A Constant Love: A Pride & Prejudice Continuation, page 17
Also dining with the party, although not going to the concert, was the earl’s eldest son, who went by Lord Stanton – the family having no additional titles – and was engaged to be married to Miss Lucy Darlington, who would be returning to town in a fortnight for the wedding. Lord Stanton proved to be a most unremarkable man; he was neither particularly intelligent, nor particularly stupid, neither particularly kind, nor particularly ill-tempered. It soon became clear to all of the ladies why the earl should so frequently seek out the company of his nephew, with such an unexceptional son. Yet Georgiana could not help but think of Stephen Mallory, and how certainly an heir such as this was preferable – no one need have any fear of Lord Stanton being killed in a duel or throwing away the family fortune at the gaming tables. And yet the earl was an interesting enough man himself. Georgiana wondered what the mother had been like, to have raised such an average son, and what Miss Lucy Darlington was like, to be marrying him.
These were not the most polite thoughts to be thinking at a dinner party with new acquaintances, and so Georgiana refocused her concentration on the conversation, which had turned to the navy, the party having little else in the way of common topics.
“We are likely to be on shore for some time now, if not permanently,” Captain Ramsey was saying, with Catherine, seated beside him, attending very closely.
“Indeed, we have spent so much on this war that Parliament will be forced to retrench for a while,” said the earl. “I expect eventually many of you will be called back into service, however. We have too many trade interests to leave them unprotected.”
“I think we will see our frigates in heavier use,” Captain Stanton said. “The line of battle ships perhaps not as much – they are best at just that, a line of battle, and we are not likely to see any more of those with Napoleon in exile.”
“He just wants to see his poor Caroline brought back into service. He is so smitten with that ship you might think she was a lady,” the earl said, and Georgiana blushed in spite of herself. “A lovely looking ship, though, I will grant you. I ran him down to Portsmouth when he took possession as captain, and while I will admit I have a landlubber’s eye, she had the prettiest paint job, and every gun gleaming.”
“That would be Lieutenant Campbell’s doing,” Captain Stanton said. “My first lieutenant – he is an excellent seaman, but he also has quite a penchant for ensuring the ship looks her best.”
“How does he get on, with the peace?” the earl asked.
“I had a letter from him a few days ago. He is living with his family, although he is looking to set up his own establishment, and purchase a cottage, or something of the sort. A lieutenant’s half-pay is hardly enough for a man to live on alone, but he has been very careful with his prize money.”
The conversation continued on in this way through the course of dinner, uninteresting to Mary and Mrs. Annesley, but not so for Catherine and Georgiana, who always enjoyed hearing more about the captains’s former shipmates and the voyages they had taken, before they all took to the carriages.
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In Cheapside, Elizabeth and Darcy were only just arriving at the Gardiners’s house. It was nearly the same size as the Darcys’s town house, but always seemed smaller when the young Gardiners were about. They were in the drawing room with their parents when Elizabeth and Darcy arrived, the younger ones playing about the floor, while Susan, the eldest, sat with her parents, drinking milk with a little tea.
When they had all said their greetings, Elizabeth made her way to sit next to Susan, so that she might inquire after her niece, not at first noticing that her husband had not followed her. When she looked up, she found him kneeling on the floor, speaking with the boys. This was not an unusual sight; he was often attentive to the Gardiner children, although he got on better with the boys than the girls, which was to be expected. It was quite unusual, though, to see him playing at toy soldiers in his dinner clothes, but there he was, doing just that, and telling the overawed boys of his cousin, who was a real soldier in the regulars.
Of all the scenes Elizabeth might have thought she would ever see Mr. Darcy in before they were married, this was certainly not one of them; this was a sight of himself that he only occasionally offered, and only when they were around close family. And of all the scenes that could pain Elizabeth, this was the worst. It would be a rare eldest son indeed who did not wish for children; heirs must be had, so that estates and titles could be passed on. Both she and Darcy, however, genuinely loved children, and at this moment Elizabeth felt the full ache of not having conceived a child of their own. They had not yet been married a year; she felt there was still hope, and yet she was glad when Anne Gardiner, who had been playing with her doll at the edge of the room, and was feeling left out, made her way over to Elizabeth so that her aunt could pull her up onto her lap. Little Anne’s presence was a comfort and a distraction for Elizabeth, and both were desperately needed.
Eventually, the nurse was summoned, and the children left their presence; Susan with a very proper little curtsey, Anne with a cute bob of her own. The adults then made their way into the dining room, there to avail themselves of the delicacies Mr. Gardiner was always acquiring through his business. They meandered through a range of topics, and had been speaking of Parliament, when the Corn Bill came up, as it very well would in any conversation about legislation.
“God-willing, it shall pass soon, and give us all some peace,” Darcy said, unthinkingly. Among those he usually conversed with – the gentlemen at White’s, the men of great estates – this would have been a wholly supported statement, one that would be toasted by his companions, and indeed it was likely this was not the first time he had made it. His host was not such a man, however; Mr. Gardiner’s wealth came from far different sources.
“I am afraid I cannot agree with you,” Mr. Gardiner said. “I do not do a great deal of business in grains, so it has little direct impact on myself, but I can never support the dampening of free trade, and the Corn Bill is most certainly that.”
This statement necessarily cast a pall over the dinner table; Elizabeth felt deeply the discomfort of seeing two people she cared about fall on two different sides of such a critical issue.
“I apologise, I did not mean to – ” Darcy began to speak, but could not seem to determine how to continue his statement.
“Of course, I understand the impact to all of our estates, and our dear niece and nephew,” Mr. Gardiner said, picking up the conversation and nodding to Darcy. “The real villain in all of this is Bonaparte – without the war, we should have none of this business. It is a most unfortunate situation for us all.”
“Indeed,” said Mrs. Gardiner. “I still feel compelled to drink to his confusion, even with him in exile. Perhaps we may toast the peace, instead.”
They all did so, and felt the relaxation that must come from passing through an awkward situation amongst people who were generally so fond of each other’s society. There was still a certain tension among them when they had finished, and Elizabeth and her aunt made their way into the drawing room.
Elizabeth expected that the gentlemen would make their way thither as soon as was possible, but instead they remained in the dining room for some time. When they finally came into the room, it was with expressions that indicated mutual goodwill, and Elizabeth expected that some manner of apology had passed from her husband to her uncle. She felt a deep sense of relief that all was well between their families, for she could not bear the thought of discord between those so dear to her.
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The concert room, off Newman Street, was much smaller and looked more worn than Hanover Square, and looking about the crowd, Georgiana could see that it was a mix of fashionable people and others who were here strictly for their interest in the music, and that it tended more toward the latter.
Georgiana was most anticipating the Scarlatti, and she could not help but think most kindly of Captain Stanton for seeking to invite her, upon hearing of a concert where one of her favourites formed part of the programme. She was very pleased to find that she enjoyed all she heard in the beginning of the concert, and just as pleased when Captain Stanton applied for her verdict during the intermission.
“Oh, it has been delightful,” she said, smiling. “Some of the pieces have been quite innovative interpretations, and the Bach piece was exquisite.”
“Ah yes, he sounds quite different when performed by someone with greater proficiency,” he said.
“Captain, I believe you are very close to breaking our truce.”
“I am not sure our truce should apply while I continue to do battle with my new instrument.” He smiled, but she could also sense his frustration, and felt for him.
“Come, let us focus on more positive things,” he said, offering her his arm so they could return to their seats; she accepted it with a little thrill of happiness, in spite of herself. “We still have much more music to go on the night, and I am curious to see how you will like it.”
Georgiana had enjoyed everything in the concert thus far, but she was most anticipating Scarlatti, and these pieces began shortly after the intermission, on harpsichord, giving Georgiana an opportunity to once again compare them to how they sounded on the pianoforte. Scarlatti always reminded her of her mother, and she was most affected by hearing them as her mother would have played them, but it was not until – most shockingly – a guitar player and percussionist came out, to close with Scarlatti’s Fandango, that she was truly enchanted. It seemed at once a reinvention of the piece, and wholly natural, at the same time elegant and exotic, unlike any other piece she had heard. It spoke of Spain, of Southern America, of the ports the captains had told them about. She sat, transfixed, and completely unaware that Captain Stanton was also watching her, delighted by her reaction. After she had joined everyone in the room in rousing applause for the players, she turned to him and said:
“It has been a long time since I have enjoyed a piece so much as that – I am so grateful to you for finding a concert where Scarlatti was played at all, much less so inventively.”
“I am glad you enjoyed it,” he said. “Although I suspect Captain Ramsey, who has spent more time stationed near Spain than I, will tell you it is not so much invention as it is playing the piece like a natural fandango.”
“If that is the case, I wish I had heard a true fandango before now,” Georgiana said. “I so wish the musical club could hear such a thing.”
“There we may find some difficulty, unless we can convince Lady Tonbridge to recruit guitar and castanet players.”
“Yes, it would not be nearly the same without them,” she said, taking his arm again. “We shall have to begin convincing her, then.”
Chapter 24
Georgiana awoke the next morning with the thought that perhaps they should not have to recruit a guitar player. After all, it was a string instrument, and so perhaps her harp might serve as an adequate substitute. Perhaps, it might even be an interesting balance between the harpsichord the piece had been intended for, and the guitar that had so struck her imagination at the concert.
Although they had sent for the instrument from Pemberley, she still played it but rarely; the pianoforte was by far her preference. It took her some time simply to warm up her fingers and recall what it was like to play with some level of fluency. Then she tried to remember the key guitar parts, and began plucking them out as best she could remember.
“What on earth are you playing, Georgiana?” her brother asked, entering the drawing room with Elizabeth.
“It is Scarlatti’s Fandango, is it not?” Mary asked. “We heard it last night.”
“Yes, it is. Or rather, I am trying to make it so. The part was played on a guitar, but I think I may be able to make it work on the harp,” she said, then realised she might be able to recruit Mary to help. “Mary, I should so like to play this for everyone in the musical club. If I can make the guitar part work, would you be willing to try the castanets?”
“Castanets?” said Darcy. “Should I apply to a troupe of gipsies to come teach her to play?”
“Brother, it really is a lovely piece. Once we have practised enough, we shall perform it, and then you will see.”
Mary, meanwhile, had been considering how much more accomplished she would be considered with the addition of something so exotic as castanets to her skills, and decided they certainly would be interesting, if nothing else. As well, it would be fun to work on something new with Georgiana.
“I would be willing to learn the castanets,” Mary said.
“Thank you, Mary! Brother, may we send for the sheet music for Scarlatti’s Fandango, and a pair of castanets?”
Darcy groaned, but called Mr. Miller into the drawing room.
“Mr. Miller, I am told we must send for Scarlatti’s Fandango, and a pair of castanets,” Darcy said. “Wherever you will find castanets, I do not know.”
“Leave it to me, sir. Scarlatti’s Fandango and castanets, very well,” Mr. Miller replied.
Both the music and the castanets were procured that very day, and Georgiana and Mary continued to experiment the day following, Georgiana with translating the music to harp, and Mary with her entirely new instruments, which she found to be not so difficult. By the time Captains Stanton and Ramsey came to call on them, the pads of Georgiana’s fingers had turned pink and sore, but she was very desirous of showing Captain Stanton their progress.
“Might Mary and I play a piece for you?” she asked. “I think you may be surprised.”
“We are all for a surprise,” Captain Stanton said, and Captain Ramsey agreed.
They were surprised enough when Georgiana took to the harp – although they knew she played, neither had ever heard her do so. They started into the song, and Captain Stanton laughed as soon as he realised what they were at.
“You have found a way to play the Fandango – I am delighted, ladies.”
“I find I am filled with reminders of Spain these last few days,” Captain Ramsey said. “If you play just a bit more I will show you how the Spanish ladies dance.”
This was not a request that could be resisted, and so they continued on, and the captain rose and began clapping his hands together. They all laughed to see a man attempting to dance like a delicate lady, and once Catherine had a sense of the dance, she stood with him and made a far better imitation of a Spanish lady, and they danced together quite gleefully.
Mrs. Annesley certainly had seen nothing like this in any of the other houses she had worked for, but she also saw no harm in it – there was quite a lot of clapping, but Kitty and Captain Ramsey were farther apart than they would have been dancing a reel. Elizabeth and Darcy, meanwhile, who had opted to hide in the study while Mary learned the castanets, could only listen and wonder what on earth was going on.
“Perhaps I should go out and see what is happening,” Darcy said.
“Mrs. Annesley is there; they should be fine,” Elizabeth replied.
“Are you quite certain? It sounds a regular Bartholomew Fair in there. Next it will be tambourines and jugglers.”
“Now there are some fine accomplishments to add to Caroline Bingley’s list,” Elizabeth said, smiling archly. “An accomplished lady must be able to play the pianoforte, harp, and tambourine (and let us not forget Mary’s castanets); she must sing and dance; speak all of the modern languages; draw and paint; and juggle. And there must be a certain air in the way she juggles. None of your lacklustre juggling will do, if she is to be called truly accomplished.”
Darcy looked at her for a moment with the sternest, most incredulous expression he could muster, but Elizabeth could see the corners of his mouth twitching before he finally could not help it anymore, and burst out laughing.
“Come, let us go call on Miss Bingley now, so that we may tell her how we have amended her list,” she said. “There will have to be masters hired on all over town. Indeed there will likely be quite a shortage as all the young ladies learn their juggling.”
“Let us go see Cook, is more like it, to see what she has slipped into all of your breakfasts, to make this entire house go mad,” Darcy said, and this time it was Elizabeth’s turn to laugh most heartily.
Chapter 25
It had been cold for the past few days, but the weather on Saturday was quite mild, so much so that Darcy asked over breakfast if Elizabeth and Georgiana had any interest in going to Hyde Park, Elizabeth with him in the phaeton, Georgiana on Grace. Georgiana was all enthusiasm at the idea, and Elizabeth saw great appeal in anything involving fresh air and some amount of open space, even if it was only Hyde Park.
The phaeton and Grace were brought around, as well as a groom on horseback, in case Georgiana should need any assistance. They found the park quite full when they arrived; clearly they had not been the only people to have this idea, and Darcy commented that perhaps they should have put a little more time into planning, and gone to Richmond.
“I think you would like it, Elizabeth – it is one of the few places where one can find uncrowded open space around town these days.”
“Open space does appeal to me right now,” she said, motioning to the line of phaetons trotting along in front of them, and the riders cantering along on either side.
“I must admit to missing Pemberley more and more these days,” he said. “I have never been away for such an extended period of time before, and I did not realise myself so susceptible to homesickness. I almost forget what it is like to own one’s own land, and – ”
Elizabeth waited, but he did not finish his thought. “What is it, my dear?”
“I had a letter from my steward this morning,” he said. “I do not know how much longer we can continue to discuss the Corn Bill over correspondence. The price of wheat is not going to wait for Parliament to act, and I would much prefer to be able to talk to Richardson in person. I do not see us removing there anytime soon, so I suppose I shall have to summon him here, although I do not like to have both of us absent from the estate at the same time.”
