“Actually I, unlike others who attempted to meet with him, have an appointment with Gardiner at two,” Darcy related.
“As he is back in town, we will join you seeing that we missed him last time,” Lord Matlock decided.
He suspected his family’s reason for a sudden need to see Gardiner had more to do with meeting a certain lady from Hertfordshire than verifying the health of their investments. Darcy would not, however, come out and say that to his uncle and cousin based on his own supposition. “I do not object to your joining me. Giana will accompany me as well. She is well known to Mrs Gardiner and the Gardiner children, and enjoys their company.”
Before he left the study, Darcy related he and Gianawould be at Pemberley for Christmastide and extended an invitation to all of the Fitzwilliams. Father and son told how they would speak to their wives and let William know when they had an answer, although they doubted the invitation would be refused.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The three men and Georgiana greeted the Gardiners in the drawing room of the latters’ house. While the men retired to her husband’s office, Madeline called for tea and for her children to come greet Miss Darcy.
While they waited for the children, Georgiana expressed her condolences for the loss of Mrs Gardiner’s niece. The latter was wearing a black mourning gown.
In the office, the two Fitzwilliam men who unlike Darcy had not seen Gardiner since his niece’s death, passed on their deepest sympathies before sitting down and discussing business. As was expected, the reports Gardiner delivered showed steadily increasing returns.
“Gardiner, I realise your nieces are in mourning, but I did not see them with Mrs Gardiner,” Darcy noted. As he had met the sisters before it was not untoward he would ask after them. “May I see them to pay my condolences and introduce my sister, uncle, and cousin?”
“If Lizzy and Mary were here, they would have been happy to see you and meet your family. However, they are in the country, where they are the happiest,” Gardiner revealed.
As much as Darcy desired to ask where Miss Bennet and her next younger sister were, he knew that would be presumptuous of him. Unless Gardiner volunteered the information, it would have been very forward of him to enquire without any prompting.
For Gardiner’s part, he had been distracted by the numbers, as he usually was, so he had not thought to expound on where his nieces were. He was sure had Darcy wanted toknow; he would have asked.
In the drawing room, lost in enjoying the company of the Gardiner children, especially Miss Gardiner who was less than four years her junior, Georgiana did not think to enquire as to why the Bennet sisters were not present. Even though she was regaining some of her self-confidence, she was not at the point where she felt she would have been able to ask Mrs Gardiner such a question.
Hence, when the Darcy coach made the return trip to Matlock House, all four within were a little frustrated. None of them had gleaned any useful information about the location of the two eldest Bennet sisters. It was just then that the Earl remembered something of which his wife had informed him. In but a few days, there would be a board meeting of a charity chaired by his Elaine, and Mrs Gardiner was on the board. It would not be untoward if his wife made enquiries about the Miss Bennets.
On arriving home, it was discovered that Lady Matlock was beginning to come down with a trifling cold. Although not serious, she missed the board meeting, the last one before they would all decamp from London to the north.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
An hour after the Darcys and Fitzwilliams departed the Gardiners’ house, Bennet arrived. Madeline had sent him a letter informing him she had found three possible candidates, all of whom would do well in the role he wanted filled for the education of his youngest daughters and, to a certain extent, his wife.
He would meet the three ladies on the morrow. The first one at ten, the next an hour later, and the third and hour after that. Bennet had been surprised Lizzy and Mary would not object to his being in London and seeing them. Then it struck him that they must have already travelled to Maddie’s brother’s estate, which explained his being invited to the house inGracechurch Street.
After being shown to his room and washing, Bennet rested until it was time for dinner. “I thank you for your assistance in this, Maddie,” Bennet stated after the soup had been served. “I know I should have begun to take up my duties to my family long before my inaction cost Jane her life, but now I am determined and will not be dissuaded from my course.”
“What of my sister? Will she not undermine your efforts while you are here?” Gardiner enquired.
“I do not believe so. The day you and my daughters left Longbourn, I had a long talk with Fanny. I apologised for my neglect and proposed we work together to improve the lives of our daughters,” Bennet revealed. “Since then, she is making an effort. It was extremely difficult for her to hear the censure of her friends, but she took my suggestion and acknowledged her mistakes, which as I suspected it would, blunted the attacks to where they are almost non-existent now.”
Madeline and Gardiner were separately impressed with the tangible proof Bennet was sticking to his resolve to improve his family. “What are your plans for the future?” Gardiner questioned.
“I had been too indolent to do so when I married Fanny, but if you will accept me, I would like to invest with you,” Bennet resolved, “I have a bank draft for the five thousand pounds of Fanny’s dowry. I would like you to invest it, and anything you earn above the fifty pounds per quarter for my wife’s allowance, I ask it be added back into the account to become additional principle. In addition, I have another draft of two thousand pounds. It is the money I had reserved to purchase more books I do not need and the best port I could find.”
Gardiner’s eyebrows shot up. He never thought he would see the day when Bennet finally owned his mistakesof not ensuring the future financial security of his wife and daughters. On seven thousand pounds, he would produce returns of at least ten percent per annum. After his sister’s pin money was paid out, there would be at least five hundred each year which would go back into the principal. He was snapped out of his musing by his brother-in-law’s next words.
“I have four trunks with me full of ridiculously expensive first editions I wanted, but never needed. Please sell them for as much as you are able. The funds, which should be above seven thousand pounds, should then be added to the rest I am entrusting to you.”
Both Gardiner parents looked at their brother-in-law as if he had sprouted a second head. Of all of the things they had expected him to say, being willing to sell his most precious books was not at the bottom of the list; it was not even on it.
‘I must send a note to Darcy, if not all, he will want to purchase most of Bennet’s books, and once they are valued, he will not quibble over the price,’ Gardiner told himself silently. Aloud he said, “I believe I will be able to sell all, or a large number of them to a collector I have in mind. He is an investor of mine, and if anything, he reveres the written word more than you do.”
“That they go to one who will appreciate them is more than I can ask,” Bennet responded. “How are my daughters?”
The two Gardiners related what they could. “I received a letter from Lizzy today. If you would like to read it, you may as there is nothing in it which would preclude your doing so,” Madeline offered .
Bennet nodded he would enjoy that. It would give him a connection to his daughters he would not otherwise have. His sister-in-law stood once she had finished her soup and returned within a few minutes. She handed him the folded paper.
