[Pride and Prejudice] Rich Lady

After Christmas, the atmosphere of joy and relaxation ended, and the newly admitted girls waited excitedly and nervously for Tauris College to take off her last veil.

Elizabeth kept correcting her accent in private. The result of repeating a sentence over and over again made Laura feel uncertain, almost distorting the pure Oxford accent of the baroness.This made Daisy and Lily laugh a lot, but it also had the advantage of driving away the tension.

No one expected that the formal course would start with a dinner.

It was an ordinary day, and the girls put on decent dresses as usual, talking and laughing in twos and threes, and walked into the dining room.Walking down the oak stairs, the ladies discovered that the senior students had returned to school, which meant that the spring semester had officially started.The main building of Tao Lisi is very large, for some reason, the freshmen do not eat with the senior students, but alone in a small hall, opposite to the dining hall of the senior students.

"Their restaurant looks too big." Daisy looked at it from a distance.

Laura also took a look, pursed her lips and said, "That's the real restaurant. I mean, it's the original restaurant of Taolisi Manor."

"How?" Elizabeth asked.

Among the four, she was the one who knew the least about these things.Like Lily and Daisy, they both had tutor education in the past, as well as the influence from their parents.

Laura raised her eyebrows helplessly. She felt that the lady next to her was really strange: on the one hand, she was bright, intelligent and courageous, and extremely likable; , It's like a country girl who just entered the city.But these deviations do not mean that she is shallow, stupid and naive. In fact, Elizabeth's conversation and insights are often surprising.

It's really contradictory. Laura is really curious about what the Bennet family looks like in order to teach such a girl.

"Look at the paintings." Laura said, "There are many portraits hanging in the dining room over there, but here, there are only two handmade rugs hanging."

Lily also said: "Yes, I guess, there should be a portrait of the king on the main wall over there, and portraits of the senior members of the Stoke family."

"The portraits in the dining room are undoubtedly a good place to show the rich heritage of the family." The Stocker family has a long history, and there are still portraits of ancestors more than 200 years ago in the family ancestral home. I heard that the painting itself is highly respected The artwork was created by the great Italian painter at that time, Francisco Mazzola, and the Stoke family has always been proud of it.

Elizabeth spread her hands, and she didn't have to hide it in front of her friends: "Dear ladies, Longbourn has no nobles. Although my father is a respectable gentleman, it does not mean that the Bennet family has a long history. , admirable history, our family has nothing to do with aristocrats, nor is it so exquisite as in the city. The dining room in Longborn is not covered with portraits." There are no paintings at all, only a half-worn tapestry.

Daisy nodded in agreement: "Our family started to get rich from the time of my grandfather, and my grandfather's father was just an ordinary sailor. Before that, the Reed family seemed to be a farmer living on the edge of the swamp. Doesn't Reed mean reed— — the last name says it all.”

"The dining room of Reed's house is just like other people's manors. It is full of portraits." Daisy tilted her head and made a toothache expression: "God knows there is only one portrait of grandfather." Drawn by Dad and his description.

Lily patted the arms of the two ladies, "Isn't that why we came to Taolis? After a long time, our portraits will be hung high on the walls of some manor."

"That's right! When I'm married, I'm going to have the most famous painter in England paint--when I'm at my best!"

Everyone laughed.

At this moment, it happened to step into the small hall, and a gorgeously dressed strange lady was sitting on the main seat.The cheerful laughter of the ladies stopped immediately, and they gently covered the corners of their mouths with long-gloved fingers, in exchange for a stern look from the lady.

"Mrs. Judith, hello." Laura was the first to curtsey after the lady stood up, obviously knowing her.Elizabeth followed suit.

The maids are well-trained to open the seats for the ladies.This time it was obviously not casual seating, and the change of seating meant that the dinner was extraordinarily formal.

Liya was among the serving maids, she gently raised her hand, and invited her ladies to sit down.Surprisingly, the four ladies are seated right above Mrs. Judith, which is the position of the guest of honor.In a formal banquet, the host and hostess sit at both ends of the long table. Based on the seat of the hostess, the guest of honor sits at the top right of the hostess, the wife of the guest sits at the top right of the host, and then sits slightly behind the hostess and the hostess. to the left of the owner.According to the order of the guest of honor and ordinary guests, men and women are seated alternately.In Europe, the right is always respected, and the left is second. The general principle is that the closer to the position of the hostess and the host, the more important it is.

On Mrs. Judith's right are Laura and Elizabeth, and on her left are Lily and Daisy.

"Please remember your seating, ladies." Mrs. Judith raised her chin, paused for a second on everyone, and whispered, "Seats match performance and status. Tao Lisi is flexible, and the seating here is absolutely Not one level remains the same.”

This surprised Elizabeth a little. Among the ten or so girls, according to her family background, she should be seated away from Mrs. Judith.

The dining room was silent for a while, Madam Judith was very dissatisfied, but since it was the first lesson, she suppressed the instruction.An elderly maid serving by her side immediately motioned for the maids to serve the meal. She nodded, and the maids started to move. It seemed to be a housekeeper.

Mrs. Judith seemed to be holding herself back, "Because Taurice is a special place for educating ladies - there is a situation where maids serve meals. I think you all know that there is nothing better than having a maid serve a lord." Bad thing!"

Elizabeth sat upright, trying to maintain a dignified manner, and silently shouted in her heart: No, I don't know.I only know that the backs of chairs in British restaurants are decorations and cannot be leaned against.

"Don't be reserved, ladies should learn to talk, especially at the dinner table." Mrs. Judith nodded slightly.

There are some of the ladies here who have been brought up as children in table manners, and rarely talk or laugh so loudly as the Bennets.Elizabeth had no choice but to cheer up and compare every move she made to Laura beside her.

Laura knew her friend's shortcomings, and while sitting gracefully, she told her softly: "Don't stiffen your back, relax, sit upright naturally, but don't, never lean on the back of the chair... Oh, it seems that Li Ya is very popular, that is the job of the first male servant, the first meat dish is usually served by the first male servant, and the second male servant can only serve vegetarian dishes or side dishes..."

From the corner of her eyes, Elizabeth saw Leah put a plate of roast beef in front of Mrs. Judith. According to the customary rules in the East and the West, the oldest and highest-ranking person is always served first.

Laura gestured lightly, then looked towards Mrs. Judith with a smile on her face.

Elizabeth was slightly taken aback, and followed her example and turned her slender neck to the unfamiliar young lady on her right.

For the first course of the British, it is customary to talk to the guest on the right.

As the sumptuous meals were served one by one, the atmosphere of the restaurant gradually eased with the aroma of the food.After Mrs. Judith moved the knife and fork, the ladies also began to enjoy this delicious and delicate meal.

Elizabeth was half-stretched all the time. Although her movements were rigid and not leisurely and graceful, she did not make mistakes anyway.

"Bang!"

The sound made the ladies turn their heads to look, but it was the housekeeper who stabbed a silver table knife into the back of a lady's chair.The poor girl flushed with shame.

The girls on the seats straightened their backs calmly, trying to stay as far away from the back of the chair as possible.

This unexpected episode made the atmosphere of the whole dinner party fall to the bottom. The ladies mechanically obeyed Mrs. Judith's gestures, and every time she coughed lightly, they turned to the lady on the other side to communicate.The dinner was in the middle of no taste, and it went on dryly until the end.

Lady Judith put back on her hands the long lace gloves that had been placed on her lap and covered with a napkin, to signify that the dinner party was coming to an end.

But the lady did not leave the seat, so the ladies had to wait silently.

"I thought you all knew that dining is essentially a way of socializing. It's an occasion for ladies to show off."

Mrs. Judith's voice was unhurried, but inexplicably severe: "Without these, what is the difference between you and the natives overseas!"

"Look at yourselves, ladies! Some don't wear gloves, some still wear morning dresses, some have bare heads, necks, and ears, and some don't match food and wine!"

"Some words should not be said directly, but you, stupid ladies! It makes me have to say this against my will: dining is a way of socializing, a place to show status and power, ladies have to Know how to present yourself with an elegant and decent posture here. This is extremely important to you, when you can’t compare your background with others, your etiquette is the best way to highlight yourself!"

"Okay, put away your frustrated and aggrieved expressions, I can only say that this first lesson has failed! Before you can turn these common etiquette into your own unique characteristics, I will wait for you here every night."

"You are so far behind! Ladies, I hope that after tomorrow's dressing gong sounds, you will at least look a little more presentable than tonight."

"Now, step on your blessed feet and go back to your lounge!"

There are too many things to pay attention to and learn from this dinner party. Elizabeth urgently needs the guidance of her friends. She stood up stiffly and silently followed behind Laura.

At this time, she suddenly discovered that several girls with the same aspirations stepped on the right foot first, so the foot blessed by God refers to the right foot?

The first lesson Elizabeth experienced here, the cumbersome and strict etiquette made her extremely distressed.Coincidentally, on the same day, in Longborn, dozens of miles away, her long letter also set off a huge wave for the Bennet family.

Mrs. Bennet clutched her forehead and called out to be considerate of her fragile nerves.

Lydia yelled at the dinner table, constantly asking her mother to write to Elizabeth, and reprimanding her before she could give up.