Music Monday: Christmas Ambiance

Elizabeth pressed her lips together and followed her aunt out of the carriage and up the steps to Mrs. Verity’s door.

“Mrs. Gardiner!” A lady with dark hair, streaked with thin ribbons of grey, greeted Elizabeth’s aunt as she and Elizabeth entered a spacious study. The walls were lined with book-filled shelves. There was a grouping of chairs near a hearth, and another pair tucked in a window alcove. At one side, a large desk stood before two more chairs. It was to these chairs that Mrs. Verity directed her visitors.

“I have some shirts and petticoats,” Mrs. Gardiner said as she placed the parcel she carried between two neat stacks of papers on the desk. “This is my niece, Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Elizabeth, this is Mrs. Verity, the capable headmistress of this fine establishment.”

“Oh, be seated,” Mrs. Verity waved away Mrs. Gardiner’s compliments and chuckled. “Your aunt is always attempting to swell my head even more than it is already swollen.”

“I speak only the truth,” Mrs. Gardiner retorted with a grin.

“Well, then, I shall leave that to Miss Elizabeth to decide,” Mrs. Verity arranged herself in the chair behind the desk and picked up a paper. “This is the young lady who is seeking a position,” she said, handing the paper to Mrs. Gardiner. “And this is the lad in need of an apprenticeship.” She handed a second sheet of paper to Elizabeth’s aunt.

“We instruct all our residence in every useful skill,” she explained to Elizabeth. “Both boys and girls are taught to read, write, and do their sums. The boys practice various skills such as placing and removing things from a table without being a distraction, tying cravats, planting, caring for animals, working with their hands, and when an aptitude in one or another of these skills is noted, we attempt to find them a place where they can earn both a bit of money and experience. Master Riley shows an inclination to be very good with figures. He is not meant to work with his hands. He must work with his mind.”

“My husband thinks he would do well with Mr. Crenshaw,” said Mrs. Gardiner.

“He may lodge here if there is no place for him there,” Mrs. Verity turned her attention to Mrs. Gardiner who assured her that all the necessary arrangements would be in place before Riley began any work.

“The girls, such as Miss Clara, are taught cooking, cleaning, tending to and instructing young ones, as well as stitching and the like,” Mrs. Verity continued her explanation to Elizabeth. “Clara has a love for fashion and can ply a needle and thread with such skill.”

“Mr. Gardiner will surely know of a mantua-maker in need of an assistant,” Mrs. Gardiner assured Mrs. Verity. “I see that Miss Clara is also skilled at making bonnets,” Mrs. Gardiner said as she continued looking over the sheet of paper she held. “Would she be inclined to work with a milliner?”

“She would indeed. Again, lodging is available here if required, but if a place can be found for her, as well as Riley, that provides living arrangements, then I can take in two new children.”

Mrs. Gardiner nodded her head. “We will see what we can do.”

“You always do,” Mrs. Verity said with a smile. “Now, your niece has not been here before. Would you care for a tour, Miss Bennet?”

Elizabeth looked hopefully at her aunt.

Mrs. Gardiner laughed. “I dare say I shall not hear the end of her disappointment if we do not have a tour. Elizabeth is an industrious sort of young lady who might need a charity in which to be involved after she is married.”

“And is marriage in the near future?” Mrs. Verity asked as she led them from the room.

“No,” Elizabeth answered as her aunt replied “possibly.”

Mrs. Verity laughed. “The hopeful aunt…

“Mr. Edwards,” Mrs. Verity said as she saw him descending the stairs. “There are some people I would like you to meet.”

The gentleman who stood beside Mrs. Verity looked familiar to Charles. He was nearly certain he had seen him at some soiree or another, and the lady at his side was also familiar, though Charles was uncertain if he had seen her more than maybe once. The other lady and gentleman, he had not seen before.

“This is Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy,” Mrs. Verity began.

Darcy. He had heard that name before. Darcy was a wealthy fellow who had just gotten married last season if Charles was not mistaken. And the pretty lady must be his wife.

“And this is his wife, Mrs. Darcy…”

He had guessed that correctly. Not that it was terribly difficult to do.

“…and her aunt and uncle, the Gardiners.” Mrs. Verity turned to the people next to her. “This is Mr. Edwards, the gentleman I told you has taken Stephen and Arthur under his wing.” She turned back to Charles. “The Darcys are very active in the education of several of our children. Mr. Darcy is a favourite of the children for poetry readings, while Mrs. Darcy spends time with the younger girls, helping them with their letters, and the Gardiners are always supplying us with needed items and places for the children to go as apprentices and the like when they are old enough.”

Charles extended his hand to Darcy. “Forgive the stains, we have been polishing boots.”

“Oh,” said Mrs. Gardiner, “My husband knows how to remove those stains if you should need such information.”

Her eyes sparkled, and he suspected Mrs. Gardiner was a joy of a woman to be around. Not at all stuffy.

“Do the lads have as many stains on their hands?” she asked.

Charles smiled sheepishly. “No, it seems I am less adept at staying clean than they are.”

Mr. Gardiner chuckled. “I would say they are just more adept at doing things which would get them in trouble if there were any stains to be seen on their clothes or hands. We boys were all that way at their age, but as we have grown older, we have lost that skill.” He winked. “Not that we do not still know how to avoid getting into scrapes.”

His wife gasped softly, and Charles struggled not to laugh at the good humor shared between the two.

“You help the children get apprenticeships, so then you are in trade?” Charles asked Mr. Gardiner.

“I am. I have a warehouse near Cheapside.”

“And you,” he said to Mrs. Gardiner, “must be the source Miss Barrett was speaking about at Eiddwen House when I was given a tour. She said she had met someone who might help her place Eiddwen House’s residents in the trades.”

“Miss Barrett is a delight, is she not?” Mrs. Gardiner said.

Charles could not disagree with that statement. “She introduced me to this establishment.”

“How lovely,” said Mrs. Darcy.

Mrs. Darcy appeared to be as friendly as her aunt. They shared a similar smile.

“I believe Miss Barrett thought I was in want of improvement,” he said. “She is likely right,” he added with a laugh.

“Yes,” Darcy said, “I do believe I have heard your name.”

Mr. Darcy seemed the most serious of the individuals in the group, yet there was a small smile just tipping his lips. Charles could just imagine what Mr. Darcy had heard about him. It was likely nothing good. Rumors seldom were about gallant activities.

Charles pointed to his eye. Though the bruise was fading, it was still evident. “My name was in the paper recently. The society pages and not in a favourable fashion. A good friend, the brother of the young lady whose name was linked with mine, was not pleased. The story was a complete fabrication, but it did not matter to him. He had warned me,” he added to Mrs. Gardiner and her niece.

“I do remember that account,” Darcy said. “The one the following day which exonerated you was even more memorable.”