The first visit on Bond Street was to an extremely sought after modiste, Madame Yvette Chambourg. Madame only saw clients who were referred by her existing and very exclusive client list that besides Lady Matlock, her daughter, and niece Georgiana Darcy, included some royal princesses and the patronesses of Almack’s.
There were a few exemplary duchesses and countesses and besides them, few others. She was the rare kind of modiste that accepted her clients based on the character they showed and the goodness of their works. Her style reflected their personalities, so all eyes would be on them in any room they entered.
Elizabeth Bennet hated being measured, poked, and prodded, but she bore it all with good humour, constantly reminding herself that this was occurring because she was getting married to the man of her dreams in less than four weeks.
She questioned the need for so many evening, day, morning, and ball gowns, until it was pointed out to her by Georgie that Derbyshire was far colder than Hertfordshire in the winter so she would need everything being ordered and more.
Once the group of ladies had helped her pick patterns and colours, they were off with Lizzy in good humour. She could not help but be so when surrounded by women who were ready to tease her in return.
The next visits were to a haberdashery and a cobbler. As the ladies were shopping, there were a few of members of theTonon Bond Street who took note of the group as they moved from shop to shop.
It was the first opportunity for members of polite society to see the Bennet ladies up close. Those who bore witness were amazed at the poise, grace, and beauty from the Bennet matriarch on down.
As jealous as some were of the beauty and the wealth on display, they made mental notes to pass onto all of their friends and acquaintances that this was a formidable group that included the Ladies Matlock and Hilldale, women one would cross at their own peril. None in theTonwanted to end up ostracised as Caroline Bingley had been.
Once they were done shopping, the ladies were ready to head toward Gunter’s. When the ladies arrived at the famous sweet shop, they were most pleased to see some of their men had left Whites to arrive before them and had reserved tables with sufficient chairs for the whole party.
Bennet, Darcy, the Earl, and the twins had not yet arrived. The men’s last stop before Gunter’s had been Hatchard’s where the group of bibliophiles had lost themselves among the books. It was not long before the twins came marching in, followed at a more sedate pace by the three men.
“You know how hard it is to extract Papa from Hatchard’s, do you not?” Tom offered by way of explanation for their tardy arrival, “William and Uncle Reggie are no better!” he added.
“You will not believe how many books Papa and William purchased.” James smirked as he kissed his mother’s cheek.
“With my Thomas, yes, I most certainly can,” Fanny laughed as she playfully swatted her son’s arm as she smiled at her husband.
“I am sure William’s purchases rivalled Uncle Thomas’s. If I know Uncle Reggie, he was not far behind them,” Georgiana informed the family with a big smile.
The five sat down with Darcy making a beeline for the chair that his fiancée had reserved next to herself for him, and then the party ordered. Bennet sighed sadly because the rumours of their wealth and the girl’s dowries had reached, and been disseminated around, London.
There was some relief that it was obvious the three eldest Bennet daughters were very much off the marriage market, which left no room for doubt for those that watched and were prone to gossip and were present that day. It was also obvious this was a very close-knit group with genuine affection for one another.
No one could remember ever seeing the stoic Fitzwilliam Darcy smile before, never mind the occasional guffaw that emanated from him. There was no question he had made a love match with his very stunningly beautiful fiancée.
Many a mother would be jealous so much poise and beauty had been granted to one family. The oldest, Jane, might just be thought the most beautiful due to her willowy classic look, but the other three were just as beautiful in their own right.
There would be many in theTonwho would lament as word that three of the most eligible bachelors were irrevocably off the market tied to three of the most desirable heiresses with magnificent dowries. Even though Bingley’s fortune was from trade and he was considerednouveau riche, he was still looked at as a catch, thanks to his connections with the Fitzwilliams, Darcys, and the Bennets.
It was clear for all to see that none of his younger sister’s downfall touched him or the Hursts. For most of theTon, fortune and connection were paramount, even trumping birth at times. If they knew the truth about this particular group of friends and family, they would have found it foreign and peculiar that fortune and connection were not what was important to any within it, the content of one’s character mattered far more than any other consideration.
Once everyone had had their fill and the statement they had intended to make about their solidarity had been received loud and clear by all present, the party alighted the various coaches and headed home to change so they could meet back at Bennet House for dinner at five.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
At dinner, both Darcy and Lord Matlock remarked they had been away from their estates quite a bit longer than they had planned and felt they needed to return for some weeks before the wedding. Neither man was an absentee landlord and wanted to make sure all was well with their ancestral homes. Andrew Fitzwilliam added the same sentiment about his estate, Hilldale, and he wanted to see to it as well.
Fanny had left the plans for the wedding, with the engaged couple’s input and approval, with Hill, so there was no immediate reason to return to Longbourn more than a week before the wedding.
It was decided they would all leave for Derbyshire in three days after the final fitting for Lizzy’s gowns and the visit to Chippendales. With the over two-day trip each way, they would have a little under a fortnight in Derbyshire.
The Earl, Viscount and Darcy agreed that would be enough time for them to make sure that all was well with their estates. After dinner Darcy sent expresses ahead to the inns they would stay at to expect their party, which in each case would require just about the entirety of the inn to accommodate a party as large as theirs. He had also requested horses for the changes along the way.
For propriety’s sake, it was decided the single men would all stay at Pemberley, and to their great pleasure the Bennet twins were included in that group. The Hursts and Anne de Bourgh would also be resident at Pemberley. The rest of the party would stay at Snowhaven, only an hour or so south of Pemberley.
Thinking about her upcoming nuptials to her beloved, Lizzy was not concerned with the arrangements that would have her staying in a home that was not William’s as it was now a little more than three weeks until she would never be parted from her William again.
Following a request from his sister, Edward Gardiner met with Miss de Bourgh at Darcy House. Anne explained the extent and details of Lady Catherine’s gaudy and excessive tastes, and Gardiner agreed to help her and sell anything she wanted to get rid of, which was practically everything in both locations.
When Anne expressed concern about being able to sell the useless and not tastefully decorative pieces, Gardiner reminded her that many in theTon, and not a few tradesmen, had the same predilection as Lady Catherine and used these same kinds of items to try and impress others.
