Chapter 9 Country Life 3 The Eve of the Dance
The Bennett family attaches great importance to this ball.
In the past two days, Reina tried to chat with the maids in her free time. Having one's own network of contacts wherever one goes is a necessary quality for a mature personal maid.
But she failed.
She told Heather dejectedly that there was not a single idle maid in the house, and each of them had multiple jobs.
Mrs. Johnson also said seriously that it would be no different even if the Palace of Versailles summoned all the titled noble ladies to attend a court dinner.
Hazel laughed and fell on Mary next to her.
Next to Mary's room was a larger guest room with good lighting, which was specially designed for female guests to rest. Mrs. Bennett arranged for Heather to stay here.
Since Heather and Mary were the only two people in the house, they didn't need to make extensive preparations for the ball's look and attire, so Mary stayed in Heather's room with a book during the day.
Although Mary was unwilling to waste time on choosing clothes and styling, she still looked forward to such a large-scale party.
She spent her mornings in Heather's room reading and chatting, and her afternoons practicing the piano piece she planned to play at the ball.
Mary told Heather that she planned to play Schubert's waltz or Chopin's polonaise at the ball because they were more suitable for the atmosphere of the ball.
Heather asked curiously, "How good are you at playing the piano? I mean, how good are you compared to your peers?"
Mary rationally and objectively evaluated her own level of skill. "My piano skills should be among the best among the young ladies in the area, as I've already mastered most of the Appassionata Sonata on my own. But I'm definitely not the best. After all, Miss Brightman of Meryton has a piano teacher at home, and I heard she can already play all of Clementi's etudes."
Heather is looking forward to Mary's performance.
In addition, she is also very much looking forward to meeting the male protagonist of the original book, Mr. Darcy, and the host of the ball, Mr. Bingley. What are these two men who are admired by countless people in later generations like?
The day of the ball at Netherfield arrived as scheduled.
After lunch, Heather decided to take a good nap and get up two hours early to put on some simple makeup.
Perhaps due to her severe sleep deprivation when she was looking for a job right after graduation, Heather's favorite activity now is sleeping. Unfortunately, living with a large family and having to eat breakfast together at a set time every morning has resulted in her not being able to sleep in even once this month.
Therefore, Heather could only take advantage of the free time in the afternoon to catch up on her sleep.
But in general, having financial freedom and no one to control you is enough to make you happy.
If you don't have to worry about making a living, you don't have to worry about making money all the time. If you're married, you don't have to think about improving yourself to marry into a wealthy family. Mrs. Bennett has a large family of daughters to take care of and has no time to keep an eye on her aging sister. Mrs. Johnson and Reina have no right to ask about the master's arrangements.
So Heather sometimes feels that in this era, widows with a certain inheritance may be the happiest group of women.
Before Hazel could lie down on the bed, Mrs. Bennett's loud voice pierced the quiet afternoon.
"Lucy, look what you've done! Oh my God, a clumsy maid like you should have been kicked out of the house long ago!"
Mrs. Bennett's angry roar went straight through the third floor.
Out of curiosity, Reina ran to the stairwell and looked down, wanting to see what Lucy had done to make Mrs. Bennet so angry, as she was looking forward to the ball.
Lena ran back to report to Heather: "Lucy scratched the back of the dress Miss Jane was going to wear tonight. It seemed to be a silk dress, and a short wooden thorn could have cut a big hole in it."
She could sympathize with Lucy: "That kind of dress is the easiest to get damaged, especially when you are very busy. I also damaged one in the past, but fortunately my wife forgave me."
Heather asked curiously, "Are you familiar with that Lucy?"
Reina nodded. "She's a new maid who came in a while ago and hasn't taken on much work yet, so she's the one with the least time these days. We even exchanged snacks last night!"
Heather admired Lena's social skills very much, and she quickly became sisters with several maids of similar age in the Gardner family.
The sound of Mrs. Bennett's collapse continued to be heard.
Heather thought about it and asked Mrs. Johnson to help find a dress that Jane could wear and send it down.
Mrs. Johnson, the invisible queen of fashion who knew every dress in Heather's collection, took a moment to consider Jane's style and immediately decided on a dress.
There was no doubt that she could calm Mrs. Bennet's anger in five minutes and give Hazel a peaceful nap.
Mrs. Johnson was also very puzzled as to how a lady who could remain calm in front of the royal family could have such a jumpy sister.
She admired Mrs. Bennet very much for being so energetic at her age, but for the sake of everyone's peace and quiet, she changed her usual calmness, walked downstairs nimbly and knocked on Miss Bennett's bedroom door.
A few minutes later, she successfully defended Heather's nap.
Heather happily slept until four in the afternoon, then quickly finished her evening makeup and got dressed.
Heather looked at the charming young lady in the mirror and felt secretly happy. With such a beautiful face, it was hard to be unhappy no matter what she did.
"Thank you, Mrs. Johnson. You have such skilled techniques and a sophisticated aesthetic that you would be sought after by ladies even in London."
Mrs. Jensen carefully examined Heather's makeup, gently placed her hand on her shoulder, and whispered, "You will definitely be the most beautiful woman tonight."
Heather winked at her playfully: "Oh, I don't need it. If I ruin my sister's plan to find a son-in-law, she won't forgive me."
When Heather came downstairs to the living room on time, the Bennett family was already there.
Heather asked in surprise, "Are we leaving so early?"
Mrs. Bennett came forward excitedly: "No, of course not, we are the distinguished guests invited by the host himself, so it is better for us to arrive a little later."
She beckoned Jane over and continued, "My dear sister, you are such a kind aunt. If it weren't for your generosity, everything would be ruined today. Look at this dress, how well it suits Jane. She is really born to marry a rich man!"
Jane came forward shyly, and she was obviously very happy to meet her lover in her most beautiful appearance.
"Thank you, Auntie. I don't know how to thank you enough."
She was wearing a long dress made of white satin with silver thread patterns, which shimmered like moonlight as she moved. The high waist and naturally draped hem perfectly highlighted her smooth curves. With the pearl necklace, Jane looked like a noble lady from London's upper class.
Heather's eyes also brightened: "Jane, you look so beautiful. I hope you can have a pleasant evening later."
Elizabeth added: "When Mr. Bingley sees Jane later, he will be immediately struck by her beauty."
Jane blushed and had a fight with her sister.
Sure enough, when the Bennett family arrived at the Netherfield banquet hall on time, Mr. Bingley, who was standing at the door to greet the guests, was stunned.
He was a young gentleman who was not too tall but still had a dignified appearance. He had a slightly childish face and looked much younger than his actual age.
He stumbled over his greetings to the Bennetts, his eyes hardly leaving Jane, and he evidently had not heard clearly when Mrs. Bennett introduced her sister.
After carefully examining Mr. Bentley, Heather followed everyone inside with satisfaction, leaving Bentley and Jane following slowly at the end.
Mrs. Bennett's plan was not in vain. They successfully became the last guests. As soon as they entered the door, they found that the room was already full of ladies wearing various dresses and gentlemen wearing black tuxedos.
Lydia and Kitty quickly disappeared into the crowd.
While the others were still taking off their hats and cloaks at the door, Mrs. Lucas squeezed in to say hello.
She took Mrs. Bennet's hand and complained to her why she was so late.
Before Mrs. Lucas had finished her words, the buzz of conversation in the hall suddenly died down, and she turned her head in fright.
Mrs. Bennett also felt something was wrong. They were all old acquaintances, so why did her family's performance attract so much attention?
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