Turning the conversation back to Elizabeth, William enquired, “Miss Elizabeth, may I ask what you intend to favour us with this evening?”
“Yes, you may. Firstly I shall begin with a lively tune by Thomas Moore. Although he is one of my favourites, more recently I have been making a study of Robert Burns and shall follow with one of his ballads.” She gave Mrs. Gardiner a sweet smile. “Aunt Gardiner will accompany me on the first song and the second I shall sing without accompaniment.”
“I am a great admirer of Robert Burns,” William said. “I recently purchased a used collection ofThe Scots Musical Museum.In case you are not familiar with the six-volume set, it is filled with songs by Burns, as well as many other Scottish authors. I thought my sister would enjoy making a study of that work, as much of the accompaniment is notated in figured bass.”
“Oh, I quite envy you, Mr. Darcy,” Elizabeth said with enthusiasm. “I am familiar with the collection, but have only ever perused one volume from the circulating library in Meryton, our neighbouring market town.”
“I purchased the books from Ballards, about a half a mile from Hatchards on an adjacent street. I wonder if you have had the chance to shop there since coming to Town. It is not a large shop, but the owner stocks an eclectic treasure-trove of books. It is possible there may be other volumes of the collection in his shop.”
“I regret I have never visited that establishment, but my father often purchases books by mail from various bookshops and, if I recall, Ballards happens to be one such shop.” She smiled. “My father is a great lover of books, and spends an inordinate amount of time in his book room−even more so since the onset of his illness.”
“That is understandable. May I enquire of his progress?”
“Thank you for asking. For the present he is pretty much the same, although we are hoping for better days. Aunt, I wonder if we might have time to visit Ballards before Mama and the girls come to Town next week. I would dearly love to choose something for Papa and send it home with them when they return to Longbourn following the charity ball.”
“Yes, that sounds like an excellent idea. I do not recall having ever been to Ballards. Edward?”
“Actually, my dear, I am very familiar with the shop. Mr. Higgins, the owner, is a nice chap whom I recently consulted concerning a shipment of rare Shakespearian first editions inherited by one of my clients. He has been very helpful in estimating their value and suggesting book binders to oversee their repair. I am sure Elizabeth would very much enjoy visiting his shop.”
“Mrs. Gardiner, Miss Elizabeth,” William interjected. “I plan to visit Ballards on Monday afternoon, as Mr. Higgins is holding several books for me. Should your time permit, I would be happy to escort the two of you as my guests and personally introduce you to the proprietor and show you about the establishment.”
Elizabeth’s eyes brightened and she looked to Mrs. Gardiner with anticipation. “Aunt?”
Mrs. Gardiner chuckled. “Sir, I believe you have just discovered one of Elizabeth’s weaknesses. She is her father’s daughter in that sense and would gladly visit a bookshop any day rather than shop for laces and ribbons.” She smiled lovingly atElizabeth. “Mr. Darcy, as of now we have no fixed engagements for Monday afternoon. Elizabeth’s family will not arrive until Wednesday. It is very kind of you to offer, and if you are sure it is of no inconvenience, we should be happy to accompany you at that time. Edward will give you our direction before we leave this evening.”
He nodded. “Very good. I should be pleased, and it will give me some additional time to get to know your niece and her obvious preference for the written word.”
Elizabeth smiled charmingly. “Yes, a very obvious preference,” she playfully teased. “What could be better than a bookshop that I have never visited? Hopefully you will not regret your offer when I fail to answer your enquiries, having become lost amongst the stacks or the pages of a particular tome.”
He smiled in return. “I am sure there will be no regrets, and I look forward to our outing.”
A few minutes later, a bell was sounded, signalling it was time for the gentlemen and ladies to separate before joining together in the music room for the entertainment. While William was escorting Elizabeth to the music room, he quietly spoke, “Miss Elizabeth, considering my former insults, you have been very gracious this evening.”
She gifted him with an endearing smile. “It is kind of you to say. And I might add that I was pleasantly surprised by our conversation.”
“As was I,” he nodded in acknowledgement. “I trust the remainder of your evening will be enjoyable.”
“I wish you the same, sir.” With that, they parted company.
Note:In the late eighteenth century, Thomas Cranfield offered free education for poor children in London. While he was a tailor by trade, Cranfield’s compassion and generous offerings to the poor were exemplary. His efforts were supported by William Wilberforce, who worked with the reformer HannahMoore in the organisation of theSociety for the Suppression of Vicein 1802. Its goal was to provide all children with regular education in reading, personal hygiene, and religion.
~ TheScots Musical Museumwas an influential collection of traditional Scottish folk music published from 1787 to 1803. While it was not the first collection of Scottish folk songs and music, the six volumes with 100 songs in each collected many pieces and introduced new songs. The first volume, published in 1787, contained three songs by Robert Burns, and the second volume included forty. In total, Burns contributed about one-third of the 600 songs in the six-volume collection.
~ Figured Bass was a Baroque practice of musical notation, consisting of an independent bass line including numerals which indicated the harmony to be supplied by the keyboard player when playing an accompaniment.
The Music Room
It had been nearly an hour since the gentlemen gathered in the blue salon to enjoy their port and cigars. Here in the music room, the women pleasantly indulged in their own refreshments. Lady Gwendolyn Talbot, the supreme hostess and centre of attention for much of that time easily directed the conversations to several concerns regarding her favoured charities. While this was by no means a business meeting, before the hour was up she had gone over the particulars and several of the newer women to her bluestocking circle pledged their commitment.
Once the gentlemen were sent for, Elizabeth and her aunt took a seat where they waited for Mr. Gardiner to join them. With the atmosphere being more casual, Mrs. Gardiner candidly said, “Lizzy, you have been very quiet about a certain gentleman.Might I ask your impressions while we are waiting for your uncle?”
“Surprisingly, I found him quite pleasant. After our earlier confrontation, I did not expect him to be so cordial. He is rather changeable, is he not?”
“Not necessarily. He obviously has certain likes and dislikes, but that did not stop him from finding out some of your preferences. And the fact that he invited us to accompany him to Ballards shows that he is interested in becoming better acquainted despite your unfortunate beginning. It was a good offer on his part. The two of you might find out more about each other in that setting. It would be preferable to a crowded ballroom or the usual social call which only lasts a quarter of an hour. And if he attends Lady Gwendolyn’s outing on Tuesday at the Royal Gardens, that would give you yet another chance to converse. My dear, I realise this situation is not ideal for either of you, yet the man is knowledgeable, and he would make an excellent partner should the two of you proceed in that direction after becoming better acquainted.” She leaned in and whispered, “Not to mention, he is quite pleasant to look at when he is not so serious.”
“That he is.” Elizabeth could not help but smile. “We shall see how it goes. For my part, I believe the gentleman requires more study.”
Mrs. Gardiner patted her niece’s hand. “Yes, and I suspect you will give him your full attention on that end before making up your mind.”
