element at Gunter’s. From the flavoured ices to the array of cookies and pastries, she would have had one of each if her mother had not restricted her to one ice and one cookie or pastry. True to form she chose a chocolate cookie piled high with sticky sweet icing. With the fame garnered by the Queens approbation, there were few members of the Ton who did not recognise Lady Elizabeth Fitzwilliam, and the object of the attention was amused. In her mind, she did nothing exceptional, she was just being who she was as her family encouraged.
Everyone returned to Matlock House for a farewell dinner for the boys who would return to Eton in the morning. Before dinner, Ladies Elaine and Anne were sitting on a settee while Lady Anne bounced a delighted Alex on her knee.“You know Elaine,” Anne observed,“with all the attention that Lizzy receives, she is thankfully very unaffected.”
“I could not agree more, Anne,” Elaine replied.“With her abilities she could have easily become spoilt, vain, and arrogant, but thankfully she is none of those things. She is so bubbly, happy, and humble it is often a wonder we are talking of the same daughter rather than two,” Elaine looked on her daughter with maternal pride.“You do see that she does not realise she is anything out of the ordinary, do you not?”
“Did she say something?” Anne asked.
“Not directly,” Elaine said thoughtfully,“but I can tell from the unaffected way that she talks about herself. You never know what will be as she gets older, but I believe that this part of her character will not change.”
