Page 67 of The Cheapside Runners
Elizabeth said, “There are some things you are better off not knowing, Mr Darcy.”
“I shall take your word for it.”
“Always good advice. Pray continue, Mary.”
“I suspect the boots serve two purposes. They made you taller and your gate more—”
Elizabeth laughed. “You can say it:mannish… deliberately so.”
“I think the rest was just actor’s or conjurer’s tricks to mislead the eye. You put something in your hair and skin to darken it, then added rouge to highlight the colour, the same for your eyebrows, and if I am not mistaken, you used kohl or something on your eyes to make them more striking. Of course, those giant red earrings were thecoup de grace. One could hardly look away.”
Everyone laughed.
Alicia added, “With the accent, walk, and severe manners, the illusion was complete.”
“Yes. But also keep in mind that I stayed away from those who knew me best until I had your minds thoroughly engaged in the instruction.”
“It is astonishing!” Jane said.
“Not really,” Elizabeth replied pensively. “It is just practice, and I have done far worse.”
They all gulped at that, but she did not elaborate.
“Is thisyourcourse, Lizzy?” Kitty asked timidly.
“It is. Do you remember me telling Mrs Bennet that she would not starve in the Hedgerows when her husband died?”
Everyone noticed the complete lack of ‘Mama’ or ‘Papa’ in her speech, and several of them wondered how long it had been absent when they were not directly in front of her.
“I do,” Lydia replied calmly and demurely. “You also said hernot starving depended on us completing this course.”
“That is correct, but I confess I may have stretched the truth just a tiny bit.”
“How so?”
She stared her down, and finally said, “I was desperate to save you two from your upbringing. Many would condemn your behaviour at the ball and before that with the officers… correct Mr Darcy?”
He gulped but answered honestly. “Their path was not auspicious, and I admit that my thinking was as you suggest.”
Elizabeth turned to her sisters. “I am going to save you part of the harangue you were due the last day by explaining it right now. Your behaviour is the combinationof your selfishness and your upbringing. You do not deserveallthe blame, but you were both headed toward disaster, and you will never make anything of yourselves unless you shoulder your part of the responsibility. Whatever your parents did or did not teach, you had Jane, Mary, and Charlotte for examples.”
The two looked chagrined but thoughtful, so Elizabeth let them stew in it for a while.
“Out of curiosity,” Mary asked, “what would you have done if we had not agreed.”
Elizabeth looked back and forth among the whole group. “What is said in this roomstaysin this room!” She stared down each participant, including Mr Darcy, until she had universal agreement. “I reach my majority soon, so I will never return to Longbourn or be Elizabeth Bennet again. Except for the few months when Jane visited, I have been Miss Gardiner of Gracechurch Street for nearly five years.”
The Bennet ladies looked stunned by the revelation, but Mary eventually added, “Or Mrs Black?”
Releasing a chuckle, Elizabeth answered, “Yes. You asked how I manage the subterfuge. I set my own course years ago, butI have put up fences around myself and my aliases to protect the rest of you. I have been Mrs Black so long I can put her on with less effort than most of you spent preparing for the Netherfield ball.”
They all gasped, so she continued. “As Mr Darcy learnt, I was Mrs Duff, but I have also been Mrs Blanche, Miss Celeste, Miss Rosso, Mrs Braun… you get the idea.”
“Why so many?”
Elizabeth thought a minute. “Each name is a suit of armour… an identity with looks and behaviours that go with it. Why do you think I can so casually instruct you on what the men around you are thinking? I have studied this extensively… for years. I recognize their lies and techniques because they are babes in the woods compared to me.”
“What are those other women, if I might ask?” Amber inquired.
