Saving Jane

by Martin Hunnicutt

  “We must wash the windows across the front of the house this afternoon,” she told her aunt. “Lady Catherine is insistent that they be cleaned before we go further with our work.”

  “What other instructions did her ladyship share with you Jane?” Elizabeth asked.

  “Lady Catherine was most kind to impart her wisdom for handling Mr. Collins’ servants, linens and poultry. She intends to show me her kitchen garden that her three gardeners keep for her so that I can improve the kitchen gardens here.”

  ++**++

  For the remainder of the week, Mr. Collins found that the parsonage improved every day. The servants were under Miss Bennet’s direction and the meals greatly improved with meat, bread and ale served for supper each night to his great enjoyment.

  The housekeeper and Miss Bennet conspired to keep a pail of vinegar and clean cloths handy to the front door – Lady Catherine called three more times to dispense advice and direction from her carriage to Mrs. Gardiner and to Miss Bennet – and each time the housekeeper hurried a maid out the door with the bucket in hand to wash windows while the great lady watched from the road. Late in the week, the bucket was moved upstairs and Edward was charged with washing the outside of the upstairs windows.

  ++**++

  Chapter 23.

  Jane’s Whist Game with Lady Catherine

  When a se’ennight passed, Mr. Collins returned to the parsonage very excited when it was time for the evening meal. After blessing the meal, he announced to his fiancé and her family that Lady Catherine had invited them all to supper at Rosings the following evening.

  “Her Ladyship welcomed visitors to Rosings today and she wishes to offer them some entertainment tomorrow night.”

  “We are to be ‘entertainment’, sir?” Jane asked. “How are we to entertain Lady Catherine’s guests?”

  Smiling Mr. Collins explained, “I know Miss Elizabeth plays and sings a bit but I think Lady Catherine only expects conversation and cards tomorrow night.”

  “Cards? Does her Ladyship play whist?” Jane asked innocently while Elizabeth and Aunt Gardiner kept their attention on their meals.

  “Oh yes, Lady Catherine always wins at whist!” Mr. Collins informed the ladies with a certainty. “I frequently see her Ladyship complete a small slam.”

  ++**++

  “Hurry, Miss Bennet! Hurry,” Mr. Collins encouraged Jane, her sister and aunt as they strolled along the path from the parsonage to the manor house.

  “Mr. Collins, please,” Aunt Gardiner extolled. “Ladies must not exert themselves once dressed for supper. Your patroness would be most disturbed if we arrived with our hair out of order and our faces damp with perspiration!”

  Elizabeth and Jane exchanged glances as Mr. Collins stopped his scurrying to consider their aunt’s admonishments.

  “Of course you are correct, Mrs. Gardiner,” Mr. Collins admitted. “We shall stroll casually and reach Rosings at the appointed time.”

  Approaching the great house, the ladies were in awe of the manicured lawns and shrubberies, gravel paths and flower beds. The facade of the house was red brick with stacks of multiple windows leading up three floors. When the door was opened, Elizabeth and Jane were wordless staring at the gaudy outfit of the butler. The butler wore a powdered wig – the fashion of twenty years in the past or for high court.

  “Good evening, Mr. Collins,” the butler said as he performed a formal bow. “Her Ladyship awaits you and your guests in the receiving room.”

  “The receiving room! Lady Catherine honours us Miss Bennet,” Mr. Collins exclaimed.

  “If you will follow me,” the butler said leaving the door to a footman only slightly less formally dressed. The parson paled with excitement to be formally escorted to the presence of his patroness and he scurried after the butler into the depths of the house.

  “Mr. Collins, should you not escort Miss Bennet on your arm?” Mrs. Gardiner called. “This is your first time to present your future wife to your patron. She should arrive on your arm, sir.”

  Mr. Collins paused to consider Mrs. Gardiner’s suggestion and once again took her advice. The butler paused as the parson offered Jane his arm and she laid her hand lightly on the man’s arm before he led her down a hall with Elizabeth and Mrs. Gardiner following behind closely.

  A footman opened a door as the butler stepped into the room and announced, “The Reverend William Collins, Miss Jane Bennet, Miss Elizabeth Bennet and Mrs. Edward Gardiner.”

  Mr. Collins led the ladies forward into a formal room, large and overly decorated with marble floors, velvet draperies, and chandeliers. There was a single ornate chair – positioned like a throne in the centre of the room. Seated on the chair was an older woman, in formal dress, with powdered hair, excess jewellery, and a snuff box. Arranged around the seat were her daughter, the daughter’s companion, a lady’s maid, and three guests – people known to Elizabeth – Mr. Bingley, Miss Darcy and Mr. Darcy.

  The pleasure of renewing acquaintances was evident on several faces but Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine spent the first twenty minutes exchanging expressions of greeting and the parson’s gratitude for the invitation for his future bride and her relatives.

  When the others were permitted to move about and greet one another, Mr. Darcy went immediately to the ladies. “Mrs. Gardiner, Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth, it is good to see you once again.”

  “Darcy! How do you know these people?” Lady Catherine asked with an imperious manner.

  “Aunt, Miss Elizabeth is Georgiana’s particular friend from last fall. Her uncle, Mr. Edward Gardiner, is an important associate of mine in trade. If you had ever followed my suggestions for investments...”

  “Do not dare to mention matters of trade this evening Darcy!” fussed Lady Catherine. “Members of our circle do not engage with trade!”

  “Indeed you are wrong Aunt. Any member of our circle who wants to increase their wealth is involved with trade.”

  “My father the Earl of Matlock never soiled his hands with trade!”

  “And today Matlock is mortgaged much like Rosings,” Darcy argued hotly. “My uncle and cousins are scrambling to save their lands. They have sold lands and treasures to hold onto the primary estate.”

  There was a cold silence in the room for a long moment before Elizabeth directed the conversation in another direction. “Lady Catherine, this is a magnificent room - the walls are an extraordinary wood.”

  “I believe that Sir William’s grandfather had oak trees cut on the estate and the carving done here in the house under his immediate supervision. I have the housekeeper clean the panelling herself every week and the maids polish it every month.”

  “It is magnificent,” Elizabeth agreed.

  Darcy frowned for a moment until he caught Elizabeth’s eye and she smiled as Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine began to exchange remarks on the beauty of Rosings and the magnificence of the different rooms.

  He inclined his head slightly in her direction, acknowledging the wisdom of her redirection of the conversation and the tone of the evening. He stepped closer to Elizabeth and began a conversation.

  “How are you this spring, Miss Elizabeth?” he asked.

  She smiled. “I am much better now that I have seen you and Miss Darcy again.”

  “And how does your sister like Hunsford?”

  She paused for a moment before she replied. “The parsonage has been a challenge. My sister was most wise to request this month’s visit to set her future home to rights.”

  Darcy smiled, “I attempt to set Rosings to rights each Easter but my aunt manages to undo my work each year.”

  “Darcy!” called Lady Catherine. “Attend me!”

  Bowing to Elizabeth, Darcy stepped away to his aunt’s side.

  “It is time for dinner. Give me your arm and take me in,” Lady Catherine ordered. “Mr. Collins, give Anne your arm. Georgiana you will go in with Mrs. Jenkins.”

  The lady sniffed glancing at the remaining visitors and mutt
ered, “Settle yourselves as you see fit.”

  Mr. Bingley turned his smile upon the remaining ladies for the first time and Jane Bennet smiled in return. Mrs. Gardiner motioned her eldest niece forward to take the gentleman’s arm as she and Elizabeth followed behind.

  ++**++

  Relegated to the bottom of the table, Mr. Bingley and the ladies from the parsonage found themselves with excellent dinner partners. Georgiana, seated between Mrs. Jenkins and Mr. Collins was miserable. Across the table, her brother was trapped between a silent Anne de Bourgh and boisterous Lady Catherine who continually mentioned the desired engagement between her daughter and her nephew.

  In a low voice, Darcy turned to his cousin, “Have you thought on what I wrote to you? You are now five and twenty and can take control of Rosings.”

  “I am not certain I wish to face down Mamma,” Anne replied. “If I force her to the dower house, I will be alone in this great house.”

  “If you do not stop her spending, you will be alone in a cottage when the creditors take the estate and sell it on the auction block,” Darcy told her.

  “Of what are you speaking, Darcy?” inquired Lady Catherine who had been directing Georgiana on how best to cut her beef.

  “We were speaking of money, aunt,” Darcy replied sharply. “I was telling Anne how poor I find the estate this spring.”

  From the foot of the table, Elizabeth and Mrs. Gardiner noticed the quiet argument between Mr. Darcy and his aunt.

  “I have not seen this dour side of Mr. Darcy before,” Aunt Gardiner said quietly. “Is he like this with his other family?”

  “Not that I have seen before,” Elizabeth admitted. “From the conversation that I have heard it seems Lady Catherine has overspent her income.”

  Mr. Bingley caught her eye from across the table and shook his head – Elizabeth understood this to mean they should cease the conversation. She noticed that Mrs. Jenkins was listening to her and her aunt, so Elizabeth engaged the woman in stilted conversation, attempting to draw out Georgiana who picked at her food and sighed.

  When the dinner was finally over, the three gentlemen separated from the ladies for a brandy in the library while the ladies went to the evening parlour to await the gentlemen.

  Georgiana sought Elizabeth’s company in the parlour and they moved immediately to the pianoforte to select some music to play. Mrs. Gardiner and Jane attempted to engage Lady Catherine and Mrs. Jenkins in conversation but they were rebuffed twice before they settled on conversation with Miss de Bourgh who proved interested in their news from town.

  When a mere five minutes passed, the gentlemen joined the ladies with Mr. Darcy red-faced and clinching his hands so tightly he frightened his aunt for a moment. Mr. Collins followed Mr. Darcy closely, continuing a conversation that explained the taller gentleman’s colour.

  “Upon studious reflection, I am certain you will agree with me sir that it our duty to follow the directives of Lady Catherine in all matters...”

  Darcy turned on the parson and stepped closer to the parson, “Mr. Collins, do you have any experience or knowledge of estate management? Have you any training or time working with tenants?”

  Collins blanched but replied, “I do not sir. That is why I listen to all of Lady Catherine’s suggestions so closely.”

  “Then you are a fool, Mr. Collins! My aunt is not trained in estate management nor is she successful in dispensing direction to the tenants or steward of Rosings Park. She has driven this estate to the point of bankruptcy and the auction block! I suggest you listen to the steward – no man has ever come closer to working miracles that he,” Darcy stated.

  “Really Darcy!” Lady Catherine fussed. “Your opinions are not wanted this evening. I want to play a whist tournament!”

  Ignoring her nephew’s temper, Lady Catherine directed servants to set up two card tables and then she chose partners for four teams; she paired with Mrs. Jenkins, Mr. Collins with Miss de Bourgh – which seemed to please the young lady excessively Mrs. Gardiner noticed – Miss Bennet with Mr. Bingley, and Mrs. Gardiner with Miss Elizabeth.

  At the pianoforte, Elizabeth and Georgiana quickly sorted the music to select three pieces for Georgiana to play while the first card games occurred and Elizabeth turned to Mr. Darcy, “And your aunt does not wish you to play sir?”

  “I do not care for whist at my aunt’s table.”

  “Because she cheats and insists on always winning!” Georgiana whispered. “My brother defeats her regularly and refuses to partner with her. She will play against you and your aunt first but also watch how well Miss Bennet and Mr. Bingley play against Anne and Mr. Collins. Aunt Catherine must be the winner of the tournament tonight.”

  Elizabeth smiled as she and her aunt sat at the table and Mrs. Jenkins drew out the cards and prepared to deal.

  “Do you not shuffle and allow your opponents to cut the cards?” Mrs. Gardiner asked the paid companion. Mrs. Jenkins was startled by the question and Lady Catherine was not pleased. Georgiana began playing a lively composition and Darcy stood behind Mrs. Gardiner.

  “I believe it is only proper to allow your opponents to cut the deck,” he said. “No one would want to believe you would stack the deck, Mrs. Jenkins.”

  Elizabeth and Mrs. Gardiner were eventually defeated but they carried two hands. Lady Catherine looked around, finally triumphant to discover the other table had completed their rubber long before.

  “Mamma, Mr. Bingley and Miss Bennet ran the table each hand,” Anne explained. “I hope you can provide them with more of a challenge.”

  Frowning Lady Catherine sent for new cards and summoned Jane and Mr. Bingley to her table while Mrs. Gardiner and Elizabeth vacated their seats. Her niece went to the pianoforte where she joined Georgiana to play duets from the previous fall while Mrs. Gardiner took a seat on a nearby sofa to watch the proceedings.

  Mr. Darcy intercepted the footman bringing new decks of cards and he shuffled each deck before handing them to Miss Bennet to deal the first hand. Lady Catherine’s mouth was entirely sour as she sorted her hand and play began.

  Mrs. Gardiner observed the entire room; once play began at the card table, Mr. Darcy left the vicinity and retired to devote his attention to the ladies at the pianoforte. He never looked back at this aunt. Across the room, Miss de Bourgh had commanded the attention of Mr. Collins who attended her in a conversation of some matter that caused him to speak continuously though the heiress appeared to enjoy the attention.

  And Lady Catherine was oblivious to all about her as Jane Bennet showed the great lady how to play a grand slam.

  “How did you do it?” the hostess demanded to know. “I have never been beaten! Never!”

  Jane explained, “I was fortunate to have an excellent partner and very good hand of cards, your ladyship. Would you care to try your luck again?”

  “Of course! No one has ever beaten me thus!”

  At the pianoforte, Elizabeth grinned as she whispered to the Darcy brother and sister, “I fear your aunt has met her match. My sister knows cards as well as she knows receipts for laundry, bread and pie. Never play Jane for money – you will lose your entire fortune!”

  ++**++

  Chapter 24.

  Lady Catherine’s Direction for Walking

  At table the following morning, Mr. Darcy was passed a note by Livingston, the butler for Rosings.

  “Have you received a business letter already this morning?” Charles Bingley asked as he rose to refresh his coffee.

  Unfolding the paper, Darcy read the line quickly and explained, “My aunt wishes to speak to me immediately upon rising from breaking my fast.”

  “Shall I tell the steward to delay our meeting?” Bingley asked.

  Darcy shook his head. “My aunt will not keep me long this morning.”

  Quickly finishing his meal, Darcy hurried above stairs, greeting Georgiana as she came below stairs. “Good morning sister! How was your sleep?”

  “Very good brother!” Geor
giana replied. “I expect Elizabeth has already been out for a walk this morning. Did you think to join her?”

  Darcy stopped on the stairs and looked closely at his sister. “I did not know Miss Elizabeth would walk early...”

  “Yes, she and Miss Bennet explained that they walk early each morning to wake their appetites before breaking their fast and then continuing to set the parsonage to rights. I believe Elizabeth said they walk the circuit around the flower garden to the French garden just after sunrise each morning.”

  “Are you intending to accompany Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth on their walks Georgiana?”

  The young lady shook her head vehemently. “I am not a great walker! I intend to spend my time hiding from Aunt Catherine when I am not practicing the pianoforte.”

  Darcy nodded and continued to his aunt’s chambers while his sister escaped into the dining room. Admitted to Lady Catherine’s bedchamber, Darcy found his aunt breaking her fast in her bed. She took a drink from her tea cup and eyed him critically.

  “Darcy, I have been thinking about the guests in attendance at Rosings this Easter.”

  “Guests, aunt?” Darcy asked. “Mr. Bingley is my only guest and he is assisting me with the annual survey – Colonel Fitzwilliam has been called to duty in Spain.”

  Lady Catherine waved away the news of the war. “I have not paid attention to the French since they beheaded their queen and king. They deserve their ignominious future without a noble class to lead them to greatness.”

  “Yes, Lady Catherine.”

  “But I want to discuss the ladies in residence at the parsonage,” she continued, watching him closely but Darcy had no reaction to his aunt’s comment. “I am certain that the Miss Bennets are not suitable companions for Georgiana.”

  “I disagree and my opinion is the one that matters in regards to my sister.”

  Lady Catherine frowned and prepared to argue before Darcy continued. “How can I help you this morning aunt? I am to meet with the steward this morning and begin reviewing your accounts – though I am certain you have overspent your income again.”