Darcy’s attention flitted between Mr Gardiner, engaged in a discussion of the war in France with Mr Bennet, and Mrs Gardiner, whose cheerful elegance of manner reminded him very strongly of Miss Elizabeth, though with some of Miss Bennet’s reserve. They were intelligent, interesting, genteel people. He felt ashamed of himself for having presumed the worst about them, and annoyed that he had been open about those assumptions; he would have to admit to Bingley he was wrong.
His acknowledgment came sooner than he’d have liked, and he was required to admit his mistake shortly after he and Bingley left Longbourn. They were hardly out of sight of the house before Bingley turned to him, eyebrows raised, and said, “Well, I dare say the Gardiners were more of a surprise to you than to me.”
Darcy sighed. “Yes, Bingley, you were correct. But in my defence, it was not unnatural to expect the brother to resemble the sisters.”
“I should think that having known me and Caroline for all these years would have cured you of that notion,” Bingley said pointedly.
“That is unfair,” he huffed. “You and your sister, though very different in personality, are both educated people able to move in elevated society.”
“Is it not obvious that Mr Gardiner is also an educated man, while his sisters were not given that opportunity? A situation, I might add, quite common in the previous generation, even among your class but particularly in mine. My sisters were the first women of our family to receive a formal education, you know.”
“No,” Darcy said quietly. “I was not aware. I know little of the merchant class.”
“I am far from the only son of trade breaking into society. Wealthy merchants are on the rise, my friend, and we infiltrate your ranks because we are well-mannered and adaptable enough to fit in. Some, it is true, are crass and grasping, but I will remind you of your own comments on the Earl and Countess of Sefton and say no more.”
Darcy grimaced at that reminder of the loutish earl and his shrieking harpy of a wife. They were worse by far than anyone he had met in Meryton, Mrs Philips included, yet they were accepted everywhere by virtue of their bloodlines. And then, if he were being honest about the manners of theton, he would have to admit that his own aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, was by no means to be preferred over Mrs Gardiner.
* * *
That evening after dinner, Elizabeth was drawn away by her aunt for a private conversation. Shutting themselves in the room she shared with Jane, Mrs Gardiner took her hand and said, “Now that I have met your new friends, much of what you related in your letter is clearer to me. Mr Bingley is so very amiable and Mr Darcy so solemn, that it would indeed be easy to conclude there was little else to them. Had I not your account of their behaviour during the crisis, I might have made a few ill-informed judgments of my own,” she said with a smile.
“But you would not have clung to them, as I am inclined to do,” Elizabeth replied wryly.
“Now that you are aware of that inclination and its pitfalls, you will not be so firm in your initial evaluation of new acquaintances in future, will you?”
“I believe I shall not. But Aunt, I still feel as though everyone about me has grown so much, and I only a little.”
“Oh, Lizzy. You have grown, believe me. I see it in you as I do in your sisters. But for all your stubborn reliance on first impressions, you have always been the one in your family most willing to look reality in the eye. Your father hid among his books, your mother in her nerves. Jane wished to pretend that everything was better than it was, and Mary that all could be solved with the perfect extract from scripture or Fordyce. Kitty and Lydia preferred not to think at all. They have recently been forced to do what you long have: recognise the truth of what is passing, and act upon it where they could.
“You feel that you have not changed, when the truth is that you have changed in different ways than they. Your family required lessons in resolve and firmness of purpose. You, by contrast, needed to learn pliancy and moderation, and I think you have.”
Elizabeth laid her head against her aunt’s shoulder and breathed in her familiar perfume of apricot and clover. Mrs Gardiner maintained a patient silence as Elizabeth turned these thoughts over in her mind, and eventually concluded that the uncertainty she had been feeling was largely a product of having developed, all unaware, a more nuanced view of the world.
“I think I liked it better when I was certain of everything,” she admitted at last. “So much seems ambiguous and indefinite to me now.”
Mrs Gardiner stroked her hair and said, “I am afraid that, my dear, is maturity in a nutshell.”
* * *
Having met the Gardiners and found them mannerly, Mr Darcy was in a very different frame of mind the following day, when Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth, Miss Catherine, and Mrs Gardiner were announced. Darcy elected to sit near Mrs Gardiner and, when the flow of conversation allowed, made an effort to engage with her. His first impression of her gentility and intelligence was not at all damaged by this exercise, and for part of the morning they spoke of Lambton and the surrounding area. She mentioned that Lady Anne Darcy had at times worked with her parents in service of the parish poor, and he wondered whether his sister would enjoy hearing Mrs Gardiner’s memories of their mother, who had died when Georgiana was only two years old.
As the visitors were preparing to leave, Darcy quietly reminded Miss Elizabeth, “We are expecting additions to our party shortly—my sister and her companion, and my cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam. My sister is most eager to become acquainted with…your family.”
“I do recall.” Miss Elizabeth smiled broadly. “I very much look forward to making Miss Darcy’s acquaintance, and your cousin’s, too.”
“Georgiana has few friends near her own age. I believe your company, and that of your sisters, will delight her, though it may not be apparent to a new acquaintance. Like me, she is quite reticent.”
“Oh, well, then I shall just have to tease her a little. It always seems to work on you,” she replied lightly.
He felt he must be grinning like a fool, but made no effort to restrain himself. Before he could reply, her countenance took a more serious turn, and she added, “It is very good of you and your relations to decline all the gaieties of the season which must be available to you in London or Derbyshire, to spend this time with Mrs Hurst and Mr Bingley. I am sure it will brighten this difficult time for them, as the presence of the Gardiners has done for us.”
“Oh, well, as to that…” He shrugged, feeling both humbled and gratified. “I will not speak for my cousin, but my sister and I both prefer a quiet Christmas, though we do wish to comfort our friends, also.”
She smiled at him again, pulling on her gloves. “Declaim any merit as you please, but I will continue to think well of you for it.” She glanced over her shoulder; her aunt was approaching. “I will bid you farewell, sir, and wish you a merry Christmas.”
“A Merry Christmas to you also, Miss Elizabeth,” he murmured in return, bowing.
* * *
