Part 1A
The characters and plot:
The Old earl Matlock had 3 daughters. His middle daughter Beatrice had two sons George and William with a man called John Evelyn. Beatrice dies in childbirth and John dies later when the eldest George is 23, its 1811. George has breeding, a great estate in Derbyshire, £15,000 a year, and he is not just handsome he is nice and clever too. He falls in love with Helen Percy she is his equal so the Fitzwilliam clan like her, but the Percy's do not go into fits of ecstasy. Helen's father is the younger son of the Duke of Northumberland and his mother Natasha was the daughter of a Russian prince. Her mother is the sole heir of the Earl of Houghton, the estate is entailed but the countess' large fortune is not. Helen is beautiful, rich and has lots of appeal, she should marry a peer. So for nine months George fights for her hand.
The outline of "our family":
Chapter 1A Wedding, Two Ladies And A Diary
*originally Helen's diary and two letters. Now just the letters.
What the diary tells us:
In the end he wins and there is nice family wedding in Richmond. The bridesmaids are Sarah Scott, Georgiana Darcy and Caroline Bingley in orange and red! We see that Georgiana is low (it's August and post Wickham) and Caroline who wants to get close to Darcy decides that Helen is her new best friend and that Helen will help smooth caro's way into the Fitzwilliam family. Helen is a bit spoilt and sees herself as some sort of fairy godmother figure (a cross between lady bountiful and cupid), Caroline is taken on. The Evelyns drive off to spend a lengthy honeymoon in the place to spend your honeymoon ... Brighton. This leaves the two aunts to write about it.
Part 1B
To Lady Catharine de Bourgh,
Rosings park, Hunsford, Kent
5TH AUGUST 1811Dear Catharine,
In reply to your letter of the 1st I am writing to inform you of the marriage between your nephew and my niece. My brother held the wedding celebrations at his house, which is pleasant but not large, and the bridal pair was married at the parish church.
The bride wore silver and white, you will be pleased to know that was worn by the bridal party, but not satin I'm afraid. There was a lack of peers, just the bride's grandfathers the duke of N and the earl of H. The bridesmaids were your niece Georgiana, the Hon. Miss Scott and a Miss Bingley. The bridesmaids were dressed in red spencers and orange bonnets, they wore orange and red stripe dresses. The bride was happy but too distracted by her own thoughts to be attentive as she should be.
She is everything that one could hope for in a niece though , you will not be disappointed she speaks her mind but she has charm. The bridesmaids however were not satisfactory, Miss Darcy didn't smile much, breaking the rule that everyone should smile at a wedding. I think she has a broken heart, yet I must be wrong as she meets nobody really!. Miss Scott was far too conspicuous and was flirting with every eligible man, and every ineligible one too!. Miss Bingley although less of a flirt, and better looking than Miss Scott, seemed to be completely engrossed with your nephew Mr. Darcy.
The bridal pair left after a sumptuous wedding breakfast for London. Tomorrow they will travel to Brighton, then to Oakdown.
In reply to your inquiry about connections, prospects and settlements I can assure you they are of the very best. Your niece has a £50000 dowry and possibly more at the death of the old earl. Your nephew has settled £1500 a year in pin and £5000 a year in widowhood. Her father's family are well known to you, for we had our first season together did we not Catharine? Her maternal grandmother was the daughter of master whose great fortune WAS acquired through sugar plantations, but the taint of trade is slight upon Helen. The rest of her relations have all been Russian princes, dukes, earls and peer's younger sons.
The income of both (£15000+£2000 yearly interest on dowry) and their connections guarantee the Evelyns place in society. There are unfortunately a great number of daughters born in both families, but as there have been no barren wives an heir is to be expected.
My brother sends his regrets that Miss De Burgh was too ill to attend the wedding. He suggests the air of Ramsgate might be beneficial, but it does not seemed to have helped your niece who was there last month.
Yours ever
Lady Susan Aubrey
Part 1C
*=the author's personal comment
to Lady Susan Aubrey,
Mount Street, Mayfair, London
8th August 1811Dear Susan,
I am grateful to you for your letter but there is a disgraceful lack of detail in your description of the wedding and the bride's attire! It is however of no importance as I intend to invite them to Rosings in April when my two other nephews visit me. From what I can gather the wedding was rather shabby! No bridal lace! I have never heard of such a thing!. When my dear Anne marries she will have lace in excess and much nobler bridesmaids! My poor George, I am positive the Bingley woman forced her way into the bridal party.
Speaking of the Bingley woman her attentions to my nephew can only attributed to her low origins. I ask you! OMLY THE MOST VULGAR WOMAN WOULD GO AROUND SAYING THAT SHE(OR ONE OF HER RELATIONS) IS PRATICALY ENGAGED TO A MAN WHEN HE HAS SHOWN NO SIGNS OF AN INCLINATION TOWARDS HER!.
*who indeed? yet something sounds familiar.
The Bingley fortune was acquire in trade in Newcastle, recently, too recently! I accept my nephew's friendship as Bingley's easy manner, his effort to please and his low origins must be a great comfort to Darcy's sense of superiority. You can see it must be nice to have him around, VERY nice to have him around, VERY VERY...
*(in Agitation) steady on! You are supposed to be cold and rank conscious!
Anyhow it IS shocking that my nephew Evelyn should have at the wedding. It's indelicate to say the least, I mean the woman was standing next to my pure bred nieces, polluting the air!!
As to my niece Georgiana there is no excuse!. since her fathers death she has the most attentive of guardians', the MOST attentive aunt!, yet she is so silent. I like a girl with vivacity! I must conclude that G has been spoilt to a degree that she insensible of propriety and duty!
She never visits ME, she never writes and when we do meet she is silent. It grieves me to see G so healthy and wasting her life, why if my Anne had been as healthy how well she would have played the piano! Oh life is cruel!
I would not send my Anne to Ramsgate I hear fortune hunters abound in Ramsgate, it would not surprise me if G's affections had been trifled with!!
*(feigned innocence)you don't say!
Fortunately as you can see G has returned safely, the praise must go to dear Mrs. Younge who is with G always. I flatter myself that it was on my recommendation that this dear companion was employed!
* (sarcastically) I'm sure your niece thanks you daily for such advice!
As to your information regarding the financial arrangements they are satisfactory. Of course their place in society is assured! They are MY relations!
I am thankful for the presence of an earl and the dear duke, a DUKE, my dear, ALWAYS lends dignity to a wedding. However should the dear duke been unable to attend I would have made my brother Matlock (who is very ill) attend!
* I for one don't doubt it!
It is these small attentions to detail on my part that has excited the admiration of the county and inspired my clergyman to remark...
*this from "useful phrases that can be adapted to an ordinary occasion" collection...
"That loss of dignity in a peer's daughter is irretrievable."
Yours,
Lady Catharine de Bourgh
Part 2A
*=author's personal comment
To Miss C Bingley,
Grovesnor Street, Mayfair, London
3rd September 1811Dearest Caroline,
I am back in Arlington Street! I meant to write to you before, but I WAS busy as only married couples can be! Although you might not know what I mean, as you are not m...
However independence IS nice, lucky you! I am so happy! It is to be expected as George is VERY handsome, handsomer than anyone and everyone, even, may I say, than Mr. Darcy!
As we on the subject of Mr. Darcy I would remind you of a (I admit unanswered) letter you wrote to me about a week ago, asking for my help as a matchmaker. As your friend I WOULD caution you Caroline!
Let me gently remind you that Mr. Darcy is the most sought after bachelor in England, well apart from my cousin the Marquis but you won't have him!
*I am not surprised he's 55!
Darcy is likely to marry a woman with a much larger fortune and better connections (the granddaughter of an earl at least!) than yours dearest friend. Moreover if the best (in material terms of course Caroline!) is thrown at Darcy then the best he is likely to choose (he is so fastidious!). You deserve someone who will appreciate your unique personality and your uncommon wit!
Then it's not just young ladies it's their parents. I mean everyone knows that my aunt lady Catherine de burgh thinks Darcy betrothed from the cradle to HER daughter! I hear she is not a woman to be trifled with Caroline so please be less obvious around Darcy as George says he wouldn't put it past her to warn you off. Happily we don't think Darcy will marry her, she is rich, tolerable and almost as well connected as me (I say almost because I fear the old colonel being brought up when I visit her, and I WILL play the ducal card). Perhaps I am being horrible and paranoid, but she has a terrible reputation and I dread the thought of seeing her in April.
You mentioned your brother is having a house party once he has signed the lease of his new house, and you invited us, hoping that we could (to quote you Caroline) "leave the peasants and help arrange the match of the century!"
Let us get something quite clear, I will come in October but only to make sure that you are not too obvious in your attentions and to ascertain his feelings. Recalling the pair of you at my wedding it seemed very one-sided, I was left with image you stalking your unhappy prey!
My second point of clarification, they are NOT and NEVER WILL BE peasants at Oakdown, instead we have a group of loyal and trustworthy people on the estate that are commonly known as tenants Caroline! Ironically I AM grieved, for I will not meet these needy souls until Christmas. I have always had great desire to do good and bring about happiness to all; I can't wait to be a great lady just like Lady Beatrice.
The reason for the delay is that there has been a cholera epidemic on our estate and the surrounding villages. I must be content in helping my uncle Matlock's tenants instead.
For you see I am to visit him, he might be George's uncle really, but he feels like mine. He wrote me such a sweet letter when I got engaged! Apparently he is very sick and even though I have a thousand things to do in London concerning the house I really must go! I feel he needs my help! Do write to me dear Caroline when I am in Matlock, I leave tomorrow and expect to be back on the 21st. I am sorry that I haven't been able to visit you but it's been non-stop chaos since we arrived last night. First we heard about the cholera, and then we had to present ourselves at court. Then this morning we had a letter from Aunt Matlock saying that uncle would like to see us sometime soon, so I decided to go visit him before we all went to Hertfordshire (you see the poor dear didn't explain how urgent it was). Then at noon an express arrived from aunt Catherine telling us that uncle Matlock is dying and it is our duty to be at the deathbed. George said that Aunt Catherine is prone to exaggeration and melodrama, but we should go immediately just in case. I think that George is right for if uncle Matlock IS dying wouldn't aunt Catherine think it HER duty as a sister to go too (she isn't you know), especially as she always writes to George about "canes of duty for us all."
The Darcy's accompany us of course, this is probably a GREAT loss to you dear Caroline! Perhaps I am of help after all as I don't suppose Darcy has informed you (as a love struck man WOULD have done) himself of his journey. Perhaps Georgiana was kinder.
I send you your present from Brighton with this letter. I hope you like it as orange lace handkerchiefs are very hard to find outside Soho!
Ever Your Friend,
Helen EvelynP.S. At Brighton I danced with a viscount Bradford. I told him you were my bridesmaid. He seemed very interested to hear about you. He asked if you had "hooked" Darcy yet, I said that you hadn't and he seemed to find my answer cause for much praise about you. Interested?