Behind her came Miss Drummond and Miss Grey. Miss Drummond was dark-haired and plainly dressed, with a direct look and an air of quiet competence. Miss Grey was fair and soft-spoken, and she entered with a shy smile as though uncertain whether she had come to the right place.
"I hope I am not intruding," Miss Grey said.
"Not at all," said Elizabeth. "We have become quite the party."
Miss Lacey arrived last, or so Elizabeth thought, holding a sketchbook against her chest and pausing just inside the door to look at the carved flowers upon the frame. She had soft brown hair and a smudge of charcoal upon one finger.
"I beg your pardon," she said. "Harriet said it was urgent, though she did not say what was urgent." She added as an afterthought. "I brought paper! For any plans or maps or such."
By now Elizabeth's chamber had begun to resemble the haberdasher's shop in Meryton on the first of the month, when new stock arrived and every lady in the neighbourhood discovered an urgent need for ribbon. Harriet, far fromappearing sorry for the crush, looked delighted and began counting them on her fingers.
"Miss Elizabeth Bennet, one. Clara, two. Myself, three. Mrs Cartwright, four. Miss Harrington, five. Lady Frances, six. Miss Drummond, seven. Miss Grey, eight. Miss Lacey, nine."
Her face fell. "Oh dear. We are one short."
"We are missing Jane," said Elizabeth.
"Oh yes," said Harriet, brightening at once. "How could I forget Miss Bennet? She is the beautiful one."
Elizabeth laughed. "A frequent description in our family."
At that exact moment Jane appeared in the doorway and stopped suddenly. Jane looked from Harriet to Clara, from Lady Frances to Mrs Cartwright, who was sat in the chair by the dressing table, then to Miss Harrington, who remained by the door with her hands folded and her mouth set in a careful line.
"Oh," she said. "I beg your pardon. I did not know you had company."
Harriet clasped her hands together. "Excellent. Now we are all here."
Jane stepped inside slowly. "Are we?"
"Yes," said Harriet, beginning again with solemn care. "Miss Elizabeth Bennet, Miss Jane Bennet, Miss Clara Sitcombe,Miss Harriet Sitcombe, Mrs Cartwright, Miss Harrington, Lady Frances Elwood, Miss Drummond, Miss Grey and Miss Lacey. Ten ladies. One team."
"Good," said Mrs Cartwright, flapping her fan. "Then no one else need come in. I do not think the room would bear it."
That was the final straw. Elizabeth tried to preserve the dignity suitable to a captain and failed completely. She laughed, Jane joined her, and even Lady Frances hid a smile behind her hand.
"Very well," said Elizabeth, when she had recovered herself. "Since my chamber has become headquarters, perhaps someone will tell me why we are assembled."
"We must act as a team," Harriet said at once. "Lady Hortensia has made you captain, which I think is very good indeed, wemusthave a plan."
Elizabeth looked around the crowded chamber and decided that if she waited until she felt like a captain, they might all remain there until luncheon. She took a deep breath. "Then let us begin simply," she said. "Miss Harriet is right that we ought to have some sort of plan, but we cannot plan the contest until we know what it is. What we need first is to know what each of us can do well. What are our skills and strengths? When we understand those, we can consider who will be best suited to any task we face."
Harriet brightened. "I can run very fast."
"I’m not sure that’s a skill," murmured Clara.
"I can," Harriet insisted. "And climb, if climbing is required. I have climbed all of the tallest trees on our estate."
Miss Harrington looked askance but made no comment.
Miss Lacey, who still held her sketchbook, looked up. "Shall I write these down?"
"Yes," said Elizabeth at once. "That is an excellent idea. Names and skills, if you please."
Miss Lacey opened her book and found a clean page. "Miss Harriet Sitcombe," she said, pencil ready. "Running. Climbing."
Clara sighed. "I play chess tolerably well. I am also good with numbers, household accounts, that sort of thing."
"That sounds useful," said Elizabeth.
