Mr Darcy's Fight for Love: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Florence Gold

Author:Florence Gold [Gold, Florence]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Austenesque
Publisher: #PrB.rating#3.75
Published: 2019-11-25T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Lady Russell received them with the broadest possible smile and a secret determination to find out as many details as possible about the duke’s wedding.

She lived in a new and beautiful house in St. James’s Square.

“Near Lord Castlereagh,”[1] she told them when Sophie complimented her on the house.

With each day that passed, Elisabeth was aware of the immense change that had taken place in their lives. Only some two months ago Bingley’s sisters were hardly speaking to them and now she or Jane could enter the most prestigious houses in London.

It was amazing but she was sometimes overwhelmed by this life. It was not the luxury or the wealth that scared her but the mere fact that they shared a different kind of existence. For Elizabeth Bennet from Hertfordshire, they were complete strangers. She remembered her father speaking with uncle Gardiner about Lord Castlereagh in the context of war. Still, she could not say anything about his family or the way they lived. And now she was just two houses away from his home meeting a lady who, most probably, often visited there. The Regent or Lord Castlereagh were not quite like real people as seen in Hertfordshire. She was afraid she could not handle the change. However, just as Sophie told her the people they met treated her like one of their own.

They sat in a cosy and intimate parlour, Lady Russel’s private room just near her bedroom. She was wearing an exquisite dressing gown with a long trail, more fitted to a ballroom. Cut from rustling silk it made her look like a princess and not like a woman who did not take her breakfast—as she said—while inviting them to join her in the dining room.

“Lord Russell departs in the morning at inconceivable hours,” she said like a sort of excuse that she took breakfast at noon.

“And the children?” Sophie asked.

“The boys are at Eton and Virginia is with her grandparents in Bath,” Lady Russell answered with an indifferent smile.”

“What about you, my ladies?” she asked. “How are you preparing for the great event?”

“Roxanne dear, I am so happy for Thomas’s return to the life that each day is a happy event. As for his wedding, it will take place in Saint Paul’s Cathedral,” Lady Sommershire replied cheerfully looking at Elizabeth who approved.

“What about the guest list?”

Elizabeth was also interested as few details were known even by the family.

“Thomas decided to have a small family gathering. Only close family are invited, but he promised that this season we will also have a party.”

Elizabeth admired the way Sophie was leading the conversation. She offered some insignificant details about the duke and Mary and only when they returned to the parlour did she attack the problem they came for. She began by talking about the people who attended the dinner. They chatted about one or another when, as by chance, she said, “Lord Devonshire was rather insistent to gain Miss Bennet’s favours.”

And she added at once, “Tell us more about Lord Devonshire.

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