The Darcy Cousins (8 page)

Clarissa shifted in her seat.

"I find lengthy conversation too tiresome," said Anne.

It was not much of an answer. They were clearly intruding.

Really, it was time they left. Georgiana tried to catch Clarissa's eye.

"I enjoy reading, however," continued Anne. "I read anything I can lay my hands on. My father's library, fortunately, is well stocked."

"But I have never seen you read," said Clarissa.

"No. My mother does not approve of reading for females. She believes it corrupts the female brain. I read whenever I have a chance, which is often, when we do not have company, for I can always retreat to my chamber to rest."

"What do you read?"

"Anything, from poetry to botany."

Clarissa digested this. "But are you not always accompanied by Mrs Jenkinson? Does she know that you like to read?"

"Of course. How could I conceal such a thing from her? But she has not informed my mother." She rose and rearranged her cumbersome shawls around her. "I must go now, otherwise Mrs Jenkinson will come looking for me."

"But will you meet with us again? Alone?" insisted Clarissa.

"We would like to have your company."

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Again, a smile flickered. "Of course, if you wish it," said Anne.

She made her way slowly back.

"That was a good beginning," said Clarissa. "She answered our questions, and she is willing to meet with us again."

Georgiana hesitated. "I suppose it is an improvement. As you said, she is prepared to meet with us again. But you must not press her for answers--promise me that."

"I will not," said Clarissa.

Anne seemed to have appreciated their attempt to reach out to her, for she made it a regular habit to meet with them for a short time every day. This was done stealthily, however, confirming to the young ladies that Anne did not want her mother to know.

They would receive a note from a maid or a footman, informing them of a time and place for a meeting. She always seemed to know their plans, for she never set up anything if they were otherwise engaged.

Clarissa did break her promise not to pressure Anne into answering any private questions, but only once.

"How can you bear it?" she asked suddenly, when Anne mentioned something to do with Mrs Jenkinson. "Do you not crave freedom? Do you not long to leave the house whenever you wish and walk wherever you wish, without being followed and reported on all the time? Oh, I could not bear it!"

Anne, to her credit, remained unruffled during this outburst.

"It is a matter of degrees," she said calmly. "You cannot leave the house whenever you wish, nor go out without an escort of some kind. You have the freedom of the grounds, perhaps, but you cannot venture too far on your own."

She paused when one of her shawls slipped, and she rearranged it carefully, making sure not to disturb the others.

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"Even if you were allowed complete freedom to go where you wish, whenever you wish, then you would still be restricted, for you would be open to attack any time by unscrupulous persons. We live in a world where the strong prey upon the vulnerable. If that were to change, then perhaps we would be completely free. But for now, we must live with what we have. We women have always had restrictions placed upon us, and we have dealt with them as best we could."

Clarissa did not ask Anne any private questions again. Instead, they found themselves discussing books they had read and exchanging opinions on poetry and art. Georgiana discovered an Anne she had never imagined existed, who not only had a breadth of knowledge, but also strong opinions on the things she read.

It was difficult to reconcile this opinionated young lady with the pale, quiet daughter who sat in the drawing room under her mother's eye. Georgiana rapidly concluded that, while Lady Catherine may not have locked her daughter in a dark tower, she had certainly driven Anne to hide her true self from the world.

Two days later, two ladies called on them, since Lady Catherine had graciously informed the gentlemen that they were welcome to do so. One was Mrs Gatley and the other Mrs Channing.

Mrs Channing was a tall, wiry lady whose clothes did not fit her. They rode up and appeared loose in all the wrong places.

Her hunched shoulders amplified this impression. She took a few cautious steps into the drawing room and set about to express her elation at Lady Catherine's generosity in inviting them to call.

While she spoke, she looked about her a great deal, as though she wanted to remember any changes to the room so that she could report them to her friends.

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"One is very conscious of the privilege, Lady Catherine, especially when you already have a household of guests to entertain."

Lady Catherine inclined her head graciously and waited for Mrs Gatley to approach.

Mrs Gatley, like her sister, was a tall lady. Unlike her sister, however, she seemed to have employed a skillful modiste. She wore a striking purple walking dress with a white ruffled collar and gold braiding. She paused in the doorway, surveyed everyone present, then swept into the room with confident grace.

"Good morning, Lady Catherine," she said, her musical voice carrying across the room. "I have not seen you for some time. We shall have to arrange a vingt-et-un party one of these days at Ansdell."

"Certainly," said Lady Catherine haughtily. "But we would do better to have it here, since the drawing room at Ansdell tends to be draughty."

"Then I take it you do not wish to receive an invitation, when I send them out?" enquired Mrs Gatley politely.

Lady Catherine fixed a stony gaze on her. "Of course I wish to receive one. I can always decline if I do not wish to attend."

Mrs Gatley inclined her head politely and went to sit next to Elizabeth.

"The baby is doing well, I hope?" she asked.

Elizabeth's face brightened.

"He is doing more than well, thank you," said Elizabeth. "Only I feel I do not get enough time with him, for he is always with Nurse."

"I felt the same," said Mrs Gatley. "I used to creep up to the nursery at odd times to see my children, especially my eldest daughter. Nurse had quite an easy time of it, for I used to give her time off, just so I would have the excuse of spending time with them."

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"That is the worse thing you can do to a child, especially to a boy," said Lady Catherine. "You will spoil him, and then when it comes to sending him off to school, he will have a most difficult time, and be picked on by the other boys. They must learn to be independent from infancy."

"I am not even sure it is necessary to send them off to school at all," said Elizabeth.

This radical opinion earned a disdainful look from Lady Catherine.

"That is what comes from having been raised without even as much as a governess between five girls. You will learn soon enough what it means for a boy to be an heir to a fortune, and how necessary it is for him to mingle with other males in his social class in order to take his proper place in society." She gave a scornful laugh.

"Or did you think to teach him this yourself?"

A militant look entered Elizabeth's eye. Georgiana groaned inwardly. There was going to be trouble.

"I am inclined to agree with Mrs Darcy," said Mrs Gatley serenely. "I think it is cruel to send boys away when they are so young and to have them grow up without a mother's influence."

"A mother's weakness must never be allowed to affect the child's future," said Lady Catherine repressively. "A mother must be strong, in order for the child to be strong. There are mothers, however, who put their own feelings above their child's interest, and that can only lead to ruin."

Mrs Channing, who had become decidedly uncomfortable when her sister had spoken, now nodded in agreement.

"Yes, a mother cannot be selfish. I would have liked to have kept my dear Percy at home, for he was my only child, you know, and with his father away--it quite broke my heart. But I overcame 68

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my feelings and sent him away, and look how well he has turned out! Even if he spends most of his time in London and I see very little of him."

Caroline seized the opportunity to turn the conversation.

"Does Mr Channing take lodgings year round in Town, or do you have your own townhouse there?"

"We have a townhouse, but with my husband in India--he is with the Company, you know--and no daughters to bring out, I am little inclined to go there," said Mrs Channing. She had one of those voices that gave the impression of some great grievance, even when she was talking of an ordinary matter. "We open it up whenever Mr Channing comes to England, of course. Percy prefers his own lodgings."

With the conversation safely settled on more mundane matters, Caroline made an observation about the unsettled weather they were having.

"Yes--the weather has turned quite cool again," complained Mrs Channing. "I had hoped it would be warmer."

Georgiana, who had wanted to speak for some time, but could not contribute to a conversation about children, was glad of the change of subject, and pointed out that at least it had been generally dry and that they had had several warm days as well.

"But that is precisely what I object to," replied Mrs Channing.

"If the weather had stayed cold, then we would have resigned ourselves to it, but when it is so inconsistent, promising sunshine and blossoms one day, and flurries of snow the other, then how are we to react? Why only the other day I went out wrapped in a cloak with fur trimming, and with an ermine muff besides, and what do you think happened? The sun came out, and the weather turned warm, and I grew so hot in my cloak I was forced to throw it off."

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At this moment, Lady Catherine called Georgiana and asked her to hand out tea cups to the ladies. She had fallen into the habit of ignoring Clarissa when it came to this task, as though not liking tea could hinder a person's ability to pass round the teacups.

Georgiana did not like carrying the cups across the room. She worried that she would trip, or that the tea would spill, or that she would splatter the tea onto someone's lap.

"You are too slow, Georgiana," said Lady Catherine impatiently.

"You must learn to give the cups out faster. There is nothing worse than lukewarm tea."

Georgiana reddened at this public rebuke, particularly since it was undeserved. There were only a few ladies to be served, and even if she was slow, the tea could hardly have turned cold so quickly.

Mrs Channing took a sip from her cup. "You are quite right, Lady Catherine," she said, "my tea is lukewarm."

Clarissa, noting her cousin's embarrassment, jumped up. "I will hand the cups around, Lady Catherine, for I have a very steady hand, and I am very fast."

Lady Catherine snorted but gave her the next cup. "Perhaps between the two of you, we will manage to have some hot tea."

"Come, sit next to me," said Mrs Gatley, in a friendly manner to Georgiana, "and tell me what you have been doing. You know, your Mama and I go back a long way, for we were debutantes together."

Georgiana had no memory of her mother, but she was curious to learn about her, and before long, Mrs Gatley was entertaining her with little anecdotes about their experiences of the ballroom together.

The visit did not last long after that, and Georgiana, who was enjoying listening to Mrs Gatley, was disappointed when the ladies rose to leave. But her disappointment quickly melted away when 70

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Lady Channing announced that there was to be an informal dance on Thursday--in one week's time--at Millcroft Hall, and that they were all invited.

The two ladies had hardly left when Lady Catherine objected.

She proclaimed that, though the older members of the group were naturally free to go, the younger ones--and here she stared severely at Clarissa and Georgiana--were not yet out and should not be attending a ball. Certainly, she said, Clarissa should not attend social events until she learned to conduct herself properly in English society.

The gentlemen, who had just finished a game of billiards, walked into the room at that moment, and, overhearing her last comment, asked the ladies what had happened to provoke it.

Lady Catherine informed them of the invitation and declared that the young ladies should not be permitted to attend.

Robert Darcy responded coolly that he had no objection to his sister attending a small country dance and that he had every faith she would conduct herself as well as any English young lady.

Darcy stated that, as head of the Darcy family, it was surely his privilege to determine what the young ladies should do. He thought it perfectly acceptable for the two young ladies to attend the dance, and, therefore, he could see no reason why his aunt should object.

Lady Catherine expressed her extreme displeasure by rising quickly. Calling imperiously to Dawson, she sallied forth and exited the room without a word.

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I can already tell I will enjoy this," said Clarissa, casting a practised eye around the room. They had passed through the receiving line and greeted both Mr Channing and Mr Gatley. Now they left them behind, though Georgiana did sneak a backward glance or two.

"I have spotted a number of eligible young gentlemen already.

Look at that one standing over there. Is he not a dream?"

He was most certainly a dream. With his patrician nose, the perfect soft curls lining his brow, and his large dark eyes, he resembled a Grecian statue. He was by far the most striking gentleman in the room, even more handsome, Georgiana had to admit, than Mr Channing.

But instead of warming to the situation and becoming more eager, as her cousin did, Georgiana found herself turning cold.

The room was not large--not a formal ballroom by any means.

But as soon as she stepped in, the clamour of many voices, with the mingled fragrances of candles and colognes, evoked unwanted memories and destroyed all her excitement.