“Bingley, I assume this is your younger sister?” Jamey verified.
“Yes, Hadlock, this is Miss Bingley, my sister.” Bingley only shook his head. He was at his wit’s end. No matter what, his younger sister saw and heard only that which fit her desires.
“Miss Bingley, pray tell how is it that you, the daughter of a tradesman, request the introduction when every single one of us is far above you in society?” Hadlock demanded. “If it were not for my friendship with your brother, I would publicly cut you. I understand you went to a small finishing school in Yorkshire, but surely they taught you about societal etiquette?”
“Well, I never!” Miss Bingley huffed after the other party moved off.
“I agree with you, Caroline.” Bingley did not miss the self-satisfied look on his sister’s countenance. “Your behaviour warrants a ‘well, I never’, and I am pleased to see you realise that!” He paused, ignoring the outraged look from his sister. “You were reprimanded by a viscount. If he had cut you, the others would have followed suit, and then, you would bepersona non gratain society. If you do not want to ruin yourself, I suggest you learn to hold your tongue!”
Bingley was silently fuming that he did not meet the three beauties who, from descriptions, he believed were Hadlock’s sisters. The tall, willowy blonde with the cerulean-blue eyes looked like an angel to him. Hopefully he would meet them without the millstone named Caroline around his neck.
Once the group of cousins and Miss Lucas were almost at the Grosvenor Gate, they stopped.
“Thank you for deferring having to meet that shrewish harpy. I have met Mrs Hurst, who is very much like Bingley. How can they have such a sister?” William shook his head as he spoke.
“Come, we have much more pleasant things to look forward to,” Elizabeth urged. “In two days, we will celebrate an important birthday when Janey becomes anoldlady,” she teased.
“That from one who is only a year and one half younger than me. By your own definition, you too are old,” Jane teased back.
Before Elizabeth could retort, they arrived back at Holder House.
Chapter 21
After all of her practice, in what Lizzy termed, the ‘hooped monstrosity’, Jane was given a reprieve from curtsying to Mamma, Aunt Elaine, or Aunt Anne. The three had alternated in playing the role of the queen to prepare her for the upcoming Queen’s Drawing Room, a sennight after her birthday was celebrated.
Aside from the Fitzwilliams and Darcys, the Gardiners and Phillipses—they had travelled to London especially to help celebrate Jane’s entry into society—were all present on the day Jane turned eighteen.
Even though Jane did not enjoy being the centre of attention, she did not complain on this day. Mamma had planned a dinner featuring many of Jane’s favourites, and she had been showered with gifts, many of them jewellery—not that she thought she needed more. Far more important to Jane was the fact that she was surrounded by those she loved and who loved her in return. Aunt Agatha and Uncle Frank—over the time the Carrington-Bennet sisters had known their younger sisters’ adopted parents, it had seemed natural to address them thusly—had brought Kitty, Lydia, and Lawrence with them. Jane loved being surrounded by children; with Anna and the Gardiners’ four included, there were many young children to liven up the occasion. As thankful as she was to her Aunt and Uncle Phillips for having the children accompany them, the best surprise had been Charlotte Lucas’s inclusion in the travelling party from Meryton.
Lizzy was as pleased as Jane was that Charlotte was present and, would remain to celebrate with Jane at the coming-out ball Mamma and the aunts had meticulously planned. Always an astute observer of people, she had not missed that Jamey was as pleased, if not more so, that Charlotte had arrived ahead of her parents, and others from Meryton. Those coming from Meryton would reach Holder House the day of the ball.
From Lizzy’s powers of observation, it seemed that Charlotte returned her brother’s regard, if the way her cheeks bloomed pink anytime she was near him was an indication.
Over the years since she had met Charlotte, Elizabeth had seen that her friend was without artifice, and as close as they now were, having her friend as a sister, if that was what occurred, was a thought which gave Elizabeth pleasure. She was aware that Mamma and Papa approved of Charlotte as well, caring not that her father used to earn his money in trade.
As she stood observing her family and friends after dinner once the gentlemen had rejoined them subsequent to an abbreviated separation of the sexes, she knew exactly when William approached. She detected his scent of sandalwood and spice before he made himself known to her.
“Lizzy, it is not fair that because this is a London ball and that you are not out, you will not be allowed to attend the ball and leave after supper, like you would have had the ball been in the country,” William noted. The truth was he would have loved to have danced a set with her—preferably the supper set, with her father’s permission—at Jane’s ball. It was such a pity that the rigid rules of London society forbade what was perfectly acceptable in the country.
“It is the way of things, William,” Elizabeth replied philosophically. “It will not be long until I am eighteen, and then I will be allowed to attend society events in Town. I am sure my parents will allow me to do so in the country at the same age they did Jane.” She paused and scrunched up her nose. “I know I need to make my curtsy before Her Majesty; however, I wish she would not demand debutantes wear those hideous gowns of the previous century. Perhaps I will meet the Queen in a less formal setting so I may be presented in a fashionable gown.”
“Yes, I know you have about seventeen months before you will be presented,” William responded. The tips of his ears turned red as he realised he had just indicated that he was counting the months until Lizzy joined society.
Elizabeth instantly knew that William was keeping track of the time until she turned eighteen. It caused her to blush scarlet. However, she was not at all sorry he was counting the months just as she was. What had started as an infatuation of a young cousin for her older, very handsome relative had begun to change and become something deeper in the last few months. Elizabeth was not willing to name the feelings because as yet she did not understand what they were, and she had not spoken of them to anyone, not even Janey.
William was thankful Lizzy had not commented on his instant knowledge of the time until she came out in London. He hoped when she did, he would be able to keep to his resolve, just like the one Richard had taken with regard to Jane, that he could hold back from making a declaration until Lizzy enjoyed one season.
‘At least,’ William thought ruefully, ‘with Jane’s birthday and taking her curtsy on Friday next, Richard is that much closer to making his intentions known.’ He was not jealous of Richard, but William did envy how much sooner his cousin would be able to declare himself to the woman to whom he had lost his heart. Just as Richard would have to wait, watching and hoping Jane did not make an attachment to another man during her season, William would have to survive the same torturous uncertainty when Lizzy came out. He thought of something to discuss which would not be embarrassing to either of them.
“Is Snowdrop in London?” William enquired evenly.
“She is. I assume that the same is true of Zeus?” Elizabeth asked in return. Uncle Robert had gifted William a stallion, who was three at the time, shortly after William’s graduation from Cambridge. Zeus was a full three hands higher than Snowdrop.
“Yes, my stallion is here. Will you and others ride in Hyde Park on the morrow?” William queried. “Yes, I know yoursmallfootmen will escort the riders.”
“Indeed, we intend to make a riding party to set out just after sunrise,” Elizabeth responded.
“In that case, if it is not an imposition, Anna and I would like to join the riding party,” William requested. At the age of eleven Anna had graduated from a pony to a cob, and like the rest of the Darcys, she loved to ride.
