“Until at least one of the new dresses is ready, we cannot let you go to social events, but you are presentable enough that we can take tea in public. Oh, do not laugh, the dresses I arrived with were so stained that the Countess would not allow me to go to even a tea-shop until I had at least one new gown! Come, there is a shop nearby that has the most scrumptious scones!”
Mrs. Darcy asked for a table near the window so that she, Mary and Kate might amuse themselves by watching the foot traffic. Two ladies paused at their window, one with a little dog on a leash. Taking advantage of his mistress’ momentary inattention resulting from her conversation with her companion, the little brown dog pulled the leash from his mistress’ loose grasp and ran into the road.
The dog’s owner immediately cried out and started to run into the road after the little creature, but her friend prevented her from doing so, holding her arm and exclaiming against such folly.
Mary jumped up, threw her napkin onto the table, and ran out of the restaurant.
“Mary! Stop! You will be killed!” Elizabeth was frantic; she ran out of the shop after her sister.
Nimbly dodging the horses and carriages, Mary made her way to the little animal, now frozen in place and quivering with fear, and picked him up. “Bad boy!” she whispered to him. Gauging the traffic carefully, she made her way back to the sidewalk.
Her dog deposited into her arms, the owner of the miscreant cuddled him up, alternately berating and praising him, while Elizabeth scolded Mary. “You just ran into the middle of London’s busiest street! Are you mad!?”
The dog’s owner looked up. “She may be mad, but I am – oh! So very grateful! My Freddie is a bad boy, but I love him dearly! May I know your name?”
“I am Miss Bennet, and this is my sister –“
But the owner of the dog interrupted her, saying, “Mrs. Darcy! I was so taken up with this creature’s bad behaviour and this young lady’s bravery that I did not notice you!”
“Lady Cowper! How very nice to see you, though I could wish for less dramatic circumstances,” Elizabeth replied.
“And this is your sister?”
“Yes; she has just come from the country and we have ordered a London wardrobe for her,” Elizabeth said, hoping to explain away Mary’s very plain brown cotton dress.
“From Mademoiselle Laurent, I collect?”
“Yes; how did you know?”
“By your own clothing; I recognise her skill. Also, I know that Mademoiselle Laurent dresses the Countess of Matlock.”
“We still need gloves, hats, mantuas and so on, but we chose to take some refreshment. And it is well for your little dog that we did, though I confess I would never have had the courage to do what my sister did.”
“Mrs. Darcy, I told you I would send a voucher for Almack’s for the next Season; I will do the same for your intrepid sister,” Lady Cowper said.
“Almack’s! But I –“ Mary began.
“You are everything generous, Lady Cowper,” Elizabeth interrupted.
After many courtesies and curtseys were exchanged, Elizabeth and Mary returned to the tearoom, where Kate had stayed to watch over their belongings.
“I have no interest in going to Almack’s,” Mary said, grimly. “And I have no intention of being here at Christmas, let alone next year.”
“I understand your feelings, Mary, but it happens that youarehere now, at any rate – and just think, Mary, these are social prizes much coveted by Miss Bingley; you would have the opportunity to tell her all about it!”
Mary tried to look somber at this, but failed utterly and the two sisters laughed until they were out of breath.
Chapter Sixty-Four
October 1812
Mary’s new clothing was delivered, and not long after, invitations arrived for both Elizabeth and Mary from Lady Cowper to a rout-party at her home the following week. A quick consultation with the Countess was enough to assure Elizabeth that this was a highly coveted invitation, as Lady Cowper was not known to issue invitations merely to fill up her drawing room. She invited individuals who had impressed her for whatever reason.
“I dislike this excessively,” was Mary’s unhappy reaction to the invitation, and it took all Elizabeth’s skill to persuade her sister to accompany her.
Kate had been more than delighted to take instruction from Alice, a “real London lady’s maid,” to borrow her phrase, and the two had become fast friends. Kate and Alice spent three hours dressing Elizabeth and Mary. Elizabeth helped Mary select a gown, and then loaned her jewelry to complement it. “It complements the dress, and that is certain to gain you compliments,” Elizabeth remarked, flippantly. “Is English not an absurd language?”
“No more so than French, or any other language, I expect,” Mary replied. “And on the subject of the English language, I do not fully understand what will happen at a rout party. Is a rout not a – well, a military expression?”
