Jane Austen Birthday Soiree!

It's Jane Austen's birthday! I must thank Maria Grazia and Katherine Cox for their kind invitation to join this event to celebrate the occasion. If you'd like to be in with a chance of winning my prize of a Jane Austen mug, and a signed copy of Mr. Darcy's Secret please leave a comment below by December 23rd 2011.
I was going to write a fairly straightforward letter to Jane, but somewhere along the line it turned into a story, which is what I like to do best.

            Dear Jane,

I wanted to wish you a very Happy Birthday, and because I love writing stories I've written one in celebration! I do apologise for borrowing your characters, and can only hope that you will forgive me. This is my present to you, but I hope you won't mind sharing it with a very special lady who is a very brave and beautiful person. I know she's fond of Christmas so I wrote this with her in mind. Adalgisa, I hope you enjoy it! 
This is Part One and I shall be posting the rest during the next couple of weeks.

The Jane Austen Advent Calendar


Part One

It really did look like a Christmas card. The red brick house glowed with yellow light through frosted windowpanes brightening the gloom of the wintry day. Lizzy wrinkled her nose as feathers of snow tickled her face and settled like iced stars on her scarlet beret. It had been a bit of a nightmare to find it, a train, a bus ride, and a twelve-minute walk along snow-covered lanes, but now she considered it had all been worth it. Jane Austen’s house buried in the countryside in the village of Chawton couldn’t have been more perfect to Lizzy’s eyes. Perhaps deciding to visit the house in the middle of winter hadn’t been her brightest idea, but there was no denying her excitement. Lizzy felt a sense of anticipation, the house looked enchanted as if under a fairy spell, and she half wondered if she might bump into Jane herself at the door.

Jane and Cassandra at Chawton

The entrance was through the shop housed in a barn at the side but when she reached the door it was locked and there were no lights on. It occurred to her then that despite all appearances the house might not be open. The snow was drifting ever higher and showed no signs of stopping. Looking up, dizzying spirals of feathery showers whirled through the air making her blink, and for the first time she prayed that the snow falling from grey clouds like a Christmas goose being plucked might blow over. Setting off that morning Lizzy hadn’t even considered the house might be closed or that there might be a problem getting home, and she began to think that perhaps she should head back along the lane when she heard the sound of a door opening. From the main building opposite the head of a tall man peered round the glass-paned door.

“Look, we’re really short-staffed. No one’s turned up, and to be honest, I thought no one in their right mind would come today. I assume you’re here to see the house?”

Lizzy nodded whilst simultaneously thinking she’d never met anyone so rude. He hadn’t even said hello. “I’ve come from London. It’s taken me a while to get here, but I suppose if you’re closed, there’s not much I can do.”

“Cassandra’s will give you a cup of tea, I expect.”

Lizzy thought he was talking about Jane Austen’s sister for a minute until she remembered that the café across the way shared the same name.

“No, they’re shut too,” she said.

The sign for the café had been a welcome sight on the way as she’d trudged up the road, but she’d known with a sinking heart that it was closed before she’d even reached it. As Lizzy waited for him to speak again, she heard the crunch of footsteps in the snow behind her.

“I’m here now, Mr. MacGourtey, you can get back in the warm. I’ll open up!” cried a cheerful voice.

Lizzy turned to see a lady with a pleasant face advancing gingerly towards her picking up her long skirts to avoid getting them wet. Dressed from head to foot in Regency costume she appeared to be totally at home in her clothes, and Lizzy supposed it must be a kind of uniform she wore when showing people round the house.

“Come in out of the cold, dear. I am sorry I couldn’t have been here sooner, but what with the weather and I know not what to tell you about first, I am in quite a dither this morning. My nerves are apt to plague me, but you’ll forgive me for running on so. Mr. MacGourtey would have attended you in any case, I am sure.”

The door opposite resounded with a loud bang as it shut. Mr. MacGourtey disappeared.

Lizzy didn’t like to say that the rude man had told her to go home, and decided to say nothing. She followed the lady into the barn blinking as the bright strip lights were flicked on in the shop.

“Do make yourself at home, dear. I’ll just make sure everything is in order in the main house so have a look round at your leisure. My youngest daughter was here yesterday, and though a delightful companion, she is inclined to be untidy. I daresay the dining room table will be littered with bonnets and ribbon, but that’s my Lydia – never happier than when she’s pulling apart a hat and making it her own.”

Jane Austen Mug

The lady laughed like a young girl, her curls trembling as she shook her head.

After she’d gone Lizzy looked around at the wealth of books and gifts in the shop most of which she longed to own. The shelves were lined with the books Jane Austen had written and revised in the very house she was about to see, and there were mugs and bags, bookmarks and fridge magnets to tempt the pennies out of her purse. On the counter was a pile of Advent calendars with a scene like the one she’d witnessed earlier. A painting of Jane’s house in the snow was sprinkled with twenty four windows to be opened during the festive season, some of which lay exactly over the place where the real windows were situated, and some of which made up the doors or were hidden in the snow-clad trees and sky. Lizzy was just making up her mind to treat herself to one when the lady came back.

“Oh, my dear, you’ve made an excellent choice, and one you won’t regret, I’m sure,” she said, and as Lizzy took out her purse to pay for it, the lady added, “Don’t trouble yourself about paying for it now. There’s time enough to do that later. And, as it’s December the first, you should make haste, and open number one!”

Encouraged by the lady’s enthusiasm Lizzy carefully tore round the perforated edge of the window and peeled it back. She’d never grown out of the childish excitement of having an Advent calendar, and this was extra special. Behind a beautiful gothic window the picture gave a glimpse of the room itself. There on a chaise longue lay a pink satin bonnet.

“Oh, that means you must go to the drawing room first,” said the lady. “Look for the signs and you’ll soon find it.”  

Lizzy picked up her bag, and clutching the calendar set off around the back of the house following the path until she came to a white door. The thought that this was a doorway through which Jane had passed many times was thrilling, and turning the handle she crossed the threshold with a reverent step.

“Lord, is that you, Kitty? I thought you were never coming home!”

The room Lizzy entered was strewn with ribbons and lace, yards of satin and silk flowers covering every surface and tumbling onto the floor. A young girl seated on the chaise longue looked up expectantly.

“Oh! I thought you were Kitty, but I suppose you must be here for one of my sisters, though I have to say you look as if you’ve just stepped out of my mother’s monthly magazine, and are not at all the sort of plain girl they usually keep for company.”

Apart from being completely taken aback at the sight and manner of the girl who looked just like an image from an illustrated edition of Jane Austen’s novels, Lizzy couldn’t think what she could be talking about. At least, until she noticed the scarlet coat she was wearing, which fell in voluminous folds to the floor. No, the word for it was pelisse, she thought. A glance across at herself in the looking glass over the fireplace showed a picture of someone she hardly recognized. A fur-trimmed bonnet with green satin ribbon matched her mittens, and framed her face, which at this moment looked wide-eyed with astonishment.

Mr. Darcy's Secret

“I’m so sorry,” Lizzy began, “but I was told to come here.”

“And I expect that person was a round plump lady, who talks too much, and quivers like a jelly not quite set. My mother! Lord knows she cannot help herself, but she will interfere. You’re not the first, and I daresay, you will not be the last. However, do not be alarmed. I am delighted you are here. You can help me trim this wretched bonnet. I cannot do a thing with it!”

Lizzy was feeling most peculiar. It’s not everyday that you find yourself completely decked out in Regency costume without having gone through the process of actually putting it on, and unless she’d suffered temporary memory loss, she couldn’t fathom out how she’d managed it. However, before she managed to say or do anything else, the young girl spoke again.

“Are you here for Jane or Elizabeth? I expect they’re closeted away somewhere telling their secrets to one another. I am not interested in their dull tales. Anyway, I have a secret of my own. I shall tell you if you like.”

“I don’t think…”

“Good, I knew you would want to hear it. I know Miss Austen doesn’t like it when we peep, but I cannot help wanting to know what will happen next. All I wished for is to take our dreary cousin, Mr. Collins, away, but I know there is much better in store!”

“Miss Austen is here?” asked Lizzy.

“Yes, of course, she’s in the next room where she sits scribbling on her little pieces of paper about us all. I should be vexed for it has to be said she can be very unkind about me, but she has promised to send me to Brighton. I heard her say it out loud, and I cannot wait!”

Lizzy was sure her suspicions were correct. The girl who was clearly brilliant at role-playing must be acting the part of Lydia Bennet. She’d visited houses and museums in the past where actors were employed to play the parts of historical figures, but she’d never seen anything quite so real or convincing. How they’d managed her costume change she couldn’t think, but surely it would be fun to go along with it, now she was here.

“Do you think I could see Miss Austen?”

Lydia looked doubtful. “She may see you, but then again, she may not like to be disturbed. You will soon find out if you go beyond the door.”

Lizzy followed Lydia’s pointing finger to the door ahead, which was firmly closed. “Do you think I should? I wouldn’t like to interrupt her if she’s writing.”

“Only you can decide what is best, but if you take a leaf from my book, nothing ever stops me from pursuing the wishes of my heart.”

Lizzy was most undecided, especially when she considered that it might not be wise to take advice from Lydia Bennet. But, surely this was all part of the exhibition, and she was being guided, even invited to go through the door. And if she didn’t hurry, time would run out, and she would have to go home. With a delicious mixture of fear and excitement Lizzy took her cue, and knocked on the door. 


Look out for Part Two coming soon, and don't miss out on the rest of the fun and prizes - there are lots of other people to visit - here are the links!

Participants

• Alyssa Goodnight
• Austen Authors
• Austenprose, Laurel Ann Nattress
• Brant Flakes, Marilyn Brant
• Choc Lit Authors’ Corner, Juliet Archer
• The Fiction vs. Reality Smackdown, Karen Doornebos
• First Draft, Cindy Jones
• The Heroine’s Bookshelf, Erin Blakemore
• Jane Austen Brazil, Adriana Zardini
• The Jane Austen Film ClubJenny Allworthy
• Jane Austen SequelsJane Odiwe
• Jane Started It! Laura Hile, Susan Kaye, Pamela Aidan, and Barbara Cornthwaite
• Jane Austen in Vermont, Deb
• Jennifer Becton
• Kaitlin Saunders
• Mesmered’s Blog, Prue Batten
• O! Beauty Unattempted, Emily Snyder
• One Literature Nut, Becky Rhodehouse
• Patrice Sarath
• Pemberley Variations, Abigail Reynolds
• Reading, Writing, Working, Playing, Jane Greensmith
• Regency Sketches, Farida Mestek
• Regina Jeffers
• El Salón de Té de Jane
• SemiTrue Stories, C. Allyn Pierson
• Sharon Lathan
• Stiletto Storytime, Courtney Webb
• Urban Girl Takes Vermont, Vera Nazarian
• vvb32 reads, Velvet