Elizabeth shook her head to dispel the ghost and cease wool-gathering. “Miss Darcy, I must apologise for taking your place in our earlier discussions.”
“No apology is necessary!” Georgiana cried. “You did what was required, and I hope you will continue. I doubt we would have had the slightest idea what to do, and I still do not.”
“You would if you really had to,” Elizabeth replied gently. “It is in your blood, even if you do not know it just yet. Have you not watched your father, brother, aunts, and uncles for sixteen years? Did nothing stick? Do you think you are the first Darcy woman in the last several centuries to face difficulty she was unprepared and untrained for? I know your brother. He would not leave his estate in incapable hands. If I were not here, someone else would step up. That said, Iamhere, and I will do my best, and if I may be so bold, perhaps instruct you.”
“Have we time for that?”
“Yes. I shall have need of your knowledge; let us begin.”
Georgiana remained frightened, so Elizabeth spread her hands. “Look around. We shall have fifty to seventy visitors within the few hours, I imagine. What must we do next?”
The girl just shook her head, her eyes a bit wide, and Elizabeth said, “Just look around this ballroom. Picture the space and then picture people in it. Imagine this. Should your brother, in a wild flight of uncharacteristic frivolity, decide to host a ball with one hundred guests, would they fit?”
Georgiana still looked perplexed.
“Surely, your mother must have done so in the past. You must have read her diaries, or her ancestors’, or heard stories from the housekeeper or older retainers?”
Slowly, Miss Darcy said, “My mother did host such balls from time to time.”
“Excellent. For how many people?”
“Fifty commonly, but over one hundred at least once.”
“Very good. That means we can fit at least fifty people in here and get them out of the rain long enough to organise them. It takes more space for people to arrange beds and tables and the like, so it might be tight, but at least hypothetically possible.”
“I agree.”
“Next question. Suppose your brother wanted to have a house party—”
“You must not know my brother very well if you propose such a scheme,” Georgiana giggled.
Elizabeth joined her laughter. “I agree, I do not know your brother as well as I should, but that is neither here nor there. Suppose he married, andhis wifedecided to hold a house party for thirty of your friends. Would the house be strained?”
To her credit, Georgiana furrowed her brow in thought, and finally said, “It has been done. I believe my mother had forty once.”
“You know she would only have counted the gentry. That forty would have brought at least thirty servants for a total of seventy, and they all fit?”
“Yes,” Miss Darcy replied with little confidence.
“So, we have room in this house for at least double what we have, if we are willing to put villagers in bedchambers. The guest wing is forbidden for obvious reasons, but we should still have plenty of room.”
“I suppose!”
“Do not suppose! You are the mistress, and you should either know or take steps to find out. Now is your chance to show your brother the Darcy steel you must have in your spine. We have people coming who need accommodation. You know this house. I do not. I could probably organise it with Mrs Reynolds’ help, or even just with Mr Breton, but you need to take on the mistress role.How shall we proceed, Miss Darcy?”
The lady appeared frightened, though less so than moments before; she glanced between Miss Bennet, Mrs Annesley, and Miss Wythe, and finally asked, “Where do I begin?”
“Good! Do not worry. We will not let you fail. Let us begin with the most important first. Some villagers will be injured, maybe critically. They must be cared for immediately. The rest will become ill-tempered if they must stand about too long, but they can wait for the injured; especially if we can keep them busy setting things up. So, where can you put the injured to give them the most comfort possible?”
Elizabeth watched with satisfaction as Miss Darcy considered the problem carefully before answering.
“They obviously should be sheltered in apartments with comfortable beds. In that, you are correct. It is not complicated. The guest wing is unavailable, so I think the family wing?”
Now somewhat nervous herself, Elizabeth asked, “Are you certain your brother would approve?”
Georgiana sniggered in a good approximation of Lydia. “As you so correctly pointed out, my brother is not here. He can whine at his leisure later.”
“Let us work out the details together. You should make sure there are no valuables nearby. The villagers are honest, but it is best to remove temptation and ambiguity.”
