First Impressions: A Modern Pride and Prejudice Adaptation

Chapter 18

"Now," Bill said, very solemnly, looking both girls up and down, "when you meet Lady Catherine, you must remember that she is nobility."

Mariah nodded frantically, looking pale and somewhat apprehensive. However tired she was of Bill, the idea of a meeting the daughter of an earl was daunting. Liz did her best to hide her smile as she stood listing to the side slightly, with her hand placed on one cocked hip. Bill had come down to Charlotte's apartment, painfully early as usual, in a charcoal suit.

"Firstly, because of her relationship to her brother the Earl of Southampton, she must always be addressed as 'Lady Catherine' or 'my lady' or 'her ladyship.' She always prefers the distinction of rank and who can blame her? How many people in America can claim a hereditary title?" He let out his little titter of a laugh and cleared his throat.

"Second, you must always remember your manners. 'Please' and 'thank you' are imperative. Keep your elbows off the table, use your napkin... All elementary, perhaps, but necessary. She is a most particular on this instance. I have seen her take grown men to task for using the wrong fork on their salad! Thirdly, you must—"

"Bill?" Charlotte interrupted in her sweetest tones, "Bill, I think you're getting a little carried away with yourself. They're here to visit me, not to come and work for Lady Catherine."

He paused, thinking very hard. There was a light sheen of sweat on his forehead. "Yes. Yes, of course, Charlotte, I had quite... carried myself away, hadn't I?"

"Only a little."

"Right you are then!" he cried, suddenly animated again as he clapped his hands together. "Well, come, let's not be late!" He gave a little shudder, as if the thought of tardiness was a nightmare beyond his wildest fears.

He quickly retreated out the door and, turning on his heel, led the way to the elevators. Liz rolled her eyes at Charlotte before moving to follow him.

Lady Catherine had not waited several days, but one, to extend her invitation. It came as an embossed note in Charlotte's mail in the morning and Bill showing up at her door promptly at 4:30 as a personal escort—Liz was not pleased to learn he had been invited as well. Despite herself, she found she was fascinated by the prospect of meeting the woman who seemed to control Bill's psyche so completely.

The elevator took them all the way up to the top floor—one of the ones Liz and Mariah missed out on during their tour. The doors opened. Mariah blinked up at the chandeliers hanging from the hallway ceiling. Liz found them a bit ostentatious, but the younger girl seemed enthralled. The carpet was the same plush as that of the lower floors, but it was somewhere between gold and beige, completely spotless despite the pale color. The art hanging on the walls was not the delicate studies in the other hallways but bold landscapes that all seemed to be of the same area. "The south of England," Bill informed them as they walked. "Mostly Kent and Southampton." Liz dragged back for a second to admire a large piece in a gilt frame of a very pretty bridge, built of white and brown stone, that arched over a river.

"Come on, come on," Bill called from down the hallway. With a last glance at the picture, Liz turned and trotted up to them. They had congregated outside the only door in the corridor; rather than a number, the name De Bourgh was painted in curling black lettering over the top of a bronze doorknocker. Bill stepped up and took it by the ring, smartly rapping it twice.

A woman barely older than Liz with her hair in braids opened the door. She had flour on her chin and a half wiped away smear of green sauce on her apron. Without a word, she stepped back to let them into the apartment. Without waiting for her to lead the way, or even tell him what to do, Bill strode through the entry way, past the kitchen and the dining room, and into a large sitting room. There was a couch against one wall and a blue chair that was turned slightly off center so it could look directly towards a matched pair of armchairs with high backs. He settled himself with ease into the turned chair and looked expectantly back through the archway. Liz halfway turned before fully entering the room.