Chapter 4: Jade Rabbit Goes to the Dance and Meets a Burning Vision
"Puchi——" Alice laughed out loud.
Mrs. Bennett often said that a wealthy bachelor would always need a wife[1], and this mother must have been thinking that a wealthy single lady would always need a husband.
If they meet, they will definitely have a lot to talk about.
"Mom, I told you, I—"
The male voice was quickly interrupted.
"I don't know anything. I only know that you need a lady with a generous dowry to be your wife. John told me that someone has sent you an invitation to a ball. Remember to attend on time." The mother made arrangements directly. Although her words were firm, she spoke slowly and calmly, as if she was reciting a poem in the morning with an elegant tone, which was completely different from Mrs. Bennet's style.
"Who is John's employer?" the man reproached in a low voice, but it didn't sound like he would really punish the servant who tipped off.
The three of them continued walking along the park path, gradually leaving the conversation between mother and son behind. Alice, with her exceptional hearing, could still hear the man arguing with her mother, but her "fragile nerves" ultimately succumbed. In the end, all she could hear was a sighed "Okay, Mom."
It seemed London was full of fragile nerves. Perhaps that lady would be a customer of hers someday, so I figured there would be plenty of places to buy the ointment she prepared. Alice raised her eyebrows slightly, a plan in mind.
After a stroll in Hyde Park, the three of them took a carriage back to Tian'en Temple Street before dinner.
After exchanging daily news at the dinner table, Mr. Gardner carefully inquired about Alice's needs for store decoration and said he would help her communicate with the construction workers on Bond Street.
"Alyssa, don't worry about the renovations. New houses are being built or renovated in London every day, and they've already trained experienced workers. A shop can be completed in less than a week. But you need to hire the shop staff sooner rather than later. Your shop might need some instruction in herbal medicine and the proper etiquette of hospitality," Mr. Gardner suggested. "Have your aunt take you around the factories. Women who are willing to work in that kind of environment are usually quite hardworking."
After swallowing his food, he continued, "You can also find an agent to introduce you to a maid, but many maids don't stay long, and only see this as a housekeeping training before marriage or to save up for a dowry. If you want a long-term business like this, it's not suitable."
"Don't worry about the oriental herbs. I'll go to Cheapside Herb Lane to ask for you tomorrow," Mr. Gardner added.
"That's great." Alice said as she took Mrs. Gardner's arm and leaned over to say sweetly, "Thank you, uncle and aunt, it's great to have you as relatives."
Both of them were very impressed and became more and more interested in their niece opening a shop.
Mr. Gardner took a public carriage to Bond Street early in the morning. Alice and the other two followed later in the family carriage to Stratford, East End. The air quality in the East End was truly poor; no wonder London's upper class had moved away. The factories that remained gathered here increasingly, and the air became increasingly polluted, with a complex odor of leather and lamp oil, making it quite unpleasant.
They set out late and arrived in the area around noon. It wasn't that the three of them were lazy, but they wanted to see the female workers. Apart from the early morning when they had to go to work before dawn, they could only be seen rushing around during lunch time.
There was a row of workers, both men and women, squatting in the corners of the walls on both sides of the streets, eating a simple lunch, which was basically black bread, with the better ones sandwiched with some unidentifiable paste.
Some looked up, curious about why this woman, who was clearly from a respectable background, had come here. Near a pile of goods, several men were eating and chatting quietly, speculating about their group's identities. Some thought they were visiting family, others that they had brought their families to seek refuge with their lover, who had made a fortune in business. Some even maliciously speculated that they were members of less respectable professions.
A thin female worker nearby stopped their wild speculations, saying that such gossip would damage the reputation of the two young ladies. When a man rushed towards the female worker, swearing and punching, she picked up a nearby stone and smashed his head.
Alice saw this and called the thin woman aside. She stood up and was about the same height as Miss Bingley. She introduced herself as Anna.
"I plan to hire you as a pharmacy employee. Are you willing?" She then remembered that she didn't know how much employees were generally paid, and she looked at Mrs. Gardner inquiringly.
Mrs. Gardner whispered a number and explained that factories like to hire female workers because they are cheap and easy to use.
"Cheaper than the men?" Alice asked, as this was the first time she had heard of this. "How much do they earn?"
After hearing what Mrs. Gardner said, Alice said directly to Anna: "I will give you a salary of 3 pounds a month."
"Miss, this is the salary of a male worker!" Anna was shocked.
Alice didn't care. "I only care whether the work is done well or not."
Anna was very grateful and promised to work hard.
Alice nodded in satisfaction, gave Anna the shop address, and handed her a pound for clothes, asking her to meet her in the shop in a week wearing clean and decent clothes.
After arranging for the newly hired clerk, the three of them crossed the large factory area and returned to where the carriage was parked.
"Miss Bennet!" cried a delighted voice, "you are in London!"
The three of them turned around, and it was indeed Mr. Bingley, still with that naive and gullible look on his face. His already bright eyes seemed to shine even brighter when he saw Jane.
He walked up quickly with excitement, saluted, and then called out, "Miss Alice."
Jane introduced her aunt, Mrs. Gardner, and the two exchanged greetings. Bingley smiled and said to Jane, "Miss Bennett, what a coincidence! I didn't expect you to come to London and meet me here."
Jane was slightly surprised when she heard this, but she didn't mention that she had visited him before, which also stopped Alice from saying anything that was about to be exposed.
"Miss Bennett, Miss Alice, if that's the case, please allow me to invite you to a dance at my house in a few days," Bingley said enthusiastically. "I've just rented a new house in London, right next to my brother-in-law's, and I'm planning to invite relatives and friends to have a great time. It would be great to have you here!"
Then he remembered Mrs. Gardner next to him and said politely, "You and Mr. Gardner are also welcome to join us."
"Of course, Mr. Bingley," Jane agreed happily on behalf of the others. "We will go."
Soon the day for the dance arrived.
Mr. and Mrs. Gardner, Jane and Alice, dressed up and went to the Grosvenor district again as promised.
Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley, who still managed the household for their brother, Mr. Bingley, who was still without a mistress, were now together at the door to greet the guests.
Mr. Bingley, as always, was the first to greet them warmly. Mrs. Hurst's expression remained gracious and graceful, with no sign of anything unusual. Miss Bingley, however, showed a touch of embarrassment and nervousness, a bit childish.
After some greetings, everyone was led into a room that had been decorated as a ballroom.
Handing the coat to the Bentley servant, the four of them blended into the bustling crowd.
In the West End of London, where every inch of land is valuable, the terraced house ballroom is naturally smaller than the country villa Netherfield Manor, and the gentlemen and ladies attending are also dressed more fashionably and exquisitely, but otherwise there doesn't seem to be much difference.
Both sisters were of rare beauty and attracted considerable attention as they entered the hall. However, since they were strangers, no one introduced them to others. The interested men could only observe from the side and did not come forward to offend them.
It didn't take long before the Bentley family, after welcoming all the guests, came in.
The band played music, and Mr. Bingley invited Jane to the first dance. Having just exchanged greetings with Mr. Darcy and the legendary Miss Georgiana, anyone who didn't see Mr. Bingley's intentions after seeing his actions would be a fool. Jane smiled and agreed to join him in the dance.
The popular dance in England at this time was not a dance performed by a man and a woman alone, but a dance in which a man and a woman stood in a row facing each other, and would exchange partners within a group arranged to different dance music.
At Mr. Bingley's cordial introduction, Alice danced happily with Colonel Fitzwilliam, Mr. Darcy's cousin who had arrived later, and then danced with Mr. Bingley. She then declined the invitations of other gentlemen, as their looks did not help her to maintain a good mood.
Jane good-temperedly accepted all the invitations to dance, but Alice was too lazy to deal with the endless stream of invitations that came to her, so she simply leaned against the window in the corner of the ballroom, eating snacks and listening to the conversations of people in the room.
Only then did he learn that tonight's guests, in addition to Mr. Bingley's friends in London, also included some minor aristocrats, invited by Mr. Hurst to expand his wife's brother's social circle. Mr. Hurst could be considered to have some aristocratic ancestry; his grandfather had been a baron, but unfortunately, he had fallen on hard times. Naturally, the guests he invited were not particularly distinguished.
"Mr. Moran, my bracelet suddenly disappeared. Can you accompany me to the small garden outside to look for it?" She was listening with relish to several ladies in the distance talking about a famous handsome gentleman who came to the ball for the first time. Many young ladies were eager to go, and it seemed that they had happened to see the scene at this moment.
"That kind of chatter is no longer fashionable," said the man called Mr. Moran bluntly. "If you were a street vendor selling fruit, I'd be worried about whether you could have bread tonight."
The voice was familiar, but the tone was even more arrogant than Mr. Darcy's.
The man didn't seem to intend to wait for the other party to answer, and walked away directly. When he turned the corner, he met his own gaze.
He was stunned for a second, avoided the burning gaze, and turned away.
This tall and slender figure also looked familiar. It was indeed the man I met by chance under the plane tree in Hyde Park that day.
Thinking back to what I just saw, she is worthy of her reputation as a beautiful woman.
Blonde hair and blue eyes, he has a striking appearance at first glance. His arrogance is just what he seems to have, perfectly matching his features.
Thinking of those clear blue eyes, she temporarily forgot the often gloomy sky in London and missed the days when she could play in the clouds in the sky.
Alice curled her lips in a hint of interest.
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[1] The first sentence of the original work is used in this context.
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