by Lauren King
Elizabeth guides the older lady out of the pond. “There you go, ma’am. Let us go sit at the bench over here and we can check your knee.”
The young girl helps by holding onto the older lady’s other arm while she hobbles to the bench. With a furrowed brow, the young girl asks with great concern. “Mrs. Annesley, is your knee hurt badly?”
“I do not think so, Miss Darcy. I am so very sorry for dragging you into the pond too. Are you hurt, my dear?” Mrs. Annesley asks with apprehension.
“Mrs. Annesley, you did not do it intentionally. Those little boys accidentally bumped into you and you fell. Fortunately, I am not hurt, but I am afraid that you may be hurt. Let us rest here for a moment before going home.”
Elizabeth helps the older lady sit on the bench. “How do you feel now, ma’am?”
“My knee hurts but not too much. I can put pressure on it. It may be bruised, but I think I am well, Miss. Thank you very much for your kindness. Please, let me introduce myself; I am Mrs. Annesley. I am companion to Miss Georgiana Darcy, here. May I learn your name, Miss?”
“Yes, of course; forgive me, Mrs. Annesley. I am Elizabeth Bennet.”
“Miss Bennet, I am grateful for your help. Thank you for being thoughtful and quick thinking in helping us. I am sorry that your shoes and dress are wet and are probably ruined. Please, allow me to compensate you. Forgive me; let me formally introduce you to Miss Georgiana Darcy. Miss Darcy this is Miss Elizabeth Bennet.”
Both young ladies look at each other warmly and then curtsy as best as they can while in wet shoes and a wet dress. At this point, Mrs. Gardiner rushes to Elizabeth’s side.
“Oh my goodness, Lizzy; are you well? Are your friends well? I saw you ladies fall into the pond.” Mrs. Gardiner urgently asks with worry.
“Yes, I am well, Aunt, but these two ladies are not. Aunt, please let me introduce to you, Mrs. Annesley and Miss Georgiana Darcy. Ladies, this is my Aunt, Mrs. Madeline Gardiner.”
The ladies greet each other pleasantly and then Elizabeth says, “Mrs. Annesley, Miss Darcy I think you both should leave for home immediately and change out of your wet clothing before you catch a cold. Now, Miss Darcy, are you sure you are not hurt in any way?”
“My foot feels sore, but I can walk without much discomfort if I walk slowly. I also want to thank you for your kindness in helping us today, Miss Bennet. I am grateful; without you holding on to my arm, I am certain that I would have fallen completely into the pond and be injured, too. I thank you very much.” Miss Darcy expresses demurely and genuinely.
“Miss Darcy, I only did what anyone would have done under the circumstances. Please, think nothing of it.” Elizabeth responds modestly.
“Miss Bennet, I insist that you permit me to compensate you for your ruined dress and shoes. Please, allow me to be able to thank you for your assistance. I will not be easy if you do not agree to it Miss Bennet; it is only right that I replace what was ruined because you were so kind in helping us. I do not think there are many ladies around here that would have done that, willingly.” Mrs. Annesley conveys candidly.
“Mrs. Annesley, let me help you and Miss Darcy to your carriage and get you on your way home to change out of these wet clothes first, all right? My dress is unimportant.” Elizabeth states frankly.
“Lizzy, why do you not help Miss Darcy walk just in case her foot is sore enough to worsen upon walking; I will help Mrs. Annesley.”
“Thank you, Aunt. That is a good idea.” Elizabeth smiles at both ladies as she goes to help Miss Darcy.
“Ladies, I can’t thank you enough. I am truly grateful.” Mrs. Annesley is very touched by the benevolence that she has gotten from Miss Bennet and her Aunt.
“You are welcome, Mrs. Annesley.” Mrs. Gardiner smiles nicely.
“Mrs. Annesley, you are quite welcome. Now, do you think you can stand yet?” Elizabeth asks thoughtfully.
At the Darcy carriage, Miss Darcy asks that they be allowed to take Miss Bennet and Mrs. Gardiner home. They decline because they have their own carriage waiting for them. Just as Miss Darcy steps up into her carriage, she slips and hits her shins onto the side step. She cries out in pain. Elizabeth swiftly holds onto Miss Darcy’s arm and guides her into the carriage.
“Oh goodness, are you in a lot of pain, Miss Darcy? Your shoes must be slippery from the wetness.” Elizabeth asks sympathetically. “I know how much that must have hurt. I have hit my shins before. Aunt, would you mind if we help the ladies home and guide them inside before we leave?”
“Of course not, Lizzy. If the ladies do not mind, then we can help them inside their home,” replies Mrs. Gardiner.
Miss Darcy says instantly, “Most certainly, we do not mind Mrs. Gardiner. It would be my honor to have you both in my home. Thank you, again, for helping us. I cannot believe how clumsy I was to trip on that step.”
“Please, think nothing of it, Miss Darcy; anyone can trip and fall, accidentally. Let me inform my driver to follow your carriage.” Mrs. Gardiner gives her driver instructions.
Once inside the luxurious Darcy home, the housekeeper – Mrs. Lane – approaches and is shocked to see Miss Darcy and Mrs. Annesley stand there with dirty wet dresses on. They are being helped by two other ladies with one young lady also in a dirty, wet dress and shoes.
“Mrs. Lane, please order a bath for both me and Mrs. Annesley immediately. And please show Mrs. Gardiner and Miss Bennet into the drawing room.”
Elizabeth interrupts immediately, “Miss Darcy, I will dirty your floor and furniture. I am fine. I think it is best that my Aunt and I leave now that we know the both of you are safe inside your home.”
“Miss Bennet, please allow me to get you new shoes so that you can at least not have to continue to wear wet, dirty shoes to your home. Please, allow me to do that one small deed for all your kindness today.” Miss Darcy looks pleadingly at Elizabeth.
Elizabeth does not want to continue to counter this issue, but it makes no sense to ruin another pair of shoes. Therefore, she declines on accepting Miss Darcy’s shoes.
“Miss Darcy, I thank you for your thoughtfulness, but there is no need for me to ruin two pairs of shoes when I am going to change out of this pair, anyways. I am not in pain like you both are currently; therefore, please allow your staff to look after you. My Aunt and I will be on our way. And please, may I suggest that you call a physician to attend to your knee if it is too swollen or if you continue to experience pain with it, Mrs. Annesley. Miss Darcy, if you have any cuts on your shins, then it should be cleaned and bandaged up quickly in order to prevent possible infections. The pond water is not clean, I am certain.” Elizabeth caringly advises the ladies with compassion.
“Lizzy, let us leave so the ladies can get cleaned up. I hope you both will heal quickly with no problems. Good day to you both,” says Mrs. Gardiner sympathetically.
“Mrs. Gardiner, Miss Bennet you are too kind. I am truly touched by it. Thank you, again. I will not forget your act of kindness. Good day to the both of you.” Miss Darcy says most genuinely. She does not want to bother and delay the ladies any longer; she wishes she could see them again, but how can she convey this?
All the pleasantries are relayed and then Elizabeth and Mrs. Gardiner leave. Inside their carriage, they comment on how kind and well mannered Miss Darcy is for a young girl. She is about Lydia’s age (Elizabeth’s youngest sister) yet she is very different from Lydia. Obviously, they can tell that Miss Darcy’s family is very wealthy; they are most likely from the first circles; their residence is grand, indeed. Mrs. Gardiner says that the Mayfair address is home to very wealthy and/or titled people. Elizabeth is not overly impressed with all of that; she is more impressed that Miss Darcy seems to be a good girl. Undoubtedly, it is always nice to be wealthy but to have the combination that Miss Darcy seems to have is superb.
Once Elizabeth has bathed and changed, she has tea with Mrs. Gardiner. They decide to send a note tomorrow to check on Miss Darcy’s and Mrs. Annesley’s health. Since the
y have been introduced to each other, then it will not be a faux pas to send them a friendly note.
Mrs. Gardiner tells Elizabeth that she remembers from when she lived in Lambton in Derbyshire that there was a prominent Darcy family. She wonders if Miss Darcy is somehow related to them. If she is, then she is from a very illustrious, wealthy family with high connections. Mrs. Gardiner does not remember the details of their extended family. The Darcy family in Derbyshire has a son; she does not remember a daughter or other details. The Darcy family was well respected and revered due to their good treatment of their tenants and workers. Elizabeth comments on how coincidental life is.
Mrs. Gardiner explains that Mr. Joshua Wright, Mr. Gardiner’s business associate and friend, will host tonight’s dinner party.
“He is a successful cotton exporter; he is quite well off. His children are well mannered. I have to say that they have reared their three children rather well. The eldest son is two and twenty, the second son is twenty, and the third child is a daughter of seven and ten. She is very cute and genuinely polite. She will be coming out this next season. I think you will like her, Lizzy; she speaks nicely and is not too overly vivacious or sedate. I have spoken with her before, and she seemed pleasant.”
“That is nice, Aunt. They all sound pleasant. I look forward to meeting them and their other party guests.” Elizabeth chuckles and says, “I do admit to being eager about attending Mr. Shakespeare’s play. That will be an event to remember; you know how I like his plays.”
“Yes, I do remember you like reading his plays. This will be perfect, then.” Mrs. Gardiner smiles cheerfully.
“And I thank you, Aunt, again, for my gowns. As always, you and Uncle are too generous with me.”
“Think nothing of it, Lizzy. You are a very good girl and you deserve it and more.” Mrs. Gardiner says warmly. “You are the best niece any aunt could ask for. We appreciate you very much. That is exactly why your Uncle and I want you to have the gowns and come with us to enjoy some of the parties and events.”
“Thank you, Aunt, but you know I will gladly help you and Uncle; you do not have to give me anything for it.”
“We do know that, and we appreciate you even more.” Mrs. Gardiner says kindheartedly.
Elizabeth and Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner arrive at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Wright for a dinner party. There are a total of twenty guests including their three grown children – Mr. Henry Wright, Mr. Hugh Wright, and Miss Sarah Wright. All the introductions are made. It is evident that all the single men pay attention to Elizabeth. It is well known that Elizabeth’s father is a gentleman and a learned man that graduated from Cambridge; his estate is in Hertfordshire. Everyone concurs that Miss Elizabeth Bennet is witty, intelligent, and beautiful.
It is obvious to Mrs. Gardiner that the eldest son – Mr. Henry Wright is interested in Elizabeth. Mr. Henry Wright speaks mainly to Elizabeth throughout the dinner party. He is handsome, well spoken, and polite, and he just graduated from Cambridge a few months ago. He is helping his father run the family business.
Elizabeth is glad that all three Wright siblings are nice even though Mr. Hugh Wright has a slight air of arrogance – luckily, it was not towards herself. Miss Wright is truly a pleasant girl, and she speaks intelligently. Elizabeth can imagine them being friends; maybe they can correspond with each other when Elizabeth is back in Hertfordshire.
Elizabeth has a lot of fun tonight with all the lively conversations about the Americas, importing and exporting to and from the Americas, the state of the British economy, the state of the British military in the bordering countries, art, plays, and music. Elizabeth is glad to have acquainted herself with such genial people this evening.
“Miss Bennet, will you be attending Mr. Harold Allston’s ball next week?” Mr. Henry Wright asks cheerily.
“Yes, I believe we will be attending that ball.” Elizabeth smiles back and then says, “Mr. Wright, you will have to address me as Miss Elizabeth because every time I hear Miss Bennet, I expect to see my elder sister Jane next to me.” Elizabeth chuckles gaily.
“It will be my pleasure, Miss Elizabeth. I am glad that you will be attending The Allston Ball.” Mr. Henry Wright smiles pleasantly. “I will also be attending. I hope I can reserve my dance set with you now before your dance card becomes full?”
Elizabeth chuckles joyfully. “Mr. Wright, since I will not know any of the people that will be there, I can safely assure you that you will get your dance set with me.”
“Miss Elizabeth, trust me when I say that I doubt you will have room on your dance card if I do not reserve my dance set with you now. May I have your supper set, Miss Elizabeth?”
Elizabeth smiles pleasantly then says, “Yes, you may, Mr. Wright.”
“Since you like Mr. William Shakespeare’s plays, I want to let you know that the London Theater performers will be performing – A Midsummer Night’s Dream next Saturday. Have you ever seen that play performed?”
“No, I have not, Mr. Wright; have you?” Elizabeth asks amiably.
“I have not either which is why I will be attending the opening performance. I hope that you will be able to see the play when it is still performing in London. I hear that they will be performing this particular play until February next year.”
“I am glad to say that my Uncle and Aunt are very generous with me and have invited me to attend with them for the opening performance.”
“Well, it looks like more than one single man was interested in making your acquaintance tonight, Lizzy.” Mrs. Gardiner teases when they are in their carriage heading home.
“Are you keeping count, Madeline?” Mr. Gardiner chuckles as he teases his favorite niece.
Elizabeth chuckles right along with her Uncle and Aunt who are always loving towards her. She also noticed the attention of some of the men at the dinner tonight; however, it may mean nothing. Mr. Henry Wright was attentive. He was affable, charming, and fun with whom she could converse, frankly. He spoke to Elizabeth as if on equal ground; he was not condescending because she is a lady. He seems to be an interesting person.
MONDAY MORNING – MR. GARDINER’S OFFICE
Elizabeth and Mrs. Gardiner continue their accounting while Mr. Gardiner goes to speak with Mr. Clarke about his embezzlement. Elizabeth remembers to send a short note to Miss Darcy to ask after her health.
October 20th, 1810
Dear Miss Darcy,
I hope this note finds you and Mrs. Annesley doing much better than Saturday. My Aunt and I only wanted to check on yours and Mrs. Annesley’s well being. Please, rest plentifully so your foot and shin will not have any chance of troubling you. Good day to you both. God bless you.
Best Regards,
Miss Elizabeth Bennet
1673 Grace Church Street, Cheapside
Before noon, Mr. Gardiner comes back into his office while carrying a small bag. He sighs heavily before explaining his conversation with Mr. Clarke.
“Mr. Clarke has a serious lung problem; he is still sick from an initial infection. He has been taking medicine, but the illness does not seem to go away completely. At the beginning, he denied everything, but after some coaxing and promising not to report his embezzlement to the authorities, he returned some of my money to me. He already has spent some of it on his illness and in support of his family while he has been ill.”
“He begged my forgiveness. He said he did not originally plan to embezzle from me; he was forced into it. He explained that he did some gambling and owed another gambler some money; that is why he thought of embezzling in order to pay the gambler back. He had the intention of putting the money back, but he started to gamble more and lost again, thus he had to keep embezzling in order to pay back the gambler or else the gambler would hurt him or his family. It went on from there. I told him that he must give back all of my money that he has left, and then I will help him continue to buy medicine. I threatened him a little about his entire family getting a bad reputation for his bad deeds and how his child
ren will not be able to hide from it, especially his sons. In the end, he admits to embezzling 1,400 pounds from me.”
An audible gasp comes from Elizabeth and Mrs. Gardiner.
“We still need to update the books, Lizzy. Mr. Clarke said that he started to embezzle from September last year. He swears to me that he did not start earlier than that.”
“I think I will still go back to his first day of working for you, Uncle. If we estimate with August’s numbers, then he has embezzled approximately 2,080 pounds for the year!” Elizabeth is aghast about the large sum stolen from her Uncle.
“I agree with Lizzy, Edward.” Mrs. Gardiner states confidently.
“Yes, I agree also. I just want to know the actual number. God knows if he is lying or not.” Mr. Gardiner states with great irritation and anger.
“So, how much money does he have left of the 1,400 pounds that he supposedly stole, Edward?”
“He said he has approximately 800 pounds left, and it is all in this bag.” Mr. Gardiner opens up the bag, and there are money notes in 10 pound denominations.
“Oh goodness; he spent 600 pounds on gambling and his illness?” Elizabeth asks in amazement. What a big loss for her Uncle.
“Well, I guess we should feel lucky that we are recovering that much back. I doubt that the 1,400 pounds figure is accurate, though,” says Mrs. Gardiner.
“I get the feeling it may not be, but what can I do now? If he truly spent it and only has 800 pounds left, then that is better than nothing. I am extremely angry, and I despise him so much now. I do not even feel pity for his illness. I know it is not Christian of me to think that way, but he knows how hard I work to make the money for my family; he just steals it right out from under me. Stealing is less of a Christian thing to do.” Mr. Gardiner says hardheartedly.
“Well, I am exceedingly glad that he did admit to it and gave back some of the money. It is appalling to think of how much money he stole from us and what he did with it. He will never feel good about himself for the rest of his life, so maybe that will be a fitting punishment. I wonder if his wife knows about his activities.” Mrs. Gardiner states straightforwardly.