“My sister finally told me all of her story last evening and I wanted to call to express my appreciation for your kindness to her in the park and for bringing her home.”
After hearing Mr. Darcy’s statement, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner relaxed and Mrs. Gardiner said, “Will you sit and tell us how your sister fares today?”
“Thank you, Mrs. Gardiner,” Mr. Darcy replied. As Mr. Gardiner motioned for their guest to enter the parlour, Mrs. Gardiner spoke to Elizabeth.
“My dear, please go to the kitchen and ask cook to prepare a tea tray and then return to the parlour,”
“Yes Aunt.”
After finding the cook to order a tea tray prepared, Elizabeth hurried back to the parlour and took a seat beside her aunt on a sofa as her uncle was saying, “...it was my niece who found your sister and brought her to us. My wife and I were walking with our children for some sunshine when Lizzy – Elizabeth – came to us with Miss Darcy.”
Darcy turned to the young woman and bowed his head slightly, “My sister spoke kindly of you Miss...”
“Elizabeth Bennet,” she replied.
“Miss Bennet,” Darcy continued. “Would you be so kind as to relate to me all that my sister told you?”
Glancing at her aunt and uncle for their approvals, Elizabeth explained. “I received distressing news from home and needed a few moments alone to compose myself. My aunt and uncle allowed me to take the path around the fountain alone to sort my thoughts.”
“My niece was within my sight at all times, Mr. Darcy,” Mr. Gardiner explained. “The path is clear and my wife watched our children while Elizabeth walked around the fountain three times.”
“Did I uncle?” Elizabeth asked without feigning surprise.
He smiled. “You were in a determined frame of mind yesterday my dear.”
Turning back to Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth continued, “I came upon your sister sitting on a bench and crying. I gave her my handkerchief to dry her eyes and we talked as I offered comfort. She was quite distressed but calmed after I talked with her. Once I determined that she was not injured but needed to return home, I brought her to my uncle.”
Mr. Gardiner took over the story at that point. “Our home was only a short distance from the park so my wife and children returned with our footman, while my niece and I escorted your sister to your home in a hired cab. I would have used my own carriage but we had walked to the park and I knew it would take a considerable while to summon my carriage.”
“Miss Darcy said that her companion deserted her in the park and left with a young man,” Elizabeth said.
Darcy shook his head. “Mrs. Young came to us with good references but I fear they were forgeries – a young woman came to the kitchens this morning asking the housekeeper for Mrs. Young’s belongings. I understand the maids packed her clothing and found several household items that she had secreted in her room. I can only suppose she meant to remove them from the household gradually and sell them. I do not know of a gentleman she was in company with at any time.”
“Miss Darcy told my niece that the young man was known to her. She named him as George Wickham,” Mrs. Gardiner explained.
“Are you associated with George Wickham?” asked Mr. Gardiner. “Is this man known to you?”
Mr. Darcy was pale but managed to continue the conversation. “I am ashamed to say that he is known to me but Georgiana did not mention his name to me yesterday or this morning.”
“My wife has a serious charge against this man.”
Darcy glanced at Elizabeth, wondering if it were appropriate to discuss Wickham with the young woman in the room. But she merely arched an eyebrow and pressed her lips together, sparks flying in her eyes.
“I am young sir but my aunt’s distress has made me resolute to hear your story.
“Very well,” Mr. Darcy replied. “George Wickham is the son of the man who for many years was steward of my family estate in Derbyshire. My father was fond of George, gave him an excellent education but the son is dissolute and wasted the education. After my father’s death, George and I have not kept company. Until this minute, I have not thought of him in more than three years.”
“It is disconcerting that he should reappear to say the least, and in connection with my sister’s companion disturbs me greatly,” Darcy confessed. He turned to Mrs. Gardiner and asked, “What is your connection to Mr. Wickham?”
“I have no connection, only pain and hurt from this man.” Mrs. Gardiner explained, “I was born and grew up in Lambton and ten years past, just after I was married, Wickham courted my sister and promised her marriage but then vanished. When she found she was increasing, our father went to your father for help but Mr. Darcy refused to believe that Mr. Wickham would do such a thing. As a result, my father banished my sister from his house and she vanished.”
“Who is your father, Mrs. Gardiner?”
“He was Martin Fieldstone,” Aunt Gardiner replied. “He died that next winter, shortly after my mother.”
Darcy nodded his head, “Your father was an excellent milliner. The whole of Lambton grieved the loss of your family. I was involved with management of Pemberley even at that time and the housekeeper at Pemberley brought your sister’s plight to my attention. My father never believed any ill of George Wickham but I knew of his dissolute ways. I quietly arranged for a farmer from a Darcy estate in Derby to take your sister as his wife. I gave the farmer fifty pounds as her dowry – it was all that I had at the time. But on my last visit to Derby, I saw her; she is well married and has three children.”
Overcome with emotion, Mrs. Gardiner excused herself and Elizabeth helped her aunt to leave the room while Mr. Gardiner spoke to Mr. Darcy.
After helping her aunt to lie down for a time, Elizabeth came back below stairs and approached Mr. Darcy at the door where her uncle was seeing him out.
“Mr. Darcy, excuse me sir,” she said.
“Yes Miss Bennet.”
“Thank you for sharing your story with my aunt. Would it be possible for us to have her direction – her husband’s direction? My aunt would be able to correspond with her sister if you would be so kind as to provide us with that information.”
Staring at the young woman for a moment, the blue eyes soften just a bit when he replied, “I shall be glad to give that information to your aunt tomorrow when I bring my sister for tea to thank you and your aunt and uncle.”
“Thank you, sir,” Elizabeth said as she curtseyed. The gentleman bowed and took his leave from the house and the uncle and niece watched him climb into his fine carriage and leave Grace Church Street.
“I shall speak with your aunt before returning to my office,” Uncle Gardiner said.
“I shall watch the children this afternoon and allow her to rest,” Elizabeth assured her uncle.
++**++
The next afternoon, Mrs. Gardiner’s cook prepared an excellent tea and when Mr. Darcy and Miss Darcy arrived at Grace Church Street, they met all of the family for a few minutes before Nanny took the three children above stairs for their tea.
“Our eldest Edward asked about the young lady Elizabeth rescued in the park,” Mrs. Gardiner explained. “He has been most attentive to his lessons so his reward is to meet you again Miss Darcy.”
“He was very polite young man,” Mr. Darcy replied for his sister, who kept her head lowered.
Mrs. Gardiner smiled kindly. “Thank you for the direction to write to my sister, Mr. Darcy. What can you tell me about her situation?”
“Mr. Whitley is a successful farmer. I believe he will strike out on his own with a nearby farm that will be for sale in the near future. He and I are discussing terms to allow him to keep the tenant farm for two years while he works and clears fields on his own land.”
“How can he afford the labour for both?” Elizabeth asked. When Mr. Darcy looked surprised at the young lady’s question, she explained, “I have been very involved with my father’s estate for several years. I understand the labourers who must be hired fo
r the different seasons of planting, harvesting and ploughing the fields.”
The gentlemen inclined his head slightly, “I shall allow Mr. Whitley to use some of the labourers hired for work on my farms to help prepare his fields and repair his fences. He will share the profits of his crops the first two years with me and I shall have a friend among the yeomen farmers of Derby when he strikes out on his own.”
Elizabeth turned her attention to the sister now. “How are you Miss Darcy?”
“I am well, thank you Miss Bennet.”
“Have you recovered from your adventure?”
Looking up now, the shy girl asked, “What adventure? I was too scared for it to have been an adventure.”
“I understand,” Elizabeth said, reaching over to squeeze the girl’s hand briefly. “But I do not dwell on past missteps and ill-fortune.”
Now she smiled at her aunt and uncle. “I look for sunshine and forge ahead.”
Mr. Darcy was considering the young woman’s words and staring intently at her when Mr. Gardiner asked him about the past summer in Derbyshire.
“I believe the flocks at Pemberley have increased this summer and we have ample fodder stored for the coming winter. I expect an increase in wool next spring.”
Elizabeth kept her attentions with Miss Darcy though she occasionally listened to snippets of the conversation between the two men.
The brother and sister both enjoyed the short bread prepared by the Gardiner’s cook and when the last biscuit was consumed and tea drunk, the time for the social call was at an end.
Mr. Darcy attempted to catch his sister’s eye but Georgiana was too shy to look about the room to see he wanted to prompt her.
Finally he cleared his throat and issued the invitation himself, “Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, if you have no plans, my sister and I would like to invite you and Miss Bennet to supper tomorrow night.”
“Thank you sir,” Mr. Gardiner replied after glancing at his wife and seeing her nod. “We have no other engagements.”
“Very good, then. Shall we say seven o’clock?”
++**++
Chapter 6.
The Gardiner’s Dinner with the Darcy Family
“I am pleased to be invited to dine with Mr. Darcy,” Aunt Gardiner told her niece the next morning as they looked through Elizabeth’s trunk for a suitable dress for supper that evening. “This is good for your uncle’s business connections and you can further a friendship with Miss Darcy.”
“I have never met anyone so shy,” Elizabeth confessed. “I shall strive to make her feel comfortable and free to speak more.”
Pulling up a simple gown of white muslin, Mrs. Gardiner held it to Elizabeth’s form and smiled. “Let us visit the shops and find just the right shade of ribbon to place in your hair and around your waist with this gown. A new pair of gloves and you will be suitably dressed for family dinner with Mr. Darcy and his sister.”
“Aunt, promise you will not write to my mother of this invitation,” Elizabeth pleaded. “She will rush to Lady Lucas and announce my engagement to the gentleman.”
Seeing her aunt laugh for the first time in three days, Elizabeth was cheered. “I think even your matchmaking Mamma would hesitate to link your name with Mr. Darcy. I am certain his family will make an arrangement for a match a lord’s daughter for the gentleman.”
“What if he discovers that Lydia had an unexpected visitor and had to marry Mr. Hamilton?”
Mrs. Gardiner drew her niece to the bed and they sat side by side.
“Elizabeth Bennet, you must not be afraid that someone will discover the story of your sister. People will hear of Lydia but people who know you will value you for your own qualities.”
++**++
With green ribbons in her hair and about her waist, the simple muslin gown was attractive with Elizabeth’s youthful figure that Mr. Darcy had noted when her uncle helped her remove her wrap in the foyer of his London home. The simple gown was appropriate for a family dinner and he was gratified when Georgiana had participated in the conversation with Mrs. Gardiner and Miss Bennet throughout dinner.
And just as pleasing, at the other end of the table, Mr. Gardiner allowed Darcy to guide the conversation into politics, the wars on the continent and general discussion of trade without any specifics of their business arrangements.
At some point in the dinner, Elizabeth shared the story of her oldest sister’s engagement. “My sister Jane has been engaged to a distant cousin who will inherit our father’s estate. I have never met the man – his first visit to our family has occurred while I have been in London and my parents made the match.”
“Such things happen in society regularly,” Mr. Darcy replied. “It is even more common in our circles.”
“What is your cousin’s name, Miss Bennet?” asked Miss Darcy.
“His name is William Collins. I understand that he is a parson at an estate in Kent.”
“A parish named Hunsford,” Aunt Gardiner added.
“Hunsford? Are you certain?” Miss Darcy asked with even more animation than shown earlier.
“Yes,” Elizabeth replied. “The parish that my sister wrote of was Hunsford.”
Mr. Darcy leaned forward and joined the conversation. “Miss Bennet, your cousin is the new vicar for our aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. The glebe supporting your cousin consists of the farms on my aunt’s estate, Rosings.”
“Brother, what can you tell Miss Bennet of her cousin?” Georgiana asked. “She has never met Mr. Collins and learned of her sister’s engagement in a letter this week.”
“I have not met Mr. Collins, Georgiana. But Miss Bennet, I can tell you that our aunt is a very determined woman that is used to having her way in every instance.”
When the two gentlemen separated from the ladies for a few minutes after dinner, Gardiner asked after Darcy’s opinion of different ports and cigars. When they moved from the study to the parlour to rejoin the ladies, Darcy heard the sound of someone playing on the pianoforte and smiled thinking that Miss Bennet must be playing. Stepping into the room he was very surprised to find his shy sister performing with Miss Bennet standing beside the bench and Mrs. Gardiner sitting nearby on a sofa enjoying the performance.
“Your sister plays delightfully sir,” Mr. Gardiner added.
“Thank you, but it is very seldom she will play for company.”
Shaking his head, Mr. Gardiner assured the man, “My niece has a way of making anyone feel comfortable.
++**++
Chapter 7.
Georgiana’s New Friend
Two mornings later, a note arrived from Miss Georgiana Darcy inviting Miss Elizabeth Bennet to spend the afternoon at the Darcy home. During the course of the visit, Georgiana’s music master arrived and Elizabeth was invited to remain for the lesson. After he departed, Georgiana and Elizabeth practiced the piece a few times before the older girl departed for her uncle and aunt’s home. That evening after their supper, Darcy noticed a difference in his sister’s performance.
“Georgie, has your music master found the manner to reach you with the new music he brought last month?”
“Mr. Larson is an excellent instructor brother but I believe that Miss Bennet helped find the feeling needed in this piece,” Georgiana answered.
++**++
Two days later, another invitation arrived at Grace Church Street and brought Elizabeth to Darcy house for a second afternoon of musical lessons. During this visit, Georgiana began talking of other things she did – embroidery and painting.
“My brother will hire another companion for me before long but today I have no lessons in languages and literature, so I practice my playing. But I must have something more to fill the late afternoons and evenings. My brother is absent many days with business and the estates.”
“What do you like to read?”
Georgiana shrugged. “I do not really care for Milton or sermons. My brother only allows me to read some histories and a few novels after he has read them. Then
he makes me discuss the stories with him!”
“That is a good practice,” Elizabeth told her friend. “He wants you to develop your ability for a discussion. Does he express opinions different from your own and make you defend your ideas?”
Georgiana nodded while Elizabeth smiled. “My father often does the same with me when I find a new book and we both read it.”
The door to the music room opened just then and Mr. Darcy strode into the room.
“Good afternoon, Georgie! Good afternoon, Miss Bennet.”
“William!” Miss Darcy exclaimed and rose from the chair to embrace her brother. “You were leaving for Bath for a week I thought.”
The man frowned and paused; Elizabeth wondered if he was contriving an excuse for his sister to explain his change of plans.
“The business in Bath has come to town – there is no reason for me to leave you alone.”
“I am glad,” Georgiana said. “I do miss you when you are gone. But today Miss Bennet has been talking about sewing and lessons. Brother, if you cannot find another lady’s companion for me, can you find me a language master – Miss Bennet’s French is much better than my own and I must improve.”
Elizabeth grinned at Georgiana and Mr. Darcy noted the pleasant sparkles in her fine eyes yet again.
“Thank you for spurring my sister’s desire to continue her lessons,” Mr Darcy told their guest.
“You are welcome Mr. Darcy though you may reconsider your thanks when I say that I shall encourage her to read Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets. I think the comedies would be good fare and we can discuss them at length.”
Glancing at his sister, Darcy nodded his head once toward Elizabeth. “The comedies perhaps but no tragedies; I do not want her to read of doomed lovers or insane princes.”
“Ah, Mr. Darcy, you have sealed your fate,” Elizabeth sighed with great dramatic effect. “Nothing spurs a young woman’s interest more than her guardian’s admonition to avoid Hamlet, or Romeo and Juliet.”
Saving Jane Page 5