Chapter 5 Time passed by, bit by bit…
Time flowed slowly toward 1808, and on the eve of the New Year, Mr. Price, his eyebrows and beard drooping, his face grim, trudged home. As he entered the living room, he bumped into a broken trunk, kicked it, and shouted, "Who put this trunk here? Move it!"
“My dear, I’ll have Kate move it right away. Actually, I already told Kate to get rid of this tattered box quickly. Kate, come quickly!” Mrs. Price hurriedly instructed the maid.
Mr. Price was clearly still furious. Richard and John bumped into him during their playful chase and were given a couple of good whacks by the lieutenant. After beating the children, he plopped down on the sofa and cursed, "Those sons of bitches! They only gave me thirty pounds! They swindled twelve pounds from me! I thought they'd take at most two pounds, but this year they've gone too far, taking some junk and claiming it's for this year's uniforms. I don't need this rubbish. You know, back on the ship, these little brats were nowhere to be found. Did they think I didn't know their tricks? The dockworkers make more than this! The United Kingdom will be ruined by these traitorous idiots sooner or later!"
“Oh, dear, what can we do? Could we ask General Maxwell for help?” Mrs. Price poured tea for her husband while calling her daughter over: “Mary, Mary, has General Maxwell’s wife invited you to her house recently?”
“Mom, I haven’t received an invitation recently. The General’s family has gone to London for the winter and is not in Portsmouth.”
"What a pity. I think it's because the general isn't here that these people are so arrogant and audacious." Mrs. Price was at her wit's end. Mr. Price, although he had two or three friends, were mostly like him, unemployed and disillusioned men. Their salaries had also been reduced this time, so they had no choice but to drink and curse the officials who paid their salaries.
Because Mr. Price was in a bad mood, the atmosphere at the Price house was somewhat somber. However, when it was time for dinner, Kate served up a carefully prepared meal of beef stew with tomatoes, toast, fried eggs, mashed potatoes in tomato sauce, and vegetable salad. The family sat down at the table and enjoyed the meal. Everyone except Mary put the unpleasantness of the day behind them.
Around April, near Easter, General Maxwell and his family finally returned from the city. Mary was now six years old (she was born on April 1, 1802, which happened to be Easter that year).
They had just settled in when the General's wife sent a servant in a carriage to the Price house to fetch her goddaughter. It turned out that the General's wife and Miss Mary Price had invited Miss Mary Price to stay at their house for two days to celebrate Easter together.
As soon as the male servant of the general's mansion explained his purpose, Mrs. Price hurriedly agreed: "It's such an honor, Mary. Your good godmother has invited you to the general's mansion for Easter. Go and get ready." And so, before William and the others could even return home from school, Mary was swiftly put into the carriage by her mother.
This was a spacious four-wheeled carriage, and the moment it stopped on the street where Price lived, it attracted the attention of the neighbors. No one in the area had ever ridden in such a luxurious carriage before.
The general's wife had intended to send her usual carriage, but unfortunately, that carriage had a minor malfunction today. So the general sent a four-wheeled carriage instead. This carriage was very similar to the comfortable and spacious carriage Mary had imagined, allowing her to freely enjoy the scenery outside.
The carriage drove smoothly and soon passed the block where Price lived. Mary kept looking at the street outside: fishmongers were calling out their wares on the street, milkmaids were walking carefully on the side of the road, stopping occasionally to ask residents if they needed milk, and laundry workers were stirring dirty clothes in buckets with wooden sticks on the roadside...
A thought flashed through Mary's mind, but before she could grasp the inspiration, the carriage had already passed the cathedral and arrived at a more luxurious neighborhood. Before long, a typical Regency-era style city house came into view: the house was full of classical elements and symmetrical design, with windows arranged in an orderly manner and chimneys in neat rows.
Once the carriage had stopped, the maid led Mary inside, where a beautifully furnished living room came into view. The hostess had patiently explained to the guests that the light and elegant furniture was designed by Hepplewhite, and that a portrait of the general—which had been specially commissioned from Henry Rayburn—hung on the wall.
“My dearest little Mary, I miss you so much! I remember it was your birthday recently, wasn’t it? I’ve prepared a gift for you!” Mrs. Maxwell was almost moved to tears when she saw her goddaughter appear before her.
She was twenty-four years old, tall and slender, with a thick head of dark brown hair. She was a stylish and beautiful young woman. She came from humble beginnings, being only the daughter of a lawyer. At a ball, she had the good fortune to catch the eye of Colonel Maxwell, and the two quickly fell in love. The man had already made a name for himself and was free to choose his marriage partner, while the woman did not care that he had been married before and had a daughter.
An eighteen-year-old bride married a thirty-six-year-old husband, but relatives on both sides praised it as a match made in heaven. The only flaw was that they had been married for more than six years, Colonel Maxwell had become General Maxwell, and the general's wife had not yet been fortunate enough to give birth to a male heir for the forty-two-year-old general.
Mary politely thanked her godmother for her concern and subtly mentioned that her birthday had just passed. "Yes, yes, I remember correctly. You were born in early April. I've told Edward (the general's name) several times to come back soon, but he always has things to take care of. You know, ever since General Nelson passed away, the general has always had endless things to deal with." As Mrs. Maxwell spoke, she gestured to the maid to bring out the gift she had prepared.
Mary opened the small cloth bag in her hand, revealing an exquisite silver dinner knife. The handle was made of white mother-of-pearl, and the blade was engraved with ornate floral patterns and the maker's mark. "This knife is quite delicate and beautiful," Mary thought to herself, "and it matches the General's wife's consistent aesthetic when choosing cutlery."
Before she could thank the general's wife again, Miss Maxwell arrived. She ran down the stairs, ignoring the watchful eyes of her governess, Miss Smith.
“Mary, I miss you so much! It’s so boring in town! Can you imagine? I can’t find anyone to play checkers or cricket with. They just fold paper flowers, or play with ribbons and dolls.” Miss Maxwell hopped over to Mary like a lively little rabbit. She greeted Mrs. General briefly and then asked, “Mama, can I play checkers with Mary?” Mrs. General General, of course, readily agreed.
Clearly, seven-year-old Anne Maxwell was a girl who was giving her parents a headache. Since Miss Smith was invited to live with the General's wife two years ago, there had been one more person in the family who was prone to nervous breakdowns because of her. Mary got along very well with her, which was why the General's wife had become increasingly fond of bringing her goddaughter over the past two years. Mary always managed to come up with good ways to keep Miss Maxwell from being so "troublesome" (in the General's wife's words).
Mary's relationship with Anne wasn't as formal and polite as her relationship with her godmother, General Maxwell's wife. Unlike some wealthy young ladies of the time who looked down on their less fortunate female companions, Mary Price always liked her. Mary was beautiful and willing to play games that others wouldn't. Unfortunately, she was born into a poor family, and finding a good husband wouldn't be easy for her.
This somewhat condescending friendship was enough for Mary. At least as the general's only daughter, Anne, even with her "spoiled" air, was more in line with modern aesthetic preferences than other girls Mary encountered. She liked sports and games that required movement. Perhaps because she had heard so many inquiries from the general's relatives about when the general's male heir would be born, Miss Maxwell became increasingly averse to playing those girly games.
You see, Mary had known some girls from the surrounding area throughout her life. Unfortunately, these girls, despite their young age, often had a strong competitive spirit, and the subtle, unpleasant feeling they created when interacting with them was something that anyone who experienced it firsthand would find unpleasant.
Especially since Lucy Gregory, the neighbor's daughter, was a few months younger than Fanny, and her sister Jane was the same age as John and Richard. To Mary, they were clearly just children, yet Mary seemed to have an innate awareness of their future "rivals," targeting another little girl (Mary herself) who was only five or six years old, simply because she was too pretty. This was hard for Mary to accept; in the 21st century, children that age were still in school and doing homework every day! She loved her sisters Fanny and Susan even more. Lucy and Jane not only competed for attention outside the home but also undermined each other in front of Mrs. Gregory. If she had been born into the Gregory family, having sisters like that would have been unbearable.
After Mary and Miss Maxwell finished playing their game, the general returned, and Mary greeted him.
“Miss Mary Price, how is your father doing?” General Maxwell asked.
"Dear Godfather, please take care of him; he is still in good health."
The general was only three or four years older than Lieutenant Price. Back then, both young men entered the navy with the idea of serving their country. However, more than twenty years have passed, and one has become a rear admiral while the other is still a lieutenant in the Marine Corps. They can no longer talk to each other and no longer work together, so naturally, they have drifted apart.
However, out of consideration for their past relationship, the general agreed to be Mary's godparents along with his wife, and gave Mr. Price some preferential treatment—the lieutenant's disability pension hadn't been embezzled by the Naval Commission. But Mr. Price was utterly hopeless; since he was no longer able to go to war, he was either drunk or on his way to one, either cursing the Navy Department or accusing his superiors of being jealous of his abilities. Gradually, the general stopped interfering.
That evening, Mary had the privilege of dining with the general's family for the first time. Servants served up a variety of carefully prepared dishes, including roast lamb, roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, meat pies, and stewed fruit, as well as wine from France and desserts that everyone loved.
The general's wife had initially worried about her goddaughter's uncouth dining manners, but to her surprise, Mary behaved with remarkable elegance and restraint. She neither drooled over the food nor greedily devoured it; she didn't even eat more than a few bites of the delicious cake. The general's wife felt that her goddaughter had lived up to her expectations and nurtured her, and reassured her that her goddaughter should stay.
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