[Pride and Prejudice] Rich Lady

Elizabeth was given one of the best adult gifts - a thick shawl woven from pale red wool.

From washing and carding of wool to dyeing and weaving, everything is done by Jane and Lydia.But the method of making the dyes is left to the well-read Mary, and the work of shearing the sheep is done by Kitty with her beloved King Charles spaniel.

Elizabeth thought this shawl was warmer and softer than all the others she owned.

English society now advocates elegant and soft Greek robes. Although ladies will decorate elegant skirts with white embroidery, seams, lace and jewelry, it is always a pity that beautiful young ladies cannot wear bright and gorgeous, so People started working on shawls, hoodies, smocks, and Spencer jackets—the most common being a long, brightly colored cape.

Wearing a light red shawl around her instantly made Miss Elizabeth more lively and beautiful. She walked back and forth in front of the mirror, sweating slightly on her forehead, but she was reluctant to take off the shawl.

In fact, the dyeing of the shawl was a bit uneven. After all, Jane and Lydia had never done it before. They dyed a pile of wool in different shades, and selected the best spun yarn from it to weave a long shawl for Lizzie.

"Dry the madder root, and then beat it with a farm tool to remove the soil and twigs." Lydia was obviously fascinated by the fun of doing it herself, and she told Elizabeth about the workers' preliminary treatment of the madder root. "We also tried when there were no outsiders, but except for Kitty who could do it, the strength of the others was too weak, and we were exhausted in 5 minutes."

Jane smiled and said: "Lizzie, you can never imagine how strong Kitty is. She takes her Robin Hood to inspect the whole Netherfield Manor every day, and the maids follow her for half the morning. The merchant bought a few shepherd dogs to accompany and protect her."

Lydia's eyes sparkled: "Those Scotch Sheepdogs listen to Kitty especially, she is very majestic."

"Robin Hood?" Elizabeth asked with a smile.

"That's right, the King Charles Spaniel was named Robin Hood by Kitty. She thought this hound was as brave and resourceful as Robin Hood, the hero of the Sherwood Forest. Mary said that Kitty hoped to bring Robin Hood together to 'fight the injustice'." Jian Ren He said with a smile: "Papa originally wanted to buy some foxhounds from Mr. Guerding to accompany Kitty. Kitty liked his bitch Giselle very much, but after hearing what dear Mary said, Papa changed his mind. I chose a more docile and reliable Scottish Shepherd as Netherfield's 'guard'."

The sisters were talking, and their hands were still incessant. They had to deal with the remaining madder roots.

These mature thick rhizomes that have been dried only need to be crushed and ground into powder, which is madder dye.

Elizabeth helped Jane boil the remaining wool with alum about one-third the weight of the wool, "Where did Mary find the method?"

"Most of the farm workers' wives dye wool by boiling it with alum, wheat bran water, and madder dye, but the wool dyed that way often turns brown. Mary looked through many books, and a notebook from 1750 This method of not boiling the dye is recorded."

As Jane said, she dissolved madder root powder into warm water, added two spoons of talcum powder, and then they worked together to pick the boiled wool into the dye bucket.Rakasha took over the job: She had to heat the barrel of dye slowly over a low fire, but not boil it, it took an hour for the wool to soak.The ladies couldn't master this level, and they ruined several buckets of wool. Fortunately, Lakasha had rich experience in helping Cliff's house, and she succeeded in one attempt.

Starting from raw materials to process by hand, the fun and sense of accomplishment are incomparable with ready-made things, and even Elizabeth is a little addicted to it.

But there was only a little wool left, and the work was done in a moment.

"Charlotte wrote me a letter, Jane, do you want to read it?" Elizabeth said after Lydia happily took the maids to the attic to dry the dyed wool.

Jane shook her head, "Is she okay? I think Maria should be with her, isn't she?"

Since the incident, the Lucas and Bennet families have suffered greatly and become estranged from each other.Under such circumstances, it would be extremely awkward and embarrassing for the two families to communicate with each other intimately.Except for the well-protected Mrs. Bennet, everyone else spontaneously alienated the members of the Lucas family.Mrs. Bennet tried to persuade Mrs. Sir not to treat the poor children like this at first, but Mrs. Lucas never came to see her once, and she felt angry and refused to associate with her.

"Since Charlotte and Maria left, the Lucas family has been unhappy. I heard that Sir Sir's two nieces are not willing to share the work of taking care of their cousin. Their father has been doing business in Prussia, and the two girls live well. But they were not educated, and they came to the Sir's house only to improve their status. The Sir Lady was furious, and the whole family's affairs fell on her and the maid: Millie was the daughter of the Meryton shoemaker, and her father thought that the payment from the Lucas House Too little to live too much, personally come to resign my daughter..."

Elizabeth fell silent. She had no sympathy for Mrs. Lucas. When she chose to give up her two eldest daughters, she shouldn't expect them to still be cows and horses for the Lucas family and her two younger brothers.

The lady said something else: "Charlotte said that Maria was a completely different person. Now she had to rely on her sister to protect her. Maria's fierceness kept them from being bullied by the landlord when they first came to Hatfield. Now Xia Lotte found a good job, and the family hired Maria to accompany the ladies."

"Charlotte has really changed a lot." In the letter, she sincerely thanked her friend for her help, and voluntarily returned Elizabeth's money—Charlotte only left [-] pounds as a spare, and agreed to pay it back in the next year this debt.

There was no frustration in the letter, it was full of enthusiasm for the future, saying that she and Maria’s annual wages together amounted to £45, which could be saved and they would be able to live in Hatfield in a few years. I bought a small house as their home.

The two young ladies of the Bennet family were very happy for her, and at the sound of footsteps on the stairs, stopped the subject.

"Lizzie, Lizzie, are you going back?" Lydia surrounded Elizabeth like a happy bird and asked her to tell some interesting things about the college.

Lydia began to admire her from the bottom of her heart after seeing her second sister shoot someone.The little girl thought about it for a long time, and she felt that Lizzie had changed since entering Taurus College, and she became curious about this boarding school.Later, she found that Lizzie could come out of it from time to time, instead of "boarding schools like Newgate prison where girls are locked up" as people say, she was even more yearning.

Elizabeth would love to see that happen, but Lydia missed Taurice's enrollment this year and will have to wait until next fall before the semester begins.

"After the ladies officially enter the social world, the curriculum and regulations of the academy will make changes and give preferential treatment to this lady to encourage them to participate in social life. For example, Laura and I, we only need to tell Mrs. Pulan, I can freely arrange my afternoon and evening time.”

"Is it because salons, dinners, and dances are mostly at night?" the little bird asked wisely.

"That's right. But Lydia, this has to be done after the academy approves and introduces the ladies to enter the social world. Taurus Academy has very strict requirements for the courses. If you want to meet the requirements earlier, then you have to work hard now! Such as Latin, philosophy and piano. Jane can help you learn these courses. If you do well, then we are willing to take you to the small theater to enjoy plays, to visit the British Museum, and private art exhibitions..."

The reward portrayed by Elizabeth made the little sister's eyes shine, and the lovely little girl didn't know that 'European painting art', 'famous musical drama', 'classical art and continental architectural appreciation', 'medieval cultural relics and natural history specimens' are also Doris course.Riding and shooting awaited her when the sisters left the city for the country holidays.Of course, even in Taurus, the last item is an optional course, which is neglected except for a few special ladies.

"Then now, I can give you the first gift!" The older sister said with a smile.

Elizabeth herself brought from her room upstairs a stack of books so heavy that Rakasha had to help hold the young lady's hand.

"Aristotle's philosophy, Polybius' "General History", and Horace's works." Elizabeth smiled and said: "Dear Lydia, these books are given to you, which is very helpful You learn Latin, and it will make it easier for you to enter the academy."

Moving this heavy gift to her little sister, Elizabeth took her red wool shawl and said goodbye to Jane happily: "I will come to see you again on Saturday."

Jane smiled and hugged her: "Uncle Gardner will come that day." She blushed and said quickly, "Mr. George may also come to visit."

Elizabeth didn't care to tease Jane, and left immediately while Lydia was still in a daze.

"Bad Lizzie!" Elizabeth left her little sister's cry behind her, leaving the sad-faced Lydia alone to bear the baptism of wisdom.

Lydia was really different, and Jane found that she was really reading these great books, without being perfunctory or impatient.Jane finds time to read with her every day, and even goes out to the dessert shop less often.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this change that the person who was peeping secretly couldn't help it.

On Saturday morning, Jane finally went out, and she wanted to prepare some fresh fruit for her relatives and upcoming guests.

Lydia, still chewing on her philosophy book, refused to go out.She almost always has books like Mary, but this little girl has a completely different reason than Mary: "If I stop reading it one day and put these books down, then I will definitely not want to pick them up again. I am sure I have not Such courage, so I have to persevere every day.”

Rakasha was left by Jane to accompany Lydia, and she took the newly hired maid to the streets.

"Miss Jane, go by carriage. Jared's carriage will be ready for delivery within half an hour." Lakasha said.

Jane didn't want to be bothered: "I only go to the fruit shop in Chipside, not a mile away."

Lakasha asked the maid to follow Miss Jane well, so that she would not be at ease to send her out.

But this was expected to take an hour, and Jane didn't come back in a bit of a panic until Uncle Gardner, Elizabeth and Mr. George arrived at the apartment.

"What happened?"

Jane waved her hand: "There was an accident at the corner of the nearby chapel. A carriage hit and injured a young lady, and two other old ladies were also slightly injured. The lady's leg was injured , the robe was also torn, I happened to meet her and helped her a bit... Now her family and doctors are with her in the church, but luckily her injuries are not serious."

But it is likely to leave a scar, Jane secretly sighed in her heart.

"What smell?" Lydia wrinkled her nose.

Elizabeth also asked about a pungent fragrance, feeling a little uneasy.

Jane took a sniff, and it was a mess just now. The stench of the horse, the smell of blood, and the strong body odor of the injured old lady made her not notice it for a while.

"It seems to have a smell." Jane opened her handbag.

A rouge box fell out, red rouge spilled all over the floor, and the inferior fragrance immediately made people uncomfortable.

The blood faded from Jane's beautiful face, and she suddenly looked up at Mr. George.

The author has something to say: one hundred small red envelopes for comments in this chapter~

Thank you little angels for your support.

The second watch will try to be as early as possible, and it will be fatter.

Note: Robin Hood is a hero in British folklore. From the middle of the 12th century, legends about Robin Hood began to spread among the people. In the 14th century, the story of Robin Hood appeared as a literary work for the first time. 【Encyclopedia】

Note ②: About the rouge box: As mentioned above, from the beginning of the French Revolution to the late [-]th century, only those women from bad backgrounds applied red rouge - courtesans, actresses, singers and prostitutes.