by Don Miller
Elizabeth assured Mrs. Gardiner it was her greatest desire that Jane stay with her. She told Mrs. Gardiner she supposed Mrs. Bennet had wanted to stay at Dumont house also, but she did not want to subject her grandparents to Mrs. Bennet or Lydia. She hoped having them at her house would not put too much of a burden on Mrs. Gardiner. Mrs. Gardiner assured her it would not; after all, she had entertained the whole family including Elizabeth on more than one occasion. It was decided Elizabeth would come to the Gardiner’s house for lunch, and wait for the Bennets to arrive sometime in the early afternoon.
Elizabeth could hardly wait for Jane to arrive. She was afraid she would not get much sleep that night. She had so many things she wanted to talk to her about. She had never spent so many months away from Jane. She had never told her about her experiences at Kent, nor told her about the perfidy of Mr. Wickham. And she reminisced about all the nights she and Jane had sat in their room and talked about Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy. Jane, of course, always spoke favorably of Mr. Bingley and her aspirations for him, while she had spent most of her time maligning Mr. Darcy. But then she remembered her thoughts about Mr. Darcy when she was alone, particularly in her dreams, were not as bad as she made them out to Jane. She refused to admit to herself she was attracted to him, but her subconscious would not let her forget it. How blind she had been, and how ironic it was she was marrying her William before Jane married her Charles.
The next morning Elizabeth had another meeting with Mme. Tellier and then went to the Gardiners bookstore to see if her aunt or uncle were there. She could not stop thinking of them as her aunt and uncle and decided that from this point forward she would always refer to them, even to her new family, as her aunt and uncle. When she arrived, she was warmly greeted by all the staff, who all knew of her upcoming wedding and wished to congratulate her. She realized how much she had come to miss the camaraderie she had felt when helping in the bookstore. She was told neither her uncle nor aunt was there, so she browsed books for a while and then decided to go on to the Gardiner’s house, even though she would be a little early.
She was happily greeted by her aunt and the Gardiner children. They were most pleased she had come early so she could spend some time with them. Once again she felt nostalgia for the many hours she had spent in the Gardiner’s home and playing with and teaching the children. She had always envied the atmosphere in the Gardiner home and how lively, yet disciplined, the Gardiner children were. She hoped she could be half so good a mother as her aunt.
Just before noon, her uncle returned from the office and warmly greeted her. He told her again how much he missed her at the bookstore and the office and wondered how they would get along without her in the coming years. He knew it had to happen someday, but like Mr. Bennet, he had hoped the day would still be a few years away.
They ate a pleasant and leisurely lunch, expecting the Bennets to arrive at any moment. They, in fact, did not arrive until almost 2 o’clock, Jane telling Elizabeth later it had been almost impossible to get her mother and Lydia out of the house in reasonable time.
Mrs. Bennet was more subdued than Elizabeth had ever seen her. She had seen Elizabeth’s coach in front of the house and remarked how beautiful it was, but not in the excited way Elizabeth had seen her act in the past. She was most appreciative Elizabeth had invited them and had offered to see them properly dressed. She even seemed to understand when Elizabeth told them Jane would be staying with her, but the rest of them would be staying with the Gardiners. Lydia was upset and did not understand why she could not stay with Elizabeth in her fancy house, but Mrs. Bennet quickly quieted her, explaining to her Elizabeth’s grandmother was not used to exuberant young girls. Again, Elizabeth was impressed at Mrs. Bennet’s composure and calmness.
Once they had all gathered in the sitting room, Elizabeth could wait no longer and asked Jane, “So big sister, how is it going with Mr. Bingley?” Lydia and Kitty both began giggling and Mrs. Bennet smiled broadly, but looking at Jane, said nothing.
With an equally big smile on her face, Jane said, “He finally did it. He proposed to me on Saturday, shortly after receiving the announcement of your wedding from Mr. Darcy. I am sure the announcement gave him the impetus to do it. As a matter of fact, he told me he could not believe Darcy was marrying before he was. We have not set a wedding date yet, but it will probably be no more than two or three weeks after your wedding. I know you will probably not be able to be there, but Charles did not want to wait any longer than that. At least both Charles and I will be in your wedding, even if you or Darcy cannot be at ours. I will talk to you more about it tonight.”
Elizabeth and the Gardiners were very happy for Jane and all insisted on hugging her and giving her their congratulations. And Mrs. Bennet said it was good Mr. Bingley had proposed when he did, because it meant that as they were looking for gowns for Elizabeth’s wedding, they could also look for a wedding gown for Jane, as well as new gowns for her more befitting her status as mistress of Netherfield Park.
They spent another hour discussing the engagements and the upcoming weddings, and Elizabeth informed them the wedding would be on July 9 at 9 AM in the morning. She also told them she would be by on the morrow at 9:30 to pick them up and take them to the modiste. She had made arrangements with Mrs. Gardiner’s modiste, Mlle. Genevieve, to look at patterns and materials for their gowns. She told them she was going to buy each of them two gowns, one for the wedding and wedding breakfast, and one for the ball. And even though Lydia and Kitty would not be going to the ball, she would buy them gowns to wear at Jane’s ball.
As Elizabeth and Jane were going from the Gardiners to Dumont house, Jane asked Elizabeth again what it was like to live as a very wealthy woman. When Elizabeth told her in confidence just how wealthy her grandparents were and how wealthy she was going to be, Jane was aghast. She had known Elizabeth was going to be wealthy, but she could not even comprehend the level of wealth Elizabeth was going to have. She admitted it was hard to imagine what it was going to be like living with someone as wealthy as her Charles. So to imagine wealth at least 20 times more than his was virtually impossible. She could not imagine how Elizabeth was going to deal with it. And after she was married to Mr. Darcy, she would have even more.
When they reached Monttard House, Elizabeth introduced Jane to her grandparents and then took Jane up to her room and introduced her to Renée, the housemaid who would be Jane’s personal maid while she was visiting Elizabeth. She then left her, telling her she and her grandparents would expect her to dinner at 6:30. As Jane sat in her bath she thought back over the years Elizabeth had been her sister and closest friend and all the dreams they had had about their adult lives. She, with her Charles, was going to live the type of life she had dreamed about. But Elizabeth was living a life far beyond anything they could imagine. Elizabeth, in fact, had despaired she could ever be anything but a governess or companion, because she could not imagine a man wanting someone as smart or contentious as she was, and she would not marry someone she could not love and respect. That she should not only find a man like Mr. Darcy, who seemed to be exactly what she needed, and to have all this wealth still did not seem real. She looked forward to spending the next three days with Elizabeth and seeing how all this wealth had affected her, if at all.
Lord and Lady Monttard could not help but notice how close Jane and Elizabeth were. They were amazed that two such beautiful and composed young ladies could be found in the country. But it eventually became clear to them from the conversation that much of the sophistication found in these two women could be attributed to their Aunt and Uncle Gardiner. They were interested in seeing what the rest of the Bennet family was like, although their impression was that the younger daughters were not as impressive as their older sisters.
After dinner Elizabeth and Jane talked for a couple of hours and Elizabeth told Jane about the events in Kent and gave her more detail on what had occurred in town since she had returned from Kent. Again, Jane was amazed at the strength of her
sister’s convictions. That she would turn down an offer from someone like Mr. Darcy, given her past pessimism about ever being made an offer of marriage from a gentleman of any wealth, was almost incomprehensible to her. And that she should do it primarily because he had helped separate Mr. Bingley from her made her appreciate what Elizabeth had sacrificed even more. She assured Elizabeth she would hold no rancor against Mr. Darcy, because, in the end, he had seen the error of his ways and been instrumental in bringing them together again.
Jane was distressed about that which Elizabeth exposed about Mr. Wickham. As far as she knew, he was still held in favor in Meryton and had been to Longbourn, the Lucas’, and the Phillips’ several times. She thought Lydia was quite taken with him. Elizabeth encouraged her to warn her father as soon as possible about Mr. Wickham, so he might warn his friends to keep an eye on their daughters and so he might reign in Lydia. Jane told her, in fact, both her father and mother had begun putting restrictions on Lydia and rebuking her about her unladylike behavior around the officers of the militia. Lydia could no longer go into town without one of her parents or her.
Jane also said Kitty had changed dramatically since Elizabeth had left. It was as if she realized how much of a parental role Elizabeth had played in her life. She had always been the forgotten child relative to Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and had relied very much on Jane and Elizabeth, but particularly Elizabeth for guidance. Elizabeth’s departure had sobered her, and she had become much quieter and introspective. She was even beginning to criticize Lydia about her behavior and the close relationship, dominated by Lydia, which had existed between her and Lydia had slowly disappeared. She had become much closer to Mary and Jane.
“I guess I should have left home earlier,” quipped Elizabeth. “If I had known my departure would have had such a beneficial effect on the family, I could have come to town to live with the Gardiners.”
“Oh, Lizzie, you know it was the revelation of your true parentage that was the important point. It really changed Mama and Papa’s relationship and just spread into the whole family. I believe all things happened at just the right time and just as they should have. Now, tell me about the big trip you have planned after your wedding.”
Elizabeth started by apologizing to Jane she could not be in her wedding, because they would be gone for several months. She explained she felt she had to make the trip this year because, even though he never said anything about it, she felt her grandfather was beginning to have some health issues, and she thought she needed to learn, as soon as possible, everything she could about the shipping line and how he managed it. She hoped she and Darcy could start to take over some responsibility for the shipping line and allow her grandfather to at least partially retire and take it easy. He was nearly 68 and had worked hard all his life building up the shipping line. She still did not really understand why he had continued to work so hard to build up the shipping line after his son died, for he would have no heir, he thought, to take it over. She speculated it was because it was the only purpose he had in life. He and Lady Monttard were not much interested in the social scene and only interacted with a very small group of friends. Now that she was in his life, she hoped she and the family she made with Darcy would be a relaxing influence on his later life.
When Elizabeth and Jane retired, Elizabeth told Jane she needed to be down to breakfast by 8 o’clock, because they had to leave by 9 o’clock to get to Gracechurch Street to pick up the Bennets. When Jane came down, shortly after 8 o’clock, not only were the Elizabeth and her grandparents there, but also Mr. Darcy and a young lady Jane did not know.
Mr. Darcy stood and came over to her and bowed and said, “Miss Bennet, how good it is to see you again.” Indicating the young lady that Jane did not know, who had also arisen, he continued, “and may I present to you my sister, Georgiana. Georgiana, this is Miss Jane Bennet.”
After Georgiana had said, “Miss Bennet, it is so good to finally meet you,” and Jane had responded, “And I to meet you, Miss Darcy,” Elizabeth came over to stand between them and said, “and now I would like to introduce you.”
They both looked at her wondering what she meant, and she said, “Georgiana, this is Jane. Jane, this is Georgiana. You are my two sisters to whom I feel closest. I expect you to be on a given name basis.”
Jane laughed, thinking this was just like Elizabeth, and said to Georgiana, “Georgiana, it is nice to meet you.” And Georgiana responded, “Jane, it is nice to meet you,” and all three young women hugged. And then, with big smiles, everyone sat down to breakfast.
During breakfast Elizabeth explained to Jane that Georgiana and Lady Monttard were going with them to the modiste. They would take both the Darcy carriage and the Monttard carriage to Gracechurch Street to pick up the Bennets, so they would not all be crowded in one carriage. Lady Monttard would accompany Elizabeth in her carriage, while Jane would accompany Georgiana in the Darcy carriage so that could begin to know her better.
Looking at Darcy with a twinkle in her eye, Jane asked, “You mean, Mr. Darcy, you are not going to come with us?”
Georgiana laughed. “If you knew my brother, you would not have asked that question. There are many things my brother does not like to do and at the top of that list is going shopping for women’s clothes, at least for my clothes. As attached as he is to Lizzie, he might go shopping with her for her clothes alone, but, believe me, he has no interest in going with a whole gaggle of women, even if Lizzie is with them.”
Darcy and Lord Monttard walked the ladies to the coaches and watched as they drove away. Darcy turned to Lord Monttard and said, “Can you imagine going with nine women on a shopping trip for gowns? That would be what I call real torture.” To which Lord Monttard answered by clapping Darcy on the back and saying that he agreed.
Shortly before 9:30 the two carriages pulled up in front of the Gardiner’s house. When they all entered the house, they were greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, and the three younger Bennets were introduced to Lady Monttard and Georgiana. Then Lady Monttard, Mrs. Bennet, Mrs. Gardiner, and Georgiana rode to Mlle. Genevieve’s shop in the Darcy carriage, while Elizabeth and the four sisters rode in Elizabeth’s carriage. When they arrived at Mlle. Genevieve’s shop, they were ushered in and the doors locked. Elizabeth had arranged with Mlle. Genevieve that the shop be totally theirs for the entire day, if necessary. Mlle. Genevieve was glad to oblige, for Mrs. Gardiner had been a client of hers when she had worked for Mme. Labant, and six years ago, when Mme. Labant had decided to retire and sell her business, it had been Mrs. Gardiner who had talked Mlle. Genevieve into buying the shop and setting up her own business. Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner had provided her most of the down payment on the shop and had helped her arrange for a mortgage, in exchange for a share of the profits until they had received a reasonable return on their investment. Mlle. Genevieve had been quite successful catering to the upper tier of the merchant class and had been able to repay the Gardiners loan with interest in five years.
With a one-hour break for lunch which was brought to them from Monttard House, eight of the nine women were there until almost 4 o’clock. Lady Monttard had to leave about 2 o’clock to attend the tea given by one of Lady Monttard’s friends to which she and Elizabeth had both been invited, but Elizabeth had declined because of her visitors. The remaining ladies did manage to find appropriate gowns for all the Bennets and Mrs. Gardiner, and Elizabeth was assured that they would be ready at least two days before the wedding.
The next day Elizabeth sent the carriage to the Gardiners late in the morning to pick up the Bennets and bring them to Monttard House. She gave them a tour of the house and showed them all the beautiful artifacts the Dumont family had collected over the years. After a nice lunch, Darcy and Georgiana joined them, and because it was a beautiful sunny day, Darcy, Elizabeth, and Georgiana led the Bennet girls on a walk through Hyde Park. During the walk Georgiana walked mostly with Kitty and Mary and found much in common with each of them. She enjoyed talking about piano musi
c with Mary and about drawing and painting with Kitty. Unfortunately, Lydia was bored with the whole afternoon and twice complained about the length of the walk. After the walk, they all went to Darcy House for tea, where once again they were joined by Lord and Lady Monttard. Both Georgiana and Mary performed on the piano, and then Elizabeth and Jane sang a duet and finally, at Darcy’s insistence, Elizabeth sang a solo.
Late in the afternoon the Bennets, the Darcys, and the Dumonts went to the Gardiners for a wonderful dinner and an enjoyable evening of conversation. All seem pleased with the entire day, except Lydia. At the end of the evening, as the Darcys were leaving, Georgiana asked Kitty, Mary, and Lydia if they would like to visit with her the next day at Darcy house. She really did not want to ask Lydia, but she did not think she could ask the other two without Lydia. She was relieved when Lydia declined, saying she wanted to stay with her mother and go shopping with her mother and aunt early in the afternoon. So it was arranged that Georgiana would send the carriage for Mary and Kitty the next morning at 9:30.
Elizabeth had no plans to meet with any of the Bennet family except Jane on Thursday. In the morning they went to Mlle. Genevieve’s again to look at wedding dresses for Jane. Jane had seen some designs that had interested her the day before, but did not want to take up any time that day looking over the designs. So they had arranged to come back Thursday morning to take a further look. Jane found two designs she liked, but decided to come back two or three weeks before her wedding, if she were to decide to get her dress from Mlle. Genevieve. When Elizabeth and Jane returned to Monttard House for lunch, they were surprised to find Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy with Elizabeth’s grandparents.