~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
On the designated day, the Hurst ladies and the three remaining Bennets, accompanied by Lady Elaine and Hilldale (they had been added to the invitation after the notice of the engagement had been seen), made their way to Buckingham House.
Other than one of the Hurst House upstairs maids, none of them saw the anger burning in Miss Bingley’s eyes that she was not allowed to take tea with Her Majesty. She ignored the fact she had not been invited, and as her servants were invisible, she was not aware when the girl had slipped out of her chamber to report what she had observed to the master.
In the coach, Elizabeth admonished herself during the short ride to the royal residence and fought to banish her nerves. Prince or not, this was just another game for her to play. She remembered the Queen’s admonition from the day of her presentation. Her Majesty had instructed that she play at her full ability and not allow the Prince to win unless he deserved to because of his skill.
They were met by a major-domo and several footmen in royal livery. The latter were very efficient in taking any outerwear from the arriving guests. The major-domo then led them up two flights of very grand stairs, made from white and black Italian marble with gilded bannisters. On the second floor he led them to an antechamber next to large double doors manned by two more footmen. Asking them to wait there, he left the room. At the time which had been listed on the invitation, he led them to the double doors. He struck the floor with his staff and the footmen opened the doors.
Elizabeth noticed that they were organised to enter by precedence. Aunt Elaine and Andrew entered first, followed by Louisa and Aunt Leticia, followed by Mamma, and then Jane and herself. She hoped neither Mamma nor Jane thought to ask her why the Hurst ladies went after the countess and viscount because she had been sworn to silence regarding their true rank.
The Queen was seated in the centre of a row of throne-like chairs. To her right were the Prince of Wales and Prince Edward. The chair immediately to her left, where the King would sit, was empty, and two princesses were seated in the next two chairs.
Seeing how the royals were seated, Elizabeth supposed this was how they sat when they took tea and had to fight the urge to smile.
When they stopped walking, the ladies curtsied deeply to the royals and Hilldale gave a full bow at the waist. As they had been instructed, they held the positions until Her Majesty spoke.
“We welcome you to our house. Please be seated.” The Queen pointed to chairs facing her own arranged in a semi-oval. She turned to Lady Matlock. “You must be pleased that Lord Hilldale has finally found a woman to be his partner in life. Like you, we were not sure he would find one who attracted his notice.” The Queen evaluated Jane for a few moments. “We remember Miss Bennet from when she was presented to us as one of the prettiest ladies we have seen at our drawing rooms in a long time.”
“Indeed, Your Majesty. Lord Matlock and I could not be happier that Miss Bennet was willing to accept our Andrew,” Lady Matlock quipped, causing the Queen and some of her children to smile.
The Monarch nodded her head. Some low tables were placed by footmen and then others brought the tea service and tiered platters with veritable mountains of small cakes, scones, pastries, biscuits, fruit, and other treats. After another nod, some of the ladies in waiting began to pour the tea after each of the guests was asked their preferences. Plates of samples of some of the sweet offerings were made up. The royals were served first, and then the footmen delivered the tea and treats to the guests.
As protocol dictated, no one ate or drank until Her Majesty took a sip of her tea and a dainty bite of a biscuit. There was general conversation while the drinking and eating was occurring. The Queen waited until her guests had all had tea and the items they chose to eat before she summoned a lady-in-waiting to remove her plate and her cup and saucer. Had anyone still been drinking or eating, that would have been the signal to stop.
After a nod from his mother, Prince Edward stood. “Miss Elizabeth, word of your prowess across the chessboard has reached me. Will you do me the honour of accepting my challenge to play against me?” he requested.
“It will be my pleasure to test your abilities, your Highness,” Elizabeth said. She curtsied to the Prince once she had stood.
In the meanwhile, footmen had removed the low tables and replaced them with a small square table in front of the Queen so she would have a good view of the game. There was a chair on either side of the table, perpendicular to the Queen and remaining royals so no one would have their back to them.
Elizabeth was not surprised that the board was crystal and the black and white pieces were gold and silver. “Please take white, or in this case silver,” Elizabeth offered.
Prince Edward raised his eyebrows but said nothing, rotating the board so the silver pieces were before him. After a nod from his opponent telling him she was ready, he made his opening gambit. For about ten minutes he seemed to hold his own until the Prince realised all she had been doing was learning his strategy. It took another fifteen minutes until he tipped his king.
“Will you give me a chance to regain my honour?” Prince Edward asked while his eldest brother chuckled with pleasure, seeing his younger brother humbled.
“I will, your Highness,” Elizabeth granted.
As she remembered all of his tactics, the next game was over in less than twenty minutes. Seeing the Prince was flummoxed, Elizabeth revealed her abilities with her memory and how that aided her in chess.
“Your prowess at the game was understated, not exaggerated!” the Queen exclaimed as she clapped her hands. “And many men try to say that we women are weak-minded. Weak-minded indeed! We hear that Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth are very accomplished musicians. We will invite you back again to hear you play.”
“We are nothing in our musical talents compared to our next younger sister, Mary, who is not out yet,” Elizabeth stated as she curtsied to the Queen. “She is sixteen and will come out in two years.”
“Then, at that time, we will hear her exhibit as well.” The queen stood, as did everyone else. The guests curtsied and bowed and the royals, led by Her Majesty, withdrew.
As soon as the room was without any royals, the double doors they entered through were opened and the major-domo led them back to where their coaches were waiting for them.
“Will the royals not be upset that Lizzy beat his Highness so easily?” Fanny worried after the carriage left Buckingham House’s gates.
“Quite the opposite, Fanny,” Lady Matlock assured her. “Lizzy did exactly what the Queen commanded her to do. Her Majesty would have only been displeased had Lizzy purposefully allowed Prince Edward to win.”
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
William Clem Collins, who in his own mind was the heir to the estate of Longbourn, had just attended the funeral of his father, Clem William Collins. He could not understand how it was that no one attended the church service and interment for a man as revered as his late father. The only ones in attendance were the parson, Mr Fergus Davidson, and himself. His father had lived in the town of Faversham, Kent, like his father before him. By bad luck, his late father had lost Collins Farm, the small property which had belonged to his family for several generations, to some of his creditors.
His late father had been hard on him, but it was what made Collins the man he was today. Even though Father had been illiterate, his mother had taught him to read and write and sent him to the school run by Mr Davidson at St Peter’s in Faversham.
