unfamiliar, she was being given the courtesies always accorded to a bride on her wedding tour. She was the centre of attention, her every word was being listened to with great interest.
‘You must tell us how you met,’ said Gustav. ‘We have heard nothing about it.’
‘We never hear of anything here!’ said Clothilde.
‘Yes, do tell us,’ said Isabella.
‘Indeed,’ said Frederique.
‘We met in Hertfordshire,’ said Elizabeth, ‘when Darcy’s friend rented a house in my neighbourhood. Darcy attended the local assembly with his friend…’
‘And it was love at first sight. I comprehend!’ said Louis.
Elizabeth laughed.
‘Far from it!’ she said.
‘No? But what is this? Darcy, you did not fall in love at once with the beautiful Elizabeth?’ He turned to Elizabeth. ‘If I had been there, I would have prostrated myself at your so-charming feet.’
‘When, then, did Darcy see the error of his ways?’ asked Gustav.
‘It was not until many months later,’ said Elizabeth.
‘No? Darcy! You are a veritable blockhead!’ said Frederique.
Darcy smiled.
‘Ah, yes, my friend, you can afford to smile, you have at last won the hand of the beautiful Elizabeth and you bring her to us as your bride.’
‘But how did it happen?’ asked Carlotta. ‘You must tell us how Darcy changed his mind.’
Nothing would do for them but to hear a full recital. Elizabeth left out any mention of Georgiana and Wickham, and she passed lightly over Lydia’s elopement, saying only that Darcy had come to the aid of her sister when that sister found herself in difficulties a long way from home.
They were still asking her questions when dinner was announced, and over that meal, which consisted of venison, root vegetables, and partridge, they teased out more information about Elizabeth’s home in Hertfordshire. Gustav announced that he had been to England many years ago and he discussed its merits with Elizabeth.
The women were engaging and the men were attentive, so that Elizabeth felt herself charmed. For all their shabby clothes, they knew how to set her at her ease, and the men knew how to flatter her delicately and how to make her laugh.
After dessert, the port was passed round and the ladies withdrew. The Count’s female guests were full of admiration for Elizabeth’s gown and they were eager to hear about the Paris fashions.
‘Tell me, how are the sleeves this year? Are they long or short?’ asked Clothilde.
‘They are scarcely there at all,’ said Elizabeth. ‘They are nothing but frills at the top of the arm.’
‘That is all very well for a heated drawing room where the press of bodies makes one hot, but it will not do for the mountains where we have snow for half the year,’ said Isabella, laughing.
‘It might, if we sit close to the fire,’ said Clothilde. ‘I like the thought of sleeves that are nothing more than a frill.’
‘Do you really want to sit close to the fire all day?’ Isabella teased her. ‘No, you cannot sit still for more than a few minutes at a time. You would be jumping up and going somewhere, doing something.’
‘Not all the time; in the evening now and then sitting still would not be so bad if it meant I could be comme à la mode. And how are the skirts, are they all like your dress, with the waist very high?’
‘Yes,’ said Elizabeth. ‘They have been this way for some time.’
‘We have much to catch up with,’ said Carlotta. ‘We used to get the fashion journals, but since the troubles, they have not been so easy to come by.’
‘Then we must go to Paris,’ said Clothilde. ‘We must treat ourselves. Too long have we been content to live in the forests. We will take a trip to the capital and return laden with gowns and shawls and gloves and fans. We will startle our men folk with our fashionable dress and perhaps it will prompt them to go to town themselves and get some new clothes, too. I am sure they could benefit from them. They look very clumsy, our friends, next to Mr Darcy.’
‘I cannot believe Frederique will wear new clothes; his old ones are too comfortable,’ said Clothilde. ‘He will wear them until they fall from his back! Have you men like this in England, Elizabeth?’
‘We have men of all kinds,’ she said, ‘some who follow the fashions closely and some who dress as they please.’
‘Ah! Then it is the same everywhere, I think! But here they are now. We were just saying how we would like to go to Paris and