Page 58 of New World Tea Company
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Following Sunday services, while Mr Collins listened to Lady Catherine’s opinion of his sermon outside the chapel, Charlotte spoke with the wives of the farmers around Rosings. One morning, she learned four families planned to butcher a pigat Pear Orchard Farm the following Wednesday. While the choicest pieces would be sent up to the manor house, the four families would share the rest of the pig’s carcass. When Mrs Tanglewood mentioned a shortage of oatmeal needed to make Black Sausage, Charlotte offered to bring the necessary oatmeal and help with the work in return for a share of the sausage, lard, and meat.
“What do you know about slaughtering a pig, Mrs Collins?” one farmwife asked.
“My parents work the home farm on their small estate. I helped to butcher pigs, sheep, and chickens.”
“No beefs?” asked one farmer, listening to the wives talk.
Charlotte replied, “My father always sold his cattle for the coin to pay the taxes.”
“As do most folks,” Mr Tanglewood admitted.
That Wednesday morning, Charlotte worked diligently in the cold with the other wives outside the farmhouse. First, they washed the intestines of a steer butchered in Hunsford the previous day. The long tubes of the intestine served as sleeves for the Black Sausage. The women took the oats and mixed them with hot water, salt and as much pepper as they had. Then they added fresh lard and two buckets of blood from the pig. Once everything was well mixed, the women packed the mixture into the intestines.
Knowing she was being watched, Charlotte worked diligently to earn her share of the sausage and some fresh pork. Even when her lower arms were covered in oatmeal, spices, and blood, she kept packing the mixture into the casings. One farmer provided a spool of strong twine that his wife cut in lengths to tie the casings off.
Holding up an equal length of the sausages, Mrs Tanglewood asked, “Now, what will you do with this when you get it back to your kitchen, Mrs Collins?”
“I shall hang it in the kitchen close to the hearth so the smoke and heat from the fire will age it properly. In two weeks, I shall slice the first sausage and fry it for breakfast, lunch, or supper.
“Add a chopped potato to the pan, and after time on the fire, you’ve got a meal for a cold night,” the farmer’s wife added, nodding in approval of the answer.
With honest thanks for her help from the farmers and their wives, Charlotte removed her soiled apron, cleaned her hands, and walked back to the parsonage with the string of sausages over her shoulder and a decent piece of pork. Upon reaching the house, she checked on the chambermaid, hung the sausage from an iron hook in the kitchen, and cleaned her hands again. With a fresh apron, Charlotte placed the pork in her cold pantry until the morning when she would roast it over the fire. Then she made a small tea for herself and the maid while anticipating cutting the first sausage in two weeks’ time.
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Chapter 24.Lace for Jane’s Gown
Elizabeth turned over the piece of the wedding down to determine if her stitches in the lace could be seen. For the last thirty minutes, she had worked to affix the new lace to the bodice of Jane’s wedding dress because Mrs Bennet was unsatisfied with the first lace the sisters used and determined that a different lace should replace it.
‘If Mamma decides to change the lace again, I shall have to begin again with the top of Jane’s gown. There will be too many holes to use this cloth again,’decided Elizabeth.‘And it is only a week until the wedding.’
‘I wonder that Jane and Bingley are in such a rush to marry,’the young woman marvelled as she turned her needle to attach the new lace to the sleeves of Jane’s gown. ‘They met in September and courted the whole of autumn. There is likely to be snow, which will keep the guests away. Mamma will be disappointed if she cannot lord over Lady Lucas the fine wedding breakfast at Netherfield.’
Determined not to create strife in the neighbourhood, Elizabeth decided,‘I shall avoid all comparisons when I write to Charlotte about the wedding.’
At that moment, Jane and Mr Bingley entered the parlour with Mamma, Lydia and Kitty following behind. Mary looked up from her chair where she worked through the mending but said nothing.
Jane announced, “Lizzy, Charles received a letter from Mr Darcy. He sends his regrets that he cannot attend our wedding, but he wishes us both all the happiness in the world.”
Elizabeth doubted those were Mr Darcy’s exact words, but the happiness on her sister’s face stilled her tongue. Moving tostand in front of her second daughter, Mrs Bennet instructed her daughter. “Lizzy, hide that gown. Mr Bingley, do not look at Elizabeth.”
“Do you believe it is bad luck to see Jane’s gown before your wedding day, Mr Bingley?” asked Kitty when she realised her mother meant to hide the dress from Bingley’s sight.
“Miss Catherine, when we are in the same room, I only see Jane,” Charles replied, keeping his face turned from Elizabeth on the sofa and Mrs Bennet standing in front of her. “I do not notice anyone or anything else.”
Lydia laughed, “And I only see red coats when officers are in the room.”
Mrs Bennet frowned and added, “And that is why I keep my eye on you, my girl. Officers in red coats are handsome but must be kept at a distance.”
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The sisters spoke before bed that night. Elizabeth asked if Jane felt pressured or rushed by the quick approach of her wedding day. Jane’s answer was surprising, “Lizzy, every hour I am with Charles feels as if it were only a moment of springtime, and every minute we are apart is a long winter’s night. I want to be Mrs Charles Bingley–his wife–more than I could ever imagine.”
“I am glad for you,” Elizabeth replied, the love for her sister fuelling her answer.
Jane smiled and replied, “Your turn will come, Lizzy. If not with Mr Darcy, another gentleman will touch your heart and set it on fire.”
