‘I like him. I like him a great deal.’ A soft smile settled on Jane’s features as she considered her official unofficial suitor. ‘He is everything I had wished for in a husband. He is intelligent without being overly conceited. I feel that I can talk to him about anything, and he will not judge me. He listens to what I have to say and if he does not agree with me, he explains why. Whenever that is the case, we can discuss it.’
She paused and sighed in contentment. ‘I feel that I can be myself and he accepts me as I am. He likes me for being me.’
‘What about the fact that you could end up being a duchess?’ Aunt Madeline asked, as she was still concerned about Jane’s reaction earlier.
Jane turned her hands up. ‘I suppose that no one is perfect. He told me that his mother wants to meet me and is willing to help me. So, I expect that I will just have to take the bad with the good.’
Mary burst out laughing at that statement. ‘You my dear, must be the only woman in the whole country who would consider becoming a duchess as a penance for getting the perfect man.’
‘What can I say. I like the man, not the title.’
Elizabeth was curious. ‘So, how long will you make him wait?’
‘I suspect it will not be very long, but I want to be certain that he is sure. I do not want him to rush into something which he might regret later.’
Feeling that she had confided enough, Jane asked her sisters, ‘What about you two. I did notice that each of you were both quite engrossed in conversation with your respective gentlemen.’
Elizabeth and Mary looked at each other and Mary indicated for her sister to speak. ‘I too found my conversation quite enlightening. Now that Mr Darcy has left behind his irritating arrogance, he is quite growing on me.’
‘Hopefully not like mould,’ laughed Jane, remembering her less than kind words all those weeks ago.
‘Not at all. In many ways he and Lord James could be brothers. He too listens to what I say. While he may not agree with me, he respects my opinion. I find that I am quite happy to assist in his rehabilitation. After all it is a rare pleasure to be able to debate with an intelligent and well-read man.’
Again, it was Mrs Gardiner who asked a pertinent question. ‘It sounds as if you have quite forgiven him for his insult.’
‘I believe that I have. Yes, he should not have said what he did, but I also remember how he looked when he arrived at that assembly. I thought he was stoic, and he was there only because he had no other choice.’
Elizabeth shrugged. ‘What can I say. As I told Mary, nobody is perfect, and I am surprised that she has not yet quoted scripture at me… about people in glass houses not throwing stones.’
‘You confuse Chaucer with the bible. I believe that you were thinking of John 8:7He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.’ Mary grinned and added, ‘But I commend you for getting the right idea, even if the actual quote is different.’
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. ‘I should have known better than to mention scripture around you.’ In the next moment she grinned and said, ‘But Jane mentioned that you too were having an engrossing conversation. Come to think of it, you have had several conversations with the good Colonel… every time we are in company, as a matter of fact,’ Elizabeth could not resist but tease.
‘I enjoy conversing with the Colonel,’ Mary admitted and subtly changed the subject. ‘I do not know whether it is that gentlemen in London are different from the ones in Hertfordshire or it is only that particular group of friends, but they all seem to have a respect for people in common.’
‘Perhaps they are friends because they share similar attitudes and values?’
The sisters were diverted into discussing their friends in Meryton and comparing their attitudes amongst different groups.
Mrs Gardiner sat back and listened, even as she thought,well done, Mary.
~T~
The following day, Amelia Carleton paid a visit to Gardiner House.
‘How was your dinner with the Fitzwilliams’?’ she asked as soon as she was settled with the ladies. Since she had deliberately arrived early to avoid other visitors, she hoped to be made privy to all the details.
‘I am not certain that I should indulge your curiosity, since you allowed us to be taken in by an impostor without a warning,’ Mrs Gardiner accused their guest, while maintaining a straight face.
‘An impostor? I know of no such,’ cried their cousin in alarm.
‘You introduced us to one whom we mistook for a gentleman,’ Elizabeth continued her aunt’s teasing. ‘Jane was most distraught when she discovered his true identity.’
‘Of whom are you speaking? Surely no one to whom I introduced you would be less than a gentleman,’ Mrs Carleton defended herself.
‘The problem is not that he is less than a gentleman, rather than that he is more.’ This time it was Jane who spoke up.
When Amelia looked from one to the other of the ladies, Mrs Gardiner took pity on the confused lady. ‘Why did you not introduce Lord James properly?’
