“Aunt Gardiner, I’m sorry to arrive without warning. I hope I’m not imposing?—”
“Nonsense,” her aunt interrupted. “You are always welcome here, you know that. But Elizabeth, you look as though you haven’t slept in days.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered as tears spilled down her cheeks. “I had nowhere else to go.”
Mrs. Gardiner drew her into a fierce embrace. “Then you’ve come to exactly the right place. Edward! Edward, come quickly!”
Her uncle emerged from his study. Alarm crossed his features as he took in the scene. “Lizzy? What in heaven’s name?—”
“Not here,” Mrs. Gardiner interrupted, keeping an arm around Elizabeth’s shoulders. “Let’s go to the study. Mrs. Miller, please bring tea. And perhaps keep the children occupied for a little while.”
Elizabeth allowed herself to be guided to her uncle’s book-lined sanctuary. Mr. Gardiner closed the door behind them, his brow furrowed with concern.
“Now then,” Mrs. Gardiner said, taking the chair beside Elizabeth’s and reaching for her hands. “Tell us what has brought you to London. Are your parents well? Your sisters?”
The mention of her family caused Elizabeth’s carefully constructed composure to crumble. “My parents are… that is, I am no longer…” She took a shuddering breath and tried again. “I am no longer welcome at Longbourn.”
The Gardiners exchanged glances heavy with meaning. Mr. Gardiner’s expression grew grave as he took his seat across from them.
“What has my sister done now?” he asked quietly, and the resignation in his voice suggested this was not entirely unexpected.
“She cast me out,” Elizabeth said baldly, finding that directness was easier than attempting to soften the blow. “Three days ago. I refused Mr. Collins’s proposal, and she decided I was too selfish todeserve a home or family.”
Her aunt gasped softly, but her uncle merely closed his eyes briefly, as if in pain.
“They hired a coach to take me to you, but the driver abandoned me at the Red Lion Inn in Barnet. The footman and lady’s maid disappeared with my traveling money.” Elizabeth twisted her hands in her lap. “I believe they were instructed to leave me there.”
“My sister did this?” Mr. Gardiner’s voice was dangerously low. “And your father allowed it?”
“He did nothing to stop it,” Elizabeth confirmed, the memory still raw. “He stood on the steps and watched as I was sent away.”
Mrs. Gardiner made a sound of distress. “And your sisters? Surely Jane?—”
“Jane, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia all protested. They ran after the coach until I lost sight of them. But they have no power.” Elizabeth swallowed hard. “My mother said I was an ungrateful child who deserved to starve in the hedgerows for refusing to secure the entail. Mr. Bennet must have allowed it. He always agrees with Mrs. Bennet if her nerves scream loud enough.”
Her uncle rose abruptly and walked to the window, his shoulders rigid with anger. “I have long known my sister to be foolish, but this…” He shook his head. “This is beyond comprehension.”
“How did you reach us, Lizzy?” Mrs. Gardiner asked gently. “If you were abandoned at Barnet without funds?”
Elizabeth’s fingers closed around the signet ring she wore on the thumb. She kept the seal side inside her palm. The mention of Darcy, even peripherally, brought tears to her eyes.
“Forgive me, but I need some time to compose myself.” Her shoulders shook as she lowered her head, trying with all her might not to dissolve into tears.
Her aunt exchanged a concerned glance with her uncle and rose to sit beside her. “Dear, let’s take some tea. Would you prefer your uncle to depart while you tell me?”
“Uncle should hear, but… it is delicate.” She stifled a sob, welcoming the teacup from Mrs. Miller.
She inhaled the sweet scent of the spiced tea and fortified herself, closing her eyes. “The storm was terrible, and the inn was full. I could not get a room, and…”
She paused. Her face heated with shame at her condition, entirely alone and vulnerable, had Darcy not intervened. The whole situation was so far beyond the bounds of propriety that even thinking about it made her feel faintly ill.
But she had to tell her uncle, if only to send out a search party.
“A gentleman intervened when I was in danger.” The words stumbled out as she dared not look at her uncle. “He offered me shelter.”
Her aunt and uncle exchanged a glance, understanding the implications immediately.
“This gentleman,” Mr. Gardiner said carefully. “He behaved honorably, I trust?”
