Chapter 22 Country Life 16 Rebuilding a Lady
Heather turned back, no longer looking back, and pushed aside the little bit of guilt in the corner of her mind. She said, "You're Lizzie's best friend, so just call me Aunt Heather, okay?"
Charlotte nodded, and she said kindly, "Aunt Heather, would you like to come over to my house? I have just bought some lace and satin from Meryton, and Mother has promised to let Maria and I make a new shawl each, for the first time this season."
She added naturally, "My mother and the others have gone to Mrs. Smith's for a tea party. The house is very quiet now."
Heather agreed immediately, and she was thinking about how to avoid seeing Major Brown again later when she returned.
No wonder Charlotte and Elizabeth are best friends. Although she is always said to be not as good-looking as the young lady from the Bennet family, her thoughtful kindness and intelligence that she can understand things without being told are not inferior at all.
Heather has been to Lucas's house more than once.
Sir Lucas's house is a Georgian-style red brick building. It looks unremarkable from the outside. Both its area and interior decoration are slightly inferior to the Bennett family's house, and it cannot be compared with Netherfield Manor.
Sir Lucas and his wife were both kind-hearted and generous people. Their character and honorary titles made them quite famous in the whole village.
However, this did not help the young ladies of their family gain much honor in the marriage market, because the families of similar social class nearby were well aware that the Lucas family's wealth did not match its reputation.
In fact, in Heather's opinion, although Miss Lucas's appearance is not as dazzling as her friend, it is definitely not a serious shortcoming.
Her facial features were delicate, but her figure was not as slender as the girls of the Bennet family, and her shoulders were narrow, making her look a bit unsettled. Apart from that, there were not many flaws.
So Heather felt that Charlotte was only three years younger than her but had not yet married. On the one hand, it was because the Lucas family had relatively high requirements for their son-in-law, and on the other hand, her dowry was meager, probably not even as much as Elizabeth and others.
In this era with a narrow social circle and a single standard for evaluating women, it is difficult to "marry up" without outstanding beauty. So in fact, just from the perspective that Mr. Collins will inherit land with an annual income of 2,000 pounds in the future, he is already a rare good choice for Charlotte.
Heather could see that as Elizabeth grew increasingly dissatisfied with Mr. Collins's stupidity and pedantry, Charlotte increasingly felt that he would be a good marriage candidate.
On the way back, in addition to chatting about some common relatives and friends and rural interests, Charlotte also casually asked about Mr. Collins's return date.
Mr. Collins was determined to find a wife in Longbourn as soon as possible, so after returning to the pastoral area to complete his work these weekends, he always found an excuse to come to Longbourn as soon as possible.
Charlotte is looking forward to Mr. Collins's arrival. He is not a witty, handsome, and golden bachelor, but he is an easy-to-control fool, and his social status and future economic conditions are not bad.
So she was delighted when Mrs. Lucas, after a long absence, allowed her to buy a better piece of cloth and make two new shawls.
Because it was obvious that Mr. Collins was a vulgar man who claimed to value character but was always attracted by beauty. She wanted to win more favors at the next dance.
Based on Charlotte's understanding of Elizabeth, she would never be with someone like Mr. Collins. She deserves true love that is more interesting and intelligent, and she will definitely refuse to compromise.
But Charlotte herself no longer had time to wait for a better option, she had to seize this opportunity.
Charlotte took Heather to the living room, which was deserted this afternoon. The Lucas's were away visiting friends, and Charlotte's brothers and sisters were either visiting or taking a nap, so no one would disturb them.
Hazel felt that this was a rare moment of peace and leisure. She ate fruit soaked in well water while watching Charlotte sew the newly bought lace onto a shawl at the small table in the corner. Her hands were very deft, and she sewed a simple lace into a patchwork of patterns.
The Lucas girls dressed very simply most of the time. Mrs. Lucas was a good housekeeper, unlike Mrs. Bennett, who would indulge her children in buying them new gloves today and new hats tomorrow even if the income and expenditure were just enough.
The new shawl was a bright color rarely seen in Charlotte's wardrobe, a lavender satin shawl that cost almost two pounds even without any patterns or decorations on it, more than an everyday cotton skirt.
But it was always cheaper to buy a new shawl than a presentable new dress, and Charlotte admired her work and thought it went very well with the moon-white Indian silk dress that she had kept in the closet.
It was a present for her twentieth birthday, and she had seldom worn it in recent years, feeling that she had not yet reached an important occasion where she would need it. Mr. Collins had never seen the dress before, so it could be worn as if it were new.
Heather rarely saw Charlotte wearing light-colored dresses. As she didn't want to go home yet, she encouraged Charlotte to try changing into one and adding a new shawl. She could also help and give some suggestions.
Charlotte came down from upstairs after a while. She put on the white dress but looked a little depressed.
Heather pulled her over and stood in front of the mirror, looking at her carefully for a few minutes.
Charlotte dejectedly took off her shawl, tugged at her skirt uncomfortably, and said dejectedly, "I don't think this dress suits me, does it? I'm too short, and perhaps a little bulky. It looks good hanging on me, but it makes me look really bloated."
Heather pondered for a moment. She thought the color was pretty good, more flattering than Charlotte's usual gray-blue cotton dresses. But the material was definitely not the best. Perhaps it had shrunk from being stored too long or from washing, it looked cramped and bunched. The shape was only suitable for the tall and thin. The entire skirt was a straight tube from the bust down, which was stiff and flattering, making it unflattering for those of average build.
It was almost time for dinner, and if she didn't go home, Mrs. Bennet would probably send someone out to look for her. Charlotte also asked if she should be sent home.
At this moment, Heather had an idea and suddenly thought of a short video selling products that she had watched before. In the video, the host said that her skirt had a special drape and could make people look taller and thinner when introducing it.
This is a common tactic and she didn't pay much attention to it at first, but she was deeply impressed by a technique called "bias cutting" mentioned later in the video.
It was a very common technology in modern times, originating in France in the early 19th century. Heather couldn't remember the exact date. But in the original owner's memory, the term had never appeared even in France, indicating that it was at least not widely used.
Thanks to the power of big data recommendations, she later came across several related explanations and roughly understood the principle of the so-called "bias cutting".
Hazel had never sewn before and could only give a rough description of the method. If Mrs. Johnson were there, she might quickly understand what she meant, but now Charlotte had to try it herself.
"Charlotte, I think there's a good way to improve this skirt. If you have time, you can try it." Heather found a scrap of fabric from the table and showed it to Charlotte. "You see, our normal clothes are cut horizontally, which makes the fabric lack elasticity and tends to bunch up straight, not fitting the body. But if you pinch this piece of fabric by two opposite corners and lift it vertically, it will have much more elasticity."
Charlotte moved closer and took it to observe curiously.
Indeed, this is easy to see. If you pull a piece of cloth horizontally or vertically, it has almost no stretchability; on the contrary, if you rotate it 45 degrees and place it diagonally, you can feel its elasticity by gently pulling it with your hand.
Charlotte said in surprise, "I see! But will this help my dress? Do I need to ask a tailor to make me a new one?"
Heather wasn't entirely confident in her memory, and buying new cloth to make a new dress would be prohibitively expensive, and Mrs. Lucas wouldn't agree. So she'd been wondering if she could alter the dress based on the original.
"Its advantage is that it fits your body better, and when you walk, the hem naturally drapes in spiral pleats, which makes you look elegant and visually elongated. I'm not exactly sure how to do it, but the part above the waistline should be retained. If you can remove the straight skirt from below the waistline, fold the removed fabric in half diagonally, cut it on the bias, and then sew it back to the old waistline, it should be possible. However, I haven't tried it, so there might be a risk of failure."
Heather thought Charlotte would hesitate, and thought she could tell her that if she failed, she would give her a new dress.
But Charlotte agreed immediately: "Okay, I'll try it tonight. Anyway, it's not suitable as an everyday skirt. If it can't play its due role, it will just be left unused in the box."
Heather thought for a moment and placed the hat she was about to wear on the sofa. It was wrapped with a three-inch wide ribbon with lace sewn on both sides.
She removed it and gestured at Charlotte.
"Once it's done, you can sew it under the original waistline. This wide ribbon can help lower the waistline, making the proportions more balanced and the waistline more defined. But don't wrap it too tightly, or it will be uncomfortable."
Charlotte accepted it gratefully.
When Heather was ready to go home, the sky had been dyed purple and red by the sunset, and the sun that made people restless in the afternoon had long disappeared.
The Bennett's house and the Lucas's house were not far apart, so Heather planned to walk back directly. Charlotte put down what she was holding and chased after her to take her home.
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