by Lauren King
“Yes, we have been ready.” Mrs. Bennet answers promptly and with glee as she moves away from the sofa.
“Alright, then we should leave right away.” Jane states plainly. “I will go let Lizzy know that I will not come with her today. Let us get our outerwear.”
“Yes, of course; come, Lydia. You see Lydia; Jane is not selfish like Lizzy.” Mrs. Bennet’s jab at Lizzy was to elevate Jane’s goodness in front of Mr. Morgan. However, she does not realize how rude, indecorous, uncaring, unseemly, improper, and undignified it was to say it out loud – much less say it in front of Jane’s suitor.
Jane’s suitor is not a low class man. He is a gentleman of standing in society; he does not willingly associate with people of Mrs. Bennet’s ilk. He is incredulous at Mrs. Bennet’s behavior towards Miss Elizabeth. Perhaps he missed an argument that had just occurred to anger Mrs. Bennet so. However, would a mother speak so uncaringly about another daughter, especially in front of a guest? He is not even Miss Bennet’s betrothed or husband. What will Mrs. Bennet reveal if he was more to Miss Bennet? He feels badly for Miss Elizabeth. He wonders if Darcy knows about this, and if he does, what is he doing about it? Basically, what can Darcy do about it; nothing much until he is Miss Elizabeth’s husband. Darcy will have to endure it. Morgan is certain that if Mrs. Bennet let him hear this comment, then she has said other things in the hearing of Darcy. Goodness, given who Darcy is, he must genuinely and immensely love Miss Elizabeth to suffer such...ill behavior. However, with Darcy’s natural stern behavior, maybe Mrs. Bennet does not dare to excite his ire by speaking badly of Miss Elizabeth within his hearing.
Jane could not be anymore embarrassed at this moment. She briefly closes her eyes and breathes calmly. How can her Mother say such a thing, especially in front of Mr. Morgan? What he must think of her family, now. Oh Lord! And for them to go out in public with her Mother and Lydia where they can offend any number of people, will definitely scare Mr. Morgan away. How can she get out of this disaster? She cannot elude it. This will really test Mr. Morgan’s devotion to their courtship and future. Well, here goes! She is sorry for Mr. Morgan…and for herself if she loses Mr. Morgan in the process.
Jane and Mr. Morgan approach Elizabeth and the others to let them know that she and Mr. Morgan will escort Mrs. Bennet and Lydia shopping.
“You and Morgan are still welcomed to come to Darcy House afterwards.” Darcy offers nicely; he knows that Elizabeth would like to share today with Jane.
Elizabeth loves that William does all he can to comfort her. She caresses William’s arm fondly as she gazes at him lovingly. Their marriage will be great; it cannot be anything less because of this wonderful man that loves her so ardently. She will give him her all.
“Thank you for the invitation, Darcy. Would you like to do that Miss Bennet? I am sorry that I did not know of your plans.”
“It is not your fault, Mr. Morgan. You did not know. You could not refuse my Mother without looking ungentlemanly.” Jane smiles understandingly and with pity towards Mr. Morgan. “Lizzy, if I do not get to see your wedding dress today, then I will surely see it fitting perfectly on the beautiful bride on Saturday.” Jane squeezes Lizzy’s arm fondly.
At Mrs. Templeton’s, the ladies have a lot of fun seeing Elizabeth try on the rest of her trousseau while Darcy sits waiting patiently. Georgiana has a great deal of fun being around other young ladies. Earlier, at Mrs. Stanton’s shop, Elizabeth tried on her wedding gown; all the ladies were delighted with how beautiful it was. Seeing herself in the full length looking glass, she could not believe how impressive the wedding gown was. It was simply stunning.
Elizabeth hopes her wedding gown is befitting for when she marries Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy of Derbyshire. Elizabeth giggles within herself. Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy – how marvelous that sounds; she cannot wait for two more days. By two o’clock Saturday, she and William will face Archbishop Peters to become husband and wife forever. Her dreams will come true.
In the meanwhile, Jane and Mr. Morgan await Lydia and Mrs. Bennet in a milliner’s shop so that Lydia can pick out a bonnet. It is a day of embarrassment for Jane, especially in front of Mr. Morgan. While they sit in the waiting area of the shop, Jane explains and apologizes for her Mother’s effusions and criticisms.
“Mr. Morgan, I am mortified that you heard what my Mother said about Elizabeth, earlier. I do not know what else to say; there is no excuse for it. And now for you to hear Lydia speak in this manner and for my Mother to join in is indefensible. I do not know what more to say except that I am sorry that you have to experience it.” Jane says with sadness and disappointment.
“Miss Bennet, please do not be too disturbed. I understand your distress and discontent, especially when a family member lets you down. What I am immensely happy with, out of all of this, is that you are very different from Mrs. Bennet and Mrs. Denny – in a very good way. I cannot imagine that you or Miss Elizabeth would ever act inappropriately.” Morgan lifts his lips into a small smile to reassure Miss Bennet that he is still devoted to her.
Jane smiles back satisfyingly. She is very happy that Mr. Morgan can see the differences and know that she would never act in such a way. “Mr. Morgan, I know this is not the time and place to have this conversation, but I just want you to know that I would understand if you have second thoughts. I have anticipated it, and I fully accept it without fuss. It is only fair to you. Please, think things through carefully.” Jane imparts frankly.
“Miss Bennet, I understand you completely, and I want to know more about you. I really do want us to continue and progress further in our courtship. Will you be going back to Hertfordshire immediately after Miss Elizabeth’s wedding?”
“My Father is allowing me to stay with my Uncle and Aunt until after Easter. I am glad that…you want to continue and progress further into our courtship because…I do also.” Jane says shyly.
“I am very happy to hear that, Miss Bennet.” Morgan smiles handsomely at Miss Bennet, and she rewards him with her shy, pretty smile before looking down at her hands again. “I would like to call upon you more often, from now on, if you are agreeable to it, Miss Bennet.” Morgan says hopefully.
Jane answers shyly, “Yes, that would be nice, Mr. Morgan.” She knows that she will have to tell Mr. Morgan today about what happened with Mrs. Crawford last evening. Mr. Morgan seems serious about them progressing beyond their courtship, thus she wants to know what he will do about Mrs. Crawford before Jane becomes completely heartbroken should they discontinue their courtship.
After the milliner’s shop, Lydia wants to visit a dress shop so she can decide if she would rather buy a simple day dress or buy an elaborate hat. Her Mother promised to lend her the money for it; Lydia will pay her back out of her monthly allowance that Sergeant Denny gives her. Lydia asks Jane, “Jane, where did Lizzy get her wedding trousseau?”
“Lizzy’s trousseau is from Mrs. Templeton’s; however, I think you should buy a bonnet that you could wear more often, Lydia. Mrs. Templeton’s dresses are not inexpensive. Will Sergeant Denny be happy with an extravagant purchase such as that?”
“John will give me the money; do not worry, Jane. I know how to get him to give it to me without complaining.” Lydia giggles freely and without reserve.
Jane cannot believe what Lydia has just said in front of Mr. Morgan. Is she intimating about her marriage bed? Jane is innocent to those matters, but she has heard her Mother and other matrons talk about it; however, for Lydia to bring it up in mixed company is vulgar and brazen. Goodness gracious! How can Jane expect Mr. Morgan to close his ears and eyes to such unabashed behavior?
“Lydia.” Jane blushes and exclaims firmly but without raising her voice; she could not help voicing her disapproval. Her Mother only tells Lydia not to tease Jane; that is all she said. Oh Lord! How can her Mother be this oblivious to proper etiquette? Lydia does not seem fazed at all although she does stop giggling.
Once Jane’s party arrives at Mrs. Templeton’s, they run into Eliza
beth’s party. Jane was hoping that they would miss Elizabeth’s group so there would be no potential problems with her Mother’s outbursts about Elizabeth – no such luck. Everyone is subdued in meeting each other. All the introductions are made to Georgiana, and then everyone starts to look at different things. Elizabeth is glad that she just finished trying on all of her things so she does not have to suffer her Mother’s criticisms about her wedding trousseau. Elizabeth and Mrs. Gardiner go to the back room to talk to Mrs. Templeton about the last details of the trousseau while Mrs. Bennet and Lydia look at some fabrics, separately. Georgiana stands with Jane, Mary, and Kitty at the other end of the shop to talk about which of Elizabeth’s dresses they like the most.
Darcy and Morgan sit in the waiting area and speak about who has been at their club lately. Morgan tells Darcy that everyone at their club is still in disbelief that Darcy is actually getting married; both men laugh.
“Really, Darcy; the chaps all doubted it until I confirmed that I was invited to your wedding. They wanted me to produce your wedding invitation before they would believe me, for God’s sake!” Both men laugh again.
At this moment, two matrons walk into the shop, and Morgan recognizes that one of the ladies is the wife of Judge Arthur Charleston – Mrs. Esther Charleston. They greet each other cheerfully, and after a few more words and an introduction to the other lady, Morgan comes back to his seat near Darcy. They continue their conversation after Morgan tells Darcy who the two matrons are.
A few minutes later, Lydia’s voice can be heard arguing with someone. When Morgan and Darcy look to where Lydia is standing, they see her arguing about some fabric with Mrs. Charleston. Morgan cringes as Lydia voices her discontent loudly and rudely, and then she calls her Mother over to tell her about these two women taking her fabric that she found first. Mrs. Bennet tells these two ladies to give back the fabric to her daughter; after which Mrs. Bennet dares to say that the colors are too bright not befitting of ‘old women’ like them.
With apparent condescension, Mrs. Charleston eyes Mrs. Bennet up and down, censoriously. She can tell from the dress and manners of these two that they are not of the higher class; they look, at best, to belong down in the dockside or Cheapside.
“It is obvious that you know nothing of fashion if you think I would consider such fabric for myself.” Mrs. Charleston continues with unbridled disdain. “This fabric was sitting in its place with no claim on it by this…girl.” Mrs. Charleston states while frowning with aversion at Mrs. Bennet. “She is the one that tried to grab it from me when I had it in my hands. If you are the mother, you should teach her some manners and learn some for yourself. You are in the respectable side of London, now; not the dockside or the back country side. Since you two do not have any manners then do not appear in public until you learn some; otherwise, it is most shameful and reprehensible. Do you two understand my words or are they too advanced for your upbringing?” Mrs. Charleston easily looks down at Mrs. Bennet and Lydia with clear scorn and disrespect before turning around to leave with her friend without further acknowledgment.
“Good Lord, Esther! Hold onto your reticule tightly, and let us move to the front door so they cannot touch you again. Do these types just go where ever they want now? We should speak to Mrs. Templeton about letting such people into her shop. How can respectable ladies shop with those types around? It is appalling!” Mrs. Charleston’s friend exclaims overtly while they walk towards the front entrance.
“I will express my discontent to her another time. I cannot tolerate another moment mixed with these abominable people; it is disgusting.” Mrs. Charleston replies openly and with great derision.
“You two are appalling, abominable old women!” Lydia yells out angrily after them.
At the same time as Lydia shouts out her invective, both Mrs. Charleston and her friend glimpse over at Morgan and approaches him to urge, “You and your friends must leave this establishment quickly; there are some dreadful, disreputable women in here, Mr. Morgan. It is disgraceful. You do not want to be caught in their company.”
Morgan stands up to bow in return; he tries to act as if he is not aware of what has occurred. Darcy has his eyes on his newspaper as the ladies speak to Morgan, but he hears their comments loud and clear! Of course, he is embarrassed; fortunately, Elizabeth did not have to suffer through this incident.
“Ahh, Mrs. Charleston. Can I help you, ladies?” Mrs. Templeton comes out from the back room and cheerfully greets the two long time customers, but she notices the ladies rushing out.
“No, no; we will not shop here if there are these types around.” With a pinched, frowning expression, Mrs. Charleston’s friend declares swiftly as she waves her finger towards Lydia and Mrs. Bennet, and then they walk out the door in revulsion.
“I am sorry, ma’am.” With annoyance, Mrs. Templeton glances over at Lydia and Mrs. Bennet but keeps her expression even before going to the back rooms and instructing a shop girl to attend to the front of the shop.
Jane had stood with her back to where Lydia and her Mother were standing; therefore, she did not see what had started the whole argument. However, Mary and Kitty had a perfect view and they concurred that Lydia approached the two matrons and tried to take the fabric from them. When they would not give it to her, Lydia raised her voice and then called her Mother over to confront these two matrons. At that point, Kitty told Jane not to turn around because she did not want the matrons to recognize Jane in case Jane was ever introduced to them by Mr. Morgan. Kitty had seen Mr. Morgan greet them earlier.
Jane listened to Kitty and did not turn around; she felt like a coward, but Kitty’s thinking was regrettably correct. It was Kitty’s fast thinking or else Jane would have been negatively associated with this incident; consequently, it would have involved Mr. Morgan, too. Jane does not know who these two matrons are, but hopefully they are not close friends of Mr. Morgan’s; otherwise, Jane will be humiliated for having relations that behave in such a manner. How can her Mother not see any of this? This is too much!
Morgan was completely mortified when he saw what was going on between Mrs. Denny and Mrs. Charleston. When Mrs. Bennet got into the fray, it became shocking. Morgan heard part of what occurred, and he wanted to intervene, but Darcy told him not to intervene because it would put him in a bad light with Mrs. Charleston. He had to associate with Judge Charleston in the courts, thus it was not a good idea to upset the Judge’s wife. Since Mrs. Denny and Mrs. Bennet were at fault for their conduct then they needed to face the consequences themselves. It would not look good for a gentleman to enter into women’s squabbles, anyways. This made sense to Morgan, so he chose to ignore the event that had unfolded in front of him.
Darcy just hoped that neither Mrs. Denny nor Mrs. Bennet would come over to him or Morgan for help because it would be too humiliating. Luckily, the two matrons left the shop after making cutting remarks to Mrs. Bennet and Mrs. Denny. Thank goodness it was over. Darcy needs to get his party out of here, fast. They cannot remain with Mrs. Bennet and Mrs. Denny. This is unsupportable!
Elizabeth and Mrs. Gardiner come out from the back rooms, and they see an angry Mrs. Bennet and a livid Lydia. Now, what happened? Elizabeth wonders anxiously. Jane still stands with the other three girls not looking at Mrs. Bennet or Lydia; hence, she and Mrs. Gardiner approach Jane. Kitty explains what had just happened. Elizabeth shakes her head and breathes in and out deeply. So her Mother and youngest sister do humiliate others without Elizabeth around. Elizabeth looks over at William and their gazes lock. She knows he wants to leave immediately; he looks very displeased. He must know of what had transpired. Oh God, another disgrace. How is she going to live this down? This is too much!
“Alright, ladies; are we ready to go? We need to leave, now.” Elizabeth expresses hurriedly.
All the courtesies are spoken politely before Elizabeth’s party rushes out of the shop. Elizabeth feels badly for Jane, but Jane will need to put her foot down about their Mother imposing herself on her. E
lizabeth is certain that is what their Mother did in order to come on this outing with Jane. Elizabeth hopes that today will not scare Mr. Morgan away.
As they all get into the Darcy carriage, Elizabeth asks Mrs. Gardiner if there is another pastry shop that they can try instead of the one two doors down from Mrs. Templeton’s. Elizabeth does not want to potentially run into her Mother and Lydia again.
“Yes, there is another good one down at the other end of this street.” Mrs. Gardiner answers understandingly.
“Darling, would you mind going to that one instead?” Elizabeth asks Darcy warmly.
“Not at all, Lizzy; wherever you want is fine with me.” Darcy replies dotingly.
They are all back at Darcy House for luncheon. However, Darcy will meet Mr. Bennet at his club for luncheon; therefore, he leaves after all the ladies are settled into the drawing room.
“Dearest, I will be back when Aunt Helen comes over. Have a fun luncheon with all the ladies.”
“Thank you, my love. I hope you have a relaxing lunch with my Father. Will Richard join you two?”
“Yes, he will. Enjoy your luncheon. I love you.” Darcy smiles most handsomely before stepping out the front door. He is joyous to have Elizabeth send him off in his foyer. It makes him feel as if they are married already. Darcy leans in to kiss her lips chastely; he wants to linger, but he must leave before he is late in meeting Mr. Bennet.
“I love you.” Elizabeth beams from his kiss. How has she lived all these years without his tender care and affection? She cannot imagine her future without him.
Undoubtedly, Mary and Kitty are astonished and impressed with the grandeur and luxury of Darcy House. Even though they know nothing of architecture or furnishings, they know how opulent everything is. How fortunate it is for Elizabeth to have William’s love and devotion but for him to be wealthy too is providential. Mary and Kitty can only wish for one-third a gentleman as William. They need to heed Elizabeth’s advice and help themselves to be better.