The Jane Austen Society(57)
They headed downstairs and through the Great Hall until they entered the book-lined room next door.
“What will happen to all of this?” Mimi walked around the room and gently touched the spines of various leatherbound books. “It’s remarkable, really. Yardley has been watching the market for me, and I bet there are some real treasures in here.” She turned back to Evie. “Yardley Sinclair works at Sotheby’s in London—he is another great lover of Jane Austen, and he keeps me up-to-date on things. In fact, he’s the one who introduced us to Miss Knight.”
“He is a most persistent man as well,” said Frances.
“Yes, I seem to be surrounded by those, both here and in Hollywood.”
Evie’s eyes widened, as she thought about all the famous people that Mimi must know.
“Yardley wants to visit you, terribly,” Mimi was saying to Frances.
Frances absent-mindedly touched the back of one of the books nearest her. “I’ve done a good job at putting that off. I always do. But I suppose we are going to need a valuation soon, especially under the circumstances.”
“Yardley can be trusted, I promise. He would keep any valuation confidential until you knew what you wanted to do. He considers himself another caretaker of Miss Austen. I know he very much wants to keep as much of her physical legacy here in England as possible, so he’s very good to share with me what he does.”
“Miss Knight,” Evie half whispered, trying not to appear rude, “would it be alright—I mean, are you alright—if I tell Miss Harrison about the society we’ve started up?”
“Of course, Evie, please do. I am sure Miss Harrison would love to hear about it.”
Evie explained to Mimi the recent formation of the Jane Austen Society, with Frances and herself being the newest members in addition to Adam Berwick, Dr. Gray, Adeline Grover, and Andrew Forrester—just two people short of the desired quorum of eight.
Mimi listened with increasing excitement, then exclaimed, “I need to be part of this. I mean it. Please?”
The other two women stared at each other quickly in surprise, with Evie looking as if she was doing various quick calculations in her head.
“Are you sure?” Evie asked first. “I mean, we’re a bunch of people who never leave this village—you would be in a pretty bright spotlight when you needn’t be.”
“No, I totally want to do this. And I know Yardley will want to join, too. So that gets you to eight, right?”
“But you’re not a resident here,” Frances added.
“But I plan to be, for at least a good chunk of the year. Can you ask Mr. Forrester for me, if that could pose a problem of any kind?”
“Of course, if you want. But give us time to prepare everyone. We have some rather romantic gentlemen in the group—”
“Three!” Evie piped up again, holding up as many fingers on her right hand.
“Yes, how amusing.” Frances smiled. “Evie is right, they are all three of them terrible romantics.”
“Well, Yardley will love that,” Mimi tried to interject, but the comment went straight over the other two women’s heads.
“They are also all inveterate moviegoers, as far as I know,” Frances was continuing. “It might be a bit too much for them at first.”
Mimi thought it delightful that these two women were being so protective of the group. She thought it said something, for both the society and the village of Chawton as a whole, that they all knew each other so well. She had left her near decade in Hollywood without any such understanding. In fact, the longer she had stayed there, the less she had understood of the people around her. That there might be a place where people were not constantly competing against each other for their very sustenance, but were instead helping each other survive through war and injury and poverty and pain, seemed as much something out of a Jane Austen novel as anything else she could have hoped to find.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Chawton, Hampshire
February 2, 1946
Adeline was a little annoyed to see Liberty Pascal answer the front door when she arrived at Dr. Gray’s house for the second meeting of the Jane Austen Society.
“Addy,” Liberty said, even though everyone who knew Adeline also knew how much she disliked that shortening of her name. “You’re early.”
Adeline noticed the ring of keys hanging from Liberty’s belt and wondered just how much the young woman had already ingratiated herself into both the business and the personal life of Dr. Gray.
“He’s so particular about his things,” Liberty explained, catching Adeline’s questioning glance. “I’m the only one with access to the medicine cabinet during office hours. He doesn’t want even one copy of the key left lying about.”
“That’s quite a responsibility.” Adeline wondered why Dr. Gray would be so strict about the keys that he wouldn’t even keep a copy for himself. “You must be here at all hours.”
Liberty nodded. “I’ve taken a room at the boarding house near the school. Your old stomping ground I understand. Dr. Gray tells me you were quite the teacher in your day.”
“Does he? That’s a little surprising, since he and the other trustees were always trying to get me fired.”
“Oh, Adeline!” Liberty laughed. “You always were so dramatic!”